# 2012 Draft Discussion



## BlakeJesus

This was spurred by my curiosity about the idea of drafting Austin Rivers, supposing he's on the board, but I'll open to up as a general thread. Seems to be a deep draft, so we might actually have a chance of adding a solid rotation player if we do it right.

Austin would most certainly come off the bench, but he gives us that Jamal Crawford dynamic again. He can play PG and SG for us, and though the backcourt would be pretty small at some points (Teague/Rivers) but he could fit a need while also giving us a young talent with star potential late in the draft. I'm sure this could look silly the close we get to the draft and people are very impressed by Rivers, but the thought sparked my interest.


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## ATLien

I want Anthony Davis


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## BlakeJesus

:gay:


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## ATLien

I'd rather be the Bobcats


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## Blue

Rivers won't get past Boston.


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## 29380

Blue said:


> Rivers won't get past Boston.


Do you really think anyone would want to coach their own kids in a team sport on a professional level?


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## BlakeJesus

Didn't Dunleavy Sr. coach Dunleavey Jr. at one point?

Anyways, I don't think Boston would let that happen. Awkward situation with huge potential to blow up in your face, not really a Celtic type of move.


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## BlakeJesus

Part of me wishes we were terrible this year, adding a mid lotto pick with a healthy Horford would have been great.


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## Dre

Doc Rivers is a good coach. Austin Rivers is coachable, and will obviously listen to his father...I don't understand what the problem would be. I think people are just saying "do you know how ridiculous that would be" just to say it. 

IMO it doesn't happen though I think he'll be taken before the Celtics pick. The storybook selection never happens


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## o.iatlhawksfan

We need to add either a SF or a pure C or PF. I would love to package our first and Marvin to move a up in the draft.


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## BlakeJesus

Any way Harrison Barnes falls to us? Might be another Marvin Williams clone, but it's a chance worth taking at that 20 range.

I would be really happy if Meyers Leonard fell in our laps, I feel like he could really solve a lot of problems for us.


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## Dre

The 20s? No chance in hell


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## Blue




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## BlakeJesus

Why is Scott Machado mocked to fall until half way through the 2nd? Dude averaged 10 assists in college...in college! That's crazy to me.

I think he would be great, low usage PG who's still going to give you 10 a night with good range and a solid free throw stroke, great assist to turnover ratio, should be able to nab a steal every night, and seems to have a knack for grabbing rebounds for a PG. I would love to be able to snag him in the 2nd, but I would have no issues with selecting him in the 1st round either.


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## BlakeJesus

DraftExpress has Rivers going 16 and Meyers Leonard going 15, so it seems like those two both might be pipe dreams unless something goes awry.

I don't think I would mind landing Fab Melo, he would give us something we've been missing for a long time. Having him allows us to let Horford play probably 10 minutes a night at PF, and I would probably say that Smith/Melo and Horford/Melo are both really good big men duo's to have on the floor. 

I also still think it's silly that Scott Machado is projected to be the 17th pick of the 2nd round. If we were somehow able to snatch him up with out 13th pick in the 2nd round, I would be ecstatic. I'd be happy to have him in the 1st round, honestly.


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## Porn Player

I have a feeling FRSL has influenced you.


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## BlakeJesus

Nah, the dude has been top 2 in assists for two straight years in college. He's not Rajon Rondo or anything, but he can ball. Hawks have always been missing a pass first point guard who can make things easier for everybody else, we've always had an abundance of scorers but no consistent way to get good looks. We aren't going to beat the Heat or the Bulls doing iso's all game, Machado is a great transition passer and can hit a three point shot. Would be perfect, especially if we nabbed him in the 2nd.


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## StudentOvDaGame

I am all for picking up a true PG. I have a couple questions about Machado but overall if he falls to the second round I wouldn't mind selecting him. His defense is one thing its hard to gauge considering the style of play Iona was known for. That being said he's shown he has great court vision. As you said he's shown he has the ability to hit from behind the arc. Not extremely athletic or anything but I would at least like to know the Hawks looked into him. Because as you said running iso's an entire playoff series is not a winning formula so having a PG with the ability to help others get good looks would be an improvement. 

Regardless to who we end up drafting with that pick in the second round I hope we work on the PG issue in some way this off season. Sadly this draft doesn't have much depth at the PG spot.


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## BlakeJesus

Machado has his flaws for sure, but sometimes people get too caught up in players flaws and they let it overshadow the benefits said player can give you. If we land Machado in the 2nd round, it would be incredible value. He'd be a great compliment to Teague as they are basically good at opposite things.

If we can come out with Fab Melo or Meyers Leonard in the 1st, and Machado in the 2nd I'd say it was a damn near flawless draft considering where we were picking.

Which in all likelihood means we're going to draft two wings who do the same things and play the same position :laugh:


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## Porn Player

Machado screams Europe. The flaws he has are the ones you can not have in the NBA. He will probably lead the league in assists over in Germany or something.


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## BlakeJesus

Disagree with that, but hey...that's why they play the game. I hope he goes to a team that's a good fit for him, weather or not that's Atlanta.


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## Porn Player

This will be bumped in a couple years. 

Everybody harps on about 'pass first PGs', when in reality the NBA game doesn't suit it particularly. Rubio aside, the rest suck, and they suck for the reasons Machado will suck.


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## Diable

I'd really have to hate a guy before I'd call him a Bundesliga stud. There were guys in that league who were mediocre college players 15 years ago.


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## Porn Player

Jared Jordan is my minds comparison.


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## BlakeJesus

Porn Player said:


> This will be bumped in a couple years.
> 
> Everybody harps on about 'pass first PGs', when in reality the NBA game doesn't suit it particularly. Rubio aside, the rest suck, and they suck for the reasons Machado will suck.


Guys with great courtvision who thrive in transition don't usually cut it in the NBA? What NBA are you watching?


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## Porn Player

Eh? I said pass first PG's like Machado don't cut it. My prime example is Scott Machado. Just wait.


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## BlakeJesus

Machado isn't the type to dribble out an entire shotclock trying to create a passing lane for teammates, Iona plays an uptempo style. He runs and makes fantastic transition passes, that's sounds like a valuable commodity in the NBA.


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## Porn Player

Who gives what sounds like a valuable commodity, for real. Wait 6 months and it will still sound like a valuable commodity, while Machado will sound like an American in Europe.


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## BlakeJesus

:jr:


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## BlakeJesus

As of right now DraftExpress has us taking Evan Fournier, a 6'7" international wing prospect who can't shoot the three. Not my cup of tea personally, but he'd probably be an upgrade on Marvin.

Is there any chance Draymond Green can play SF in the NBA? Not sure he's a great fit for our team, but his versatility as a basketball player could be useful immediately off the bench.


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## Blue

If your looking for a wing, y'all should take that kid out of St. Johns


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## BlakeJesus

Could be good value late, I think we either need to grab a long term project who could develop into a top 3-5 player on the team, or go for guys who we can plug in to the rotation immediately.


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## BlakeJesus

Lot of buzz about us taking Tony Wroten if he's available. DraftExpress says he's a 19 year old 6'5" PG/SG and his best case comparison is Tyreke Evans. People say that it's great value and could potentially be a steal because he would go way earlier if he came out in 2013 instead.

Haven't seen the kid play at all (though I will make a point to check out some highlight tape in the near future), but he sounds like the direction I would want the Hawks to go. Not neccessarily his skillset, but a high potential kid that may end up having way more value than you'd normally find at 21. We need to either hit on a rotation caliber big man or gamble on some high ceiling wing player (PG-SF).


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## ATLien

I don't pay much attention to those best case / worst case comparisons on draft sites. If they were accurate, there would be a lot more superstars and good players than there exist in reality.

I want to see a new starting SF, though. Or move Johnson to SF, and see a new starting SG. It's kind of funny now I want to see us draft a wing player.


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## BlakeJesus

:laugh:

I thought it was funny too that I wanted us to nab a SF/SG or PG/SG type, just feels wrong to root for that sort of thing. I suppose that's how Lions fans will feel when it's time to draft another WR in the first round.

Nah I feel you about the comps, players are generally very different even if they do similar things, but I literally haven't seen him play any basketball so it's nice to at least have a feel for what "type" of player the kid is.


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## ATLien

Denver/Memphis have me thinking how good this team would be if they were coached and played smart basketball.

I heard today that both the Hawks HC & GM are undecided if they'll be brought back. I just don't know if you can fix Josh & Joe after they've been in the league for 7+ years together. Actually have a post I want to make on this, but I'll wait until a decision is made on Drew/Sund.


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## BlakeJesus

I would thoroughly enjoy a philosophy change for our team. I do think the Hawks have some serious talent, and if they can nab a 10 minute a night guy via the draft as well as throw the MLE at somebody they could be a serious team.


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## ATLien

Oops, both Memphis and L.A. got bounced. So much for trying to be like them.


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## Dre

LA who


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## BlakeJesus

I think he meant Denver.


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## Dre

Joe Johnson might be the best closer on either Denver or Memphis and Josh Smith might be the best player :kanyeshrug:


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## RollWithEm

The Hawks just need to add Nash.


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## BlakeJesus

Adding Nash would be pretty awesome.

DraftExpress has Meyers Leonard getting picked 21st to Boston, I would really love for this kid to fall to us at 23.


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## RollWithEm

I have come back to this thread to reiterate that Steve Nash would make the Hawks the FAVORITES in the Eastern Conference. The Heat would not want to play that team.


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## BlakeJesus

If we added Nash and Meyers Leonard or Fab Melo I would agree that we'd probably be a top 2 team, not sure we could topple the Heat but Josh Smith is probably the best equip player in the league to slow down LeBron.


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## 29380

*Would you trade Josh Smith for the #7 pick?*


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## BlakeJesus

No way. Jared Sullinger < Josh Smith in a big way.


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## ATLien

Rather have the #7 than Garnett's expiring, though.


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## ATLien

Bump

I'm going to be very disappointed if we don't do anything tonight and Josh and/or Joe is still a Hawk.


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## BlakeJesus

I won't be disappointed, but at this point I think something should happen.


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## ATLien

http://www.peachtreehoops.com/2012/...radley-beal-sought-after-by-atlanta#storyjump



> San Antonio, which doesn't pick until No. 59 in the second round, as well as Atlanta, which does have a first-round pick at No. 23, also made a number of calls to Donovan and Florida in the hope that each team could move up to land Beal.
> 
> But the source said the teams told Donovan it would have to be the "parting of the red sea," to pull off a move to get up to the top of three in the draft.
> 
> "They gave (Donovan) the impression that they were trying to move up to get Brad," said the source.


It sounds too good to be true. What would Charlotte want in return? NBA experts say Beal could be a smaller version of D-Wade.


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## ATLien

> #CelticsTalk: #NBA source says any deal involving #Hawks Josh Smith would most likely include sign-and-trade w/Brandon Bass.


I'm all for shipping Josh out of town, but come on.

:hano:


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## BlakeJesus

John Jenkins and Mike Scott, little underwhelmed with that. I would have rather seen us take Tony Wroten or Perry Jones, I feel like Jones might have been a phenomenal value/fit for our team (in a Josh Smith-less world).

Jenkins gives us a great shooter off the bench, and who knows...maybe he ends up taking over the starting SG role and Joe slides over to SF (aka don't have to start Marvin Williams anymore). Who knows, Jenkins is a pretty nice fit in terms of our team/needs, I just question if the value was right at 23.

We could have taken Perry Jones at 23 and then snatched up our shooter in the 2nd round (Kim English, Lamb, maybe even Jenkins).


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## ATLien

I absolutely did not want Perry Jones. Wroten sounded good from what the ESPN heads were saying, but I haven't actually seen him play. I don't have a problem with Jenkins that late in the draft. I'd rather have a sharp shooter than a raw athlete (Jones). I'm just disappointed we didn't trade Josh Smith.


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## BlakeJesus

Perry Jones would have been a fantastic value for us, we could use a homerun.


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## Porn Player

Scott Machado. Undrafted.


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## BlakeJesus

:laugh:

Noticed that, might end up being the best thing for him. Gives him the freedom to go where he's most comfortable.


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