On the eve of the frenzy!!
Joe Johnson's already fired up the season. The Hawks' free agency season, that is.
CHOCOLATE CITY -Joe Johnson learned a long time ago the value of a good poker face.
But when I asked him what he thought of all the trades before, on and during NBA draft day, his smile turned into a an eyebrow-raised stare.
“People aren’t playing around right now,” he told me Friday in a hallway outside of a conference room at the Hawks’ downtown headquarters. “I don’t know what’s gotten into everybody.”
Johnson better hope that the spirit to move has hit the Hawks as well with free agency just a couple of days away. Because life in the Eastern Conference playoff chase is going to be tougher than it was a year ago.
(Oh, and sorry for the delay on the new blog boys and girls, but I had a previously planned family gathering here in D.C. that could not be avoided.)
“I’ve been keeping up with every move that’s been made,” Johnson said. “The Eastern Conference has gotten a lot better before free agency even started. We’ve just got to do whatever we have to do whatever we can do to try and take ourselves to another level. Right now we’re making footsteps in the right direction and we just have to keep moving forward.”
Johnson said he’s heard about all the rumors involving the Hawks (Josh Smith’s latest is that he’s going to be sent to the Phoenix in some sort of package exchange for Amare Stoudemire, Mike Bibby’s not coming back according to all the experts now that Jamal Crawford and Jeff Teague have been added, etc.). And he’s not buying any of it.
“I understand we don’t really know what’s going to happen in free agency,” Johnson said. “We never do. But this is a business, man. And this is the tough part, the rumors and all the talk. It’s just something we have to deal with. But this is the important thing people need to remember, we’ve gotten better every year with this group. That’s not easy to do. So that means by the time training camp rolls around we need to have hung out, worked out and done everything else it takes prepare ourselves. It’s all business when training camp comes around, because we have to be ready to not only match what we did last year but do better than that. And it’s going to be tough.”
MORE TO THE POINT, and that’s really the one question people have been asking me over and over again since draft night, in it’s various manifestations. Do we keep Bibby? What about Flip? Do we need that many point guard, and won’t they stunt the growth of the young fella?
Ramon Sessions doesn't appear to be on the Hawks' free agent radar anymore.
Before the draft I had a short list of potential point guards (starters or backups depending on what happens with Bibby). By Friday morning I started rethinking the need for the list, what with two new bodies at the position in Crawford and Teague.
Then something crazy happened.
And I expected to see some crazy stuff during my trip here to Obama City, and of course, I did exactly that. From people watching on my way out of Reagan Airport to the hordes of tourists making their way in and out of the monuments and other venues, there’s never a shortage of interesting things to see.
So Saturday afternoon while my Pops and I were cutting through a backdoor to the Renaissance Washington DC Hotel (on 9th near C’town and my favorite spot to stay in this city) we saw Milwaukee Bucks restricted free agent point guard Ramon Sessions relaxing while talking on a cell phone on a patio. Had he not been in the middle of a conversation and had we not been trying to hustle off to where we were going, I’d have interrupted him and checked with him his future plans.
It ate me up the rest of the day. I wondered if this was a sign or something. What are the chances I’d see Sessions (or any of the other young point guards that highlighted my short list) during my first 12 hours here?
For a half-second, just a half, i thought someone was pulling a prank on me. I try and escape from the frenzy for a few days with the fam and who do I see on the patio outside of the Starbucks in the hotel but a restricted free agent NBA point guard that we’ve been talking about around here for weeks now (fine, I admit that’s a bit melodramatic, but … well, you had to be there).
AS FOR A POINT GUARD CERTAIN TO BE ON THE HAWKS’ ROSTER in training camp, Teague will be an interesting cat to cover.
For a guy that swore he was nervous on his first face-to-face dealing with the local press, it didn’t show. Teague’s got the perfect temperament for his new job.
He’s also looking forward to one of the perks of living life on a NBA salary. Teague said he’s looking foward to getting a car. “I’ve never really had my own car,” he said. “It was like a 1988 Toyota Camry. The rest of my friends had cars in the 2000s. I went to Wake Forest and there I am riding around in my ‘88 Camry that’s not looking to good.”
Teague’s car search will be easier than most. He won’t need a ride to the Range Rover lot either.
“I’m a cheap guy, so I’ll try and go with one of those [Dodge] Challengers or something like that,” he said, ” That’s one of those that looks good but doesn’t cost too much.”
The bigger question for the Hawks is how much is too much to pay for Bibby?
That’s also a question that we can only speculate about between now and Wednesday.
FINDING THE RIGHT ANSWERS IN THE FRONTCOURT WON’T BE NEARLY AS EASY. Restricted free agent bit men aren’t allowed to disappear from the roster as easily as they might a player at another position.
There are only a handful of quality big men on the open market (free of restrictions. The Marcus Camby deal and others like it for quality big men, requires the Hawks pulling off a sweet deal with precious few tradable assets to work with).
Put the "Birdman" on the Hawks' pursuit list for this summer.
Since my point guard short list was shredded on draft day, I figured now was as good a time as any to toss this out there (listed alphabetically and keep in mind that all four of these guys are unrestricted free agents):
Chris Andersen, Denver, PF/C – Size, check. Energy, check. Shot-blocking ability, check. I know this isn’t the Andersen you might have been thinking of adding to the roster (from what I’m hearing, David doesn’t seem likely to be on the Hawks’ roster when training camp opens). But the Birdman is a specialist the like of which the Hawks haven’t had in quite some time. He’s probably going to cost a little bit more than the Hawks are used to spending on specialists, but he might be worth the financial sacrifice.
Antonio McDyess, Detroit, PF – McDyess is still chasing that elusive NBA championship ring. Maybe he’s changed and is ready to tackle the task of helping a team like the Hawks reach for that big trophy. Adding intrigue to his summer is his relationship with Hawks coach Mike Woodson.
Joe Smith, Cleveland, PF – This isn’t exactly a home run move, but if you’re in need of a quality big, a veteran big, Smith would have to be vetted for the job. He’s become one of the league’s more reliable journeyman bigs. And not only will he play physically, he’ll knock down shots and sacrifice his body for as long as it takes.
Rasheed Wallace, Detroit, PF/C – The toughest sell on the list, Wallace isn’t going to come for cheap. He wants a sizable contract, one that the Hawks might not be interested in giving to an aged talent whose desire has been questioned by some. But he, too, has a good relationship with Woodson, which could potentially open the door long enough for the Hawks to get in the mix.
TWITTER ME THIS, TWITTER ME THAT …
We’ve officially set up an after hours spot for this blog on Twitter (where the free agency updates will be shorter and more frequent, depending on what’s going on). Dig in for free agency folks, it should be bonkers.
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456 comments Add your comment
niremetal
June 30th, 2009
12:43 pm
Just look at the Hawks’ payroll since 2006 (ie since it became clear that Belkin would not be given the right to buy out ASG at pennies on the dollar). Each year, the Hawks have increased payroll – and at a faster rate than the league average. The Hawks have gone from 30th to 20th in payroll since that summer. On two occasions now (Bibby and Crawford), the Hawks have traded expiring contracts in exchange for an expensive non-expiring contract. The only thing anyone can point to as an example of the Hawks being cheap in the past couple years is Childress – but at worst, that looked like a matter of Sund overplaying his hand in the contract negotiations, not a cost-cutting move.
The Hawks have been increasing payroll at a time when most teams have been cutting payroll. But I guess some people can’t stop living in 2006.
Volman
June 30th, 2009
12:43 pm
Congrats to Mark Jackson. He was pretty good on ESPN when they covered the Hawks (one of my favorite play by play guys). Best of luck to him in Minnesota! I bet he could turn Rubio into a stud in a couple of years!
Sekou Smith
June 30th, 2009
12:55 pm
Hawks don’t have to issue tenders until today, so we’ll find out who they did that for and who they did not.
O’Brien, any S&T deal involving Chils works for me, because it’s obvious that he won’t play for the Hawks again (at least anytime soon). So it’ll have to be a package deal to get anything close to real value for him.
That’s cold Volman, clowning Este like that. From what I understand from a guy that faced Andersen this year is that he’s a deadly pick and roll guy but not much of a defender. He does have the kind of size the Hawks are looking for in a reserve big man, though. The chances of him joining the party this year, however, seem slim.
That Mark Jackson-T’Wolves thing (if it happens) can be traced to both he and Minny GM David Kahn’s time together in Indiana.
My desire to add CharlieV to the mix here is going to run into a serious road block thanks to the folks in Detroit. From what I hear he’s going to be one of their main targets. And now that he’s an unrestricted FA, there is nothing standing in the way of that deal getting done. Time to move on down the list.
ant banks
June 30th, 2009
1:01 pm
ARIOSE,
where can i find that acie yardbarker blog?
O'Brien
June 30th, 2009
1:02 pm
Sekou,
How do you feel about Channing Frye? (the Blazers did not offer him a tender).
I think Charlie V ends up in Cleveland or Detroit.
RealSquawk
June 30th, 2009
1:03 pm
niremetal,
I would have to agree. People are saying it more as a matter of habit than truth.
Why are the next couple of days going to be so interesting?
Glad you asked. It is simple. The Hawks are in a very interesting position. They were a playoff team. They are young and they is room for improvement. Unlike the Suns or the MAvericks for example the Hawks have not even got close to peaking, which means that any addition to the team can only help the team because all of our major pieces are staying where they are. (hopefully this includes Marvin, he is as much apart of the core as the others. especially with Joe’s contract expiring next year)
Why is all that important?
Well it is important because every other team is looking to do something crazy and exciting in 2010, but the Hawks have some cap space and some money to do something in 2009. There is no need to make major changes, but with teams refusing to offer qualifying offers (Villanueva, frye) and openly stating that they are not going to match offers for players (gortat) is going to make upgrade adjustments that much easier.
So here is to the 2009 free agency!
Can midnight come any faster!
Ariose
June 30th, 2009
1:04 pm
The Homie GameTime has just cranked out another hit lol.
Jamal Craford GameTime:
Link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUqjvt0oKvw&feature=channel
virgil leonard
June 30th, 2009
1:05 pm
we need to move Bibby and williams to the Suns for Amare. our back court is interchangeable Johnson, Crawford, Teague and Murray are all PG/SG and Crawford and Johnson can run some SF if needed. this is a championship lineup if we can get more quality minutes from our bench players and not run the starters into the ground.
PG- Crawford/Teague
SG- Johnson/Murray/West
SF- Smith/Evans/
PF- Horford/Hunter/
C- Stoudamire/Pachulia/Jones
maybe we don’t win the championship in the 2010 season but 2011 we will be a force in the NBA not just the East. hopefully this rumor has caught the ear of both Sund and the Suns and we cna make this trade happen
For Real
June 30th, 2009
1:11 pm
Howard, Shaq, Garrnet —– The Hawks need to get bigger:
- Trade Hortford, Evans and the rights to Childress to the Lakers for Bynam
- Trade Williams to the Wizards for Butler
- Re-sign Zaza and Flip
- Sign McDyess PF
- Sign Marquis Daniels , SG
- Lindsey Hunter, PG
Hawksfanatic
June 30th, 2009
1:12 pm
O’Brien, you are right about Chillz. I was just looking at our current roster to determine QOs and didn’t see Chillz on there so I forgot.
Sekou, will you report the QOs or will the Hawks have some sort of a press release?
Ariose
June 30th, 2009
1:14 pm
Ant, click on this Google link. It’s the first link on the page:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Acie+Law+Blog&aq=f&oq=&aqi=
O'Brien
June 30th, 2009
1:21 pm
detroit pistons just fired the head coach
Anakin Joe
June 30th, 2009
1:22 pm
Sekou, what’s the value of waiting until the 11th hour to move forward with the QO? Don’t we have only 2-3 tradable contracts (Joe, MO & Horford). I think that you indicated that Smith’s BYC expires in August so he can’t be moved for value until then. So what’s the hold-up? This ownership group doesn’t have a good history of managing paper work (i.e. appraisal challenge).
kirkinga
June 30th, 2009
1:23 pm
niremetal, no matter how persuasive the case you make may be, there is a substantial number of bloggers who are fact-resistant when it comes to ASG and payroll.
There are some who believe that ASG must pay the Luxury Tax in order to show they are fully committed to winning. Shrewd moves and wise negotiations do not sit well with the impatient.
Last Summer’s theme was “give Josh Smith what he wants and give it to him now…and then give Josh Childress what he wants too..now!”. This Summer is more difficult because there is an increased number of free agents and there is not agreement on which of them should be the priority.
The easiest way out then is to insist that ASG sign them all and then sign, at least one free agent big man, if not two. Proceeding in such a manner would then be interpreted as a commitment to winning on behalf of ASG.
Anything less and it will remain “2006″ for many here. Then there are the reasonable ones who will allow a Bibby or a ZaZa to get away, but otherwise want close to same level of expenditure nonetheless.
Count me in the latter group!
Go Hawks!!
chuckw/deadjournalist
June 30th, 2009
1:23 pm
curry fired by detroit
For Real
June 30th, 2009
1:25 pm
Forgot to add Hill as a pickup as well. Now the Hawks have a nice mix of veterans that want a title and youth.
PG: Crawford/Hunter/Teague
SG: Johnson/Flip/West
SF: Butler/Hill/Daniels
PF: Smith/McDyess/Jones
C: Bynam/Zaza/Morris
STRETCH
June 30th, 2009
1:26 pm
virgil leonard…i like that! And it seems possible.
O'Brien
June 30th, 2009
1:29 pm
Joe Dumars deserves a lot of heat for whats going on in Detroit.
1) He drafted Darko (instead of Melo, Wade, Bosh, even Kaman)
2) Fired Flip Saunders and hired Michael Curry
3) Traded Chauncey for AI
None of which have worked so far.
Anakin Joe
June 30th, 2009
1:32 pm
Dumars has lost his ever-loving mind.
I wonder if Bill Laimbeer is about to takeover. He resigned from the WNBA to pursue an NBA opportunity when there were very few jobs open (only T’Wolves I think).
Dumars fires a quality caoch because he doesn’t take the team to the Finals, hires a guy with little experience, trades away the team’s leader, brings in a disruptive force who ticks off the remaining leader (Rip) and now waits until 8 weeks after the team lost in the playoffs to decide he no longer likes the coach. That’s a bad way to conduct business.
Hoops
June 30th, 2009
1:32 pm
If you were the Hawks GM, here’s the big question for you-
Starting @ 12:01 tonight, what is your plan? What FA’s do you make offers to right now and who do you wait on? What trades or sign & trades are you going to try to make?
Respond to this! I bet we get some great plans!
Say NO to Jarrett Jack
June 30th, 2009
1:37 pm
take it from a die-hard Pacers fan, Jarrett Jack turns the ball over WAY too much – if you think watching Josh Smith do anything other than block shots and dunk is frustrating wait til you see Jarrett throwing picture-perfect passes to the opposing team – btw Jeff Teague is as advertised – great pick by the Atl Spirit – ditto for Evander Kane
Mitch
June 30th, 2009
1:37 pm
Prediction of Rick Sund’s Moves:
1. The one big FA signing: C Mehmet Okur (6-11, 263, Turkey/Utah, 17.0 ppg, 7.7 rpg, .485 fg%, .446 3pt%, .817 ft%). Okur stretches the floor better than any current center in the NBA, as he cannot be left alone on the corners, wings and elbows. He gets fouled a lot and is an excellent free throw shooter. He also is a solid post defender. Not an especially good offensive rebounder or shot blocker. However, Okur is one of the best clutch shooters in tight games. Sund’s thinking here is to draw opposing centers out of the lane to create lanes for JJ, Crawdaddy, Teague, etc. Estimated salary: $9-10M.
2. Major trade #1: F Josh Smith to New Jersey for G Devin Harris (6-3 185 Wisconsin/NJ, 21.3 ppg, 6.9 apg, 1.7 spg) and SF Jarvis Hayes (6-8 228 Georgia/NJ. 8.7 ppg, 3.6 rpg) The Okur signing makes even more sense as the Hawks get one of the best slashers/drivers in the game. Help on Harris and he will kick it to Okur for 3. In Harris the Hawks finally get a point guard who can get it to the rim with speed and strength and/or dish. Jarvis Hayes is a good 3 point shooter (.385 %) and is a versatile athlete. Harris is signed for the next three years at $7.8M per. Hayes is in his last year at $1.9M. The trade allows the Hawks to start Al Horford at PF, with Mehmet Okur at C.
3. Major Trade #2: F Marvin Williams in a sign and trade with Phoenix for G Leandro Barbosa (6-3 202 Brazil/PHX, 14.2 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 2.3 apg) and F Jared Dudley (6-7 225 Boston College/PHX, 5.5 ppg, 3.0 rpg). Sund loves shooters, especially ones who can light it up in transition and Barbosa is one of the better perimeter shooters in the game, especially in transition. Dudley is an excellent transition player as well. A real hustler, who plays smart. Barbosa, like Harris, is locked up for the next three years. In Barbosa’s case he makes $6.6M per. Dudley becomes a restricted FA after this year.
4. The Hawks re-sign C/F ZaZa Pachulia to the MLE. ZaZa will rotate in behind Horford at PF and Okur at C.
These moves will allow Coach Mike Woodson to mix and match his lineups to fit the personnel. For example, he can go bigger and start 1-Harris, 2-Johnson, 3-Evans/Hayes, 4-Horford and 5-Okur, or go smaller and start 1-Harris, 2-Crawford/Barbosa, 3-Johnson, 4-Horford, 5-Okur. And late in games Woodson can put the slasher Harris with four prolific shooting threats in Barbosa, Crawford, Johnson and Okur. Imagine too a 2nd unit of 1-Crawford/Teague, 2-Barbosa/Crawford, 3-Hayes/Dudley, 4-Horford/Jones, 5-Pachulia.
The salaries seem to work out well, as the Hawks recover Bibby’s $15M, Smith’s $10m and Williams’ $5.6M to the sum of $30.6M…and add Okur at $9M, Harris at $7.8M, Barbosa at $6.6M, Hayes at $1.9M to the sum of $25.3M.
Anakin Joe
June 30th, 2009
1:38 pm
You know, this Dumars deal smell like he had begun to talk to some FAs (or at least their agents) and some balked at playing for Curry. Well, if he hires someone who is good at “recruiting” then that could be the case. If he hires Laimbeer (who seemingly would NOT be good at recruiting FAs), then we know that he was just trying to convince Laimbeer to leave the WNBA behind Curry’s back. Just not a classy way to handle his business. How is Curry any worse of a coach today than he was a few days after they were swept by the Cavs?
O'Brien
June 30th, 2009
1:40 pm
Hoops,
I am calling ZaZa, first and foremost. And then I am calling Bibby. And then I am calling a backup PF (I dont know who Sund likes: Gooden, McDyess, Joe Smith, Channing Frye, Brandon Bass, Charlie V etc.).
I would also call Jarrett Jack
chuckw/deadjournalist
June 30th, 2009
1:44 pm
my first thought was laimbeer. then i thought of mark jackson and avery johnson.
but there are a number of veteran names that could float: jeff van gundy, mike fratello (can’t really see that happening) and a darkhorse name to watch: del harris.
chuckw/deadjournalist
June 30th, 2009
1:45 pm
or doug collins?
O'Brien
June 30th, 2009
1:55 pm
My prediction is Avery Johnson. Joe Dumars will probably go after a head coach who has some experience, and who the team would respect, someone like Avery Johnson. Avery won a ring as a player, was coach of the year with the Mavs, and as a former PG, he would work with Stuckey, who Dumars thinks very highly of. Also, he is referred to as the little General, so he wouldnt be soft on the players (like Flip was).
Reggie
June 30th, 2009
1:58 pm
can somebody post a link on “Free-agent fits: Bucher’s top 20″ he has his top 10 free agents, but you have to be an NBA insider.
Hoops
June 30th, 2009
2:01 pm
NEWS FLASH!!! NEWS FLASH!!!
Hawks release Coach Mike Woodson so he can take the Detroit Pistons coaching job!!!
(just kidding)
RealSquawk
June 30th, 2009
2:03 pm
Mitch,
Really?
kirkinga,
there is no point in paying the luxury tax if it getting to that point the team is filled with bad contracts (new york) or has peaked and will not be getting any further than the semifinals (Mavericks and suns for example)
virgil leonard,
Smith can not be a small forward.
Hoops
June 30th, 2009
2:05 pm
Mitch,
I really like your prediction of Rick Sund’s moves. Will you send this info to him before 12:01 tonight???
UGA
June 30th, 2009
2:06 pm
Who could create their own shot last year for the Hawks?
Joe and Flip
Now we have Joe and Crawford.
If Bibby is not re-signed, which I think he is, who is our fall-back guy. I don’t see us getting Jack or Sessions, but I betcha we take Luke Ridnour from the Bucks. He has one year left on his deal and in all honesty is very similar to Bibby.
Melvin
June 30th, 2009
2:07 pm
Nire,
“but at worst, that looked like a matter of Sund overplaying his hand in the contract negotiations, not a cost-cutting move.”
Glad to see you are coming around…;)
A Tribe Called Quest
June 30th, 2009
2:07 pm
RICK SUND; I KNOW WHAT YOU ARE THINKING: YOU WANT TO SIGN FLIP AND BIBBY NO MATTER HOW MUCH THEY COST: U REALIZE THEY ARE BOTH GOOD SCORERS AND WILL HELP THIS TEAM:’
BUT THINK FURTHER: ZAZA IS FAR MORE IMPORTANT TO THE QUALITY OF THIS TEAM: SIGN ZAZA FIRST AND THEN FLIP: DO NOT THROW ALL YOUR MONEY AT 200 POUND MINIME BIBBY WHO PLAYS WORSE DEFENSE THAN I DO IN PICKUP BASKETBALL
ZAZA
ZAZA
ZAZA
ZAZA
ZAZA
Melvin
June 30th, 2009
2:09 pm
Read a headline on Hoopshype site that the Celtics are after Rasheed. Sheed and a healthy KG, now that can be scary….
Reggie
June 30th, 2009
2:10 pm
can somebody post a link on “Free-agent fits: Bucher’s top 20″ he has his top 10 free agents. Its on Espn.com, but you have to be an NBA insider.
Anakin Joe
June 30th, 2009
2:14 pm
Those are all good coaching names. But weren’t they all available six weeks ago? And from Curry’s standpoint, aren’t most of the coaching staffs filled (other than T’Wolves)? I know, he has some guranteed money from whatever deal he signed last summer, but Dumars didn’t give him a chance to find another gig. It will be interesting to see if the NBA pundits (who always give Dumars the benefit of the doubt), will excuse this one too.
(I don’t doubt that he will hire an upgrade, in fact, it would be hard not to find an upgraqde on Curry. It’s just the timing and the way it was handled that I find classless).
KevinA
June 30th, 2009
2:17 pm
UGA They could pass the ball down low. There is the fall-back.
Volman
June 30th, 2009
2:21 pm
Mr. Sekou Smith, I’m sorry but I had to be cold on that one! Andersen just seems to be another European big that makes it onto a Hawks squad and is not up to par with the NBA game (skills wise, and athleticism). I honestly think that Andersen would be disgusting in the pick and roll game with someone like Bibby, but the chances of that happening (bringing him over, and resigning Bibby) are slim to none… so we probably won’t see that ever.
By the way, WHAT HAS COME OF MR. ESTEBAN BATISTA? Remember when we had a frontcourt with Edwards and Batista? Wow, those were the days…The Hawks were on PAX TV, too!
ray (Big Ray, ray-ray, Da Rayster, whatever..I'm bored)
June 30th, 2009
2:25 pm
Kirk,
Love that line about “fact resistant” fans. It was a pretty funny way to put it. Proud to call myself “fact resistant free” these days. Now the impatience….well, that’s a work in progress I’m afraid.
But I have to say that Sund’s pre-draft move was not something I expected after last summer’s fun. And I realize he’s more “in gear” than last year, when he had basically just joined the team, and really had to be careful in an obvious minefield (not that I was thinking much about that then). I have to admit that I still don’t have much love for slow, anti-climactic offseason processes. Oh well, a mine must have his vices…. 
ray
June 30th, 2009
2:26 pm
Meant to say ” a MAN must have his vices…”
O'Brien
June 30th, 2009
2:31 pm
Yeah, Dumars was wrong for not firing the HC after they lost to Cleveland. That way, Curry could have applied for other jobs (head coach or assistant positions).
I think Dumars feels like he is untouchable and can do whatver he wants, whenever he wants. I guess thats what happens when you win a NBA championship, go to multiple NBA finals, and make it to the conference finals 6 straight years.
I do like the position they are in financially though. Rumor has it they will be interested in Ben Gordon, who is a dynamic scorer off the bench. They could also go after Paul Milsap (if Boozer does not opt out of his contract).
Maybe Jamal Crawford will be our Ben Gordon off the bench. he may not be as clutch as Gordon, but he is a better passer, and should play better defense.
ray
June 30th, 2009
2:32 pm
What happened to Dumars? Did he do one of those pre-game kisses with Isaiah Thomas like they used to do back in their playing days, and catch what Isaiah had? Sorry Isaiah, loved you as a player, but as a GM….
I’m sure Dumars had some stuff he was doing in the back room, and we’ll see what it is soon enough.
If it’s okay to decide some time after the season whether or not you want a player, why is it not okay to wait that long to decide if you want a coach? This smacks of the “bird in the hand, two in the bush” adage. Perhaps Dumars wanted to make sure he had a replacement that he liked before canning Curry. Might seem wrong, but I don’t recall the written rule that says you must fire a coach the very minute you feel that you don’t like him. Imagine if that happened all the time in all of our jobs. Nobody would ever get a chance to redeem themselves. Maybe some haven’t…
Either way, Dumars has made some calls that look pretty dang crappy, as some have outlined above. Hey, at least he GETS to fire his coach if he thinks the man can’t do the job. But he better watch out for karma. If he’s doing this the dirty way, what goes around comes around.
ray
June 30th, 2009
2:33 pm
O’brien,
Co-sign that last comment. Crawford will prove to be a better passer and defender. I’m sure of it.
Reggie
June 30th, 2009
2:34 pm
can somebody post a link on “Free-agent fits: Bucher’s top 20″ he has his top 10 free agents. Its on Espn.com, but you have to be an NBA insider.
http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/insider/news/story?id=4293663&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fnba%2finsider%2fnews%2fstory%3fid%3d4293663
Volman
June 30th, 2009
2:35 pm
Reggie, are you on that list or something?
KevinA
June 30th, 2009
2:36 pm
Woody may be smarter than you think. He plays iso Joe so Joe stays happy. The stars want the minutes. Minutes make you money. If we made Marvin the #1 option and Josh the #2 option, they could average 20 ppg. That won’t happen. Woody can see what happened to Curry.
Reggie
June 30th, 2009
2:40 pm
No I just want somebody to post that list on here. Its the top ten NBA free agents
ray
June 30th, 2009
2:43 pm
Sekou,
Come on, man. A “deadly pick and roll guy?” We would have three or four of those if somebody besides Bibby would actually try and run the pick and roll. Or, if Josh would actually set a pick every now and then instead of slipping the pick EVERY SINGLE TIME. Or if JJ would actually pass the ball on a pick and roll BEFORE both defenders collapsed on either him or the guy setting the pick.
There needs to be a clinic on setting picks. Bibby and Horford seem to be the only ones consistently interested in doing it.
Volman,
Bibby is used to running the pick and roll with big guys who know how to do it. Here with the Hawks, when he was able to get them zeroed in on what to do, it worked great. But the pick and roll was something that the Hawks did not use with any consistency prior to Bibby, nor did we make it a staple of the offense AFTER he returned. Something that needs to be worked on. I have no doubts that Al and Josh could really hurt people with that move. Al might be better at it, as he has a better jumper than Josh right now (when he gets to shoot it), and having that short/mid-range jumper is key to a successful pick and roll, or otherwise it won’t present the total threat that it’s supposed to be.
Oh, and come on now…you know Esteban Batista was a tough guy down low. He used to hammer pretty hard on Shaq. David Andersen is NOT like that at all, from the games I’ve seen him play in.
ray
June 30th, 2009
2:44 pm
KevinA,
That’s just not right, LOL.