Mini-camp invitees

I haven’t heard Chris Taft’s name in some time

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josh … not

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Sekou, given the money we would have to pay in a mediocre big man market, wouldn’t you just take a shot with a guy like Siler and see what happens?

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Sekou,

I expect Teague to impress. And I give the Hawks credit for bringing Cenk (and Sergiy Gladyr) in. I also think Siler is a low risk move. Nobody expects anything from him this year, (he hasnt been playing basketball very long). But he has legit size, so depending on his game, maybe we can stash him in the D-League for a year or so.

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Hawks n Ham: that figure is not unreasonable for the Hawks, dependin on Marvin’s numbers. They still have the full MLE to use. I think, just think the Hawks are probably looking to get two players for around the 5.5 milion. So I guess it depends on how much you value Big Baby Davis. He certainly showed a lot last year. If he would be happy in his role here in Atlanta, I would like to him as an addition.

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Because Glen Davis struggles to guard anybody. Because he has trouble scoring really close to the basket because of his height. Because he only ever average about 12 ppg. Because he’ll get out rebounded by his counterpart.

You want playoff experience, the Hawks would be much better taking a chance on the gimpy Leon Powe.

The Hawks should go after Hakim Warrick. He’ll be about $2M cheaper than Davis, he’s more efficient, and fits better in the Hawks system.

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Funny, I mentioned Chris Taft like maybe last week but only as a joke. Samuel, if Taft could get an invite, why not Jackie Butler?

Sekou, what about Othella Hunter? I would have thought he would be in the mini-camp to get a first-hand comparison of his development/potential vs. some of these other guys. I noticed Gardner was playing out in Las Vegas but do you know if Hunter is with another squad?

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And Johnny,

I co-sign on alot of those things you mentioned about Davis – meaning I agree the Hawks need a bruiser at the 4 who can play around the basket (someone who can scrap)…

But I’ll take 12 ppg anyday for a guy coming off the bench whose primary job will be to backup Smoove…

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The thing about Big Baby is that I don’t think he’s a real bruiser. I think he’s got a SF’s mentality in a C’s body.

Hakim Warrick is a better rebounder and a better scorer than Davis. He’ll remind a lot of Hawks’ fans of Josh Childress in his ability to always being able to be at the right spot at the right time.

~ Glen Davis 2008-09 (per 36 minutes) 11.7 ppg / 6.6 rpg
~ Hakim Warrick 2008-09 (per 36 minutes) 16.9 ppg / 7.2 rpg

Oh, and Warrick will be cheaper than Davis!

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Christmas has mad game, poor mans Joe Johnson..

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sorry Siler

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Damn… there have been some big time lottery busts in the past but I can’t recall any who fell off as hard as Yaroslav Korolev. I’m trying to think if I can remember him playing at all, but nah, can’t remember a single minute of him playing. I wonder if whatever possessed the Clippers to pick him so early will show itself.

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Gardner’s with Portland (2-16 FGA, 1-9 3PTA). Hunter’s with the Warriors team and hasn’t played more than 9 minutes in a game. As for Korolev, he played 6 minutes a game for Dynamo Moscow last season so we may never know what possessed the Clippers to pick him 12th.

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Morris must go …I cant take another season of his face on our bench……… I havent really seen Siler play but he has to be an upgrade over Morris -Ewwww Putrid!!! Siler as our 3rd center and Warwick/Gooden/Joe Smith as our reserve Pf……

Cenk/Serg…… If they make the team where/when do they play…… woody is as about as creative as a box of crayons………

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What would it take to get Jeff Foster or Pryzbilla……… we will have the same problems next year if we dont get a reliable big to go with Al/ZAZA…………..

Terell where u at bro. I just figured by now you would have gotten back at I.MUS WRITE for stating his opinion. I mean thatz what u do right…………….

Any of yall see Hangover or Street fighter the legend of Chung Li……2 excellent movies

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this would be great we have room for about five more players…. And I see why JC want get the money that he wants, and that’s because you can get some players to play almost for free.

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Sekou, was there any ‘bad blood’ between Pryz and BK? I recall a few years when we had him, I thought we had a good defensive presence in the middle. When we chose Jason Collier (may he rest in peace) over Pryz, I was surprised. Any recollection about that decision and situation? Do any of the other bloggers recall that?

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Anyone heard pf the Smyrna Community Center basketball leagues? Anyone good enough to play?I’m looking for a few good men ( sorry had to say that ). I am looking for a some big men and some guards. If anyone is interested let me know!

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Always thought Sundiata would make a good fourth or fifth guard for some NBA team. At UGA he shot threes well, and showed good shot selection overall. He displayed good decision-making, rarely turning the ball over. And he proved to be an outstanding rebounder for a small guard. Hard to tell about his defense; the SEC didn’t have a lot of great point guards during his years.

Obviously the NBA is a lot different than the SEC, but I’m a fan. Wouldn’t make much sense for the Hawks though.

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At this point, I don’t think were gonna sign a good FA big man…..BRING ON THE DRAFT BUST SCUBS!!!!!!

Saw Huertas play in HS and at Florida, and at Ole Miss when he transferred. Good shooter…

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Anderson reported to on the verge of signing a 3-year $7.5 million contract with the Rockets. That would be less than the was making in Europe.

niremetalplease find an argument about the Anderson sale that you can stick to. And shouldn’t you be eyeball-deep in Bar-Bri right now?

Anderson is gone, it’s done. Time to move on. But there is a bit more information/details to the story.

According to Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle, Anderson is a Rocket, not because of play time, but because the Hawks never made an effort to sign him. Apparently they have wanted him..as a backup.. for some time now but the Hawks only decided to do something now because he was going to sign a long-term contract and would have been lost forever.

Apparently the Hawks held an auction of sorts. The Rockets won out over the Griz and Mavs. Here’s the link to Justice’s column: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/6531475.html

As for “getting it”, I would suggest that should be better directed to the Hawks. They need to get their frontcort together. Unlike waiting on a market for a restricted free agent to develop, there are only so many big men that have a reasonable chance of providing the kind of length and /or skill set the Hawks are going to need if they are to remain among the top 4 teams in the East.

If all we needed was someone to be on the floor for 10-15 minutes (um, yesterday it was only 8-10 minutes) then we have that already. I would suggest that the Hawks look for someone who can actually play for 10,15, 30 minutes if necessary.

Injuries and foul trouble happen and it’s just not prudent to have the mindset that the guy you bring in is just going to be called on to play limited minutes.Josh, Al, and ZaZa, have all missed games the past two seasons and there is no reason to believe that that will not be the case this season. So whoever the Hawks acquire better be able to contribute more than spot duty.

Go Hawks!!

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Lotta guards on the mini-camp roster.

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Hey Sekou,

Do you know what happened to Georgia Tech’s Alade Aminu? Is he trying to make someone else’s training camp, I was surprised not to see his name on the list. And aside from Big Baby and Chris Wilcox, do you know of any other bigger name free agent big men that are still out there?

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Anyone heard of the Smyrna Community Center Basketball Leagues? Anyone good enough to play?I’m looking for a few good men ( sorry had to say that ). I am looking for a some big men and some guards. If anyone is interested let me know! Does anyone here play Basketball and live in or around Smyrna?

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niremetal Fair enough. But there needs to be a sense of urgency. We need that urgency not because bloggers need something new to talk about, but because the pool of effective big men has dwindled. When you don’t control the timetable, you have to be not only shrewd, but alert and nimble in how you maneuver.

I hope Ariose is wrong, but if they don’t get moving there wlll be nothing left but scrubs. I’m willing to give Sund the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps he has some potential trades for a big and we all will applaud as we did with the Crawford deal.

(Yes you are so entitled to said breaks. Good luck, and we’ll be expecting great news come November.)

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Anyone heard of the Smyrna Community Center Cafeteria? I’m looking for a few good men (sorry, but I’m kind of afraid of girls) to each lunch with me in the Cafeteria. I am looking for some big eaters and some not-so-big eaters. If anyone is interested in being lunch partners, let me know! Does anyone here eat lunch and live in or around Smyrna? Sincerely, Creepy Guy Trolling Blog For Lunch Friends

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” Jeff Teague, Sergiy Gladyr, Cenk Akyol, Randmo, Mario, Garret Siler, Hunter and Gardner ”

Heck, add a few more bodies and the Hawks could have field a team in Vegas. Oh I forgot, that would have require them to spend money.

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Well, it might be best to keep the Spirit out of Vegas — they might lose what little they have left.

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I would take Matt Barnes over Mo. If we sign Barnes maybe we can trade Mo for a second rounder or something. Barnes can play a few positions, rebounds well for his position, and can hit the 3.

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Ariose, linking the UFA list since we’re not likely using our MLE for any RFAs. Let’s go get Sean May with a bunch of clauses to protect us. He should be a little more desperate than Wilcox.

http://dimemag.com/2009/07/10-best-available-unrestricted-free-agents/

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AJ, Flip is #2 on the list…

Anyway, Matt Barnes and Drew Gooden would be nice….

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Sekou,

Is there a chance to get Sergiy Gladyr and Cenk Akyol (esp. Gladyr) on the team if they impress, i.e. do they have issues with their Euro contracts. Its just so frustrating that we can never get these guys over after we draft them. Can we keep Gladyr on this side of the ocean???

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* the fact that the Hawks will have a mini camp next week.

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Gladyr is 19 and hasn’t played highly competitive ball yet…the Ukrainian Superleague is probably the equivalent of D2 college ball in terms of the level of competition. Now granted, he was second in the Superleague in scoring, which ain’t bad for a 19 year old. But I don’t think it’s a good idea to risk a contract on him unless we’re pretty sure he’s ready. If you bring him over too soon, you stunt his growth – it’s better for him to be a rotation player on a team competing in the Euroleague or ULEB than it is for him to ride the pine in Atlanta.

What I hope the Hawks do is get Gladyr set up with a higher-tier European team – one that competes in the top competitions – where he can be a rotation player. That way, he’ll have a chance to develop his skills against a higher level of competition.

Akyol is already on a team that plays in the Euroleague competitions. The problem is that he’s stuck on their bench. Efes Pilsen is a lot like Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel – they’re by far the best team and have by far the most money. In order to maintain their dominance, they get basically all the good players in Turkey under contract for them. It helps ensure that they stay on top of the Turkish League, but it’s bad in terms of the development of the young players who ride their pine. The true standouts (namely Okur and Turkoglu) get PT. But borderline prospects ride the pine behind veteran foreign players who couldn’t make it in their home countries. That’s not to say that Akyol would develop into a stud if he got more PT on another team; just that young guys with Efes Pilsen tend to never get a fair shot.

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Yep, I’m glad we pickup another 2nd round pick from the Rockets. I sure we draft the next best prospect out of China to go with our other up and coming studs from the Euro and Turkey league. The Hawks will be unstoppable in 2020 when these guys develop…

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I’m sure Anderson would have made the Hawks an instant title contender. It’s amazing that all the GM’s in the league have overlooked this guy for the last 10 years. If only they were as smart as some people on this blog!

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Melvin,

Let me know what you suggest would be a better use of second round picks. Thanks.

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I’m sure there are plenty of teams looking to acquire/sign 2nd rounders, non draftees and journeymen to push them to elite status…

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I had promised to give it a rest regarding any topics related to Chill and Anderson now that they are gone. However, this article about Anderson in Houston Chronicle is disturbing if true:

“The Atlanta Hawks had used a second-round pick on Andersen in 2002, but they apparently never made a real effort to sign him.”

It suggests that Sund dropped the ball again and lost another asset (albeit he did recoup 2M). Perhaps the old-school “hard-ball” style negotiation Sund is conducting isn’t working and is turning-off potential suitors. We were lead to believe by Sekou and others that Anderson didn’t want to play here because of available minutes for him. I’m just wondering; if this idea has merit, how many more players have been turned off by Sund. Maybe we Hawk Fans are so easily impressed by him; we are not really paying attention to what’s really going on. I don’t know…

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Co-sign your post, The Truth

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Nire, We shoulda traded down in the 2nd round, Drafted Danny Green as our 3rd SF and traded Chills to the Bucks for a bag of skittles…

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Odom turned down 3/$30M & 4/$36M – wonder what he thinks he’s worth?

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It is becoming apparent that Sund is not willing to make a serious financial commitment to the frontline bench players. Since Zaza is the first “Big” off the bench, his annual salary of 4.75M is a “tea leaf” reading as to how much less the Hawk will be shopping to pay for the next “Big”. Since Zaza has set the bar, players like Wilcox, for example, would talk a serious “hair-cut” from his previous salary of nearly 8M annual with the Knicks compared to Zaza 4.75M. As I talked about Anderson, yes the Hawks may have made him a “desperation” offer but using common logic, it most have been a serious “low-baller” if it pissed him off enough to take a Houston offer of only 4M/year. I’m thinking the Hawks offered him in the range of 2-3M/year, insulted him and he walked. I don’t know what 2-3M buys you in today’s market, but you usually get what you pay for.

It is strange that the weakest link of the Hawks last season was the frontline depth, and the financial commitment to address that problem may not be no more then 2-3M. If this is true, Sund may find it difficult to answer the frontline cries.

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once marvin signs we’ll have 11 players under contract for around 63M. next move will be to fill out the roster for a couple of million (solo, ratliff, siler, etc) for a payroll around 65M this year vs. 68M last year for basically the same team minus flip plus crawford.

assuming marvin has signed a long term deal that pays 8M next year, next summer our payroll will be around 50M for the same squad minus JJ. that should leave enough to sign JJ and a couple of extras to fill out the roster, again keeping the core intact without significantly expanding payroll. this appears to be sund’s master plan.

it is a young and talented group and i applaud sund for his success in keeping them together. they will be fun to watch over the next couple of years. but can these hawks really challenge the elite teams and go to the finals in the next couple of years without another top-tier player? wilcox or matt barnes would significantly improve our depth and make us a better team, but i am not convinced these hawks can make it past the second round without a major acquisition.

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At 26, I think Wilcox can still get better…..he can develop along with our core.

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O’Brien, I co-sign w/everything you said.

To reply to what you said about Marvin/Mo, I think if a situation were to pop up like last season w/marvin, I think they’d slide JJ to the 3, with Evans backing him up. Crawford would start at the 2, and HE would actually be without a backup – which is one of the PRIMARY REASONS I continue to say if the Hawks can resign Flip for cheap – it wouldn’t hurt.

More depth shouldn’t be a problem for a coach, it should only be helpful.

AND I SAY THIS KNOWING WOODY’S COACHING PRACTICE.
I UNDERSTAND HE LIKES RUNNING A 7-8 MAN ROTATION. BUT THAT SHOULDN’T MEAN WE LIMIT OUR TALENT TO 7-8 SOLID PLAYERS AND HAVE SCRUBS AT THE END OF THE BENCH.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!MORE TALENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Coorection to my last post regarding Anderson salary:

According to Houston Chronicle:
“Andersen will sign a contract believed to be worth $7.5 million over three years.”

That would make his annual salary to be 2.5/year with Houston not 4M/year. If this was the offer, Anderson should not have been pissed if the Hawks offer was in the range of 2-3M/year. However, if the Hawks offer was 1M/year then he would have been pissed.

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I only noticed that I was the last guy to post on the previous blog now, as I turned my computer on again. This is post in reply to:

Ken Strickland,

You are trading a “what if” for a tangible reality which is FAR BETTER than what we have experience on the recent past (with teams filled with loaded by questionable talents much alike some which have been thrown around as possible signings by the bloggers around – JR Rider, Glenn Robinson, … spring to mind)

I am very critical of Woody myself but we also need to look at what was accomplished: we went from bottom dwellers to two consecutive playoff berths.

I know that this year’s second round showing was very poor, however, we were crippled by injuries and Lebron was getting all the calls going his way:

JJ was wobbled from the start (tired and tender ankle since mid-season) and then complely worn out and with his ankle (I’m not sure if it was the same) really hurt.

Marvin was crippled: he was present physically but completely unable to perform. He brought in the regular season 3pt shooting and defense as well as many other small things (yes, he sometimes seems to be sleep walking, but that is his style).

Al was terrible hurt and the match up with Ziggy was bad for us due to his size and his hability to knock shots from 15ft.

For the people who bring back the “poor showing” against Miami argument, I say 2 things:

a) The refereeing was killing us;
b) Even so, we won.

This year, hopefully we will repeat or improve the 47win mark of last year BUT with a little less dependability from the same 8 players.

I agree with some people around here that say that Woody does not feel secure enough to take risks and that is why he concentrates on winning and not on developing the bench.

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The Truth,

The article’s sentence:

“The Atlanta Hawks had used a second-round pick on Andersen in 2002, but they apparently never made a real effort to sign him.”

Makes reference to an historical desinterest in signing Andersen SINCE HE WAS drafted and not specifically to what happened this year. This lack of interest culminated now with the simple fact that, what he was asking now to come to Atlanta ($ wise) was not compatible with the minutes he would be getting, in light of Zaza’s signing back with us.

Get a grip and look at his stats: he is non-physical 4 in Europe BBall which translates into a tall and slow 3 in the NBA: Nothing to cry about.

If you want to cry about something, cry about the fact that all our second round selections have been always a waste.

This means that we traded nothing for nothing PLUS 2 million and future considerations (probably some h**kers and tequilla for Sund during his next time around Houston), which is something that we should look positively on.

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The Truth,

Do you even read Sekou’s articles? Like at all? The issue wasn’t MONEY. It was MINUTES. In Houston, he’ll either start or be the first big man off the bench thanks to the career-ending injury to Mutombo, the season-ending injury to Yao, their failure to sign Gortat, and the fact that all those problems has left Houston with the “options” at center as they had in last year’s playoffs: 6′9 Scola and 6′6 Chuck Hayes. So in Houston, Andersen will have the opportunity to play 25-30 minutes a game because of the beyond-desperate situation they have at center.

We have Zaza and Horford, both of whom are at this point proven young NBA centers. We have Josh Smith who is a proven young PF. Contrary to Clyde’s assertions to the contrary, that makes us among the better-off teams in the NBA in terms of our depth at the “big man” positions. Even if we ran a Doc Rivers type of rotation (where Horford and Josh played just 30 minutes a game and Zaza 18-20), there isn’t room on our team for a big man that plays more than 15-20 minutes a game barring injury. With Woodson, Andersen was facing an inconsistent 8-15 minutes per game. Just do the minutes math and you can figure that out.

But hey, I know you don’t want to. Like Melvin and a bunch of people around here, you are probably living in 2006, convinced that ASG is cheap (their willingness to drastically increase payroll the last two years notwithstanding) and that Sund is a dunce. And if Sekou’s description of things doesn’t do it for you, I’m sure I won’t.

Whatever. Peace.

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On another note, it would be hilarious to see Nate Robinson and David Lee both end up in Greece with Chill. About the three most different types of players imaginable…

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http://www.nba.com/video/channels/nba_tv/2009/07/16/nba_090716_phi_williams_camp.nba/

Pride of South Gwinnett!!! Sweet Lou!!!

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Juicy,

And J-Smoove is a wild physical specimen which means that he will never have any discipline in his moves and will not fulfil his perceived potential.

Look how he has not been able to improve his shot and how he rarely incorporates in his actions the footwork and the fakes he was supposed to have learned with Hakeem, two summers ago.

With this I am not saying that we should ditch J-Smoove, but merely that his lack of discipline will always make him underachieve and I don’t really think he will even evolve into a dependable offensive option.

I would rather see him as a 5-star role player, proving rebounding, interior defense (not only blocks) and limiting his shots to the ones which can hit (within 12 feet). If he concentrated in rebounding, he could snatch 12/13 rpg easily, with at least 2 or 3 putbacks, giving gim 4/6 ppg just on that.

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Molded by nobody.

Matt Barnes is a journeyman and will never be relevant on this league.

He may have one or two acceptable seasons until he retires, but his contribution on winning teams will always be limited.

A taller, slender and lighter Mo Evans but probably less effective on defense.

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And Green already failed his oportunities and soon will be out of the league. Just like AC Law.

There is a small window of oportunity to make it and he missed it. He is already on his 4th or 5th team and if he signs with anyone, it will be his 5th or 6th team in 3 years.

He will end up in Europe if he keeps his head on the right spot.

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Nire,

You need to go back and read the old Hawks Hacks blogs. I was the one defending (w/o a law degree) the ASG against claims that they was broke and a cheap ownership group. I mention that they may have more financial resources than folks on the blog were giving them credit for. Don’t take my word for it, go back and read the archives. However, I do believe they tried to low ball Chills and Andersen.

It’s funny how you always pull the SOURCE CARD when you disagree with an publish article. Since you want to reference Sekou (whom I have the upmost respect for), look at this response on his twitter page. You want to bet money wasn’t an issue. Let’s see, if he was making $3M over seas and it’s reported that the Rockets will pay him $2.5M then base on what Sekou said the Hawks must have offer him between 1-1.5M. Do you really expect for him to take a 50% paycut? Who’s to say that his agent hadn’t spoken to other teams (like the Rockets) and they were willing to pay him more (like the Rockets).

@sekousmith01 NE idea what ATL offered Andersen? Accord to Hou Chron & Marca.com he got $2.5M/yr for 3yr, last yr is team option.

@ProtonPill half of what Houston offered, if that.

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Look like Chills was ready to be Buck…

@JChillin How close did things get with Milwaukee after your visit a couple weeks ago?

@PaulImig very close. Very very close

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O’brien,

I was hoping we could sign Marvin and Barnes then we could dump Mo on somebody else….

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Sorry Samuel, but I’ll disagree

Barnes 29 y.o. 6′ 7″ 226 Career avg: 7.0 points 4.1 reb

Williams 23 y.o. 6′ 9″ 240 Career avg: 12.5 points 5.5 reb.

I’ll gladly take the kid (and his upside and huge wingspan) to a journeyman.

Wouldn’t mind Barnes behind him though.

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Come on guys, Sund didn’t make a deal with the Bucks likely because in order to receive “equal value” he would have had to take back salary. We traded a player who will likely start at center for Houston for a 2nd round pick. Don’t tell me about his perceived value to the Hawks, his value to a Yao-less Rockets team could have (and should have) been exploited. We’re waiting to close on Marvin before choosing between vets and undrafted FAs to fill our roster. (I’m guessing that the minimum salary for Siler is less than it would be for Magloire as an example). So I say, “follow the money”. Either Sund has been told that future expenditures need to be reviewed at the line-level or there is a trade in the works for August that will land us dangerously close to the luxury threshold (and thus Sund needs to watch his pennies). I think the latter. A trade. A big one. Next month.

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…..molded by Hard work, playing time, and his fellow teammates of coursw

…David Andersen looks like he should be playing for the Austrailian Volleyball team intead of hooping.

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Melvin,

I saw Sekou’s tweet. And I never, ever said that we offered as much as the Rockets. All I said was that Andersen didn’t want to come here and be the 4th guy off the bench and be relegated to a role where he would was not guaranteed a spot in the rotation. And no matter how much you want to grumble about Andersen’s trade, you have to admit that he will be getting a far, far bigger role and a role far more suited to his skill set in Houston than he would have gotten in Atlanta, and that the role he was being offered in Atlanta was far from ideal for a guy who is already 29 and won’t have too many shots to be an NBA rotation player. Because if you can’t admit that, then you’re just being stubborn.

And we’ve gone over and over the issues with Chill. I won’t re-hash that.

The “source card?” Dude, read the headline. It says “Commentary.” In other words, it’s an OPINION piece. So as with any Bradley “article,” you have to realize that what you’re reading might not be based on anything but the author’s own hunches. Considering how tight-lipped the Hawks front office is, do you REALLY think that a freaking sports opinion writer from Houston has any clue what the Hawks’ interest-level in Andersen was – either before or after the Hawks re-signed Zaza?

Sekou is a beat writer. He travels with the team. He knows everyone from the GM to the agents to the players to the guy who sweeps the floor. That’s why I trust what I read by him (and other team beat writers).

BUT I did misspeak. You haven’t always been an ASG critic, so my bad on that. But you have made a habit of viewing everything Sund does with skepticism. You slammed him at the beginning of the offseason for not being more open (and held up the Bucks GM as a model – which you have to admit looks off in retrospect since the Bucks are getting reamed in free agency) and also for the way he handled Chills (again, let’s not re-hash that). I think you tend to be a skeptic of Sund far more than is warranted.

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….I mean mo’s not what we expected him to be,but he’s more athletic and plays better defense than Matt Barnes, that for sure.

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Nire,

One more thing, if playing time was the only issue with Andersen coming to the Hawks then how did they progress to the point to even make him an offer?

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niremetal

You make this sarcastic comment:
“Well, Melvin and The Truth, I guess y’all would know better than Sekou”

I responded with this:

Don’t bait us like that. Just using common logic. If A=B, and B=C then A=C

And then you start your wild assertions.

Your comments are so amusing, I can’t stop laughing. You sound like a drama queen looking for something to do. (For the record, I didn’t say you were actually a drama queen, I said you sound like one)

This is what you said about me among other things:
“Do you even read Sekou’s articles? Like at all? The issue wasn’t MONEY. It was MINUTES.”

This is what I actually said in my comment regarding Anderson: “We were lead to believe by Sekou and others that Anderson didn’t want to play here because of available minutes for him.”

That comment suggests that I too understood the problem to be about minutes. The main theme of that comment was the notion of “old-school “hard-ball” style negotiation by Sund”. No, I don’t know for sure and neither do you. You know the saying, opinions are like azz holes, everybody’s get one including you; your hole is no bigger then the rest of our holes. If you don’t like my comment then fine, but please don’t assert false statements by me for your personal gains.

The only comment I made about Anderson regarding money was the notion from this statement: “Sund is not willing to make a serious financial commitment to the frontline bench players” I used Anderson just as an example. Since there has been no frontline bench deals made so for, I stand by that statement. The main theme (once again) was financial commitment to the frontline bench. I hope I’m wrong. We shall see. I want the Hawks to succeed. Since I am a season Hawks ticket holder, I can weigh in on things I don’t like. Like all of us ticket holders, we care about the success of this team otherwise we wouldn’t spend our money. I assume you are a season ticket holder since you are so passionate about other people comments.

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um, Sekou, ever thought of calling players something other tha

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At this point, it doesn’t really matter whot the hawks get, they are still going to get killed on the boards. Now that is not saying they won’t do well or have success, each team presents different challenges. Cleveland got Shaq who will man the middle better (if healthy), but he may slow them down or make them self destruct with the two big egos. Either way we still have to worry about Lebron. I know we were hobbled in that series, but Lebron practicly beat us by himself. Boston’s big four are all over 30 and gettin’ older by the day. Plus, Rondo may be disgruntled after being drudged through the mud all off season by his own team. None of this will matter come playoff time, but they do have a great chance of an injury occuring. Lastly, the magic will not be the same team after losing Turkoglu to run their offense thru. What we don’t know is if that’s good or a bad thing. With getting Brandon Bass in the fold and keeping Gortat, they will be even tougher down low. They still have all the 3 pt shooters as well. If Vince brings it this year and they figure it out how to play together it could be ugly. The hawks have to first and foremost stay healthy, 2) Use the bench wisely so that starters aren’t dead in the playoffs, and 3) Horford, Smith, and Marv have to continue to develop and get better as previously mentioned.

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The reason JSmith has trouble with his shooting, especially midrange shooting, is he has weak wrists. That’s why he shoots 3’s better than he shoots 2’s. The long range shot allows him to compensate for his weak wrists by using more elbow and arm in his shot. Shooting shorter jumpers requires more touch, and he can’t use as much arm and elbow. Until he works on strengthing his wrists, he’ll always have trouble shooting jumpers.

No basketball player is perfect. It’s amazing how some people can fixate on a certain player’s perceived flaws, especially if it’s one they don’t like, to the point his attributes are totally ignored and goes unmentioned, like MWilliams, and even JSmith. It’s like those who were so focused on criticizing JChildress’ awkward jumpshot, they totally ignored the fact he was one of the teams most accurate jumpshooters, especially from 3pt range.

Something tells me SJones isn’t going to get a FA contract because it’s believed the Hawks will match any offer because we haven’t signed a big to replace him as the #2 backup center. If he signs a one yr tender and becomes a UFA, he’ll get plenty of attention. After becoming an UFA, no HC, but Woodson, is going to allow a young, talented, though potential ladened, athletic, versatile and mobile 6′10″ 245lb center with a 7′ wingspan, to go unnoticed, unappreciated and underused. I guess with RMorris sitting on the bench, rather than Solo, Woodson can make a legitimate case for not playing the #2 backup center or giving him consistent mins.

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ummm…typos…yeah…it’s late and I didn’t feel like proof reading or backtracking while typing…..yeah…

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Sekou and my fellow bloggers,

Although I’ve given you previous thoughts about how the Hawks could improve their bench, I present the following three-step scenario for your consideration:

1) Trade C Randolph Morris to Dallas for PF Nathan Jawai (just because). Jawai is a 6′10″ project from Australia who’ll get no PT behind Dirk Nowitzski and Shawn Marion.

2) Sign New Orleans free agent SF Ryan Bowen (shooter) to a 1 year-$1M deal. Bowen is another guy who received little time because he was behind Peja Stojakovic, James Posey and Rasual Butler.

3) Trade G/F Maurice Evans to New Jersey for F/C Josh Boone. Boone is available because the Nets picked up Tony Battie in the Vince Carter deal and I’m sure the Nets would prefer to have a veteran SG on the roster along with second-year SGs Courtney Lee and Chris Douglas-Roberts.

These moves would give the Hawks C Zaza Pachulia, PF Boone, SF Bowen (Ryan not Bruce), SG Jamal Crawford and PG Jeff Teague as the second unit with Mario West, Solomon Jones, Jawai and either Garrett Siler or the rookie free-agent combo guard of your choice filling our the roster.

Thoughts?

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Jay, if we could swing that deal for Josh Boone that would be perfect. He still has a lot of developing to do but he’s a lot better than Randholh(who needs to be thrown in the deal as well).

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mark, why did the hawks trade andersen’s right to the rockets when they need a big man themselves? also, what kind of players is cenk?finally,is sund going to wait for marvin williams to sign before he trieds to sign a big man?i hope not. sund is getting foolisher day by day with the way he is opperating

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LOL@ Bibby quick, just like his jumper hehehe…

I loved Zaza’s interview….what a guy. He wants a title folks. You heard it first.

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That Kid Gaines From Georgia Is a Problem I seen Him Score 51 on Omar Cook Steve Burtt Andre Barret at Nike Pro city Then The next game he Had 38 on Marko Jaric, Darko Millic and Yi jillan All pros He is Averaging great numbers in a well established NYC tournament. They say he is the most feared basketball player in NYC 09

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Lol I finally figuerd out how to to do that

Crawford, Evans, Solo, Flip are what we are working with. I will assume Marvin is a must sign. Evans is already in the fold. If Flip will sign for 2 mil we got to keep him. If Solo will sign for 1.5, a keeper. Just in case Marvin has bk problems a Gooden signing would be as good as it gets for the money.

I know most bloggers want a big. I would stick with youth. We are not a championship team. A solid playoff team is good enough for today. I don’t think Gooden will sign thinking of the chance for a ring. However I would make the Spurs go into lux tax to keep him.

To bad we mised Chills, would have been a nice fill in at mulitple positions.

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Good to see Dionte Christmas’ name.

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Yea Ariose,

The interesting thing about that video is that Bibby looks and plays exactly the same as he does not. people keep saying he’s older and slow. His game hasn’t changed a bit.

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jay, you da man! step aside all other suckas. heh heh

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Jay, I like the idea of Boone, a young guy who playes with hustle. Solo would have to work hard to find court time.

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Jay-
I really like your Josh Boone idea. I don’t think you would have to give up Evans for Boone. The Nets are trying to rebuild and a draft pick plus a “developmental” player like Solo or RandMo should get the job done. Although, I wouldn’t totally disregard the idea of trading Evans for Boone.
Nice pull, man.

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nire, I stand corrected. Sund did “exploit” the situation by getting $2M in cash for Andersen. That is a premium for a guy who will likely start for them. I question why the premium was cash and not a player. Yes, cash is good but for a team with 10 roster players and no big man depth, one of their many tweeners would have been better. As hard as I’ve been on Sund, I refuse to believe that he spent a year “evaluating” this team and decided to prioritize upgrading our backcourt depth. And since it doesn’t appear that we will use the MLE (since most MLE-worthy bigs are quickly finding jobs elsewhere), I have convinced myself that a trade for a big is coming next month. I simply can’t envision that Sund finishes this off-season with a Solo/Petro/Mikki Moore/Robert Swift type addition as the answer to our big man depth problem.

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OMG…….. Weak Wrists- Weak wrists-…….KS what makes you say that,do they have an NBA test that measures wrist strength…… Small hands maybe but his wrists look pretty strong cradling the ball before a monster dunk…???

VAVA74 are you a psychic or do u have a crystal ball- Dionne Warwick is sum where mad as hell at you…….

Weak wrists that was a good one…funni stuff

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Sekou,
Nice riff on you and Calypso Al’s tet a tet; please give us more of what the various guys are doing and thinking during the off season-it breaks up the litany of who should be traded/fired/ signed.

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AJ,

I think we’ll sign a fourth rotation big man. I don’t think we’re gonna make some huge trade. Both because I don’t think Sund is interested in trading away any of the “core” pieces and also because without Speedy’s contract to use as filler, there aren’t many trades that could work salary-wise (and the few that would work would involve trading Josh).

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Haha…ok, AJ. There’s really no feasible trades out there that could give us a starting center or PF better than Horford or Josh, unless Sund put together a package for Bosh or Amare (which won’t happen). But at least I know now to fully expect you to call Sund an idiot if we close out the summer by signing Adonal Foyle or Jamaal Magloire instead of trading for Dwight Howard…

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Anakin,

I guess you really don’t like Crawford. You are really trying to ship him out of town. Has he tried on his Hawks uniform yet????

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How about Crawford to Pacers for Troy Murphy?

Melvin, I want big man depth (with really good big men). If I could have secured it via trading Andersen or Chill, that would have been great. We didn’t. I don’t want to trade Josh. I’m hopeful that his USA Basketball experience will help him take his game to a consistently high level. I agree with Ray, give Josh a full season before trading him. If he is still teasing us (like a Lamar Odom), then find a way to move him for a consistent force.

That leaves only Crawford. And no doubt, I believe that his value could be closely (not equally but closely) replaced by others at a cheaper price. I continue to ask why I’m supposed to be impressed by a $10M guy who shoots 41% from the field for losing teams. Get me a quality big man… not a lower tier fringe player.

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I rest my case

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*4th rotation big man, not 4th rotation center. And yes, I realize that either Murphy or Chandler would be an upgrade over Zaza. But I also think that Crawford is a bigger upgrade over Flip than either of those guys is over Zaza.

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Oh, and lastly AJ – there’s this whole other small issue of getting the Pacers or Hornets to agree to a deal like that. The Pacers have even less need for a scoring guard than we do, and the Hornets will be looking to acquire an expiring contract for Chandler, not simply trade his two year contract in exchange for two individually smaller but in-total identical two-year contracts.

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nire, I disagree. Pacers don’t have a shooting guard (the kid from Kansas, let him grow and learn from the bench). Ford, Crawford, Granger, Hansbrough and Center du Jour (Hibbert/Foster) would be a solid line-up. Surely they are not thinking Dunleavy will play 80 games next season.

Frankly, it’s less about Troy Murphy and more about fixing pot holes. And our offensive issues in the playoffs were more about Joe and Marvin being hurt than anything else. Meanwhile, even if Marvin (and Al) were fully healthy, we would have still been short a quality big man.

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Scott Pollard is looking for a ticket back into the league and claims that he’s healthy. He made a cameo appearance in a Hawks uniform once before. He’s a hard foul waiting to happen.

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The Atlanta Spirit is so broke that they can’t even send its team to a summer league.

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Sekous Twitter feed:
Hawks hunting veteran bigs. Heard two names last night. Can’t repeat yet. Either one helps solve the bird’s big man issues, if they get ‘em.

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Ray, agreed. But isn’t it about results and not effort? Does a GM get measured because he had the right list of players to be added or because he went out and actually acquired the right players? If Woody has the team working on the right plays in practice but they fail in the game, does he still get credit for the right idea? Of course not.

And if we don’t have our assumptions (hopefully based on something close to evidence) then what would we talk about during the off-season?

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Here we go again. Sitting here waiting for something to happen. Following the Hawks is just like going to the Pink Pony. They look good on paper but they don’t give you nothin’. When will the Hawks give the city of Atlanta a championship?

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“So there’s a trade coming next month, eh? Care to make any wagers on that?”

Damn, you just reminded me… HB Ando still owes me and Lacsho 5 bucks. No wonder he has disappeared…

A

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Good one Clyde, I needed a laugh. I hope the chatter about Sund signing a Big is true!!!

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About the ongoing blog discussion about the value of SuperFlip to the team… I don’t dispute that the Hawks need a big man more than Crawford, but realistically who is going to provide the Hawks with an equally talented big man in exchange for him at this point? Crawford may not fill a position of immediate need, but he does make this team a lot better, and I’d definitely rather have him than an overpaid role player like Chandler.

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Najeh,

Did Ando bet y’all $5 that we’d be trading Bibby?

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NIRE-I like your thinking. There’s one other thing we can do to ease the double teaming of JJ that won’t require the addtion or substraction of a single player. Woodson can modify his OFF and run JJ off more screens, like Detroit does with RHamilton, instead of having him in so many iso’s and one on one situations. It’s almost impossible to double a player that’s on the move and coming off screens.

Instead of having your frontline players clearing out and standing around watching JJ going one on one, wouldn’t it make more sense to use those players to set screens to free JJ up for an uncontested scoring or assist opportunity? While it’s always a good idea to acquire more talent, isn’t it a better idea to take better advantage of the talent you already have?

As far as this Flip vs Crawford debate is concerned, I’d much rather have Crawford than Flip as a replacement for JJ, if he doesn’t resign. Crawford is a more profilic scorer and doesn’t have to control the ball to be effective. I also like the fact he has superior height, speed and quickness over Flip, although I like Flip as well.

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Heres what Scoop Williams of ESPN had to say about our Atlanta Hawks:

Mike Bibby at the point, Jamal Crawford at the 2, Joe Johnson at the 3, Al Horford at the 4 and Zaza Pachulia in the middle. And putting Josh Smith as the sixth man gives the Hawks depth similar to that of Denver or San Antonio. Crawford — even with all his inconsistency — could prove to be one of the most important offseason moves in the NBA. If Mike Woodson can establish Crawford’s role by March, the Hawks will be that team no one wants to see come late April. They could be next year’s Orlando.

Add this to a possible big, say a Siler, then they will be in pretty good shape!

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Did any of you watch Saundiata Gaines play at UGA? He was a beast as a point guard. He drove them to an amazing SEC Championship Tournament win. He has developed at good shot and is a good ball handler. He will be a Chauncey Billups type guard in the future.

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Methinks that Duke is a Bulldog fan…

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I would look at the Wizards with Haywood, Blatche and McGee. They have a log jam at center position, which may make Haywood or McGee available given which direction the Wiz are looking to go.

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Can we please not try to get Chandler, his contract is outrageous. Much like Gerald Green there is a reason that a guy with his atheletic ability keeps getting moved from team to team.

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SEKOU, saw your comment about the 2 vet Bigs on your Twitter page. I know you cant give up names but can you say if they are FREE AGENT bigs or have to be aquired via TRADE?

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samuel how big are the popcorn poppers there? geez id never admit lo was from anywhere close to where i was from. samuel you are a strong man.

clyde, dont forget those two big diamonds in his ears that looked like chandeliers. attractive. good one on the pony tricks.

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sign and trade marvin (7.5M) & mo (2.5M) for either

1) chandler (11.5M)
2) camby (9M) & thornton (2M)

sign flip (2-3M) and a SF barnes/green/etc (1-2M)

bibby – crawford – jj – josh – chandler/camby
teague – flip – thornton/barnes/green – horford – zaza
west – morris – other (solo, siler, etc)

let horford start at C and bring chandler/camby off the bench if you like.

chandler/camby and barnes/thornton/green for 12-13M would be a big upgrade over marvin and mo for 10M. it would give us the defensive C we need to compete with the elite teams, and our payroll would be roughly the same as last year.

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Thanks Sekou cause I have been stressin’ looking at these Marvin Williams vs. Matt Barnes statistics, thinking how they thought he could replace Marvin.

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Sekou you’ve watched the League everyday for a period of time… You’ve been at the practices and the camps… Can you once and for all let everyone know whether the Hawks actively practice screening and set pieces (i.e. High picks and rolls, etc…) which includes the aforementioned characteristics? I don’t care if all you do is run i-sos. You still screen to and put picks out there to get people to spots for that to take place…

Games are not about running your offense all of the time (unless you have Kobe or D-Wade to bale out a scheme)… How a offense to a defense is the key.. This isn’t the UCLA double high post offense… Man, I miss KAJ at the foul line making people pay…

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I can’t believe no one has shut down the idiot who is running “Jamal Crawford’s” Twitter page, claiming to be the real deal.

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nire, why, does the Crawford Twitter feed fire off a shot every minute?

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I like the Earl Barron addition, he could be just the kind of veteran big that could get some quality minutes, especially in the case of injury, which was our achilles’ heel last year down the stretch… I like the idea of Al,ZaZa and Barron in the C rotation, with Siler playing the Randolph Morris role and Solo basically playing the Othella Harrington role this year…with the addition of Barron, we could see ZaZa and Barron at C and more of Al at his natural 4 position, which I have been screaming for ever since we drafted my man Horfy…I love the versatility of our roster from top to bottom. With our versatility, we can create a lot of match-up problems for other teams, and we all know that in the NBA, it’s all about match-ups

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Lamar Odom would be a fool to make this move to the Heat.
The Heat are in one of the hardest conferences in the NBA.
He would be taking the same money, but over five years.
The Heat have already dumped him once.
As great as Dwayne Wade is. Is he ever healthy enough to get through a season? NO.
So if I am Lamar Odom I am going back to the LAkers for 9 million for three seasons. For one they just one the championship. Two Kobe is going to be better cause he gets to rest for a summer. (Wade took last year off and was supposed healthier then he has ever been)

And if its money you want take the lakers deal make the money in less time and then either way you play it you are going to make more money then in a five year deal as long as you don’t retire.

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niremetal- I agree with you about Woody’s offensive philosophy, as does everyone else in the world who has ever watched the Hawks…but oddly enough, I think his philosophy just might work now that we have the right pieces in place. If you have two All-star caliber scorers in the backcourt at the same time, such as JJ and Crawford, who does the other team double? They’ll get killed every time trying to hang with those cats (Sorry to use your trademark word Sekou) 1-on-1. Not to mention Jeff Teague will kill you 1-on-1 as well. We really might have the personnel in our backcourt to make a serious run this year. I’m just going to come out and say it: With Crawford, JJ, Bibby and Teague, the Hawks have the best backcourt in the NBA

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If we don’t do anyting else in the free agency, we HAVE to sign Chris Taft. He is a possible starter for us if coached right. I remember him from Golden State and the way he killed us, especially ZAZA. WE HAVE TO SIGN TAFT.

He is young, can block and is a large presence in the post. WHAT DO YOU THINK SEKOU?

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Daniel, try http://www.twitter.com/sekousmith01

See if that works.

Publix, try more medication.

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I like the addition of Crawford instead of Flip. And $2 – $2.5 mil would be a bargain price for Flip. The problem is, unless someone got hurt, either Teague or Flip would not get any minutes. And we complained about Acie not getting any minutes, so I hope we dont do that to Teague.

In my opinion, our front court issues are easy to fix. Sign an established backup PF like Drew Gooden, and then sign one of the wide bodies AJ mentioned (Foyle, Magloire etc).

We still have our MLE, and the bi-annual exception. We can use the MLE to sign 2 big men. Combined with Marvin signing, that would put us about $68-$69 mil in salary, which is about what we had last year.

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well, I guess Sekou answered that one. What about Haywood?

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Big Baby is the next Stanley Roberts. Let him eat his way out of the league somewhere else.

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Some body better get moving…… Detroit is looking at adding ……Rasho Nesterovich with Wilcox and Gooden as altrnates……

Just get Josh Boone /Siler and call it a day…….

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Well, Yao said he expects to miss the whole season. So that gives Andersen plenty of opportunity for PT. And he will be playing for Rick Adelman, instead of Woody. Can’t say I blame him.

However, one thing the Hawks have over the Rockets is the Hawks is a top 4 team in the East. Who knows where the Rockets will end up.

Daniel,

I’d be surprised if the Wizards trade one of their bigs to the Hawks. We dont have much to offer. I cant wait to see which 2 FA bigs the Hawks are interested in (according to Sekou).

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For all the well informed Hawk fans I have a question. Why was Dionte Christmas not drafted? I just saw a few clips of him on youtube and he looked to be a decent shooter, could this be the overwhelming factor?

Weaknesses: Shot selection can be much better (at times he takes contested shots). Can be turnover prone … Must work on his ball handling ability, cut down on turning the ball over, which is usually a function of trying to do too much … Improving his dribbling ability would allow him to be better creating off the dribble and maximize mid-range potential … Should also learn to play with his back to the basket and post up smaller defenders better.

Can I have some feedback please from anyone who may have some info?

Go Hawks!!!

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I agree with the offense needing to be modified, but don’t yall think JJ’s at his best with the ball in his hands creating for himself? Or maybe its just because this is what I’m accustomed to seeing him do…

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Wabe, no. Part of the reason Pheonix was so good was because JJ led th leauge in 3pt FG%…. When he’s not drawing attention to himself and he’s under the radar(crawford can provide this) he’s at his most dangerous.

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Thank you for the explanation… SO, does that mean that Josh Smith (among others) is a disinterested screener and see no benefit from in picks and follows from them? Have a great weekend!

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“Najeh,

Did Ando bet y’all $5 that we’d be trading Bibby?”

I think he was willing to bet everyone on the blog that the Hawks wouldn’t win over 40 games. At least one other person in addition to me and Lacsho were willing to take him up on his bet.

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Marquis Daniels commits to Celtics . . .

(Gooden or Wilcox), Matt Barnes, Solo, Flip= Hello ECF…don’t quote me…

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Anakin Joe, you are very knowledgeable. Have you ever seen the man play? He is better then every big man we have except Horford. He is cheap on top of all of it. With a good coach he would be great. Look him up some time, and I will provide your medication

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Gainse is Good but he’s no Will Bynum(I was pissed when he didin’t get drafted & then when he was cut by the Warriors)

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http://w396.wrzuta.pl/sr/f/175zIyXYco8/digable_planets_-_the_may_…

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Not sure if anyone posted this earlier but here it is quotes from the man himself…. If the player was willing to come back and the coach welcome him back the what the heck happen??????????

http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_12861776?nclick_check=1

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http://mzkr.wrzuta.pl/sr/f/83S2fSgluGo/digable_planets_-_rebirth_…

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http://themahoganyblog.com/audio/Soul%20Of%20Mischief%20-%2093%20…

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http://onairdivas.com/TheStrangeFruitCrushOnYou.mp3

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…August 11th????? Arghh!!!

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http://www.fileden.com/files/2007/10/13/1508582/03-strange_fruit_…

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Damn, Melvin beat me to that Mercury-News link… I can’t entirely blame Sund for playing hardball if he did, with the other salary commitments he had to make, but it is reassuring to know that bringing Childress back here is not out of the question.

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http://www.hiphopmp3downloads.com/downloads/Japhia%20Life%20feat%…

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http://www.radivizija.com/andric/ukhiphop/theory%20hazit-my%20fav…

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(The move is actually a travel if you watch carefully…buy he’s so damned quick that there’s no way to tell when you play it at full speed)

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IDK nire, he dribble the ball as soon as he picked up his pivot foot. I don’t thike he travled….at first I did lol..

Yeah, Hakeems got that filthy/sick stuff. It’s on a whole ‘nother level from Flips vicious/goon-like behavior

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http://sybil37.wrzuta.pl/sr/f/0W3KUM4JQTw/nas_-_film.mp3

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Stretch, Josh Smith as the 6th man? Yeah right. So I guess Marvin will be the 7th man? lol! Scoop is nuts if he think that’s going to happen. Maybe in some situations, but Josh and Marvin are starters. You think JJ is tired from guarding pg’s, just imagine how tired he’d be trying to stay with the Lebrons, the Pierces etc.. And what happens when Zaza and Horford get into foul trouble?(That’s 2 fouls if you ask Woody) Who would we put in, Randawful Morris? Please!

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Drew Gooden will want more minutes than what we can give him.

Magloire and Foyle are old.

If his knees are fully healed, I would go for Robert Swift. Cheap, big 7′1” 270pounds and Sund drafted him.

I think he could still develop to be a good mix of Chris Andersen and P’billa.

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Be careful The Truth, Sund’s attorney may come after you for slander…lol

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DUVAL,

Garret Siler = “Randsoft” Morris. Why would you want 2 unproven big men on the bench is beyond me. “Randoff” is making 800k and I guess you would GIVE Garrett Siler 400k? The Hawks would be better served giving that 1.2 million to the Boys Club of Atlanta.

“I don’t always laugh at big men, but when I do, I prefer ‘Randoff Sorrys.’ Save your money my friend. This is your last year in the league.”

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Okay, my fellow bolgger GMs. What kind of contract would you offer Chills? And what kind of contract would you offer Marvin? (For the record, they both average 71 games played per season).

For Chills, I say: 5 years, $30 mil (about the mid-level). He hustles and is able to score 11 points/game, and doesnt need the ball in his hands (unlike a guy like Flip, who dominates the ball). Chills is a solid bench player who would provide much needed depth, and Woody trusts him.

For Marvin: 4 years, $28 mil or 3 years, $24 mil. I am concerned about his back injury, and he is still the 4th option on offense (behind JJ, Josh, Bibby).

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Obrien whass up ! I dont like how chills is playing the poor little victim…… Cry’n like a lil bytch, so i would offer him an Afro pick and sum Stay Soft Fro. That man is seriously riding his own jock…..

Marvin- 4yr/33 or 3yr/28 milli…… I think Marv can get alot better-I would do the 3 becuz he’s a little injury prone -Dont want another Snail claxton on our hands.

Im so sick of this randolph Morris crap…..How can we get rid of this dude -He is really a waste of money-I’ve never seen sumone look so lost on the court and he refuses to bang- 6′11 270 pound finesse player is not what we need. He does’nt have any heart- Im like 6′4 220 and I could probably push him around in the post….well maybe not but i definitely wouldnt back down

If he had Milsaps heart to go with his size we wouldnt be looking for stiifs right now…..

Chills/R Morris/2nd round for Jeff Foster would have been sweet.

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I like Chills, he was a very useful player. But everyone needs to realize that he not only thinks that he underpaid by the Hawks, he is also priced himself out of the range of every other team in the entire NBA.

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ARIOSE-NIRE-after watch that video of Hakeem the Dream, it sent chills all over me. Shaq needs to take a good long look at how that man dominated the post, at both ends of the court, before anointing himself as being dominant.

If you take a good look at the videos, you’ll also see Hakeem was shorter than the 7 footers he went up against., especially when going up against DRobinson. He used extreme confidence, timing, athleticism, jumping ability, mobility and a very high BB IQ to dominate his position. His moves weren’t designed to fake you out of position as much as to get you off balance. However, he was sooo good at it, the defender usually ended up out of position and off balance. Having strong wrists, and the ability to control and extend the ball with one hand, helped him tremendously around the basket. ARE YOU LISTENING JSMITH?

I’ve read where some of you think we won’t improve if we return the same basic team as last yr, especially with the supposed improvement of the other teams in our division. Isn’t this the same worn out argument and prediction that some of the same people espoused last yr about this time? Wouldn’t you’d think that by now they’d better understand the positive impact Chemistry and inner improvement can have of a young teams continued progress? Wouldn’t you’d also think they’d have a better understanding of how adding and/or subtracting too many key players can have a negative impact on a teams chemistry and inner development, which usually leads to regression?

I SEE US REPLACING ORLANDO AS THE 3RD SEED IN THE EAST.

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KEN,

Hakeem the Dream was the truth!! I have him as my 4th best center in the history of the league, behind Bill Russell.

Question for you?

In ‘94 Houston beat the Knicks and in ‘95 they beat Orlando. As I stated in my 10:40 post, if Jordan had not retired, I think that Mike would have 8 rings and Hakeem would have 0.

Do you agree?

“I don’t always watch basketball, but when I do, I prefer the Hawks. Stay thirsty my friends!”

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Ken Strickland,
Spot on. Still, you’re comparing a boy with a MAN. JS has the sneekers, the jock, and the paycheck…but he doesn’t own the paint until he pushes others out. Another “short” BIG man was and still is one of my heroes. Charles Barkley never backed down, and he ruled the post against bigger dudes every time he strode the pines. 6-7 and tough as a junkyard dog. Great balance, intelligence, timing and selfconfidence.

As my daddy used to tell me, it’s not the size of the dog in the fight; it’s the size of the fight in the dog.

Charles Barkley was one BIG DOG and he’d bite you if you got his spot. He wasn’t “Sir Charles” for being NICE…

BTW, I see Shaq wants to fight Lesner when he’s through with baskeball. Bet he don’t challenge Barkley. I’d have to take the “round mound of rebound” in that scrap.

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Didn’t know Siler has only played 5 yrs of organized basketball. If he keeps at it and gets the right people to learn from and help him develop, could be something one day.

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Ken S, it is killing me, where are you getting this info about who has strong wrist/weak wrists. I’m not knocking you or anything, it’s just odd. And David robinson is 7′2, Shaq is 7′1, and Patrick Ewing is actually 6′11, that’s why Hakeem looks shorter.

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Almost forgot…..Weak Wrist hahahahahah OMG Weak Wrists lol Stop it dude – Get us a link that describes this particular test u speak of…..Weak Wrists hahahahahaha

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Ken, I agree about The Dream & About Smoove’s potential. I Also agree that Robert Swift is trash. IDK how you can watch him play and not come to that conclusion lol.

LOL@ I.Mus’s comments on Chills.

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Hey, Siler has leget size and enough talent to be something right. How about try to give a special skill like rebounding. Let him hit the weights religiously so he becomes one of the top 10/20 strongest guys in the league. Maybe work with him on a 15 to 17ft jumper. Feed him videos of Dennis Rodman, Karl Malone, Tim Duncan, Kevin Mchale, and you get the point.. But in a since we could try to mold him into an ideal (or at least serviceable) big guy. As opposed to letting him just dwindle into another Randmo. Is that too crazy, what ya think?

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(To be precise, the Rockets went 5-1 against the Bulls in the seasons of the Bulls first three-peat)

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we are not at the point where we don’t add good basketball players, call me crazy but I do not see any guaranteed playing time on a Houston team that is a little better than the hawks. Dude should have been a priority last year as well, Rick Sund is getting a serious pass from a lot of people. Will someone explain the rational in giving Crawford 9 million and not paying Flip Murrary Vs. taking that nine and signing a big guy and bringing Flip back, this is not rocket science.

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You know, with Zaza getting his new contact, we can’t lett him off the hook either. He’s pretty solid offensively, he can do a little bit of everything, but he’s only 25. He can still grow a lot. We need to include him in more pick and pop situations, and he needs to be more consistent with his jumper. Also. like Horford and Josh, he needs to further refine his poset skills.

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Yeah, Nire. Hakeem’s Rockets versus Jordan’s Bulls, NBA finals, 94 and 95. Man. I shiver to think of that series. Yep. Shame we never saw it!

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Grip, Crawford can’t be traded for another 5 weeks or so. I agree he would be the target if cutting salary is the goal. If we wanted to add defense at the point Sessions is still out there for a cheap price. I think he would give us a better option at a much cheaper price.

I hate to say it but adding Sessions would relieve the need for West. In case of injury Sessions can play the 2 and JJ can slip to the 3. I would keep Flip. Flip/Sessions for 4-5 mil. Gooden for 3. A nice 3/1 if Sund could do it.

niremetal, can we waive a player that has been traded to us to free up salary. Or trade for a pick and some cash if someone wanted Crawford.

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Sekou:

What would you rate Sundiata’s chances of making the team? I love that guy’s game (granted I’m a Georgia fan, but that also means that I watched him a lot over the last few years). It just seems like we’re pretty deep at PG these days. Same Q re: John Lucas III.

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Joe Dumars HAS been busy inni’t? Snapping up every free agent in sight!

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WTF!! Chris Wilcox to the pistons, man I was hoping he was one of the guys we were looking at. I know we are only giving up 10 to 15 min off the bench, but are we not going to be deeper in the playoffs than Detroit or Phoenix? For the same money, I think I’d want to be on the better team.

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It looks like David Andersen officially signed with the Rockets for 2 years, $4.8 mil, and a 3rd year option for $2.7 mil.

Chris Wilcox signed with the Pistons for 2 years, $6 mil. I cant help but wonder which big men the Hawks are going to sign, because except for Joe Smith, Drew Gooden and Big Baby, who else is out there as a quality big?

What’s taking Sund so long? All he has to do is sign a big using part of our mid-level. How hard is that?

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OBRIEN,

Sund is playing WAIT AND SEE. WAIT before you sign anyone and SEE what’s left. It has worked for the past 3 years with the hawks.

“I don’t always watch basketball, but when I do, I prefer the Hawks. Stay thirsty my friends.”

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HOOPS,

Did they re-sign Flip? I can’t believe that you want Siler and Morris on the same team!!

“I don’t always laugh at big men, but when I do, I prefer Randawful Morris and Garrett Siler. Save your money. You won’t be in the league long.”

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Sekou, yes please fill us in on what’s going on with us finding a FA big man. Wilcox is now gone. What’s up?

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BRIAN SKINNER OR ANTOINE WALKER

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Like, as of yesterday.

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SEKOU! SEKOU! WHERE ARE YOU!!!

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dos hawkquis,
Looking at player values Marvin should sign at 7.5 mil. JJ should sign for 12 mil this summer or next year. If he can add a rebound an assist to his game and shoot a .460 FG% we could leave his salary at the same rate.

niremetal, If Dumping Crawford costs us nothing don’t you think adding Gooden, Flip and a Solo upgrade makes sense? If Crawford wants to stay I would put his value at 5.5 mil on a one year contract.

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KevinA,

I don’t think you understood. Dumping Crawford DOES nothing. As in, his contract stays on our books even if we waive him. If you could simply cut a player and get him off the payroll, you’d never see situations with guys like LaFrentz, Miles, Marbury, Speedy, etc – guys who get hurt, never play, and eat up a team’s cap space for years.

Cutting Crawford DOES nothing. It COSTS us the same whether we keep him or we cut him. The players would go on strike if that weren’t the case.

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I think he got 30 days of solitary confinement, for beating up a lunch lady. It’s not her fault the food is so bad in jail. It’s certainly NOT food NBA players are accustomed to living hehehehe….

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KEN-The fact that Josh shoots most of his jumpshots from behind or near the 3pt line, while seldom attempting a midrange jumper is a good indication. Also, the fact he uses a lot of elbow and arm and pushes the ball when he shoots is another indication. The fact he has trouble finishing his jump hooks around the basket, is another indication of poor ball control due to weak hands and wrists. Hakeem doesn’t look shorter, he is shorter. I used that reference to show that Hakeem wasn’t 7′ tall, as he’s been listed.

I believe we can overtake Orlando because they’ve lost 3 key starters form last yrs NBA finals team. I foresee possible chemistry issues with the addition of VCarter and Bass, especially starting the season. They’ll have to adjust their entire OFF approach. VCarter has always been the 1st option and has never had to defer to another player. Can he make a rapid adjustment, or even a successful one? Can he adjust his gm to accomodate having a presence like DHoward anchored in the middle?

With our top 6 players returning, we won’t have those issues, and we can take early advantage of that. With CCrawford, ZPachulia and MEvans, we’ll have 3 former starters as the 1st 3 off our bench.

ANT BANKS-If all we’re concerned with as fans and a franchise is moving up a step in seeding, then yes, you can hold on to Woodson. But, if we want to move up to the next level and challenge for a title, then he has to go. The Lakers(Westhead & Riley), Suns(D’Antoni), Knicks(Riley), Rockets(Avery), Bulls(Collins & Jackson) are teams that fired HC’s with winning records, including some with championships. So, for small minded fans or owners with small minded goals, holding on to a small minded HC is acceptable. But, if you want more, you have to reach for more.

DOS KAWKSQUIS-that’s a very good question. However, if DRobinson couldn’t handle The Dream, it would be foolish to think WPerdue, CLongley or BCartwright would be able to handle him.

NOOKAH-I honestly believe the team has outgrown Woodson. The problem it creates is what we see when JJ, Flip and Bibby take over the OFF and go ISO left and right, forcing other players to fight for their opportunities. When that happens, we lose all ball movement and OFF flow. When that’s happened, I’ve yet to witness Woodson take control and redirect the team back to playing team ball.

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Which is exactly why Flip should be brought back Nookah……it’s the perfect TRAP….err, TEST heh. See if he neglects Teauge with an upgrade in talent on the roster.

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Melvin thanks for that article on Chils. If that article is the truth, then I would be pissed off if I was Chils and would not want to come back to the Hawks if I returned to the NBA. I know why have gone off this, but it brings you back to the Andersen negotiation and I still don’t think we all have the truth with that. If Sund was willing to lowball a guy who spent 4 years with the Hawks and whose rights they still own (and I am one who thinks Chils would be a great asset to this team) then imagine the offer Andersen got, a dude who they have had the rights for 7 years and only did something with once they realized time was running out.

I know this is a business and all but where is the love, where is that feeling that you are wanted by this organization. If the Hawks really wanted Chils and Andersen, they would’ve gotten a deal done, no question. If you want something, you make it happen. Even though they have had a miss in FA this time, you look at what the Blazers have done, each draft they go after their target players and do something to make it happen. To me, the it feels like the Hawks didn’t want Chils and Andersen enough to make it happen.

And let’s not get into playing time arguments. The GM’s job is to assemble the best players he can get for the money allocated to him and it’s up the the Coach to work out all the other details, which included playing time. If I was Woody I’d be knocking on Sund’s door every day and saying give me better players to fill the bench. And that would’ve included Chils and Andersen.

And going on my argument about Atlanta not wanting Chils and Andersen enough, I’d say Andersen probably felt that and knowing Houston needed a big man and had actually scouted him they put feelers out there and the Hawks had no option but to work the trade otherwise they lose an asset they have held onto for 7 years and ignored.

I like what Sund has done so far but the deal with Chils and Andersen don’t sit right.

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Wilcox to DET. 6 mill/2 yr…Seems a bit much?

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Kirk,

Your completely opposing opinions on Childress and Andersen are both perplexing and amusing at the same time.

Ray, yes Summer is fun. Much more is said and it’s very easy to, I guess miss comments.

Speaking of “perplexing”, I find your statement just that in light of this comment I made on July 14th, just 6 comments into a new blog:

Same goes for Anderson. Does he want to be a Hawk or not? Time to find out and act accordingly.

Huh, the same goes for Anderson. I’m just not finding how one perceives an “opposing opinion” there Ray?

Same standard for any and all. You want to be a Hawk? Be a Hawk then! If not, move the frack on!

I will note that we have this new information that, if true, suggests that Josh kind of, sort of, wants to be a Hawk, and to their credit, they may not have closed the door on someone who can help the team. They want to use him as a Marvin backup plan and he’s ok with it, fine by me. Just make a commitment.

As for Anderson, he’s gone. I’ve moved on. But since you brought the subject up I was never opposed to Josh coming back to play for the Hawks, I believe his addition makes the frontline better. I also believe the same is true for Anderson which is why I find the whole affair to be b.s.

I think Anderson is going to do well, much better than those who are now saying he will not amount to much. I think it is instructive that many of those who don’t see much in Anderson are the same who were dead set opposed to the Hawks trying to trade for Gasol. They said he wouldn’t help either.

And we see that wasn’t true.

I hope a trade is in the pipeline as someone suggested, because as I look at what’s available, I’m not particularly encouraged.

So much for expectations.

Go Hawks!!

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DONT TELL ME THAT WE LOCKED UP BIBBY AND ZAZA. WE WERE SUPPOSED TO DO THAT.

WHERE ARE THESE VET BIGS THAT ALL OF US KEEP TALKING ABOUT?

HUH? WHAT ARE YOU DOING, SUND? ARE YOU TALKING TO PETRO AND SENE AGAIN?

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WE HAVE ABOUT 51 MILL UNDER CONTRACT WITH BIBBY AND ZAZA SIGNED. WHY IS IT SO HARD TO GIVE MARVIN 7-8 MILL A YEAR AND ADD SOME VET BIGS? WE’RE NOT EVEN CLOSE TO THE LUXURY TAX

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Clyde,

So this is your “BOY” Ken Strickland. Dude hasn’t a clue. Those teams that fired their head coaches went down,down,down with the exception of the Lakers.

We will overtake Orlando in the standings. You guys need to stay out of Rio.

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They’ll have cats shooting free throws and half court trick shots???? That would be cool to see, but they’d have to be big cats right? Like tigers & lions? Maybe the Hawks should bring in the cats for halftime shows, that would be pretty cool.

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Yeah becaue the fact that the Hawks haven’t signed any big men yet CLEARLY means Sund hasn’t tried and that he’s sitting on his azz throwing darts at a cutout of Josh Childress. NOT.

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Chicago and Miami are Chasing Carlos Boozer. A clear diversion for us. We need to take this time to sign Drew Gooden and possibly Matt Barnes while the dumb teams still chase that Undersied no defense of a Power Forward……let’s not forget about the Lamar Odum Sweepsteakes lol.

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*Undersized

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RICK SUND ONLY SIGNS PLAYERS FOR CHEAP.

THIS MEANS HALF THE PLAYERS WE CAN GET ARE GOING TO OTHER TEAMS BECAUSE WE ONLY SETTLE FOR CHEAP.

WINNING CHAMPIONSHIPS INVOLVES SPENDING MONEY. THE LAKERS JUST BOUGHT A CHMPINOSHIP. THE CELTS TRADED FOR BIG MOENY PLAYERS.

WE HAVE JOE, JOSH, AND A BUNCH OF 6 MILL PLAYERS

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Some of yall are just stupid. Sund just traded for a $10 mil Sixth Man. So suddenly he’s cheap just because he didn’t want to pay Childress to be a $7 mil seventh man? How much sense does THAT make.

If we’re gona bring back an old bench guy, make it Flip. He can be the seventh man and he’ll come for a third of the cost

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NOOKAH-The circumstances that will dictate Woodson’s fate will be based on Sund’s vision of this teams future. It will also depend on how willing he is to take possible flack for firing a HC that’s presided over a team that’s improved in the won/loss column every yr.

Like I’ve said before, this team has moved beyond Woodson’s ability to utilize strategies and techniques that will allow him to take maximum advantage of the talent it has. There’s no way we can become a championship calibur team without developing and utilizing our young talent, our bench, using proper time mgt, especially for our starters, and implementing a system and style of play that best fits our talent. All of these issues are issues that Woodson has yet to master, and in some cases has refused to even address, in his 5yrs as HC.

We also have to take into consideration the SAASG factor. Remember, they wouldn’t allow BK to fire Woodson, and they’ve been far more successful under Sund than BK.

SAMUEL-Last yr there was no shortage of negative minded individuals predicting the Hawks would finish at or near the bottom in the East. Like you, their negative minded approach would never allow them to believe the Hawks could finish with a winning record and grab the 4th seed in the East.

The Hawks were successful last yr despite losing 3 starters for extended periods. The yr the Celtics won the title, they were also relatively injury free. The Magic fell into that category last yr. We saw the effects losing Posey had on the Celtics at the beginning of last yr. We also saw them fall apart after losing KG. Did we fall apart after losing any of our starters? Philly suffered the effects of losing team chemistry when they added a dynamic player to their starting lineup. Both Orlando and Cleveland are fragile teams that are heavily dependent of the production of one dynamic player. If they lose DHoward or LJames for an extended period of time, will they be able to hold it together like the Hawks did last yr? When you lose 3/5th’s of your starting lineup, and your #2 Big, chemistry and adjustment issues will usually become factors, regardless of who you replace them with. Replacing Turkoulu and what he provided for the team with a dynamic player like VCarter can create adjustment and chemistry issues much like Philly had last yr.

The Hawks are in a position to start the season running on all cylinders because they’ll return their top 7 players. There will be no loss of production due to chemistry or adjustment issues. The addition of Crawford and Teague gives us an upgrade is speed, penetrating ability, scoring, assists and DEF, especially on the ball, all of which are elements we’ve been missing.

SAMUEL-I don’t expect you comprehend any of this for you’ve demonstrated on numerous occasions that your basketball IQ is nonexistent. You’ve also shown a tendency to allow personal issues and feelings to get in the way of you using any form of logic and/or common sense.

VAVA74-Cartwright was physical and played excellent DEF against other physical centers. But the man was so methodical and machanical that at times he looked like a robot. Just one of the Dream Shakes Hakeem put on DRobinson would’ve had Cartwright over in the 1st row looking for his jock strap. LLongley was also stiff, although not nearly as mechanical as Cartwright. Neither player had the foot speed, reflexes or mobility to be factors against the Dream Shake.

THE TRUTH-Please don’t tell me you’re a member of the THUNDERING HERD. Well my friend, I now know we have at least 2 things in common.

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Just a thought. If the Hawks re-sign Flip, what if they moved Joe to the 3 spot? 2 deep spots would look like this:

1. Bibby / Teague
2. Crawford / Murray
3. Johnson / Evans
4. Smith / Williams
5. Horford / Zaza

It seems to me (imo) that would be a better starting 5 than what we rolled with last year. And all spots will have good reserve players as well. Just a thought, thats all.

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From what I read Crawford doesn’t play defense. We know that this is Bibby’s biggest down fall. Don’t look for Bibby and Crawford to play together to much unless were behind and in desperation mode. This is why a Chills or a Sessions type player would have been a better fit. They play defense.

JJ would play defense against the better PG’s to help hide Bibby’s lack of D. JJ can’t do that for 2 players.

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niremetal,

Did you even read my post?

The Lakers BOUGHT Pau Gasol and went to the Finals 2 years in a row. When was the last time the Hawks made a BIG MOVE, taking on SALARY, to GET TO THE NEXT STEP?

Why did we not get Wilcox, Brandon Bass, or Gortat?

BECAUSE RICK SUND ONLY SIGNS PLAYERS FOR CHEAP AND WILL WAIT AND WAIT UNTIL HE FINDS THEM. THE HAWKS BRASS IS SO D@MN SCARED OF GOING INTO THE LUXURY TAX THAT THEY ARE SO CAREFUL WITH MONEY. HOW IS A TEAM WITH A PAYROLL LIKE THIS SUPPOSED TO COMPETE WHEN OTHER TEAMS ARE BOLDLY TRADING FOR BIGGER CONTRACTS?

WE COULD HAVE GOTTEN WILCOX FOR 3 MIL. INSTEAD WE ARE STUCK WITH HORFORD WHO WILL GET INJURED (WE ALL KNOW IT), ZAZA WILL GET SO BANGED UP FROM HAVING TO COVER THE OTHER TEAM’S CENTER, AND WE WILL HAVE SOLOMON JONES AND RANDOLPH MORRIS BACKING HIM UP.

GOOD JOB SUND. YOU TAKE FOREVER TO RESIGN PLAYERS AND YOU DON’T SPEND BIG MONEY TO GET US TO THE NEXT LEVEL.

ENJOY A #4 SEED AND 2ND ROUND EXIT NEXT YEAR.

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NESTEROVIC AND BIG BEN

CAN WE PLEASE GET 1 OF THEM (NESTEROVIC)?

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tb, last line of this blog explains Hunter’s situation.
http://www.shamsports.com/content/pages/2009/07/summer-league-round-up-golden-state.jsp

Another roster spot available for the guys in mini camp.

BWAF

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I am a Woody critic when it comes to overall coaching. But when it comes to coaching young players and playing time how can you not see that Josh, Marvin Al,and ZaZa are young developing players and need playing time to improve. Except for last year you can add Chills to that mix.

Bibby came in played many minutes and gave the team some veteran leadership and continuity. Flip played so well that Acie could not make it into the line up. Part of this had to do with all the team injuries. If Acie would have played the minutes Flip did would we make the playoffs? or the 4th seed?

How are you going to give Solo more time when ZaZa doesn’t get enough. We can’t cut into Al’s minutes because he needs them to develop also.

I think all of our young players will be better this year. It is not like we have seen them cap their potential so I don’t see Woody’s coaching style change much.

With luck and less injury maybe we can win more blow out games and the bench will play more.

At the end of the day we can hope Crawford/Flip can give JJ/Bibby enough rest for better end of the game/year performance. We can hope for a Gooden type player to give Woody a better option besides Solo to give Josh rest.

If this happens, great, but don’t get to excited. Woody will play his best 7 most of the time.

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niremetal, I went bk and found your post. Some how I had missed it. Tks for the info. With todays market I do not see any team willing to take Crawford for 9 million. I will crack a beer on game nights and hope he delivers 9 million worth of Hawks improvement.

When Josh missed a defensive assignment Woody gives him the works, Bibby gets the pass. I wonder how he will treat Crawford.

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Other summertime signs of how NBA teams are cutting corners.

No Rocky Mountain Revue this summer.

NJ & Philly had a shared summer league team in Orlando.

Garet Siler played with Gerald Henderson on Minnesota’s summer league team. Henderson was drafted by Charlotte. He was on loan so he could get summer league experience. I wonder if the Hawks looked into a similar deal for Teague?

…and that is without touching the lower contracts that the free agents took this summer.

NBA = New Bargains Available.

BWAF

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Enter your comments here

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MannyT has got it pegged. Every team but Orlando is cutting costs this summer – and Orlando is only increasing payroll because their “surprise” Finals trip led to a huge surge in season ticket sales, so they know they’ll have the operating revenues to back it up. But even they aren’t fielding a summer league team. Same with the Celtics, Jazz, Heat…and that’s just the playoff teams.

We have one rookie and no second-year players under contract. Fielding a summer league team would have been a waste of money. Same with the Celtics. Compare that to Charlotte, Indiana, and Miami, all of whom have a half-dozen rookie and second year players, and they didn’t field summer league teams.

My guess is the Hawks have been talking to big men. But you can’t just make contract offers and if it’s for enough money, the players will sign. They have to want to play for the Hawks, and that means they have to like the city, the team, and the role they’d have. And it’s a tough sell to get a high-quality big man to come to a team where they know they’ll be the #4 guy in a big man rotation and the fourth guy off the bench if they think that they’re starter or sixth man material.

Some people don’t seem to get that this isn’t NBA Live or Madden. Players don’t react to contract offers under some computer-set formula.

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Hey Sekou,
Do you think the Hawks will ever go back to the old “Pac Man-esque” logo? And can they PLEASE get rid of that “I just ate 5 chili cheese dogs” yellow color that surrounds the court? It is Uhhh-gly! Very, very ugly!! Thanks for your time. I love this blog!

From,
Cleevon.

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I forget who mentioned it, but the hawks will have better chemistry than most of their opponents next year. Returning their top 6 players, they will continue to grow together and even more familiar with what they have to do. Whereas Orlando, Cleveland, and Detroit have drastically altered their lineups. Orlando ran their offense thru Turkoglu, Shaq will drastically change Cleveland’s up tempo game, and Detroit has almost an entirely new roster. Boston will be tough if they can stay healthy and who knows how the heat will look by summers end. The hawks though, now have a full year under their belt having the starters play together. Josh, Al, and Marv will continue to progress naturally and JJ can get some relief with the addition of Crawford. Bibby may feel even more comfortable after having re-up’d for next 3 yrs. I’m not worried about them losing any ground and believe they could surprise again!

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has “done” a good job

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Nire,
I wish this was NBA Live. I’d love to be able to do tomahawk dunks and windmill jams in real life!! That would be awwwe-some! But, I can’t. I have a 2 and a half inch vertical leap. That sucks. I can’t even dunk on a 7 foot goal. Last time I tried (I was using one of those miniature basketballs), I got rejected by the rim. LOL at me, I guess. Everybody else did.

Do you think Josh Smith will ever improve his ball handling skills and jump shooting? And, has Al Horford plateaued or will he continue to improve?

Later,
Cleevon.

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Soooo…Matt Barnes….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_OosSMj50Y

…Anyhoo…

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niremetal, last year camby was traded for a 2nd round pick. this summer dunleavy offered to trade camby for mike miller. marvin and mo for camby doesn’t seem unreasonable in comparison, but i appreciate the reply – too bad the contracts wouldn’t allow it.

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Cavs sign Moon…

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4339432

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Chaz,

Last year, the Nugs were desperate to unload Camby because they were way into luxury tax land and the Clippers and Grizzlies were the only teams under the cap. So that trade has no applicability to this summer, since the Clippers are nowhere close to being in cap land. As for the Miller rumor, I never bought into that – like most ESPN-reported trades, it was probably made up out of thin air.

Frankly, I could see them going for Marvin + Mo for Camby. But Thornton too? Uh…no. They’re not giving up a 17ppg scorer who is under his rookie scale contract AND their best defensive big man in exchange for Marvin and Mo.

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LOL, Melvin. Does that guy drop extra money in the plate for the time he extends church? When I was young kids had a hat that they passed around on the corner when they wanted to get paid for freestyling

I am sure that the Hawks will appreciate your donation. They will probably throw in some extra swag if you ask. The confirmed sales do not require additional marketing, so we get mini perks.

For all the folks that want to trade Judas and get Jesus, the book of Stern says you must be under the cap if another is to bestow untold wealth upon thou. We are not, so Jesus may swing by, but he won’t suit up.

BWAF

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ROFL!!!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFP9ajjXlKk

Good stuff hehehe…..

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Awww maaan Melvin YOU MADE MY DAY WITH THAT ONE!!!!! Funny as hell!!!

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niremetal, let them keep thornton if it makes the trade work. assuming we could sign flip and barnes to replace marvin and mo, we would have

bibby – crawford – jj – josh – camby
teague – flip – barnes – al – zaza
west – randmo – solo/siler

this scenario would add 3-5M to our current payroll.

spending 3-5M to add a quality shot-blocking C like camby would give us a real chance to go to the finals; spending 3-5M to add a wilcox or a mcdyess would not.

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I guess I’m late to the party on the Wilcox signing by Detroit. It looks like Wilcox went with the team that gave him most playing time. All things considered I give the HAWKS B+/A- for this summer. I would have liked to see McDyess over Zaza, but Zaza brings a level of toughness that McDyess doesn’t have, so I definitely like the fact that Zaza is on the team.

I believe the series with Miami, taught the guys how hard it is to win games in the playoffs and the Cleveland series taught them how hard they have to work in the off-season to get better! They definitely showed up at home against Cleveland, but they just didn’t have enough skilled scores to really compete. Crawford will really help in that area, but Horford and Smoove need to take their games to another level. Looking at games and stats from last year, we’re really dealing with a team that can step to the elite level. The areas that they need to improve in are areas that can be fixed. Rebounding really comes down to effort. Winning on the road against good teams comes down to execution/maturity. The guys know what they need to work on this summer and Woody knows he needs to get an offensive system. I believe the action for this summer is over, its time for a long wait until the season starts again. I’m looking forward to seeing how guys have gotten better.

GO HAWKS!

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A TRIBE CALLED QUEST-Get real, Sund doesn’t write or sign anybody’s check. He simply makes deals and operates within the financial parameters established by his bosses, the SAASG. YOU’RE BLAMING THE COUGH INSTEAD OF THE COLD.

SAUTEE-It’s up to whoever controls the ball to run the OFF, and it’s up to the HC to control whoevers controling the OFF. When Bibby, Flip or JJ were hogging the ball and not getting others involved, it was up to Woodson to either make it happen or replace them with someone who would. Now, if he allowed it to continue happening, he’s either wasn’t doing his job or they were doing what he wanted, and neither should be acceptable.

Woodson’s OFF basically relies on jumpshooting, and some of you are advocating we trade one of our best jumpshooters, MWilliams, for MCamby. If we did that, who would start at center? If you start Camby, what do you do with Horford or JSmith? And exactly what team has Camby taken any further in the playoffs than Horford? As I’ve said before, Denver became a better team defensively without him.

We don’t need another starting center as much as we need another backup C/PF combo coming off the bench.

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niremetal, good link on Crawford, he was impressive.

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bigdave…..huh….please expalain. Childress can’t shoot. Childress with a jumper would be nice. What’s the problem?

Kevin, guess I didn’t read your statemnts carefully. I understand. I wuld say that’s more on the coach than anything though. He’s the one calling the shots. PPL said Bibby would mess up our chemistry in his contract year b/c he would get trigger happy in order to prove his worth around the leauge. Don’t know if that’s what happend or not, but we DID win 10 more games than in the previous season. We shall see what happens. Hopefully it won’t be a problem. IF it is, I sure hope Flip is still on our bench if we have to trade Crawford.

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PS – Probably the greatest accomplishment of my life was winning an edit war on Wikipedia so that the article at least acknowledges that it’s possible that Jordan pushed off Russell on the last shot. It never ceases to amaze me how many people want to deify Jordan and refuse to acknowledge that his “last shot” (excluding his Wizard days) was anything other than perfection.

It wouldn’t have even bugged me so much if it weren’t for the fact that Jordan did that like 250 times per season, and basically never got called for it. I remember him pushing off Smitty about 5 or 6 times in one game, and the refs never called it.

MJ only fouled out 10 times in his first 14 seasons in the league. 4 of those were in his rookie year, and he never fouled out after the Bulls won their second title. Considering how many times he pushed off or reached in during the course of every game, that’s just absurd. I know the star treatment for foul calls will never change, but it just pisses me off.

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KevinA well if that is the case then that kills your argument. You want our bigs to get more shots, you want Flip back but don’t want Crawford. Crawford and Flip are both scorers so why would having Flip be so much different than Crawford if both have one purpose coming off the bench and that is scoring the rock. So please explain to me how you want our bigs to get more shots but would rather have Flip than Crawford although they have the same job which is to score? Yea I will be waiting on this reply.

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Again, name me a young player who “has proven” that Woody held him back.

Um…Boris Diaw. You know, the guy who won Most Improved Player the year after he left, and who averaged 15, 6, and 5 for Charlotte this year. In his last season with the Hawks, Woody decided it would be better to play Antoine Walker 40 minutes a game.

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Pacers not goint to match Raptor offer to Jarret Jack. Will the Pacers go after Flip. Lord PLEASE NO!!!! We have enough trouble with Danny Granger and the rest of his flunkies as it is. Adding Flip to that mix will be a problem for us when we play the.

STAY IN THA ATL FLIP!!!! DON’T GO TWOARDS THE LIGHT!!!!!!!!

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“Taking on the young’uns, it took the collective athletic youth of Walker, Pierce and Joe Johnson to narrowly defeat Professor Jordan in this game. In the individual matchup, Pierce was unfairly outmatched by Father MJ but the war was won by Walker and the hustle from the rest of the Celtics. Pierce had one moment of individual glory with a perfectly-timed block of a mini-fade by MJ but MJ kept coming – hitting shot after shot to tie or take the lead, defending crucial stops, passing for clutch jumpers to his team and so on like The Boss in the end of a video game that never dies. In the end, the game was determined by clutch, beastly, inside buckets from the Celtics as a whole to finally overcome MJ’s 38 year old will. It took this sort of dramatic effort by a team to compete with a determined MJ at any age. “

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Diaw sucked when he waswith us, I’m sorry but i’d need about 5ot 6 notebookes to tally up all the missed/brick shots Diaw put up. It was VERY annoying for me to watch personally. I” give him props for blossoming into the confident player heis today, butI really didn’t care for him while he was here.

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Yes, Walker was a rotation player for the ‘06 Heat. He played 26.8 minutes a game, not 40.2 like he did with the Hawks. And SF was the one position where the ‘04-’05 Hawks were actually deeper than the ‘05-’06 Heat, so you can’t just assign it to depth.

The point that many have made about Woodson is that he doesn’t run a system or use a rotation that is conducive to player development. Diaw didn’t just suddenly develop talent during the summer of 2005. It was there and Woodson didn’t recognize it or didn’t know how to tap it.

But hey, I know Woody’s your boy. No sense arguing more about it.

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Ken,

Care to weigh in on this Woody holding back the young studs argument? Who you got: Matt Freije?

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My bad. Yea, didn’t we pick up a pretty good forward that cut into his minutes by the name of Al Harrington? How can you give a forward more minutes shooting 42%? Those are “SNIPER” and ACIII numbers.

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Samuel,

If you watched Hawks games back then, you’d remember how Woody used Diaw – as a spot-up/bail-out shooter, same as he uses Marvin. That was the worst possible way to use Diaw and it, of course, led to a low shooting percentage. The next year, with a coach that pulled Diaw off screens and kept him off the perimeter, Diaw’s shooting percentage leaped from 43% to 52%. He started taking only 0.4 threes per 36 minutes in his first year under D’Antoni, compared to 1.5 per 36 minutes in his last year with Woody.

Do you really think it’s a coincidence that Diaw posted the lowest FG% of his entire career during his only season under Woody? Or that he went from being a bit player on a 13-win team to a starter playing 35.5 minutes a game on a team that won 54 games?

Woody didn’t know how to use Diaw’s skills. D’Antoni did. So does Larry Brown. If you really want to press this argument, be my guest. You’ll just come out looking silly.

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*from 42% to 53%

My favorite stat, though, is that he doubled his minutes per game while halving his three-point attempts per game. Even once you adjust for minutes and possessions, Diaw improved in almost every single measurable way. Unless there was some sort of divine intervention during the summer of 2005, there only seems like there’s one logical explanation.

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hawks compete for seed 4 thru 8 like always. a realistic roster evaluation is a bunch of NBA sixth men at best who will provide great family entertainment, but like the mediocre hawks teams of the past ten years hve no shot at a NBA title.

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cp, I was promoting a Chills/Flip/Gooden because the money was close to the same salary of Crawford. Of those three I assumed Chills would get the most minutes because in my opinion he is better than Flip. Chills is a lower volume shooter but much more efficient. Chills is also a better defender.
If you look at my posts since the Chills option failed, I replaced his name with Sessons. Another good pg defender. Low volume shooter.
JJ, Bibby, Flip and Crawford are peas in a pod. They are all high volume jump shooters. We need these guys to pass more attempts to Marvin/Gooden/Josh/Al. My best guess would be 650 at min.

Your point is that these guys need to come in and score. Score is fine. Miss is worse. Fact is Josh, Al, Marvin, ZaZa and exChills missed less and scored more efficient.

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ESAUN and Tribe-
I guess I have been a fan of a totally different team, because I don’t remember this run of the Hawks being a playoff team over the last 10 years. Seems like we have only been over .500 once in the last ten years. This is important to note, because it shows where we are in our development. Yes, if the Hawks had been consistently knocking on the door without breaking through, then I could see your point. But, the truth is this is still a team on the rise.

Did I see something about Warrick or Wilcox signing a free agent contract?

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niremental

Diaw always had talent, but was and is still to passive of a player. Woody tried to play Diaw, but he just flat-out refused to take a shot even when he was wide open……And he only plays hard after he as been traded. just ask a Sun’s fan what they think about Diaw. I am glad he got traded and we got JJ from him…. we made out like theives….. and lets see how Diaw does this year, my money is that he goes back to his passive ways…

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Melvin- U are wild’n out right now -hahahaha… That was funny, brought back memories of my childhood. I would go to stay with my Auntie on weekends while my mom was working….. She was heavy into the Penicostal Church–MY god -we were in there for hours at a time -It looked similar to the people on that clip LOL….. A 10 year old kid shouldnt be subjected to that IMO.

Im Baptist so people worshiping that way was wierd to me. Needless to say I was happy when my mom got a new schedule and we would be back home from church by 12:30 just in time for Football….

From the Clips of Matt Barnes -I cant really tell who the better player is -Marvins a little more athletic but basicly the same player. Marvin 8 mil….Barnes 2.5 mil

Yeah Ariose -U once asked Is i liked that stiff NESTEROVICH……. Compared to Solo and Randolful …..hell yeah

There are very few bigs left and I knew after signing ZAZA and Bibby the rest of our signings would happen in August-meaning all the bigs worth a dam would be gone …….

So yeah man i like that stiff (No Homo)

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I had to watch that again- That little guy in the friont is hillarious ….. OMG Me and my coworkers are cry’n laughing right now. I gotta play it one more time.

How the hell is Cleveland sign ing all these guys….Moon and Anthony parker make them deeper than last year -now they have the length and athleticism at the 2/3 spots plus Big Shaq …..dam thats unfair

Danny Ferry is that dude -O we lost in the ECF last year -o no problem i’ll just buy who ever or whatever to get that Larr O’brien Trophy…….. Wow thats what it feels like to have a Gm that has the green light on bringing in players….

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and thats GS Matt Barnes too… havent seen his game much since he’s been in PHX…

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SAMUEL-all BS aside, I really do believe we have a chance to replace Orlando as the #3 seed, but of course that might not happen. There are too many factors that can come into play that can either make it happen or prevent it from happening. However, compared to what Turkoulu provided for their OFF, VCater’s presence will require a drastic change in their overall OFF philosophy. Adding BBass to their starting lineup will mandate a switch in positions for RLewis. All of these adjustments, along with replacing 3 starters and their top Big off the bench, will definitely have an early impact on their chemistry.

The key for the overall success for their season will be how rapidily they’ll be able to make the necessary adjustments and establish chemistry. The key to us replacing them as the #3 seed will be based on how quickly we come out of the box and take advantage of their potential situation. HOWEVER, WE CAN’T OVERLOOK THE EFFECT WOODSON’S CONTROL ISSUES AND COACHING LIMITATIONS MIGHT HAVE ON THAT PROCESS. I don’t see fatigue being an issue early in the season, but if he maintains his play them until they drop approach, we may end up getting overtaken down the stretch, assuming we get off to that great start.

Woodson has to get it through his thick head that we are not constructed to match teams like Boston, Orlando and Cleveland physically, especially when we try matching their style of halfcourt ball. On the other hand, they’re not constructed to match the speed, quickness and athleticism of our frontline players. There’s no way Shaq and Ilgouskas can match Zaza, Horford, Smoove or Solo’s, assuming he’s resigned, open court speed up and down the court. WE NEED TO TAKE FULL ADVANTAGE OF THAT ADVANTAGE. IT’S ABOUT TIME WOODSON REALIZES/ACCEPTS WE’RE BEST SUITED TO PLAY AN UPTEMPO STYLE OF OFF, AND ESTABLISH THAT STYLE. THEN WE NEED TO START FORCING TEAMS TO MATCH US AT OUR GM, INSTEAD OF US GETTING OUR BUTTS KICKED TRYING TO MATCH BIGGER MORE PHYSICAL TEAMS AT THEIR GM.

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I.Mus, lol. Rasho is OK, he’s just kinda old. I’drather go with youth. Someone not too old that we can build aound.

bigdave, I hear ya, still, I think he would be a nic backup to Matvin for about 2.5 mill.

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Sekou

What is the latest as far as Joe Johnson getting a contrct extension? Any chance he gets a contract extension this summer?

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Yup

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bigdave

his game ( Barns ) would fit perfectly with the hawks, he a consistent 3 point shooter, who gets up and down the floor, and he plays nagging ( kind of like a fly in your face ) defense.

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Has anybody checked Cenk Akyol on youtube. He looks like an all rounder. Correct me if am wrong.

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