All the right moves
The Hawks will have Mike Woodson back to start another season in the fall.
HAWKSVILLE - Hawks coach Mike Woodson is not going anywhere.
Hawks general manager Rick Sund made that clear on at least three different occasions Tuesday, on two different sports talk radio shows in the morning and later to me in his office.
Not that it was an issue or anything (laugh track goes here).
Woodson has one year remaining on his contract and Sund, while not confirming or denying any details pertaining to said contract, insisted that the Hawks would indeed “honor Woodson’s contract.”
(Last summer there was a legitimate question about Woodson’s future since his contract had expired. But when a coach signs a two-year deal, wins 47 games, a top four seed, and guides his team to the Eastern Conference semifinals in the first, questions about his job security, no matter what any of us here think of his performance, don’t register with the folks in charge of hiring and firing).
Read into that what you will. But it should be noted that several times throughout the nearly 60 minutes we spent talking, Sund praised Woodson and his staff numerous times for the job they did this season.
Sund’s making all the right moves leading up to the July 1 free agent frenzy. He hasn’t closed the door on anything (more below) and hasn’t thrown anyone or anything under the bus heading into the draft and what looks like it might be yet another long summer for the Hawks.
Those of you interested in continuing the debate about Woodson’s future are welcome to do so, but anyone else interested in moving off that topic and onto a few others, the rest of this blog is for you:
AFTER ALL, IT IS DRAFT LOTTERY NIGHT around the rest of the NBA.
And after years of being a major player in the lottery, the Hawks are on the outside looking in for the second straight year (which is a good thing if you’ve also made the playoffs for the second straight year).
Blake Griffin knows that all the ping pong balls in the lottery are pointing toward him as the No. 1 pick!
The Blake Griffin sweepstakes (win at your own peril) are almost over for those lonely teams like Sacramento, Washington and the Los Angeles Clippers – the three teams with best statistical odds of snagging the top pick in what doesn’t have the makings of anything other than a mediocre (at best) draft.
There’s no doubt Griffin is the big prize. But outside of the Oklahoma superstar power forward (and Connecticut center Hasheem Thabeet, Spanish point guard Ricky Rubio and Smyrna native and Arizona star big man Jordan Hill), there’s a consensus that teams will do a whole lot of reaching for impact players in this draft.
“This is basically a two-man draft and Rubio,” a wise Eastern Conference executive told me today. “It’s Griffin and Thabeet and you have to figure out where Rubio fits in there, too.”
So where does that leave a team like the Hawks with the 19th pick (in a draft that is already light on big men and point guards)?
Basically in limbo.
Because if they hold on to their pick and wait and see what shakes out of the lottery and down into their hands, the best they can hope for is the proposition of choosing between the best player available and and someone who strictly fills a need (as opposed to an elite talent at a position that fills a need).
That’s if they hold on to the pick and don’t package it with another asset and move them for something they need more than a rookie swingman (again, you have to figure the best point guards and big men will be gone by 19) or project at another position.
“What they’ve got to do is find a player at 19 that makes the coaching staff play him every night,” that wise Eastern Conference exec told me.
I couldn’t agree more.
The last three players chosen at 19 in the draft:
Cleveland (and Marietta’s own) J.J. Hickson in 2008, Washington and (Atlanta’s own) Javaris Crittenton in 2007 and Toronto’s Quincy Douby in 2006.
Not one of them started a single game during his rookie season.
So if we go on recent history alone, the chances of the Hawks finding anything more than a rotation player at 19 are pretty slim. And in a weak draft, even that might be a stretch.
THAT’S WHY I CAN’T IMAGINE THE HAWKS ARE BANKING ON THEIR DRAFT PICK MAKING – OR BREAKING – THEIR SUMMER, as has been the case in years past.
You can’t with that sort of empirical data as your guide.
Besides, the Hawks have far more pressing issues in free agency, where they’ll have to deal with what Sund referred to as “moving pieces.”
The Hawks have more of those free agent pieces – Mike Bibby, Zaza Pachulia, Flip Murray, Solomon Jones and Marvin Williams (the only one of the bunch that’s restricted, as is Josh Childress, whose rights the Hawks still retain while he is living and working in Greece) – than any team likes.
A big summer for the Hawks could get even bigger if Josh Childress finds his way home from Greece! The Hawks still hold his rights while he's living and working overseas.
Tough choices will have to be made. And anyone not invested for the long run (don’t expect this process to be resolved quickly) is probably in for a tough summer.
I don’t suspect that Sund will be rushed into any deals. What with the tightening of belts all around the league, teams won’t be so quick to spend as freely as they have been in the past.
The free agent marketplace is sure to be constipated, just like all the other markets have been since the global recession began (no, the NBA is not immune).
That might actually work out well for the Hawks, if their quest is to keep the core of this season’s roster together as best they can. And from all indications, that’s exactly what their aim is this summer.
IN TODAY’S FINALE ODE TO THE NBA SUMMER, it seemed only fitting that I pass along yet another pertinent link to a home run story from my main man Steve Aschburner of si.com.
For all the bellyaching folks do about coaches and players (and officials, and beat writers and just about everything else), you at least know when you’ve got a good or a bad one.
But as the elder statesman points out, a good GM is really hard to find.
Here’s a taste:
“Hiring an NBA coach is like hiring a tax accountant: By the middle of April each year, you know exactly where you stand. Hiring an NBA general manager is more like hiring a financial advisor: He takes control of your entire portfolio, makes decisions for some distant horizon and assures you during the bumpy times that the plan is sound, that time and patience are your friends and, by the way, that past performance is no guarantee of future results.
And every once in a while, a franchise ends up flipping its keys to the basketball equivalent of Bernie Madoff.”
Make sure you read the rest!
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484 comments Add your comment
Volman
May 21st, 2009
10:52 am
oh..my…gosh. It just ate that entire post I wrote?
Melvin
May 21st, 2009
10:53 am
MannyT, I put that loss on the Refs. They couldn’t comeup with another phanthom foul call for Lebron. Then again, its Lebron fault b/c he didn’t shoot the ball to allow the Refs to make a phanthom foul call.
Astro Joe
May 21st, 2009
10:53 am
This is also the first series that LeBron has had to play defense. Tayshaun didn’t put pressure on him and goodness knows that Mo Evans was a non-factor. And like Manny mentioned, the Hedu/Rashard tandem is a bad match-up because Varejao can’t stay with either of those guys on the perimeter. Orlando forces the opposing teams PF to play away from the basket which creates more offensive rebounding opportunities for Howard and others. It will be interesting to see how the happy-go-lucky Cavs respond to a little adversity.
Mike is back
May 21st, 2009
11:00 am
Big Ray, Astor Joe, and Doc…for the record I was impressed with Sund when he first took the job…despite constant prodding from Bradley…he would never throw BK under the bus…so I’m not at surprised that he was steadfast in his defense of Woody. I respect them both…they are high characters guys.
Part of the reason why there are so many moving parts is because the franchise is reactive instead of proactive…nothing precluded the Hawks from at leased locking up the guys you know you are going to keep…Yeah AJ Sund is savvy…but so are the fan. Case an point…I can allude to the interview you just posted from 680 to justify that very point.
The jest of what we are saying is…WE DON’T WANT TO SEE ANOTHER SCENARIO LIKE THE FIASCO THAT HAPPEN LAST YEAR WITH JOSH AND CHILL.
While we wasting for people to make offers on our guys…we missed the top FAs that were available. Not saying we would have been willing to shell out the cash to sign them. If you are going to make moves be proactive and go after the best. If Sund feels finances will not be an impediment…come July lets see some moves. ABSENT THAT YOU GOT TO DEVELOP THE TALENT YOU HAVE.
doc
May 21st, 2009
11:03 am
i put the win on orlando in spite of a huge game by lebron. he outdid himself from just two games ago when he torched us and we couldnt deal with it. the rest of the cast played like they did in atlanta both games, complimentary. it is who the cavs are and not as invincible as once thought against the lesser teams detroit and the hawks. no walk in the park.
folks were ready to give the trophy to the cavs for the next decade and are now coming down to earth and reality. stern baby it isnt about one guy and the sooner you learn that the more fun we have as fans and it looks more like the nfl and will make a ton of money. take the star system out, didnt work for baseball and it wont work for the nba. life and society is about more than the big guy.
MannyT
May 21st, 2009
11:06 am
Woody on ESPN First Take (via phone) right now!
Melvin
May 21st, 2009
11:13 am
ill-logic,
How will Houston offer Bibby 7 mil if they are over the cap? Matter of fact I think there will be less than 5 teams under the cap for next season unless the cap increases. So I doubt we will see alot of big spending on FA’s this summer without doing a sign & trade. So if Houston wants to pay Bibby big bucks, they will have to do S&T with the Hawks.
Mike is back
May 21st, 2009
11:47 am
MannyT, the Bigs for Cleveland was nonexistence in the post against Howard…plus Orlando size caused problems for Cleveland guards.
AJ is a savvy vet…he was giving DWest fits…that was perhaps the biggest surprise for Mike Brown…I sure he view that as a mismatch in his favor. He has represented the College of Charleston well. I’m happy for him and the Original Dribble Master himself TLue. You think JJ got some kind of dribble disease from TLue. Heh heh
jhan
May 21st, 2009
12:25 pm
This slow economic time is just what the ASG ordered. Every team will be operating on the cheap just like the ASG. Sort of evens the playing field now that all GM’s will be held fiscally responsible for their moves.
Kyle
May 21st, 2009
12:32 pm
Sekou…Everyone talks about getting or drafting a PG, but doesn’t Woody’s system prefer a shooter at the point instead of a slasher and pick and roll guy? I would love to see a change of offensive philosophy…I can’t stand watching 4 guys sit out at the 3 point line and wait for the ball to come to them.
Volman
May 21st, 2009
12:48 pm
Manny T, I posted a huge thing on the game last night, only for it to be eaten up by the “Matrix” as we all know so well now.
I’m going to say the support players to LeBron were nonentities. Mo Williams was around 6-19 shooting I believe, and I do not know whether to blame him for missing 13 shots, or credit Anthony Johnson for the pretty good defensive game that he played.
Sczerbiack wasn’t in there taking “charges” and knocking down every three he took like against the Hawks. He definitely didn’t do ANYTHING. I’m going to have to also point out Delonte West wasn’t as effective as he was against the Hawks (anyone can be good against Bibby) but he did make ONE clutch three (but missed the game winner).
I find it funny that the Cavs were hoopin’ and hollerin’ at the beginning of the game but they weren’t “lighting the fire” or “taking photos” and flexing their muscles when the game was on the line.
CHOKE.
Volman
May 21st, 2009
12:50 pm
The BASG are not bringing Skyhawk back next year.
How are they expecting to spend money on free agency? Bah.
Ariose
May 21st, 2009
12:52 pm
who cares, I had the Magic winning the series anyway. Orlando is the one team, that big numbers from an opposing star player doesnt effect them.
doc
May 21st, 2009
12:54 pm
me i didnt want anthony johnson gone and would have preferred a different solution to the pg issue, maybe we would have made the playoffs and had 15 mil to spend to boot this year on someone else that could play d and defend. glad to see he is getting some respect as he is a seasoned pro.
Ariose
May 21st, 2009
12:55 pm
Volman, Thats why you gotta copy the big posts to Word before ou post them lol. Sometimes It just doesnt like what you have to say and no matter how many times ou re-post the same stuff, it won’t show up.
doc
May 21st, 2009
1:04 pm
yeah mario cant celebrate nor josh but lebron and d wade can.
Astro Joe
May 21st, 2009
1:11 pm
Volman, are you serious? They fired Skyhawks a few weeks after de-feathering Spirit? OK, niremetal, explain to me all of the vast financial resources available when they fire a helpless bird and a grown man in a cheesy mascot uniform? Sad, sad turn of events. I guess John Edwards, Esteban Batista, Donta Smith and Cedric Bozeman are all on their way back to the squad.
Hoops
May 21st, 2009
1:21 pm
Manny T,
Let’s play GM for a minute. All the Hawks can do before July 1 is trade draft positions with players that they have under contract for next season, draft players on Draft Day and make trades with players that they have under contract for next season, right? They can make contact with FA after Draft Day, right? Will the Hawks be under the cap after July 1? If so, after July 1 can they do a sign & trade and be able to count the full contract that they trade? Just trying to improve my NBA knowledge!
Tyger
May 21st, 2009
1:25 pm
Sekou,
After watching the debacles of Salim Stoudamire, AC Law what chance does a young player like Randolph Morris stand in this regime. Its frustrating to see management acquire seemingly very good college players and watch them dry rot with the Hawks.
Nightly, we see guys salvaged off the scrap heap (Rafer Alston, AJ Johnson, Gortat, Courtney Lee) making big play after big play for their teams; while the Hawks seem to willing to just fold the tent after an injury or two.
Are they really ok with losing b/c two players were hurt? The Rockets gave the Lakers all they could handle without Yao Ming or Tracy McGrady. Where’s the heart?
Or is it the philosophy? I win or lose with my starters, period end of story? Well, to the contrary the show must go on. Are we to believe there was no one healthy on that bench willing to put up a better fight than we witnessed?
The Hawks quit and that’s not acceptable and its not being addressed. Surely, Woody deserves another year or two. But this business of running the starters in the ground to save my job doesnt bode well for the future and wont get you beyond the first round.
Depth has to be developed from the draft. ASG cant compete on the open market. And we cant continue to throw away draft pick after draft pick b/c Woody cant figure out how to play guys 2min a quarter.
Volman
May 21st, 2009
2:39 pm
Astro, I do not think SkyHawk was “fired” so to speak, but he is moving onto “bigger” things where he is offered more money. I do not blame him.
He IS a big part of the experience at Phillips when the Hawks play.. Even if his sky squad doesn’t make their dunks all the time!
I really do not believe the BASG is going to spend big money…They don’t even want to pay SkyHawk his due. Friggin’ 12 years of service.
Volman
May 21st, 2009
2:40 pm
Ariose, haha! I got you! I will definitely be copying and pasting into word… Ouch, my hands hurt from typing so much! I had so much to say! haha
Melvin
May 21st, 2009
3:09 pm
MannyT,
Did Woodson say anything of interest this morning on First take?
BA
May 21st, 2009
3:29 pm
What happened to Ray and Ando’s last post on the other blog? Disappeared overnight. Wow.
niremetal
May 21st, 2009
3:40 pm
Hoops,
I’m not MannyT, but I’ll slip in on his behalf. Yes, until the draft we can only trade our picks plus players who will not be free agents this summer. We cannot trade the rights to Marvin or Childress, our restricted free agents, and we obviously can’t trade any of our unrestricted FAs (Bibby, Flip, Zaza, etc). We CAN however, trade the rights to David Andersen and Cenk Akyol – old second round picks who’ve never signed a contract with an NBA team.
We will be under the cap on July 1, although we won’t know by how much for awhile since the NBA has not yet announced the cap. My guess is that the cap will be ~$55M, which will put us about $14M under the cap – but there will be “cap holds” in place on our FAs that will make it impossible for us to use that cap space to go out and sign other team’s free agents unless we wholly renounce the rights to our own FAs.
niremetal
May 21st, 2009
3:42 pm
As for the sign-and-trade rules, I refer you to the running dialogue that MannyT and I had on that subject
Hoops
May 21st, 2009
4:25 pm
niremental,
Thanks for the insight! It looks like the Hawks will be very quiet until July 1. I hope we make a run @ Sessions!
MannyT
May 21st, 2009
4:51 pm
Hoops, you are trying to make me break my commitment to not dig into my capology/free agent info until after Memorial Day
niremetal has done a fine job covering the key points. Just don’t ask me to explain cap holds. I always heve to look up how much of a hold you have to reserve under different conditions, but it suffices to say every player has a cap number or a cap hold value.
There isn’t much to do regarding the Hawks except draft specualtion until late June. Then we get some free agent speculation and a summer league team that has no place to play unless we are headed to Vegas. Now if the Hawks were in the NBA/Las Vegas Summer League that would be a fine trip if not for family, work, etc.
http://www.nba.com/2009/news/05/01/jazz.summer.league.ap/index.html
Melvin–Woody mainly spoke about the Cavs and Magic. Little was said about his team…I had to run off and there was no replay 2 hours later due to college tennis. It should appear on their webpage in a day or two, but nothing special.
doc–I did like AJ while he was here. He wasn’t the long term solution as a starter, but I liked him on this team more than Lue. I am happy for both. Even Jeremy Richardson gets a free ride on teh Magic carpet.
volman–tell me the Skyhawk thing is a bad joke. I know Spirit the Hawk is grounded, but the cuts go into more of the mascots. Harry better be careful. I could see no in arena mascot, but a bunch of Harry the Hawk/Skyhawk cartoons. Animated characters can do things that humans are not allowed to do.
BA–maybe the Hacks got an agent and are negotiating an extension on their contract
hmm…a pro wrestler, a ETF stock derivative, or a Hawks Hacks Holdout. What is Triple H?
BWAF
Astro Joe
May 21st, 2009
5:04 pm
MannyT, instead of Kiss-Cam, it would be “Mascot Moment”. They will pass a germ-infested mascot head around to the crowd and have the participants do some kind of goofy dance while their head gets full of lice. They keep passing it around during every game break. During the last timeout of the 4th quarter, an applause meter is used to determine the winner. That person gets 2 tickets to a future Hawks game (against Memphis or T’Wolves) and a $10 gift card to CVS to purchase some lice-removal medicine.
Come back to the Highlight Factory, Where YOU Are the In-Game Entertainment!
Hoops
May 21st, 2009
5:13 pm
That’s pretty good Astro Joe. The Hawks need to put you in charge of the PR Dept.
MannyT
May 21st, 2009
5:27 pm
AJ, I like it. They will add the fan to that recent promo as the face of infestation
Maybe the winner for the season gets a free trip to the zoo where Spirit the Hawk will peck the lice out of your head as a part of the Zoo entertainment. Next step for that fan…a reality show.
Ariose
May 21st, 2009
5:40 pm
Woody was only talking about game 1 of the Magic-Cavs series. they asked him questions like: Will the cavs bouce back, how to defend them, how tough are the magic etc….
O'brien
May 21st, 2009
5:50 pm
Astro Joe, I think Anthony Johnson is a good backup PG. I just didn’t like him as a starter (although that might be due to our lack of an offensive system. I wonder why him and Woody got into it).
The Hawks have plenty of options, and because of the economy, we should be able to get players at a good price.
cdog
May 21st, 2009
5:55 pm
LAST NIGHT MAJIC VS CALVALIER GAME SHOULD TEACH THE HAWKS A VALUABLE LESSON. THE MAJIC DID NOT BELIEVE ALL OF THE LEBRON JAMES JIVE.THEY DID NOT BACK DOWN OR GET SCARED THE WAY THE HAWKS DID.INSTEAD OF BANKING ON ROOKIES WHO WON’T BE READY TO GET THEM OVER THE HUMP, THEY NEED SOMEONE ON THEIR TEAM LIKE RON ARTEST. HE WILL LIGHT A FIRE IN THEM IN THE LOCKER ROOM AS WELL AS ON THE COURT. THE ONLY PLAYER THEY HAVE ON THEIR TEAM NOW WHO ISN’T SCARED IS JOSH SMITH BUT HE IS NOT MATURE ENOUGH YET TO BE A LEADER.HAVING SOMEONE LIKE ARTESE OR EVEN SHAQ O’NEIL WILL CUT OUT THESE BABY WRIST INJURIES AT CRUNCH TIMES AND SORE ANKLES AND JOE JOHNSON QUITTING AND SAYING HE’S TIRED. RICK SUND, DON’T GET CAUGHT WITH THE CELL PHONE STUCK IN YOUR EAR DOING THE OFF SEASON AND DO NOTHING TO BRING IN THE TYPES OF PLAYERS TO WIN THE NBA CHAMPIONSHIP NEXT SEASON.
PeNaL CoLoNy
May 21st, 2009
7:06 pm
I seem to recollect that JJ was under tremendous heat for passing up the shot because he was closer to the basket than the guy he passed it to. Also, he twisted around in the air to pass it to a guy he wasnt sure was there. How that gets compared to a Lebron passing up a shot after scoring nearly 50 points is beyond me. Sounds like a straw man’s argument for the sake of being a jackass. JJ has never trusted anybody not named Bibby and if you give up a layup just to pass the ball to a guy who now has to take a jumper, youre an idiot. LEBRON IS STILL A SUPERSTAR. JJ STILL IS NOT. CASE IS CLOSED. AT LEAST LEBRON WONT GO THROUGH THE POSTSEASON SCORING IN THE FRIGGIN TEENS. TELL ME WHO THE SUPERSTAR IS AGAIN?
niremetal
May 21st, 2009
7:46 pm
PeNaL CoLoNy,
First off, JJ didn’t have a layup. He was facing a 12-foot baseline jumper while being double-teamed – and one of the two people double-teaming him was the guy who finished #2 in the league in blocked shots. Also, are you Professor Xavier? No? Then you have no clue whether JJ knew that Flip was behind him or not. My guess is that JJ DID know that Flip was behind him, but I obviously have no way to prove that – just as you have no way to disprove it.
Second, there’s obviously much more to whether a pass was smart than how close each player was to the basket. JJ might have been closer to the basket, but he was double-teamed while Flip was wide open. And in any case, LeBron also passed out of a double team to a teammate who was further from the basket than he was (in fact, twice…he passed from the elbow to West for a corner 3 with 42 seconds left and from under the basket to Mo Williams outside the perimeter (who then passed it to West in the corner) with 9 seconds left), so criticizing JJ for doing the same thing makes no sense. And what does the number of points that a player scored BEFORE in that game have to do with whether passing up the last shot should be deemed unselfish vs. cowardly?
Third, nobody was saying JJ was a superstar. People just pointed out (correctly) that it’s a double standard to praise LeBron and Pierce as “unselfish” when they pass the ball to a teammate with a better look at the basket when the game’s on the line, but then slam JJ for not being a leader when he does the same thing in the same situation.
Melvin
May 21st, 2009
9:46 pm
Can Sund pull off a deal to get the second pick in the draft….
“a rumor quickly followed behind that the Memphis Grizzlies would look to trade the pick rather than use it themselves. While Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace has been openly interested in Rubio, we’re being told that the Grizzlies would rather have the $3 million they’d likely get from a team looking to move up, as well as a slightly lower pick.” – Hoopsworld..
niremetal
May 21st, 2009
10:04 pm
I’m sure they’d be interested in Smoove, considering that they tried to sign him a year ago. The salaries would work out in a Smoove for Darko + the #2 pick, but but I don’t think deal would make sense for either team now. From the Hawks’ perspective, Rubio would not fit well into Woody’s “system” and Smoove is too valuable a young player to give up for a draft pick and a mediocre big man (even one with an expiring contract like Darko’s). From the Grizzlies’ perspective, if cash is what they’re looking for, they surely wouldn’t be willing to take on Smoove’s $48M contract.
In any case, this is rumor #4543655 about a team looking to dump salary, but we have not yet seen a single team that has actually made salary-dumping moves. I seriously doubt the Grizz would give up the #2 overall pick in exchange for nothing more than cash and a lower pick. If they were, I’m sure they’d insist on a pick higher than the Hawks’ #19 pick.
Melvin
May 21st, 2009
10:16 pm
Guys, please look at the interview with the Bucks GM John Hammond. I guess he’s not a savvy as Sund because his responses were very informative and he explain his intentions going forward. And for those who want the Hawks to sign Sessions, you can forget about it…..
“As much as anything, I would say it was a growing experience for everyone involved,” Bucks GM John Hammond tells HOOPSWORLD. “We sit here one year later now and we know who and what we are to a certain extent. That wasn’t the case last year at this time. It was a new coach, new GM, and a lot of incoming new players. Now I think the players know Scott Skiles, know what he’s about, and I think he has a better handle on this team. I think we’ll just go full tilt with more confidence next season because of that.”
There is some good news on the injury front, as center Andrew Bogut, who missed much of the season with a back injury, has been cleared to return to basketball.
“We were confident he would be back and 100% healthy for next season, and that’s the case now,” says Hammond. “His injury was diagnosed as a bone fracture, and while we didn’t want to sound overconfident, we were a little reassured when they started talking about discs that were probably going to translate into surgery. It’s somewhat similar to having the doctor say you broke a bone in your leg or your hand, it’s going to heal, and the same thing’s true with the back. Bones do heal, and that was the case with Andrew. We expected him to be ready to go 100%, this was the timetable we were working under, and we’re just happy to see that come to fruition.”
As things stand now, the Bucks should open the 2009-10 season with Bogut, Michael Redd, and Richard Jefferson all healthy and ready to finally see what they can do together. The trio hardly saw each other in 2008-09, as Jefferson alone managed to make it through the season without incident. And just to be clear, the Bucks have not shopped and will not shop Jefferson, who is a huge part of their nucleus.
“No, we’re still not talking about trading Richard,” says Hammond, responding to ongoing baseless trade rumors. “We feel that we have to improve from within, and improving from within is basically pretty simple. We needed to get Bogut healthy and to get Michael Redd healthy. You put those two guys on the floor along with Richard and we feel we have a trio there that can compete most nights with most teams. The Richard rumors come from a guy that just has good value around the league. That’s all that is. You’ve got a guy who’s in the prime of his career, only 29 years old, and he did some pretty impressive things last season. We lose Michael Redd and Andrew and everybody thinks we’re not going to win another game, and we had a pretty decent run there. We just couldn’t sustain it. I think it was asking too much of too few there at the end, but we made a good run without those guys and Richard was the thrust behind all of that.”
Another way the Bucks may improve from within is by bringing Ersan Ilyasova back to the NBA. The Bucks chose Ilyasova with the 36th overall pick in the 2005 NBA Draft, and spent some time in the NBDL and appeared in 66 game for the Bucks before returning to Europe in 2007. He signed a two-year deal with FC Barcelona, which expires this summer.
“We have retained his rights and he’s a player we’ll have discussions with this offseason,” says Hammond. “We feel he might be ready to play, but we have some financial implications we’re dealing with and we don’t have a lot of room with which to sign a player like that. We’re a little bit hamstrung, but we do like him and we have a need at the power forward position, so we’ll see how things unfold.”
Indeed, financial implications are foremost on Hammond’s mind as the Bucks face some tough decisions in free agency. Charlie Villanueva and Ramon Sessions will be free agents, and the Bucks have their work cut out for them in trying to retain both, as Hammond explains.
View Bill Ingram Archive “The challenge for us is getting our house in order financially. The reason that we’re addressing issues like this, why this is a concern for us right now, why matching an offer to Charlie Villanueva or Ramon Sessions is a concern to us, is because we’re pushed right up against the luxury tax. If that were not the case, we could kind of control our own destiny, so to speak. Right now, with us being a potential tax team, or at the cusp of the tax, it does make us evaluate that and how we can proceed. Our other option is to make a move that creates flexibility and gives us more room away from the tax and give us the option to match on Charlie and/or Ramon. That’s not out of the realm of possibility for us.”
If they had to choose just one of the two?
“I think they both have equal significance for us.”
Another player whose name has come up in trade rumors is point guard Luke Ridnour. Hammond is quick to point out that at this point, he’s also the only point guard on the team.
“Right now, if you look at our roster, Luke Ridnour is our only point guard, with Ramon being a restricted free agent. If you re-sign Ramon it gives you some kind of strength at the point guard position. You’d have kind of a two-headed monster there with Ridnour and Sessions, but right now that isn’t the case and Luke is the guy. That doesn’t mean you can’t address that in the offseason, with some kind of potential trade, through the draft, or maybe even in free agency, though we’re not in a great position to do that financially. We know we don’t have enough right now, and not taking anything away from Luke’s game at all, it’s just that he’s the only one standing right now and we need some help at the point guard spot.”
Finally, the to-do list for the Bucks is lengthy, and the work has only just begun.
“I think when you’re a team that only won 34 games, you can’t pick just one thing and say this is what we absolutely have to get done,” says Hammond. “There are too many things to get done to say that. If you’re a team that has just finished playing in the second round in the East or maybe is in the Eastern Conference Finals, a team that was close to a championship, I think you can say there’s just one thing. For us, there’s more than just one thing we have to get done. We have all kinds of questions we have to answer and issues we have to deal with and we’ll do that.”
Along with the number ten overall first round draft pick, it seems Milwaukee will have to do much of their tweaking during free agency. Expect a lot of activity surrounding the Bucks this summer as they try to maneuver in such a way as to create cap space to retain both Charlie Villanueva and Ramon Sessions . . .and maybe even sign Ersan Ilyasova.
niremetal
May 21st, 2009
10:33 pm
Man, mentioning that they’re scared about the luxury tax is just plain stupid. At the very least, you take the politician’s route and say “We’re confident that we are in a financial position to make the moves the team needs to make.” If you’re really smart, you take the Jazz’s position of insisting that you’re willing to go over the tax cap. That statement probably will scare a few teams away from pursuing Okur or Boozer, since they won’t want to invest in negotiations if they think Utah will be willing to outbid them.
Then again, this is the guy whose only significant move was trading Mo Williams and Desmond Mason for Luke Ridnour and Damon Jones…
darrell starks
May 21st, 2009
10:41 pm
Rick sund you talking about keeping the same coach and players look at all the teams who had injuries most of the year the BUCKS, SIXERS, WIZZARDS, HORNETS, and the HEAT and the NETS who ran this team out of the gym thats all im saying.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Rod from College Park
May 21st, 2009
10:48 pm
Someone on this board earlier in the year told me I was crazy for saying Ariza(lakers) is better than Marvin. How crazy am I really???????
MJ3
May 21st, 2009
10:50 pm
You’re not crazy. You’re just plain stupid.
Benihana
May 21st, 2009
10:54 pm
oh please my grandma could score 20 points if she played wit kobe pau and bynum and had 6 wide open shots
Melvin
May 21st, 2009
10:58 pm
Niremetal,
Or it could make other teams interesting in some of his players. Keep in mind, that most teams will be over the cap so they will have to negotiate trades in order to acquire his players away.
Also, teams GMs speak to each other all the time. I’m sure they know other teams plans. Only people that are not privy to this type of info are the ones (like you and me, fans) that’s on the outside looking it. So for him to tell the public his plans for his team probably wouldn’t be a shock to other GMs around the league. How many smart busy guys doesn’t know the intentions of their competitors? Especailly in sports. Yankees tells whomever that have ears that they are going to sign a certain player and it doesn’t stop them from getting that player…
niremetal
May 21st, 2009
10:59 pm
Oh, I did forget one thing that Hammond did as GM. He drafted Joe Alexander when Augustin, Bayless, and Brook Lopez were still on the board. Oops.
Melvin
May 21st, 2009
11:14 pm
I guess Chicago New GM is very confident or a little green to his position because no way he’s suppose to disclosed his intentions…
Bulls GM Forman: Top goal re-signing Gordon
DEERFIELD, Ill. — Re-signing guard Ben Gordon will be the top priority of new Chicago Bulls general manager Gar Forman heading into the offseason.
Forman met with reporters on Thursday, a day after being promoted to his new position, and he said he believes Gordon wants to stay in Chicago.
(”There’s still a lot of steps until we get to that point,” Forman added.
Gordon, who becomes a free agent on July 1, played a key role in the Bulls’ impressive performance against the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs. The Celtics won the seven-game series that featured four overtime games.
Forman replaced John Paxson, who will remain with the Bulls as executive vice president of basketball operations. Forman is in charge of day-to-day basketball decisions, while Paxson will deal mostly with long-term organizational planning and talent evaluation.
Big Ray
May 21st, 2009
11:15 pm
Melvin,
The Yanks can deliver. They have to. I still think Hammond gave up more than he should have, and no other GM would have said all that about him and his team. I think Hammond is a bit new at this. He was an assistant coach with Detroit, where he also became assistant GM. He’s a newbie, this is his first GM job. Gotta learn somehow…
His predecessor Larry Harris was responsible for re-signing Redd, drafting Bogut, and acquiring Villanueva. But he also went after Yi like he was Yao. That mistake cost him.
Niremetal,
Yeah, his draft wasn’t too hot. Oh well.
niremetal
May 21st, 2009
11:19 pm
Melvin,
If attorneys and HR executives (the two types of high-powered businessmen I have experience with) are any indication, then I’m pretty confident in saying that just because you talk to somebody every day does not mean that you actually tell them what you’re really planning to do. The oldest trial practice trick in the book is to make your adversary think that you’re gonna try to introduce 7 different pieces of evidence when you’re really only going to try to introduce 3 (so that he wastes time prepping for evidence that never gets mentioned), or vice versa (so that you catch him off guard when you do it). I admit that assume that GMs use the same types of tricks.
Oh, sure they know the broad outlines of what other GMs want to do, because all GMs face the same general pressures. Draft for need if you can, potential if you can’t; stay below the tax cap if it can be helpe; don’t bother asking the Spurs about Tim Duncan; don’t hire Isiah Thomas; etc. That’s common sense – you don’t even need to talk to other GMs to know that. But I would be willing to bet that most good GMs are careful to never tip their hand when it comes to their intentions towards specific players whose future is uncertain. The Suns insisted that they would match any offer for JJ and Billy fell for their bluff. They got Diaw and 2 picks instead of nothing. The Clippers made the mistake of tipping their hand about how high they were willing to go with Brand, which allowed the 76′ers to fly in (under the radar) and get him without opposition. And how many times have we seen a team who made their interest in trading for a player so obvious that their adversaries were able to raise the price tag through the roof (Jason Kidd being only the most recent and obvious example)?
“Never let the other guy know what you’re thinking” is a pretty universal mantra in the business world. I can’t imagine that NBA GMs are immune – at least not the good ones.
O'brien
May 21st, 2009
11:20 pm
The Bucks GM said they will be close to the tax threshold. And that is one reason why I think we can sign Sessions, because I dont think they want to go over the cap. However, Sessions is not a good 3pt shooter, so Woody might not be interested.
Speaking of Woody, he met with Sund, and there was no talk of an extension. You know what that means. That means Woody will wear his starters into the ground again next year.
Big Ray
May 21st, 2009
11:23 pm
Again….Sund made his intentions known about the Joshes last year. How is that any different? Timing, that’s how. It’s called feeding the fans. Gordon has done a lot for that team, just like the Joshes were an integral part of this one.
Both guys had their statements ready long before the media had their questions ready. Last year, Sund was forthright. This year, he speaks in riddles. The approach has changed, right? Nope.
He has most likely had certain plans/ideas all along, but some change as time goes by, and as different variables come into play.
Do I think he’s super clever? Maybe, maybe not. What I do think, is that we are about to see just how clever he really is.
And yeah, that guy in Chicago is green as hell. But he replaces a guy in Paxson, whose smartest move by far was drafting hometown boy and true team leader Derrick Rose. It was like picking up the winning lottery ticket from the ground after the winning numbers are flashed all over the news. Heh. The rest of his moves? Set the organization back about 3 years…