Buyer beware!
The Hawks gambled on and won big on Joe Johnson. The Hornets ... not so much with their acquisition of Peja Stojakovic. It's buyer beware during NBA free agency.
HAWKSVILLE - Don’t we get this feeling around this time every summer?
While the rest of the NBA seems to move at a breakneck pace in the summer, things here in Hawksville seem to move in that Matrix-styled slow motion, the one where is dancing on the rooftop avoiding those bullets from the agents.
It’s always bothered me in the past. But not so much now.
Not with teams (Portland) being made a fool of in their pursuit of players that may or may not push them to the next level. Toronto’s pending acquisition of Hedo Turkoglu certainly looks like a playoff-making move for a franchise that (even with Chris Bosh and Jose Calderon last year) couldn’t muster more than 33 wins. The Raptors finished third to last in the Eastern Conference, meaning Turkoglu’s addition alone (they don’t have any more free agent cash to do anything else) will have to account for their summer stimulus plan.
Maybe it works. Maybe it doesn’t.
But when I think about all the deals that get done in these desperate summers (the ones where there aren’t a bunch of teams flush with cash and the free agent market is generally considered thin, by historical standards) and I cringe at some of the disastrous purchases that have been made.
Remember when Chicago thought they were snatching the championship momentum from Detroit a couple years ago by stealing Ben Wallace away for $64 million? Or how about the Hornets righting their champion-’ship stock with Peja Stojakovic with a similarly bloated contract?
And we don’t even have to travel back that far. Just look at last summer, when Philadelphia thought it was remaking itself into a title contender with the acquisition of Elton Brand (who, his his defense, had his season cut short by a severe injury). I point these instances out to illustrate just how cautious a team needs to be when dipping its toes into the murky free agent waters.
That said, I’d love for the Hawks to get all their business done now and make a sizable splash while doing so. I just don’t see it happening. They are close to terms with Mike Bibby, per my sources (and that report out of Philadelphia that suggested the deal was done was not only highly speculative but also way premature – a text message from someone with knowledge of the negotiations poked fun at the report thusly, “so the deal is done, huh? That’s news to all of us still trying to sort it all out.”) on a deal that solidifies the backcourt. Beyond that, the Hawks have negotiations to tend to with all of their own free agents (Zaza Pachulia and Marvin Williams first and foremost) as well as deciding how to proceed with Josh Childress, whose NBA status will have to be decided in the next 10 days.
That’s where things get a bit tricky for the Hawks, who in my estimation have to two extremely important factors weighing in their favor.
First, they don’t have cap money burning a hole in their pocket right now. When teams do, there’s a rush to spend without taking into account the flip side that things could go terribly wrong if you don’t spend wisely (the Chicago-Ben Wallace deal seems like a prime example, but I’d dial it back to the Eddy Curry-Knicks summer as well, you’ll remember that’s the summer the Hawks hosted Curry and tried to entice him. Good thing they lost out on that one, huh?).
Also working in the Hawks’ favor is that they’re not a team desperate to crawl out of a lottery hole (though I’m sure you remember the feeling). When the Hawks acquired Joe Johnson four years ago, they were flush with cap space and that summer’s free agent crop was considered thick. They eye-balled Ray Allen first and missed out, but wound up landing the right player at just the right time to help in their transformation from doormat to eventual playoff team. Like I said earlier, maybe it works. Maybe it doesn’t.
When you’re coming off back-to-back playoff seasons, the need for prudence in all matters can’t be stressed enough. One false move (or non-move in the Hawks’ case this summer) can set you back. Sometimes it can send you back as well, all the way back to Jersey for the lottery ceremony.
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609 comments Add your comment
Mitch
July 5th, 2009
5:51 pm
Teague will be a nice change of pace when he comes in from what Bibby does. Having both would be GREAT, and Bibby is taking a HUGE paycut from what I hear like 9 Mil a year. And someone said where was Bibby in the 2nd round? Where was anybody from our team, they all looked like garbage, it was embarrassing to be a Hawks fan. We need Bibby, he dominated the 1st round.
bigdave
July 5th, 2009
5:53 pm
Sheed is opening his options… Come to the “A” Sheed… told ya he enjoys being an underdog… he’s no front runner…
“Wallace, despite having two fantastic offers from very realistic championship contenders, has widened his horizons to include the Charlotte Bobcats
, who will likely get Wallace’s ear if for no other reason than he’s a former Tar Heel who owns a home in North Carolina.”
http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=13187
real#1hawksfan
July 5th, 2009
6:02 pm
Really Mitch? Bibby DOMINATED the 1st round? So is it crack or meth u got over there? or is rhis Mike Bibby?
Harry Hawk
July 5th, 2009
6:03 pm
You know what sucks?
Knowing that our team isn’t going to be good enough to truly contend for or win a championship. I was hoping that the next time our team was any good would be the time where it would really have a shot at winning the whole ball of wax. We’re back to the “Smitty From The City!” days of the mid-to-late ’90s. I’ve seen this story before. It’s “Hey, maybe we can somehow beat (insert much better team’s name here) in the second round and make the Eastern Conference Finals!” time for all of us.
real#1hawksfan
July 5th, 2009
6:05 pm
You need to quit playin. We need Bibby like we need a hole in our head. Woody may need Bibby. The Hawks moving fwd dont!
real#1hawksfan
July 5th, 2009
6:08 pm
Sekou, Sekou, Sekou, Sekou!
real#1hawksfan
July 5th, 2009
6:10 pm
Mitch, Mitch, Mitch, Mitch!
real#1hawksfan
July 5th, 2009
6:12 pm
Keep the fight going Cynthia McKinney!
Mitch
July 5th, 2009
6:18 pm
Bibby was the most consistent player on our team in round 1, played good every game. Our team goes as Josh goes though, so we only won the games that Smoove played in. Joe Johnson was the no show, if everyone on our team from last year shows up we could’ve taking the Cavs to 7 easy. No one on our team showed anything though in the 2nd round. J-Craw will be an improvement to Flip, so are team will already be better. And in my opinion Al having to play Center is one problem and Marvin Williams being such a bust is another problem. Rick Sund has done nothing but good moves since being the GM, just trying to dig us out of the hole that Billy Knight put us in.
real#1hawksfan
July 5th, 2009
6:24 pm
about to get on this madden check yall later. Say somethin SEKOU!
UGA
July 5th, 2009
6:35 pm
Agree, Bibby was the most consistent in Round 1, no questions.
Mitch
July 5th, 2009
6:36 pm
I mean we won the games that Josh Smith played good in*, not played in.
Stoneman
July 5th, 2009
6:43 pm
All this talk and the HAWKS will be right back with that same old team with a little more scoring involved. THE HAWKS NEED A TRUE CENTER!!! AL HORFORD IS A POWER FORWARD!!!!!!! GO GET A CENTER.
Sekou Smith
July 5th, 2009
6:45 pm
newkid brought up a great point about trading for superstar players from teams that didn’t make the playoffs the year before. It’s a gamble, one I’d rather make with the likes of Garnett and Gasol and to a lesser extent Amare and perhaps even Bosh.
Sheed’s options apparently do not include Atlanta. I’ve heard from several sources that he politely declined the opportunity to discuss rekindling his glory days (fine, glory day) in a Hawks uniform. It would have been nice, though, seeing him in red, white and blue one more time.
Mitch raises a valid point deep in his post above when he mentioned the Hawks needing to be dug out of a bit of a (talent hole). Remember that trade for Joe Johnson four years ago wound up costing the Hawks two draft picks. And that bill came up last year, when the Hawks had both Josh and Josh up as restricted free agents without the added leverage of being able to draft a potential replacement for either one (should one or both of them bolt via free agency).
Without draft picks, even the kind you find deep in the teens or 20s for the good teams, it helps to have picks so you can replenish the ranks with youngsters (inexpensive rotation players and if a team is lucky, a starter). Imagine what the Hawks might have had to do if the Joshes hadn’t turned out to be players? Or if Marvin turned out be Sean May? Or if Al dealt with the injury issues Gred Oden has had to deal with? Potential disaster.
So to have the options the Hawks have now is pretty remarkable, when you consider the circumstances. That’s also what makes this summer so crucial for the Hawks. Having finally pulled their heads above water, they have to make shrewd moves to make sure they continue breathing without assistance. And that means adding and subtracting the right pieces at the right times.
That’s why the idea of re-signing their own free agents (at least three of the four and everything is good) makes as much sense as anything radical being discussed in the blogosphere. Who wouldn’t want Amare or Bosh? But at what price? That’s the real question. And if any of you are prepared to sacrifice two starters from this team for either one of those cats, you’re a braver soul than I could be in your GM shoes.
WCJ
July 5th, 2009
6:47 pm
Don’t blow it’ sign Mike Bibby to that 3 year deal. Sign ZaZa or someone else backup Al. The hawks need to realize winning cost; so find a way to get deals done.
Mitch
July 5th, 2009
6:47 pm
Stoneman I agree, but that is where the problem is going to come in… Marvin is not good enough at SF to be our starter, Smoove is more like a PF than a SF even though I would love him to be able to play SF eventually. Horford in my mind is a PF no doubt, but I heard Sund say that he think Horford is a Center which is the first time I’ve disagreed with him so far. So the problem is we got 2 REALLY talented PF’s no Center and no real SF besides Marvin.
Clyde
July 5th, 2009
6:51 pm
“All this talk and the HAWKS will be right back with that same old team with a little more scoring involved. THE HAWKS NEED A TRUE CENTER!!! AL HORFORD IS A POWER FORWARD!!!!!!! GO GET A CENTER.”
-Stoneman
tohellwithgeorgia
July 5th, 2009
6:52 pm
does anyone agree with me on trying to get “the birdman” chris andersen to play in atlanta. he would be a solid pick up for the hawks, a move that true hawks fans would enjoy.
tohellwithgeorgia
July 5th, 2009
6:53 pm
sekou, whatever happend to the potential trade. marvin for caron butler?
Hoops
July 5th, 2009
6:56 pm
Mitch,
Sund is having to navigate around the drafting of BK! It may take longer than we want to over come those fumblings!!!
vava74
July 5th, 2009
7:02 pm
We should sign Bibby long term (5 years) at moderate to low cost (5 million per), with an offer to enter the coaching staff afterwards.
He brings something which is not shown on his numbers (which are quite good per se), he brings intangibles: leadership, a voice in locker, a veteran presence who WANTS to be here.
If he agrees to relent minutes and pass on the torch to Teague, he could be a hell of a teacher and within 2 years he could be a sniper off the bench and grey beard in the locker room.
Sure, Bibby is a defensive liability, but he is not on account of lack of interest and effort but due to lack of physical hability. Guyes like Flip are defensive liabilities on account of lack of interest: this is the main difference.
Bibby always was physically challenged to play the NBA (and as the years pass, he is getting even worse) but even so he can produce and help his team.
People talk and talk and talk about guys who have proven to be toxic: ‘Sheed is a looser who had one good year – actually, half year – in a very very very good team. If we signed him, he would be coming for the money and we don’t need that type of contribution.
We need to stick to the ones who WANT to come and be here. Crawford was a nice addition, he is wacky but talented and seems to be maturing finally.
Flip was on a contract year and he has proven in the past that he is very unstable. He might be “ripe” now, but with a 2 or 3 year contract he will certainly loose focus.
Marvin is essential to this team. Which player have you seen making an evolution on his shooting range like Marvin? He put in his mind that he would expand his game beyond the 3-point range and he did it IN ONE SUMMER.
If someone puts in his mind that he should be defensive stopper, we could be looking at the new Artest at 24!!
niremetal
July 5th, 2009
7:03 pm
Clyde/Stoneman,
Who do you suggest?
Mitch
July 5th, 2009
7:07 pm
I would be in favor of bringing the Birdman Chris Andersen to ATL, I love his hustle he is an athletic version of Za. Has all the heart in the world and is a fan favorite. The only problem is Denver is where he got sober and Denver is where he wants to stay from what he says. I can’t blame him either, he is loved in Denver. I think Channing Frye would be a solid sign, and I truthfully think that Gerald Green has a lot of untapped potential, but we be a bench player. That was another problem, our bench was not real deep at all last year past Flip, Mo, and Za.
niremetal
July 5th, 2009
7:08 pm
It’s all well and good to say that Al is a natural PF. But name me a better center we could get. Hell, name me 10 better centers in the whole damn league.
UGA
July 5th, 2009
7:09 pm
When I hear re-signing 3 out of 4, I would assume we may not have a need for Flip with the addition of Crawford??? (though i’d like Flip back)
welikebaseball2
July 5th, 2009
7:10 pm
Question, how can anyone with basic basketball knowledge make an argument to keep Flip IN LIEU OF Bibby? Sure, you can make the argument to keep him but IN LIEU OF Bibby? Huh? Flip can “run the point” but he is not, I repeat, he is not a point guard. I submit one stat, of all the guards on the team not named Mario West, Flip had the lowest A/TO ratio (1.23 to Bibby’s 3.06). I would respect an argument for Teague at point over Bibby than I would the nonsense of using Flip to “fill Bibby’s shoes.” Flip is a great 6th man, but a point guard (much less a starting point guard) he is NOT!
niremetal
July 5th, 2009
7:14 pm
I’ll even spot you four right off the bat: Dwight, Yao, Shaq, Amare (although I honestly think that all but Dwight are at least somewhat arguable given Al’s age and good health…and that Amare is a “natural PF” too). I’ll even spot you Bynum for the sake of argument. That’s five.
Who else?
SB
July 5th, 2009
7:19 pm
Boi’s not trying to be negative, But the Bird Man Chris Anderson is recovering from a coke problem. Atl, Mia, NY, and L.A. are all city’s he should avoid.
UGA
July 5th, 2009
7:20 pm
If I’m Sund, I’m going after a veteran big (McDyess, Joe Smith, Kurt Thomas, heck even Juwan Howard)
Imagine how good Josh Smith would be if he had an older vet to help him through a season and to serve as a positive influence. Ususally when he plays well, hard and smart, we have a chance to win.
Mitch
July 5th, 2009
7:25 pm
You have a point niremetal, Al is good and I want him to stay on the team, I just feel he is undersized and to find a better Center would be hard. I could be wrong though Ben Wallace won a ring as a 6 ft 9 in. Center and Al is taller than him. So if Al is our Center and Josh is our PF then we need a legit SF. Lamar Odom is still out there, even though he is probably going to return to LA. Everything else looks good and we need to make our bench deeper in the post area, because Teague, J-Craw and Mo got the guard are on lock.
Mitch
July 5th, 2009
7:28 pm
If you look at the Magic, Cavs, and Celtics roster, the elite teams in the east, they all have deep benches. That is what separated us from them last year. Well that and their superstars came to play in the playoffs, Joe didn’t. J-Craw should take some pressure off of him this year though.
Melvin
July 5th, 2009
7:31 pm
Nire,
What! You forgot about Erick “The Shaq Stopper” Dampier!!! I noticed you didn’t include your boy Biedrins although I would take AL over him. However, I could see an argument for NeNe..
jbrownjib
July 5th, 2009
7:40 pm
Hawks should sign all of their free agents. Bibby, Murry Pach, and Marvin. Chill would be a bonus. It is always better to stick with what you know. Their is chemistry with this group and it will allow Crawford and Teague to blend in. Outside of this group the only missing player/position to help the Hawks would be a Center.
Melvin
July 5th, 2009
7:42 pm
Newkid,
You made a valid point about trading for superstars but one thing you must consider is the receiving teams previous performance prior to the trade. I don’t recall Boston or LA making it to the 2nd round of the playoffs prior to those trades. As for Cleveland, they got Shaq for peanuts and Orlando feared losing Hedo prior to trading for Vince but the jury is still out on those trades. I recall Phx regressing once they traded for the soon to be Hall of Famer Shaq. I think the Hawks should continue to be patient and allow its core players (JJ, Josh, AL and Marvin) to mature together before disassembling them.
Gabron Salome
July 5th, 2009
7:57 pm
Easy, court vision, basketball IQ, and killer instinct. Bibby is a great ball player. 10 million a year worth, I could argue numbers with every athlete in every sport. Who would you want Teague to learn behind Bibby or Flip? Flip is a stud, I want him back too, great energy, w/ the same killer instinct. Kick ZAZA, get Frye and we’ll see ya back in the playoffs nextyear. Patience for another year, and the cream will rise to the top.
rainman
July 5th, 2009
7:57 pm
Hey Sekou, I know we are heavy into the free agency period, but if the Hawks do try to put together a trade for a big, is there a particular time frame when this would be more likely to occur? And, do you have an opinion on what we would have to give up to aquire somebody like Camby – who would be on the last year of his contract?
Reggie
July 5th, 2009
8:00 pm
Sekou
Out of all the big men available, which big men do you think the hawks have a realistic chance of signing?
Ken
July 5th, 2009
8:01 pm
Glad we have Bibby back in the fold, so we should be solid in the backcourt (sorry Flip). But as often mentioned, we have to get on it with the big man. I really hope we are close to resigning Zaza, cause soon as Sheed and maybe one other big are taken there will be a frenzy over getting Zaza. Not as worried bout Marvin, cause we have the right to match any offer, and we know everyone is cash strapped. Even if someone got crazy, we could potentially get something done through a sign and trade. If we can get those guys back, I’d be satisfied with one more big, potentially Channing Frye or Chris Wilcox. All the talk about what’s going to happen with Chills and Anderson is already a pain in the a_s! Chills is not coming back, but hopefully at worst we can get a draft pick for him. We could use Andersons’ size even though he’s another defensive liability. At this point we are doing well, compared to team overpaying for the likes of Turkoglu, Ariza, and David Lee.
Gabron Salome
July 5th, 2009
8:03 pm
Josh Smith maturing is soooooooo important, I like the guy, I really do. What I dont like is the 3ptrs. lack of lateral quickness, and his inability to get along w/ Woodie. He’s the coach dude, suck it up and earn your *&$#@** money. Think bigger than how good the next dunk will look.
Mitch
July 5th, 2009
8:04 pm
Acquiring someone like Camby would be awesome, He would fit perfect. However, Gabron I do not agree with kicking Za. Za brought heart and intensity to our team when we lacked energy. He got 2 double doubles in the 1st round of the playoffs of the bench. We might not have a choice though because other teams now know how good he can be.
Dan
July 5th, 2009
8:11 pm
I agree with Sekou. Some of you need to realize that the this is not 2004 anymore. The Hawks are a good team now. Stop talking about them like they would be lucky to win 20 games this year.
Assuming they resign Bibby (and, I hope they do), the next move should be to bring back Zaza (I would hate to see him on another team) and sign either Wilcox or Frye. Then, see what they can do with Marvin and Flip.
Sekou, do you know if any teams have targeted Flip? I am surprised not to hear his name come up around the league more.
Also, we all know that the Hawks never do anything quickly. So, we will probably not know the entire roster for another month or so..
C Moe
July 5th, 2009
8:14 pm
Mike Bibby can’t play defense. He only hits his jump shots at a decent percentage every other game. So, why do the Hawks need him(?). They will never get beyond the first round in the playoffs with him being the starting point guard. (NOTE: the Hawks need to sign Flip Murray; then, sign another veteran for around the same money — get two for the same money that they would pay Bibby) The Hawks need to spend their money on someone that can score, assist, steal, and defend. Bibby is just too slow. However, they could keep him as a bench player, if he will accept the veterans minimum salary for next year. In essence, he shouldn’t be one of their top 9 players.
HawkKingBibby
July 5th, 2009
8:16 pm
Sekou please dont think Im insane with this idea put while we are on the subject of cheap bigs Im going to bring up our old friend Antoine Walker. He can score in the post and rebound and reportedly is in great shape. Im sure we could get him for cheap and he could give us a nice bench find. All these bench free agents come with risks but with Walker we are really not taking much of one. He has to be able to give us more than any of the non rotation players we had last year, Acie and Randolph included.
HawkKingBibby
July 5th, 2009
8:18 pm
Sekou, Have Ya heard anything about Chills visit to Cheesehead country? Have they called the Hawks about a sign and trade?
Mitch
July 5th, 2009
8:36 pm
HawkKingBibby, Sekou might not say it, but I’ll say it…. You are insane. I remember sitting front row at a Hawks game when Antoine played for us and one of our fans was screaming for Antoine to pass the ball and he turned to the fan and started cussing him out. A player like that don’t belong on our team. He was a huge cancer to the team.
D-Bo
July 5th, 2009
8:41 pm
LOL. C Moe, your looking for Chris Paul?
There’s a clear and obvious reason Flip Murray can’t stay on an NBA roster and he’s been a starter only one season in his career. If you honestly think the Hawks could make it further with Flip running the show, you are incredibly delusional.
Ken Strickland
July 5th, 2009
8:53 pm
I don’t think the Hawks need to go overboard in free agency. We need to resign our key FA’s first, especially Zaza and Marvin, then we sign at least one additional veteran BIG. If Bibby is resigned, we all know he’ll start. So our starting lineup will be the same as last yrs, and our bench will consist of Crawford, Teague, Evans, Zaza, a FA BIG, hopefully Solo and filler. If properly utilized, this roster could win 52-55 games next yr.
I believe we’ll see a more productive JJ, since he’ll become a FA after the season and playing for a new contract. I also don’t think Shaq will make Cleveland a better team in the longrun. He’s become a DEF liability and when he’s used down low in the OFF, his presence with block the lane and neutralize their attack the basket style. If he’s moved out of the lane so they can facilitate their attacking the basket style of OFF, he becomes a bigger, slower version of Ben Wallace.
If you start Shaq, what do they do with Ilgouskas. Without Ilgouskas in the lineup, they lose a lot of outside scoring. If they move him to PF, they become very slow and vulnerable on DEF, especially their transition DEF. That’s where we could run them off the floor, assuming we have the intelligence to take advantage of our superior speed, quickness and athleticism against them.
The acquisition of Vince Carter, and the loss of Turkoglu and Gotat, the dynamics of Orlando’s OFF could change. Adding a dynamic player like Carter, and replacing Turkoglu at PF, and what he brought to their OFF, could disrupt their chemistry the way adding EBrand disrupted Philly’s.
Unlike a lot of you, I actually think we’ll have a chance to win our division and move beyond the 4th seed.
Eric
July 5th, 2009
8:53 pm
What’s the rotation if Bibby signs back with the team??? You can’t sit Crawford and his 20 pts per game on the bench, you’re losing me Rick Sund. Maybe he’s setting up a sign and trade with another team.
D-Bo
July 5th, 2009
8:56 pm
You can still get Jamal Crawford minutes off the bench – just think Ben Gordon minutes.
Mike Bibby / Jeff Teague
Joe Johnson / Jamal Crawford
Crawford will play plenty of minutes along side Joe, where he’ll be the PG on the floor. I wouldn’t worry about Jamal scoring, he’ll do that..
D-Bo
July 5th, 2009
8:58 pm
Don’t think Ben Gordon minutes actually, lol. Ben Gordon role in about 26 minutes maybe.