Crawford makes a great first impression
Hawks fans are going to get a full dose of Jamal Crawford this season and if first impressions count for anything, it should be an exciting show.
HAWKSVILLE – From the minute Jamal Crawford hit the door Monday all eyes were on the Hawks’ newest addition (well, so to speak).
And he didn’t disappoint, not that anything he could have done would have disappointed the crowd of players, many of them his new teammates, hoping to get a glimpse of him in Hawks’ practice duds.
“They’re going to be (expletive) good this year,” said a visiting pro from another NBA team. “You throw JC and Joe Smith and this kid [Jeff] Teague, and they’ve got some wrinkles now that they didn’t have last season. They were already a dangerous team and now they’re really dangerous. And knowing these fans down here and what they like, they’re going to love the style this team can play. They’re going to love JC.”
Crawford loves the idea of what this Hawks team could be. He was all smiles after playing a few pickup games with guys like Marvin Williams, Al Horford, Mike Bibby and others, for the very first time.
“If you look at us on paper, you know we should be pretty good,” Williams said, “but so far I’d have to say it looks even better than I thought. It’s impressive. It’s different. Everybody knows what Jamal is capable of. And Jeff can play, man. I don’t know any other way of saying it, he can just play. And it’ll be exciting when we get everybody in here and see how the pieces fit. I truly believe we are going to be one of the most explosive teams in the league.”
Crawford wasn’t even in scoring mode on his first day (training camp starts in one week but most of the main faces have already made it back to town or are on the way). He played the role of set-up man. “Everybody knows I can score a little bit,” Crawford said modestly. “I’m a good passer, too. I love to set guys up. I always have.”
A nasty no-look pass here, another wicked dish there and his teammates, not to mention everyone else in attendance, had seen enough.
Horford couldn’t contain his glee while watching Crawford break down a defender in the lane on one play. He let out a loud yelp when Crawford’s crossover dribble whipped from one side to the other. Horford calmed down just in time to catch the pass (yup, he was on the floor and playing in the game but clearly enjoying the spectacle) of Crawford shredding yet another ill-fated attempt to slow him down.
“I couldn’t help it,” a smiling Horford would say later. “It’s fun to watch him got o work on somebody. I’m just excited, man. Training camp is going to be so competitive and it’s because we have some of these [new] guys coming in that will stir it up. I can’t wait to get going.”
OTHER NEW FACES
Crawford wasn’t the only new face to open a few eyes Monday. Training camp invitee Courtney Sims made his first appearance at the John “Beans” Beckett Invitational and did not disappoint.
Sims is a solid 6-11, 240-pounder that didn’t seem at all out of place banging against the likes of Horford, Randolph Morris, Othello Hunter and Garrett Siler – the other true bigs on the floor for most of Monday’s action. Sims finished with authority around the rim and was as active as any big running the floor and getting his hands dirty in the rebounding battles on both ends of the floor.
“We’re going to have so many bigs now that things will change dramatically for us,” Horford said of he, Josh Smith and Zaza Pachulia, the men who shouldered the bulk of the low-post burden for the Hawks last season. “You go from playing three or four guys, with Solomon Jones, to having five or six quality guys that can play and that has to make a big difference for us.”
THE WAFER RULE
Day after day veteran free agent Jerry Stackhouse turns heads during these informal workouts.
I haven’t found a player yet that isn’t convinced that he could help this Hawks team this season as versatile specialists off the bench.
Whether or not that connection ever comes to fruition is obviously not up to said players or any of us around here.
But let me offer up a cautionary tale about watching a free agent dazzle on the practice court all summer only to find work elsewhere once training camp rolls around. Von Wafer [breakout season in Houston last year and ow a teammate of former Hawks swingman Josh Childress in Greece] put on a somewhat similar type of show last summer, wowing everyone with his shooting stroke from deep and his ability to finish at the rim without any regard for whoever and whatever might be in his way.
Wafer would have helped this Hawks team tremendously last year but a decision was made to go in a different direction (one that, it should be pointed out, helped net 47 wins). It’ll be interesting to see if the Hawks look past Stackhouse (for whatever reasons) and break the Wafer Rule.
It’s not my decision, my team, my money or my main concern right now. But I don’t know that I’d be able to rationalize not trying to sign Stackhouse up if he goes anywhere this season and plays half as well as he’s played since I’ve been watching this summer.
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483 comments Add your comment
Daniel
September 22nd, 2009
11:20 am
Ken- thanks for the props… I hope this doesn’t mean I am part of the “bubba crew” j/k
jerrywest- I am assuming that you mean that Stack staying in Atlanta with his family is worth a couple hundred thousand to him. I guess that seems logical. I meant that if he takes the vet min. I doubt any team is going to offer more than that. So, essentially the money will be the same. I was saying that the deciding issues as I see them will be:
1) Does Stack want to play a reserve role with the Hawks or is he looking to jump on another team that may be closer to a title.
2) Does Sund want to use another roster spot (we both agree that at the vet min. he is clearly worth the money) on a guard/swingman or does he want a 3rd pg?
3)I am sure that Stack is in Atlanta makes the Hawks more desirable, but I would say for a seasoned pro that is less of the issue than points 1&2
For the record, I hope the Hawks sign him.
Daniel
September 22nd, 2009
11:22 am
BOONE- the biggest point would be his contract, now if Stack were signed and healthy and plays well, then Mo might become a tradable assest…. but that is so many if’s from now, that you have to keep Mo. I agree with others who have said that Mo is underappreciated.
GeeMack
September 22nd, 2009
11:30 am
Sekou
Thanks for the new blog. We wore the other one out. Lol!
HawksV
September 22nd, 2009
11:33 am
Sekou…please give us an update on Joe and Mike. It sounds like everyone has improved this summer, and I would like to hear how our two leaders have improved as well. Also, I know it is really early, but I would be interested in hearing your opinion about how good this team could be based on your initial impressions!
ant banks
September 22nd, 2009
11:37 am
DANIEL,
at one point durin’ the season last year, the hawks were 11-1 with mo’ in the line up while marvin was out. we don’t appreciate mo’
smartguy
September 22nd, 2009
11:39 am
Woody will find a way to mess this up.
rms
September 22nd, 2009
11:41 am
Its amazing how Sekou leaves us a blog in the wee hours of the morning and we never hear from him again until the next blog comes up. Yes, Sekou I am giving you a hard time since no one else will!!!!
rms
September 22nd, 2009
11:42 am
I agree with you SMARTGUY, Woody will find a way to mess this up. The interesting part will be to see what his excuse will be.
cp
September 22nd, 2009
11:44 am
This might the most excited I have ever been about an upcoming season for the Hawks..If we keep our main guys healthy I think we can have a better year than last..
Ariose I saw the insider about the Hawks posted on another page. I’ll do some searching and post the article if I find it..
To the guys who cant catch any Hawks games due to being out of state or not having the NBA league pass, give me your email addresses around the beginning of the season and ill give u links where you can watch the games.
I would rather have Stack than Mario so sign him up.
A Tribe Called Quest
September 22nd, 2009
11:50 am
Good read — great blog, Sekou
Mink
September 22nd, 2009
11:55 am
Is there a place for Stackhouse on this team? I think the easy answer is “Make room.” but if you add a guy like Stack, you’re going to have to commit major minutes to him. He and Mo Evans would be battling for minutes, and I’m afraid jacking up shots they normally wouldn’t, trying to pad their stats to justify more playing time.
I guess it also depends on how good Teague really is. If Teague is going to get serious minutes this year, there’s no room for Stack. If it’s going to be a watch and learn year, bring him on.
Its TIME
September 22nd, 2009
12:01 pm
If you are asking AND answering yourself questions under 30 different names on a Blog, Please Seek Help!! If you dont get help at Charter, please get help somewhere.
Andy
September 22nd, 2009
12:08 pm
As someone who watched every game Jamal Crawford played for the Knicks, and someone who has absolutely no malice towards the Hawks (all the while recognizing that players do change sometimes), allow me to fill you in on what you’re probably getting.
Crawford will come to training camp and say all the right things about playing hard, playing smart, doing what the coach asks, accepting whatever role is given to him, just coming to fit in, etc.
Then when the lights come on, you’ll get a tremendously gifted scorer who is streaky, forces way too many shots, shoots a low percentage, can pass a little and plays no defense whatsoever.
Part of the problem in NY is that he played for Isiah Thomas, who basically just rolled the ball out and let his scorers do as they pleased. The end-of-game strategy consisted of nothing more than handing the ball to Crawford for some shake-and-bake followed by an off-balance 25-footer with a hand in his face. He’ll even make them occasionally.
The Bulls got rid of him because he was too wild, the Knicks got rid of him because he makes too much money for too long, and can’t catch and shoot (he absolutely must dribble thru his legs 2-3 times and take a few baby steps while palming the ball before launcing the J, and pouted when D’Antoni’s system didn’t call for that) and even a freestyler like Don Nelson had no use for him.
On the other hand, I always thought his best year – though not statistically – was the year Larry Brown coached the Knicks. He actually played with some intelligence that year, didn’t force as many shots, and even got into a defensive stance a time or two. So maybe he is coachable in the right situation.
I say beware a guy this skilled who is on his 4th team before his 30th birthday – all via trade – and has never been on a playoff team. If he plays a role any bigger than the one Flip Murray had, that might not be a good thing.
I hope I’m wrong.
Daniel
September 22nd, 2009
12:10 pm
well- ant, I obviously didn’t mean you then.
Nookah
September 22nd, 2009
12:20 pm
Daniel, I endorse your points on Stack. Those are excellent points. However, with the addition of Stack can Woody handle the embarrassment of riches?
I too am very excited about this upcoming season. With this current lineup (even without adding Stack), scoring should not be a problem. I am also very pleased with the effort to improve the interior defense. This will help us against the Bostons, Clevelands and Orlandos of this world. We should not be man-handled inside that easily.
Go Hawks!!!
rms
September 22nd, 2009
12:24 pm
Anyone care to comment about how the referee lockout will affect this upcoming season?
JSS
September 22nd, 2009
12:35 pm
RMS…
You may want to cut Sekou some slack today, pretty serious weather matters in his part of Cobb Co/Metro Atlanta this morning… I just hope everyone is OK…
Mink
September 22nd, 2009
12:42 pm
Man it’s good to see some excited Hawks fans. I wish there was a forum or chat or something we could all go to while the games were being played; for those of us who only attend a couple games a year. Sekou, you are the spark my friend. Doing a great job, even if your mind is with the THREE AND ZERO Michigan squad.
jerrywest
September 22nd, 2009
12:44 pm
Thanks Andy (Knicks fan) for your insightful comments on Crawford. Sounds like Isiah’s offensive philosophy with Crawford was just like Woody’s offensive philosophy with JJ.
Stackhouse will make us better equipped to do a mid-season trade for a superstar.
Mink
September 22nd, 2009
12:45 pm
RMS, I think we’ll see more aggressive play towards stars to start the season. The refs that give D-Wade, Kobe, Lebron, and Company all the calls won’t be on the payroll, so guys are going to really go after them in the paint. We’ll find out real fast whether or not the stars will get less or even more special treatment than usual. I expect J-Smoove to complain more than ever to see if he can get some calls his way, and he’ll either get bumped up a notch or brought back down to Earth.
Basically, it’ll be different, in better or worse ways for certain player stereotypes. Won’t be the same for sure. I just hope they let guys play at the end of games. I’m afraid we’ll see a bunch of young refs trying to get their mug on TV…
jerrywest
September 22nd, 2009
12:47 pm
Mink – hawksquawk.net has a chat room where 20-50 hawks fans chat during and after every game. Decent group. Moderator controlled.
Mink
September 22nd, 2009
12:54 pm
Thanks Jerry. In my favorites.
sleepy
September 22nd, 2009
12:56 pm
But Andy you are wrong .
You claim he says all the right things but then when the lights go on he does something different .
Are you saying he was going against what the coach or his team asked of him ? because I havent seen anything about that wherever he has played .
The claims of him playing no defense whatsoever just is not true its kinda like the loch Ness monster of basketball . For as bad as everyone says he is on defense the numbers just dont add up . .You can say he is not a good defender but the way you try and paint is that whoever gets the ball on him scores and there is no evidence of that.
His offensive game is at the point now where he its even stevens. He normally wins or breaks even against all matchups unless its an all nba caliber player like Kobe .
Why is he to be blamed for Isiah thomas ?
He was sign and traded from the Bulls which means someone wanted him but even then I read that the Bulls offered him a deal and he declined and thats when the knicks stepped in. If Im correct David Lee and nate robinson have ZERO OFFERS and minimal offers from the knicks
He cant catch and shoot but he was shooting over 43% 2 and 44% from 3 when he was traded from the knicks and that was mostly spot up shooting ?
h pouted yet the knicks gave him a video tribute when he returned a couple of weeks later ? What did they give Marbury or Zach Randolph ? you are really stretching it here
Nelson had Monta Ellis at over 60 million just signed and several other young backcourt players as well .He had to open up perimeter minutes as the untradeable Stephen jackson and Corey maggette are gonna want there minutes as well.
A veteran player who played for 2 teams in 8 years and then joined a team in the middle of a youth movement and ended up joining a playoff team at a bargain basement price is something to beware ?
And as for the playoff team he has yet to play for a organization that was not in some sort of turmoil.
post MJ Bulls – Ron Artest and Brand couldnt win there either
Knicks – Isiah,Brown,and MARBURY this due was the franchise player and now I see him crying on youtube seriously
Golden state warriors – there is still infighting amongst the management on that team. They extended Stephen Jackson and then he announces he wants to be traded . They signed both of their young players Ellis who injured himself on a Mo ped and Biedrens to 60+ million each gave Maggette 50 million and jackson another 30 million and yet still are not a playoff team.
Please tell me which of these teams were in a position to make the playoffs but didnt because of Crawford ?
Now Crawford is in a place where there is stability in the front office and on the court. He doesnt have to worry about Joe getting mad at woody and running off the team plane. He is finally in a place where the focus is solely on winning basketball games .
Even in NY right now the entire focus is not on winning games but on whether or not James is gonna leave his team and join them.No one is gonna thrive in an environment like that.
jerrywest
September 22nd, 2009
1:11 pm
If you replaced Crawford with Wade/Kobe/LeBron, I see the 9 teams Crawford played with could have made the playoffs. I don’t think any other swingman could have taken those awful teams to the playoffs. The guy had amazing bad lucks with teams.
vava74
September 22nd, 2009
1:22 pm
Crawford will be gamble. We have to admit it. He can be very good for us, he can be so so and he can also be a disaster.
Only time will tell. However, if we look at the highlights of his best games, he had many 3 pointers on catch and shoot situations.
Obviously, he is a possession demanding type of player, however, not exclusively.
My biggest fear is that he is not a penetrator and consequently he has a tendency of having many cold games.
vava74
September 22nd, 2009
1:29 pm
newkid,
in case you have been checking and you haven’t seen any reply to your query, I posted one which is waiting moderation.
Sekou Smith
September 22nd, 2009
1:44 pm
What do you want me to tell you rms? The Twitter feed is always updated when I’m watching the guys play and I do have other parts of the job than just blogging (though it would be a dream if this was the only responsibility).
Just not sure what else you want to hear from me here.
dap01
September 22nd, 2009
2:20 pm
SEKOU: Do you need an assistant? I am available!
I appreciate the updates.
icecold
September 22nd, 2009
2:20 pm
with all these good payers we now do not have to accept any players that cant contribute now !!!( othelo hunter thomas gardner and others) we now have a team and a bench that actually have a fighting chance in winning the finals!! not jus makin it!! winning it!! and if we could sign flip murray again then we need to do that too.. he is good. flip jeff mo and ( if we can get him) stackhouse comin off the bench!! we wont have to worry about injuries because we would have back ups for back ups!! if somebody has to step in and start while somebody injured, at least they will have a back up who is even good enough to start even if they also get injured!! all the good teams are deep in there bench, the lakers, boston, and cleveland.. and we are becoming as deep as them, maybe even deeper!!
icecold
September 22nd, 2009
2:23 pm
but i do think we should mario west!! he has great deffense!! i dont see nobody else on the hawks that work as hard as him on deffense!!!
ILL-logical
September 22nd, 2009
2:32 pm
IF Crawford makes a conscious effort to become a playmaker first, then he can be an interesting alternative to Bibby.First, he is a better on ball defender, epecially against point guards. Second, under the current “system”, the offense is run through Joe and Bibby/ point guard sets up on the perimeter for the open shot. Crawford can do this plus he is an effective penetrator-something Bibby is not.Last , but not least, he is bigger and quicker than Bibby.
Bibby has already earned the trust of both his team mates and Woodson. And he knows the “system” and appears to be comfortable in it. Teague or JT 2 is going to play regardless but when it gets down to going for the gold, someone is going to have to step their game for the team to reach its full potential. Crawford can give the team another option for success from the point guard position. And the better news is that whoever is left out will make excellent trade material for future needs.
newkid
September 22nd, 2009
2:52 pm
Thanks vava74. If my experiences with NYTimes ‘awaiting moderation’ comments is any indication, then I don’t expect to receive your reply.
GeeMack
September 22nd, 2009
2:55 pm
Icecold
ECF yes! But Not the NBA finals. The Hawks need another impact player.
Wally
September 22nd, 2009
3:02 pm
Hawk Fans, Please, for your own good, wake up and listen to Andy. My opinion (like that of most Warriors fans), is exactly the same as Andy’s. He is a nice guy and has a world class cross over. But the good ends there. As Andy says, he can’t catch and shoot. His normal offensive set is dribble, dribble and launch… but he can’t shoot the trey consistently. He is incredibly streaky. But most importantly, he may be the WORST defensive player in the entire NBA. He just doesn’t care. Despite his sweet, ‘I am all for the team’ mantra that he repeats everytime he gets dumped, he won’t play D. He won’t. For your own good Hawk fans, drastically lower your expectations. I like the Hawks and think they are a fun team to watch. But Crawford is bad news.
Melvin
September 22nd, 2009
3:18 pm
Nice post, Sleepy…
icecold
September 22nd, 2009
3:18 pm
GEEMack
thats why i feel that they are planning a big trade!!! getting all these veterans, they can trade to free up somebody else cap for the 2010 season!! they might be thinking to trade our veterans expiring contracts for somebody thats good on another team to help free up there cap room for the 2010 free agency!!! never know!! sunds is not dumn!! he knoews everybody cant play!! he might be tryin to do somethin big!!!
To Wally
exactly, thats why he is 6th man and not in the starting five!!! a six man thats instint offense that can penatrate and shoot threes!!! hes not being asked to be a superstar for our team, hes being ask to pick up the scoring slack when our people are tired!!!! the hawks play rotation deffense, not man to man deffense!! he can hold his own as a 6th man!!! he can score with out the help of his team, and he can attack the basket!!
icecold
September 22nd, 2009
3:21 pm
and i dont think he is going to go in at point guard that much! hes joe johnson back up.. jeff teague is mike bibby back up!!! that way we can jus keep killin other teams on scoring!!! hes a good fit for the hawks!! jamal crawford will contribute in a very positive way!!!!!
ant banks
September 22nd, 2009
3:31 pm
DAM PLAXICO,
2yrs in the slamma’ for shootin’ yourself, with your own gun? wtf? talk about injury to insult!!
what happened with matt jones and his cocaine charge?
ToeKnee
September 22nd, 2009
5:01 pm
great blog sekou. i love the part about horford getting excited on the court with jamal, you told that story great. i’d love to hear more stuff about the hawks on a personal level like that, what they’re like, how they act towards each other, on and off the court. and do you think a vet with stackhouses pedigree would demand more playing time than we might need him for though? dont need him taking away minutes from marving or crawford just cause hes a vet. but i could see him subbing for every guy on the team almost, not the bigs of course, but he could spell joe and marvin.
Daniel
September 22nd, 2009
5:02 pm
Appreciate the insights Wally and Andy. How would you compare the role that Crawford had with the Knicks and Warriors compared to his presumed role with the Hawks? Here he will be the main scoring option with the second unit, and as a change of pace player. Just curious
deep
September 22nd, 2009
5:12 pm
Any word on Collins in camp? I hope we sign Stackhouse….
Pg- Bibby, Teague
Sg- Johnson, Crawford
Sf- Williams, Evans, Stackhouse
Pf- Smith, Smith, Morris, Hunter
C- Horford, ZaZa, Collins, Siler
rms
September 22nd, 2009
5:20 pm
Sorry Sekou, I guess now is not a good time to be giving you a hard time about something like blogging, but I would like to hear your perspective on how these new replacement refs will turn out? I aint all that excited about Crawford since its hard for me to believe he is going to change all of a sudden.
ant banks
September 22nd, 2009
5:35 pm
last year we had FLIPMO’ SQUAD for Flip and Mo’ Evans…what about “MOJO” for Mo’ Evans and Joe Smith?
mojo
One entry found.
Main Entry: mo·jo
Pronunciation: \ˈmō-(ˌ)jō\
Function: noun
**: a magic spell, hex, or charm; broadly : magical power <works his mojo on the tennis court**
Samuel
September 22nd, 2009
6:06 pm
Shout out to “MY BOY” Dave Clark from Tupelo by way of Palmetto, Mississippi. My good friend and former teammate back in Mississippi is now the manager of the Houston Astros. Daaannggg!!!!
Doesn’t surprise me a bit. Dude was born to play baseball and one of the best people you ever want to meet. The Verona Blacksox has produced some good ones. Bill Hall(Brewers), and many other pros. I know Charles Williams is smiling from ear to ear.
Actually, I look for Crawford to have a bigtime year this year.Looking forward to seeing he,Bibby and JJ on the floor together. Talk about shot makers.
JerryWest
September 22nd, 2009
6:23 pm
Great post by Northcyde at Hawksquawk.net
http://www.hawksquawk.net/community/index.php/topic/339632-lets-say-joe-johnson-dont-sign-with-us-next-season/
If we lose JJ, we’re looking at 2 options.
1) Do nothing, and let Crawford be the guy taking all of the shots at the end of the game ( unless Marvin or Smoove can become reliable enough to get the job done in this area )
2) Make a trade to bring in another star caliber player. ( and I’m not talking about trading Mo Evans for somebody . . . It’ll have to be a trade that sees Josh Smith or Al Horford leave this team, because those are the 2 guys that most people want ).
Or it could be option #3 . . . re-sign JJ at a lower price
The problem with that strategy, is that if LeBron and Wade switch teams, you’re going to see a domino effect take place throughout the league. There are just going to be too many teams with cap space, that could possibly offer JJ more than a 15 million a year deal next summer, if they choose to do so.
- Minnesota
- New Jersey
- LA Clippers
- NY Knicks
- possibly Houston ( because McGrady’s contract expires next season )
- if Lebron leaves Cleveland, then Cleveland
- if Wade leaves Miami, then Miami ( Hell . . . Miami could possibly do it, even if they do re-sign Wade )
Maybe a 4th option, would be to have JJ still on the market next summer, but not renounce his rights, so that the Hawks could possibly do a sign and trade for somebody(s).
I understand what the Hawks are doing. They’re trying to see if JJ is a guy that you can win a title with, if you have the right pieces around him.
It’s Russian Roulette though. I can see us losing JJ, then not being able to do anything. We’ll end up the exact same way that Chicago did, when they basically lost Ben Gordon for nothing.
My prediction is this . . and I said this over the summer. If the Hawks struggle, they’re going to be looking to trade JJ before the trading deadline.
They’ll end up trading him for a cat like Kevin Martin of Sacramento, along with an expiring contract to make the numbers match . . like a Desmond Mason or somebody. And they’ll try to sell us on the fact that Martin is a good shooter ( possibly even better than JJ ), and that we can rely on his shooting for the next 4 years.
But like with the Danny Manning / Nique trade, the effect probably wouldn’t hurt the Hawks tremendously . . until the playoffs came around.
Then Martin would get really exposed as the non-defensive playing guard that he is. And we’d have 2 of those guys on the team ( Martin and Crawford ), who can score, but won’t play a lick of defense.
We get bounced out in the 1st round in 7 games, and all hell would break loose . . . starting with Woody being fired . . . and probably ending with Smoove being traded.
————
either Smoove or Marvin would have to become a star caliber player. For Smoove, we’re talking about him shooting 50+% FG, scoring 20 ppg and grabbing 10 rebs. It if’s Marvin, we’re talking about him scoring somewhere around 20 ppg, while shooting in the high-40% FG, and at least in the low-40% 3FG.
If a team wants to win a title in this league, this is usually the formula:
- at least 2 All-Star caliber players ( preferably a guard + a PF or C . . with one of those guys being at least a 1st or 2nd team All-NBA player )
- a 3rd player who can occasionally play at a star level
- overall, a top 10 defensive team ( preferably a top 5 one )
If you usually don’t have ALL of those components on your team, you’re usually not winning a title, or in contention for one.
Daddy Long Long
September 22nd, 2009
6:28 pm
Man, with Vince Carter down in Orlando we could use Stackhouse! I hope Hawksville Capt. Woody plays Al Horford more at the 4 & Josh at the 3. I love this time of the year! Let’s go Hawks!!
bigdave
September 22nd, 2009
6:33 pm
ILL-logical…
thats the Crawford im hoping for…a much missed facilitator… get the ball out of Joe’s hands and get him looks off the ball. Crawford is a great ball handler and is a threat to score off the dribble going either direction (see Mike Bibby) i also like his length against smaller pg’s. we’ll see…
ant banks…
referring to Matt “pow’da nose” Jones, a helluva question… smh.
with good behavior Plax does 20mths.
The Truth
September 22nd, 2009
6:40 pm
While we all salivate the idea of a Stackhouse addition to the roster, while the emotion run wild with excitement envisioning us now becoming a new member of the elite east, let us not overlook the cause and effect from such an impromptu roster move.
Stackhouse was not invited to the party; he just showed up and showed out. Unlike many desirable UFA where a pursuing team has to do a sales job of convincing the prospect that their team is the perfect fit (like Joe Smith), the highly productive Stackhouse has already expressed an interest in playing for the Hawks. That has already been documented. Therefore much of the heavy lifting of selling him has already been done. He wants to play here. The problem is Stackhouse was not originally part of Sund’s master plan. I’m sure Sund has laid out what he had envisioned and has proceeded to implement accordingly. Whether his priority included the acquisition of another backup SF/SG after acquiring Joe Smith over a 3rd PG (or over another position), is unknown. My speculation is that it was not because if he was a priority, he would have been invited or been pursued already. Now that Stackhouse is on the radar by popular demand, Sund may have to re-think his strategy and decide how such an addition would impact the team and the chemistry. I have to imagine that Sund has built the roster based on abilities, roles and responsibilities in proportion to the team salary structure. For example, JJ is the “man” therefore JJ is paid the highest salary. The exception to this is the addition of experienced vets whose roles, responsibility and contribution may not match their salary like a Joe Smith or a Flip Murray when he was here. I previously mentioned that Mo Evans would be the most impacted by a Stackhouse addition only because he is also a SF/SG and because of his 2.5M salary which is the next highest behind Zaza. His salary will be higher then Joe Smith and Collins combined. Based on Evans salary, availability, and last year contribution, in all fairness, he deserves to be in the rotation as he was last year. By the way, he was in the rotation before Marvin got injured because Sund built the team that way last year. As I previously mentioned, Evans contribution was appreciated (as was Flip) so this notion that he is underappreciated is way over-blown. But this is a business and I am sure Sund sees it that way as evidence to how Flip got handled. If Stackhouse was added and if he contributed more and as a consequence demanded more minutes, it will have to come at another player’s expense with respect to minutes played (to the cynics don’t missed the if part) . Since Evans was in the rotation last year and he is also a SF/SG then he is the likely candidate. So do we let a 2.5M player (Evans) play the role of Mario and just do rare spot duty on defense as a consequence of a BALLER like Stackhouse? I’m sure no one expects Evans is going to compete with Crawford for SG minutes. Not when Crawford is making 10M a season. Unless its injury related, it’s not going to happen. Would Evans be happy with his new far-lesser role? Like most GM, Sund is looking to maximize his return on his roster assets. He has shown to spend his dollars wisely. As he recently stated, the Hawks are not a robustly funded franchise and boosted about doing more with less; so this idea that they have the luxury of letting the 8th highest paid player sit as a reserve does not equate in my book in a Stack addition scenario. So what, now we have discussed trade talks involving Mo Evans as a consequence from this scenario. As other blog speculators have said, “I could be wrong”. This maybe politically incorrect to say on this blog, but if I have pissed off someone discussing trade talks involving Mo Evans as a consequence for signing Stackhouse then I don’t give a dam. We have discussed much worst on this blog.
vava74
September 22nd, 2009
7:05 pm
newkid,
Let’s see if this time it passes:
Actually I am from Portugal which is about as south as Europe can be.
Holland is a bit chilly and rainy in October (max temperatures average around 50F in the beginning and dropping throughout the month). You can compare the weather at www weather com on the travel page).
I’ve been to Amsterdam four times, once in June (excellent weather then) and three times in late October/early November (rainy and a bit cold as I mentioned above).
It is always great fun since the people there are very friendly and lively. Excellent jazz bars, very nice restaurants, pubs and clubs (if you go and have moderately deep pockets and like to dine at the sound of dance music while lying on a bed mattress, check out Supperclub – www supperclub com)… The red light district is always an interesting but odd visit as well:
The last time I was in Amsterdam I was walking along a channel in the red light district (with my girlfriend, so no funny commentaries please) around 4/5PM and there was an english guy walking along asking and shouting to the h**kers on the windows “is there any transsexual available around?”
In relation to country side Holland and other cities, I think it would be far better for you to visit in May, when tulips fields (and other flowers) are in full bloom.
In October, I think you will better served traveling to southern Europe: Lisbon, Barcelona, Madrid, Rome, …
I hope it helps!
Big Ump
September 22nd, 2009
7:27 pm
BigRay
I agree with your post at 1:46 am that Joe should not play 38 mins to to 40 Mins a game. Great post as alwyays.