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
KevinA
February 19th, 2010
8:38 pm
MC
Is it possible to have a game thread one hr before game time?
I like the way you post information while leaving the chat alone. You will get it yet.
KevinA
February 19th, 2010
8:43 pm
Bobcats 6 ahead of the Cav’s – how fun is that.
Hoops
February 19th, 2010
8:54 pm
O’Brien,
I’ll play! I would like to see the Hawks give Teague some more minutes. I think he has a bright future, but he needs to build his confidence. The only way to do that is to put him on the floor. There is no doubt that he is very athletic!
Do you think the Hawks will go hard after Big Z?
niremetal
February 19th, 2010
8:55 pm
KevinA,
JJ has never minded working off the ball as long as he gets enough touches. In fact, his high ebb in terms of seeming happy to be a Hawk was right after we got Bibby and, for a time, he didn’t have to act as lead guard virtually at all. The problem in Phoenix is that Amare was the focal point for Nash’s passing, followed by Marion, and then him. If Nash were here, JJ would still get his touches because he is our best offensive player. He’d just get them more in the flow of the offense and would get more open looks. D’Antoni himself said that JJ wasn’t selfish, but just felt he was ready for a bigger role in the offense than the Suns could offer him (though ironically, the injury to Amare in 2005 might have led to him being the focal point that year anyway).
Blast
February 19th, 2010
8:56 pm
For Marvin lovers/haters, he is on feature on FSS right now.
Yup, KevinA. That is a stretch, one can only hope
niremetal
February 19th, 2010
8:56 pm
Same with Jamal, btw. I don’t think he’d care about who was handling the point as long as he wasn’t relegated to a Marvin-like role.
KevinA
February 19th, 2010
8:59 pm
niremetal
I agree with you
The difference Nash would make is there would be no 8-22. If JJ was cold he would look for other options. Our team is good but we need that leadership.
Rod from College Park
February 19th, 2010
8:59 pm
F.I.L.A,
Rod from College Park…..Get off marvin williams nuts man..Thats all you do is talk about marvin..Lol what type of man are you sir?
The kind of man who does not talk about another man’s nuts. No homo. What kind of man are you to be so focused so much on what I post?
Astro Joe
February 19th, 2010
9:00 pm
Wow, same blog?
Chat during half-time. Hawks win by 5 tonight!
niremetal
February 19th, 2010
9:00 pm
I agree with you 100% on that, KevinA. Having a coach that isn’t afraid to bench JJ (or at least take him off the ball) when he’s cold would be another solution. But that’s about as likely to happen in the near future as us getting Nash…
Grandad
February 19th, 2010
9:00 pm
R.f.C.P.
I didn’t say I just attended games.
Basketball has been my profession for over 30 years.
I am most qualified to evaluate basketball skill level.
[retired prematurely,health]
You mentioned Rodman, how ironic, my all-time favorite player for
the exact reasons mentioned:
*Great defender
*Great rebounder (true size/ 6-6)
*Great teammate
*Great passer
*7 pts. per.
*Crazy as heck
*He would start on any team I ever coached
*Winner
*5 Rings
Rebounding – (Marv 5.1/29 min.)(Rudy 5.9/39 min.)
I never said Rudy was a bad player…just that for us, Marv is a
better value.
Ill-logical – said it best; “if we go after Rudy it would be to replace Joe.”
Melvin – I didn’t say we couldn’t use a slasher…just that anyone we acquire as a perimeter player needs to be able to shoot. Rudy can’t shoot. That’s where I disagree with Ill-logical, I don’t think Rudy will ever be Joe. He never lived up to his enormous potential in college and I don’t see him as a franchise player now. Joe is just a
shade under the top echelon players.
Back to Rod – have an open mind.
I try to only take a point of view if it can be justified and sustainable. At the same time one must keep an open mind at all times,
otherwise a person can never adapt.
Second to last point, I respect your background, whatever it may be.
Now – lastly – my forefathers were quite a mixture: Scotch,Irish,German,
Cherokee. I doubt I’m kin to Marv. But according to KS I could be kin to
him. I would be most proud to claim either one.
KevinA
February 19th, 2010
9:01 pm
What I love about Nash is he will defer to who is hot. Then will pick up the slack only if needed.
Hoops
February 19th, 2010
9:03 pm
KevinA,
That’s what a leader does.
Hoops
February 19th, 2010
9:05 pm
ESPN just reported that the Wizzards just wavied Big Z!!! Hawks need to go get him!!!
KevinA
February 19th, 2010
9:06 pm
What is funny is Bibby and Marvin are the most self reglated players on the team. The rest really need a good PG. One of the reasons I liked Chills. Another self regulated player.
O'Brien
February 19th, 2010
9:06 pm
Hawks playing in Phoenix, where we got JJ? Studemire not being traded, any fallout?
So no game blog tonight?
O'Brien
February 19th, 2010
9:07 pm
found the game blog. right on time
Ken Strickland
February 19th, 2010
9:15 pm
DANIEL-there are too many variables and unknowns for me to make that call. Both Van Gundy and Brown have at their disposal 2 of the NBA’s most dominant players, and Woody doesn’t. I see some of the same issues with Van Gundy that I see with Woodson, but Van Gundy is definitely better than Woodson when it comes to using strategy and making adjustments.
Far too often I’ve seen Orlando shooting and missing one jumpshot after another, like us, while completely ignoring DHoward in the paint. This happens routinely, and in the end, it falls on Van Gundy to get his players, particularly his PG’s, to run the OFF through DHoward. We have the same problem and it’s Woodson’s fault for not being able or willing to bet Bibby to go inside more, especially when we’re not hitting our outside shots.
F.I.L.A
February 21st, 2010
6:55 pm
Rod From College Park- Lol well I do read the ajc and these blogs on the daily and I cant help but notice all you do is talk about marvin like he is the problem with our team..What do you have against him anyway? What do you expect out of a 5th option? Like why is he the only thing you talk about on here?
SLAM ONLINE | » Game Notes: Hawks at Suns
February 22nd, 2010
12:21 pm
[...] the need to regain focus after the deadline, though rumors continue to swirl that they’d like a shot at Zydrunas Ilgauskas once he’s been waived by the Wizards. Of course, he hasn’t been waived yet, so [...]
Hawks interested in Ilgauskas? | Soaring Down South | An Atlanta Hawks blog
March 15th, 2010
7:43 pm
[...] Michael Cunningham reported that the Hawks are expected to be among the suitors for former Cavaliers center Zydrunas Ilgauskas. Ilgauskas was traded to Washington in the Antawn Jamison trade and is expected to be bought out by the Wizards. While it is widely assmued that Ilgauskas will return to Cleveland once the 30 day waiting period has expired. However, it also appears that teams like Dallas, Denver, and perhaps Atlanta are going to bid for his services. I want to caution that in the Cunningham post he doesn’t actually say that management said that we would be interested, just that we are expected to be interested. That is two very different things. It makes a ton of sense for the Hawks. Ilgauskas is a legit 7 footer with a ton of experience and of course if we got him it would prevent him from going back to Cleveland. The Hawks have carried the league minimum 13 players all season. [...]