2012 CB Draft Southeast Division Press Conferences

[Roy H.]

Here, each of the GMs representing a team in the Atlantic Division will provide an introduction / summary of their team, draft strategy, etc.  Other members should ask questions (directed to one or more GMs), and those GMs should attempt to answer the questions as well as they can.

For those participating, the opening blurbs can include some or all of the following:

1. Roster / depth chart
2. Statistics
3. Pictures
4. Statement regarding drafting philosophy (building for the future, contending now, etc.)
5. Toughest decision
6. Best move (trade, pick, etc.) / worst move
7. Your outlook for this coming season

It can be as substantial or as abbreviated as you want it to be.  These threads are open to all members, not just those posters who participated in the draft.  The more participation we get, the better.

==============================================================

Atlanta Hawks: Rondo2287

Miami Heat: RIPRED

Orlando Magic:  Riah32

Washington Wizards:  JSD / ronaldo943

Please, no questions until after midnight.  This thread should be reserved for the GMs to put up and work on their pressers until then.

[KCattheStripe]

Whoops.

[Rondo2287]

THEEEEE ATLANTA HAWKS!!!!!!

Roster

C:  Duncan (28)/ Dalembert (20)/ Hollins (garbage)
Pf: West   (32)/ Mbah A Moute( 8 )/ Allen ( 8 )
SF: Hill (22)/ Mbah A Moute (23)/ CJ Miles (3)
SG: Kobe   (34)/ George Hill (10) / CJ Miles (4)
PG: George Hill(25)/ Jason Kidd (20)/ Reggie Jackson (3)

Coach: Phil Jackson

This is the breakdown of minutes during the regular season only.  Minutes will be adjusted for playoff matchups assuming we make it that far.

Starters:

Tim Duncan



The Hawks are honored to have duncan on the team.  While he is getting up there in age he is still a terrific defender/rebounder and scorer for the center position.  While we will ask him to do all of the above as part of the hawks, one of the most important dimensions he brings to the team is his passing.  We will be bring the triangle offense to atlanta and part of the triangle is having a big man that can past out of the post.  Duncan is one of the best in the game at that.

David West



West brings more great leadership and toughness to our team.  West is one of the best powerforwards in the league and proved it this past year in the playoffs as he put up 15 ppg and 8.5 rpg.  West is another very good passer and scorer down low as well as a very good jump shooter.  Duncan and West together are probably the best jump shooting big man tadnem in this leage and will help create fantastic spacing for my team.

Grant Hill



Grant is another veteran leader for this team who helps contribute to our fantastic ball movement as well as brings solid defense and a nice complimentary scorer.  Basically every team on the planet could use a Grant Hill.  Lucky for me, ive got the genuine article.

He will be used about 22 minutes a night which is 6 minutes less than his average from last season.  This should help preserve his legs for the playoffs.

Kobe Bryant



As sickening as this picture is for most celtics fans we have to give the man his dues.  Kobe and Duncan are two of the winningest NBA players of our generation.  They know how to get the job done.  Kobe will be the primary scoring option for my team and should thrive as he once did in the triangle offense. 

George Hill


Hill is an unselfish fiery player that will help this team win in countless ways.  He can penatrate and dish, he can knock down the 3 ball and he plays very good defense.  Hill took over the starter job for Indiana and hasnt looked back.

Keys off the bench

Sam Dalembert - Getting a starting caliber backup center was huge for the Hawks.  We needed somebody that can give Duncan adequate rest during the season and fill in on nights off for duncan.  Dalembert fit the bill.

Mbah A moute - Prince is a jack of all trades defender and will backup the 3 and the 4.  He is one of the few guys out there tha can lock down two positions and will be key for giving grant a rest when he needs it

Jason Kidd - Kidd will be playing approximately 20 mpg for the hawks and should thrive in the backup pg role at this stage of his career.  He will work well creating for Kobe Duncan and West and get them easy looks and he can also knock down the 3 ball.

Coach- Phil Jackson saw the potential of this team and as we know he only coaches teams that he believes have what it takes to win it all.  The Hawks are no exception.  Phil is one of the best coaches in the history of the NBA and he jumped at this opporuntity to match up with two of the best players in the history of the NBA.  Phil will install the triangle offense for this team and will bring even more championship experience to the hawks.

Draft Philosophy - I knew that I would try my best to trade up from 1.18 to the top 7 and get a top player, luckily I was able to do so and grabbed Kobe.  Once I had Kobe on the roster I knew the best positions to surround him next were Center and Power Forward and construct the team similar to the actual lakers.  I brought in Duncan and West and was very happy.  From there I went with George Hill who I believed to be the perfect complimentary pg for Kobe.

Conclusion - I think this team has a chance to do something special.  We have a enormous amount of experience and two of the winningest players of the last decade in the NBA.  We have the winningest coach in the nba.  add to that equation great complimentary guys like Kidd and Grant Hill and we feel that we have the leadership necessary to go all the way. 

If you start to think to yourselves, do these guys have what it takes?  Just ask yourself, "would I bet against the team with Kobe and Duncan down the stretch of a close game?"

[Rondo2287]

I will answer questions in the morning

[ronaldo943]

Washington Wizards



Roster:
C : Marcin Gortat/Spencer Hawes/Greg Stiemsma
PF: Pau Gasol/DeJuan Blair
SF: Gerald Wallace/Michael Beasley/Steve Novak
SG: J.R Smith/Lou Wlliams
PG: Steph Curry/ Chauncey Billups/ Jameer Nelson

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IF9qMbr0-8c
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0dPh3cqbow
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8HbGFeeGj4

Drafting Philosophy: We had the 1.15 pick in the draft so we knew we weren't going to get a superstar so we decided to make a team that had a lot of depth so we could compete with the other teams.

Tough Decision: Trading Andrea Bargnani, Kevin Martin, Greivis Vasquez, Richard Jefferson for Marcin Gortat, Chauncey Billups, Al Farouq Aminu. This was a tough decision because we didnt want to let go of Greivis Vasquez, but we had the chance of trading two injury prone players so we took it.

Best move: Drafting Steve Novak with the 8.1 pick the guy is number 2 in True Shooting % and number 1 in 3pt %.

Worst Move: Too many to count

For this upcoming season we are really just hoping to make it to the playoffs and from there on we will take everything little by little.

[Rondo2287]

Game time!

[Roy H.]

Atlanta, your team is OLD.  Why can it keep up with athletic teams?  Don't give me that bull about "the game slows down in the playoffs"; the Heat and others have shown that teams that play at a relatively fast pace can be successful in the playoffs.

Washington, isn't Steve Novak a 4?  How is he going to defend SFs, especially only after playing a couple of minutes at the position last year?

Also, your back court is:

SG: J.R Smith/Lou Wlliams
PG: Steph Curry/ Chauncey Billups/ Jameer Nelson

Curry has had repeated injury problems over the last year, which surgery didn't seem to correct.  If he goes down, can Chauncey (injured) and Jameer (in serious decline) fill the gaps?

Is J.R. Smith a legit starting SG?  Can he and Curry defend the back court effectively?

(Lots of questions, but I do like the team you put together.)

[Rondo2287]

Atlanta, your team is OLD.  Why can it keep up with athletic teams?  Don't give me that bull about "the game slows down in the playoffs"; the Heat and others have shown that teams that play at a relatively fast pace can be successful in the playoffs.

Well we may be older than some of the teams here but compared to the celtics of last year who made it to the eastern conference finals we are some spring chickens.

Garnett = 36    Duncan = 36

Pierce  = 34    West   =  31

Ray    = 37     Kobe   =  33

Rondo  = 26     George Hill = 26

And those three guys, one with a sprained MCL and the other with bone spurs in his ankles came very close to knocking off the very same heat. 

My Game plan is to rest my guys during the season.  Kobe will play 5 minutes less than last year, Duncan will play the same and continue to get days off throughout the season, Grant Hill will be playing 6 minutes less per game and Jason Kidd will be playing 8 minutes less per game.

I believe that decrease in minutes should keep them fresh and able to go against the younger guys.  We saw what the rest did for KG this year, When he was on the floor he was more explosive and didnt feel like he has to conserve as much energy, this team will be similar.

So we plan to slow the game down on the offensive end yes, but expend the energy necessary to keep up with the younger teams in transition and on the defensive end.

[Rondo2287]

i will say though Roy, with regards to the game not slowing down in the playoffs, I think you are right that teams like the heat showed that they win without playing much half court offense.  or at least not relying on it as much. 

But in the playoffs it does HELP alot to have a team that can score and operate well in the halfcourt.  By definition if you are in the playoffs your are playing some of the better teams in the league and what comes with that is better shot making and better defense, which means rebounds won't be as easy to come by to start the fast break and you will be playing against a set defense more often than not.

So I do think that while the game doesnt necessarily HAVE to slow down, if you can slow it down and thrive in that style of play you have an advantage.

[indeedproceed]

Atlanta, your team is OLD.  Why can it keep up with athletic teams?  Don't give me that bull about "the game slows down in the playoffs"; the Heat and others have shown that teams that play at a relatively fast pace can be successful in the playoffs.

Well we may be older than some of the teams here but compared to the celtics of last year who made it to the eastern conference finals we are some spring chickens.

Garnett = 36    Duncan = 36

Pierce  = 34    West   =  31

Ray    = 37     Kobe   =  33

Rondo  = 26     George Hill = 26

And those three guys, one with a sprained MCL and the other with bone spurs in his ankles came very close to knocking off the very same heat.

Is that really a comparison you want to make though? The Celtics beat the Hawks without Horford (outright for 3 games, and still recovering for the next 3), and the Sixers in a extremely contested 7 game series. Then, they got 4 straight games without Bosh against the Heat. If they'd faced a healthy Chicago or Orlando team, its very possible they don't make it out of the second round.

My Game plan is to rest my guys during the season.  Kobe will play 5 minutes less than last year, Duncan will play the same and continue to get days off throughout the season, Grant Hill will be playing 6 minutes less per game and Jason Kidd will be playing 8 minutes less per game.

How is that going to affect your win total in the regular season? Would you be happy with a sixth seed, as long as you made it to the dance?

[Fafnir]

Washington how will you structure your offense when Crash, Pau, and Marcin are all on the court together?

[Rondo2287]

Atlanta, your team is OLD.  Why can it keep up with athletic teams?  Don't give me that bull about "the game slows down in the playoffs"; the Heat and others have shown that teams that play at a relatively fast pace can be successful in the playoffs.

Well we may be older than some of the teams here but compared to the celtics of last year who made it to the eastern conference finals we are some spring chickens.

Garnett = 36    Duncan = 36

Pierce  = 34    West   =  31

Ray    = 37     Kobe   =  33

Rondo  = 26     George Hill = 26

And those three guys, one with a sprained MCL and the other with bone spurs in his ankles came very close to knocking off the very same heat.

Is that really a comparison you want to make though? The Celtics beat the Hawks without Horford (outright for 3 games, and still recovering for the next 3), and the Sixers in a extremely contested 7 game series. Then, they got 4 straight games without Bosh against the Heat. If they'd faced a healthy Chicago or Orlando team, its very possible they don't make it out of the second round.

My Game plan is to rest my guys during the season.  Kobe will play 5 minutes less than last year, Duncan will play the same and continue to get days off throughout the season, Grant Hill will be playing 6 minutes less per game and Jason Kidd will be playing 8 minutes less per game.

How is that going to affect your win total in the regular season? Would you be happy with a sixth seed, as long as you made it to the dance?

-I think this team with the rest I plan on giving should still win the division but probably be the 4 seed much like the celtics this year.  I think if my team went all out we could win the division and come close to a #1 seed but I think its clear that whats important is getting to the playoffs with both Duncan and Kobe healthy. 

-Also with regards to my celtics comparison my main point was that they were able to keep up with the heat in a 7 game series playing exactly the way my team wants to play. 

And you can say that the heat didnt have bosh, but like i pointed out the celtics were without their defensive stopper and had a player with bone spurs and another with a torn MCL.  So each side had injuries.  My main point was that and old team slowing the game down has a fighters chance against the younger more athletic teams in the playoffs if they play their style and stay disciplined.

Its also just like the old Al Skinner BC coached teams.  They had Jared Dudley and Craig Smith who were good college players but undersized and less athletic than their competition, but when they ran the tight flex offensive it neutralized the athletic advantage that the other teams had and slowed the game way down. 

[ronaldo943]

Atlanta, your team is OLD.  Why can it keep up with athletic teams?  Don't give me that bull about "the game slows down in the playoffs"; the Heat and others have shown that teams that play at a relatively fast pace can be successful in the playoffs.

Washington, isn't Steve Novak a 4?  How is he going to defend SFs, especially only after playing a couple of minutes at the position last year?

Also, your back court is:

SG: J.R Smith/Lou Wlliams
PG: Steph Curry/ Chauncey Billups/ Jameer Nelson

Curry has had repeated injury problems over the last year, which surgery didn't seem to correct.  If he goes down, can Chauncey (injured) and Jameer (in serious decline) fill the gaps?

Is J.R. Smith a legit starting SG?  Can he and Curry defend the back court effectively?

(Lots of questions, but I do like the team you put together.)

Steve Novak can play the 3 and the 4 when he was with the Clippers he would play the 3 and sometimes the 4, the Knicks liked to go small so they would put him as the 4.

We really dont think Curry will get injured but if he does we feel like Chauncey and Nelson can fill the gap.

J.R. Smith is a legit starting SG but he is not going to play the most minutes if anything at max 20 Lou Williams will play the most.

[ronaldo943]

Washington how will you structure your offense when Crash, Pau, and Marcin are all on the court together?

We will be running a lot of pick and rolls and pick and pop with Pau and Marcin, we see Wallace as more of a defensive presence but when he is open he will get the ball.

[jgod213]

Atlanta:

I like what Dalembert and Mbah a Moute bring to the table off your bench, but why should i be convinced that the latter can play an effective 31 minutes per game on a playoff team? Will his limited offensive skillset get exposed in that amount of time? Will it effect his defensive intensity?



Washington:

Dejaun Blair.  I don't know what to make of him or the way in which G-Pop utilized him last season.  He played an average of 7 minutes per game in the playoffs.  Tell me why he is the primary backup over Steve Novak?