"With no first-round pick in a draft that's considered short on depth, the Hawks face long odds of finding the next Gilbert Arenas or Carlos Boozer in this week's NBA draft.

Those two players became All-Stars after they were drafted in the second round but they are the outliers in the history of the draft. It's uncommon for teams to find players in the second round who become even established starters, much less stars.

There is a chance, however, that the Hawks can find a player who eventually becomes a rotation player and a relatively cheap one too. The Hawks are preparing for Thursday's draft with the idea that they can beat the percentages and select a player who can contribute with the No. 48 overall pick.

"We are not approaching this like there is luck involved," Hawks assistant general manager Dave Pendergraft said. "We are approaching it like, 'This is our pick and somebody we expect to make our team.' And hopefully, if there is an injury [to a regular], you can plug [the rookie] in there and they will be able to help."

That's difficult to pull off. The Hawks traded their first-round pick to Washington in February as part of the deal to acquire Kirk Hinrich. That pick ended up being No. 18 overall.

According to a study by DraftExpress.com, only 3 percent of the 574 players selected in the second round of the draft from 1980 to 2001 became "star" players. Just 10 percent ended up as "solid starters," 14 percent topped out as "marginal starters" and 19 percent became "solid bench" players. "