Vacation visions
Might a Smith family reunion (of sorts) be in the works for Joe and Josh (no relation) this season with the Hawks? Time will tell. The Hawks are working on it, though.
THE OPEN ROAD - I’m not supposed to be here right now.
Seriously. I looked it up. Vacation is meant to be “leisure time away from work, devoted to rest or pleasure.”
But the phone doesn’t stop ringing because you want it to (next time, we all need to go on vacation together … or at least at the same time).
After being off the grid (mostly) for an entire family reunion weekend, I’ll admit that I’m a bit foggy on some of the details about what went on in Las Vegas for Josh Smith at the USA Basketball mini-camp and just about any other hot debate that’s gone on around here the past few days (and for the record, I’m told that despite a tepid performance in Saturday’s scrimmage, his time with the USA B’ball folks was a rousing success because it allowed quite a few people that weren’t familiar with him other than what they’ve seen, heard and read to get a much better for feel for him as a person and player).
But I do have some thoughts about a few other things, namely the Hawks’ mini-camp from last week, the state of negotiations with Marvin Williams and the Hawks’ continued pursuit of Joe Smith. So if you’ll forgive your host for leaving the party for a few days (technically, I’m on vacation until August – just in case Wifey decides to check the blog and see what we’ve got going on), here are some of my vacation visions:
JOE SMITH probably didn’t realize he had multiple stalkers until he left Atlanta Friday. That’s when the Hawks’ full court press for the veteran free agent’s signature shifted from face-to-face to long distance. Well, mostly long distance. The Hawks do have a secret weapon in Smith’s Phoenix backyard. Mike Bibby’s basketball royalty in the Valley. And he’s one of several Hawks working hard on the recruiting trail to bring Smith into the fold. Zaza Pachulia knows Smith well from their time together in Milwaukee and said he would use all his Euro-charm (at lunch Friday and beyond) to make sure Smith was aware of just how much he is wanted and needed by the Hawks. All that said, major work must be done to secure Smith’s signature on a contract. It’s not secret the Hawks aren’t paying the same rate for backup bigs that some other teams are (for example, Chris Wilcox got cash – $6 million over two years – in Detroit that he never could have from the Hawks. Same goes for Drew Gooden and the reported $4.5 mil he’ll bring in on a one-year deal with the Spurs). So they have to find ways (PLAYING TIME!!!!!!!!!!) to lure the kind of players they need to help bolster their cause. It probably helps that, in a summer marked by taking care of in-house business (home grown free agents), Smith is the first player outside of the family that the Hawks actually courted. Again, there is major work still to be done on this front.
YOU WERE WARNED THAT THINGS between the Hawks and Marvin Williams would drag out this summer. I wasn’t joking. Nothing has changed. The sides remain on opposite sides of the restricted free agent street right now. I know that other outlets reported that the sides were “close” and all that, but it’s just not true. The sides are talking. And they’ll be back at it this week. Anyone that sees an end in sight has X-ray vision, because I wouldn’t be surprised if things lasted deep into next month. Look back at the Hawks’ dealings with many of their own players in the past (I know Mike Bibby and Zaza coming back as quickly as they did had you juiced but that was out of the ordinary for the Hawks). It usually takes time, especially for restricted free agents.
JEFF TEAGUE is going to make a lot of people forget about the disappointing saga that was Acie Law IV’s tenure with the Hawks. Teague did more than just turn heads during the Hawks’ mini-camp last week. He sparked conversation about point guard play I hadn’t heard in my time covering the Hawks before last week. “He did some things as a young point guard that we hadn’t seen on our practice floor since Chris Paul and Deron Williams were here for predraft workouts,” one Hawks assistant coach told me last week. That’s as strong a statement as I’ve heard from anyone in the Hawks’ camp regarding a young point guard. While they all agree that Teague has plenty of polish that can be applied to his game, there is no debate about who or what the Hawks expect him to become. “I can’t wait to see him in training camp,” Randolph Morris said. “I think he’s going to give people fits with his quickness and his ability to get to the rim whenever he wants to. That’s going to be fun to watch.”
OBSERVATIONS ABOUT A FEW OTHER GUYS that stood out (for various reasons) during mini-camp:
- Othello Hunter was more impressive than any other player in camp, after Teague. His range on his jumper has improved dramatically. But we all know that his chance at making a dent in the Hawks’ roster and playing rotation depends on his ability rebound, defend and provide the hustle plays required of frontcourt journeymen in the NBA. The improved shot is an added bonus. I’d have him locked up on a two-year deal right now. If he keeps improving, someone is going to get a steal.
- Garret Siler’s stock with fans and media types can’t get much higher. He’s become something of a phenomenon around these parts, thanks to some serious hype and the big fella backing it up with strong performances in the Las Vegas summer league and last week. Siler’s raw and would be a super-sized Lunchable for superstars like Dwight Howard, Shaq and Pau Gasol, not to mention brutes like Kendrick Perkins and Brook Lopez. I know you want to believe that he’s the he’s the answer to the Hawks’ big-man problems … but that would mean all 30 teams missed on the guy, twice for some teams, on draft night.
- Randolph Morris has shed the kind of weight all of us “bigger” guys would love to be able to shed. And he did it organically, which makes it particularly impressive. He had his moments during mini-camp but I’m not sure he blew anyone (in charge) away with the work he did. I don’t know what he has to do to make a move up the Hawks’ rotational food chain, though he is under contract for this season, which has to help. But the fact is, even with all the work Morris has done, the Hawks are still hunting reserve bigs.
- Frank Robinson did it again. He showed up. Played his guts out, literally. And his reward, like that of most guys in his predicament, will probably be an invite to training camp. Robinson is the kind of guy that will always make training camp interesting because he’s fearless and is skilled enough to make you wonder why he’s not on someone’s NBA team? He won’t make the Hawks’ roster this season. But I certainly wouldn’t be surprised to see him in the middle of the action during training camp.
- Yoroslav Korolev was supposed to be a bust. When he crashed and burned with the Los Angeles Clippers (they made him the 12th pick of the 2005 draft), he joined the ranks of Darko Milicic, Nickoloz Tskitishvili and Fran Vasquez on the list of worst ever Euro-lottery busts. Korolev was just a kid when the Clippers drafted him but he looked grown up last week. He was much better than I expected him to be and showed off a nice shooting touch from long distance. He’d be worth keeping an eye on for the future.
- Brian Hamilton surprised me as much or more than any player in camp. I honestly wasn’t aware of him at all before last week. But mini-camp is a showcase for under the radar players like Hamilton, a smooth 6-6 swingman that impressed on both ends of the floor. His defense is what made him stand out. Yet he showed plenty of offensive ability and a nose for the ball on both ends of the floor that would make Mario West jealous. He’s another guy that will surely be in someone’s training camp pushing someone under contract to the limit.
Those were just some of the guys that made lasting impressions on me. Hawks coach Mike Woodson remarked several times that it was by far the best (rookie/free-agent) camp conducted during his tenure with the Hawks and I have to agree that it was the best I’ve seen in my time dealing with the Hawks (I missed his first one, when Josh Smith and Josh Childress were rookies). But there wasn’t a single player in town last week that didn’t belong on that floor.
IN CLOSING, I’d be remiss if I didn’t give my man Solomon “Solo” Jones a proper send off here. One of the truly unique characters to grace us with his presence the past three years, Jones is moving on this week to a two-year deal with the Indiana Pacers. Solo is moving on at a time when the Hawks could use a big or two like him, which makes his departure for Indiana all the more perplexing. After all, he was a restricted free agent, due close to a $1 million if he had signed his qualifying offer (the QO was rescinded so he would be allowed to sign with the Pacers without any interruption). I needed an explanation and Solo provided one last week. “The Hawks kept it real with me,” he said. “They told me that my role was going to be pretty much the same as it was last year, and that I wouldn’t have a chance to move up and get more time unless somebody got hurt like last year. And I realize that’s just the way it’s going to be with Josh and Al [Horford] and Zaza already in place. It’s cool. I get a chance to go somewhere else and try and start over and see if there’s a chance to have a bigger role. The Pacers want me up there right away to get to work and that’s a good thing. I’m looking forward to the opportunity. But I appreciate the Hawks keeping it straight with me and not trying to sell me something that they couldn’t deliver in terms of playing time and opportunity.”
If it’s good enough for Solo, it’s good enough for me.
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
712 comments Add your comment
ant banks
July 30th, 2009
11:12 am
MELVIL,
the raptors are not in a bitter owner fight either. so, that is why they are able to do what they do, unlike the hawks.
niremetal
July 30th, 2009
11:14 am
Uh….the Raptors payroll hasn’t increased over last year’s. At all.
Anakin Joe
July 30th, 2009
11:14 am
nire, Teague. I’m expecting a very modest contribution from him this year. Not disputing his talent, just stating that most college sophomores who are essentially playing behind Bibby, Joe & Crawford can’t be counted on to make a meaningful contribution to a playoff-bound team. And I guess that I am gun-shy after predicting big things from Acie in his rookie season. I won’t be making any predictions anytime soon on Teague. But when he does play, I hope that he can stop dribble penetration… because that is a huge f’ing pot hole.
Melvin, doesn’t Belinelli make less than $2.5M? I think Deep brought up a very good point last night. Joe Smith is probably waiting to see what Odom does before he signs a contract. If Lamar bolts on the Lakers, Smith would be a reasonable replacement and there is no doubt that 99.9% of players would choose the Lakers over the Hawks (Sautee, will you allow me to get away with that piece of hyperbole?). And if I’m Sund, I would wait on Joe Smith before spending my money on Hollins or some other project.
doc
July 30th, 2009
11:15 am
would you agree AJ that at some point the coaches have to coach them up and allow them to play as well those 8 to 12 tweeners or marginal non stars each team has. big baby was in tears at some point in his “development” looking very much over matched and somehow learned to play by being on the court in real time. now he is worth something and it shows in his asking price. there are a lot of “projects” that learn the game under the correct tutelage, in fact the great coaches are known for doing just that. let us see if woody is great or just good or even mediocre. one season in the positive column does not a coach make. please dont anyone come back and say he is able to work with young players, thus far only the gifted ones by my frigging memory and is my beef with the guy thus far. prove me wrong woody just like i want the frigging BASG to prove me wrong and tell me it is going to be a top tier program including spending so i can keep buying my season tickets.
Dos Hawkquis
July 30th, 2009
11:21 am
NIRE, MANNY T, DOC, BIG RAY, ARIOSE, TRIBE…ET AL,
Do any of you guys know the financial landscape for next year for the Hawks? I know that Horford will be an RFA and JJ will be UFA. How much money will the Hawks have to play with next year? Assuming the cap will drop.
I think that Sund is being fiscally responsible in ‘09, so that ‘10 will put us in a better position.
Correct me if I am wrong, but Cleveland, Orlando, Boston, LA, San Antonio, Miami, and Toronto will be “fiscally strapped” next year, with only enuff room to re-sign their own superstar.
“I don’t always watch basketball, but when I do, I prefer the Hawks. Stay thirsty my friends!”
fudd21
July 30th, 2009
11:22 am
ATB,
I really don’t think we had a shot at Wilcox, Gooden, Bass, Gortat, or McDyess. Whether it was ovver playing time (Wilcox, Bass, Gooden), money (Gortat), or the possibility of winning a championship (McDyess).
It has been stated here that our FA big is more than likely to be the 4th big and get around 10 – 15 minutes a game. If you were Wilcox or Bass why would you come here for that especially when you can go to Detroit (who just lost both of their bigs) or Orlando (where Bass could easily start at the 4). Gortat was RFA and Orlando matched so there was NO way we were getting him plus I don’t think we would have paid the full mid-level for him anyway. McDyess wants a championship and let’s be honest the Spurs are closer to winning one than we are. That’s just reality.
Anakin Joe
July 30th, 2009
11:40 am
doc, I agree that great coaches are able to develop talent. But I have always thought that there is a “span of control” when it comes to developing players. I think it is more challenging for a coaching staff to simultaneously develop 6 players than it is to develop 3. We have had one of the youngest collections of players in the past 4-5 years. That’s why I was always ticked off that we didn’t have a better support system around those players (it would have been nice to have had a Mark Price-type maybe 2-3 years ago as an example). Also, Big Baby was helped tremendously by KG. Who is the comparable veteran big that is supposed to get in the face of Hunter, RandMo or Solo to ensure that they are doing things the right way? Who would have made Shelden Williams cry when he put up an errant jumper? Lo Wright? Woody can absolutely be better about developing young talent. But likewise, the GM (BK and now Sund) could be better about providing the resources so that player development can be supplemented by veterans or consultants.
jhan
July 30th, 2009
12:03 pm
What’s going on with this blog?! People are actually writing about fiscal responsibility & strategic planning! I thought the only way to win in the NBA was to mortgage your future for one playoff run!
Hoops
July 30th, 2009
12:41 pm
The following info is from Hoopsworld-
The Hawks will now focus more attention on signing Joe Smith. Sources close to Smith’s camp says Atlanta is where he wants to be; he may ink a two-year deal with the Hawks at some point in the next week.
Daniel
July 30th, 2009
1:11 pm
thanks for the update Hoops. If we get Smith, and Marvin done in the same week. That would be quite a score for the Hawks. I would still like one/two more additions to Smith, but I would be happy with the overall situation. I actually think that instead of resigning Flip we should get a veteran 3rd string pg (T. Lue) and maybe look to add Nesterovic(I like him more than Hamilton) Round out the bench with a one or two projects (Hunter/Siler). I don’t know what the Hawks do with the $800,000 to Morris, I wonder if it would be worth anything to another team to have another expiring contract. Doubt it though.
Samuel
July 30th, 2009
1:30 pm
I see you guys are still singing the same ole song about Woody not developing young players. Again, tell me a team who has been as good as the Hawks have the past 2 or 3 years who is younger.
Gifted, they are all gifted. It’s up to each player to maximize his time on the court. Simple as that.
Glad we got Marv and look forward to getting that extra Big.
Have we moved up the pecking order. No.Have we moved down. No. We don’t have an All NBA-type Player. However, I can see us moving up into the top 3 by 2010-11 season. That’s good enough for me.
Anakin Joe
July 30th, 2009
1:42 pm
Samuel, I agree. If we add Smith, then Sund has put us in a great position to hold our playoff position.
Wasn’t HoopsWorld the site that claimed we had reached an agreement with Marvin like 3 weeks ago? Trust me, I REALLY hope that they are right about Smith.
Sund (if he has done so) needs to get on the phone with Joe Johnson’s agent once he is done with Marvin and hopefully Joe Smith. Let’s see if he would agree to an extension this year. With Sund signing all of these guys to long-term contracts, Joe should have no worries about suddenly being stuck on a team with no help (similar to the situation when he first arrived).
Dos Hawkquis, Horford is eligible for an extension next summer but he is NOT an RFA until the summer of 2011. Next summer would have been when Shelden would have hit RFA status.
Anakin Joe
July 30th, 2009
1:43 pm
edit = (if he has NOT done so)
Ariose
July 30th, 2009
2:11 pm
Hoops, Thanks for the info
Dos Hawkis, Unless we renounce the rights JJ and Horford, we really won’t have any money to play with either the BiAnnual and the Mid Level Exceptions.
That doesn’t mean thet Rick won’t have a few tricks up his sleeve. For example, unless We go to the finals or something, i’m fairly certain Rick Sund will either flip craford for a big man or just re-sign him again after his contract expires. OR he cpuld re-sign Flip Murray, and trade him later if Crawford is really Flip Murray^2 like some of you beleive.
Ariose
July 30th, 2009
2:12 pm
*Other than the BiAnnual and Mid Level Exceptions.
Daniel
July 30th, 2009
2:22 pm
Samuel- I like your take. I also don’t get where everyone clamors on here about Woody not playing young players when we have had THE YOUNGEST team in the league. So what if Acie, Salim, Solo didn’t turn into All Stars, are they really going to somewhere else? How come Marvin, Al, Josh all have turned into solid to very good players? Did they do that in spite of Woodson?
Anakin Joe- I think it was Yahoo sports this last time.
doc
July 30th, 2009
2:29 pm
samuel dont make it out to be more than it is. sometimes the less gifted have to be brought out to play bigger roles and sometimes it is by building confidence. never do it yourself i mean have an impact in a kids life where he began to believe himself bigger than for what he was?
with josh, chills, al and even marvin the skills and athleticism was there. if he is to be given credit for bringing them along which as you know i have given it to him, then he also has to be responsilbe for either bringing it out in the others or not. you as a coach cant always sit back and say the kid just doesnt have it instead of lighting up the light that for whatever reason related to past experience it hasnt been reached. woody has gotten the most out of these talented ones. i want to see it in the 8 to 12 slots that good coached either have to take credit for or not as well. the comment was in response to anakins desire for the basg to spend or those slots which we know they wont because of basg.
i was early in the game for asking why not mario for one year before woody began to put him into situations he was made for after seeing the kid stare down kobe. funny it finally got across. the kid had will and desire which is what you ask a guy to bring then why couldnt he be used in special situations like the kid siler from augusta might be used for. i am not saying he has to make them into stars just solid fillers like pops does down there in san antoine.
niremetal
July 30th, 2009
2:34 pm
Ariose,
If we get one of the big-name FAs next summer, it’ll be by trade, but that’s ok – because the good news is that all of the really big names will be unrestricted. So if we can convince one of them to come here, it’ll actually be relatively easy to make the numbers work by packaging some combination of Crawford, Smoove, Marvin, Bibby, Zaza, etc. Their current teams will leap at the opportunity to get something back in exchange for losing them instead of risking losing them outright. Crawford will be the biggest chip because he’ll have a big expiring contract, and it’ll be much easier to convince one of them to come here if we have JJ under contract so that they know they’ll have a star-caliber running mate when they arrive…
Hoops
July 30th, 2009
2:41 pm
WOW! If we can sign Joe Smith, that will give the Hawks 10 players that must be figured into the playing rotation. That’s really great depth! Last year we only had 8 players that could be depended on at any time. Not many teams will have 10 players that can be trusted at any point in the game. Look @ this depth:
PG-Bibby, Teague, Crawford, JJ
SG-JJ, Crawford, Evans
SF-Marvin, JJ, Evans, Josh
PF-Josh, Joe S, Horford, Marvin
C-Horford, Zaza, Joe S.
I like it!
Ariose
July 30th, 2009
2:58 pm
YAY!!! I OFUND MORE J-SMOOVE HIGHLIGHTS FROM TEAM USA!!!! WATCH THE WHOLE THING….IT’S NOT MUCH LOL.
http://www.nba.com/video/channels/nba_tv/2009/07/28/nba_20090728_westbrook_sound.nba/
niremetal
July 30th, 2009
2:58 pm
Good article on TSN on the Hawks and RFAs:
http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/the_sporting_blog/entry/view/29049/playing_the_rfa_game_can_help_both_sides
Ariose
July 30th, 2009
2:59 pm
*Found
…lol
Samuel
July 30th, 2009
3:02 pm
Doc,
You can’t play all youngsters. Basically, Woody has had only a hand full of proven vets and the rest youngsters. Mario West probably would not even be in the league if it weren’t for Woody. Let’s be real.
Glad you mentioned Chills, Al, Josh and Marvin. Many here don’t even acknolege that eventhough Woody is the only coach they’ve had in the NBA. Yes, they have talent, but no more than countless others who have not achieved under other coaches.
You guys have Woody under a microscope because he is the hometown coach and that’s expected but I could name all kind of players who have not been as successfull under coaches you guys call good.
I don’t mind playing Freshmen and Soph on the Varsity but I can’t have the whole team young. It just won’t work.
niremetal
July 30th, 2009
3:03 pm
Ariose,
I just wanna know what the hell kind of name for a play is “floppy punch.”
Ariose
July 30th, 2009
3:03 pm
Nire, I agree…but who? I like, Dirk, Amare, Bosh,and to a lesser extent Shaq(for cheap of course).
Also, Manu, Mike Miller, and Wade(if Riley doesn’t improve their team ASAP he’s no going to be re-upping with the Heat) on my guard/wing short list.
Ariose
July 30th, 2009
3:05 pm
Nire, LOL Weirdest name ever….we should do that. If we had outragous names like that, we’d be the most talked about team in the leauge lol! You know what some people say, “no pulicity is bad pulicity” Ha!
doc
July 30th, 2009
3:07 pm
daniel it is not building them into all stars simply into players. big baby isnt going to be a star but a serviciable player, second rounder, no? he is one folks had alot of doubt about due to size and even possibly motivation. besides quick feet he doesnt have much on folks that are bigger than him except the opportunity. me thinks his stats may be similar to al horford’s when given the chance. is hte more talented or better coached than say solo was? again dont read into it that i think all players have to be stars. they cant, but they do have to fill out a roster or build a roster beyond 8 players. now maybe it was because the other guys were too young, cant use that excuse anymore. on a limited budget it requires the coach to do more with what he has.
time for woody to step up and refuse to use that line of we need more vets. we now are talking years in the league, not age. portland is younger, still competing very well in the tougher conference through the top nine. please dont use that excuse either, kind of tired of it. they seemed to have played the lakers about as well as anyone only met them early. maybe if you use samuel’s refrain from last year they are the second best team in the league if we were the third best last year after the playoffs.
Ariose
July 30th, 2009
3:08 pm
In th video, They were really defending Smoove’s Left side heavily. Maybe thay’s the reason he couldn’t “go off”, but he just mosey’d on down the right side and scored anyway lol…..We need a heavy dose of that this season from him.
Ariose
July 30th, 2009
3:12 pm
Also Westbrook and Joshe were discussig giving the ball up on the reak lol. I think westbrook was right(that’s one of josh’s judgement flaws lol).
doc
July 30th, 2009
3:28 pm
samuel points all well taken. you will acknowledge maybe after eading my comments that i give credit to woody for some of the maturity of these kids though i think his handling of josh has been a bit like taking a soft mouthed horse and trying to ride it with a tight rein if you know horses.
just now if we are going to move up the pecking order we have to consider those youngins made and move onto the next wave of youth to bring along. that is if we are going to become as good as we want them to be. 8 man rotations just wont get it through a tough nba season. so i have to put it on woody, dude you know for years i have put it on the friggin BASG and we know they are not going to change there spending habits so wood is what i have to depend on to make us better.
all i’m saying unless you think the BASG is going to change their ways. do you think that is going to happen? again
niremetal
July 30th, 2009
3:45 pm
Doc,
The Hawks just increased their payroll for the fourth straight year and will have a payroll in line with what the Magic had this past year. Pray tell what “spending habits” you’re referring to. Kthxbai.
niremetal
July 30th, 2009
3:47 pm
In case y’all forgot:
The Hawks actually would not have been able to do the trade of Acie and Speedy for Crawford today due to the fact that Speedy was due for a big annual paycut on July 1 (his contract is frontloaded) while Crawford was due for a big annual pay raise on July 1 (because his contract is backloaded). Today, we’d have had to throw in RandMo’s contract to get the deal done. Presumably the Warriors wanted to do the trade before July 1 was for that very reason – they wanted to get the savings from Speedy’s imminent paycut. The fact that the Hawks basically ate $900k to ensure the deal got done says something.
Again, one would think fact that that fact plus the fact that the Hawks have basically guaranteed an increased payroll (thanks to the annual raises for Joe/Josh/Al and the acquisition of Crawford) would convince people that ASG has the means and the desire to spend what it takes to win. But as I said…some people undoubtedly will insist on living in 2006.
Ariose
July 30th, 2009
3:57 pm
Nire, yeah that was a good article. We just have ood playerswho are smart and know their value. They don’t have huge ego’s and they want to be apart of the success here in Atlanta.
terrell barron
July 30th, 2009
4:03 pm
Big Papi = Fraud!
Anakin Joe
July 30th, 2009
4:14 pm
nire, I have no issues with the budget. My issue is with the groceries that were purchased. And if we grab Joe Smith, I’d be thrilled with our summer roster-build. In a dream scenario where Beyonce is feeding me cheesesteaks and Kardashian is holding my Kool-Aid, Sund would trade Evans for a 2nd round pick and sign Hunter to be the back-up SF with size. And what happens with players 11-14 wouldn’t matter much to me.
Melvin
July 30th, 2009
4:16 pm
Aroise,
Look like some put on a few lbs of muscle.
niremetal
July 30th, 2009
4:20 pm
Anakin,
We get it. You don’t like Crawford. Like Rod with Marvin and Clyde with Horford, you’re pretty much alone, though.
Samuel
July 30th, 2009
4:22 pm
Doc,
I don’t think we move up into top 3 unless: we gain an ALL NBA Player or somebody else loses one or two.
JJ has the potential to make 2nd or 3rd team. If he can start trusting his teammates more and Josh can “homestead” on the blocks. That would be an All NBA player and an ALL Star along with some solid role players.It’s possible.
Daniel
July 30th, 2009
4:23 pm
doc,
big baby is the exception and he only had the opportunity to improve because of Garnett’s injury, not becausw Doc was developing his playing time. Big Baby’s year last year was a case of every dog having his day. He will not continue to play in that fashion, particulary on another team.
Ariose
July 30th, 2009
4:24 pm
Melvin, yeah It should make him even better down in the paint this season.
TB, I just can’t wait to hear the statements from those two.
Daniel
July 30th, 2009
4:25 pm
tell the truth Terrell!!!!
Daniel
July 30th, 2009
4:29 pm
The truth is the best plan for the Hawks to win a title is too hang where we are this year, continuing to be a solid playoff team, gain more expierence and next year when the overblown Cavs, Celts and Orlando are having to slash payroll we slide right into a well built young team capable of competing for several years. Who knows about next season. On paper we are still probably a 4th seed, but over a long season with injuries and what not who knows.
Melvin
July 30th, 2009
4:29 pm
Nire,
You forgot one. You and Josh…
Ariose
July 30th, 2009
4:30 pm
Honestly, Garrer Siler > Greg Oden…..
You can’t say i’m wrong either. What has Oden done in the NBA. If PDX replaced Oden with Siler they would get the same production our of Siler. Just Saiyn’
niremetal
July 30th, 2009
4:34 pm
Melvin,
My opinion of Josh is way higher than the rep I’ve earned. As I said, I wouldn’t trade him straight up for Amare anymore. That’s more than a lot of people around here can say…
Anakin Joe
July 30th, 2009
4:37 pm
nire, actually, I don’t like Sund’s acquisition of Crawford. That would be more accurate. I won’t know for sure if I don’t like Crawford until I see him play with the Hawks.
niremetal
July 30th, 2009
4:37 pm
Ariose,
Come on, man, don’t make us ding you
. Siler better than Oden? Come on, now. Oden is still learning how to not foul, but I’d put him on the same level as Bynum as far as being the most promising young centers in the NBA.
Oden put up respectable numbers fighting through injuries in one of the NBA’s deepest frontcourts. Siler hasn’t played a game outside of DII, summer league, and mini-camp in his life. They’re not even on the same plane…
Daniel
July 30th, 2009
4:38 pm
Ariose you are wrong.
I can’t prove it, because Siler doesn’t even have an NBA contract and Oden has been mostly hurt. But I just wanted to be able to say it, since you said that I couldn’t.
Ariose
July 30th, 2009
5:09 pm
OK, MAYBE I didn’t take into account Oden’s Injury situation lol. He just looked a lot better and more nimble in college….I might be a little biased because along with the rest of the world, I hoped for greatness from him.
I hope Oden gets his stuff together, it’s just that the hype was soooo high, maybe a but much? lol. I Think Siler will suprise ppl. ESPECIALLY since there are no expectations tied to his name outside of Georgia. Much like Al Horford. Seriously no one was paying attention to him it was all about Oden and Durant.
Samuel
July 30th, 2009
5:20 pm
Anybody who thinks we should be competing for a ring,
I stop looking at 2004-05 but only one team has ever cracked the top 3 in either Conference without at least one “ALL-NBA” player. Detriot did it in 07-08. That’s 1 out of 30 teams.
I’m sure the odds didn’t get any better if I would have researched further.
Many here, including myself, have likened our model after the recent Piston teams. It can be done but highly unlikely.