Atlanta Hawks: Erick Dampier signed; Josh Smith snubbed?
Here is my AJC story on the Hawks signing Erick Dampier to a 10-day contract. Here is my other AJC story on Joe Johnson making the All-Star team and Josh Smith being left off.
AJC wise guy weighed in on the Smoove Snub. Now I will take a stab at figuring out if ‘Damp’ can help the Hawks.
Dampier is a big dude. Maybe he’s too big. He was last listed at 265 but, based on what I saw today, I’d say he’s at least 20 pounds north of that. (Sorry for the lack of visual evidence. I hate my phone.) I know the pool of free-agent centers is dreadfully shallow but Dampier never was the fleetest guy so now I wonder how effective he can be with the added weight.
The biggest red flags for Dampier last season were drastic declines in his scoring and rebounding rates. The two are related because Dampier didn’t grab as many offensive boards and so didn’t have as many putbacks. But Dampier still was effective when he managed to collect misses: His 1.1 points scored per possession on offensive rebounds (on 31 possessions) ranked 84th in the league last season, according to Synergy Sports Technology.
And Dampier may still have some value as a defender. His opponent PER of 14.3 last season was solid. Dampier’s Synergy defensive numbers were good: .83 points per possession allowed, 83rd-best in the league. Plus, let’s face it: At this point the Hawks just need a big body to plug in the middle so bigs can’t bull their way to the basket at will and smalls at least have an obstacle to navigate on their way to the basket.
The question with Dampier probably centers on whether he’s in good enough shape to approach those efficiency numbers now. It’s not a good sign when both coach and player say he needs time to work into game shape when he’s on a 10-day. But I’ll withhold judgment until we see Dampier on the court, which could come tomorrow vs. Dwight.
Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat
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235 comments Add your comment
waltbellamy
February 9th, 2012
11:00 pm
Have you watched JJ in the playoffs???
Ra'mon
February 9th, 2012
11:07 pm
Yeah, I have watched Joe in the playoffs. I watched Joe almost give Doc Rivers a stroke by himself. There’s no question if Joe was the 2nd option to a player of Isaiah Thomas (top 5 pg of all time without question), that he would still produce more than Joe Dumars! As I said, when Dumars was the NUMBER ONE option in Detroit without Thomas in only his 9th-10th season, do you know what he got his team to? He got them to the lottery pick of Grant Hill, that’s all! Dumars never LEAD his team to the 2nd round of the playoffs! You show me another player in the Hall of Fame who only averaged 16 ppg without averaging double digit rebounds or assists for majority of his career. Dumars got in because of Thomas and Daly.
yodaddybrother
February 9th, 2012
11:11 pm
can’t rag on Joe Johnson….in the end he may be HoF material (i really hate to say that) based strictly off numbers.
Career 18 ppg, 4 reb, 4 assists, 1 steal and 6 ALL Star games with like 5 or 6 “impact” years left
just for comparison sakes….
Ray Allen 20 PPG, 4 Reb, 4 Assits, 1 steal and 10 All Star games
T-Mac 20 PPG, 6 Reb, 5 Assists, 1 steal and 7 All Star Games
My eyes tell me Joe Johnson is not HoF material but one could make a case if he continues this way and it would be hard to argue against. He’s a very good…maybe even great player but Hall of Fame is a stretch. We were just fine with Joe Johnson until the contract which we all know is impossible to live up to.
waltbellamy
February 9th, 2012
11:13 pm
I guess you missed the JJ that disappeared in the Orlando series in 2010 (a historic blowout) and then said he did not care what the fans thought.
JJ never lead his team to the conference finals. But he did make a lot of money.
waltbellamy
February 9th, 2012
11:15 pm
JJ never got anywhere and never did anything.
But that certainly makes him better than Dumars and Hudson.
He did make a lot of money.
Rally around your under performing hero.
Ra'mon
February 9th, 2012
11:15 pm
Yodaddy, the main difference between Joe and ‘Stars’ is he doesn’t display that 40+ vertical to put players on posters. He’s 6′8 but plays below the rim for most of the time. I’m not saying I think Joe is HoF. But I’m saying there are some people who are in the HoF, that Joe can use to get in, when you consider their numbers against his.
waltbellamy
February 9th, 2012
11:17 pm
JJ & HOF. You must be delusional. Puff, puff, pass.
Ra'mon
February 9th, 2012
11:18 pm
Walt, when did Joe Dumars LEAD his team to the conference finals? He scored unconsciously against the Lakers in the Finals, but the rounds before that, he didn’t do much. And even that Finals, the Lakers main concern was keeping Thomas from scoring, i.e. they doubled Thomas majority of that series.
waltbellamy
February 9th, 2012
11:21 pm
Dumars = champion.
JJ = ? I know he is your hero. But still well below outstanding.
waltbellamy
February 9th, 2012
11:24 pm
JJ is the best player on a more or less average Hawks franchise in the 00’s. Sorry osh fans.
Ra'mon
February 9th, 2012
11:24 pm
Dumars = Backseat champion. By that token, Josh Powell is a champion. As I said, when Joe Dumars was a number one option, the team ended up in the lottery.
heat check
February 9th, 2012
11:25 pm
Ugh. Makes me sick that Josh was snubbed AGAIN. What a crock. His game is perfectly suited for All Star weekend. I can see him putting on a show there. Besides that, he just deserves it.
On the bright side, we should expect to see a couple weeks of huge games from him now, if history is an indicator. How about a triple-double? Or two?
Dampier would’ve been nice three years ago. Maybe he’ll be a TMac-like surprise, but I’m not holding my breath.
Ra'mon
February 9th, 2012
11:26 pm
I’m not saying Joe Johnson is HoF Yet. But I’ll take him over Dumars on my team.
waltbellamy
February 9th, 2012
11:27 pm
When did JJ get
to the conference finals?
I will patiently wait for your response that I assume will be filled with statistics that do not include any actual postseason success.
yodaddybrother
February 9th, 2012
11:28 pm
Ra’Mon
It sounds ludicrous at first, but when you really look at it and try to project to the rest of his career. Three more years of this type of production and the case for HOF is STRONG…almost infallible.
And as a Hawks fan…maybe we haven’t appreciated Joe Johnson as much as we should. I hear what “waltbellamy” is saying. However, when Joe Johnson arrived we had 13 wins and we whiffed on two lottery picks (Marvin & Shelden) during his tenure.
He hasn’t been playing along side the greatest wings (marvin Williams, josh childress) nor any good PGs (speedy claxton, salim stoudemire, mike bibby). He’s never had a Shaq, KG, or Yao Ming or any type of low post scoring presence that would help open up the floor in that regard. You could say Al Horford but career 12 ppg isn’t exactly a post threat.
waltbellamy
February 9th, 2012
11:29 pm
Ra’mon – “I’m not saying Joe Johnson is HoF Yet. But I’ll take him over Dumars on my team.”
That illustrates why your team sucks.
BTW – JJ will never sniff the HOF.
Ra'mon
February 9th, 2012
11:31 pm
Walt, JJ made it to the Conference Finals in Phoenix. Since not being the best player on your team doesn’t count. He’s made it to the conference finals.
Yodaddy, I know what he’s saying. But I’m purely saying, as the best player on your team, Joe Johnson has lead his team further than Dumars lead his. And as I said, in my mind, 4 seasons ago Dirk was a choke artist, and not HoF material. But ONE playoff run changed all of that. I don’t believe that Joe doesn’t have the talent to make that happen.
Ra'mon
February 9th, 2012
11:35 pm
Walt, if Joe Dumars didn’t have Daly, Isaiah, and Rodman, he wouldn’t have been any better than Mitch Richmond, Jamal Mashburn, or Jimmy Johnson. Still until this day, with Joe Johnson, the Hawks have PROGRESSED and not REGRESSED each season. The first two seasons as the leader on the team, Dumars didn’t taste the playoffs. Actually, Grant Hill’s rookie season, Hill was already the best player on the team, even though Dumars was only in his 10-11th season.
Wink
February 9th, 2012
11:35 pm
ASG finally bring in a big man, too bad they waited till he was almost 300 pounds and lying around in a retirement home. Maybe he can take up some space and use up his fouls. Probably is the best of the rest. Would have much rather had Keith Benson a mobile 7 footer.
Joe Johnson is no All Star, kid is not a game changer, thus will never be a HOF. To me if you have never been voted to the starting team by fans, you are not relevant. Also, just because you are voted to All Star game by fans does not make you an HOF.
Case in point, Yi Ming for Houston got voted in as a starter his first time on the ballot, but he was relevant to fans and a game changer. People came to see him play. Jordan before he went on his championship runs, Chicago was not very good but people came to see him play, same could be said for Nique & his Hawks, but Joe Johnson the 6 time All Star is a joke, who really goes to see him play other than die hard Hawks fans…his claim to fame this season is the Hawks are 10 & 1 when he scores over 20 points, so the Hawks were 13 & 0 against sub 500 teams, of which Joe probably scored his 20 points in those games; question where was he in the other 17 games, definitely not a 20 point scorer.
He does not deserve to be an All Star this year…Josh was snubbed.
Ra'mon
February 9th, 2012
11:42 pm
Wink, you just made your own case. Joe has NEVER been voted in by fans. But each year voted by COACHES who know the game! No one went to see Jason Kidd play in Phoenix or New Jersey. If Joe ended up with the Lakers or somewhere where he’s the 2nd option and not first, he would get a ring, if not two. When you think about how healthy he stays for the most part. Joe Johnson would be the 2nd best number 2 guy, only behind Wade.
Joe
February 9th, 2012
11:45 pm
I’ll give JJ the all star spot, no problem. Before he arrived the Hawks were Charlotte. Unfortunately the ASG screwed that up with mostly horrible draft picks that don’t need repeating. Having followed the Hawks since the Hubie days, this product is not that bad, Hawks get to the playoff most years and for tithe most part they win at home……….which is what the paying fans like to see.
As for Josh, yes he’s a talent but spends too much making dumb azz plays and disrupting the flow the team is trying to establish. Therefore he is not an all-star. If he played like he did against Indy he’s in. However there are too many nights when watching him I want to rip the tv off the wall and throw it out the window.
Years ago while attending a game, my buddy made the comment that Woody need a shock collar for every time Josh launched one of his ill timed JUMPERs. It’s gotten better but still needs work…….after 7-8 years.
Will be interesting Sunday, Gearon speaks to the season tic holders before Heat game…….guess signing Damp will keep the noise down.
Big Ray
February 9th, 2012
11:46 pm
Then the vote should be taken out of their hands. All Star selections are supposed to reward production. Doesn’t matter if Josh is only half the player he is capable of being, or if he makes more dumb decisions than someone else. If he is producing more than another player, he should be in the game, period.
Yeah. You know what’s worst about all of this? The fact that Josh is only half the player he is capable of being, and makes more dumb decisions than someone else…. HURTS THE TEAM.
Who gives a damn about the all-star game. I want him to produce better for THE HAWKS.
Having said that, Deng’s stats clearly aren’t superior to Smith’s, and Hibbert….WTF is he doing on the all-star squad?
Ra'mon
February 9th, 2012
11:47 pm
Joe Johnson, is 4 seasons from having 5,000 assists and 5,000 rebounds. He’s 5-7 seasons from having 20,000 points. You show me the player who has 20,000 pts, 5,000 assists, and 5,000 rebounds, and I’ll believe that Joe doesn’t have a chance at HoF.
Michael Jordan
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Karl Malone
Larry Bird
Oscar Robertson
Jerry West
Clyde Drexler
Gary Payton
John Havlicek.
Kevin Garnett
Kobe
Those are the only players to have those numbers. And EACH is in the HoF, although each doesn’t have a ring.
waltbellamy
February 9th, 2012
11:52 pm
Joe Johnson is 1000 season from accomplishing anything meaningful as a team player. Pile up meaningless stats. What has his team done? Thanks!
Big Ray I miss your blog.
Go Hawks!
Rufus1
February 9th, 2012
11:52 pm
I am just glad they didn’t select the Lin kid.
Ra'mon
February 9th, 2012
11:56 pm
Walt, before his 14th-15th season in the league, what had Malone and Stockton’s Jazz done? Nothing! Do you realize there are Jazz fans who hate Malone, and think he’s an underachiever? Do you realize there are Sixers’ fans who think Barkley never did enough for the team. Yet, all three of them are in the HoF without rings.
Ra'mon
February 9th, 2012
11:59 pm
Its been fun debating. About to watch Tower Heist online.
Joe
February 9th, 2012
11:59 pm
Best line ever, the Mailman don’t deliver on Sunday
waltbellamy
February 10th, 2012
12:00 am
FYI – Walt Bellamy career totals – 20,941 points and 14,241rebounds. These totals were compiled when there were actually a half dozen credible centers in the league (and no I do not mean Eric Dampier). I quiver in fear of the possibility that JJ might (?) put together some decent career statistics after another five years without accomplishing anything in a team environment.
Rufus1
February 10th, 2012
12:00 am
1mil is 1mil
1mil in pennies is the same as hundreds….I would prefer hundreds, but I will take pennies.
JJ is 1mil in pennies…Everyone wants a STAR, but would prefer a different kind of STAR.
waltbellamy
February 10th, 2012
12:02 am
JJ will never darken the door of the HOF.
NUNNA!!
February 10th, 2012
12:04 am
Josh won’t be an all star until he shows he can play under control and play his position to his strengths!!
He has never had a coach that actually sat him down and said,”if u wanna be a leader on this team and known as one of the best players in the nba then this is what you have to do”!!
He thinks he is Kobe..He thinks he is consistent with that outside shot and does not play his part on the offensive end most of the time..
He has excellent court vision, and see’s the open man consistently..
Excellent defender and weak side helper.
Great shot blocker..
Nice Low Post Player(when he plays the post)..
And you all can fill in the rest..
But,if u have a coach thats afraid of you going off or being upset with him like both woody and ld have been,then u will get the out of control immature play he gives us now..
I fault josh for most of it but u can’t help but to blame the coaches he has had by not sitting him down and treating him like a child when he acts like one..
He has still not grown up completely..
waltbellamy
February 10th, 2012
12:06 am
Ra’mon
Love the opportunity to disagree.
We will never see eye to eye on JJ.
I still love my fellow Hawk fans.
Have a great night!
Walt Bellamy is my hero.
Ra'mon
February 10th, 2012
12:07 am
Guys, I just saw Maurice Cheeks on the bench for the Thunder. Why isn’t HE our coach?
Joe
February 10th, 2012
12:08 am
Yo Walt, saw you crush Wilt at the Garden back in the 60’s, then the Knicks traded you and Howard Komives for Dave Debusherre………….and the rest is history
yodaddybrother
February 10th, 2012
12:11 am
Ra’Mon
if Joe Johnson reaches that plateau he’s in…He may be in even if he doesn’t. Joe Johnson will make at least 2 more all star games and will consistently put up 18 until he retires. He’s comparable to Paul Pierce in my opinion (not as good but just as good if you catch my drift)
We are saying the same thing. He’s basically in barring a horrific injury. All of this despite the fact that he hasn’t played with any other all star players except Steve Nash (Josh Smith 3 time snub and Horford is a questionable all star) and when he got to Atlanta we were perennial bottom feeders and made horrible draft picks and free agent signings.
Josh Smith should have made the all star team by now. The coaches have a vendetta or an agenda against him. He has better numbers than Iguodala & Deng….and Roy Hibbert….coaches need to just stop. That is a bad selection right there. Paul Pierce is arguable but then again he plays with Rondo, Garnett & Allen….so I would give Josh Smith the edge there as well. He was simply snubbed again…can’t put it any other way.
waltbellamy
February 10th, 2012
12:11 am
Look out Ra’mon! We might agree on something yet. I love Mo!
waltbellamy
February 10th, 2012
12:12 am
Joe,
I assume the Knicks are happy with how that worked out.
Joe
February 10th, 2012
12:16 am
Bells, that would be correct! Lol
waltbellamy
February 10th, 2012
12:22 am
Joe,
I was a huge fan of Walt and Earl.
Loved watching Bellamy during his two seasons in the ATL an eternity ago.
Taking my old a$$ to bed.
Nite all!
Yes that includes you R!
The Truth
February 10th, 2012
12:30 am
“NBA commissioner David Stern said Wednesday that Hawks ownership has committed to pay the luxury tax should they exceed the league’s salary cap”
The biggest stunt yet by the ASG. If they are going to get Stern to front for them, at least prep him with a more believable statement. Now we all know full well that the ASG will absolutely not exceed the salary cap. So saying they will pay LT if they exceed the cap, is like saying “I can leap tall buildings if I was Superman”.
This is similar to Gearson previous statement of paying LT if he could get Lebron. He knew Lebron wasn’t coming to Atlanta so the statement was really meant to appease the fans.
doc
February 10th, 2012
12:41 am
i hope josh is spending less time on this issue than we are. if he does then there is hope for the season, if not ….well waddayathunk.
doc
February 10th, 2012
12:46 am
bells was a true post presence, lord though, he had hands of granite. loved the hawks before him while he was here and now. moses, bells, petit never here and deke and that is all folks in the post in our history. tree not so much but he was available on the defensive end. sad all of the atlanta post players were past prime when they arrived. orlando has had two that they drafted, lakers have had shaq and wilt and kareem. sucks man.
waltbellamy
February 10th, 2012
1:02 am
Doc,
Glad to encounter another fossil who remembers the Hawks circa 1968.
Richie Guerin was a beast. I still remember that Western Conference finals playoff game against the Lakers in 70 when the player / coach put up 31 in his final appearance.
I assume Richie could take JJ.
I kid because I love.
WB
doc
February 10th, 2012
1:39 am
walt, yeah, people dont realize that the hawks had been a dynasty only topped by the celts ove the ten years before they got here. it didnt take long for the atl loservillle distinction to take them over. sad they were like the braves ahead of that time going to the conf finals in about 10 of 14 years and only winning once in ‘57. loved sweet lou but he came along tool ate to get much cred for how good a player he was. smooth as osh would like to be the man without a j and a handle.
doc
February 10th, 2012
1:39 am
i laugh because it beats crying.
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
February 10th, 2012
1:59 am
Earlier this evening, the Grandmaster (GM) figured everything out.
MC said in a tweet that the more we accomplish in the postseason, the more player incentives…
The more player incentives, the higher the payroll, meaning ASG (no idea what they call themselves these days) would have to PAY MORE AND WOULD EXCEED THE LUXURY TAX.
What does this mean? LD intentionally utilized his BS 2 foul rule in game 2 vs Chicago, costing us the series. That way, more player incentives would not have been achieved. We will never go past the 2nd round with this core and front office.
Checkmate.
-Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
waltbellamy
February 10th, 2012
1:59 am
Crying is all I know. Hoping for better times after the ASG.
Hawks Blog Legend Worldwide Clyde
February 10th, 2012
2:39 am
FIRE SUND
Rusty
February 10th, 2012
2:57 am
Fire the dope,LD