This is the first of many players to workout in front of the bulls staff and try to impress them in any way that they can. Here is the link for all of the upcoming workouts(it is small for now but as soon as they find out they will post more). I presonaly like Hawes and i think that he would be good in a bulls uniform and would help this team out termendously in the low post next to wallace.

http://www.draftexpress.com/workout.php?tid=6

So he's staying in the draft? If so, thank goodness.

"I think I bring a rare skill in a big guy, not only being able to score on the block, which in the NBA is hard to come by, but also, being able to pass. I say with that combination of skills, I think that anybody that runs a team can see that value, especially in a big guy because it brings then a whole new angle. I don’t think I’m a great defender yet, but I’ve made great strides there, being able to block shots. I think my main skills are on the offensive end, being a big guy that can shoot it, handle it a little bit, score, and especially pass."

Just the thought of it...

Does Hawes have a chance of falling to us at #9?

It is highly likely (actually, closer to probable, though it's hard to predict the ineptitude of some of these teams) that he will be there unless something changes between now and then, like if he works out really well or if he performs better than expected at the athletic testing combine...

So it seems he's staying in the draft.

Between him and Yi, those are the guys I want. I'd be surprised if Yi fell though. I think Hawes would be a great complement to the outside shooting young guns of the Bulls.

Personally I think Hawes would be a better fit from what I understand about Yi. He would be a nice fit if we had another banger on the block, but we don't. We need an inside presense BAD.

The way I do it, I think the only way that one of these guys not named Noah doesn't fall to us is if no one drafts either Conley, Brewer, and Wright in the top 8.

In no obvious order:

Oden
Durant
Horford
B. Wright
Jinlian
J. Wright
Conley
Brewer
Hawes

Somewhere in there is probably most of your top 9, possibly with a Noah or a Surprise pick thrown in. So it is possible that both Hawes and Yi will be gone, but that basically requires 6 big men to go in the top 8, which to my eyes is pushing it a little bit.

I really see Hawes dropping to us... he's a white boy, and everyone knows that tall white guys suck.

Nice!

Longley and Wennington take exception to that....

I would like to see the Bulls draft this guy. He is the only player that I have heard of so far who has a polished low post game. This is what the team needs. He will have to get stronger and get better defensively. He should blend in well with the core group and be ready for a championship run in a year or two.

From the times Ive seen him play he does move well for a big man but lacks quickness. Not too good of a defender but he does get position on opponents. Hes a great scorer down low but tends to use some of the same moves. Otherwise besides that if he can bulk up Ill be interested to see his progress until the draft.

So, just out of curiosity, how would folks say that Hawes compares to a couple of other big guys around the league when they came out. I.e. maybe a Chris Kaman, or a Nene, or a Darko, etc.?

I'd take any of those 3 on the Bulls right now, especially Darko. He has everything the Bulls need. He's big, he has low post moves, he can score the ball within 7 feet of the bucket, he blocks shots pretty well, and the fact that he's only 19 means he can still get taller and get much bigger and stronger. It's a can't-miss for the Bulls, IMO.

Hawes has to be the most boring prospect in the draft. I really hope we just trade the pick if we dont get a chance at conley.

Unbelievable. Just draft whoever is most athletic right? They'll dunk it once in a while and get everyone hyped!

who cares if hes boring as long as he helps. Hes basically Brad Miller which is perfect for our team. To me he would bring more excitement to the team mainly because he would draw away coverage from our guards.

What stifles me is that for the past 2 or 3 seasons, we've been begging for someone who can score down low an get some easy buckets. The guy is sitting in our lap but now people want to draft another guard or another athletic tweener.

ya exactly, i understand that people like to see players dunking and overpowering the opposition but the description of this guys game is perfect for us. How can you consider winnning more games as being boring. People wanted Aldrige on our team last year, this guy seems to be the same type of player and hes only a freshman showing that he has a lot of room for improvement. No more drafting guards and small forwards, we are set on those positions, its time to draft smart and take a player that we desperatly need.

My worst fear this year is drafting Joakim Noah or some project. That would make it 2 straight 1st picks I would really dislike.

Kaman is the closest of those. He's definitely nowhere near as quick as Darko, though also nowhere near as raw. Nene is probably quicker too, definitely bulkier.

The more common comparisons that come up are Brad Miller and Vlade Divac, guys that aren't terribly athletic but can hold position in the post and stick a mid-range jumper. He needs some work to be as effective as those guys defensively, but he also already has the jumper and better post moves even at a very early age. Someone like a Nenad Kristic is a pretty decent comparison as well, I could definitely see him being a 14-7 type big man (though Kristic probably has more potential).

He'll never be a defensive stopper by any stretch, but he'll definitely be a factor offensively (probably even early on) and can move well enough that he probably won't be a total stiff. Plus Wallace's defensive abilities (and down the road Tyrus') will lessen his weaknesses a bit.



Whoa there now, Hawes is SIGNIFICANTLY different than Aldridge. Aldridge is actually a fairly solid athlete. He's no Tyrus, but he's also far from a plodding big man. I'd still love to have the guy, as long as he's over those heart problems he has Chris Bosh type potential and was playing pretty well down the stretch.

Hawes could have a similar type of impact, but he'll have to get there with better offensive ability because he's not the same type of athlete. That is highly possible though, he's one of the best looking offensive post players I've seen entering the draft.

That's funny. Didn't we trade that guy! Haha. Maybe he's a Brad Miller when he has plantar faciitus but he's no Brad Miller from a few years ago. Maybe he can develop into Brad Miller but he's not there yet. I want a sure fire PF that will dominate from day 1. Not some guy that's going to take a few years if he even ever gets there. If we're going to take a project, might as well take the player with the biggest upside that is available. That won't be Hawes. It will be Julian Wright who we don't need but would be a good trade bait for KG or we could use our other SF's as trade bait and keep Wright.

And yes, atleticism is needed in the NBA. Unless you are bigger and can bully others around you need to be fast enough and athletic enough to blow by someone or jump over someone. Otherwise you're going to have to be extremely crafty like Vlade Divac. But even then, you need to be fast enough to get up and down the court defensively.

Um, not really. There are plenty of very good players that don't have off-the-charts athleticism. Guys like Deng and Bosh were pretty ordinary in their athletic testing, and in terms of pure athletic talent Nash is FAR from the best among point guards. Plus of the last 5 guys to perform the best in the athletic combine only one is a regular contributor. The ability to put the ball in the net doesn't show up in testing, and that's arguably the most important asset in the league. It doesn't really matter if you have a 40-inch vert if you can't hang on to the ball, get around the defenders, and get up an uncontested shot that has a chance of going in. You can work with a guy that can shoot/score, otherwise guys like Steve Kerr wouldn't be able to play in the league. Athleticism certainly helps, but it's far from the be-all-and-end-all, otherwise guys like Jonathan Bender and Stromile Swift would be dominating.

There is a place for guys like Steve Kerr in the league, but if you draft them in the first round, you aren't too smart.

Nobody said it was the be-all end-all. I'm just saying that in the NBA you either have to be athletic enough to get your shot off, or you have to be very crafty like Vlade. If your not one of those 2 you better be able to hit the 18ft jumper non-stop or else you won't be very effective offensively at the PF. It's very hard for a PF/C who's not quick and not super big to get their shot off at will in the NBA b/c

1) you either aren't strong enough to get good position or
2) you'll get the ball taken or blocked by quicker, stronger, faster post defenders.

I don't want a backup PF for the 9th pick or a PF/C that we start only b/c we have nothing better. I want a good/great PF/C to fill the void that we don't have. Otherwise you might as well re-sign PJ and take someone else with that pick. I just don't see Hawes being overly effective in his first 2 years hear with the Bulls.

Hawes does EXACTLY what you said. Not only can he consistently hit mid-range jumpers, he's probably the best post scorer in this draft (including Oden). And he's already around 7-foot 245, so the body isn't all that big an issue. About the only way he could be a better fit is if he had a 36-inch vertical, and then he wouldn't be there at our pick.

Adding Hawes immediately makes this team better by filling our biggest need. Not only his he a big body that will eat minutes, he can actually put the ball in the net. You can't ask for a whole lot more picking at #9.

Zoom, it's clearly too logical. We need a low post scorer, there he is, let's pick a 6 foot guard.

Well, that was a rather extreme example...

I don't care how boring he is, the Bulls need a player just like this to take this team to the next level.

Bulls may not go by the book in draft
Scheduled workouts not just for big men

By K.C. Johnson
Tribune staff reporter

June 6, 2007, 8:25 PM CDT

Draft workouts are like one chapter in a novel. They can be enlightening, discouraging or merely something to advance the plot, but they never tell the whole story.

Still, any way you slice it, Friday at the Berto Center will be a big deal for the Bulls, emphasis on big.

Click here to find out more!
That's when Florida's 6-foot-11-inch Joakim Noah will work out with and against Washington 7-footer Spencer Hawes in a session featuring two centers who could interest the Bulls with their ninth pick in the June 28 draft.

Bulls management has made it clear this off-season that adding a skilled big man who can contribute right away is a priority, whether that's through the draft, a trade or free agency.

The Bulls liked Noah enough after his sophomore season last year that they might have used the second overall pick on the eventual two-time NCAA champion. Athletic and active, if occasionally challenged offensively, Noah could be gone by the ninth pick.

Hawes has yet to hire an agent and has until June 18 to withdraw from the draft. That he worked out for the Timberwolves on Wednesday and will work out for the Kings next week shows how seriously the skilled yet physically challenged freshman is gauging his decision.

"Chicago would be a good fit," Hawes told reporters last week at the predraft camp in Orlando.

General manager John Paxson and his scouting and coaching staffs attended the camp, as did every other league executive. All will tell you getting players inside their NBA practice facilities, though, is immeasurably important in the drafting process.

An NBA rule change pushed these individual workouts to after the predraft camp for the first time, basically giving more power to agents who can decline them for their clients.

Besides Friday's high-profile workout, the Bulls have a workout scheduled for Thursday with Georgia Tech point guard Javaris Crittenton, Georgia Tech small forward Thaddeus Young and Texas A & M point guard Acie Law.

Next week, the Bulls will bring in Florida shooting guard Corey Brewer and Florida State small forward Al Thornton on Monday and DePaul small forward Wilson Chandler and Boston College small forward Jared Dudley on Thursday.

Those workouts give credence to Paxson's declaration from May 21:

"I'm not committing that if we stay with our pick we'll necessarily take a big. There might be another player we want and a way to move some players we currently have to address [getting one]."

kcjohnson@tribune.com

That is Paxson trying to get value out of his #9 pick by trying to scare some teams behind him into thinking he might be picking "their guy". Paxson would much rather trade for a veteran big man than go through the Skiles growing pains of a rookie.

definately the mosre likely reason he is working those guys out

unless he really likes one of the wings........

it could help me decide to move BG and Noc for something very good, move thabo into the starting SG pos. and have the rookie back him and deng up.

That's not a bad idea if you can pull it off, except that most of those guys aren't going to be playing the 2-guard spot. Out of the top handful of wing players the only guys I'd trust at shooting guard are Brewer and Nick Young (who is a bit of a reach at 9, though he is pretty talented).

The other problem with that is can you get the impact big man you need without adding Tyrus or the pick to the deal? I'm not so sure you can unless it's Randolph, who I just can't see playing here.

Weaknesses
Hawes doesn't exactly fill out his jersey. He could use another 20 or 30 pounds of muscle. Hawes put up 225 pounds nine times at the Orlando pre-draft camp. That's not horrible, but it's not exactly low-post material (by comparison rail-thin Corey Brewer was able to muster 11 reps).

With the addition of Hawes and fellow freshman standout Quincy Pondexter, Washington came into last season as a top 10 program. The Huskies finished the year a paltry 8-10 in conference play, won only one road game all year and missed the NCAA tournament. Hawes had only six points and five rebounds in a critical Pac 10 tournament game against rival Washington State. Earlier in the season, he struggled against Stanford center Brook Lopez and Arizona big man Ivan Radenovic, scoring only six points in each game.

Enough Said!

dude he's 19.....prime years for a big man are 27-30. Look it up. He isn't ready to give the bulls 16 and 8, but as a rookie will he be able to come in when the outside shots arent falling and put up 4 jump hooks in the post and make 2 of them? Yea. Oh, and that scouting report was done when he was 230 lbs in march. He just weighed in at 244.

The more i see the lack of scorers in free agency, really only mcdyess and brezec fit what we're looking for and they're not terrific. Hawes may be the best post scoring option for us, considering what he'll cost for the next 4 years it seems like a good fit.

This team needs a proven vet that is a low-post scorer. We do not need to "wait" 8 years for this guy to "develop"

We need to play for the championship. Honest to god, if we beat the nets on the last game of the season, we will be in the finals. But I don't know about beating the spurs

That's a lot easier said than done. I'm sure if there's a deal that gets us a proven, low-post scoring vet, Pax will do it as long as it doesn't deplete us in other areas. Unfortunately, the most realistic option of getting a low-post scorer is by getting one in the draft.

So if Hawes gets picked, I would look for the Bulls to move down and try to get Smith.

I think that if the T-Wolves go after Hawes, and the Hawks don't Grab Conley with either #3 or moving down a little bit, then they'd be drooling about jumping from 11 to 9 to grab Conley.

He also posted 21 and 6 and 13 and 15 with 5 blocks in 2 games against UCLA (the latter an upset win), and in earlier meetings against Stanford, Arizona and Wasington State he posted 18, 16 and 22 respectively. He also posted 23 and 8 against a solid LSU frontcourt earlier in the year, and 12 and 12 against Aaron Gray and Pitt. Of course who ever wrote that little blurb didn't feel like pointing that out (or they did and you just quoted the part that helped your cause).

Using 3 games as enough to draw a conclusion on anything is just asanine, especially when there is significant evidence going against those few bad games. If you focused on the 3 or 4 bad ones for every player you'd never draft anyone and be happy about it.

Too be honest I'm more worried about the lifting than the points he scored against decent big men. Basically, that tells me he's not going to be able to dominate in the NBA from day 1. Everyone keeps saying we don't need another project and that's what I feel someone who doesn't have NBA strength or athletic ability is going to be. Players in the NBA are way stronger than the college players. For Brewer to be able to outlift him is a real eye opener. Either that or Brewer is just a superfreak.

The latter is highly possible., especially considering he out-did an awful lot of other guys.

Bench presses aren't applicable in the game, they're a pretty general guage. I wouldn't really be too worried that Noah did 3 more than him, and if it were really that important Brandon Wright would be screwed since he only did 2.

I'm more worried about whether he can stick his butt in the paint, catch the ball, and put it in the basket. So far he's proven he can do that pretty well. No, I don't expect him to bully around Tim Duncan from Day 1, but I don't exactly expect him to get thrown around like a rag doll either. He's got a pretty good frame for that, so he doesn't need to be a body builder.

Why in the world are you more worried about the bench press than his scoring ability? The bench press is the most overrated exercise in the history of mankind. When is that in any way, shape, or form represented during the coarse of a basketball game. No player in the draft is going to dominate from day 1. Not Oden, not Durant, not Conley, not Hawes...no one. And no one is expecting it either.

To say Hawes is more of a project then say, a Brendan Wright, or a Joakim Noah is a joke. He has the most polished low post game and he had good size. Add to that he's only 19 and will still grow into his body and be able to bulk up, and you have a potentially dominant low post threat. With Hawes, you know exactly what you are getting.

Geez, what would be so bad about Hawes. I hate to break it to you all, but the odds of us getting someone at no. 9 and he becoming a stud right away and putting up huge numbers just isn't bloody likely. Hawes would be a fine pick at 9, and I hope we'd add another veteran big man anyway. No, not KG or Gasol, but someone similar to P.J.

Um, yeah, Oden and Durant are actually probably going to be damn good from day one. The rest is wide open though...

You expect them to dominate the NBA from day 1? Lebron didn't dominate. He was the last can't-miss prospect.

Hawes is the safe choice for us and the most logical. He gives us size and something we lack, post skills.

Even if Hawes winds up not being the best player we could get at spot 9, I think it may be pretty hard for us to go wrong by getting him.

Just think about our lineup next year. It's right below me if you need it. First, add Hawes. 2nd, add in PJ Brown. 3rd, spend a couple mil on someone else with a little size, and look how we should compare to 06-07.

Thomas 07-08 >>> Thomas 06-07 if he even works at all this offseason.
Deng 07-08 > Deng 06-07 based on Lu's trend of improving each season.
Wallace 07-08 < Wallace 06-07 if Ben gradually loses a step. Hopefully he can be the same guy, maybe with fewer minutes.
Hinrich 07-08 = Hinrich 06-07 if all goes well.
Gordon 07-08 > Gordon 06-07, esp. if we develop a better inside game.
Hawes 07-08 > PJ Brown 06-07, hopefully at the very worst.
PJ Brown 07-08 + MLE player > Michael Sweetney + Malik Allen in 06-07.
Noc 07-08 > Noc 06-07, all he has to do is play the full season.
Duhon 07-08 = Duhon 06-07
Thabo 07-08 >> Thabo 06-07.

Every single spot in our lineup shoudl be improved over last year except for any additional Decline in Ben Wallace (although he won't have to spend time adapting to his new team). This is a case where it's probably ok to go with the safest choice, unless you've got a really, really good reason not to.

Now I'm convinced that you actually know nothing. Lebron didn't dominate? Are you serious. I bet you think Kirk Hinrich dominated from day 1.

Lebron average 20.9 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 5.9 apg, & 1.6 spg. That's pretty impressive. His FG% was the only thing that was low. That's b/c he was a rookie and had to get used to the NBA. But he was by far the best player ever in his first year after jumping straight from high school.

I expect Oden and Durant to dominate from day 1. I don't expect them to be top 5 players their first year but they definately should be the cornerstone of their respective franchises in their first year. Durant might take a little bit to get adjusted b/c he's so skinny but he'll put the ball in the basket from day one. Something Spencer Hawes probably won't do.