Bradley’s Buzz: “With the 19th pick, the Hawks take …”
To go big or go small?
The first real wave of NBA mock drafts hit this week, and there’s no consensus regarding the Hawks’ Round 1 selection. Chad Ford of ESPN.com has them taking point guard Jeff Teague of Wake Forest at No. 19. Sean Deveney of Sporting News Today opts for Jonny Flynn, a point guard from Syracuse. Ian Thomsen of SI.com goes with yet another point guard — Eric Maynor of VCU. And NBAdraft.net, which last week had the Hawks taking Teague, has changed its mind and now has them choosing center B.J. Mullens of Ohio State.
For those keeping score, that’s three point guards against one center. In yesterday’s lengthy Q&A with GM Rick Sund, he said: “I pretty much lean, when you’re picking 19th, to take the best player with the most potential.” Of the four, Mullens might well have the most potential. He’s a skinny big man — he’s 7-foot, 275 pounds — with good hands, and he was considered one of the top five prospects for 2009 five months ago. But he had a tepid freshman season at Ohio State, averaging 8.8 points and 4.7 rebounds.
Of the point guards, I don’t much like Teague, but I like Maynor and Flynn very much. If I were drafting at No. 19 and I had the choice of those four, I’d take Maynor. But there’s no guarantee that any of these, particularly Flynn and Maynor, will be around when the Hawks pick.
Sorry, there are no polls available at the moment.On Ford’s overall ranking of prospects, he has Maynor No. 14, Flynn No. 15, Teague No. 18 and Mullens No. 21. And who, just for the heck of it, does Ford rate as the 19th-best prospect? Terrence Williams of Louisville, whom I like a lot. But I don’t know where he’d play. Is he a point forward? A shooting guard? Or just a basketball player? (Not that there’s anything wrong with that.)
What about Gani?
Gani Lawal of Georgia Tech can still remove his name from the 2009 draft, but the guess here is that he won’t. All four mocks have him going in Round 1, if barely: Ford has him at No. 25, Deveney at No. 30, Thomsen at No. 22 and NBAdraft.net at No. 21.
Ford ranks Lawal the 28th-best prospect on the board, and ESPN.com says this in its player file (link requires registration): “Lawal has had the biggest stock swing of anyone in the draft. He started the season as a second rounder, got off to a red hot start and moved all the way into the late lottery and then fell off in ACC play to the point that he slipped back into the second round … He’s probably better off returning to Georgia Tech for his junior season.”
This just in! The Braves got schooled!
Writing about the ascendant Rangers, Tom Verducci of SI.com mentions not one, not two, not three, but all four players the Braves sent to Texas for Mark Teixeira and Ron Mahay in July 2007. (Their names: Elvis Andrus, Neftali Feliz, Matt Harrison, Jarrod Saltalamacchia.) The Rangers are leading their division. The Braves are not. Folks, this one just gets worse and worse.
A little more about Michael Vick
Pretty much everybody has said pretty much everything about the former No. 7 by now — here was my take — and you can read eighty dozen stories about him if you’re so inclined. But I’ll mostly leave that to you and Google. What I will pass along are Peter King’s list on SI.com of five possible NFL homes for Vick and Chris Chase’s similar list on Yahoo! Sports.
Meanwhile, Clark Judge of CBSsports.com believes Vick won’t play in the NFL in 2009 but will suit up in the start-up UFL instead. Me, I’m more inclined to go along with what an unnamed league official told Thomas George of NFL.com: That Vick won’t be on an NFL roster at the start of the season but will before the end.
One thing more: Writing for Yahoo! Sports, Kevin Sullivan — once the White House communications director under George W. Bush — outlines a four-point PR plan for Vick. His bullet points: Be genuine, be humble, be accountable and be generous. And I’m thinking: This is genius public relations? I could write that stuff!
Ladies and gentlemen, I am hereby contemplating a new career in an exciting field where you say nothing new and get paid big bucks for it. (Oh, wait. I do that already. Never mind.)
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130 comments Add your comment
Sund's Assistant
May 21st, 2009
5:06 pm
I’m torn between whether we go for a PG or a C. Bibby is getting older, and his age will catch up with him soon. If we were able to get an explosive PG who could run the floor well, it would be a great fit for the Hawks. He doesn’t necessarily have to be a lights out shooter, because Joe can do that and Flip can come off the bench and put up 10 points or so in a matter of minutes, which he did a number of times this season. Going out and finding a quality PG now could be the smart choice, especially since Bibby’s gas is almost out.
On the flip side (no pun intended), we could really do with a big man. Horford is trying his hardest, but its clear that he would rather be at the PF position. If we can find a decent big man at our pick, then that would be another smart route. Find a good C, and have Bibby, Joe, Josh, and Horford at the other positions.
I think the only players we should consider putting on the trading block are Marvin and Childress (I think we get him back this year… that is if he wants to return to the NBA). I love the trade someone suggested earlier: 19th pick, Marvin, Childress to Toronto for 9th pick and Bosh. That would take care of our lack of a C, and we could get a great PG at the 9th pick. That would be our dream situation.
mountain_jim
May 21st, 2009
5:11 pm
good point about picking Acie over Critt. At least we did not pick Mike Conley Jr so many wanted over Horford at 3. Still don’t know if Acie was a bad pick or if Woody ruined him. Have to trade him to find out I guess.
O'brien
May 21st, 2009
5:12 pm
We still have Acie Law and Speedy Claxton under contract. If we resign Flip, and resign Bibby, and draft a PG, we will have 5 PG’s on our roster. If Sund resigns Flip, and decides to draft a PG, I hope he makes some moves to get rid of Speedy and Acie.
I am in favor of signing Ramon Sessions from the Bucks (he made less than $800k last year), or signing Jarret Jack (he made a little over $2 mil last year). At least those guys have some experience, and I dont know how much PT a rookie PG would get under Woody.
I think we can use the 19th pick as part of a trade (especially if Chills doesnt want to play for Woody), that gives us 2 potential chips, combined with Speedy’s expiring salary ($5.5 million I think). The Hawks have options this offseason.
gene garbage
May 21st, 2009
5:39 pm
DANG!!! just saw where Peavy is going to the white sox!! i would’ve given up our entire outfield,flyball frenchy, strike-out schafer, and always aching anderson for him. heck, i would’ve even thrown in kj and half of our bullpen…check that, MOST of our bullpen..awe what the hell, ALL of our bullpen for him..
they’re all proven commodities aren’t they? at least the bravos think so.
gene garbage
May 21st, 2009
5:45 pm
and as far as the hawks are concernd, just as long as we DONT take another 6-6 – 6-8 forward who can jump out of the gym,but do nothing else. we have PLENTY of those guys!!
Evan Foudoulis
May 21st, 2009
6:15 pm
I like Patty Mills at pick 19 for the hawks. He was great at the Olympics coming off the bench and did a pretty good job for St marys. What does everyone else think?
Mike
May 21st, 2009
6:28 pm
I agree that you’ve done a nice job covering the Hawks recently, Mark, as has Sekou.
Let’s assume they are bringing Bibby back, or perhaps some other free agent point guard like Miller or Kidd. By the way, there is zero chance they turn the PG duties over to Flip full time. They like him because he provides a scorer off the bench, and he likes Atlanta because they don’t try to make him a PG. So let’s also assume you are right that they are bringing Flip back. In that case it makes no sense to draft a PG unless they move Acie Law, because there already aren’t enough minutes for the three of them. I like Acie and think he’s ready at least to be a back-up IF he can stay healthy, but I doubt you would get much for him in a trade in a year where a third of the first-round picks will be point guards.
Unfortunately, I also think that Blair and Mullens will be long gone. Big guys always move up as the draft gets closer, and there are very few big guys this year.
IlliniBrave
May 21st, 2009
6:34 pm
Re. the supposedly “lopsidedness” of the Texiera trade, are we supposed to then feel bad for the following teams:
ChiSox – for giving us Vasquez on the cheap
ChiCubs – for allowing us to steal Infante and Ohlman for Ascanio
Angels – for trading us Kotchman so they could rent Tex for 3 months
Tigers – for literally giving away Jurrjens
Mariners – for taking Ramirez off our hands in exchange for Soriano
Pirates – for saving us from LaRoche (thank God!) while giving us Gonzo
All of these trades have worked out strongly in favor of the Braves. In every case the players we gave up are marginal at best. In some cases (Horacio Ramirex, Adam LaRoche) these guys were problems we got rid of. To point to one trade (okay two if you include the Drew-for-Wainright, but remember this also solved the Jason Marquis problem) as evidence of bad management or as a single event that will “haunt the Braves for years” seems terribly shortsighted.
Mark Bradley
May 21st, 2009
6:39 pm
Patty Mills could well fall to the Hawks at No. 19. Played for Australia in the Olympics, played for St. Mary’s but got hurt in the middle of last season. He’s pretty good. Not as good as Lawson or Maynor, but pretty good. I like him more than I do Teague.
As for Ramon Sessions: I don’t see the Hawks pursuing him unless Bibby leaves.
bfred
May 21st, 2009
7:05 pm
Look, the Braves prospects that were included in the trade weren’t pulled out of a hat. They were all at positions where they would be blocked for several years to come. We are on the verge of an embarassment of riches at starting pitcher (Lowe, Jurrjens, Vasquez, Kawakami [TBD], Glavine or Hudson, Hanson and Medlen) with superior players ahead of all of those prospects as summarized in all of the posts above. We had a legitimate shot at the playoffs and Texiera brought the offense we lacked. No organization should pack it in when there’s a chance of post-season play, and the Braves rightfully did not. IlliniBrave lists the GREAT trades we have made recently, and doesn’t include Kochman on the list. I know Tex is a Boras client, but do believe if things had gone as planned we could have signed him for less than a market deal. His 2008 performance with the Braves was surprising even for a slow starter, so it’s hard to fault the front office for not having a crystal ball. This was a gutsy trade by a team that needed a big bat (sound familiar?) and was the right thing to do at the time. We still have one of the deepest farm systems in the majors with a ton of young talent knocking on the door.
The Braves are competitive right now due to their pitching, which is EVERYTHING for a team that wants to succeed in the postseason. We have young guys coming up, and we have bargaining chips for trades. Calm down about Texiera.
Gary
May 21st, 2009
7:30 pm
Still see all of these comments about the Tex trade and still no one can tell me where any of these guys we gave up for Tex would be playing and helping the team as it is right now? Also please tell me if it wasn’t Tex who these players were traded for then who else could we have gotten that we don’t already have? Jake Peavy? Nope the Braves had the deal made, ol Jake didn’t want to come to Atlanta. Maybe a LF or RF….hmmm seems the Braves tried that in the offseason and couldn’t find one available.
In the end we have a very good 1B who will bridge the gap until Freeman is ready.
truth-serum
May 21st, 2009
8:35 pm
TRADE SUND AND MARK BRADLEY FOR TWO 12TH ROUND PICKS. PUT SOME CASH WITH THAT IF YOU HAVE NO TAKERS.
razerGT
May 21st, 2009
9:24 pm
Mark, I always like hearing good things about the Rangers…. but maybe that’s because I’ve lived a large part of my life in Texas.
Najeh Davenpoop
May 21st, 2009
11:53 pm
Mullens, in my opinion, is a bust. He is athletic but doesn’t have the skills or the toughness to be a real contributor in the NBA.
Maynor is a stud, and Flynn has the skills if not the size to be a solid player too. Teague is OK.
I’d still rather see the Hawks take DeJuan Blair if he’s available.
Rob
May 22nd, 2009
2:00 am
It’s a very far out game of what if, but if we had not made the trade for Tex, then we would probably have Jake Peavy playing for the Braves right now. Wasn’t Yunel Escobar the centerpiece of what the Padres wanted?
David Smith
May 22nd, 2009
6:58 am
After seeing Mario Chalmers, Mo Williams, and Delonte West rip us a new one in the playoffs and Tony Parker driving to the lane at will to score 43 points in the regular season,it’s critical for us to draft a point guard now more than ever. I love how Maynor drives the lane with a purpose and, his leadership in leading his team to an improbable victory over Duke in the 2006 NCAA tournament. BJ Mullens size reminds me of Priest Lauderdale (though BJ probably wouldn’t be the public relations nightmare that Preist was). I would rather we either package some players to get a decent veteran center or for woody to work with what he has and give young big men like Soloman Jones and Randolph Morris more playing time (I’m also wondering about David Andersen’s progress in the D league and his chances of being called up).
dap01
May 22nd, 2009
7:33 am
Even hearing the word “extention” mentioned with Woody make me sick! Even thinking about EVERY opposing teams guard having a field day against Bibby next year makes me sick! Even watching the ISO Joe offense show next year makes me sick. Come on Sund! We need a center and an offense. We have a PG tandem, simply use AC.
Mark Bradley
May 22nd, 2009
9:34 am
Bibby can’t guard anybody. That’s a given. But he gives the Hawks a lot on the other end, and he and Joe play well off one another. It’s a plus/minus thing, and I believe the Hawks think the the pluses are winning.
Barry
May 22nd, 2009
10:29 am
Enter your comments here
Barry
May 22nd, 2009
11:01 am
Get a center. We can work with the point guards we have now. All we need is a legitmate center who can be a threat a rebounding, defense, dribbling, passing and shooting. He does not have to be great but better than average. I say that because we have Josh and Hord. They will more than help on the defensive and offensive side of the ball. They are young and energetic and they all can make an impact with a more than average center. From what I hear, the center from Ohio State sounds solid. If there are any other center out there better than him, go for that. If we get lucky and get a point guard better than the ones we already have, go for it. However, if Woody is here, i am very afraid of what he does to talented point guards who were great in college. He has a tendancy to destroy their game and confidence. I can imagine if Chris Paul and Deron Williams came to Atlanta under Woody and his staff. I guarantee you that they would have destroyed their careers and you would not have heard about them. They would be in Wooody’s dog house. Their careers destroyed. They get in his dog house because Woody does not allow his point guards to be creative. he does not know the spirit of a creative point guard who is use to creative within the play, on the court. Bibby has been allowed to flourish because he was a proven NBA point guard. Woody would not dare put him in the dog house. But he can do this with rookie point guards. He does not let them play. He knows nothing about point guards and how they think on the court because he was a forward, a receiver of a point guards pass. If Woody is here get veteran point guards who are proven in the leauge. They are the only one’s who will be allowed to be successful under this coach and his staff.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is a SECRET from a HAWK FAN. TELL EVERYBODY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Billy Bob Bama
May 22nd, 2009
11:04 am
The hawks don’t need someone who can put points on the scoreboard. They have plenty of them. They need someone who can take the ball out of bounds and, before you know it, have it under their opponets basket, dish it off, and BOOM!
Jeff Gibson
May 23rd, 2009
5:20 am
Basically The Right Pick May Be
avid Holston,Eric Maynor, Blake Griffen, or Taylor Hansbrough.
Thabeet and Griffen will be gone but These fine Players may be available, John Blake or Ahmad Nivens.I like these better than freshman 7 Footer.
Also the Atlanta Hawks Might Consider: Stephen Curry, Jermaine Taylor, Lester Hudson, David Holston, Jodie Meeks, Stephen Jackson.
If Atlanta goes with a 7 footer it may need to be by trade with as great of selection after Bogut’s year you may can find one For a reasonable Price in trade with another NBA Trade. I don’t know If roy Hibbert is untouchable, or Hilton,
Keepin it 100
May 23rd, 2009
5:51 pm
TAKE MULLINS GET THE BIG MAN!!! THE HAWKS NEED A CENTER!!!
Hoops
May 23rd, 2009
8:34 pm
If the Hawks want a player from this draft that can help right away they should try to trade up for a higher pick. I don’t think there is that many impact players in this draft to be able to wait on the 19th pick. If Coach Woodson is not going to play Acie Law then we should package him with Speedy and see if we can get a better draft position. I wonder if we could get the 2nd or 3rd pick for Acie and our 19th pick.
The Phenomenal One
May 23rd, 2009
10:27 pm
With the 19th pick the Hawks take Eric Maynor or Ty Lawson. Fingers crossed,
! Please no more forwards!
Truth-serum
May 23rd, 2009
10:31 pm
J-MAN
May 23rd, 2009
1:35 pm
I find it hard to believe that after the playoff and the season clearly demonstrated our inability to defend the post, yet Dumb and Mo dumb are looking for a point guard as top priority. In case Sund or Mo dumb Bradley are reading, defending the post in Basketball is a-kin to defending the goal in soccer or the goal in hockey or football or for that matter most sports… let’s start with fundamentals: to defend the post means to alter shots, block shots, pull down offensive rebounds and force the opposing center to the high post or the perimeter. As in chess center, control is dominating….My bad I’m trying to get Mo dumb attention, I’m sure he doesn’t understand chess.
Horford is a good power forward and can give you minutes at the center post but is not a longstanding match for a true NBA center. For all you Z “the expressway to the bucket is now open” supporters, the man had the starting job as center with the Hawks. He lost it because he can’t man the position. Ill grant him that he is physically a NBA center and he pushes and shoves with the best of them but he can’t Man the position and it seems that he is a continuous turnover. He’s not athletic enough, he can’t shoot or jump or block shots or finish in the paint. Dude. Let it go. He can’t protect the post and he lost his starting Job to a power forward. Just keeping it real. Other teams have their guards run down his throat and he alters 0 shots.
Back to fundamentals, on the offensive end you want to move the opposing center off the low block and open lanes for your slashers like Marvin and Josh and Joe…that way you won’t find Josh deep on the wing because the other teams seven footer is clogging the middle. This normally requires some weight on your center, something Horford does not have. Your center must also finish consistently in the low block something Za”why are you passing me the ball?” Za cannot do and something Horford can’t do against the big men and he must resort to his lane shot, which he makes consistently but he gives ground to do so and slowly the low post for us becomes a high post.. The reason this is imperative, Dumb and Mo Dumb, is that it forces the other team to drop down into the low post to defend and thereby making the range of outside shots shorter distance and higher percentage.
When we are force to a high post it allow defensive rotations to stifle us because it’s easier to get to the high post and rotate back to your man on the wing.
There is a role for Marvin who can go 2 or 3 and can draw the fouls Joe cant. 3 years from now Joe won’t be in Marvin’s league. Joe is good and stills the lead man. He can do it all. Flip has become the heart and soul of this team. Make no mistake about that. There’s room enough for Josh and Horford because they play different roles. Josh plays 3 and 4 Horford plays 4 and 5. They blend very well together and are great options to change the speed dimension. If they had a center like the U-Conn center or even the back up from Chicago Grey, Woody would be competing for the finals. Shaq has 3 strong years left and proved this year he can still take over a game when the shots don’t fall he can and will dominate any center in the post. Shaq is a winner. With Shaq on this squad this is a final four team no doubt. Yeah, he can run and open lanes for the J and A assault team. Camby is still a great pick!! There or lots of true centers available that can finish and defend the post. So stop whining saying there aren’t any. Do your home work.
The bottom line is you won’t get past the second round with Horford as your power forward playing center, and for sure you may not get out of the first round with Z top this turnover Pachulia as the center. He could not defend his job from a power forward how can he against real centers?
Here is the nucleus of the team, J.J. Josh, Marvin, flip and Horford and Woody (just keeping it real). Build around this crew. Get them a center and were in the final four…. with what you have in salary cap room and trade material with Bibby (sign and trade), Za “have you seen this turnover before” Za, Acie law, Solomon, and the GA tech guard you can get a good center another point and money left over.
Woody did his job even though you insulted him with your lack of a contract offer.
Now do your and get him a CENTER!
Skeezix
May 24th, 2009
11:11 am
The trade for Tex was pure folly. I agree, only would have made sense if he was a keeper. JS owns that one. Ranks up there (or down there?) with trading away Dye.
Hms
May 24th, 2009
1:41 pm
Better to take a guard. Get a center who already knows how to play in the NBA, not one who doesn’t even know how to play in college.
Rod
May 26th, 2009
11:31 am
Is it just me, or is anyone else tired of hearing about Vick? The guy made a mistake, he’s no longer gonna be a Falcon, let’s move on to things that regard our team.
About this “horrible” trade the Braves made. I’m not buying it. Yes, Texas got the better end of the deal, but where were these guys gonna play in Atlanta? Escobar has posted better numbers than Andrus, and B Mac is better than Salty. B Mac and Salty have the same # of HR, only 1 RBI difference, and B Mac BA is 75 points higher! Not to mention that both B Mac and Escobar have played in fewer games.
M. Mitchell
May 27th, 2009
8:33 pm
For god’s sake, don’t take Mullens! Why? Two words: Jon Koncak.