Atlanta Hawks: Media day musings
Jamal was happy to see L.D. at least. (Curtis Compton / ccompton@ajc.com)
A few notes from my rounds today during the official unveiling of your 2010-11 Atlanta Hawks . . .
Jamal
Jamal was there, though I wouldn’t say he was exactly thrilled. Jamal said he “loves it” in Atlanta and wants to stay for the long term. He didn’t really address the contract situation or the trade demand directly but it didn’t take much reading between the lines to figure out what he’s feeling.
Does he think he will be in Atlanta for the near future?
“I honestly don’t know. I would love to work something out and be here long term. Last year I would have thought this was home and I’m part of the team’s future. But if it doesn’t work out that way I guess we will just have to cross that bridge when we get there.”
Does he want a trade if he doesn’t get the extension?
” I don’t want to talk about that. I will leave that up to Rick [Sund] and my agent to talk about.”
Does he feel disrespected by the lack of an extension?
“I wouldn’t say that. It’s not to that point yet. I know these things take time. I’ll just be patient and go with the flow.”
Does he have a deadline by which he wants an offer?
“Not an exact timeline.”
Does he want an offer before the start of the season?
“That would be very nice.”
How much does the uncertainty with the expiring CBA play into his situation?
“A lot of it has to do with it. With the CBA, there is no telling what [happens].”
J.J.
This was the first time he’s faced the full media contingent since the end of last season. Similar to my interview with him after he signed his contract, J.J. didn’t seem concerned about any fallout from his comments about fans during the Orlando series.
Is he worried about how fans will perceive him?
“Not at all.”
Does he think fans will “forgive and forget?”
“I hope so. But all I’m going to do is come out and play hard and help us win.”
My feeling is that, no matter how many times or ways he’s asked about this issue, an apology or expression of regret isn’t coming from J.J.
Joe said he still believes the Hawks are among the best teams in the East. He said last season was a “great season, and I’m looking forward to an even better season.”
J.J. said he’s not concerned about the Heat. Asked what he thinks about the team they’ve assembled, J.J. pointedly said: “I haven’t seen them play yet.” It’s a good point.
He said he’s excited about L.D.’s new offense because “it will help us all out.” I asked him if he has any reluctance to alter his game after so many years of personal success with that style: “I’m going to be able to adapt to whatever L.D. has for us.”
Smoove
Josh worked this summer with NBA trainer Idan Ravin.
“He pushed me. We worked on various things: ballhandling, the midrange jump shot. And whenever I got an opportunity to play 5-on-5 I worked on making better decisions on the floor. I know it’s just pickup but when you get in that situation and really work on things you are not so strong at.”
Mo Evans
He’s still not ready to play after surgery to clean out cartilage in his right knee. Mo said it would be about another two weeks before he can do court work. Right now his focus is on building strength.
Mo said training camp is about preparation but, as a vet, he’s not too worried about missing time.
“I don’t think they are trying to see what they’ve got in Mo Evans,” he joked.
Zaza
He played 14 games in international competition for his native Georgia and is proud that his country qualified for the European Championships for the first time in any team sport. Zaza, the national team’s captain, said he always comes back feeling energized and confident from being The Man.
Zaza said he also comes to camp with a better attitude after he butted heads with Woody over playing the last couple years.
“I’m getting my confidence back,” he said. “It wasn’t a great year for me last year. After talking to L.D., I’ve cleared out my mind.”
Jason Collins
He is indeed noticeably slimmer–Zaza joked that Collins was motivated by the new slim-fitting unis. Twin said his regiment included a modified diet, cardio and weights.
Collins said he’s looking forward to L.D. deploying a deeper “bigs” rotation.
“That sounds great to me,” he said. “It also will allow Horford to play some power forward. Josh won’t have so many minutes and can be fresh for the playoffs.”
L.D.
Conditioning is going to be a major focus for camp. L.D. is timing players in the mile today.
“If they don’t make their time, they’ve got a lot of extra conditioning,” he said.
(An aside: I told L.D. I ran a mile in 7:29 the other day and he wasn’t impressed. “You’ve got to be in the sixes.” Dang.)
Drew said he’s confident he can install all of his offensive system and defensive coverages by the time the season starts.
Drew said he hired Nick Van Exel as a player development coach in large part to work with Teague:
““The intriguing thing with him is he is not far removed from the game. He had a great career. As everyone remembers, he played with an edge [and] played with a kind of chip on his shoulder. I told him that’s his job with Jeff Teague is to get him to play more with an edge every time he steps out on the floor. I know from when I seen him working with Jeff and staying in Jeff’s ear, I can see it rubbing off a little bit.”
MC
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139 comments Add your comment
i_am_soulstar
September 27th, 2010
11:45 pm
Idan Ravin AKA The Hoops Whisperer.. Good for you Josh, hope it shows in your game
Hmmm
September 27th, 2010
11:47 pm
Joe Johnson has absolutely no reason to apologise! Why Should he? You should know the cat well enough to know what he meant when he said what he said.
All he meant was that it didn’t matter what the fans thought because at the end of the day you can’t use the fans as motivation to go out and perform to the best of your ability on your job. You’ve got to suck it up regardless of the situation and play ball. He was ALREADY pissed at himself & the team wasn’t happy about the loss either (unless you think JJ& co. are just that pamperd and cold hearted).
All he said was, REGARDLESS of whats going on in the arena etc. IT DOESNT MATTER we have to go out there and execute.
Give it a rest PPL, y’all know what his mute behiend meant smh…
Hmmm
September 27th, 2010
11:49 pm
It’s called having an Internal Locus of Control.
Will Sevidal
September 27th, 2010
11:56 pm
It’s nice to hear about Josh Smith working out with Idan Ravin this summer. I remember seeing a “Real NBA” segment on him on NBA TV, and I remember wishing that one of our guys would contact him.
I’m really anxious to see what Teague has in store for us. He has a lot of people who’s guiding him like Bibby, Joe, Van Exel, and Coach Drew. His work ethic and his willingness to improve and listen is going to be the factor of how he develops as a point guard…and from what we’ve read, he is a gym rat. This team has so many “UNKNOWNS” and Teague is one of them.
htttp://www.thehighlightfactory.net
Sleepy
September 28th, 2010
12:08 am
So Jamal is a cancer and sucks because he ACTUALLY WANTS TO STAY IN ATL LONGTERM . And we wonder why no one would even considering coming to play here ?
There is nothing wrong with jamal said or is doing
there is nothing wrong with the way Sund has handled it
Its just business.
bigdave
September 28th, 2010
12:22 am
Jamal wants a check long term.. and he says if we (ATL) does’nt give it to him, this season, then trade him..
im not sure what about that say’s he wants to be here.. anything after that is simple politics.
The Truth
September 28th, 2010
12:23 am
“Josh worked this summer with NBA trainer Idan Ravin.”
Idan Ravin NBA clients have included Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, Gilbert Arenas, and Elton Brand. To me, this speaks volume about Josh seriousness to improve his game.
This is also an illustration of my point from the previous blog about Marvin. Since I didn’t hear Marvin say anything like being professionally trained like Josh, you could assume otherwise. By default, it becomes obvious that he took the ad hoc approach and work hard at playing pickup games on his own. He states:
“I just continue to do the things I’ve been doing: shooting the ball, try to get quicker guarding the ball, trying to handle the ball. Just try to stay consistent. I’ve got to work on being consistent this year. I think that is my biggest thing.”
It’s well known that Marvin is a “cheapscape” when it comes to spending his own money. Even during a recent audio interview with Marvin, the commentator teased him for not giving his brother a $200 loan. Even though it was a joke, it revealed how tight he can be with his money. I hope there is no connection here with any reluctance by him to invest money to improve his game. Marvin should have followed Josh lead and hire a professional trainer. He is beyond just working out with his dad in the gym (as was reported last year).
The Truth
September 28th, 2010
12:42 am
A trivial:
Which one is it? Is Pape Sy a Guard @ 6′-6″ 185 lbs as reported from the TRAINING CAMP ROSTER or is he a F-G @ 6′-7″ 225 lbs from the OFFICAL TEAM ROSTER?
MsDee
September 28th, 2010
12:51 am
Dr Mary,
Thx girl…I got goose bumps just writing it cause I just dont understand why so many people continue to dogg Joe on comments he made about themselves and not the fans. Fans just choose to hear what they want to hear and expect players to look like punks and ask for forgiveness..well it doesnt work that way with Joe and it said alot about him and I LIKED IT. This man is a millionaire and he would have lost a whole lot of cool-points if he would had satisfied some fans who would or could never be satisfied.
MsDee
September 28th, 2010
1:01 am
Now this thing with Jamal is mind-blogging. Jamal is truly a huge weapon for us just like what Swatguy said but he MUST realize that, just like what niremetal said, other teams are aware of the CBA next season too. He also needs to understand that Horford is one of 3 MAIN players on this team and if he cant understand that, then maybe he should go because we dont need anybody w/o common sense on this team!! What should be most important to him right now is to play his BUTT OFF on offense & defense to get that extension from us. Rick Sund holds all the cards right now. Jamal needs to put the pressure back in Rick Sund’s hand to make him give him that extension cause if he doesnt, he loses a HUGE WEAPON for this team!
MsDee
September 28th, 2010
1:21 am
I know some fans dont have the confidence that I have for LD’s system and this team but let’s just dream a little for me, come join me for a second in fantasy land shall we…
Let’s say the Hawks defy all olds and beat the SuperFriends 3 out of 4 times(may lose that 1st game there on Dec4th but is possible to win the rest since the next game is on Jan 18, plenty of time to be prepared for them and the last 2 at home twd end of season), beat Orlando 3 out of 4 times(which is possible cause at 1 point, we used to own Orlando. We just need that confidence back) and sweep Boston again (which is truly possible since they have gotten 2 players OLDER and can run them off the court with LD’s OFFENSE). Rick Sund wont have NO CHOICE but to give Jamal that extension if he does what I mentioned earlier and play his BUTT OFF cause everyone would have accomplished their goals with LD’s plan of offense!!!! “I’M SO EXCITED…AND I JUST CANT FIGHT IT..I’M ABOUT TO LOSE CONTROL AND I THINK I LIKE IT..GOOO HAWKS!!”
PS=Mann I need to lay off the coffee 2night!! LOL
JSS
September 28th, 2010
1:30 am
As many ponder the role regarding Joe Johnson and who will be the leader when vocal leadership is needed… Ponder the following if you might…
http://blogs.sun-sentinel.com/sports_basketball_heat/2010/09/will-chris-bosh-be-a-silent-partner.html
In setting up his own team’s season, Raptors coach Jay Triano also offered a potential clue to how the Heat’s season might set up beyond the court.
“When you talk about Chris being the leader in the locker room,” Triano told a Toronto radio station, “I think it’s the one thing that he wasn’t for us.
“He did a great job of getting 24 points and 10, 11 rebounds on a regular basis, but Chris did not really take the leadership role into the locker room. He’s not a vocal person; he’s not a guy who really did that.” [...]
“I think in the years that he’s been here,” Triano said, “he’s almost deferred to different people.
“Everybody kind of waited for him to take the reins last year and it could’ve been part of the issues we had.”
Does that sound familiar at all Atlanta fans?
vava74
September 28th, 2010
2:58 am
Hmmm
September 27th, 2010
11:47 pm
Cosign!
leedsatlanta
September 28th, 2010
4:32 am
MC, who are the three new rookies listed on the roster?
Whats with all the pictures of Evan Brock, but no mention of him in the article?
leedsatlanta
September 28th, 2010
4:34 am
Ok I found out myself!
HAWKS ANNOUNCE 2010 TRAINING CAMP ROSTER
Media Day Activities set for Monday at 3 p.m., First Practice Set for Tuesday at 9 a.m.
ATLANTA, GA (October 24, 2010) — The Atlanta Hawks today announced their roster for training camp, which tips off Monday with media day activities at 3 p.m. on the Philips Arena practice court. With invitations to Evan Brock, Richard Delk and Ricardo Marsh, the team’s 17-man camp roster is complete.
A native of Marietta, GA (Lassiter HS), Brock played four years at the University of Alabama (2002-06), before playing in South Korea and Venezuela the last two years. Delk recently wrapped up his college career with two seasons at Troy following two years at Mississippi State. He is the nephew of former Hawk Tony Delk. Marsh has played internationally (Croatia, Latvia, Turkey, Israel and Japan) following a four-year career at Old Dominion University (1999-2003).
leedsatlanta
September 28th, 2010
4:40 am
Evan Brock, F, Alabama – It isn’t often that a training camp invite catches me completely by surprise, but the invitation of the 26-year-old Brock did just that.
Career History: Brock’s four-year career at Alabama included career highs of 3.8 points and 2.8 rebounds – not exactly numbers that blow my socks off. Brock then played in the very lightly regarded WBA for the Gwinnett Ravia Rebels, a team based in Gwinnett, GA, where he’d average 25 points and 8.5 rebounds while garnering Rookie of the Year and All-WBA First Team Honors in 2007. Since then, Brock’s played three seasons in Venezuela along with a tour of duty in South Korea with the Seoul “Samsung Thunders”. Along with his WBA Awards, Brock has also been a two-time Venezuelan All-Star as well as being named to the All-Defensive team and All-Venezuelan Second Team in 2009 (statistics unavailable).
Highlights: I’d like to propose Brock’s nickname to be “The Next Human Highlight Reel (when playing against terrible defense in Latin America).” For video evidence, refer to this in-game drive and dunk, his array of dunks in the Venezuelan Dunk Contest (he won) and this highlight reel where the creator spelled his name wrong. He also has a Twitter account, but he hasn’t told anyone he’s going to camp with the Hawks, though.
Outlook: Brock really probably has zero chance of making the Atlanta Hawks roster as I suspect that his being a Georgia native along with his connection to the WBA, a league the new Utah Flash coach has previously coached in, was what earned him this roster spot. Still, there is a roster spot available if the Hawks really wanted to fill it and crazier things have probably have happened (see: infatuation with West, Mario).
Richard Delk, SG, Troy – He’s the nephew of Tony Delk which, ya know, is something.
Career History: There is some raw talent with Delk as he was ranked 86th nationally as a prep senior by Rivals.com before deciding to attend Mississippi State with his twin brother Reginald. After his sophomore year, Delk decided to transfer to Troy when his brother switched to Louisville. Delk’s best college season came as a Troy Trojan came during his junior year when he averaged 13.9 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.1 steals. This past season, as a senior, those numbers dropped slightly across the board. He started all 55 games while at Troy.
Highlights: Lucky for me, and you I guess, Delk has an 8 minute, 47 second senior-year highlight clip available on Youtube. In it, he displays a good feel around the basket and hits some three-pointers, but there wasn’t much to see in regards to him slashing. I like his style, though – reminds me a bit of Sonny Weems.
Outlook: Once again, Delk’s probably not going to make the roster for the Hawks out of training camp but he looks like he might be able to be a solid contributor for the Utah Flash in the D-League provided he goes that route. And, if he’s able to up his percentages from beyond the arc (33.3%) and free-throw line (59.4%), there’s always a chance the Hawks would call him up midseason if there are injury problems. I mean, he can’t be that much worse than Mario West, can he?
Ricardo Marsh, F, Old Dominion – Marsh hasn’t played in the USA since 2003, his senior season at Old Dominion – not even participating in a Summer League since then.
Career History: Timely enough, Marsh recently broke down his career history on his blog so I’m just going to skim over this. Marsh has spent the majority of his career playing in Turkey, but also has played in Japan, Israel (where he led the league in scoring during the 2006-2007 season), Latvia, Ukraine and Croatia. Most recently, Marsh was named to the All-Croatian First Team as well as the All-Imports team.
Highlights: None available, unfortunately.
Outlook: It seems that Marsh has played as an undersized power forward for the most part during his European career, but at just 6-foot-7, I have to assume the Hawks will probably play him on the wing a bit as well. Regardless, his hopes of making it out of training camp are probably slim but he’s another player that could end up beginning the regular season with the Utah Flash.
Rev in Tampa
September 28th, 2010
4:56 am
leedsatlanta, thanks for all the work putting that together. Good job and much appreciated!
JustAThought
September 28th, 2010
6:49 am
Hey Ray! Thanks for giving me the word I needed to describe my feelings about the hawks and this organization………….”douchebags” Every last one of them!
jason
September 28th, 2010
8:21 am
if mo is out with an injury, i think we should give jordan crawford mre minutes.
GeeMack
September 28th, 2010
8:28 am
MC
This Jamal Crawford thing really sucks. Does he really think he will get a 10 million dollar extention from any playoff contender? Based on his comment he really don’t want to be here, and I think he will be a distraction if he’s not traded before the season.
The Truth
September 28th, 2010
8:50 am
Jamal Crawford comments from his own words: Sounds like a player that really wants to here:
“I wasn’t close to not coming or anything but it was hard to get on that plane and come here,” Crawford said, repeating the word “hard” five times to make his point. “It really was. Because I’m in a weird space. I waited 10 years to get here, helping my team to one of the best home records in the league, snagging home court advantage and making the playoffs for the first time while helping the team to one of the best records in franchise history. It’s hard to be a part of all that and then feel like you are not a part of the future. But I’m a professional. And I need to make this clear, I want to be here, I want to be an Atlanta Hawk.If I’m not a part of the plan going forward, then that’s a conversation we need to have later.”
The Truth
September 28th, 2010
8:53 am
“Sounds like a player that really wants to be here:”
Michael Cunningham
September 28th, 2010
8:54 am
@UGA: “MC: Who will play the 3 during the abscence of Mo? SY?”
i’m guessing L.D. will mix and match with J.J. and Josh playing some 3 when the other reserve guards come in. he was going to experiment with that, anyway.
Michael Cunningham
September 28th, 2010
8:55 am
@ant banks: “mc, did you get a chance to talk to jordan crawford? would love to know what the “new rook” thinks.”
not yesterday
Michael Cunningham
September 28th, 2010
8:57 am
@Swatguy: “You are staggering the info MC. WHen is Sund’s contract up? Are the Assistant GM’s still interviewing? Waiting on Marvin,Al, Etan, Pape and Bibs day.”
yesterday i focused on getting the guys i hadn’t talked to for a while. Bibby slipped out and escaped from the PR people. i will catch up with him today.
if you mean Sund’s staff, no one else is leaving after Rosenberry. Sund’s deal has two years left on it, i believe, meaning through 2011-12.
Michael Cunningham
September 28th, 2010
8:59 am
@MsDee: “MC, I’m curious too how was JC2 and Pape Sy? Anything interesting to write about on those guys today?”
not much interesting for anyone except for the guys with news. i will be writing about everyone as camp unfolds.
Astro Joe
September 28th, 2010
9:01 am
MC, I didn’t see any photos of Etan Thomas… was he there yesterday? Did he appear to be in good shape? Can you give us any other information based on the “eye test”? (Obviously, Collins looks much, much better). Thanks.
Michael Cunningham
September 28th, 2010
9:05 am
@leedsatlanta: “MC, who are the three new rookies listed on the roster? Whats with all the pictures of Evan Brock, but no mention of him in the article?”
Brock is one of three non-roster invitees. Richard Delk and Ricardo Marsh are the others.
patience, blog people. i can’t get to every guy on the first day. you will read about all of them by the end of camp or, really, by the end of this week.
Michael Cunningham
September 28th, 2010
9:07 am
@GeeMack: “MC This Jamal Crawford thing really sucks. Does he really think he will get a 10 million dollar extention from any playoff contender? Based on his comment he really don’t want to be here, and I think he will be a distraction if he’s not traded before the season.”
he would like to sign an extension with the Hawks. if he doesn’t get it, we’ll see if he is disruptive.
JSS
September 28th, 2010
9:08 am
@ Michael Cunningham…
“when i say i don’t care about the Hawks, i mean it doesn’t matter to me on a personal level if they win or lose. if you ask every NBA bear write the same question, i think it would be about 90 percent who feel the same. of course i care what happens with the team because it’s my job to chronicle it. i’m just not a fan, and really i don’t see why that is so controversial.”
Go away for two days and miss all of the action huh (The Marvin blog)?
The thing that most of the younger set missed because they were too young or were not here yet was what happened when the Fratello team of the 80’s imploded. It was just the opposite of the thing that you were criticized for by some. Those being “passion” or a lack personal investment regarding the team or its coaching direction by the local beat writer and the columnist most closely associated with that Hawk team (the late Jeffrey Denberg and then columnist Steve Hummer).
To say that the Denberg-Fratello feud was the thing of legend is a understatement. It was ugly and personal, kinda like Rod from CP and Marvin or Ken S and Woodson in its tone and ferocity. But because it was a professional journalist and a professional basketball coach, lines were crossed which should not have been approached. To his credit, Hummer walked away from the engagement when it became evident that lines were about to be crossed. On the other hand, Denberg and Fratello both went all nuclear and evidently didn’t care who were caught in their cross-fire. The Crack Wars of early 90’s left less residual carnage…
So, I have no problem with your style. As long as I’m getting information and not being fed the party line, it is OK with me.
i_am_soulstar
September 28th, 2010
9:09 am
The likelihood of the Jamal Crawford situation is that he’s an expiring contract and the ASG has drafted his likely replacement in Jordan Crawford. When he comes off the books, a good chunk of Jamal Crawford’s money will go to Al Horford and the rest will go to JJ’s annual raise. I’d be seriously surprised if he were traded or extended. The ASG has no intentions of going over the cap this season or the next. As a fan, I hope I’m wrong, but I’m probably not.
Michael Cunningham
September 28th, 2010
9:12 am
@AJ: “MC, I didn’t see any photos of Etan Thomas… was he there yesterday? Did he appear to be in good shape? Can you give us any other information based on the “eye test”? (Obviously, Collins looks much, much better). Thanks.”
Etan was there. he was looking stacked, as usual. he may have the biggest guns in the league outside of Orlando.
other than Collins, everyone else looked about the same on the eye test. hopefully i will have more info today on the conditioning tests after talking to L.D.
Michael Cunningham
September 28th, 2010
9:25 am
@JSS: thanks for the background. i will have to ask around about the Denberg-Fratello scrap.
you do find the odd beat guy here or there that is a fan of the team, and it’s always kind of weird. i worked with a guy like that in Miami and, IMO, his fandom negatively affected his ability to give a true picture of the team. he would criticize the players he didn’t “like” and protect those he did. he would rip the team because he was “mad” at them for not doing the the things he wanted emotionally as a fan.
he let his emotional attachment to the team sully his professional judgment. in the end, i don’t think that approach serves readers, most of whom i think are looking for someone to tell it straight (and who are smart enough to see through writers who don’t do that). now, when you start talking about college football it might be a different story in a lot of places. the trend i see there is fans who really do want someone who is “for” the team to cover it. you see all the time that when a coach chafes at criticism and it gets public, fans turn on the beat reporter.
i love my Louisville Cardinals but i wouldn’t want the beat guy to be a fan of the team. but that’s just me. i’m lucky in that there is a very good Cardinals fan blog that i can read in addition to the Louisville newspaper if i am looking for that “passionate” perspective. Hawks fans have the same options, with Hoopinion and Peachtree Hoops being prime examples. it’s why i always read those guys and link to their posts. the more perspectives, the better IMO.
The Truth
September 28th, 2010
9:34 am
MC: Can you catch-up with Van Exel and get his assessment of Teague. Does his job include working with any other players?
i_am_soulstar
September 28th, 2010
9:38 am
Al and Jamal will collectively make about 13.6 mil this season.
With the CBA looming, incomplete players like Crawford are less likely to have a wait-and-see attitude if they get a decent offer for an extension.
So if they offer Al 5 years, 60 million, and Crawford accepts an offer of 3 years, 21 million, that’s about 19 million between the two of them depending on contract structure.
Going from 13.6 to 19, the question is “Where can we find 5.4 million dollars?”
Mo Evans’ 2.5 mil comes off the books after this season, and we’ve got a 3.6 mil trade exception. Sund could get creative and make it happen.
But as previously stated, they’re probably just waiting to see if Jordan Crawford can be an inexpensive replacement.
Michael Cunningham
September 28th, 2010
9:38 am
@ The Truth: “MC: Can you catch-up with Van Exel and get his assessment of Teague. Does his job include working with any other players?”
Van Exel is on my list. he is working with all of the perimeters but L.D. has told him to focus on Teague.
Astro Joe
September 28th, 2010
9:45 am
MC, many of the bloggers don’t understand the difference between a columnist and a beat writer. And even though a blog offers a beat writer the opportunity to be a little more opinionated, the blog obviously cannot impede your ability to perform the job of objectively covering a local team. Schultz and Bradley get to take 1-2 quotes and write an opinion piece about the Hawks (or other sports team) but beat writers aren’t afforded the same freedom to express their thoughts. At the same time, those guys don;t have the sinsight of a beat writer because you gyuys are “embedded” with the team. Kind of a strange scenario, the ones with the most info can’t deviate too far from the facts while the ones with the least info get to more subjectively express an opinion.
JSS
September 28th, 2010
9:47 am
@ MC…
Being that you’re a AJC employee, it might serve you better to hit the archives for the 1988, 1989 or 1990 seasons one day. I understand that might be asking a lot because of time. Most are pretty protective of Jeff Denberg’s legacy around the AJC. That is even more the case since he died and suffered so painful of a death from cancer. Reading for yourself gives one a less jaundiced eye as they say. If you ever get around Furman Bisher, you should ask him about Hubie Brown’s departure from Atlanta. It was epic too… Just ask Hubie! All of this makes the Stan Van Gundy purge look like child’s play…
Melvin
September 28th, 2010
9:47 am
Is it me or does Josh Powell look shorter than 6-9?
Teezo
September 28th, 2010
9:52 am
Bruh, you still asking JJ questions about his comments when everyone and their momma knew what he meant…Why does he need to apologize or regret a true statement???…Its time to let that go and if the fans boo him for what happened in the playoffs, they need to boo the WHOLE team for that matter…Just move on, if you’re a true fan you will support the TEAM regarless of what you think of certain players…The more support this team gets the better…I still think this team will be just a good as last season with at least 50 wins…Peace…
GeeMack
September 28th, 2010
9:55 am
MsDee
I don’t think anyone expects to see an apology from JJ.
We want to see him as the leader of the team hold his teammates accountable for not competeing.
When Lakers played bad on Christmas against the Cavs the fans booed them at the Staple Center. Kobe said the fans should have booed them. We have to play better.
When the Cavs got blow out by Boston in the playoff at home the fans booed them, and LeBron said the fans should have booed them the way they played.
JJ complained about the fans not supporting them last year, and when the fans start showing interest, they don’t compete.
GeeMack
September 28th, 2010
9:56 am
Astro Joe
Good Point!
CC
September 28th, 2010
9:58 am
Everybody is excited about L.D’s Offense, way to to get the troops excited, but what about the defense, get them excited about defense, then you will have yourself a contender!
O'Brien
September 28th, 2010
10:00 am
MC,
We would also like an official height and weight of Sy when available.
KevinM
September 28th, 2010
10:18 am
Thanks leeds, never would have found that out from the Hawks organization or the AJC.
Just saw the NBA GameTime coverage on the Hawks……Webber and Sagar aren’t convinced the Hawks are even going to make the playoffs! Haha, now talk about depressing. Webber just pointed out about considering jumping off the bridge if you were a Hawks fan. Joe Johnson got accolades for the $$ only, not for what he has done on the court.
LD was not given all that was needed. That is a fact. The Hawks aren’t exceeding the cap. That is a fact. Not to get after Ms Dee, but the Hawks aren’t beating Orlando or Miami 3 out of 4 times……easier to see it happen in Miami if they clinch a top seed early on. Nothing wrong with having a fantasy though.
I will say nothing wrong with being optimistic but the fan base is more realistic than the management group. They are definitely satisfied with where they are in the team rankings. Everyone in the organization thinks they have gotten over last year’s 2nd round disaster. I think it carries over to this year.
As for the guys stating they had discourse with Woody, its time to step up now. Its called player accountability. Something that hasn’t happened around here.
And my feelings for Joe are about the same as his: shut up and play! Some things you are good at and some you aren’t.
KevinM
September 28th, 2010
10:32 am
i am soulstar, there would be plenty of $$ to sign Jamal and Al if the management on this team had any forward thinking sense. Problem is, here is what we deal with for 2 more years:
Zaza – 2 @ 4M
Bibby – 2 @ 6M
Marvin 4 @ 7M
Those are the 3 crutches to the money in the current cap. Joe doesn’t hurt us for another year or 2.
Don’t blame Jamal; he deserves to want long term security. Why isn’t Sund getting the blame here?
He probably hasn’t said one thing to Jamal…would not surprise me. But since Jamal is under contract for 10M and he is getting paid, I say let him play out the season as well. Its not like we have a lot of options here.
And like Smoove and Joe, I would let Al play out his contract as well and let the CBA be part of the way the rest of the contracts are being signed.
I bet Smoove, Joe and Marvin are just glad they don’t have to deal with the impending CBA changes.
Astro Joe
September 28th, 2010
10:51 am
KevinM, “LD was not given all that was needed. That is a fact. The Hawks aren’t exceeding the cap. That is a fact”.
All of that was true with the previous coach and we made the 2nd round and averaged 50 wins the last 2 seasons. The expectations should be similar (if not better) results.
Michael Cunningham
September 28th, 2010
11:11 am
@Teezo: “Bruh, you still asking JJ questions about his comments when everyone and their momma knew what he meant…Why does he need to apologize or regret a true statement???…Its time to let that go and if the fans boo him for what happened in the playoffs, they need to boo the WHOLE team for that matter…Just move on, if you’re a true fan you will support the TEAM regarless of what you think of certain players…The more support this team gets the better…I still think this team will be just a good as last season with at least 50 wins…Peace…”
well, i didn’t ask him the questions. yesterday was the first time he’s talked to media as a group since last season (i asked him about it soon after he signed his contract) so he got lots of questions about it. i’m not saying he needs to apologize–it makes no difference to me one way or the other, i just cover the story. but i know lots of folks were mad about it, so it’s newsworthy.
Michael Cunningham
September 28th, 2010
11:13 am
@KevinM: “Thanks leeds, never would have found that out from the Hawks organization or the AJC.”
not unless you went to hawks.com or followed me on Twitter. which reminds me: follow me on Twitter!
Michael Cunningham
September 28th, 2010
11:16 am
@AJ: “MC, many of the bloggers don’t understand the difference between a columnist and a beat writer.”
true. there’s a fine line between opinion and analysis sometimes. i will never write “Player X is a bum” but i (hopefully) will provide the insight and analysis that will allow you to conclude that Player X is a bum on your own.