Atlanta Hawks: Hawks at Sixers and Al Horford’s big contract weekend
So with three days until the deadline, what’s going to happen with Al’s contracts extension? It apparently epends on where you read it.
Last week, ESPN.com’s Marc Stein reported a deal was “probable” despite “persistent chatter in recent days that Horford and the Hawks have made little recent progress in negotiations.” I’m guessing the “persistent chatter” might have something to do with Horford himself saying a couple weeks ago there had been no movement. That really wasn’t such a big deal since there was plenty of time left for a deal (the bigger deal would have been if the sides weren’t talking) but for some reason that note caused a bit of a stir.
A few days ago NBA.com’s David Aldridge reported it was 50-50 the Hawks and Horford would reach an agreement. But yesterday CBSSports.com’s Ken Berger called the chances of a Horford extension “a long shot at best.”
Berger also reported “a person familiar with the discussions told CBSSports.com that talks are scheduled this week between Hawks management and Horford’s agent, Arn Tellem.” Well, I think Horford qualifies as a person familiar with the discussions, and he said the other day the Hawks and Tellem are meeting this weekend.
Anyway, Horford has said all along he’s not sure what’s going to happen but would like an extension. He reiterated that stance today.
“I am positive and hopeful that we can get something done,” he said. “I love being here and I hope that I can stay here for a long time.”
Agents squabble over Al
More recent “chatter” (indirectly) regarding Horford, though I’m not sure if it’s persistent: Sam Amick reports at FanHouse that agent Aaron Goodwin plans to file a complaint against Tellem.
Goodwin alleges Tellem (who also reps J.J.) poached Horford as a client just as Al was headed to possible negotiations on the extension. Goodwin told Amick there were some “improprieties” in how Tellem came to represent Horford but did not elaborate.
Horford said he terminated his contract with Goodin in May and hired Tellem in late June. The first he heard about Goodwin’s beef was through Amick’s story.
“I don’t understand what’s happening with that,” Horford said. “I talked to a few [agents] before I made the decision, so it wasn’t like I was for sure going with Arn. I haven’t talked to Aaron. We had a good relationship; I just made a business decision. So you can say I was caught off guard by this whole thing.”
Amick noted the Players Association has a code of ethics that addresses client poaching “but regulation has never been realistic because of the immense detective work that’s almost always necessary to come to an accurate ruling.” I don’t think this stuff rates with fans but obviously it’s a big deal among agents.
Mo adjustments
With Mo back in Atlanta tending to his surgically-repaired knee, L.D. basically has to find a backup for Marvin when he doesn’t have one.
“It puts us in a little bit of a dilemma,” L.D. said today. “We are probably going to have to play Joe more at three. Occasionally we are going to have to slide Josh down there. We can’t wear Marvin out at that spot. We will probably end up playing Joe more at three than anything else.”
Asked if all the shuffling might mean more time for JC2, L.D. said: “I’m not sure.”
Etan and Pape were the inactive guys at Memphis. Pape isn’t on the trip (and hasn’t practiced yet anyway) so Etan will dress out tonight.
Speaking of Etan, it’s worth checking out his blog post at HoopsHype.com. The Hawks knew they were getting an outspoken player when they signed him and this is the first taste of what that means.
Philly’s young guns
The Hawks might see Sixers youngsters Evan Turner and Jrue Holliday on the court together. The Philly Inquirer’s Mario Aguirre reports that tandem showed some promise in the fourth quarter against Miami Wednesday after Holliday struggled at the start.
MC
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
254 comments Add your comment
b jones
October 29th, 2010
9:45 pm
two in a row, on the road, and some of you are still picking nits… they look good, get used to it.
Sautee
October 29th, 2010
9:46 pm
Road wins are like GOLD.
ignition
October 29th, 2010
9:46 pm
Quality win for the Hawks !!!!!!!
Ramon
October 29th, 2010
9:47 pm
CP, my only expectation is for him to at least get 7 rebounds a game. I don’t even care about the scoring from him any more, because the bench is scoring more. But he should be able to get 7 rebounds on the defensive end. When AI and Nocioni both had offensive rebounds, Marvin has to be the one who keeps the wings off the boards.
Rev in Tampa
October 29th, 2010
9:47 pm
2-0 on the ROAD!!
Hmmm
October 29th, 2010
9:47 pm
Whay is Joeal Anthony Giving D12 the business? Snagging rebounds over him n’ stuff??? Orlando down by 13 in the 3rd WOW.
Hawks Fan In New Orleans
October 29th, 2010
9:48 pm
Horford had to come back strong after the great game by ZaZa – 2 and 0 I ain’t complaining.
Samuel
October 29th, 2010
9:49 pm
Good win. Heat heatn up.
Hmmm
October 29th, 2010
9:49 pm
Miami is CRUSHING Orlando right now. I need to figure out what Miami doing thats giving Orlando fits.
Sautee
October 29th, 2010
9:50 pm
We won on the road while making 24 turnovers. They got 24 points off those 20 to’s. Cut that in half and we win by 14.
We DID hold them to a decent (41.2%) shooting percentage.
Sautee
October 29th, 2010
9:52 pm
Excuse me, we made 20 to’s, not 24.
Ramon
October 29th, 2010
9:53 pm
Hmm, the Heat are not doubling Howard.
Rev in Tampa
October 29th, 2010
9:53 pm
Rondo has 24 assists for Boston against Knicks. He is amazing.
truthspitter
October 29th, 2010
9:54 pm
A win is a win again but too many turnovers down the stretch. We seemed to panic when they turned the defense up. Happy with Al tonight. Marvin returned to his normal self. Maybe 2morrow will be more of a complete game.
Rufus1
October 29th, 2010
9:54 pm
llll
Ramon
October 29th, 2010
9:54 pm
@ Rev, and 10 rebounds!
Sautee
October 29th, 2010
9:54 pm
Yeah Rev, if Rondo keeps this ish up, he’ll be MVP.
Rev in Tampa
October 29th, 2010
9:55 pm
Rondo a point away from a triple double but is at the FT line.
Got it.
Eldridge Recasner
October 29th, 2010
9:58 pm
Confirmed. This team is no better than last year. ~50 wins, 7 game 1st round series, might get to the 2nd round to be swept again. Is 4 straight 2nd round sweeps an NBA record? Maybe 3 straight already is.
Ramon
October 29th, 2010
9:59 pm
Wade just baptized D12’s shot, lol.
Hmmm
October 29th, 2010
9:59 pm
DID YOU GUYS JUST HEAR LD’S INTERVIEW!? I feel like waving a Hawks towel everytime I hear him speak. Genius!
Section 303
October 29th, 2010
10:00 pm
Trevor, that’s a stupid post. A win is a win in this league, especially on the road. These games are not going to be easy. So, get a clue.
Good win, but Joe has to hit those free throws. I’m sorry, but he makes too much money to blow those.
Great Horford game tonight. Jamal Crawford was nice, too.
Fire up for tomorrow night, guys! Got Michigan State vs Iowa at 3:30. Then, off to Philips for the home opener. Will be at Taco Mac by 2:30. Planning to get some work in on my “advanced degree”.
Hawks Fan In New Orleans
October 29th, 2010
10:02 pm
Right on Ramon – last this is a game the Hawks would have lost – I see improvement in that they pulled this one out.
@Rev in tampa – it would be refreshing to see Rondo break up that Durant/Queen James chitter chatter.
Hmmm
October 29th, 2010
10:03 pm
Ramon, I should’ve guessed that lol.
Leon
October 29th, 2010
10:05 pm
Props to Big Al and Josh tonight. The team, as a whole, played pretty well, but these two stood out in particular. Al was the MVP tonight, scoring his buckets almost flawlessly, meanwhile playing strong on the glass and on defense. Josh’s blocks were huge tonight, they came at some great times. Keep up the good work, Hawks!
Ramon
October 29th, 2010
10:08 pm
When the last time you saw Joe shoot 60% AND goto the line 12 times?
Hawks Fan In New Orleans
October 29th, 2010
10:08 pm
hot dayum 24 assist by Rajon Rondo!!!
Rev in Tampa
October 29th, 2010
10:12 pm
Hmmm, where did you hear the Drew interview? Will it be posted on the Hawks website. I love hearing his perspective.
doc
October 29th, 2010
10:15 pm
i wonder how that feels as a fan to watch your team blow out the magic. heat torching the magic and look a whole heck of a lot better than opening night.
Freshfromatl
October 29th, 2010
10:19 pm
Question.
Is the Magic being exposed? Or are they just missing shots?
Also…the Heat are trotting out a 6′9 center (Maybe A 7 foot center isn’t what the Hawks need afterall)…just saying
Ramon
October 29th, 2010
10:20 pm
HOUSTON JUST SIGNED DAMPIER! LOL…wow!
Ramon
October 29th, 2010
10:21 pm
http://www.nba.com/2010/news/10/29/dampier.rockets/?ls=iref:nbahpt2
You mean to tell me we couldn’t have signed him for $2 mil?? Rockets signed Dampier and Miller, to go along with Ming and Scola.
Najeh Davenpoop
October 29th, 2010
10:21 pm
“DID YOU GUYS JUST HEAR LD’S INTERVIEW!? I feel like waving a Hawks towel everytime I hear him speak. Genius!”
Co-sign. Drew has been nothing short of impressive so far, and he projected an image in that post game interview of a man who is calm, collected, and on top of every aspect of coaching this team.
As for the team itself, I still haven’t seen them play a playoff team so I’m not 100% willing to jump on the Ken Strickland Optimism Bandwagon yet. With that said, although I only saw the last five minutes of this game, I was very impressed both with what I saw and what was on the box score. The Hawks excelled at every aspect of the game other than protecting the ball, and it’s reasonable to believe that ball security will improve as the team gets more experienced at running the offense.
And whaddya know, maybe Smoove can be a viable outside shooter after all. Say what you want about that guy, but the results say he improves on his game every season, and you can see that his all around offensive game has taken a step forward again this year.
doc
October 29th, 2010
10:22 pm
now, who was it that said the heat wouldnt be that strong?
sautee, the to’s came during iso stuff, too, sadly in the last quarter. got to improve there.
as far as j smash, one a gamer of a three the other a stuff of the three. who will be the first to say something negative about it or have they already?
Najeh Davenpoop
October 29th, 2010
10:23 pm
Rev, the Drew interview was on Fox Sports South after the game. I’m guessing it will probably be on hawks.com too.
Ramon
October 29th, 2010
10:23 pm
Fresh, the Heat aren’t leaving the shooters to double. And in the 3rd quarter when they moved to a zone (4-1) with Lebron playing the role of Troy P, it just blew it out of the water.
doc
October 29th, 2010
10:25 pm
liked the combined effort on the stat sheet of the power forwards and the centers. good stuff from those four guys playing plenty of minutes between them. also got to like the idea only 33 minutes max used up by most of our starters tonight.
Rufus1
October 29th, 2010
10:25 pm
Great win
24 turnovers on the road, we still score 104pts and still win…..Wow We are better, we are way better.
The Magic don’t have the wing athletes to defend the Wade and Lebron, they also did not double D12.
Najeh Davenpoop
October 29th, 2010
10:28 pm
Heh… from MC’s link to Etan Thomas’ blog post above:
“Since living in Georgia this season I’ve probably seen more confederate flags than I had my entire life. Do people really still fly that symbol of slavery, evil and hate now in 2010?”
Just stay within 20 miles of the city of Atlanta and you’ll be fine, Etan. That’s what I do.
Ramon
October 29th, 2010
10:28 pm
Lol, Josh shooting 66% from the 3pts, lol.
Hmmm
October 29th, 2010
10:31 pm
Rev, It was on sportssouth after the game.
http://www.foxsportssouth.com/pages/hawks
^It should be posted on their site very soon.
Rev in Tampa
October 29th, 2010
10:32 pm
Najeh, you saw the ugliest part of the game for the Hawks. They spotted the Sixers 9 points to start the game and played well until the last 8 minutes when they tried to go into an ineffective stall offense. They had run up a fifteen point lead and finished the 4th with a solid ten point lead. It would have been larger if Teague hadn’t kept running into the jumpshooters while they were shooting.
Najeh Davenpoop
October 29th, 2010
10:32 pm
LMAO…
“Are you officially old when you don’t know any of the slang that your teamates are using? Or you think how they dress looks absolutely horrible? (Skinny jeans will always be terrible to me). This happened to me a lot while playing with the Oklahoma City Thunder last year, but to my defense Oklahoma City was the youngest team in the League.”
I’m more or less the same age as Dwight Howard and I think skinny jeans are terrible. I hope that doesn’t make me old…
Rev in Tampa
October 29th, 2010
10:38 pm
Thanks Hmmm
truthspitter
October 29th, 2010
10:56 pm
Yes Etan I used to work in Cumming and they still have those hate flags but you have to think about it the American white man would be nothing without that symbol of hate that is how they got ahead and will never ever man up and repay those they enslaved or even admit that they are evil beings they will just say why do people keep bringing that up. Though I digress. 3-0 will look good. Could go 7-0 before being beaten to a pulp by Orlando.
doc
October 29th, 2010
11:00 pm
“We just kind of made some boneheaded plays down the stretch, with me leading the pack definitely,” Hawks guard Joe Johnson said. “We’ve got to know the time and the score. In the fourth quarter, under five minutes [to play], we’ve really got to take care of the ball. That’s on me.”
finally, joe talks like a leader and takes personal accountability when things dont go well. love it.
Hmmm
October 29th, 2010
11:08 pm
http://www.foxsportssouth.com/10/26/10/Hawks-hopes-for-improving-this-season/landing_hawks.html?blockID=339128&feedID=3635
^ Nice Hawks Article
hawkfan
October 29th, 2010
11:09 pm
watching josh childress right now brings back memories, oh well at least he is back in the league again
Rev in Tampa
October 29th, 2010
11:13 pm
@truthspitter – That’s why I posted the following earlier.
“I agree that the confederate flag has a racial connotation. It has no place in our society as it only serves to divide.
I say that to point out,however, that Etan’s blog has a comments section. Responses to his blog belong there rather than on this blog; except where he comments on basketball.”
Hmmm
October 29th, 2010
11:21 pm
Grizz beat the Mavs tonight, which gives our blowout against them more credability lol.