"He should be able to run club, distribute ball, get the team into its offense. He doesn't have to be a guy who's a great shooter, but he should be able to shoot a little. He should be a good athlete. Somebody who can defend (shooting guards) as well as (point guards) because of (Jason Terry's slight stature)."

This is what the Atlanta Journal-Constitution describe as an ad the Hawks would put in a paper.  With Terry, Kukoc, Abdur-Rahim and Ratliff set in the lineup, who will be the point?  It certainly will not be rookie Jamaal Tinsley, who the Hawks took then traded to the Pacers for a future first round pick.

In one of the big steals of the 2001 NBA draft, the Rockets traded their 3 first-rounders -- #13, #18, and #23 -- to New Jersey for the #7 pick used on Eddie Griffin, reports Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.  Griffin, who can play either forward position for the Rockets, was the Rockets' most coveted player in the draft.  And while there are concerns about a couple of punches Griffin has thrown in school, Fran Blinebury writes that all the Rockets' research didn't really reveal him to be a bad seed.

In another draft-night trade, the Rockets traded a future first-rounder to Atlanta for the rights to #34, Terence Morris, for whom Steve Francis had been pushing.  The first-rounder traded was from the Mirsad Turkcan trade.  It is owed by Detroit but can be any team's pick; there is no protection but it will be given at Detroit's option at or before the 2004 draft.

The acquisition of Shareef Abdur-Rahim has given the Hawks a quick, mobile front line that could lead them back into playoff contention next season. Abdur-Rahim, who has averaged 20.9 points during his five-year career, gives the Hawks a genuine low-post scoring threat at power forward. He will team with Theo Ratliff, a strong defensive center, and Toni Kukoc, a long-range shooter at small forward.

The Hawks are thin in the backcourt, but that was their weakness before they sent point guard Brevin Knight to the Grizzlies in a package that includes center Lorenzen Wright and the No. 3 pick of the draft.

Just how happy is Shareef Abdur-Rahim about the fact he is heading home to play ball?  "I could not have anticipated a better situation," he said. "With the front line we have now --- Toni Kukoc, Theo Ratliff and me --- I couldn't have imagined that when Dikembe Mutombo left the team that we could have a squad like this. I feel truly blessed."   Hawks general manager Pete Babcock said Abdur-Rahim will be the team's starting power forward with Kukoc at the small forward and Ratliff at center. "That's fine with me," Abdur-Rahim said. "I've played both positions. I'm comfortable with both of them."  Throw Terry and DerMarr Johnson into the mix and this is certainly a playoff team...

According to NBA rules, the deal which would see the rights to the third overall pick head to Vancouver and Shareef Abdur-Rahim head home to Atlanta cannot be completed until the trade moratorium ends July 18 because Abdur-Rahim is a base-year compensation player. As reported in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Atlanta apparently would deal forward-center Lorenzen Wright and point guard Brevin Knight along with the No. 3 pick for Rahim and the rights to the 27th pick of the draft.  "None of these players are going to help us for the next three or four years," team president Stan Kasten said, "so we are working on trades that will add veterans to this young team."

Andy Katz of ESPN reports that Sources around the NBA and close to the teams involved told ESPN.com that the Grizzlies are seeking to send forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim to Atlanta for the No. 3 pick and veteran point guard Brevin Knight and Lorenzen Wright. According to RealGM.com's estimates, this deal will either have to wait until after July 1st to become official or may involve more players and/or another team because of the Base Year status of Abdur Rahim.

ESPN reports that Vancouver will trade Shreef Abdur-Rahim to Atlanta for the third pick in the draft, Brevin Knight and Lorenzen Wright.  Vancouver will use the pick to draft Spaniard Pau Gasol.  According to RealGM.com's estimates, the trade would most likely have to wait until July 18th to become official due to Abdur-Rahim's Base Year status.

ESPN.com's Andy Katz earlier reported that Atlanta was prepared to take Gasol with the third pick.  He also predicts that this will mean Shane Battier will fall to New Jersey with the seventh pick. He thinks Cleveland will choose DeSagana Diop which will cause Rodney White to drop to Detroit with the ninth pick.

So who will fit in best with Jason Terry, Theo Ratliff and Toni Kukoc?  Shane Battier? Kwame Brown? Eddie Griffin?  This is a choice Hawks Gm Pete Babcock must make in 48 hours time.  With his ideal choice to trade, it is very unlikely he will get what he wants.. "If I could paint an ideal scenario, I would use the pick to acquire a 27-year-old player who's an all-star, has won a championship and is under contract," Babcock said, grinning mischievously. "But that's not likely to happen. So we've got to work backward."

Hawks Gm Pete Babcock confirmed that draft-linked trade talks are 'serious', but not to the point where he is willing to give up the third overall pick just yet.  "We're talking to a lot of teams, but at this point I doubt anything is going to happen," Babcock said.  The Hawks seem to be looking in the direction of Kwame Brown, who is expected to be gone in the first two picks, and if he is Shane Battier looks to be their man.  If the Hawks do in fact trade their pick, do not expect an announcement until after the draft.  That's because they are committed to sending next year's first-round pick to the Los Angeles Clippers to complete the 1999 Lorenzen Wright trade. A team cannot trade its first-round pick in consecutive years, so if there is a deal, the Hawks must make the selection and announce the trade afterward.

Pete Babcock was amazed. It was reported on an "inside information" Internet report that the Hawks general manager was so impressed with the workout by Glynn Academy's Kwame Brown that he said, "He's not getting past us." "Not only did I not say that," Babcock insists. "I didn't even think it." While Babcock and the Hawks like Brown, they also like a lot of other players, including Shane Battier and Eddie Griffin.  "Almost without exception we've been impressed with everyone who's come in here." said Babcock.