Atlanta Hawks: Camp Report Day 6
Could Jerry Stackhouse be the Hawks’ Alonzo Mourning?.
Normally, I’d say there are two things working against him: I’m not sure if Stack’s role would be very significant if he does make the roster, and he’s the new guy on a team whose main cogs have been together for a while.
But Stack has two other things working for him that could help him overcome those hurdles: His familiarity with Hawks players from summer workouts over the last few years, and the sheer force of his personality.
In fact, Al Horford said Stack has wasted no time making his mark.
“Stack is already doing it, just kind of taking over and pulling guys to the side and talking to them,” he said. “We respect him. I’m happy when he does it because he sees things a different way. You might not see them that way but then they make sense [when he points them out]. I’m happy he’s on the team and I think he’s going to be a big help for us this year with the locker room and keeping people on the same page.”
I get the feeling Larry Drew wants Stackhouse around just for that. It may not happen on a team with a payroll that’s creeping up to the luxury-tax line and needs all the useful guards it can get–Stackhouse’s production and efficiency have generally been on a steady decline since 2007, though he didn’t get to show what he has left in a cameo with the Heat last season.
Here’s a transcript of an interview with Stack on the subject of leadership.
L.D. says he values your leadership, but how do you approach being a leader when you are the new guy on a team that’s been together?
I don’t look at as a new guy on the team. Ain’t nothing about me new. [Laughs] I enjoy it, man, because I know these guys and I’ve been around them a lot in the summer and watched them from afar for two or three years and just felt like they were right there. Even when I went to Milwaukee [in 2009-10], this was a team that I felt I could bring some intangibles to it. They’ve got all the pieces, and sometimes it’s just in between the ears. Sometimes it’s not always about the young guys taking another step, it’s about the veterans taking another step with their leadership. So I’m just trying to stay in Joe’s ear, stay in Josh’s ear, and that is where the value is.
I love to get on the court and do some things but I’m realistic about that, especially with a short season and so many games and trying to manage that. [So] a lot of it is just talking. You are not going to be able to do a lot of on the court once the season gets going. It’s more about how you approach the mental side of it. I’ve been on a lot of good teams and a few bad teams, and I know what the makeup of those are and some of those warning signs. When I see some slippage and we can bring it and address it, and that is one key to a championship team is feedback and not being afraid of feedback, from coaches and players. Everybody accept the feedback from the players and understand it because these are guys on the court getting it done and if they are not cohesive then it’s not going to get done no matter how good a game plan the coaches have. That’s where it’s at. It’s been great so far.
You talked about accepting feedback. When I talk to coaches who played in the league and some older vets, a lot of them say one way the league has changed is it’s gotten a lot younger and players are too sensitive to criticism. Have you seen some of that?
Not with this group. Everybody’s ears are wide open. That’s refreshing. You get some of these guys . . . I have my summer league in North Carolina and I get a lot of those young guys from John Wall to all of them and, believe me, not everybody is as open to it. They feel like once they get drafted, they have arrived, and that is so far from reality. I still feel like right now there are areas I can get better in, even maybe with my leadership. My plan is to coach. I’m always reading up on things. I picked up things from here where, if it all ends today I look at as a positive experience because I can take it back to my AAU team. That’s where I’m at with it.
You said you like to read. Do you mean about leadership?
Yeah, a lot of leadership and self-help.
Anything in particular?
It’s called The Power of Intention. Dr. [Wayne W.] Dwyer. Some people are so finicky on religion, so he just says it’s ‘The Source.’ Well, my ‘Source’ is the Man above. There’s a lot of good principles in there and the ways of winning [as a] team. There is no secret to it. When you have these successful teams and successful businesses there are a lot of parallels you see with those groups, and when teams and businesses that don’t do well there are a lot of parallels between what happens in those groups, too. Hopefully I can take those little nuances and gradually slip little notes to these guys, just something to think about. Because I still want to win a championship. I’m a little selfish, too. As much as I want to give, I want to contribute to putting one [ring] on my finger. It’s a win-win for everybody.
What do you see as your value as a player at this point in your career?
I still can’t be guarded. [Laughs]. I can still get my shot off and do what I do. It’s amazing how it goes. [Holds one hand above the other]: When you lack the knowledge you got all this athleticism. And then right in your prime they kind of equal out. [Brings hands together]. And then you lose the athleticism but this [holds opposite hand high] is real high right now. I am able to use my smarts to get to my spots and do the things I know. These coaches and everything have been around me and they know the spots that I like best.
Cap report
During the Jamal Crawford drama last weekend, I heard Rick Sund was desperately looking for ways to shed salary so the Hawks could gain some relief under the tax line and add a vet free agent or do a sign-and-trade using Jamal. There are two main ways for teams to dump salary: 1. Use the amnesty clause, which the Hawks have ruled out (likely because of cash flow concerns as much as anything else) or 2. Send out more salary in a trade than they take back.
No. 2 is more easily accomplished if the trading partner has a trade exception to to help with the salary matching. Then a team can send away a big salary and take back a small one or a draft pick (plus earn its own trade exception)–see the Lamar Odom trade to Dallas.
But that kind of trade doesn’t happen often, and it works best when a team has a productive players with a reasonable salary they are looking to dump. The Hawks, of course, don’t have any of those kind of players beyond the ones they want to keep, so that probably explains why Sund ultimately wasn’t able to find a way to shed salary. I’m not certain if he’s still trying to do it but it’s going to be tough without using the amnesty.
In any event, ShamSports.com has a list of teams with trade exceptions, though it doesn’t look to have been updated since the summer.
Camp report
- Word is Brad Wanamaker has stood out among the young camp invitees. John Hollinger likes Wanamaker, whom came in at No. 37 in his draft rater (Insider).
- The Hawks updated some weights on their official roster. Jason Collins is 255, down from 265; Horford is 250, up from 245; Josh is 225, down from 250; and Marvin Williams is 245, up from 240.
- I haven’t heard anything on the Hawks and Gilbert Arenas. Arenas reportedly is waiting to see what happens with Dwight Howard. The latest news is that Howard will stay in Orlando for now. Or maybe not.
- Howard was reportedly upset that the Orlando amnestied (verb!) Arenas and also because the Magic haven’t made moves to his liking. Of course, there would be no way for the Magic to make any significant moves if they hadn’t amnestied Arenas. This just goes to show you that a lot of players don’t really understand even the broad outlines of how the CBA works and how their own contracts make it more difficult to get them help.
Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat
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223 comments Add your comment
BILLY KNIGHT
December 15th, 2011
12:41 pm
Big Ray I put this thing together so what ?
northcyde
December 15th, 2011
12:58 pm
LOL @ Billy Knight. You put it together. Too bad it had a broken toilet and a leaky roof. The house IS built though. Meanwhile, Sund kept the grass cut and painted the walls. But the toilet is still broken and the roof still leaks.
NUNNA!!
December 15th, 2011
1:10 pm
I want to know more about our “YouTube” sensations,both Keith Benson and Magnum Rolle!!
From what you are seeing,how do they look and is there anything positve about them so far in camp??
BILLY KNIGHT
December 15th, 2011
1:13 pm
northcyde, seen like your handyman have lot leaks to repair.
drmaryb.[*_*].
December 15th, 2011
1:21 pm
Hypocrite!
“I still say some of you are taking the negative spin on this team a little too far. ” -section 303-
_____________
Sort of like when you put words in Mr. Johnson’s mouth and, bashed him for two years straight? I swear you can not make this stuff up.
Here’s my point: we are upset because this ownership likes their “core” for 7 years straight and today, they like their “bigs”?
Tell me this: Where is the LOVE in LIKE?
If your goal as an owner is to acheive 2nd round exits year in and year out & NEVER pay luxury taxes – then, I guess there is a lot to like here. But, at the end of the day, none of the blog dissenters put any words in the ASKG mouths!
They said that!!!!!!!!!!!!
So, you, section 303 can just renew your cheap seats and shut up.
O'Brien
December 15th, 2011
1:29 pm
How pathetic is it, that we have 3 captains, and a coaching staff, but yet we are looking to the 14th guy on the bench to provide leadership?
JSS
December 15th, 2011
1:33 pm
Wow Bonzi Wells + Young players = how can this end in a good way? Good luck Minnesota…
kwooden
December 15th, 2011
1:53 pm
O’Brien, go Point!
Looks like JC1 is headed to Portland, I wish him well!
Astro Joe
December 15th, 2011
2:06 pm
YouTube sensation. Funny. I bet you could make Whoopi look FLY on YouTube. You could probably make Melvin Ely look like Shawn Kemp (pre-strike). Make Soulja Boy sound like Rakim. Make Josh Powell look like… okay, so maybe YouTube has its limits. But you get the point.
tyger
December 15th, 2011
2:09 pm
I think Stackhouse is being modest. Yes, he does bring alot of veteran leadership, but I saw him play in those UNC All-star games this summer, and quiet as kept, he can still play. He looks like Jordan in his latter years – hops down, but accuracy up. He’s still a Tar Heel, a Dean Smith Tar Heel, i.e. fundamentally sound champion – not Cherokee Parks either – arguably one of the best ever!
No, he’s not a 40 min a night player but he’ll give us what Mo Evans gave us or more. He won’t make the bone-headed mistakes Mo was prone to make either. Moreover, our goal is to go deeper in the playoffs.
Yes, to leadership, but leadership is more than vocal, you can lead by example and that’s where my bet is on Stackhouse. Those crucial playoff possessions where Hawks get lost, can’t buy a bucket, can’t find their man. The old guy has seen it all, played against Magic, Bird, MJ, knows when to pass up the long 2 for the 15fter.; knows to make the hard foul, instead of the And1. It’ll manifest in little things on the court as well as off the court. But don’t be mistaken, he’ll do more than cheerlead.
As much as I like Rolle, Benson, I like Horford, ZaZa, Collins more and don’t see alot of PT there. Moreover, why would we dispose of Kirks’s $8M expiring when JJ contract will be $21M next year. We’re going to need that cap room going forward.
And why would we trade ZaZa? He’s the best backup center in the league – dumb, just dumb!
northcyde
December 15th, 2011
2:16 pm
LOL O’Brien. . . Good dang question.
I guess JJ is the offensive captain
Smith the defensive captain
And Horford the special teams captain
It’s not even that many captains going out to midfield to do the coin flip before NFL games.
The Dreamer 3K
December 15th, 2011
2:26 pm
Congrats to my favorite Hawk, @JCrossover on the Portland deal. I’ll miss him on the court and in the community. You don’t see many professional athletes who max out on political contributions to worthy candidates. Hopefully he’ll be a Trailblazer in that regard as well.
(I recently discovered Twitter. If anyone is interested in mostly political talk, look me up @PoliticoNupe.)
kwooden
December 15th, 2011
2:32 pm
O’Brien, Good Point! not go point. Can’t type today!
SteveW
December 15th, 2011
2:38 pm
I wonder if we are thinking about Arroyo – we have to go into LT to get him, unless we let somebody go.
SteveW
December 15th, 2011
2:41 pm
Maybe Gearon and Levenson will have some stock options come thru, and Ted Turner decides to give his boy 300m – then they say “Let’s go for it!!” snd sign Dalembert and Humphries, Stack, and find a decent backup PG.
Yes, I know, I’m dreaming again OB
SteveW
December 15th, 2011
2:47 pm
I’m as big of a Jeff Teague fan as anybody – as folks who have followed this blog can attest.
On the flip side, I have realistic expectations. 12 ppg, 5 apg and above average defense is what I see. I remember last season when he played against Felton, Lawson, Curry etc. his stats weren’t great, but neither were the other guys. He can slow down most PG’s in the League.
And Jeff had very few TO’s also. I expect that to continue as well. Just a solid PG, with a chance to be very, very good in a year or two.
But with DRose, DeRon, Rondo, and even Wall, I don’t look for Jeff to be on any All Star teams any time soon, if ever. But he doesn’t have to be for us to be a much improved team.
If Larry will get the substitution patterns down right, not play JJ, Jeff, and Al 40 mpg, we could be a surprise team. We’re just not quite as deep as Chicago, Dallas, and some others.
STRETCH
December 15th, 2011
2:49 pm
A. Sherrod Blakely: The #Celtics and the #Knicks were the only other teams Rip Hamilton considered playing for, other than the #Bulls. Twitter
Wow, could yall imagine chasing Ray Allen around for a half and then chasing Rip for another half?!
SteveW
December 15th, 2011
2:51 pm
10 man rotation: JT, JJ, Josh, Al, Marvin, TMac, ZaZa, Collins, Vlad Rad, maybe Sy. Hinrich when healthy. Then Benson and Rolle on the bench, unless 1 or both are cut for Stack, Wanamaker, or somebody else.
With this compressed schedule, we’ll need a deep bench. And i say Kito may be a good candidate for D League.
Concerned about Rolle, not a good report MC gave on page 1.
STRETCH
December 15th, 2011
2:52 pm
Hey, anybody on here got NBA2k12? Just wondering how to “Create a Player” Is this done in Season or Franchise mode?
Rod from College Park
December 15th, 2011
2:53 pm
doc,
“dont know what was done but shoulders are the toughest joint to heal after surgery. kirk might be out a bit longer than three months. one month after surgery he still cant lift his arm which is not unheard of. he will have limited motion if he does come back is my guess. i think it is being very optimistic to see him back for any significant role this season unless he heals real fast. because of that i hope these guys get a real guard that has experience to be in the mix rather than a skinny jacket for the second row of the bench to join sy.”
I have already said that I don’t expect much out of Hinrich this year. I continue to see all these imaginary trades with Hinrich involved. You can’t trade injured players can you? A torn labrum is not easy to recover from in 2 or 3 months. Even if he recovers, more than likely he will get injured again. We need another quality backup at pg, that we can depend on.
Ken Strickland
December 15th, 2011
2:55 pm
It’s not a bad idea to have leaders on the bench like Stackhouse, but we need leaders on the court more than anywhere else. The biggest leader on this team needs to a PG named Jeff Teague. It’s going to be his leadership that makes JSmith or AHorford give the ball to him rather than trying to lead fastbreaks themselves.
It’s also going to be his leadership that makes players stick with running the plays, rather than taking over and going ISO, or launching ill advised jumpers. It’s also going to take his leadership to make certain that players like MWilliams won’t be allowed to drift in and out of the OFF, and disappear for extended periods at a time.
I think after 4+yrs of being forced to compensate/cover for Bibby’s DEF liabilities, our players appreciate finally having a PG who can run, carry his own weight defensively, and create scoring opportunities for others. Also, with Jamal gone, and Teague running the OFF, we’ll see very little of the ISO OFF that was basically Woodson’s entire OFF approach, and part of Drew’s as well.
All I’m saying is there are many reasons to believe our Hawks will be a much improved team this yr.
doc
December 15th, 2011
3:03 pm
rod so right you are.
onto another pet of yours, marvin. just heard him on 680. i only wish he was half as good on the court as he sounds off of it. really quality guy it serms.
Astro Joe
December 15th, 2011
3:05 pm
Strickland, according to your head coach, the idea is to take the first open shot available. His halfcort sets don’t require the PG to do much more than make the same pass to the open teammate as any other position player. Your head coach’s 5-man attack doesn’t really need a traditional PG, only during fast breaks (and that didn’t happen too often last season because the Hawks are a bad rebounding team). And BTW, Woody hasn’t coached the team in about 18 months. Last time Woody coached the Hawks, RandMo was wearing a Hawks uniform (just to add a little perspective).
STRETCH
December 15th, 2011
3:06 pm
Michael Cunningham: #Hawks inquired about FA Carlos Arroyo but were told he’s headed elsewhere
Sund will probably answer questions this evening saying “We tried to get CP3 but was informed he was going elswhere” Isnt that always the case with this organization?!
KevinM
December 15th, 2011
3:09 pm
Thanks, Rick! We as fans knew your sincerity in trying to bring Chills, oops, I mean, JC1 back to our team. It’s amazing that a CHI rumor got out there thinking we might get something back for his departure. Yet you stayed on course and weren’t distracted with the fan base.
Now that JC1 has let you off the hook, you can now explain how our bench has never been deeper, our bigs have never run the court like these bigs do, and how it was impossible to keep Teague down. Your teachings to all of us are inspiring.
We as fans should never doubt you are trying to retain our spot as a playoff team, something very few teams can acknowledge.
I’m on the bandwagon and looking forward to another core run for our guys who continue to work to get better every year.
And you knew it was only a matter of time….and 5 years is a quick uprising too!
ryan
December 15th, 2011
3:18 pm
Maybe Sund is trying shed payroll for D12 but i can dream can’t i .
SteveW
December 15th, 2011
3:22 pm
With only $550,000.00 or so to spend before Luxury Tax, it’s probably going to be Wanamaker, unless Rolle is waived. Then we could sign Stack or somebody else for the Vet. Min.
O'Brien
December 15th, 2011
3:46 pm
I hope Jamal does well in Portland. And hopefully he stays healthy. I dont know what it is about the water in Portland, but Blazers get hurt. Does that mean B-Roy will be waived?
Steve W,
I think Rolle gets waived. And I think Stack gets signed for the sole purpose of leadership.
alex
December 15th, 2011
3:47 pm
let me say, with cheap asg ownerships and atlanta fan base only going to get exiting with big stars in town it would take not 5, not 6, not 7, maybe 11 years like for thrashers to relocate to st louis again, bravo asg you doing terrific job. rumors began to fly, remember thrashes.
Najeh Davenpoop
December 15th, 2011
3:53 pm
“Does that mean B-Roy will be waived?”
Someone on Twitter said Portland had to amnesty him to clear room for Jamal.
Najeh Davenpoop
December 15th, 2011
3:57 pm
OMG! Now we can trade for him! LOLZ
http://www.insidehoops.com/blog/?p=8845
kwooden
December 15th, 2011
4:01 pm
O’Brien, I see that also because Rolle and Benson seem to be interchangeable. Stack is getting a lot of press and can play the SG position, which makes him very useful on this team. The HAWKS will probably try and get Wanamaker and Sloan to sign-up with their D-League team so they can bring them up if there is a major injury. Hopefully Sy is doing well in practice and showing that he’s ready to play PG/SG now.
Najeh Davenpoop
December 15th, 2011
4:02 pm
I think we can all agree that while Jamal may have had his flaws, when he did ish like this, he created some of the best highlights this team has provided in the Highlight Factory. In a perfect world not governed by the luxury tax, he’d be a Hawk and the coaches would use him optimally.
KevinM
December 15th, 2011
4:03 pm
LD was just on 680 the fan and those coach speak answers came out flying!
On Josh and his progress this year: “He is making plays he hasn’t made since his rookie year!” Oh boy…..
On Joe and if he will be a more vocal leader this year: “Well, there are 2 types of leaders, those by example and those verbally…Joe is Joe and I like what he has done this offseason to get ready”.
Just the snippets that I caught as the talk turned quickly back to the Falcons once LD hung up.
The Hawks coverage in this town is amazing. Even the website can’t hold a candle to the Wizards, where you see actual scrimmages in practice.
Ridonkulous
December 15th, 2011
4:06 pm
Enter your comments here
Ridonkulous
December 15th, 2011
4:07 pm
jamal Crawford signs with the Trailblazers (si.com)
Slimjr
December 15th, 2011
4:30 pm
Bye Bye JC1! Thanks for the memories!! Now step off…..lol
JC1 is one dimensional. He received a reality check these past few weeks.. Still wish we had JC2 though? Shoot..
Coach Larry said Josh is making plays he hadn’t seen in years..Said Josh is MUCH QUICKER!!!!!!!!!!
GIT READY FOR THE HIGH-LITE FACTORY TO OPEN FOR BUSINESS REAL SOON! lol
Marvin is going to destroy those pip-queaks!!!! Get that turnaround jumper going on the post! Its un-guardable,
mkjb22
December 15th, 2011
4:30 pm
5 more pounds for Marvin? I’m guessing that’s 2.5 lbs. per butt cheek?
Slimjr
December 15th, 2011
4:36 pm
mkjb22
December 15th, 2011
4:30 pm
“5 more pounds for Marvin? I’m guessing that’s 2.5 lbs. per butt cheek?”
LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
But at least “word on the street” has it that he’s finally standing upright after years of leaning forward and to the right so it was an optical illusion….{backside}
superiorblogman
December 15th, 2011
4:49 pm
Rod: A guy is not considered injured as far as transactions go until he is put on the injury list. Until Kirk is put on the injury list he can be traded.
Kirk, Zaza and a 2nd for Kaman
This team is a fraud. Sund can claim he likes his bigs but the people that will have to buy the tickets don’t. I guess they can give enough tickets away in order to not look like complete a-holes on national television.
KevinM
December 15th, 2011
4:58 pm
Out of the gate, JT goes up against:
Deron Williams – road game
John Wall – home game
Deron Williams – home game
Kyle Lowry + Goran Dragic – road game
Out PG has his hands full immediately! No time for a breather if we leave camp with this roster. I think the best we do in this stretch is a split. Back-2-backs are tough to win.
Ken Strickland
December 15th, 2011
5:04 pm
ASTRO JOE-I have to disagree with you somewhat. What you said about LDrew’s OFF approach, and what we all saw in the playoffs, especially with JTeague’s performance and impact on our OFF, simply doesn’t support what you say. Also, the idea that the Hawks didn’t run much last yr because they were a poor rebounding team doesn’t hold up either.
If you think back to the 2 teams best known for running their fastbreaking style of OFF, the SNash led Suns and Magic led Lakers, I believe you’ll find that neither were prolific rebounding teams, just like the Hawks. Their ability to run, inspite of their less than stellar rebounding, was due more to their teams committment to running, and having PGs that were capable and willing to run.
Rebounding doesn’t prevent teams from running fastbreaks, especially if they’ve made the committment and have the talent to do it. How well a team rebounds only determines the number of opportunities they will get to run, not whether they are capable of running.
Having Bibby as our starting PG, who couldn’t run, and who wore down during the season even though we didn’t run, and JCrawford as his primary backup, even though he wasn’t a PG, prevented us from running far more than rebounding.
It would be hard for any team to play solid DEF when your 2 primary PGs play absolutely NO DEF whatsoever, to run when your starting PG can’t run and his backup isn’t a PG, to play consistent OFF when your starting PG doesn’t penetrate or create easy scoring opportunities for others, and is limited offensively to launching 3s.
Slimjr
December 15th, 2011
5:10 pm
KevinM
December 15th, 2011
4:58 pm
Out of the gate, JT goes up against:
Deron Williams – road game
John Wall – home game
Deron Williams – home game
Kyle Lowry + Goran Dragic – road game
Coach Larry said Jt is one of the fastest guys in the league coast to coast!
TEAGUE= THE BLUR!
Those guards are going to have to chase him…..^^^^^
ntrigue
December 15th, 2011
5:14 pm
MC
Have you heard if the Hawks are pursuing Michael Redd? That’s an old vet that should be able to help us with our perimeter gm.
Ken Strickland
December 15th, 2011
5:14 pm
KEVINM-I think the degree of success we’ll have during that stretch of gms will be determined by how well HC LDrew utilizes his bench. He can’t do like Woodson did in situations like this, by running his top six players into the ground while ignoring everything and everyone else. He has to coach smarter and utilize the assets that are available to him.
He should take what he hopefully learned from the JTeague situation, where he seemed to have gone out of his way to limit his opportunities. It wasn’t until being forced into giving him the opportunity he should have gotten long before the playoffs began that he had what was needed all along sitting on our bench. We might find out that Pape Sy, or Benson, can give us much more than expected if given the support and opportunity to do so.
Ken Strickland
December 15th, 2011
5:16 pm
KEVINM-I’m so sorry, my last post was intended to for SLIMJR.
Buddy Grizzard
December 15th, 2011
5:29 pm
“ZaZa couldnt guard a tree.” – superiorblogtroll
That’s funny, troll. He was the second best man-to-man defender against Dwight, the greatest center alive on the planet, that we had. And keep in mind, if Dwight had any face-up game WHATSOEVER, Collins could no more guard him than he can Boozer. But Zaza could still guard him.
“Zaza should be starting ahead of Collins, who is here for one reason only.” – KevinM
Disagree here because I think we need to start Teague, JJ, Marvin, Josh and Al. Reason being is because A. Marvin needs to be showcased as a starter, not a reserve. This is to increase his value at the trade deadline. If we can get him scoring 15ppg and he stays healthy, we’ve got a shot to flip his and Kirk’s contracts into a significant player.
Secondly, after calling out All-NBA Al with the “No Excuses” sign, why then placate his wishes by starting Zaza or Collins at center on opening night? Don’t tell him no excuses and then excuse him from the responsibility of being the opening night starting center. I think Zaza is a starting-calibre center in the NBA… would probably be top 15 among starting centers if given the opportunity. But I’m more concerned right now with showcasing Marvin to future trading partners.
“10 man rotation…” – SteveW
With a healthy Kirk, we go 10 deep. If Sy is ready to earn actual minutes, we go 11 deep. I know Big Ray doesn’t want to live through Sy’s growing pains, but as thin as we are at guard until Kirk returns, Sy is about to get the best chance he will ever have to show that he’s ready to contribute.
So let’s say Sy’s hot finish to his recent stint at France, and positive reviews out of training camp, are not fools gold. Let’s say Sy can play 15 mpg of solid defense and not throw the ball away while standing in a corner on offense. That put’s us at an 11-man rotation. Sign Stack and it’s a 12-man rotation with Benson at the end of the bench. That’s pretty deep.
Unfortunately, because we’re so close to the cap we’re scraping every penny to stay out of the tax. That means we may have to keep Rolle just because his non-guaranteed rookie contract is what like $700k as opposed to $1.2m Stack would make on a vet’s minimum deal. The $500k difference could keep the Hawks out of the tax, which means a full share of the distribution of tax funds to non-tax paying teams. I could see the Hawks keeping some scrubs on the bench to start the season, then demoting them to the D-League before their contracts become guaranteed, then signing Stack to the max number of 10-day contracts before signing him through the end of the season, thus paying him maybe half of that full $1.2m vet’s minimum.
Jay
December 15th, 2011
5:41 pm
MC,
Wilbon on PTI just mentioned Josh Smith as a player for the Lakers now that they lost out on Paul, is there anything to that you have heard?
Runner-
December 15th, 2011
5:51 pm
Unlucky not to resign Jamaal, we’ll get him next year!!
Astro Joe
December 15th, 2011
6:08 pm
Najeh, if the coach’s used him properly, those highlights may have been limited. IMO, you have to give volume shooters free reign to ignite, if you manage them too closely, you suffocate them.
Strickland, Bibby was gone in February and I don’t recall any more fast breaks. I understand that he traumatized you and you will undoubtedly blame him this season for something that happens, but he was not the reason the Hawks didn’t run more often. The notion that a fastbreak is PG dependent is bogus.