Jul
5
Atlanta General Manager Billy Knight Adds Al Horford and Acie Law IV, Both of Whom Should Contribute Next Year
With the third and eleventh picks in the first round of last week’s NBA draft, the Atlanta Hawks possessed a lot of power and interest for once. While General Manager Billy Knight was unable to use those picks to acquire Amare Stoudemire from the Phoenix Suns in an alleged three-way deal which would have involved Kevin Garnett of the Minnesota Timberwolves, he was still able to accomplish some nice things last Thursday night.
A point guard was Atlanta’s number-one priority, and the Hawks were able to pick up the second best point guard prospect in the draft in Texas A&M’s Acie Law IV with the eleventh pick. A lot of people thought the Hawks should have nabbed Ohio State’s Mike Conley Jr. at the three spot, but that would have been a bit of a reach. Conley Jr. will still need some time to blossom in the league while Law should be able to contribute immediately after four seasons in college ball.
With that said, the Hawks did the best thing they could at the three spot, nabbing Florida’s Al Horford, who has the best body of any rookie to be entering the league and was the best player available. Horford should immediately give the Hawks some big minutes next year and bolster the team’s young front-line, which includes Josh Smith, Marvin Williams, Shelden Wiliams, and Zaza Pachulia. Add Horford and Law to star guard Joe Johnson and another young wing player in Josh Childress, and the Hawks are starting to look like a team.
Give Knight, the man who traded the rights to Pau Gasol for Shareef Abdul-Rahim, a lot of credit for his work in the 2007 NBA Draft. After infusing the Hawks with a lot of youth in Smith (out of high school) and Marvin Williams (one year at UNC), Knight is bringing in winners in Horford (who won two titles in three years at Florida) and Law (who helped take Texas A&M from the doormat to the Sweet Sixteen in his four years of college ball).
And the Hawks are even going back to their roots, with uniform colors that echo back to the 70s and Pistol Pete and Lou Hudson. Not bad.
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