Sund on 790

[mattlanta]

I got this from another poster from another Hawks message board:

I heard a reply from an interview he did on 790 earlier in the week. He said some interested things:

1. Said the he told Marvin he couldn't play for him unless he develops a 3 point shot.
2. He likes Flip and that you have to accept that fact that he does some stupid things on the court (his exact words)
3. He likes Acie Law and that he thinks that he plays well and that signing Flip kind of set him back a little.
4. Main goal for the season was to the make the playoffs with a winning record.
5. If we would have had a draft pick last year he would have traded it for a veteran and may do that this year unless they get someone really special.
6. People put way too much emphasis on were a player was drafted instead of looking at the situation/environment that the player was brought into.

Came across as a normal guy and made alot of sense in what he was saying.

I thought it was interesting. I thought I'd share.

[evildallas]

Appreciate it. #5 scares me a bit. I'm big believer in using picks to fill skill sets like finding PF beef and energy in the early 2nd round. This draft isn't a very exciting one, but if the anticipated list of declaring players proves true I see a lot of players who can play PG in the NBA being available when we draft. I doubt that the quality of veteran it would return would be a difference maker, but I would see what's available. Of course, it's hard to project someone around #20 as being really special and that's why his wording alerts me a bit. A home run isn't always available when you pick, but you can normally improve you rotation if you pick wisely (that is unless your already loaded, which I wouldn't say we are).

[Skyhawk1]

Well, as a GM he's got to praise his roster, even if he didn't pick the players. I'm sure he doesn't like Law's game that much, who does? The guy is as lost as hell, but no GM is going to bash their players if they want to send them away. He seems to be high on Flip, which is a good thing, I mean, he's a keeper as much as Law is a goner. I do not mind trading picks for vets who can actually play. We're way too young and we're not drafting in the top 10 anyway. Like his take on Marvin. It mst have worked then.

[mattlanta]

Yeah I'd like for us to draft A.J. Price and find a way to trade Acie + someone else for a veteran big man or another pick. Possibly to move up to draft DeJuan Blair too. I'd love to draft Blair or Price.

[parson]

Point Guards take 3 to 5 years to grow up. Any PG we draft (barring some remarkable exception) will take time to develop.

We only draft another PG if we've given up on Acie, which I think is a mistake. Mike Woodson may disagree with me, however.

[killbuckner]

I think if you draft in the 20's you are making a big mistake if you draft for need. At that point if you draft someone who can contribute to a NBA team you are doing a good job- don't worry about need, just draft a player. The Hawks have one of the thinnest benches in the league- getting a solid player at any position would be a good thing.

[HoopsGuru25]

I really hope he's not serious about number 5(especially considering he would have passed on players who could have helped us like Hibbert,Speights,and Mcgee). Teams like NO will probably be looking to sell their pick for cash and he thinks there's a trade market for non-lottery picks in a weak draft? What is the best player the Hawks could get(that isn't on a bad contract)for a pick in the late teens? They certainly couldn't get a player good enough to get the fans to shut up about a certain player we could have gotten with the pick we traded.

[evildallas]

I wonder how much of the trade pick talk stems from his poor drafting track record in Seattle. He did draft Nick Collison and Luke Ridnour in 2003 which weren't horrible, but David West and Leandro Barbosa have had better careers at the same positions and one could argue that Steve Blake has been as good as Ridnour almost a full round later. 2004 was a horrible whiff because he bet on the health of a young big man named Robert Swift. A lot of successful players went later, but most notably would be Al Jefferson and Josh Smith. 2005 saw him draft late at 24 and go with Johan Petro. It think Petro can still develop into a quality player, but there were much better players go later if he hadn't gambled on another C prospect like David Lee, Linas Kleiza, Monta Ellis, Ryan Gomes, or even Andray Blatche. 2006 was a horrible draft for a lot of GMs and he reached on Sene at #10. It was a wasted pick like Shelden Williams at #5. It's hard to not to wonder with that track record if maybe a veteran or two instead of those three tries for a C would have been preferable.

[killbuckner]

I REALLY hope that Sund realizes that with the new handchecking rules the old adage of "don't trade big for small" is completely ridiculous. I think that he might just be a old school guy who thinks that getting that prime 7 footer is what the NBA is all about but the game is evolving.

[HoopsGuru25]

I said when we hired Sund that drafting three 7 footers in three consecutive years makes even less sense when the rules are more favorable for perimeter players. If you are 7 foot and can play then you are usually going to be a pretty high pick.....where as there have been a decent number of quality young pgs taken after the lottery. Rondo, Stuckey, Brooks, Sessions, Farmar,and Chalmers are already contributing to playoff teams despite all being mid-late 1st round picks within the last three years.

Sund could draft a young player and improve their depth at the same time if they knew what he was doing. It doesn't hurt that this draft is very point guard friendly as well.