Portland should have gotten New York’s pick in that deal. Of course it didn’t matter because they later paid 6 million dollars to get to late first rounders.
I was happy to see Morris Almond wind up in Utah. He’ll fit in well with the Jazz. He’s a smart kid from a good home that chose his college based on academics as well as potential(dad was a Colonel in the Army).
Good to see the Hawks pick up another forward. You can never have too many.
Heh. They should package up a bunch (include the wildly overrated Marvin Williams in the group) and get a draft pick. Just be done with it.
Picking Conley wasn’t prudent, though. I think they chose wisely.
The Hawks need to settle their ownership battle before they can do anything.
Now they are exercising their veto powers just to spite each other.
They could have had Amare Stoudamire for the #3 and #11 and turned it down.
That’s prudent. Amare, I believe, needs a point guard to get him the ball.
Besides, what would Phoenix have done with two extra first round picks? Sold them for cash and continued to piss on their fan base?
The difference between Phoenix and Atlanta is a lot smaller than people believe. The difference IS that point guard; Steve Nash.
That and a new coach. The Hawks have a load of raw talent, in my opinion. They just need the right point guard and the right coach to bring it all together.
I agree, actually. I was just being snide. Conley may surprise me, but I don’t think he would have been the answer at PG for the Hawks. I think the Hawks got the best player available to them.
Very true. I’m surprised it’s taking so long for the Court of Appeals to address the dispute. The Hawks are in limbo until then, trade-wise.
It’s hard to find the right point guard. Hell, when Nash was a free agent, he was 32 (if I remember right) and was fighting back spasms. I knocked the Suns for giving him such a big contract, but his back hasn’t been an issue yet and he’s looked amazing.
Good point guards, great ones, even, are pretty rare. Jason Kidd, Steve Nash…and…that’s pretty much it. There are a slew of second-tier point guards, even some on their way up, Kidd and Nash are the top two and it’s not even close after that. If the Hawks could clone a Nash, well, then we’d see a lot more fun in Atlanta.
They’re built to win now anyway. Draft picks aren’t really what they need.
I have to give the Blazers credit, by the way: they completely remade their team last night. They added Oden, Fernandez, McRoberts, Green, and Frye, dealt Randolph, Jones and Dickau… basically, they’re ready to start growing if they finally make the Darius Miles-for-a-half-eaten-sandwich-and-an-empty-beer-can trade.
As their Wikipedia entry notes, “They will pwn your face off and are a shoo-in for the title in 4-5 years.” Or maybe not. 
Agreed. But in the absence of a stellar point guard, a new coach would help. The Hawks have all these gifted young athletes, and Woodson has them playing a walk-it-up halfcourt game suited to geezers.
You mean draft picks aren’t what they’ve needed the past 3 or 4 years? They had Luol Deng, Nate Robertson, and a few others that I can’t remember including Rudy Fernandez this year. Hell, they had two first round picks last year. You’re telling me that they couldn’t have taken players with international contracts and let them play for 1 to 3 years before bringing them over? The Suns have Atlanta’s 2008 first round pick (remember Joe Johnson and the two first rounders he netted?) The Suns got lucky last year with Boris Diaw coming from nowhere to fill in for the injured Stoudemire. Nobody saw that coming.
To keep going on with the picks, because I’m actually looking up who they would have drafted/received:
In 2004: Phoenix trade Luol Deng to the Bulls for Jackson Vroman, a future first-rounder, and cash.
In 2005: Phoenix traded Nate Robertson and Quentin Richardson for Kurt Thomas and Dijon Thompson (who ironically plays for the Hawks now)
In 2006: Phoenix trades a future first-round pick from Boston for Brian Grant, the rights to Rajon Rondo and cash, as well as trading the rights to Sergio Rodriguez to Portland for cash.
So Phoenix could have Luol Deng on the roster, Nate Robertson, Quentin Richardson (who led the league in 3 pointers that year), Rajon Rondo, and Sergio Rodriguez. Instead, they keep flipping first round picks for cash and more picks that get flipped. They’ve been spinning their wheels for a few years and rebuilding because of Steve Nash and pure, stupid luck.
Turning them into Phoenix-East doesn’t do anything if they simply don’t have a point guard that can run it. That’ll lead to gobs of turnovers with people trying to lob alley-oop passes left and right and craploads of ill-advised passing.
That’s a little different from what I said, but when you put it in perspective they have definitely passed up the chance to be a better team. Other than Deng, I wasn’t that familiar with their draft history.
Nate Robinson was chosen for the Knicks, in my opinion- they probably would have taken someone else if a trade wasn’t coming.
I agree. Jarrett Jack, Johan Petro, and David Lee were all available for the Suns to pick instead of Mr. Robinson.
(Isaiah had quite the boner for him that year.)
I would like to see the Hawks pick up Chris Duhon via trade (if their fractured ownership can figure out how to make a deal). Duhon seems to be available, and he is capable of running a fast offense.
I’d start him over Ben Gordon. Gordon isn’t what you need, given the way your coach runs your talent. Chris Paul would be perfect, but he’s not going anywhere. Tony Parker, same thing…and…same thing.
I don’t see Duhon going anywhere. Whatever team that’d deal for him would have to certainly woo the crap out of the Bulls. You don’t want to be giving up next year’s first rounder for him, do you?
The Hawks already gave up next year’s first rounder. (Part of the Joe Johnson trade, IIRC.)
The Bulls are looking to move Duhon. He’s in the last year of his contract, and besides, has apparently developed a reputation for late-night partying (to the consternation of his coach).
I think the Hawks might have a forward or two to spare in trade. Unfortunately, it sounds like the Bulls are looking for low post scoring. Hawks can’t offer much help there.
I think it’s definitely time for Gordon and Nocioni to move on. Gordon is at his peak trade value, and they really should use that to bring in a post scorer or future a future high first rounder. Nocioni has been declining for a while now and take minutes that should be given to the youngsters in the lineup. Ty Thomas and Joakim Noah make him more than a little superfluous. His RFA status should mean the Bulls let him go if any other team shows any serious interest at all.
We should keep Duhon in the short term to replace Gordon in the starting lineup and to allow JamesOn Curry time to acclimate and develop. Ideally by mid-season Curry will have established himself as a starter. Another reason I like this scenario is that it gives Duhon a chance to boost his trade value by performing well in the starting role. With luck we’ll have been able to stockpile some serious assets from those two players when, in my opinion, their perceived value far outweighs their actual value.
I want to see a rotation that features Thabo Sefolosha, Kirk Hinrich, Luol Deng, Ty Thomas and Ben Wallace. JamesOn Curry and Noah acting as spark plugs off the bench.