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
Ariose
July 12th, 2009
5:31 pm
Andy wants more $$$
niremetal
July 12th, 2009
5:31 pm
Ken,
Again, I agree that we need to go away from the switching defense, but most of our drop in rebounds during the past year came on the offensive glass, NOT the defensive glass.
Clyde
July 12th, 2009
5:32 pm
Ken Strickland is the disciple questioning his master? Don’t you forget I taught you all you know. Never run ya mouth when grown folks are talking.
Check the videos Ariose posted. Most of them were in game time situations.
Anakin Joe
July 12th, 2009
5:32 pm
doc, that darn Bobby Cox knows how to screw up a bullpen, doesn’t he? He finds a reliever and just rides him until the wheels come off. I know this is a Hawks blog. I just had to vent to doc.
Ariose
July 12th, 2009
5:33 pm
Andy is crazy. The Rockts of full of Bigs. They don’t need him.
niremetal
July 12th, 2009
5:37 pm
To be specific, we got 138 fewer ORBs in 08-09 than we did in 07-08 and we got 42 fewer DRBs in 08-09 than we did in 07-08. If you adjust for pace, our DRB rate was almost identical in 08-09 (.716) as compared with 07-08 (.717), and we actually moved up from 26th to 24th in the league in defensive rebounding rate (still bad, but slightly less bad), but our ORB rate fell from .297 (4th in the league) to .260 (19th in the league).
Clyde
July 12th, 2009
5:38 pm
Jchill to the Nets for Sean Williams. We are going to lose Chill anyway so lets get a big man that can block shots on our roster.
Clyde
July 12th, 2009
5:43 pm
Anakin Joe its time for Bobby to retire. The Braves need someone that can light a fire under their backsides.
And Anakin Joe being one of the founding fathers of this blog give me your opinion on Sean Williams. Ray has turned soft since his blog was canceled.
Novice Ned
July 12th, 2009
5:56 pm
Clyde, founding father, huh? All of a sudden, I feel like a historic figure… Frederick Douglass, maybe.
Anyway, Sean Williams. Sorry, I missed the weekly broadcasts of the Restraining Order League this season.
If there’s no struggle, there’s no progress. Sean has surely struggled but we’ve yet to see the progress.
Ken Strickland
July 12th, 2009
5:57 pm
We can overtake Orlando despite what others might believe. A lot of basketball fans seem to have a tendency to lean towards sensationalism without looking at the big picture. Of the starting lineup that took Orlando to the finals, they’ve lost 3 of their starters, CLee & RAlston(their starting backcourt), HTurkouglu(their point forward), Gortat(#1 backup center) and team chemistry. After literally falling apart after losing PG JNelson, they rebounded only after acquiring PG RAlston. The emergence of rookie CLee, and having Turkouglu step up and run the OFF made a tremendous difference. Well, they won’t have any of those players available to rescue them if Nelson or Horward goes down. And they don’t have anyone on their team that can duplicate their feat, especially newcomers VCarter and BBass.
And for those of you who insist on believing Shaq will automatically make Cleveland a better team, don’t forget, people thought the same thing after his arrival in Phoenix, didn’t they. Remember, the Shaq of today is nowhere near the player that arrived in miami and helped lead them to their championship rings. He could end up being a liability for Cleveland, just like he was for Phoenix.
Anakin Joe
July 12th, 2009
6:05 pm
Sorry, forgot to change my alias. That Novice Ned post was from me… the Founding Father (burp). Sorry, but that’s what father’s do. Someone come and pull my finger.
Ariose
July 12th, 2009
6:21 pm
LeBron doesn’t deserve to be in this commercial. Besides he’s practically maried. Shoulda Been me!!!!!!
Pie in the Sky
July 12th, 2009
8:10 pm
AJ for killing me!
Pie in the Sky
July 12th, 2009
8:11 pm
“your” not “for”
Blast
July 12th, 2009
8:21 pm
Ray,
For Josh Smith, I think a lot hinges on his free throw percentage, and better shot selection. Without checking the stats, I would assume he goes to the line more than Joe or just about even. Especially when you acknowledge that Joe is the most underrated star in the league, and the most disrespected by the effing refs. Josh on the other hand, gets hammered a lot because he plays closer to the rim. if Josh averaged 10 free throws a game and makes seven of them, not taking into consideration the And 1’s, and still scores 17 points a game off the floor, heh!
17 + 7 and you are looking at a possibly 25 points scorer, with rebounds and shot blocking abilities to go with it. Josh can do it.
Dunno why I’m rooting so much for this guy, but I just think he has so much potential. If he wants it.
MAC-TOWN
July 12th, 2009
10:16 pm
If Josh Smith doesn imporve his all aroudn game and decision making this year, I dont want to hear anything about his “potential” anymore”
I’m kinda tired of it now. I mean come on, there are alot of guys in the leave now and in the past who have been super athletic with “potential” that never came around.
Exciting doesnt always mean success, just ask Golden St.
O'Brien
July 12th, 2009
10:17 pm
Blast,
JJ: 79 games, 299-362 (FT), .826% (4.6 FT attempts per game)
Josh: 69 games, 211-359 (FT), .588% (5.2 FT attempts per game)
I wish JJ would drive to the hole more, and stop settling for the floater/jump shot. I also wish he would complain to the refs (like Wade/Kobe/LeBron), because JJ gets no respect.
Hopefully, Josh will be able to shoot at least 70% from the line this season.
Ken Strickland
July 12th, 2009
11:08 pm
CLYDE-Don’t you think for one minute that I don’t know my place when it comes to you my friend.
NIREMETAL-I don’t understand the purpose of Woodson’s OFF. The PG comes across the line and passes the ball to a Big, then the PG circles around and comes back to receive the ball. Then the Big sets a pick to start Woodson’s modified version of the pick and roll. Why all of the unnecessarily movement and waste of valuable time when you can start the modified pick and roll without making a single pass? That’s why we see so many shots being taken, especially by JSmith, with the clock running out. Instead of having our Bigs fighting to get deep position under the basket, they’re out on the floor receiving passes from the PG/SG then waiting to give it back. That’s one of the main reasons we’re not getting as many OFF rebounds or enough inside scoring from our frontline.
Also, when your guards end up doing a lot of one on one and ISO’s, the Bigs have to clear out, and that makes it difficult for them to get in position to get OFF rebounds. Woodson needs an assistant that can create an effective OFF system to fit our talent. Phil Jackson is known for not being an X’s and O’s HC. He recognized his weakness and allowed one of his assistants to design an OFF, and that assistant came up with the TRIANGLE OFF, which Phil Jackson will ride straight into the record books and the HOF. WE NEED TO UPGRADE A LOT MORE THAN JUST OUR TALENT.
Ariose
July 13th, 2009
1:48 am
….Well if rick is just gonna let flip go, he should at least sign Gerald Green….
niremetal
July 13th, 2009
9:31 pm
Wait…Ariose just said “Gerald Green” without “$800k” after it. Impossible!