Hawks courting Joe Smith?

ASG AND RICK BETTER WAKE UP OR ITS GOING TO BE A SHORT SEASON FOR WOODY.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!

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Ray,

Yeah. My thing about Biedrins is that he instantly lays to rest the two biggest questions about the team (well, aside from its coach) – rebounding and interior defense. Biedrins is one of only three true big men in the league – the others being Howard and Duncan – that excels at offensive rebounding, defensive rebounding, help defense, and on-ball post defense. His basketball IQ is also through the roof. And he’s a few months younger than Josh.

And it’s not like he’s affirmatively bad on offense – he has GREAT hands, never turns the ball over in the post, and has a decent lefty hook that is impossible to block because he’s so tall and long. He will never light up the scoreboard, but he’ll give you the same scoring numbers that Al gave this past year and would allow Al to slide over to PF, where he hopefully would get more offensive touches.

I honestly don’t know if even all that makes up for losing Josh. But Biedrins has quietly become the third or fourth best center in the league, after only Dwight and Shaq and possibly Bynum, IMHO. And he’s less than 3 months past his 23rd birthday. That being being said, there’s no rumblings at all about him being on the trade block or about the Hawks being interested in him, so I doubt this means much of anything…

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Nire,

Us talking about it doesn’t mean much, but it was reported (by Sekou I think) that Sund was after Chris Kaman last year. Strange that this deal never made it through.

So I don’t see why he wouldn’t want Biedrins. It may be that Biedrins is not what somebody else wants. I agree that Biedrins instantly lays to rest those concerns. And what’s steadier from night to night: Biedrins and Horford (can you imagine the high-low post show those two would put on?) or Horford and Josh? Biedrins is already solid on the end of the court we need him to be. We spend our time hoping Josh will be from night to night. Can’t live like that forever.

And sooner or later, Josh will either blow up and make his contract look like the bargain of the decade (for THIS team, anyway), or he’ll be the source of more controversy than he is ticket sales. Gotta know when to cut bait.

Biedrins doesn’t make up for what Josh does. However, he DOES make up for what Josh DOESN’T. Being a Josh Smith fan, I can still get behind a frontcourt that features Biedrins and Horford. I can get behind it just fine.

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I wonder if the Mavs is willing to re-sign Ryan Hollins now that they signed Gooden…

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Hoops,

Astro Joe has made known his speculations about a trade in August. You never know. This could be it.

I’ve never been known to encourage a trade of Josh Smith by any stretch of the imagination. But I’ve maintained the reasoning that if it really does make this team better, then do it. The semantics of the idea of “better” is what can get tangled. Trading Smith might make this team more balanced if it’s the right trade. Better balance can result in a better basis for building/adding on pieces that are necessary to contend for a championship.

As always, if this gets us closer to that goal, then by all means…trade who you have to, Josh Smith or otherwise.

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We can’t trade Josh Smith. Josh Smith is assertive. He’s a franchise player. He can play all five positions. At the same time. With both of us clinging onto his coattails.

Package Joe Johnson and Marvin, but please don’t trade Josh!!!!

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Blast,

That’s what happens when there is nothing going on with the Hawks! Most of us are not content with our team yet and we are interested in more! Personally, I am not satisfied with being 4th in the East. The Hawks are one significant trade away from competing for the Finals!

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BIG RAY-believe me, I know exactly how you feel. I get tired of people that criticize JSmith for his attitude, yet they wanted us to sign RWallace, the NBA’s most tempermental player. I’m also sick of those who criticize him for not being a better shooter than he is, even though his shooting percentage is higher than Bibby, Marvin, Flip, Evans or JJ. Some of these same people have also advocated we sign Ben Wallace, a total nonshooter.

I’m very pleased to hear Woodson say he’s satisfied with the new additions, because we all know how unforgiving he can be with players that he’s not satisfied with(see SStaudemire, ALaw & SJones). Biedrins might not be less athletic and less exciting than JSmith, but more importantly as this point, he’s a much better fit for Woodson’s system and preferred style of play.

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I think we’re one trade away if that trade is along the lines of Smoove and Evans for Bosh. But only if we supplement that by signing an extra big for the bench.

I agree that the clock is ticking on getting a vet free agent. Unless Sund has blackmailed Woody into promising to play Siler, RandMo, and/or Korolev for 10-15 minutes a game, we need one more body at PF/C regardless of what trade we make.

I suppose we also might be one trade away if we trade Mo Evans for Greg Oden. Heh…

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Blast,

I can’t help myself sometimes. Other people on here have that disease too, though.

Nire,

I’d be glad to have ol’ Broke Foot Mountain.

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Ray, when I stated that Sund didn’t seem to be building a roster that would match Woody’s defense-first mentality, it was not a statement to suggest he was under-cutting his coach for the purpose of firing him. Woody has one year left on his contract and has already shown that he is a tough negotiator. At the end of this coming season (or before), there will be plenty of chances to cut Woody loose if that is his plan. My concern is about the team’s success not Woody’s job security (and bringing in a mid-season replacement is no guarantee of rejuvenating the team… see Toronto). Sund heard the rumors about the BK-Woody issue, if he didn’t negotiate the power to fire a head coach in the last year of the coach’s contract, then he screwed up big time.

Very disappointing, the comments you made about Smith. I would have hoped that he would have talked about the possibility to learn from other young elite players (and top notch coaches). How is it that virtually every player from the original Dream Team to the Redeem Team has discussed the developmental impact of participating in USA Basketball and all he can do is give a canned “repping the country” comment? Very disappointing. And while I agree that he will be upset if he gets cut, I REALLY hope that he will be disappointed that he missed on the opportunity to enhance his game. Guys like Derrick Coleman and Lamar Odom were never quite able to put it altogether. They showed flashes of being elite players but could never quite turn the corner. Many assume that Smith will inevitably rach his potential but there are examples of players who failed to do so.

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Before I give you my trade that puts the Hawks into the Finals, we have to agree that the Hawks will re-sign Marvin, re-sign Flip & sign Joe Smith.

This trade is pure speculation on my part! The Bucks may not agree to this trade, but it would make the Hawks serious contenders.

Hawks send Josh Smith (10.8M), Mo Evans (2.5M) and R. Morris (.8M) to the Bucks for Al Jefferson (12M) and Cory Brewer (2.9M and coming off of ACL surgery).

This would be our line up:
PG-Bibby, Teague
SG-Crawford, Flip
SF-JJ, Marvin, Brewer, Korolev
PF-Horford, Joe S, Hunter
C-Jefferson, Zaza, Siler

I believe that team could contend!

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Gotta Agree With Ray and Astro Joe

I just shook my head when I heard how smoove responded to Micahs question.

This was a chance for Josh to not only get better, but to Market himself and Represent our Franchise well. I’m not saying he didn’t, but it’s clear from his comments that he viewed this as more of a vacation rather than a Business trip.

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Doc & Big Ray,

Look like yall are coming over to the dark side. I said a few days ago that if the Hawks doesn’t sign Joe Smith then it was an indictment on either the owners or GM. No way around it. With that said, I do believe there were some FA’s who prefer not to play for the Hawks but I refuse to believe thats the reason for the majority of the quality FA’s. There have been some guys who has signed some cap friendly contracts. So either ownership do not want to spend the cash or our salesman has been unable to closed the deal(s). A trade maybe the best opportunity for the Hawks to acquire quality depth (no player intervention) since they have been unsuccessful convincing FA’s to play in ATL. And any trade that involves Josh or AL should not be consider on the blog b/c Sekou has said on numerous occasions that both guys are not going anywhere.

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Let me add to my earlier post that I think the Hawks still have a chance to be one of the elite teams especially if they add 1 or 2 more quality players to the roster…

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Ok, let’s say we re-sign Marv for $8 million, that leaves us with at least $6 million to finish the roster if i’m not mistaken. Go ahead and give $3 million, maybe $4 to Joe Smith or free agent big (if there are any left worth that much, doubt it) and finish roster with our minicamp guys for the minimum. We’re pretty much set at guard, and one more big would give us the four man rotation. Add Siler and I like Korolev to back up Marv. Bring back Flip if we have enough to offer him (maybe not), but it’s much easier to find an extra guard than a decent big man.

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Ray, Hoops,

It’s been so quiet on blogsmophere. Hawks free agents possible signings have been gobbled up by other playoff teams, and we are left with talking about mini-camp invitees, and the fod of the litter.

It just sucks that Hawks have not so far been able to sign a big man free agent. Joe Smith seems to be the only big fish left in the pond, and I’m really curious to see what Sund pulls out of his hat. With JSmith, I think it all comes down to money. How much does he want and how much is the ASG willing to pay. I believe free agents will come to the ATL if the money was right. The ASG does not want to pay for big men, but they will spend (15 mil) for Bibby last year, and 10 mil for Crawford this year and we are not even talking about Joe Johnson’s contract? Come, on! You can’t tell me they don’t want to spend money.

The 1 and 2 spots are set, though I still want Flip back. The 3 is good if we have Marvin and Evans and maybe Joe. Maybe even Crawford. But we need help at the 4 and 5.

If Hawks end up starting the season with Morris and maybe Siler coming off the bench, then we should all look forward to another season of a point/shooting guard heavy offence. ISO Joe. ISO Crawford, while the bigs stand around, and Josh jacks up three’s simply because he was standing behind the arc when he got the ball with the shot clock winding down.

And we need to lay off of Josh Smith. He has some garbage, but Josh is one of the most efficient Hawks players based on overall %. I wasn’t too happy myself about his Team USA response, but I still think Smoove will get better. While he might not be the perfect post player like Dwight and Shaq, I think he can still do a lot of damage if he plays closer to the rim. If he cannot perfect a jumpshot, then he should lean towards adopting a hook shoot, like Marvin did. Don’t see too many people blocking a Josh Smith Hook shot 5 feet from the basket. And as folks said, adopting the backboard might not be a bad idea.

Anyway, ramblings of a Hawks fan inebriated way before schedule. That’s how boring tv and the off season has been lately. Expect it to get worse. Goodnight bloggers. Let’s see what Monday brings.

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I think all the negative chatter about Josh Smith is cause everyone sees how good he could be. He was probably if not hands down the most talented (athletically) player at the USA camp. We hate to hate to see him settle for being an above average player when he has the talent to be a great one. Ironically, he’s in the same boat as Dwight Howard, but since Howard is the most dominant force in the league he gets talked about differently (and the finals don’t hurt either). Plus, seeing Josh sulk in games, not have the best shot selection, be inconsistent, and sound lack luster about the opportunity USA basketball has to offer, makes it difficult for outsiders to see in him what we do.

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Astro Joe,

You had to know I was poking at you about the Sund/Woody stuff. I still like the Crawford trade, you still don’t, and I really do understand why you don’t. I just really think that may have been the best way to accomplish what Sund did. We do need frontcourt help, but something tells me that we weren’t going to get anywhere near our money’s worth by trading Claxton and Acie. Both guys are squarely on the “throw away” pile right now. To be more specific, if Speedy can stay healthy, he can become another version of Kevin Ollie for the rest of his career. If Law can stay healthy, get a jumper going and find a fit, he’ll be a backup somehwere for the rest of his career. But right now, neither has more value than his expiring contract. Sad, but true. Crawford may not be the best way to have spent the money when considering things inside a vaccum, but he may have been the best help we could get for what we were giving up. Looking at it PURELY from a money standpoint, your opinion is rock solid. But there were other factors in play. I won’t pretend to know what they were. Suffice it to say that we needed a guard who could contribute well enough to replace Joe or Bibby’s production if and when needed (not replacing the player, just the scoring/passing) in games. We got that. I’m willing to bet dude does better than 41% this year, too. I could be wrong, of course…

And I was willing to be patient with the offseason moves to shore up the frontcourt. I am patient no longer, so dark side here I come. Hope you got room for one more.

As to the comments on Josh Smith, that should tell you how disappointed I am in him, particularly since I spend so much time defending him. I REALLY, REALLY hope I’m blowing this out of proportion, but you see the comments from other bloggers/fans as well. The attitude just isn’t right. And while I’m more concerned with what he does as a Hawk than I am what he does as a TEAM USA tryout….I just don’t know. The guy needs to be a sponge, soaking up any and all experience and training he can get. Maybe as Melvin says, he was just uncomfortable in the interview, and didn’t know what to say.

We’ll get a hint of what’s what when training camp starts, and later when the preseason cranks up. I know the Hawks don’t want to give up on him this early. I don’t either. But I seriously think that if he doesn’t make serious progress in the maturity department, it will be time to explore some options in earnest. Maybe it’s too early for me to say that. Maybe not. 5th year as a Hawk and 2nd year in a fat contract. Expectations will be high. Criticism will be harsh. And it will be deserved.

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Ken, other than being super athletes from Atlanta, I’m missing any similarities between Smith and Howard. OK and they both came out straight from high school. But I’m missing similarities in their development and personality.

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Najeh, I dare you, name one guy from the Warriors team last year who “camped out on the 3-point line jacking up jumpers”. I have one in mind, care to play “Name that Chucker”?

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yeah melvin the gloves are off. it is time to begin to ferret out the fools again in this charade…… BASG.

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Ray, niremetal, and the rest of you Crawford lovers. LOl

And sooner or later, Josh will either blow up and make his contract look like the bargain of the decade (for THIS team, anyway), or he’ll be the source of more controversy than he is ticket sales. Gotta know when to cut bait.

The same can be said of Al, Marvin, (Chills) and ZaZa. We have to find out the true potential of these players before we can do anything different.

As I have said many times before, the back court shoots a lousy percentage. We have 4 young guns ready to take on more responsibility.

The question is will Woody, JJ, Bibby, Crawford, figure out a way to feed the ball to them in a position that will maximize their talents.

All this attention about another big is important but only if we have injuries. Josh, Al and ZaZa need the minutes to improve and develop. They are young – they don’t get tired. Ask ZaZa, I am sure he would like 35 min.

I understand the importance of a Siler type and a Joe Smith type coming off the bench for alternative looks. We have bigger fish to fry.

Chemistry problems: Assuming the big’s get 3-4 more shots per game is not out of the question. 4-6 even better. JJ is used to 1400, Crawford used to 1,200, Bibby used to 1, 000. 3,600 total.

If the big’s are to get theirs the back court has a problem. JJ is in contract year. Crawford wants to make an impact. Bibby wants to remain relevant. Flip shot close to 700 shots last year. The difference between Flip and Crawford is close to 500 shots.

All of that being said and the front needing more shots, we have a 1,000 shot disparity. What do you think will happen. I believe there will be chemistry problems if the front court doesn’t get their attempts. Do you agree with my presumptions? Do you have a problem with my numbers?

If JJ and bibby shoot the same amount of attempts and the front court gets more, can Crawford be happy shooting 300 attempts when he is used to 1,200?

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niremetal, I thought we had the rights to Solo. Not necessarily a done deal?

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Top 25 Ricky Henderson Quotes

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In honor of Rickey claiming he is going for yet another comeback this year here are Rickey’s top 25 quotes that Rickey ever said.

The Top 25 Rickey Henderson Quotes of All-Time…

1) Rickey… on referring to himself in the third person:

“Listen, people are always saying, ‘Rickey says Rickey.’ But it’s been blown way out of proportion. People might catch me, when they know I’m ticked off, saying, ‘Rickey, what the heck are you doing, Rickey?’ They say, ‘Darn, Rickey, what are you saying Rickey for? Why don’t you just say, ‘I?’ But I never did. I always said, ‘Rickey,’ and it became something for people to joke about.”

2) In the early 1980s, the Oakland A’s accounting department was
freaking out. The books were off $1 million. After an investigation, it was determined Rickey was the reason why. The GM asked him about a $1 million bonus he had received and Rickey said instead of cashing it, he framed it and hung it on a wall at his house.

3) In 1996, Henderson’s first season with San Diego, he boarded the team bus and was looking for a seat. Steve Finley said, “You have tenure, sit wherever you want.” Henderson looked at Finley and said, “Ten years? Ricky’s been playing at least 16, 17 years.”

4) This one might be my second favorite. This wasn’t too long ago, I think it was the year he ended up playing with the Red Sox. Anyway, he called San Diego GM Kevin Towers and left the following message: “This is Rickey calling on behalf of Rickey. Rickey wants to play baseball.”

5) This one happened in Seattle. Rickey struck out and as the next
batter was walking past him, he heard Henderson say, “Don’t worry,
Rickey, you’re still the best.”

6) Rickey once asked a teammate how long it would take him to drive to the Dominican Republic.

7) Moments after breaking Lou Brock’s stolen base record, Henderson told the crowd – with Brock mere feet next to him – “Lou Brock was a great base stealer, but today, I am the greatest of all-time.”

Henderson once fell asleep on an ice pack and got frostbite – which forced him to miss three games – in mid-August.

9) A reporter asked Henderson if Ken Caminiti’s estimate that 50 percent of Major League players were taking steroids was accurate. His response was, “Well, Rickey’s not one of them, so that’s 49 percent right there.”

10) Henderson broke Ty Cobb’s career record for runs scored with a home run. After taking his usual 45 seconds or so around the bases, Rickey slid into home plate.

11) On being Nolan Ryan’s 5,000th career strikeout: “It gave me no
chance. He (Ryan) just blew it by me. But it’s an honor. I’ll have
another paragraph in all the baseball books. I’m already in the books three or four times.”

12) San Diego GM Kevin Towers was trying to contact Rickey at a nearby hotel. He knew Henderson always used fake names to avoid the press, fans, etc. He was trying to think like Rickey and after several attempts; he was able to get Henderson on the phone.
Rickey had checked in under Richard Pryor.

13) I didn’t believe this one at first. However, I emailed a few
contacts within the Sox organization and they claim it actually
happened. This is priceless, it really is.

The morning after the Sox finished off the sweep against St. Louis last October, Henderson called someone in the organization looking for tickets to Game 6 at Fenway Park.

14) The Mets were staying in a hotel less than a mile from Cinergy Field in Cincinnati. While some players walked, most took the team bus. A few minutes after they arrived – again it was less than a mile – the last players off the bus noticed a stretched limo that had just pulled up.

Of course, Rickey emerged from the back seat.

15) A reporter once asked Rickey if he talked to himself, “Do I talk to myself? No, I just remind myself of what I’m trying to do. You know, I never answer myself so how can I be talking to myself?”

16) a few weeks into Henderson’s stint with the
Mariners, he walked up to Olerud at the batting cage and asked him why he wore a batting helmet in the field. Olerud explained that he had an aneurysm at nine years old and he wore the helmet for protection. Legend goes that Henderson said, “Yeah, I used to play with a guy that had thesame thing.”

Legend also goes that Olerud said, “That was me, Rickey.”

Henderson played with Olerud on the Blue Jays and the Mets.

17) Rickey was asked if he had the Garth Brooks album with Friends in Low Places and Henderson said, “Rickey doesn’t have albums. Rickey has CDs.”

18) During a contract holdout with Oakland in the early 1990s, Henderson said, “If they want to pay me like Mike Gallego, I’ll play like Gallego.”

19) In the late 1980s, the Yankees sent Henderson a six-figure bonus check. After a few months passed, an internal audit revealed the check had not been cashed. Current Yankees GM Brian Cashman – then a low-level nobody with the organization – called Rickey and asked if there was a problem with the check. Henderson said, “I’m just waiting for the money market rates to go up.”

20) In June 1999, when Henderson was playing with the Mets, he saw
reporters running around the clubhouse before a game. He asked a
teammate what was going on and he was told that Tom Robson, the team’s hitting coach, had just been fired. Henderson said, “Who’s he?”

21) This is my all-time favorite. Rickey was pulled over by a San Diego police officer for speeding. As the officer was approaching Rickey’s car, the window went down a few inches and a folded $100 bill emerged. The officer let Rickey and his money head home without a ticket.

22) When he was on the Yankees in the mid-1980s, Henderson told
teammates that his condo had such a great view that he could see, “The Entire State Building.”

23) During one of his stays with Oakland, Henderson’s locker was next to Billy Beane’s. After making the team out of spring training, Beane was sent to the minors after a few months. Upon his return, about six weeks later, Henderson looked at Beane and said, “Hey, man, where have you been? Haven’t seen you in awhile.”

24) To this day and dating back 25 years, before every game he plays, Henderson stands completely naked in front of a full length locker room mirror and says, “Ricky’s the best,” for several minutes.

25) In the last week of his lone season with the Red Sox, Chairman Tom Werner asked Henderson what he would like for his ‘going-away’ gift.
Henderson said he wasn’t going anywhere, but he would like owner John
Henry’s Mercedes. Werner said it would be tough to get the same make and
model in less than a week and Henderson said, “No, I want his car.”
Turns out the Sox got Henderson a Red Thunderbird and when he saw it on
the field before the last game of the season, Rickey said, “Whose ugly
car is on the field?”
In honor of Rickey claiming he is going for yet another comeback this year here are Rickey’s top 25 quotes that Rickey ever said.

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