Atlanta Hawks: Roster report
The season ends abruptly and fans immediately engage in the annual tradition of wishing their team had different players (if they wait that long). But before you start dreaming about the Hawks adding quality free agents, it’s best to take a sober (somber?) look at their payroll and circumstances.
This summer looks a lot like last summer for the Hawks: They have no cap space, lots of roster spots to fill and not much room under the luxury-tax line to do it.
The Hawks have approximately $61 million in guarantees committed to six players. The salary cap this season is about $58 million and the luxury tax threshold is about $70 million. Each of those figures could increase next season (they can’t decrease) but unless there’s a massive increase in BRI the Hawks won’t have any cap space and won’t gain much additional wiggle room under the tax threshold.
I don’t have to tell you the Hawks are unlikely to spend above the tax line again next season. They tried to avoid doing so this year but the run of injuries forced their hand. The Hawks sold a draft pick to help offset the tax bill. Their payroll is at least 75 percent of their revenues and they are skeptical the new CBA will provide much significant relief through revenue sharing.
Those circumstances don’t suggest a franchise looking to take another luxury-tax hit. Assuming the tax threshold remains at about the same level, that leaves the Hawks roughly $9 million to sign a minimum of seven players to get to 13 on the roster. The player they select with the No. 23 overall draft pick (assuming they keep it) will eat up another $1.2 million or so (assuming the prospect signs for 120 percent above scale, which is standard). That would leave the Hawks $7.8 million under the tax line to sign at least six players.
The mid-level exception for non-taxpayers will be $5 million again next season. If the Hawks use all of that on one player, they’d be left with about $2.8 million under the tax line to add at least six additional players. That’s obviously not feasible even before you consider that a player who signs for the full mid-level commands a multi-year contract, adding future payroll just when the Hawks have a chance to clear some cap space after next season.
So in regards to free agency the Hawks are looking at trying to again build a roster with minimum-salaried veterans and/or young players and probably needing a couple of those players to accept non-guaranteed deals. And this time the Hawks don’t have Kirk Hinrich under contract and so need even more of those kinds of free agents to fill key roles.
Hinrich’s $8 million comes off the books along with roughly $5.6 million in cap salaries from the seven minimum-salaried vets plus Ivan Johnson’s rookie salary*. But Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, Marvin Williams, Zaza Pachulia and Jeff Teague all get raises.
*The Hawks can claim salary-matching rights for Ivan by extending him a one-year qualifying offer of about $960,00 by June 30.
Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat
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460 comments Add your comment
SteveW
May 18th, 2012
9:45 am
Stephen Jackson can play good D when he is engaged. Or he can not show up. But at his best, he’s an average defender.
SteveW
May 18th, 2012
9:46 am
And Jamal at his best is a below average defender. At his worst, he is matador.
SteveW
May 18th, 2012
9:48 am
If LA fires Mike Brown – I say get him.
Grandad
May 18th, 2012
9:50 am
I have another name for yawl:
2nd round draft possibility ?
I`ve been watching film on this young man;
Scott Machado:
6-1, sr, pg, played at Iona; 10 asst per; led nation in asst;
3 to 1 asst to TO ratio
legit floor general / beautiful passer
reminiscent of Guy Rogers; … -for you old timers- …
*never seems out of control
SteveW
May 18th, 2012
9:50 am
How about DWade yelling at Spoelestra? Things are not looking good in Heat land.
But I expect the Heat to come out and make a big run in game 4. Does George hold Wade to 5 points again?
I doubt it.
northcyde
May 18th, 2012
9:53 am
Ra’mon . . . the top level teams in this league would never do a deal like that. Cap space is overrated, especially in the case of the Hawks. We have a LOOOOOONG history of not getting top notch unrestricted free agents to come here. Cite whatever reason you want, they simply don’t come here for the most part. The last one I can think of is Dikembe ( unless you count re-signing JJ as an unrestricted free agent ).
Most of the major moves this franchise has ever made, have come via trade. So if you’re going to trade JJ – Al – Marvin, you have to trade them for better fitting talent than that . . or at least trade them for lottery level draft picks that can develop into something greater than those guys.
SteveW
May 18th, 2012
9:55 am
If Josh has to walk, I still say that Josh and #23, and maybe some 2nd picks, for Ariza, Jack and the #10 pick may balance our roster, and be good for both clubs. Especially if we get a legit C like Tyler Zeller.
C – ZaZa/Zeller
PF – Al/Ivan
SF – Marvin/Ariza
SG – JJ
PG – Teague/Jack
I like the idea of 10 deep – and 48 minute ball. How do you maintain quality at each position for 48 minutes is the question good teams are now asking.
A rested above average player can many times compete with a tired superstar. Example 1 – See the Heat series
SteveW
May 18th, 2012
9:58 am
I do know Ariza is out at NO – they’re going with Aminu. And Jack got a DUI, broke his foot – so he may be on the way out also in NO.
SteveW
May 18th, 2012
10:03 am
Raja Bell is out in Utah – Big fight with Ty Corbin. So Josh for Favors and Bell may work also. Or Josh and Marvin for Devin Harris, Favors, and Bell – works on trade machine.
SteveW
May 18th, 2012
10:07 am
And if Utah thought Jefferson wouldn’t sign – and we could – a trade for ZaZa and Josh for Jefferson and maybe a pick may help balance our roster also.
But these are all just ideas – I just think Sund is going to shop Josh – but if nothing is found – we roll with what we have, plus the #23 pick, #43,and maybe give Keith Benson another look. I’d give Sy another look also at a wing, not at Point. Maybe even Rolle if he’s over his foot problems.
Chris Daniels is another Big to look at. Did great in DLeague and Lakers camp.
SteveW
May 18th, 2012
10:09 am
On amnestying – the only way we amnesty anybody is if we trade a big contract for a pick, and have loads of cash left over. Then you may amnesty Marvin hoping somebody pays him 3 mill, so your only out 9+ mill the next 2 years.
I still can’t see the Hawks doing that even.
Ken Strickland
May 18th, 2012
10:10 am
BUDDY G-If a team does pick up JJ, he’ll still have to be replaced. In order to get a player that’s anywhere close to his talent, we’ll have to use up most if not all of what we saved to replace him. I don’t see the benefit of ending up with a less talented player just for the sake of possibly saving maybe a couple of million at best.
JSmith is the one player that can be adequately replaced by someone that’s already on our roster. Most of us appreciate what he brings to the team, but let’s face it, he’s going elsewhere after next season and we’ll get nothing for hm unless we trade him before next season.
SteveW
May 18th, 2012
10:14 am
Amnesty JJ? Nah – somebody gives him 12 mill per year for 4 years, the Hawks are still on the hook for about 40 mill over the next 4 years. I just don’t see the Hawks doing it.
And what if JJ’s contract becomes a race to the bottom like Billups? And he gets 2 mill per year? Or even 5? Now the Hawks are on the hook for 70 mill. or so. Not going to happen.
Astro Joe
May 18th, 2012
10:14 am
Dwight Howard has doen nothing without an elite wing player at his side. Jason Richardson is good, but not elite. So any trades that send Joe away with the hopes that we “build” around Josh (and maybe Al), need to include finding a wing player better than a Jason Richardson type. Every team with a top-level big who actually performs well in the playoffs also has a top-level wing player.
SteveW
May 18th, 2012
10:15 am
AJ – That is true – and it is very difficult to find a wing better than JRich – or at least what JRich was for about 10 years. He fell off a cliff this season, even before Dwight went down.
Astro Joe
May 18th, 2012
10:20 am
Celtics are a better defensive team than the Pacers.
So how many points did the immortal Wade score last night? Was it more than the mortal Joe in Game 4? How many points did the immortal Lebron score in the second half last night? Was it more than Joe in Game 2? Y’all let me know when we can stop the superhero nonsense with Joe (and other human basketball players) and recognize that one player can have bad games against really good teams. Speaking of really good players and really bad performances, has anyone seen the immortal CP3 in the Spurs series?
Clippers need Jamal now.
doc
May 18th, 2012
10:29 am
ok rod, numbers for you and others to digest. blog monster ate it up last night, i’ll protect it against losses today.
your premise is jamal would make a difference in wins against boston. i dont. i also dont think he was ever considered a player for this team because of salary issues, never, unless he wanted to play at vet minimum. could we have used him as another piece? yes, possibly just not as the absolute difference against the celts. i like jamal and have nothing against him and referred to him as flip on roids which on of the radio guys picked up on and called him, uh without my permission, heh heh
anyway you guys are talking santa claus and make believe. looking back there is nothing except one anomaly year ‘09, to suggest he was a difference ever against the celts. overall he was avg 13,.5 a game against them in his career in 30 minutes of play. nothing sterling there and his fg% were ok at 42 and 36.5.
the kicker to your celt killer theory and his helping us win against the c’s is his own personal win loss record which is 14-22. rod, 4 of those wins came in 09 and 4 came in the years 02 and 03 where he got 2 wins against them against 2 losses. without those years he is 6 – 18. there is nothing to suggest jamal is a giant killer or a celt killer and whatever he brought to the game was negated. one huge outlier ‘09 helped his numbers but that is it in his career. a lot but that was a year i thought against many others that we were actually better than the celts, not because of jamal, and they lived up to it because that was also the year kg went down with a near career ending knee injury to help out our cause.
the data does nothing to support your belief or others in santa claus, uh, i mean jamal helping us to win the series against the celts rod, just doesnt. sorry, and i liked jamal …. a lot.
Rod from College Park
May 18th, 2012
10:32 am
“Amazing that we may have a San Antonio vs Boston NBA Finals. The #1 offensive rated team vs the #1 defensive rated team.”
The #1 rated defensive team this year was Chicago, and the #1 rated offensive team was Denver. Not sure what fake stats you are using. Probably some fantasy garbage.
Ra'mon
May 18th, 2012
10:37 am
Northcyde, I am going to agree to disagree about the top teams would never do a deal like that. In fact, majority of the top teams excluding SAS, were made by trades like that. For instance, the big three never happens in Boston, if the Celtics never jettisoned bad contracts, they never end up with the salary cap to add pieces. You’re right maybe the Hawks should ask for a draft pick also. Either way, right now the Hawks are a first round playoff team. With the changes I suggested, even next season the Hawks are a first round team. So you’re not taking a drop off in results. And you’re adding flexibility to even be able to have a great bench in the future. With Joe here you’ll never be able to have a deep bench, with a top level center and a vocal leader (because that isn’t Joe). You say the Hawks haven’t been good at signing free agents. That’s because the Hawks haven’t ever been a playoff team while courting those top level free agents. Before they were offering to come join Jason Terry and Shareef. Now you’re offering a top level talent to come and lead this first round team to a title.
AJ, Hakeem didn’t have a top level wing player in his first title. Karl Malone, never had that either. I do believe Dwight would not win without a floor leader in the PG, though.
Ra'mon
May 18th, 2012
10:40 am
Northcyde, what about this deal,
Washington gets:
Joe Johnson
Al Horford
Atlanta gets:
Nene
Rashad Lewis
Washington’s 1st round pick.
Ra'mon
May 18th, 2012
10:42 am
By the way, I will go on the record of saying, though I don’t like Teague as a point guard (more of a scoring guard), I like Teague’s game MORE than John Wall’s game. Wall’s game is already less than K. Irving’s game.
doc
May 18th, 2012
10:44 am
heat need jamal right now.
hasnt he been a winner with every team he has played with?
Ra'mon
May 18th, 2012
10:52 am
I see the Knicks overpaying for Jamal, especially if they return with Woody.
Rod from College Park
May 18th, 2012
10:53 am
doc,
So, a guy coming off our bench averaging 13 and 5 in the playoffs would not have helped us in that series? Please help me remember what kind of production we got from our bench in the playoffs? Stop self medicating. It’s messing with your logical thinking. I’ll stick with my opinions. I don’t recall you being right too many times when we have debated. LOL
Mike is Back
May 18th, 2012
10:59 am
SteveW, first off…I the numbers may not match…but I would do the Josh trade for Favor and either Bell or Harris today…I think Favors is a special kid…he’s also from the ATL…so that’s even better. However, despite those numbers you presented on JJ and Marvin…I would still amnesty either JJ or Marvin, that’s of course if a trade can’t be worked out. You can’t have two enigmas on your team sucking up all the cash…AT THE VERY LEASE…you got to move one of them.
TOO LONG Hawks fans have had to endure the JJ and ASG saga…surely after up teen years…it’s time for a change, RIGHT!
Go back to sleep mike…I’m out folks.heh heh
O'brien
May 18th, 2012
11:11 am
SteveW,
Cleveland fans used to complain all the time about Mike Brown, in ways that reminded me of Woody. They said his offense did not have much structure, and alot of his plays were “Lebron, make something happen”. However, he was big on defense. I would stay away from him. Get me Jerry Sloan. Second choice is Mauurice Cheeks, who has HC expericce, and is currently an assistant with OKC.
I don’t like your N.O. trade, because I don’t want to pay $14 mil to my SF (Ariza and Marvin). That’s a bad investment.
Astro Joe
May 18th, 2012
11:11 am
doc, Mike Minor has struggled lately. You know who the Braves should go get to join their starting rotation?
northcyde
May 18th, 2012
11:16 am
Najeh Davenpoop
May 17th, 2012
8:16 pm
“Game 3 of the Boston series proves the notion that without Josh the team would fall, to be absolutely wrong. All you need is for people to simply step up.”
First of all, the Hawks lost Game 3, just so you know.
Secondly, none of those players who “stepped up” have a track record of “stepping up” for more than one game at a time in their NBA careers. It’s not going to happen. Teams with superior talent win in the NBA because lesser players cannot “step up” every game.
*****************************
LOL . . tell that to the Indiana Pacers or the Sixers.
You’ve been one of the biggest proponents of Jeff Teague from Day 1. When he was finally given the chance to play the way he needs to be playing, he responded with his best game of the series. And he did it without really dominating the ball. Probably should’ve been used a little more in that game actually, instead of the offense going through JJ and T-Mac.
Is is a coincidence that he had that type of game without Josh on the floor not giving him the ball after rebounds . . or not having to see Josh wave him off when he actually has a better shot?
As for the other guys, they simply played their roles . . collectively. T-Mac finally got some minutes, and produced, before he got hurt. Marvin played horribly offensively, but stepped into Josh’s role as a rebounder. The two big scrub centers scored 10 points and grabbed 9 rebounds. Hinrich played good defense.
On a night in which the Hawks shoot an abysmal 6 – 37 on shots 16+ feet and out, the Hawks compensated by scoring 52 points in the paint.
Josh is a major reason why this team stays out of balance on the offensive end. It’s not a coincidence that this team was the #2 offensively rated team in the 2009 – 10 season, when Josh basically abandoned the jumpshot and played 15 feet and in. It’s also the season in which he grabbed almost 3 offensive rebounds a game, something the team did very well collectively that season.
As our PF, we can’t have Josh taking the same type of shots as Joe Johnson, especially since he shoots a low percentage on shots 16+ feet and out. Somebody on this team has to play around the rim, other than Teague and Zaza. If he’s going to continue to take those type of shots, we may as well try to trade JJ for another PF.
If both guys are going to continue to play the same way, one of them has to go.
***********************
“The thing that most of you forget about this team, is that we DO have someone who can replace Josh Smith at PF. And his name is Al Horford. And we simply move Zaza to center. And we wouldn’t lose a beat.”
Neither Al nor Zaza is a good help defender. This team got by all season with Zaza at center because he was playing next to one of the best help defenders in the league. Zaza at C and Al at PF = layup line.
Say what you want about Josh’s mental lapses and shot selection but he is the reason this team finished 5th in defense.
**************************
He’s not the SOLE reason why this team finished 5th in defense. Josh is an elite help defender and a slightly above average man defender. He is the unquestioned defensive leader of the team.
But once again, you’ve been one of the biggest proponents of Jeff Teague. You think Teague playing the point full time, and not Bibby or Jamal, helped the Hawks to achieve that #5 ranking? And both JJ and Hinrich are good defensive guards. Underrated defensive guards actually.
The fact is that for the first time since he’s been in Atlanta, a guy like Josh didn’t have to literally guard or worry about one of the opposing team’s PGs, because the PG that we had couldn’t guard him. Teague isn’t a defensive stopper, per se . . but he isn’t an open dam break like Bibby or Jamal was. He can at least stay in front of the vast majority of PGs in this league. And that helped us tremendously on the defensive end.
As for Horford and Zaza. Those two aren’t blocking many shots, but they can stay in front of people. Neither are horrible defensively.
Astro Joe
May 18th, 2012
11:17 am
LD could be the most tenured head coach in the division by July. I’m still not sure that SVG stays and Spoelstra is desited to be sacrificed if the Heat fail to make the Finals. I think Spoelstra (once he shakes off the stigma of appearing like a boy amongst men) may be one of those difference makers in the NBA. But that may take another 5 years, he’ll need at least 3 years before folk stop thinking of him as the guy who couldn’t win with a stacked deck (that in reality, isn’t all that stacked).
doc
May 18th, 2012
11:18 am
rod, figures you wanted info and i gave ti to you. again, i liked jamal but we all know with the budget as it was, he wasnt going to come back. no way in hell. why you continue the man love for the guy is amazing. sadly, the problem is whatever jamal gave you one offense it was given back on defense too often.
he didnt avg but 10 a game against chicago last year with an outlier of 22 in game one. he was shut down after that for 40 points in 5 games. this began by my saying a good coach would negate jamal easily as thibs did last year if it was necessary. i know you get excited about the orlando series and his numbers. the 20 point games against the magic you say over and over were the difference against the magic last year. funny, those same numbers didnt do squat last year. difference was in the defense not jamal. defense wins in the finals and playing each possession as it was like your last and disciplined half court sets. none of this is in jamal’s bag of tricks or we didnt have a coach who could bring it out in him.
O'brien
May 18th, 2012
11:18 am
Rod,
You cannot use regular season stats to predict how that player/team would do against them in the playoffs, especially against a team like Boston that is known for turning it up in the playoffs. Is Jamal better than Willie Green? Of course he is. I just don’t think he would have been the difference maker for us getting to the ECF.
Anonymous Trade Proposal
May 18th, 2012
11:24 am
HAWKS GET: Caron Butler, Mo Williams
CLIPPERS GET: Joe Johnson
Clippers do it because they can get a 6-time All Star without having to give up one of their most prized players (Blake, DeAndre, or CP3). Joe is a clear upgrade over Caron and Mo. Plus, the Clippers have CP3 and Bledsoe returning next year at the point.
Hawks do it because with this trade (a) the Hawks still make the playoffs, (b) it frees up a small amount of space for this season, and (c) Mo will be an expiring. With Mo, Josh, and Zaza coming off the books in summer of ‘13 that will free up cap space to go after a top-15 player (or a pair of top-40-type players). (I am assuming Josh does not resign. I am assuming that the Hawks won’t really try to resign Mo. I am assuming that depending on success in the free agent market, the Hawks may look to resign Zaza. If need by the Hawks could amnesty Marvin.)
Of course, if the Hawks would rather free up space this year, they could shop Josh and (the newly acquired) Mo and Caron for picks. Assuming no major FA pickups this year, the Hawks will have a young team that will probably miss the playoffs, but will go into 2013 with a lottery pick and will be in good position to go after a couple quality FAs.
northcyde
May 18th, 2012
11:36 am
Rod from College Park
May 18th, 2012
10:32 am
“Amazing that we may have a San Antonio vs Boston NBA Finals. The #1 offensive rated team vs the #1 defensive rated team.”
The #1 rated defensive team this year was Chicago, and the #1 rated offensive team was Denver. Not sure what fake stats you are using. Probably some fantasy garbage.
**************************
No Rod. I don’t live in a world in which everything is considered to be truth, by simply looking at PPG averages. Because if I did that, the Denver Nuggets were the #1 offensive team and the Bulls were the #1 defensive team.
But there is a “fantasy metric” called Offensive and Defensive rating, which takes into account more than what a team scores or gives up.
Offensive Rating
1) San Antonio – 110.9
2) Oklahoma City – 109.8
3) Denver – 109.2
Defensive Rating
1) Boston – 98.2
2) Chicago – 98.3
3) Philadelphia – 99.2
But that’s the world YOU live in. Where guys who score a lot of points matter to you, no matter how efficient or inefficient they are.
In your world, Jamal Crawford’s 14 ppg on 38% shooting . . is more valuable to have than Manu Ginobli’s 13 ppg on 53% shooting, simply because Jamal averaged one more point per game.
You try to paint me as the “fantasy guy”, when your entire argument about having Jamal is about his scoring, despite how inefficient he is. You’re the real fantasy guy. Having that fantasy that a dude who is a career 41% FG shooter, is this much needed “offensive assassin”.
Let’s see how many “good” teams court that dude in the offseason. And let’s see who Jamal finally signs with. I say he ends up in Brooklyn.
glw
May 18th, 2012
11:39 am
Anonymous Trade Proposal ,
I could see the Clippers doing a deal like that. They want a legitimate player to play alongside Paul and Griffin, though Im not sure if Caron has a contract for next year to make this trade work. But even still, I feel real iffy about trading Joe. I am more comfortable with trading Josh or even Al, because we know one would replace the other.
Ra’mon
Sorry Im not giving up Al and Joe both to get the Wizards scraps. Like some other bloggers said, cap space is overrated, and most players aint coming here to play anyway. And who says the ASG is going to overpay just for a player to come here.
Rod from College Park
May 18th, 2012
12:27 pm
“Rod,
You cannot use regular season stats to predict how that player/team would do against them in the playoffs, especially against a team like Boston that is known for turning it up in the playoffs. Is Jamal better than Willie Green? Of course he is. I just don’t think he would have been the difference maker for us getting to the ECF.”
So then use playoff stats. They are available. That’s your opinion, you are entitled to it. My opinion is different. A scorer off our bench would have helped us get by Boston. After that, who knows. Even if he averaged 10 ppg off the bench as doc says he did in the playoffs, that’s still 10 points off the bench that we did not get this year. Plus the fact that he was the best free throw shooter in the league. Plus the fact that we lost 4 games by a combined margin of 17 points. You do the math. If any of you haters (O’Brien you are not in the hater category, they know who they are) can tell me one thing that you have debated with me on and been correct, maybe I will respect your opinion, but you can’t so I won’t. Knowledgable bloggers who have no liking for Jamal have agreed with me, that’s enough for me. Again we averaged 81ppg in the playoffs, while averaging 96ppg during the regular season. Offense was the issue. We played great defense against Boston the whole sereis except for one game.
The issue is not could Boston shut down Jamal by himself. The issue is with Jamal on the floor with Joe, and a much improved Josh, and Teague, would Boston be able to play a box in one on Joe Johnson like they did in the playoffs. I say no.
hawksfancents95
May 18th, 2012
12:29 pm
couple of ideas to improve the 12-13 hawks
1. sign Greg Oden to a 4 year 12mill contract. He is 24 years old. What we do with him is we give him 4 year deal and let him ONLY do minimal workouts/conditioning the 1st year, let his knees heel a bit. Then we let him play in the second year and see what we got. Is there a downside? yes, he could be done and we have him for 4 yrs but the upside is that he will have recovered after do-time and be a legite 7 foot big man that can give us 10 and 10 with 2-3 blks. I find the upside outweighs the risk, not many #1 legite athletic/intuitive big men out there, take the risk.
2. Find a way to trade Joe or Al. I would be all for a trade to NYC Joe and adequate salary for Amare and JR smith. Mike Woodson gets Joe back and they get rid of Amare to open up their offense. We then have the lineup PG Teague SG JR Smith SF Josh Smith PF Amare Stoudemire C Horford. That lineup excites me because we will be the most athletic team and able to score inside/outside, as well as rebound/switch on D with our bigs.
3. Sign Josh to a 5 year 13 mill a year deal.
4. Draft smart with our 1st rder(meaning no euro guy that might come over in 3 years) 2nd rounder gem, we need to hit on and find a legite role player i.e Justin Hamilton LSU Darius Miller UK
5. Bryan Shaw from IND Pacers needs to be seriously considered as our next head coach.
Rod from College Park
May 18th, 2012
12:30 pm
“But there is a “fantasy metric” called Offensive and Defensive rating, which takes into account more than what a team scores or gives up.”
Just as I figured. Kind of like PER. FANTASY is not reality. Please remember that. LOL. Too easy.
cp
May 18th, 2012
12:33 pm
I read that LD option has been picked up. I guess it is another summer of the same ol same ol.
Najeh Davenpoop
May 18th, 2012
12:34 pm
The Summer of Sameness has officially begun. The Hawks have picked up LD’s option, per Sekou Smith’s Twitter. He will be back next year.
drmaryb.(*_*).
May 18th, 2012
12:34 pm
Question?
Does anyone know what the BRI is for each playoff game?
Shouldn’t there have been more money available to spend on the Hawks roster, once the Thrashers were sold?
Rod from College Park
May 18th, 2012
12:39 pm
“The Summer of Sameness has officially begun. The Hawks have picked up LD’s option, per Sekou Smith’s Twitter. He will be back next year.”
Predictable.
Ernest
May 18th, 2012
12:51 pm
Picking up LD’s option sends the message that the owners believe he can get the job done. After all, not having your top two big men going into the playoffs is tough to overcome.
As mentioned before, I still believe Josh is the likely candidate to be traded. From a business perspective, it makes the most sense as he has one year left on his trade and would surely bring back capable players/picks from a trade.
doc
May 18th, 2012
12:53 pm
aj, seem to be blocked from iphone.
my thought has been medlin, you?
Astro Joe
May 18th, 2012
12:55 pm
Assuming that Sund has not formally re-upped with the ASG, this means that (once again) the owners have made their GM powerless when it comes to selecting the head coach. That is why I personally tend to cut this team a little slack… because so much of the dysfunction is out of the hands of the GM, head coach and players. And we simply can’t hire, trade, amnesty or sign ownership.
doc
May 18th, 2012
12:56 pm
anyone think it was going to be anything else? best win per dollar spent in the league for any coach is my guess.
now who for gm? probably pendergrast as mentioned by many.
trade josh, that could bethe only big splash this “summer of sameness redoux”.
Astro Joe
May 18th, 2012
12:57 pm
doc, for the Braves pitching rotation, I was thinking Jamal.
Astro Joe
May 18th, 2012
1:07 pm
Also means that you have a head coach with a single year guaranteed on his contract. If we keep our 1st round pick, that guy better come out of the blocks fast or he may not get the “player development” on the court that excites many bloggers around here. Just an overall bad way to manage a franchise… make a coaching decision without having a GM signed AND having a head coach operate with a single guaranteed year. Dude gets to spend a season looking over his shoulder, especially if a new GM is brought on board. Given the way LD takes credit for good and throws players under the bus for bad… this season should come with many a fun quote.
BIG DOG
May 18th, 2012
1:11 pm
LD coming back are you serious, I BE DAM
BIG DOG IN THE HOUSE
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
May 18th, 2012
1:18 pm
FIRE LD
BIG DOG
May 18th, 2012
1:19 pm
LD have no clue as a coach, if LD have went big against a team in Celtics, the path to the finals would have been much easier with Heat being knock out by Pacers.
LD not a good coach at all, and should not get a contract extensions.
BILL LAMBEER OR SAM MITCHELL WOULD HAVE TAKING THIS TEAM TO NEXT LEVEL.
Now looking at Pacers Brian Shaw would be and excellent candidate, who was tutor by the best NBA coach in the history of the game, PHIL JACKSON.
BIG DOG IN THE HOUSE