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
G-Man
June 1st, 2009
8:13 pm
Melvin,
Eventhough Chris Bosh hasn’t led his team to the playoffs, he still would be a fantastic option for the hawks. By the way, Kevin Garnett was a superstar on the Minnesota Timberwolves, but he didn’t win a championship until he was a celtic.
darrell starks
June 1st, 2009
8:21 pm
LET BIBBY go thats 15million and let ACIE starte at point thats 2million you have cut 13million on the cap so making the trade for bosh 14million want hurt at all.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!
G-Man
June 1st, 2009
8:32 pm
Sorry, I found out Chris Bosh had led his team into the playoffs in 2007. My bad.
niremetal
June 1st, 2009
8:45 pm
Horford over Smoove. Every day.
O'brien
June 1st, 2009
8:49 pm
Repost from page 6.
Toronto is worried about losing Bosh next year when his contract is up. Keeping in mind that he played at GaTech, and the Hawks have made the playoffs the last 2 years, would you trade Josh, Mo’ Evans and the 19th pick, (or Josh and the right to Chills, or Josh and whoever makes the deal work) for Bosh (if Toronto is willing). Yes, I know the Hawks would have to be convinced they could sign him to a long term deal, but would you make that trade?
Let me know what you guys think. I would make the deal. Bosh is still only 25, and he averages 73 games per season, and his offensive game is already established. We dont know when (or if) Josh would realize his potential, especially if Woody is here. As long as we dont have to give up an Arm and a leg…I say get Bosh, if we feel we can sign him to an extension (him and JJ).
darrell starks
June 1st, 2009
9:01 pm
Lets say chill dont want to come back make a strong push for trevor ariza for about 5year 35million thats 7million a year
starters ACIE, JOE, TREVOR, JOSH, BOSH, or if chill do come back
starters ACIE, JOE, CHILL, JOSH, BOSH.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!
Melvin
June 1st, 2009
9:29 pm
Good point G-Man but I wouldn’t put Bosh in KG class. He’s a good player but I don’t think he’s as nearly the defensive player KG is…
Nire,
Josh over Horford….
I think this team has alot of talent and I worry that this team will be broken up before we have a chance to see what a better coaching staff can do with this group….
Ken Strickland
June 1st, 2009
9:42 pm
CA$H-it’s obvious you have a thing against JJ because you’ve overlooked a lot trying to make your case. Players don’t become Allstars based on how many pts they score or how well they play in the Allstar gm. Under Woodson, JJ had finished 1st or 2nd in mins played. In addition to the playing heavy mins, he’s had to defend the players PG MBibby should be defending, which is very often the quickest and/or fastest player on their team. JJ is one of the best open jumpshooters in the NBA with as much range as anybody. However, he’s forced to operate within a limited OFF system that forces him far too often into one on one isolations, which isn’t his strong suit, and allows him to be consistently double teamed.
The players and coaches that selected him to represent the USA, and the Eastern conference as an Allstar, recognized these disadvantages and rewarded his ability to produce in spite of them. You’ve chosen to ignore the opinion of his peers and coaches and singled out an individual performance to try and justify your negative opinion of him. I remember a playoff gm against Boston last yr when he almost single handedly destroyed them and they couldn’t stop him. I also remember PG MBibby having an awful series last yr, but you don’t see that as an issue.
If some intelligence and sanity aren’t introduced to this organization, after this season ends, JSmith could be the only returning player thats ever been on this roster the last 6yrs. THAT’S CERTAINLY NOT THE WAY TO GET TO THE NEXT LEVEL. IF ANYTHING, IT’S A WAY OF RETURNING TO THE LEVELS OF THE NOT SO DISTANT PAST.
doc
June 1st, 2009
10:17 pm
man i am missing basketball already, all i can even come close to finding interesting is wayne dyer on gpb. went to the baseball game and those announcers were pitiful and to watch two straight innings of pitchers walking the bases loaded was too much.
Big Ray
June 1st, 2009
10:44 pm
O’brien,
I can’t lie. I’d be all over that like stank on dooky. Gimme Bosh any day in that trade.
G-Man
June 1st, 2009
11:08 pm
Who do yall truly believe the hawks will select in the draft? I have heard Marcus Thornton and Terance Williams and I am not satisfied at all with these choices.
Ca$h
June 1st, 2009
11:33 pm
Ken Strickland … Bottom line I give J credit he is a good player just not a team player he is not what Atl needs…..aganist other great players he is an avg player we need a team player someone who can make the rest of the team. So Ken I say again trade J if not he needs to step up his game to include the other 4 players on court…..
Truth-serum
June 1st, 2009
11:45 pm
Ca$h
June 1st, 2009
11:33 pm
You must look past Ken Strickland. His hatred of Woodson and his lack of understanding of basketball doesnt allow him to make any meaniful or insightful expose’. He perfers to talk with his intent than with knowledge.
You would be better served to just ignore him as most people do especially when he slanders Woody.
Shout out the Zaza the continuous turnover Pachulia.
niremetal
June 2nd, 2009
1:43 am
All the Hawks seem to play selfishly. But I think that that’s a result of Woodson’s allergic-to-ball-movement offensive system. Makes no sense to single out any one player for it.
Oh, I’m sorry Truth-serum. Was that slander?
Clyde
June 2nd, 2009
7:22 am
Hey Sekou!! You haven’t gave out the end of the season blog awards yet. Ken Strickland is still my favorite to win Blogger of The Year.
Lets trade Joe while we can. Just like Bradley said in his article we need a superstar. Joe is just a star making superstar money.
Ca$h
June 2nd, 2009
8:34 am
I agree with Clyde….
jhan
June 2nd, 2009
8:56 am
Truth – can you please explain again the current salary cap situation the Hawks are in & just how much free money is available? You were such the expert on Bradley’s blog that I think the folks here would enjoy your accumen.
niremetal
June 2nd, 2009
10:30 am
Darrell,
For one, the salaries don’t match up. Relatedly, Horford’s contract pays him $4.3M next year and just $5.3M the year after that. That’s less than half of what Smoove makes. Regardless of your view on which is better, you have to admit that you get WAY more bang for your buck with Horford.
Beyond that, Bosh is not a good on-ball post defender, so I’d rather have Horford (who is a good on-ball post defender) than Smoove (who is mediocre at best on-ball…his forte is help defense, which is also Bosh’s forte). Lastly, Horford doesn’t take plays off or make stupid decisions nearly as much as Smoove does. He’s a player who understands the limits of his game, plays within them, and thus consistently helps his team win. Smoove still has no conception of the limits of his game. That’s not entirely his fault (Woody takes a LOT of the blame for that), but it is what it is.
With all those things combined (plus a few more that I could mention but won’t), I would much rather see us trade Smoove than Horford, ESPECIALLY if the player we were getting back was Bosh.
Clyde
June 2nd, 2009
10:38 am
Beyond that, Bosh is not a good on-ball post defender, so I’d rather have Horford (who is a good on-ball post defender)……
Ha Ha Ha Fire Woody
kwooden1
June 2nd, 2009
10:41 am
Looking at the HAWKS overall stats for last year and then adding in the fact that they had a lot of injuries during the Playoffs the team as it’s constructed isn’t terrible, it’s actually pretty good. Acie looked pretty productive when he was in the regular rotation and health. The overall rebounding wasn’t that bad when Horford was health. The differentials look OK, they’re about -2 rebound/per and -2 attempts/per against their opponents. A more active Smoove on the boards probably solves both issues. Many of us said that a health HAWKS team matches up pretty well with Orlando and they’ve played well overall against all the elite teams.
Looking at the RFA and FA this summer, I think some Sign & Trades of bench players would really help this team. Using the mid-level exception to get a player like Marquis Daniels, Linas Klieza, Gerald Green, etc to get some more scoring of the bench. Along with a move to get someone like David Lee, Brandon Bass, etc to get better rebounding. The HAWKS could also draft Mullen or Tyler Hansbrough to help with the rebounding off the bench. Because of the way ASG spends money my realistic lineup for now is:
PG – Bibby
SG – Johnson
SF – Williams
PF – Smith
C – Horford
PG – Law
SG – Murray
SF – Klieza/Daniels/Wilkens
PF – Bass/Hansbrough/S. Jones
C – S. Jones/Mullen
I hate to trade Evans or let go Zaza, but the HAWKS can use more scoring and shot blocking off the bench. Solo looks like a good options at either PF or C. Hopefully JSmoove will really learn from his experience against Lebron and work on his jump shot and handles. If Marvin takes another step forward it would be a real help to the team, especially to take pressure off of JJ. Hopefully Woodson was watching what Orlando was doing against Clev. in terms of tempo. Our other problem against Clev was rebounding, but again if JSmoove can be more active I think that will solve it. (along with a health Horford)
GO HAWKS!!!
niremetal
June 2nd, 2009
11:08 am
Yeah, Clyde. You’re right. All the scouts and people who actually watch our games must be wrong. Horford sucks on D. Josh and Sean Williams rule the world. If only we had drafted Sean Williams, we would have stopped LeBron. Horford is such a bum.
Melvin
June 2nd, 2009
11:19 am
Nire,
Is there a cut date when teams have to render a qualifying offer to their RFA (like Marvin and Childress)???
niremetal
June 2nd, 2009
11:23 am
Mel,
The deadline for extending a qualifying offer is June 30. We can start negotiating with players on July 1, but we can’t sign anyone until after the NBA salary cap is announced on July 7.
JD
June 2nd, 2009
11:28 am
CV and TD would be a great fits for the Hawks.
Regarding Ariza, I just can’t believe that George Karl didn’t have better out of bounds plays. Either they were poorly designed plays (ariza knew exactly where the ball was going) or the players didn’t cut aggressively to the inbounder. What a way to lose two games! There should be greater accountability here. Karl makes too much money to let that happen.
Melvin
June 2nd, 2009
11:39 am
Nire,
Thanks. I was thinking that we could signed FA’s prior to making the qualifying offers. Oh well, there’s no loop hole for doing that…
Dave
June 2nd, 2009
11:59 am
Josh for Bosh is perfect but another key is signing Gortat from Orlando! Do not resign Bibby and use the #19 and sign and trade Marvin for a developing young point or resign Marvin. Let Zaza go too. Resign Jones amd Flip. Rotation Bosh, Horford, Gortat and Jones at 4 and 5. Bosh, Marvin and Joe at 3. Flip, and Joe at 2. Finally, new pg and Mo at 1 and maybe Speedy if anyone has seen him or Acie if he can get off the bench. Starters Bosh, Horford, Marvin, Joe, and new pg. Nice offense with good defense and a lot of length with Gortat available for bulk on defense and offense! Can extend Bosh with Bibby’s money and sign Gortat with savings from Zaza. Wild card is resigning Childress and that would eliminate need for Marvin!
darrell starks
June 2nd, 2009
12:10 pm
Nire who has more potential JOSH OR HORFORD?
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!
Ken Strickland
June 2nd, 2009
12:34 pm
CA$H-you still can’t see the forest for the trees. Nobody considered JJ a aelfish none team player when he was playing with Phoenix. If you consider JJ selfish, then KBryant must be off the chain. Kobe averaged fewer mins than JJ, who led the NBA in mins played, again(36-39.5), took more shots(1712-1420) and had fewer assists(4.7-5.8).
JJ is only doing what his HC requires him to do and the limited OFF system he plays under forces him to do. He plays next to a PG that plays little DEF and is a one dimensional long range jumpshooter. Marvin Williams is the only other starter that can consistently score from the outside, so it’s routine for teams to double and triple team JJ.
Kobe, on the other hand, has far more help. He has 2 BIGS that are bigger/taller than the tallest player on our roster. He can go inside with PGasol, who can also score from outside and ABynum. He has outside help with Ariza and Fisher. Kobe also plays within an OFF system, the triangle OFF, that maximizes the talents of it’s players and has produced more championships than any other system over the last couple of decades. I’ll bet you if Kobe had to play under Woodson’s system, he’d be pulling the DHoward and the LJames, and begging for Shaq.
Your argument isn’t with me. Your argument and opposition to JJ is with the players and coaches that’s taken into consideration what he’s had to deal with and voted him to the USA team and the Eastern Allstar team multiple times. BUT THEN AGAIN, FOOLS LIKE YOUR NEW ADMIRER, TRUTH SEMEN, OOPS, TRUTH SIRUM, SAY I DON’T KNOW WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT AND THAT I’M BLINDED BY MY SO CALLED HATRED OF WOODSON. WELL, AS BLOG REGULAR CLYDE WAS ONE OF THE 1ST, IF NOT THE 1ST TO SEE THE PROBLEMS WOODSON WAS CREATING. AND AS HE CAN ATTEST, I WAS ONCE AN AVID WOODSON SUPPORTER AND REGULARLY HAD WORDS WITH CLYDE UNTIL I STARTED SEEING THE LIGHT THAT CLYDE HAD ALREADY TURNED ON. SO, IT’S NOT A HATRED FOR WOODSON THAT FUELS MY DISSATISFACTION WITH HIS COACHING, IT’S THE FACT HIS APPROACH TO COACHING, TACTICS, LACK OF OFTEN NEEDED STRATEGY, HIS UNWILLINGNESS TO COMMIT THE TIME, EFFORT AND ENERGY TO DEVELOPING YOUNG TALENT, AND A BENCH, HIS HEAVY HANDED WAY OF DEALING WITH YOUNG PLAYERS, IS WHAT MADE ME REALIZE HE’S NOT GOOD FOR THE HAWKS.
Everytime the Hawks fall short, because they were unable to overcome the liabilities of their HC and his flawed OFF/DEF systems, people start blowing up the blogs demanding we get rid of and/or acquire this player and that player. Why would anyone think other players will automatically flourish better having to deal with our overall management problems? I’m not placing the overall problems of the team squarely on HC MWoodson’s shoulders. The SAASG is the MAJOR contributor because its flawed decision making caused the resignation of former GM BKnight, the hiring of current GM Sund and thus the rehiring of Woodson.
However, if Woodson wasn’t so inflexible, closedminded and rooted in the coaching ideals of the past, had more confidence, ability and experience and understood the importance of developing, nurturing and utilizing the young talent given to him, this team could have overcome those ownership issues and done much much better, especially over the last 2yrs. And players who’s contracts are expiring or about to expire would be looking for ways to resign rather than looking for the 1st chance to get the hell our of here. BUT ACCORDING TO SOME, WHE ARE MUCH DUMBER THAN ME, I DON’T KNOW WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT.
A SHOUTOUT TO CLYDE FOR OPENING MY EYES ABOUT WOODSON WIDE.
detrain
June 2nd, 2009
12:43 pm
What if Sund;
First, Joe / 19 pick should be traded to New York for David Lee / Q Rich / 8th pick. Use the 8th pick to select Johnny Flynn. Next, trade Acie to Minn. for Brewer. Resign Bibby if not possible sign Iverson / Mabury. Salary should be avaliable to sign Wilcox/Brandon Bass or Charlie V and Flip Murry / Marvin Williams. Sign David Lee to a long term deal.
This remade lineup will be fast pace with experience, improved rebounding and defence.
PG: Flynn, Bibby, Murry
SG: Q Rich, Bibby, Brewer, Murry
SF: Marvin, Evans
PF: Josh S., Charlie V. or Wilcox or Brandon Bass
Center: Harfort, David Lee
That team is deep and will win. Thoughts?
niremetal
June 2nd, 2009
12:47 pm
Darrell,
Potential for what? “Potential” doesn’t mean anything in isolation. Potential to be a better individual player? Potential to be a key piece in a title-contending team? What?
darrell starks
June 2nd, 2009
12:47 pm
To me this year Horford was a big disappointment after his rookie year i didnt see and a improvement his game stayed the same.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!
darrell starks
June 2nd, 2009
12:53 pm
There are a lot of player built on the same style as a horford big and strong but you have to bring more to the table than just being big and strong why every one allways pointing the finger at josh the other players have to step up to the plate and show me something 2.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!
G-Man
June 2nd, 2009
1:08 pm
detrain,
I am a fan of Johnny Flynn like everyone else, but trading Joe for David Lee and a declining Quentin Richardson is just asinine.
darrell starks
June 2nd, 2009
1:25 pm
And far as the trade you can make that deal.
BIBBY 8MILL, JOE 14MILL, MARVIN 8MILL, JOSH 10MILL, HORFORD 4MILL, THATS 44MILLION.
ACIE 2MILL, JOE 14MILL, CHILL 7MILL, JOSH 10MILL, BOSH 14MILL,
THATS 47MILLION.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!
Wink from Lithonia
June 2nd, 2009
1:44 pm
Hawks as constructed have some nice pieces. I am not saying these are the exact players ( due to age or availabilty per contract),but players like them. I would take them if available, however: Big Z and Varejo from Cleveland and draft Ty Lawson from Carolina. Bring Josh Childress back.
These players would give us size, rebounding, a young point guard to star potential. Varejo would add agressiveness, a low post option on occasion. Big Z would give us a big man in the middle, rebounding, good passer, a nice mid range jumper. Lawson is the only one of the 3 that would develop to star potential, Varejo wants to get paid what he’s worth, does not require a lot of touches and will get his off the board. Big Z will demand some attention in the paint, take the shot or kick to wing or cutter as he is a good passer. Childress would provide defensive size & hustle points, a more expensive version of Mario West.
PG – Ty Lawson (If can win job in camp)
SG – Joe Johnson
SF – Josh Smith / Marvin Williams?
PF – Al Horford
C – Big Z
PG – AC Law / Mike Bibby? (If we can resign Bibby, not then Law)
SG – Flip Murray
SF – Josh Smith / Marvin Williams?
PF – Anderson Varejo
C – ZaZa Pachulia / Solomon Jones
Bench Defense: Forwards = Josh Childress & Guards = Mario West
Now if we could work out the money & contracts for these players we would have a very good team.
dap01
June 2nd, 2009
1:54 pm
Go Ken Strickland, I agree!
Hoops
June 2nd, 2009
2:23 pm
The Draft comes first! Will the Hawks sit still and do nothing or will they try to move up? Why not try to move up and get a player that will make the team and contribute?
The Hawks should propose this trade-Acie, Evans, & #19 pick to the Kings for the #4 pick. We will get either Rubio, Thabeet, or Curry. Either way, we get a potential starter out of the deal.
bigdave
June 2nd, 2009
2:42 pm
Ken Strickland co-sign all the above… been saying the same thing about Woodson and his X’s & O’s all year…
cp
June 2nd, 2009
3:06 pm
I saw this on hoopshype. I don’t know how to link so I will just copy and past it..
The Hawks and Marcus Thornton?: Don’t overlook LSU’s Marcus Thornton. Marcus has had some stellar workout recently going 20-for-25 from NBA three in Dallas and knocked the socks off the Atlanta Hawks before heading to Chicago for the NBA Pre-Draft Combine. Marcus continues to climb as teams get an up-close look at him and are raving his ability to score the ball. Marcus is a “play right away” player and seems to be making things interesting especially in the 13 to 20 range. Hawks sources agreed that Marcus was exceptional in their workout and consider him a Joe Johnson type scorer. With Johnson expected to explore his free agent options next summer the Hawks may have found their man at #19.
Samuel
June 2nd, 2009
3:48 pm
Final preview.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/190843-the-2009-nba-finals-are-not-all-about-kobe-and-dwight-howard
O'brien
June 2nd, 2009
4:08 pm
darrell starks:
I agree that I expected more from Horford this year as well. But some reasons why he didnt show as much improvement is because he doesnt get many plays run for him. JJ alone took as many shots as Josh and Al combined. Not to mention Bibby. If the Hawks played through their frontcourt more, Horford and Josh would have better numbers.
cp:
I would be surprised if Joe explores his free agency options next summer. Thats my opinion, but he wanted to come play for the Hawks, and he gave Woody a ringing endorsement last year, he made the all star team 3 times, the Hawks made the playoffs twice. I think as long as Sund shows him that the Hawks will continue to be competitive, and we make him a fair offer, I think JJ will stick around.
However, how ironic would it be if JJ signed with another team, since he is part of the reason why we are locked in this ownership battle.
Sekou, can we get a new blog up?
Ariose
June 2nd, 2009
4:09 pm
They Write that lol, but hoopsworld now has us taking Gerald Henderson in thier Mock Dracft 3.0 update.
Ariose
June 2nd, 2009
4:13 pm
Acie is potentially better than all of these upcoming rookie guards anyway…..Remember the game where he gave CP3 fits?
I think Sund Might go Traditional on us and not re-sign flip, and get another SF and SG in here to back up the starters……and either sign ‘Sheed or trade for a Clipper center…
Clyde
June 2nd, 2009
6:09 pm
Where was Horford when DWade and Lebron James were driving to the basket? He was doing the Cupid Shuffle and sliding to the left so the can have a easy layup.
bushwacker
June 2nd, 2009
6:18 pm
Rollplayers????
The hell with that, trade J Smith and Joe Johnson to Cleveland for LeBron!!
niremetal
June 2nd, 2009
6:21 pm
Wow. 4 things.
1) If you look at my original post, I talked about ON BALL POST DEFENSE. Last I checked, LeBron and D-Wade were never stupid enough to try and back Horford down. But even that being said…
2) He had a sprained ankle, fool.
3) Where was your boy Josh, who WAS fully healthy, when DWade and LeBron were guarding the basket?
4) Do you really, honestly think that Sean Williams or Joakim Noah would have even slowed them down? Hell, do you think any center not named Dwight or Tim or MAYBE Yao would have done much to slow them down? Hell, LeBron averaged 38 points per game against Dwight. You’re talking about 2 of the 3 best players off the drive in the NBA. If Dwight Howard, All-Defensive First Team center couldn’t slow LeBron down, does it really make much sense to criticize Horford for not being able to do it WITH A SPRAINED ANKLE?
And, once again, you laughed at me for saying that Horford was a better ON BALL post defender than Josh. I’d really love to see you try to argue the contrary. Seriously. It wouldn’t be quite as funny as seeing you make a fool out of yourself by saying he should have taken Noah or Sean Williams, but it would be close.
niremetal
June 2nd, 2009
6:23 pm
* “driving to the basket,” not “guarding the basket”
** “saying we should have taken Noah,” not “he”
Ca$h
June 2nd, 2009
6:25 pm
Ken Strickland ……….Frist of all if u noe basetball U CAN’T COMPARE kOBE BRYANT a NBA Slam Dunk Contest champion,9-time All-Defensive selection,11-time All-NBA selection,3-time NBA All-Star Game MVP:2-time scoring champion plus all those field goals attempted Kobe had he lead the NBA regular season field goals made.. unlike the Average Joe… u can’t bring up joe joke name around Kobe plus kobe make everyone better on the court.. who is joe johnson??
niremetal
June 2nd, 2009
6:29 pm
*ding*
Clyde
June 2nd, 2009
6:43 pm
Dwade (a small guard) had more blocks than our starting center this year.