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Atlanta Hawks: Why ASG wants J.J. back (even for the max) UPDATE: Still waiting

6:02 pm July 1, 2010, by Michael Cunningham

UPDATE: Still no word on an agreement between J.J. and the Hawks. There’s been no indication that a deal won’t happen soon, with J.J.’s agent telling Marc Berman of the New York Post: “[H]e’s comfortable in Atlanta, happy, and they can offer him one more year.”

If J.J. likes the team and the money, all that’s left for the Hawks is to wait . . .

Talked to a person with insight into ASG’s rationale for offering J.J. a max contract. Basically, the plan is for the Hawks to re-sign J.J. and then add the necessary pieces to make them a true contender in the Eastern Conference.

Letting Joe leave would mean the Hawks would be worse in the short term, and the Hawks aren’t prepared to take that step back (the sign-and-trade options aren’t so appealing as to assure the team would maintain or improve). Once they made that philosophical decision, they took a look at the market for J.J. It quickly became clear that a few teams with cap space were ready to offer him the non-Bird max, so the Hawks made an aggressive play to re-sign him and hope that pays off with a commitment from J.J. soon.

Atlanta’s basketball people recognize that re-signing J.J. alone isn’t enough to improve the team (because, well, it’s basically the same team) and ASG is not opposed to exceeding the luxury-tax threshold to sign the right player. That’s a good thing since they don’t have much choice. If J.J. re-signs, the Hawks would have about $68 million in committed salaries when including Chill’s $4.8 million qualifying offer and Jordan Crawford’s rookie-scale salary. The NBA projects the tax threshold will be about $68 million, so the Hawks would be bumping up against it with only 10 11 players under contract.

That leaves a minimum of three two open roster spots. If Chills signs an offer sheet (Washington is interested) and the Hawks don’t match it (they haven’t ruled out matching or working out a sign-and-trade) then the committed salaries would be roughly $63 million with four three open roster spots. The Hawks want a bona fide center and ASG is open to using the mid-level exception to sign one. They also will explore trade opportunities, though there haven’t been any serious discussions about potential moves because Rick Sund is focused on J.J. right now.

Here is where the draft ties into ASG’s thinking. The Hawks traded down with the belief that Jordan Crawford (he needs a nickname, right?) would still be there at No. 27. They liked Kentucky’s Daniel Orton and would have taken him with the No. 31 pick but he went 29th to the Magic and they didn’t like any of the other centers available. So they sold the No. 31 pick for close to $3 million, and that money could help offset their potential luxury tax bill and also the hit they would take for missing out on the tax escrow rebate.

ASG rejects the view expressed by David Aldridge and others that a potential sell of the team influenced the max offer to J.J. Michael Gearon Jr. has insisted that he is not interested in selling his share. It’s expected that Steve Belkin eventually, finally, mercifully will be bought out and another investor will be sought. The Hawks are said to be one of the few teams with no debt on their franchise.

So a future sell of the team is not what’s driving the decision to max out J.J., according to the person privy to ASG’s plans. It’s about the belief that re-signing J.J., adding more pieces and improving their tactics and approach under L.D. will allow the Hawks to finally take the next step. As far as I know, all the speculation about using J.J. in a sign-and-trade is off base, perhaps a way for skeptical observers to rationalize what they see as a bad contract offer from the Hawks. It’s always possible, I guess, but I haven’t heard anything that leads me to believe they want to send J.J. along (a sign-and-trade obviously would require his permission) and everything to suggest they really want him back.

I understand why many of my blog people (and it seems pretty much everyone on the Interwebs) believe this was a bad move. As I said before, Hoopinion, Peachtree Hoops and HawksStr8Talk all offered reasonable, clear-headed explanations as to why they feel the Hawks should move on without J.J. if his price is too high. I’m just trying to offer you as much insight as possible into why ASG did made the decision to offer the max.

If J.J. re-signs and the plan doesn’t work, with J.J.’s contract becoming a burden and their other moves also falling flat, then the Hawks will be judged harshly.

MC

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444 comments Add your comment

Grandad

July 2nd, 2010
12:53 am

Nique

Missed it, when???

MJin ATL

July 2nd, 2010
12:55 am

Everyone that is saying that this contract is the worst ever and that JJ is not a superstar that is worth the money because he cannot lead a team knows nothing about basketball. The difference in being a superstar and being a good player in the NBA is who sells the most merchandise.

Nique

July 2nd, 2010
12:59 am

Yahoo is reporting the agreement between Amir and the raptors was made sometime today:

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=AnBCEUS1vGeHFLSpGN.ICL.8vLYF?slug=ys-johnsonraptors070110

I don’t blame him for agreeing with that deal so fast. But I’m with you, I love his energy and rebounding. Hopefully we can find other guys who can do the same thing. It would be hard to find any as young as Amir though.

Grandad

July 2nd, 2010
1:07 am

Nique – then how about?

Throwin’ out name of available Un-RFA’s:
Ian Mahinmi:
The Skinny: Mahinmi has played sparingly in the pros, having been injured in 2008-09 and usually hanging around on the bench or in the NBA D-League as a Spurs prospect. When he does play, he performs. He ranks as the third best player in D-League history according to PER, one of its most efficient players, a great shotblocker and rebounder. So why does he see only garbage time in San Antonio? Beats me. Someone needs to unleash him, though.

Ken Strickland & myself both like DJ Mbenga.
athletic, *black belt judo, enforcer.
7-0, 250-260 lbs, **[spks 5 languages] ***(interesting)

cp

July 2nd, 2010
1:08 am

I remember when Sekou first started this blog HB Ando would always say that Marvin’s ceiling is Al Harrington. The sad part is that Marvin hasn’t even reached that. Whats holding up the Marvin trade. If he doesn’t get it together in Golden State he might never get it.

D-Wade Come to ATL

July 2nd, 2010
1:08 am

Dwayne Wads need to come to Atlanta he already won a ring in Miami he need a new challenge on a new team Atlanta would be the right place for him.

Grandad

July 2nd, 2010
1:08 am

Nique

Thanks, but darn!

Grandad

July 2nd, 2010
1:10 am

I got home late…..
what Marv trade???
Have I missed something???
-fast-
before I go to sleep, & I’m an ol’ man!

Clyde

July 2nd, 2010
1:22 am

The NBA is a big azz soap opera. Where will he go what will he do. All this foolishness is getting on my nerves.

HawksFan

July 2nd, 2010
1:22 am

3 part plan the ASG should be on if the above is even remotely true.

1. Sign JJ
2. Trade Marvin for Monte Ellis (God let this rumor be true)
3. Trade Crawford, Bibby, and whatever else you have to get a legit 5.

Monte takes up for the loss of scoring we lose in Crawford. Doens’t make up for the defense, but that’s our new HC’s responsibility to get him to buy into playing D.

Getting a legit 5 gives us a TON of options. Heywood, or anyone else that’s legit would allow us to go big if we needed to, or go with a lineup similar to last year if we want to exert our athleticism and speed and run teams out the gym.

Really think Teague can ge groomed this year though I think he’s a year away from a true starting roll thanks to Woody for retarding his development last year.

Personally, I’d contact Charlotte and ask them if a Marvin + Jamaal combo might entice them to give up CP3. Don’t think they’d take much less but CP3 ain’t coming cheap. At least with that trade the ASG could make up for past wrong’s not that it would work but at least worth a shot and then go from there.

HawksFan

July 2nd, 2010
1:25 am

Add on to my last idea, maybe offer Charlotte Marvin, Teague, and someone else not named JC for CP3 and see if they bite.

That way they get a young talent who has played in a straight up gawd awful offense in Marvin, a potential replacement in Teague, and someone else on top to sweaten the deal.

I Heart Atlanta

July 2nd, 2010
1:30 am

@ grandad its just us all wishing, we all know this isn’t going down

Nique

July 2nd, 2010
1:37 am

Grandad,

I really like the numbers and highlights that I’ve seen on Ian Mahinmi. I also wondered why he hasn’t played more. The spurs are usually really good about judging young talent and I assumed he would’ve cracked their rotation by now. They do have alot of big bodies in San Antonio, even though most of them are getting old. I’m only curious to see how he guards skilled big men one on one. Most of the blocks I saw from him were from weak side help.

As for Mbenga, I honestly haven’t seen him actually in the game enough for me to tell what he brings to the table. The only thing I knew about him was that he was super strong. And I definitely did not know about the black belt and 5 languages…I would think that in those couple of years of being with the Lakers he’s learned alot about the game (Phil, Kareem, etc). And of course going against their bigs in practice everyday had to help too.

Woodys No Goody

July 2nd, 2010
1:43 am

Please tell me this is a bad dream and the Hawks really are not offering JJ this contract. Are we playing for third best in east again? If so then I get it.

Grandad

July 2nd, 2010
1:51 am

Nique

Mahinmi played in the D-league & then I think he’s been
injured. Reason for not playing [much].

Mbenga, I think he’s just been behind, Gasol, Bynum, & Odum.

Grandad

July 2nd, 2010
1:53 am

Nique

PS on Mbenga, probably not a player who would
get big minutes but, would be a great enforcer
and we need some toughness.

lets go!!

July 2nd, 2010
2:03 am

northcyde

July 1st, 2010
8:30 pm
And let me say this about the fan comment, since some of you are still soooooooo hurt by it.

I was at Game 3. The “fans” in that arena literally turned on the Hawks before the 1st quarter was even over. Some of the were booing after JJ’s 3rd shot. And as the booing continued throughout the 2nd quarter, you could see the disgust on all of the players faces. The harder they tried to press, the more they would mess up.

So as that chorus of boos rained down in that arena at halftime, both the team and the fans gave up. The game got worse after halftime, and the boos continued. People stuck around at the end of the game, just to boo the team off the court.

Why did they boo?

Did they boo because they didn’t like the Hawks anymore?

Or did they boo out of frustration, knowing that the series was all but over with the Magic being up 3 games to zero?

It wasn’t until then, that JJ commented on the fans and their booing. And he made it out of the same feelings of frustration that the fans were feeling.

*********

So let me ask you “fans” who are still mad at JJ for his commens 3 months later . . .

Do you REALLY BELIEVE that JJ hates the fans? Or do you believe that his comments were in the heat of the moment after a real bad loss?

For a guy who people criticized for being too quiet for years, do you REALLY BELIEVE that JJ hates, or doesn’t like the fans?

Do you REALLY HATE JJ for one incident, after 5 years of basically saying nothing, or doing nothing to get into trouble?

It’s time for some of you to simply man up ( or woman up ) and let that go

AMEN!!!! AMEN!!!! AMEN!!!! AMEN!!!!

tckr83

July 2nd, 2010
2:24 am

Grandad-

I agree with you Joe is in his prime right now, in two years though, Atlanta may or may not be regarding this contract as good or bad… he might be untradeable! You’re looking at this through rose colored glasses my friend… I agree that Al and Josh are the true core, but we’re talking about JJ and his contract right now.

You’re not going to convince me or the other 90% of Hawks fans to come around to this contract… it’s a BAD contract.

If Boston wants to give Pierce the 4yr 93M dollar deal, that would be just as bad financially, if not worse than JJ’s contract. Pierce is less of a player but he has “it” when it comes to the playoffs, he’s a winner. They would be overpaying as well here. World Champion.

Kobe Bryant is compared often to Michael Jordan (not by me), so I really don’t think you can compare him to JJ. Plus he’s won how many World Championships? And plays in what city? With what owner? The Lakers will go over the luxury tax if they have to to get a championship squad every year, and even get some great players on discount (ron artest). This doesn’t happen in Atlanta. 3yrs at 90M for the 1st or 2nd best player in the league currently… ALOT of $, but would you want to be the GM that DIDN’T pay Kobe Bryant and then face Jack N. and company in Staples later?

Dirk, the German… Career: 23pts, 9rebs, 3 asts per game. JJ, Career: 17.6 pts 4 rebs 4asts per game. No difference? He avgs a steal a game, just like JJ. He avgs less TO’s a game than JJ. His career fg% is 4 almost 5 points higher than JJ. He shoots at a better % from 3 and from the charity stripe. And not to mention, in the playoffs… He shows up! 26ppg and 11reb per game in the playoffs for Dallas. He’s a 7ft pf that can spread the floor for others any posession down the court, bringing one less low-post defender away from the rim for drives to the basket. 8-time allstar and led the Mavs to the Finals in 2006 as well as 50+ wins for the last 10 years or so. JJ has some catching up to do… Not to mention he doubled up JJ in FT attempts per game last year.

As of right now, this team is the same as the team that was swept out of last years 2nd round. We can hope for the best in FA, but we’ll probably have to settle on someone less than what most of us desire. We’re not even sure if Joe/Drew will work, if JJ can do w/o iso-joe and the ball in his hand everytime down the court… btw, his stats will drop for this very reason this season… Less shots. But if his assist/rebs go up, i’ll take it. I HOPE we make some genius moves after JJ signs, but we could end up being the like the Knicks, Nets and a few other teams right now… their 2010 FA boom is looking like a bust. And we’ve heard about this week for 2-3 years coming.

ASG is already largely considered to be fools by many… so moving on there. But I give them credit for trying. Like I said having JJ is better than letting him walk for nothing. This truly would make everything back to Smitty, Mookie and company be an utter misery for Hawks fans.

I agree with you, either way ASG chose to handle this, its a d’d if you do and d’d if you dont circumstance.

My main point is, this max + 1yr contract for possibly the 6th, 7th or 8th best FA available, just of this year… is a bad contract.

A max player… Leads every game, shows up for playoffs, makes others better players, doesn’t throw a temper tantrum towards the fans for getting his butt handed to him on a silver platter in the most lop-sided playoff series ever… does JJ do any of this? He limits others touches as of last year.

So, take a deep breath. This whole contract is based on hope… hope that JJ doesn’t get hurt and turn into the next McGrady or Michael Redd. Hope that he can work in the new offense. Hope that ASG and Sund can actually find the RIGHT pieces and get those pieces around JJ to get championship caliber in a hurry, because JJ wont do it alone as of right now. Hope that Larry Drew is what the Hawks and JJ need.

This season is the tipping point down two possible routes for this franchise. I’m glad JJ is back but ITS A BAD CONTRACT. Too many if’s associated with it and the future.

Everyone was calling Joe Johnson a step under the Max guys for years… it’s not “all of a sudden” to appease those in the northeast, now that they have lost out on Joe Johnson. Dallas, Boston and LA fans would be up in arms if they didn’t re-sign the guys you listed. JJ however, doesn’t have that same luxury…

If JJ wants the big bucks… He needs to ACT like a team captain, realize that as Joe Johnson goes so go the Hawks and understand that he does have ALOT to prove this year. It can’t be the same old Joe Johnson or Atlanta has, in fact, reached it’s ceiling. It will be very hard to improve this team drastically in this off-season compared to what is already on the roster. Everything would have to fall the Hawks way.

It all depends on if ASG can pony up now and backup their word. I think Hawks fans deserve it.

I Heart Atlanta

July 2nd, 2010
2:29 am

we don’t want Mbangedon

The Dragon

July 2nd, 2010
2:34 am

@MC: I’ve been hearing some serious trade whispers of a potential Chris Paul deal to the Hawks. The Hawks trade Jamal Crawford, Marvin Williams, and Mike Bibby and a future protected #1(Salaries totalling approximately 22.3 million) and get Chris Paul and Emeka Okafor (26.4 million).

First of all, the trade works under the current CBA. Second, The Hornets save approximately 4 million to get under the cap. Additionally, the Hornets get an almost 11 million dollar expiring contract in Jamal Crawford, Bibby with 1 year remaining and an asset in a young Marvin Williams who many of their front office believe was stifled in the Atlanta offense, but may just need a change of scenery. They can produce a fairly competitive product for the near future:

PG Collison, Bibby, Thornton
SG Crawford, Peja, Thornton
SF Williams, Posey, Poindexter
PF West, Wright, Songaila
C FA one year veterans deal (Kwame, J. O’neal, Kurt Thomas), Brackins

They won’t be winning the Wast with this team but they will remain competitive. They have many attractive assets in Williams, Collison, Crawford, and West to build around. They save money for the current owner and remove any burdensome contracts that might make it more difficult to sell the team. They also gain cap room for next offseason if they want it. They remove themselves from Okafor’s albatross of a contract and while they don’t want to lose CP3, his leaving paves the way for a brighter future.

As for the Hawk’s mentality, this is about turning the team from pretender to contender. The Hawks gain about 4 million in payroll, which can be immediately offset by not matching a Childress offer. The Hawks would look something like this:

PG Paul, Teague
SG Johnson, Jordan Crawford
SF Smith, Evans
PF Horford, FA with MLE (Haslem)
C Okafor, Zaza

This would give you a solid 10 man rotation. It would keep you below the luxury tax threshold. Horford gets to move to his natural position at the 4. Smith can use his athleticism from the wing. and your backcourt is one of the premier tandems in the league. You get size and rebounding from Okafor. Teague gets to groom behind Paul for at least 2 years. Crawford gets to groom behind Joe. This team, if healthy can compete for titles.

I hope that the ASG has the….”fortitude”….to pony up for a chance to be great.

tckr83

July 2nd, 2010
2:38 am

Dragon-

Paul and Okafor in a Hawks uni would be pretty sweet, think thats enough though? Where are you hearing this from?

tckr83

July 2nd, 2010
2:42 am

I think New Orleans fans would be in an uproar over this one…

HoosierHawk

July 2nd, 2010
3:17 am

I wish it were true, but people pay money to see Chris Paul. They don’t pay money to see expiring contracts, over the hill PGs who are too slow to play D, and Marvin. Plus I doub’t theyd trade their only center and pray they find a decent FA C.

BehindEnemyLines

July 2nd, 2010
3:33 am

So the Hawks & ASG, in their infinite wisdom, are going to pay the max for an overrated invisible man who couldn’t lead starving dogs to fresh meat? I’d be surprised or even shocked, except this is ASG, so he’s a perfect fit. And yes Northcyde, I believe JJ’s comments were a reflection of how little he cares for anything except his own overinflated sense of worth. A career-ending injury is the only “highlight” I’d ever be interested in seeing involving him again, I rather see Jon Koncak back in a Hawks uniform today that ever see Johnson in Atlanta (or anywhere else) again.

Update: Joe not going anywhere « control+ATL+delete

July 2nd, 2010
3:34 am

[...] to add even more pieces around Johnson, Al Hoford, and Josh Smith; and despite popular opinion, the ownership is willing to pay the luxury tax to do so. There’s no cap space left with which to sign a free agent, but the team does own a Mid-Level [...]

HoosierHawk

July 2nd, 2010
3:35 am

I also forget that if we get rid of Marvin, we can upgrade any other position (C or PG) without worrying THAT much about SF because we could always get Childress back. I doubt Childress comes back anyway, but especially if he is not starting and not the 6th man. So get a backup center that plays good D for Marvin, start childress, and I am happy.

JorCraw

July 2nd, 2010
3:45 am

How about “CrawDaddy”

D21

July 2nd, 2010
4:18 am

@ M.C.
I’ve got three questions, you can ask it to Sund (if he’s the one taking decisions, which I doubt):

1 : Why talking about the goal of building a team like the winning DET some weeks ago if then you send 120M to Joe Johnson.
It’s the opposite of DET model, where players were more underpaid than over-overpaid.

2 : you said “they took a look at the market for J.J. It quickly became clear that a few teams with cap space were ready to offer him the non-Bird max”
This is the biggest mistake.
- on the few team that have cap room for at least one Max contract without sign-&-trade, how many are ready to send a Max offer to Joe first ? Zero.
NYK ? they would use their two Max on real Max player before sending anything to Joe. No way they gamble on offering Max to Joe, sign him, then hope to get James, then try to create a sign-&-trade for Bosh.
They would sign the two real Max player first, and then try a sign-&-trade for Joe.
James and Bosh would say “we are OK and we signs as soon as you get Joe” but it would be with a sign-&-trade.

And it’s the same thing for CHI or MIA.
And the other teams like LAC ? Joe doesn’t want to go there. I prefer gamble on it than paying this guy 120M if it means continue to be cheap. And even if they say they will spend for the right guy, the notion of “right guy” can justify for 6 years not signing anybody. They can say “we tried but the other team weren’t OK to trade”.

3 : you said “It’s about the belief that re-signing J.J., adding more pieces and improving their tactics and approach under L.D. will allow the Hawks to finally take the next step.”
Is the next step “avoiding a swept in secound round” ?

D21

July 2nd, 2010
4:32 am

@ The Dragon
SInce Larry Drew already said that Josh will be around the basket and no more on 3pts line, I expect him to use Josh only at PF, but in the same time, you can give 32′ each to Smith, Al and Okafor to cover both PF and C position, and Okafor looks smart enough to come from the bench without creating ego problems.
The MLE would then be used to fill the SF spot.

vava74

July 2nd, 2010
4:46 am

JJ is a top 10 talent in the NBA, one of the best two way players in the league (off-def) and he is being submitted to an absurd amount of criticism around the media.

I give credit to guys like Hubie Brown and Charley Rosen who coached the game, know the game and see the game with the right eyes.

Both of them have only praised JJ’s game.

I don’t give any credit to journalists and bloggers (like Yahoo’s guy) who only want to generate media buzz, not to actually report.

Is he in Kobe, Lebron and Wade’s level? No, but in my book is heads and shoulders above Bosh, Bozer and Amar’e who have fatal flaws in their respective games.

Opinion makers are, in my view, more interested in dicing AGAIN the Hawks and undermining what is being built there.

Are the Hawks a contender already? No, but with JJ they have a shot at being a consistent franchise playing playoff basketball.

The most intriguing issue is if JJ will re-adapt himself to a more collective style of basketball and my view is that he will and EXCEL.

He is not a ball hog and he is not a me first type of guy. He was simply miss guided and miss oriented by a very weak offensive coach in Woody and generated all the bad habits and created an environment where the lack of ball movement generated a major chemistry collapse come playoff time.

People forget that JJ averaged during his first 4 playoff games this season 27,5 ppg, 7,5 rpg and 4,5 apg while shooting .477 fg% and he accomplished this whilst trying and succeeding in defending Jennings and/or Salmons.

His only less stellar stat was his 3pt% which was not up to his normal levels.

Big Ray

July 2nd, 2010
7:06 am

The reason we lost in the 2nd round was ZaZa, Horford, and Jamal all played terribly, even though Joe played great

I know this can’t be the REAL Northcyde talking. Because any idiot can see that the RESEARCH shows differently.

Big Ray

July 2nd, 2010
7:22 am

Offering Joe Johnson a max contract shows two things:

1) The organization is committed to keeping it’s best player.

2) There is a belief in the circle of decision-makers that Joe will continue to perform at his regular season level, and get better in the playoffs.

As far as showing a committment to winning, that is an incomplete idea/thought/premise. Why? Because re-signing him maintains a certain status quo, and does not actually improve the team. The goal IS to improve, yes?

So for the organization to truly show it’s committment, it has to also follow through on the promises and assertions that the roster will be improved.

Offering Joe a max contract is a step in the winning direction, but one step does not a journey make.

Big Ray

July 2nd, 2010
7:28 am

As far as Joe’s comments about the fans, I took that as frustration the minute I read it. We’ve seen worse. Joe doesn’t hate the fans anymore than most fans hate Joe. Only a few do, I believe, and who cares about that?

I know the fans booed a team that did not play like a team. Sorry, but the fans are responsible for what happens in the stands. The coaches and team are responsible for what happens on the court. The fans gave up and turned sour on a team that hardly played like a team for the bulk of the playoffs.

As for Joe, big fat deal. What he said doesn’t compare to Lebron James walking off the court two seasons back, after the Magic put his team out of the playofs…ignoring the Magic, his teammates, the fans, and all. That was unsportsmanlike.

How many times have coaches said “Hey, when we’re out there, it’s about us. It’s about 15 guys wearing jerseys and a few guys in suits on the sideline. That’s what it’s about, we can’t be paying too much attention to the crowd.”

This isn’t new, people.

Now if Joe doesn’t sign this contract, then what are his biggest man-crush fans going to say about him? I’d bet big money somebody will blame the fans. Sure can’t blame the ASG. They put the money up….

i_am_soulstar

July 2nd, 2010
8:18 am

Grandad,

I believe we’d be better off keeping Zaza than going with DJ Mbenga as a back-up center. If you look at his career stats, this gentleman hasn’t averaged more than 8 minutes and 5 seconds a game in 6 seasons with 3 teams.

Call me pessimistic, but I’d think that if there were real NBA potential there, he would’ve shown it by now. 6 seasons in, it’s clear he’s a career 3rd string big.

O'Brien

July 2nd, 2010
8:30 am

Melvin,

I don’t think the Hawks will make a move (like go after JO) until JJ has signed or verbally committed. Because if he doesn’t sign, then everything changes.

Najeh,

Co-sign. The Hawks best shot at landing a center is trading Jamal. However, the GS trade could be an option.

Marvin to Golden State for Gadzuric and anything else. Gadzuric is expiring, and he provides another center option with ZaZa. Marvin might even benefit from the GS style of play.

And wiith Marvin gone, we could bring Chills back as our starter, and sign a cheap SF backup using the bi-annual. And then we can use some the mid-level to sign a backup PF (I think Craig Smith is the guy).

What I would like to see however, is if we could get Anthony Morrow and Gadzuric for Marvin and Mo Evans. Morrow would be our shooter off the bench (like JR Smith or JJ Redick). And Golden State would get Mo Evans expiring contract.

i_am_soulstar, Grandad,

If the ASG miss out on the better centers (who are going to be expensive), I would be okay with giving Petro a chance to add to the center rotation. But I would not give up ZaZa for Petro or Mbenga. They would be third string, and situational.

O'Brien

July 2nd, 2010
8:31 am

Sorry for all the extra bold…

i_am_soulstar

July 2nd, 2010
8:45 am

If it’s agreed that Atlanta’s predictable offense contributed to their downfall, then why are we trying to get rid of our best player when a flawed system’s to blame. This isn’t politics, this is basketball. Symbolic firings are maybe ok for a coach or GM, but simply unintelligent when you’re talking about your star guy.

The majority of fans wanna see Joe go because of one comment and a mediocre playoff performance influenced by a lack of coaching. Sounds like people are focused on short-term emotional reactions instead of long-term success.

Lebron’s said worse, Paul Pierce has said worse. Hell, even Kobe’s said worse in a grocery parking lot during the offseason. All three were frustrated with the current state of things regarding their team. 2 out of 3 of their teams subsequently went on to win championships after their media hiccups.

Change the system, insert your top gunner into a different, more team-efficient role, surround him with adequate help, and be willing to go into the luxury tax to make it happen.

These are all things that the Lakers, Celtics, and Cavaliers did to achieve upper-echelon status in the league, and this what it seems the long-lamented ASG are attempting to do right now.

I’m behind them and Joe Johnson until they give me reason to believe otherwise.

Not to say that Joe didn’t play badly, but if it’s clear that Woody didn’t put the team in a position to succeed,

nobody

July 2nd, 2010
8:53 am

I like what someone on the first page said and I have said before. Id like to see if drew tries JJ at the 3. Especially if we could trade for ellis

i_am_soulstar

July 2nd, 2010
8:54 am

(continued) then I can’t hold a grudge against the players (even Marvin).

nobody

July 2nd, 2010
9:00 am

So I keep reading on yahoo that Childress is now a hot commodity because we dont have the money to match a good offer sheet and SF are becoming scarce on the market. So this means Chillz is pretty much gone right?

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=AubD05g090dkl2QEafKx1X45nYcB?slug=ys-freeagentbuzz070110

Westurd

July 2nd, 2010
9:24 am

Chills sux. Never put a dent in the stats sheet and is too soft.

vava74

July 2nd, 2010
9:30 am

A lot of people have been saying all sorts of shoddy stuff about JJ and saying that we could easily replace him from within, including starting Crawford.

Crawford is a fine player and deserving of significant praise.

But to say that he was more reliable than JJ like I have read in several blogs is day dreaming.

Check the clutch stats: http://www.82games.com/0910/CSORT11.HTM

See where JJ is and his FG% and where Crawford is and his FG%.

Get a grip people before saying stupid and uninformed things.

N-Trigue

July 2nd, 2010
9:36 am

We need to get Luis Scola as center he’s the best availble in our price range

vava74

July 2nd, 2010
9:43 am

The Celtics are about to announce an agreement with Paul Pierce – who will be 33 in October – a 3 to 4 year deal worth at least 15 million per.

Everyone in the Celtics blog is happy to keep their captain. A guy who ONLY LEAD them to a title and another Finals AFTER getting Garnett and Allen (and an up and coming PG wonder) around him and he is GETTING MAJOR SUPPORT from the fans.

AT 33 Years old, no one is saying: “he could only do it when he got help”, “he is not max contract material”, “he will be too old and the contract will be an albatross”, blah blah…

NO ONE!

i_am_soulstar

July 2nd, 2010
9:43 am

Nobody,

Everyone is saying that the Hawks won’t match. But everyone was saying that they wouldn’t offer Joe the max. Childress already has a cap hold of 4.8 million, so if he’s offered 6 or 7 mil from the Wizards, and the Hawks successfully trade Marvin and Bibby and free up cap space, anything could happen. But I doubt they bring him back if he doesn’t want to be here.

nobody

July 2nd, 2010
9:46 am

i_am_soulstar:I never necessarily wanted him back, but the wizards have some good young guys for trades. but that may be out the window now

Tech First

July 2nd, 2010
9:47 am

RESIGN JOE AND ATLANTA HAWKS FANS BOYCOTT HE’S NOT A LEADER I LIKE THE DALLAS SIGN AND TRADE FOR HAYWOOD AND BULTER AT THESE PCS WERE THA SAME IF NOT BETTER WITH MONEY TO SPEND DOMINQUE WILKENS IS A FRANCHISE PLAYER JOE JOHNSON IS NOT SEND EM TO NEW YORK DALLAS OR MIAMI WE DONT HAVE 120MILLION TO PAY A SECOND OPTION I STAND UP FOR ATLANTA RUDY GAY 80MILLION 19PT 7RB DAVID LEE ANYBODY U PAY JOE WE WIN 50 GAMES MAYBE OUT IN THE SECOND ROUND AGAIN LET JOE GO TECH FIRST WHO’S DRINKING DAMON EVAN BUYING NOT ONLY ARE THE PLAYERS GETTIN ARREST THE A.D TOO GO JACKETS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i_am_soulstar

July 2nd, 2010
9:57 am

vava74,

Yeah, I wish we had better fans sometimes.

Hawk n the Ham

July 2nd, 2010
9:58 am

LOOK AT ME!! I’M TYPING IN ALL CAPS!!

macaroni tony

July 2nd, 2010
9:59 am

I am tired of sports writers like Adrian Wojnarowsk, I’ve just read his article as if the Hawks sign JJ then they want have the money to match JC. The Hawks would be dumb to just let JC just walk away. I would match him any way that I can, and then s-n-t his butt. But I’m tired of these writers getting us all hyped up and know thing they say happens

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