The Hawks draft a shooter, and now the real work begins
John Jenkins: From Commodore to Hawk. (AP photo)
It’s an Atlanta tradition, just like lousy weather for the old Peach Bowl was. The NBA draft rolls around, the Hawks make their first pick … and we all say, “Really?”
Yes, there have been exceptions. Namely, Al Horford and … er, Al Horford. But we only have to call the roll of infamy – Keith Edmonson, Dallas Comegys, Roy Marble, Adam Keefe, Priest Lauderdale, Ed Gray, DerMarr Johnson and the Williamses Marvin and Shelden – to feel bad all over again.
Most franchises look on the draft as the quickest way to improve themselves. More often than not, the Hawks’ draft has reminded us why we’ve come to distrust this organization. But this draft, I’m happy to report, had taken on a shiny glow long before Thursday night’s doings commenced. And by that I mean: In the grand scheme, this draft suddenly didn’t seem so important.
The Hawks announced Monday they’d hired Danny Ferry as their general manager. It was such a shrewd move you had to remind yourself that these were the Hawks who’d made it. In a perfect world, a team would like its GM to have more than four days to prepare for the draft, but the Hawks’ world has never been anything close to perfect.
Besides, what was the worst Ferry could do on short notice: Pick some guy from an ACC school named Williams? Been there. Done that. Twice.
Soon Ferry will have to make far bigger decisions that whether to exercise the draft’s 23rd selection on a backup guard or a backup center. (Because that’s usually the best you’ll do at No. 23 – find someone to flesh your bench.) Much more important will be the new GM’s take on the Core Four: Does someone need to go? (Yes, I say.) If so, who? (Start with Marvin Williams. Amnesty him if need be.) And what of Josh Smith?
The Hawks’ most talented player has asked to be traded enough times that the reported requests have run together. The not-exactly-hot rumor before this draft was that the Hawks had shopped him to the Lakers for Pau Gasol. (Who, under the heading of Small World, the Hawks had technically drafted in 2001. But they traded Gasol to Memphis for Shareef Abdur-Rahim.)
At best, this seemed an old rumor. At worst, it was a bad one. It’s hard to imagine a four-days-on-the-job GM trading away his best player. This isn’t to say Ferry won’t choose to trade Smith a month from now, but no basketball man of sound mind moves in such haste.
Instead the Hawks settled for making a fairly safe Round 1 pick: John Jenkins of Vanderbilt. He’s a great shooter, which isn’t the same as being a great player. Given time, Jenkins could become the new Jamal Crawford – an off-the-bench scorer who can change games.
Said Ferry: “He almost makes it a four-on-four game because you can’t leave him … He can space the floor for our core group.”
Nobody should be disappointed by this pick. That said, there was a more tantalizing option available.
Perry Jones III of Baylor is the kind of player – long of limb – that former GM Billy Knight made a habit of taking among the draft’s top 10. To have gotten such a talent at No. 23 would have been a risk worth taking. Does Jones always play to his gifts? Obviously not, or else he’d have been gone in the lottery. (There was also a late report of an unsound knee.) But a team that has Smith and Horford might have nursed Jones for a year or so and used him for cover in case Smith leaves – he’s a free agent at next season’s end – or Horford becomes the Hawk who’s traded.
But that, I should stipulate, is picking nits. There’s not much chance Jenkins will become an All-Star, but he also shouldn’t go the way of Ed Gray. He’s a worthwhile addition. The Hawks are a bit better today than they were yesterday. And now we stand back and watch Danny Ferry go to work and endeavor to make them a lot better soon.
“We’re going to be looking at a lot of things,” Ferry said, “whether it’s a trade or free agency — especially a trade. The roster at the end of the year may look a lot different.”
And that wouldn’t be so bad. This roster, at least at its top end, has looked essentially the same since 2007. This GM will be charged with doing many things, but he must be an agent of change above all.
By Mark Bradley
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195 comments Add your comment
Awes
June 29th, 2012
4:07 am
Jenkins = next Stephen Curry
Awes
June 29th, 2012
4:10 am
@superiorblogman
Ohh stop your bitching. Jenkins hasn’t even played 1 game and your saying this pick is horrible? How could you compare radmanovic to Jenkins?!?!?! SLAP YOURSELF PLEASE!
Awes
June 29th, 2012
4:17 am
@superiorblogman
and mauled by pits? hahaha. Your sitting on a computer blogging on the computer about sports and ferry is making millions of dollars/owns his own team and he will always be better than you.
Awes
June 29th, 2012
4:24 am
@superiorblogman
I could say so many things to bring your sorry ass assumptions down but i have better things to do.
Jordan Crawford is a good player and jenkins is WAY better shooter than crawford. Your acting like Crawford sucks but he is a STARTER.
Go home with your sorry bitch ass
Awes
June 29th, 2012
4:25 am
k im done with that looser
DJ
June 29th, 2012
4:42 am
THUNDER UP BABY!
loyalfan
June 29th, 2012
5:48 am
Dont get own band wagon
AG
June 29th, 2012
6:27 am
Funny, – the media says we are the oldest team in the league.. but really is that the true story? We are not Boston or SA. Damp, Collins, Stackhouse, & TMAC make us look old.
I think I am also tired of a 6′10″ athletic project. Give me a guy who will hurt you from the outside. If KH would have given us more in the Boston series – he played as poorly as Marvin was. I really like the pick.
GTanner
June 29th, 2012
6:51 am
Amnesty Joe Johnson. His value is so far under his salary, it hamstrings all.
Bulldawgman49
June 29th, 2012
6:57 am
Well, The Hawks did good I think any player passed the 12 pick I understand is a project . But with a little hard work this guy will be a force off the bench .
Dawg
June 29th, 2012
7:17 am
Jenkins is the best shooter but getting someone like Jenkins means that we will see more of ISO and domination of the ball until the shot clock is almost gone and we can pass it out to 1 of the 4 guys who are standing still waiting. Boring, boring.
Ferry please help us, The fans of the Hawks have nothing to even base hope on.
Dawg
June 29th, 2012
7:24 am
If Rick Sund had a computer, he would have been able to put the salaries of the Hawks on a spreadsheet and he would have known that signing Joe to that stupid contract would destroy the chances for the Hawks to ever be real competing team.
Hurry up and leave Sund. You signed a player to $20 million more than any other team could have even offered. That is STUPID!
CalBowdler
June 29th, 2012
7:26 am
What’s wrong with taking a potential go-to shooter? Everyone enamored with Perry Jones is overlooking what many are saying about him… that he doesn’t play to his strengths, doesn’t go to the basket enough, doesn’t use his size and athleticism to his own benefit, and takes too many low-percentage jumpers. Who does that sound like? Oh yeah, one JOSH SMITH. I like the pick. And four more teams after us decided to pass on PJIII, when supposedly he’s a top-10 talent. He was the perfect pick for the Thunder. At worst, he gives them energy off the bench and they can hope to develop him over the next few years… and even if he flames out, with that roster it’s no big deal. At best, he becomes a solid backup. But… the risks are greater than the rewards here. We got a steady player who will knock down shots… the fact that PJIII almost fell out of the first round is very, very telling.
Sammy Hagar
June 29th, 2012
7:36 am
Shoulda drafted a center. Hawks have Teague & JJ at guard. Move Horford to PF. Draft a damm center.
frederick jones
June 29th, 2012
7:37 am
Wrong Vandy player. Should have been Festus Ezele. The Hawks need a true center and are not going to win until they get one.
Paddy
June 29th, 2012
7:40 am
The Hawks ticket office employees have just been given the summer off. They now must report back to work after Labor Day!!!!!!!!!!!!!
DePort
June 29th, 2012
7:50 am
I believe we needed a shooter over anything .. to spread the floor out… our “big” guys do a pretty good job at rebounding for being so undersized for their positions.
slydog
June 29th, 2012
7:51 am
Message to all the haters: The HAWKS have been a floundering franchise who currently possesses no leadership in the form of coaching or in the locker room. Adding a head case with a potential knee problem (PJIII) was not the right move. You take the safe pick and HOPE Jenkins can become a good-great shooter off the bench, an appropriate role for someone with his current skill set (most of you have never even seen him play). The “potential of PJIII is not the same as LBJ,D. Wade, D. Cousins, A. Stoudamire, K. Bryant, etc. All ego-maniacs. This isn’t exactly Greg Oden coming out of college(how did that turn out?). Name me ONE player who has played for Lorenzo Romar at Washington Univ. who has turned into a decent player? Brandon Roy, he of the hurt knees, and that’s it. We all know outside of the lottery, the bust factor percentile is 85%, not even worthy of riding the bench. There are probably more people on an NBA bench who were playing streetball or in Europe 2 years ago than there are draftees. As of today, Jenkins is the best shooter on the team. And that is a shame. Horford and Smith will be traded for future first rounders. Bet on it.
slydog
June 29th, 2012
7:56 am
What true center? OKC: Serge Ibaka (6′10), Kendrick Perkins (6′10)
Miami: Joel Anthony (6′9) Chris Bosh (6′11)
The Hawks need post players who “play big.”
jgsbirds
June 29th, 2012
8:03 am
@homey
don’t know what game you went to–may have had more than two beers but the hawks beat okc last year…keep on rooting for the bandwagon teams…
i guess everyone on this site knows more about basketball than a guy that played four years at duke. played in the nba for a long time. won an nba championship. and has worked in the game ever sine–shut up people–danny ferry knows more than you do!
john jenkins is a solid pick. aau, fantasy basketball and espn have ruined quality basketball. i say get some smart, quality BASKETBALL players in here to go with the ones we have and and make a run in the playoffs asap.
say what you want about last years hawks team–but i watched every game. this team was better than boston even without al. but the injury to zaza, josh, an 80 percent horford and horrible officiating cost us that series and a great chance at making the conference finals for the first time in team history.
blow this team up if you want–i’ll root for whoever you bring in–but this team isn’t chopped liver right now. sure they have bad stretches–but they always seemed to rebound out of those stretches quickly. i think we give this bunch (save marvin) one more year and see what happens. maybe ferry can pull off one pivotable player to get these guys over the hump…i’ll trust him for now–let the man work!
go hawks!
John
June 29th, 2012
8:08 am
I should be happy with this?!?! Actually, this was the most upset I have been during a Hawks draft. I have watched a ton of John Jenkins. He will be a good rotational player who will only be known as a shooter. You can find guys like this elsewhere. PJlll at 23 is a no-brainer. The biggest knock on him is that he has the skills to be a top 3 pick but is not assertive enough. He is not a bad guy. Just the opposite. He is supposed to be a really good guy that defers to teammates a little too much. I don’t think the knee is that big an issue or OKC would not have taken him. The Hawks had a chance to come away with the absolute steal of the draft but instead take a shooter who likely would not have been picked in the first round if we had not taken him. What do we do when Josh leaves? Perry Jones is 6′11″ with crazy skills and athleticism but we take JJ Redick lite. You always hear about value in the draft. In this draft, with the players still available, this is a bad value pick. Jeffrey Taylor from Vandy fits a need better than Jenkins. He is a tough defender that does all of the little things that can really help a team with pieces already in place.
John
June 29th, 2012
8:12 am
Jenkins is not Ray Allen. Did any of you watch Ray Allen in college. Ray Allen is very athletic. Jenkins is not terrible athletically but I am tired of hearing every guy that is 6′4″ to 6′5″ is like Ray Allen.
I dropped my fried twinkie
June 29th, 2012
8:12 am
Hawks Draft a Shooter………….The DWAGS have a Shooter(I. Crowell) arrested. LOL
John
June 29th, 2012
8:13 am
Not every 6′4″-6′5″ guy who can shoot is like Ray Allen.
slydog
June 29th, 2012
8:16 am
SMDH, Lebron James and Carmelo Anthony were “slackers with huge potential.” PJIII can’t even tie their shoestrings nor was he the best player on his own team. Danny Ferry knows more about basketball tahn all of us? I think not. I challenge that I, an average person, has watched just as many hours of “game film”, watched just as many players from high school through AAU through college through professional ranks as Danny Ferry or any NBA “executive” or scout under the age of 45. They watched more practices than I have, but that’s it. You can’t make a computer, nor do you know computer science, or computer architecture, but I bet you know if your iphone or android phone sucks or not.
slydog
June 29th, 2012
8:18 am
No Jenkins is not Ray Allen, but then, how many players are?….lol. Folks, until the Hawks get a LOTTERY PICK or two, by trading both Smith and Horford, then this “conversation” is moot.
Bob
June 29th, 2012
8:20 am
Unless they change their offensive philosophy at the end of games and quit playing not to lose and get some movement without the ball, instead of four guys standing around watching JJ go one on one it doesn’t make any difference who they draft.
Kevin30092
June 29th, 2012
8:22 am
Mark, you second guessed every Knight draft pick.
I find it amusing you now pay him a compliment when he is
gone. Perry is another guy with “upside” meaning he has yet
to prove he can deliver over the course of 82 games.
Marvin Williams is a prime example of why drafting
guys with “upside” carries a lot of risk. Jenkins can hit
the three point shot today and fills a need for the Hawks.
Tired Tired Tired
June 29th, 2012
8:23 am
Fill in the blanks. The hawks need a _____________, but instead the draft a _____________. This is the same story every year. The hawks are the Washington Generals of the NBA. Get out of town losers.
teedub
June 29th, 2012
8:25 am
With Fab off the board, this was a good pick. Jenkins can fill it up.
I dropped my fried twinkie
June 29th, 2012
8:25 am
Ealey, King & Crowell………..Richt can really pick NFL quality Running Backs.
Ryan
June 29th, 2012
8:26 am
worst run team. pay that choker joe johnson kobe and wade money. team will never win anything until that virus is gone
native atlantan
June 29th, 2012
8:44 am
This is how USA Today looked at the Hawks. “The Hawks picked 23rd and landed the best shooter in the draft, John Jenkins of Vanderbilt. Jenkins should be an instant contributor. They followed that up with Virginia forward Mike Scott, a workhorse who is too small to contribute much in the NBA, at 43rd overall.”. I still say the Hawks are annual loosers under this ownership group system.
Komminsk
June 29th, 2012
8:45 am
PJIII would not have done well in our locker room. He needs some positive leadership to help nurse him along. He doesn’t need a selfish player requesting to be traded all the time as an influence.
I like the pick of Jenkins. Maybe not an all-star, but at least he is a pure shooter. Unlike Marvin.
Randy
June 29th, 2012
8:58 am
horrible, same old crap, one dimensional player who can only shoot?????
TaterSalad
June 29th, 2012
8:59 am
Enter your comments here
Sammy Hagar
June 29th, 2012
9:15 am
I cannot comprehend how a team annually picks the wrong position in the draft. With a hole the size of Wyoming at center Hawks draft a SG. We wonder why they cant win? Its obvious. Billy Knights love for the power forward has been replaced by guard love. Nobody to rebound or be a force at center. Dont even make me laugh by saying Zaza,Horford,or Twin either…
rlinaug
June 29th, 2012
9:19 am
Mark, in your roll call of bad draft picks… you left off the worst example. Koncack.
Ron D
June 29th, 2012
9:20 am
I REALLY like this pick. Jenkins is a big time player that has a high b-ball IQ, can score and needs little space. I believe that we will recognize what a great value he is be before mid-season. GREAT PICK!
BigHawks Fan
June 29th, 2012
9:24 am
Anybody remember Solomon Jones? At 6′11, was supposed to be the next BMOC. Perry Jones III was a gamble. There are no true centers left. But I’m not surprised by the pick of another 6′8 guy.
Jay Dubu
June 29th, 2012
9:27 am
I’m convinced, that Billy Knight made some of the draft choices that he did, as a way to get back at the Hawks’ owners, who were dragging the team through the mud.
There’s no way for anyone that works as a GM to make that many bad moves over a few years! Absolutely impossible!!!
Mike
June 29th, 2012
9:28 am
I wish I had your faith in Ferry, Mark. As for the pick, I prefer Jenkins over Perry Jones. The last thing the Hawks need going forward is to continue the Knight philosophy. If they want a big man, its time to get a real one that can start in the middle with Horford moving back to PF. No more of this all 6-8 athletic lineup. What made the draft history so bad is there were definitely better players available. That wasnt the case this year. The best big men (even players like Fab Melo) were already taken.
I say Smith needs to be traded. Its the best thing going forward for both him and the Hawks. The Hawks need a more traditional center to guard the paint and put Horford back at his natural position. Smith needs a fresh start on a team with a more traditional look than the Hawks. With Teague at PG, Johnson/Williams/Jenkins/Hinrich at the wings, Horford at PF, and a true center, the Hawks would be in a better position to compete assuming everyone stays healthy. We are stuck with JJ and Williams, so might as well make the best of it.
Snoop Graham
June 29th, 2012
9:34 am
What a surprise. Mark Bradley pissing on the Hawks draft. It wouldn’t have mattered who they picked. Bradley and that other clown columnist at the AJC would put a negative spin on it. If Bradley knows so much why is he writing for a rag newspaper with a three page sports section and not running a team?
KakNiqueTree
June 29th, 2012
9:52 am
I’m sorry who was disappointed when Marvin Williams was drafted? Don’t remember any discouraging words that draft night.
PMC
June 29th, 2012
9:53 am
I just feel like the way LD likes to use his bench players, Jenkins could be a good fit. I hope Pargo sticks around too.
T DOG
June 29th, 2012
10:05 am
Have to disagree Jeff. Perry Jones will learn from Josh Smith if he’s here. He’ll learn from Durant and Serge Ibaka in OKC. The Hawks have to develop a championship culture in order to get over the hump. Whether or not Danny Ferry can do it remains to be seen. He had one of the best players in the world in Cleveland and couldn’t get anything but a broke down Shaq, Mo Williams, and Antawn Jamison.
kwooden1
June 29th, 2012
10:08 am
I have said for the last few weeks that I wanted Jeff Taylor and I’m still sticking with that selection. I haven’t seen an entire game with either Jeff Taylor or John Jenkins, but I will at some point and I will see if I change my mind. Mike Scott, though is a very good pick! I’ve always though Mike Scott was a lottery pick player and when I saw that he was a 2nd round pick I’m not sure whatever one didn’t see in him. Virginia got destroyed by Florida in the 1st round which really didn’t help him, but that is our win. I think guy has the most post moves of any one on the team right now! and has an excellent fadeway jumpshot. You basically can’t guard him one-on-one in the post. I hope he brings his A-game to the NBA, because he will have a long career.
MR ATLANTA HAWK
June 29th, 2012
10:10 am
Everyone is beating up Josh and Joe….Please Stop!!! I agree that Marvin has not really DEVELOPED into the player we expected him to be…but Josh is an ALL STAR caliber player. Josh does not get credit for what he does for this team! I go to a lot of the games just bc I believe in Josh and the Hawks!! If any of you noticed or watched them play this year…WE BEAT CHI, MIA, BOS, with their STARTERS and we didnt have our core guys together none of those games!!! BECAUSE JOSH stepped up along with key bench players…Josh carried the team MAJORITY of the season…if we would have had Al and ZaZa 100% going into the playoffs we would have been a team to look out for!! Letting Josh go in my opinion is a TERRIBLE move!!! Why lose your BEST player on the team to get a lesser talent!! I say keep Josh, Joe, Al, Teague and ZaZa…and build from there.
Darrell
June 29th, 2012
10:12 am
This is Salim Stoudamire all over again, dude could shoot the lights out but couldn’t create a shoot to save his life.
MR ATLANTA HAWK
June 29th, 2012
10:17 am
I thought we were gon pick Melo….BUT of course those pesty celtics derailed us…everyone is saying that this Jenkins kid is the next Ray Allen…How many times have we heard that this person or that person is the next JORDAN!! We dont need a wanna be…we need a person to make a name for himself!!