Let’s make a deal
The original "King of Deals" (that's Monty Hall for all you mid-80s babies) must be proud of NBA general managers this summer, what with all action in free agency.
HAWKSVILLE - Is your head spinning?
Are you still trying to sort through all the dips, dives, twists and turns of this NBA free agent frenzy (which so far has lived up to that moniker in every sense of the word).
I know the Hawks haven’t gone crazy and done anything wildly splashy, much to the chagrin of some of you. But plenty of other teams seem happy to oblige the fantasy basketball bent in all of us.
Just reading about this four-team deal spearheaded by Dallas and Toronto to bring Shawn Marion to the Mavs and allow the Raptors to snag Hedo Turkoglu (among other benefits) should be enough to satisfy your thirst for pure craziness in the NBA summer.
Monty Hall should be hosting this stuff.
It’s a genius deal by all involved, if you ask me. It’s a just reward for the folks willing to dive into these deep, treacherous sign-and-trade waters and hook the big fish they were looking for. Who knows if it all works out the way the teams involved hope. That they are even willing to swan dive into a deal this complicated makes them winners in my book.
Yeah, I’ve campaigned for prudence around these parts in most instances, but I’m no NBA neo-conservative. I realize that in this day and age, as always, those who take the greatest risks stand to reap the greatest rewards.
That doesn’t mean the Hawks’ recent work to keep both Mike Bibby and Zaza Pachulia in the fold should be dismissed (and there’s nothing bubbling on the Marvin Williams front. Crickets on Flip Murray, too. And I suspect things will be relatively quiet around the Hawks for the next few days, no matter how many times someone tries to stoke the Amare Stoudemire-for-Josh Smith trade rumor that refuses to die). They are doing the business that good teams do in the summer. And that’s a welcome change from some of the puzzling and pulse-free summers of the Hawks’ recent past.
But if your thing is daring and dazzling trades and high-risk acquisitions, this is your time.
Since before draft night we’ve seen the Spurs remake themselves with the addition of Richard Jefferson and now Antonio McDyess. The Magic recharged themselves with Vince Carter. The champion Lakers stepped up the pace by acquiring Ron Artest. The Cavaliers grabbed Shaq. And the Celtics have added Rasheed Wallace. And those are just the major moves by the true title contenders.
Again, time will tell which moves worked and which moves were for not.
But in this day and age, simply making moves is enough to legitimize an operation. While it’s still a bit too early to judge, I’m wondering which move you think will be the best (not that I had to ask any of you to tell us what you think)?
I’ll admit, I can’t help but think the Spurs have shifted the balance of power in their favor, provided Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili return healthy and hungry this season. The Magic’s move might be underrated by some of us non-believers in the VC movement, but Ryan Anderson is legit and will help offset the loss of Turkoglu. Trading Artest for Trevor Ariza (which is what the Lakers accomplished by allowing Ariza to walk and sign with Houston did) improves the Lakers on paper, so perhaps they’ve done what was necessary to retain their championship aura. Then again, snagging Shaq usually means a greater chance at a title for his team, so maybe the Cavs have pushed themselves over the top …
What say you?
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870 comments Add your comment
Anakin Joe
July 12th, 2009
10:51 am
Clyde, you may get more support trying to advocate Sean Williams IN ADDITION to Horford. But only after his rookie contract expires and he can be signed for a partially guaranteed deal with some enhanced misconduct clauses built in.
Anakin Joe
July 12th, 2009
10:56 am
Ray, you’re right. Nothing likely happens until Chill decides what he is going to do on 7/15. Sund has to “clear him out” before he can move on Marvin and then (hopefully) a low-wage big. And I don’t expect Chill to do Sund any favors and announce his decision until the last possible minute (and I don’t blame him).
niremetal
July 12th, 2009
11:00 am
Gotta say that I think it’s a bit of a double standard to give Chill a pass for doing what he thought was in his best interest while slamming Sund for doing what he thought was in the Hawks’ best interest. Just sayin’.
Big Ray
July 12th, 2009
11:10 am
Anakin Joe,
One other thing about Swift: he seems to be having injury issues here lately, which gives me just a bit of pause. But hey, at least we would not have to worry about him violating restraining orders, getting charged with criminal trespass, or getting arrested at the local shopping mall for fighting….. like Sean Williams .
Seriously, fighting in the mall? What happened, Big & Tall didn’t have his favorite pair of Dickies? FootLocker run out of those new Allen “I no longer have the Answer” Iverson’s? Maybe he lost the Dance Dance Revolution competition to some kid at the Arcade…
Wait, I know what it was. He bought some fake gold jewelry from some Hispanic/Latino guy out on the street, and tried to return it to one of those jewelry booths because he’s too dumb to tell the difference between Hispanic and Middle Eastern backgrounds. He better watch out with that. Keep mixing the two up and he’ll end up either cut, or somebody will go Jihad on his arse…
Big Ray
July 12th, 2009
11:12 am
That being the extreme cases of course. MS-13 and the Taliban aren’t necessarily prevalent around these parts (actually one IS, and the other remains a mystery to the most powerful government in the world).
doc
July 12th, 2009
11:21 am
did i miss something, RA and kirk are in the same camp? strange bedfellows by my take.
Big Ray
July 12th, 2009
11:22 am
Anakin Joe,
We’ve tried that one with Clyde already, though you make a good point. “In addition”, not “in place of.” I’d be okay with that myself, and I’d feel even better if they allowed YOU to write the misconduct clauses. Clearly you understand what we’re dealing with here.
Yeah, I don’t expect Childress to be in a hurry to make a decision either. I am ready to get past this though. As if I had a personal stake in it, heh heh! I’m sure Josh, Sund, and others involved are far more ready for it to be done with than I am.
Agreed on the low wage big. And as bad as it may sound, it needs to be somebody who will provide the kind of skills that require more playing time than Solo. In other words, somebody Woody can count on. We need that.
Melvin
July 12th, 2009
11:51 am
My goodness. Sekou was right about these contracts. Millsap will be paid $10M soon as the ink drys on the contract….WOW
“The offer sheet signed by Millsap, Utah’s backup power forward, calls for him to make approximately $6.3 million next season, $6.2 million in 2010-11, $6.7 million in 2011-12 and $7.2 million in 2012-2013 — plus a $5.6 million signing bonus.
Moreover, both the signing bonus and approximately $4.7 million of first-season salary must be paid within seven days after the NBA formally approves the contract — the structure of which already has received the league’s OK.”
terrell barron
July 12th, 2009
1:02 pm
Marbury? Why?
Ariose
July 12th, 2009
1:07 pm
Melvin, Acie did have 12pts on day one of summer leauge. But I DID read what you read too. It’s tough. I knew that wasn’t the right situation for him. He only gets like 10-12 minutes. When he was on our summer squad, he got between 25 and 30.
Why would we go after Marbury, whe we could just Bring back Flip. Flips BETTER at this point, Runs a Team better, has chemistry with our guys, Comes WAY cheaper with less baggage, and OH YEAH, he’s not a Locker room Cancer!!
KevinA
July 12th, 2009
1:27 pm
Tick tock, tick tock, Chills and Anderson are on the clock. In three days we will know if they play with the NBA rock.
niremetal, if the Hawks sign players for one year deals. Marvin/Chills/Gooden/Flip, can we sing them for the min and throw in a couple of million. Would those millions count against the cap or lux tax?
Ken Strickland
July 12th, 2009
1:28 pm
While I’m not that big on keeping up with trades and FA signings that don’t directly impact the Hawks, the Portland offer sheet to Millsap puzzles me. Was it an attempt by their imbattled GM to save face after so many missteps and rejections, knowing theres a high likelihood Utah will match the offer. Or, was it because they anticipate losing CFrye, and/or now realize GOden might not come close to living up to expectations. He’s spent more time working on his rehab than improving his gm.
Personally, I believe Sund is waiting on Chills, and maybe Anderson, to make his decision before committing to signing another FA. If Chills renounces his Greek contract, it will signal that a sign and trade has been worked out that he’ accepted. That sign and trade will either get us another Big, or determine how much money we’ll have left to offer a FA Big, or maybe 2. Anderson’s decision will likely impact what we’re willing to accept in return for Chills’ rights.
As far as Marvin is concerned, we’re in the drivers seat as far as resigning him, because we can match any offer. However, he’s in the drivers seat as far as deciding if it’ll be a longterm contract or 1yr contract.
Ariose
July 12th, 2009
1:38 pm
Oh man, Ray’s got me LMFAO over here!!!!!!
Ariose
July 12th, 2009
1:42 pm
….stromile Swift Sucks. Have you ever seen that man shoot a jumpshot> It’s like a train wreck waiting to happen. That’s why guys like he and Desmond Mason never amounted to much……they can’t shoot and they have some of the uggliest looking shooting stroke in the world.
G-Man
July 12th, 2009
1:46 pm
Hey guys Hoopsworld says the Hawks are close to a deal with Marvin
http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=13278
Ariose
July 12th, 2009
1:53 pm
I knew they would be close because Marvin is a humble guy and he’s not ego driven like Childress “supposedly” was lol. But Marvin WANTS TO COME BACK which is why this is going so smoothly.
Elijah
July 12th, 2009
1:58 pm
This is truly a terrible newspaper.
How does someone leave on Thursday and 3 days later the only new article is about free agents who went places?
How about an update on what our players are doing to get BETTER? What are Joe, Smoove, and Horford doing to up the levels of their games?
What a joke
Clyde
July 12th, 2009
2:04 pm
Big Ray for the record I never said draft Sean Williams with the third pick. Remember we had the 3 and 11 that year. I said draft Conley or Noah . Conley had a solid year last year and Noah started and played well for the Bulls in the playoffs.
I knew Horford would be gone with the 11th pick so that’s why I suggested Sean Williams. I thought Horford was a reach at 3 since he could play center in the NBA. We needed a center (since Horford isn’t a center) and Sean was the best thing available. The question is would he have been a better pick for us than Acie Law . Remember shot-blocking bigs are hard to come by. Just look at our roster.
Sean Williams has proven he can dominate the paint on the defensive end IF he keeps his head right. Al Horford has yet to prove that to me. Maybe next year will be different who knows.
And there was another person on this blog that liked Sean too. I won’t name his name but he knows who he is.
Pie in the Sky
July 12th, 2009
2:04 pm
RA I’m on your side. Here’s some other ideas for ya:
Our national health care plan will be effective & affordable
Spending trillions of exta $$ will somehow reduce our national debt
Raising everyones taxes will somehow raise everyones spirits
Talking nicely to the Middle East will get them to follow our ideals
Punishing our hard workers in society with excessive taxes will be good
I could go on for pages but you get the drift….
jhan
July 12th, 2009
2:09 pm
Clyde – in retrospect drafting Horford & Williams might have been the better play. Maybe a different scene would have proven more effective for Williams. Either way he wouldn’t have done worse than Law.
Ariose
July 12th, 2009
2:11 pm
Law Would be a perfict fit as a New Jersey net Backup.
Ariose
July 12th, 2009
2:14 pm
Josh, Horford, and Solo all block shots…..
Ariose
July 12th, 2009
2:19 pm
What i’m saying is, we have PLENTY of shot-blocking bigs.
Solo>Sean Williams
Ariose
July 12th, 2009
2:26 pm
From Sekous Twitter feed Just now:
“Chatter on a done deal for Marvin is not right. Sides are still apart. No deal done yet.”
Joe's place Joe speaking
July 12th, 2009
2:29 pm
Sekou how about a little participation on your blog!! Why right a blog when you never show up! Seriously man step your game up!!!
I’m not asking for much, the least you can do is respond to some of the posts!
Ariose
July 12th, 2009
2:41 pm
Sekou said, we probably won’t get any movement until after the 15th(Andersen and Chhildress opt-out deadline). My guess is that Sund’s hands are tied until then.
Blast
July 12th, 2009
2:46 pm
Ariose,
You ever sleep? Or you work nights? Lol!
Big Ray,
Agree on our young bigs never having the benefit of learning from a true big vet. Even more amazing is how far and how good they’ve gotten despite not having that advantage. I look for Josh Smith to have a monster year next season. Long as he keeps hitting his free throws, he might make the All Star team.
Marbury? Hell, NO! I’d rather they bring back Flip than sign Stephon!
Melvin
July 12th, 2009
2:47 pm
Joe’s place,
Cut Sekou some slack. A twitter page can updated from a phone unlike a blog.
Ariose
July 12th, 2009
2:48 pm
According to Sekou, Flip is(as of right now) Offically of the Hawks Radar.
Eye on Pie in the Sky
July 12th, 2009
2:48 pm
“Punishing our hard workers in society with excessive taxes will be good”
Yeah, that upper 2% are really out there in the fields bustin’ there butts. Next thing you know they will be taking jobs away from illegals!
RIGHT!
Ariose
July 12th, 2009
2:49 pm
Blast, LOL.
Ariose
July 12th, 2009
2:50 pm
Blast, I set my own hours Hehehe!
Pie in the Sky
July 12th, 2009
2:54 pm
That upper 2% are the business owners of this country. Let’s make it harder for the business owner to operate. That will surely lead to better jobs & more money for everyone. Do you think the owners will continue to make less & less or will they start to cut jobs? This plan will also surely help the outfits that rely on charitable contributions to survive.
Blast
July 12th, 2009
2:56 pm
That rumor on Hoops World about Marvin also said the Hawks were not interested in Flip and he might land a multi-year deal with another team. As far as rumors goes, how can you trust them? And if true Hawks don’t want Flip, I hope he gets a nice deal somewhere ‘cos Flip is a good guy.
Ariose
July 12th, 2009
2:57 pm
Jamal Crawford Better be [b]Filthy Sick[/b] with his for us to just cast Flip off like that.
Ariose
July 12th, 2009
2:59 pm
Ooops heh, guess i’m a little rusty with the tags heh.
Off to practice on an older blog hehehe….
Ariose
July 12th, 2009
3:02 pm
Blast, I hope so too.
Melvin
July 12th, 2009
3:03 pm
Ariose,
Give Crawford a chance. I think he’s going to make Flip an after thought….
Hoops
July 12th, 2009
3:05 pm
I can’t wait to see Bibby, Crawford, JJ, Marvin and Horford on the floor together. Horford will be a beast inside because of the defense having to spread out to cover those 4 outside threats!!!
I don’t know if that line up can stop anyone, but they sure should be able to give you 5 minutes of live offense!!!
Fact Check
July 12th, 2009
3:06 pm
Ronald Reagan taxed the upper 2% at a HIGHER rate than this administration proposes.
How’d business do under his watch? Oops, they THRIVED. So much for THAT theory.
Sautee
July 12th, 2009
3:07 pm
When did this become a political blog?
Basketball, please!
Big Ray
July 12th, 2009
3:10 pm
Clyde ,
I liked Sean Williams as well, but never saw him as a better pick for a center than Horford. If you thought Horford was a reach, what was Sean? Seriously, how come Sean hasn’t shown himself to be even a third of what Horford is right now? Is somebody doing him wrong, or is he just not earning the minutes? It’s not like he’s stayed injured or something (or am I missing something?)
Horford’s game is more complete. Easily so. Sean Williams can block some shots, but what in the world about him has you thinking he can dominate on the defensive end of the floor….. in the NBA? He dominated college, but if he dominated the NBA, dude would be either starting for somebody or at least be the first big off the bench. But he’s not. Yes, he has to have his head in the game to be effective. That’s what bothers me the most. How good can a guy be if his head is so jacked up that he can’t get anything but scrap minutes?
Anyway, as Jhan mentioned, I would have been fine with picking him “along with” Al Horford, as that would have given us a tough, athletic, young frontcourt. Strangely, we have that NOW, though the toughness factor isn’t quite there. We need for Smoove to toughen up some more. Otherwise, we’d be straight, because he’s a scarier shot-blocker than Williams is. Williams blocks shots in the post, and from the post (so does Horford, he’s gotten better at it). Smoove blocks them ANYWHERE and does so from ANYWHERE.
Still, if Sean could get his act together and keep it that way, he could really help a team. If/until then, he’s another sad story. And getting into so much foolishness off the court just isn’t helping. Hope he shapes up.
But shot-blocking might be the only thing he can do better than Horford. He’ll never pass as well, shoot as well, and I don’t know that he can rebound as well. And there’s more to defense than just blocking shots. You have to be able to keep guys from getting position. Ask Dennis Rodman, who didn’t block many shots at all, but damn if you could score on him.
Anyway, I guess it’s a moot point. I like Horford, and think he does a good job for us. But yes, we still do need help down low.
Pie in the Face
July 12th, 2009
3:11 pm
Shut the hell up about the politics.
Big Ray
July 12th, 2009
3:15 pm
Ariose,
You know I’m crazy.
I like Flip, but like anybody else, hard to see not only where he fits on our team now, but where he gets his minutes. I say he really helped us a lot, but Crawford also provides us with some things Flip couldn’t, and those things are not a knock on Flip. Rather, they are dictated by existing and possible future circumstances.
Flip earned himself another job with another NBA team with last year’s performance, and I don’t care what anybody says. He shouldn’t have to head to Europe this time.
Ariose
July 12th, 2009
3:15 pm
Melvin, I hope so lol.
From Sekou:
“Spoke directly to Marvin. No deal done yet. Man I love free agency!!!”
Big Ray
July 12th, 2009
3:19 pm
Blast,
I’m looking for Josh Smith to have a monster year as well. Of course, we may not all agree on the definition of a “monster year”, but I look for him to mature and show us some serious growth in certain areas. If not…well, I’m not going to “turn” on the guy, but I will start banging that drum on the other side. He needs to take some serious steps forward. Like all the commentators, experts, and pundits say: if he turns that proverbial corner, this team is going to be very hard to beat. If not, we need to look elsewhere. I know that may seem harsh, but I expect great things out of him. If we don’t get that from him, then what have we been wasting our breath (and money) on?
Hope the rumor on Marvin is true. Better to have dude under contract for multiple years or traded. I don’t like the one year qualifier situation at all.
Jody
July 12th, 2009
3:21 pm
I sincerely hope the Hawks sign a couple of guys who are legit 4/5’s. Maybe then they’ll see the benefit in not playing guys out of position.
Clyde
July 12th, 2009
3:22 pm
Big Ray Sean is a center Horford isn’t.
Ariose
July 12th, 2009
3:23 pm
Ray, I can’t lie. I saw th writing on the wll like the rest of you lol. Maybe if we had Phil Jackson as out coaach, it would work. Unfortunaely we’re stuck with woody, and Sund seens to have figured out his limitations like the rest of us. He can’t handle that many talentedguards on one roster without freezeing one of them out.
Yeah, I’m happy for Flip as well. Then again, He’s one of these players(like Crawofrd) who always gives us the business whenver we play against him. Hopefully that won’t happen anytime soon heh. Hopefully flip will find a good fit IN THE WESTERN CONFRENCE PREFERABLY LOL!!
Ariose
July 12th, 2009
3:28 pm
Solomon Jones > Sean Williams
Just Sayin’…