The next to the last pick in the 1996 Usenet Mock draft belongs
to the Atlanta Hawks.  The Hawks pick (#19) was traded to Miami along 
with Kevin Willis for Steve Smith, Grant Long and Miams's second round
pick.  Miami later sent the pick to New York as compensation for Miami's
signing of Pat Riley.  The Hawks are represented by:

  Al Hoffman

who selects:

  Eric Gingold, C, 7-4, Williams College

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

I.  Team History
The Atlanta Hawks' season could be summed up by just recycling a synopsis
from pretty much any year in the 90's.  They win 40-something games and
fight, scratch & hustle there way to some wins in the playoffs.  However, in
the end, they realistically have absolutely the same chance of reaching the
finals... zero, zip, forget it about it.  The best thing the Hawks have done
in the 90's is hire Lenny Wilkens.  The man is the all-time victory  leader
for nothing and the more you examine the Hawks' roster, the better his
coaching job this year gets.

Atlanta has a lot of guys who would be good secondary, supporting players on
a 50-60 win team, but they have no go-to guy or clutch performer who can
carry them consistently when they need it.  They have guys like Mookie
Blaylock & Steve Smith who CAN carry the team to victory, but can also carry
them right out of a game(in Mookie's case with some horrendous shooting &
Smith's absolute lack of defensive intensity).  They are also a classic
donut team- they have no center.  Anyone who watched Christian Laettner
attempt(& I'm being generous here) guard Shaq in the Eastern Semis can
recognize this gaping whole.  It's wasn' really Christian's fault.  He's
6'9" & shouldn't have to guard Shaq... which brings me to the 

        A. CENTER
As alluded to, by the end of last year it fell to Christian Laettner to
start at center for Atlanta. 
Christian has not been the All-Star that most envisioned coming out of
Duke(anyone still take him over Shaq for the '92 US team), but he's a
valuable & sometimes hard to find commodity- someone who will give you solid
effort & numbers across the board on a nightly basis.  The trade bringing
him to Atlanta for Andrew Lang was probably the best thing that happened to
him since he left Duke.  The losing atmosphere in Minnesota was bound to
take it's toll on a competitor like Laettner.  You can say many things about
him(trust me, I went to UK, so I have), but you cannot say that the man
doesn't want to win & will do whatever it takes to get there.  He's got a
solid outside shot & has an excellent floor game for a power forward which
is where he should be playing.  Also, as a center, he's a defense liability
simply because he's a physical mismatch against the top flight pivotmen in
the league.  Move him over to power forward & he becomes a much better
defensive player for you.  

For a backup, there is Sean Rooks.  That's exactly the kind of center he
should be. Rooks is a nice player to have on your bench to insert at the 4
or 5.  He's one of those guys who doesn't have too many big drawbacks, but
also lack any compelling strengths.  He's will shoot a good FG% because he
takes few shots that he shouldn't.  He's not a great rebounder, but he is
willing which is more than could be said for the departed Andrew Lang(any
starting center whose 6'11" should get more than 5 reb's a game just by
sheer blind luck).  He's a free agent & if a cheaper back-up could be found,
they may let him go in order to free up his $600,000 slot.  If he does
re-sign for something in that neighborhood then that's not too bad either.
You can always use a guy who's willing to go in & throw his body around.
Rooks, perhaps just as importantly, is the type of player that Lenny Wilkens
likes to have around in his frontcourt bench. In Cleveland, he always had
guys like Phil Hubbard & Mike Sanders waiting to throw into the fray.  Rooks
could well fill this role in Atlanta.

After Laettner & Rooks, there really is no 3rd string center to speak of
unless you want to talk about Tim Kempton or Blair Rasmussen(is he still
even alive?). And frankly, I'd rather talk about... well pretty much
anything else.


        B.  POWER FORWARD
One could almost refer back to the section on centers because they should
really be playing here instead of in the middle.  However, the Hawks had
Grant Long starting here & Grant Long is one of the few bright spots for the
Hawks.  He averaged 13 pts & alomst 10 boards a game this year.  He never
met a loose ball he wouldn't go after or an opponent he'd back down from.
If he were a couple of inches taller, he'd be several million dollars
richer.  This is the kind of player the Hawks need more of.  He not only
shows up to play(literally-82 games this year), but ready to spill blood,
sweat & whatever it takes to win.  He has a nice jump shot from 15-18 feet &
a solid low-post game to go with it.  He's tough on defense & was 2nd on the
team in steals with 1.3 per game.  Acquiring Long for Kevin Willis didn't
look good at first, but as it shakes out it just reaffirmed what I've always
believed.  When in doubt, always go for the guy with more fire inside than
just plain talent. 
Long has put up better numbers than Willis & will always hustle more.  

Alan Henderson showed promise as a rookie last year after a slow start.  He
averaged 6.4 pts & 4.5 reb in just 18 min & those numbers rose during the
2nd half of the season.  He wasn't overwhelming, but showed enough ability &
work-ethic to warrant playing time & patience to see if he can develop into
an asset.  Matt Bullard was on the team last year.  He was the tall guy with
the bad haircut standing out at the arc growing roots.  I know he can drop
the 3, but hey if we needed that we'd pick up a guard.  The man was
outrebounded on a per-minute basis by Donnie Boyce.  Bullard is a free agent
& I hope he was renting in Atlanta.

        C.  SMALL FORWARD

Stacey Augmon ended gathering most of the minutes here while Ken Norman
gathered splinters on Lenny Wilkens' bench.  Augmon may have been playing
here, but he wasn't necessarily producing.  At least not at the rate he had
the previous couple of seasons.  His points, rebounds & Assists all dropped
this year.  Still, I like Stacey Augmon because of his defense &
athleticisim.  The Plastic Man plays some tenacious defense & is terriffic
on the wings oun the break.  He was switched to small forward from the
backcourt to accomodate Steve Smith & that may account for some of the drop
in scoring & rebounding since the 6'8" Augmon could no longer work over
small guards on the blocks & boards.  His FG% improved from 45% to 49% this
season, so maybe he's finally learned to stop launching those left-handed
shots that pray on their way to the hoop.  A swingman who plays the kind of
defense that Augmon does is always good to have around(a la Nate McMillan,
Michael Cooper etc..).
Grant Long, in a perfect world, would also see playing time her & could use
his skills to abuse some of the softer 3's around the league.  Again, the
Hawks lack of a big man has a domino effect on their lineup & turns possible
favorable mismatches into negative mismatches.  Oh yeah, I alomst forgot to
mention Ken Norman.  Then again, Lenny Wilkens usually forgot to play Ken
Norman.  I guess that "Snake" nickname must have been to describe his
personality as well as his game.  When actually sighted on the court Norman
produced adequate offense, but shot 35% from the charity stripe. Last year
he couldn't win money off Chris Dudley shooting free throws.  The bad part
is that he has 3 years left on a 6-yr 16$ contract & no one, barring a
reincarnation of Ted Stepien, will take him the Hawks' hands.  Oh that the
Snake was a  free agent & could slither of in the sunset & free up a 2.67
million dollar slot.

        D.  SHOOTING GUARD
Steve Smith.  Love him. Hate him.  Many times- both- in the same quarter.
Led the team in scoring, but only connected on 43% of his shots.  Has a nice
stroke from behind the arc, but also takes shots 
when waaay out of control.  Plays defense... occasionally and occasionally
looks like one of the worst defensive guards in the league.  In his defense,
some chronic knee problems bother him & hinder his quickness which leads to
him getting beat by quicker guards.  Withought a shot blocker in the middle
that leads to easy hoops in the middle.  Smith is the classic "potential"
tease.  He shows enough potential to be a big-time player to keep you
interested but never really delivers the goods.  Led the team in scoring,
but was outrebounded by Mookie who's 8 inches shorter.  Passes the ball
occasionally like on holidays; he dished out less than 3 assists per game.
Gets no steals & for a 6'8" guard he blocks no shots to speak of.  Again
Mookie had as many as he did.  Still, he's not what could be described as a
soft player & honestly, I think he has enough offensive ability & potential
to re-sign hime(at a reasonable market rate) this summer & hope Wilkens can
help him develop his all-around game.  

Craig Ehlo is the back-up here & hasn't he been Lenny's back-up here since
the mid 70's.  Seriously, though Ehlo is the consumate professional who may
be slow & can't jump anymore, but will still beat you.  Atlanta won their
only game against Orlando with & the return from injury by Ehlo had a good
deal to do with that.  Offensively, he's mainly a 3pt shooter now & hit 37%
of those shots.  His defense is still solid as long as Michael's nowhere in
the building.  He doesn't get many assists, but turns the ball over
infrequently.  He also averaged a very respectable 3+ boards in only 20
minutes of action.  

Donnie Boyce is a question mark in the futur at this position. One of the
saddest recent memories in sport I have is of him fracturing his leg in the
Big 8 tourney in in '95.  He looked like a sure bet NBA player before the
injury, maybe not a star or starter, but certainly had the skills to be
around for 7-10 years coming off the bench.  Had  a long rehab a& only saw
action in 8 games last season which was really not enough to be any kind of
gauge.  

Again the Domino effect hits here.  2 years ago, the combo of Augmon &
Blaylock was one of the best defensive duos in the league.  The arrival of
Smith & the necessity of using Long at the 4 has caused Augmon to shift &
the defense on oppsoing shooting guards to suffer.


        E.  POINT GUARD
Mookie! Mookie!! Mookie!!! Probably the best thief in the NBA.  Averaged
almost 3 per game and even when he's not swipe the ball the mere threat can
disrupt the other team's point.  Unfortunately, Mookie's shooting is erratic
at best.  He made 40% from the field, although he did drop 37% of his treys
which accounted for over half his attempts from the field.  He grabs 4+ reb
at only 6'1", but that lack of size can hurt against the bigger points like
Penny when they post him down low.  
Mookie's assists dropped last season, but it's hard to tell if that is a
product of his game or his teammates inability to put the ball in the hole.
All in all, Mookie is a good man to hav at the    point if somewhat
aggravating at times(like when he goest 3-17).  One of the quicker points in
the league who combined w/ Smith, Augmon & Laettner would make for the
nucleus of a pretty good up-tempo team.  

There really is no true back-up to Mookie.  Smith or Ehlo has to shift over
to the 1 when Mookie needs a rest.  Spud Webb filled that function well for
a while, but he was sent to Minnesota in the Laettner deal(Spud really
deserves a better fate than Sac & Minn after being such a goodwill
ambassador for the game).  The only other guards they had last year was
Howard Nathan who saw Andy Warhol action last year- 15 minutes.  

        F.  TEAM ANALYSIS
The Hawks have some really solid players & specialists, but lack the big
punch to move up a rung on the competitive ladder.  They need a big man &
someone to distribute the ball(preferably to someone who can consistently
put it in the hole as they were 25th in fg% at 44.8%).  They were tied for
last in the league in assists, one of only three teams averaging under 20
per game.  They had the 9th fewest turnovers, so it wasn't carelessness just
some lack of creativity.  They were also 20th in opp FG% at 47.4% which
reflects a combination of defensive indifference, bad match-ups & no shot
blocker to clean up the lane.  On the plus side, they were among the league
leaders in steals & they have players like Blaylock, Laettner, Augmon,
Rooks, Henderson & Ehlo who will hustle & fight.  They also have Lenny
Wilkens.  



II.  YOUR SELECTION

Eric Gingold, C, Williams College.  He's big.  Massive.  A late-comer to the
game he's made great strides just in the last 4 years or so.  He apparently
couldn't even dunk the ball when he was in High School, but of the tape I've
seen on CNN, ESPN, etc.. of him, he seems to have come a long way. 7'4" guys
don't come along very often & it is the 32nd pick of the draft.  I can see
him possibly developing into a Gheorghe Muresan-type player. I'm not sure he
has the touch of Big Ghoerge, but if he can clog the middle, rebound on both
ends & move laterally some he would certainly help the Hawks.  He's not the
19th pick in the draft, but I like him as a 2nd rounder. 

III.  Others considered

Steve Hamer, C, Tennessee.  An active big guy, but at times not very
effective.  Living in SEC country I've seen him on a pretty regular basis &
I haven't been that impressed.  He has the athletic ability to be a force,
but his skills are questionable.  I'm afraid he might end up as Ervin
Johnson(at best).  If I'm taking a project-type player I'd prefer the 4
inches & 60 pounds of Gingold.  7-footer like Hamer will always be available
to pick-up from CBA or Europe.

Joseph Blair, PF, Arizona.  A big banger who's deceptively active for his
physique.  Had to sit out the final part of last season at Arizona.  Not
much of a shooting touch, but seldom shoots beyond his range.  He'll
probably be a PF in the pros & Atlanta has enough of those already.  

Carlos Strong, PF, Georgia. Another SEC'er of whom I've seen a great deal.
Even though the Hawks have plenty at his position, I was tempted to take him
based on his potential.  Never developed fully in college, but I think that
might say as much about Hugh Durham as Strong.  His shooting was somewhat
erratic, but he ahas a nice-lookin stroke that could be sharpened.  Great
leaper who knows no fear.

Jeff McInnis, PG, North Carolina.  Good shooter with good court sense.  Good
strong body who could really defend at the point in the pros.  He was
probably the 2nd choice as a back-up for Mookie.

IV.  Who the team will probably take

Who knows?  The last Hawk draft pick still with the team was Augmon drafted
in '91 so the odds are whomever it is they won't be around the Omni for long.

V.  Other moves the team should make

1.) Re-sign Steve Smith.  He may be frustrating at times, but it he would be
hard to replace at the 2 with what's out there right now.  The Hawks have no
shot at guys like Reggie Miller so Smith is integral to their short term
future.  Plus, he may not always produce, but I don't think Smith is in the
"bad guy" category a la Norman or Vincent (I'm not getting enough PT) Askew.

2.) Sign a 2nd-tier free agent center.  Probably don't have a shot at guys
like Elden Campbell or Otis Thorpe or Antonio Davis.  Maybe someone such as
Michael Cage or Oliver Miller could be used as stop gap until Gingold
develops.  Although any contract with the Really Big O should include a
weight clause & a special scale.

3.) Find some back-up guards.  Craig Ehlo can't last forever & the Hawks
really have no point relief at all.  Signing someone like Sedale Threatt or
Eric Murdock would provide some good cost-effective help in the backcourt.

4.) Re-Sign Sean Rooks.  He's a good guy for the team both on the floor
coming off the bench & has a quality work ethic guy who won't complain about
coming off the bench.  Hell, he's just happy he's not in Dallas or Minnesota.

5). Jon Koncak's revenge.  Sign restricted free agent Allan Houston to an
offer sheet.  Which would force the division rival Piston to pony up some
serious bucks to keep him. If they don't then the Hawks have acquired one
sweet shooter who can help their sorry fg%.  Plus he's 10X the player that
Koncak was when Jack McCloskey signed him to the 13$ offer sheet back in the
80's.