Atlanta Hawks: Kwame Brown off the board

vava74

August 23rd, 2010
6:08 pm

Isn’t this yet another indication that Dampier will be released?

doc

August 23rd, 2010
6:25 pm

yeah but the real question is; if we were to get diop, how would it affect team chemistry?

vava74

August 23rd, 2010
6:26 pm

Thanks for the quick follow up MC.

I’ve been extra quiet on the complaints department, in particular because I was not high on signing any of the free agents mentioned around, starting with Shaq, but I would be very disappointed if we did not make a move for Dampier.

STEEL (Formerly VenomSpitter)

August 23rd, 2010
6:27 pm

What is Marvin’s Center gonna teach kids. How to walk like a duck and trip themselves up.

vava74

August 23rd, 2010
6:27 pm

…but I know the won’t make that move…

Some Sense

August 23rd, 2010
6:28 pm

The Hawks already HAVE Kwame Brown. His name is Randolph Morris.

The Truth

August 23rd, 2010
6:31 pm

As for acquiring another center (at this point) to excite the fan-base, it might be better to select an unknown talent and speculate about his potential then to pick a well-known underachiever and remove all doubt. They might as well be consistent with the gimmicks since that seem to be the only thing on the menu as in this statement by MC:

“Still nothing to report on Pape Sy’s buyout”

This after it was reported Pape Sy’s situation would be resolved at the end of last week. Instead of going to the press with actions the Hawks might take or might pursue, why not just take the actions and give the press the results. It is clear; Sund’s PR department is running amok.

dstdeelite

August 23rd, 2010
6:44 pm

Kwame off the board? Good!!!

K-Dogg

August 23rd, 2010
6:59 pm

Thank God we did not get this man; Us re-signing Chimpmunk Collins was enough for me this offseason. Anotehr bum does not help us so why waste the rostor spot just sign the best player out their and hope he gives us added help for our bench!!!

Big Ray

August 23rd, 2010
7:04 pm

Sund has no PR department.

Vava ,

Be prepared for disappointment. Join the club…

jim

August 23rd, 2010
7:06 pm

good lord thaks for taking that garbage mj!! you once again prove their is someone worse than the spirit group.

Luke Cage

August 23rd, 2010
7:10 pm

@STEEL (Formerly VenomSpitter)

The Center is to give kids an option instead of getting caught up in the streets. We bash Marvin for his play or lack thereof, but lets give him props for doing this, this is something alot of kids need and I’m happy for them.

STEEL (Formerly VenomSpitter)

August 23rd, 2010
7:27 pm

@Luke Cage

Yea I know I was just kidding. Duck Power.

Grandad

August 23rd, 2010
8:02 pm

*Not* signing Kwame is the 2nd best move of the off-season.
1st = LD
3rd = re-signing Joe

I can rest a little easier now.

oranjucejonz

August 23rd, 2010
8:14 pm

Francisco Elson would not be a bad pic.He has the size and may bring some low post presence to the hawks.(He’s active around the rim)Hey MC,What are the chances that we try to make a move for J.R Smith since the Nuggets are shopping him????

Section 303

August 23rd, 2010
8:15 pm

Boy…the longer this offseason goes on, the more negative I feel towards the Hawks. I just have a bad feeling that this season will be a debacle. I expected more this offseason. And, I bought into the ASG’s BS about willing to spend over the cap. They clearly aren’t willing to do that.

Could just be that the Magic series left a really bad taste in my mouth. I’ve lost a lot of faith in this team. Hoping I can turn that around when the preseason games start in 1 1/2 months from now.

Grandad

August 23rd, 2010
8:15 pm

Everyone [MC included] keeps an update
on who is left on the board: [Bigs]

I’m not real good @ ‘rithmatic, but;
we have 12 players (already) signed up.
I’m pretty sure LD wants Paps. (me too)
ASG is only gonna pay 13.
Paps = # 13.

If we get a Big it’s goin’ to be a trade.
@ least that’s what I figure.

drmaryb ^•^

August 23rd, 2010
8:17 pm

InTheKnow

Well, Sir, let’s see about that?

“3.Bos- Rondo will control games and PP & RA will continue to hit big shots, could you imagine the celtics pf/c roation if it were the 2002 season?”

- Well, let’s see, w/o Tony Allen (didn’t he jetson? Correct me IF I’m wrong?)
Rasheed was unstoppable on defense (he’s gone out like a champ!)
Perkins will need at least two solid years of re-hab a very severe knee blow-out/PCL & MCL tear – ewee! real bad stuff, very rare injury to a weight bearing and pivotal joint). Add, a few more rings to the old oak tree and I see major slippage from the 3rd Seed. J-Oneal (arthritic knees)& S-Oneal will be alright, but will NEVER out run the Hawks – Never!-

“4.Chi- Chicago leaps the hawks by making offseason acquistions, Boozer and Noah downlow are going to make scoring inside tough and Rose is the fastest man in the NBA”

-Boozer is a very nice player on Offense & Rebounds, but has never put up those numbers against the Hawks. Does NOT patrol the paint nor rim on defense, Not a shot blocker whatsoever. The same team we handled very well last year.
No more Heinrich to defend the perimeter and where is Deng?-
Not convinced they will topple the Hawks with the New Coach who is more intemse than Doug Collins, wears on players and stares holes through people.
They will have their own chemistry issues to battle when you add the owners who punches the HC in their front offices for playing Noah extended minutes w/o permission from the owners booth! Too much micro-management and HC intensity. They will play uptight and never loose! Count on it!-

“6..Mil- B jennings and Bogut will secure the #6 spot again”

-Bogut’s elbow blew up like an IED last season. I read on rotoworld.com last Staurday that the re-hab is NOT going well at all! That elbow is severly inflamed right now, keep in mind the elbow was completely dislocated with shredded ligaments and tendons ripped off the bone. As worse as Grant Hill’s ankle – the good news is that the elbow is not a weight bearing pivotal joint, but an eliptical gliding joint, that will need minimal 2 years IF it heals completely.
He will then need a sports psychologist to re-gain mental strength and confidence. He will be hesitant to contact, rebounding and terrified of dunking ever again. IMHO, I would not pencil him in next season, chances are Bogut will not start the season either. Don’t count them Bucks in yet!-

Listen, the Hawks are healthy, young, long and athletic! IF, they learn to play defense? They will be awfully scary as is! But, they definitely need some size and rebounding in the paint to put it all together!

Meanwhile, Slick-Rick is on vacation? I hope he is somewhere scouting talent for his roster – They Need It !

Oh yeah!

And Bogut got substantial nerve damage in the elbow. The median nerve and radial nerve supply forearm muscle strength and to the hand. Peripheral Nerves unlike the Central Nervous System can regenerate some, but I don’t know about
100%? I doubt it (help me out doc, what do you think?).

Had that been Bogut’s ankle with his size and weight? Probably a career ending injury. In the elbow, he has a chance to play again. Gotta’ do some serious rehab though! Sports Medicine has come a long ways. I sure hope he comes all the way back though!

Sarah

August 23rd, 2010
8:18 pm

I think Josh Boone will be the best out of those three.

Reid Adair

August 23rd, 2010
8:28 pm

Everybody is “off the board.” After giving Joe Johnson a max contract, the Hawks have no more money to spend. Despite what we were told that they weren’t finished in free agency, they were – and they are.

intheKnow

August 23rd, 2010
8:30 pm

East Standings Predictions
1.Miami- Wade LBJ CB is greatest offseason signings for a single team in NBA history , not to mention Mike Miller, Hashlem
2.Orlando-Dwight owns the paint, and orl is bout the same as last year
3.Bos- Rondo will control games and PP & RA will continue to hit big shots, could you imagine the celtics pf/c roation if it were the 2002 season?
4.Chi- Chicago leaps the hawks by making offseason acquistions, Boozer and Noah downlow are going to make scoring inside tough and Rose is the fastest man in the NBA
5.ATL- I like but dislike signing joe. I like having joe back because we are going to the playoffs again for sure. Maybe last seasons playoffs were a fluke and joe can return to the 08 joe. I dislike signing joe because having a 29 year sign a max 6 year contract who couldnt do anything in the playoffs makes me think the Hawks are content with being a playoff team but not a championship team. I hope joe challenges himself and proves me wrong. Also can the hawks please sign a legitimate 7 footer. No more 6′9 pfs, were good.
6.Mil- B jennings and Bogut will secure the #6 spot again
7.Was-Washington will make the playoffs this year with a renewed agent 0, as well as john wall winning rookie of the year honors over BG32. Andray Blatche is a great player and continues to improve and jhow or al thornton at 3 is a good platoon. I like Javale defensively as well at C.
8.NY- Im putting NY 8th for now as Amare, Anthony Randolph, Danillo Gallinarri will be a very tall athletic 3,4,5. If a trade happens and NY lands Anthony NY could jump the Hawks and get the 5 seed
I hope someone got my joke about Udonis

drmaryb ^•^

August 23rd, 2010
8:31 pm

Swamee Sayz:

No Problem!

Question was: Kwame is off the Board, are Hawks fans mad about that?
(The Youngins’ don’t know about Johnny Carson’s Late Show’s – Swamee!)

I guess it’ll be Dampier then, if Not? Who cares anymore?
My patience has waned!

The only bird watching I’ll be doing this Summer is the Dirty – Birds.

These so called owners re-signed LITTLE of the Thrashers today for 3 yrs & 7.3M? I guess they like that core too. There have been unstoppable Trasher signings this off season, I guess the like the Thrashers fan base better than the Hawks fan base – if you get my rift/drift!

Najeh Davenpoop

August 23rd, 2010
8:37 pm

Kwame being off the board hasn’t been relevant since the 2001 NBA Draft.

Dampier would be a nice pickup; at the very least, he would be no worse than Zaza. Francisco Elson would have been nice five years ago, but I’m not sure what he has left. Besides those two, I don’t really see anyone on the landscape who would offer anything significant to this team.

truthspitter

August 23rd, 2010
8:38 pm

losing interest in the entire organization

KevinM

August 23rd, 2010
8:52 pm

Good stuff everyone….MC, with Sund on vacation, does that mean no comments from the entire organization? I sure would like to hear Gearon provide some of the logic that is being presented:

1) The need to draft JC2 and Sy…neither of which are a current need. Neither should see much playing time for at least next year.
2) The continued emphasis on not exceeding the cap.
3) Are you or are you not interested in bringing an NBA title to Atlanta? Could the decisions being made justify that answer because we know you are going to twist any response to that direct question?
4) Why you are throwing all your eggs in one basket with LD since you made no changes to your 1st 9 roster slots.
5) So you say there’s not a center out there that meets your criteria?
6) Why are you so adamant having only 13 roster players? Are you telling us there is no one out there after #13 that could possibly contribute?

MC’s comments tonight about Bibby being the starter tells us it is going to be more of the same out of the gate.

I don’t see Dampier getting a sniff either. He would have to be denied by everyone before we make an offer, so in essence, we aren’t going to bid with anyone at this point.

I see Randolph Morris heading back our way…….

cp

August 23rd, 2010
9:08 pm

Very Ehhh at this point. Boone would be a nice pick up but seeing how the Hawks operate we wont get him. I’m still baffled as to why the Hawks think Collins will provide anything to this team other than being a good guy. Dude has been unproductive for at least 4 straight years now. It is what it is.

joBjo

August 23rd, 2010
9:10 pm

Hawks gotta get Dampear. that would prove to me they are serious about winning now. gotta give him more than minumum I fear.

drmaryb ^•^

August 23rd, 2010
9:29 pm

Crack Babies Get Nothing!

Well fellas!
Looks like it’s going to be another – White Christmas!

No presents or shiny red bikes under our tree – oh wait!
We ain’t got no tree!

Dang! Sux being us – Moomy & Daddy got laid off for the 12th time this year,
the unemployment checks stopped and will not be extended I heard, the food stamps were traded for crack and the folks blamed it on the a-a-a-alcohol!

We get nothing! I would like to file for emancipation from the folks, they are horrible and abusive parents! They make lots of promises and never keep their word!

They Lie!

Bravesfan79

August 23rd, 2010
9:45 pm

OMG>.. NO KWAME….??? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO THE SKY IS FALLING!!!!!!!!!!

I.MUS WRITE

August 23rd, 2010
10:17 pm

Bussiness as usual, were 3 weeks into August and no Additions. Sit back and wait while all the respectable/affordable players sign elsewhere. its just how we do bussiness. Also I would prefer Diop or Dampier over kwame anyway so im glad he’s no longer an option.

Rick Sund is a BOSS….. ” Tell the fans to wait im on vacation, pass me another stack of ones”

oranjucejonz

August 23rd, 2010
10:49 pm

MC,WHAT ARE THE CHANCES THAT WE WILL MAKE A MOVE FOR J.R SMITH

Big Ump

August 23rd, 2010
10:57 pm

drmaryb.

That”s funny.

Grandad

August 23rd, 2010
11:06 pm

oranjucejonz

I’ll take that one…..”None”.

Grandad

August 23rd, 2010
11:08 pm

oranjucejonz

“MC,WHAT ARE THE CHANCES THAT WE WILL MAKE A MOVE FOR J.R SMITH”

Why would we?

Grandad

August 23rd, 2010
11:30 pm

Guards:
Joe, Jamal, Jeff, Jordan, & Mike = 5
Forwards:
Marv, Mo, Josh, Josh = 4
centers:
Al, Zaza, J.collins AKA(Cheeseburger) = 3
*Pape Sy ??? = 1
5+4+3+1 = 13

Now that we have that settled.

Rev in Tampa

August 23rd, 2010
11:51 pm

KevinM, I have really enjoyed the questions you have raised the past couple of days. I would love to hear the ownership/management respond to them. Keep the reporter’s hat on; it fits.

Mike10

August 23rd, 2010
11:52 pm

The Hawks are basically the same team as last year I dont see any improvements at all I would’nt be surprised if they were worst without Woody.The truth is you cant win the lottery unless you buy a ticket.

drmaryb ^•^

August 23rd, 2010
11:58 pm

Another White Christmas!

Oh yeah! And no seasoned FA – PG or C under our tree either.
Oh well ….

(*_*)

drmaryb ^•^

August 24th, 2010
12:01 am

Re-Gifted!

Don’t you hate it when the folks re-wrap the same presents you got last year -
And try to tell you it’s New?

You can’t even trick three year olds with that ISH!
They Know!

drmaryb ^•^

August 24th, 2010
12:05 am

TBS Very Funny!

Big Ump

TBS is Very Funny!
This is sad …

Al & Josh said all they want for X-Mas is some help in the paint!
How’s that working?

I would laugh, if I weren’t so waned …
-smile-

Clyde

August 24th, 2010
12:14 am

drmaryb I’ve given up on the Hawks

oranjucejonz

August 24th, 2010
1:11 am

@@@Grandad would you really not trade Bibby and Mo or ZaZa for J.R Smith….Not like we dont have enough of 3’s and Smith is a dynamic athlete and a better scorer than Bibby,Plus he has more experience than Teague.Since the announcement that Denver wants to trade him,He is clearly the best available player out there.It’s obvious that the ASG is not going after a ‘BIG” so why not

oranjucejonz

August 24th, 2010
1:33 am

@@@Grandad,Not sure why Denver wants to trade him,Maybe a riff with the coach or some in-house issues(Like making more cap space to sign Melo or maybe Melo wants him gone) but its clearly not because he lacks skills.He has all the tools you want in a guard,He passes well,penetrates the lane,Has a nice 3 point stroke and mid-range shot and the ability to take people off the dribble.His athletic skillset is well suited for the Hawks style of play.In my opinion,He would be a better pickup than any “BIG” thats still out there

MsDee

August 24th, 2010
1:49 am

Not sure if I would want to use decent trade bait for someone like JR Smith. I hear your point, and its a good one, just not on JR SMITH!!

Najeh Davenpoop

August 24th, 2010
3:56 am

Unless JR Smith can defend Dwight Howard or LeBron James, he’s not going to help this team.

Najeh Davenpoop

August 24th, 2010
4:05 am

Not saying he doesn’t have skills, but it doesn’t make sense to trade for a shooting guard when your strongest position is shooting guard and you already have one instant offense shooting guard with questionable shot selection and subpar defense.

Reggie

August 24th, 2010
4:06 am

I dnt see how the buzz about Kwame Brown even existed…the man has done nothing in his career..nothing! Im also scratching my head on why getting Eric Dampier is so important to so many people. If you are getting axed by ur team because Kwame Brown came to town then chances are you’re not very good…period. Bottom line is Jason Collins actually fits the bill as a big body in the middle who can defend and rebound it just happens that Mike Woodson never really used him and now he will get a chance to play.

MsDee

August 24th, 2010
6:41 am

@Reggie..I totally agree! Jason Collins is a good choice at fitting the bill at center. He has lost weight and also held his on against both Shaq & Howard. The ref’s were just being too sensitive to him.

dukester

August 24th, 2010
7:22 am

Not really a Kwame Brown fan anyway but if you want to know why Atlanta teams can’t get the following they want this is why. ASG just wants to remain relevant in the league and they are fine with that. (Relevant being 4-6 seed full of hope.) As long as Bank of America, UPS, and Home Depot buy those seats they are fine with that. Believe me they know the season ticket base here is small for true hawks fans. Most people that go to hawks games are NBA fans. They might pick 3 or 4 games out of a year that they want to see and thats it. But if the only knew how Atlanta fans are they could have Phillips arena rocking. You can’t make money with your hands in a fist.

O'Brien

August 24th, 2010
7:46 am

As for chemistry, mental toughness and leadership, Drew said part of his job will be to set expectations in those areas and help them bring out those qualities. .

It will be interesting to see the effect Drew has on the players (in particular, Horford, Teague and JJ).

Vava,

(IMO), If Dampier gets released, the Hawks MIGHT offer him the vet minimum. If they do, I think he will sign somewhere else for the same money.

Although Boone is on the skinny side, he is active on the glass, and he is still young (25 years old), so he would be my pick.

dap01

August 24th, 2010
7:47 am

I have complete confidence in Sund. I also have complete confidence in the ASG. I am especially happy that we could give our leader, JJ, $20 million more that our next closest competitor. Even if it means that we don’t have any means to improve our team at all. Atleast our most surly player will be happy enough to lead our team to average.

Fundamentals

August 24th, 2010
8:15 am

Not upset about Kwame. JR Smith would be a great 3-point threat, but he’s basically Jamal all over again? To sign him Joe would have to play PG or SF which would allow JR and Jamal to take SG. Or I guess you could play JR or Jamal at backup PG? I might give up Bibby and/or Mo, but not ZaZa in a deal. Then comes their cap problems.

They won’t want Bibby cause they have 3 PG better than Bibby. They don’t really need Mo and ZaZa, but salaries would matchup. If they did that we’d have 2 slots to fill going into camp figuring Sy won’t be making it over? You’d also guarantee JC2’s time would be eliminated as well as pressuring Teague’s minutes more.

GeeMack

August 24th, 2010
8:16 am

dap01

I love the sarcasm in your August 24th, 2010 @7:47 am post. Lol!

Fundamentals

August 24th, 2010
8:16 am

One more thought – only problems with JR is he’s as streaky as Jamal.

4 Jacks

August 24th, 2010
8:18 am

Who cares? You really think the hawks are going to be a major player in the NBA this year? lol…

vava74

August 24th, 2010
8:22 am

We have plenty of SG in our roster, all of them pretty satisfactory.

JR Smith is streaky and a bit of a nut case.

We don’t need him at all IMO.

Fundamentals

August 24th, 2010
8:24 am

I agree vava74 – not worth what he’d command.

DHD

August 24th, 2010
8:41 am

We certainly didn’t need that headache here in ATL.

AG

August 24th, 2010
8:41 am

I am a very big Hawks fan, but this has been a very bad off season. I am not one of the people who say we must get a center, because our biggest weakness is point guard and small forward. Yet, I would have love Kwame here. I hate when the second string works and is a very slow and non athletic team. Kwame could fit in and bring an athletic big who can block shots and run the floor with Hortford. The Hawks disappointed me in the draft also as they let the 7 foot project from Florida State slip past tine for two picks. I will only be happy if Pepe takes Marvin’s spot.

AG

August 24th, 2010
8:43 am

Kudo’s for Marvin off the court. I can certainly say the same for the other Hawks (Josh, Jamal). What has Bibby done except for the big party he advertised on 107.5 and charged $50 at the door? (sorry MV7, Bibby had it prior to your party!)

JeJe

August 24th, 2010
8:44 am

“The Hawks still must add one player to meet the NBA minimum of 13 players. They are in the market for a center but don’t expect it to be the “impact” center that Horford has said the team needs to be a legitimate contender.”

LOL. Why would it be the player that Horford wanted IF WE ALREADY SIGNED 2 BIGS THIS SUMMER THAT DON’T MATCH HORFORD’S CRITERIA

WORST GM/FRONT OFFICE IN SPORTS HISTORY

Rev in Tampa

August 24th, 2010
8:44 am

Anybody have any thoughts on the USA/Spain game? I only say the last five minutes last night. How did Spain keep it to a one point game? What is the USA’s greatest weakness. To me it looked like Rose & Durant stepped up and carried the USA. Otherwise Spain would have won handily.

Rev in Tampa

August 24th, 2010
8:46 am

“say” = “saw”

Veteran Fan

August 24th, 2010
8:49 am

What Core? Oh you mean the guys who stood around and let Orlando run by them for four games in the playoffs! First trade Jamal Crawford, and our #1 pick to New Orleans for Chris Paul. Second, trade Josh straight up for Carmelo Anthony after he signs an extension! Third trade Marvin and Bibby for Thabeet or Gasol with Memphis. Former #1s for each other. Line up CP3, JJ, Melo, Al, and Thabeet or Gasol. Four all stars trump three all stars at Miami and Boston. Reserves Teague learns from one of the best, Sy long on defense and good passer, Zaza, Jordan Crawford, Evans, Collins. Young team that can contend for FIRST in the East and a CHAMPIONSHIP for at least four years!

Rev in Tampa

August 24th, 2010
8:49 am

I was also surprised to see Odom shooting 3’s with the game on the line. He did not even hit the rim. I don’t watch Western Conference so I don’t know Odom’s strengths/weaknesses. Spain had a center who shot well from outside.

dap01

August 24th, 2010
9:01 am

Sund is not in a hurry to do the MINIMUM that the league requires. The Hawks management is struggling to do the MINIMUM. Does that bother anyone else?

drmaryb ^•^

August 24th, 2010
9:01 am

Starvin Marvin

What has Marvin ever done for the kids in the Atlanta Community to endear or market himself here?

Every Summer, he packs his bags and flys/jets his way back to Seattle – maybe he should stay there and play ball. Oh, my bad … There is no
NBA franchise in Seattle. I have never heard of any reports where he is working to improve his attitude or game skills. What does he do there? Hibernate?

Go Figure!

sleeze

August 24th, 2010
9:04 am

Sure glad that I don’t give a darn about the Hawks or ever buy any Hawks tickets, as otherwise I’d really be p/o about this off-season.

drmaryb ^•^

August 24th, 2010
9:09 am

Clyde

I can see your pessimism. Wile I also like the core, I am not blind to the fact – we must do better than this! JJ, Smoove & Al is the core & they need help.
If no one believes me? Ask them?

GeeMack

August 24th, 2010
9:10 am

Rev in Tampa

Their biggest problems are chemistry and shooting, however their athleticism should make up for those weaknesses.

Also Spain will be their best competition because no one on the US squad can match up with Marc Gasol.

Veteran Fan

August 24th, 2010
9:22 am

If NO moves are made, JJ will be traded to the Knicks by midseason for their #1 and we will fall back to barely making the playoffs if we even do! Bibby, Josh, and JJ will not buy into the motion offense after the first 5 minutes of each half and refuse to listen to a rookie coach. Attendance will drop significantly and we will be jettisoning players rather than building! You either compete or you die!

GeeMack

August 24th, 2010
9:23 am

Getting a shooting guard off the Denver bench should not even be a discussion. The last I checked the Hawks had the best bench player in the league in Jamal Crawford.

There are more pressing issue that need addressing. Both Josh and Al have said they need more help on the block and management has ingored the.

The Hawks were onstantly dominated in the paint, on the boards, and defending the rim. Yet we did nothing to strengthen those areas.

Our biggest offseason changes was bring back the same team that has quit the last 2 postseasons.

The Lakers won the title, but felt it neccessary to bring in a more defensive oriented team (Blake, Barnes, & Ratliff).

The Celtics saw inside defense and rebounding as their issue so they bring (O’neal, & O’neal) to help out.

The Real JC

August 24th, 2010
9:26 am

@drmaryb – actually, Marvin usually goes back to Chapel Hill, where he takes classes and trains with other former players from UNC. He’s trying to get a degree.

I know he trains hard and he’s got one of the best attitudes in the NBA. I just think he’s kind of hit his ceiling skills-wise.

GeeMack

August 24th, 2010
9:27 am

Veteran Fan

Well the Hawks haven’t competed in the second for 2 years. So I guess dying is the only other option.

Astro Joe

August 24th, 2010
9:30 am

Dampier would be the ideal “situational defender” which is all the Hawks seemingly want. Expecting much better from a late August free agent is silly. But as others have said, it won’t happen. We’ll sign a 6′9″ forward during camp.

Fundamentals

August 24th, 2010
9:34 am

How can Marvin break out and do so well when Joe’s out for extended periods? He’s done it almost every time? I think the kid would do well if he had a real niche and real responsibility. Being the 5th or even 6th option in an ISO offense hasn’t helped him stay involved or motivated. If LD can’t make him blossom it’s time to find him a home where he can. Marvin has not hit his ceiling. He’s never really started in my mind. He just doesn’t fit in here. Our players, our coaches, even Marvin hasn’t given himself a real niche other than D-UP and we’ll ditch it to you at the end of the clock for a bad shot cause we’re scared to shoot it ourselves.

Fundamentals

August 24th, 2010
9:35 am

Dampier never made the difference in Dallas, but I’d take him for our 13th man. Should be better than Collins and Randmo combined.

PMC

August 24th, 2010
9:40 am

Why not just get a cardboard cut out and stick it in the lane… it can get 6 fouls and redirect traffic as well as the rest of those on the board?

yessir

August 24th, 2010
9:47 am

FIRE LD!!!!

KevinM

August 24th, 2010
10:03 am

Rev, its about accountability in this city. If the fans think you are giving it your all to put a product on the court/ice, then the fans will stand behind you. When the fans feel like they are being railroaded and being humored, then the animosity begins.
Sund and the ASG don’t seem to get what we want out of a basketball team:

1) we want the best team possible….is that happening?
2) we want to feel like we are getting good value for our money handed over to them…..
3) we want our heroes to be appreciative of our support, not ready to slap at us and tell us they don’t care what we think.

4)We want the management group to improve our weaknesses….they haven’t.

I continue to support, i continue to go to games, I continue to listen to our crowd admire the opponent as much as our own guys.

What I don’t want to continue is to repeat Hawks’ history. We have never been past the 2nd round. The best we have done is a losing effort against who? An old Boston team.

Fundamentals

August 24th, 2010
10:13 am

Which old Boston team – today’s or in the 80’s. Either way AMEN BROTHER! Excellent post!

Fundamentals

August 24th, 2010
10:17 am

What gets me is the news for our team is so absolutely dead. Sund can’t at least get us in the rumor mill to get us excited. MC has nothing to really report on. As much as I hate Bradley and Shultz at least they chime in when there’s potential news even when it never happens. We’re here…essentially for nothing but hopes and dreams. Same one’s we’ve had for 25 years w/o anything coming to fruition.

Rev in Tampa

August 24th, 2010
10:34 am

KevinM, I agree with Fundamentals. Excellent post!

I have heard it said, “We judge ourselves by our intentions. Others judge us by our actions.”

So we are judging Sund/ASG by their actions. And it is telling…

JoJo the Godfather

August 24th, 2010
10:46 am

Dampier has been the “league average” center for like the last 8 years, and that’s not a bad thing…(look at his stats and PER)…If we could say that our 2nd & 3rd string centers are average centers in the league, then you’d have to consider that a strength…Look at our competition’s backups:

ORL – Gortat, Orton (will he make active roster)
BOS – JO, Shaq (if Perkins were healthy)
MIA – Magloire, J. Anthony
MIL – Gooden, ???
CHI – K. Thomas, Asik
NYK – Turiaf, Curry
WAS – Blatche (will he start at PF), ???
LAL – Ratliff, (rotate over Gasol)
DEN – Birdman, Landlord
DAL – Chandler, Mahinmi
OKC – Mullins, Aldrich (I think)

Fundamentals

August 24th, 2010
10:49 am

Will Damp play for our $$ or will he find more elsewhere is the question? Seems like he’d make a good C for situations we might need.

Fundamentals

August 24th, 2010
10:50 am

Maybe Denver could deal the Landlord to us to help with getting us to jump on JR! Think about it!

Hawksgoingbackward

August 24th, 2010
10:58 am

Well Ladies and Gents thats it for me.

When “Downtown” Kwame Brown gets to choose (as if he should have a choice on where he plays) the Charlotte Bobcats over the Atlanta Hawks, thats a bad Omen. Something just aint right about the way these folks do business.

I went to a handful of games last year some really good games and some just fun and relaxation to support my hometown team.

IM NOT GOING TO ANY GAMES THIS YEAR! ITS THE ONLY WAY TO SHOW MY DISPLEASURE WITH THIS ABOMINATION OF AN OWNERSHIP GROUP AND INTENTIONALLY UNDERWELMING SQUAD.

These people have no respect for us or our money. If they did they would do right by us. So if they dont care then neither will I.

Im Boycotting the Hawks until they trade Joe Johnson disguisting contract (or atleast get him to apologize for saying he didnt care about the fans who pay for his contract) or the ASG sells this team.

Appreciate all you guys and journalists and bloggers.

Good Luck

ICEMANcometh10

August 24th, 2010
11:09 am

Where was his news conference and why are we pursuing him? Oh yeah we need more weight and height to anchor the bench. If they would have gotten him then what? ……………………………a joke

JoJo the Godfather

August 24th, 2010
11:14 am

Fundamental…The Hawks are one of the only contenders that have the resources (MLE) to offer Dampier any more than say $2M…$2.5M keeps us under the luxury tax, but I’d even try to sign him for up to $3.5M and then unload some salary during the season if needed…I’m not sure who all would be interested in him (and at what cost)…I would be very disappointed if Dampier signed elsewhere for less than $2.5M, but hey, it’s the Hawks, I’ve been disappointed before.

Fundamentals

August 24th, 2010
11:18 am

That sounds good JoJo. Don’t we also have the TPE we could use to work out something in a S&T? What do the Bobcats need? Are they definitely going to waive/cut Dampier?

JoJo the Godfather

August 24th, 2010
11:40 am

The Bobcats currently sit about $8M above the luxury tax with a full roster…Cutting Dampier, who has a non-guaranteed contract, would allow them to drop below the luxury tax (saving them roughly $20M)…I think Charlotte would entertain dealing Dampier for a starting PG (or a superstar) if it saved them some salary $’s as well…I think the one deal that was rumored last week would have landed them Jose Calderon who makes a few million less than Dampier…That way they could look at dumping another contract or two during the season and hopefully come up short of the luxury tax by year end.

dukester

August 24th, 2010
11:46 am

Umm guys stop with this PePe Sy stuff. That dude is a couple of thousand miles away. if he was that good why did he make it to the 2nd round. I believe if we would not have drafted him he would not even have been drafted. Lets call a spade a spade. This is another situation where SUND or whoever made a bad choice. We could have drafted a big man instead of a wing player nobody has ever heard of. if that was the case we could have kept J-Chills come on guys think. We probably will never see that guy in a Hawks uniform!!

Fundamentals

August 24th, 2010
11:49 am

Looking at their roster Bibby or Mo wouldn’t be of much value to them? Seems like they want a young PG with potential upside? Teague might be tempting to them, but not to us. I’m guessing any trades would be for his full value then? Or they drop him and we pick him up as a FA, which honestly won’t happen in the summer of Sund & ASG.

Fundamentals

August 24th, 2010
11:53 am

Dukester – I’ll agree we passed on several nice 7 ft projects that might or might not develop. I liked several of them. Pape Sy seems to be a project as well, but seems to be a very reasonable gamble, especially if he can come in once Bibby retires and Mo’s contract expires. We supposedly need “IMPACT” at C and none of your projects met the bill. Sy can be a project at another critical slot in our roster. I see him as a great gamble since we don’t need him till next year or after. We need C help for Horford NOW, not when he develops after Horford leaves in FA due to lack of help from ASG.

Rufus1

August 24th, 2010
11:53 am

Organic Growth

Why don’t the Hawks get credit for “ORGANIC GROWTH” that is expected from the Bulls and Bucks….did I miss something? If Teague becomes the starter 4 of the 5 starters will be 25 and under. When does the “ORGANIC GROWTH” stop?

I have watched all of our young players improve their skills every year and now they are supposed to decline….I DON”T GET IT!!!! JJ and Jamal may hit a plateau, but the rest are just hitting their prime. Even if those teams improve, we won 53 games last year and will better next. year.

The Heat

They don’t have the one thing that gives the Hawks problems….Athletic, size(Bynum or D12)

I am cautiously optimistic

Fundamentals

August 24th, 2010
12:11 pm

Rufus, bloggers here use the Organic Growth as an excuse to beg for more players or to beat down Woody/LD/ASG. We will get better, we will surprise some folks. My argument is like many:

Josh &Horford asked for help – we got Collins/Powell. We have many who question Teague and or Marvin? Are they seeking prospects? Do they do enough?

Answer = NO if you have player #13, 14 & 15 vacant, $3.5 mil TPE and the 3 mil from the draft pick available. Give us something! ANYTHING!

Organic Growth + few key pieces = Championship Caliber competition for 5-7 years = ASG Profits soar. With our current plan we get nothing but HIGH HOPES! Sing it, it’s helpful.

I also loved the Christmas analogy Drmaryb!

JoJo the Godfather

August 24th, 2010
12:13 pm

Teams with MLE left that can offer a free agent more than $2.5M include:

Utah – $2.7M
Mem – $2.7M
Ind – $4.9M
NO – Full
Phi – Full
Det – Full
Dal – Full
Cle – Full

Out of that group, you could see Detroit & Cleveland put larger deals on the table for a guy like Dampier just because they have such a big need and could possibly offer more minutes.

Fundamentals

August 24th, 2010
12:18 pm

Indiana has already said they’ll pay a big man if he comes available as would CLE. Just depends on does Dampier want to win or does he want $$ or can he find both?

The Real JC

August 24th, 2010
12:22 pm

@Hawksgoingbackward – really, not signing Kwame Brown is the straw that’s going to break your back?

Joe Johnson Trade???

August 24th, 2010
12:25 pm

I seen a lot talk about the Hawks acquiring a center. What about Joe Johnson to Phoenix for the following:
Robin Lopez & Jason Richardson

Rufus1

August 24th, 2010
12:28 pm

Ownership

Cubs, Redskins, Cowboys and Mets ownership group are considered to be some of the worst in professional sports. They spend their money poorly on the new hot players and every offseason their fans are excited, but they haven’t recently won any titles.

The Braves, Patriots and Colts are considered some of the best organizations in sports. They draft well, they don’t over spend on bad players and develop their young talent from within.

In the NBA Mark Cuban is considered a GREAT owner and ASG are considered Terrible owners…..I DON’T GET IT!!!!! ONLY in the NBA would Mark Cuban be considered a GREAT OWNER.

MAY BE THE ANALYST FOR THE NFL ARE SMARTER THAN THE NBA ANALYST….MOST NFL ANALYST HAVE A COLLEGE DEGREE AND THE NBA ANALYST BARELY HAVE A HIGH-SCHOOL DIPLOMA….Just a thought.

Good business is good business, Bad business is bad business no matter the sport.

Hawk n the Ham

August 24th, 2010
12:34 pm

What am I going to do with my customized Kwame Brown Hawks jersey I ordered????

Thats it! I’m through!!!!

Rufus1

August 24th, 2010
12:35 pm

Fundamentals

I think we have enough talent, I just think we needed a better coach. You don’t win in the 2nd round because of talent, because talent is equal….You win with scheme and Heart. Boston didn’t beat the Magic and Cavs with talent, they won because of coaching and heart…We have enough talent.

oranjucejonz

August 24th, 2010
12:40 pm

What are you people seeing in Damp.or Kwame that i dont see.Neither of them is an upgrade over Collins(all bums).I’m surprised that someone actually lobbying for either of these guys.My point is,We have missed all the other picks so now its down to selecting the best available player.I’m not sure if Denver really is worried that much about who they bring in this yr as long as they can get a high draft pick out of the deal.I THINK IT HAS MORE TO DO WITH THEM GETTING MELO SIGNED..Since he demanded a trade this story comes out of the blue,I’m thinking they’re desperate to move JR

oranjucejonz

August 24th, 2010
12:41 pm

WE COULD POSSIBLY MAKE THAT TRADE AND STILL GET ONE OF THOSE OTHER GUYS

KevinM

August 24th, 2010
12:44 pm

Rufus1, doesn’t Wade and LeBron give the Hawks mismatches out of the gate? Not that we have to worry about them much, but we do have to have a good showing against them and we have to beat their 1st string.
My opinion only, but really, what does 53 wins do for you if you aren’t going to be a threat in the playoffs. Here we are, 3-4 guys under the age of 25, and we are hearing:

- We are tired going into the postseason.
- We play E#2 too many minutes.
- We don’t play together.

When is the excuses going to end? We have had so many reasons for our 2nd round exits. These guys have been around long enough to show their talent as a unit. Thousands of playing minutes together…they should know what the other is thinking by now.

I am not going to knock the results as much as the effort. Too many possessions are wasted. Too many free throws missed plain and simple.
Too many 2nd chances by the opponent. Did I mention our 3rd place efficient offense? Lots to knock, but yes, also lots to like.

There are lots of areas to address, and you would think this is a losing team! No, it is a team that doesn’t play well together. Early on, I truly thought that Smoove and Marvin never made up a very good forward tandem. I still don’t, but we have both under LT contracts. They will be together.

I see lots to improve upon, and the ASG and Sund doesn’t. They think LD will be the difference.

Fundamentals/dukestar, man do I question our draft and scouting evals. Just give away our 2nd draft picks, because we don’t use them to any advantage.
Are we just going after the best athlete/good guy or are we going for need? I thought Teague filled a need, but it will take Year 2 to see that. Sy-I expect to ’see’ very little if anything. Add him to Ayol and David Andersen. Solomon Jones and Stoudamire were memorable as well.

Jojo, you know what will tick me off? If we go get Dampier and give him more than the vet min? We all know that Shaq licks his chops when this guy is in the game…its hilarious. All we had to do was treat Shaq like he was important to our success. We could have worked on the stupid cap numbers once he arrived with ‘ATLANTA’ on his jersey.
Now what I really think is perhaps neither Dampier or Shaq match last year’s numbers….Shaq would have had to get minutes…understood. I think that both Dampier and Kwame are a waste of money.
We should be bringing in a young dude like Jason Thompson and getting him in important possessions and grow him from there. He also gives us some insurance say, if Al is looking elsewhere. Thompson, not an all-star but I like what I see and he isn’t getting Cousins or Dalemberts’ minutes in Sacramento.

Charlotte will take a chance with TJ Ford and reunite him with fellow Texan Augustine and that’s where I predict Dampier ends up. Dampier’s stats last year…..6/5 in 23 min….not good IMO.

Hawksgoingbackward

August 24th, 2010
12:46 pm

when you add it to the rest of this offseason, you are willing to take more???

Hawksgoingbackward

August 24th, 2010
12:48 pm

last comment @ The Real JC

KevinM

August 24th, 2010
12:49 pm

680thefan, right now, reporting Brian Skinner, Josh Boone and Francisco Elson are our choices and that we are 99.9 percent the same as last year.
They are giving it to the Hawks’ management group right now. Their own radio partner. The same starting 5 according to LD, and moving Al to the 4 and play with Zaza and Collins……ugh, I’m not having a bad dream..this is really happening.

wordsmithtom

August 24th, 2010
12:52 pm

I hope Kwame finds a “clue”…he’s not shown that skill yet. He can help Charlotte if he does. He wouldn’t have helped Atlanta any more than RandMo has. RandMo once had as much upside. I doubt Kwame ever gets it…..

As for Marvin. Kudos to him for remembering his roots. Helping the kids in his hometown. Shows a lot about his REAL CHARACTER, not about PR. He’ll come back to camp feeling good about himself. Just like Elvis, Marvin took care of his mama, then took care of the kids back home. Now, lets hope LD finds a way to use his big body to take care of us fans. I think he can. He has the talent.

Wink

August 24th, 2010
1:04 pm

You usually have to work to get a vacation! What has Sund done to deserve a vacation??? Dude controls his own job security:

Year One – Observes the team the team in place.

Year Two – does not address CORE, signs teams free agents to long term contracts (Bibby, ZaZa, Marvin), drafts Teague, or yeah he signs Jamal (Insurance on JJ)

Year Three – gives the vault to JJ. Does his own version of Decision 2010 and signs Collins & Josh Powell (3rd string bench players.

Where is the REAL WORK? What has he done to DESERVE VACATION?

You hear that – “crickets” “crickets”

AT WORK

August 24th, 2010
1:06 pm

i don’t understand the whole uproar about the hawks.
we’ve all seen what marvin can do once he is called upon to be the number one option..
only once has he been called to do so during a small stretch of games when jj was out..
marvin would be a superstar if he were not boggled down here in atllanta!!
then you have a beast like j-smoove,the offensive talents of crawford and jj,and even horford..
what we lack up front we can make up with the playing to the strengths of our 4’s and 5’s..
mo evans is not that bad of a player..he is one who is made for the open court in a fast pace game..
do u realize how much of an offensive threat we will be than in years past??
we all know how our adversaries will match up with us..
they are all strong on the inside,and that will be most of their scoring..they will be predictable..

but the atlanta hawks will not be!!
we can run and even out run with mo,teague,josh,crawford,jj,and others any given night..
or we can play the motion offense and stil be unpredictable and score..
who can have 2 sets of a 5 man rotation that can go one on one with any one of the 5 and score like we will be able to do??not even the lakers,celtics,the heat,no one!!!

im at work and im willing to be my 4 checks for the month of april that we,the atlanta hawks,will be the team to beat in the east this year..

LD,is gonna be the twin of DON NELSON in the NBA..
working thru our strengths and shoring up our weakness,that others will not be able to exploit..

DO YOU LARRY DREW!!
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!

GeeMack

August 24th, 2010
1:15 pm

Rufus1

I like your optimism, but the Hawks don’t have the talent make up to win a title in the NBA.

On every champioship team their is a clear cut leader on the floor. Who is that person for the Hawks?

Who holds the team accountable for their horrible playing habits? JJ? Josh? Al?

The team that wins titles have the same make up, and they Hawks don’t have it.

Rufus1

August 24th, 2010
1:22 pm

KevinM

They are not excuses, they adjusments. If you think you have a Bad Coach, get a new one.

Please remember this about Wade and James, they can’t be the same players they were last year. They have to adjust their game to the team. What tandem would you prefer to guard Wade and James other than JJ and Marvin.

Rufus1

August 24th, 2010
1:27 pm

Geemack

Our Coach didn’t have the Make-up, he is the true leader of the team. On the court I think that person will be AL, he has a championship pedigree.

Rondo

August 24th, 2010
1:37 pm

The hawks are talented and athletic, they just need the right schemes and heart to make their run in the playoffs longer and more competetive. Hollinger had the Hawks ranked no. 1 and in the top ten throughout the regular season last year. They just have to learn how to adjust as a team to the playoffs. Which all young teams have trouble doing. Remember when young Kobe and Shaq use to get swept by Karl Malone and the Jazz. Remember when Detroit and New York and Boston use to pick on MJ. I am not saying that the Hawks will win championships but with a better coaching scheme and new team attitude the hawks can make a lot of noise in the playoffs.

Rufus1

August 24th, 2010
1:43 pm

If this is implemented the HAWKS will be the best team in the East…How will your perspective change about ASG?

http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=17156

Rufus1

August 24th, 2010
1:43 pm

Great post Rondo

Rondo

August 24th, 2010
2:09 pm

Thanks Rufus1. Keeping your team together and going through growing pains isn’t a bad thing. In the 80’s that was a format for success in the nba. The Pistons, Lakers, Bulls, Celtics etc. Didn’t trade their core guys away just because they hit a bump in the road in the playoffs. They licked their wounds when they were defeated and vowed to do better the next season. Yes those teams added to their roster and got better. The Hawks added Jamal last season and got better. They added a new coach and new team philosophy this summer. Will they be better as a team defensively? Will they make deeper runs in the playoffs? Those questions still has yet to be answered. But time will tell……To be continued……..?????????

Mitun

August 24th, 2010
2:16 pm

our best option is to acquire thru a trade not FA.

Najeh Davenpoop

August 24th, 2010
2:20 pm

“Cubs, Redskins, Cowboys and Mets ownership group are considered to be some of the worst in professional sports. They spend their money poorly on the new hot players and every offseason their fans are excited, but they haven’t recently won any titles.”

Dan Snyder is only considered a bad owner because he insists on meddling in personnel decisions. In what alternate universe is Jerry Jones, the Steinbrenner of football, considered a bad owner? Who exactly considers Fred Wilpon a bad owner or holds him responsible for Omar Minaya’s personnel decisions? Sounds like you are grasping at straws to me.

“If this is implemented the HAWKS will be the best team in the East…How will your perspective change about ASG?
”

If the NBA institutes a hard cap, it won’t have any effect on the way the DASG and Rick Sund do business. The current NBA system has nothing to do with their risk-averse style of management. They will still continue to overpay players with whom they are comfortable instead of trying to find upgrades and then wonder why fans don’t come to see a team that has no chance at competing for a title.

And by the way, a hard cap would be disastrous for the Hawks since they would have to extend Horford after this season, and doing so under a hard cap with Joe, Josh, and Marvin on the books while leaving enough space to fill out the roster with quality players would be damn near impossible.

Najeh Davenpoop

August 24th, 2010
2:23 pm

“Keeping your team together and going through growing pains isn’t a bad thing. In the 80’s that was a format for success in the nba. The Pistons, Lakers, Bulls, Celtics etc. Didn’t trade their core guys away just because they hit a bump in the road in the playoffs. ”

Those teams had multiple Hall of Famers; it was only a matter of time before they figured out the most efficient way to play together and win. Name one future Hall of Famer on the Hawks.

I’m not in favor of breaking up the core just for the sake of breaking it up either, but those 80s teams had a lot more talent than this Hawks team.

KevinM

August 24th, 2010
2:29 pm

Rufus, we couldn’t stop Wade or James last year, and they were on seperate teams. We didn’t stop Bosh, who burned us for a game winner.
E#2 is not stopping Wade, and I have seen Marvin try to guard LeBron…0 as in zero for 2.
So take advantage of the Heat at the other positions and see if you come out ahead. I don’t see it.
We don’t match up with Orlando, and that one is obvious. The coaches don’t even match up. That team wants to win a title, we don’t. Its obvious and embarrassing to go into this season unchanged from last season.
Play all the matchups you want, but Wade and LeBron are going to have their time with us on both sides of the court. There aren’t enough fouls to give out.

Najeh Davenpoop

August 24th, 2010
2:29 pm

Also, about the hard cap… David Stern should be careful what he wishes for too. The biggest advantage of the soft cap that the NBA has now is the ability to keep your own players and build around them. In a league where salaries are held down by a hard cap and there is no mechanism by which small market teams can incentivize a player to stay put, free agents will increasingly head to big markets where they can make the same amount of money and more through endorsements. If Stern didn’t like LeDecision, he needs to think long and hard about his hard cap idea. The NBA isn’t the NFL where you can rely on the draft and let free agents go and remain competitive like the Patriots.

Rondo

August 24th, 2010
2:37 pm

Hall of Famers vs. Hall of Famers
No team in today’s NBA could compete with any of the top teams of the 80’s. Even the 88 Hawks would probably have championship dynasties if they played in today’s nba. Yes the 88 Hawks would crush Kobe and The 3 Amigos. Man I wish I had a Hot Tub Time Machine.

KevinM

August 24th, 2010
2:39 pm

najeh, good points, and we do have 2 all-stars. I would just like to continue to grow this roster. Right now, we can’t say this is a team that can contend for a title….and to make no changes at the same time.

Rondo

August 24th, 2010
2:46 pm

Any trade that can bring Marc Gasol to the Hawks is worth trying.

tjhook

August 24th, 2010
2:47 pm

Everyone is dismissing the Kwame Brown signing, but we needed a big man with some potential. Apparently, Drew wants a big man with off the ball ability. I don’t think those guys exists on the free agent market. maybe he can find it with an overseas project. Anyway, Kwame helps the Bobcats and hurts us in the playoff scramble.

dukester

August 24th, 2010
2:51 pm

@AT WORK Umm sir/ma’am im gonna need you to finish working.

“marvin would be a superstar if he were not boggled down here in atllanta!!”

Comments like this is a blantant violation of the “Child Please” (Ocho Cinco) law. You deserve one on this one. It takes heart to tbe a superstar the kind of heart that Josh Smith has to overcome Woody’s personality and coaching to get better each year despite what the fans and media says. Speaking of Marvin lets send him packing along with Jamal Crawford for Carmelo Anthony and a first round pick. They would do it. Then find a center that wants to rebound and block shots. Even if we didnt win a title the fans would be happy and with a squad like that people would show up. And also I read somewhere that Carmelo wants to be in a city where is wife can be in the entertainment business. What better city than Atlanta Carmelo!! Better weather than New York cheaper than new York and LA. And believe it or not most stars stay here because they can get peace and qiuet on there downtime. No papparazzi just good ole family life here sir. And the airport here you are 30 minutes from world here. Get it done BIG HEAD SUND!! AND CHEAP ASG!!! LOL

dukester

August 24th, 2010
2:52 pm

I MEAN WE ADD THE FIRST ROUND PICK IN ON THE DEAL

Rondo

August 24th, 2010
2:54 pm

Kwame even wasn’t the best basketball player in Georgia when he came out of high school. Yes he won Mr. Basketball and got drafted #1 out of High School.But Josh Powell and Alexander Johnson out-played him and showed more big-man skill in the High School Championship Tournament. Kwame has always been overhyped. The Hawks didn’t miss nothing by letting him walk on to MJ.

Fundamentals

August 24th, 2010
2:57 pm

Hard cap or something to level the playing field would be nice. Seems we play by the rules and watch teams that have 25%+ more on the payroll beat us. All things equal we’d be hard to beat.

Rufus – bashing the coach and calling for heart is nice, but give LD and his staff a chance. Woodson is gone. He had his chance. You just cut LD’s throat before his first game. Coach aint the issue – it’s whether they play together in the system. We could’ve won with Woodson & his system, we just chose to go our own separate ways.

Kevin M – true, we rarely use our 1st round picks with success, but other teams use both. Tell San Antonio that 2nd round picks are useless. Somehow other teams find gems in the 2nd while we burn our coal in the 1st.

Fundamentals

August 24th, 2010
2:59 pm

Rondo – Gasol seems to be coming along nicely for Memphis. He’s lost weight and learned alot in the NBA. Definitely a nice talent. Question is can Thabeet develop as well to make one man expendable?

Rondo

August 24th, 2010
3:02 pm

Fundamentals-True That

Buddy Grizzard

August 24th, 2010
3:06 pm

“…they just need the right schemes and heart to make their run in the playoffs longer and more competetive.” – Rondo

As I’ve detailed on a previous blog, the bad contract of Joe Johnson has thus far caused us to trade a number 7 overall pick, Josh Childress, for a future second round pick. Josh Childress has more heart than anybody currently on the Hawks roster except Al Horford.

Also as detailed previously, the Hawks will trade Jamal Crawford at the deadline because they cannot afford to sign him to a long term deal. This team has to cut payroll in every possible way in preparation to sign Horford to a max extension.

Why are the Hawks in such payroll distress that they have to trade lottery picks for future second-rounders? Start with Mike Bibby’s contract. It runs for two more seasons at $5.5 and $6.2m. This contract is really the central failure of Rick Sund’s tenure. Where would the Hawks be today if they had traded up one pick and drafted Ty Lawson, or taken Darren Collison instead of Jeff Teague? Teague emerged from summer league behind Bibby on the Hawk’s depth chart. Meaning he couldn’t unseat an incumbent point guard who doesn’t even rank among the top 30 point guards in the league (as ranked by Kelly Dwyer). Collison ranks 16th on Dwyer’s list, Lawson 25th.

Marvin Williams’ contract, by comparison, is not an albatross. Yes he has underperformed. But he could take a huge step forward in the new offensive system. Bibby can only take steps back.

The second worst contract of Sund’s tenure is Joe Johnson. You gave max money to a guy who said he doesn’t care if the fans show up. That’s the antithesis of heart. Instead of manning up and taking responsibility for the Hawk’s failures, he said I don’t care. Now we unload two starter-caliber players to avoid luxury tax because of this one contract, and Horford may not re-sign because the Hawks have put themselves in the same position as Cleveland… capped out and not enough talent to be contenders.

Rondo

August 24th, 2010
3:27 pm

The Atlanta Hawks a 53 win team with no talent….wow!

Rufus1

August 24th, 2010
3:35 pm

Dan Snyder is only considered a bad owner because he insists on meddling in personnel decisions. Bad business is bad business, how you get their doesn’t matter.

In what alternate universe is Jerry Jones a bad owner. The same one that fired Jimmy Johnson, sign Pacman and Tank Johnson, hired Wade Phillips and traded a 1st and 3rd round pick for busted receiver(Roy Williams)…In that Universe.

Who exactly considers Fred Wilpon a bad owner or holds him responsible for Omar Minaya’s personnel decisions? You are reflection of the people you hire. Minaya’s has spent 120mil to put a bad team on the field for last 3 years and has traded away all of their good prospects to do it. Name the free agent he signed that worked, but he still has a JOB.

Over paying for mediocre players is how Knicks, Mavs and Magic do business…Not wanting to 22mil a year(11mil salary, 11mil Lux tax) for Brandon Hayward is STUPID, not rick-averse.

Having faith in a young core that just won 53 games and not wanting to disrupt that is sound thinking.

The NBA has it wrong Mark Cuban is a IDIOT, if he was in the NFL they would call him an IDIOT, just like Daniel Snyder…Cuban would have sign Haynesworth too.

PS The Magic spend 23mil more dollars to win 3 more game….7.6mil a win.

Grandad

August 24th, 2010
3:35 pm

oranjucejonz

Although my colleagues have already answered
your questions, I’ll expand slightly.
# 1. J.R. Smith is a [2] not a [3].
# 2. Adjectives being used by Denver
to describe ‘Smith:
*headache *attitude *immature
**brought on by not starting & not enough
playing time to satisfy him.
# 3. Why in the world would we trade Zaza?

Rufus1

August 24th, 2010
3:36 pm

Fundamentals

I am happy about LD…I was ref. to Woodson.

Grandad

August 24th, 2010
3:37 pm

Rondo

Memphis has named Marc Gasol Team Captain.
I doubt they trade him.
They think as highly of him as we do of Al.

Ray

August 24th, 2010
3:39 pm

i think that the bobcats will release Dampier and he’ll end up in ATL…i honestly think that’s who Sund is after. The contract Joe got puts us in a hold the next 6 yrs…If we can keep the core of starts that we have, meaning williams, horford, and smith, and wait for teague and jordan crawford to develop, we really could be a threat in 5 to 6 years. But as of right now, it seems that management/ownership are only content with making the playoffs and that’s pathetic.

dukester

August 24th, 2010
3:39 pm

Hawks have talent just not enough to make it over the hump. The question to me is do ASG “think” they have the talent to make it over the hump or do they “just dont care and want to put a product on the floor” That really is the anwser to all of our trade proposals and big man acquisitions. LOL
I mean do we just sit back and say ho hum cant wait for the season to start. Or really go out before the season and try to put a package together to at least not be a middle of the pack team.

I mean when you are watching the kentucky derby there is not a photo finish on the 4-7 place horses. LOL So how could you run a competitive sport and be content on not finishing first!!!

cp

August 24th, 2010
4:50 pm

I cant believe a few people actually said that Jason Collins can rebound and defend. WOW. Jason Collins? Really? I have to question whether you have seen an actual NBA game if you think this bum can rebound and defend. You might want to go look at his career rebounding numbers. And can people stop blaming Woodrow for not playing Collins. I was never a fan of Woodson but even I couldn’t blame him for Collins.. Dude was so over weight he had to be put on the injury list at one point. How in the world is it the coach’s fault for a player being that out of shape? Collins is trash and has always been trash. The sad part is, as bad as Kwame is he is better than Collins.

Macaroni Tony

August 24th, 2010
4:50 pm

I see that the Hawks don’t have a pg in the top 30 pg in the league. We Have two of the top sg in the league with JJ rank number four and JC1 ranked like number 12. MW is ranked 21, so JS and Al will have to be ranked in the top ten in there fields. I think we should just play together with this new offense and show a lot of people that they were wrong.

Steven A.

August 24th, 2010
5:26 pm

And I thought Billy Knight was inept. Guys in the front office have SIGHT but no Vision. You heard it here 1st. Hawks will be a lot closer to 41-41 this season. Major step backwards,

Najeh Davenpoop

August 24th, 2010
5:26 pm

“Over paying for mediocre players is how Knicks, Mavs and Magic do business…Not wanting to 22mil a year(11mil salary, 11mil Lux tax) for Brandon Hayward is STUPID, not rick-averse. ”

The Mavs and Magic have made an NBA Finals in the last five years. When is the last time the Hawks made an NBA Finals? If overpaying mediocrity is how they did it, the Hawks better start learning how to overpay mediocrity.

terrell

August 24th, 2010
5:28 pm

Rather have Dampier. Cant believe Kwame made the front page of the Hawks blog.

Rufus1

August 24th, 2010
6:00 pm

Naj

They lost right. They spent 100mil dollars more the Hawks for 1 finals appearance…NICE. When they win the title it might be worth it.

I accidental finals appearance (KG’s injury) the Magic had isn’t worth the Money they spent…especially when you lose.

The Truth

August 24th, 2010
6:57 pm

“Guys in the front office have SIGHT but no Vision. You heard it here 1st. Hawks will be a lot closer to 41-41 this season”

The sad thing about this prophetic prediction, if true, is that the front office will not be viewed as the problem area. Publicly, it will be on LD, the face of the “new” Hawks. The faceless front office will pretend to be as shock as everyone else; as if they were duped by LD’s promises. We are all too familiar with they’re gimmickry. Even with his innovative ideas, LD still needs more quality players to reach the higher winning expectation that has been placed on him. With the current construction of the Hawks team, he will be at a disadvantage to reach these goals considering the upgrades in the eastern conference and around the league. Again, anything less then 53 wins and/or further playoff advancement beyond the 1st round will be perceived as a failure. With only a 2-year contract to prove himself, the stage could be set for LD to also coach scared if things don’t go as plan. Given this scenario, he would be tempted to shorten his rotation to save his job (as Woody tried to do). It would become déjà vu all over again (Woody 2.0)

Josh Boone

August 24th, 2010
7:11 pm

Josh Boone, it’s a no brainer.

JustAThought

August 24th, 2010
7:57 pm

Hey Rufus…….last I counted the Cowboys (Jerry Jones) has won 3 super bowls, and granted it’s been a while, but I still think it’s more than the hawks have won since 1968 or their exsistance, whichever you prefer.

JustAThought

August 24th, 2010
7:59 pm

So what happens if the Wade and LeBron figure out that both of them don’t have to be the man every night……….they can take turns. What then……………..

JustAThought

August 24th, 2010
8:11 pm

Buddy, your comment about Al not re-signing is a REAL possiblity……………Why would he want to stay and play for an inept bunch of owners and gm who could make a REAL deal if there life depended on it. PATHETIC!

JustAThought

August 24th, 2010
8:13 pm

Of course I meant COULD’NT make a REAL deal……….

Steven A.

August 24th, 2010
8:29 pm

TRADE AL HORFORD
Only way i beleive Hawks re-sign Horford is if they allow Jamal to walk. Horford is more easily replaced
than Jamal; He will never have enough range to step out and consistently make a 20 footer from the pf
position. Horford is probably the most tradeable asset on the roster who Hawks can afford to lose.
He brings back a number 1 pick plus a starter.

Ted Striker

August 24th, 2010
8:45 pm

I’ll sign. Of course I’m only 5′1″ with a zero vertical leap but I’m available.

gman013

August 24th, 2010
8:48 pm

Hey guys two of the atown dancers are on Minute to Win It on NBC

Buddy Grizzard

August 24th, 2010
9:09 pm

“COULD’NT make a REAL deal……….” – JustAThought

Sund made an incredible deal to land Jamal. Best trade for Atlanta since we got Mookie for Rumeal Robinson. Always keep in mind though, Sund is the guy who hired Bob Weiss. If Drew turns out to be the next Doc Rivers, he was in no way Sund’s pick. The owners listened to the players. They wanted Drew and turned out en masse for his introductory press conference. Ownership figured they had a better chance of getting the players to buy into a new system if they went with a coach the players already liked and trusted. I truly believe it was more about trust than saving a few dollars.
So after the trade that brought us Jamal Crawford, Sund was riding high. If he could have followed that up by landing us a top 30 point guard, the Hawks would really be in the conversation right now. This offseason I would have liked to see Joe Johnson traded to a team like New Jersey for draft picks. Johnson would not have lifted the Nets out of the lottery, so those picks would become very valuable. Meanwhile Jamal Crawford becomes the starter at two guard. Yes we lose some defense, but his $10m per season contract is half of Johnson’s and I think three Hawks go to the All Star game in Johnson’s absense. AND Marvin Williams would have a breakout season out of Johnson’s ball-dominating shadow and in a system that produces open jump shots.
“Horford is more easily replaced than Jamal” – Steven A.
Whoah… whoah… whoah… I’ve been trying to get this across to blogland. There were 5 centers in the NBA All Star Game last year. Al Horford was one of them. Center is the most difficult position to staff in professional basketball. For those who argue over and over that Al Horford is really a power forward, I submit to you that not only is he a center, he is one of the top 5 centers ALIVE.
After Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul, the next free agent who will have the world talking is Horford. He is irreplaceable. Jamal Crawford would be a middle-of-the-pack starter at two guard, given his defensive liabilities.

ILL-Logical

August 24th, 2010
9:31 pm

“After Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul, the next free agent who will have the world talking is Horford. He is irreplaceable”

Sir,please step away from the computer and would you touch the end of your nose with your index finger.

All Star Al is a GOOD player who has achieved a great deal in 3 professional seasons.However,he is far from irreplaceable or even one of the 5 best centers in the league. Dwight Howard; Andrew Buynam; Brook Lopez and even his former team mate Mr. Noah could replace him on the current Hawk roster and the team would function very well.
Let’s not confuse effort with ability.

Sautee

August 24th, 2010
9:35 pm

Buddy G,

You DO realize, don’t you that there’s no way we could have traded JJ to NJ unless he requested a trade with them? He was an UNRESTRICTED Free Agent. He could only be traded in a sign-and-trade deal, and that would only happen with a team of HIS choosing.

I agree with you about Horford.

Sautee

August 24th, 2010
9:39 pm

ILL,

OK after your post I realize that I was being unclear. Buddy, I agree that other teams are likely to try to give a high bid for Horford that we’ll be forced to match unless we can sign him to a new deal before he becomes a RFA.

Grandad

August 24th, 2010
10:04 pm

Ill-Logical

No way Bynum player for player is as good as Al.
[regardless of position]
I would not trade Al for Bynum.
If for no other reason…..his injury history.

O'Brien

August 24th, 2010
10:14 pm

ILL-Logical,

One of the issues with Bynum and Noah is they are injury prone.

Grandad

August 24th, 2010
10:27 pm

The Truth

I hope I’m not taking what you said out of context.

“duped by LD’s promises. We are all too familiar with they’re gimmickry. Even with his innovative ideas”

If you are saying LD’s concepts (motion offense in particular)
are gimmicks then I must heartily disagree. Everything LD has
talked about to this point has been fundamental in concept.

I understood your premis & do not challenge the essence of your post.

northcyde

August 24th, 2010
11:14 pm

Steven A.

August 24th, 2010
8:29 pm

TRADE AL HORFORD

Only way i beleive Hawks re-sign Horford is if they allow Jamal to walk. Horford is more easily replaced than Jamal; He will never have enough range to step out and consistently make a 20 footer from the pf
position. Horford is probably the most tradeable asset on the roster who Hawks can afford to lose. He brings back a number 1 pick plus a starter.

***********

Horford shooting last year from 16 – 23 FT?

48% . . ( best on the team from that range and top 10 in the league )

drmaryb ^•^

August 24th, 2010
11:57 pm

Fundamentals

Like you? I’m just keeping it real!
You know what a White Christmas is in the hood.
“I’m dreaming of a White Christmas … Just like the ones we used to have.”
We were so poor?

We had to put our Cheerios on Lay-A-Way!
We knew it was Christmas – When Mamma made pancakes AND Bacon!
How did Mamma feed 5 kids cereal with one bowl and one glass of milk?

- Easy, the baby eat first, the first for used a fork and passed the bowl down,
The oldest one got to use a spoon – so he could get every drop!-

You see, I already know how to be a Hawk Fan when the ASG ain’t got no money!
You just got to believe, and dream, and wish, and you guessed it!

-Have HIGH HOPES!

Let me clear my throat to sing:
HIGH HOPES …. La La La La …. HIGH HOPES … Fa La La La La ..

OK, that’s enough. I feel better already.

The Truth

August 25th, 2010
12:04 am

Grandad

The “they’re gimmickry” I am referring to is NOT LD but that of the Hawks front office.

northcyde

August 25th, 2010
3:27 am

If you want to hear one of the most spirited interviews ever by an NBA owner, go to http://www.730foxsports.com and listen to the Chris Vernon Show’s interview with Memphis Grizzlies owner, Michael Heisley. They go back and forth for almost 40 minutes, with the show host getting right to the point and Heisley not holding his tongue whatsoever.

In some parts of the interview, you could easily substitute the names of Grizzly players and front office people, with the names of Hawk players and front office people.

MC . . . if you get a chance, you really need to listen to that interview. Surely the Hawks owners are more knowledgeable than Heisley. But it’s kind of scary the similarities that both fan bases share in their opinion of the ownerships of the two teams.

I would love to see some ATL radio personality go at Micheal Gearon Jr, like Chris Vernon did Heisley.

Reggie

August 25th, 2010
4:01 am

@ CP…Have you ever seen an NBA game? Did you see how Jason Collins actually managed to frustrate and defend Shaq in the paint when the Hawks played the Cavs not to mention Game 2 against Orlando when the Hawks actually had the lead. Collins made Dwight work to get low post position and was called for 2 very chippy fouls and Woody never put him back in the game. Weight issues had nothing to do with Woodson refusal to use certain players…i guess Jeff Teague and Joe Smith were to thin! And if you think Kwame Brown has any value over anyone then… you sir are an idiot.

O'Brien

August 25th, 2010
7:29 am

“Horford is probably the most tradeable asset on the roster who Hawks can afford to lose. He brings back a number 1 pick plus a starter.” StevenA .

You do know Horford is still on his rookie contract, right? And if the Hawks trade Horford, who plays Center?

Rufus1,

I think most owners want to win games and make money. So even if the Magic spend $85 mil, the fact is they have ade an NBA finals and 2 ECF (overall, their fans are pleased), and ownership has made that money back.

Aren’t the Hawks losing millions every year? I dont think the Magic have that problem.

jason

August 25th, 2010
8:18 am

This Off season i give it D. Reason why is becuase we blew our cap space. We need to start rebuilding this team like what Miami did. The only center i would go after is josh boone. He can block shots and is one of the best rebounders ever. The point guard i want who can still play is AI. terrific shooter. Former Mvp. and he is cheap. Small fowardz i would look into getting is jerry stackhouse. then we should trade marvin and zaza to denver for jr smith.

robdawg08

August 25th, 2010
8:22 am

Why did the Hawks give Joe Johnson a max contract when no other team was close to signing him for that kind of money (or the extra year) ? They are placing the success of this team on a guard that isn’t consistent and shows up every other game, disappears in the playoffs,doesn’t care about Hawks fans any way (his own words). Still no bonafide center on the roster (after 20 years). Wait, they had Rasheed Wallace for 2 games… What kind of an organization builds an NBA team without a 7 foot scoring center over 10 years ?
Hawks will be dominated (as every team) by the Heat. It will be a dunkarama with LeBron & Bosh seeing who can do the best dunks over Al & Zaza. Wade will be up court grinning…

robdawg08

August 25th, 2010
8:39 am

Kwame Brown is the main reason Jordan got fired by the Wizards. So now he still thinks he can still make Kwame a good player after Kwame’s 10 years older and slower ? Funny…

robdawg08

August 25th, 2010
8:43 am

Miami rebuilt their team ? Hey stupid, they merely signed 3 all-stars. You BUILD a team through the draft. I could start a team called the Columbia Sharks and sign LeBron,Wade,& Bosh and win. Miami just BOUGHT a championship. They didn’t BUILD anything.

robdawg08

August 25th, 2010
9:04 am

I think Kwame is African word for “can’t shoot a basketball”.

JoJo the Godfather

August 25th, 2010
9:46 am

I noticed this morning where Houston’s GM (Morey???) has 14 guys under guaranteed contracts and 5 guys coming in to camp to compete for that last spot…How nice would it be to have our team looking at that many young players?…I don’t like their team as much as ours when I look 1-10, but the perception is that they’ll leave no stone unturned to try to find young talent to develop.

ASHCAN.

August 25th, 2010
10:23 am

SECTION 303,i feel ya and i have a bad feeling too about this year.Everyone knows the heat is stocked but then you have orlando there better,the bulls are better,the bucks will be better and they took the hawks to 7 games without redd and there starting center.I could be wrong but i see them clearly as the 6th seed in the east.Same team new/old coach and no major FA= decline looking at the other teams.I don’t understand why everyone is saying miami looks good on paper but they still gotta play the game.Yea thats true but you have 2 of the top 3(kobe)players in the game and espect for them to just look good on paper? get real!!!

ASHCAN.

August 25th, 2010
10:33 am

robdawg08,thats your opinion.Adding to is building and taking away is dismantle.How can you say its not building when you just added 2 other key players that are in there 20’s that signed 6 year deals? Building a team is not just from drafting rooks but from signing FA’S also.So just because its not thru a draft don’t mean it aint building.These player’s(bosh,james)will play thru there 6 year contracts and still be good.Sounds like building a team to me.

Rev in Tampa

August 25th, 2010
10:45 am

I just read an ESPN article about Kwame. What was interesting was what it said about Dampier. It looks like Charlotte was too smart by half. Maybe it will result in a trade after Sept. 13. It also pointed out that Charlotte’s needs are at pg & center:

Meanwhile, Bobcats general manager Rod Higgins says they’ll try to trade Dampier — and his $13 million non-guaranteed contract — after Sept. 13 when he can be included in multiplayer deals.
“It’s going to take a while,” Higgins said. “Now that we’ve got another center, waiving him for the sake of waiving him doesn’t make a whole lot of sense for us. We’re going to continue to talk to teams to try to improve our roster.”
Charlotte could simply waive Dampier and get under that figure, and they had planned to do that and re-sign him. Because Charlotte is over the salary cap, it only can offer Dampier $2.2 million this season, what’s left over from the $5.7 million mid-level exception after the Bobcats struck a two-year, $7 million deal with point guard Shaun Livingston a day after the Dampier trade.
The 35-year-old Dampier rejected that offer, but agent Dan Fegan said his client hasn’t completely ruled out returning to Charlotte if he’s waived.
“It’s not a closed deal from our perspective,” Fegan said. “I understand what Rod Higgins is trying to do. I have a good relationship with Rod, and I’m sure we’ll figure it out.”
It just could take a while.
If the Bobcats can’t get anything in return for Dampier, they’ll go into camp with major questions at center and point guard after Raymond Felton signed with New York.
“We’re always looking around the league with how we can improve, but I think this is going to be an opportunity for someone to step up,” Higgins said. “That’s the beautiful thing about competition. Looking at our roster, that competition is really going to be at [point guard] and [center].”

Rufus1

August 25th, 2010
11:25 am

O’brien

I could be wrong, but I think the Hawks are 21st in revenue and the Magic are 20th. I have been unable to find the article with the revenue rankings for the NBA…Maybe Northcyde can find it. If the Hawks are losing money at 21 then the Magic must be losing money at 20.

93mil payroll before the Lux tax, they have to be losing a ton of money.

cp

August 25th, 2010
11:32 am

Reggie the fact that you could only come up with two occasions where you thought Collins was useful says it all. What does Collins being so fat he had to be put on the injured list has to do with Teague and his playing time? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING… Woodson didn’t play Collins because he is a horrible player. It had nothing to do with his actual talent because other than being big he has none.. Still lmao@bringing up guarding Shaq and Dwight as examples of how good you think Collins is…….

Let me throw some numbers out there to show just how terrible Collins is…. The last three years his fg% has been .348% .314 and .426….This is a 7 footer shooting in the 30’s smh….. His rebounding numbers 0.6, 2,3 , 2.1, 2.9.. Yea a 7 footer who cant even grab 3 rebounds per game.. His best rebounding year was only 6.1… Didn’T Marvin average over 6 boards from the sf position one year? Collins sucks. And oh yea he has averaged more fouls per game than rebounds the last 3 almost 4 years. So once again explain to me how this dude should have been playing? You can blame Woodpecker for a lot of things but not playing this bum is not one of them

Reggie you lose all credibility for even defending Jason Collins. You shouldn’t even post here anymore. Good day sir.

GeeMack

August 25th, 2010
11:36 am

robdawg08

It’s not buying a champioship when you cleared and traded for cap space to rebuild your team, into a potential champion. Any other team had those same oppurtunity, but failed to capitalize….Miami capitalized.

BYC

August 25th, 2010
11:37 am

Great news, Kwame Brown sucks. Hands of Stone- good for boxing, not so much for basketball

Daddy Long Long

August 25th, 2010
11:40 am

Fellow Hawks fans, I’m reading Coach Lenny Wilken’s book “Unguarded” and the Hawks haven’t been right since they left St. Louis. Good history lesson. So no sense in getting our hopes up thinking we’ll get a “Center” of attraction.

Cancelling my season tix dreams/aspirations. Good luck ATL, I’ll catch ya on Fox Sports Souf!!

BARTELSTEIN THE IDIOT!!!

August 25th, 2010
11:57 am

KWAME BROWN didn’t live up to his high draft pick status…..
that’s on him for not putting in the work…and it’s on MJ for overrating him.
Kwame Brown SUCKS!!! He is a bust….no matter where he goes…his legacy is sealed…..he is a sucky bust!!!

KevinM

August 25th, 2010
12:44 pm

What’s funny is after I started reading about Charlotte’s challenges with Dampier, it sounds like we sound more and more like them as opposed to a championship contender. Their needs: PG and C.
They have athlete Gerald Wallace, Stephen Jackson, Tyrus Thomas and DJ Augustine. I think we have problems with a team like this all year. Really, I don’t see a lot of difference and Larry Brown trumps any offense LD brings in here.
Going forward, Al IMO won’t be signed until after the CBA is resolved. Jamal will be looking for work.
Bibby-he plays better in this new thinking man’s offense than our young PG.
It looks pretty clear to me; what we see now is what we’ll see this year. Collins will get his shot, Zaza will get to show off his boxing skills and Marvin can prove whether he deserves that #21 ranking in the league being a former #2.
For that prediction of 41-41, there really isn’t much difference between our 53 wins and 41 wins in the regular season. Making better decisions as a team on the road is the only way we are going to improve.

And let’s clear up one thing: Al should not have been an all-star last year. Smoove was a better player, deserved the nod, and were Al not getting his minutes at C, he wouldn’t have been on that team. I think the world of Al, but his position of strength is PF, and that is what you heard from LD this offseason.

And please, no more JR Smith talk. There isn’t room for him here. We don’t have much use for a producing veteran unless he is a minimum salary. And you don’t get much for a min vet. JR Smith can play, but he isn’t core capable.

If we consider Dampier, that is an all out slap in the face to Shaq. That would convince me even more that Sund has gained his position based on longevity and not by successes.

KevinM

August 25th, 2010
12:48 pm

anyone watch the Denver/Cleveland replay on NBA TV today? Excellent game with excellent play.
Carmelo / Shaq / LeBron / even Delonte West and JR Smith looked good.

Any of these guys would improve this team….yet we show no interest in any significant modification.

tyger

August 25th, 2010
2:38 pm

My Top 10:

1. Hawks’ 3rd string center is irrelevant.
2. Eric Dampier is not coming either, just like Shaq and Kwame.
3. Hawks too small to compete with elite teams.
4. Hawks did not improve this off-season.
5. PG much easier fix than Center, but Hawks did neither.
6. Sund chose Teague over Eric Maynor, D.Collison, Rodrique Beaubois.
7. Josh Powell is proof Hawks not serious – waste of time and money.
8. Only thing right about this summer is Jordan Crawford.
9. Larry Drew was a good choice, too bad they low-balled him.
10. Dynamic pricing??? What about the dynamic consecutive 2nd rd playoff blow-outs??

Grandad

August 25th, 2010
3:20 pm

Our most tradeable asset is…..
pause for effect,
Jordan Crawford!

Al & Josh are the foundation (going no-where)

Please quit frettin’ about 11-13.

Shaq was Never coming here.
Why are we even talkin’ about Kwame?
[other than giving thanks]
The …^…above…^…article should have
cleared the Dampier mess up for you.
Surely, we won’t trade for him! (please – No)

If we improve our roster it will be by way of trade.

Rev in Tampa, myself, KS, & others
have been saying this for quite a while now.

Now, that brings us back to Jordon Crawford.
[as a trade chip]

paired with say;
Marv or Mo, then our trade package
can become more appealing.

Not that I think Rick Sund ever thinks outside the box!

drmaryb ^•^

August 25th, 2010
3:36 pm

Grand-Daddy

But Jordan is yet to begin a 3 year cap-friendly Rookie Contract.
What will we get in return for 4M spread over 3 years?

His price tag and unknown upside makes him untradeable IMHO.
Financially, to the Hawks makes no sense. He does not hurt our cap, nor doe he help us get say a Carmelo type player in return. What, if he is the next D.Wade?

We don’t know that he isn’t – yet.

Besides, IDK what ASG are doing with this roster, I don’t see any plan or pattern developing here. Just sit on their hands and do nothing?

drmaryb (*_*)

August 25th, 2010
3:41 pm

G-Daddy

I would rather trade a known player than an unknown player (Jordan)
at this point.

ryan

August 25th, 2010
4:20 pm

What the deal can the Hawks get any more boring!

Jon

August 25th, 2010
4:43 pm

Earl Barron? Dude showed he could play for NY last year. If we are looking for some minutes, some size and some rebounding we could do a lot worse.

KevinM

August 25th, 2010
5:28 pm

Didn’t take long to talk up Earl Barron. Another guy who is on the bottom of the pecking order.

I see JC1 leaving b4 JC2….reason: cheaper option.

Based on the link that Rufus provided earlier about the NHL and their lockout, this franchise isn’t destined for any greatness any time soon. The CBA changes to try and make the NBA more profit friendly and take the $$ out of the players’ pockets is going to create damage for the league.

Who created this mess? Guys like the ASG who insist on paying larger numbers than needed and numbers that cripple a team from improving.

PRESTONI

August 25th, 2010
5:34 pm

I just finished watching my Recordings of the Hawks/Orlando
Playoff Series (I really watched Every Game again from the Beginning to the End). Believe me–it is Much Worse the Second Time around, even a POW isn’t subjected to this much Torture. If Rick Sund and the ASG really believe in this so-called CORE GROUP, they are completely delusional. I challenge them to watch Every Game again (like I did) and be able to say that they want to keep this CORE GROUP together. This Team really is OFFENSIVE and the only Motion you will see from the New Motion Offense is more Fans leaving the Core.

cp

August 25th, 2010
5:36 pm

I think some of you guys throw out names just for the sake of doing it

4.7 ppg 3 dimes in 16mpg vs 3.2 ppg 2 dimes in 10 mpg.. Yea Sund really blew it by not taking the first guy. I wont even say who he is…And please note my sarcasm about passing on the first guy.

Grandad

August 25th, 2010
6:11 pm

Mary Ellen

Nothing against Jordon C. – I’m just saying
that he’s an asset. By himself, his value is
lessened due to his contract, but combined with
a larger contract & possibility attaching Mo
as well, then you can start thinking about a
much larger deal. Perhaps involving a Big.

As the blogger above noted in the article
on ‘Dampier’ several players can be moved
in mid Sept. after waiting out 60 days from
previous trades.
Therefore, I look for the Hawks to make a deal
somewhere between mid-Sept & the start of camp.

Once again Jordan C. plays a position where we
have depth & he raised his value during SL!

It also raises the question of trading Jamal.?

Bottom line it takes two to tango.
The trading partner has to want what we got.

ReddJonn68

August 25th, 2010
6:11 pm

Who cares about Kwame ??? We did nothing this offseason to improve this team we will be lucky to earn the 8th spot this year !!!

Grandad

August 25th, 2010
6:24 pm

JC1 / JC2

I’m assuming Jamal & Jordan.

Jason Collins was here 2nd.
I realize he’s Cheeseburger.

Just making a note.

Also a suggestion:
we have J Smoove
why not J Cheeze *[Collins]

Reggie

August 25th, 2010
7:40 pm

Hey CP that was kinda funny but the only reason i named those two examples is because those are the two big men that the Hawks will have to deal with in the playoffs if they make it that far. Did you want me to tell you about he time he did battle with Brad Miller instead? Exactly, the only reason people wanted Kwame or Shaq was so we could have someone to do battle with Dwight and please no one give me that “we got a all star center” garbage. I love Al Horford but lets be honest he only made the all-star team for the same reason Brian McCann made it for the Braves…there’s no one else to choose from with the positions they play.

drmaryb (*_*)

August 25th, 2010
7:50 pm

The Boss!

Al Horford is NOT Spam!
He Got Game! So, don’t get it twisted.
The Coaches chose him & it worked, ’cause The East Won!

So, just Stop It! With all the nonsensical Horford bashing!

drmaryb (*_*)

August 25th, 2010
8:04 pm

Reggie

What position do you play in Basketball or Baseball?
Are YOU an All-Star?

You’ve got a lot of nerves calling our Hawks Center – Garbage?
You have lost any credibility you might have had with those dumb comments about: McCann (a perenial All-Star) and Horford (Our All-Star to be perenial)!

Just Stop It! The man said he needed some help – he is humble and real!

drmaryb (*_*)

August 25th, 2010
8:16 pm

Besides what has Dwight ever won? DPOY? Where’s his Ring(s).

He hasn’t won anymore than Horford has!
Go-Figure!

Reggie

August 26th, 2010
3:32 pm

drmaryb(* *) Do yourself a favor and put on ur hooked on phonics tape…go back and read what i said again. I never said Al Horford was garbage..i said I love Horford but the statement that hes a all-star center is garbage. And to answer your question i played forward in basketball and left field in baseball…what do you play besides pocket-pool? Let me know how your all-star predictions go next year with the arrival of Amare in the East and Buster Posey in NL.

The Truth

September 16th, 2010
4:33 pm

http://www.peachtreehoops.com/2010/9/16/1690111/should-the-hawks-be-pursuing-erick

Atlanta Hawks: Kwame Brown off the board

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Atlanta Hawks: Kwame Brown off the board

206 comments Add your comment

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About Atlanta Hawks

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