Atlanta Hawks: They should soon be whole again
Al returned to practice today. Marvin was cleared for contact (though there was no contact today). J.J. (knee) and Smoove (knee) sat out, but since the former finished the game Saturday at Charlotte after he banged his knee and the latter played Saturday after he was dinged on Friday they both should be good to go.
“For the most part, I think everybody is going to be OK,” L.D. said. “Should have everybody back tomorrow.”
It’s been a minute since he could say that. The regular starters (Bibby, J.J., Marvin, Smoove and Al) have been available at the same for just 21 games (19 games as the starting unit and the two games when Marvin came off the bench). It hasn’t happened since Dec. 29. Add super sub Jamal to the mix and the Hawks have had their top six available for just 15 games.
So how are the injured guys feeling?
Al: “It’s getting there. I was able to do pretty much the whole practice. It looks good for Wednesday.”
Joe: “It’s still a little sore today so I just wanted to get treatment today and take advantage of these few days off. I don’t know what happened [on the play]. I thought my knee hit the floor during the play. I don’t really remember. I know it just got banged.”
Marvin: “I feel good. I haven’t had any pain probably in a week now. I am starting to get my strength back, my conditioning is coming back. I am excited.”
Smoove, smart vet that he is, used a J.J. screen in the locker room to shake us media types and slipped off into the players’ area. The Hawks said Josh suffered a hyperextended knee against the Hornets. He seemed to walking without much trouble.
Josh Powell practiced today, too, after L.D. suspended him for the Charlotte game. No word on the details of their conversation following the New Orleans game. Players were surprised to learn on the team plane that Powell wouldn’t be making the trip.
L.D. said that’s the end of it: “Everything is back to normal. It is not one of those situations of making it a prolonged thing. There is no grudges. I’ve still got to coach him; he’s still my player. We will go back to business as usual. I think that’s the way you handle it, the way you deal with it.”
Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat
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144 comments Add your comment
O'Brien
January 24th, 2011
10:43 pm
Usually, you would expect a young player’s PT to increase as the season goes on. But for Teague, his PT is getting smaller and smaller.
Oct: 14 mpg, November: 13 mpg, Dec: 12 mpg, Jan: 8.5 mpg
Blast
January 24th, 2011
10:44 pm
O’Brien,
Hawks have not played Bulls this year, so we can’t judge that matchup yet. They are 2-1 versus Magic, and Nelson didn’t do squat except jack up jumpers that didn’t go in. We are 0-1 versus Boston, and the Celts caught us when Hawks were still transitioning, not playing very well, and Boston playing great.
Hawks have beaten NY once, and way both teams are playing so far, I expect Hawks to sweep NY if they meet in the playoffs.
niremetal
January 24th, 2011
10:48 pm
According to Newsday, we’ve begun preliminary talks about acquiring Melo:
http://mobile.newsday.com/inf/infomo;JSESSIONID=42CD924C55747822C540.3027?site=newsday&view=sports_item&feed:a=newsday_5min&feed:c=sports&feed:i=1.2625123&nopaging=1
I wonder if the source for this story is the same source that started the Josh-for-Amare rumor a couple years back. For those who don’t remember, the source on that rumor was one of the most frequently-used sources in sports – Mr. Thin Air.
There is no way they would simply accept an expiring contract like Jamal’s in exchange for Melo straight-up because Melo’s contract is expiring too, and there’s no reason they would prefer Jamal’s expiring contract to Melo’s. So the way I see it, there are two tacks Denver could be taking:
1) The “Blow It Up and Start from Scratch” Option: Package Melo with the long-term contracts of Nene, Harrington, and/or Billups, taking back nothing but expirings.
2) The “Rebuild on the Fly” Option: Get a star player back in exchange for Melo; or
If it’s #1, we’re no help because the only expiring deals we have are Jamal, Mo, and a few minimum-salary guys. We can’t cobble together nearly enough expirings to cover salaries of both Melo and 1 or more of the Nugs’ longer-term guys.
If it’s #2, we have a shot, but it’s a slim one, IMHO. The only “star-level” piece we and would be willing to trade (ie not Al) that I could fathom the Nuggets having an interest in (not JJ) is Josh. I won’t pretend to predict how that type of trade offer would be viewed by Denver. But it seems to me that Josh-for-Melo would have to be the core of any trade.
———————————
MC – you hearing anything?
niremetal
January 24th, 2011
10:51 pm
For what it’s worth, I’m 50/50 on whether I’d prefer Melo to Josh as a fit for this roster on paper. But in practice, I think we need a major-league shock to the system to jolt the team out of its bad habits. Josh-for-Melo would certainly provide that jolt.
Ramon
January 24th, 2011
10:56 pm
Niremetal, the problem is with Josh for Melo is you trade your best defensive player (in a conference based on defense) for a wing who defense is worse than Marvin’s.
Blast
January 24th, 2011
10:58 pm
Nire,
Much as I respect your views, Melo ain’t coming to the ATL.
But then, stranger things have been known to happen in the NBA.
From Denver, though, I would prefer to pry away Nene. Not because he is better than Melo, but simply because he fills a better need, we can keep Josh, and Melo only wants to play in NY anyway.
Ramon
January 24th, 2011
10:59 pm
O’Brien, you’re right. but I think this off season, Bibby’s contract will be quite easy to move because it will be expiring. The loss of JC1, Mo, and Bibby leaves room for partial of the salary. And trading away the guaranteed salary of a 1st round pick would do the same also. I would rather pay $8 mil to Perkins than 8-9 for JC1 (and I understand the Bird rule).
niremetal
January 24th, 2011
11:01 pm
Blast,
I agree the trade is highly unlikely. I only even mentioned it because it was mentioned in a news source.
Ramon,
I think if we got a deal centered on Melo-for-Josh, we’d go to the “big lineup” permanently and move Marvin to the bench. It obviously doesn’t solve our defensive issues on the perimeter. We’d just have to bank that Melo’s offensive contributions would outweigh that.
SteveW
January 24th, 2011
11:06 pm
Call me stupid (many have) but I wouldn’t include Josh, JJ, or Al in any ‘Melo deal. Maybe Jamal, Marvin, and a couple of 1st picks, maybe even Teague or Crawford 2, but that’s about it. And that’s only if he agreed to the extension.
Without the extension, Jamal, JC2 or Teague, and a 1st pick is about it. Maybe not even a 1st pick
Ok, don’t call me stupid!
SteveW
January 24th, 2011
11:09 pm
Josh ‘Melo rumor probably like the Josh Tayshaun Prince rumor in November – Detroit fans wishful thinking!
They also had a Jamal and Teague for Prince and Bynum rumor floating around also.
SteveW
January 24th, 2011
11:15 pm
Have the Hornets been on a roll or what? ATL and San Antonio beat down in epic fashion (131 pts combined by ATL and the Spurs), now they take out the Thunder for their 9th win in a row. Who would have thunk it?
Blast
January 24th, 2011
11:20 pm
Gotta to be very impressed with them Hornets, huh? They are taking major scalps in the league, dude!
Makes Hawks mega loss a little easier to swallow.
Najeh Davenpoop
January 24th, 2011
11:24 pm
Melo has been to a place these Hawks have never been, and that is the conference finals. I would trade any one of the Hawks’ “big three” in a package for Melo, but nothing more. As nice of a core as Joe-Smoove-Al is, Joe-Melo-Al or Joe-Melo-Smoove (or Melo-Smoove-Al which would be my personal preference) would definitely be an upgrade.
Without a commitment to signing an extension, though, I wouldn’t trade anything more than Marvin and filler for him. No point in trading one of your best players for a guy who will only be here for five months unless you are 100% convinced that he will win a title for you.
Najeh Davenpoop
January 24th, 2011
11:28 pm
Anyway, I googled “hawks carmelo” and all I got was people posting potential Melo-Hawks trades from the ESPN trade machine on various forums and Bleacher Report. I’m not convinced that there is any more to this than just “Mr. Thin Air”.
Najeh Davenpoop
January 24th, 2011
11:37 pm
If the Hawks were going to make a Melo trade, the ideal realistic situation to me would be something like this:
http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=6kfo9pd
…with the Hawks and Pistons each sending a first rounder to the Nuggets and Melo signing a contract extension.
Of course, that’s a lot of salary for the DASG to take on, and the Pistons may or may not be willing to give up a first rounder to shed $6 million from their payroll for the next two years, and the Nuggets may or may not see Joe and his max contract as an adequate replacement for Melo, but I could see a scenario where something like that plays out. And I do think this trade would make the Hawks a better all around team.
Najeh Davenpoop
January 24th, 2011
11:43 pm
The really impressive thing about the Hornets is that the Hawks arguably have four guys who are better than the Hornets’ second best player, and it’s not even like their best player is having a career year. They are making it happen with a really mediocre roster. Monty Williams should be the easy front runner for coach of the year right now.
george
January 24th, 2011
11:47 pm
Josh for Melo makes no sense for the Hawks because it does not address two major weaknesses: the center and point guard positions. Please focus on trades which make the Hawks better and real contenders.
Najeh Davenpoop
January 24th, 2011
11:49 pm
“Guys, here is a question I have. This off season, would it be foolish of the Hawks to pursue K. Perkins? Would offering Perkins a deal of 4 years-$32 mil be a terrible idea?”
It would be a great idea, and Perkins would be a great fit here, but I don’t think the Celtics will let him get away, and the Hawks don’t have the cap space to give him more than the mid-level regardless.
SteveW
January 25th, 2011
12:02 am
How to develop a player by the New Orleans Hornets:
David West a #18 pick in the 1st round
Rookie, age 23 – stats 3.8 ppg 4.1 rpg in 13.1 mpg
Age 24 – 6.2 ppg 4.3 rpg in 18.4 mpg
From Age 25 – 30 he’s averaged about 19 ppg and 8 rpg
That’s how you develop a non-lottery pick in the NBA. Patience, work with him, and if he’s got the desire, and you did your scouting right, you have a very solid NBA player.
Notice he was 23 as a rookie. Teague is still only 22. Teague would have been a senior at Wake this season if he would have stayed in school.
SteveW
January 25th, 2011
12:07 am
Lou Williams is another good example on how to develop a player, but there are several. Look at Big Baby, another 2nd round pick like Lou. The list could go on.
Hey, I’ve got an idea! Let’s develop Teague and JC2. I’m just joking and stirring the pot. Nobody get excited.
cp
January 25th, 2011
12:09 am
It was a rumor out a while ago that the Hawks were the sleeper team to acquire Melo. I forget which talking head on ESPN was saying it but its been out there for a while.
Najeh Davenpoop
January 25th, 2011
1:21 am
SLAM Online has a feature on Smoove.
Here’s my favorite part:
“One thing a lot of people don’t realize in this offense…we try to generate ball movement, body movement, and it’s a lot to learn. I would say him more than any other player on our team—not only did he learn his position, but he learned everybody else’s position. I can put him anywhere on the floor…and he has an understanding about what I’m looking for. And that’s very special to have a player like that,” says Drew.
Not going to stop half the people on this blog from saying he has no basketball IQ, though.
Jae Evolution
January 25th, 2011
1:44 am
Instead of Perkins as stated above, what about DeAndre Jordan from the Clippers who also has an expiring contract and would be much cheaper to pick up.
Dude is 6′11 with CRAZY hops and CRAZY potential, I don’t think the maturity is there at all, but you have to work with these types of players and develop them in a way that if effective for the team.
Worldwide Clyde
January 25th, 2011
2:40 am
Fire Sund
Ra'mon
January 25th, 2011
2:49 am
Najeh, when Smoove is telling everyone where they need to go on offense (and defense) many fans look at it and think he’s just fussing, and being immature. Very early you could see that he had an understanding of this offense, because he was putting passes where players should’ve expect to receive the ball but weren’t ready.
Grandad
January 25th, 2011
3:26 am
Can anyone tell me why Larry Brown is supposed to be LD’s mentor?
From all that I can gather, LD coached with:
* Magic Johnson – Lakers
* Alvin Gentry – Pistons
* Doug Collins – Wizards
* Byron Scott – Nets
* Mike Woodson – Hawks
** He played for Norm Stewart @ Missouri
*** Pro Coaches were:
*** Scotty Robertson
*** Cotton Fitzsimmons
*** Jack McKinney
*** Phil Johnson
*** Don Chaney
*** Gene Shue
*** Pat Riley
*** Mike Dunleavy
A pretty varied coaching background.
Quite an assortment of -mentors- and pg killers [prior to wdsn]
KevinM
January 25th, 2011
6:46 am
Jae Evolution – on DeAndre Jordan….I have been asking for him since preseason based on costs alone. I saw him in college and we all know it takes the big men a bit longer to come around. While everyone wanted Kaman, who I want nothing to do with, Jordan has very little costs. So we go get Etan, resign Collins way too early in the offseason, and we bring in Powell, behind Smoove, and after LD says Al will play more PF this year….huh?
These are the kinds of questionable moves you have with this organization. Somewhere along the line, you’ve got to admit you don’t know what you’re doing (haha) and go get a PG and a C.
And if there is a rumor to go get Melo, you gotta inquire about Chauncey too….move whomever it takes and the offer has to be better than the Knicks….that’s you’re only competition here.
Denver could easily be the Cleveland of 2011 if they can’t get Melo moved. So that rookie GM better make a move to get some pawns/picks in place of Melo before the trade deadline.
Sund involved in a major deal? I have to see it done before I believe it. He told you himself last summer he wouldn’t be going after any superstars. Lots of wishing we had a creative GM here.
Atlanta or Orlando for the 4th slot? Doesn’t matter, as it stands today, the Hawks aren’t getting out of Round 1 if that is their opponent. NO way Dwight goes down in Round 1. That lineup is still better than the core in 2 areas: PG and C.
KevinM
January 25th, 2011
6:55 am
You know those expiring contracts and how easy they are to move? Take a look at Indiana’s expiring lineup:
Dunleavy – 10.56M
TJ Ford – 8.5
Foster – 6.66
So much for easy to move expiring contracts: that’s 25+M of ez contracts to be moved…..now who wants to deal? If I see Indiana move any of these 3, I will be a bit more convinced that the expiring contract is an thing to move….similar to that MLE that the Hawks have had for decades and have never used….and it should have been used on Big Baby when they had the chance….again, admit you don’t know what you’re doing and let someone in there who knows.
drmaryb (*_*)
January 25th, 2011
7:11 am
Toronto just signed Sundiata Gaines. He is a very interesting player, PG I think? He made a buzzer beater 3 pt shot for Utah last season and it was a magnificent play. I wonder why, he was available and Sund didn’t give him a look.
Sund needs to find his ‘inner dog’ and become creative for the Hawks roster. We need some tweeks not tweets for our team.
Aye Sund! You are quickly replacing Marvin as the ‘Invisisble Man’ around here.
KevinM
January 25th, 2011
7:13 am
A must read…one of the top articles of the year….
The Fanhouse guide to the worse NBA players on a roster…
Did we get a mention….I think so…and our GM was mentioned here..surprise!
http://nba.fanhouse.com/2011/01/24/the-works-who-are-the-nbas-worst-players/?ncid=txtlnkusspor00000002
My favorite: Shellhead has made this 17-20 man roster…the GM has to be Rick Sund based on his years of experience alone.
O'Brien
January 25th, 2011
7:21 am
Cleveland has lost 17 games in a row, and 27 out of their last 28. Ouch.
I would trade Josh for Melo ONLY if Melo signed an extension. I dont think we would win the title right away, but with Al, Melo and JJ you have a pretty good 3 to start with.
And all of a sudden, players might be willing to take a discount to play for the Hawks. Then its just a matter of bringing in the right complimentary pieces.
Our salary would be through the roof, but ASG would be able to make that money back (imo). Jersey sales, attendance, media coverage, TV games etc would go way up.
O'Brien
January 25th, 2011
7:31 am
@ KevinM, funny stuff speaking of Shelden;
“He isn’t even the best player in his own household.
His nickname was “The Landlord.” I think Atlanta drafted him that year because they wanted to take advantage of the housing bubble. So, in a way, Shelden’s career is the story of America.”
To be fair, that was all BK and Woody. Speaking of which, BK has not been interviewed for another GM job in the league. I wonder if the same thing will happen to Woody (no HC interviews).
KevinM
January 25th, 2011
8:38 am
OB,
Yes, that is not a surprise, and I would take Mike Brown over Woody any day. Woody might not get another shot unless he is willing to go back to the assistant ranks to keep your name fresh. But Woody’s mentor is gone, so Woody might just live off his Hawks’ earnings going forward.
Knight? He has ties to Indiana so he might get another shot there. Bird is talking retirement for he was a better coach than GM.
terrell
January 25th, 2011
9:00 am
Glad to hear we might be in the Melo discussions. Didnt know Sund knew how to pick up a phone anymore. lol!
Josh/Zaza/Jamal and Mo’s expiring and a 1st for Melo/Billups/Birdman(Nuggets will try to dump him on us).
Billups/JJ/Melo/Al/Collins
Bibby/Wilkins/Marvin/Powell/Birdman
Teague/JC2
Melo might could end up being a rental for a playoff run, but we’ll have PLENTY of cap space next year to go after a legit center. (Nene, Chandler, etc..)
terrell
January 25th, 2011
9:02 am
But who knows, maybe he’ll like Atlanta and sign an extension? Worth a shot. Hate to give up Smoove, but Denver wont budge unless a young budding star and expirings are involved.
terrell
January 25th, 2011
9:12 am
The new BIG 3.(JJ/Melo/Al) lol!
KevinM
January 25th, 2011
9:21 am
You guys really think Sund has a sense of urgency?
-The same guy who said he doesn’t like to make changes during the season.
-The guy who says we aren’t bringing in any elite free agents.
-The same guy who is very happy with the core….yes, he has to say that or just kill the value of his marginal players…Bibby, Marvin, Zaza, etc.
No moves=no playoff success. Getting to the 2nd round isn’t playoff success. It should be the ECF or blow this thing up.
O'Brien
January 25th, 2011
9:47 am
terrell,
Dont get your hopes up. Although he gave Al an extension, the kinds of decisions Sund usually makes during the season are:
1) paper or plastic
2) Eat-in or carry out
3) Chocolate or vanilla
4) Fox news or CNN
etc..
doc
January 25th, 2011
9:50 am
kevin a lot of present and former hawks have made that worst in the nba list, scary.
O'Brien
January 25th, 2011
9:55 am
How about Dwight, calling out his perimeter defenders. From the Orlando sentinel;
“Either we get it together or we’re just going to be a playoff team that doesn’t win a championship,” Howard said.
“Guys got to guard on the perimeter, got to do a better job. It just can’t be one dribble to the basket. So you got to do a better job.” .
Is he talking about the Magic or the Hawks?
Ra'mon
January 25th, 2011
10:09 am
A big three of Joe, Melo, and Josh makes more sense than Joe, Melo, and Al. Joe, Melo, and Al best attribute is jump shots. Each of them, the best thing they do is shoot jumpers. Neither of them attacks the defense consistently. For years, Melo has been criticized for settling for jumpers too often. Also, Melo would get close to the number of shot attempts that Josh and JC1 combined (last season Josh and JC1 averaged a combined 26 shot attempts per game, Carmelo alone averaged 21.8 per game). Also remember Melo, Joe, and Al will cost close to $50 million a season in salary, and you’re still with out a league premiere defensive player. Who was the last team to win a title without a premiere defensive player consistently in the running for All Defensive team?
Geemack
January 25th, 2011
10:18 am
I guess the Dallas Mavericks are the Hawks measuring stick 10 plus 50 win seasons, 1 Finals appearance, and no championships.
That’s seems to be the direction this franchise is taking.
Well it would be better than BK original model the Pistons.
Image how good the Piston would be had they drafted Melo instead of Darko, but wait didn’t the Nets just try to put that team together (Rip, Melo & Billups).
I wonder how good Josh & JJ would be if the Hawks would not have had their own draft mistake MW instead of CP3.
Oh well 5 years later, and we’re still looking for a pg, Josh has proven he can play the 3, and JJ is not a PG.
drmaryb (*_*)
January 25th, 2011
10:37 am
Hot Sauce!
O’Brien drank some hot sauce this morning, because that man is on fire!
Aye O’Brien! Your dry sense of humor reminds me of:
The Bob Newhart Show one of my All time favorite comedian/actor. My sense of humor is extremely dry and people laugh at – the stuff I laugh at.
But, you cracked me the hell up – when you said this:
“1) paper or plastic
2) Eat-in or carry out
3) Chocolate or vanilla
4) Fox news or CNN”
ROF & split my pants! Oowwee! I need some water! (wiping my tears!)
___________________________
Sund on aisle 8, just picking up a few odds and ends for the team roster, a true Think – Tank! Aye Sund! Paper or Plastic? Boxers or Briefs? Open toe or Closed toe sandals?
Big Ray
January 25th, 2011
10:39 am
SteveW ,
“It’s called stats”?
College stats are great. Let me start by saying that last time I looked, the college trey wasn’t the same as the NBA trey, and it certainly isn’t the same against NBA players.
Do you recall Acie Law? Remember how he used to score in college? Well, he certainly wasn’t able to do that in the NBA. Now, we can blame Mike Woodson for his inability to break into the Hawks’ permanent rotation, and in some ways I do.
However, this doesn’t explain how/why the man has not managed to do so under two or three more teams since then (and two or three different coaches), now does it? Whatever happened to Law the prolific college scorer? Does what you do in college automatically translate to the pros? That’s not a very strong argument my condescending friend.
Remember how deadly J.J. Reddick was at Duke? How come he couldn’t seem to score like he did in college? Dude was one of the most prolific college shooters ever. Took him 4 years to become a legit rotation player, and he’s never going to be a starter.
I remember how Teague was in college. He was a straight predator…always on the attack. Always dunking on somebody or hitting jumpers from all over the court. You explain to me why he isn’t able to hit those jumpers now? Why does he get his shot blocked so much when he goes to the basket (unless he’s shooting that high floater)?
What I’m telling you is he will take time to develop. Mike Conley was picked a hell of a lot higher than Teague was, and it took him nearly 4 years to develop into a consistent, successful point guard. Teague looks like he’s another year or two away from being that. And Larry Drew doesn’t have a damn thing to do with it. He brought in Van Exel to try and figure out what makes Teague tick. I’ve watched Teague and that jumper of his. It’s not on the mark all that well.
And I’m not listening to any arguments about college performance because I’ve seen way too many times that not only does this NOT always translate to the pros, it does NOT always translate right away. What coach in his right mind would bench a faster, better, younger player in favor of an older, slower one without a reason? Why would LD hold him back? Teague is holding himself back in some ways. And as stated before, LD’s offense requires that everybody pass the ball, and everybody be able to shoot. Teague’s gotta work on that jumper. His PRO jumper. The college one is fine….for COLLEGE games.
Big Ray
January 25th, 2011
10:45 am
The best post most likely to get ignored all day long:
Najeh Davenpoop
January 25th, 2011
1:21 am
SLAM Online has a feature on Smoove.
Here’s my favorite part:
“One thing a lot of people don’t realize in this offense…we try to generate ball movement, body movement, and it’s a lot to learn. I would say him more than any other player on our team—not only did he learn his position, but he learned everybody else’s position. I can put him anywhere on the floor…and he has an understanding about what I’m looking for. And that’s very special to have a player like that,” says Drew.
Not going to stop half the people on this blog from saying he has no basketball IQ, though.
Big Ray
January 25th, 2011
10:46 am
KevinM ,
Heh….you told the best joke of the day.
Sund is representative of those who hired him. He’d show urgency if his bosses (all 45 of them) showed any urgency. They don’t, so he doesn’t. They are more interested in involving themselves in lawsuits.
Geemack
January 25th, 2011
10:47 am
Since 1979 The Lakers have been to finals 16 times, captured 10 NBA titles, brought in 4 cornerstone changing HOF’er (Magic, Worthy, Shaq & Kobe).
During that same time period the Hawks have missed the playoffs 12 times, never been past the 2nd round, and traded away the greatest Hawk ever for nothing.
Hey, I thought the draft lottery was supposed to make the league more competitive….guess I was wrong.
Hey another 2nd round exit should be very exciting this year….we’re doing it with same team from last year.
I forgot we do have a different coach! Didn’t Jeff Teague get stuck on the bench last year. Must be de’ja vu. Lol.
Rufus1
January 25th, 2011
10:51 am
Melo Trade
The only question for Melo is, does he want to win a title or Just go to New York. If he want a title, then the Hawks are a much better option than New York….The Knicks will never win a title with the way they play defense.
If the Nuggets wanted Josh and Jamal, they would probably have to send Melo and Bird man.
I also Horford, might be the untouchable.
Geemack
January 25th, 2011
10:52 am
O’Brien
I would trade Josh for Melo ONLY if Melo signed an extension. I dont think we would win the title right away, but with Al, Melo and JJ you have a pretty good 3 to start with.
And all of a sudden, players might be willing to take a discount to play for the Hawks. Then its just a matter of bringing in the right complimentary pieces.
Our salary would be through the roof, but ASG would be able to make that money back (imo). Jersey sales, attendance, media coverage, TV games etc would go way up.
Great post…to bad our front office don’t think like you.
Big Ray
January 25th, 2011
10:53 am
The Hawks have been in “preliminary talks” with probably every major free agent. That’s as far as it usually gets. I don’t see anything coming out of this at all. Especially since ‘Melo seems to want to be in New York.