There is a rumor floating around to the dismay of Hawks fans that the team is considering drafting Sheldon Williams of Duke. Local media is having a field day attacking this potential pick. For all those disagreeing with the choice, tell me who you would pick at #5? Adam Morrison? LaMarcus Aldridge? Tyrus Thomas? Rudy Gay? No! No! No! And No! Only one of those names could fall to #5 and it isn’t Morrison or Aldridge. Thomas and Gay are just the kind of players the Hawks need to stay away from.

Priority 1 should be a center. Aldridge is gone and no way do you take Patrick O'Bryant with this pick. Andrea Bargnani from Italy is not a center even though he is pushing 7’0. Bargnani does have a ton of upside, but he is still very inexperienced and does not play with his back to the basket. 

Okay, we skip on center. Priority 2 is a point guard. The only point guards rated high enough are Marcus Williams and Randy Foye. However, neither is a sure fit. Chris Paul is not in this draft. The Hawks do have a luxury of back-up options at the point, so bringing in a draft pick or free agent at that position should be with the desire to make them the starter. Foye and Williams aren’t necessarily what the Hawks need in that case. A major influencing factor here is what the real options in free agency are. With a sign and trade of Al Harrington, the Hawks could target a point guard. If they fill another position with that move, maybe Foye or Williams is the pick.

Moving on. Since the Hawks don't have a center to pick at #5 and they may be uncomfortable with the point guards available, they have to look at other options with the pick. Trading the pick may not work since there isn't much enticing teams to take that pick. This is just a weak draft. Another option is to forget filling an open position and find a player with intangibles the Hawks seriously lack regardless of position. What is wrong with drafting a bench when you can’t find a starter? Good teams must have solid benches. Without blinking, I can easily tell you that Sheldon Williams is the man.

He is a senior so the Hawks can expect an immediate impact in terms of playing time. He is a power forward which is a vacated position once Al Harrington is officially in another uniform. What about Marvin Williams? Besides the fact that Marvin is not ready to play full-time, he may not even be an NBA power forward. Shelden Williams is.

Everyone seems to want a potential scorer with the pick, but they overlook the biggest weakness of the Hawks last year. Al Harrington could score with any power forward in the NBA. Unfortunately, any power forward in the NBA could score with Harrington. Harrington never created much intimidation in the paint. More than 200 players had a better block per game average than Harrington. More than 40 players averaged more rebounds and steals per game. Shelden Williams is everything defensively that Harrington will never be.

What the heck is wrong with drafting a role player anyway? Let’s face it. We are not uncovering a Lebron in this draft. There is no Dwayne Wade falling back in the draft. If you can find a player who will make your team better immediately and contribute very valuable minutes, you better take him.