Atlanta Hawks: Hawks waive Sy, Wanamaker, Rolle (Update: Benson also released)
The Hawks waived forward Magnum Rolle and guards Pape Sy and Brad Wanamaker today. More cuts are coming later today: The roster now stands at 16, one more than the maximum, and it’s possible Atlanta will carry the minimum 13 players for the regular season.
UPDATE: The Hawks waived center Keith Benson, their only draft pick in June. The team plans to carry 15 on the roster to start the season. There are four players on the roster with non-guaranteed deals: Ivan Johnson, Jannero Pargo, Donald Sloan, and Jerry Stackhouse.
The decisions on Rolle and Wanamaker were not unexpected but the Hawks gave up on Sy after investing in him as a long-term prospect. Coach Larry Drew said Sy’s inability to develop as a point guard played a part in the decision.
“We, the coaches and the management, came to an agreement that he’s been a little bit more effective off the ball than at the point,” Drew said. “With that and the acquisition of Willie Green and [having] a number of other guys that are veterans that can play two, he became expendable. We were hoping he would mature and develop but he just seemed more comfortable at that two-guard spot. With that, we made the decision to go in a different direction.”
Sy, a native of France, made his way to the NBA as a a rare unknown prospect–prominent Web sites that track numerous draft-eligible players had no file on Sy before Atlanta selected him in the second of the 2010 draft. Sy had paid his own way to work out for the Hawks, the only team to grant him an audience, and impressed Drew.
The Hawks paid about $125,000 to buy out Sy’s French contract last year and paid him $473,604 in salary in 2010-11. He played a total of 21 minutes for the Hawks last season and spent 23 games with Atlanta’s D-League affiliate.
Sy had a good training camp but Atlanta’s payroll is pushing against the luxury-tax line, leaving little room for carrying players who can’t help the team now. The Hawks added guards Green and Pargo during training camp.
“It was a really tough decision,” Drew said. “There were a lot of things we liked about Pape.”
When the Hawks drafted Benson, they said he was a long-term prospect because he needed to add bulk and strength. But Benson, like Sy, appears to be a victim of Atlanta’s focus on veterans at the expense of carrying prospects who need time to develop. Benson was released by a club team in Italy during the lockout.
Rolle signed with the Hawks near the end of last season and re-joined the team following a stint in South Korea. He came into camp out of shape after he said a right foot injury hampered him from maintaining his conditioning.
Wanamaker, a rookie free agent out of the University of Pittsburgh, struggled during last night’s exhibition victory against Charlotte.
Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat
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771 comments Add your comment
darrell starks
December 24th, 2011
2:59 pm
MY BAD STACK MADE THE TEAM TO.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!
O'Brien
December 24th, 2011
3:05 pm
Northcyde,
LOL @ Josh sells tickets. No he doesn’t..
Co-Sign. It is a very big misconception, or urban legend. Josh Smith was drafted in 2004. Hawks rank in terms of attendance (and number of tickets sold) since then.
2004 – 29th; 13, 798
2005 – 29th, 14,302
2006 – 29th; 15, 071
2007 – 26th; 15, 594
2008 – 20th; 16,280 (despite 31-10 home record)
2009 – 20th; 16,748 (despite 34-7 record at home)
2010 – 18th; 16,545
2011 – 22th; 15,648
Does Josh have highlight reel plays? Sure. but he is not the box office draw some people think he is. Nobody on this team is.
Smith.Leuer.Bogut
December 24th, 2011
3:21 pm
Bluesteel, You mean Smith is the most marketable. O’Brien what was Chris Paul’s Hornets attendance like.
Even with a superstar I suspect they were worse after they became a treadmill team?
Smith.Leuer.Bogut
December 24th, 2011
3:23 pm
That is you all wanted to “gut” the team for Chris Paul/Dwight, but you become a losing team and no one wants to see their hometown team be a losing treadmill team.
Melvin
December 24th, 2011
3:27 pm
The Heat cut Eddie House. I would rather sign him over Sloan…
Blue Steel
December 24th, 2011
3:28 pm
O’Brien Those are Hawks attendance numbers not Josh Smith attendance levels. I thought you were bright enough to see that.
Let me put it to you guys another way. Many in attendance in those palsy attendance numbers, were Josh fans,
Can you say exactly how many were JJ fan base? Al fan base? No you cant unless you mark on the tickets who is the # 1 player you are coming to see.
Across the NBA more Fans see Josh as a star than JJ, or AL.judging just on the All Star Voting.
in the now famous words of Al Hoford, “yall figure that *Ch!t out”
* writer added.
O'Brien
December 24th, 2011
3:29 pm
ESPN Preseason rankings for the Hawks;
Jamal C. is gone, Hinrich is hobbled and newcomers like T-Mac were limited to one-year deals in the wake of the team’s collapsed sale. So expect more of the Hawks who went 10-17 after the All-Star break than the team that upset Orlando in Round 1..
They have the hawks at 18th.
Melvin
December 24th, 2011
3:31 pm
Still can’t believe the Hawks decided to cut Benson over Sloan. So the Hawks dont have anyone on the roster from the past two drafts. Not to mention the other foreign guys they drafted that hasn’t been state side yet. That’s just great asset management.
Blue Steel
December 24th, 2011
3:39 pm
*Atlanta has not ever been a major market draw
Herman
December 24th, 2011
3:44 pm
Enter your comments here
Herman Cain
December 24th, 2011
3:46 pm
Blue Steel dont be so quick to walk away from your point. If the Hawks were 29th in attendance and moved up during Josh’s tenure to 15th-16th then Id have to say your point is still valid, certainly not dis proven.
Good point.
Maybe
December 24th, 2011
3:49 pm
So we basically have ZERO prospects as far as youth is concerned. Either the management is completely stupid and incapable of effectively doing their job, or there’s a trade coming. I refuse to believe that they are saving room to make a run at D12 or D-Williams next year.
Might not even watch the games this year smh…. If the roster stays the same, we all know how this is going to end.
Blue Steel
December 24th, 2011
3:50 pm
Herman they did move up to as high as 18th so yes, under Josh the numbers rose. Thanks for the co-sign
Ken Strickland
December 24th, 2011
3:57 pm
MICHAEL CUNNINGHAM-What’s the latest onTeague’s ankle? He only has tomorrow and Monday to fully recover. If he’s not 100%, with the schedule being what it is, he shouldn’t play. He’ll be far more valuable to us when we embark on that 6gm stretch where we play the Bulls and Heat in 4 times.
Big Ray
December 24th, 2011
4:17 pm
Welcome back. I think the ajc took away most of the fan blogs.
Correct. All but two of them.
Big Ray
December 24th, 2011
4:18 pm
Big Ump ,
Thankyou, sir. The best holiday wishes to you and yours as well!!
Big Ray
December 24th, 2011
4:21 pm
The real question I have is: WHERE THE HECK IS BIG RAY AND THE FAN BLOG??????? IT’S NOT LIKE THE SEASON IS STARTING IN TWO FRIGGIN’ DAYS OR ANYTHING!!!!!! I KNOW I’M OUT OF THE LOOP, BUT UNLESS RAY HAS BAILED AND LEFT THE AJC, AND HIS SUBSTANTIAL PEER/FAN BASE HANGING, WHY IN THE HECK HAS HE NOT BEEN GIVEN ACCESS TO DO HIS “THANG”??
WAZ UP!!!!?????
Nobody can stay gone THAT long and still get such a reaction. There is only one. Happy Holidays to you, Ando, and yeah….most fan blogs were cut (all but two) by the AJC. So we are all in one place, doing what we do, and what not….
Big Ray
December 24th, 2011
4:24 pm
Let me put it to you guys another way. Many in attendance in those palsy attendance numbers, were Josh fans,
Hey, why are you accusing Atlanta fans of having the palsy?
And how many of those people yelling “NOOOOOOO!” everytime Josh lined up for a 22 foot jumper were Josh fans?
*Jeopardy music in the background*…..
Big Ray
December 24th, 2011
4:25 pm
New Jersey got Mehmet Okur for their 2nd round pick in 2015?
All we do with our second round picks is waive them after we pick them…
Big Ray
December 24th, 2011
4:29 pm
I would love to have Chuck Hayes. Allegedly bad heart and all. His ticker is worth more than most of those on our roster….
Well, once Kirk Hinrich comes back, who loses the immunity necklace and gets bounced off the island?
I hope we keep Ivan “I’ve earned the job” Johnson. Stackhouse…well, we’ll see. If he can help the trio of team captains and give us some solid defense (and maybe a couple of buckets), he’s worth keeping because we have no idea what we’re going to get from “sleepy eyes” McGrady. I’m guessing Pargo and Sloan duke it out, but both could be gone by Feb. 10th, at the latest.
Not seeing any big trade deadline moves unless things are going badly in the first 20-30 games.
JSS
December 24th, 2011
5:11 pm
@ Big Ray…
Post at 4:25PM, Co-sign…
Dept. Of Unintended Irony
December 24th, 2011
5:13 pm
“Many in attendance in those palsy attendance numbers, were Josh fans, ”
Sounds like shaky logic to me.
Blue Steel
December 24th, 2011
5:30 pm
“Hey, why are you accusing Atlanta fans of having the palsy?”
Hummm, I think that would be written “many of the Palsy were in attendance..”
By the way, What ever became of your blog page Big Ray? Is that what you are referencing in say the AJC took away the fan’s blogs?
If that’s true can you explain why?
New Jersey got Mehmet Okur for their 2nd round pick in 2015?
We could have did that.
Actually
December 24th, 2011
5:32 pm
“in the now famous words of Al Hoford, “yall figure that *Ch!t out” ”
In fact, those were not the words of Horford but of the commentary of a Horford hater. They were mistakenly suggested as Horford’s words in someone’s ignorance and constant reposting. So those “famous words”? Not Al’s. Nice try, though.
SteveW
December 24th, 2011
6:00 pm
ESPN actually has the Hawks in the lottery, 9th in the East. Interesting. But I don’t pay much attention to that. That’s why they play the games.
ATL Hawks the oldest team in the NBA? Even if that’s true, our top 6 are:
Teague – 23 yrs. old
Marvin – 25
Al – 25
Josh – 26
ZaZa – 27
JJ – 30
So we may have surrounded the “core” with some older guys, but the core is still young. Really this year and next we’ll kinda be in our prime. JJ getting a little older, Teague just getting started, but everybody else just peaking.
SteveW
December 24th, 2011
6:05 pm
I think just as important to the Heat as the Big 3 is the Medium 3 of Battier, Miller, and Haslem, and the Little 3 of Chalmers, Anthony, and either Curry or Norris.
If the Medium 3 stays injured, or the little 3 doesn’t improve, the Big 3 still may not get a ring.
And you talk about bad cap situations, look at Chicago and Miami going forward. They’ve got major cap issues going forward, starting next season.
SteveW
December 24th, 2011
6:07 pm
From the 2007 – 11 drafts, we have exactly 2 guys on the team: Al Horford, and Jeff Teague.
That’s not the way to build a team.
Hawks Blog Legend Worldwide Clyde
December 24th, 2011
6:16 pm
“From the 2007 – 11 drafts, we have exactly 2 guys on the team: Al Horford, and Jeff Teague.
That’s not the way to build a team.”
Who is scouting these players the Hawks draft?
Slimjr
December 24th, 2011
6:18 pm
Fire the scouts!
Truth B. Known
December 24th, 2011
6:21 pm
“Jun 21, 2011 … Al Horford is not the Atlanta Hawks best player. He averages 10 points in 39 playoff games. 7 points and 4 rebounds at power forward.”
“Center Al Horford has expressed his preference to play power forward, but Sund said he wasn’t sure if the team would seek a full-time center.”
“Horford, who is undersized for his position by NBA standards at 6-foot-10 and 245 pounds, said earlier this summer the Hawks needed to add an impact center to be a true championship contender.”
“When the topic turned to Al playing more power forward, L.D., like Sund, started talking more about versatility”
“I think with coach Drew’s new mindset, he plans to play me more at [power forward], which is encouraging to me,” Horford said. “I am happy about that, if I can spend more time at [power forward], that would be great.”
“At times I am going to have to play the four and I think Josh is OK with playing the three.”
Truth B. Known
December 24th, 2011
6:22 pm
“He averages 10 points in 39 playoff games. 7 points and 4 rebounds at power forward.”
So why are we moving him to power forward?
JSS
December 24th, 2011
6:41 pm
Hawks scouts…
Full-Time Scouts: Greg Ballard and Lojze Milosavljevic
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epyNqSlN9sg interview with Lojze
International Scouts: Mark Crow and Ron Meikle
More over
December 24th, 2011
6:45 pm
New York–Yes, Al Horford said “you take it personally” when someone calls you out in the media the way Amar’e Stoudemire has done twice to Horford this season.
But Horford, not much for hype, says he will make his point tonight at Madison Square Garden against Amar’e’s Knicks.
“He’s a talker. He’s going to talk, you know what I’m saying?” he said at shootaround today. “All I do is bring my game to the court. That’s what I will do tonight.”
myrak43
December 24th, 2011
7:14 pm
SteveW @December 24th, 2011
6:07 pm
From the 2007 – 11 drafts, we have exactly 2 guys on the team: Al Horford, and Jeff Teague.
That’s not the way to build a team.
This statement is very deceiving. the Hawks still have four guys on the team that they drafted. how many teams can you say that about? besides the hawks didn’t have a first round pick in 2011 and they traded their 2010 first round pick(which was in the 20’s) for Kirk. it seems to me like they are drafting NBA talent they just don’t know how to get a Center.
mykhalc
December 24th, 2011
7:37 pm
good article by Hummer on LD. LD doesn’t have to worry…he won’t be away from his family long…he’ll be in LA full-time as soon as this 66 game foobar is over. what a team we have assembled this year!!! zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Big Ray
December 24th, 2011
7:43 pm
Blue Steel ,
In the corporate world, they call it downsizing. Sorry I don’t have a better explanation.
Spyro
December 24th, 2011
7:44 pm
I really wish Al had taken the Chris Bosh route in the offseason. CB1, knowing that the Heat lack an impact center, bulked up so he could play the 5 if it came to that. If Al had done that, I think we would be a lot better off.
Slimjr
December 24th, 2011
7:55 pm
Truth B. Known
December 24th, 2011
6:22 pm
“He averages 10 points in 39 playoff games. 7 points and 4 rebounds at power forward.”
“So why are we moving him to power forward?”
Hmmmmmmmm……..
Slimjr
December 24th, 2011
7:57 pm
Who should go 1st when they start the core meltdown?
Najeh Davenpoop
December 24th, 2011
8:04 pm
“I really wish Al had taken the Chris Bosh route in the offseason. CB1, knowing that the Heat lack an impact center, bulked up so he could play the 5 if it came to that. If Al had done that, I think we would be a lot better off.”
Al is up to 250 now, so he did bulk up.
Slimjr
December 24th, 2011
8:07 pm
245lbs to 250lbs= 1 Ham sandwich! Yeah! LMAO……..
Smith.Leuer.Bogut
December 24th, 2011
8:11 pm
Bosh has a 7 foot frame with a 7′3.5 wingspan. If Horford were 20 he’d look like Boris Diaw or a fake Big Baby Davis. Sorry. This guy knows his ideal weight and has peaked.
Smith.Leuer.Bogut
December 24th, 2011
8:12 pm
edit ^Horford were 260
newkid
December 24th, 2011
8:14 pm
Refresh your resume’ HBAndo; the “Chump” (Sund) is toast.
Smith.Leuer.Bogut
December 24th, 2011
8:14 pm
The Clippers claimed Chauncey Billups off waivers while also pursuing a trade for Chris Paul.
“My whole thing was if they were pursuing C.P., why would they get in my way?” Billups said. “When they got me, the C.P. trade was off. Then it was back on, off, back on and then, boom, they get C.P. It made me more like, ‘Why would y’all get in my way if that is what you were trying to do?’ ”
In the days since the trade, Billups has calmed down and accepted his role on a new team. Billups has a strong friendship with Paul.
“When you play two point guards like that, you have to somehow use it as an advantage,” Billups said. “Both of us have to run pick-and-rolls, incorporate what’s going on and make teams match up with us because we are going to be small in the backcourt. And I never liked playing [shooting guard], to be honest with you, because the one advantage that I always had was I was bigger and stronger than anyone at [point guard].
“Now I slide down and I’m smaller than everyone at my position. What are we going to do to that even that out? Those are things I talked to [Clippers coach] Vinny [Del Negro] about. We just got to get creative.”
Billups is expected to control the ball a lot when in the game with Paul, which could free up the latter for more scoring opportunities.
“It’s all good,” Billups said. “I’m going to do what I always do: Make the situation better than when I got here.”
doc
December 24th, 2011
9:21 pm
for what it is worth, the real results in all star voting among hawks showed josh had the most at 387k with al next at 287 k jamal next at 247k and jj lat among the four at 224k. josh is the allstar. btw al was fifth in votes from fans in the east for centers. so josh gets the most respect and appreciation among the voters for the all star game. here are the results:
http://www.nola.com/hornets/index.ssf/2011/01/nba_all-star_game_final_vote_r.html
in a way you could say he is the best draw by these numbers a full 100k ahead of al.
Grandmaster JeJe
December 24th, 2011
9:25 pm
Bosh put on pounds two yrs ago and the complained it made him less effective. I believe Toronto told him to
doc
December 24th, 2011
9:27 pm
big ray, a budgetary constraints victim.
ando, i still have the same e-mail, otherwise, i will check on your number that i have away from the house after the christmas season. i would like ot catch up.
cali og shout out to you bro. where you been?
SteveW
December 24th, 2011
10:05 pm
Umm, that 2 draft choices in 5 years still on the team is not decieving. Just a fact.
Let’s see, how many draft picks are still on the Sixers? The Thunder? Most every team really. We also didn’t have a pick in 2008.
But we draft Shelden #5
Josh Childress #6
Acie #11
Marvin #2
Solomon Jones #31
Gladyr, Sy, Benson, Stoudamire in the 2nd round
That’s off the top of my head. Pretty bad track record really.
SteveW
December 24th, 2011
10:08 pm
I can’t help that we traded two 1st picks for Kirk Hinrich either. Just stating facts.
Check out the Wizards, their building ok thru the draft. So were the Clippers before the big trade.