Hawks stand pat at trade deadline, now look to Ilgauskas
'Big Z' seeking buyout from Wizards. (NBA.com)
Phoenix– The Hawks didn’t make any trades at today’s deadline, no surprise since GM Rick Sund had said all along he wouldn’t break up the team’s core with a deal.
“We like our core guys,” Sund said today. “I think we are positioned pretty well. We will learn some more (about the team) going forward in the last month-and-a-half and the playoffs.”
The Hawks also were unable to find any trade proposals that made sense. However, sources said the Hawks have reversed their stance on keeping their roster at the league minimum of 13 and will consider signing veterans who are bought out of their contracts by the end of this month.
The Hawks are expected to be among the suitors for veteran center Zydrunas Ilgauskas if he receives a buyout from the Wizards, sources said today. Ilgauskas was traded from Cleveland to Washington on Tuesday in a three-team deal but he’s seeking a buyout of the prorated portion of his $11.5 million expiring contract. The Wizards are cutting salary as they look to rebuild and Ilgauskas’ agent, Herb Rudoy, said his client wants to play for a contender.
Among the Hawks’ Eastern Conference rivals, only Cleveland made a major trade. The Cavaliers got forward Antawn Jamison from Washington as part of the three-team trade involving Ilgauskas.
Otherwise, the trade deadline passed relatively quietly in the East.
The Magic stood pat. The Celtics reportedly were waiting on league approval to complete a trade with the Knicks for reserve guard Nate Robinson. The Bobcats could be tougher first-round opponents for one of the top East teams after they acquired Tyrus Thomas from Chicago and Theo Ratliff from San Antonio.
The Hawks, who continue a four-game road trip Friday night at Phoenix, are 34-18 and trail Orlando by 1.5 games in the Southeast Division. The Celtics were a half game behind the Hawks before playing at the Lakers late Thursday.
“Until the end of the season I don’t look at the win column, I look at the loss column,” Sund said. “Here the trade deadline has passed and, after Cleveland, you have three teams (Magic, Hawks and Celtics) with 18 losses jockeying for position.
“I think we are pointed in the right direction. As long as we stay healthy, and that’s an important key, we can compete for these playoff spots going down the stretch.”
Ilgauskas could help the Hawks in the playoffs. Rudoy said today he hadn’t spoken to the Wizards yet about a buyout. Ilgauskas, 34, is taking a few days to think about his future, and Rudoy said the Hawks would fit Ilgauskas’ criteria for a new team if he doesn’t re-sign with the Cavs.
“If he decides to leave Cleveland, once he gets the buyout–and we hope we will have several options–he will only go to a team that can win a championship, period,” Rudoy said. “He will not be on a team that has no chance. He wants to play for one of the top teams, and Atlanta certainly is one of those teams.”
Rudoy said “a lot of teams are very interested in” Ilgauskas but declined to name them. In addition to the Cavs and Hawks, the Dallas Mavericks and Denver Nuggets are also reported to be interested in Ilgauskas.
Under league rules the Cavaliers would have to wait 30 days after Ilgauskas is waived to re-sign him, while another team could sign him immediately. Ilgauskas would have to be waived by March 1 to be eligible for a playoff roster.
Sund, citing league tampering rules, declined to comment on Ilgauskas.
Ilgauskas, at 7 feet 3 and 260 pounds, would satisfy the Hawks’ desire for a beefy center in the post to deal with Eastern Conference rivals Orlando (Dwight Howard) and Cleveland (Shaquille O’Neal). Ilgauskas could backup Al Horford at center and the two also could play together in a lineup with Horford at power forward.
The Hawks’ other options at center are Zaza Pachulia, Jason Collins and Randolph Morris.
Ilgauskas, a 12-year NBA veteran from Lithuania, was averaging career lows of 20.5 minutes, 7.5 points, and 5.3 rebounds for the Cavs. He once was an offensive threat in the post but has become more of a jumpshooter late in his career. Ilgauskas has slipped to 38 percent shooting on jumpers this season, according to 82games.com.
MC
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271 comments Add your comment
darrell starks
February 18th, 2010
4:45 pm
YES RICK SUND BRING HIN HERE PERFECT FIT.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!
KevinM
February 18th, 2010
4:46 pm
I don’t think that Z will make that much of a difference unless you are just trying to keep him away from Cleveland. Then I can understand the logic, should Shaq just fade in the playoffs.
Z takes minutes away from Smoove and Al and I don’t see him making much of a difference. A Brendon Heyward move would have been better.
Signing Bibby and Marvin this year to MYC is gonna do more damage than good going forward.
Not looking forward to seeing Orlando or Cleveland in a playoff matchup this year.
cp
February 18th, 2010
4:46 pm
Yea we can forget about Big Z. He will be going back to the Cavs as soon as he can. I like the idea of adding Etan or Battie but do they give us anything more than Joe Smith at this point?
ant banks
February 18th, 2010
4:49 pm
hey y’all what is our plan B? with so many teams havin’ money to throw at joe, what do we do if he doesn’t sign? we will have approximately 16mil to burn on someone and we still have chill’s rights.
WHAT IS OUR PLAN B IF JJ LEAVES? THIS IS THE QUESTION OF THE DAY
darrell starks
February 18th, 2010
4:50 pm
STARTER BIBBY, JOE, JOSH, HORFORD, BIG Z.
BENCH JAMAL, MOE, MARVIN, JOE SMITH, ZAZA.
RESERVE TEAGUE, WEST.
STREET CLOTHES MORRIS, COLLINS.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!
Dukester9
February 18th, 2010
4:56 pm
Yes people we need a 7 footer but not one that likes to shoot 3ptrs. Yes he is pretty good at it and i like him but we needed a bruiser like Dalembert who is a tough low post rebounder and defender. This trade would have been great we would have switched 2 bad long contracts for one bad short contract. But at least we would have had hard nose interior defense for Howard and the rest of the playoffs.
http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=ygy8mba
darrell starks
February 18th, 2010
4:58 pm
WOW ZAZA AND BIG Z FROM RUSSIA, RICK SUND TELL ZAZA 2 CALL BIG Z AND LET HIM NO HE WILL STARTE.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!
Michael Cunningham
February 18th, 2010
5:03 pm
@check your facts: what facts do i need to check? what is it i am delusional about? all this post says is the Hawks are interested in Z and, according to his agent (who of course might just be trying to drive up the price), Z would be interested in the Hawks. it says nothing about the Hawks’ chances of getting Z (but my comment above says it’s not very likely).
man, sometimes i come on here and wonder if schools teach reading comprehension anymore. yes, that means you, mr. check your smack.
@ others: the rule is Z must be waived by March 1 to be eligible for a playoff roster. Cavs would have to wait 30 days after he’s waived. so theoretically he could be waived on Feb. 28 and Cavs could re-sign him on March 28.
Michael Cunningham
February 18th, 2010
5:04 pm
*check that: they could re-sign him after 30 days, which would be march 30.
Barry
February 18th, 2010
5:05 pm
Hey Y’all:
We need to get this guy, now. This will be a steal as when we got Bibby in our first playoff run.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!
SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!
This is a SECRET from a HAWK FAN. TELL EVERTBODY!!!!!!!
………………………….”SHOCK THE WORLD!!!!”…………….
MsDee
February 18th, 2010
5:06 pm
ant banks,
Good question..I guess go after Wade..Wade would love to have Josh, Al & Crawford on his team..he would want to do what Joe couldnt do..take us to the finals!!
Astro Joe
February 18th, 2010
5:06 pm
cp, I think those guys are bulkier (especially Etan) and have more of a “center mindset” than Joe Smith. I think of Joe as a 3/4 tweener while Battie and Etan are more 4.5 tweeners. For pure bulk, you can’t get much bulkier than Jason Collins. And Zaza has no problems playing rugged ball. But Horford is the only one with the agility to move laterally with Howard. Not to mention that being able to defend the pick and roll/pop plays against Orlando is key. I can’t envision Collins being effective when Orlando plays pick and roll between Howard and Vince Carter. That’s when a quicker big would be a much better option.
Traceman
February 18th, 2010
5:15 pm
Marvin is certainly having a down year compared to what he did last year (when he was actually quite good) but he has not been NEARLY as bad as many of you make him out to be. The biggest reason for his signigicant dip in production is that he is getting fewer opportunities due to the OUTSTANDING performance of Jamal. This is CLEAR when you look at his PER and particularly, his usage rate. Currently, his usage rate is the lowest it has been in his entire CAREER, including his rookie season.
Still, in this DOWN year, he sits at 20th in the NBA among SFs in PER and his PER is higher than these players, many of whom so many of you want to trade him for:
Hedo Turkoglu
Ron Artest
Shane Battier
Travor Ariza
Ryan Gomes
Richard Jefferson
Josh Howard
Al Thornton
Tayshaun Prince
Matt Barnes
Mike Dunleavy
John Salmons
Yi Jianlian
Andres Nocioni
Boris Diaw
He’s only slightly behind Caron Butler. (Marvin’s PER is 13.22 and Butler’s is 13.48.)
Marvin’s PER was 16.4 last year which would put him at #11 in the NBA among SFs right now. If he can get back to that level of production, which I have no doubt that he can, I think that would be great for our team and that is more production than we would get from most of the proposals that have popped up on this board.
http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/hollinger/statistics?position=sf
In addition, note that JJ and Jamal are 5th and 6th respectively in PER among all SGs; Smoove is 5th among all PFs (and some of you want to move him to SF – yeah right!); and Al is 12th among Centers. That is OUTSTANDING. In addition, all 4 are having the best years of their CAREERS with regard to PER at the same time. That is incredible!
As for Bibby, he is currently 44th among PGs which is WAY off where he was last year. If he was producing at the same level as last year, he would be 20th among PGs. Like Marvin, some of his decline in production has been due to Jamal’s GREAT play as his uasge rate is also the lowest it has been in his entire career. I think it is pretty obvious that Bibby is slowing down but the arrival of Crawford and his play more than make up for Bibby. Bibby can just focus on providing a steady hand and veteran leadership.
Finally, another thing that gives me hope about Marvin is that Josh had a bad season by his standards last year after signing the new deal. Then this season, he is having his best season BY FAR. His PER is almost 5 points higher this year than it was last year (22.00 this year vs 17.28 last year). That is an astronomical jump and clearly illustrates just how much he has improved. No reason whatsoever Marvin can’t get back to where he was last year and I think he can be even better than that.
BILLY KNIGHT
February 18th, 2010
5:19 pm
YES IF THE HAWKS GET ZYDRUNAS ILGAUSKAS I CAN SEE THEM IN THE EASTERN CONF. FINALS PLAYING THE CAVS.
KevinM
February 18th, 2010
5:23 pm
I am guessing that based on the non-activity, Sund is content with Joe Smith contributing for our playoff run. I remember the courtship was long and drawn out and he hasn’t provided much to us during the season so far.
Well, we have JSmith, Morris and Collins. Can we just play the hack-a-Shaq rules and the hack-a-Howard rules for the playoffs this year? Sounds like that will be our best shot at ’stealing’ a road playoff game.
And I know, the cart before the horse, because we have to get to the playoffs first and worry about the matchups once we get there, but it looks obvious it will take 2 career playoff series to make progress with this current roster.
darrell starks
February 18th, 2010
5:26 pm
Enter your comments here
darrell starks
February 18th, 2010
5:27 pm
Big z!!!!!!!!
GO HAWKS!!!!
Astro Joe
February 18th, 2010
5:30 pm
KevinM, Jason Collins defended Shaq very well in the last game against the Cavs. Shaq will be the least of our problems against Cleveland. The Cavs have another guy who is pretty good and tends to be a little more difficult to defend.
Astro Joe
February 18th, 2010
5:32 pm
I hate it when y’all get yourselves worked up in a frenzy over a specific player and then when the football is pulled out from you…
Oh well. Enjoy the fantasy.
Traceman
February 18th, 2010
5:34 pm
Ant Banks & Ms Dee,
We won’t have anywhere NEAR enough money to sign D Wade if JJ walks. BEST CASE, we’ll have around $10M to spend on a FA and that is assuming the cap doesn’t DROP (which is certainly possible). Instead of D Wade, we’ll be trying to sign the likes of David Lee (who we don’t need) or perhaps an old guy like Ginobili or Ray Allen. BEST CASE would be Rudy Gay but he is bound to have more lucrative offers from teams with more cap room and that doesn’t even take into account that his current team can offer him the most money. Face it, if we don’t resign JJ, we are going to take a significant step back.
David Smith
February 18th, 2010
5:37 pm
Big Z would fit in perfectly here. I’m worried about how Woody would use him if Sund pulled the trigger to get him here. Z is a big that can stretch opposing defenses with his perimeter game but, Woody has proven to say one thing (”We finally have a bench that I trust to play more”, “I need to give our guys on the bench more minutes”) and do another (Work our starters to death, Continue to stunt the growth of Jeff Teague and failure to develop the bench players by not trusting them with minutes, and playing “Woody Ball” using the “Iso Joe” offense in the fourth quarter.
NoleRick
February 18th, 2010
5:49 pm
Overpay this guy! He would be the perfect fit for this team!
Melvin
February 18th, 2010
5:54 pm
Astro,
Did you actually reference the Hawks in the same sentence with the Yankees and Red Sox? Comeon, you are talking about to the BASG here… You know, the fiancially challenge ownership group.
Traceman
February 18th, 2010
5:56 pm
Ilgauskas would be an excellent acquisition but I’m not holding my breath. I’m sure the Cavs already talked to him about resigning before the deal was even made.
Still, the ASG and Sund should pull out all the stops to try and convince him to change his mind and come down here. It’s not JUST about the Cavs, Magic and Celtics for us and he would help us significantly against other teams as well.
He can’t guard Howard but he can pull him away from the basket on the other end which is just as important for us. He would cause problems for BOS and CLE as well for the same reasons (not to mention that he we would be keeping him away from CLE).
I don’t see it happening but it is a nice dream.
Chris D'
February 18th, 2010
6:05 pm
How much money can the Hawks offer him that is an important question. If the Hawks are under the cap and the other teams pursuing him are well over the cap an extra million might entice him to head down here. Dallas can only offer $1.3 million what can the Hawks offer?
Astro Joe
February 18th, 2010
6:10 pm
I don’t get it. He’s slow, essentially a jump-shooter and was run off the court in the playoff series against the Magic last year. I don’t get all of the Z love. Isn’t Raef LaFrentz available?
Hawk n the Ham
February 18th, 2010
6:25 pm
Games against the Magic, starting 5
1. Bibby
2. Johnson
3. Smoove <- Yes, I put Smoove there :p
4. Horford
5. Big Z
I would throw all the double and triple teams at Howard with these guys on the floor.
Hawk n the Ham
February 18th, 2010
6:28 pm
Plus, you can hack & foul Howard all you want and send him to the line when you have Big Z, Horford, Zaza, & Collins to share the fouls
vava74
February 18th, 2010
6:30 pm
I already said this on the previous blog but I will repeat:
Ziggy MORE THAN HINTED that he will be retiring at the end of the season.
At this stage of his career he couldn’t care less about minutes or dollars.
It is pretty obvious that he will resign with the Cavs where he his at home and barring a Lebron’s injury he stands a better chance to win a ring.
As for all the nonsense with absurd hypotetical trades and signings if JJ walks, please read the regulations, check the bare facts and use something called “brain” before posting more nonsense.
Also, PER, +- and Efficiency stats are ONLY stats and not gospel.
It’s impossible to have all players in the roster improving their stars at the same time. The only stat that matters is the win-loss total and for the moment we are sitting pretty, coming from where we came. Let’s keep cool and hope for further growth until the end of the season.
vava74
February 18th, 2010
6:33 pm
Is at home. Damn iPhone!
Grandad
February 18th, 2010
6:43 pm
CCYF:
MR. Cunningham explained it nicely.
As far as doing arithmatic, I caan do that too.
I was asking a question.
As Mr. ‘C’ brought to our attn., perhaps your reading skills are worse than my math skills.
Under the premis with which my querie was posed, Mr. Ilgauskas would not have been eligible for the play-offs if he were not signed by 3/1/10, which could not be accomplished if he had to wait 30 days to sign. However, that is evidently not the case as Mr. Cunningham so
eloquently answered to our collective curiosity.
I will readily admit that arithmatic is not my long suit.
Please refrain from asking me to do the math in the future and I will not ask you to comprehend an admitted complex paragraph such as the aforementioned rambling concerning Zydrunas’ potential play-off entitlement and or admissibility.
Thanks and have a nice day !
Grandad
February 18th, 2010
6:43 pm
CCYF:
MR. Cunningham explained it nicely.
As far as doing arithmatic, I caan do that too.
I was asking a question.
As Mr. ‘C’ brought to our attn., perhaps your reading skills are worse than my math skills.
Under the premis with which my querie was posed, Mr. Ilgauskas would not have been eligible for the play-offs if he were not signed by 3/1/10, which could not be accomplished if he had to wait 30 days to sign. However, that is evidently not the case as Mr. Cunningham so
eloquently answered to our collective curiosity.
I will readily admit that arithmatic is not my long suit.
Please refrain from asking me to do the math in the future and I will not ask you to comprehend an admitted complex paragraph such as the aforementioned rambling concerning Zydrunas’ potential play-off entitlement and or admissibility.
Thanks and have a nice day !
Grandad
February 18th, 2010
6:48 pm
I have no idea why the post showed up twice, buut thee 2 a’s in caan are juust pooor tyyping skiils..
Trint
February 18th, 2010
6:50 pm
MC, just a quick question about Marvin. I think he has definitely underachieved and theres no doubt that he’s regressing, but I saw him in with the 2nd unit last night and he seemed to be more aggressive. Is this something Woody may be looking to do more of? Have you heard anything regarding this
mrHonline
February 18th, 2010
7:12 pm
MC,
The Hawks can offer up to $3M more than the Cavs to nab Ilgauskas. Any chance the Spirit would be willing to commit up to $4.5M to get him?
DeepSuthHawksFan
February 18th, 2010
7:17 pm
MsDee – can you be original? keep talking the same theme night in and night out about JJ shortcomings, gets really tiring. If you don’t have something to add to MC’s topic, stay off the thread.
Big Z will be a good addition to our team, no matter how you look at it
vava74
February 18th, 2010
7:33 pm
Here’s my preferred NBA analyst’s view on the trades:
http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/breaking-down-every-nba-trade-021810
niremetal
February 18th, 2010
7:40 pm
Z won’t care about the money. Dude has made $125M in his career, but is now in his last or next-to-last season and still doesn’t have a ring. He’ll go where he thinks he has the best shot of winning a title, assuming he gets bought out. That’s probably Cleveland. Denver would be next. If it comes to down to us and Dallas for some reason, I can see us coming out on top, but I wouldn’t hold my breath. Z is not someone who strikes me as being at all about the Benjamins.
KevinA
February 18th, 2010
7:45 pm
Astro Joe
Finally got to the link – thanks. Liked the Woody interview also.
ant banks
February 18th, 2010
7:47 pm
DEEPSUTHHAWKSFAN,
i have searched the last 4 blogs for your comments and you ain’t said nathan. so why you want to knock ms dee for havin’ an opinion? most people on hear reiterate their positions over and over CLYDE AND KEN always want to fire woody, some hate marvin. some love marvin. some hate bibby some love him.
jus’ come wit’ some good points yourself and not focus on who is repetitive. FURTHERMORE, big z won’t be signed until 30 days from now, surely you will come on here again and say “Big Z will be a good addition to our team, no matter how you look at it.” which would make your sayin’ the same
sh!t
Ken Strickland
February 18th, 2010
7:49 pm
We all know Ilkgausas would fit Woodson’s love for jumpshooters, but can you imagine he and Bibby teaming up to defend the pick and roll? Orlando took advantage of his inability to defend it and defeated Cleveland in the playoffs, while everyone takes advantage of Bibby’s inability to defend anything. However, BIBBY LOVERS do like to pretend otherwise and go silent about Bibby whenever DEF is mentioned. However, unlike Bibby he can contribute in other ways, because he’ll block a few shots, rebound and score consistently.
We really do need a Big that Woody will play. JCollins is too one dimensional, he can’t seem to figure out how and when to use JSmith, and he apparently doesn’t like RMorris and is giving him the WOODY TREATMENT. Otherwise, how do you explain Woodson’s preference for dressing a 6′5″ OFF challenged player over a 6′11″ OFF gifted player?
The Hawks are the equivilent of a modern sports car that’s been designed and built for high speed travel and handling, but it’s being powered by a 4 cylinder engine.
Astro Joe
February 18th, 2010
7:54 pm
Strickland, so does that mean Mo Williams was ineffective defending the pick and roll last year?
lgwest
February 18th, 2010
8:03 pm
Fixed,Fixed, Fixed game over. Don;t believe me just ask King James.
The fans of the other 28 teams be dam, Lakers excluded.
Dam, dam,dammmmmmm!
lgwest
February 18th, 2010
8:05 pm
If King James is so good why does he need so mach help?
KevinA
February 18th, 2010
8:06 pm
Next summer is when we worry about JJ, his contract and what it means to our options. I would like to judge Marvin next year at this time. I don’t know if you have noticed but his FG% is up to .442. In his last 20 games he has come back. If he can carry the same type of play going forward he could make a big difference in the playoffs. I do not worry about his point averages. I think we could agree that Al should get more shots. I like the fact Marvin is like Chills in the fact they shoot when open or drive and get fouls. They play within themselves. Marvin is not hurting this team. Would it be nice for him to be more aggressive? Sure. But only when the guards and the big’s are having an off night. He needs to pick his spots.
To give Woody credit, he did cut Marvin’s minutes when he was in a shooting slump. His minutes are going up now that he is shooting better. Same with Bibby, he is in a semi slump but when he gets it back his minutes will go up.
Al has played so well that ZaZa minutes are down. ZaZa just has a little rust and a recent injury. He will be fine.
At the end of the day I see no changes to the team till summer. We still have upside with no changes.
ATL Hawks #1 Lady Fan/Mz. Hawkdafied
February 18th, 2010
8:15 pm
I agree with dstdeelite. Z is too slow. He runs in slow motion. I think the Hawks should go after Amare instead. Let Z go back to the Cavs. You guys complain of the team relying on jump shots and yet wish to add a vet who mostly shoots jumpers. Anywayz no to Ilgauskas, yes to Stoudemire.
vava74
February 18th, 2010
8:19 pm
I’m watching the Nuggets @ CLE.
Game more or less tied in the first quarter:
Shaq catches the rock in the low post, rotates baseline pushing Nene with left elbow and lays it in. 2 points, no charge.
Following possession: Nene catches a ‘Melo airball, jumps for the lay up, is projected more than a foot to the side by Shaq, misses the lay up, no call. Shaq gets the rebound.
Another day at the office…
Shortly after:
Charge by JJ Hickson converted into +1…
By the way, the TNT’ color commentary team was “complaining” about the log jam at the PF position:
JJ Hickson, Varejão and Jamison. AT NO STAGE they made reference to Varejão being Shaq’s replacement, a clear indication that in their eyes, Ziggy is still a Cavalier who is only on leave…
Ken Strickland
February 18th, 2010
8:20 pm
NIREMETAL-Since Dallas’ starting center EDampier is out due to a broken finger, Ilgouskas might make them his #1 choice. He’d certainly have an excellent chance of becoming their starting center.
ANT BANKS-thanks for addressing DEEPSUTHHAWKSFAN. Since we discuss the same team, and generally the same topics on a daily basis, who but a complete idiot would find it hard to believe participants wouldn’t often be repetitive? How many different ways can one discuss the same subject matter without becoming redundant? I know I can’t. Hell, if the truth be told, we’re all repetitive, some more so than others.
It never ceases to amaze me how individuals will develop a disdane for certain persons and/or their comments, and feel they’re being repetitive, yet will repeatedly read their comments and become angry with them because they’re too stupid to use the scroll button.
KevinA
February 18th, 2010
8:20 pm
Ken Strickland
Jamal should play more PG and drop Bibby to 20 minutes till he gets his shot back. Run Bibby for 5 minutes and if we are getting killed defensively try Teague for 5 and if that fails, bring in Jamal. Even Evans can play the point. Not many teams pressure the ball any more and it’s mainly just a hand off to JJ and Jamal.
KevinA
February 18th, 2010
8:26 pm
The perfect night – a Clev and Boston loss. Almost much fun as winning.