Atlanta Hawks: Back to (serious?) business
Los Angeles–Near the end of the Hawks’ shootaround at Madison Square Garden last week, L.D. watched Bibby, Joe, Al, and Josh playing some kind of game (I haven’t exactly figured out the rules but making shots seems to be a secondary goal to keeping the ball in the air with tip shots).
“You ever see that ‘Twilight Zone’ episode, ‘Kick the Can?’” L.D. asked. “That’s what this is right here.”
That classic episode involves old folks who get to be children again and use the opportunity to play games. L.D. was saying the Hawks are a bunch of big kids, and spend any amount of time around the team and you will discover that’s pretty accurate.
There is a goofy chemistry with these players. Guys like each other and have fun. It’s the serious stuff they aren’t always so good with.
“This is one of the loosest teams you will find,” Al said. “I think sometimes that can be a good thing for us and sometimes that can be a bad thing.”
There’s no better time for fun than the All-Star game but look at what Kobe did Sunday night. It was just an exhibition game but you could see he decided no one else was going to win the MVP in his building. So he went out and did his thing (with J.J. hounding him when things got serious at the end).
Kobe then had a message for Al: “He told me, ‘See you on Tuesday.’”
Was he serious?
“You never know with him,” Al said. “He’s probably dead serious.”
Clearly the Hawks are a bunch that likes (and maybe needs) to have a lot of fun. But with a tough remaining schedule and fourth place in the East looking like a tough task it’s time for them to get dead serious, too.
I was listening to KG on this subject the other day. It was surprising to hear him talk about clowning around with his teammates since his ultra-intense image doesn’t seem to allow much room for goofing off. How do the Celtics strike a balance between having fun and being fierce?
“When it’s not competitive, then it’s easygoing,” KG said. “I can separate the two. It’s not that big of a thing.”
He makes it seem easy but it the Hawks still haven’t figured it out.
“I hope we can come back in this second half with a renewed sense of urgency every game we play,” L.D. said. “It’s down to 27 games. I don’t care what happened the first part of the season, it comes down to this. We have got to do things with a sense of urgency and totally commit to the team.”
All-Star roundup
Al played just 10 minutes Sunday, second-fewest behind KG, but that was by design. Doc asked him about his health and Al told him his back “is still a little sore.”
“I felt like I played the right amount of time and made the most of my time on the floor,” Al said.
And how is the back?
“The back is OK,” he said. “It was just all about being able to share the experience with the guys and play a little. I’m happy Joe got to go out there and show what he’s got.”
J.J. ended up playing 20 minutes. He was on the floor at the finish after D-Wade (ankle) took a powder. Joe slipped out of the interview area before I could get to him.
Back to work
The Hawks regroup for practice in L.A. tonight and I will file a report after. L.D. said he would evaluate the lineup over the break but wouldn’t necessarily make a change.
Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat
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
188 comments Add your comment
Sautee
February 21st, 2011
5:48 pm
Najeh,
Wouldn’t you think that what the ASKG REALLY is doing with Jamal is holding on to that expiring contract for headroom next year (with Al’s raise kicking in)?
I don’t think them not trading Jamal is necessarily an endorsement of his play.
Hawks
February 21st, 2011
5:58 pm
New Starting Lineup:
PG: Billups
SG: Joe
SF: JR Smith
PF: Horford
C: NeNe
Bench:
PG: Stuckey
SG: Tmac
SF: Marvin
PF: Maxiel
C: Collins/Zsa-Zsa
Closing Games Out:
PG: Billups
SG: Joe
SF: Tmac
PF: Horford
C: NeNe
ag
February 21st, 2011
6:19 pm
START JEFF TEAGUE
O'Brien
February 21st, 2011
6:38 pm
Sautee,
Co-sign. By not trading Jamal, that is $10.8 mil that will be off the books for next season. I think that is one of the main reasons why RIck Sund did something he doesnt usually do, and thats give extensions during the season, which he did with Horford.
By giving Al a raise from $5.4 mil to $12 mil next season, Jamal’s $10.8 mil will come in handy to help save them money.
And although this is Rick’s last year, lets remember that as bad as BK was (especially with his draft picks), the ASG still offered him one more year. I wont be surprised when they offer Rick a 1 year extension, especially sicne LD will also have 1 year left on his deal.
Big Ray
February 21st, 2011
6:43 pm
I’ve long since come to the conclusion that Sund is a part-time GM. I believe Michael Gearon has his own feelings about certain players (that is, when he’s not having feelings about who to sue next) and that if he wants to keep them, then Sund is not going to offer even the smallest hint of a protest.
Sund is a GM when he is pushed or allowed to be one. Otherwise, he’s a paid consultant. In other words, he’s fine being “slow and methodical” when he isn’t being pushed, and fine doing whatever little bit of actual stuff Gearon actually wants him to do.
Just think about it. Did the Hawks puruse the Jamal trade, or did it fall in their laps? Look at the free agent acquisitions we’ve made. All have been near the end of the free agency period, and minimum contract types. There’s a common denominator: NOTHING HAS BEEN OUTWARDLY PROACTIVE.
Deciding on the coaching situation? Let Woody walk, promote Larry. Proactive? Not. It was a force situation, something HAD to be done.
Sign a SG/SF to backup the position that was one of the shallowest. Didn’t happen until JJ went down, and Marvin and Jamal had already incurred injuries. See? Force is what it takes to get things going.
All the rest of the free agency stuff was easy. Offer your own guys more money than anybody else is likely to, and you voila…your roster is filled.
Sad, twisted fact: We win enough to justify the lack of proactive measures.
ag
February 21st, 2011
6:47 pm
STOP SUBMITTING DUMB TRADES!!!! The Hawks are shopping Marvin and don’t expect much. You go shopping at Kroger with $2, are you expecting to get a steak? No, you will get a pack of noodles and that is what the Hawks will get. So trading Marvin for i.e. Thabeet may work for both teams since both teams are dissatsified with both. I do understand that the salaries don’t work.
Big Ray
February 21st, 2011
6:48 pm
If you want to make a change at point guard, for the sake of not going with the same old issues, then you either start Jeff Teague, or acquire a pg that will:
1) Take Bibby’s place, or a lot of his minutes.
2) Force Jamal back to the SG position, where he truly belongs.
Make all the fuss you want about Ramon Sessions, especially those who keep insisting that Teague is the answer to our pg woes. There’s this thing called evidence. Sessions, regardless of whether he was playing for a losing or winning team, has proven what he can do at the position in this League. Teague has no such proof. For those insisting that such proof is only lacking because of Woody, and now Larry, I agree that his potential is not know because of either guy. But if he truly was an answer to the problem, surely two NBA coaches are not so blind that they can’t see his proof in practice and in games.
Nope, sorry. It’s not just the coaches. I supported Teague for a while as far as his potential. But what I wanted is not what many want. I wanted him to get 18 mpg, and that’s ALL I ever wanted, as I figured he could show what he was worth in that amount of PT. So many want him to start, and I think more than half are saying this only because they are tired of Bibby.
Big Ray
February 21st, 2011
6:49 pm
Marvin for Thabeet? Why on earth would we want a worthless big man who can block shots only if somebody points them out to him?
Sautee
February 21st, 2011
6:51 pm
Big Ray,
Nothing Outwardly Proactive.
Perfect Summation.
Big Co-Sign.
Sautee
February 21st, 2011
6:56 pm
“Sad, twisted fact: We win enough to justify the lack of proactive measures.”
Which is exactly why I’ve said that unless we go though a protracted awful spell, then Gearon won’t touch the Sacred Core.
Sad, but too true.
drmaryb (*_*)
February 21st, 2011
6:56 pm
Man yall need to stop re-posting the same ISH from the previous blogs.
ATL FAN
February 21st, 2011
6:57 pm
Loosest as in not caring for what the coach has to say, or loosest as in having fun and messing around? Theres a huge difference there
Ken
February 21st, 2011
7:08 pm
hawks need to trade sharif abdur rahim back to the lakers for pau gasol and leave bibby in san francisco and leave with some curry…
KevinM
February 21st, 2011
7:13 pm
ken must know of a time machine to make those deals happen.
I guess we could ask for the Bill Russell trade back if you want?
Wanna reconsider the Pistol deal to the Jazz?
northcyde
February 21st, 2011
7:14 pm
There’s a reason why Big Ray has his own blog on the ajc. His 6:43 pm post is damn near perfect. Nothing proactive, always reactive.
Even the move that all of us THOUGHT was a proactive move ( trading our 1st round pick to get 2 picks a little later ), turned out to be nothing but a moneymaker for the ASG, because they sold the 31st pick.
When Sund and the ASG do something really proactive, I’ll believe it when I see it. Those 3 big men we signed in the summer would ALL be out of the NBA right now, had we’d not signed them.
ag
February 21st, 2011
7:19 pm
In Teague’s only game in LA, he scored 12 pts on 5-7 shooting in 17 minutes. He also had 3 ast and 2 steals and was a +8 dispite the Hawks lost 118-110. For his good effort, Woody benched him with a fat DNP the next game.
More info on Bibby, 40th in assists, 60th in steals and 50th in points (these stats are amoung all guards. I really and truly hope that LD makes a change to Teague, because we can’t do much worst.
Grandad
February 21st, 2011
7:20 pm
MC;
You should not be so hypersensitive.
I thought my points were clear.
(a) You use casual rather than formal register on the blog.
By your own admission [which is fine and dandy].
You say the blog is informal and we are your “blog people”.
(b) You claim journalistic integrity when the topic becomes;
“trade rumors”.
Then you suggest my attitude about your journalistic style
is due to my wish for a trade.
I would say that:
“I wish for the Hawks to develop a winning culture”.
Now if that be trades or whatnot & you report it then glory be!
Michael, the blog is a pastime for myself and others.
I’m ambivalent towards you as a journalist / blogger.
Which I reckon you could neither care more nor less?
If you throw out some news you hear…what’s the harm?
State it as such, hearsay.
Or could it be that you just don’t care to dig.
After all it’s only a blog.
KevinM
February 21st, 2011
7:26 pm
“JeJe
February 21st, 2011
5:38 pm
Thank God it’s the final year of Rick Stunk’s contract. If we do make a run in the Playoffs he’d probably be retained. Are GM contracts ever revealed?”
Jeje, I think it would be safe to assume that Rick Sund makes more than the coach for which he is responsible for hiring, Larry. Don’t inquire beyone that….how he has been able to reinvent himself as a proactive and forward thinking GM is beyond my comprehension. Don’t even start talking about the scouting department. I am still waiting for that hidden gem that all teams uncover except for us. Memo to Sund: you are not in San Antonio, and you aren’t bringing in surprise talents like Gary Neal and DeJuan Blair, 2 solid bench players.
JC2 and Teague are collecting splinters on the bench waiting for an opportunity. Simply put, you hire a guy who has zero interest in developing any bench depth. Larry is ok with the current top 3 of Collins, Zaza and JC1.
I gotta wonder where this bench ranks in stats across the NBA. Do we come in and set a tone that differs from the starting 5? Do we ever outplay the other bench?
I gotta think even if Bibster gets moved to the bench, he hurts us in smaller increments. Bibster simply put, isn’t going to sit on the bench for long segments of time. We have no one to put in there because we won’t attempt to grow a PG. So for all of us asking for a replacement for Bibster, who says Larry will even give him a chance?
Grandad
February 21st, 2011
7:27 pm
* ? Now it’s up to anyone who cares
to figure out where it should have been placed?
northcyde
February 21st, 2011
7:28 pm
And MC . . thank you for not being a TMZ style beat writer, who reports every rumor he hears, and tries to pass it off as “possibly true”. I’m convinved that 50% of these “unnamed sources” for these trades, actually come from fans posting various ish on message boards and blogs.
You reporting any and every rumor that you hear, would be like you going to a school and telling a bunch of 1st graders that Santa Claus is real.
It may be what the kids want to hear, but you know it ain’t the damn truth, so you refuse to lie to the kids like that.
KevinM
February 21st, 2011
7:30 pm
northcyde, i’ve been saying that about our big men the day they were signed. Collins & Thomas, neither will ever wear another team’s uniform. They won’t make another roster.
You might be able to include Mo in that conversation as well. I had high hopes for him out of Orlando, and he never showed anything more than just being filler for 5 guys on the court who hit a few 3’s while employed by the ASG. He has fallen out of the rotation and fallen hard.
Fact is, all 3 are an offseason away from needing to update their resumes and stand in line with so many other fallen NBA pine riders.
ag
February 21st, 2011
7:32 pm
Big Ray, all I read is these trades, i.e. Carmillo for ZaZa, Etan, Collins and Marvin. These trades will not happen. I also hear most people want a center. The Hawks are a very athletic team, but a guy like Shaq would slow us down (well, Bibby is too). Are you telling me Collins is BETTER than Thabeet? Or is Collins upside greater than Thabeet’s? Okay, Thabeet is averaging 1.1 ppg 1.6 rpg and .03 blocks. but Twin is averaging 2.1 ppg 2.1 rpg, and .2 blk. Again, what is Thabeet’s potential? At this stage of his career, it has to be greater than Twin.
ATL FAN
February 21st, 2011
7:41 pm
Agree, I get pissed every time I hear some trade rumor that has NO merit here. It simply gets my hopes up, only to dissapoint
Najeh Davenpoop
February 21st, 2011
7:41 pm
“Wouldn’t you think that what the ASKG REALLY is doing with Jamal is holding on to that expiring contract for headroom next year (with Al’s raise kicking in)?”
Sure, but this doesn’t preclude a trade. It’s not like the Hawks can’t trade Jamal for other players whose contracts are expiring. In the trade I keep mentioning over and over again, Prince and T-Mac are both expiring while Ben Wallace is owed a whopping $2 million next year. If the Hawks can’t afford to pay the luxury tax on Big Ben’s $2 million next year, so what? Chicago traded Kirk Hinrich and their first rounder during last year’s draft to Washington for a second rounder just to clear cap space. Who is to say the Hawks couldn’t do the same with Zaza or Bibby during this year’s draft to clear that salary off the books and bring the Hawks back beneath the luxury tax threshold? It’s not like the Hawks make use of their first round picks anyway.
Or, if they can’t take on the $2 million at all, they could just trade Jamal for Prince and T-Mac, and then trade Prince for, say, Caron Butler (yes I know he’s injured) and JJ Barea (both expiring), or Aaron Brooks (qualifying offer next year which the Hawks could choose not to exercise) and Shane Battier (expiring). The point is, there are several ways the Hawks can cash in Jamal’s expiring contract to increase the overall depth of the team, and someone like T-Mac could provide a huge chunk of Jamal’s production while allowing the Hawks to allocate the rest of that $10 million this year to address multiple needs. All it takes is a little creativity.
Najeh Davenpoop
February 21st, 2011
7:44 pm
And the thing is, it’s likely Jamal will command at least $7-$8 million per year over three or four years on his next deal even with a new CBA. He’s going to be one of the better unrestricted free agents on the market. The chances of the Hawks re-signing him are pretty slim. If they swap him for several good expiring pieces, though, they can wait for the new CBA and pick and choose which ones they can afford to keep.
northcyde
February 21st, 2011
7:48 pm
@ KevinM
According to hoopsstats.com, the Hawks bench ranks #26 in the league in efficiency. The starters rank #9.
That #26 for the bench is the 3rd lowest in the league, and the absolute lowest in the Eastern Conference. Amongst the playoff teams, only Memphis and Portland have worse benches.
Najeh Davenpoop
February 21st, 2011
7:48 pm
“So many want him to start, and I think more than half are saying this only because they are tired of Bibby.”
I want him to start so that we can decide once and for all whether or not he’s good. Maybe he plays well with the starters and keeps the starting job. Maybe he sucks and proves once and for all that he “can’t ball” in the words of northcyde. I’d just like to know once and for all so we can quit arguing about him and the Hawks can move on accordingly. I think it’s fair to say that when he’s driving and kicking to Damien Wilkins or drawing the defense and dishing to Zaza down low, the result is going to be a little different than if he drives and kicks to Joe or draws the defense and dishes to Al down low. Let’s see once and for all whether he can make a big enough impact with the starters to be considered a part of this team’s future.
SteveW
February 21st, 2011
7:49 pm
I am about to get “shouted” off this blog.
I know this, and realize it in advance.
But, here it goes:
Sund has been a near perfect GM for ASG. ASG has not wanted him to cross the Luxury Tax line. Sund hasn’t. Sund and Pendegraft have drafted perfectly for this team with 2 athletic G’s to take Bibby and Jamal’s place.
Sund made ASG 3mil. for selling a 1st pick, and still got a guy he wanted in JC2. Sund didn’t want LD, some of the ownership group did. So LD’s lack of developing Teague and JC2 go on the Spirit Group, not Sund.
Sund has spaced our salaries out masterfully years into the future with the cap. Sund was not bidding against himself for Marvin, ZaZa, and Bibby as some of indicated on this blog, but those guys were valuable at the time (believe it or not). If Sund had not have signed Bibby, who else was out there but an older Andre Miller, who wanted more money. He pleased his Coach in Woody by re-signing Bibby, which was one of the qualifications for assessing Woody as a Coach.
Rick Sund was a loser in Seattle. He made terrible draft picks. But all the way around, he has done the best he could with ASG’s restrictions and wishes, and I will be shocked if Sund is not retained for 2+ years if he wants to be retained.
ATL is set up better than any team in the East after 2 years. Thank Rick Sund and his capology for that.
Anyway, alot more to say, but let the tomato throwing begin!
P.S. I’m not related to Rick Sund in anyway. I don’t even know him, but I just call them like I see them.
ATL FAN
February 21st, 2011
7:58 pm
SteveW= Rick Sund
LOL @ “Sund has spaced our salaries out masterfully years into the future with the cap.” Sure, we have a solid cap with the Starting 5 alone… BUT WE HAVE NO BENCH
O'Brien
February 21st, 2011
8:04 pm
Steve W,
How can you say Marvin was valuable when he got his contract, despite the fact that he missed 21 games that year (~26% of the season). And he also missed 18 games (22% of the season) 2 seasons prior.
Have you checked to see what the Hawks record (and win %) was in those games that Marvin missed? I think you might be surprised.
northcyde
February 21st, 2011
8:07 pm
@ ag . . . I don’t know what Big Ray’s response will be. But as a person who sees as many Grizzlies games on TV as Hawks games, I can safely say that Thabeet is GARBAGE.
Stop using the word “potential”. Guys who have potential in the NBA usually show it beyond a shadow of a doubt by Year 2.
Thabeet is an unmotivated player who probably won’t become even an average center. Solo was a much better player in Year 2 than Thabeet on both offense and defense.
O'Brien
February 21st, 2011
8:07 pm
Steve W,
Steve W,
Also, Andre Miller got 3 years, $22 mil. While Bibby got 3 years $18 mil. However, Andre Miller’s 3rd year is a team option. So basically, Andre Miller got a 2 year $16 mil contract. Sure, it was higher than Bibby’s, but Hawks should have given Bibby a smiliar deal. They would still have been under the luxury tax, and Bibby would have been expiring this season, giving them more flexibility.
Don’t you think Bibby’s 3rd year should have been a team option, instead of being guaranteed?
O'Brien
February 21st, 2011
8:09 pm
Steve W,
I was wrong. Andre Miller’s deal was 3 years $21 mil. but only the first 2 years, $14 mil was guaranteed.
In Bibby’s first 2 years of his deal, he made $12 mil. But next year, we are paying Bibby $6 mil, while Portland does not have to pay Andre Miller a dime (if they chose).
SteveW
February 21st, 2011
8:11 pm
Sund listened to his Coach, LD, and got Pape Sy over here to replace Mo’ for next season. This prevented the Hawks from signing Da’Sean Butler when the Heat released him. But that’s on LD.
Sund could have made a play for TMac. But that would have messed up his roster numbers, again because of Sy.
Sund could have made more of a play for Shaq, and that’s probably his biggest mistake.
Not going hard after Dampier was probably his 2nd biggest mistake. But at the time, everybody thought that Al was C for 82 games, and going big had not yet been tried. And signing those 2 would have messed with rotations.
LD wanted Powell for his outside shot, his practice presence, his locker room stuff, and to teach the Hawks how to get 2 rings.
Etan was about as good as you could get outside of Shaq and Dampier.
But rotations are LD’s deal, not Sund. Sund didn’t make LD play Mo’ with a hurt knee. Sund doesn’t make LD continue to play Mo’ over Wilkens. Sund doesn’t make LD play Bibby major minutes to the exclusion of Teague. Sund doesn’t make LD play Jamal at point to the point of hurting his game.
That’s on LD. Playing Horford 40+ several times and then him getting hurt is LD.
Letting Josh disobey his Coach, that’s not Sund, that’s LD. Josh not in the low block? LD, not Sund.
Sund’s done a good job in many ways, especially with the cap. We like to talk about bad contracts, but the Hawks don’t have bad contracts. Check out other teams, then you see bad contracts. I’ve given, as have others, example after example of bad contracts.
O'Brien
February 21st, 2011
8:13 pm
northcyde,
I dont understand what the fascination with Thabeet is either. They sent him to the D-League, and he couldnt even dominate down there. Just because he was a good shot blocker in college does not mean he will be any good in the pros.
Just look at Shelden Williams. Dude was known as “The Landlord” in college (he was a beast, and he owned the paint), and he was ACC defensive POY. But yet, he is about to be traded to his 7th team in 5 years.
Some fans are still talking about Marvin’s potential, and he has been in the league 6 years…SMH
ag
February 21st, 2011
8:13 pm
NorthClyde, is he really that bad? Never see him play, but we need a running center who can block shots….like a Tyson Chandler or Jakeem Noah. We cannot get these guys (although we could have had Chandler), so we have to get a second tier guy.
O'Brien
February 21st, 2011
8:18 pm
SteveW,
Not going hard after Dampier was probably his 2nd biggest mistake. But at the time, everybody thought that Al was C for 82 games, and going big had not yet been tried..
Actually, LD is on record as saying he always thought Al was a PF, so if Sund is listening to LD, I think LD would have wanted Dampier to give Al a break. Isnt that the reason why they signed Collins?
I think you are contradicting your comments…
SteveW
February 21st, 2011
8:20 pm
O’Brien – At the time, I didn’t even want us to sign Bibby. I was rooting for others, even young guns. It was obvious Bibby was slowing down. But Woody wanted him. And my understanding is we had to have the 3rd year guranteed because Bibby was going to sign somewhere else (Philly?) for the bucks if we didn’t gurantee it.
Marvin was a 22 year 2nd pick who had shown potential. We low balled him. He thought about it for a couple of weeks then accepted. I know we played well without Marvin in the lineup. That was when Mo’ could actually play. I really liked Mo’ then.
And who knew ZaZa was going to be Jon Contract? Wow he’s gotten worse. All i can say about ZaZa is that he plays hard. That’s about it.
Grandad
February 21st, 2011
8:20 pm
northcyde
On the one hand;
you have Fox News = zero journalistic integrity.
Yet FN causes a great deal of harm.
On the other hand;
“NBA trade rumors” may or may not = journalistic integrity.
But they don’t hurt nobody !
northcyde,
you tickle me sometimes.
But you don’t hurt nobody !
SteveW
February 21st, 2011
8:24 pm
O’Brien – No. When the season started, LD had Al at Center, and still plays him there most of the time. The Dampier thing was we had Al and ZaZa at C. Gearon had wanted Collins back, so he got into shape over the summer, after the AJC had run an article on him at the end of last season saying what great shape he was in, but that’s beside the point. Anyway, and we had Etan and Powell. It would have caused some dissension if we would have brought Damp in just because of playing time. LD had never played Al big at that point. But he had signed off on signing Shaq.
ag
February 21st, 2011
8:25 pm
ZaZa plays hard? Okay but he is terrible, even worse than Joncontract! I doubt he would be on any NBA roster either.
ATL FAN
February 21st, 2011
8:27 pm
Thabeet starting playing basketball when he was 15… he has no idea how to play
O'Brien
February 21st, 2011
8:29 pm
Steve W,
The ZaZa contract does not bother me that much.
But as for Bibby, you think Philly (who would not give Andre Miller a 3rd year guarantee, despite being one of the healthiest PGs the last 10 years), that they were going to give Bibby a 3rd year?
Doubtful.
As for Al at Center, of course he still plays him there most of the time. Who else is LD going to play there? ZaZa and Collins for 48 minutes combined?
ATL FAN
February 21st, 2011
8:31 pm
can you guys stop comparing the Bibby deal to the Miller deal? Miller was a much better player than Bibby ever was, still is, and his deal was WAY more valuable than the Hawks deal with Bibby
O'Brien
February 21st, 2011
8:32 pm
And we low balled Marvin?
Do you know how many teams had the salary cap space to offer Marvin a 5 year $37.5 mil deal? And of those teams with the salary space, do you know how many of them were in need of a SF?
I dont, but a good GM knows the answer to those questions. And uses the information to his advantage. Marvin was injured 2 out of the last 3 seasons, what was he going to do? Hold out for more money?
Especially when a 6′5″ SG played well enough so that we didnt collapse when Marvin was out?
Worldwide Clyde
February 21st, 2011
8:34 pm
Let’s play a game of how much the blowout will be on tuesday night. I say we get blown out by 25.
Grandad
February 21st, 2011
8:34 pm
If it came about that we ended up with:
Ramon Sessions + Ryan Gomes
and,
we lost Marv – JC2 -&- or – Teaguer – [Mo],
the Hawks would be a better team.
Bibby would be a designated gunner off the bench
-or-
start and give way to Sessions who would play more min.
When Jamal came in to play the [2] Joe would be free to play the [3].
Gomes, Josh & Joe could handle the min @ the [3] pos.
Basically we would be getting two quality NBA players for *one = [Marv]
*JC2 & Teaguer are not quality NBA ready…..yet.
Any way you slice it / it improves our depth this year.
Another point Sessions is a slasher who gets to the line.
SteveW
February 21st, 2011
8:38 pm
O’Brien – This is what I remember about the Bibby to Sixers thing. Remember also, Bibby is a couple of years younger than Miller, and would have been per year cheaper:
Mike Bibby reaches out to 76ers
Posted by Inside Hoops
Read more: http://www.insidehoops.com/blog/?p=4507#ixzz1EeCxwBWW
SteveW
February 21st, 2011
8:42 pm
O’Brien – The blogmonster keeps eating another post from July 1st 2009 saying Bibby was most likely going to get 10m per year. Can you believe it?
SteveW
February 21st, 2011
8:44 pm
Mike Bibby: most likely goner among Hawks free agents
* July 1st, 2009 11:19 pm ET
Atlanta Hawks Mike Bibby made the third highest salary — a few five-star meals shy of $15 million — among NBA point guards last season. He is nowhere close to the third best point guard.
Some team out there will offer Bibby a contract within range of $10 mil, maybe more. That’s how free agency works, especially in a shallow pool like this year’s.
That team likely won’t be the Hawks. They acquired Jamal Crawford by trade and Jeff Teague by draft. Both play the point, if not full-time.
So, let’s assume Bibby’s outa here. Who among the other significant Hawks free agents might be retained?
Forward Marvin Williams, probably, because he is a restricted free agent and the Hawks are inclined to grant him one more year before locking him in or cutting him loose. Too much upside to take a chance on getting burned.
Guard Flip Murray, probably, because he comes cheaply and is a prototype off-the-bench guy who starts occasionally without downgrading the lineup.
Big man Zaza Pachulia, maybe. Depends on if Z gets a whopping offer. The Hawks would welcome back the enforcer who backs down from nobody but won’t reach into a higher salary bracket.