Atlanta Hawks: Al Horford’s summer
Al, standing back right, with the winning All-Star squad. (www.singaporesports.sg)
The first part of Al Horford’s summer was personal. Now he will get down to the business of improving his game and maybe later think about a contract extension with the Hawks.
First, the personal: Al was scheduled to return to Atlanta yesterday after participating in Basketball Without Borders in Singapore last week. Al went to Mexico as part of the program last season but made his first-ever trip to Asia. Joining him in Singapore were Trevor Ariza, Francisco Garcia (Go Cards), Corey Brewer and Taj Gibson.
“It’s been a great experience for me so far,” Al said from Singapore. “I think we have made the most of it here, helping the kids and a doing a lot of activities with the NBA. I’ve had a blast. The Singapore people are excited about basketball here. The campers have been great. They are from all over Asia and some from the Middle East.”
The NBA guys’ activities included hosting a Special Olympics basketball clinic, a trip to Jamiyah’s Children’s Home for orphans and underprivileged children and and an NBA FIT clinic for high school students. Al also has a basketball camp scheduled this week at Oglethorpe University.
After taking a break for BWB Asia, it’s back to business for AL. He’s headed back to the gym for workouts this week. When I told him how some of my blog people seem to be very, very concerned about what guys are doing over the summer, Al laughed before laying out his plan:
“There are a couple things I will be working on, and I’ve already started a little bit. Obviously [last summer] I developed a lot more with the pick-and-pop as far as pick-and-rolling and shooting mid-range. Now I’m going to work on putting the ball on the floor more and strengthening my counter moves in post. Those are two things I will really be focused on.”
He said he hasn’t focused on his contract situation yet. Now that J.J. is locked up, Al might be next in line to get big money from the Hawks.
He’s in the fourth year of his rookie-scale contract so he’s eligible for a five-year extension to take his deal through 2015-16. The contract can start at the league maximum, which for Al is going to be something like $13 million, with maximum raises of 10.5 percent each season. If he doesn’t accept an extension, he would become a restricted free agent next summer if the Hawks extended a qualifying offer, which they obviously would.
Would Al be open to an extension?
“I’m not sure, yet,” he said. “This is a summer for me to get better and focus on next season. I don’t know what their approach is going to be on that. I know that as a team, [the focus is] to get Joe Johnson back.”
J.J. is back now. The Hawks still plan to add more pieces, including a center. Al reiterated his stance that he prefers to play power forward but isn’t making any demands about switching positions.
“I’m fine with [center] but my natural position is obviously the four,” he said.
With that said, there is one thing I’ve wondered about amid all this focus on getting a center. See if you feel me on this one.
I think the Dwight effect from the playoffs has caused a lot of people to undervalue Al as a center. I’m not saying the Hawks couldn’t use more size–even Al has agreed with that–I’m just saying you can make a case that a perimeter defender and bona fide point guard are more pressing concerns for this team. That’s especially true since Al presumably will be featured in offensive and defensive schemes that better utilize his talents and hide his lack of ideal bulk for center.
I know the Hawks hope Teague can hold down point guard while helping with the perimeter D. But if forced to choose, which might be what happens to the Hawks, would you rather acquire a center that can displace Al as a starter or a point guard you are sure can run L.D.’s revolutionary new offense so J.J. doesn’t have the ball so much? Is getting a starting center more important than finding a defensive perimeter guy who can upgrade a group that still could have Jamal and Bibby playing heavy minutes?
I’m not certain of the answers but just wanted to throw that out there. They are the kind of questions the Hawks will ponder now that J.J.’s deal is done. Lots of you have been asking about potential trades and Atlanta’s interest in other free agents, and I get that. It’s fun to imagine the possibilities. However, Atlanta’s focus has been squarely on J.J. so I’m afraid there hasn’t been much to talk about so far.
Also remember it’s still very, very early in the process, particularly for a team like the Hawks. They might have to wait until the initial craziness of the market subsides before swooping in for guys who overestimated their value. My guess is that’s going to happen relatively soon once teams that missed out on LeBron and Co. regain their fiscal sanity.
–Thanks to all my blog people for the clicks and comments during this J.J. saga. I appreciate your interest in what I have to say and admire your passion for your team. The opposite of love isn’t hate, it’s indifference, and no one can ever accuse my blog people of being indifferent about their Hawks. I’m on the clock from now through the first four days of Summer League and I will do my best to keep the conversation going until I head off for some me time.
MC
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253 comments Add your comment
doc
July 5th, 2010
3:44 pm
i know by the numbers bibby seemed to be an important cog. only problem with the stat line is, would anyone other vet’s numbers or someone’s number two guards looked just as good in the mix with the other four guys? could someone have improved upon it? the numbers didnt deteriorate too much when a non point guard was thrown into the mix to play out of position at point when jamal was inserted. no bibby has been very expensive looking long term to include his up coming years unless he is spending time training himself rather than his kids this summer to find the fountain of youth.
Hmmm
July 5th, 2010
3:44 pm
Woodson was trash.
doc
July 5th, 2010
3:46 pm
i love to watch bibby shoot when he is on, i close my eyes when he goes in for an uncontested lay-up. the guy is lacking in athleticism but feisty as hell, give him credit there.
i_am_soulstar
July 5th, 2010
3:54 pm
Mark Price was only under contract during the season. During the summer, he’s not under contract and can coach whoever he wants, so they typically come to him.
Melvin
July 5th, 2010
3:57 pm
Watching the Orlando Summer League games. I’m glad the Hawks didn’t pick Daniel Orton out of Uk. He looks terrible… Paul George and Lance Stephenson for the Pacers looks good…
mykhalc
July 5th, 2010
3:59 pm
MB also wasn’t given enough credit for his rebounds either. most of ‘em mighta been easy but at least he went and got ‘em LOL like i said i really hope Drew proves himself be light years smarter than Woodson…a lil bit smarter ain’t gonna cut it!!!
mykhalc
July 5th, 2010
4:02 pm
doc…question…i know you went to quite a few games so what was the on court communication like for the HAWKS??? my outside lookin’ in take was…it was not so good!!??? well unless MB was on the court…;-)
JeJe
July 5th, 2010
4:27 pm
So did the players get along or not in the Playoffs? Joe said they did, but Horf said otherwise…
FIRE WOODY
A-Ville Ranger
July 5th, 2010
4:43 pm
Re-signing Joe assures we won’t have a bad team in the near future. It also just about assures we won’t win a title in the near future. Joe is not the type player to carry a team to a championship. He’s very solid but he’s just not a Lebron or Kobe.
I almost laughed reading the article where Joe is to entice Lebron and others to come to Atl. First, there’s not a reason in the world for LJ to come here. He’ll either stay in Cleveland or go to one of the 3 big market teams who covet his service.
Second, there’s no way Hawks management would pay another max contract, they’re blowing smoke up our asses. So here we are, a 50 win team, and here we’ll stay awhile.
i_am_soulstar
July 5th, 2010
4:45 pm
Josh Childress’ Twitter
@Brotha2ThaNite congrats on what? I have a small tear in my hamstring. It happened in the final against Barcelona. I’m good though.
Gainesville#1
July 5th, 2010
4:52 pm
Doc
I agree. Mike Bibby’s jumper is the only reason I wouls leave him at the point for now. He can come off of the pick and roll and hit the j. I’m worried about teague’s jumper.
doc
July 5th, 2010
4:55 pm
myk i got tired of looking at them. there was no ball movement and the tough defense just wasnt there. they regressed during the season rather than improve, so i quit going and gave tix away when i did i often couldnt get takers. myk they often didnt show up against inferior teams and only seemed to rise up for the better teams by individual effort.
raybud
July 5th, 2010
5:07 pm
What does everyone think of Garrett Siler? Do you think that the coaching staff gave up on him too quickly? He would give depth at the position and i actually think that the kid is good
O'Brien
July 5th, 2010
5:15 pm
J from the A,
One reason Bibby’s turnovers were so low is because he would cross half court, give the ball to JJ (or Jamal), and get out of the way. He doesn’t penetrate (79 free throw attempts all year), and he rarely draws double teams.
One thing I like about Hinrich, is he plays much better defense than Bibby. And if Hinrich is playing with Jamal, Hinrich could actually guard some SG or PGs depending on the matchup. But if we get Hinrich, I think we will have to trade Bibby. Will Washington take Bibby and Chills for Hinrich and another piece?
mykhalc
July 5th, 2010
5:16 pm
doc…then my view from the Bay wasn’t far off at all!! the games i did see had me walk away with the same feelin’…
ICECOLD
July 5th, 2010
5:17 pm
I think the hawks are set on teague starting. So bobby had to know this was coming. They probably told him that they would give him a big contract to set him straight money wise but he has to come off the bench. The hawks don’t need shaq at all. Cuz he is childish and only good in 5- 10 minutes spans.
Camby knees are bad, so he needs to stay where he at. Oden sucks and the other guy didn’t do nothin, he’s Jus Like the back up centers we already got. Get David lee.. traid childress and zaza … please trade zaza. He do too many stupid mistakes. And is lazy.
Fundamentals
July 5th, 2010
5:34 pm
We Need Tree = Definitely. If we could just find a defensive force and locker room force like Tree it’d definitely nix or bench big help. Love the name. As for a system IMO I think he’s talking ball movement, Teague pushing the rock and driving the bucket. Teague doesn’t need a jumper just yet. Did Rondo when he got the nod? We need him to play D, run the offense and put pressure on the bucket by driving and kicking to good shooters – Jamal, Joe, Al, ect. I’m up for trading Marvin, Bibby, Evans, ZaZa and not signing Collins and West, but I’d like to see Joe Smith and Randolph again.
Bibby could be a good backup shooter & stabilizer if we use him like Doc did Eddie House. He could be a valuable bench presence, but I sensed IMO that he affected the chemistry between our backcourt. There’s not enough basketballs to go with Teague, Joe, Jamal, Mo, Bibby, ect. There was no accountability. To me it seemed that Bibby gave up, Mo whined, Jamal got scared and Joe just got tired carrying the load. He was wore out with playing defense for 2-3, how do you expect him to carry the offense as well? Oh yeah, Teague got no shot so how can we bash him?
I think Joe and Al can more than hold their position against 99% of the league on their own. Only a few cases they fail us. No player has no weaknesses, they all have their problems.
As for assistant coaches we’ve got Woodson’s crew on our website aside from Price being upgraded from a shooting coach to an assistant. I feel like we need strong bench leadership to help Drew in the form of specialized position coaches.
We are on the cusp of really making a push if a few teams will jump at the chance of a sign-n-trade or trade for players they’ll obviosly lose anyway. We need a solid defending PG to help Teague run the new system, we need a strong big to help Al. Other than that I’m excited to see how well Drew can motivate our team, keep them accountable and make a genuine push to move this team forward. We have pieces, it’s all in how we use them.
Siler would’ve been worth a 10 day instead of signing Mario so early. As would many of the D-League bigs? Instead we picked up a very specialized role player who filled a key role a season prior. Woodson had no trust, no creativity, no risk. He rode his horses to death….right to the end point we all IMO predicted.
Hoops
July 5th, 2010
5:36 pm
Possible trade with the Warriors:
Warriors get-Bibby(PG @ $5.5M) and Marvin(SF @ $6.7M) Total Salaries-$12.2M
Hawks get-CJ Watson(PG @ $1.25M), Anthony Randolph(PF @ $1.9M), and Andris Biedrins(C @ $9M) Total Salaries-$12.15M
The Warriors say that Beidrins is not in their future plans. Here’s their chance to move him, get a starting SF to go with the trade, and get a shooter off the bench that can back up PG & SG!
The Hawks get a back up PG, a back up PF, and a back up center.
Hawks line up:
PG-Teague/Watson
SG-JJ/Crawford, Crawford2
SF-Childress/Evans
PF-Josh/Randolph
C-Horford/Biedrins/Zaza
After signing Childress, the Hawks stay under the L. tax. I like this line up!!!
Fundamentals
July 5th, 2010
5:43 pm
I like the Hinrich idea as well as Blatche or McGhee from WAS.
Biedrens was a decent rebounder and decent outside shooter.
Don’t like Shaq, My mom said no to Delonte.
I’d be happy to see Drew risk some positions on young talent like Crawford, Pape Sy and Gladyr if they perform well in summer league. Give them a chance to sink or swim. They might be the difference we’re looking for. IMO Teague was just that last year. We never used him. Now we’re still looking for a young athletic guard who can drive the basket. We’ve had him the who time.
In that respect I’m very happy to see Woodson gone. IMO he never used young talent at all, much less well.
Fundamentals
July 5th, 2010
5:46 pm
Hoops – can we trade Evans for a bigger SF that really crashes the boards? If so I’d buy what you’re selling…assuming the numbers work out.
What are the rules for trading for future draft picks with teams that’ll most likely be lottery bound?
JeJe
July 5th, 2010
5:49 pm
SO WHO IS JJ RECRUITING TO THE HAWKS?
WHERE’S THE ARTICLE?
Fundamentals
July 5th, 2010
5:51 pm
Hype Je Je? Where’s a presser from Joe discussing what he learned from his meetings with Sund and Drew, who he wants to see on our team, who he’d consider trading, how the new coaching system will affect his game, ect. We need to hear from Drew and Joe! Details and plans – give us hope!
Fundamentals
July 5th, 2010
5:56 pm
MC = JE JE has the perfect article – get typing!
Hoops
July 5th, 2010
5:57 pm
Fundamentals,
With that line up, I would think LD would use JJ @ Sf some. That would help with your size concern @ SF.
Evans can be traded. He would be an attractive piece for a team with cap concerns because of his expiring contract.
Fundamentals
July 5th, 2010
6:06 pm
No disrespect to Mo, but we’re crowded where he’s best utilized. We need a bigger player. He could be a useful piece for someone, but we need a good SF.
Is the new Crawford big enough to be up to the task as well? I’d also love to see Pape Sy utilized if he does well this summer.
Hopefully summer league will show that Gladyr has progressed some. Skill set needed help last year, but he was supposed to be a prospect.
dr.maryb
July 5th, 2010
6:11 pm
JeJe
* Mark Price. (Sorry) was multi-tasking earlier. LOL.
J from the A
July 5th, 2010
6:15 pm
Henrich … I’ve always been a bit of a Henrich fan. Would it be realistic to think that the Hawks might work out a trade to get Henrich and one of the Wizard’s bigs (e.g., McGee, Blache, or Jianilan) without having to give up too much?
Yeah, and more on who JJ is trying to recruit.
LEA
July 5th, 2010
6:17 pm
Al Horford SUCKS defensively, he is no where near the defender Smoove is, nor will he ever be.. lol @ smoove not wanting to shoot ft’s . When he works harder than EVERY player on this team to improve his game ever off-season. Of course you want to believe that statement because it’s something negative. doesn’t make it true @ all..
Gainesville#1
July 5th, 2010
6:17 pm
Trust me if Rondo had a jumper, the celtics would have won the finals. If you have a point that can stretch the d, the d has to respect that. If you don’t everybody is going to cram the middle. Having a shooting point makes life a whole lot easier. I’m not saying he has to drop 50. Joe smith is about 150 years old and he didn’t bring nothing to the table. They should drop him and zaza. Old, slow, and weak
Hoops
July 5th, 2010
6:21 pm
Fundamentals,
The Hornets might be willing to trade J. Posey for Evans just so they could drop his $6.4M contract and pick up Evans $2.5M expiring contract. The reason that the Hawks would probably not be willing to do that trade is it would put them into L. tax if they did the trade with GS that I just proposed.
Fundamentals
July 5th, 2010
6:22 pm
You can’t drop ZaZa, you’ve gotta trade him for something since he has several years left. I wonder how he’ll play under Drew? Was his lack of effort a rift with Woodson? He shows flashes of effort, but isn’t reliable. Maybe someone like NY would like him to fit in with their international collection. How about a sign and trade for a combo of Hawks for Lee that included ZaZa? That’d help us in the post and alleviate the SF situation?
JSS
July 5th, 2010
6:33 pm
@ raybud…
Don’t get started on Garret, the 2nd easiest way to get cursed out and demeaned on here is to bring him up…
JSS
July 5th, 2010
6:35 pm
and he’s in New Jersey’s summer camp now, let it go!
Hoops
July 5th, 2010
6:36 pm
Fundamentals,
Lee is a PF that is being forced into playing C. We already have one of those in Horford. Even if the Hawks wanted Lee, I don’t know of a combination of Hawks players that NBA trade rules would allow to be traded to NY that they would accept for Lee.
We need a C, not another PF.
terrell
July 5th, 2010
6:46 pm
First off , Horford is going to be the starting center, like it or not. So to everybody who wants a backup center: What do we do with Zaza? Let him backup Josh Smith at the 4? Let him backup the 4 and be the 3rd center? Involve him in a trade?(If possible) Just curious. And Zaza is listed at 6′11 275, for all of you 7 ft. fanatics. lol!
dmaryr
July 5th, 2010
6:49 pm
My panties dont smell as bad as they use too. Not since I sprayed them.
dmaryr
July 5th, 2010
6:50 pm
I dont think its fair that you guys wont do me because im fat and nasty.
Najeh Davenpoop
July 5th, 2010
6:53 pm
It appears at least one person in the national media seems to think Shaq to Atlanta could happen, even if he isn’t actually a reporter.
Seattle Hawks Fan
July 5th, 2010
6:53 pm
What about Chris Paul? I heard he wants out of NO………… What would the Hawks have to trade….. Marvin, Bibby, and a first round pick?
Gainesville#1
July 5th, 2010
6:55 pm
I know they would have to trade him I just used the word drop because of his performance last season. I don’t think he would be worth much if we trade him.
Gainesville#1
July 5th, 2010
6:58 pm
dmaryb
whhhhhaaaaaatttttttt?????
terrell
July 5th, 2010
7:01 pm
I heard the Warriors didnt want Crawford because after they saw what they had in Curry, they were trying to get rid of players that needed the ball in their hands. Doing the same with Ellis in the near future. Makes me wonder if JJ and Crawford will affect Teague’s development of becoming a true pg?(Whatever that is lol!) Just a thought. Our depth at sg, Teague controlling the offense, and guarding the opposing pg,s, should all factor in keeping JJ fresh for the long haul. Of course, things can change if Teague struggles. Back to Iso Joe. Noooooooooooo! lol! Cant wait to see the new offense regardless. So used to dribble,dribble,dribble. lol!
JeJe
July 5th, 2010
7:04 pm
FIRE LARRY KNAPP
NikkiFree
July 5th, 2010
7:08 pm
I’m gonna miss you, Al. Once joe Johnson is officially back on board, I’ll be history as a Hawks fan.
J from the A
July 5th, 2010
7:13 pm
Wait!
…
Wasn’t the original blog post about Al? lol
Lets go Hawks!
July 5th, 2010
7:15 pm
Somebody needs to grow up…….
Atlgent
July 5th, 2010
7:18 pm
I have always just read the comments and never replied, but, because I always have a strong opinion, I have decided to chime in on this topic. Here is a list of the NBA centers from last year not including Horford…
Dwight Howard *
Al Jefferson
Tim Duncan*
Brooke Lopez
Andrea Bargnani
David Lee
Mehmet Okur
Emeka Okafor
Andrew Bynum***
Andres Biedrins
Nene***
Marcus Camby*
Greg Oden***
Kendrick Perkins
Jermaine O’Neal***
Samuel Dalembert
Shaq*
Spencer Hawes
Chris Kaman
Andrew Bogut*
Joakim Noah
Chris Anderson
Tyson Chandler
Brad Miller
Zydrunas Ilgauskas
Brendan Haywood
Channing Frye
Roy Hibbert
Hasheem Thabeet
Nenad Krstic
David Anderson
Deandre Jordan
Fabrecio Aberto
Maurice Speights…..
DNP Yao Ming*
Now everyone sees the list before them…IMHO I think that save for 3 possibly 4 guys on that list, I would go to battle with AL HORFORD anytime of the day to oppose another CENTER on that list…I applied an asterisk next to the CENTERS that I would take…And 3 of those are on the down side of their career and may have maximum 3 years left..
I also applied 3 asterisks next to the centers that may have a better upside but would not want because they are so very injury prone..
Now you gentleman name a CENTER that is not on that list that the HAWKS can acquire that would do better than HORFORD against these centers??? …P.S. by the way, Amare Stoudamire don’t wanna be a CENTER..
I keep reading and hearing—- Get a CENTER, but where is he?
Honestly, if that CENTER is on MARS, I don’t think he has eligibility yet….
O'Brien
July 5th, 2010
7:32 pm
Doc,
Bibby’s price isn’t that bad. The deal breaker is his third year guarantee. Nobody was offering him a 3 year deal last year, but for some reason, Rick gave him 3. And now its very hard to trade him.
Najeh,
I like the Jamal to Portland for Pryzbilla and Rudy Fernandez. The only drawback is his injury history. However, he is an expiring, so if he doesn’t work out, he can be traded at the deadline, or potentially replaced next off-season.
I also like the Marvin and Mo Evans for Biedrins and another piece (Wright or Randolph). Biedrins is expensive (4 years, $36 mil), but at least we still keep Josh and Jamal (who could still be traded for other pieces). And then we still have the mid-level and the bi-annual. And we can do a S&T for Chills.
There are cheaper SFs available than what Chills and Marvin will make.
doc
July 5th, 2010
7:52 pm
o’b i am talking his total contract from his being brought to the team. over all it is about 28 mil to date with the meter still running. for 4.5 years of work he could stand to make what 40 to 42 mil maybe it is more. not bad for one legged point guard past his prime but gritty.
ICECOLD
July 5th, 2010
7:53 pm
I have always just read the comments and never replied, but, because I always have a strong opinion, I have decided to chime in on this topic. Here is a list of the NBA centers from last year not including Horford…
Dwight Howard *
Al Jefferson
Tim Duncan*
Brooke Lopez
Andrea Bargnani
David Lee
Mehmet Okur
Emeka Okafor
Andrew Bynum***
Andres Biedrins
Nene***
Marcus Camby*
Greg Oden***
Kendrick Perkins
Jermaine O’Neal***
Samuel Dalembert
Shaq*
Spencer Hawes
Chris Kaman
Andrew Bogut*
Joakim Noah
Chris Anderson
Tyson Chandler
Brad Miller
Zydrunas Ilgauskas
Brendan Haywood
Channing Frye
Roy Hibbert
Hasheem Thabeet
Nenad Krstic
David Anderson
Deandre Jordan
Fabrecio Aberto
Maurice Speights…..
DNP Yao Ming*
Now everyone sees the list before them…IMHO I think that save for 3 possibly 4 guys on that list, I would go to battle with AL HORFORD anytime of the day to oppose another CENTER on that list…I applied an asterisk next to the CENTERS that I would take…And 3 of those are on the down side of their career and may have maximum 3 years left..
I also applied 3 asterisks next to the centers that may have a better upside but would not want because they are so very injury prone..
Now you gentleman name a CENTER that is not on that list that the HAWKS can acquire that would do better than HORFORD against these centers??? …P.S. by the way, Amare Stoudamire don’t wanna be a CENTER..
I keep reading and hearing—- Get a CENTER, but where is he?
Honestly, if that CENTER is on MARS, I don’t think he has eligibility yet….
lets getem all !!!! we always complain that we need a center … lol