| Hawks Land the 2nd Pick Authored by Patrick J. Austin - May 24, 2005 - 10:57 pm
Lottery luck continues to allude the Atlanta Hawks. Statistically, we had the best chance to land the number one overall selection. This was the worst season in franchise history. It seemed only fair to get the top pick. But no, the Milwaukee Bucks get that honor. We came in second.
Though in this draft, not having the number one pick could be a blessing in disguise. Every scout, analyst, and fan has pointed out that this draft class doesn’t feature any "stars". There’s no LeBron James, Dwight Howard, or Yao Ming; no can’t-miss franchise cornerstone.
That’s not to say it’s a weak draft. In fact, it looks like one of the deepest drafts in recent memory. There are a plethora of good players coming out this year, just not any I see becoming great.
So, we have the number two pick. Who should we take? I believe it’s a near-lock the Bucks take Andrew Bogut with the top choice. They’ve lacked an inside presence for years and Bogut is the best big man available. That gives us the option of (A)Chris Paul (B)Marvin Williams Jr. or (C)Mystery Player. Many people will choose Chris Paul due to the Hawks need for point guard, and I wouldn’t be disappointed if Paul became our floor general of the future. Though, if I were Billy Knight I’d choose secret option (D)trade the pick.
That’s right, I’d trade our highest lottery selection in more than a decade. Why? Because, as mentioned earlier, this is a deep draft and we have so many holes, acquiring additional picks is better than pinning our hopes on one player.
A trade that makes perfect sense is dealing the number two pick to the Charlotte Bobcats in exchange for the number five and thirteen selections. Charlotte would jump all over this deal since they’re supposedly enamored with Marvin Williams Jr. There’s no chance Marvin will drop down to five, so the Cats will need to move up. The Hawks should accommodate them. Acquiring two lottery picks would allow us to fill our two biggest holes—point guard and center.
With the fifth pick, we could select either Raymond Felton or Deron Williams. Don’t ask me which because I like both. With the thirteenth pick, we’d have a very good chance to land a promising big man like Tiago Splitter, Chris Taft, Johan Petro, or Martynas Andryskevicius.
Missing out on the number one pick was disappointing, but Hawks fans should hold their heads up high. If our scouts do their homework and Billy Knight continues to build upon the success of last year’s selections, I believe the Hawks will come out on top in this draft. |
