Archive for July, 2009

The Hawks gambled on and won big on Joe Johnson. The Hornets … not so much with their acquisition of Peja Stojakovic. It's buyer beware during NBA free agency.

HAWKSVILLE - Don’t we get this feeling around this time every summer?

While the rest of the NBA seems to move at a breakneck pace in the summer, things here in Hawksville seem to move in that Matrix-styled slow motion, the one where is dancing on the rooftop avoiding those bullets from the agents.

It’s always bothered me in the past. But not so much now.

Not with teams (Portland) being made a fool of in their pursuit of players that may or may not push them to the next level. Toronto’s pending acquisition of Hedo Turkoglu certainly looks like a playoff-making move for a franchise that (even with Chris Bosh and Jose Calderon last year) couldn’t muster more than 33 wins. The Raptors finished third to last in the Eastern Conference, meaning Turkoglu’s addition alone (they don’t have any more free agent cash to do …

Continue reading Buyer beware! »

(Former) Hawks swingman Josh Childress appears to be in play for the second straight summer as a restricted free agent. He's in Milwaukee today visiting the Bucks.

HAWKSVILLE - From Athens to Milwaukee and back to Atlanta, the name Josh Childress is being tossed around in every direction these days.

Childress is in Milwaukee today visiting the Bucks with his agent, Jim Tanner.

What that means for the Hawks is that they might get a do-over with Childress, a restricted free agent again this summer as he was last summer.

Last summer they lost him as an asset when he chose to sign with Greek power Olympiakos (for $20 million post taxes). What the Hawks didn’t lose was the right of first refusal on Childress if he decided to return to the NBA this summer.

And two of my spies have made it clear that were Childress to receive any sort of “reasonable” NBA offer (the $5.6 million mid-level exception or below), the Hawks would match it before Childress finished signing his name on the …

Continue reading Childress in play? »

Both Rasheed Wallace (headband) and Marcin Gortat (skinband) are on the Hawks' free agent hot list this summer. The NBA free agent negotiating period began at midnight.

HAWKSVILLE - It’s 12:01 a.m., do you know where your No. 1 free agent target is.

And No. 2, and No. 3 and on and on.

The Hawks do.

The Hawks’ front office staff was still working late Tuesday night in anticipation of the midnight start to the NBA’s free agent negotiating period.

Everyone knows about the Hawks’ (quasi-internal) targets – Mike Bibby, Zaza Pachulia and Flip Murray are all unrestricted free agents while Marvin Williams, Solomon Jones and Mario West are all restricted free agents, as is Josh Childress (who remains under contract with Greek power Olympiakos, though he has an opt out that he must exercise by July 15) . But there’s more going on that just that.

After year’s of failing to grab the attention of the league’s best free agents on the market, the Hawks are suddenly in the mix for some of …

Continue reading 12:01 a.m. »