Atlanta Hawks: Hawks select John Jenkins and Mike Scott in draft
The Hawks selected Vanderbilt sharpshooter John Jenkins and Virginia forward Mike Scott in the draft.
Jenkins was projected to go later in the draft than No. 23 but Larry Drew said the Hawks didn’t think he’d even make it to them.
“When Boston made the No. 22 selection, there was a lot of happiness in the room that John would be there,” Drew said.
That presumably means the Hawks weren’t waiting on Syracuse center Fab Melo. It definitely means they preferred Jenkins, 21, to prospects that might have more potential to improve such as Tony Wroten and Perry Jones.
At first glance, that doesn’t seem to fit with Danny Ferry’s focus on long-term development. But Drew said Jenkins has room to improve while providing an NBA skill now.
“He is a guy that has potential to get into rotational lineup,” Drew said. “But being a young kid, he’s a guy that can grow and provide some youth for us. He is a kid that wants to be the best. We have to think about not just the present but the future”
No doubt Jenkins was an elite shooter at Vandy.
“I like people that can shoot and he can definitely do that,” Ferry said. “He plays hard, hes’ a competitive kid, really tries to play the right way. When he’s on the court he will make shots and make it almost make it a four-on-five games because you can’t leave him. He’s got decent length for his size. We were encouraged he was there when we were picking.”
At Vanderbilt Jenkins wasn’t much of a passer, didn’t get to the free-throw line and didn’t rebound. All of those things will be much more difficult to do in the NBA.
There’s also a question of whether Jenkins is athletic enough to be an effective defender.
“He cares, and if we have a good system where he can play five-man defense, I think he will be a good job,” Ferry said. “He will play smart. I think he will compete every play. Again, you will have to go around to the other and and chase him around. He’s a dangerous weapon.”
Scott is an undersized, over-aged (24 next month) power forward who was awarded a fifth year at Virginia because of a medical hardship. He was a decent rebounder who increased his scoring efficiency during his time at Virginia as he developed a jump shot.
Ferry said Scott is strictly a power forward.
“He’s got the strength to be able to play the four position,” he said. “He’s got the strength. He’s a good 16-foot pick-and-pop player that can also finish around the basket and rebound. I think he’s got a chance to be a good player. He’s going to have to come in and compete both ends of the floor, do what coach Drew wants him to do.”
Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat
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270 comments Add your comment
Steve
June 29th, 2012
2:34 am
resign ivan johnson
craig
June 29th, 2012
2:50 am
I like the pick of John Jenkins he can come in and play the 2 guard move Joe to the 3 spot and have Josh and Al Horford playing the 4 and 5 positions. They will have a team that can run the floor and spread the floor. Open up opportunities for our shooters and cutters operate.
And for all of y’all that insist on the Hawks to get rid of Josh Smith and/or Joe Johnson who do you think would be better than them. Josh is one of the best defensive players in the league, he can create his own shot, and is a great passer. Why do you think do many teams want him from the grizzlies and the lakers. Let’s just hope that we can keep this beast.
Rusty
June 29th, 2012
2:51 am
Resign Ivan. Fire that idiot of a coach.
Hawks Blog Legend Worldwide Clyde
June 29th, 2012
2:52 am
BIG IVAN FOR PRESIDENT
“#Hawks GM Danny Ferry says no decision on qualifying offer for F Ivan Johnson. Deadline is Sat.”
NO DECISION? BIG IVAN DID MORE FOR THIS TEAM LAST YEAR THAN MARVIN WILL EVER DO. HAWKS ATUCK ON STUPID.
Barton
June 29th, 2012
2:56 am
Jenkins.. maybe a Ginobli?
craig
June 29th, 2012
2:57 am
Marvin is a bust but he is a solid role player and good defender. We do need to resign Ivan Johnson though
Barton
June 29th, 2012
3:00 am
@ Craig – anyone would be better than Joe Johnson. Truly, that man seriously impedes the chemistry of the team because he complains about not getting the ball enough, forcing his teammates to defer to him, and then chokes or dribbles away possessions when he does get the ball. If we could unload that contract the Hawks would be at a huge advantage.
I back up my assertion with the play of the Hawks last year (and J-Smoove) when Johnson went down in the third quarter of the season for a couple of games and the Hawks didn’t skip a beat. In fact, Smoove stepped up his game and started becoming the dominant, focal point of the team. Moreover, Teague attacked the basket more and Pachulia even saw his role and stats increase. Joe Johnson is a cancer to both the chemistry and efficiency of this team.
MaxxHawk
June 29th, 2012
3:03 am
Swingman901- Chuuuuuuch!
vava74
June 29th, 2012
3:13 am
Now get Henry Sims and Scott Machado.
Machado is bound to be a quality backup PG in the league and all C’s coming from Georgetown deserve a careful look since they can pass, play team ball, set picks, score on the pick n roll, …
And don’t over look Kevin Jones too.
Chuck Hayes is an effective ball player. There is no reason for us not to look at all cheap but decent options available.
If you (Ferry) are serious about player development, you cannot let these guys out on the street without taking a look at them.
craig
June 29th, 2012
3:16 am
I believe Josh is the best player on the Hawks team and the offense should be ran through Josh and Al. Joe should be the top outside option for the hawks but he should be the third scoring option for the hawks behind Josh and Al
DaVonte Hughes
June 29th, 2012
3:18 am
resign ivan johnson
Jae Evolution
June 29th, 2012
3:33 am
I would give an offer to UFA Chauncey Billups come Free Agency, prior to the injury he was doing good things in LA. Could also be an extremely important mentor to John Jenkins.
Also a main person we should target is Omer Asik, Bulls can’t afford him and we could march out…
Teague/Joe/Josh/Horford/Asik
northcyde
June 29th, 2012
4:23 am
LMAO @ the blog flipping out when Jenkins was picked. That was funny. Typical overreaction.
Good pick by the Hawks, if they plan to keep this team as is. While I would’ve preferred the more defensive minded Jeff Taylor, I have no problem with bringing in John Jenkins.
So people are upset that we drafted a shooter/scorer, despite offense being a problem during the playoffs? Drew’s system is predicated on people who can shoot the basketball. Jenkins can shoot the basketball. So this was an ideal pick for them, in their eyes.
I have told you guys for about 4 weeks now, that this was a “fool’s gold” draft. It’s maybe only about 3 – 5 star quality players in this draft. The rest will simply be role players ( some developing into good role players ) or straight busts.
We were picking #23 folks. It’s not like there was a superstar waiting for us to take him at that spot. Hawks got a dude who they felt that could help them right away in Jenkins. And Mike Scott is simply Ivan’s long lost 3rd cousin.
Teague – ( Free Agent PG ) –
Johnson – Jenkins – ( Free agent combo guard )
Marvin – ( Free Agent F )
Smith – Ivan – Scott
Horford – Zaza – ( Free Agent C )
JeannieB in VA
June 29th, 2012
4:28 am
Congratulations on grabbing Mike Scott! Hawks fans are going to fall in love with him, just as all of Wahoo nation did. He deserved to be ACC player of the year — everybody knew it — and only lost out because North Carolina sportswriters dominate the voting. Mike has the heart of a lion, a wicked sense of humor, and is one of the nicest, coolest guys out there. Hope he likes Atlanta, and Atlanta appreciates what a find he is.
vava74
June 29th, 2012
4:30 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ok8bXyISyH8
Scott has a sweeeeet touch.
He is not hitting those practice drill shots only because there is no opposition, he hits them because his mechanics are solid, he squares his shoulders perfectly, even on non-catch and shoot situations and because his release point and elevation are also consistent every time.
He is wide chested and could be a valuable NBA player if he is able to play solid team defense.
His overall form, foot work and ball control look substantially better already than Marvin’s whose fundamentals apart from his “catch and shoot” shooting motion are simply horrible.
vava74
June 29th, 2012
4:46 am
And on Jenkins:
Anytime that a guy shoots .430 from 3 point range while SHOOTING 8 THREE POINTERS per game, you have a NBA ready skill in your hands.
He has longer wingspan than Redick (who is a decent NBA player), so he could be more effective on the defensive end, also better vertical and stronger.
If we get with the #23 pick a guy who can come into games and knock down open shots and has enough skill to pull up off the dribble (as his highlights seem to indicate), I don’t think we should be worried at all.
WBuckATC
June 29th, 2012
5:04 am
I was hoping the Hawks would find a Center wiht some potentil in the second round to develop. I see where Sims and Stutz went undrafted. Would not be a bad idea for the Hawks to look at these two as undrafted free agents and an invite to camp to see what they have. Dampier and Collins are not too impressive as 3rd string Centers and thier age is up there.
mothers concerned
June 29th, 2012
5:12 am
SAME OLD HAWKS SCARED TO CHANGE ;0
vava74
June 29th, 2012
5:13 am
Northcyde:
Picking up where you left it:
Teague – Pargo – Machado
Johnson – Jenkins – Pargo (undersized but can be used as off guard offensive support)
Marvin – Ivan (can defend SFs and can bully them as a reserve on offense – his shooting touch is underrated)
Smith – Ivan – Scott
Horford – Zaza – Collins (if D. Howard remains in our conference we need him)
My preferred move would be to ditch Marvin altogether to shake up a bit things.
Any expiring contract and a second round would do it for me.
vava74
June 29th, 2012
5:14 am
Add to the list a couple of projects or specialists (wing defender).
hawk haterbecauseof ownership
June 29th, 2012
5:17 am
I brlievein danny ferry 3 to 5 yrss under. Danny ferry and this tesm will contend for title get phil jackson we win in 3yrs pay out money you scug owners
Marcus
June 29th, 2012
5:26 am
man …. right now I am somewhat shell-shocked that we skipped some talent who filled need areas (PG, SF, C) during both our picks. PJIII, Wroten, and others still on the board when Jenkins was snagged, Machado (PG, Iona), and H. Mills (C, G’town) still on the board.
terrell
June 29th, 2012
5:42 am
“Provide some youth for us”. Drew must think he’s the long term coach here. lol. At least we took a guy who CAN shoot, and not one who THINKS he can shoot. Like MOST our current players. Look at it this way, we either got Ray Allen, or JJ Reddick. Hope its Ray.
brigadierjerry
June 29th, 2012
5:56 am
Lots of good undrafted rookies such as Machado, Tu Halloway. A lot of them got undrafted in favor or European players for stash and dash for a few years. Hopefully Hawks invite some of them to a Summer League invite. Looking forward to watching those games now.
A-Ville Ranger
June 29th, 2012
6:20 am
I like Jenkins a lot, just not for The Hawks. He should have gone to a team like OKC where he could be their Steve Kerr and just supply them with a one dimentional component to their already complete team. I would have been happy taking a Vandy player at 23…Taylor that is.
Jenkins might be the best pure shooter to come along in years though, so it’s not a wasted pick. Scott could turn out to be a real steal. PFs who can score as efficiently as he did this past year are always in short supply. He is also a pretty good rebounder.
St. Bernard
June 29th, 2012
6:24 am
I think this was a Larry Drew draft.
SuckerFree
June 29th, 2012
6:32 am
IF Perry Jones III wasn’t available than there’s nothing wrong with this pick….HOWEVER Perry Jones III slid and fell into our laps
Larry Screw and Danny I’m about to be on a Ferry out of town screwed this up in a collossal way.
hawks_4_life
June 29th, 2012
6:38 am
DAM BLOG MONSTER
hawks_4_life
June 29th, 2012
6:41 am
This is a solid draft, not spectacular by any means. Get a couple chips in place, trade someone here, amnesty another there. Pick a superstar in the lottery and in two to three years a totally different team.
Just Joe
June 29th, 2012
6:48 am
Jenkins success or failure will fall on his work ethic (see Ray Allen) and the teams’ ability to set screens for him and deliver the ball on time.
Most shooters in the NBA quit working once they’ve run all over the court trying to free themselves off of a lazy screen just to see the PG watching them while pounding the ball against the court. KG and Pierce set great screens and Rondo usually delivers the ball on time. Teague could see his assists go up.
terrell
June 29th, 2012
6:49 am
Can Mike Scott play sf?? Hope so. Like everything I’ve read and seen from him.
Just Joe
June 29th, 2012
6:53 am
David Lighty playing with Hawks summer league team. Good pick up.
hawks_4_life
June 29th, 2012
6:55 am
I know everyone is for Perry Jones but he slipped for a reason and don’t get me wrong I’m pulling for all these young guys to make something of themselves but can the Hawks really take that risk? I think a few solid moves like our picks then go for the all or nothing player.
tony
June 29th, 2012
7:00 am
John Jenkins and Mike Scott are:
1) Fundamentally Sound
2) Smart Scorers
3) Mature
4) Fearless
I give this draft a B+
Samuel
June 29th, 2012
7:00 am
You can’t keep putting a product out on the floor, who can’t compete with the likes of Miami and Boston. Hopefully you can trade Josh Smith and bring in Gasol or another big man who can play the center position.
vava74
June 29th, 2012
7:05 am
terrell,
from his workout video, he seems to possess good mobility, so probably he can be a “Power SF”.
yes, you got it, another tweener
vava74
June 29th, 2012
7:08 am
Samuel
June 29th, 2012
7:00 am
There were several reasons why we did not win the BOS series:
1. Injuries (Zaza, Josh, Horford);
2. Coaching disparity;
3. Refereeing.
These are simple facts.
We need better coaching and a bit more luck with injuries.
hawks_4_life
June 29th, 2012
7:21 am
Samuel, that is true but you also need solid players on the bench. Picking that late in the draft you rarely find a superstar. I think there are more moves to come, remember new gm a few days from the draft you really can’t expect much. Ferry did try to trade for the 12th pick but it didn’t work out. The fact that he is exploring options is already better than stand-pat Sund.
Ray
June 29th, 2012
7:25 am
Okay so after my reaction from last night.
I still say John Jenkins could have been had in round 2.
IF we picking Guards why not Marquis Teague you’d have legit insurance in case Jeff goes down his brother just as quick.
beone
June 29th, 2012
7:25 am
Jenkins – smart / will compete every play / play within a “system” – I like what I hear. Will no longer tolerate hero ball. We’re on the correct path whether you guys like it or not.
Astro Joe
June 29th, 2012
7:28 am
Best available player does NOT mean player with the most upside. by definition, players with the most reward also have a low floor (risk). The Hawks are still waiting for Dion Glover to develop his talents.
We don’t have a lethal perimeter shooter on the squad. Not one. And that is a required skill to make a deep playoff run. We filled an important skill gap in the draft. Teams that endlessly search in storage rooms for the wow factor usually end up woth a ton of old, dirty mattresses.
Meanwhile, Scott sounds like David West, Jr. Polished offensive player with enough strength to hold his own under the glass.
There is nothing wrong with creating a culture of “come prepared to work, earn your money, earn your playing time and work”. That should be how a player develops themselves, with a sense of urgency shared across the team. Heaven knows, this team needs some sense of urgency and a “get it done” mindset.
dmr
June 29th, 2012
7:29 am
If you watched SEC basketball, John Jenkins will have no doubt popped up on your radar once or twice. I don’t have a problem with this pick at all. Great shooter with potential. Knee injuries that are serious? Anyone seen Greg Oden lately? Hawks cannot gamble! The Thunder can.
O'Brien
June 29th, 2012
7:29 am
Ken S,
Drafting a pick and pop SG that’s perfect for the motion OFF means JJ will be out of here sooner rather than later..
1) What motion offense?
2) It doesn’t matter who we draft, because the fact still remains we owe JJ 4 years, $89 mil. Nobody wants that contract.
KevinM,
I’m accepting of any picks that weren’t PFs….maybe the Billy Knight era is finally over!.
I hate to burst your bubble, but did you miss MC’s comment?
Ferry said Scott is strictly a power forward..
And that’s why I don’t understand the Scott pick. Al can play minutes at backup PF, so can Marvin. And we can still resign Ivan. Why draft another PF?
I don’t mind the Jenkins pick. My one concern is we are already a team that takes too many jumpers, so what do we do? Bring in a jump shooter.
Astro Joe
June 29th, 2012
7:33 am
I do wonder if at some point last night, Ferry looked at Sund, Pendergraft and Levinson and said (or thought), “if you idiots had not traded the other 2nd round pick, we could have chosen Festus at 23, and used those 2 other picks to move up the draft board to get either Jenkins or Lamb, but since you sold it off on eBay, we’re going to have to grab a shooter now”.
Hopefully, Henry Sims, Hollis Thompson and/or Machado will end up on the Summer League team since we have so many roster spots to fill.
hawks_4_life
June 29th, 2012
7:38 am
Astro Joe well said, I think it was a solid draft especially where we were slated to pick.
Pick and Miss
June 29th, 2012
7:41 am
Can we send Danny Ferry back to SA??? What is the deal with all these GM’s? Do they get beat by the stupid stick when they get hired by the Hawks?? Wasnt the approach for this draft going to be “best player available?” We only have 6 players signed and you are saying this is the best player available? Im done supporting these perennial losers!!! We found out that Drew is not a very competent coach during the playoffs and obviously he is not good at evaluating talent either. Room to grow?? He was one of the oldest players in the draft and he does one thing well – shooting. Im done with these losers and the ownership.
northcyde
June 29th, 2012
7:43 am
And Just Joe, speaking of Summer League . . . that will be the proving ground for our picks. When people see how they perform in that environment, that will ease the anxiety a bit. And the Hawks are kind of big on some of the summer league invitees like Lighty and Jeremy Hazell. They may be one of the young guys that they eventually bring into the October preseason camp.
And Vava hit it on the head with Jenkins. When you shoot that high of a percentage from 3 point range, while taking 8 threes a game, that is a legit outside shooter from 21+ feet in the making. That is not a “fake” 3 point shooter. He has a shot to come right into the NBA and shoot 40%+ from 3 point range, like Klay Thompson of Golden St did this year.
Just Joe
June 29th, 2012
7:44 am
I think the Scott pick means Ivan is out. I think Ferry is letting LD set his roster, and I’m not sure LD ever got over his episode with Ivan. You now see that Ferry won’t commit to extending the qualifying offer to Ivan, which is a change from what MC was saying when Sund was still calling the shots.
Having Ivan and Scott seems a little repetitive. It’s almost the same as the Hawks bringing back Willie Green now that they have Jenkins.
Jesse
June 29th, 2012
7:46 am
It’s the San Antonio in Ferry. Safe, smart and well rounded players. I think Scott will make the roster as a 2nd round pick, which is rare. I also think having Jenkins to hit 2 or 3 three pointers a game is going to make a difference. Will Jones III turn into a star? Maybe. Will Jenkins hit threes, yes.
Just Joe
June 29th, 2012
7:52 am
Hawks need a good summer league PG to make sure the ball gets spread around properly. Not sure what guys fit the description. Finding a guy that can handle the ball and defend would be ideal.