Atlanta Hawks: Don’t Expect Immediate Help From Draft
Kevin Seraphin is one of the project centers who might be available to the Hawks in the draft.
Hawks assistant GM Dave Pendergraft watched dozens of college prospects throughout the season. When it ended, he was “excited” about the possibilities for the team’s No. 24 overall draft pick, figuring the Hawks would have several good prospects to choose from during the June 24 draft.
But then Pendergraft scrutinized Synergy Sports video and data, evaluated prospects’ workouts and interviews and took note of their physical measurements.
“Now, as things start to dwindle down, I’m really not so sure about that,” Pendergraft said today.
Pendergraft was fresh back from pre-draft workouts for 42 less-heralded prospects in Minneapolis this week. Of those players, Pendergraft said “a handful” were first-round material. With the Hawks picking near the bottom of the first round, those workouts plus the 23 prospects they plan to bring in between now and the draft are more important than the Chicago camp for top prospects (which have become less useful, anyway, with most players opting not to work out).
Pendergraft ranks the top five prospects, in order, as Kentucky’s John Wall, Ohio State’s Evan Turner, Kentucky’s DeMarcus Cousins, Georgia Tech’s Derrick Favors and Syracuse’s Wesley Johnson. He said one or two of those players will face a steep learning curve but that all should be good players by the end of the season.
After those five, he said the draft becomes “very, very hard to predict” but he thinks teams can find rotation players as low as No. 20 in the order, depending on their needs. “If that player is a worker, by the All-Star break they will be giving you some minutes,” he said.
The talent drops off after those top 15 or 20. So unless the Hawks move up in the order, Pendergraft doesn’t expect this draft to be deep enough for the Hawks to find a player who’s ready to contribute now.
“I think we will get a piece,” he said. “I don’t think we will necessarily get a rotational piece. We can get a player who after some seasoning can stay in the NBA for a while, that can make a career out of it. If we can keep our roster intact I don’t see a lot of playing time. It will be a situation where we take advantage of our D-League affiliate.”
The Hawks have rarely used the D-League: Othello Hunter and Thomas Gardner played a couple games there in 2008-09 but that’s the only time in four years the Hawks sent their young players down to get burn.
Because of the low expectations for the 24th pick, Pendergraft said Joe Johnson’s future has no bearing on the Hawks’ draft preparations. They aren’t going to draft a wing player who can come in and play, anyway, so if Johnson leaves they’ll need to find a veteran to fill that role.
The Hawks were in the market for a shooter at the trade deadline and later had interest in signing free agent center Zydrunas Ilgauskas. Now they’d like to find a shooter or big man in the draft.
Word out of Chicago and Minneapolis was that the center group’s measurements were disappointing as a whole. “I think that happens every year,” Pendergraft said. “They never measure as tall as you want them to measure.”
At least one mock draft predicts the Hawks will select center Kevin Seraphin, who measured 6-9 without shoes and has a 7-3 wingspan.
“Unfortunately, the big bodies that fall to us will be more in the project range,” Pendergraft said. “You have to look at NBA free agents [at center] and say they probably are a better way to go. But if we are going to pick a skill, a need, we need one more shooter.”
Is this draft deep with shooters?
“No,” Pendergraft said. “That’s the [freakin'] problem. There are bunch of guards but not a lot of shooters. There are some good players but they can’t make shots. And the better shooters can’t play a lick of defense.”
The next important evaluation period for the Hawks is another pre-draft camp in New Jersey June 9-11. The Hawks will start bringing in prospects for workouts on Jan. 13 and continue to do so up until June 22.
“Coming into this thing I thought there would be maybe six or seven guys there at [No. 24],” Pendergraft said. “Now that’s shrunk a little bit to maybe three or four. But you never know. The good thing is it’s not going to make or break us because we’ve got good players coming back.”
MC
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326 comments Add your comment
Astro Joe
May 28th, 2010
9:32 pm
Wow, this one os like a buffet for blog fodder… where oh where do I begin?
If the Hawks brass believe that an NBDL type player may be as good as the #24 selection, then wouldn’t you trade the pick? 1st round picks is a guaranteed contract (expense), makes more per year than an NBDL type and you may be able to get $2M+ for selling the pick. If I were cynical, I’d say that the sudden “lack of depth” may point to the selling off of the pick.
#2. What changed from their early forecast to what they are now seeing? Surely the combine and these workouts aren’t as valuable as watching these guys play in a game situation. Just seems odd that their judgement changed after watching guys run drills.
#3. After those five, he said the draft becomes “very, very hard to predict” but he thinks teams can find rotation players as low as No. 20 in the order, depending on their needs. “If that player is a worker, by the All-Star break they will be giving you some minutes,” he said.
Two things with that quote. No mention of the coaching staff “coaching up” the player… he seems to put the responsibility on the player “if he is a worker”. Secondly, we chose Teague in that range last year, would he have suggested the same for last year’s draft? Did he consider Teague a “worker” pre-draft? What were his thoughts after viewing Teague for a year in practice?
#4. Word out of Chicago and Minneapolis was that the center group’s measurements were disappointing as a whole. “I think that happens every year,” Pendergraft said. “They never measure as tall as you want them to measure.”
So if they are all relatively shorter than desired, then doesn’t that suggest that the league bigs are getting smaller? And if so, draft one of them because relative to their contemporaries, they won’t be overmatched. Duh! There seems to be a good collection of 6′10/6′11 guys in this draft… those 1-2 inches render those guys useless? Give me a break.
Overall, it feels like we may want to delete draftexpress and nbadraft.net from our favorites list. Unless we want to see which Euro we will draft in the 2nd round.
Blast
May 28th, 2010
9:36 pm
Van Gundy asking Jameel Nelson on the bench: “Can you guard this guy? Can you check Nate Freaking Robinson??????????? And if you can’t guard him, can you at least match his freaking offensive output???????????”
Celts are gonna run away with this one. Orlando might come back but it will not be enough.
JeJe
May 28th, 2010
9:37 pm
Great post Astro Joe
Pendergraph is just saying filler because he is a moron like the rest of the Hawks staff and knows nothing about basketball.
BTW, he is from Seattle where he had such a prosperous scouting career. Let’s see: He must have been the one who scouted Petro, Sene, and Swift!
And I am pretty sure Sund’s career accomplishment as GM is trading for Ray Allen.
LOL
northcyde
May 28th, 2010
9:37 pm
Maybe the Hawks need to throw a 3 year – 14 million deal at Nate Robinson, especially if we can get rid of Bibby somehow.
He’s the type of player that Atlanta fans like, even if he does have major deficiencies in his game. Let him and Crawford play that run and gun style that everyone in ATL seems to love.
Ken Strickland
May 28th, 2010
9:38 pm
NUNNA YO BIZNEZZ-I had forgotten about Othello Hunter and Thomas Gardner. They would most likely be able to provide more immediate help to the team than anyone available to us when we pick. Gardner was a good shooter, and had range, but he didn’t get a chance to do much of anything. Of course, that was the story with all of our rookies and young FA’s under Woodson, except JSmith, AHorford and MWilliams.
Hopefully, our new HC will have the patience, commitment and open mindedness to get production and value out of our younger players. We need to get away from the inconsistency faulty thinking we saw from Woodson and some of his admirers. They made Teague’s jump shot and inexperience an issue, and used that as an excuse for not wanting to see him play more. Yet, there were no complaints, and those excuses were ignored in the case of Mario West, an extremely one dimensional player that didn’t have a jump shot, nor did he possess good ball handling or passing skills.
drmaryb
May 28th, 2010
9:40 pm
SUND
Instead of firing people? Why don’t you fire yourself for NOT getting the Hawks a PG at the trade deadline?
How does Nate Robinson end up in Boston when they already have Rondo & after he
Dropped like 40 something points on your Hawks in the same 1st half of the year?
Nate is now on a 1 year deal in Boston. You could have sent Marvin to NY for Nate straight UP!
You BIG DUMMIE! You did NOTHING at the deadline & your team had needs.
Now, I ain’t saying Nate’s a GOLD – DIGGER cause he got Needs….Now you got work to do – so roll up yor sleeves. I ain’t saying Nate’s a GOLD – DIGGER but …..You ain’t dealing with a broke .. broke … broke JIGGA.
(Oh wait…you are broke!). Dang!
-Kanye West- in da house!
LOL!
drmaryb
May 28th, 2010
9:43 pm
Rondo set the TONE!
Nate rocking the BELLS!
I LOVE THIS GAME!
Blast
May 28th, 2010
9:47 pm
Nate was discontented all year for not getting any playing time with D’Antony. Nate was in his doghouse all season and looking for a trade. After he beat down on Hawks I wondered why Mike was not playing him. Something like Crawford in Golden State. Boston was just smart enough as usual to take advantage. Hawks never even considered him when they were signing Mario West and Joe Smith.
O'Brien
May 28th, 2010
9:50 pm
Co-sign Najeh and Astro,
He clearly put the onus on the player. What about second round picks like Brandon bass, dejaun Blair, Paul milsap, Montana Ellis, Gilbert arenas etc.
What about the guys who the Spurs and jazz always seem to find at the end of the first round? Whatever happened to GMs finding a diamond in the rough? Or a coach coaching up a player?
I know you want to temper expectations, but is this the way you do it? Its almost like a pre-emptive strike, so that if #24 fails, the GM can say “we told you so”.
Also, he talks about free agency, lets see who they sign…
drmaryb
May 28th, 2010
9:50 pm
Vince Carter has NO heart! He’s a regular season Hot-Dog with fillers.
& a play – off SCRUB!
drmaryb
May 28th, 2010
9:55 pm
Blast
For real? Dang! That’s crazy man.
Steven A.
May 28th, 2010
10:12 pm
HEDO TURKOGLU wants out of TORONTO…straight up deal, HORFORD & MARVIN FOR TURK
AND NESTEROVICH?
It would be a great move KNUCKLEHEADS.
Mystikal
May 28th, 2010
10:16 pm
Just want to point out, Mark Jackson (in his commentating) is proving he is not ready to be a head coach. He is still more of a fan and gets too caught up in the action instead of being leader of the pack. If he truly wants to coach one day, he’d be well served to join someones’ staff as an assistant.
4 Jacks
May 28th, 2010
10:17 pm
As long as the sorry ownership is in place don’t expect to be a contender in any sport they own. The ownership is the real problem, it all starts there, and they have shown they will not pay, and are to dumb to be creative enough to put together a true contender.
Blast
May 28th, 2010
10:20 pm
Drmaryb,
For real and for sure!
drmaryb
May 28th, 2010
10:20 pm
Manny T
Great editorial & introspect on that 918 PM editorial. You explained it so that a 3 year old could understand.
What are these so-called GM’s seeing in their decisions made.
My mamma could take $15.00 to the Piggly Wiggly, fill two carts & come home and cook a miracle for 5 days straight! Yet, these cats can’t buy a bag of onions with $64 million dollars!
Go – Figure!
I saw a doc where Ron Artest had a hard time learning the triangle. Kobe explained it to him for 64 games and he finally figured it out.
MJ commented that when Rodman came to the Bulls? The WORM picked it up in one practice (3 HOURS!)
I recall, MJ commenting that Rodman had an EXTRMELY high basketball IQ!
I would like to see a Coach who can come here an teach a SOLID Offensive Scheme .
Defense is all heart & effort – and, that my friend Manny T? Can NOT be taught!
Thanks for your responses!!!!!!!!!!
DMR
May 28th, 2010
10:25 pm
You know what is great about this draft being thin and the Hawks picking 24th? At least when they pick a stiff this time, they’ll have a valid reason.
Blast
May 28th, 2010
10:31 pm
Boston still has Michael Finley, and he is not even playing!
cdog
May 28th, 2010
10:31 pm
i don’t care who they pick, as long as rick sund has something to do with the hawks, they will never get to the championship level.
Mystikal
May 28th, 2010
10:31 pm
DRAFT STEALS
Paul Pierce 10th
Kobe Bryant 13th
Rajon Rondo 21st
Tony Parker 28th
Gilbert Arenas 31st
Carlos Boozer 34th
Manu Ginobli 47th
Great players can be found later than expected in the draft, but it takes the scouting department to get on their job and find those guys. This is a very deep draft and I believe there will be multiple players past 20 and even into the second rd that will be serious players. Sadly, I’m sure none will be drafted by the hawks. Joe Johnson is leaving and we’re installing a new head coach, so next year is going to be a step back regardless. Why not take a chance??
drmaryb
May 28th, 2010
10:34 pm
Tony
721 Post is awesome stuff!
If I may add one item to your grocery list?
A MOTOR! (That’s Heart Man.)
drmaryb
May 28th, 2010
10:37 pm
MELVIN – Parcells @ 551 PM
He wants to buy some groceries, since he has to cook the meal! LOL!
drmaryb
May 28th, 2010
10:39 pm
Celtics -vs- Lakers!
Go Meat! -Hillshire Farms-
drmaryb
May 28th, 2010
10:46 pm
Orlando dug themselves a really big hole @ 3 – 0!
Like BP digging 3500 feet into the Gulf of Mexico & Effin’ up our Ocean!
That’s digging one mile deep in a City (New Orleans) that is already one mile below sea level!
That’s like Roto-Rooter pushing a Snake into a toilet bowl! The only that can come outa that is
Some – S H I T!
Athenzdawg
May 28th, 2010
10:55 pm
MC—-Any word on Garret Siler from training camp last year i thought about him towards the end of the year when i saw how horrible Jason Collins was. Can we resign him? Is he with another team? I’d like to know…I mean we already thought we could do better than him and look what happened.
JeJe
May 28th, 2010
10:57 pm
Just sign Nate and release Bibby. Pay Bibby 6M to not show up – he sucks.
Nate has fire in him and wants to win – he and Craw are the best of friends.
FIRE SUND
UK THOROUGHBRED
May 28th, 2010
11:07 pm
With the Hawks not in the lottery and needing depth they should draft the best player that they feel is left in the draft. True we need a center so Horford can move to the 4. It is a complete waste of a pick to draft a center that is a project.
drmaryb
May 28th, 2010
11:08 pm
BLOG – HOGGING!
Dr.maryb is blog – hooging tonight. I’m dunking on all the fellas in here. Yall, can’t stop me?
You can call me – Lil’ Nate.
But, I really don’t see the Lakers beating the Celtics. What is Gasol gonna do with the Celtics interior heat? The destroyed the DPOY! Besides, Bynum is soft & hurt! He’s always hurt.
And, the Celtics perimeter Defense is gonna shut down KOBE!
Celtics bringing the Trophy back home to the East. Celtics in 6. If it goes to 7?
Lakers win.
Roy
May 28th, 2010
11:10 pm
I can’t believe people are even talking about Lakers vs. Celtics on this blog.
drmaryb
May 28th, 2010
11:15 pm
Roy
Sir, that’s what happens when YOUR team plays like S H I T & get swept in RD 2!
Last time I checked, the Hawks are at home & the Celtics and Lakers are still playing.
What games are YOU watching tonight and tomorrow?
drmaryb
May 28th, 2010
11:18 pm
Aren’t you tired of talking about trades & where will JOE play next year & who will be the next coach & how broke the spirit are?
Melvin
May 28th, 2010
11:19 pm
First Boston beat the T-Mobile Man (D-Wade), 2nd The King (Lebron), now Superman (Dwight), next is Black Mamba (Kobe)…. Let’s Go Celtics b/c I can’t stand the Lakers….lol
victory lap
May 28th, 2010
11:25 pm
If the hawks dont get a center they are just pissing in the wind. Dont expect much. Its time to rebuild. Thanks Mike Woodson. At least we know what its like to win more than 50 games with only a 3 string all nba player. Good job you will be missed!
Some day the hawks will be good again but the people in charge havent got a clue. Now that want a shooter. Give me a break. 3-5 years and we will be back in the lottery pool.
victory lap
May 28th, 2010
11:26 pm
Ditto on the fire sund… he is clueless!
CSD
May 28th, 2010
11:26 pm
Am I the only one that had no clue the Utah Flash was the Hawks D-League affiliate. Of course the Hawks don’t ever have any prospects in the D League that I am aware of.
Robby
May 28th, 2010
11:28 pm
drmaryb
You don’t see the Lakers beating the Celtics? What is the reasoning there? Gasol at 30% > Garnett at this point, and even an injured Bynum is better than Perkins. Two years ago, the Lakers team was only a shell of what it is now and the Celtics were better than they are now, and yet, the Lakers managed to steal 2 games from them in the finals. We are now talking about a Lakers team which is probably twice as good as it was in the past with an improved bench (hell, Odom is better than every starting big man the celtics have and he comes off of the bench).
Plus, Howard didn’t do a very good job against the celtics when he was getting dunks and lobs simply because of the fact that he is really not that great of a 1 vs. 1 offensive player. His post-game is still very raw. The only move he has close to down in the post is the running hook shot, and even that needs work. He has virtually no offense outside of 6 ft. of the basket.
The Lakers frontline on the other hand has guys who are actually pretty skilled offensively. Gasol has a pretty nice post game and a decent jumpshot. Considering he plays powerforward, Garnett would likely be guarding him. What in the world would make you think Garnett even has a chance of stopping him when he couldn’t even stop Dwight from making hookshots? Also, who do the celtics have (in terms of big men) who is quick or versatile enough to guard Lamar Odom?
Also, lets not forget that the Celtics best offensive weapon, and prefers 1 vs. 1 isolation plays with post-ups around the elbow and fading jump shots. He mainly uses his size to get to his spots. The Lakers now have Ron Artest, who would be covering Paul Pierce. That plays perfectly into the hands of the Lakers, considering Kobe won’t have to expend much energy guarding shooters, since he will likely be guarding Rondo.
Now, lets think about what happens when the starters leave the game for Boston and L.A.? Are Nate Robinson and Rasheed Wallace really capable of outplaying Odom and Brown. Brown basically does everything Nate does better than nate does it, and he’s semi-consistent.
I’m not saying it is impossible, but if the Celtics honestly think they are going to take down the Lakers for a second time in the finals, when the Lakers have full-court advantage, they’ve got another thing coming. Aside from the Hawks, the Lakers are probably one of the worst possible match-ups for the Celtics when you consider how versatile, big, and talented the Lakers team is.
I personally was not very excited to see a rematch of the 2008 finals this year, but it’s likely that’s what we will be seeing. At least there is some hope that a guy who really deserves a ring (Artest) will have a good chance at getting one.
victory lap
May 28th, 2010
11:28 pm
are you kidding, josh is a much better 4 than horford(tradeford) will ever be
drmaryb
May 28th, 2010
11:30 pm
Mr. Sund,
If it ain’t Broke? Then Break it – So, you can FIX it!
- I read that qoute 15 years ago, from a HOF college football coach-
I forget his name.
That’s what perennial CHAMPIONS do!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sir, “That’s What They Do!”
drmaryb
May 28th, 2010
11:35 pm
Dang! Orlando!
All that talent Gone – Fishin!
The Hawks Never had a chance! Woody or no Woody! The Hawks are flawed from 1 – 12!
Sund FIX your team! Every position needs to play harder & better!
No one should be untouchable when you lose like we did!!!!!!!!
drmaryb
May 28th, 2010
11:37 pm
It takes 12 to make a thing go right!
It takes 12 to make it outa sight!
I’m tired – Good Night!
B-C-3
May 28th, 2010
11:41 pm
Just out of curiosity, who do you guys feel worse for….Orlando or Cleveland? Maybe you don’t feel bad for either team, and if that is the case, that’s perfectly fine, but if you have an opinion on this, which team do you think took a bigger blow this year after their losses. Personally, I feel worse for the Magic. They made it all the way to the finals last year and pretty much got destroyed by L.A., this year they can’t even make it back after that was their sole goal. Also, the majority of that team has never won a ring before, so it would mean a lot considering they went from a lottery team in the early-mid 2000s to an actual contender.
I don’t really feel as bad for Cleveland since it seems like they tried to buy a championship. Outside of Lebron James, they really didn’t develop any players. Instead they tried to sign as many big names and spend as much as possible to create a contender. If Lebron was not so arrogant, I’d probably feel bad for him, considering no matter how much he does, his team always seems to come up short in the playoffs.
Anyway, that’s just a thought I wanted to share.
drmaryb
May 28th, 2010
11:50 pm
Robby
That was an awesome break down of the match ups for the Lakers -vs- Celtics.
The Lakers will definitely advance past the Suns. Then, is the Pride of the East &
They are just playing so hard right now. I think the team who plays the best defense, will cancel all the offensive plays.
I don’t know man, it will be a very tough series. The Lakers may very well win, but do they play all 12 on the roster. Boston was forced to play their whole team for obvious reasons!
But, I like your breakdown on the match ups. How healthy is Bynum though, he will be the key to the Lakers winning. The x – Factor.
Never, count the Lakers out!
Grandad
May 28th, 2010
11:51 pm
The triangle is the perfect offense for our personel.
We would not have to concern ourselves with whether
or not Al is a [4] or a [5]. Same with Josh & Marv.
Offensively – they would simply play basketball.
I don’t believe Artest had trouble learning the offense.
He may have had trouble committing to it.
The concepts are no more or no less complex
than any offense, with the possible exception
of the “Princeton”, which is so demanding with
it’s precision. However, it’s [triangle] like anything
the more experience one gains with anything
the more adept you become.
The triangle can be made as simple or as
complex as your personel can master.
drmaryb:
yourself and a another friend,
( I can’t remember who – right now)
thanked me for the link;
And while I’m appreciative, I must
give credit where it’s due:
That link originated with *Najeh.
My thanks to him as well.
HawkKingBibby
May 29th, 2010
12:08 am
JORDAN CRAWFORD, JUST PICK HIM FOR GOD SAKE. YOU NEED A SHOOTER OR SCORER HE IS THE MAN.
Rufus1
May 29th, 2010
12:13 am
Kevin Seraphin
I will be happy to have him at #24 6′9″ without shoes, 6′11″ with shoes. 7′3″ wingspan, 258lbs, can finish with either hand, 20 years and very athletic…WE DON’T HAVE PLAYER ON OUR ROSTER WITH THOSE NUMBERS.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lHZveuKK5U
Taller, bigger, longer and more athletic than Horford…measurements and athleticism maybe equal to Derrick Favors(http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Derrick-Favors-1335/)..I Will Take Him.
atlantaFANNoMATTERWHAT
May 29th, 2010
12:34 am
Sam Cassell picked #24, Latrell Sprewell #24, Terry Porter was also found at 24… We can come up with something OR trade JOE JOHNSON and Smitty for LEBRON and get some championships here in ATLANTA.. Oh yeah, Bring AJ here to coach him to a ring! THIS IS ATLANTA COME ON if they can do it in Detroit we surely can win one here! oh yeah…. LAST (sorry I don’t hit f5 on my laptop all morning waiting on a new article to pop up, I WORK)
JeJe
May 29th, 2010
12:36 am
If Orlando had a SG who actually cared (Vince), they’d be in the FInals in 5 over Boston
This is such a lose-lose situation if PHX doesn’t win the series
Boston’s D-Bag crew will win its 2nd ring or we see the rapist Kobe win his 5th, getting 1 closer to MJ and overtaking Shaq
t_height
May 29th, 2010
1:54 am
i still don’t understand why the hawks keep drafting these Euro players and never use them. If they are going to waste a draft pick on them, they need to keep them over here and groom them. Its no different than drafting an american player and grooming him. Send them to the D-league
t_height
May 29th, 2010
2:10 am
What about Hassan Whitefield. he was only a freshman. Standing at 7′0. he can be a beast if he gets the right coach
t_height
May 29th, 2010
2:11 am
I meant to say Whiteside