LIVE DRAFT BLOG: Hawks have a few hours to wait (UPDATE: Hawks expected to get Jordan Crawford in trade)
Derrick Favors gets a few interviews out of the way before heading to . . . New Jersey?
(UPDATE: 9:45 p.m. The Hawks drafted Texas forward Damion James with the 24th pick in the draft. But they are going to complete a trade with the New Jersey Nets for the 27th pick, Jordan Crawford of Xavier, and the 31st pick. Getting a Crawford is huge for the Hawks because he gives them bench scoring. He had a great NCAA tournament and he’s also the player who dunked on LeBron James in a summer camp last year. I’ll be posting a new column soon.)
Welcome to generally the scariest day in Atlanta Hawks’ history, and we speak of course of . . . the . . . draft! (Cue organ music . . . thunder clap . . . loud shrieks from the top of the stair case.)
OK, OK. Actually, things have gotten better in recent years with the drafts of Al Horford, Josh Smith, to a lesser degree Josh Childress, and potentially Jeff Teague. But the ugly history, which includes No. 1 picks like Shelden Williams, Cal Bowdler, Roshown McLeod, Ed Gray and Priest Lauderdale — and the non-drafting of Chris Paul — is tough to overcome.
I’ll be blogging live through the draft, so if you have any questions throw them at me. In the mean time, here are a few items of interest:
♦ Sorry, no Chris Paul (we think): Despite rumors flying of his possible availability — which were given an extra kick when he said he was open to a deal – New Orleans owner George Shinn released a statement, saying: “”We are about building and sustaining a winning tradition. Chris Paul is the cornerstone of our franchise and brings us unequaled support on and off the court. We will continue to build around Chris Paul, and we want to see him in a Hornets uniform for the remainder of his career.”
It’s worth noting that the words, “We will not trade Chris Paul,” aren’t in the statement. New Orleans Times-Picayune’s John DeShazier has a terrific column summarizing this sensitive topic with the Hornets. And yeah, I’m still wondering how a Josh Smith-for-Paul swap could re-shape the Hawks.
♦ Our projected top 5 picks: 1.) Washington: John Wall, PG, Kentucky. 2.) Philadelphia: Evan Turner, SG, Ohio State. 3.) New Jersey: Derrick Favors, PF, Georgia Tech; 4) Minnesota: Wesley Johnson, SF, Syracuse. 5. Sacramento: DeMarcus Cousins, C-PF, Kentucky.
♦ Six names for the Hawks: It’s almost impossible to project the Hawks’ pick because they draft 24th and they don’t seem focused on one specific position. But here are a few names to look at: Xavier shooting guard Jordan Crawford, Florida State center Solomon Alabi, Marshall center Hassan Whiteside, France power forward Kevin Seraphin, Kentucky point guard Eric Bledsoe, South Florida shooting guard Dominique Jones.
♦ There are reports out of Greece that Josh Childress may sign an offer sheet with the Washington Wizards, which would set up a sign-and-trade scenario with the Hawks. But that report hasn’t been confirmed and general manager Rick Sund won’t be available for comment until after the Hawks pick.
♦ Your free agency fix: Former Tech star Chris Bosh stated the obvious: That LeBron James will be the first domino to fall in this free agency class: “Am I waiting on LeBron? Pretty much. I think everyone has to. I have to as well. … He’s a great player and I would be crazy to think that all the teams that are considering him, they would talk to somebody else first. I think everybody is going to be going at him first.”
That’s it for now. Check back later.
♦
Follow me on Twitter @JeffSchultzAJC and Facebook.com/JeffSchultzAJC
♦
Last five posts on instant replay (no charge)
♦ Dudley gives Thrashers needed jolt in short amount of time
♦ Fredi Gonzalez fired — and Braves should hire him now
♦ Michael Turner finally admitting the obvious: He was fat
♦ Hawks can’t afford to slide back (and why not Chris Paul?)
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561 comments Add your comment
Boycott Hawks
June 24th, 2010
11:26 pm
Whopper Dawg,
Jeff disappered after that drafting of the German then delling his right to OKC. He has not made any comments since then. He probable has given up on the Spirit Group like everyone else.
Ryan
June 24th, 2010
11:26 pm
No, you didn’t have it right since that trade was already planned when they made the pick. He was never going to be in Atlanta in the first place.
mm
June 24th, 2010
11:26 pm
i wanted jerome jordan, but he’s gone to bucks.
ok folks, alabi aside, give me the center we should target in rd. 2? i’m not saying he’s olajuwon; i’m just looking for r2 value.
Gwinnett Fred
June 24th, 2010
11:26 pm
Maybe OK City will swap 51 for 53 if we give them back a few hundred and still take Alabi if Dallas doesn’t
Gwinnett Fred
June 24th, 2010
11:26 pm
OH WELL – SCREW THAT IDEA
haha
June 24th, 2010
11:27 pm
alabi just got drafted hahaha
Freshmaker
June 24th, 2010
11:27 pm
I just saw Jeff he is at the Arbys on North Druid Hills
ignition
June 24th, 2010
11:28 pm
Staley Robinson is still on the board??
Brett
June 24th, 2010
11:28 pm
damn mavs
DawgBoi
June 24th, 2010
11:28 pm
Who of you truly have a problem with the way in which the Hawks went about drafting the player that both you and I wanted and getting another club to pay us cash as well for essentially nothing? Zoebek is still available..
BrittishAnger
June 24th, 2010
11:28 pm
He would be, wouldn’t he…
Ryan
June 24th, 2010
11:28 pm
“Not a great rebounder”
“Not a physical player”
“Needs to be more productive on the glass”
Is that what you want?
Whopper Dawg
June 24th, 2010
11:29 pm
Ryan,
Lighten up.
Freshmaker
June 24th, 2010
11:30 pm
Ryan try as you might you will not get through to these people. He is 7ft tall therefore he can guard Howard with ease and that is all they care about.
J.J.M.
June 24th, 2010
11:30 pm
Ryan go take a nap
Gwinnett Fred
June 24th, 2010
11:30 pm
FREDDIE MERCURY RULES!!!!!
Ryan
June 24th, 2010
11:30 pm
Lighten up? With the people acting liek not taking the guy who slipped to 49 at 31 is the first sign of Armageddon?
Dawg Fan in Grayson
June 24th, 2010
11:30 pm
Alabi is gone ….. He could have saved the franchise. Seriously he is better than Morris
haha
June 24th, 2010
11:30 pm
do the hawks have scouts? i never hear anything about them?
Jim
June 24th, 2010
11:30 pm
No Ryan, there is no help in this draft out of a big man, hopefully, something will come thru free agency. I just don’t see us getting better with what we have done, I see us taking a step back.
BrittishAnger
June 24th, 2010
11:30 pm
Maybe we’ll use the cash to pay for Solomon’s rights and switch with Dallas…that would be creative and well executed if done…
mm
June 24th, 2010
11:30 pm
ryan: the part i heard was “thought he’d go in the first round.” alabi’s what, 19?
watch: they’ll take zoubek (koncak 2.0).
JV
June 24th, 2010
11:31 pm
The seven footer obsession here is peculiar. Y’all have put me in mind of Troy Hitchcock.
Ryan
June 24th, 2010
11:31 pm
JJM: Scintillating argument there.
Manny
June 24th, 2010
11:31 pm
There are plenty of 7-footers still in this draft. You got that Zoubek kid out of Duke who’s 7-1. You got that Serbian center who’s 7-1. Plus, there’s some big-bodied 6-11s still there, too.
Alabi looks destined to be a Hawk, though.
Sawyer
June 24th, 2010
11:31 pm
Chad Ford just said concerns about Alabi physical is why he fell so far
Joe's place Joe speaking
June 24th, 2010
11:31 pm
What about harangody?
N.D.T.K.A.
June 24th, 2010
11:31 pm
Here you go:
Derrick Caracter could be a second-round steal. He’s always been a nice offensive player in the post but further impressed last season as part of an excellent UTEP defense. Size (both vertical and horizontal), conditioning, and effort are legitimate concerns but his skill level compares favorably to other second-round options.
It’s only a slight exaggeration to claim (as I frequently do) that Duke won the National Championship because Mike Krzyzewski finally came to terms with Brian Zoubek’s limitations and left him on the court to produce rather than wasting precious post minutes on the limited and unproductive likes of Lance Thomas and David McClure. As an NBA prospect, Zoubek’s upside is a better-rebounding Aaron Gray or Nazr Mohammed (the later years) but he should find employment as a situational backup center.
J.J.M.
June 24th, 2010
11:31 pm
smh so instead of having 3 players from this draft we have to settle for just 2 assuming that we actually draft a player with our 54th pick
Ryan
June 24th, 2010
11:32 pm
Apparently quite a few NBA teams disagreed with the guy thinking he would go in the first round, of which the hawks were just one. . .
Manny
June 24th, 2010
11:33 pm
So Dallas took him. Good Night.
mark wilson
June 24th, 2010
11:33 pm
the atlanta spirit has been drinking too many spirits….
Brett
June 24th, 2010
11:33 pm
just another year of crappy front court play
DawgBoi
June 24th, 2010
11:34 pm
Grayson – Alabi could have saved the franchise? wtfaysood?
Ryan
June 24th, 2010
11:34 pm
I swear, this is just like the Falcons boards with Wide receivers .
Jeff Schultz
June 24th, 2010
11:35 pm
Sorry folks — couldn’t finish the draft column until the league rubber-stamped the Hawks’ trade with New Jersey, but it’s posted now.
http://blogs.ajc.com/jeff-schultz-blog/2010/06/24/its-a-rare-hawks-draft-highlight-jordan-crawford-falls-to-them/
J.J.M.
June 24th, 2010
11:35 pm
wtfffffffffffffffffffffffff
Brett
June 24th, 2010
11:35 pm
great a france guy
Manny
June 24th, 2010
11:35 pm
Pape Sy?
soldierman
June 24th, 2010
11:35 pm
surpirse surprise surprise another freaking forward! hahahaha wow
Charlotte Hawk
June 24th, 2010
11:35 pm
Popcorn
Charlotte Hawk
June 24th, 2010
11:36 pm
pop music
Humanhighlightreel
June 24th, 2010
11:36 pm
Pape Sy, 53, WooooWeeeee
haha
June 24th, 2010
11:36 pm
hahahahahahahaha
Charlotte Hawk
June 24th, 2010
11:36 pm
pappa smurf
ignition
June 24th, 2010
11:36 pm
Gani should have stayed and got his degree and improved his game, cause it needed work..
Solomon should have as well cause his game is pure TRASH, he’s a def DLeague’r…
Chillz rights are gonna be traded, probably get a big then, we still got Morris, Za Za, Smith, & Colons.
Colons can ride Morris will get more play…
Manny
June 24th, 2010
11:36 pm
I think that the Hawks will trade for a center before the night’s through. If not, good luck on the season.
Dawg Fan in Grayson
June 24th, 2010
11:36 pm
Pape Sy?? Now that is funny…get rid of the 2nd round
Brett
June 24th, 2010
11:36 pm
so we got two european projects and a SG who scores……
where did we get better?
Ryan
June 24th, 2010
11:37 pm
If a seven footer has fallen this far, they have some serious problems and I would rather we didn’t take them.