KB21

My prediction for the first five on the All-Rookie team:

Randy Foye -- He's going to make an immediate impact as a combo guard for the Timberwolves. Foye will very likely be their starting point guard and will slide over to the shooting guard position at times. He will initially make his money defensively, but he's going to be a very productive player.

Brandon Roy -- Roy is going to the Trailblazers, and he will immediately become one of their top scoring options. He gives the Blazers a seasoned guy who knows how to play the game. He should start alongside Jarret Jack in the back court, and while he won't have much help around him, he should have a productive rookie season.

Ronnie Brewer -- Utah may have one of the best defensive back courts in the NBA with Deron Williams and Ronnie Brewer now. This is a good fit for him, and I thought he should have gone much higher. Orlando will regret not taking him at 11. Brewer will be very productive in the long run alongside Deron Williams and may make a run at the rookie of the year award.

Adam Morrison -- Morrison is going to do one thing, and that is score. He won't have much of an effect in other aspects of the game, but he's a guy that will get his shot off and score. I'd look for him to average 17-18 points per game right off the bat. In the long run, he will be a one trick pony, but he will make an immediate impact.

Shelden Williams -- Shelden will make an immediate impact in the league as well. I think he will come close to being the type of player that Emeka Okafor was as a rookie in 2004. He will rebound and block shots. He could be a double double guy as a rookie and will be in the mix for the rookie of the year award.

melo4life

well i aint a hawks fan but i think sheldon williams will be a great player for u guys, he will help u guys out heaps

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master8492

Yeah... If he's going to start from day one, but with Woodson in command I'm having second thoughts.

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SE Division GM Draft

PG: Steve Nash/Rajon Rondo
SG: Raja Bell/Damon Jones
SF: Andre Iguodala/Donta Smith
PF: Darko Milicic/Paul Millsap
C: Alonzo Mourning/Nazr Mohammed

o.iatlhawksfan

I think the people that say we mess up on this draft don't watch hawks basketball Shelden is a perfect fit for us he won't get in the way of the offense, he give you alot of putbacks and most importantly he will do what he does best and thats own the pain, thats why they call him the LANDLORD. Are second round pick was alright if Soloman Jones can do what Esteban did for us but with better defense than i'm satisfied with him, but i can see him spending some time in the d-league to develop his offensive game. The only problem i had was that we a a legit chance of getting a for good P.G for a cheap price, look what Portland had to give up to get Sergio.

tdizzle

Well I certainly wasn't surprised by the Shelden Williams pick as it had been widely rumored for some time.

I was, however, a little surprised the Hawks didn't address the point guard need in the second round and instead went with another big man in South Florida's Solomon Jones. Maybe Atlanta can sign a guard like Memphis' Darius Washington or Northeastern's Juan Jose Barea as a rookie free agent.

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o.iatlhawksfan

Soloman wasn't a bad of pick look at his measurements
Chad Ford's Analysis: Jones is an athletic big man who can run the floor, block shots and rebound. But he's very, very raw. I'm surprised they passed on Alexander Johnson here.

Draft Projection: Second round to undrafted

Notes: MVP of the Portsmouth Invitational.

Wingspan: 7-4 3/4

Standing reach: 9-1

Maximum vertical jump: 39 inches
if he adds some weigh he could be really good.

KB21

I think the reason they didn't address the point guard position with their second round pick is because they simply didn't want to put yet another back up point guard on the team. Having three back up point guards isn't the answer to anything, and once Jordan Farmar went off the board to the Lakers, I think that was the last of the point guards that will start early in their career in this draft.

It's much better for the Hawks to pursue a free agent point guard or pursue a veteran point guard via a trade. All the talking heads on 790 were pushing for Atlanta to draft a point guard with the 5th pick, but the two players they were talking about were not pure point guards. Brandon Roy is a pure shooting guard that has some point guard skills, and Randy Foye will end up being a good point guard in the NBA, but had they made either move, they wouldn't have been able to get the big man they wanted. There are very few big men in the NBA that can rebound and defend like Shelden Williams, and their teams aren't going to get rid of them. People like to talk about possibly getting Nene. Why pay him $8 million plus a year for the next five years for what will amount to 12 points and 6 rebounds per game when you can get possibly double double production from Shelden Williams for a quarter of the salary?

The possibility of getting a veteran point guard that is worth his salt is much more likely. In free agency, Sam Cassell could be brought in as a bridge to whoever we get down the road. We could look at Speedy Claxton. We could look at Maurice Williams, Chris Duhon, or Jamaal Tinsley as trade options. The fact is, there are more veteran point guard options that are available than there are veteran big man options.

o.iatlhawksfan

Rajon Rondo or Delonte West is still a possibility, remember when they were talking about that three way deal between Philly and Boston, Atlanta could very well be the 3rd team with harrington, he's no diffrent than Carlos Boozer or Drew Gooden.

KB21

As long as we aren't taking back any bad contracts in the deal. I still have my doubts that Rondo will ever become a good enough of a shooter.

o.iatlhawksfan

hey ya'll the b**** Chad Ford gave us a grade.

ATLANTA HAWKS
Round 1: Shelden Williams, PF, Duke (No. 5)
Round 2: Solomon Jones, C, South Florida (No. 33)



Analysis: The good news is that the Hawks ended up with a solid player. Shelden Williams will be a decent NBA rebounder and shot-blocker.


The bad news? The Hawks drafted 5th and, in my opinion, ended up with a player who didn't belong in the top 10 or, perhaps, top 15.

Williams is a poor man's Antonio Davis. Several players on the board, most notably Brandon Roy and Randy Foye, fit a need and will be better NBA players than Williams. In deciding on Williams, I think the Hawks jumped to a conclusion too early.

If they don't make major changes in the offseason, they'll be back in the high lottery next year. And if the pick isn't in the top three, it goes to Phoenix.

Grade: C

tdizzle

Other draft grades...

• CNNSI.com's Marty Burns gave the Hawks a B-

• FOXSports.com's Mike Kahn gave the Hawks a B

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KB21

I honestly can't understand the comparison to Antonio Davis. Sure, Shelden and Antonio have similar body types, but there were nothing a like coming out of college. Their similarity grades would be very low based on their college production. Antonio was a career 10 PPG and 7 RPG player at UTEP.

Personaly, I think a better comparison is Emeka Okafor. Emeka and Shelden are almost the same size, same strength, same skill set, almost the same athleticism, same wingspan, and they put up almost identical numbers at the college level. Another similarity is that over the past four years, Emeka Okafor and Shelden Williams are the only players to win the defensive player of the year awards in college basketball.

osman

Looks like everyone was OK with the Williams pick last year. In hindsight, it seemed like the right pick, no one knew Roy would turn out how he did. I think he can still be decent PF/C averaging 8ppg, 7rpg, 1.5bpg, next season.

He was heralded as the next Okafor, how could the Hawks have not drafted him? Looks like he will end up as the next Antonio Davis as predicted by some.

ATLien