Atlanta Hawks: Do six teams have two better point guards?

hey

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SMH.

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E#2 isn’t playing more defense….he is here to score the ball and recruit….

MC, for as long as you cover the Hawks, you can have a job for life if you write articles about the upcoming potential of a PG and C on this team. We rarely have incumbents at those positions as we have been burying Bibby for 2 summers now. As long as we have Bibby, he will get plenty of minutes. It is the core way.

Teague has to play for this team to have potential to improve. Bibby takes us nowhere….and we aren’t matching up to Orlando and Miami any time soon.

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Rondo, did you see Jennings run circles around E#2?…I am sure the other PGs in the league are licking their chops with that matchup.

Other perimeter defenders….perhaps JC2 gets time on that need alone.

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Bibby is definitely underrated. Even at this stage of his career, I will pick him over the 2 guards in Philadelphia for sure.

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Can we dispense now with the ‘Teague needs to earn the point guard position’ mess? If Teague isn’t starting from game 1, I would say that all chances of being a top 4 Eastern Conference team are a pipe dream.

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MC, i watched those videos guarding the 4-1 offense of the Magic. I wouldn’t suspect they would do much different, but it sure was repetitive to see us playing behind Dwight and letting him face up and put the ball on the ground. That is a fair assessment of our biggest weakness on this team…our length.

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Teague will be fine if given a chance. LD must be patient with him early in the season if he wants to see him grow. I would always have JJ on the floor with Teague. He will be fine!

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L.D. should have never been teagues comforter when Woody cursed and cut him down. It just does something to a guys confidence when that is done. He should have took Teague to the side and told him what Woody is saying about you is true man-up and get it done. Teague has to realize that Drews career is hanging over his head. Your coach used you in an interview to show his new offense, letting the world know or think he was an inside guy against his former coach. Thats the pressure that L.D. put on his point guard of the future. L.D. is more of a enabler for Teague than a motivator. L.D. you have put a lot of pressure on a guy that probably doesn’t have the intestinal fortitude to handle it. Pressure burst pipes and they also make diamonds. And thats what this Hawks fanbase want in Teague….a diamond at point.

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Bibby is still important to the Hawks because we have the players to still be potent offensively with his jump shooting. Currently, the focus with Teague is to bring him in versus teams where his speed and leaping ability can be useful. Otherwise, ride Bibby one more year because he knows how to maximize his teammates’ talents. Besides, this year is about kicking Marvin Williams’ ARSE into gear. He’s the guy who needs to upgrade!

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As Teague hasn’t proven anything nor has be been given the chance, I think the analysis is correct. As most of the other teams in the east have made significant moves to get better and the Hawks have not. And given that the one claim to fame this group has is taking Boston to 7 two years ago, this could be the year things start to unravel.

The worst things that have happen to this current team is beating an injured Bucks team. It has continued the view that this team is on the rise and a few pieces away from being a champion, when actually the gap between the Hawks and true contenders was wider last year than the year before, and it is even wider now.

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Idiot Sund wants to compete for a title (IDK if he even does), yet has the WORST starting PG in the league. LOL!

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I never did understand why the Hawks did not get Jarrett Jack when they had the (several times) chance, and I agree he is better than either Bibby or Teague (so far).

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we should have freaking grabbed either Collison, or Heinrich. Dude was given away to the Wizards. Now we just need to go with JT and hope that he works out, which he can with the right coaching.

We still need a true C. McGhee is still alive people. This kid will be an All Star in a few years, what the hell are the Hawks waiting for. Give away Marvin and Zaza to aquire him pleaseeeee.

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dude you are right, but not many C left, and just like you said he is only going to get better. I have been saying since last year to go get him since he was a nobody. Hell I would at this point give them any piece of our team except Horford. Even though I know we can’t get him, why can’t the Hawks go for someone like Hibbert. I think we could get him for Zaza and Maybe JC. I would give those two up for a Hibbert and second round draft pick.

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Teague as we know did not get a lot of minutes last year. But in the last regular season game, it took him one half to get in a groove. Once in that groove, the boy played lights out and took over the game against the Cavs. LBJ & Shaq were on the bench, but Teague still out hustled and out played Mo & West of the Cavs.

I’m putting my faith in Teague to do his thing. He’s not going to drain the 3’s like Bibby, but he is going to be better in the other facets of the game. He is lightning fast, makes good passes, and is a huge upgrade on D at the 1 spot. Oh, and don’t forget the boy has hops for his size. Unlike Bibby, JT0 can burn to the basket and get up and throw down.

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I disagree that point guard is our biggest deficiency.
In a different offense, maybe. But if you read MC’s
article you may have noticed LA was on that list.
Derek Fisher is closer to Bibby in *talent than any of
the elite pt guards. *[plus intangibles]
LD has selected an offense similar to the “Triangle”,
in that it’s more ‘team’ oriented than geared toward
any one player/position. Defensively will be the key
for JT.
[also less pressure developing as a player on defense]
*(less public scrutiny)

I still say a long, stretch [4,5] is our biggest need.

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We don’t need a stretch 4 or 5. How is that going to help us defensively? Offense is not this teams problem they were 3rd in offense last year. That’s why I could care less about all this new offense foolishness you people are buying into. That is not our problem. You are silly if you can’t see things are being fixed that don’t need fixed or are not high priorities. This organization and team has no focus or direction

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Teague will be top 20 on that list by the end of this season, but right now with Teague being an unknown and Bibby being legally dead it is perfectly appropriate to rank both of them outside of the top 30.

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Off-topic:

The league is heading towards a very dangerous trend: player taking complete command over the league’s balance in pursuit of easy titles.

The guilty party: Stern with his star-protecting policies have undermined the value of team ball in order extract as much profit as possible of certain marquee players’ brands.

The way out?

Stern has to shift balance again to team ball and remove the referee protection which Lebron, Wade, Howard, … receive.

Start whistling them for their travelling, palming, charging, goal tending, 3 seconds in the lane offenses and reinstate the hand checking no foul rule.

Make Miami struggle this season, reward team ball and that will prevent other star players doing what they did and what ‘Melo and Paul seem to want to do as well.

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Having said that, though, Kelly Dwyer is far from an authoritative voice on the NBA, and if he said something stupid in that article it wouldn’t be the first time.

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Truthspitter,

How did our top 3 offense look in the 4th quarter? We had at least 16 games where we scored 19 points or less in the fourth quarter.

We also had games in which we scored 10 points in the quarter. Our offensive numbers are skewed because we scored a bunch of points against bad teams.

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The general consensus among the Magic fans about their offense seems to be the same thing many of us say here — if you can contain Dwight one-on-one and get a hand in the face of the perimeter shooters, you have a realistic chance to beat them. Obviously the Hawks don’t have a guy who can consistently stop Dwight one-on-one — Shaq would have helped — but I still think their best bet is to let Dwight get his 25 points and 25 rebounds and hold every shooter to under 40% like they did when they won in March.

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THE BOTTOM LINE HERE IS, IF THE HAWKS HAD FRANK WREN AS THEIR GM, WE WOULD BE LOOKING AT AN NBA TITLE THIS UPCOMING SEASON DESPITE WHAT THE MIAMI HEAT DID.UNFORTUNATELY, THEY HAVE RICK SUND WHO IS THE WORST GM IN THE LEAGUE.ITS A MYSTERY TO ME HOW SO MANY COULD BE SO CRITICAL OF MIKE WOODSON WHEN THE WHOLE PROBLEM WAS AND STILL IS RICK SUND.ONLY A FEW AR NOT BLINDED BY SUND’S INCOMPETENCE.AS I SAID ALL ALONG, WHEN SUND IS GONE, THE HAWKS WILOL START TO BECOME A CHAMPIONSHIP SQUAD.SUND DOES NOT HAVE A CLUE ABOUT THE GAME OF BASKETBALL.OH WELL, SUFFER WITH HIM THISSEASON. MAYBE THE CREAM WILL RISE TO THE TOP AND WAKE EVERYONE UP TO HIM.

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Wish the Hawks would have drafted Lou Williams (IN THE 2nd ROUND) when they had the chance back in 2005.

But hell – guess that was just a bad year for pulling the trigger on drafting a point guard! No wait – the did draft one -Salim Stoudamire (who’s still hoping a Greece team will want him too as he sits at home unemployed).

MY GOD was that draft a total disaster.

Could have drafted Chris Paul @ PG instead of MARVIN and Monte Ellis @ SG (25.5 ppg last year) instead of Stoudamire and had a backcourt second to NONE.

Oh well – when do the Thrashers head to camp??

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O’kay, I’ve held off on this PG issue as long as I can. Since Denver has a ‘Melo problem, let’s see if we can help them and solve our PG problem @ the same time. This trade is fresh off of the ESPN Trade Machine:

http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine

After this trade the Hawks would look like this:

PG-Billups/Teague
SG-JJ/Crawford2
SF-Anthony/Sy
PF-J Smith/Powell
C-Horford/Zaza/Collins

Denver saves some salary, gets a young SF to replace Melo, they get two expiring contracts that can contribute, and they get a PG for 2 years while they are rebuilding. If they are going to loose ‘Melo for nothing, why not get some pieces that can help them rebuild?

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Don’t put it all on Teague. Put it all on the ASG for creating an atmosphere that “good” free agent won’t touch ATL with a 10′ pole. It is an end of an era unless new owership comes onboard soon!

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Hoops,

The Crawford/Williams deal might get you Carmelo….maybe even throw in a draft pick and would certainly be a better deal than what New York could probably offer. But no way will they trade hometown boy Chauncey for Bibby.

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Super Commenter RIGHT HERE lol

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glw,

I agree that getting Billups is a long shot, but I have read several times that their owner is considering rebuilding the team if he decides to trade C. Anthony. He may want to move Billups’ contract if he is going to rebuild.

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Bobby may have his faults, but I am very tired of all the bashing. I remember all too well before he arrived here. His arrival changed the trajectory of this team. Criticize him all you want, but when he arrived, our team went from being a joke to at least being in the area of the elite teams. I watched this team for over a decade after the Dominique years and we were pathetic We rebuilt, slowly, but when Bibby arrived, we changed from a non factor to a factor. Hate him if you want, but it is what it is, Bibby elevated us. As a fan, I am glad he did and happy to have him on the team.

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Bobby defender- Are you talking about Bobby Brown or Mike Bibby

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Bobby Defender

Enthusiastic Co-sign, you nailed them Bibby Haters in their bloody eye balls!

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I thought he was talking about Bobby Cox… if he was, his post would actually make some sense.

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Jrue Holliday and Lou Williams, please, Evan Turner may have more point guard skills than either one of those guys

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Laimbeer still lives.
I mean’t *reincarnate*
in the basketball sense.

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The question marks for this year’s Hawks:

1. Will Teague be ready to take over the point and thrive? We know what we have in Bibby. He is not as decrepit as some like to make out. The good news is that Drew knows a lot better than any of us how ready Teague is right now. And he is putting all his eggs in Teague’s basket.

2. Who will be the last big man added to the roster? The good news, as I see it, is that the Hawks have not run out and signed any of the remaining free agents, yet they have clearly indicated that they expect to add another true center. This obviously means that the Hawks plan to work a trade in the future for this position.

3. How much improvement will the Hawks make on the road? This is the mental toughness issue we have discussed from time to time on this blog.

4. How much improvement will the Hawks make on defense? This really reflects back on the first two questions, particularly Teague. We know we have the nucleus of a very solid defensive team – JJ, Marvin, Josh, & Al are, from what I understand, above average defenders. They were 10th in the NBA in scoring defense (97.0 ppg). This is really pretty good.

5. How well will Drew coach? Everytime I read something Drew has said this becomes less of a question. He is saying all the right things and prioritizing all the right issues. Plus he knows this team and this team knows him.

A real strength of this team is that we have so few questions. We know who they are, what they are capable of, and how they will stack up against most of the teams in the Eastern Conference. My dad always says, the more gadgets a car has the more possibilities that something will go wrong (he always bought manual windows until they stopped making them).

A real weakness of this team is their lack of quality depth. The Hawks are an injury away from a meaningless season (like the 2003 Falcons after Vick got hurt in preseason).

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i agree paddy but rick sund is to blame for the hawks plyoff failures.it was obvious to everyone that the team needed big people to be able to beat orlando, cleveland and boston in a playoff system.what did sund do and is still during? nothing.yes part can be blame on the asg but the other 95% goes to sund.just watch how the hawks get ousted this year and i guess larry drew will be the problem get ready drew, you won’t the players that you need to beat these teams along with now powerhouse, miami heat.good luck all of you hawks fans, you”re going to need it.

Let’s say Rick Sund is a freakin’ idiot. You get mad because he’s an idiot. But how do you continue to refuse to acknowledge the simple fact that SOMEBODY IS KEEPING THIS IDIOT EMPLOYED ? 95% of the problem lies with the idiot? WRONG. 95% of the problem lies with the people who keep the idiot in place to keep making his idiot moves.

Of course, that’s assuming that you think Sund is an idiot. And if you can’t see this…well, you’ll never understand why the village celebrates every time you go on vacation…

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Guess what…..it’s gonna be joe and josh and al and mike and marvin……jamal, pachulia, and the usual gang of suspects, a new offense which should be good for 10-20 more points a game and 55-60 victories.

The Hawks gonna have to play some D and run. Bibby, Pachulia, actually about half the roster are expendable.

I’d take Carmelo. But why would anyone want to play in Atlanta? The media (not you MC) sucks, the city seems violent and directionless, the weather is downright horrible……. ..It’s sort of like the Cleveland of the south….

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Rev in Tampa,

This obviously means that the Hawks plan to work a trade in the future for this position. .

My guess is the Hawks are waiting to see who gets cut from other teams (roster or training camp rejects). I really dont see them making a trade (not before the trade deadline).

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HAWKS ARE DEAD IN THE WATER VS TOP TEAMS. JT HAS 5TH GRADERS JUMP SHOT AND BIBBY COULDNT STAY IN FRONT OF SCREEN DOOR. BEST BET IS TO HOPE MARVIN STEPS UP AND WE CAN PLAY JAMAL AND JOE AT POINT. WHEN POSSIBLE PLAY THE HELL OUT OF JT AND HOPE HE GETS BETTER.

COME ON HAWKS

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Sign KWAME!!!!

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I saw this on the falcons website. It was from the GM TD.

“…we are looking into a lot of different aspects of athletic performance, as well as scouting as it pertains to statistical analysis…” .

We have had the discussion before as to whether or not the Hawks use statistical analysis as a part of their scouting. I think the Houston GM is a big stats guy.

Going up against a team like Orlando for example, I can see where statistical analysis can be useful.

MC,

Do you know if the Hawks front office or coaching staff utilizes statistics (or have a stats guy on staff) to help with their scouting and strategy?

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Reading and sayin’ hello HAWKS fans. Been consumed by the LEE for prospects deal which just put HOTLANTA on an even par with PHILLIE provided DERRICK’s back holds up, and his performances at the TED improve (lifetime .237 BA).

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ryan

Dereck LEE is the new 1st baseman for the Braves, not a center for the Hawks.

Nice Try.

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RichBrave!

OMG! What’s up home boy?
So great to hear from you and thanks for dropping those pearls of wisdom!
How have you been & How’s the family?

How ’bout them Braves!

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Could Sund be talking to Memphis about Xavier Henry? Is it possible?

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Haha, Memphis thinks they have the league’s worst owner:

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2010/aug/19/griz-get-trade-offers-for-henry/

The guys wants to put incentives into the contract to make him earn them…how dare he?

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Hey Dan

The Hawks already have 4 Kwame’s on their roster. All size and no game and no potential. Now they are regulated to waiting for the big man scrap yard to open up. This season is going to be……………………………….long.

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The question should be how important is it to have the best point guard/two of the best point guards in the league on your team? Let me clear my throat, the Lakers just won a championship with a starting point guard that’s not even listed on Mr. Dweebyers top 30. TWICE!

Does having the best point guard/guards guarantee wins? Think not. Was not Mr. CP3 #1 on the list not begging the Hornets for help? BASKETBALL IS A TEAM SPORT. The point guard needs the shooting guard, the shooting guard needs the small forward, the small forward needs the power forward, the power forward needs the center, whatever. Yadda Yadda Yadda.

Look at the list, see any teams that didn’t make the playoffs point guards on there? YEP! Did the Hawks, Miami, and Lakers make the post season without so called “top 30 point guards”? YES!

“Atlanta Hawks: Do six teams have two better point guards?” They might. But what good is having the best at one position gonna do if the team as a whole sucks and struggles to win?

Bottom line for me it’s all about winning. You ain’t got to be the best you just gotta win baby.

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Send the Grizzlies Mo Evans and his expiring contract for X. Henry. Throw in a second round pick if necessary.

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Hoops,

I can go for that trade. especially if Xavier can play some SF…

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Colin Cowherd of ESPN Radio reported on the radio today that a source said if Melo can’t sign with the Knicks that he would be willing to sign with Houston or New Jersey. If this has any truth to it, ASG you guys need to poney-up and make a deal to bring Melo to the Atl. If he is willing to go to Houston or Jersey, Why not Atlanta? Possibly because you guys have showed no interest. Dead-Man Joe you have to start speaking up and start some recruiting!

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Anyone wanting Henry [myself included]
needs to understand Jordon Crawford would
have to be attached.
Perhaps a deal where Thabeet + X. Henry
to the Hawks
for J. Crawford, ++ ……….? Marv maybe?
or
X. Henry, Thabeet, filler
for
JC1 – naw, they’d never do that.
[they would lose him in a year]
unless we signed JC1 to ext.???
*then
I don’t know what trade guidelines would be.

Also trading for XH is tricky ’cause;
not only does CBA trade rules apply, but,
he has not even been signed yet.

Memphis also holds his rights infinitum.

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I’m correcting myself. *X.Henry*
They only can hold onto him “infinitum”
if he signs to play professionally elsewhere.
*Otherwise…..expplained below:

“An NBA executive said Wednesday that Memphis has exclusive rights to negotiate with Henry until 2013 if he doesn’t play basketball this season. If Henry signs overseas or with any other league, the Grizzlies’ rights continue in perpetuity provided that they tender Henry qualifying offers in accordance with the collective bargaining agreement.”

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Stop blaming JJ for the inactivity of this front office. They’re the ones that need to get off of their azzes and make productive moves to improve the team. JJ’s agent should’ve never made that “JJ will recruit other players” comment, because that’ll only be one more thing the fans can complain about, concerning JJ.

As for Melo, I am forever grateful to him for finally bringing an NCAA title to Syracuse in 2003. I’ve bee a Cuse hoops fans since the days of Pearl Washington.

But the ASG isn’t concerned about Melo, or anybody else. They know that if we did acquire Melo, that he still may bounce right out of Atlanta, leaving us high and dry.

And even if they were willing to bring in Melo, either JJ or Smoove would have to go. The ASG will not pay 4 players almost 60 million in salary in 2011.

- JJ: 18 mill
- Melo: 16 mill ( est )
- Horford: 13 mill ( est )
- Smoove: 12 mill

So either JJ or Smoove would have to go.

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Mo’ – 1st pick next year – 2nd pick acquired form Phoenix for Kevin Love – he’s mad, and they need a SG/F.

Wolves basically have 3 PF’s – Beasley, Tolliver, and Love – so they may take that deal – I would if I were the Hawks – talk about an impact inside presence – who can also pop the 3.

Works well for cap also – move JP down to 3 – or sign a vet min. guy to back up Marvin – Wilkens, Jarvis, Carney, Stackhouse or someone.

Next Trade – Marvin + another 1st pick for Mo’ Williams and maybe a 2nd pick – again salaries work. Or Bibby and a 1st pick…it really doesn’t matter.

Sign Jarvis, Wilkens, Carney etc. to take Marivn’s spot – or if Bibby – just let Mo’ take it for this year.

I wouldn’t want to play against the Hawks with those added pieces..they would match up with anybody in the league….

Only bad thing – could we re-sign Mo’ next year? Answer – probably not – and I don’t like rentals – but if we’re going deep in the playoffs – think ASG may go into luxury tax a little?

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And as I’ve already explained – i wouldn’t trade Smoove or Al for ‘Melo
1) Al and Smoove are both younger
2) There both much cheaper well into the future
3) ‘Melo get’s hurt quite a bit

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‘Melo is almost 3 years younger than JJ – and the contract would start a year later – helping the Hawks with cap if we re-sign Al – right now – if Al gets max (almost certainly – depends maybe on new CBA) – Al’s and JJ’s contract are due to end on the same year – killing us in cap on that last year, unless we renegotiate jj after 3 years or so.

Reading other teams blogs – man, people are licking their chops to sign Al Horford!

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I really liked the observations made in the following article concerning the Falcons ownership. It is relevant to our discussion of the Hawks’ ownership.

By MIKE REISS, ESPNBoston.com

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. – Got a chance to peek behind the curtain at Atlanta Falcons headquarters this week. It’s impressive.

When it comes to the NFL, my primary focus has been the New England Patriots since 1997. With the Patriots visiting the Falcons for joint practices before their Thursday night preseason game, this was a chance to see the inner-workings of a different team.

For Falcons fans who might be interested in an outside perspective, these two words would sum up what I saw: Commitment, synergy.

The commitment starts at the top with owner Arthur Blank. It looks to me like Falcons staffers have all the tools they need to be successful, starting with modern, top-notch facilities. It’s a great setup.

The synergy reflects how general manager Thomas Dimitroff’s scouting staff, Mike Smith’s coaching staff, and the rest of the operation are all pulling in the same direction. This is their third year together, and I see a talented team that has reached the point that it will be cutting players who will be picked up by other teams…

Overall, after spending three days at the team’s facility, I left with this thought: “If I’m a Falcons fan, I would be feeling good about the direction this team is headed.”

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“4″ should be changed to 5 in the above – post – my bad.

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And I’m on the wagon with those that want to bring Xavier Henry to the Hawks – I think he could play the 3 with his athleticism – or at least be a 2/3 combo like we try to make Mo’.

He’s like a little taller, younger, Mo’ with star potential…..

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The playoffs are all about match-ups – and our match up with Orlando at PG and C stunk.

And I still think JJ and LeBron kinda quit in the 2nd round – not wanting to get hurt right before FA began.

Could you imagine a 64m dollar blown out knee by JJ? Instead of max money, he may have been looking back at the 4 year, 60m offer we had offered before the season.

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YOu know what to the Hawks players i know im negative on here most of the time but im going to cut yall a break and start really getting on the owners and GM’s b/c if yall are not able to match up with certain teams thats not yalls problem its on them to bring in guys to help us match up with all teams the same way the Lakers, C’s and Magic try to do each year. Keep fighting guys and if things dont get better demand a trade and go get it here b/c until things change around this town we not winning one!!!!

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god i would love to trade jj for melo. they would never make that trade.

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Truthspitter – co-sign – and here’s hoping Bibby has some intense off season training going on, so he can do some more good things this upcoming season..

BTW – Jamal is at #12 on the SG list compiled – 1 – 10 not out yet

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what about the wizards?
John Wall, Gilbert Arenas or Kirk Hinrich?

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One statement since the hiring of LD:

“The Hawks are going to have to be in great physical shape this season to succeed in Larry Drew’s motion offense”.

As opposed to what? Aren’t these guys supposed to be top athletes? Am I being over critical here?
I’m not buying what is being sold to us right now. The stay with the current roster approach after the last 2 years doesn’t convince me that title aspirations are in the near future.

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“E#2 is going to be here, and he will have the Kobe money. ”

On a yearly basis – JJ doesn’t make anywhere near Kobe for the record.

Kobe next 4 seasons – 24.8m, 25.249m, 27.849m, 30.453m – 4 years 108.35m about

JJ next 6 seasons – 16.3m, 18m, 19.752m, 21.966m, 23.18m, 24.894m – 6 yrs. 124m about

Age and salary comparison – Kobe 32 yrs. old – 24.8m – coming off minor knee surgery BTW
33 yrs. old – 25.249m
34 yrs. old – 27.849m
35 yrs. old – 30.453m

JJ – 29 yrs. old – 16.3m
30 yrs. old – 18m
31 yrs. old – 19.752m
32 yrs. old – 21.966m
33 yrs. old – 23.18m
34 yrs. old – 24.894m

Now of course JJ is a notch or 2 below Kobe in my opinion – just trying to make the point that JJ is not making Kobe kind of money.

Avg. per year on their remaining contracts – Kobe about 27.09m

JJ averages about 20.667m per year.

Just a thought…

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KevinM

I beg to differ:

Re:” northcyde, I 2nd your thought on the ASG not paying 4 guys 60m. I wouldn’t either unless I was competing for the championship. Plus, you aren’t getting Melo unless you are willing to move one of our Big 3.

What has to be determined within a year is what Big 3 we are going with? If we are going to retain Al and keep our overlap at PF, then this team will simply not compete for a title. IMO, either Al or Smoove has to go to balance out the roster and be able to afford guys with more length. ”

Melo has NOT signed an extension & He and LaLa have put their Denver home up for sale, they mean business!

Next year, Melo will be an UFA. If I were Sund, I would wait until then and make my move to sign Melo & LaLa.

We will be in gretat shape to sign Al & Melo too. Now, that is a player wirth going inti the luxury tax for – stats aside!

The Hawks would only need to Bust-a-Move!

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Just so y’all know, max contracts do not set absolute values for yearly salaries — the numbers you see in contracts like those of Joe or Kobe are estimates based on the estimated salary cap level in a given year. A max contract stipulates that a player gets a certain percentage of the salary cap (somewhere around 30%, although I don’t know the exact number). I believe yearly percentage raises are also factored in. So it’s really impossible to know for sure how much more money Kobe will make than Joe in a given year until the salary cap figure for that year is set.

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Part of me wants to say the Heat will win 75 games this year.

Another part of me says when the Big 3 can’t play the whole game together – and the rest of their roster is really wretched.

So I guess we’ll have to wait and see…

P.S. DWade does get hurt alot also

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Najeh

Dang! How old are you? You arte so SMART!
I’m fo reel! I’m in love with your brains!

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Isn’t the extension that Denver is offering Melo the most that they can offer under the current rules? They can’t offer a 4-yr extension or a 5-yr extension, right? I’m trying to think back to the last max extension that was signed by a player under contract and I’m thinking it was Garnett…My point is that I don’t think that there’s any more money waiting for Melo on another team, unless the team and Melo want to wait until next year to sign a new deal which would be risky for both parties.

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First.

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SteveW…Are you sure those terms apply when a player is already under contract?…You’re saying that whoever ends up with Melo this year can offer him up to a 5-yr extension beyond this year (making a 6-yr contract)?

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Comment about Smoove above applies when his contract expires in 3 years – he will only have 9 years in the League at that point, not 10. So he can’t sign the max max – neither could JJ.

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But then how did we offer JJ a 4 year 60 million dollar extension?

“Capology” is neat science……

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ESPN’s Bill Simmons’ on Shaq’s signing by his Celts:

“Chewed-On Theory No. 1: “Why did Shaq sign with the Celtics?”

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/100820

I think his theory is correct and that we would never get the same result which the Celts may get from Shaq and that is precisely why he was demanding 7 or 8 million to play with us.

He would only be “motivated” to become a Hawk for money and would probably cruise his way to the bank with us.

IMO there is absolutely no valid argument to even consider discussing “the Celts got Shaq for the veterans’ minimum why didn’t we?”.

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JoJo – that issue has been discussed above – great idea – I’d give Memphis Mo’ – our 1st pick next year and the 2nd we got from the Suns if they’d take it.

XHenry can be a 2/3 guy I believe – no need to trade Jordan Crawford if XHenry could play the 3 productively.

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I don’t know why Memphis would want Mo in that deal. Look at that depth chart. They don’t need him. They need either an upgrade at PG or another young big to develop.

Would the Hawks consider trading an unknown in Teague plus a 2nd rounder for an unknown in Henry? Pretty risky stuff.

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Unless Henry can defend opposing SFs (in particular LeBron) there’s not much to be accomplished by acquiring him.

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i’d like to know who is E#2?

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E#2 means:

employee number 2,

which means JJ,

which means Joe Johnson

I know that you did not need the last one but it sounded nice to go to the last level

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vava74

thanx, | would have never known.

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JoJo – The reason I suggested Mo’ mainly is because he is a 2/3 just like Xavier

Wouldn’t trade Teague for X, unless we have another plan for PG though.

Somebody else suggested Jordan Crawford for X – probably would have to throw in a 1st pick also – I may not be against that deal…..

I really don’t know what our scouts say about X – good character? Trouble Maker? High upside? What little I know, seems like he has a ton of potential.

And I don’t know who would be better guarding LeBron at this point – Mo’ at 32, or Xavier at 19 – I would probably guess Mo’….

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It’s both perimeter and interior defense. Because one of the most important parts of interior defense, is securing defensive rebounds. This team was absolutely horrible in securing defensive rebounds.

The only guy on the team that consistently boxes out, is Horford. And even he could do a better job at it. Marvin rarely does it and doesn’t go hard after long rebounds. Zaza only goes hard after offensive rebounds ( i.e. – his own misses ). And Smoove is notorious for not putting a body on somebody. He relies totally on his athleticism to get rebounds, instead of fundamentals.

Those guys could be in great position to gobble up rebounds, and still not get them, simply because they don’t box out.

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northcyde

I agree with you on the rebounding front.

The problem I have with the Hawk, is this has been a problem 3 years in a row, and it has not been addressed.

WIth Josh and Al’s limited offensive game they should both avg. double figure rebounds; 11 to 13 apiece.

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I have heard first hand accounts how Josh Smith’s uncle Al Smith use to jump up and hang on top of the backboard to intimidate opposing teams when he was in high school. Josh’s Father and uncle are Legends back in their hometown of Albany, Ga. Thats why it makes me so mad to see Josh not play to his potential. Hopefully Josh has his attituded adjusted this year and becomes the All-Star forward that he should be.

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Rondo, nobody here cares. Go to a Miami blog please!

Amen to the rebounding. We need Josh to focus on that area cause he’ll erase points on D and get us points on O. He’d improve his scoring and rebounding by pounding the boards, no need for the jump shot. Crash the glass Kevin Willis style.

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BIBBY HAS NO TRADE VALUE THIS YEAR AND WON’T HAVE A TON NEXT YEAR

GOOD JOB OVERPAYING HIM, SUND

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Fundamentals I sense a little anger raging in your nostrils.Relax and Disengage and enjoy UGA Football and the Dirty Birdz in the coming weeks. The Hawks will still be the Hawks.

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Hawks are the dumbest franchise as of now. If the Knicks are willing to trade Wilson Chandler for Rudy Fernandez that absolutely means we could get Chandler rather it be a straight up deal with Knicks or a 3 way with Knicks and Blazers. Knicks are obviously desperate for a 2 guard if they would trade a guy like Chandler for a guy who has half his production like Fernandez.

Trade 1

Knicks get: Jamal Crawford, Zaza Pachulia and part of trade exception
Hawks get: Eddy Curry, Wilson Chandler

Trade 2

Knicks get: Rudy Fernandez
Blazers get: Mo Evans and 1st rd pick from Hawks, I would also throw in a 2nd rd pick since we don’t know how to use picks well
Hawks get: Wilson Chandler

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Truthdribbler, Why in the world would the Hawks trade for Eddy(fat, lazy, heart attack, grossly overpaid) Curry. Zaza is much more productive than Curry! If a 3 way trade is involved, it has to include Marvin. His contract dump could satisify both the signing of Al and Jamal, next year. I agree that the #1 pick is tradable because how low it will be, but get something valuable. The Hawks would have to take a garbage player in addition from Portland to get rid of Marvin, but at this point, whatever it takes JUST DO IT! Use Mo and a 2nd round pick for the young french center on the bench for Dallas maybe even the #1. A good young 7 footer is better than another late 1st round SG, SF, or PF.
Go Hawks!

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Kelly Dwyer is one of the best NBA writers there is. Don’t let your homer glasses fool you.

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http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1072972-fan/trailers/10905102

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testing

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I’m still scratching head over this Pape Sy pick. According to this link:

“We know he is 6-6 and played point guard for Le Harve, a team pretty low on the totem pole in the French league. There he played just 14 minutes a night and took just three shots per game.”

But we also know he was injured his first year of a 2-year contract and only played a partial of the first year. He still managed to average 5.2 points and 1.7 rebounds per game though in limited action. Since he will not be able to play out his second year for Le Harve, it makes him still somewhat of an unknown player on that team given his total pro experience is less then a year.

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Rookie head-coach finds a diamond in the rough player and makes him a superstar. Wow that could be a box office hit! Yes, a diamond in the rough would be an accurate description since even the Le Harve team seemed to be surprise he got selected by an NBA team. I keep wondering; what does LD sees in this guy that others have apparently overlooked? LD claimed he dominated during his workout when matched-up against other invitees. It must have been some hell of an impression since it didn’t quit show prior to his injury in the summer league. Perhaps this explains why many pundits projected him to be just a project and needs some additional seasoning years before he is ready for the big league of the NBA.

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Despite these factors

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