This is the same guy that Swopa told us about earlier who reported an eyewitness account of Jason Richardson's and Shane Battier's workout. In other words, he seems pretty legit. Here's what he thought of the latest players that have come through Atlanta, namely Brown and Diop. Very interesting read, especially his belief that Diop is without a doubt a better player than Curry which is odd considering most experts put Curry higher on their mock drafts than Diop. Enjoy...... Archie's Friday workout report -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OK here I go. I hope this won't be too long. 4 Players: Kwame Brown, DeSagna Diop, Samuel Dalembert, and Michael Bradley. Kwame: WOW! WOW! WOW! IF it was my choice, the pick is Kwame. He is the man. I don't think I even need to see Griffin, who is due in sometime next week. Kwame Brown just turned 19 in March. He is mature on the court and off. His presence on the court is lightyears above that of Eddy Curry. There is simply no comparison. This kid is great now - and will be terrific in two years. I just don't see a downside. No I'm not his agent or his cousin. He went up against the other three on one on one drills and was very impressive. Brown was tough defensively, relentless. While on Wed, Curry was half-assing his way through everything. Brown did not stop. He stopped them all at one point. They did score on him, but he made it VERY difficult. Offensively, he glides down the court looking like someone who is not 6-11. You can tell he has excellent passing skills and is not your typical static big man. I thought throughout the day who to compare him to. It's hard to put labels on kids. But I'd have to say Garnett. Like Garnett, this kid is not your typical high schooler going pro. I just don't see much negative with him. He's very poised for a 19 year old. Some people wonder if we should count on another high school kid - one who we'd have to wait on for two or three years. Well, we won't have to wait on Kwame. I'd be SHOCKED beyond belief if he's not successful very quickly in the NBA. This is not like your typical kid who just went to the prom. Now this is going to be hard to believe, but Diop is not that much different. First of all, he's a MONSTER. The kid is wide like a Mac truck. Plus, he can SHOOT. There is no comparison between Diop and Curry. I'd take Diop any day over Curry. He's also very tough on defense. It was fun watching Diop and Kwame go at it one on one. I can't tell you one was far superior over the other. Kwame stopped Diop more than Diop stopped Kwame. But it was a great matchup. I thought that I was looking at a couple of future all stars out there. Diop had 90 - that's right - 90 on the Superman drill. He just kept dunking and dunking and dunking. BTW, I was wrong on Loren Woods. Forgive me. I was watching Curry when Woods was going at it on that drill and I was told it was 50 something. It was 76. But Diop killed that mark. Brown - I believe - had around the mid 30's. Dalembert was very athletic. Rangy. Nice dunks. But I don't think he'll be anything more than a nice backup in the league. Bradley didn't impress me much. He was late to the workout due to a late flight. He's a late first rounder if you ask me. But man I'm telling you, Kwame Brown is tough. I just hope and pray the kid is there at 3. He's going to be a great NBA player. He has a jumper. He's tough under the basket. He's intelligent on the court. AND HE'S 19! As far as size, I was told Diop was measured at 7-0...310. He's lost a bit of weight in the last few weeks. BUT he is not fat. This kid is not Stanley Roberts. He's not Tractor Traylor. He would have made Curry look like Charlie Criss. Diop is a big kid - and he's only 18! Brown is maybe a smidge smaller than Diop. So he's a legit 6-11. Dalembert is about the same size as Kwame. ------------------ [This message has been edited by tacoma park legend (edited June 16, 2001).]
Thanks TPL -- that Hawks message board is much more active than I would've expected. I did't realize there were so many Hawks fans. Anyhow, I went back and read Thursday's about Woods and Curry. Man, Curry looked awesome, but he sounds like Shaq's body with Kelvin Cato's heart. But Kwame Brown sounds like a winner -- kindof like a younger Shane Battier. I think I'll be updating my mock draft after reading this ------------------ blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah
What's interesting about this is that if the Hawks draft Kwame Brown then Theo Ratliff may very well become expendable, which is music to my ears as a Rockets fan. However, the Hawks want a quality point guard if they are going to trade away Theo, and I don't think they are looking for a Rookie point guard in a trade, so a straight up trade with the Rockets is out of the question IMO. In reality there's only one team that comes to mind that could help accomplish this, Vancouver with Bibby, and I don't know how the Grizz would get fair compensation in this deal. Thoughts? ------------------ [This message has been edited by tacoma park legend (edited June 16, 2001).]
I don't know that ATL will be able to get someone /that/ good with Theo Ratliff. Sure, he's a good player and all, but he's been injured, and his career has been on and off. He'd be an awesome pickup for any team, but if they have to trade away a good PG for him, it's not really worth it. Maybe they could get Charlie Ward. I dunno, if I were ATL, I'd try and get another pick to get Jamaal Tinsley. If Brown isnt' there at 3, maybe they'll trade down and get Tinsley later on in the draft. ------------------ blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah
If I'm Atlanta, I'd be drooling over a lineup of Ratliff-Kwame-Kukoc-Terry-Knight with Dermarr Johnson, Dion Glover, Ren Wright, Mohammed, and Alan Henderson off the bench. ------------------ "I think alot of people find Cato's game to be very offensive." -aelliott, comparing the offensive skills of Kelvin Cato and Michael Olowokandi
I'm with Nike on this one. Could Kwame play SF, with Kukoc coming off the bench? I read somewhere that he could. Is he quick enough to play the position? He'd definitely have the height advantage over most SF's. ------------------
Johnson and Kukoc are the small forwards for that team, so if they do draft him, it won't be to play that position. It makes alot of sense for them to draft Kwame, but it seems like they'd be slapping Lorenzen Wright in the face with this one. ------------------
btw, rimbaud( who lives in ATL) said that Lorenzen Wright is on the trading block. btw, who gives a crap what Lorenzen Wright thinks when you have the #3 pick in the draft. You draft to improve your team, not to please overpaid pieces of crap.
Moving a 42 million dollar player of Wright's talent is easier said than done. No teams that were bad with capspace, like Detroit and Chicago, are going to take on his contract. The only team that comes to mind who would want him would be the Lakers. Maybe they trade Horry and George for Wright, but if that's the most likely route for Wright to be traded, don't bet on him not being in a Hawks uniform next year. ------------------
I know a team that would trade for him. The Rockets! We could trade him straight up for Cato. After all, Cato wouldn't mind sitting on the bench & not playing, because he doesn't want to play anyway. ------------------
NIKE, The problem is Nazr's a free agent and they feel that if they draft a big man it might lead to him leaving for greener pastures. I think he can get a starting spot and more money elsewhere if the Hawks don't offer him a starting spot. Also, you have to remember that that drafting Kwame Brown would piss off Lorenzen Wright as well, who although he isn't a star player is getting paid star money, and wants no part of coming in off the bench. Kwame would be a perfect backup for the Hawks, but too many people on that team get pissed IMO if they pick him. I'm leaning more towards what Vengeance said with the Hawks trading down for a legit PG like Tinsley. The Hawks lucked out by getting the 3rd so I don't see why they wouldn't trade down. The Hawks have a solid front line. You can even throw Cal Bowdler in there at center. I see them trading down for a first and future considerations. ------------------ [This message has been edited by tacoma park legend (edited June 16, 2001).]
Hey, I know someone who has a 13th pick where Jamaal Tinsley may be available . . . ------------------ blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah
my theory, wishful thinking aside, Best Player Available, consequences? deal with them, you draft kwame brown and run to the bank laughing like a mad man, just repeat after me, Best Player Available, Best Player Available, Best Player Available what is the difference between wayne gretzky and courtney love ? gretzky showers after 3 periods ------------------
I have a question, why did Brown score so low in the superman drill? He is 6-11, but only had less than 40 dunks??? Both Diop & Brown are high schoolers, so as far as conditioning wise, they shouldn't be that far apart. 90 dunks compare to mid-30's???!!!
Superman drill doesn't tell you much. It's a nice test, but I don't think dunking a ball 100 times proves that you're a good ball player or not, just that you've got endurance/stamina. ------------------ "Oh No..." -Bill Walton in 97 just before Stockton's buzzer beater
Believe me, the Hawks would not care about slapping Wright in the face. They have let him know that he has not met their expectations and will be shopped. Kwame wil be a 4 in the league. Making him a 3 would be silly. He can play there for a time, as he could at the 5, but he will be best at the 4. Atlanta's first choice is to probably trade the pick, though. ------------------ I have just realized that the stakes are myself I have no other ransom money, nothing to break or barter but my life my spirit measured out, in bits, spread over the roulette table, I recoup what I can nothing else to shove under the nose of the maître de jeu nothing to thrust out the window, no white flag this flesh all I have to offer, to make the play with this immediate head, what it comes up with, my move as we slither over this go board, stepping always (we hope) between the lines
That is my question, why is Brown's "endurance/stamina" that much better than Diop's? They are both HSers, so they should have similiar types of conditioning/guidance, why did Diop performed better, is it because he trained harder? To me, that is important. Players who take pride in conditioning have a much better chance in succeeding.
Try not to read too much into the Superman drills. It depends on the types of dunks Kwame was doing. Take Jason Richardson and Shane Battier for instance. Richardson was putting on an ariel show and got to the mid 60's. Battier just straight up dunked for the most part and got to the record at 71, I believe. ------------------
Does anyone know the number of teams that Diop has worked out for? I'm especially interested in knowing if Chicago and Golden State have worked him out. ------------------
Sounds like the person was really there.... this is from ESPN's Andy Katz: --------------------- DeSagana Diop has been impressive in his workouts, thus far, including a record-setting 91 dunks in an Atlanta Hawks' drill that tests stamina and jumping ability. In the drill, a player has to keep dunking the ball by grabbing a basketball on each side of the lane and dunk from a stationary position. Diop, one of six high school players in the draft, beat Duke's Shane Battier's 76 dunks and Arizona's Loren Woods' 78 dunks. Diop's numbers aren't as impressive as the fact that his foot is finally healed. A stress fracture forced him to miss the last five games at Oak Hill Academy (Va.) and kept him out of three months of basketball. He had surgery and is back working out at full strength. Diop is the biggest and perhaps the strongest of the four high school seniors who are expected to go in the lottery. Meanwhile, Houston and Boston are talking potential trades to move up in the lottery to possibly position to draft F.C. Barcelona's Pau Gasol. Sources at a number of teams told ESPN.com that the Washington Wizards are desperately trying to move the top pick but are having trouble putting together a deal. ------------------ NOTHING BUT .NET CLUTCHCITY.NET
