Atlanta Hawks: Room for prospects

Hey whatya know? My First 1st!

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first?

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welcome back, blog monster took my first hit mc. guess it doesnt like * in certain places.

well glad these guys came into the real world of accountability. it should be cost effective if done right.

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David Lighty!! Defensive monster and a developing deep threat. Think Keith Bogans from the jump. He brings the toughness on the defensive end and on the boards that we sorely need. An athlete that can run with Teague and D-Up with Hinrich. He can play multiple positions. Lighty!!

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CAN Y’ALL PLEASE NOT CLOSE THIS BLOG UNTIL THE NEXT BLOG IS POSTED THANK YOU

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“Buck the odds.” lol. Speak for yourself Sund. Yall the ones that keep drafting players that NEVER come to Atl. And it aint like Uncle Larry is going to play him anyway. If he wouldnt play Jordan Crawford, what in the world makes you think he’ll play some 2nd rdr. To be honest, I cant believe we’ve still got a pick.

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Reinhardt? lol. I went to school there back in the late 80’s. Haha.

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Lighty is very versatile. Played everywhere from PG to PF for OSU.

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Also, I saw Keith Benson play against Michigan State at the Palace this year. Plus, I had watched him play on TV a few times prior to that. He is good. I think he will be a guy that can hang around the league. If he happens to fall to the Hawks, they can’t pass on him.

Benson can play. He comes from Oakland (which is located in the Detroit, MI area right next to the Palace), so not a lot of people have seen him. He could have started for almost all major division 1 teams.

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Just watched the Hawks select Pau Gasol for Vancouver. What a bummer. Hate watching NBA Classic Draft. lol. 2004,(Chills), 2005,(Duck), and 2006,(Shellhead) coming up.

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Now for my B-ball comments:

Goudelock, Jimmy butler, & Isaiah Thomas
will probably be the best available.

Ben Hansbrough & Matt Howard will most likely be available.
Both are tough & smart and could give a team quality minutes.
[moreso than JP]

I know the Hawks had Gilbert Brown in for a WO,
he would be a solid selection.
NBA body & can defend multiple pos./ also a tough guy.
[that's a given if you play for Pitt...right]

rumors:
mostly about Josh;
Josh to Wash.Wiz for McGee & one of their 1st round picks.
[there are others...all saying...we will trade Josh for a (Center)]

I would absolutely be ecstatic, if we had a chance for:
Kawhi Leonard or kenneth Faried.

I’m going out on a limb here;
Kawhi Leonard…..early, early, early choice for RookOTYear.

By the way Sund and Pendergaffe are full of manure.

•”Sund on the possibility of trading into the first round:
“This time of year there is always a lot of dialogue going on.
There’s probably less [potential deals]
with the uncertainty of the CBA
and people unwilling to pull the trigger”

Everywhere, everywhere, I mean everywhere I’ve read
is that folks [GM's] are wanting to get deals done…..before…..
July 1, due to the “uncertainty” of what the new CBA will bring.

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who cares about the heartless, never dive on the floor for a loose ball, cant shoot better than 30% hawks. not me

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Terrell, saw the ‘01 draft also….strange to see Gasol in a Hawks cap, a la Dr. J.
Hubie Brown raved about the trade of Rahim to the Hawks. What a disaster that turned out to be!

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Get your comments in now.. blog will be closed for comments in 5… 4… 3…

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Exactly how many draftees does Sund have overseas that he has deemed not ready to join the team yet? I think there are 2, but so far, what we have seen is very little contribution for foreign players. I think Diaw may have been the exception for us, yet he would probably be out of the league if he were still with us.
MC, you are going back a ways bringing up success for Sund in 2000. Is that how far its been since he has had a 2nd round pick that played real minutes in the NBA? And did you get any feel if they were showing any interest in getting a deal for Jamal? I know its draft time, but that is something they should have an answer on by now.

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A Shot in The Dark!

The Hawks reached the second round without Jamal Crawford. They were swept in the first showing, (injuries notwithstanding) they were record setting losers in their second appearance and they were shooed along this season.

How’s that for “A Difference”?

Here’s my point: Do we really need Jamal Crawford to advance our agenda, if the agenda is to see the ECF? Apparently not.
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Unless Jamal’s agent is looking for a sign and trade from the Hawks? Let’s move on people. We have seven players under contract now, I would like to see a substantial trade from somewhere amongst these seven players, two to three substantial UFA’s signed (rebounders and defenders) blue collar and effective role players whom are worked solidly into this rotation. And last but not least, a solid draft pick that can be that hidden gem, star, diamond.

See Boozer, Rodman, Haslem, et.al (and others).

For the love of basketball! Scout somebody!

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Why did ASG resign Sund? #SMH.

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Here is a real good senario.Move the entire team out of atlanta.

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I’ve been trying to keep up with the draft for the Hawks. Shelvin Mack and Isaiah Thomas still look like a couple of good players maybe available at #48. Chandler Parsons and Vernon Macklin as well.

Of course if Leslie, Shumpert, or Thompkins drop that far, I say nab’um!

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One draft scenario had us getting Ben Hansbrough from ND. They say his work ethic is off the charts.

Shooter, but can’t defend at this level.

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Another draft has us getting some guy from Hofstra, Charles Jenkins. Don’t know anything about him. Combo G, that’s about all I know. The site seemed to like him.

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STEVEW-we don’t need another shooter/scorer that’s a DEF liability. I’m certain we can find a shooter/scorer with our #48 pick that can play DEF.

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I’m just glad a new blog is up. Good to read that Sy and Rolle are working out too. The rumor I read the other day is that the Hawks really like Lavoy Allen and would probably take him if he’s still there. The Spurs are also rumored to like him. If the Hawks do move up I just hope they dont give up a future first in next years draft. The draft next year looks like it will be loaded granted the new CBA doesn’t change the age restriction.

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MC, if Sund is taking the best player available…THEN if Trey Thompkin is available at #48 then…no matter home town kid or what…you gotta take this kid with that pick…CUZ despite his body fat…he’s got a ton of talent.

It ain’t like we taking him…with the 5th pick of the draft…ie Sheldon…at the very lease…bring him in and work him out…and see what he’s got.

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MC,

As a Hawks fan, we are very disappointed that blogs have been closed for days. I’m not sure if you have any control over it, but in the future, we hope the ajc will not close the blog unless another one is being opened shortly thereafter.

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Kito Benson, John leuer, Shelvin Mack, nor Shumpert…
will be there when we pick. (I hope I’m wrong)
Lighty is doughtful also, but he’s a maybe.

* SteveW…..you asked & you shall recieve:
* Charle Jenkins is a terrific player.
I read where he is the sleeper of the draft.
He played the [2] at Hofstra, but insists he’s a [1].
(he played the two out of necessity)
2,500 career points, avg 5 assts per, 42.5% from 3 pt range.
He was 2nd to Goudelock in overall shooting at the combine.
Even though he is a scorer…he is very effecient;
he is an extremely low volume shooter avg only 14.5 shots per.
I actually watched film on the younster and was very impressed.
Absolute perfect shooting stroke & he gets to the line.
6-3, 218, has an NBA body.

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O’Brien

One way MC could keep the blog open would be…..
Write an Article !

We sold Tibor Pleiss, who was an excellent pick.
He would most likely be a lottery pick this yr.
OKC has him stashed in Europe.

The Heat have Vanardo stashed in Italy.

We drafted the right guy,
those cheap ass owners sold him.
We didn’t sell the pick we sold the player.
I realize OKC decided who to pick.
No way Pendergaffe finds a jewell !

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I like Lighty. He seems as if he could be the Hawks Ariza. An energetic wing player who can defend, and handle the ball decent. That is someone who could provide good bench help at minimum. Why not fill the bench with young wing players who want to defend and run, with old, grizzled veterans in the front court who want to bang and rebound. Out work and out run your opponents and you’re guaranteed to finish over .500 every season (look at Houston). Then you add that with the starting lineup and you have momentum shifters in the playoffs.

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LOL Grandad

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College senior… good rebounder and physical… Dear God NO! Is Shelden Williams in the draft again this year?!?!?

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I’ve been reading alot of garbage with the blog down.

Has anyone read or heard that Jordo Crawford has
some sort of off-court issues;
I read that somewhere [no memory].
“off-court issues” personal, problematic, attitude,
female, legal, family, coachability, or is he a knucklehead ?

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O’Brien, on the rebounding in college thing, I was really high on Gani Lawal last year because Tech almost won an ACC championship with a back court that could barely get the ball over the half court line. I felt like Gani’s talents were overshadowed by Derrick Favors much like Eric Bledsoe’s were by John Wall.

Of course Gani got hurt and never got a chance to show anything in Phoenix. I was also down on Pape Sy all season, but the few minutes of garbage time I saw him play at the end of the season, he looked like he might develop into a contributor. I still would have taken Derrick Caracter at that pick. He didn’t earn alot of minutes on LA’s front line, obviously.

After reviewing the numbers I’m not really big on Shumpert or Leslie because we’ve already got a point who can’t shoot. I’d rather take a shot with Ben Hansbrough.

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I don’t think Smith goes. Nor Kirk for that matter. I think we might lose Marvin and Zaza. Marvin for obvious reasons…and Zaza for inconsistency.

But IMO, Zaza shows up for the playoffs…even if he’s absent for the regular season.

I wish I could add my own 2 cents into this 48th pick conundrum, but I don’t know ANYONE in this draft nor do I pay attention to any college players.

So until Thursday…..take care!

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The Zaza who showed up for the last two months of the season is a pretty good player and a pretty good value for his contract. The Zaza who was on the bench before that is a pretty terrible player.

Good Zaza provides some things the Hawks otherwise lack. I’d still rather see the Hawks pursue someone who can provide his energy and rebounding but also provide a more imposing defensive presence. DeAndre Jordan would be ideal, but he might be out of the Hawks’ price range. Samuel Dalembert wouldn’t be a bad consolation prize at the right price.

I am still not comfortable with the idea of Zaza starting next to Al when neither one shows any inclination to play help defense. (Side note: by help defense I am including things like taking charges, not just shot blocking. Jason Collins does a pretty good job on help defense despite not being a shot blocker.) Zaza is a consummate bench player in my opinion.

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The LA Times is doing a multi-part series on this year’s free agents. Of course their analysis is all from a Lakers perspective, but a lot of those free agents could address needs for the Hawks as well.

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If the Hawks brass wants a young guy to play that’s not a high lottery pick (Al, Marvin), they should hire a new head coach.

Ain’t gonna happen with this guy, unless he’s changed alot.

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KenS – I agree. But the dilemma is this: You have a Coach who runs the Motion O. So you need a jump shooter (we’re a team of jumpshooters now, remember?). Notice Sund’s comments above.

But at #48, you probably won’t find a defensive presence who’s also a good J shooter, or he would be picked much higher than #48.

But yes, I hope your right. Defense first:

Combo G’s in the draft maybe available:
Charles Jenkins
Shelvin Mack
Diante Garret (looks like a baller)
Ben Hansbrough
Demetri Mcamey
Goudelock and Wannamaker

Wings that fit Mr. Sunds criteria:

E’Twaun Moore
David Lighty
Marshon Brooks
Justin Holiday
Gary Flowers
Some other guys including Deibler

Bigs:

Jon Leuer
Chandler Parsons
Malcolm Thomas
Josh Harrelson
Vernon Macklin
Keith Benson
Rick Jackson

Pendefraft and Sund have seen these guys workout, so I’m sure they have a handle on it (I hope).

Guys that intrigue me in the draft:

Parsons
Harrelson
Mack
Jenskins
Hansborugh
Moore
Garrett
Keith Benson
And maybe Vernon Macklin. Looked awfully slow to me on a video clip.

Oh well, we’ll see what happens

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Buddy G..

co-sign your comments on Lawal..

hawks need to address specialist.. rather it be rebounders, shooters, defensive, slashers.. no more jack of all trade guys, we just dont have the coaching prowess to harness and define roles..

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Next season, my prediction:

The Hawks 8-13 is basically a mid-level D League team. We may sign a Grant Hill (doubt it) or a Josh McRobert/Jeff Foster as our “big” off season acquisition to get us to the next level. But I think Rolle, Sy, #48 and maybe some more castoffs are virtual locks to make the team.

With little depth, Larry Drew in an effort to save his job will play the starters more than he should. Al, JJ, Josh, Teague, Hinrich, Marvin all begin to break down with various nagging injuries. Maybe a major 1 or 2 also.

And because we have so little depth, ZaZa, maybe Wilkens if he re-signs, Collins (same), we begin to really stink on the court.

And as we get beat by 30+ on a regular basis, Larry is fired. And instead of bringing in a competent Coach, in an effort to save money, we let Lester Conner finish out the season.

We make the lottery.

We draft next years version of Sheldon Williams.

And we stink, with a bloated payroll, and almost no young players.

And we become the Minnesota Timberwolves of the South.

And that’s my glass half full version. My glass half empty version is the economy collapses, natural disasters increase, and the U.S. descends into chaos like we’ve never seen.

Oh well.

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Pape sy can become a Sg and sund likes rebounding here you go a playmaker with sizerebounding and shooting in Chandler Parsons from Florida 6′10 and can be a SF He could be our future Sf and send josh away for a center. He has great potential.

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This dude just said chandler freaking parsons has great potential, hmmmhahahaaa, oh boy.

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Some how or way get an earlier pick and acquire leslie. Extreme defender from jump street and possibly a wade like player in the future.

Second rounders have not been our friend, look back 20 years and name a half way decent player. Salim over the likes of gortat. monta. lou williams, etc.So much talent the second round had in 2005.

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Rubbish I Say…..I have no faith that we will find a hidden gem at pick 48. See.Akoyl and Gladyr

Sign Deandre Jordan and Aarron Afflolo

Let JC1/Powell/ EThomas walk….

Trade Marvin and ZaZA for Dalembert

Who ever we pick at 48 will never see the court…..

Pape Sy should be given more minutes this guy is just as good as marvin IMO……..

Teague/JJ/Josh/Al/Jordan

Heinrich/Afflalo/Sye/Dalembert/Wilkins/

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AC/DC!

“ehh … pick 48 will either be a steal or a ???

sidenote: Sure wish we would hire old Laker Michael Cooper to coach Sy this summer …. work him into a defensive wonder” – Marcus -
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A Battery – A Motor!

Marcus, very insightful comment here. I would rather see that #48 pick used to select a heart-filled rebounding specialist in the mold of an
un-drafted Dennis Rodman “HOF’er”. He was special, crazy – but, special. Look for an AC Green type player, perhaps AC Green stamina stemmed from being a 40 year old virgin, (no premarital sex and never married while he played). His body type was unremarkable, but his game was nothing short of remarkable in the 80’s. Fat chance on drafting another principled virgin from generation “Y”:
(why were they born? -smirks-).

These ASKG owners are the equivalent of 8 collective wizards, hiding behind a flimsy curtain, pushing random buttons to no avail, but to the detriment of separating ownership powers from operational powers.

Here’s my point:

“The truly successful in business possess the ability to hire the right people, and allow them to do their job.” -arthur unknown-

“When two people in business agree – one of them is unnecessary.”
-arthur unknown-
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Give the keys to the car to Sund, give your GM a blank check and leave us all alone. Whatever this ownership group did prior to purchasing these three properties? Go back to doing that!

These ASKG people commandeered this franchise away from
David McDavid and proceeded to royally muck it all up with un-evened personal and individual agendas, rising to the level of an unprecedented tyrannical and anarchist mentality. Blame the poor vetting of fiscal worthiness performed by Ted Turner and to a worse degree David Stern.

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I am “Ye of little faith” I am the quintessential non-believer of The ASKG management. How long does it take these owners and management team to realize that they have flawed principals when it comes to making making picks? Thirty-One years for Sund and only lord knows how many for Pendergraft? Who are these people?

International picks, sold picks for cash, picks that are never developed, tested only to be traded away? For the love of basketball – scout somebody and pick your needs! Do your job – or blow the whistle!
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Sund! Pull your pants up around your neck, and go get yourself a rebounder with that #48 pick! Why can’t you do that? You are on the clock, you got a week to get a PC a Mac and do your job.
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And, one more thing … Will someone @ AJC step up and monitor a decent blog? Check in, feed the fan base and interject a comment inside of a blue/gray box intermittently. I hope that’s not an unrealistic expectation.

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Horford should no longer be the hawks starting center, the hawks where rank almost dead last in rebounding.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Kwame Brown may be the hawks best option.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!

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drmaryb (*_-)

Regarding your 2:26 pm post: OFF THE CHART!!

Congratulation! You just won the “The Truth” award today. You effectively and efficiently hit so many points with great clarity, I won’t bother posting today. That was a Grandad on steroids post.

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If Josh Harralson is available….PLEASE take him. Kid doesn’t have the talent of some others, but he has FIRE IN THE BELLY. What he lacks in skill, he overcompensates with heart. He willed Kentucky to that championship. Not the flash of their skill dudes, but they don’t win without his muscle and will to win. That’s the kind of intangible Sund was talking about. Josh H has FIRE, muscle and bones break in his wake. He’ll never be All anything…..but a winner he surely is.

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TTrade Marvin and kirk for lottery pick and draft Kemba Walker. Let him run the 2nd unit. Him and Teague would be crazy.

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We need to sign Sean Williams. He’s learnt his lesson.

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” can you say SF LJames is better than JJohnson, but can you say he’s DRASTICALLY better”

Yes. Emphatically.

Those other Heat players may not be better than their Hawks counterparts, but the reason the Heat are a much better team than the Hawks is because Wade and LeBron are drastically better than anyone on the Hawks roster.

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NAJEH-It’s more than just Wade and Lebron, or even Bosh. They are not encoumbered by a HC who forces them to try and function within an OFF system or concept that he’s in love with and doesn’t suit them. Everyone is allowed to do what they do best, and they play solid DEF. They didn’t get to the NBA finals just because of Wade and Lebron.

Are you telling me the Hawks would be just as good as the Heat if we had Lebron and Wade and they were being forced to play in LDrew’s MOTION OFF, along with his disdane for DEF over OFF? The point I was making, to those who insist on believing a 7′ shotblocker is imperative to any chance of success, is they proved that a team with a so called lack of size and height can be very successful.

The Hawks, with AHorford in the middle, aren’t the exception to that rule.

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Btw,

I decided to check this Kyrie Irving kid out. How is it that he is a freshman…..thats played only 11 games in college…and is the projected number 1 pick!?

I hope he avoids the same path that Kwame and Darko took!

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The best way for the Hawks to get the type of center it wants is to see if Dallas is willing to trade BHeywood for Zaza, which would save them around $2.5M. We could use the trade exception to cover the additional salary we’d have to take back. We’d still be under the current luxury tax cap with this trade. We’re currently just over $3M under the current luxury tax cap, and with JCrawford’s expiring contract coming off, we’d gain some additional cap relief.

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MC,

Thanks for rescuing us from blog oblivion.

Can you tell us if the TPE that we got from Phoenix in the Chills trade is likely to be used, and if so, how and on whom?

Thanks.

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Senior SG David Lighty from Ohio St.

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Since the Heat are in our Division, here is a ahort analysis of them:

Pat Riley will pull out all of the stops to win this year, the 11-12 season. Every vet min. guy that can help them will be heavily recruited.

But the facts are:

1) If Boston would have had Kendrick Perkins or a healthy Shaq, they would have been the Heat’s equal, at least. The Heat sure didn’t dominate that series, and that was with J O’Neal and Big Baby in the 5 spot most of that series. And Rondo played with 1 arm for some of the series as well.

2) If the Heat don’t win it next year, they may never in the Big 3 era. Wade’s style of play is exciting, but doesn’t breed longevity in the NBA. Next year is probably his last, great year, and then the decline.

- Mike Miller is getting old, and has a very bad long term contract.
- Same with Haslem
- I like Joel Anthony, but he’s probably nearing his peak
- Mario Chalmers I like, but he’s nothing more than a lower tier PG in the NBA. Would be a good 10-15 mpg backup, but he’s not great.

Look for the C’s and Lakers to make 1 more last push for a championship.

Look for the Thunder and the Grizzlies to keep making noise in the East

And if Chicago gets Jamal or Jason Richardson, look out for them this next season.

5-2 odds or not, the Heat are not going to waltz into a championship next season. They may win it all, but it won’t be easy.

One last point, that being said, if Haslem and Miller stay healthy next season, along with the Big 3, the Heat may win a crazy amount of game. A year of playing together will do wonders for them.

But if Boston gets some beef in the middle, they, along with some other teams, can give the Heat a fight.

Looks to be an interesting season.

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Ra’mon,

I even think a possible deal of Horford and Marvin for D. Jordan and E. Gordon would be possible, and a great deal for the Hawks..

Plenty of issues with that trade.

1) Even with a sign and trade, the salaries are not going to match (Horford and Marvin make $19.5 mil combined, Gordon makes $4 mil, and D. Jordan is a free agent).

2) Why would the Clippers trade Gordon, who is a career 18 pts, 3 assists and 3 rebs per game player, and still on a rookie contract?

3) Why would the Clippers want Marvin?

One thing we agree on is I also prefer Dalembert over Haywood.

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My thoughts are that Al Horford is a superior player compared to D Jordan. And if the Clippers feel they will lose Jordan for nothing. They’re basically trading an often injured Gordon for an all star in Al, who can team up with Griffin to form a nice front court. And sadly so Marvin would be the best defensive wing that LAC has immediately.

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Steve, just another instance where our head coaches have scarred the roster indirectly (i.e. Woodson’s on a veteran pg over Paul or D. Williams. ).

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Joe, actually it’s the opposite. We didn’t rank high in defense because of Crawford and Bibby logged so many minutes at PG or SG. With Teague and Kirk the numbers went down, and will only get better with a full year to play together. The defense in the playoffs was actually pretty good. The problem came when 8 minutes would go by with the Hawks only scoring 5 points. And not having anyone on the bench come with energy and rebound or defend. The starting lineup is actually pretty good against others. Its been pretty good for a while. Especially when you substitute Teague in for Bibby. Now its just getting another wing player who can defend, rebound, and dribble.

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OBRIEN-I agree with you whole heartedly about Spoelstra getting out coached, but he’s not the main culprit. During the last 2 gms when Dallas took control and won it all, where was the Lebron James that scored, rebounded, defended and dished, as well as took and made so many clutch jumpers?

Were was the egotistical, arrogant and confident Lebron James that walked down the corridor joking and laughing with DWade about Dirk being sick and caughing? Spoelstra certainly didn’t tell him to pass up all of those shots he had no problem taking and making earlier. He punked out and put the responsibility on everyone else when he realized he could no longer over power his defender or their DEF.

Apparently with Lebron, there’s a big difference between taking and making jump shots when he wants to, as opposed to taking and making them when he has no other options. As far as Pape Sy is concerned, it was LDrew who raved about his size, PG skills and tenacious DEF and insisted that we buyout his contract and sign him. We certainly got to see more than 21mins of his speed, quickness and DEF ability during the summer and D-leagues.

He’s not some rookie coming straight out of college. He’s been through an NBA training camp, summer league, D-league, and he has several yrs of experience as a professional. He’s potentially a far better option, skill, maturity and production wise, than just about any guard we’ll pick at #48. How long are we going to keep using what we don’t know to keep us from finding out what we need to know? Haven’t we learned anything from the JTeague saga?

RAMON-co-sign your 4:14PM post. I didn’t mention Delembert because he’s a FA, and he’d have to take a 55% cut to be in Heywood’s salary range. Also, in an article posted earlier about the LA Lakers FA assessment, it stated he would’t likely sign with them because he wants to start, or at least play starter mins.

Now, if he’d accept a sign and trade for a salary in Heywood’s range, and the Kings accepted Zaza or Marvin in return, it could work. With Zaza we’d have to use the TRADE EXCEPTION, but with Marvin it would work straight up. I also agree that DJordan would be a great addition, but he’s exactly what the Lakers are looking for.

It’s been said he’s rather lazy, especially in transition DEF, but the Lakers feel they have the veteran leadership to make him work. And as we all know, that’s what the Hawks are lacking, both on the court and on the bench.

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From the mock draft on foxsports.com;

25. Boston Celtics — Trey Thompkins, PF, Georgia:

He doesn’t wow you with athleticism, but his skill level is that of an NBA vet. He needs to cut out the fast food and has a questionable motor, toughness and work ethic. If Jeremy Tyler doesn’t set off major red flags in psychological testing, he’s a real possibility here, too..

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O’brien, They can do that. Most teams would do that. But if the Clippers did that, then the Clippers wouldn’t be the Clippers.

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I think if that happened, Minny would trade down to the # 5 pick and pick up a player and the pick.

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“They are not encoumbered by a HC who forces them to try and function within an OFF system or concept that he’s in love with and doesn’t suit them. Everyone is allowed to do what they do best, and they play solid DEF. They didn’t get to the NBA finals just because of Wade and Lebron. ”

First of all, they play solid defense in large part because of Wade and LeBron. Pretty much any team that has two wing players with that kind of speed and athleticism is going to be pretty good defensively.

Secondly, the problem with the Hawks isn’t the existence of the motion offense. The problem is LD’s inability to get the Hawks to run it properly. There is no law that states that a properly executed motion offense has to result in jump shots. In fact, a properly executed motion offense should result in a lot of off the ball screens, back door cuts, and shots near the basket, which are all things the Hawks don’t do. Jump shooting helps, obviously, just like it does with any other offense since it helps to spread the floor and create space. But the Hawks did not run a motion scheme this season, or else you would have seen a lot more off the ball movement and a lot fewer possessions in which the Hawks settled for jumpers.

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“Are you telling me the Hawks would be just as good as the Heat if we had Lebron and Wade and they were being forced to play in LDrew’s MOTION OFF, along with his disdane for DEF over OFF?”

Maybe not, but the Hawks would be much better than they are now if LeBron and Wade were playing for LD instead of Joe, Smoove, and Al.

“The point I was making, to those who insist on believing a 7′ shotblocker is imperative to any chance of success, is they proved that a team with a so called lack of size and height can be very successful.”

A 7 foot shot blocker is not as imperative to success defensively if you have two of the most athletic wing players in NBA history and a quintessential dirty work guy who is also a capable shot blocker in his own right in Joel Anthony. It is much more imperative to success when you are the Hawks and your only good help defender is a tweener forward who can’t and won’t play inside all the time.

The point is that while LD has several very obvious shortcomings, simply replacing him with someone better is not going to put the Hawks on the same level as a team that has two of the three best players in the league. Unless Teague develops into an All Star, the Hawks are not going to become an elite team with this group of players, period.

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@Ken …Okay maybe not a drastic difference in talent -they are all professionals but they do have 2 top 10 player s – Bosh top 5 PF

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@Ramon I feel u man If we could get lebron /Anthony for JJ/Al I would do it in a minute.

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By the way, the trade exception expires July 1, so if the Hawks are going to use it they have to do so within the next couple of weeks.

I think it’s safe to say they won’t use it, seeing as how it would put them over the luxury tax.

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Going forward these are the players that i have watched and have liked. Most of these will be gone by the time the Hawks pick but I think out of this group there are a few of these that will be available for the Hawks pick at 48

Jimmer
Kemba
Klay
Singleton
Faried
Motie
J.Harper
Selby
R.Jackson
C.Jenkins
Brooks
Morris
Vucevic
W.Reed
Tyler
T.Harris
Honeycutt
G.Smith
Shumpert
Biyombo
J.Hamilton
Malcom Lee
Keith Benson
Andrew Goudelock
Alec Burks
Jordan Hamilton
Tyler Honeycut
Travis Leslie
Etwan Moore
Parsons
Stone

Going forward what do you feel are the two biggest needs for the Hawks?I would like to strengthen the bench to get some depth.The one thing and I dont think Drew will do this is that maybe he needs to focus more on being a defensive team than offensive. Sometimes I feel he sacrifices offense for defense too much

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“How is it that he is a freshman…..thats played only 11 games in college…and is the projected number 1 pick!?” – Emir S.

I have a whole huge conspiracy theory on that and it all starts the day Jeff Schultz walked into the 640 WGST studios and sat down with me and Art Mehring and told us Marvin Williams was likely the Hawks pick because of his “superstar” potential.

Who decided Marvin had superstar potential? He wasn’t even a starter at North Carolina. He never had a transcendent game like when Derrick Williams DESTROYED Duke in the NCAA tournament this year. He may have hit every shot in his workout with the Hawks, but I believe his talent was overstated by scouts around the NBA because that’s what they do.

It’s gamesmanship among NBA franchises where they try to get sucker organizations like the Hawks to take project players like Marvin rather than potential All-Stars like Deron Williams and Chris Paul, who were the most talented point guards to come out of college in a generation. Who benefits? Organizations with veteran, competent front offices like the Utah Jazz.

Last year I felt Wes Johnson and Evan Turner were overrated. No way I would have taken either of those players over Cousins or Favors. Yes Cousins has huge character issues. He’s also one of the most skilled and talented big men in the NBA. For that kind of talent, you hire pschologists, you hire mentors, you hire anybody you have to hire to make that player reach his potential.

“BHeywood for Zaza…” Ken S.

Heywood’s health scares me.

“Would you trade Marvin for Beasley?” – Ra’mon

Yes, and same situation here with Beasley as what I discussed regarding DeMarcus Cousins. Phil Jackson took Rodman and Artest and made them champions. If your organization doesn’t have the front office talent or the coaching talent to manage NBA talent, it’s time to consider some new hires.

“Unless Teague develops into an All Star, the Hawks are not going to become an elite team with this group of players, period.” – Najeh

I think Teague has that potential given what he accomplished as a second-year player going up against the league MVP. But I think more important will be Josh Smith’s emergence as an All-Star. I think if Josh makes the All-Star team this year, even if Joe and Al are left off (as I suspect they will be, especially Joe) the Hawks go to the ECF.

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Ra’mon, from everything I’ve read the Wolves want to trade with the Wizards but want Javelle McGhee. The Wiz dont want to give him up but want to pair Derrick Williams with John Wall. Its said that if the Wolves cant move that pick they will take Williams and make Beasley available. If Beasley is out there I think the Hawks shoud try and get him. He could be the scorer off the bench to replace Jamal. Khan seems clueless and might not ask much for Beasley. I think a lot of trades will be made during the draft next week.

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And really, the only one of those that I think even has a chance to be filled using the draft pick is #3. There are plenty of combo guards that are projected to go in the second round, and it’s possible the Hawks luck out into picking one who can play.

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If salary wasnt the issue who would you rather have Ellis or Andre Iguldora (sp)?

Nahjeh, Carl Landry I have always liked, also i think would be a good pickup if he takes a vet minimum off the bench is Vince Carter

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we need size and not more Magnum Rolles. all skinny bigs do is give up size on both ends.

Give up a layup on defense and shoot jumpers on the other end. Get us some bangers and a 7foot power forward or a guy like Elton Brand/David West with the wingspan/length of a 7′3 – 7′5 player.

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“If salary wasnt the issue who would you rather have Ellis or Andre Iguldora ”

Definitely Iguodala. Iguodala plays defense and plays small forward, a position of weakness for the Hawks. Ellis plays no defense and plays shooting guard, a position of strength for the Hawks.

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Marvin for Beasley? Am I missing something here? I would trade Marvin, Hinrich, and a 1st pick for Beasley.

A front 4 of JJ, Beasley, Josh, and Al would be solid. Is there character issues with Beasley? Work Ethic?

I’ve just always been one of these trade 2 or 3 for 1 quality guy. Beasley seems like he’s way ahead of Marvin, and younger, to me.

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I don’t think Minny would draft Irving if he’s available. Maybe Kanter or Valanciunas. Darko’s not exactly an answer at the 5 for them.

Just found out Beasley has been in trouble with weed – so Marvin with a bad back and Beasley with weed issues = an exchange of the underachieving #2 picks.

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Keith Benson would be a steal in the second round for the Hawks. I saw him play 3 times this past season. He has great offensive skills. He will need to bulk up some, but he has a NBA future IMHO. I don’t think he will be available @ #48. The Hawks will have to trade up to get Benson.

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News Flash!!

Below is a possible trade that would be very controversial. Would any of you Hawks fans be brave enough to make this trade??

http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=6ddvu6r

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Buddy,

He will be afraid of being fired during the season since his contract is not guaranteed past next year, so he will go all out in the regular season and save nothing for the playoffs..

Disagreed.

Woody won 47 games, and then 53 games in the regular season, but lost his job because he got swept in the playoffs twice. LD only won 44 regular season games, but Rick was impressed with his playoff performance.

I think LD will be ok winning 46 games as long as they do well in the playoffs.

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Why can’t we develop young talent? It’s been 20 years, can’t we get something out of someone? All we ever do is ride what we have and hope for some washed up vet to save the day. We never improve players…ever.

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Agreed = Sund will rate LD on his playoff accomplishments.

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Lebron, like Al and Josh needs a post game to be effective at the next level. He looked lost, just like our boys when it counted.

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Do we really expect our draft pick to see time anywhere but the D-League? If no trade happens before July 1st this team stays put as is. No changes till after the lockout…if even then.

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NBAdraft.net has the Hawks drafting Charles Jenkins, a PG/SG combo from Hofstra. Has anybody heard of this guy or seen him play?

Strengths: Strong combo guard with excellent scoring ability … Has good length at 6′3.25″ with a wingspan of 6′7.5″… Super efficient, shooting 51.7% from the field … Good shot selection, rarely forces the issue… Really developed his shooting ability at school… In senior season, averaged 2.0 made threes per game at a 42% clip … Very skilled in spot up shooting situations… Can drive to the basket well with either hand …

Impressive assist/turnover ratio (2.16 assists per turnover) and good overall playmaking ability suggest he can play the point guard position at the next level… Very unselfish… Makes an effort defensively… With his long arms and good anticipation, he forces a good amount of steals (1.7 SPG)… Clutch performer… Smart kid who plays very hard….

Weaknesses: Not a true point guard … Had to be ball-dominant at Hofstra and ball-dominant scoring role-players are a dime a dozen in the NBA … Exposed when isolated defensively … Is prone to getting beat off the dribble …

How he would fit into a better team and in a team concept is debatable … Had a standing reach of just 8′0.5 which is the same as Jimmer Fredette who measaured just over 6′ feet barefoot … .

Overall: Players like Jenkins are not rare in the NBA but can be very valuable… He has the tools to transition into a solid drive and dish point guard or spot-up shooting guard if he finds a team that is willing to give him a chance in their rotation ….

A team willing to give him a chance in their rotation? That does not sound like LD. But I do think the Hawks will draft a combo guard.

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Lebron is not wired to be a post player. He does not need post moves.. He a wing w/o a mid range game!

1000 jumps shot per-day from 14-21 feet this summer will address that portion of his game and then he will be like Mike and stick a folk in his opponents in the 4th quarters and seal the deal….

Also should learn to use glass from time to time too…

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Share your trade
http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=6bqsg25

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And sign free agent wilcox.
STARTER TEAGUE, ELLIS, JOSH, HORFORD, BEIDRIN
BENCH HINRICH, DAMIEN, WRIGHT, WILCOX, COLLINS
RESERVE PAPE SY, HILTON
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Lebron is not wired to be a post player. He does not need post moves.. He a wing w/o a mid range game!

1000 jumps shot per-day from 14-21 feet this summer will address that portion of his game and then he will be like Mike and stick a folk in his opponents in the 4th quarters and seal the deal….

Also should learn to use glass from time to time too

slimjr,

Lebron will need a post game because his athleticism he will being to lose in a few years. He has already lost a bit. He can lenthen his career working on a post up game. That is what Jordan and Kobe did. He does need to work on a midrange game but if he had a post game he would be unstoppable cause his size and strength would be too much.I am not sure i see him developing a post up game

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“Do we really expect our draft pick to see time anywhere but the D-League?” – Fundamentals

No, we don’t expect it. But finding a Landry Fields/Monta Ellis/Manu Ginobli-style second round miracle is just about the only conceivable way to improve this team. The key advantage to a second round pick is they fill a roster spot and are extremely cheap, plus you don’t have to guarantee the contract for multiple years like a first round pick.

I wouldn’t be surprised if our rotation next year was limited to:

Starters

Hinrich
JJ
Marvin
Smoove
Al

Bench

Teague
Zaza
Damien
Collins

I would like the Hawks to re-sign Armstrong and give him minutes in an effort to help him develop into a legit rotational player but I don’t see it happening. He has the physical tools but he’s just a bad basketball player.

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Prospects? Isn’t this team full of enough prospects?

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Charles Jenkins looks aiight. But, we need some size in the paint, a rebounder/defender who is not a fouling machine. Should we get that via trade(s) or free agency, then I have no problem with Jenkins @ #48.

But still, I’d rather take a chance on a rebounder with that pick.

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BUDDY GRIZZARD-Co-sign. There’s no way of telling how many losses we could have prevented if LDrew had given more mins to DEF minded players like DWilkins and JTeague, instead of relying on Bibby and/or Jamal to score more pts than they gave up. With a DEF minded guard rotation of JJ, Teague, Sy, and Hinrich, the number of steals, deflections, turnovers and fast break opportunities and pts will increase.

Also, a solid perimeter DEF rotation will reduce the need for interior help DEF, which was a constant issue with Bibby or Jamal on the court.
Hinrich can make the 3 like Bibby, and will give us all of the intangibles some felt Bibby provided. However, he can provide us with production that Bibby couldn’t/didn’t.

He has a midrange gm, he can penetrate, create easy scoring opportunities for others, and play DEF. These are things we seldom, if ever, got from Bibby. Although Jamal could penerate, and light up a scoreboard at any given time, he was still a one trick pony who seldom tried to play any DEF. Right now, all of the 8 players under contract have some DEF skills, and none can be labeled as DEF liabilities.

In the playoff series against the Bulls, I believe Teague averaged over 15PPG, and he did it against the leagues MVP and the NBA’s top ranked DEF. He now has confidence in himself, as well as the trust and support of his teammates. And hopefully LDrew can get past his bias against him because of his youth, and because he proved him wrong when finally given a chance.

FUNDAMENTALS-I don’t see how trading away 1 or 2 players will significantly change the culture of this team as long as we have the same coaching staff, with the same approach, and the same OFF/DEF systems.

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Yes, Larry has got to step up big time! Let Teague do his thing. He will be a play maker!

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Hawks should already have re-signed Jamal. I’m seeing comments like he will be easily replaced…..can’t play defense.

Heck, what would be wrong with making him play some defense? In the “you play defense or you’ll be benched mode”…which I hope will be applied to Josh Smith next season.

As for as getting his own shot and touch…..Jamal Crawford is one of the most creative ballplayers ever. So, don’t kid yourself……you’re not going to replace him.

Sign the dude and work on his weak points.

Guess

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Thug Love!

SlimJr baby! 4-Reel man, this team need a weed smoking thug on it!
Udonis in Miami smokes much weed too. He was arrested last summer and got his charges dropped.

We need some players man, we holding court – not church. LOL!

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If sund could bring DW into camp and work him against the three amigos he would be surprised how good this dude really is and throw out any negative scouting reports…

Scottie jettison the core to take us to the ECF for the very first time in this Century??? Decade?? Couple of years?

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“drmaryb, do u think jamal will be back?what did you think of the finals with dallas and miami?were you suprised dallas won?”
- brigadierjerry -

No. I picked Dallas in 6. My exact comments were that Dallas has too much fire power and team balance at all positions to lose to Miami.
That series to me was like 3 on 10.

I never want to see Miami and Bron-Bron win a title – EVER!
Besides, I love Dirk and Jet, they were past due in winning a title. Once they swept the Lakers, it was a wrap for me.

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Jamal may go to Miami for a chance to win a title @ a discount, just to stick it to the Hawks. He’ll probably want a minimum of 6M though, I don’t think the Heat can swing that price tag though.

If Jamal can’t get a good deal with the Hawks, he may as well start his Ring crusade and float from team to team each year.

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“Why people keep saying ellis play no defense is absurd to me, the guy AVG 2 steals a game.”

There’s a lot more to defense than steals and blocks. Any athletic player can gamble on every pass and rack up steals while giving up a ton of points every time they don’t manage to get in the passing lane in time. The Warriors suck at team defense and Ellis sucks at individual defense.

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*arund means the same thing as around in Bislamic.

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McGee…McGee…McGee…McGee…McGee…McGee…McGee…

Capital GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG

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@Grandad

Are you able to reveal what sources?

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Poor Bibby. Got a DNP-CD in the last game of the Finals, no ring and he forgo his salary for next year. I think we may have seeing the last of Bibby.

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“Josh to Chicago for Boozer & Asik.”
Then go get Derrick at the 3!
Al= 5, Boozer= 4, Derrick= 3! Me like..Who would min take to give up that #2 pick?

ZaZa, Hinrich, Marvin,future picks? Cash, shoe models??? et al…..

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7′1″^^

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The end of the world must be close.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!

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The Wolves want McGee but the Wiz dont want to move him. I dont think the Hawks have the pieces to aquire him. Khan might give up a lot to get McGee. Wall, Derrick Wiiliams, Nick Young, and Jordan Crawford would be a nice set of young players. They just need a better coach.

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Laterality!

I would not trade Josh for McGee. Josh does more … Stat stuffer.

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I just don’t see how some of you continue to think these teams will be willing to give up talented young centers for players other teams want to get rid of. And I don’t see the Hawks trading Josh, or any other player of value, for CBoozer and his contract, even if Asik is included. We already have DEF issues and trading for Boozer would only make it worse.

He’s certainly no more productive than Josh offensively, isn’t in his class defensively, and would costs more. It would make more sense financially, talent and need wise, to try and work out a trade for BHeywood, or a sign and trade for Dalembert.

Unlike Asik, they are proven rebounders and defenders, and both would be a lot cheaper to acquire than a Boozer/Asik combo. We’d have to give up a lot more to match Boozer and Asik’s salaries than we would to acquire either Heywood or Dalembert. Plus, with Dalembert or Heywood, we won’t have to add an extra player, and DEF liability.

I’d steer clear of anything that involves the Bulls and Boozer.

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Nice trade idea hoops- I would do it ….lets face it marvin basiclly gave us nothing this year and JJ had a down season for him. By trading two underacheiving peices from the CORE we add a scoring SG a Legit Sf and a 7footer who could start with Smoove /Al…….lets do it

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Although Mitch Lawrence apparently has no credibility:

“Jamal Crawford better pack his bags. As important as he has been to the Hawks as their sixth man, he’ll have to go elsewhere as a free agent to get the big payday he’s seeking.”

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/2011/06/18/2011-06-18_raptors_take_a_pass_on_landing_knicks_mike_dantoni_opt_for_defensiveminded_dwane.html#ixzz1PjznqNwZ

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First,Happy Father’s Day to all of the Dads! Second, glad that the AJC has allowed us the privilige of posting on their website,on a semi-regular basis.

Now on to the Hawks. SMH at some of the ideas being floated on this board. With the proven record of the ASG; the pending NBA lockout and the general attitude about professional basketball here in a hard core college football town, I am not filled with a lot of warm fuzzies about the Hawks’ future right now. Even with three straight playoff appearences; a .500 record in the playoffs this year with a rookie head coach and the potential decline of some of the Eastern Conference’s traditional powerhouse teams(Orlando), I am having my doubts. But hey, life goes on.

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GRANDAD-I sorry to burst your bubble, but we can’t trade for JMcGhee. His salary is $1.6M and we don’t have anything of value in that price range that would motivate them to consider trading him. I’m sure they would seriously consider JSmith or AHorford, but they would have to give up all of their size, in ABlatche, Yi and McGhee, to come close to matching salaries.

Now, a sign and trade with Denver for Nene could work. They need a PF, and with Nene opting out of his contract, there might be some interest on their part in a sign and trade for JSmith or Horford. The only problem I see with this trade scenario is Nene isn’t as productive overall as Josh or Horford. All we’d gain out of it would be an inch or so in height, which is about all some of our fans seem to think we need in the middle.

A trade with Dallas could get us the center we covet. But they already have a starting center and PF, so they would have little interest in Horford or Josh. However, with JKidd turning 39 next season, they might be interested in KHinrich. It would be interesting to see if they would consider trading Heywood and a draft pick, or that French PG they have, for Hinrich.

Teams with UFA’s are sometimes willing to take players they normally wouldn’t go after because they’d rather end up with something rather than nothing. So, maybe we can encourage a sign and trade involving Dalembert for Marvin or Hinrich, assuming he’s willing to sign for a salary in the $8-9M range.

Those who aren’t dreamers or delusional can see how difficult it can be for us to acquire a decent Big, let alone one like DHoward and ABogut, or even ABynum. The best case scenario would be for us to sign DJordan to an inflated offer sheet and try to force a sign and trade. They might be willing to take Zaza, and our 2nd rd pick if needed.

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Melvin,

I think somebody will sign Bibby to be their 3rd PG.

Ken S,

I don’t think Dallas will trade JKidd. But we agree they will try and trade Haywood. With Caron Butler and Tyson Chandler both expiring, I think they will prefer to resign Chandler and let Butler go (remember, they won the title with Butler not playing since January).

So Dallas might do an even Marvin for Haywood. That way, they get a SF who can start, play decent defense, and can help Marion out. This would also allow them to resign Chandler.

Personally, I’m not sold on Haywood because of his remaining contract (4 years, $34 mil), and he turns 32 this year. However, Marvin is almost useless, and has 3 years, $23 mil left, so at least Haywood might help in the frontcourt.

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Bibby may be a good 3rd PG, but that’s about it

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OBRIEN-I wasn’t suggesting we trade for Kidd, just that Dallas might be interested in Hinrich because of Kidds age. I forgot that CButler was a FA. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to give them their pick of the 2 for Heywood.

I wouldn’t worry about his contract, since it’s not all that hard to trade an older, but productive 7′ backup center that can protect the rim.

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Where is MC?

Why do the damn comments for these blogs close after like one day?

SMH

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Grandmaster JeJe!

What’s up baby boy! Where the hell have you been, on the Magic blog? LOL!
________________

Ken Strickland … Baby, I bought that generator last week at Home Depot. I thought you said you and me was gonna go live in a tent and cook on kerosene? I got us that king size sleeping bag all packed up and some rose petals too! Mmmmmmmwah!

I’m so glad you are hanging in there and soon to be thriving. What would the blog do without your positively positive optimism?
I don’t even want to know?
___________________

Buck Belue was on 680 this morning, busting up Hawks management for not stepping up and re-signing Jamal yet. Buck, thinks Jamal is headed to NY where he is a perfect fit and they got cash! Buck says, the Hawks owners are a pile of dung and trust fund babies who don’t have a clue nor give a damn about professional competition.

Buck said these pathetic fools ain’t gonaa’ spend a dime on nothing and this team was a little more than a TOY for them to tinker with and put down when something else appears more interesting.

Saad … So so sad.

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Grand-Daddy!

Hello my love. I’ve been calling you for three days straight, but no answer. Are you OK or did somebody jack your I’d on here? LOL!

Too bad the damned ASKG don’t throw a Draft Party at Phillips and put it on the jumbo screen. You know host an open bar and free burgers and dogs. You know, showing a little fan appreciation would go a looong way in this city.

This group is so lame. I wish they would just pack up and leave us all alone. Any word on the WC Holding Group’s interest in buying the Hawks?I’ve surfed the wire, but haven’t seen anything new on that front.

Buck Belue said the ASKG are so ready to get out from under the Hawks, big time! These guys are done here, they don’t give a damn about our Hawks. Poor fans, we all saw what they did to the Thrashers fans.

No love.

Grand-Daddy call me later.

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A guy who hasnt played one NBA minute and will be picked late in the second is going to make Teague expendable? Really? smh…

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Trade Pape Sy and Al Horford for Rockets 2 Picks, Hill and Hasheem to Match Up or NVR compete for a Title, Josh will expire or be traded and Marvin Will be a starter next to Joe leaving long armed defenders to defend Joe and no touches for Marvin.

Motiejunas will likely be there at 14 and if we were able to swing Horford and Sy for all 3 picks, we could get Leslie and automatic scorer like Malcolm Thomas, who could be a Granger/Hakim Warrick down the line at the backup 3!!
36mpg 12 mg
Jeff Teague + Kirk Hinrich*
J. Johnson + Marvin Williams*
J. Smith [234lbs] + Malcolm Thomas
D.Motiejunas[7'1,230lbs] + Jordan Hill (4ppg)*
people may not think its sexy but this is well thought out and uses Win Shares the predictor of how much a player effects the game whether its defense or offense.
Collins speed was an obvious problem and a reason he played no more than 18 minutes in the playoffs.
So upgrade offensively over Jason Collins lineup while maintaining holding opponents to low championship caliber 90-95ppg.

30 mpg 18mpg
H.Thabeet (6ppg) + Zaza Pachulia (5ppg)
vs
Jason Collins (2ppg, 1rpg)

Have Hawks given any thought to winning a championship by divesting into this draft. I’d say no because there’s no reason Wizards should have our pick.

Hawks seem to be one of those franchises who go on hearsay, as in I hear they say its a weak draft so lets trade the pick.

We have no Lebrons on this team. The “Big 3″ are what they are, trade Horford and win now. Smith who has already been covered as the top rebounding small forward in the league and can post up Durant, Melo and if not Lebron can outrun him given the weight loss.

We overcommitted to Joe, now we need to commit to winning it all before Josh leaves.

Look at the past & possible future small forwards in the Finals. Ron Artest power 3. Paul Pierce. Shawn Marion. Lebron James. Kevin Durant.

Josh Smith or Marvin Williams-Joe Johnson because we traded to benefit Horford bcuz he was an All Star Center?

It’s now or never ATLANTA.

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Can anyone fill a depth chart with all these supposed trades or free agent lineups??

Jason Collins is too old slow to be a consistent scorer, there are other players who can play 18 minutes at center against Dwight. {Also note that Orlando may get another center to replace Gortat/play Dwight at the 4}Fool me once.

Say for example Pape Sy at the backup 2. How can anyone expect Sy to make this team a contender???

So its another also-ran season full of hapless scouting and skinny 220 lb big me? Non bangers with no defense and shoot low percentage jump shots and draw no double teams?

Pick and pop? no thanks. If we have ONE 220 lb power forward-center by starting day we have already said we’re not competing for the championship. I’m sorry.

If we trade Smith for a small forward not named Lebron, Durant, Anthony. we’ve lost. He’s not capable of playing center so you’ll have to find a team with two centers to give up for Josh.

Anyone want to try a trade for Haywood/Kaman for Smith?? I seriously heard someone suggest trading Smith because Teague can block shots and dunk.
That should be a LUXURY not a NECESSITY in wining. I swear ATL likes making it hard on themselves.

Trade Sy and AL for ATLANTA’s sake. There is no way we win with a superstar esp. thru trade.
We need DEPTH to win against CHI and Miami.
36mpg 12 mg
Jeff Teague + Kirk Hinrich* (4ppg)
J. Johnson + Marvin Williams* (4ppg)
J. Smith [234lbs] + Malcolm Thomas (4ppg)
D.Motiejunas[7'1,230lbs] + Jordan Hill (4ppg)*
30 mpg 18mpg
H.Thabeet (6ppg) + Zaza Pachulia (5ppg)

#14 pick – D.Motiejunas (~4points,2rebounds per 9 minutes per quarter)
#23 pick – Travis Leslie??? inactive if we get a 250 lb Marvin Williams at the 2 guard.
#48 pick – Malcolm Thomas

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Ra’mon

Just stop it boy! You can’t shop a TPE. You have one year, (I think?) To use it or lose it. It was compensation for the rights to replace Josh Childress.

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My Buddy!

Dang!

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@ Buddy, I heard some where that Gearon is worth at least 300 large…And the other 7 combine approaching 1 billion?? Dont know how accurate it is but that sucks Gearon is staying on board!!

Oh well the streak will continue; 41,42,43,44,45,46 years and counting into the future…MAN O MAN..

Gotta get outta town for a few days…..

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Kirk Hinrich has never played over 2000 minutes for a 50 win team.
Closest he got was 49 wins when he was 26 years old before the major injjuries.

People need to stop trying to sell Hinrich as a savior. We lost 14 out of 24 games in the regular season with Kirk Hinrich he averaged 8.6 points in 29 minutes per game on nearly 8 shots.
He’s a good backup to replace a regressed Jamal but we are lacking in size positions and Drew will probably resort to small jumpshooting non defensive lineups.

Smith is in his second to last year we need to move fast. The depth charts of 6 offensively impotent big men who cant bang needs to stop if we want to win an NBA title. I thought that was the goal.

We get centers and draft Motiejunas and we can play him or get any rookie contract power forward in the league via trade.

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“People need to stop trying to sell Hinrich as a savior.”

A guy whose entire identity is centered around selling arguably the worst #2 pick in NBA history as a savior really shouldn’t be criticizing other players.

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We need to draft Alex Young from IUPUI hegame is great in the post and has a 15 footer he can hit consistently and plays good Def. He would be a good addition to our 2nd unit. If we dont get him we should take Trey Thompkins from GA if he is still availible.

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@Najeh Davenpoop

That’s a really weak argument and oversimplifying it. By my count the trade puts us at 4 incoming new players.

We improve over Jason Collins who is a career bust but he can guard Dwight, if he was faster he could guard and finish over Noah when we create for him.

BAM, we get that center 20 mpg center we needed in the playoffs. Noah or Boozer has to guard the 7′3 guy we will be running pick and roll with or the 7′1 shooting forward (D.Motiejunas) who can shoot over anyone and also pump fake and dribble into the lane and get fouled.
The inside out 7 footer type who can draw fouls at will and tip rebounds etc, the intangibles of height. Garnett, Dirk, Duncan, Gasol

You have yet to suggest what post up move Horford can try to elevate from his 10ppg in 40 playoff games. How will he become Amare, Elton Brand, Griffin, Randolph, David West??

The trade also vastly improves the bench Hinrich is cast again as a bench leader, Williams as a big 2 capable of getting to the line

Jordan Hill and Pachulia are 6′10 with 7′2 arms and 6′11 with a good wingspan, they are legit PF and C scorers against bench players.

That leaves the 2 and 3 to choose between the 6′8.25,7′3.5 wingspan, 250 lb Marvin Williams. Or the 7′2 6′8.5 40″ vert of Malcolm Thomas. who’s best comparisons are Granger and Hakim Warrick.
Both Hakim Warrick and Danny Granger can score the 13 points on 11 shots that Hinrich averages.

If Hinrich were black would he be a bust? If we want to win he’s a bench player and we need to surround him with [triple] post options like a Williams, Malcolm Thomas, Hill and Pachulia lineup.
Against Keith Bogans, JJ Redick, Ronnie Brewer That’s crazy size. We run screens we get easy cross matchups and layups.
……………….
P.S.
Darko Milicic shoots 48% from the field as a 7′1 big man and has near as bad a Wins Shared per 48 as Jason Collins, so don’t even think about THAT frivolous comparison.

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If Thabeet had 1/100th the basketball IQ of Jason Collins, he might actually be a marginally useful player instead of the Iranian Super League third string caliber player that he currently is.

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@Najeh Davenpoop

You can keep making jokes about Iran or you can look at the cold hard analytics and some actual footage.

I’m one of the guys who advocated starting Collins. We caught the Bulls by surprise and stole a game. Collins was too slow and could not stay in the game defensively without fouling and could not get into position to score. Lack of Speed.

Collins with guaranteed playing time last year
only 0.049.
5% of wins came from Collins and his IQ, ie setting screens pinning Dwight etc.
Career Share of team wins: 0.62. 6%

Collins last year: 0.049 playoffs: 0.048
Milicic career : 0.042
Hasheem career: 0.090

Jason Collins is as bad as Darko Milicic. JC played 13.2 minutes per playoff game and averaged 2 pts, 3 fouls and 1 rebound on 64%FG shooting.

Hasheem is literally twice the winner Collins is. With less experience. With potential to lower his foul rate. Hence the trade for Motiejunas, Hasheem, Hill, Pachulia and Josh Smith with Malcolm Thomas at the SF position.

Collins is Milicic at 32 years old. Your IQ argument is cliche, Revisionist of Collins actual minutes played and not well thought out.
Hasheem could have given us more points, more contested shots, quicker picks etc.

What Collins brings is invaluable, problem is we need more. He’s 7′0 270 lbs and 33 years old.
He MUST be upgraded to battle on the boards with SPEED and for someone we can drive and dish too for an easy high percentage layin. Haseem gives us that, Bogut gives us that etc.

33 year old pudgy centers with Hilton Armstrong, Powell etc (ie NO BACKUPS) do not overly concern Noah or Boozer or Asik or Joel Anthony or Tyson Chandler.

come on…

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dont know how true it is but latest on dwight howard

Probballdraft: The Lakers are trying to get in on the Dwight Howard sweepstakes. Willing to offer Bynum & Odom. More to come.
11 minutes ago

http://twitter.com/probballdraft

23 million from LA for 17 million from orlando. 6 million difference. So more got to come from orlando.

The only good news is both LA players have team options in 1 year.

Add artest, and walton, and LA can take on Zero. They get stuck with these 2 players for 2 years. But at half the cost of zero.

Bynum, Odum, Artest, Walton for Howard, Zero. Not pretty.

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not sure why anyone is concerned with Lakers but Weaknesses if Lakers trade:

- Lakers lack depth/backups at 4, 5!
- Kobe aging
- lack a ‘Power 3′ a big small forward which means lengthy 3s will be able to guard Bryant and make him struggle (ie Tayshaun Prince or Marion).

It will hinge on how good/healthy Arenas is coming back this summer.

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BUDDY GRIZZARD-DJordan is a RFA so he’d have to sign an offer sheet, which his team could match. They would have the option of matching the offer, doing a sign and trade, or doing nothing and letting him go. If we get them to agree to a sign and trade, even if the offer puts us over the luxury cap, the amount will be reduced by the matching contract(s) we trade.

Therefore, if we offer Jordan a $4-5M contract that’s not matched, we could send them Zaza in a sign and trade, which puts us basically where we now stand luxury tax wise.

RA’MON-the Hawks actually have 2 trade exceptions. One for the Childress trade, and the other for the Jordan Crawford trade.

When Bibby 1st arrived, his OFF caused a 9pt increase in PPG scored. But his poor DEF also caused a 9pt decrease in PPG allowed. Over the last 1.5yrs, Bibby’s OFF dropped off by over 5PPG, and teams started targeting his extremely poor DEF. Jamal’s PPG also a dropped by 3.5pts.

Can you imagine how much of an effect he and Jamal had on our PPG allowed over that period, especially with teams targeting them both. With the mins they played, I’ll bet it was considerably more than 9PPG, and we still managed to rank 8th overall.

With Teague, Hinrich and Pape Sy, we’ll most likely see a PPG decrease. That alone should be worth a double digit increase in wins, because we lost more than our share of gms due to poor DEF, particularly poor perimeter DEF. What we saw against Dallas in the Finals was nothing new with the Hawks, except Spoelstra had enough sense to bench him, and LDrew didn’t.

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Buddy – With Larry still our coach, I see a fast start, and then a swoon. I do not trust LD to even have Teague in the rotation. I don’t think we re-sign Jamal.

And I think Marvin will regress slightly (Rod, I’m waiting on you to tell us how you can’t regress from nothing, falling down etc.) because of the back surgery.

So the equation of LD + Marvin regressing + losing Jamal (horrible regular season last 35 games or so in the ‘11 campaign)/ Sixers & Knicks & Nets & Wizards improving = Maybe the 44 wins of this season if we’re fortunate.

And I forgot the variable of Josh Smith Jumpers!

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Ken S – I hope you are correct. I don’t see LD playing Sy over token minutes most of this season. I know he brought him over, had ASG buy out his contract etc. But if Sy averages 10 mpg, I’ll be shocked.

Probably just take Jordan Crawford’s spot at the far end of the bench.

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Derrick Williams= Throw out any negative scouting reports and seek some professional help asap..Make it so…..

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“Arrogance will get you know where” “Pride comes before a Fall”
Quotes for the day….

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Slim – Unless we sign a TJ Ford or somebody, I have no idea what our plan B is if Teague goes down. JJ backs up Hinrich.

I don’t think it will be Sy.

Now with Sy, don’t get me wrong. The dude has the physical tools, 6-7 225, great shape. But all I’ve ever seen him do is duck his head and drive. He looked terrible at the Point in the few minutes he played there in Summer League.

And with his build, he probably can be a good defender. But if your looking to be a top 4 seed or something, and Pape Sy is an option, you are in real trouble in my opinion.

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I wonder if:

We might trade one of our 3 second picks for next season for another 2nd pick this season, or to move up for a player we want.

We might trade a future 1st pick to get into the 1st round this season for a player we want, if there is a team wanting out of the first round. There many times is a team(s) wanting to sell/trade a 1st pick for various reasons.

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KenS – I really do appreciate your glass half full approach. And we did improve in the playoffs. I guess my concern is with Coach LD at the helm, I’m not even sure we get into the playoffs. I just can’t shake:

His abysmal regular season performance. I mean, we were historically bad.

Keeping Teague (18.8 PER in the playoffs) trapped behind Bibby, who is being called the worst starter ever in a NBA Finals.

Playing Mo’ over Wilkens so much.

Not being able to reign in Josh’s jumpers

His refusal to play Jordan Crawford even in blowouts sometimes.

Yes, I have seen hopeful signs in the playoffs. But even there, he made some epic gaffes. The two foul rule on Al in that Orlando game has been called by multiple professional observers as the single worst coaching move in the history of the NBA playoffs.

Again, I’m hoping against everything you are correct Ken.

But as I’ve said before, I don’t even trust Coach Drew enough to think he will play Teague on a regular basis. How many times this season did we say now no excuse, Teague is in, and he wasn’t in. Barely played against Orlando.

The LD factor has me pessimistic, not just the other teams improving. Forget the other teams, LD has shown me he was a horrible regular season coach. I gotta see something else for me to trust him.

At this point it’s all just speculation anyhow.

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“We might trade one of our 3 second picks for next season for another 2nd pick this season, or to move up for a player we want.” – SteveW

That would be sweet. I think this might be another one of those drafts that doesn’t have alot of star power at the top but may have surprising depth with the number of rotational players, even in the second round, that might stick with teams. I think Thompkins may fall out of the first round in which case you trade up in the second and try to steal him. I like your thinking because Denver traded a future first rounder to Minnesota to take Ty Lawson one pick ahead of where we picked Teague.

Najeh – You’re right I wasn’t thinking of the mid level exception. Jordan won’t be a restricted free agent until July 1st, so you can’t make an offer to him under the current collective bargaining agreement. So nothing will be known until there is a new CBA. But regardless, the Clippers are one of the few highly profitable franchises because of the market they are in. No way they let Jordan walk, no matter what he’s eventually offered (assuming restricted free agency even exists in the new CBA).

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I can’t believe we’re talking about win shares to evaluate one player over another.

Collins is Milicic at 32 years old..

I will take Collins for $1.3 mil over Milicic at $4.3 mil.

And why are we taking about Thabeet, a guy who has been in the league a couple years but has done substantial in an NBA game?

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Teague and Zaza for the #4 pick and Sessions? Scott did have Paul in New Orleans.

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The Hawks have a horrible history of drafting even when it’s a top 3 pick, therefore I don’t expect them to better in the second rd.

The Hawks best chance at improving is to hire a defensive “nut case” as an assistant. Like Ken Strickland said before the culture of this team should be DEFENSE.

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You know you’re s career spin doctor when you’re talking about adding an impact player at the bottom of the second round of the draft.

It’s no longer fun to laugh at.

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Oops, IMO, addition by subtraction sounds like trading a player for a non-basketball asset. Like trading a player who makes more than $7M for a 2nd draft pick and some cap relief.

Of course, not sharing the names of guys who they are evaluating could also mean that they are looking at players who clearly wouldn’t be around at #48… but may be around in the early 30s (Cleveland @32?).

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GEEMACK-The differences between the Hawks and Bulls are:
1-the Bulls took full advantage of the talent it had, and the Hawks didn’t. There’s no way their HC would have ignored Teague, Wilkins, Pape Sy, or DEF to played Bibby and Jamal major mins.
2-the Bulls HC actually held his players accountable and benched them if they didn’t play the type of DEF he wanted. As we all know, except for giving it lip service, that approach hasn’t been used with the Hawks in at least 7yrs.
3-The Bulls have and utilize a quick, fast, athletic and talented PG, and the Hawks have refused to do so, at least until forced into doing it due to an injury.
4-the Bulls established an identity based on a very effective approach to playing DEF first. The Hawks tried to establish an OFF first identity, which didn’t work very well, and refused to make any attempt to rely more on playing DEF.
5-the Hawks were a team with more talented individual players, but they were a more talented team with less talented individual players, and the BEST TEAM won.

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“@Sautee

Don’t forget Hinrich is already 30 years old and he got injured on a routine play in the playoffs.”

BS excuse. Both JKidd and Ray Allen had injuries in their early thirties. How long have they played since?

There is NO logical reasoning behind the idea that Hinrich at age 30 pulled a hamstring, so therefore he’s an injury risk. None. I guess you think Tiger Woods is totally washed up at 35. We’ll see.

Of course with the reasoning you have tried to use to convince the blog that you have all the answers to the Hawks problems, I’m not surprised. I’ll just be glad when the draft is past and the endless trade stupidities mercifully end.

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“I kept seeing Hasheems name mentioned so I decided to take a look at what he brings to the table for almost $5M per yr. Well, I saw that he gives you just about what Hilton Armstrong gives you”
Hilton Armstrong can never:
- shoot or Finish the True Shooting %
- Block as many shots
- alter as many shots
Hilton
- turns the ball over more
- shoots a lower percentage
- uses the ball more than Hasheem

‘I’d also question the basketball IQ of anyone that would suggest the Hawks would improve by trading Pape Sy and AHorford, the NBA’s 3rd best center and a 2 time All Star Reserve]”
”for a bunch of unproven draft picks, especially in a draft as weak as this one is.”
Marc Gasol, Marcus Thornton, Monta Ellis – all 2nd round picks, all higher PERs than Joe Johnson.
Pape Sy? Al Horford cannot guard Dwight Howard or score on Joakim Noah, what does REGULAR SEASON center mean to you?
where do Perkins, Chandler, and Mohammed/Oberto rank? how many rings does Dwight have?

Kendrick Perkins and (Kevin Garnett), 1 ring, 2 finals
Fabricio Oberto/Nazr Mohammed/Robinson and (Tim Duncan), 4 rings
Tyson Chandler-Dampier-Haywood and (Dirk Nowitzki), 1 ring 2 finals

We need a POWER FORWARD, if its Amare or BlakeGriffin great but otherwise a 7 footer with handle and shooting works nicely.
Horford is not Duncan, Amare, Nowitzki etc.

If Horford is the 3rd best center then where does Collins rank as a power forward?

“The safest and surest way to improve this team is to strengthen the bench. Predictions of doom and gloom for the Hawks have been made over the yrs based on the projected improvement of other teams. Yet, we managed to improve every yr inspite of those projections. Some of you act like these projected improvements will only affect the Hawks.”

And how do we improve the bench? Hilton Armstrong, Magnum Rolle? Keith Benson a bunch of 6′10 220 lb power forwards guarding the center position.

The Hawks have not improved every year. Orlando traded their best pieces away. Chicago leap frogged us. Joe regressed.
The big lineup is the reason we won against Orlando and Collins inability to play basketball for 20 minutes is low and declining.

Al Horford’s 7 points and 4 rebounds in 37 minutes, Game 6 elimination.

Hawks are not a contender.

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Who Dat?

Who is Dat poster who’s user I’d is almost as long winded as his comments? Please go away and leave us alone.

Geez-Us! Scrolling hard … I can’t read all that ish.

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After a midseason trade Rick Adelman didn’t play Hasheem over Chuck Hayes, Brad Miller, Patrick Patterson or Jordan Hill.

Wow and in 24 games they didn’t feel the need to play him against Dwight Howard or Joakim Noah, maybe because they never played them post trade.

PER
Chuck Hayes (16.2), Brad Miller 16.3, Patrick Patterson 16.7 Jordan Hill 13.1

Hasheem (12.9) his first year, 12 mpg
Jason (5.4) regular season last year. 7.2 for career. After his first 3 years he never reached 10.0.
3.8 in the playoffs this year, 13 minutes and 3 fouls per game.

Collins has no stamina, let Dwight score at will and simply cannot stay on the floor against Noah.
Dwight Howard 2 for 6 in 34 minutes, 5 fouls, 11 reb. 1 offensive. 8 points, 4 turnovers

Hasheem Thabeet 0 for 1 in 19 minutes, 4 fouls, 5 reb. 1 offensive. 0 points, 1 turnover.
The game was close until Vince took over against Mayo.

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The only thing I would want from Cleveland re: that rumor would be that 4th draft pick. No way though, that Sund gives up anything in value on the last year of his deal.
I think he and Drew will play it safe and not make a major move heading into the CBA. While they could do a deal for Jamal before the CBA expires, they aren’t in a hurry to solidify the roster. I would guess Jamal would never get more than a 3/15M offer if that.

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I’m for signing Jarvis Hayes. Was last off season as well.

Sautee – Blow up trade of the day (I couldn’t help myself). But if Sund says you don’t get a superstar without a 1 or 2 pick (false) here it goes:

Josh Smith to the Cavs for 1 and 4

Hinrich and Marvin to the Cavs, along with next seasons 1st pick, and all 4 second picks over the next 2 seasons for: Hickson and Sessions

JJ to the ‘Wolves for the #2 pick, so JJ can play alongside Rubio. Have them throw in Johnny Flynn since they want to dump him.

Draft Singler, Williams, Kanter

Lineup

G’s: Sessions, Teague, Flynn, Singler, Sy. Try Sessions, Flynn, and Sy at the 2

F’s: Williams, Hickson, Hayes, Wilkens, Rolle

C’s: Al, Kanter, ZaZa, Collins

Sund has his #1 a #2 picks for superstars.

Sorry, these are stupid trades. Doubt Cleveland would trade 1 and 4 for Josh. But if not, we still have Josh. But if they get Josh, they don’t need Hickson, and Marvin, Hinrich, and 5 draft picks may be enough to pry Sessions and Hickson from them, who knows.

And if the Wolves want a proven player, a #2 and Flynn may do the trick.

And I have no idea if the Wolves have the cap or trade exception space to do that trade.

Just speculating, that’s all

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‘Cant’ s should be “can’t: in my last post – I apologize

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Jarvis Hayes sounds like another Sund reclamation project to have guys here who will work for the minimum. After all, he has given away the bulk of the treasures to the first 7.
And I agree with the longest name ever recorded: “Trading Sy and Horford for Rocket big men and #14 + 23/2nd rounder picks for Donatas & Leslie/M.Thomas etc.”………..the Hawks are not a contender for the EC, much less the division crown.

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Great name. R u a Greek bearing gifts? Hawks start the offseason with a bang.

Inserting Jarvis Hayes at 6′7 means Marvin is redundant again. I’m all for the Malcolm Thomas trade. He brings what Josh Smith brings. Blocks, Transition buckets and size to shoot over defenders.

That is as a 3 man. As a 4 hes too skinny and will be pushed out the post.

@SteveW
You trade for Kanter and then bench him for Al and consider Singler a guard?

Sessions, Teague and Flynn all little guards fighting for minutes and getting shots over bigger defenders?
Are we trying to get bigger and more efficient or smaller and more jump shots?
Why not just resign Jamal and get Flip Murray back here…

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ReTrojan – I meant Irving, not his Duke counterpart Singler. My bad

Irving/Teague at point
Sessions/Flynn/Sy at SG
Derrick Williams/Hayes/Wilkens @ the 3
Hickson/Rolle @ the 4
Al/Kanter/ZaZa/Collins @ 5

Not a bad team, very young. Yea, a couple of guys Flynn and Sessions are out of place, but at least we may be in a position to win a Championship in a couple of years, especially if Derrick Williams is as good as some of you guys think he is.

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putting small guards and Derrik WIlliams is similar to what Cleveland did with Lebron.
They tried to find a big guard to defend and score and the best the came up with was Anthony Parker.

Hickson, Kanter, and Al all want to play power forward on both ends. #defensiveconundrum

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Wow – did Buck Belue really make meaningful NBA comments?

FIRE ASG
FIRE LD
FIRE WOODY

WWC – I’m Free like Mandela

drmaryb – The Grandmaster is back

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“Who Dat?

Who is Dat poster who’s user I’d is almost as long winded as his comments? Please go away and leave us alone.

Geez-Us! Scrolling hard … I can’t read all that ish.”

LOL!!!!!

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O boy Kanter yet another power forward who will be a better scorer than Al.

People want to trade Smith and become guard-heavy like the Cleveland Cavaliers?

PER for SFs playing at lest 32 minutes

Name City Minutes Efficiency Ht, Weight, span
1 LeBron James, MIA 38.8 27.34 6′8,250 7′0
2 Kevin Durant, OKC 38.9 23.7 6′10,230 7′4
3 Carmelo Anthony, DEN/NY 35.7 21.82 6′8,240 7′0
4 Paul Pierce, BOS 34.7 19.76 6′7,230 7′0
5 Josh Smith, ATL 34.4 19.31 6′8,240 7′0

6 Danny Granger, IND 79 35.0 17.89 6′9,230 7′2
7 Rudy Gay, MEM 54 39.9 17.88 6′8,240 7′3
10 Gerald Wallace, POR/CHA 37.9 16.28 6′7,230 7′0
11 Luol Deng, CHI 39.1 15.58 6′8,230 7′0.5
…….
low # of minutes due to age
8 Shawn Marion, DAL 28.2 17.09 6′8,230 7′1
9 Andrei Kirilenko, UTAH 31.2 16.68 6′9,230 7′4

We’ve seen Smith match up with all those players and we want to trade Joe’s size, Smith’s size, for Derrick Williams and JJ Hickson? Kanter is the only one who would seem to have a consistent advantage at 6′11 but you’d still need a center to guard Dwight Howard.

Kanter comes here and would replace Al.

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SteveW – We cannot trade our 1st pick next yr.
*["Stepien" Rule]

Buddy Grizzard

” Does anybody know if the Cavs
could absorb JJ
into their traded player exception
in a draft-day trade? ”

* Not 100 % sure but I think so.
Taking back Jamison for 1 year works also.
[If I understand you correctly]

SteveW…..(again)
a more likely scenario would be:
Josh for Varejao + # 4 pick.
(selection) = Kawhi Leonard to replace Marv @ [3].
Give Marv away for a bag of doughnuts.
Resign Jamal.

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What we have singed:
PG: Teague/Hinrich/Sy
SG: Joe/ Hinrich/Sy – most likley add Damien
SF: Josh/Marvin/Sy – most likely add Damien
PF: Josh/Al/ZaZa – Rolle potentially?
C: Al/ZaZa – most likely add Collins

That’s all 5 slots covered w/ who we have already signed. We’ll extend to 13-15 before it’s over. With the potentials and a draft pick that gives us 12 signed players, with these left in the wings.

Jamal – too expensive as it stands w/o a trade.

Hilton – depends on who else is available cheap.

Powell & Etan = replaced

I bet we draft a PG/SG project and sign Hilton to finish the roster. Is that what I want for a championship, no, but that’s my predraft prediction. What’s yours?

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RK PLAYER PER EsimatedWinsAwarded
1 LeBron James, CLE 31.19 30.5
2 Kevin Durant, OKC 26.23 25.4
3 Carmelo Anthony, DEN 22.29 15.5
4 Josh Smith, ATL 21.04 13.6
5 Gerald Wallace, CHA 18.39 12.2
….
6 Danny Granger, IND 19.85 10.6
7 Paul Pierce, BOS 18.24 9.3
….

Problem is you look at Al and his inability to create his own shot or negate playoff centers, create foul shots and it always rears its ugly head.

His best statistical playoff series was against Milwaukee without Bogut. We will not get a Rasheed Wallace type big man unless we trade Al.

Al just had his best season here’s how he matches against F-C’s.
1 Dwight Howard, ORL 26.13 22.7
2 Pau Gasol, LAL 23.33 17.9
3 Kevin Love, MIN 23.6 16.7
4 Blake Griffin, LAC 21.93 16.1
5 Amare Stoudemire, NY 22.78 16.1
6 LaMarcus Aldridge, POR 21.57 16.1
7 Zach Randolph, MEM 22.67 15.1
8 Dirk Nowitzki, DAL 23.52 15.0
9 Al Jefferson, UTAH 20.20 14.0
10 Al Horford, ATL 20.79 13.7

2009-2010 MIN totalminutes TSFG%
41 DeAndre Jordan, LAC 16.2 1163 .571
42 Tyson Chandler, CHA 22.8 1137 .643
43 Hasheem Thabeet, MEM 13.0 886 .605
44 Chuck Hayes, HOU 21.6 1773 .500* – he’s short & struggles to score
minutes PER Value Added Estimated Wins Awarded
41 DeAndre Jordan*, LAC 1163 12.70 35.6 1.2
42 Tyson Chandler, CHA 1137 12.58 34.3 1.1
43 Hasheem Thabeet, MEM 886 12.91 30.4 1.0
44 Chuck Hayes*, HOU 1773 11.69 28.9 1.0

2010-2011 minutes PER VA EstimatedWinsAwarded
42 Brendan Haywood*, DAL 1331 11.71 22.1 0.7
*centers suggested in trade or Free Agency

2003-2004 Karl Malone 1373 minutes 2.1 wins ; reached the finals
2009-2010 Hasheem Thabeet, 886 minutes 1.0 win
2010-2011 Omer Asik, 989 minutes 0.6 wins, rotted on pine and posts bad #s but would start for Atlanta
You can do a lot worse than Hasheem in the center position

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Does Kevin Willis have a son? Actually the old KW would be a better fit for this roster than some of the folks discussed.

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GMJJ – it averages out to 10.3333 per game.

What’s your feeling for the draft? Think we’ll see any action?

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*{{{ Multiple Choice }}}*
Sund thinks we’re stupid, is a compulsive liar, is a bad spinner,
a worse politician, he’s stupid, he thinks no-one is paying attn,
the other GM’s don’t call him, he doesn’t have their ph #,
all of the above, none of the above, some of the above, A&B,
E, E &G, E&F, or E,G,&F ? *[read the two quotes below]

(1)
” The NBA draft is next on the summer schedule,
but it’s actually the next key date – July 1st –
that has team execs working the phones even more than usual
for this time of year.
July 1st is when the lock-out will begin,
and in anticipation of that
teams are trying to get as much roster work done as possible
before everything comes to a screeching halt.”
_______________________________________________________

(2)
•Sund on the possibility of trading into the first round:
“This time of year there is always a lot of dialogue going on.
There’s probably less [potential deals]
with the uncertainty of the CBA
and people unwilling to pull the trigger.
There’s just as much dialogue
but the uncertainty of the new CBA
might play into the timing issues.”

_______________________________________________________

Those two quote seem somewhat incongruent

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Larry Drew certainly isn’t the best coach in the NBA, he’s probably in the bottom third. His salary is probably dead last. However, to argue that he is the worst coach in the NBA is rather absurd. The man has his warts and the owners should have gone another route, but there are a few things wrong with the argument about him being the worst.

First, his team played above .500 basketball for the regular season. Second, his team won in a first round playoff matchup in which they were the underdog. Not only that, but they actually won two games in the second round and seemed competitive before succumbing to their own faults, which existed with the previous coach. Third, to say he is the worst coach is to say that this team’s success was absolutely in spite of him (much like people said about the previous coach), which is to suggest that overall talent can ultimately overcome coaching.

If this was true, then the L.A. Clippers should have gone to the western conference playoffs this past season and possibly won in the first round. After all, they have a guy in Blake Griffin who is better than anybody on this team, yes included the multi-talented but idiotic Josh Smith and the vastly overpaid Joe Johnson. Not only that, but the Clippers have two guys who averaged over 22 points per game during the season, a feat that none of the Hawks were able to duplicate in one guy, much less two.

Strange that people are willing to exaggerate the problem that much when a guy has only had the job for a single year and has already outdone his predecessor in the playoffs in that single year. No, he is by far not the best man for the job, but his position is the one thing unlikely to change, a lot like wishing the ASG would sell the team, when Michael Gearon is hanging onto it like his life depends on it.

Wishing either one was different is normal. Exaggerating about the coach is agenda driven. Did we not have to suffer through 6 years of Mike Woodson? Where is Drew going to go after a single year? This organization isn’t very bright and micromanages. Best to leave alone that which won’t likely change and concentrate on what can change.

But for crying out loud, try to be real about it. Or let’s keep complaining and make a “worst list”.

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Larry Drew – worst coach of a team with a winning record and some moderate playoff success.

Josh Smith – worst multi-talented player who should have been an all-star already.

Joe Johnson – worst “max contract” player

Al Horford – worst all-star and all-nba big man

Marvin Williams – worst starter on a playoff team. worst #2 pick in the nba draft in the last 5-10 years.

Michael Gearon – worst majority owner of an NBA franchise.

Cenk Aykol – worst Hawks foreign draft pick.

Jerry Stackhouse – worst “should have signed him but didn’t” mistake by Hawks management during training camp in the last 5 years. Damien Wilkens gets honorable mention.

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Buddy, that interview with LD was a joke

The first half was about the Mavericks. Then he says addition by subtraction (I couldn’t post this sooner – the comments section on the blog was down). His clarification made no sense either.

It was funny also seeing Sund’s areas for improvement.
I was expecting Sund to mention every possible area as an area for improvement. Then he says “maybe one is more important than the other.”

This guy is an idiot.

LD and Sund will be gone in a year’s time. Hopefully BASG is gone too.

Only addition by subtraction I see is if the others sell the team and we get a new GM and coaching staff.

Dallas has guys like Dwane Casey and Terry Stotts (former head coach) on their staff.

We have Bob “chew gum” Bender as an assistant. Who the hell are our assistants?

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“Only addition by subtraction I see is if the others sell the team and we get a new GM and coaching staff.” Grandmaster JeJe

LOL…

Subtract:

ASG
LD
Sund

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Grandad – That one trade would only work if we received the Cavs First selection this season

Kanter – Kanter is a 5 and Derrick Williams is a 3. They both don’t want to play 4

JeJe – If the Cavs would take Marvin for Varejo, well then wow, I’d do that yesterday.

But I don’t think they would

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[...] And here are the Hawks’ front office leaders talking about how they will approach the draft, in which Atlanta (for now) has only one second-round [...]

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Scotty Hopson!!!

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The Hawks will be in deep poo-poo if there is a season in 2011-12.

They have no 1st round draft pick, and not enough money to sign a free agent that can be an impact player.

They are counting on the same core group, wth no bench, to propell them further into the playoffs.

As though none of the other teams have players working to improve their skillset during the off season.

1 – Josh needs to work out 3 times per week with Dirk’s shooting coach
2 – Josh and AL both need to work out with someone who can help them develop their low post games
3 – Marvin needs to work on all facets of his game
0

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@Najeh Davenpoop
Zaza Pachulia, Center, is signed for 4 years / $19,000,000 with the Atlanta Hawks. He is making $4251250 in 2010.
Brenda Haywood, Center, is signed for 6 years / $55000000 with the Dallas Mavericks. He is making $6900000 in 2010.
Darko Milicic is signed for 4 years / $20 million with the Minnesota Timberwolves. He is making $4.24 million in 2010.
Kendrick Perkins. $6446720. $7123626. $7800531. $8477437. $9154342.

granDaddy of them all:
“$30 Mill/5-yr for a 26-year old who averaged 3 points, 5 boards, and 1 block per game last year?”
Id love to have a big seven footer that has pretty good defense on this team. Not necessarily at that price, but Diop has a lot of value. Athletic, huge, good size and good defender.”
“I agree, its not as crazy as people think. Its not like the mavs will have cap room anytime soon or cuban cares how much he spends. Sign him up and you have your back up center for the next 5 years. Now you can use the mle next year to get another quality back up.”
“Is it over paying? Yes, but its not the gm’s money, and he does add value to a team on the bench. Better than any backup center we have. ”
” Dallas has lost their minds.. I wouldn’t mind Diop on my team, of course, but not at that amount of cash. He just doesn’t produce enough to earn that kinda green, hes best suited with a short-term deal to work his way to get a big contract. But hey, Dallas knows what their doing I guess.. But then again, how is the Kidd deal working out?”
….
http://realcavsfans.com/member.php?37-Wine-and-Gold&s=9754099c5e923e4bb5cc2ffb460dad8c

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SteveW,

I think Cleveland would make Marvin the No. 3 option on that team and he’d do fine there. We turned down Marvin for Shaq last summer. We refused to include Marvin in a trade for Devin Harris earlier this year.
*****
Jay Dabu,

It’s sad because Sund said our core players are all improving. LOL. The only player on our team who improved last year was Jeff Teague, and he isn’t in the core.

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“You should be debating if Jordan Hill and Motiejunas can average more than Al Horford+Magnum Rolle in the playoffs.”

This is like debating whether Flavor Flav would make a better president than President Obama.

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The Sixers are intrigued by Lithuanian big man Donatas Motiejunas.

And they’re not the only ones.

Motiejunas, 20, is an athletic 7-foot, 240-pound power forward who can handle and pass the ball, as well as score inside and outside. He has four years of European professional experience, the last two in the Italian “A” League.

“He’s got a big skill package,” said Sixers director of player personnel Courtney Witte after Motiejunas’ solo, private workout Monday. “He’s got NBA athleticism and NBA creativity. He’s very mature for his age. He has lived on his own, so he’s very accustomed to being independent.”

The Sixers were the third NBA team that Motiejunas worked out for in the U.S. After visiting the Spurs (who own the 29th pick in Thursday’s draft) and Rockets (No. 14), he worked out for the Sixers (No. 16) and is headed to New York to see the Knicks (17).

Motiejunas must primarily work on upgrading his shooting consistency and rebounding, according to Witte.

“(He’s) highly motivated,” Witte said. “He wants to be in the NBA. He does not lack for self-confidence, I can tell you that. He’s an extremely confident young man.”

Motiejunas, who declined to speak to the media after Monday’s session, is projected to go in the middle of the first round. Some mock drafts have him at No. 12 to the Jazz and quite a few project him as Houston’s 14th pick. Others believe Motiejunas could still be on the board when the Sixers make their selection.

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New blog up.

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Atlanta’s bench mob: Kirk, Damien, Marvin, Collins (who plays power forward? a starter/Marvin/Damien/Rolle/Armstrong. either starters get no rest or we go small/skinny and rotations are always in flux Basically pick your poison Larry Drew)

Chicago’s bench: pg-C.J. Watson, sgs- Korver, sf- Brewer/Deng pf- taj gibson c- asik

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