Wanted: Role Players!
Frontcourt help like Charlie Villanueva could make a huge difference for the Hawks in the future.
HAWKSVILLE – I know that the NBA hype machine would have you believe that the NBA playoffs is basically a test of wills between Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.
If you let the networks tell it, we’re all just bearing witness to the crowning of the king or the validation of KB24’s reign as the heir to his Airness.
Count Magic superstar center and Atlanta native Dwight Howard among those who have heard just about enough. And the AJC’s own Jeff Schultz isn’t far behind Howard in the enough is enough line.
The only problem with all the Kobe/LeBron fuss is that arguably the two most critical guys on the floor thus far in these outstanding Eastern and Western Conference finals have been Lakers’ swingman Trevor Ariza and Orlando Magic super sub Mickael Pietrus.
As well Bryant, James, Howard, Carmelo Anthony, Chauncey Billups, Pau Gasol, Rashard Lewis, Hedo Turkoglu and all the other major players have played during certain stretches, Ariza and Pietrus have been just as, if not more important to their team’s efforts.
Ariza’s made two game-clinching plays to seal wins for the Lakers, both defensive gems on inbounds plays. And Pietrus has not only been a lights out shooter against the Cavs, he’s played James as well defensively as any player I’ve seen in the last three seasons – and that includes defensive stalwarts Ron Artest and Bruce Bowen.
Now I’ll admit that my theory could be the product of viewing way too much playoff basketball the past month and counting, or an excessive amount of fumes to the dome from a long weekend spent over the top of my grill. But it seems like the contributions of these two role players will have as much to do with who plays in the NBA Finals as any singular effort from a superstar for any of the four teams remaining in this postseason.
Which brings me to our favorite topic ‘round these parts … the Hawks and their roster in need of major surgery this summer (more on that below).
Folks keep telling me about who needs to go to make this team better. And I keep thinking about what they need to add to this group to get better.
The Hawks need guys like Ariza and Pietrus to complete what they started with last year’s playoff appearance and continued this season with their Eastern Conference semifinal appearance.
Flip Murray and Mo Evans qualify, as does Zaza Pachulia. But of the three, only Evans is guaranteed to be in a Hawks uniform in the fall. Not only do the Hawks need to find ways to keep Murray and Pachulia in the fold, they need to find more guys like them (or better).
That’s where the Hawks greatest improvement will come next season (save a blockbuster trade), in the sum of their parts. And those parts have to improve down the roster.
Can you imagine the Hawks with an explosive scoring power forward like Charlie Villanueva (a restricted free agent this summer with a bit of a Twitter habit) or Chris Wilcox (another free agent this summer) coming off of their bench? And not as a replacement for Pachulia but as a running mate. That’s the kind of addition that helps recast the Hawks for next season.
If you’re serious about keeping the core together and still improving your roster, which is the theme we’ve heard from the Hawks non-stop since they were swept out of the playoffs.
DRAFT CHATTER is the favorite topic of many this time of year, and for good reason.
Draftniks everywhere have man-crushes on Spanish sensation Ricky Rubio ...
Spanish point guard phenom Ricky Rubio is the guy generating the most attention in the draft, for reasons good and apparently bad, per some folks.
The fine folks at TrueHoop did a bang up job detailing the luster and the risk of a player like Rubio, who is universally regarded as the best point guard “prospect” to come out of Europe in some time, and perhaps ever.
My most trusted source on all things Rubio is Lang Whitaker of SLAM Magazine, who has been on the Rubio bandwagon for years now. He’s the first person I can remember having seen Rubio play in person. And as best I can remember, he was the first writer to travel to Spain to interview and write about Rubio. So I’m going on his word that Rubio is going to be a star in the NBA.
“He is,” Whitaker said by phone Tuesday morning from his New York office. “The thing with Rubio is … did you see the gold medal game? He played great against Chris Paul, Deron Williams and Jason Kidd. I don’t know who else you want to see him against to convince you that he’s going to be a star.”
Lang doesn’t have to convince me. I’m willing to play along with the international charade as long as the player is as talented as Rubio (and I did watch the gold medal game. Rubio made some nice plays but he wasn’t what stood out to me).
But not everyone I’ve talked to is convinced.
“I’d much rather have Derrick Rose,” one Eastern Conference executive told me by phone Tuesday morning. “And it’s not even close in my eyes. Don’t get me wrong, Rubio is talented. He might have tons of potential. But seriously, how many times have we said that about one of these young kids and then he gets over here and we find out there are all these things about his game that just don’t add up in the NBA? That’s what worries me about Rubio. We’ve seen glimpses of him against NBA competition. It’s just like when you watch Rudy Fernandez and Linas Kleiza look unstoppable in international play and then they get to the NBA season and you realize it’s a totally different game. Rubio is going to find the same issues where his game is concerned.”
How that’s different from any other college player/prospect is beyond me. I mean, who knew Rose would be so good from the start? Actually, lots of people expected it. In fact, that’s what led the draft debate last year between Rose and Michael Beasley. There doesn’t seem to be the same sort of debate between the point guard and power forward this year (I’ve heard very few people discuss let alone advocate taking Rubio over Blake Griffin).
... while others wonder if he's even in the same class as a transcendent talent like Chicago's own Derrick Rose.
“A much better gauge is a guy who has dominated in Europe and then comes over here at the top of his game, like Pau Gasol did, like Manu Ginobili did and Luis Scola did,” the Eastern Conference exec continued.” They showed up ready to play because they weren’t just prospects, they were established players and really stars over there. The bottom line is this, the way you develop young players here and in Europe is vastly different. And it doesn’t always work best for young international players over here.”
An unabashed Hawks fan, Lang barked at me over a week ago about what he wants to see his hometown team do with the 19th pick in the June draft.
His email from last week:
Rick Sund’s last three first round picks? Robert Swift, Saer Sene and Johan Petro.
I really hope the Hawks draft Toney Douglas from FSU. We need to get his name out there. Dude can shoot, drives all the time, can play the 1 and 2 and was ACC defensive player of the year. And he’s from Jonesboro. I don’t understand why more people aren’t talking about him. Coach K said this at the ACC Tournament: ”He’s my favorite non-Duke player in the country. I love that guy. I talk about him a lot to our guys. They’re probably mad at me. He’s as good as there is in college.”
THE HAWKS AREN’T THE ONLY TEAM IN THE SOUTHEAST DIVISION stuck in point guard limbo with the draft and free agency fast approaching. The team the Hawks vanquished in the first round of the playoffs is in a similar predicament, though the Miami Heat already have one proven building block in Mario Chalmers.
My main man Mike Wallace of the Miami Herald points out as much in his latest blog, shouting out Hawks point guards past and present in the process:
And it makes you wonder. Why does every other team in the league seem to have a spare Flip Murray on the roster, yet the Heat goes two seasons without one? Shaun Livingston didn’t have the legs. Marcus Banks lacked the skills. And Penny Hardaway – dare we say – didn’t have anything left other than pleasant memories of when he used to be somebody in this league.
This Magic-Cavs series is stocked with serviceable, stop-gap type veteran parts at the point that Miami either tried to get and couldn’t, parted with too soon or probably should have pursued harder when it had the chance.
Orlando has three of them: Rafer Alston, Anthony Johnson and Tyronn Lue.
How crazy would it be to see the Magic make the NBA Finals with two point guards (Johnson and Lue for those of you who have just recently joined us here in Hawksville) the Hawks shipped out of town to get Mike Bibby on their roster?
Might Jonesboro's Toney Douglas be an option for the Hawks with the 19th pick in the June NBA Draft? It's an intriguing idea, courtesy of Lang Whitaker of SLAM Magazine.
And depending on what happens in July, Bibby could be joining them as ex-Hawks point guards.
The Hawks, of course, are in need of a starting material at the point. And that might come in the form of Bibby, if the Hawks can find a way to reel him back in from the free agent waters with the right deal, or someone else.
Speaking of Bibby, the good folks at Hawksquawk, threw some great questions my way about the team and where things might be headed. And as you can probably imagine, Bibby’s name came up several times.
We’ve discussed Bibby endlessly around here, so won’t go into detail about the tenor of the conversation they are having about him elsewhere. But I’ll share this one question and answer (and suggest you check out the rest of it on their site (which is pretty impressive, by the way):
Q. Was there a change in the locker-room demeanor since the addition of Bibby? Did he bring a playoff presence to the Hawks team? Is there any urgency (or perceived urgency) to resign Flip?
A. Bibby assumed a leadership position automatically, which is what the Hawks needed. He eased the pressure on Joe and Woodson as well, which needed to happen. And more than a playoff presence he brought a sense of accountability to the locker room, which was lacking before his arrival. He was the right personality and player at just the right time for the Hawks. It was almost like he added that “why not us?” factor to this team that wasn’t there before, a sense of they could do some things with him that didn’t really seem possible until he showed up. Flip proved invaluable this season and while I wouldn’t call it urgency, there’s certainly a need to make sure Flip is kept in the fold.
WITH SO MANY ROSTER QUESTIONS TO DEAL WITH THIS SUMMER it’s hard for me to imagine the Hawks’ brass taking too many days off between now and late July.
I know they’ve begun their predraft workouts, which unlike in years past are not open to the media. And the scaled down predraft camp has moved back to Chicago from Orlando this summer. It begins this week and runs into this weekend.
As far as the Hawks’ individual workouts, I’m not sure there will be much to talk about anyway. Astro Joe emailed a little while ago wondering if they’d begun and whether or not I’d seen anything worth talking about. I promptly relayed the story to him of Al Horford’s workout two years ago that left quite a few people scratching their heads as to what all the fuss was about.
Billy Knight went 1-for-2 (so far) in the first round of his last draft with the Hawks.
Had the Hawks based their pick in that year’s draft on the workout alone, Horford might not have been the choice (luckily for us all Billy Knight stuck to his “gimme the best power forward type I can get at this spot” guns and made the right call).
Different teams value different things in the predraft process. Some want to see what a guy looks like on the hoof or how he tests out in various drills that have little or nothing to do with why you’d want a guy on your team.
Others want to see if he interviews a certain way, wanting to make sure they’re adding the right type of guy to their team. Me, I need to know a guy can play. And I’m positive I can tell more from watching him play in games than I can from anything he’ll do in a scripted workout.
But that doesn’t mean I won’t relay what I’m hearing leading up to the draft. After all, this is easily one of the Hawks’ most critical summers in a string of huge ones. What they do in the draft and free agency basically determines if they’re going to stay among the upper echelon of the Eastern Conference or slide back down to the playoff purgatory waters that they bathed in for years.
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657 comments Add your comment
RealSquawk
May 30th, 2009
11:52 pm
Joe Johnson
that might actually be Joe Johnson!
Hey JOe how are you doing?
bigjohnhawksfan
May 30th, 2009
11:55 pm
Just so I understand this right:
Mickael Pietrus can guard MVP’s one-on-one AND shoot corner 3’s??
Get his agent on the phone NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Joe Johnson
May 30th, 2009
11:57 pm
I’m alright, folk, but watching all this playoff basketball has gotten be TIRED!!!
Bernie Mullen
May 30th, 2009
11:59 pm
Michael Gearon, Jr. is featured in this week’s Atlanta Business Chronicle. Apparently he wants to build a winner in Atlanta… If the lawsuit is over this summer as the article says, it will be time for ownership to put up or shut up!!
doc
May 31st, 2009
12:03 am
sweeet!
queenie is woofing with his mm instead of going before the press. he is a grown man not acting like one. was surprised to see him duck out of the arena rather than say his grace to the winners. got to learn how to lose as well as you win queenie boy.
didnt someone respond negatively about howard saying he needed the ball and to give it to him? didnt it seem like he didnt appreciate the guy talking out loud? still think it sometimes takes a strong individual to get the coaches attention instead of the other way around. it will have to happen from horford as well before this team will go to the next level and really have horford be the leader and man some think he can become. j smith is still the guy with nads on the hawks.
gonna be fun as two talented teams take the court.
this also makes the hawks look like they have a long way to go.
Prince Lebron James
May 31st, 2009
12:14 am
No autographs. No questions. I have to have a long talk with a puppet.
Nike Marketing Department
May 31st, 2009
12:15 am
We’ve just finished filming our new Kobe and Lebron…I mean Dwight puppet commercials!!
darrell starks
May 31st, 2009
12:24 am
Way go D wade oops i mean D Howard MY HOME BOY FROM THE A LETS GO GIT IT!!!!!!!!!
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ca$h
May 31st, 2009
12:57 am
ok lets b real lets trade Joe Johnson he took 1,420 (a rookie could do this)shotsONLY avg 20.0pg.Even if Woodson runs all of the plays through you set up other players we can’t bench you.Joe you are not a Kobe or LeBron even Wade look at it Wade even pass the ball in playoffs. Together Smith and Horford took 1,443 shots he holding players back. Lets find a real SG that plays team ball in draft or trade 2 for one.
Big Ray
May 31st, 2009
7:51 am
Ha!
Looks like Lebron’s season just went up in a puff of…..powder. Oh, and the rest of the Cavs lost, too.
Hmmmmm. Who got coach of the year again? Stan Van Gundy gets on my damn nerves, but his team beat the guy who has Lebron James. His team beat the COY AND the MVP. Youch!
Unfortunately, he’s not going to beat Phil and his crew….or is he? Heh heh heh.
I heard somebody once say that the difference between Mike Brown and Mike Woodson is Brown has Lebron, while Woodson has Joe Johnson. Hell, I don’t know, that’s just what I heard…
So what’s the crazy trade proposal special of the day?
All I'm Saying is....
May 31st, 2009
8:04 am
….I’m retarded.
Bee
May 31st, 2009
8:14 am
Players perform for people who push them to the limit ……Woodson must go
Big Ray
May 31st, 2009
8:17 am
I have more respect for Barkley than I do Kenny. Kenny is just so full of himself these days, and is almost as annoying as Stephen A. Smith.
Congrats to Howard and his teammates for the victory. They damn sure earned it. As Doc says, it shows us just how far we have to go, and that would be a long ways. Amazing how much difference there is between this 4th seed and that 3rd seed, eh? Oh, we could go on and on about what the differences are, but I can tell you they are all summed up by who walks our sidelines and who runs the hardwood. Sund is the man whose job it is to determine both.
doc
May 31st, 2009
10:06 am
at least we dont have to hear the delusion that we are the third best team in the league this summer, eh ray?
ILL-logical
May 31st, 2009
11:14 am
Congratulations to the Orlando Magic for resounding win last night and good luck in the Chanmpionship Finals! ( I did not remember that they beat the Lakers 2-0 last season)
With all of the speculation about the Hawk’s ownership’s financial condition; the GM’s draft track record ,the current head coach’s status and who will be on next season’s roster ther are a few possibilities that haven’t gotten a great deal of attention. So in the interest of interpetitive clarity, I would like to submit the folowing for your discussion and analysis:
IF you look at the ASG financial picture over the 2 years, the resolution of how much Belkin’s 30 % is worth will have occurred and he will have accord and satisfaction. However, that will mean that the Thrashers will have to sold and new investors must be found. Chris “Ludicris” Brides may be a prime candidate once the smoke clears. That should improve the money and the marketing.
The current GM will probably noy make mant major moves because of finances other than to try and get some more experienced depth. Since the team is operating from a position of relative weakness-other teams know that they are trying to unload Acie and Marvin and will not offer back fair market value- he is constained.
As far as Woodson is concerned, he ia a dead man walking. Sund can say that he didn’t fire him after this year’s record but with the players looking at his position he cannot be effective and after the season’s inevitable first losing streak , he is history. Which raises the conundrum of whether or not you draft/ sign free agents to fit the current system or the new system? This factor bears a close watch.
Finally, Soloman Jones , with an extra 20 lbs, may be the short term answer to Who is at the 5. ZaZa is history according to SS. And there are few bigs that fit the current coach’s system and while Sund has his eyes on the Chris Kamans of the world, a more practical solution is to resign Solo to a 2 year ,$4 million deal(1/2 of ZaZa’s current salary but a 50% plus increase for Solo) and hire a trainer and Antonio Davis to get him the heft and help to add to his shotblocking and shooting skills. Solo’s downfall with the current head coach came when he opted not to go to the summer league but work out on his own. Woodson doesn’t like often injuried players,rookies and players who fail to heed his “suggestions”.But Solo at 250-260 lbs can be a very, very interesting asset.
I went with Chuck’s pick in the Eastern conference finals but I’m going to have to go with Lakers in 7 for the big dance.
Melvin
May 31st, 2009
11:37 am
“Hawks unrestricted free agent Josh Childress is sure to return to the NBA as well, maintain sources, but not to Atlanta. His high opinion of himself (starter vs. subs) conflicted with coach Mike Woodson.” Peter Vecsey- New York Post
I guess the above statemaent would’ve been more creditable had Vecsey wouldn’t have referred to Childress as an unrestricted free agent…
niremetal
May 31st, 2009
11:51 am
Melvin,
Ha! You got him pegged.
LeBron showed no class by not congratulating the Magic. I lost some respect for him over that. The Magic played their butts off and deserved to win this series.
LeBron might have put up some gaudy offensive stats, but his defense in this series was abysmal (everyone remember Pietrus getting wide open under the basket twice last night?) and he turned the ball over way too much. Pietrus had no chance of guarding LeBron this series, but LeBron forgot that there’s a whole other side of the court that he has to play on. The loss is as much on him as on his teammates, the slobbering media reports to the contrary notwithstanding. Just because you score 40 points per game doesn’t mean you’re doing what it takes for your team to win.
Astro Joe
May 31st, 2009
11:52 am
Melvin, that and it came from Vecsey, who is wrong more often than not.
I’m expecting that Delonte West will be readily available. Cavs won’t likey try to go with a small backcourt next season.
niremetal
May 31st, 2009
12:01 pm
And if anyone follows tennis…Nadal just lost a match at the French Open for the first time ever. Damn – the kings are falling all over the place!
Sautee
May 31st, 2009
12:01 pm
Nire,
Co-sign on LeBron. No class.
Makes me sad, ’cause I think he’s a good kid.
Maybe he’ll learn, but I think his image will take a hit from running away from the loss.
Big Ray
May 31st, 2009
12:05 pm
Doc,
I don’t think that will be a worry. Thing is, depending on what gets done this summer, I look for us to get ranked lower by the experts and pundits. They do it every time. Why stop now?
Ill-logical,
I’d like to see solo at 250-260, but I feel that he does not have the frame for it. Doubt we’ll ever see him any bigger than 245 lbs.
Big Ray
May 31st, 2009
12:44 pm
Peter Vescey is full of it.
No doubt Lebron’s pride is throbbing somethin’ fierce right about now. Well, it happens. A few opinionated observations.
1)The Cavs were completely untested in the playoffs, prior to that series with the Magic. Boston was the only team in a long time that was able to go straight to a championship after being horrible the year before. The reason? Three talented veterans in the starting lineup(two of which were serious battle-tested veterans), 3 hard-bitten/playoff battle-tested veterans on the bench, a battle-tested coach with the right intangibles (yes, I know…a coach with “intangibles), and a confident, well-developed group of youngsters (including on the bench).
Pick what you want from that comma-ridden run-on sentence, and see which parts Cleveland was missing. Should be obvious.
2)So many were ready to hand the East, the Championship, even the NBA to Lebron for the next decade. Not so fast. A certain talented 2-guard from UNC had to take his lumps as well, before dominating the entire NBA (including better Cleveland teams than the one Lebron leads). For all of Lebron’s incredible talent, skill, and physical awesomeness…he doesn’t quite dominate the game like Jordan did. Not yet.
And Jordan had to go through that “not yet” phase, too. Why wouldn’t Lebron? Jordan faced tougher teams than these Orlando Magic. How about those Pistons Bad Boys? Lebron is indeed, undeniably great. But he’s not quite there yet. Getting close, though, especially if Cleveland can muster what it’s going to take to get them over the hump. But it’s not all about just putting more guys around him. Lebron still has things to learn.
3)Lebron is more dangerous than just about anybody in the league when it comes to getting to the basket. The last guy anywhere near his size that I recall being that damned difficult to deal with as far as attacking the rim was a young and healthy Grant Hill.
But guess what? He also needs help from the refs (which he gets), and he’s in trouble if you make him shoot from the outside a lot. Guys like Jordan/Kobe would kill you from 20 feet all day long. They’d MAKE you guard them out on the perimeter, then kill you going to the bucket. Lebron has to become deadlier from mid and long range. Sometimes you just can’t get enough calls.
I think he found that out.
4)Let the rumors begin. With the Cavs having lost to the Magic, you can expect to hear more crap about Lebron leaving Cleveland. I don’t even want to get into it, as it will be talked about by every pundit from here to Timbuktu (and any places Dr. Seuss can think of) until he signs a freakin’ contract. Ugh. Yeah, I know better. I’ll get sucked into that conversation with somebody sooner or later. Resistance is futile, and all that….
5)Despite what work Lebron has to put in on his game, the onus is still on the Cavaliers organization for the most part. Big Z isn’t getting younger, faster, or in better condition as the years go by. Varejao is a nice piece, but you’d rather have him to rely on as a super sub, not a starter. Joe Smith’s energy just got sapped. Losing will do that to you, but he’s good for another year or so before he pulls a PJ Brown.
Ben Wallace sucks monkey nuts. There, I said it.
JJ Hickson is TBD. Not a bad player. Wally Szczerbiak = decent role player sometimes. Delonte West is a very nice piece that somebody else might get to appreciate even more. Mo Williams can do his thing for several more years, but it ain’t enough.
Say what you want about the home team having the edge. I’m not predicting a single thing except an increase in the amount of Advil that Danny Ferry buys over the summer….
O'brien
May 31st, 2009
1:19 pm
I think one of Cleveland’s problems is that they didnt have that reliable 3rd option (although in reality they didnt have a reliable second option either).
When the Lakers win, they have Kobe, Gasol, and somebody else (either Odom or Ariza) usually stepping up. Orlando has Howard, Lewis and Turkoglu (and Pietrus sometimes). When Boston won last year, they had the big 3. To be successful, you need a big 2, and somebody to step up and be that 3rd option sometimes.
Last year when the Hawks lost to the Celtics, everybody was quick to point out “we took the eventual NBA champions to 7 games”, and “we were the third best team in the playoffs”. What do we say this year? I think it says the Hawks (including Joe Johnson) have a long way to go.
Anybody interested in Joe Smith? he is unrestricted, only made $1.2 mil this year.
Melvin
May 31st, 2009
3:18 pm
Obrien,
Its hard to see Joe Smith leaving the Cavs but if he does, I think the Hawks should look at him, McDyess or maybe Sheed as FA bigs to sign next season…
Ariose
May 31st, 2009
3:43 pm
Sczerbiak used tobe a Premier SF in this leauge. Now he’s just a Spot up fringe starter..
Guards come and Go….but Austin Daye can be special…
Sautee
May 31st, 2009
4:50 pm
Ariose,
By Premier do you mean “one All-Star appearance” (2002)?
I guess we have different ideas about “premier”, but that’s ok.
Wally is certainly NOT the player he was before knee and ankle injuries.
Gotta feel for him.
cdog
May 31st, 2009
4:50 pm
DON’T MAKE LEBRON JAMES MAD HUH MARK BRADLEY, MARV ALBERT, AND JON BARRY. WHO CARES ABOUT HIM BEING MAD. GOOD INSIDE DEFENSE FROM GOOD BIG MEN WILL OFFSET THE MADNESS FROM JAMES. RICK SUND AND THE HAWKS CAN;T SEEM TO GET THIS IN THEIR SKULLS. THEY ARE MORE WORRIED ABOUT A SHOOTER AND A POINT GUARD. OFFENSE WINS FANS, DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS.THATS WHAT THE HAWKS SHOULD BE SHOOTING NOT JUST TO MAKE THE PLAYOFFS. THE MAJIC DID’T WORRY ABOUT JAMES BEING MAD
Big Ray
May 31st, 2009
5:08 pm
O’Brien,
Joe Smith looks good. I’ve seen too many vets come here and just die, though. I think Joe has gotten to the point where he prefers a contender. A real contender, not just a team that is or “could be” good. We’ve proven we were “good enough” this year, but in order to be truly good, we have to maintain that level. Can we? Yeah. But there have to be some changes.
Veterans like Joe Smith seem to be energized and play well on good teams. Being on a good team is motivating. When they’re on a not-so-good team, they just don’t play as well. There is something about this team that only guys like Flip Murray seem to buck the trend with.
Look at Anthony Johnson, and how he contributed to Orlando. He played well enough here, but he just wasn’t the same. I would say that when roles are more defined, you see this more often.
Flip Murray is an exception because dude works like a demon to have a job in the league. He almost had to go overseas last year. After this year’s performance, He won’t have much harder of a time getting a job than Bibby will, though for less beans…
Ariose
May 31st, 2009
5:34 pm
Sautee, yeah I meant he player vhe was before the injuries he wasa “Mr. Energy” type of player…
Blast
May 31st, 2009
6:44 pm
Happy for the Magic team. Great WIN. Sorry Cleveland, I thought this year was your time, but your weakness was exposed by Magic just as you did Hawks. LeBron was crushed, but not congratulating the Magic was childish. The Finals will be entertaining. I hope Orlando Magic wins it all.
Melvin
May 31st, 2009
6:45 pm
Wow, look at Solo summer work routine…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNw_6DnFJ90&feature=related
J-MAN
May 31st, 2009
7:08 pm
We need to trade Joe Johnson to get some bigs to contain lebron and compete inside with D. Howard next season. Resign Flip and Zaza and use Childress as a trade piece. Resign Bibby IF its under 6 mil. Resign M. Williams or use him for trade bait. WE NEED MORE BIGS STAT!!! So we can finally outrebound somebody in this league or at least a YMCA league team.
doc
May 31st, 2009
8:45 pm
by this comment from lebron, the man child we thought was more the man, reveals nothing more than a potentially petulant boy:
“It’s hard for me to congratulate somebody after you just lose to them,” he said. “I’m a winner. It’s not being a poor sport or anything like that. If somebody beats you up, you’re not going to congratulate them. That doesn’t make sense to me. I’m a competitor. That’s what I do. It doesn’t make sense for me to go over and shake somebody’s hand.”
as many have said and what i thought saying to myself poor sportsmanship as i watched him march off the court without acknowledging the other team i thought he had huge misunderstanding of sports and sportsmanship. when you are vanquished you acknowledge that as a man does face to face to honor them and also realize they have just made you better. we prepare kids to win when just as often it is important to teach them to lose head high. jack nicklaus was the greatest at it, finished second many times but still has tiger chasing him for total majors winning his last at 46.
maybe as lAbron matures, which he still has a lot of time to do, wins and loses a a few more as he will, then he can go back and review it and get it right. until then he is queenie to me. heh heh
Melvin
May 31st, 2009
9:28 pm
Doc,
He brought into all the hype that surrounded him. Now he has to go home with his tail between his legs and hide behind his momma (just like Kenyon Martin). His explanation for his actions was an excuse as he can’t handle defeat. I don’t recall him storming off the court at the end of the Pistons/Hawks series while he enjoyed the pixie dust rain on his head. Yep, he definitely has some growing up to do and I hope the media shed light on those very same statements as you did….
I guess he’s too young to remember Public Ememy b/c he should have “Don’t believe the HYPE”…. Yeah boyeee
niremetal
May 31st, 2009
9:37 pm
Trade our only proven scorer to get big? Isn’t that just solving one problem but creating another? I promise you, we don’t make the East Finals if we trade JJ for a big whose name isn’t Dwight or Yao.
dub shoddy
May 31st, 2009
9:39 pm
Turgolu would meet many of the Hawks needs. Getting a center may just be a lost cause in this era, but at least we would have a consistent outside shooter.
I wish that the Cavs had something to offer us, b/c they could sure use a big 2 guard like Joe Johnson… I am a Joe fan, but he has had a consistency problem for his entire career. I would certainly consider offers for him…
Woody, unfortunately is a lame duck. If he is not winning in the 1st 20 – 25 games (& another potential hire is out there), he will be gone. Not the best way to instill confidence in an employee. I think he deserved at least a 3 year deal for getting the Hawks into the playoffs for 2 years.
O'brien
May 31st, 2009
9:50 pm
I also lost some respect for Lebron the way he walked off the court without congratulating the Magic, and he didnt stick around to talk to reporters either. What would he have said if when the Cavs beat the Hawks (and Pistons) all our players walked off the court without congratulating anybody…
Ray, that’s a good point about vets, especially at that age. Guys like Drew Gooden and Joe Smith might prefer a perennial contender. If that’s the case though, the Hawks might have to overpay for somebody like Villanueva (who I really like because he can give you backup minutes at the 3 and the 4).
Charlie is not known for his defense, so if we could get him and a defensive backup center like Gortat, that would be a good pickup in my opinion.
doc
May 31st, 2009
9:54 pm
melvin, so right you are, also folks will not take labron as seriously is my guess. this should not have been unexpected. the cavs sucked against the better teams as their record was 3 and 9 against their peers. they were lucky to have gotten a second win against the hawks. they got to get someone to take some of the physical stuff off queenie, too. if wallace retires that will help them cap wise and there are going to be some studs willing to go there for sure.
gonna be fun to see if the magic can pull it off. howard may become a household word soon. make way, the guy spoke up and delivered huge.
now, if we can get some of that rubbed off on josh and al then we be bad, if woody lets them play more. they have to get the ball into their hands more is the bottom line.
darrell starks
May 31st, 2009
9:55 pm
One thing chill have always said that he wants to be a starte thats was one of the problems that chill and woody never could see eye to eye on.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!
The Truth
May 31st, 2009
9:59 pm
doc
I totally agree with your 8:45 pm post regarding “queenie” Lebron. This loss has revealed a big character flaw for him. At this point in his young career, it is apparent that James is lacking in the class department. Being a sore loser will not serve him well with Ad endorsements especially after the media beats him up over this. If he had made the “Bone headed” statement during regular season, he could play himself out of it. But since he has gone fishing for the summer, the sport media doesn’t have anything else to talk about but his unsportsmanlike conduct and the championship playoff until the draft.
Also, if his behavior is a litmus test of just how big his ego is, then the Cleveland Cavs Organization will may end up in the poor house trying to re-sign him. With such a big ego, King James will not tolerate not being the highest paid player in the league. This ego will not allow him to be second bananas in salary compared to other player in the world.
From this observation, there is no comparison between LJ and MJ at this point. He still has a long way to go to back like Mike.
darrell starks
May 31st, 2009
10:02 pm
I would rather have chill back than marvin chill plays more under control than marvin plus he rebounds on both ends of the court marvin looks sloppy when out there playing and he tries to be to cool the only edge i would give marvin is his jump shot other than that i would take chill in a heart beat.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!
Melvin
May 31st, 2009
10:05 pm
Darrell,
I noticed it has been widely reported that Chills wanted to be a starter but I haven’t seen anybody quoted him saying that. Similiar to JSmoove dislike for Woody…
darrell starks
May 31st, 2009
10:10 pm
Now acie could be a beast in my opinion if under the right coach some one like avery who him self was a point guard can groom acie in to a special player i dont think woody is that type of coach.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!
darrell starks
May 31st, 2009
10:19 pm
O yes MELVIN in a interview that he had with the media he quoted that he would like to starte and then he said some people dont see me like that and he was talking about coach woody.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!
Ken Strickland
May 31st, 2009
10:22 pm
After Lebron’s childish and cowardly way of dealing with adversity, it looks like JJohnson’s passive type of leadership isn’t all that bad after all.
The Hawks will never get to the next level, or even maintain their current level, if they don’t stop turning it’s roster over so often. This yr, we could end up losing 2 starters, Bibby and Marvin, and 3 of our subs, Flip, Zaza and Solo. Next yr, we’ll almost certainly lose Acie and JJ.
If Sund continues his passive approach in dealing with his FA’s, and continues to undervalue his players like he did Chills, JSmith, and maybe Horford, will end up being the core of the team. I blame the SAASG for all that ails the Hawks. After all, it’s been their stupidity and infighting that’s created all of our instability and financial problems. If they hadn’t prevented former GM BKnight from firing HC MWoodson, or forced him to resign, I guarantee you we wouldn’t have our current HC issues, Chills would have been resigned and we wouldn’t have gone through last yrs JSmith fiasco. We’d probably be getting more production out of Acie and Solo, maybe even Hunter and Richardson as well.
SOMETHING TELLS ME THE 08-09 SEASON IS GOING TO BE ABOUT AS GOOD AS IT GETS FOR THE HAWKS.
dap01
May 31st, 2009
10:30 pm
Labron: Need to work on that class. He flunked the character test last night. I hope he learns something from that way he reacted. He needs to act like a winner, not just say that he is a winner. The refs were just as sad.
Come on Sund, surprise us!
darrell starks
May 31st, 2009
10:43 pm
QUESTION TO ANY ONE IS TO LATE TO HIRE AVERY JOHNSON ?
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!
The Truth
May 31st, 2009
10:59 pm
darrell starks
It’s not that it is too late to hire Avery Johnson. Exactly, it is too early. Sund will at least let Woody play out the one year left on his current contract. After that, all bets are off. However, given our franchise history, ownership has a bigger tolerance for failure so nothing will surprise me if things go south.
Hoops
May 31st, 2009
11:09 pm
Ken Strickland is right! Unless the Hawks make some bold moves this summer, being 4th in the East is going to be about as good as it gets! We had an aging PG and no center and two PF. We need a young athletic PG (Devin Harris can be signed for 10M or less) and a starting 5. Trade Josh Smith and Marvin for Memphis’ # 2 pick, M. Gasol and Gay and use the cap space money to sign Harris and resign Flip and Zaza. You will also have money to sign Charlie V. I bet you could package Acie, Morris and our #19 pick to move up enough to pick Curry if Memphis will not trade.
PG-Harris, Flip
SG-JJ, Curry
SF-Gay, Evans
PF-Horford, Charlie V
C-M. Gasol, Thabeet, Zaza
Come on Hawks, make some moves!!!
VitaminWater Marketing Department
June 1st, 2009
1:39 am
We are SO screwed…