Who Should the Atlanta Hawks Draft?

 That’s what I was thinking too. The problem is Fab Melo isn’t really ready to be more than a backup. So Horford will still be the starting 5 for a few years. By then, who knows how the Hawks will look. I would just take BPA. Possibly a SF because they got nothing from Marvin Williams in the playoffs. 

I would take a SF. Marvin Williams is their biggest weakness in that starting line-up.

Joe Johnson will be 31 next month. They could use an understudy for him, so I’d best pure scorer available. They don’t really have a young scorer on the roster. I’d say maybe Dion Waiters falls to their slot, or maybe Will Barton or Khris Middleton have great workouts and move into the back end of the first round.

They clearly seem to be under the delusions they can eventually contend, so they need bench scorers.  Were they wise, they’d use Josh to get a 5, move Horford to his real spot where he’d dominate, and re-make their offense… but then, this is the Hawks we’re talking about. They probably would take Melo, who would be a huge mistake there.

Trade Josh Smith for Brook Lopez and contract fillers and draft a small forward.

I think Moe Harkless would be the best choice, but I think he’ll be gone by 23.

Doron Lamb would be good IMO, he’s got the length to play the 2 and is a great shooter.  Hinrich has dropped off with age and injury and Lamb would be a great fit.

 Fab Melo would be a good pick in theory but he’d be a project and could end up Daniel Orton-esq.  I agree with @Joewolf, Harkless and Lamb would be good picks, also Waiters if he’s around, not a fan but mabye Quincey Miller since he’d fill that SF role and space the floor

I really like the Josh Smith for Lopez trade idea. Horford is there best player moving forward. This would allow them to move Joe Johnson to Sf and try to find a young SG to pair with Teague.

I would love it if Josh Smith went to the Knicks. I’d be prepared to trade Melo or STAT to get him. 

BPA, considering they will only have Teague, Johnson, Williams, Smith, Horford, and Zaza under contract. They have no depth going into next year with just 6 players under contract. They have to take best player can’t reach on a project like Fab and Festus is currently better than Fab anyway.

 Josh Smith is a superior player to Brook Lopez.  Smith, for all the concerns about his shot selection and decision making, he is an elite defender who is probably Atlanta’s best overall player.  Moving Horford to the 4 full time won’t solve their problems.  He is already a pretty good center and, maybe I’m wrong, but most of the concerns about his play at the 5 revolve around his defensive ability, which is superior to Lopez’s.  Trading Smith for Lopez would make the Nets fans ecstatic, but for the Hawks it would dramatically hurt their defense while making only a marginal difference on offense. 

While Josh Smith is a superior player, odds are he’s going to walk out on the Hawks when his contract expires.  Brook Lopez seems available because the Nets are trying to make a play for Dwight.  Both players are available and would fill some needs.  The combination of Lopez and Horford would help Horford immensly because of the fact that he’s only 6’9 or 6’10, which is undersized for an offensive center.  It would make it easier for both players, along with Joe Johnson on the perimeter to help the Hawks succeed.  To sum it up, if Josh Smith is going to walk anyway, might as well get a good center out of it and Brook Lopez seems available and of decent caliber.

Acquiring Josh Smith would help the Nets, not only to keep Deron Williams but to persuade Dwight Howard join them.  Not only would D-Will and J-Smoove make for a formidible duo, Josh Smith is great friends with Dwight Howard and making that Big 3 would be motivation for Williams to stay, Smith to go to Brooklyn, and Howard to join.

 I agree that Smith would be a great fit in NJ, but Lopez isn’t a special enough player to trade your best player for, as it is too much of a risk.  The Hawks would take a huge step back without Smith.  I think it would be better to just see how it plays out with Smith.  The Hawks don’t have tons of cap space as of now, but they have a lot of players with expiring contracts this season.  If they could avoid taking on too much in new salary, they could afford to resign Smith, which is their best shot at building a serious contender.  They would have to commit to that strategy and be disciplined, but Smith isn’t a lock to leave the Hawks.  

It’s usually not a good idea to bank on a late first rounder being a starter as a rookie… or ever.

Need to take a SF.

Amnesty Marvin Williams

Trade Josh Smith for a legit Center not sure who but Smith has a lot of talent.

Move Horford to PF where he belongs.

 I would love Mo Harkless, or a scoring SG for Atlanta. They probably wont be able to get a true C who is worthy of starting anytime soon where they’re at.