Trade season in full swing
The only place Josh Smith will have to worry about guarding Jamal Crawford next season is in practice, now that it appears Crawford is headed for the Hawks via trade.
HAWKSVILLE - One by one the texts and phone calls started coming in late Wednesday afternoon.
Hawks players wanted to know if what they were hearing was true. So did other team’s players, scouts, coaches and an assortment of other people.
“Are we really going to get Jamal Crawford?” one player asked via text. “Is this serious?”
“You really think this is going to happen?” another asked. “Man, he gets buckets. Major buckets. We could be explosive with him and all our other cats coming back.”
“This is a crucial move for them,” a Western Conference scout told me, “because it was obvious in the playoffs that they needed another scorer with some size that could create a shot.”
Not a single player, coach or executive from anywhere that I communicated with Wednesday objected to the move for the Hawks. Not one person.
Truth be told, they were going crazy about it, with one guy calling is a “master stroke” since the Hawks moved two for one without sacrificing draft picks now or in the future.
For years folks have complained around here about the Hawks not being active enough during trade season (the time before the draft through the start of training camp when all the league’s best wheeling and dealing is done). Well, you’ve got your wish.
And you can dissect it every which way now that it appears that Crawford will join the Hawks in exchange for Acie Law IV and Speedy Claxton being sent to Golden State (the only detail left is for Crawford to sign an agreement saying he won’t exercise the opt-out clause in his contract).
Of course, the Hawks aren’t the only team working the trade season to their advantage. Deals are to be had for teams looking to add and subtract players and salaries in an effort to retool for the coming season. LeBron James and Shaq appear to be headed for a whirlwind season in Cleveland. Mike Miller and Randy Foye will bolster the playing rotation for Flip Saunders in Washington after the Wizards pawned off a lottery pick and some spare parts for real players in a deal with Minnesota. And Richard Jefferson’s arrival from Milwaukee (for scraps) breathes new life into a San Antonio team that seemed headed for an eternal ice bath in the playoffs.
There will surely be more craziness to come, perhaps even during tonight’s draft. But make no mistake about it, the teams moving and shaking now are the ones positioning themselves for the future (immediately for teams like the Hawks, Spurs, Wizards and Cavaliers and not-so-immediately for the Timberwolves and Warriors).
I’m an advocate of bold moves. I’m a fan of bold moves that produce immediate results. And for a franchise that for the longest time was immune to them, the Hawks have a decent track record on their most recent deals of that nature.
In the summer of 2005 they went after Joe Johnson, then a restricted free agent in Phoenix, and immediately changed their fortunes (it didn’t happen overnight but going from 13 wins to 47 in four years started with that bold stroke). 1-for-1.
They swung for the warning track with Claxton the following summer, hoping like crazy that he could solve their point guard quagmire and deliver them to playoff contention faster than a rookie or youngster only to have that plan blow up in their face after Claxton’s knee’s gave out. 1-for-2.
They gambled on Mike Bibby being able to get them over the proverbial hump and into the playoffs at the trade deadline two years ago and cashed in with back-to-back trips to the playoffs, including home court advantage this season en route to a trip to the Eastern Conference semifinals. 2-for-3.
The Hawks' point guard of the future could be Wake Forest star Jeff Teague.
The played roulette last summer with their own free agents, Josh Smith and Josh Childress, allowing the market to set the price on what they should be paid and lost one (Childress to Greece) and hung on to the other one (Smith, who signed an offer sheet from Memphis that the Hawks matched before the ink dried), and then followed that up by adding veterans Flip Murray and Mo Evans to help fill the void. Murray finished in the same spot in the Sixth-Man voting that Childress did the year before and Evans stabilize things late in the year when Marvin Williams went down with a severe back injury for the final month and half of the regular season. 3-for-4.
This deal for Crawford makes sense for so many reasons, as the digital tag-team duo of Mark Bradley and Jeff Schultz have already pointed out in separate takes on this latest roll of the red, white and blue dice.
Crawford certainly sounds like he’s pleased with the move, especially when you consider the situation he’s coming from in Golden State. And just like when the Hawks acquired Bibby and the skeptics wondered how he’d fit, things worked out because Bibby was a seasoned pro that knew what was expected of him when he came here and he delivered. I suspect Crawford’s situation will be similar in that he’ll come here realizing that this is his chance to shut up his doubters and prove that he can be a part of a winning operation.
Much like Bibby was when he arrived, Crawford might be a short term solution to a problem in need of a long-term answer. There’s no doubt the Hawks are still in need of their “point guard of the future.” And that’s where the true beauty of this deal for Crawford has been a bit overlooked. The Hawks didn’t have to include the 19th pick in the draft to get the backcourt insurance needed if unrestricted free agents Bibby and Murray aren’t re-signed this summer (and Crawford’s arrival doesn’t necessarily signal the departure of either guy. In fact, the Hawks would be best suited to find a way to keep them all in the fold if they want to solidify their ranks).
They still have that draft chip to snag the guy they want and need. They have studied all their point guard options up close and personal the past two months. They’ve seen Jeff Teague, Ty Lawson, Toney Douglas and Eric Maynor in person, had them all in for workouts at Philips Arena and had a chance to ponder what each one would look like alongside Johnson, Smith, Al Horford and the rest of the gang.
Whatever happens, they won’t go into next week’s open of free agency from a position of weakness where Bibby and Murray are concerned. They’ll operate from a position of strength with a chance to nail down the present and future at the position all at once.
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1,267 comments Add your comment
ant banks
June 26th, 2009
10:08 pm
regardless of who the hawks add, they will are in a 4way tie for the 4th seed: 1.clev 2.orlando 3.boston 4.Hawks, Philly, Chicago, Miami.
we will definitely make the playoffs again, thereby solidyfin’ woody’s existence as coach. woody will get a 2yr extenstion for takin’ the hawks to playoffs 3times!!
niremetal
June 26th, 2009
10:15 pm
AJoe,
Keep in mind that that’s the “Select” team that scrimmages against Team USA, not the national team itself. That’s why Kyle Korver and Ronnie Brewer on the roster
Good for him and the other participants, though. If nothing else, it’s always good to have time playing against the best. I think Horford was on the same team last year.
The Truth
June 26th, 2009
10:20 pm
G-Man
You didn’t translate Woody comments correctly. Let me translate it for you:
“I’m not knocking Acie Law in any way shape or form,” Woodson said. “But this kid [Teague] is what I’d call a true point guard. I gave Acie some opportunities, and it just didn’t work. That’s no knock on him as a player or me as a coach. Injuries probably hurt Acie the two years he was here, and honestly we just didn’t have the luxury of waiting on him when he first got here. We had to win”.
Translation:
If I played Acie and we didn’t advance to the 2nd round, MY AZZ WOULD HAVE BEEN FIRED!!!
Anakin Joe
June 26th, 2009
10:28 pm
Nire, I understood that Smith was participating with the “junior varsity” but its still an honor. And as I understand it, future “varsity” teams will come from the junior squad.
The player who surprised me the most was DJ Augustin. He had flashes of having a nice little game… but I didn’t expect to see him with the rest of those junior varsity players.
doc
June 26th, 2009
10:28 pm
thanks to manny t and astro for clarification. the rule i was thinking of was for free agents signed, i thought it applied to everyone acquired.
darrell starks
June 26th, 2009
10:33 pm
I cant believe what woody said about acie thats that bull crap in witch woody never devolop him as a player nor have he devolop solo and it hurt him in the playoffs with his lack of coaching in devoloping his bench during the year and playing joe 48min a game until he cant walk no more thats a poor excuse for a coach.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
darrell starks
June 26th, 2009
10:36 pm
Woody better bring his A game this year or he will be gone by allstar break because rick sund is not wasting any time on his a$$.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!
darrell starks
June 26th, 2009
10:40 pm
IF woody wants to succeed as a coach he better hire him a off. coordinator this year so joe want be dribbling the ball 20seconds of the 24second shot clock.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!
O'Brien
June 26th, 2009
10:44 pm
Woody should not have said that about Acie. All he had to say, was Acie didnt work for different reasons, including injuries, but he is looking forward to working with Teague. You dont have to bring somebody down just to lift somebody up.
And I disagree that Acie is not a true PG. He won the Bob Cousy award for the best PG in college for crying out loud. Everytime he was in the game, he was driving and dishing, and defending his position. His biggest weakness was knocking down shots. And if I’m not mistaken, thats also Rondo’s biggest weakness.
Does anybody have Woody’s comments when Acie was drafted? It would be interesting to compare his statements then and his statesments then.
O'Brien
June 26th, 2009
10:45 pm
compare his statements then and his statements now.
RJ
June 26th, 2009
10:50 pm
I like how Woody says “this is not a knock on Acie” then proceeds to throw him under the bus. LOL. Woody is a piece of crap.
The Truth
June 26th, 2009
10:57 pm
There is a cliché that says it is better to keep your mouth close and have people wondering about you than to open your mouth and remove all doubt. We all suspected Woody is an AZZ; he just opened his mouth and proved it.
G-Man
June 26th, 2009
11:06 pm
Hey this is kind of random, but do yall know if teague has a twitter, facebook, or myspace?
darrell starks
June 26th, 2009
11:15 pm
What in the world i just heard amire for josh hell no see this that bull crap i be talking about once you feel good about the hawks next you scratching your head.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!
darrell starks
June 26th, 2009
11:24 pm
Now rick sund is talking about trading josh for stoudemire thats why woody should have been fired and brought in avery to coach this team you dont trade a player who only 23 years of age and so much potential i gurantee if the hawks trade josh it will set this franchise back.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!
Harry Hawk
June 26th, 2009
11:26 pm
Woody is basically saying that he doesn’t have to win now. Teague, the true PG that Acie never was, can play and it doesn’t matter. After all, Woody has the job security that comes from having no contract in 2010-11.
Wait.
This guy is an idiot. Teague, get ready to rock the warmup suit.
darrell starks
June 26th, 2009
11:29 pm
I would rather trade horford and marvin than josh for stoudemire.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!
G-Man
June 26th, 2009
11:50 pm
where are yall hearing about this trade?
darrell starks
June 27th, 2009
12:07 am
JUST heard on espn G MAN BUT IM WATCHING TVONE ON CHANNEL 71 ABOUT MICHAEL TURN TO IT ITS CRAZY HE IS THE KING OF ALL ARTIST PERIOD.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!
bigdave
June 27th, 2009
12:13 am
nowhere are they reporting Amare to the Hawks for anybody… just not seeing it…
Ken Strickland
June 27th, 2009
12:28 am
There seems to be a lot of disappoint and not enough thought being put into our 1st rd selection. Being rated better overall than another player doesn’t mean a thing if tha highest rated player doesn’t fit what the team needs. Woodson prefers PG’s that are superior shooters over PG’s that are superior passers and/or facilators. Teague was drafted by the Hawks because out of what was available, he was rated a better fit for what Woodson wanted. His value to the Hawks wasn’t based on where he was rated by so called experts from ESPN, Sporting News etc, or some outside organizations or individuals.
With the acquisition of Teague, Crawford, and our 2nd rd pick, we’ve increased our overall speed, quickness, athleticism, shooting ability and DEF. Now we need to seriously consider solidifying our frontline by resigning Marvin and Zaza. For those who think Solo might resign, I ask WHY WOULD HE. He knows for certain he’ll only get inconsistent mins and opportunity at best under Woodson. He certainly knows he stands a much better chance of getting the playing time he wants by going elsewhere, and maybe more money to boot. We need a frontline center off the bench that can handle heavy mins, like Zaza, because Woodson isn’t going to give consistent or extended mins to a #2 backup center.
Woodson desperately wants Bibby back. It was Bibby that kept him from being fired and got him his 1st contract extension. He wants him back so he can help him get a 2nd contract extension.
Look, Woodson will be the Hawks HC, so I’m all for getting him what he thinks he needs to be successful. What’s funny to me is Woodson and former GM BKnight had differing opinions on ALaw, and BK drafted him anyway. Woodson and current GM RSund obviously had differing opinions on JChildress’ value, and Sund wouldn’t seriously commit to resigning him.
Since Sund didn’t fire Woodson, or offer him a contract extension, he owes it to him to get what he needs to be as successful as possible in earning another contract extension. While I know we’d be a better team with a HC that’s more openminded, player friendly and less rigid, with the ability to install a system that takes maximum advantage of our talent, we’re stuck with what we have and need to make the best of it.
I.MUS WRITE
June 27th, 2009
12:44 am
“Look at all these rumors surrounding me every day” Wouldnt trade josh for Amre- but i would do a Marvin or Horfor + a future 1st – Woody should be more professional than that. if you have a beef with the guy just let it go the man is on another team for cry’n out loud…… Acie law has a fresh start but thingz couldt gtale at any moment…. nellie likes the gun slinger types Bdidy Morrow Monte
He’s basicly Marcus Williams part deux….
My god Buster Douglas is kill’n Mike Tyson on classic fights
I thin woody will give teague a fair chance tho mainly because he’ a scorer type pg.
niremetal
June 27th, 2009
12:47 am
MannyT,
Lol…don’t get Doc’s hopes up, man. You KNOW there aren’t loopholes for everything when it comes to the signing free agents when you’re anywhere in the vicinity of the cap. Trades? Possible. Signing other team’s free agents? No. They closed the loopholes after the Redd debacle.
And even with trades, keep in mind that the Hawks’ only real “cap filler” guy was Speedy, and we just traded him away. Now, our only non-BYC contracts are those of Horford (who isn’t going anywhere), JJ (probably same), Crawford (is another team really gonna want to pay him $20M over the next 2 years?), Mo, and RandMo. The latter two could be cap filler, but they only combine for $3.35M.
Chill and Marvin will be BYC, so any sign-and-trade involving them would be dicey. Marvin’s BYC figure is $5.6M, and my guess is he won’t agree to a S&T that starts at less than $7M. The lower BYC figure makes it pretty tough for us to include him in any package for an upgraded player without throwing Smoove, Horford, Crawford, or JJ in as well. Chill’s will be 50% of whatever contract he gets, which probably will mean the split would be ~$7M/$3.5M. That makes it damned near impossible to do a sign-and-trade involving him unless we package him with either Smoove or JJ. You can do the math on making things fit within the 125% rule if you don’t believe me on that – the big disparity between Chills’s BYC figure and what he’d probably get in any S&T makes it damned hard to make the salary numbers work unless he’s being packaged in a blockbuster-level deal.
That’s the thing that maybe gives me the most pause about the Crawford deal. We may not be done with signing new guys for the rest of the summer, but it made it damned hard for us to pull off any trades – especially since Crawford himself has an unattractive contract. Speedy was our big “cap filler” player that we could toss in to make salaries match up. In all likelihood, Sund now will have to be very, very smart about re-signing our own free agents and spending our mid-level exception. Because unless we’re planning to trade JJ, Horford, or Smoove, it’s going to be very tough to get any trades done.
niremetal
June 27th, 2009
12:51 am
Forgot to include Smoove in the “non-BYC” crowd, but his trade kicker has a BYC-esque effect unless he waives it…
niremetal
June 27th, 2009
12:52 am
And actually, now that I think about it, Smoove’s trade kicker will of course make it harder to package him in trades, so he won’t be any help. So remove his name wherever it appears in the third paragraph in my dissertation…
I.MUS WRITE
June 27th, 2009
12:54 am
My typing sux lol… to many guiness’es i guess……Burp……hahaha
Ariose
June 27th, 2009
1:00 am
Damn, Buster just gave Mike The Business lol…..classic
bigdave
June 27th, 2009
1:02 am
absolutely Ken Strickland…
Horford… no Smith…!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I.MUS WRITE
June 27th, 2009
1:03 am
Nirmental – good info i feel enlightened……….. How do you know this stuff you do alot of research i suppose …Whats your profession sun -Either you’re a Pharmacist or married with alot of time on your hands.
Reggie
June 27th, 2009
1:06 am
Chris Broussard just reported on Sportscenter that the hawks are willing to part with Josh Smith for Amare Stoudemire!!!
bigdave
June 27th, 2009
1:06 am
THE NEW AGENT “0″ YA DIG…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ybt537Q4ZOo
bigdave
June 27th, 2009
1:07 am
noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!
bigdave
June 27th, 2009
1:08 am
WHY WONT THEY TAKE HORFORD…!!! I WOULDNT DO IT… IM SORRY.. LOVE AMARE… BUT.. JOSH!! NAW….
Ariose
June 27th, 2009
1:11 am
Nire, I’m fine with what we have if we just sign everyone back. If we DO sign a UFA it will of couse be using our Mid-Level, but on who? Rasho??? I say we just bring Mike and everyone back, pray the front-line stays healthy, and try to deal zaza+Randolph for someone special next summer…..or sign Dirk lol….
Ariose
June 27th, 2009
1:18 am
BS. I’ll beat rick’s azz LITERALLY…let’s go guys. if this goes down meet me at phillips arena at 5:00am it’s goin’ down!!!!!
Ariose
June 27th, 2009
1:25 am
1) They can’t get this deal done b/c of Josh’s contract THANK GOD. Smoove WILL NOT let this happen. He won’t wave Shy’t he’s gettin every penny.
2) WE ALL KNOW PHEONIX HAS WANTED JOSH SMITH EVER SINCE THEY PUT AMARE ON THE MARKET. I BET THIS IS JUST A RUMOR PUT OUT THERE BY AMARE’S AGENTS TO GET RICK’S ATTENTION……NOT GONNA HAPPEN
3) HE DON’T PLAY ANY D, SMOOVE HAS OWNED HIS AZZ EVERYTIME THEY MATCHED UP. HE ONLY HAS ONE YER LEF ON HIS DEAL. HGE’S 28 AND HE HAS TWO KNEES BEING HELD TOGETHR WITH DUCK-TAPE AND A BUM EYE.
4) AMARE AND HIS AGANTS CAN SHOVE THAT RUMOR RIGHT BACK WHERE IT CAME FROM
5) SEEEEYYYYYKKKKOUUUUUUUU WHERE AAAARRREEEEE YOOOUUUUU!!!!!!
6)LOL…..
Ariose
June 27th, 2009
1:28 am
I.MUS, HE’S IN LAW SCHOOL….
Ariose
June 27th, 2009
1:35 am
I WAS JUST KIDDIN ABOUT THA 5AM THING THOUGH….
Ariose
June 27th, 2009
1:40 am
WE NEED TO SEND CHRIS BROUSSARD A NASTY E-MAIL FOR SPOUTING PHONY RUMORS THOUGH…..IT’S ALWAYS ESPN….UGH!!!1
bigdave
June 27th, 2009
1:48 am
Amare would sign a deal that keeps him here.. trust me.. he wants to be here.. stays on the nightlife scene… and this is on the regular…
http://atlantasroyalphotography.smugmug.com/gallery/7053918_SJRiV#462729847_4qjxv
dont want him to come down an F -UP… staying in the clubs and such… but maybe he wants to come down and win a ring..
i kinda jump ship with this deal now that it means Josh… Bosh yea.. but.. i dunno…
im kinda on a Rasheed Wallace now with what we have going on.. and Za Za
Heat Check
June 27th, 2009
2:04 am
Is Broussard serious??? Smoove to PHO is a possiblity? God, no. I’ve been checking ajc’s Hawk’s page for 4 and a half yrs just to see the headline that Woodson has been fired and tomorrow I might see that JOSH SMITH has been traded?? Ugh…Can’t Sund just fire this idiot already? Why are we building a team around a coach who can’t design a single offensive set? Dammit. Woodson must be thanking the devil for dropping that #3 pick on us in 2007 and for BK bringing Bibby in before he got the boot. The guy’s done nothing to bring this team from 13 to 47 besides fold his arms and shave his head……….and I hope Acie tears it up in GS…..
Ariose
June 27th, 2009
2:06 am
BIGDAVE ME TOO. SHEED ALL THE WAY+ZAZA…
A Tribe Called Quest
June 27th, 2009
2:06 am
“Jeff Teague has a different situation, and in some ways I think a better situation, in that we have a solid foundation of veterans here that he’ll be able to learn from and lean on.”
–Woodson
That pretty much means Bibby will play 40 mpg because he’s a vet and Teague can watch!
Woohoo
mykhalc
June 27th, 2009
2:28 am
WOODSON has ALWAYS been CLUELESS…now he’s f’n CLASSLESS!! he nevers has anythin’ worthwhile to say ON the court now it has carried over to off the court. WOODSON STFU!!!!
like i said…biggest winner draft nite…ACIE LAW!!!!
mykhalc
June 27th, 2009
2:30 am
gotta say i have been impressed with what i’ve seen in intervoews from Teague. seems like he’s pretty grounded young cat. got some ups too!!!
mykhalc
June 27th, 2009
2:30 am
s/b interviews
mykhalc
June 27th, 2009
2:35 am
technically i guess ACIE was the biggest winner the nite before the draft!!! :-O
kgbsfinst
June 27th, 2009
2:49 am
Man and I thought last years off season was crazy! If the rumor about the Hawks willing to deal Josh is true, this could be way crazier.
Its nice to see Joe calling and talking to both Jeff and Jamal, that shows signs of a good leader. I hope hes calling Chills everyday trying to convince him to come back. Even if he doesn’t fit into our plans (I think he can and does) he would be great trade bait.
No way Amare for Josh….no way.
Ed
June 27th, 2009
3:06 am
The talk about the Hawks trading Josh is a power play by Woody. It appears from the drafting of a PG that Woody endorsed and attempting to trade Smoove that Sund is doing everything he can to put the pieces that satisfies the Woodrow. That way if things go south he would be able to get the ASG’s permission to fire him.
Ariose
June 27th, 2009
3:09 am
HEAT CHECK, AMEN….