Atlanta Hawks: Shaq and their summer struggles
Las Vegas–First the Shaq scuttlebutt, then the game. . .
The Marvin for Shaq sign-and-trade appears to be a non-starter. The Hawks have consistently said they like their core, and that includes Marvin. So they are not looking to move Marvin for Shaq when he’s playing under what they consider to be a reasonable contract for a starting 3 whom they still believe can blossom under L.D.
Shaq is pushing for the sign-and-trade because he wants to be paid above the mid-level exception–a person familiar with his thinking said Shaq wants something like $16 million for two years after seeing other free agent centers sign lucrative deals. Shaq also wants to start but it doesn’t look like he will get that or the money from Atlanta. In fact, after post-J.J. indications that the Hawks were willing to push their payroll above the luxury-tax threshold of $70.3 million, it’s becoming increasingly clear ASG wants to avoid paying the tax.
With their payroll at roughly $65 million, the Hawks aren’t likely to use the full mid-level exception of $5.8 million to add the minimum of three players they need to get to 13. So the challenge for GM Rick Sund is to add veteran impact players to the roster under those financial constraints. That means Brad Miller likely is out of Atlanta’s price range and they’ll have to wait and see which veteran centers are still around when the dust settles.
Unless Sund can somehow find an impact player at a bargain, Atlanta’s rotation in 2010-11 figures to look a lot like 2009-10. If that’s the case, Atlanta’s belief in its core group figures to be tested.
Spurs 89, Hawks 84
– This wasn’t a good effort for the Hawks. They got off to a slow start again and Lester Conner said he might change the lineup against Milwaukee tomorrow. Turnovers were the problem this time: seven in the first quarter, 15 at the half and 22 for the game. San Antonio recorded 17 steals, which is crazy even for Summer League.
– A rough outing for Teague, who had nine turnovers and once again rushed things at winning time. He just didn’t look all that into it at times, particularly when D-Leaguer Carldell “Squeaky” Johnson picked his pocket for a layup and blew by him for an assist on consecutive plays. “He didn’t take care of the ball and he didn’t run the team the way we’d like,” Conner said.
– It’s one thing for raw rookie Pape Sy to be bothered by ball pressure, another for Teague to look unnerved by it. “Just one of those games,” Teague said. “I think I am just going to start passing the ball up to the wings instead of bringing it up. It takes too long into the shot clock for to get the offense going . That’s how it’s going to be when I play with Joe and those guys, anyway.”
– In defense of Teague and the Hawks, they haven’t had much time to build any kind of cohesion. Conner said L.D.’s offense “might be too sophisticated for this group” because they keep abandoning the calls and freelancing. Then again, this wasn’t an opponent sending out NBAers like the Grizz did Monday. The Spurs sent out D-League free agents and led 52-36 at the half.
– The Hawks rallied again after halftime. They cut down on the turnovers and Teague, JC2 and Trey Gilder got going on offense. But the game got away from the Hawks when Teague jacked up a bricked 3-pointer, the Hawks fell asleep on D and allowed a James Gist dunk and then the Spurs got an offensive rebound on a missed free throw.
– It was another overall positive effort for Crawford., who scored 20 points while shooting 6 of 11. He didn’t draw many fouls at Xavier but earned seven free-throw attempts against San Antonio. Crawford spent some time at point guard and again showed good vision but also had a couple turnovers while forcing cross-court passes into traffic.
– Crawford’s talent is obvious. The Hawks just have to harness it. “He can score the basketball but he doesn’t know about shot selection yet,” Conner said. “That’s expected. We put him at point guard and they got into him.”
– Gilder looked pretty good on the wing. He’s got a slight build but he’s long, quick and smooth.
– The Hawks like Richard Hendrix’s physical game. He was strong on the block and also showed some pretty good footwork.
– After doing little against Memphis, RandMo came back with a strong effort.
– Sy was scratched with a sore right Achilles’. He said he injured it during the game Monday and most likely would sit out tomorrow vs. Milwaukee. James Augustine left the game due to a sprained ankle.
– I’m out, blog people.
MC
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334 comments Add your comment
drmaryb
July 15th, 2010
9:48 am
Lord of The Rings
Phil Jackson – 11 Rings
Michael Jordan – 6 Rings
Aye … A girl can dream – Or Not?
O'Brien
July 15th, 2010
9:52 am
Even if the 3 things that Najeh mentioned does happen (Drew > Woody, Teague contributes, while Marvin, Josh and Al improve), there is no guarantee that we will be a top 4 seed.
Especially since we were the healthiest team in the NBA last year. What happens if Josh or Al gets injured and miss 12 games? Where is the solid frontcourt depth?
Truth Serum,
Teague’s assists to TO ratio his rookie season was 2.47. Chauncey Billups rookie season’s ratio was 1.87. Rondo’s rookie season, his was 2.1. I’m glad those GMs didn’t give up on those guys after their rookie year.
After 5 or 6 years in the league, people are still saying Marvin is young and will improve, and how Josh is young and will improve. Teague is 22, and in his second year. You don’t think he will improve?
KevinM
July 15th, 2010
10:02 am
Recap:
bigDave – you are dead-on correct about Cousins. Next time you see Sund, tell him what he missed! An absolute joke that Philly, Minny, and NJ passed on him. Now you know why they are where they are.
Ramon-Dealing Bibby and Zaza have been talked for 3 years now and nothing but ingraining them into this team. Bibby isn’t going anywhere now with what we have seen and heard from Teague. Just sad that John Lucas III and Curtis Jerrells look better at this point in running an offense.
Sawyer – Your review/eval of this offseason is dead on! Couldn’t have said it better as we continue to spin our wheels. My whole thought of that MLE we have: we will use it on 3 players before we ever give it to one player….we have never used the full MLE on one player.
MC – man, you are so on this team. You have some good contacts…you are the first one that has given us any indication of any activity. Kudos to you for a treacherous ordeal following the ASG/Sund and their blueprint for success.
TruthSeeker – I hope you’re the last one who puts LD and Phil Jackson in the same sentence. LD doesn’t have an inkling of what Jackson has had to work with. The entire staff isn’t Tex Winter level either.
Jeff – I will spot you any 5 of those Centers, put them on our bench, and we still run out of ways to contain Dwight. None are worthy, and none should be on an NBA bench enjoying a post game meal. Go to the NBDL to find a replacement in case of injury. These guys aren’t stopping Zaza.
dap01 – its called a cave-in approach. Finding optimism with every Hawks’ transaction is very challenging.
Samuel – the game last night wasn’t worth watching until the 4th quarter. We get down by about 23 to the pieces that the Spurs have put together and we make it a game with 6 min left. Spurs start watching us by shooting flailing jumpers allowing us to keep it close.
From our side:
Teague – defniite stuggles getting the offense started….guys weren’t in position to attack….. too many times, I saw Augustine hold onto a screen attempt like he was parked out there, yet we give him the ball where he can’t deliver. Down 4 under a minute, Teague’s missed 3 pointer at the top sealed the fate.
Randolph Morris – no more nicknames – my UK allegiance aside, he should have stayed in college if that was possible. He has yet to show enough energy, effort, or desire to go get rebounds. At crunch time at under 2 min, he gave up a rebound to a more energetic Spur, giving them a possession that sealed our fate.
Crawford-absolutely aggressive and no conscience. He will be a very good player once he doesn’t make cross court passes at critical junctures and realizes he needs to keep the ball in his hands under a minute.
Good to finally see the Hawks and having 3D on the mike was good as well. He tells it like it is….and he knows what we have with Randolph Morris.
O'Brien
July 15th, 2010
10:11 am
TS,
If Pat Riley thinks coaching aint ____, then why did he take over from Stan Van Gundy, which coincidentally is the same year the Heat won the NBA title?
jeff
July 15th, 2010
10:12 am
Kevin- I wasn’t saying those are who I wanted. That is all the UFA that are available unless we trade. I was only making a case.
SteveW
July 15th, 2010
10:12 am
Teague will be fine, just not this year. Steve Lavin on ESPN (now St. Johns coach) said in 5 yrs Teague woud be better than Ricky Rubio or Tyreke Evans. The key here is in 5 yrs., not after his 1st year. Obvious the kid has talent. Hollinger I believe before the draft had some weird chart to rank players – he had Rondo the 2nd best player in his draft, when others ranked him very low – look at him now. He did the same with Teague – Teague was like 3rd on Hollinger’s weird chart in the ‘09 draft. The dude will be a stud -that’s why we hired a former PG as Head Coach, and are giving Bibby 6m a year – to train the stud. If you watch the games, I have never seen a player as able to penetrate as Teague – it’s a gift -dude is quick as any player I ever remember.
That said – we need a PG besides Bibby/Teague this year if we want to win….
Will
July 15th, 2010
10:13 am
Does it really matter? It’s gonna be the Lakers or Heat in the end. Lakers have been to more than HALF of all NBA Finals. It’s like watching the WWE.
SteveW
July 15th, 2010
10:18 am
And the dude Jordan Crawford has totally surprised me – he may be the guy that saves us 10m a year by not having to re-sign Jamal next year. I thought he would be another 1st round bust. And ASG – spend the 3m you said you would on draft day! I know you lost 20m on the Hawks last year, but if you don’t have the money to lose 20m, sell the team to Ted Turner or Arthur Blank – they do!
Samuel
July 15th, 2010
10:19 am
Thanks Kev,
People, please don’t get too excited about this new fast moving, swing from side-to-side, hybrid Princeton offense. NBA players know that there are 82+ games and it takes too much energy to work that hard on offense. There have only been a few (and I mean a few) who were able to get their players to buy into it. Many more were given the “PINK SLIP” with all these elaborate schemes.
Which brings me to a point. I haven’t heard LD say too much about defense. MC, what’s his philosophy? I know he said he “would hold everybody accountable” but what’s his philosophy? Does he expect the guys to pressure, zone, what? Will he expect them to play pressure man and still work that hard on offense?
Samuel
July 15th, 2010
10:22 am
Steve,
In 5 years the man could be flippin Burgers like “The Sniper”. You remember him?
Freshmaker
July 15th, 2010
10:23 am
I know one of Milwaukee/Chicago has to win the division and thus will be ahead of the Hawks in the playoff seedings, but you guys are dilusional if you think both are. Hawks are still a 50-win team minimum, and are AT WORST a 5 seed. We might even be better than Miami since they are going to be the Marvelous 3 plus 9 guys from the spare parts bin.
SteveW
July 15th, 2010
10:23 am
Truth_Serum – Rondo was the 21st pick in the 2006 draft, just like Teague was the 21st pick in the ‘09 draft – not #9.
Samuel
July 15th, 2010
10:24 am
SteveW=KenS
tony
July 15th, 2010
10:25 am
This fans in the ATL just don’t get it. OK, here’s the problem with this team:
#1 Too many low IQ basketball players(JS/ MW)
#2 We don’t have a true facilitator(pg)
#3 We don’t have the right coach to take the current roster to the NBA Finals
#4 This team cannot beat Miami and Orlando in a up-tempo basketball game. NEVER!
This is why we should sign Shaq:
#1 He will make LD job much easier to manage
#2 We will dominate the league in a half court offense with Shaq, JS and AH.
#3 We have a go to guy(Shaq) who cannot be stopped in the paint
#4 Mike Bibby has the ability to get the ball to Shaq in the post
#5 Shaq knows what it takes to get to the NBA Finals
#6 Signing Shaq will give this franchise a chance to get to a NBA Finals since they moved this team to the ATL. We got to break the curse
#6 They should ride Shaq until they draft a center to fill his shoes
If we don’t sign Shaq this team won’t have a chance to play for a NBA Title.
SteveW
July 15th, 2010
10:25 am
Samuel – no doubt – alot is up to him and his desire to get better and learn. I agree with that.
SteveW
July 15th, 2010
10:26 am
One last point, to my knowledge Shaq hates Mike Bibby – does anybody know how personal and deep this really is or just a basketball rivalry?
Melvin
July 15th, 2010
10:28 am
There’s reports that the Knicks are interested in Shaq. Well, we can forget him coming to ATL now. You know NY has the money to spend…
SteveW
July 15th, 2010
10:29 am
Samuel – KenS must be on sharp dude
jeff
July 15th, 2010
10:29 am
I think our bench could be like this if we play our cards right. And I would be ok with it. I know most of you would/will disagree.
Jamal. Crawford
J. Crawford
Bibby
Allen Iverson (cheap and can score)
ZaZa
Brad Miller
A. Aminu
Mo Evans
Starters as we all know will be
Teague
JJ
Smoove
Horford
M.William
SteveW
July 15th, 2010
10:30 am
Ooops, I mean “one”! Ha!
Reality Check
July 15th, 2010
10:30 am
The Hawks have a decent core by NBA standards but it is obvious that to anyone that if they do not make ANY significant moves in this offseason they are going to drop back. Marvin has been a bust as a lottery pick why not shake things up and bring Shaq in? Starting line up with JJ, Bibby/Teague, JS at Small forward and Al to PF, Shaq at Center. At leat this would not be status quo for a team that got drummed in second round of playoffs. As Atl remains the same other teams are coing up on Chicago,Charlotte. There is no way we will sniff Miami, Boston and Orlando. This is a 5-6 seed at best with no changes and most likely first round exit.
Astro Joe
July 15th, 2010
10:31 am
bigdave, thanks for the props… my old motto is “follow the money”. Typically when you do that (especially when it comes to the Hawks) you can usually predict what may happen.
There is still a chance to improve on Collins, Joe Smith & RandMo. JC2 is a clear upgrade over Mario. We’re hopeful that Drew and his staff (which is remarkably similar to the last staff) will be better. With all of the other changes in the conference, the Hawks could be better but have fewer wins.
The most disturbing thing in Teague’s comments is that it has “QUIT” written all over them. Teague’s success is entirely based on that thing that sits on his shoulders. If he can’t figure out how to run Drew’s offense, how to set up his teammates or how to protect the ball, he will be the next Marcus Williams/Marcus Banks/Acie Law of the NBA. If he is a player who repsonds to frustration by taking his marbles and going home (as opposed to fighting through), then we need to trade him to the D League for a PG who is hungry and will run through a brick wall to be an NBA player. We don’t need any pampered babies who can’t stand the rain.
jeff
July 15th, 2010
10:35 am
Shaq is no longer better than Horford.
Astro Joe
July 15th, 2010
10:36 am
Oh, yeah, and all of those who said that Joe should have taken less money so that the team had more flexibility…the ONLY way you do that is if you have complete confidence that the money you leave on the table would be used on a player. So tell me, why would Joe think that if he left money on the table, the ASG would put it towards upgrading the talent on the roster? because they said so?
The guys who have done that (including Chipper with the Braves), KNEW that the money would get used on the roster. They had confidence in the ownership/leadership of the franchise. Why would Joe have comparable confidence in the ownership/leadership of the Hawks?
JJ
July 15th, 2010
10:38 am
Confession time:
I gotta admit, I was duped. I bought in hook/line/sinker on the “sign JJ and then focus on improving the roster” which, as far as I can tell, consists of trading Chills for a TE and a box of sneakers and flirting with a 40-yr old former All Star center that may or may not even want to come here.
I’ve said all along that the Status Quo wasn’t going to cut it but I’ve also believed in Sund that he would do what he said and improve the roster. Now nearly all the quality FAs are signed to other clubs and he’s spitting out the “maintaining the core” crap.
I feel like such an idiot for once again believing this franchise would actually do something right. Sigh…..
drmaryb
July 15th, 2010
10:41 am
Truth-Serum
I done laughed so hard – I damned near cried! Tears of Pain – NOT Joy!
We shopping at Piggly-Wiggly and the damned ASG is on the meat isle:
Sifting through, Pickled Pig Feet / Ham-Hocks /Turkey Necks / Ox-Tails / Chitterlings and Cow-Tounges!
They trying to get their blood pressure up!
Nookah
July 15th, 2010
10:42 am
Let’s try to put this in perspective. We keep blaming Sund but please remember Sund is an employee. He takes orders from further up and not just one voice. He has a number of voices to listen to because of our multi-headed ownership structure. That adds to the complication. The ASG reminds me of the government, any government. There are so many levels of bureaucracy he has to go through to make a decision and it is having a negative impact on the direction of the franchise.
Of course, we as fans want only one thing and that is to produce a winning team on the floor and I’m not talking regular season but success in the playoffs. We may be making the big assumption that the ASG has the same objective. However, I have to admit that in my opinion I don’t really think that is their main objective. I think they want to, like any other business, run a profitable one, but I think they think running a tight ship is priority #1. This thinking has it’s flaws because I am of the opinion that if you put a winning product on the floor then fans will come, then revenues will increase and national exposure will eventually come which translates into increased revenue and increased profitability. But I think cutting operating expenses is priority #1. Everything else is secondary.
Of course they had to sign JJ to the contract they did and the merits or demirits of that has been flogged to death on this blog. However, what have they done since then? Not much to solidify this team and put us over the 2nd round hump. I think they are putting too much emphasis and relying on the change of philosophy which they are hoping LD will bring. It is my opinion that he must have really sold them his package. Perhaps they went into that interview with a subjective mind simply because LD was the cheaper alternative. Don’t get me wrong, I like LD and I really hope he does a good job for the sake of our Hawks.
As some bloggers have mentioned here, there are some very cheap options (Raja Bell for example) that have passed us by and as usual we will be waiting until close to training camp to pick up the refuse and all the cheapest options that will be left on the market.
As a fan, it’s very frustrating and for the ASG, everything is going to plan. IMO, the truth is we never had any intentions of paying Shaq or Brad Miller for that matter, unless they were willing to take close to the vet minimum and that would never have happened. I have a feeling Dampier or some other cheap alternative will end up here.
We have to accept it, we have a reactive management and ownership not a proactive one!! We have to get used to it until maybe ownership changes hands.
Quickly on the topic of Marvin, I am not a proponent of trading Marvin. I think he has been supressed (and maybe oppressed) by Woody over the years and you are seeing a player who has completely lost his confidence, at least to me his body language says that. I am optimistic that LD will be able to bring more out of him. What most of us are forgetting is that he plays pretty good defense on the perimeter and we will see a different Marvin this year at least offensively.
Go Hawks!!!
Sautee,
July 15th, 2010
10:42 am
Enter your comments here
terrell
July 15th, 2010
10:50 am
Broke azzez! lol! And f… Shaq. 8 mill a year my azz!
terrell
July 15th, 2010
10:51 am
Just get us a pg and a couple of backup bigs. Is that too much to ask?
terrell
July 15th, 2010
10:52 am
Teague still playing like Woody is on the sidelines. Come on Jeff. get it together.
drmaryb
July 15th, 2010
10:53 am
Arthur Anderson!
Truth-Serum – Man on Fire! (ala Denzel Washington)
Cook them books – Like Arthur Anderson! (The CPA Firm who cooked the books for ENRON)
Hide them assets – Hide them Rings!
Phil Jackson – 11 Rings
- MJ 6 Rings
-Kobe 5 Rings
__________________
Phil = 0 Rings
LMBO!
Sautee
July 15th, 2010
10:56 am
I thought it would be informative to show the assist to turnover ratio for ALL of last year’s PGs down to Teague.
Here’s how they did(and their draft position):
Ty Lawson (18th): 2.4 / 1
Jeff Teague(19th): 2.4 / 1
Brandon Jennings(10th): 2.3 / 1
Stephen Curry(7th): 1.96 / 1
Tyreke Evans(4th): 1.9 / 1
Jrue Holliday(17th): 1.8 / 1
Jonny Flynn(6th): 1.5 / 1
Young point guards make mistakes. Period.
Hell, even Magic had a 1.8 / 1 ratio HIS rookie year. Much lower than Teague.
How’d THAT turn out?
My point is, that last year Teague was NOT a “turnover machine” and was actually a good or better than the guards drafted ahead of him when it came to taking care of the ball.
That said, I’d STILL like to get a veteran PG who can play good D.
yosisterbrother
July 15th, 2010
10:57 am
If we don’t pick up a center then that is pure TRASH! There were plenty of veteran centers in FA and they could have drafted one of the many centers on the board in the second round.
That was obviously the biggest need for this team in anticipation of facing DWIGHT HOWARD 4-8 times per year.
drmaryb
July 15th, 2010
10:59 am
Core Strength stability?
Aye ASG? You like your Core?
Your team is rotten to the Core!
Get you a:
A Damned PG
A Bona-Fide Center
A Damned SF
And, then come back and tell me – You LIKE your Core!
I would do SHAQ (not like Gloria did Delonte). In a heart beat for Marvin and get Raja Bell to defend the perimeter! WIN NOW! You may NEVER see Marvin’s potential! It’s been 6 years ASG – and IT ain’t working!
Sautee
July 15th, 2010
11:00 am
“as” good or better
O'Brien
July 15th, 2010
11:04 am
Truth,
True. You need talent and coaching. Clearly, the ASG thought we have enough talent, because their only change was coach.
I’m not a woody, but I do think we Have player issues as well.
Samuel,
From what I have read, lead assistant Conner will be responsible for the defense. But we haven’t hear specifics.
As for our pentangle offense, I think we will need a good bench to execute efficiently. Because i don’t know how Long before starters get tired and start free lancing.
But it starts with teague, so he has to be ready at start of season.
northcyde
July 15th, 2010
11:07 am
@ MsDee . . . . Like some of the others have said, it’s not the turnovers that bother me. This is summer league. These games are going to be sloppy, and look like glorified rec center games.
It’s Teague’s mentality that concerns me. The fact of the matter is, he wasn’t a true PG in college. He was more of a scoring combo guard . . much like what Salim Stoudamire was at Arizona. The exception is that Salim shot jumpers, while Teague consistently attacked the basket while shooting the occasional 3 pointer. Teague only averaged 3.5 assists in his last year at Wake. But he also averaged a whopping 7 FTs per game. So he was more of a score type PG than a playmaking type.
The reason why some are showing a little concern now, is because the plan is for Teague to be our STARTING PG next year. As the starter, I don’t want to hear him talking about passing the ball up to the wing. You cannot be passive and play PG, especially not in the NBA. You have to talk and act like the leader of the team. And you have to have confidence in yourself. He should be showing his leadership abilities with this summer league squad.
But if playing passively at PG is his mentality on the court, the coaching staff needs to correct that immediately. LOL. . if he passes that ball to JJ or Jamal or Smoove, he might not get the damn ball back.
**************************
@ BigRay and Doc . . . . What I say about supporting the team still stands. If the product is good ( which it will be even without moves ), the TEAM deserves the support of the fans. We as fans can’t bail out on the TEAM, just because management doesn’t strive to take chances.
But because they DON’T take chances, it IS an indictment on the ASG, and the mentality that they have concerning this team. I was all for signing Marvin Williams, primarily as insurance in case JJ left. Without JJ here, we were going to need all of the bodies we could get in here.
But when you talk about the “core”, Marvin is the most expendable of that core. If trading him gives you a chance to possibly upgrade the team, then it probably should be done. Personally, I would rather keep Marvin in the mix AND get Shaq.
But if signing and trading for Shaq would give you monetary relief, plus add that “presence” that Stinger talked about in that nba.com clip that Samuel posted, then I don’t see how you CAN’T take that chance. You almost have to.
yoursporthouse.com
July 15th, 2010
11:09 am
Let’s make the deal already, what’s taking so long? Hate this fifty million owners crap…
ryan
July 15th, 2010
11:10 am
The Suns are looking like decent team they added Turkalo , Childress , Warrick , they still have have Steve Nash i think Stoudemire should not have left the Suns.
Mista Gamer
July 15th, 2010
11:15 am
M.C.
Be sure to ask Joe why he was selfish enough to eat up all the financial capacity of the team when other REAL superstars were leaving money on the table to help bring in others?
Oh, and tell him I said, “THANKS ALOT JOE!!! The fans really appreciate your leadership and desire to win”.
Oh what the hell we shouldn’t be surprised. He was chasing the money when he signed with us the first time.
I hope he works for every dime of that money by playing 40+ mins a nite. Courtesy of Joe, we won’t have enough quality players on the bench anyway.
What a total tool.
northcyde
July 15th, 2010
11:15 am
LOL . . . the ASG reminds me of a spades player that loves to hold onto the Ace of Spades, because they’re so afraid that their Ace is going to be overtaken by the Little or Big Joker.
Sometimes . . . you have to sacrifice that Ace to BRING OUT one of the Jokers, so that the rest of your spades can get ( books or tricks ). And if you play that Ace early, it forces the opponent to play that Joker, or make a mistake and hold on to it.
LOL . . the ASG would suck at playing Spades.
♥Mz. Hawkdafied♥
July 15th, 2010
11:17 am
Fudge San An’s D Leaguers. Teague’s already in the door. Teague’s there to work on his weaknesses and in contrast those D League players are there to audition.
It would help Teague a lot if those big fellas or somebody besides him and Hendrix would rebound for a change.
g-dub
July 15th, 2010
11:19 am
That’s whats wrong with the hawks now, you guys are discussing mediocre players as if they are difference makers, hell I say package Marvin and Josh and throw in whoever else and in return get Carmello or a Chris Paul type of guy. Forget about Shaq his game is garbage
moboman
July 15th, 2010
11:20 am
Teague clearly forcing it yesterday and trying to do too much with too little help. Im not giving up on him yet, but his jumper looks like Childress (from the hip) which will limit his shots. A lot of y’all seem to forget how much Bibbys shooting opens the floor up and spreads the defense. Not ready to lose that aspect of Bibbys game. Unless we can get another PG, they will both have value on this team in situations.
northcyde
July 15th, 2010
11:31 am
And Joe Johnson is NOT to blame for all of this. There’s no way the star of the team is playing for 10 or 11 million per year, like some of you want him to. At the very least, his new contract was going to start out around 15 mill a year anyway. And that doesn’t give us a lot of relief either.
This is management simply not willing to tweak the lineup by trading away a piece that they covet. There are teams all over the league that have made moves by trading starters this summer. If they’re hedging on Shaq, it’s because they still value Marvin ( or don’t want to admit that drafting Marvin in the first place was a mistake ).
The fact is . . . Marvin got a ton of open looks last year, even within our “flawed” offensive system, and he just didn’t knock the shots down like he normally does. He’s a decent player nonetheless.
But we’re talking about adding a 300 lb center who can still play the game. And a guy that is still one of the top 5 most popular players in the NBA.
If Marvin Williams is going to be the guy that prevents us getting Shaq, most of the fan base is going to be pizzed, seeing that very few people see Marvin as an essential “have to keep” type player. If we get Shaq, you at least inject life and hope for the future into the fan base.
But bringing back the exact same team that failed miserably in that 2nd round vs Orlando, would be a mistake in my opinion. They have to add SOMEBODY that can help us.
northcyde
July 15th, 2010
11:38 am
For you twitter fans, this is from Stephen A. Smith . . . this was posted within the last hour concerning the Shaq situation:
# Already been called by Joe Johnson, telling him to stop playing games and to get his big self to Atlanta. It’s on Shaq now. His call.
42 minutes ago via Twitter for BlackBerry®
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# It’s all a matter of whether it’ll be a sign-and-trade (that will get him the $8 mil per he wants) or a 2-year deal for less. Shaq has
42 minutes ago via Twitter for BlackBerry®
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# Also…the latest on the Shaq Front: Cleveland’s offer is low-ball. So is the one from Chicago. So it looks like Atlanta is the spot for him
44 minutes ago via Twitter for BlackBerry®
northcyde
July 15th, 2010
11:39 am
http://twitter.com/stephenasmith
tidog
July 15th, 2010
11:39 am
Woody never played teague collins or smith meaningful minutes in his system. no one really knows how productive these guys would be in a rotation that was thoughtfully developed. go collins and smith. the bigs are on the team they just weren’t used.
dap01
July 15th, 2010
11:39 am
Shaq on paper fits the need of the Hawks. But remember, no team that Shaq has played on wants him back.