Here is the alleged roster:

If that's the case, that's not only some impressive company Big Al will be keeping but also perhaps a glimpse into his future.

Horford is a citizen of the Dominican Republic, but has certainly lived in the United States long enough that should he decide to become an American citizen, he'd probably be on the short list of players Jerry Colangelo would be looking at over the next several years.

This makes me feel only slightly better about Michael Redd being named to the US Senior team over Joe Johnson. Granted, I am glad JJ is getting the time off, but I still think he is a better player than Redd.

/soapbox.

GM Rick Sund, speaking with Sekou Smith afterwards, basically said it came down to the team not wanting to give up any future assets to make any moves into this year's proceedings. This is pretty consistent with what he told me when I interviewed him a few weeks ago, when he sounded less than enthused about this current crop of players.

I can get behind that line of thinking, as I too don't look at this draft as one we'll really see a ton of great players from, but it certainly makes for a boring night when you have no picks, I'll tell you that much.

I won't get into too much draft analysis, because you can't really judge anyone until at least a few years into their careers, but I will say this. I think Chris Douglas-Roberts is going to make a bunch of teams regret passing on him. I thought he was the best player on Memphis' team last season, and just because he doesn't play the game in a prototypical manner doesn't mean he won't be successful at the next level. CDR dropped all the way to 40th, where he was scooped up by a fortunate New Jersey team, and I fully expect him to be on their roster come opening day. Just wanted to state that for the record.

Otherwise, not too much to report from these parts. July 1 is the first day of free agency, so I imagine we'll have much to discuss come next week.

We've already seen several deals take place the last couple days between several teams, so you just never know what might transpire.

If anything happens, I'll be here to let you know.

Enjoy the draft!

It's been pretty silent around these parts the last few weeks, with the only real news being the hiring of GM Rick Sund and subsequent re-signing of head coach Mike Woodson.

With the NBA Draft taking place this Thursday, I find myself in the heretofore unknown position of not having any real work to do for it. That is because (in case you just decided to start paying attention to the Hawks and didn't know this) we don't have any selections in 2008. The first-rounder went to Phoenix to complete the 2005 trade for Joe Johnson, and the second rounder is now with Sacramento as part of the price for Mike Bibby.

Who knows? We may end up with business on Thursday, as I'm sure Rick Sund will be exploring all his options like any good GM would do, but as of now it's all quiet on the home front.

There is some news to report today, and to be honest, I have no idea if it's good or bad. David Andersen, the former Hawks 2nd-round draft pick, and a guy who was rumored to be in the team's plans for 2008-09, has apparently decided to take advantage of the Euro's superiority to the dollar by signing a three-year contract to play for FC Barcelona in the Spanish League.

I won't speak for our basketball ops people, but this was certainly a surprise to me. However, no matter how solid Andersen's rep is in Europe, I still have no idea how well his game would have translated to the NBA. It became pretty clear over the last couple years that it was going to take a sizeable deal to get him to come overseas, so it's entirely possible this turn of events has saved the club several million for a guy who may not have been that good. Or maybe he is awesome and we'll never find out, who knows?

In other news, when new management arrives it usually means a shake-up of basketball staff, and that continued today for the Hawks as Harold Ellis left to join the Pistons organization as an assistant coach on Michael Curry's new staff. He is the second coach to take flight in the past week, as David Fizdale joined the Heat early last week as well. I am sad to see them go, but the gigs were a step up for both of them so I can't blame them for taking off.

As I said, I don't expect much movement around these parts this week, but should anything arise you'll be the first to know about it.

The NBA Finals came to a disappointing end last night, as the Celtics finished off the Lakers with a ridonkulous 131-92 win in Game 6. 

I say it was disappointing because, for all the hype given to the renewing of the Celtics-Lakers rivalry, there really were very few good games in this series. Game 2 was interesting for about 5 minutes in the 4th quarter and Game 5 was entertaining, but that's about it. I will say I'm surprised the Celtics won the series (especially as easily as they did), but my hat's off to them for their accomplishments. After our series with them, I didn't think they had the mental toughness to survive the onslaught, but they took everyone's best punches and still stood tall.

I have to say though, given the way things went down last night, it's gotta make you feel better about the Hawks' showing in the first round, doesn't it? As frustrating as the team's performances were in the games in Boston, clearly they weren't the only team to struggle there. The Celtics lost only one game at home over the duration of the playoffs, finishing 13-1 overall at the TD Banknorth Garden.

I know we weren't supposed to be a playoff team, and were supposed to go down quietly, but given the way everything shook out, it's nice to be able to say that we took the champs further than either the Pistons or the Lakers.

And so the 2007-08 season finally comes to a close. Congrats to the Celtics, and congrats to KG, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce for finally getting that ring. Now let's go take it from them in 2008-09.

Al is not the only Hawks player sitting in summer school classes this summer, as Josh Childress and Marvin Williams are both back at their respective alma maters (Stanford and North Carolina) working towards their degrees as well.

I know many people wonder why someone would spend their time in a classroom once they become millionaires, but it's really a smart decision that will pay off for them down the road when their playing careers are over.

Kudos guys, and kudos again.