ROUND 1: AJ Johnson - Poll Added

[JayMKE]

160lbs, can’t shoot, looked good in 1 or 2 scrimmages oof

He’s going to have to drop trip dub game 1 or double nickel to get me believing he’s on Brandon Jennings’ swag level, not the type of player I want to be targeting anyway

Does he have a middle name or something, swear to gawd I hear Lisa call him Ajo or something

[midranger]

AJ J J Junior Shabbadoo

[JayMKE]

Love this pick.

Swing for the fence - check
Long and athletic - check
Good guy - check
Doc can yell "AJ!" and 3 guys will look - check

Read on Twitter

6’7??? Not a shot.

We saw him next to silver last night. He was taller, but by an inch, maaaaybe 2. 6’4 or 6’5 tops.

6’4.25” barefoot

[midranger]

6’7??? Not a shot.

We saw him next to silver last night. He was taller, but by an inch, maaaaybe 2. 6’4 or 6’5 tops.

6’4.25” barefoot

Sounds right. I think Silver is 6’3

[rayallenscalves]

After watching the various (very short) highlight reels, he gives off shades of a springier Jamal Crawford. Similar size and body movements.

[pifhluk23]

How is this dude 6 "4.25" and only 167lbs??? Not one person in his life told him he needed to add at least 20lbs?

For comparison Dame is 2 inches shorter and weighs 194...

[JimmyTheKid]

Not sure what was more entertaining last night, the shot of the Bucks' "War Room," AJ Johnson looking like a middle schooler in his dad's suit, or the fans who spent hours looking at video to reveal their Top-30's only to collectively say "who"? after the Bucks made their pick. Get this guy in an NBA weight program stat and see what we have in a year.

[tydett]

So is his playing weight 180? I guess you're hoping for Shai as your "if everything turns out perfectly" but man I just don't trust this team and this coaching staff to invest in his growth. Still also frustrating to go for someone who doesn't really fit the timeline of this current team in hopes he'll be ready to lengthen it in a few years.

[ShootingtheJ]

Love this pick.

Swing for the fence - check
Long and athletic - check
Good guy - check
Doc can yell "AJ!" and 3 guys will look - check

Read on Twitter

6’7??? Not a shot.

We saw him next to silver last night. He was taller, but by an inch, maaaaybe 2. 6’4 or 6’5 tops.

Agree. He measured 6'4 1/4" at the combine. 8'6" standing reach, which is actually solid.

It's tough to take anyone seriously when they say he's 6'7".

[midranger]

After watching the various (very short) highlight reels, he gives off shades of a springier Jamal Crawford. Similar size and body movements.

Crawford was the first dude that came to my mind as well. Then I was like, how many years did it take him to become a passable contributor in the nba?

Feels like he was an empty stats guy on terrible teams until Atlanta.

Obviously, Crawford would be a great result at 23. Long career. Multiple 6-MOY awards. It was just long after the Bulls. Which is my biggest concern with this kid.

[WeMajor34]

Whether you think the AJ Johnson pick is good or bad, it’s a “bad pick”. He was more than likely going to be there at #33. If not, then maybe another GM would’ve done us a favor by getting him, forcing Horst to make a trade for future draft capital or draft a guy who could conceivably help us now. Horst’s presser doesn’t give me any confidence that Johnson could play next year.

With a win-now team that is rostering 5 young guys (MarJon, AJ, Andre, Livingston, Johnson) and potentially another one in #33, I truly don’t understand the vision. Sure, the simple equation of young guys = potential is tried and true. BUT I don’t think our player development has gone anywhere besides the occasional hit on a first (Donte) or a second (Brogdon). If we go into training camp with all of them with Doc Rivers at the helm, I’d be floored.

We’re not the Thunder who can draft and stash players at will and if the pick doesn’t hit, 20 firsts can be used in the future. We have such a limited amount of draft ammo to use in trades that can make this team better right now.

We have to wait and see but that’s not where a contending team should be with their draft assets. Johnson could develop into a good player OR he’s a guy who doesn’t get a second contract, let alone any minutes on a Doc Rivers team.

Summer league can’t arrive soon enough. I’m interested to see how he looks. Hopefully the long term investment pays off. But like other people have mentioned here, I think Horst may have jumped the shark on this one.

It’s not all doom and gloom with this team though, we’re still very good. I just think that another wasted first could really cost us in the short and long term with where our pick situation is.

[machu46]

Love this pick.

Swing for the fence - check
Long and athletic - check
Good guy - check
Doc can yell "AJ!" and 3 guys will look - check

Read on Twitter

If god forbid he can make the shots, he has some unique gathers and stuff that I think in addition to his burst, will really keep defenses off balance...again, if he can actually make the shots.

[drew881]

Taking a swing on a guy 2 years away is pretty good indication the org thinks 2 or 3 of AJ, AJax and Marjon are ready to take a leap.

There was talk of Marjon taking a leap last year.

Have to be able to get on the court to take a leap.

[RogerMurdock]

Hey, just checking in this morning.

[machu46]

The situation:
AJ arrived at a Hawks club in turmoil. It's actually usually a benefit for a Next Star signing to end up at a **** club for guaranteed mins and opportunity - see Melo. We were definitely **** - make no mistake about that.

Unfortunately, coming off the back of a 3-25 season, no one was under more pressure than coach Jakomas. Can I blame the bloke? Nah, it was his livelihood afterall and he clearly thought the best pathway to his continued employment was to go with a lower risk, conservative approach. Maybe grind out a few wins.

Expectations were low. About as low as you could get really. Truthfully no one would have been surprised to see Jakomas' contract extended if we could just scrape our way to 2nd last.

It was in this context that gun sniper and combo guard Tyler Harvey was moved off ball. Ex 2-way Buck Justin Robinson returning from injury was given the reigns as the steady, experienced hand that was to keep coach JJ in a job.

Lack of opportunity for AJ was one of the things that had fans most perplexed. There was also a sense that powers that be in the league weren't happy. Why would young players commit to be Next Stars over college only to get zero burn?

Justin Tatum (Jayson's dad for those not up to date) took over mid season and got to work fiddling with the rotation. As the season turned around, Robinson was relegated to the bench role and there were back court minutes to be had. All of a sudden the conversation was about playoff rotation rather than player development. Ultimately those spare minutes increasingly became allocated to fan favourite Swiss army knife and ultimate glue guy, Will "Davo" Hickey. No one doubts this was a good idea, Hickey's D, hustle and one memorable O board, put back buzzer beater were integral to the fairytale run.

From what we saw, I don't think anyone doubts that AJ could have contributed as a rotation player but without coach Jakomas carving out a role for him early, he was just too young and unfamiliar with systems to be considered for available minutes over more experienced heads, especially as it started look as though we may be a post-season team.


His game:
I watched him scrimmage quite a few times when the Hawks were training at the Snakepit. You hear about his speed, smoothness and athleticism but you actually might not believe it til you see it ... he's fast, in kind of an indescribable way. He creates transition from nothing. Blink and it's over.

His shooting mechanics aren't great. Like everything he does, he gets it off super quickly with seeming ease but it definitely starts low and comes off up off the hip a bit.

The body is the big question mark. He has the right dimensions but the guy is pencil thin. He'd be absolutley bullied in the NBA. The question is to what degree can he bulk up without losing the remarkable aspects of his game.

He won't be slowing down wings any time soon - I saw Gary Clark feast on him during scrimmage a few times. But fronting up to seasoned professional guards like Harvey and Robinson he was able to hold his own. He definitely lacks the strength to fight through screens at the moment.

If i squinted maybe he didn't look totally like a boy playing amongst grown men ... maybe.

Stuff like this is what makes this forum a special place.

[nagawicka]

Was this a Horst or a Doc pick?

Both! A consensus pick

[machu46]

How is this dude 6 "4.25" and only 167lbs??? Not one person in his life told him he needed to add at least 20lbs?

For comparison Dame is 2 inches shorter and weighs 194...

He says he grew 6 inches during the pandemic and Sam Vecenie says he hit another growth spurt while he was in Australia, so I think his body is very much still developing. He's the opposite of Isaiah Collier/Ron Holland types in that regard.

[nagawicka]

Imagine being in that war room like, "We can't draft this guy at 23, Givony has him going later."

Ever hear of trading back?

Oh, sorry. "We gotta trade back, Givony has him going later."

Better?

Side issue.

[SirChurros]

When are we going to stop calling guys unique prospects because they’re 6’7” and can make plays off the dribble?

[ajb905]

I can't really defend the him much as a prospect because you're right, he barely played and when he did, he played like crap.

But the sample sizes on those shooting %'s are so small...if just two of those free throws were a make instead of a miss he's at 70%. Even the FGAs is such a small sample it's hard to read much into it, but the free throws especially. I have to think the Bucks have access to his high school stats to try to build a larger sample size, but either way, I think they probably don't care how he's played in the past; they're banking on him improving immensely.

Edit: I see you already responded to this earlier in the thread lol

NBAdraft.net profile shows shooting has been a problem and it's not small sample size

Scoring averages: 12.6 PPG 36.5% FG% adidas 3SSB 2022, 5.6 PPG 33.3% FG% NBPA Top 100 2022, 14.4 PPG 41.1% FG% Grind Session 2022-23 … Streaky shooter but has room to improve 3PT shooting consistency and his release is a little low: 22.4% 3PT% 4.2 3PTA 3SSB 2022, 7.1% 3PT% 2.8 3PTA NBPA Top 100 2022, 27.5% 3PT% 6.4 3PTA Grind Session 2022-23 … Free throw shooting dipped his senior year, from 81.4% FT% over the adidas 3SSB in 2022 to 68.4% FT% over the Grind Session in 2022-23