Extension talks for Joe

Joe Johnson in a Hawks uniform for a few more years sounds pretty good to most folks. The Hawks are talking to Johnson's camp about an extension.

HAWKSVILLE - Might the Hawks be interested in keeping captain and All-Star Joe Johnson off of the robust free agent market of 2010?

It seems so.

Multiple sources have confirmed that Hawks general manager Rick Sund is on an extended trip to the left coast, and part of his itinerary includes time in Los Angeles for face-to-face talks about a contract extension with Johnson’s camp (I mentioned this on Twitter late last night after hearing for sure that this was going on). A three-time All-Star, Johnson is heading into the final year of the five-year, $70 million deal he signed in August 2005 (which if traced back, you will realize was the rebirth of the franchise that has since made the playoffs in back-to-back years).

With superstars LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh headlining next summer’s free agent crop, several teams are lining up to be major players. And that means more competition for the Hawks, were they to let Johnson get to next summer as an unrestricted free agent.

There’s plenty of time for these talks to progress, training camp is still nearly two months away. Just knowing that they are talking, though, is a good sign that the Hawks plan on taking a proactive approach where JJ is concerned. Stay tuned for more details in the coming weeks.

Speaking of training camp, it appears blog-fav/road grader Garret Siler is headed back to the city for training camp, per our friends at the Augusta Chronicle. The big fella had a good showing at the Hawks’ rookie/free agent mini-camp last month. He was mulling training camp invite offers from both the Hawks and Minnesota, but the Timberwolves’ pursuit of Ryan Hollins helped make his decision a little easier.

The need for a veteran big like Joe Smith remains, but at least we know there will at least one true “big man” (6-11 or taller and at least 270 pounds) in camp along with Zaza Pachulia.

502 comments Add your comment

Ariose

August 8th, 2009
12:09 am

Ramon, I’ve always liked that about this squad. Good character guys, and that a creit to BK for having good judgement in that area.

Check out this great podcast with Bob Rathburn and Micah Heart. Good stuff. I love how Bob Rathburn always keeps it real lol.

http://www.nba.com/hawks/multimedia/Hawks_Podcast_Central.html#

Big Ray

August 8th, 2009
8:27 am

“Marvin is an important part of our core, and we’re very pleased to keep him in a Hawks uniform,” Hawks executive vice president/general manager Rick Sund said in a statement. “A big priority this summer was to retain as many of our free agents as possible and keep our nucleus intact, so Marvin’s return is significant for us.”

Huh. Glad Marvin’s signed. Looks like Sund has revealed one of the big priorities of the offseason. Might have been the biggest one, but he didn’t specify.

The “big man” watch continues. Because we have nothing else to do.

Melvin

August 8th, 2009
9:28 am

Ariose,

The still have Hunter name plate on his locker. I guess that’s a good sign for him…lol

Big Ray

August 8th, 2009
9:31 am

Samuel,

I’ll agree that Andris Biedrins is no behemoth, and Bosh certainly isn’t. If we got Bosh, he’d play PF and Horford would have to stay at center. Perhaps not the ideal situation, but Bosh is a 20 and 10 guy.

With Biedrins, you have a guy who played center in the Western Conference and managed to average 12 points, 11 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks per game. If we got him, he’d play center, and Horford would play PF. May not be the ideal “banging” situation, but you’re talking about having two guys in your starting frontcourt that can both give you a double double every night. Hard to be mad at that….

Still, I understand the preference for a true big body. But if we trade one of our core, who are we getting? None of the starting-caliber bigs I know of are for sale. I mean, as much as I’d love to have an Al Jefferson for somebody of that ilk, it ain’t happening.

Big Ray

August 8th, 2009
9:34 am

Meant to say “Or somebody of that ilk”…

Samuel

August 8th, 2009
9:53 am

Ray,

Bosh would be nice but considering the fact that all the top 3 teams have huge guys in the middle, he wouldn’t help that much. Biedrens gets a lot of garbage hoops and rebounds due to that Nelly system.(See the Matrix). I’m not sure he would do that here. He’d be pretty much on the level of a ZaZa(which aint bad) but not enough to put us in the top 3.

A couple of people mentioned Amare. I would do Josh for Amare if he’s healthy and we can extend him. Of course those are two really big “ifs” but when he’s healthy he’s one of the best in the game. The catch 22 is: if he is healthy and comes back to his old self, many more teams will be after him. if he’s not, you’re stuck with him. if healthy, I’d much rather have him than Bosh or Biedrens.

Again, If Cleveland doesn’t win it all. They will be “busted” up and fall into the lottery community. I Lebron goes, so does Shaq. Actually Shaq may go even if they do win it all. That will be a top 3 slot we can fill.

I think Boston has one more good year left. I don’t see KGs knees holding up much longer and Sheed doesn’t really seem like a good “New Englander” to me. I don’t know if that marriage will work too long. Another opportunity to slip into the top 3. Even if we go with what we have now.

So again, I’m excited about this year but i’m really excited about next Fall.

UGA

August 8th, 2009
10:33 am

I like what some have said about Rodney Carney, he’d be a nice addition. Marvin is 6′9, 240 and call play some PF for us. If we could add him, Joe Smith and Johan Petro or a Jason Collins, I’d be VERY pleased. Those Collins twins are big and we should consider one b/c of the number of times we will have to go up against Howard and Shaq.

Melvin

August 8th, 2009
10:45 am

Sam,

To extend your thought with a slight change of subject. Excluding the Hawks(ha,ha), what do yall think will happen. Does Kobe (and Fisher), Duncan or Shaq get their 5th ring this season or will KG/Pierce get their 2nd ring? Or maybe Superman get his first? Weight in everyone…

Big Ray

August 8th, 2009
10:53 am

From David Aldridge, NBA.com:

ATLANTA

DA’s Offseason Rank: No. 10

Last season: 47-35, second place, Southeast; Lost in second round of Playoffs.

Added: G Jamal Crawford (trade with Golden State), G Jeff Teague (first-round pick)

Lost: G Acie Law (traded to Golden State), G Speedy Claxton (traded to Golden State), G Flip Murray

Retained: G Mike Bibby (three years, $18 million), C Zaza Pachulia (four years, $19 million), F Marvin Williams

The key man: F Josh Smith. Atlanta’s Josh of All Trades is a game changer when he is finishing on the wing and providing athletic shot blocking as a help defender.

The skinny: No reason Atlanta can’t continue last season’s strong run after re-signing all three of its free agents and adding the talented Teague. With Crawford, Joe Johnson, Bibby and Teague (and, occasionally, Williams), the Hawks’ backcourt is deep and versatile. The Hawks still need another big to take some of the load off the undersized Al Horford, but Atlanta’s future is pretty bright going into Johnson’s contract year.

niremetal

August 8th, 2009
10:59 am

Spurs will romp if Duncan stays healthy.

UGA

August 8th, 2009
10:59 am

Joey Graham from Toronto is another name if we did not get Carney.

BIGS are the most important right now though.

Big Ray

August 8th, 2009
11:05 am

So Josh Smith is effective when finishing on the wing? Wow, what a concept. Maybe we should consider feeding him the ball on the wing, instead of setting him up for jumpers or ill-fated drives in the half court. Of course, that would require that we run just a tad more….

Big Ray

August 8th, 2009
11:08 am

Samuel,

I hear you.

Melvin,

My bet is on Spurs or Lakers. Not that I’m a betting man, mind you…

Samuel

August 8th, 2009
11:26 am

Melvin,

I gotta go with Shaq and LeBron. That team reminds me too much of the Heat with Shaq and Dwade. Veraj is your Haslem and Mo is your White choc. Iggy not quite Zo but very close. Parker and Moon will also help their athleticism. Don’t forget JJ Hickson either. He really impressed me last year. I believe they will get it done.

The Celtics will challenge them “IF” KG comes back 100%(which I don’t think will happen).

Out west, I gotta go with the Lakers. Ron Artest is a huge pickup.

hell of a finals:
Cleveland vs LA.

Ken Strickland

August 8th, 2009
11:27 am

SAMUEL-You stated you’d take AStaudamire(6′10″ 249lbs) over Bosh(6′10″ 230lbs) and Biedrens(6′11″ 240lbs). Your stated reasoning for this was Bosh and Biedrens were too light in the “A” to be effective bangers, and Biedrens’ rebounding numbers were the result of Nellie’s system. Well, can’t you say the same about Staudamire, since he also plays in the Western conference under a wide open system very simular to Nellies? Now Bosh, although the lightest of the 3, accumulated his rebounds going up against the big boys in the Eastern conference. Both Biedrens(11 RPG) and Bosh(10 RPG) outrebounded Staudamire(8 RPG), who’s also proven to be an injury prone malcontent.

ARE YOU SAYING THE 9LB WEIGHT DIFFERENCE MAKES STAUDAMIRE A BANGER AND BIEDRENS TOO LIGHT IN THE A TOO BE A BANGER? WHERE’S THE LOGIC?

Following your logic, Dallas should have won several NBA titles since they’ve had a couple of bangers on their roster. They’re desperately trying to get rid of one of their bangers, EDampier, so we should go all out to get him and secure our title hopes. Oh, and didn’t the Suns share your philosophy last yr when they traded the Matrix, their 6′7″ PF, for Shaq the banger? And didn’t they become a worse team with Shaq the banger than their nonbanging Matrix?

If you look at the centers listed in the top 50 players of all time, you’ll notice most of them were not considered bangers. Unless you consider The Dream, Kareem, Russell, DRobinson, NThurman, EHayes and BWalton bangers. I’d list Wilt, WReed and WUnseld as the only bangers in the group.

The Truth

August 8th, 2009
11:46 am

This will be a very important year for Al Horford. Since it is that third year when the most promising rookies emerge and make their validation statement, Al will be under special scrutiny to show his metals. He will either confirm or deny that he is the coveted player he was expected to be. The dust should be settle as to whether or not AL is a center or a PF. He certainly will be tested in a beefed-up eastern conference. Al will not be given a pass if he is playing out of position and falls short of expectation. Three years should be enough time to prove it. Of course, it wouldn’t be fair, given the circumstances, but he will, unfortunately, bear most of the criticism if that scenario was to happen. Without question, it will be Al’s mission and responsibility to get BIGGER, STRONGER AND DEVELOP A MUCH BETTER OFFENSIVE POST GAME if he wants to silent the doubters about his center ambition. If Zaza and/or other center backups are constantly bailing him of games where he is out manned and offensively struggling, then the verdict will be rendered that the perceived experiment did not work. However, if Al can exactly accomplish his mission and silent the doubters, then Sund, Woody and even BK could look like geniuses for picking and staying with him as a center.

The Truth

August 8th, 2009
12:33 pm

Source: HoopsHype: Brian Windhorst – word is no progress w/ Cavs and Leon Powe. As of right now, doesn’t look like it will happen. But Joe Smith still very possible

Looks to be even more likely that we will lose Joe Smith to the Cavs by default. So we might as well move on to the next prospect then to tie-up bandwidth on the obvious.

Anakin Joe

August 8th, 2009
12:59 pm

The Truth, with he way Sund has been getting other contracts done, my guess is that he already moved on and only the fans are still clamoring for Joe Smith (and I’m one of those clamoring the most).

Ray, it would also help if Josh would fill the wing on those fast break opportunities instead of trying to be Magic Johnson.

I’d take Graham over Carney… just because Graham is bigger and more physical. But honestly, I’d just try to bring back Othella Hunter and see if he can give us 8 minutes of tenacious defense.

Samuel

August 8th, 2009
1:14 pm

Ken,

Not so much the weight as the way they play. Bosh just is not a great low post player. He’s a good player but not a great low post player and Biedrens hardly had any plays run for him. Watch the games. In addition to defense, we someone who can score in the paint. Stod is one of the best when healthy.

I believe I said that I would definately wait to see if he was healthy before I considered the move. Did I not? Again, I like Bosh, just not sure he would make us any better than we are now with Josh.

Biedrens better watch his back. A kid by the name of Randolph is comming for his spot.

Actually I’d rather have Turiaf than Biedrens.

bigdave

August 8th, 2009
1:18 pm

The Truth…

agreed… this is a show me year for Al…

Samuel

August 8th, 2009
1:27 pm

How can you blame a guy who made All NBA for a team’s decline.

#1- The Suns changed coaches
#2- They lost Stod(An All NBA caliber Player) who was having one of their best years ever.
#3-Traded away the “heart and soul” of their team and the only good defender they had in Raja Bell for a ballhog named Richardson
#4- Steve Nash aged about 5 years.

And you blame that on a player who made All NBA. Please!!

And let’s not debate about players of completely different eras. It’s useless.

The Truth

August 8th, 2009
1:38 pm

AJ

That “clamoring” thing; it’s a dirty job but I guess somebody got to do it, ah-uh? :)

Samuel

August 8th, 2009
1:51 pm

PHX problem was that they never should have completely overhauled their system just because they brought in Shaq. They could have kept the same system and players and he would have made them better.

People kept saying Shaq would slow the Suns down but how many centers are out in the break anyway. During the “show time” era. Kareem sometimes never made it past half court but when they needed him they waited until he got there and fed him for the sky hook. What’s so hard about that.

Steve Kerr just was not patient enough and panicked.

Ken Strickland

August 8th, 2009
2:28 pm

SAMUEL-I actually understand your point, but I don’t think that’s our biggest problem. It’s not the size of either Astaudamire, ABiedrins or CBosh, but the style of play they’d be forced to play in. The biggest problem with Biedrens or Bosh coming here is they’d end up suffering the same fate as our current players. And that’s being forced to function within a limited halfcourt OFF system that doesn’t allow them to take full advantage of their talents, skills and athleticism.

There’s a very serious gap between the style of play our players and team are best suited for, and what Woodson wants. There’s no way the current Hawks can get to the next level if our HC insists on forcing that square peg into that round hole.

Big Ray

August 8th, 2009
2:31 pm

Astro Joe,

Oh, I agree. Of course, it’s kinda hard to fill the wing when the guards don’t push the ball. Outrunning the defense to the other end gets kind of old when you’re watching the point guard walk it up while he listens to Woody bark the same play out at him time after time. I guess Josh figured if he’s going to haul ass up the court, he may as well bring the ball with him.

I agree he doesn’t need to lead the break, as it always ends one of two ways: brilliant play or busted play. 50% is a great percentage from the field, but not a great percentage on fast break opportunities.

It would be nice if a couple things happened. One, our veteran guards and coach alike need to get all over Josh’s case every single time he tries to lead the break. Hell, all of his teammates should. Two, our coach should encourage our guards to actually run the break when the opportunity arises. And our veteran guards should actually do it, instead of taking all 8 seconds to get to the other half of the court.

Big Ray

August 8th, 2009
2:34 pm

Truth,

Maybe we can get lucky and get Leon Powe. Or not…maybe he just finds a way to stick with Boston the way Big Baby did. Yeah, I’ll pass the joint…here ya go….

Big Ray

August 8th, 2009
2:53 pm

Samuel,

Randolph looked spectacular in the summer league. But summer league ain’t squat, and I remember you saying that yourself. I hope he wilds out during the regular season, but if he takes anybody’s spot, it ain’t gonna be Biedrins’. Dude is not a center anymore than Marvin Williams is. That, and somebody on the squad has to average over 11 rebounds and 1.5 blocks on that squad, and Randolph just doesn’t have it in his head or heart to do it. Besides, will Nellie’s crazy butt give him the burn? You know how that cat is. And he just traded for Marco Belinelli.

I would rather trade a non-starter (or group of such) for Ronny Turiaf as a 20+ mpg low post guy than get rid of Josh for Biedrins. Thing is, Ronny needs to learn how to not average 4 fouls per 20 minutes. But I’d definitely take his butt in a heartbeat.

cp

August 8th, 2009
3:03 pm

Graham has one of the lowest b ball iq’s I have seen. I would take Carney or Green over him and that’s saying a lot since Green’s b ball IQ is not that high either. I think we will be bringing Hunter back. There are not too many more options left and he is a promising young player. Anthony Randolph is a pf/sf but with Don Nelson he would be crazy enough to try and play the kid at Center which would be a disadvantage to him because he is not very big or strong. Biedrens is a real good player. Considering how much they ignore him on the offensive end due to the chucking many of their players do, his production is pretty good. He is a good rebounder regardless of the system they play. He could easily average 12 boards a game if he played for a different team or a different system. He stays in foul trouble but that’s due to the Warriors guards and forwards inability to stay in front of their man so he has to come over a lot of times. I like Biedrens and he could easily help this team.

Big Ray

August 8th, 2009
3:06 pm

Truth,

You gonna put all of that on Al Horford? Half of us think he’s a PF, not a center. He’s not playing center because he wants to, but because we NEED him to. Because we don’t have anybody who can play it better for 30+ minutes a game.

I agree that getting bigger and stronger, and developing a better post game is a must. But nothing will make him taller or make his arms longer. And if he adds too much weight, he will lose mobility and stamina.

Not only that, but if he does not GET the opportunity to be a steady offensive factor, he’s not going to be able to produce. Are you trying to tell me that Woody has been trying to run our offense through the frontcourt, and not the backcourt? I lost count how many times I’ve watched Horford score on the block, or with that turnaround jumper, or the 15 foot jumper…only to not get the ball for damn near the entire second half.

Don’t get me wrong, I know there’s plenty of room for improvement in his game, and I want to see him become more polished offensively. But we’re acting like he isn’t putting forth the effort. THAT, I’m not buying into.

Samuel

August 8th, 2009
3:37 pm

Ray,

I think Randolph will probably end up starting this year. I just really feel that. I’m not sure if that means Biedrens goes or someone else but Nellie really likes him and so do I.

Stating the Obvious

August 8th, 2009
4:00 pm

Have we signed anyone named Joe yet?

Big Ray

August 8th, 2009
4:03 pm

Samuel,

I like the guy too, and I hope Nellie lets him do his thing. I see him starting at the 4 though. He’s not a banger, though he could create some serious matchup problems for teams at the 4. Biedrins is no scorer, and Turiaf is a thug on the floor (gotta love it), so let them man the middle. Put the ball in Randolph’s hands and let him make GS fans forget all about guys like Al Harrington, I say.

Big Ray

August 8th, 2009
4:03 pm

Stating the Obvious,

Obviously not. ;)

Big Ray

August 8th, 2009
4:25 pm

Read where Chauncey Billups is taking JR Smith under his wing to help him get through his off court and on court problems.

While our guys don’t have off court problems, where are the veterans that could mentor them? Sure, Teague will have Bibby and Team Dime to lean on. And maybe Joe will show a little leadership himself, rather than just talk to the media about another young guy runnin’ wild….

But there hasn’t been, and still isn’t anybody to take guys like Smith under their wing. And Smith NEEDS that. Closest thing we ever had to that was sorry ass Lorenzen Wright, who was more interested in doing his own retarded version of “Punk’D”, and making sure rookies were treated like rookies.

Depth in the frontcourt is one thing. But a lack of mentorship and veteran leadership for the last 5 years in that area is another problem we’ve had. And our youth movement stems from where? Mostly the frontcourt.

Happy Hawker

August 8th, 2009
5:38 pm

Ok, to avoid reading through the past 300 post… when did the Biedrens talk start? I’ve thought for the past 3 yrs that Beidrens would be the perfect answer to our center quandry. After the deal for Crawford came across the board as excited as I was to add more scoring for scraps, I also was disappointed that we were not able to secure Biedrens. I don’t compare the weights of players, but I do appreciate qualities that Beidrens brings to the table. Are we really looking for THAT MUCH offensive production from the 5? Or do we continue with the school of thought that defense is the key and to add a legit shot blocker to smoove’s aid? Doesn’t a move like this help our “bigs” Smoove/Horford/ZaZa as well as in regards to foul trouble/depth at both the 4 and the 5? To me it seems like Beidrens has held his own in a conference where he consistantly sees quality big men so why not for the Hawks. For those who are Siler fans, that’s where we pick up the “weight/big body” issues right?

Ken Strickland

August 8th, 2009
6:22 pm

Now is when everything gets serious. Maybe, just maybe Sund hasn’t offered Joe Smith, or any other Big, a contract because he had to see how much it was going to cost to resign MWilliams, his #1 FA priority. And that makes perfect sense for a team on a budget. Now that Mavin is in the fold, we’ll see how serious the team is about signing another FA Big or 2.

Samuel

August 8th, 2009
6:47 pm

Another thing Ken and Ray,

Do we really need a career 53% FT shooter on this team. This guy took bad free throw shooting to another level. In 2005-06 he shot a whoping “30%” from the line. Yiiittteeesss!!!

niremetal

August 8th, 2009
7:55 pm

Yup, four years ago as a rookie, Biedrins was godawful from the line. Now he’s merely quite bad – 55.1% to Josh’s 58.8%.

Most centers are bad from the line. Biedrins won’t be getting too many touches in the post anyway (which is how Woody likes it for his centers), so he won’t have to shoot too many free throws. My guess is that he’ll shoot between 60 and 65% from the line going forward, since most players improve their free throw shooting as they gain experience. I can live with that from a guy who’ll only take 3-4 free throws per game anyway.

I doubt it will happen, and I’m honestly not 100% sure that Josh for Biedrins improves the team since I’m in the crowd that views Horford as a good, though, not ideal center. But Biedrins is an even better center, and it’s very hard to come by long, strong, and athletic 6′11 guys who inhale rebounds like Dennis Scott inhales tacos. He would be an upgrade over Horford at center, and I honestly think that Horford would be Smoove’s equal at PF before too long. But that’s the key question – if you consider Horford a step down from Smoove at PF, it’s probably not a good deal. If you consider him at least equal, it’s a good deal.

Ernest

August 8th, 2009
8:01 pm

niremetal said:

it’s very hard to come by long, strong, and athletic 6′11 guys who inhale rebounds like Dennis Scott inhales tacos.

That’s cold…. :)

Ramon

August 8th, 2009
8:53 pm

Big Ray, tell me why I have a HARD time imagining Lo putting popcorn in Smoove’s car when he was a rookie? Tell me why I think they would still be fighting til this day?

The Truth

August 8th, 2009
9:45 pm

Ray,

I’m certainly not suggesting Al is not putting forth the effort. I’ve commented numerous times in past blogs about Al’s yeomen-like effort and the intangibles in bring to the game. But Al should not be held to a different performance standard just because it is perceived that he is playing out-of-position. Case in point; I remember at the beginning of last season Woody challenged Marvin as he was entering his contract year, that he must increase his scoring average to 18 points a game to be considered one of the top SF in the game. Marvin embraced the challenge and was working toward his goal until he got injured and fail short. Hopefully Woody will do the same and challenge Al to step his game up. Currently Al is ranked 16th in rebounding, 141st in scoring and 23rd in block shots during the last regular season. If Woody challenge was appropriate for Marvin, then a similar challenge seems appropriate for AL. For the Hawks to get to the next level, Al need to be ranked at least amongst the top 10 centers in the league. So, yes, Al must improve. It will help both the Hawks and AL if he raises his standards. It is not a knock against Al. It is what it is. This accountability thing is across the board and is impartial to no player.

jhan

August 8th, 2009
9:53 pm

good one nire!

bigdave

August 8th, 2009
10:10 pm

Roddy White is now the leagues 2nd highest paid receiver behind future HOF Fitz. 6yr/50mil 18 guaranteed… i know our hands were kinda tied given our think corps. but all i can remember is this guy dropping passes left and right…. geesh… better perform like it brother…
1 good year… ha… u still brought Mora to his knees…

bigdave

August 8th, 2009
10:11 pm

Najeh Davenpoop

August 8th, 2009
11:25 pm

“Biedrens better watch his back. A kid by the name of Randolph is comming for his spot.”

Anthony Randolph is a lot more similar to Josh Smith than he is to Andris Biedrins. He is a multi-talented combo forward, not a center. In fact, Randolph’s presence might lead Golden State to decline any Josh-for-Biedrins deal, if the Hawks were to propose one.

Samuel

August 9th, 2009
5:44 am

I didn’t say he was a center. That never stopped Nellie in the past. Randolph’s numbers in the last month of the season last year were much better than Biedrens. I can see him inserting Turiaf in at C and starting Randolph at PF or Josh at PF and Randolph at SF.

Nellie likes Shooters.

jhan

August 9th, 2009
9:50 am

He won’t want Josh if he likes shooters.

Ken Strickland

August 9th, 2009
10:01 am

NIREMETAL-Replacing Horford at C with Biedrens and JSmith at PF with Horford wouldn’t hurt the team, just give it a different overall dimension. Horford’s very good midrange jumpshooting would make him a better fit at PF in Woodson’s limited jumpshooting guard dominated halfcourt OFF. I believe his post up gm would be more effective since he’d be using his size and strength against PF’s instead of Centers. He’s a better FT shooter than Josh, would very likely have fewer turnovers, and would provide a different type of solid DEF.

A center rotation of Biedrins/Zaza and a PF rotation of Horford/Hunter would look good to me.

SAMUEL-We have a HC that likes shooters as well, as long as their name isn’t Salim Staudemire.

truth-serum

August 9th, 2009
11:35 am

HEY UNCLE TOM, SEKOU, CAN YOU TELL ME WHY IS THIS BLOG SITE IS SO RED NECKED AND CAN YOU TELL ME WHY THE AJC IS SO RACIST?

Doug

August 9th, 2009
11:36 am

Whatever Woody’s shortcomings are I think his evaluation and useage of Salim have been…shall we say…supported by the unwillingness for any other NBA team to employ/ues a short, one dimensional streak shooter…or is Popovich’s ability to judge talent also impaired???