Tuesday, March 22, 2005

A draft pick delayed is a draft pick denied?

The AJC ran this headline for an article yesterday on the Hawks:

"No. 1 pick acquired for Walker might slip away"

A casual reader might think "Billy Knight screws up again." However, if you actually read the article, you realize that the pick won't "slip away," but rather, it would simply be deferred until 2006 (unless it's a top ten pick) or 2007 (unless it's a top five pick.) So, if the Lakers make the playoffs this year, then the Hawks get a non-lottery pick, but if they miss the playoffs and don't improve in the next 1-2 years, then the Hawks will end up with a better pick.

And what the hell is the hurry, anyway? Is a mid-first round pick the difference between the Hawks making or missing the playoffs next year? This article betrays a fundamental misunderstanding as to how long the Hawks' rebuilding process is actually going to take.

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