12:01 a.m.

First?

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I wonder who the Hawks main target(s) outside of their own free agents will be? Time will tell I guess.

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Let’s just hope Sund is more proactive than previous GM’s and actively pursue their targets (if we are to be believed they have particular targets in mind – which would be a new era for Hawks).

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Ron Artest is on the top of my wish list this summer. Sekou, have you heard anything about him?

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Hey Reggie, why do you want Antonio Mcdyess? He is an aged veteran who was cut from the Nuggets after he was traded there by the Pistons. He resigned with the Pistons (nobody else wanted him), and he had a mediocre season on the Piston’s bench. He would in no way whatsoever help our hawks club, except maybe mentoring younger guys. Glad you aren’t the GM

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Sekou,

If the Hawks are pursuing Rasheed, McDyess or Gortat, do you interpet that to mean that they do not expect to re-sign Zaza?

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because the Hawks need leadership. Antonio Mcdyess can still play he averaged 9 points , 9 rebounds & shot 51% so he can still play. he can hit the Mid range jump shot & he defends. HE IS PERFECT FOR OUR TEAM!!!

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McDyess averaged 9 and 9 per game last year, he knows the Woodson system and would be that veteran we need in the locker room. Also, he’d be GREAT for Smith.

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Sekou, Fabricio Oberto??? I mean if we can’t get Gortat, that is…

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I’d take Oberto over Gortat. Oberto’s bball IQ is about 40 points higher. But Oberto isn’t a free agent.

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@Hoops, I dont think that Chill will never be in Hawks uniforms again, he will be probably get SnT for a big or something else.

I think that Atlanta should try to talk to Jason Kidd, I know that he is up there in age but he can be a leader and teach Teague how to be a good PG in the NBA.

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Dang. He’s one of those guys that I find annoying now, but I’m sure I’d love him if he played here…

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sign me

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If we keep Marvin, would Wilkins be an upgrade over Mo Evans?

I keep reminding myself how many games we won with Mo in the lineup plus we beat Miami w/o Marvin. However, a healthy Marvin would have meant no Game 7 with the Heat and not being swept out.

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UGA, it’s a FREAKING AWSOME backcourt thst’swhat it is lol. Crowded or not. We can match up wih ANYBODY at the guard positions if we get everbody back. We will be an WALKING NIGHTMARE for opposing teams…..I LOVE IT!!!!!

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I like it too. We just need that other BIG to go with them.

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Um…Bibby seemed to do just fine driving and kicking this year.

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We need a cheap post scorer and I know one who is in great physical shape for the 1st time in a long time: ANTOINE WALKER

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[...] sources tell me the Hawks will have made contact with by the time you finish breakfast. Source: Do you know where your No. 1 free agent target is? | Hawks Blog Wow, I would love to have any of the 3. If I had to choose, Gortat because he is gonna be the [...]

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Dear Lord, I hope Antoine Walker’s name is never mentioned in connection with the Hawks again. He is probably one of my least favorite Hawks of all time, right there with Peja Drobnjak.

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If Powe can come back from his injury he can help any team in the post. I’m guessing with the injury concerns he probably would come pretty cheap too. Wouldn’t mind the Hawks making a run at him.

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Oh noes u didnt, Antoine Walker!?!?

That is okay, Antoine can somewhere eles, beside we need to get a big first and try to resigned rest of our guys.

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I am going to say this every time I get on AJC:

WE MUST RESIGN ZAZA FIRST.

ZaZa is more important to resign than the other 3 combined if we have to choose. We NEED big men quality depth. Enough of these scoring guards. We will get SLAUGHTERED when Horford goes down in week 3 of the season with an injury and we have Cal Bowdler starting. Get the big man quality depth NOW. And I would love to have Damien Wilkins and to sign Robert Swift for a 1 yr contract.

Crawford can score 30 a game whenever he wants. He can score more than Bibby and Flip combined. Just make sure you can resign ZaZa hopefully for around 7 mill, and then resign Flip.

Bibby will only impede Teague’s growth. How the heck can you let Teague grow with Bibby getting 40 minutes a game? If the score is close in the 4th quarter, there’s no way in hell that Woodson is going to trust a rookie PG. We all know that. Woodson played T.Lue what seemed like 40 minutes in the 2008 Lakers home game because he didn’t think Acie could get it done.
I don’t know about you guys, but when we landed Acie, I was ecstatic, and I am ecstatic now about Teague, but resigning Bibby means Teague will get the Acie Law treatment. Crawford will get huge minutes, which won’t help.

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I’m not a fan of Charlie Villanueva (although I am a die-hard UConn fan) because he’s not the type of player we need. We need centers and more centers, not yet another power forward who will probably ask more than what I would be comfortable giving him. He never plays defense anyways, so I doubt he’s really a Woodson type of player.

I do agree that re-signing Zaza is a top priority, however. Unless we can get Gortat, we must stick with who we can get and that’s Zaza. If we re-sign Zaza, Bibby, and Childress and then sign David Andersen, I would be ECSTATIC.

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Sekou the reason you wanted D. Wilkens is because he kills us everytime he comes to Atlanta.

It is nice to see the Hawks going ahead and making tenders to our UFA’s. If only something could be worked out to get J-Chill back in a Hawks uniform. Don’t think it will happen as long as Woody is the coach though.

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i hope they seriously consider David Lee. top rebounder, top near basket finisher (around 54% fg).

the guy used to be a point guard in his earlier school days. can handle and pass well enough for a big. definitely will become another ‘new’ crowd pleaser with his hustle and energy, much like the new crowd pleases that jamal crawford and jeff teague will become.

can be a good defensive rebounder, the one who makes your fast breaks possible.

can be a good offensive rebounder, a cleaner for the everybody else’s missed shots.

David Lee would complement Hoffa and Smoove very well.

Please bring David Lee on board. A very nice piece for your big man rotation of the future. Can even play Hoffa-Lee-Smoove as your starting frontcourt. Smoove and Hoffa protecting the sky,blocking and altering shots and Lee getting the rebound. sounds good right?

Keep in mind this guy is no ordinary rebounder, he’s a monster rebounder with skills. those are few to come by.

be smart Sund, get David Lee.

Like what I keep reading, Bibby looks unlikely to be resigned because of Crawford’s salary. Would be expensive to have both. Unless you have a 3 guard rotation in mind a la Detroit Bad Boys (Isaiah-Dumars-Vinnie Johnson). Flip remains to be an important rotation piece, like Zaza.

Can we give up on Marvin Williams already and get the better swingman back, Josh Childress?

I want David Lee on the team. Only free agent that makes sense to me. We’ve already added 2 dynamic and creative scorers. We still have great big man defenders. We definitely need someone who takes care of the dirty work, the hustle and the rebounding.

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Its a shame when the best centers on the market are and will be career back-ups that are known for their hustle more than anything. Damn Zaza and Gortat?!? Really what can the Hawks do for a legitimate big man if these are the free agent prizes of the summer at the center position. Either one are great back-ups but for any of you “get a legitimate center” screamers, this off season won’t bring one to the Hawks. Al Horford is our starting Center. Get used to it.

On another note. We could do great things with the starting line-up as is (JC, JJ, Marv, J Smoov, Big Al). It is the bench thats gonna get a face lift. Flip will be here to take over for Joe or take over at the point if Teague doesn’t provide quality minutes. Mo Evans is here. Just need to sure up the frontline. I am promoting Charlie V. Bench frontcourt scoring. Flip and Charlie V. would take care of our bench scoring. As far as center, I am hoping for Zaza to come back but if not Gortat would be good OFF THE BENCH, so would McDyse or Wallace.

Please keep Marvin. If he goes to a team where he is the second option or better, he will definitely be a star. Then all the Hawks fans will be p’d that we let him go. Stay Marvin, stay.

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i think it’s time that we get used to life without Bibby.

The numbers just don’t make sense. Both the prospective cost of and the age of Mike Bibby don’t figure well in the Hawks plans for the future.

I don’t know how they can make it work but, losing your starting point guard will definitely have an impact on the team.

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Gortat?

You sure the Hawks want him? Everybody here grilled me a couple days back for even mentioning Gortat’s name…

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Having Bibby/Crawford and JJ? Not gonna happen….a more realistic view of what’s to come:

1) Re-sign Zaza to back up Horford
2) Re-sign Murray to run with Craw/JJ
3) Get either Big Baby or David Lee…..wanted: rebounders aplenty.

I would consider that a successful offseason. Oh, and get some value for Marvin if you can’t lock him down long-term.

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I read Marvin’s testing the FA market? Is that right?

I’m already dreading what the Hawks would look like if Smoove would be forced to play the 3…

Instant setback for the Hawks if Marvin leaves and has no replacement.

I’m not gonna get into the things everybody already knows about Smoove, his inability to shoot or handle the ball. But instead, I’ll let you think about those while I add on to that. Smoove would instantly become a liability defending any other SF in this league. He doesn’t have the footwork to keep up with most SF’s in the league and honestly, it would be a nightmare if the Hawks switched on picks. I mean, let’s be real, how many times have we seen Smoove trip over his own feet on the court? The only other option would be to have JJ move to the 3, which in my opinion would be asking too much from your top offensive scorer. If he’s being drained trying to shut down the opposing teams best player, you cannot expect this man to be leading your team in scoring. If anything, at the end of next season, you’ll hear him mumble the same words he mumbled at the end of this season, “I’m tired…” – and I wouldn’t blame him.

Bringing back Marvin is a must in my opinion. If not Marvin, the Hawks need to find a suitable person to play at the 3. Go get you a “Shane Battier” like player. Someone who can LOCK UP – and at the same time knock down some corner 3’s. That’s what the Hawks need…

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1. Sheed
2. McDycee
3. Gortat

We get Sheed here and we challenge for the 3rd spot. I can see Boston slippin some this season. I don’t believe KG will ever be 100% and the offseason rumors will effect their chemistry.

Cuz, what about Channing Frye?

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Sekou, I hope you did go to sleep between posts. How did Childress fare overseas this past season?

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Sekou, Detroit fired their coach yesterday. Any chance that Woody’s name will surface as a replacement up there?

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Sekou, the Bucks aren’t going anywhere soon and have 3 point guards. They gave up on Charlie V so they could use another wing player. How would working a sign and trade of Chils (who doesn’t seem to want to work with us)to the Bucks for Sessions sound? We take care of the PG hole, resign Marvin and should have enough left to resign Zaza or another free agent big. I think folks are underestimating the economy this year (and the fact teams are trying to acquire free space for the free agent class of next season). A LOT of players are not going to get market value. (P.S. For Marvin to not negotiate a long term deal with ANYONE this offseason, take his chances of playing under the qualifying offer and be a UFA next season is not wise. Has he seen the list of FA’s next year? He would be near the bottom of that list). How do the prospects of that seem?

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Type…’overlool’ should be ‘overloook’!

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I’m happy that we maybe big players this year.

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Why do we want Sheed? He is alergic to the paint, no thanks. I would take the big man from the Magic, Gortat, he would be great in the middle and I think he can be a starter, or a great back-up for both Smoove and Al.

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SHHHHHHHHHHHHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD….

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I for one wants chill to come back but to stick to the subject at hand, who would be the right fit for a big man in the system the hawks play sekou?

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If Smoove will stay down low? I dont think it will happen.

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SEKOU: To continue with the question from Phar71, what type of players do you see as the needs of the Hawks? Distributing or Shooting PG? Defending or Outside shooting Center? Scorers off bench? What do you feel is needed for the Hawks to advance further?

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By the way, can we PLEASE refer to Jamal Crawford as “Jamal” or something else other than “Crawford.” As a long-time Hawks’ fan I still cringe seeing “Crawford” after those years of Chris Crawford killing our cap space.

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SEKOU,
What we should understand first is, what are the hawks goals this season, 50 or more wins, beat the cavs, eastern conf. champs or NBA finals. Whatever the hawks plans are will be based on what they want the most.

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Any word on who the Hawks are HIGH on?

I’m assuming they’ve contacted Sheed and Gortat?

GORTAT > SHEED.

Seeing Sheed and Smoove on the same team would be a nightmare…

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And do you guys still see Bibby coming back?

I honestly thought they’d let Bibby go and have Teague jump into action immediately. Either that or go try and find a bargain PG on the market.

I’d love to have Bibby back, but I wouldn’t consider him a priority. I’d focus on guys like Zaza and Marvin first..

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Sekou

What is the latest?

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Antoine Walker…. Ahh hell to the no. Mcdyess is a dinosaur- seriously he’s like 36 with injuries…. He’s a good mentor but we need players/ size I dont see how an aging PF helps us that much.
I would prefer Gortat,Varejo,Oberto, Kaman…..not to replace ZAZA but to tag team with him off the bench…. ZAZA and Gortat would be awsome or ZAZA and Pryz….

If we are pursuing Charlie V then Marvin is expendable IMO..They do the same things. Marvin can be used in a S & T….. Marvin/solo for Pryz or someone of that ilk.

WE need a vet Pg period…. Crawford and Teague scare the shyt outta me……. Since Jack has been tendered maybe Tj Ford would be an option if he isnt making too much

Childress is’nt coming back -hoops is just daydreaming of what could be- wake up buddy…LOL

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If you think Smoove can play at the 3,

you’ll be extremely disappointed this upcoming season.

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Nire,

You didn’t seriously compare a guy who is a standstill jump shooter who averages 5 assists a game to a guy who was among the top 3 assist leaders of all time?

And you want to call people out in the Blog for their basketball knowledge?

Bibby is good, but his value is being severly exaggerated in this Blog!

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Props to Sund and the front office for getting hot on the issues at hand…… Its normally august when we make our mark…… Randolph morris is a Bum – Why do we keep hoping he will be something- well he is something Olawakandi part deux……

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I hear you on that Phar. But if you looked at players at the 3 throughout the league, who would you want matching up with the majority of them? Like a Kevin Durant or a Carmelo Anthony?

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Rod, in my post about Marvin/Smoove, I simply said IF YOU LET GO OF MARVIN, THE HAWKS BETTER START LOOKING FOR SOMEONE VIA FA to replace him BECAUSE I DONT THINK SMOOVE CAN HOLD DOWN THE 3 – AND I DONT THINK YOU CAN BANK ON JJ PLAYING AT THE 3…

I’m not putting Marvin on a pedestal, I’m just saying I’d much rather resign Marvin than have people on our team play OUT OF POSITION..

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Wabe,

I agree with you Josh will not play the three for us. But if you ask me who I would rather check someboby, it would be Smooth. Smooth does everything better than Marvin except shoot. To answer you question, I would prefer that Josh check both players, because I know that the potential for a block is there. I am sure if you asked Turk and Lebron who they would rather check them, the response woud be Marvin. The problem is, do you want to pay Marvin 7 or 8 million dollars. I don’t.

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i am soo sick and tired of the term “UPSIDE” and “POTENTIAL” associated with josh. he has 5 years body of work in the nba. he is what he is!! he is a moody, now-you-see-him-now-you-don’t-player. can’t dribble, sometimes uncoachable, block shots from behind, which means that he was beaten off the dribble, beggin’ to the refs player.

josh will never be an all-star, a decent player, but no allstar. if you can trade him to get betta, then do it!!

you emotional hawks fan kill me sayin’ that josh is not tradeable or untouchable. he is not kobe, lebron, d. wade, d. howard etc. so he is TRADEABLE!!

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Im suprised people are so high on Gortat. I mean he had a nice series vs Clevland and people are ready to throw a long term deal at him. This reminds me of that one playoff game that got CRIS CRAWFORD a 7 YEAR deal. lol You guys want to give him a 5 year deal at the MLE (about 35/40mil over 5 years), well thats BAD CONTRACT and we would regret it.

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HawksKingBibby- you are soooo right. Dude, I have no idea why everyone is falling in love with Gortat. A couple of nice games in the playoffs as an energy guy? Give me a break. Smells exactly like Chris Crawford all over again. I mean honestly people would rather have him than Za?

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u people must be forgetting who your coach is..it’s woody..
love him or hate him..
the “big baby” talk someone brought up would not fit well with him here..big baby was successful because of his coach and the system he runs in boston..and the patience,and attitude he has with his players..
big baby would lock down on woody,and TUNE HIM OUT,just like josh smith does,and bibbs started doing before the playoffs..

woody is a veterans only coach..he just tells u what to do and thats it!! its up to u to get into position and do whatever he tells u..
that won’t work with a young player under woody and company..i kinda feel for teague..woody has no patience and he will only be decent with an older veteran team..

if sund didn’t bring in flip,mo evans,how do u think we would have fared?

even if we had childress??
u all are blowing josh childress up like he is the 2nd coming of MICHAEL JORDAN..he is not..we are better off with flip..

don’t think i don’t like childress,because i do a lot..but,we were better with flip last year than with childress if he were here..

teague’s career,just salim,and acie will go down hill with woodson as his head coach..

if u don’t think so,ask yourself this question..
would chris paul have the playing time and the shine he has now as an nba player if he were with the hawks?
HELL NO!!!

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From Hoopsworld:

“The Hawks are a serious wild card. They would prefer to hold on to their rights to Josh Childress, but they could renounce him if the right offer or player comes along and they need the cap space.”

Good Question!!!!

http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=13141

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dap01- well, yes… sorta

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nire, I don’t know that I would offer 5 years, not after that back injury. But I agree that the QO would be a mistake. I’d go with a 3-year offer (and maybe add a 4th as a team option). Again, my concern is the back injury, I have no issues with his current on-court performance nor with his projection (assuming reasonable health).

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nire,

I am conflicted about Marvin. He plays an average of 71 games per season, and his career average is 12.5 pts, 5.5 rebs. Sure, his defense and 3pt stroke is improving, but are those numbers worth $8 mil per year? This coming season, he will be at least the 3rd or 4th option again, so I dont think his numbers are going to change much. and he’s coming off an injured season finish.

I would offer him 4 years, $7 mil per year, or try to work a sign and trade.

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most likely scenario:

1. bibby is resigned for 2-3 years
2. marvin resigned and traded for a legit center
3. zaza is resigned for 3-4 years
4. flip walks

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Also, I am not speaking on the back injury. Smooth rarely ever misses any games. The streets tell me that Marvin is still walking around with a back brace. Trust me, from experience I know that a back problem is serious, and there is no way I would give him that kind of money with any medical questions. We would have another Speedy Claxton on our hands.

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HAS ANYONE HEARD ANYTHING ABOUT ANY TEAMS REGARDING FREE AGENTS??

it must be sssslllloooowww on the f/a court. i ain’t heard nothin’ yet. been checkin’ all of the nba website lookin’ for some morsels…

throw me a bone someone, anyone…

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Breaking news: Rasheed Wallace has signed with Atlanta.

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Volman–where did you hear/see the need for ’sheed info?

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For those of you who want to see Josh Childress or Mike Bibby in a Hawks uniform next year, sorry but it’s not gonna happen. Childress is staying in Greece and will be traded when he returns while Bibby is too expensive to re-sign.

For those of you expecting to see the Hawks’ make a big splash in the free agency market, sorry but it’s not gonna happen-because they don’t need to!

With that said, you can stop speculating about the back-court because a re-signed Flip Murray will join swingman Maurice Evans, first-round draft choice PG Jeff Teague and a re-signed SG Mario West will join starters Jamal Crawford and Joe Johnson as the six backcourt guys on the active roster.

With starters Josh Smith (PF) and Al Horford (C) already under contract and since starting SF Marvin Williams will be re-signed, either to a long-term deal or to his one year qualifying offer. That only leaves three frontcourt spots on the active roster. Solomon Jones will be re-signed, more than likely to another one-year deal, to fill one of those spots. That leaves the Hawks looking for two guys to fill back-up positions. If the Hawks make him an offer he can’t refuse, Zaza Pachulia would get one of those spots; leaving the back-up power forward position as the only opening on the active roster. Fortunately, there are a lot of good options (Drew Gooden, Malik Rose, Charlie Villenueva, Chnning Frye, Leon Powe, Ike Diogu and more) available.

So, for those of you expecting an exciting free agency session, sorry but its not gonna happen-and that’s a good thing!

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what do u think of Big baby Glen Davis of coming to ATL?

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JOSH CHILDRESS SHOULD BE BACK NEXT SEASON HE WOULD REALLY ENERGIZE THE HAWKS.WALLACE WOULD BE A NICE PICKUP BUT THE HAWKS NEED A BIG WHO CAN DEFEND FIRST

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Gortat, is exactly what the hawks need. He is 6′11″ shot blocker and an above average rebounder. Dude also flashed some nice offensive skills during the post season. Plus he is much younger than mycdess and sheed. Not even close in my book I would go hard after Gortat because he is ready to be a starting big man.

And on the Bibby front just as I said all along rumor has it that he can forget getting a big contract. The economy will affect this years NBA free agency period. Only a handful of guys are expected to cash in and the rest will receive chump change. No way in hell Bibby even sniffs 10 million per year as some around here have suggested.

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Ray, another huge plus that Crawford will bring is that Joe can finally have his minutes reduced. Crawford can take the reins as our big scoring threat while Joe sits. This hopefully will allow Joe to be fresh come playoff time. Woody is finally out of excuses for not giving JJ his rest now that Crawford is in the fold.

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Volman,

I appreciate your spirit with the false claim about Rasheed! If the Hawks were to make that happen, I believe that would be the beginning to a trade including Josh. I really think, because of his relationship with KG, that Rasheed goes to Boston.

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HOOPS.. i dunno.. Sheed is an “underdog” type of guy… dont think he would just jump on board with the C’s…

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Big Ray,

I totally agree. First time for everything. This statement is why I would not pay him 7 to 8 million dollars a year.

“In our offense and defensive makeup, do we really need more from our SF position?”

The answer to your question is no. That is the point I have been making all year. The 3 in Woodson’s offense only needs to spot up in the corner and knock down open jump shots. Marvin is good a drawing fouls, but his post up game is terrible. Kyle Korver, Damien Willkins, JJ Reddick, Mo Peterson……… can do that. Marvin does not present any problems defensively for any elite player. Granger, Wallace, Lebron, Carter, Iggy, Durant …… all had big games against us last year, so I just don’t see the defensive ability. His length is his oly assest defensively, but he plays small so he negates that.

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Roan St,

Good to see you are still around.

That is a definite advantage to having Jamal on board. I know he’s not a high percentage shooter, but he is a natural scorer who will find ways to give us points. The fact that he can and will pass the ball, and can run with our wings only helps. In fact, I think we’ll see that he can be more adept at running the break with our frontcourt guys than Bibby, JJ, or Flip. Not knocking any of those guys, but Bibby is the best of the three when it comes to running the break, and even he doesn’t do it all that much.

Versatility. Never a bad thing to have.

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AJ,

It might not be fair to use Marvin’s average since he is on his rookie contract. However, we know JJ is going to get his shots, Josh needs his shots, Crawford will get his shots, and if we resign Bibby, he gets his shots. Plus Al needs more touches in the front court.

Nothing against Marvin, but I dont think he will get the opportunities to average 18-20 ppg. Not with Woody’s system.

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Mark, excellent post.

SUND SAID WE SHOULD CLOSE THE GAP ON THE TEAMS IN FRONT OF US. HOW ABOUT WINNING A CHAMPIONSHIP? IS OUR GOAL TO WIN A TITLE OR TO BE A FUN TEAM TO WATCH? DIAW WAS TRADED FROM PHX AND SAID HE WAS GLAD BECAUSE PHX WASNT AN EXCITING TEAM ANYMORE. UM, DOES EXCITING BASKETBALL YIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS? NO

I am SO SICK and tired of reading rumors saying stuff like “Bulls, Celtics, Pistons interested in Jason Kidd”. U can insert any player after “interested in”. Why are we never after the big fish? Are the Moron ASG (MASG) too scared to actually acquire a superstar? Rick Sund better not F this up. He’s accomplished nothing in his 30 years.

Also, why is being over the cap such a bad thing like Hollinger made it out to be? Shouldn’t every team strive to have a payroll at 71 mill or so — just below luxury tax

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My bad…Thanks MannyT. Great stuff.

Hawks need to not throw away future money on Duck Williams, who is and always will be a timid player who gets hurt.

ZaZa, Gooden, Joe Smith, Big Baby, Leon Powe, Gortat
If we can resign ZaZa and somehow snag one of those guys as well as trading a 2nd rounder for Damien Wilkins, it will be an excellent offseason…This is, of course, after we actually acquire a post presence.

And I believe a good player Smoove should look at in terms of style of play is Lamar Odom. Look at how well Lamar Odom shot the 3 ball down the stretch this year. He can run the court AND DRIBBLE THE BALL! He executes in the lane too. That’s all we need from Smoove now — dribbling, some shots, etc. Ive never seen so a PF shoot so much from long range before like Josh does

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O’Brien- according to ESPN, Childress does not currently affect the Hawks cap, because he is still an unrestricted free agent. We just hold the rights to him, which means we can match any offer from another NBA team. Obviously, we have no affect on European teams. He will be a full free agent next year and the Hawks will have no leverage at all.

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Tribe- the problem with your point about Odom is that he has always had handle and a long range shot. That is a very difficult skill for a big man to gain at this point in his career(been in the leage 5 years). Now, developing a post game and maybe a mid range jumper and playing within himself he can do. And if he does….. then forget about it, he can dominate.

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terrell- I totally hear you, but what if you factor in the back injury?

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Rod,

I hear you. As long as we get what we need and don’t overpay, I’m not griping too much.

O’brien,

Even with the usual knee jerk reactions, the rumors will continue to outpace and outshine the actual moves teams make. Moreso during these economically trying times.

As for Marvin, maybe it’s just as well that Marvin is his usual deferring self. I’ve criticized him in times past for that very trait, but it fits on a team like this, as you and others have noted. Maybe we are getting out of him exactly what we need.

On the other hand, I still think we need to make this offense more versatile and less focused on one or two guys. The addition of Crawford helped that, as he is an accomplished scorer and veteran to boot. Part of our issue has not just been spreading the offensive threat around, but also having someone who presents a threat all by themselves. A second solid backcourt threat may actually improve the games of our frontcourt players.

I’m sure JJ will be happy to have another guy in the backcourt who can do more than just hit open jumpers.

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Daniel,

The disrespectful part is comparing Marvin to Josh on any level defensively. Josh makes a number of bonehead plays offensively, but I will never question his effort and his defensive ability. He needs to improve his rebounding also. I have see Josh guard the 5, all the way down to the 2. Marvin could never do that. I not saying that he can guard centers or 2 guards on a consistent basis, but he hsa the ability to do that, which is very unique. Not on his nuts at all, just trying to get you to understand that comparing the two guys defensively is derespecting what Josh has been able to accomplish on the defensive sida of the ball in his career.

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Tribe,

Cleveland and Boston are title contenders. Until we can convince FAs that we are that kind of team, it will not be easy to attract top FAs. Some are looking for big contracts, others are looking for a shot at a ring. We’re just not there yet, and may not be for a nother couple of years yet.

By the way, Horford isn’t as bad as you suggest. He doesn’t shoot it all the time when he gets the ball, nor are his shots all that wild. I’ll agree that he’s “undersized” at center and he doesn’t get the ball as much as I think he should. But wildness and selfishness do not explain his 52.5% FG percentage, nor his 2.5 assists per game.

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Terrell,

I agree that Childress is not better than Marvin. And I have doubts that we’ll ever see Childress in a Hawks uniform. Loved what he brought to this team, but we seem to have moved on, and he probably will, too. Yes, we have seen what Marvin can do when JJ is out. That’s probably about the only time we’re going to see that. Still, can’t knock him for producing when needed, though it may not always result in a win.

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Supposedly, Houston G.M. showed up at Gortat’s home at 12:01 a.m. so they really want him due to Yao’s status. McDyess is a quality guy and Hawks would definitely be better off with him despite the mileage. Always intrigued by Rasheed but Mike Woodson couldn’t coach him and he would be a bad influence on Josh.

We definitely need to re-sign: ZaZa, Flip, and Bibby (if he takes a 50% pay cut). Then we need to push hard for Gortat or do a sign and trade using Marvin to get Tyson Chandler. I’ll defer to Sekou on the likelihood of J-Chill returning but we should still reach out, show him some love and respect, and see if he’ll return.

With all that done, we would have a smoking hot line up with a lot of flexibility with Bibby, Flip, Crawford, Teague and JJ as guards and ZaZa, Gortat or Tyson Chandler, Josh, Al as Centers/Forwards along with a few other pieces to fill out the team.

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Stinger- where do you get that cap hold figure for Childress? not doubting you I just can’t find it.

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Let’s keep zaza,flip and marvin I have faith that dat#2 pick will come to blossom he’d b d perfect sixth man.I like the gortat rumors .let’s move josh smith for a shutdown defender like battier or artest .here’s yo startn 5 =jc,u payn him let’s get our money worth I think he performs betta in the startn 5,jj,battier (preferbally)horford,gortat .u got good scoring with decent defensive pressure and rebounding

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Look, I just read the whole what is a cap hold and the Hawks salary situation on hoopsworld.com. I have to be honest it is still confusing and I am a pretty bright guy. But, I don’t see how the cap hold figure of 5 milion (which can be up to 10) is actually deducted from our cap space for payroll, for a player that is not playing, i.e. Childress. I just thought the cap hold was a figure that if a team resigns their own player would count against the cap. Otherwise teams would just sign all the other teams free agents first then resign their own players under the Larry Bird rule. I think (now, I am no way sure) that the cap hold only affects the actual salary cap when that player is signed.

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A TRIBE CALLED QUEST THAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A CHAMPIONSHIP ORGANIZATION AND A ALSO RAN ORGANIZATION. IF THE LAKERS NEEDED SOMEONE THEY WOULD NOT SIT BACK AND MAKE EXCUSES WHY THEY CAN’T BRING SOMEONE IN LIKE THE HAWKS CURRENT GM DOES. THE CELTICS AND CAVS WENT OUT AND GOT CHAMPIONSHIP PLAYERS. ATLANTA HAS ALWAYS BEEN ABOUT SAVING MONEY AND JUST MAKING THE PLAYOFFS.THAT’S WHAT WE ARE STUCK WITH NOW.YOU SEE THE CAVS NEEDED ANOTHER BIG MAN, THEY DIDN’T HESITATE THEY WENT OUT AND BROUGHT IN SHAQ. WE ARE ABOUT EXCUSES AND SALARY CAP.

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Gortat is being overrated. Why would Sheed choose to be a backup in Atlanta when he could do the same thing in Boston or Cleveland (if he wouldn’t start in Cleveland). I’ve heard that Boston, Orlando, and Cleveland have all gotten better so far. I disagree. Boston is a year older than last year (still good, but not “getting better”). Orlando replaced Hedo AND Courtney Lee with Vince. They are NOT “getting better” (unless they resign Hedo and that doesn’t look good now). Cleveland got Shaq. That now makes them more of a half court team which takes away some of their effectiveness. When big Z went to the bench, they could run. Now they can’t run because they have 2 bigs. If you take them both out, you have the same team as last year, minus Andy (he’s an UFA now). This whole thing about teams “getting better”, I don’t see it. The only team that has improved so far is Washington (gaining a healtyh Arenas, Miller, and Foye). Philly may lose Andre Miller so you can’t say obtaining Kapono and loosing Miller is getting better.

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Is Wilcox on the radar for the MLE? He gives the team low-post scoring / rebounds and he is athletic. The drop-off on defence will be minimual. The other MLE 2.2 million could go to Shannon Brown. He is strong and quick enough to stop dribble penertration. Additionally, he has great upside.

Re-sign Flip, Marvin, Solo and pick up FA Petro for minimum. Void Childress contact and sign Frye or trade Childress to the Clippers for Camby (the Clippers need cap relief)

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cdog—Maybe if you actually went to the games and paid for tickets, food, and merchandise then this “terrible franchise” would be able to go way over the luxury tax mark and sign some high profile players.

In LA you can do that because they sell out most all of their games and they have that guy…shoot, what’s his name? They also won a ring.

Boston also won a ring as well last year. Cleveland has only one thing going for them: LeBron. When he’s gone, that whole city will go down.

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Doc, I apologized for my “joke” within 5 minutes of the post.

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Big Ray,

My initial thought is that they will sign Chris Wilcox to play PF if they re-sign Pachulia. But, give me a little time to completely review the list of available free agents and I’ll get back to you–soon.

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dang- this makes my head hurt, and really makes following NBA free agency not that fun. The league needs to clean up these convoluted rules.

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Big Ray,

OK, here we go. If they are able to sign Zaza Pachulia, then of the unrestricted PF’s available, I still say that their first choice is Chris Wilcox. Their second choice–hold on for this one–will be Raef LaFrentz and their third choice will be Joe Smith.

If they are unable to sign Pachulia, then of the unrestricted C’s avaiable, I say their first choice is Robert Swift. Their second choice will be Jason Collins and their third choice will be Sean Marks.

One other thing, if Swift is signed instead of Pachulia, then Lafrentz will become the top PF choice.

Thoughts?

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Hey Sekou, what are the chances that we go get Anderson Varejao? At “6-11″ 260, he can provide the frontcourt with the extra beef it needs, while still providing us with the energy & athleticism that the rest of the team plays with & the fast court game we have run & will run to a greater degree with 2 young point guards that come from running teams & who like to push the ball up the court in Crawford & Teague. Varejao averaged 9 pints & 7 rebounds a game last year, has playoff experience & is use to starting & coming off the bench. I think that he could be a really good fit here. When we play teams with dominate big men, you could start him, move Al to for, Josh to the three & Marvin becomes the 6th man & when you play smaller teams, the Anderson could be the 6th man. Also, if we really wanted to solidify our front court, we’d pursue him & resign Zaza. I believe we only need to resign Bibby or Flip, not both, & then 2 big’s. *I like Charlie Villanueva 24 (6-11 232) the most, you get him & start him at 4, Al at the 5, Josh at the 3 & we’re real contenders & can stretch the floor on teams like the magic did this past year in their playoff run.* 2cnd I like Varejao because of his energy, defense, & flexibility to be comfortable starting or coming off the bench.

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Hey Y’all:

Since the draft is over, I think it is time we take care of business and get a big, ball playing center, who can run the floor. The eastern conference has gotten tougher in the middle with Shaquill O’Neal going to Cleveland. We also have Orlando with Dwight Howard, and Boston with Kevin Garnett. We have to do something to be competitive in the middle against these teams next season and in the playoff. I am not in the fron office but something has to be done to go to the next level in our effort to bring an NBA championship to Atlanta. I am glad I am not in their shoes in this regard and I hope we don not have to give up too much to get something. Nevertheless, let’s do something nice and “SHOCK THE WORLD!!”.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!
This is a SECRET from a HAWK FAN. TELL EVERYBODY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

……………………..”SHOCK THE WORLD!!……………………….

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Cleveland’s #1 Priority according to Chris Broussard from ESPN is to RESIGN ANDERSON VAREAJO to a long-term contract for around 6-8 million a year. He gave specifics in regards to years/money, just slipped my mind.

Therefore I would assume the chances of the Hawks landing him are honestly slim to none.

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They won’t be able to get both & i don’t believe Varejo wants to be there anymore, they are gonna need a 4 the can strech the floor with Shaq & Z at center & he’s not the answer & i believe that he knows that! I make a strong push for Charlie V, If i can’t get him Varejo, & then Sheed. Then in addition to any of those 3, i go back & resign Zaza & retain one of the 2 guys, Bibby or Flip. That’s how to work out all of this mess! But Charlie would be the key to take us to the next level!!!!

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Thanks, Sekou. One more thing, though: If the Hawks are really seriously contacting McDyess and Rasheed, then I have to believe what Chad Ford keeps saying is true: that they are at least considering trading Josh Smith in August (they can’t before then). McDyess and Rasheed would be great assets coming off the bench if they were willing to accept that role, but I doubt they would be.

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Am I thoe only one who seesw the value in a Flip, Crawford, JJ lineup? Talk about a nighmare for opposing contenders……COME ON!!! BIBBY HAS NOT SHOWED UP ALL THE TIME IN THE PLAYOFFS THE PAST TWO SEASONS. Although, this post-season he was a lot better than his 07-08 campaign.

If i’m Sund, I call Flip before Bibb, but after I call Zaza.

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SEKOU, I’m so tired of hearing about “Chill” coming back. We don’t need him, I was glad he left (I’d take Mo any day). The Hawks need some beef in the middle, not stick men. Look how physical the playoffs were, we need some big men with some size. When Lebron went to the hole it looking like the Red Sea parted!

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man, please let bibby go and re-sign flip! yes, bibby was an integral part of us makin’ the playoffs 2 years running, after a 10 yr abasence. But with j. crawford, jj, teague, and possibly flip, why bring bibby back..

CASE AND POINT

does anyone remember the san antonio game, when t. parker lite us up for 40pts? t.p. abused bibby. bibby will continued to be used by the likes of rondo, felton, mo williams. save the money, re-sign flip, let bibby walk.

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McDyess would give the front line an added prsence and depth for the bench.
Rasheed has added offense over the past few years to go along with toughness. I am afraid he will be in Boston.
Get Bibby signed and all is good.

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Okay folks, here’s a monkey wrench that could changed the dynamics of the Hawks summer.

What if Chills decide to sign his qualifying offer? I’m not sure but if he decide to do that, I don’t think the Hawks could trade him (cap expert needed?). If thats true, how would that impact the ability sign other FA’s including our own going forward?

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LOL cdog is killing it. I am with you, my brother. I think Gearon and Levenson only care about making decent playoff teams. I don’t think our owners want a championship.

Until this team gets a BIG WHO WILL COMMIT HARD FOULS and some players who can win us games on the road, we will be one of those Denver Nugget / Sacramento of 2003 / New Orleans Hornets last year -type teams that wins a lot of games but does nothing in the playoffs.

SUND PLEASE GET US SOME PLAYERS WHO WILL COMMIT HARD FOULS AND NOT HELP OTHER PLAYERS UP WHEN WE FOUL THEM. THAT MEANS DO NOT OVERPAY FOR MARVIN. GET ESTEBAN BATISTA BACK

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How can we afford Flip and Bibby If we still need to resign ZaZa and a Solo upgrade. I don’t think it’s either/or, they are both gone. If you want Bibby and Flip then Crawford should go. I say gamble on Crawford and see what happens. If we struggle at the point and things just don’t work out, we can always do a deal later.

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Stinger, you’re wrong about Childress. His hit against the Cap is $10,894,937 per Hawksfanatic, and he is VERY precise about these things as a resident capologist. FYI, here are the cap holds for the other freee agents and the rights we hold (again, per Hawksfanatic, as I am totally giving him all credit on this):

Childress – $10,894,937 (Bird rights)
Pachulia – $8,000,000 (Bird rights)
Murray – $1,800,000 (Non-Bird rights)
Solo – $1,595,162 (Bird rights)
West – $924,972 (Bird rights)
Bibby – Max Salary for 10+ veteran (Bird rights)
Marvin – Max Salary or 0-6 year veteran or $14,090,355, whichever is lower (Bird rights)

So, just renouncing Childress really doesn’t do anything until all the other pieces come together or we ar renouncing everybody, which is highly, highly unlikely.

Forget about signing FA’s under the Cap, it’s not happening. We have our two exemptions, and that’s it. Remember, players with Bird rights don’t count against the exemptions, but players with Non-Bird rights (Flip) do. So if you sign Flip, that’s less dollars to use to sign one or two bigs. If you sign Bibby, you still have all the exemption money to put towards your bigs. Same with all the other Bird rights players. Which is why I am against signing Flip.

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If Sund can resign Zaza, Marvin, Flip, and then get Gortat – I’d honestly be happy with that.

I honestly don’t see too many big aquisitions being made through FA. I think Sund’s first priority is to make sure he doesn’t lose the foundation that we’ve got here. He’s already added Crawford/Teague to that mix.

You retain what you have, and add another BIG to the mix. I would be excited if they could get that much done…

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Okay, in reality we are not going to bring all our free agents back. I think Zaza should be a priority, then either Bibby or Flip for a reasonable price. Be foolish to let Marvin leave for nothing, so either resign, tender one-yr deal or sign/trade. Also this may be a good time to get something for Josh Childress’ rights? We’ve already got rid of some dead weight with Crawford trade. Now if we can snatch one more decent big man, I think we’re doing well.

From what i’ve seen thus far, it seems like Rasheed Wallace is definitely headed to either Boston or San Antonio, cause don’t believe it is about money for him. Looks like to get Lamar Odom or Marcin Gortat, teams are going to have to overpay for them. Hedo Turkoglu will land in Portland or Toronto, while Charlie Villanueva will land in Detroit or Cleveland. If the hawks are seriously going after anyone out there, then why weren’t they on anyone’s doorstep at midnight like other teams? I don’t want to leave the summer in worse shape than we were coming in. Even if we did nothing with all other major Eastern teams making moves, we could be worse for being stagnant.

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Why would the Hawks re-sign both Flip and Bibby? We already have Crawford, Teague, and JJ that can play short minutes there if needed.

We better spend our money on some bigs or we are going backwards fast! If we want to really contend next year, we have to be willing to trade Josh after Aug. 11 or sign & trade Marvin for some big time players! We will not improve in the East if we keep both Josh and Marvin with the cap restrictions that we are under.

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Again,Bibby’s primary value is to Woodson and his “system”, not necessarily to the Hawks winning.If the Hawks used their athleticism on offense more and had more scoring options for their frontline, then a diffeent type of PG than Bibby would be in order. however ,Woodson wants to play control ball to ensure a minimum of turnovers and a maximum of selected shot attempts. Unfortunately, with the past rosters that style did not take full advantage of the skills and abilities of the players and thus we see the parade of free agents hanging in limbo because no one really knows what they can do because they weren’t given an opportunity to develop and display their talents.

The one good thing that may come out of the limited additions that the Hawks may be able to make on the roster is that team chemistry should be pretty good while some of our rivals will have to spend a lot of time blending personalities and styles while managing fan expectations. Watching that should be a lot of fun.

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If we sign Flip with our Bi-Annual and back-load his contract, that should work, then just sign Gerald Green(800K!!!) and another big with the Mid-level…

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McDyess would be a nice addition but would he start or come off the bench? Would he play PF or C? If he starts do you bench Horford, Smith Or Williams? I suppose you worry about that when and if you get him. NO RASHEED WALLACE PLEASE! They guys is a thug and has no place on this team. I know they say he’s a great teammate but I dont want to risk it?

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Here’s some knowledge:

1) Detroit will sign Hedo, overpaying him. I hope they realize that this guy takes more games off than Josh Smith.

2) Only keep Josh Smith if he is dedicated to:
a) improving dribbling
b) shooting
c) not whining
d) playing man defense on every possession and not not contesting shots

3) There is no way we can have a guard core of Joe Bibby Flip Teague and Mo
My question: HOW DO THE BENCH PLAYERS GET MINUTES?
Hypothetical situation:
Joe plays 37 mpg next year (benefit of the doubt most likely)
Bibby 33 mpg
Marvin 36 mpg

So, that leaves 11 + 18 + 12 bench minutes = 41

How the heck do you divide 41 by 3 for 3 good bench players that are a PG, SG and SF? 41/3 = about 14. You have to give Teague at least 20 minutes to get him ready for the NBA, you have to give Flip about 27 (more on most nights), and Mo would like about 18-22, giving you 67 minutes between the 3 (maybe that’s a bit much).

Woodson I KNOW will overplay Bibby because Woodson panics down the stretch and doesn’t use rookie PGs. I knew this 2 years ago with Acie Law and when we had AJ. I was ecstatic about Acie, as I am about Teague, but this could be a disaster.

My solution:

Sign Jarrett Jack (I don’t know how he got the starting nod over TJ Ford. TJ is one of the sickest scoring PGs I’ve ever seen and is definitely underrated in my books), let Bibby and Flip walk. Jamal Crawford is better than the Philly boy, even though I have always loved Flip. Then sign Marvin to a cheap contract, maybe just giving the QO. Then spend every single penny left on bigs. Get ZaZa + Wilcox + resign Solomon and I’ll be happy. We need 2 quality bigs off the bench — not 1…

Enough posting for the day

STIR IT UP

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Quest, Mo will be the odd man out OBVIOUSLY. He’s the least-talented. He’ll get PT, but not too much. With this level of talent in the backcourt. Woody has to take the Phil Jackson approach and dole out minutes based on matchups. Weather he will do that or not is a different stary.

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T.J ford was injured for a stretch which is the ONLY REASON jack got that Starting Spot….

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Signing Flip and Bibby this offseason will be the biggest mistake this franchise makes in the last 5 years besides the Shelden pick [and Marvin]? There’s no need to add 2 more scoring guards

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Any word on Brandon Bass?

I’m pretty sure Cuban won’t let him go. But any chance of him testing the market?

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Marvin is underrated on here. He put up 14 and 6 while being the 4th option on offense. He showed when given a bigger role like when JJ was out that he could put up points. I hope we bring him back.

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dang!! 8 hrs on the j-o-b, constantly checkin’ the computer for tidbits of info…NOTHIN’!! well, guess i pack up laptop go home and check the news outlets til the wee hours…and then come back in tomorrow and do the same thing.

thenks for all of the “wish lists”

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Stinger, we can only hold on to and RFA rights for two years after his contract is up. He WILL BE an UFA next summer…

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Next summer we will not be able to tender Chills a qualifying offer. He will be Unrestricted.

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Excuse me, we will still have his(chills) rights next summer, but like I said, he will loose his “restricted” status and will not be able to match another teams offer for him.

Will Jannero Pargo go back to the Hornets this summer? I know he’s coming back stateside for next season.

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If $8M for Marvin is too much, then WTF is $10M for Crawford? I’m pretty sure that if a coach allowed Marvin to shoot 41% from the field, he too could average 20 points on a losing team AND play above average defense.

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Hawks should try to resign Zaza first and foremost, cause when the other bigs fall off the table teams will come quick. Get him taken care of for decent money, then hopefully go after Gortat if he is still available. Big men are harder to come by and not as big a market for Bibby or Flip.

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Any word on us offering on or sign/trade for Jack from Indy? He is an unriscted FA…
I’ve hear Indy is not going to keep both TJ Ford and Jack… we need some young legs at the PG position…

Also – I wouldn’t mind keeping Zaza… but, Antonio and Rasheed are only short terms answers… I dont think they are going to get us a ring – and only fill a void 1-2 seasons.

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Dallas offered Kidd a 3 year deal for 21-25 million, per ESPN. That is 7 to 8 million per year. If he accepts, Bibby will get no more than Kidd will and probably less.

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The Blazers are not letting go of LaMarcus Aldridge either…

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All of those comments are great and all but until the hawks get a legit 7 footer (Tyson Chandler) that can fill the paint with solid defense and rebounding you can have all the perimeter players you want and you will never win. Ask cleveland they figured out during the playoffs. And folks Horford is a power forward not a center we have him playing center by default. PS. If Zaza was 6′5″ he would be in Croatia or wherever he is from hearding goats guys get off him, He has a job because its just that hard to find a big man so just about anybody that is above 6′10″ and hustles which he does can get a job. Why do you think players like Thabeet can play ball 3 years of there life and get picked 2nd in the draft. HAWKS GO GET A CENTER!!!!!!

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Why did we waste our 2nd round pick? Was there not someone that could be our 12th man and provide some D around the tin? Other than the Hawks are cheap, why are we not bringing over David Anderson? Why would we draft another foreigner if we had no plans of ever bringing them over.

DTfor3 – Jack is restricted, but could be had. Unfortunately we don’t have many trade pieces other than rights to Chills and Anderson and draft picks.

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Good post Hughes.

But I would still consider Zaza priority #1 and Marvin a close #2.

We’re short on BIGS.

But if the Hawks can lock up those two guys – I’d be pretty excited to see what these guys can do. Add another PG/BIG to that…and Hawks fans should feel pretty damn good about the team Sund’s putting on the court (depending on who they’d get and if they’re cost-effective).

There isn’t much of a market for BIGS and on top of that, the Hawks are lacking frontcourt players, therefore I’d pay Zaza. Wouldn’t throw anything more than 7-8 million at Marvin (and personally i think that’s being generous considering his glass-like body). If Bibby’s willing to take a 50% paycut, around 6-7 million a year, I would honestly think hard about signing him over Flip.

Thing is, if the UNLIKELY does happen and all 3 of those guys come back with the addition of Crawford, the Hawks have literally little to no room to sign an additional BIG.

Therefore, the alternative, get on the market for a cheap PG and mid-level BIGS. I read an article that listed some decent mid-level players. I don’t necessarily think we need to hit a homerun with any of these FA’s. Realistically, I don’t see it happening. I would think if we can get our core group back with a couple decent mid-level additions, we’ll be looking pretty solid.

And people keep saying that teams are improving in the East, sure you could make a case for that. But someone honestly made a pretty good case as to why Orlando, Cleveland, and the Celtics don’t look as good as they did last season too – and I could buy into that depending on how certain aquisitions turn out.

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cdog – do you really believe Sheed will bring us to the promised land? Detroit hasn’t been there recently & Sheed has been starting for them.

There are NO bigs available that can handle Howard, Garnett, Shaq, etc… The only way to get one is to trade our starting SF & PF. Does that really make our team better.

For now I like the approach of upgrading your roster where its possible. That means the backcourt & reserve players for the frontcourt. Since we can’t be better than Orlando at the center position let’s try and equalize all the other spots on the floor.

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Incidentally, here’s my little convo with Coon on the subject:

Forwarded conversation
Subject: A question that I can’t find an answer to in the FAQ
————————

From:
Date: Sat, May 23, 2009 at 11:46 AM
To: lcoon@uci.edu

Quick question – is there a point past which Josh Childress will become an unrestricted free agent? Or will he main a restricted free agent so long as the Hawks make qualifying offers each summer?

———-
From: Larry Coon
Date: Wed, May 27, 2009 at 12:36 PM
To:

They can keep making q-offers, and he will remain restricted as long as they do.

The idea is that you can’t skip the league for a while to avoid being an RFA.

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RON ARTEST should be our main focus then next we need to focus on MARCUS CAMBY or TYSON CHANDLER work on getting JOSH CHILDRESS back then signing BIBBY,FLIP and trading MARVIN & ZAZA, case closed !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Melvin, I personally think that there are several players on an NBA roster that could average 20 points if given enough shots and a losing team. Shareef and Marbury made careers off of those situations. And so did Ricky Davis (who averaged in the ballpark of 20 per night twice in his career). Teams will allow opposing players to score as long as their team loses. What do they care if Al Harrington averages 20 and his team wins 30 games?

I think Marvin would much rather score 14 on a good team than 20+ on a lottery squad (which is a good thing). Marvin’s scoring average is not an issue of running hot/cold. It is an issue of shot distribution on a winning team. If I were his agent, I would offer no apologies for being an efficient player who fills the needs of a winning team from a game-to-game situation (and plays well on both sides of the floor).

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I had read that David Andersen, when he was dealling with BK last year, felt that he was’t being dealt with properly, in that BK only offered him something like $3.5M per year. He said he wasn’t trying to break the bank, just something in the $5M range. And that’s still what it would take now.

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Nire, my bad. I’m just remebering what Chills’ Agent said when Chills signed that Greek offer….there was some kind of loophole his agent was talking about. Maybe it had to do with the current CBA running out? IDK, but i’ll look into it.

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niremental, I TOTALLY agree with you until I see the paperwork on the contract. I just don’t want argue this point the whole day.

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Isnt Turk 30 years old? 2-3 years from now, teams will be complaining about his salary if they give him anything over $10 mil per year.

I think Chills is in a bad spot, and so are the Hawks. A $10 mil cap hold for a guy who doesnt want to be here (and may not contribute)? Sucks for the Hawks. And it aucks for Chills, because sooner or later, if he wants to come back to the NBA, he has to come through the Hawks.

I wish we could work out a sign and trade with him…

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Sekou

Is Andre Miller out of the Hawks price range? I know he made around $10.2M last year, but I’d imagine that he’ll be looking at a pretty significant pay cut, given his age and the economy. He would seem to fit what the Hawks need at the PG position, if the money is right. I guess what I’m saying is, I think Miller might be a better fit for the Hawks if his price is in the same range as Bibby. Thoughts?

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I think the Hawks should approach Chill’s and ask him which NBA teams he wants to play for. Then try hard to make that trade. Right now it’s a no win situation for the Hawks. Take the tender off and loose him for nothing. Leave the tender on and loose cap space for nothing. While I would like to see Chill’s in a Hawks uni as much as anyone, I believe the kid has made up his mind and will stick to his guns. If we can get McDysse, Zaza and Bibby, I would move Chill’s for 1rst round pick.

Sekou….. any word on Sund going after one of his former picks Robert Swift?

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Can somebody post “Best under-the-radar free agents” its on espn.com, but you have to be an Espn insider.

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Enter your comments here

That was the most intelligent post Rod has ever made

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Melvin,

” Not only would a coach have to allow Marvin to shoot more shots to avg 20 pts, so would the opposing team. I dont think he has the offensive skills to avg 20pts at this point in his career. Hopefully, Im wrong. And yes, I seen the 2 out of 82 games that JJ miss this past season were he scored big…”

Totally agree. But it funny how people here keep saying how great he was when Joe was out. Those two games were Minnesota(one of the worse teams in the league), and Charlotte (without Gerald Wallace, who destroyed Marvin everytime we played them this year). The guy who logged the most minutes at small forward that game for Charlotte was Adam Morrison. Then the next game we played with Joe back, he got 31 dropped on him by Al Thornton. Two games does not make a season. His playoff average for his career is 8.5 points per game, and his career average is 12.5. I guess we should wait another 3 years for him to average 20 ppg huh. LOL

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Czan i dont no if thats true or not but i deeply believe if chill came back he would rather play for no other team except hawks i really think chill luv the hawks and this city so i cant see that report being true on what buddy said but we have to here on what chill say from his own mouth.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!

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nire, seems like all that info got twisted in my head in just over year lol. How quickly the mind forgets, oh well…

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We should defently put Chills in a sign and trade situation as soon as possible and not drag this out any further.

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I thought it was “Sam from da swats” and “Rod from College Park”?

I mean, we all KNEW you were the same person….

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Oh and forget what I said about Jamal being a better scorer and all-around offensive player than JJ. I don’t really follow basketball, just Marvin. You can’t expect me to know the details.

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Ben Gordan signs w/Pistons 5yr/55 mil

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Man Rod,

if you let go of Marvin, give me another legitimate wingman the Hawks have a chance at aquiring…

I can understand if you’re not as hyped on Marvin as others in here, because I personally am not either. But be real, who would fill his role if he were to leave? He adds V E R S A T I L I T Y.

I don’t have him on a pedestal, but why get rid of someone you have no replacement for? I’m kinda sorta with you, I wouldn’t overpay to keep him, but I wouldn’t let him go based on his performance. You just seem to think he’s worthless.

If you had a healthy Marvin vs Cleveland, who from Cleveland could’ve matched up with him? LBJ? That opens up guys like JJ, right?

Go find his replacement, then you can parade around about how we should let him go.

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I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together.

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Enter your comments here

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Well there goes Ben Gordo and Charlie V.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4301111

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Man…I don’t know about that. Don’t think Gordon is a great fit there, although maybe the right coach will make him mesh well. Dumars seems to LOVE those undersized shooting guards. I just don’t know that Gordon, Rip, Prince, and Charlie V have complementary skill sets.

This is one of those things that could either go very well or very badly. My guess is that they’re taking offers for Rip now.

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Melvin, I wasn’t trying to say that Marvin will become a 20 point player. My point is that being a 20 point scorer is like being a 1,000 yard running back (averaging 65 yards/game is supposed to make you elite?). It is not a threshold for greatness. I remember when 30 homers in a season was a big deal. Some of those old benchmarks just don’t hold up under scrutiny. I just think that they’re are better ways to judge a player’s value other than +/- 20 points.

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Hehehe, LOL@ Jeff Teauge:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrGMw7RrmI4&feature=rec-HM-fresh+div

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Tris? Just a tip. Reminding people of the days of Shareef is not such a great strategy.

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Broussard seems to think the Pistons might move Hamilton.

Nothing gauranteed, but he says they’re listening to offers.

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How will this Work? What about Rip? Who will be their Center? They traded away Amir Johnson and Villanueva us an undersized PF at best….

I think Dumars just messed up, but it was the best he could do in order to replace Chauncey and Sheed. Does this mean that Stuckey goes back to the bench? Did Ben Gordon Sign this contract knowing he would be coming off the bench?

THEY DON’T EVEN HAVE A COACH!!!!!

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You know, with Sasha Pavlovic leaving, the Cavs could be in the Market for another Shooting Guard.

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Ariose,

Dude’s definitely got some hops. As with all young PGs, the question is whether his game will translate once they start playing in a bigger, faster, stronger league…

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Wow pistons sign ben and charlie v whats up with that.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMyId5CMDTc&feature=related

This one’s just SICK-NASTY

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Nire, yeah. Hopefully he can follow in Chris Paul’s footsteps and become a Giant Killer.

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OOOOOOHHHH WEEEEEEE, Wabe those WERE Sick lol!!!!!!!!

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With the Pistons adding Gordon and Charlie V, looks like they are changing there philosophy from defense to offense. I agree with Nire, i dont see those signing making them an elite team..

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I didn’t understand Detroit last year when they traded Billups and I don’t get what they’re doing now…only word I can think of is rebuilding…at least there was some kind of action today

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvMSShMb0Ws&feature=related

The quality of this video ain’t great. But I think it’s something else you can watch anytime you start doubtin this kid.

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I love this Kid lol!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwposMephTM

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Got a funny shot though, so we’ll see. He only shot 44% from three. Conversely, Acie and Salim both shot the three at a 50% clip coming out of college. Then again, they were seniors and he was a sophomore.

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Overall, Teauge is WAY more athletic than Law and he’s bigger and has a better wingspan than salim. I love his relentless atack on the basket tooo, I hope Woody doesn’t try to tame him. He just needs to let teauge do his thing and figure it out.

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Chuck, cool. I wasn’t sure if it was you or not. I’ll follow you then as well. BTW if anyone else has or decides to get a twitter lemme know so I can follow you and vice versa.

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Good-Grief

I have no idea what they are doin’ in the “Motor-City” man! When they traded “Mr. Big-Shot” for “AI?” The wheels began to come off the F-150! The un-raveling began, and from there?
Rip’s game faded and Tayshaun Prince – Well, he disappeared! Prince looked like a dumb-deer standing in the middle of the road…waiting to get hit! Billups was the engine that made that car-go!

The same thing will happen to the HAWKS if they let Bibby walk! Bibby brings so many intangibles to this team! He brings a NASTY-EDGE and LEADERSHIP and DIRECTION and CONFIDENCE to the Hawks! The Hawks before BIBBY were un-organized and they looked SCARED and LOST (Woody Included!) Hell – BIBBY saved Woody’s JOB and got him a 2-year EXTENSION with just one stroke of a pen!

You people on here that want to send BIBBY packing? Are village IDIOTS! You don’t miss your water – until the well runs DRY! Remember that! BIBBY is a nice player who is tough-minded and doesn’t back down to anybody. He’s the SOLE-REASON Zsa-Zsa had the balls and huge fore-head to GET in KG’s FACE! remember that! when your’e driving Bibby to The Hartsfield International – Maynard Jackson Airport!

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I LOVE THE ENTHUSIAMS OF YOU ALL. I WISH MOST OF YOU COULD BE THE GM AND FIX THE HAWKS. ALL OF YOU ALL MAKE SENSE. NOW WHY CAN RICK SUND BE ON THE SAME PAGE WITH US ALL AND SEE THINGS THE WAY WE DO? I QUESS HE’S BEEN HANGING AROUND BOBBY COX. IT TOOK HIM ALMOST THREE MONTHS TO SEE THAT KELLY JOHNSON WAS NOT HIS SECOND BASEMAN. SUND PROBABLY STILL CAN’T SEE WE NEED A BIG MAN. WELL I GUESS HE WANTS DETROIT AND THE EAST TEAMS TO JUMP PAST US. THEN HE WILL HAVE SILLY EXCUSE LIKE YOU CAN”T TRADE FOR SUPERSTARS YOU DRAFT THEM

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Rod,

When you try to post as me, at least be a bit more clever about it and don’t make the same stupid capitalization mistakes you always do. Didn’t you ever learn from when you posted under 2 different names, all the while making the exact same writing style, right down to the spelling mistakes? Tsk tsk.

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People on here want a 7 footer regardless if the guy has any skills or grossly overpaid. We should try to get Deandre Jordan from the Clippers or Camby. They have to move somebody to get Blake some pt.

I think Marvin could score 20 a night easily on a different team if he was the second option. He is probably our most efficient scorer. I have no doubts that he could score 6 more points per game given more shots.

And Reggie somebody pasted the list for you on the last blog. You just have to search for it.

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Max,

Detroit last year with Sheed, Rip, Iverson, Prince, Stuckey finished as an 8 seed. They’re losing Sheed (a huge piece) and with this move Charlie V will probably take his place which I think is a drop off. I wonder do Rip Ham leave town now via trade? Who knows, maybe even Prince and to add they don’t have a coach. There’s no way I would bump those guys up 4 spots to the 4th seed over the Hawks right now. I’d say the Pistons are rebuilding. While those two names look good, thats a major downgrade for those guys which isn’t our problem at all.

We’ll have to wait to see how things play out, but right now I’d say the Hawks are a strong 4 seed in the east right now, and depending on who we can bring back and add to bolster depth we could possibly threaten to be a 3 seed…ok so that may be wishful thinking but as of now the Hawks are still a strong 4 seed…

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Stating the Obvious,

Don’t bother, I stopped making a running tally of the number of stupid posts RodSamRod has made. My all-time favorite is still the one where he said that drawing an offensive foul can result in free throws…and then later claimed that he’d played D-1 ball.

He’s good for entertainment value, but don’t get baited into actually trying to argue with him.

Sekou,

Have you gotten any indication on whether the Hawks are willing to match up to the mid-level with Chills?

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Go look at shot attempts for last year. Look at shooting percentages. I believe Marvin, Josh and Al could average 20 pts a game if they shot as many as JJ.

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Sekou,

Thanks for doing a great job with coverage. I would really like to keep both Bibby and Zaza on the team. Like you said it doesn’t seem like Marvin is going anywhere unless something crazy happens. And it seems like a good time to lock him up long term in this market. Something like 5 years $30 mil?

What do you think that the numbers are for Bibby and flip to resign them. What are the chances of the Hawks extending maybe two year deals to flip and mike to save them a little bit of money. Thanks

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Reggie,

I am down with that scenario, but I think Camby makes 10 a year.

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Yes sir, bring the Fro’ home. It’s nice to hear that the Hawks are still interesting in keeping him. Now all we need to happen is have another team make a reasonable offer so we could match it. Oh yeah, tell Mo Evans to find another jersey (hopefully with another team logo on it)…

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If Chills is back, is it do able to trade Crawford and Solo for that elusive big? Lose Bibby, and keep Flip.

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wow. so memphis picks up z-bo for q’s warm body. there has to be a pick in that deal too.

that might take camby off the market too.

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Looks like we can strike Camby or Kaman off our wish list of big man since the Clips found a taker for Zach…

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Zach Randolph reportedly going to Memphis. I guess that means Camby will no longer be available.

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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…

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This Sucks….Guess that means it’s time for some

ZAZA/GORTAT EURO-THUGGERY!!!!!!! SING IT WITH ME FOLKS!!!!!!

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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…

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Please tell me, if he match an offer for Childress, that means he is back to us right?

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Sekou’s twitter just said we are inching closer to common ground/deal with Bibby!!

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UGA Charlie V won’t score with the Hawks. He would be 4th to 5th option.

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YAYFULLNESS!!!!! MIKE BIBBY FOR THREE!!!!!!(RYAN CAMERON VOICE)

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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.

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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.

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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.

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LEBRON JAMES HAS NOTHING ON THIS GUY.. AND HE DOES IT ON PLAYGROUND RIMS…!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCtZOlGLL5s&feature=fvst

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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.

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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).

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crazy aint it Melvin…

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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

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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

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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.

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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.

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Since charlie v is gone i wonder what chris wilcox will look like in a hawks uniform.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!

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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.

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WE NEED ANOTHER CENTER!!!!!!! EURO-THUGGERY!!!!!!!

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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.

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WE REALLY DON’T NEED EITHER OF THOSE GUYS LOL…..GERALD GREEN(800k!!!!!)

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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!

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O’Brien,

If we get Chills back, what would you do with Marvin. Sign & trade for a big?
At some point, especially if we re-sign Chills, Josh or Marvin have to be traded for some size. Once again, BK signed too many players that play the same position!

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Aroise show this people some videos on chris wilcox.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!

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Hoops,

Lee is untradeable. Since he’s restricted, and sign-and-trade would trigger BYC rules and since Lee’s old contract is so tiny (just over $1M per year) and the new one is likely to be at least $5.8M, a trade between the over-the-cap Knicks couldn’t be accomplished.

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people I’d target this off season:

1. David Lee – monster rebounding, near basket finisher, shoots a very high percentage, hustle and energy big man, agile and skilled, sufficient/decent in other areas, one of league leaders in rebounds and fg%.

Think of it this way, you can’t score if you don’t have the ball, that’s why you need to have a guy like Lee on your team to make sure that you have your possessions. and, if your opponents doesn’t have the ball, they can’t score, so more the reason why it’s a very good idea to have a monster rebounder on the team.

2. Darko Milicic – a very nice frontcourt rotation piece, shot blocking ability, low post defender. agile though still has a ways to go.

Think of him this way, forget that he was the #2 pick. Just think of him as “second rounder”. He’s got legit length, strength and agility for a big man. He can be an effective post-defender (had a good game defensively against Tim Duncan last season when he was given the chance to play). Just don’t expect him to be the star big man, just a very nice frontcourt rotation piece. With this shot blocker on board the Hawks will be a NO FLY ZONE (Smoove-Darko-Hoffa). Your opponents can’t beat you if they can’t score. Also a run the floor big, can play with an up tempo running team. We need someone who can handle the opposing big defensively, Hoffa and Smoove need help here.

3. Josh Childress – a very excellent piece, delivers a lot of intangibles, sound defensively, skilled in all areas

Think of Josh as a very nice team piece. He doesn’t have to be one of the team’s top scorers, although he can, just let him do his damage in the other areas when he gives you quality minutes. He’s a proven high percentage scorer which is important because you only have so many possessions to go around, and you have to make the most of the chances that you get (which bothers me because Jamal Crawford is such a low percentage volume shooter, so a lot of possessions/opportunities are definitely going to be wasted through him). Excellent defender for the swing positions, a must have in this league when most of your opposing scorers are at these positions.

Get these people. The Hawks are legit contenders in the East, just complete the puzzle pieces.

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Nire……. I don’t think BYC rules apply when a player is involved in a S&T. I only think it applies if a player is signed and traded later in his first year. I will double check, but if BYC rules applied their would never be S&T’s.

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See Q76 in Coon’s FAQ:
One complication with sign-and-trade deals is that the signed player can immediately become a BYC player (see question number 73 for more information on BYC), so the player’s BYC value must be used when determining whether the trade is allowed.

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I stand corrected………

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Sorry, SB – having to up late makes me edgy.

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If the Hawks are truly close with Bibby, Sign Swift, McDysse, Zaza, Marvin and then Bibby. We need 2 bigs that can play for back up’s, a third with up side in Swift would be great.

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Sekou, I’m confused. If we resign Bibby, is Jamal going to come off the bench? He’s a 20 ppg scorer making $9 million who is used to playing high minutes even by starter standards. And when is Teague going to play? I’d hate to see him get stuck in a losing situation like Acie Law. I know JJ plays the three a lot for Woody, but not a whole lot if Marvin comes back. And that’s not to mention the possibility of if they match a Childress offer. I know the Hawks’ biggest problem last year was depth, but it takes a commitment from these guys to accept a lesser role. Has anybody asked Jamal about that?

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This initial talk about the Hawks going after a big fish seems to be only that…talk. Ths clubs that were serious about making runs at players were on the job just after midnight. We’ve heard no such thing concerning the Hawks so far except for “getting closer to a middle ground” with Bibby. It will take a trade to make a major difference as the ASG / Sund will be too passive in free agency as usual.

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I do agree with yall about Chris Wilcox, however look at the number of games he has played.

http://www.nba.com/playerfile/chris_wilcox/career_stats.html

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I hope Sund do waste an opportunity to sign Marvin, just to be able to sign Bibby. That would be incredibly short sighted. We need Marvin, we need defensive ability at the point and in the paint. Signing Bibby means that we will not have either one.

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i dont have a problem with bibby coming back and think in the short term it would be excellent. so if the money and time restrictions are good then i keep him. it is the bottom of my list of priorities though but it may come first.

i think the hawks bigger needs are in the front court between making sure that marvin is kept or a facsimile of him is in place to replace him and two bigs one of the zaza nature and one that might be able to step out and shoot the three ball. if that was not available then i would happily go after a banger type or defensive specialist. doubt we can find one guy to fit all those categories. funny solo in time might get closest to it as he grows into his body, soft touch, good from the foul line and can be the long arms that get in the way when they come into the paint. dont know if woody will trust him enough to develop him but when big baby was allowed to grow into the role between the tears he became man mountain back there.

success this off season? i guess i would be really pleased to see zaza solo and wilcox brought in. bring back bibby and marvin and have chills get over his love affair with money and experiences and stay under luxury for about 73 mil of player payrolls and we got a contending team. yeah then all i have to do is show up and have some more fun. better sign up guys for the coming attraction, bet there are some good seats still out there.

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can somebody who has Espn insider post this

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/insider/columns/story?columnist=hollinger_john&page=freeagents-090701&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.esp

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http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/insider/columns/story?columnist=hollinger_john&page=freeagents-090701

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Sekou said,

>>you could have a guard rotation of Joe, Bibby, JCrawford and Teague and I think you’d be fine<<

Though I’d prefer to keep Flip purely for financial reasons, I can see the logic behind this also. Woody has a comfort level with Bibby. Add to that the chemistry that has developed on the team with Bibby leading the way along with a chance to have a good mentor for Teague, it makes sense for the future of the team. Crawford can still get between 25-30 minutes a game which IMO is more important than starting.

It will be interesting to see in Zaza looks for a deal before Gortat signs with someone. We need Zaza, again because of chemistry and his understanding of his role on this team. If he is looking for a starting position, that will make it difficult for the to keep him. That is the appeal of guys like CFrye and CWilcox, they’d come in knowing their role would be to come off the bench and provide solid D and providing on offensive option.

In hindsight, I wish the Hawks could have gotten Jarvis Hayes last year. Being 6′8″, he probably could have provided better defense with the same offense (at a lower salary) that what Evans provides. I wonder if the team will look to upgrade that position?

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Hoops,

Even if we get Chills, I still want to keep Marvin. That would make us really strong at the SF position, and that would limit Mo Evans’ minutes too.

I like the sign and trade idea of Chills to Milwaukee for Sessions though.

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SUND BRING BACK WILCOX FROM YOUR SEATTLE DAYS

DO NOT GIVE CHILLZ A CONTRACT HERE IF WE ARE RESIGNING MARVIN

DO NOT OVERPAY BIBBY

KEEP J SMOOTH ON THE MARKET AND SEE IF A TEAM WILL BE WILLING TO PART WITH A BIG FOR HIM

RESIGN ZSA ZSA

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Hollinger apparently has Marvin listed as one of 12 “undervalued” free agents. Hopefully it’s only he and the Hawks that hold that view…

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big dave,

now that we have Crawford as our backup SG, the only other position left for Mo is SF. I do agree that Mo is too small and gets beat. If we had Chills, we would not nrrd Mo except for bench depth and injuries.

nire,

Assuming Marvin wants to be a starter, which team (besides the Hawks) can offer him a starting position?

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Is it just me or are the words *upside* and *potential* are the most overused 2 words in sports and grading talent. We all have wish lists but realisticly do we really want everyone back. We can do without Flip or Bibby, who really cares if Childress comes back when we did perfectly well without him. Mo Evans was a good find given what we had. Pachulia should be resigned and I would love to see Chris Wilcox signed also. Forget about Sheed and McDyess. They are old and aging and mind cause unbalance in the lockerroom. If we get Marvin back, he should improve once again. But please, please, stop using *upside* and *potential*. I have the potential take Mark Bradley’s job because I have the upside on becoming a columnist when I graduate college but I don’t really want to do that.

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Reggie, HEre it is

Marcin Gortat played in all 11 of the Magic’s games in the Eastern Conference finals and NBA Finals in the 2009 playoffs, and didn’t score more than four points in any of them. He averaged 3.8 points per game in the regular season and has exactly four double-doubles in his two-season career.

So it might be surprising to learn that as free agency opened at 12:01 a.m. ET Wednesday, the Houston Rockets were waiting on his doorstep. And they weren’t just there to check out his seriously souped-up BMW. (He drove slowly past me leaving practice one day during the NBA Finals, and even at 10 mph the thing sounds like a jet engine.)

The Rockets aren’t the only ones, either. Pitches from Dallas, New York, Atlanta and Indiana may follow in the coming hours, as teams step up their pursuit of the restricted free-agent big man.

Why such a furor over a player with such modest accomplishments? Because once one adjusts for the paltry minutes Gortat played behind all-world center Dwight Howard, it quickly becomes apparent just how effective he was this past regular season.

Gortat shot 56.7 percent from the floor and averaged a whopping 14.4 rebounds per 40 minutes last season. His rebound rate of 20.3 ranked sixth in the league — meaning on more than one out of every five missed shot, he got the board — and his offensive rebound rate of 14.0 was better than Howard’s. Gortat also blocked 2.7 shots per 40 minutes, putting him 12th among centers, and while his foul rate was fairly high (5.6 per 40 minutes), it wasn’t off the charts.

Overall, his 17.04 player efficiency rating was 19th among centers. But with the exception of Chris Andersen, everyone ahead of him is either on a rookie contract or making more than $9 million a year.

It doesn’t appear to be a fluke. He had even better numbers in limited minutes the previous season, and his translated numbers from Europe indicate that at worst he’d be a decent backup center. He’s also nimble for his size, making him a good pick-and-roll defender.

Basically, he’s a starting NBA center and he’s only 24. Given those parameters, a midlevel deal for him suddenly looks like pretty good value.

As a result, Gortat heads my list of under-the-radar free agents for this summer. While names like Hedo Turkoglu, Ben Gordon, Charlie Villanueva, Paul Millsap and David Lee are likely to dominate the discussion over the next few days, I would argue that spending the midlevel exception or less on players such as these are better values than dropping $10 million a season on the aforementioned quintet. Here’s the rest of my 12-man all-undervalued roster:

Sessions
Ramon Sessions (restricted, Milwaukee)
There are a few reasons why the Bucks didn’t give a qualifying offer to Charlie Villanueva, but one is that it’s good poker. By sending a signal to the market that Sessions is the guy they want to keep, the Bucks effectively precluded anyone from making a strong offer to try to wrest him away in free agency and thus almost certainly lowered his final price.

He’s worth it, too. Sessions can’t make 3s and needs the ball in his hands to be successful, but he’s a deft passer who can also score around the rim. Last season, he averaged 18.8 points and 8.3 assists per 40 minutes, and did it efficiently, as he had the ninth-best turnover ratio among point guards. He’s also an effective rebounder (5.0 boards per 40 minutes) and rated 13th among point guards in PER.

Best of all, he’s only 23. Considering all the veteran point guards getting attention this summer despite presenting far greater risk because of their ages (Jason Kidd, Andre Miller), it’s puzzling to see Sessions virtually ignored.

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Williams
Marvin Williams (restricted, Atlanta)
Continuing that age theme: If you’re going to dive into the free agent pool, doesn’t it make more sense to add 23-year-olds than 36-year-olds? Well, Williams is 23 and is coming off a strong season, one in which he ranked 13th among small forwards in PER at 16.04 while becoming the Hawks’ main defensive stopper on the wings.

At 6-9, he has the length to harass opposing small forwards, and he added the 3-pointer to his arsenal last season, hitting 35.5 percent. His tendency to fade into the background can be vexing, but on the right team that’s not necessarily a bad thing. And as his offensive game continues to blossom, he could be the quiet gem in this year’s free-agent class. Not that he’ll come cheaply — Atlanta is likely to match any sane offer — but his restricted status may allow the Hawks to get a great deal on a key building block.

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Wafer
Von Wafer (unrestricted, Rockets)
Another 23-year-old who still has plenty of upside to explore, Wafer is a knockdown shooter who can also put it on the floor and use his athleticism to score at the trim.

While his defense is a work in progress and his passing only a rumor, he averaged 19.9 points per 40 minutes for Houston last season while shooting 39.0 percent on 3s. He’s also an unrestricted free agent and the Rockets are facing luxury tax issues, meaning he might be had for the right price. As a source of bench scoring, you could do plenty worse, especially since he has enough upside to eventually start.

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Warrick
Hakim Warrick (restricted, Memphis)
Power forward is the league’s easiest position to fill right now, but the lack of attention for Warrick is shocking given how productive he’s been for the Grizzlies the past two seasons.

That’s partly because he’s a lousy defender, but Warrick can flat-out score. He averaged 19 points per 40 minutes for the Griz the past two season, and did it fairly efficiently, with modest turnover rates and true shooting marks in the mid-50s. That’s very hard to do on a bad offensive team, and it makes him a strong sixth man candidate for a better club.

Memphis made a qualifying offer, but given its expected pursuit of Lee and draft-day addition of Hasheem Thabeet and their history of parsimony, Warrick can probably be had for a decent price.

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Gooden

Drew Gooden (unrestricted, Spurs)
Yes, he’s a little flighty and doesn’t always run the plays correctly, and that can make him maddening for a coach. On the other hand, he produces. Gooden has averaged a double-double on a per-40 minutes basis for five straight seasons, and last season was the fourth in the past five in which his PER was well above the league average.

And this may be hard to believe for a guy who has been around the block so much, but he’s still only 27. He’ll likely come cheap given how far down the power forward hierarchy he is this summer (Villanueva, Millsap, Lee, Anderson Varejao, Brandon Bass, Lamar Odom and Rasheed Wallace clearly outrank him), but you’d be hard-pressed to find a more effective reserve big man on the market.

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Moon
Jamario Moon (restricted, Miami)
It’s not clear if the Heat are willing to cut into their cap space by re-signing Moon, and if not, it’s a good opportunity for another team to get a quality defender on the cheap.

Moon can be frustrating offensively because of his tendency to take quick 3s, but he’s not chopped liver out there (35.5 percent) and he doesn’t turn the ball over. Additionally, he’s one of the best rebounding 3-guards in the league and is long enough to play the 4 in small-ball arrangements.

Though he’s 29, Moon has been in the NBA for only two seasons, so he may still have some improvement left in him. Teams looking to split their midlevel exception among multiple players and needing a quality wing should have their eye out for him.

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Nesterovic
Rasho Nesterovic (unrestricted, Pacers)
Probably the unsexiest free-agent pickup out there, Nesterovic can’t jump, looks like he’s aiming a rocket launcher when he shoots and has an almost comic ability to avoid drawing fouls. But instead of winning the news conference, he lets you win games.

The 33-year-old 7-footer shot better than 51 percent from the field the past three seasons while using his solid frame to ward off opposing post threats. He’s a good passer who can space the floor and his floor-bound game is likely to lose little to age. While he’s not worth anywhere near the $8.4 million he made a season ago, he’s going to provide somebody with a nice backup center this coming season.

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Carney
Rodney Carney (unrestricted, Timberwolves)
A rotation player who can likely be had at a bargain price since the Wolves didn’t pick up the final year of his contract, making him an unrestricted free agent. Carney offers two things nearly every team is looking for: an athletic wing who can defend and a decent 3-point shooter. He made 35 percent from distance last season while taking more than half his shots from out there.

Carney doesn’t have great offensive instincts, so unless he’s throwing down a highlight-reel jam he’s pretty much a catch-and-shoot guy. But he’s a solid role player and, at 25, still has a chance to get better.

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Frye
Channing Frye (unrestricted, Portland)

Portland opted to turn him loose in a bid for cap space, and Frye has two big items in his favor: He can shoot and he can play center.

He’s not a good defensive player and probably needs to be less ambitious with the shooting, but his numbers have been much better when he’s played the center position (his first and third seasons) rather than power forward (his second and fourth seasons). As a floor-spacing backup 5 who can also play extended minutes at the 4, Frye seems like a good bargain pickup, especially since he’s well-liked in the locker room and is only 26.

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Diogu
Ike Diogu (unrestricted, Kings)
If you’re looking at guys who will be available for the minimum or not much more, Diogu is a good place to start. Let’s start with the negatives: His practice habits and conditioning have been questionable at best, and he’s not a good defender.

But look at the production. Diogu has been in the league four seasons for four different teams, and put up big numbers at every stop. His PER has been above the league average all four seasons, he has averaged more than 22 points per 40 minutes the past two, and he’s done it with reasonably efficiency — a difficult feat when the minutes come in sporadic seven-minute chunks.

As a scoring big man off the bench he can be devastatingly effective, and I’m surprised he hasn’t got the chance to do it more regularly. For a team looking to fill that role, he’ll be available for pennies.

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Othyus Jeffers
My favorite D-League alum that nobody’s heard of, Jeffers was third in the NBDL in PER last season behind James White and Courtney Sims. The latter two got call-ups but he didn’t, even though Jeffers has a lot of promise. Unlike a lot of D-Leaguers, he’s still pretty young — he doesn’t turn 24 til August — and he’s a savage defensive player.

He has some issues that will hurt him in the pros — he’s undersized at 6-3 (his listed height of 6-5 is a joke) and he can’t shoot 3s — but his tenacity should allow him to stick as a defending role player once he gets the chance. If I’m looking at a minimum contract, I’d much rather take a shot on him than on a proven failure.

John Hollinger writes for ESPN Insider. To

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Hi everyone,

I understand your concerns about our free agents. My goal since day 1 of this offseason has been:

1) Resign our free agents

2) Sign free agent big men who cost nothing to sign

3) Also, my goal for next season is to win as many games as we won this season, but to win 1 game in the second round. Not to advance past the 2nd round, but to win 1 game.

Cheers,
Rick

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RICK SUND SIGN CHANNING FRYE AND ZAZA QUICK!!!!! HURRY!!!!!

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Sekou:

Your thoughts?

(1) A sign and trade with NJ: F Marvin Williams for G Devin Harris. Harris is locked up for the next three years at $7.8M per (same amt. as QO to Williams…which the Hawks would have to raise for a long-term deal) 21.3 ppg, 6.9 apg last year.

(2) F Josh Smith and F Josh Childress to the Suns for C Amare Stoudamire and G Leandro Barbosa. Stoudamire give the Hawks an inside scorer deluxe. Barbosa is signed for the next three years at $6.6M per and would be nice insurance if JJ walks after this year.

(3) Is there any thought of al on the Hawks’ part of bringing Sergei Gladyr to the club this year? Wouldn’t he be better off playing every day with NBA players, rather than playing in the Ukraine?

Thanks, Sekou. You’re the man.

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Seriously, Sekou. I’m tired of seeing articles about Jeff Teague. OK the guy can play basketball, has had doubters, and is skinny. WE ALL KNOW THAT. TELL US ABOUT WHAT FLIP IS DOING. OR MARVIN

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Cannot agree with you more, Quest. If Trevor Ariza doesn’t sign with the Lakers, there is the perfect opportunity to trade Josh Childress. Childress would be the perfect replacement. You know Childress would jump at the chance to play for the Lakers and go back home. Perhaps trade him for Luke Walton. Luke could play several rolls for us.

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We need a backup for Smith!

Detroit wants McDyess, we’re not getting Rasheed, not sure about Wilcox, we’re not getting Bass, Powe can’t play till February………..who will we get (assuming we re-sign our guys)

If Flip is not re-signed (but the other 3 are) how about Bobby Jackson as a veteran to back up Bibby until Teague is ready?????????? He’d be low cost.

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I agree, I want Flip back also, just the “what if”

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darrell starks, I understand your concern about Bibby.

But let me assure you — as I seek to delve into this “economic pie,” Bibby’s financial security is one of my chief concerns. I will certainly overpay for him, if it means he will stay with us. Having scoring guards is a top priority for this team. Josh Smith and Al Horford are the best power forward and centers in the game, so I see no reason to add backups for them or to upgrade at those positions, as they will most certainly play 48 minutes a game each this coming season.

Best,
Rick

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Hey rick sund thanks for responding to my comment, i think we can get to the next level if we get amar’e but not for josh what your opinion on that rick.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!

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I’m only responding to that post because I recently got into a debate with another person about THIS VERY ISSUE: IS DEVON HARRIS A TOP 5 PG IN THE NBA?

I < < < wouldn’t consider him a TOP 5 PG in the league as of yet.

Let him do it a bit longer and he’ll definately be there – but as of now – he just had one breakout season. When he follows that season up and his game translates to W’s for his team – he can be labeled a Top 5 PG in this league, according to me at least.