12:01 a.m.
Both Rasheed Wallace (headband) and Marcin Gortat (skinband) are on the Hawks' free agent hot list this summer. The NBA free agent negotiating period began at midnight.
HAWKSVILLE - It’s 12:01 a.m., do you know where your No. 1 free agent target is.
And No. 2, and No. 3 and on and on.
The Hawks do.
The Hawks’ front office staff was still working late Tuesday night in anticipation of the midnight start to the NBA’s free agent negotiating period.
Everyone knows about the Hawks’ (quasi-internal) targets – Mike Bibby, Zaza Pachulia and Flip Murray are all unrestricted free agents while Marvin Williams, Solomon Jones and Mario West are all restricted free agents, as is Josh Childress (who remains under contract with Greek power Olympiakos, though he has an opt out that he must exercise by July 15) . But there’s more going on that just that.
After year’s of failing to grab the attention of the league’s best free agents on the market, the Hawks are suddenly in the mix for some of the most coveted players on the market, per several of my most well placed sources around the league.
“The only thing missing all these years was a winning team,” a former Western Conference executive told me Tuesday night. “And now that they’ve got that. So they’re going to be in the mix for guys if they want to be in the mix. Half the league lives in Atlanta [during the offseason] anyway.”
I remember a couple of years ago when Gary Payton was traded to the Hawks in a package deal and he wouldn’t even set foot in the city, apparently a 26 or 30 win team didn’t appeal to a veteran player hunting a title.
Jamal Crawford’s reaction to coming here in a trade last week was complete 180 from Payton’s thanks-but-no-thanks stance.
I have a feeling that the Hawks’ pursuit of the likes of Rasheed Wallace, Antonio McDyess and Marcin Gortat, all big men my sources tell me the Hawks will have made contact with by the time you finish breakfast.
It’s the kind of free agent busy work that I never heard about in previous summers. Times have changed. And clearly for the better if you’re a Hawks fan.
Still, there’s so much work to be done this summer. Presumably, the opinions around here on what the Hawks should do with Bibby, Zaza and Flip have ranged from the semi-reasonable to the absolutely preposterous.
It seems clear that in a free agent climate that will be short on monster deals and full of teams looking to stretch their available dollars, the Hawks will have an extremely hard time retaining all of their guys. Tough choices will have to be made, as will alternate plans.
Maybe Hawks captain and All-Star Joe Johnson knew a little more than he let on last week when he ended our conversation with this, “Whatever we do this summer, we have to do it right,” he said. “We have to do it big and we have to do it right. Because we’re not going back to those losing seasons and watching the playoffs. We’re not going back there.”
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544 comments Add your comment
O'Brien
July 1st, 2009
10:36 pm
Zach Randolph reportedly going to Memphis. I guess that means Camby will no longer be available.
cp
July 1st, 2009
10:44 pm
If we get Chills back that means less minutes for Mo and I have no problem with that. Is Nesterovich (spelling) a free agent? He might be a nice cheap option for the bench.
niremetal
July 1st, 2009
10:45 pm
Smart move by the Clips. How people keep getting suckered into trading for Z-Bo’s absurd contract, low bball IQ, and bad attitude is beyond me…
UGA
July 1st, 2009
10:46 pm
Nesterovic is a FA.
If Chills came back, we’d look to deal Mo.
Ariose
July 1st, 2009
10:47 pm
This Sucks….Guess that means it’s time for some
ZAZA/GORTAT EURO-THUGGERY!!!!!!! SING IT WITH ME FOLKS!!!!!!
Ariose
July 1st, 2009
10:53 pm
CHILLS IS SO STUPID!! HE HAS AN OVER-INFLATED EGO FOR SOMEONE WHO CAN’T SHOOT. I’M FINE WITH MO, CHILLS GAN GO ELSEWHERE, THANKS.
HE PUT US THROUGH ALL THIS SHYT AND HE’S “STILL” ONLY GETTING MLE MONEY AND NOTHING MORE. WHERE ARE THE GREEK-FLARE-THROWING FANS WHEN YOU NEED EM?
O'Brien
July 1st, 2009
10:54 pm
If Chills came back, maybe we could deal Mo Evans for a cheap big man/PF. I like Chills because he averages 10 points without needing the ball like Flip, and he provides so many hustle plays, and he has a strong BBall IQ. I hope the Hawks can bring him back, and if Marvin gets injured again, Chills would get most of the minutes, instead of Mo Evans.
I wonder if Chills would get any offers from any other teams, because all they can offer is the mid-level, and surely they know that the Hawks will match…
KevinA
July 1st, 2009
10:55 pm
Not wanting to beat a dead horse. JJ scores because of the coaches style of play. Not because of super star skill offensive skill.
Typical JJ numbers, 2009 example.
.437 FG% 620-1420 attempts
Josh was injured for 12 games.
.492 FG% 418-849
Give Josh 550 more shot attempts and tell me he can’t score 20 a game.
Bibby shot 1005 attempts, even Flip had 795
Another point is Crawford’s numbers are worse than JJ, Bibby and Flip.
The Hawks need to transfer 750 attempts from the back court to the front court for a more balanced attack.
What did Marvin do in an injured year?
.458 FG% 285-622 attempts
What did Chills do 2 years ago?
.574 FG% 327-573
I would say to the back court – pass the ball
UGA
July 1st, 2009
10:56 pm
Please tell me, if he match an offer for Childress, that means he is back to us right?
UGA
July 1st, 2009
10:58 pm
If CharlieV is getting only 8 million per year and averaged more points than Marvin, surely we won’t give Marvin more than that………
UGA
July 1st, 2009
11:00 pm
Sekou’s twitter just said we are inching closer to common ground/deal with Bibby!!
niremetal
July 1st, 2009
11:00 pm
Good piece today on Yahoo about Lamar Odom, with a couple nice jabs at Trevor Ariza (James Posey v.2.0) tossed in:
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/Do-people-know-how-good-Lamar-Odom-is-;_ylt=Aj6oMSjYOlfHynJkolc9vym8vLYF?urn=nba,174156
I usually think Dwyer is a douche, but it’s a good read. Odom is a “glue guy,” the type of player every contender needs. Pippen filled the role in Chicago, Horry has done it at a few stops, and Odom played it to perfection this year. You don’t need to be a Hall of Famer – you just need to be the guy who does whatever the team needs you to do to win.
Yet another example of why just looking at stats is misleading. Is there a GM in the league who would take Zach Randolph (21ppg, 10rpg) over Lamar Odom (11ppg, 8rpg)?
KevinA
July 1st, 2009
11:01 pm
UGA Charlie V won’t score with the Hawks. He would be 4th to 5th option.
Sekou Smith
July 1st, 2009
11:02 pm
I’m hearing rumblings that the Hawks and Bibby’s camp are moving closer to common ground in their negotiations. Nothing close to a deal yet, but at least moving closer to common ground. Stay tuned.
Ariose
July 1st, 2009
11:06 pm
YAYFULLNESS!!!!! MIKE BIBBY FOR THREE!!!!!!(RYAN CAMERON VOICE)
UGA
July 1st, 2009
11:08 pm
I don’t think Bibby is the best thing since “sliced bread” either, but we were not even thinking playoffs in ATL until he came in…………..
The Truth
July 1st, 2009
11:13 pm
Melvin
My concern regarding Charlie V is that he’s tired-up for something slightly better than MLE for 5 years. Coming out of this contract he’s looking at age 32. His chances of that next dollar level (at that age) are probably slim to none. If he, instead, did a 3-year deal, than Detroit would have Bird Rights and able to extend or re-work the deal with more flexibility for higher salary. This 5-yr deal puts him in a straight jacket for slightly better than MLE. However, I do agree with the idea of him being in Detroit instead of Cleveland or Boston.
Ariose
July 1st, 2009
11:13 pm
WHAT ABOUT FLIP? ZAZA?
Mike V
July 1st, 2009
11:22 pm
I don’t think Sund signs Bibby unless he gets him on the cheap, and with all the other quality points available (Kidd, Sessions, Miller, Felton, etc.) I think he can get him for a mid level exception in the $4 – $6 million range and then we let Flip go. I’ll take a backcourt of JJ, Crawford and Bibby guiding Teague all day long. I’m excited about Teague after looking at some of the footage of him dunking on people on Youtube. Between him and Smoove we’re gonna be some high flying cats. Now we gotta lock up either Zaza or another big or both. I would love to see Sheed, Birdman, or Gortat, but all will probably be a little pricy. Just for the love of God please don’t sign Varejao. I can’t stand the thought of him in a Hawks uni. Would have loved to have gotten Villanueva.
G-Man
July 1st, 2009
11:23 pm
hey guys TJ Ford is available wouldn’t he be a good piece to have?
Aaron
July 1st, 2009
11:24 pm
Sekou,
How strong would you characterize the Clippers’ interest in Josh Childress?
I ask because they now have a $7.3M trade exception to play with.
Melvin
July 1st, 2009
11:28 pm
Truth,
You have a good point but I will wait until he signed his contract before I past judgement if his deal was good or not. Like we found out with Josh deal. It’s all in the structure(bonuses,trader kickers,ETO,player opt,etc) of the contract.
bigdave
July 1st, 2009
11:32 pm
LEBRON JAMES HAS NOTHING ON THIS GUY.. AND HE DOES IT ON PLAYGROUND RIMS…!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCtZOlGLL5s&feature=fvst
Melvin
July 1st, 2009
11:38 pm
bigdave,
Sign him right now…lol… That ball look like its fill with magnets.
Hoops
July 1st, 2009
11:47 pm
ESPN is reporting that the Lakers are not going to re-sign Ariza. I wonder if they would be interested in a sign & trade for Childress(reportly in LA now). Then the Hawks could sign & trade Marvin for a big with somebody. You know the Lakers do not want Ariza to go to the Cavs to help Labron & Shaq.
HawkKingBibby
July 1st, 2009
11:51 pm
SEKOU DONT GO TO SLEEP MAN, THIS IS THE NBA ALL THE BIG DEALS HAPPEN AFTER MIDNIGHT.
O'Brien
July 1st, 2009
11:54 pm
Chris Broussard says Trevor Ariza is unlikely to resign with the Lakers, and Cleveland might be able to sign him for the mid-level exception. Now if thats the kind of money Ariza might get, is there any team out there that will offer Marvin any substantial contract, coming off an injured (back) season? I think Marvin will be back with the Hawks, one way or the other.
The mid-level is the kind of money I would expect Chills to get from other teams (if he gets any offers). He might be forced to play for the Hawks, whether he likes it or not.
I hope we are able to go 10 deep. But is there anyone on here who is confident that Woody would know how to handle the substitution patterns? (I guess we’ll cross that bridge when we reach it, and I hope we reach that bridge).
Max
July 2nd, 2009
12:02 am
So if Bibby is close, they should go out and get Zaza and Marvin then get Rasheed Wallace.
PG: Bibby, Teague
SG: Johnson, Crawford
PF: Sheed Wallace, Marvin
SF: Josh Smith, Mo Evans
C: Horford, Zaza
Bench: Solo, Mario, Gardner
With that i say were a 3 seed.
bigdave
July 2nd, 2009
12:04 am
crazy aint it Melvin…
ant banks
July 2nd, 2009
12:05 am
THE TRUTH,
you shoulda been charlie v’s agent. sounds like you coulda got him a better deal that what he go. 3 yr woulda been better than a 5 yr deal
ant banks
July 2nd, 2009
12:07 am
LOL @ OBRIEN,
no, woody would not know what to do with 10 deep. he soils his pants wit’ 7 deep, now you give him 3 more playas? he will have to wear DEPENDS UNDERGARMENTS for every game
O'Brien
July 2nd, 2009
12:08 am
Gortat’s agents are telling teams that they already have an offer for the mid-level (reportedly from Houston). If so, will that set the market for ZaZa (approximately $5-$6 mil per year)?
I’m okay with Bibby coming back if the deal is for 2 years with a team option for a third year, $6-$7 mil per year. However, where will the backcourt defense come from? And we would still need to add some front court defense too.
Rasheed AND McDyess??
July 2nd, 2009
12:09 am
Hey Sekou,
Is there anyway in which the Hawks would be able to pick up BOTH Rasheed and McDyess?
Or McDyess and Lee? (I guess) I think we really need a frontcourt that opposing teams would think twice about before driving in the lane…
What do you think? Thanks
darrell starks
July 2nd, 2009
12:10 am
Sekou we dont need bibby we have to concentrate more on FLIP, ZAZA, SOLO, MARVIN, AND CHILL.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!
cp
July 2nd, 2009
12:11 am
I think we let Flip walk now. If we can bring back Pachulia and Chillz then we will have a nice bench. Get another guy like Bass and I like it even more.
niremetal
July 2nd, 2009
12:12 am
GREAT point by Aaron. I hadn’t thought about that. Obviously, I doubt they’d be willing to part with Kaman, Camby, or Thornton, but maybe they could
O’Brien,
There are probably 4-6 guys who’ll get more than mid-level money this year – Gordon, Hedo, and Odom almost certainly will. I could also see Artest, Andre Miller, Marion, or David Lee getting some cash. With so few teams under the cap, there just aren’t many places for free agents to go except back home. That’s why no one of significance except Hedo (who realizes that his stock will never be higher than it is now) opted out of their contract this year.
Marvin would surely get a full mid-level offer from multiple teams if he weren’t restricted, but no team will negotiate that kind of deal with him because they know the Hawks would match it in a heartbeat. Same with a guy like Millsap in Utah and Felton in Charlotte. My guess is that will translate to lots of restricted free agents – including, I think, Marvin – accepting their qualifying offers and becoming unrestricted free agents next summer, when there will be at least a dozen teams with significant cap room.
niremetal
July 2nd, 2009
12:14 am
Rasheed and McDyess? No way. Rasheed is taking at least the full mid-level this summer, and McDyess will be getting at least $4M. The Hawks only have the mid-level and the bi-annual (which can’t be combined), so that ain’t happening.
niremetal
July 2nd, 2009
12:16 am
Got cut off a couple posts back:
GREAT point by Aaron. I hadn’t thought about that. Obviously, I doubt they’d be willing to part with Kaman, Camby, or Thornton, but maybe they could be talked into parting with DeAndre Jordan or Steve Novak and a future first round pick.
darrell starks
July 2nd, 2009
12:29 am
Since charlie v is gone i wonder what chris wilcox will look like in a hawks uniform.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!
darrell starks
July 2nd, 2009
12:36 am
Chris wilcox career fg pct is 52.9 that is awesome and he is only 26 years old some one pick up the phone and call rick sund now.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!
Hoops
July 2nd, 2009
12:39 am
niremetal,
I think David Lee is the best available big that is a good fit for the Hawks right now. What are your ideas on the players that it would require the Hawks to package together to get him? I know the Knicks are not wanting to take on salary because of the 2010 FA’s. Would they consider Josh for Lee? Probably not with his trade kicker.
darrell starks
July 2nd, 2009
12:42 am
CHRIS 6′10 and is a beast in the paint i would like to see him and zaza together.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!
Ariose
July 2nd, 2009
12:42 am
WE NEED ANOTHER CENTER!!!!!!! EURO-THUGGERY!!!!!!!
Ariose
July 2nd, 2009
12:44 am
CAN TEAMS TRADE RIGHTS????? WE SHOULD TRADE CHILLS’ RIGHTS FOR THE RIGHTS TO ARIZA!!!!!!!
The Truth
July 2nd, 2009
12:44 am
darrell
I wondered that also about Chris Wilcox. However, with his old salary at nearly 7M vs. Charlie V old salary around 4M, if we had concerns about signing Charlie V due to salary constraints, no doubt we will have issues with Chris, but I like his game.
darrell starks
July 2nd, 2009
12:48 am
2009 ATLANTA HAWKS
STARTER JAMAL, JOE, MARVIN, JOSH, HORFORD.
BENCH FLIP, MOE, CHILL, WILCOX, ZAZA.
RESERVE TEAGUE, SOLO.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!
Ariose
July 2nd, 2009
12:49 am
WE REALLY DON’T NEED EITHER OF THOSE GUYS LOL…..GERALD GREEN(800k!!!!!)
O'Brien
July 2nd, 2009
12:49 am
Hoops,
I dont think the Knicks will do a sign and trade for Lee. Their goal is to have cap room next year for LeBron, and I dont think they will do anything to jeopardize it. Plus there are rumors that Lee will be offered 4 years, $32 mil.
Rumor has it that OKC is after Milsap. If they get him, they will be a young team on the rise. Kevin Durant, Milsap, Westbrook. They could be the Hawks of 3,4 years ago.
If we sign Bibby, ZaZa and Chills, and then sign another big with our mid-level, that would be great.
Hoops
July 2nd, 2009
12:54 am
I wonder, since the Hawks are reportedly getting close to a deal with Bibby, if they plan on moving Marvin. With Bibby, Teague, JJ, Crawford, Evans, and West(QO) that’s six players to play 3 positions. We still don’t have a big!
darrell starks
July 2nd, 2009
12:55 am
The truth your right but i think with him not really having a solid foundation over the last 2 years with the nicks and thunder 2 teams on the down fall that this will be a perfect situation for him with a fresh starte plus i think he live here if im not mistaking i dont no but the boy is a beast in the paint.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!