Atlanta Hawks: Rick Sund Q-and-A
More from my interview yesterday with Hawks GM Rick Sund.
MC: What is your evaluation of the season?
Sund: There are two seasons. Once you become a real playoff team, there are two seasons. I thought we had an unbelievably great first season: 40 wins, key people hurt, the players and Larry [Drew] kept their focus. We ended up having the fourth-best record in the East. I thought with all the adversity it was really a great year with the compressed schedule and all the obstacles a team has to climb, which every team has those obstacles. I thought it was good.
The second part of the season is the playoffs and that’s disappointing. I think a great thing when you go through the [exit] interview process you get to talk to the players, and to a man—I still have a couple to do—but to a man they all think we should still be playing. And that’s a good thing. There’s disappointment in their heart. They look [at the playoffs] and feel they are good enough to be playing at the championship level.
MC: When you evaluate the team, are you able to separate out the effects of all the injuries from where you need to get better?
Sund: Two-and-a-half weeks after the season, you are a little bit more pragmatic. The emotions are out of the focus. When you look at it and you have to say, the last four years this team in the Eastern Conference has had the third-or fourth-best record either by the end of the regular season or by getting through the first round and getting to the second round. We’ve had the third- or fourth-best record in the last four years. Our goal is to get into those top two [in the East], because that’s when you have a legitimate shot to get to the finals. That’s that championship level. That’s the NBA’s version of the Final Four. You want to be one of those top two teams playing at the end of May and into June because you’ve got a legitimate shot to win a championship. We’ve fallen short of that. That’s our goal. Having said that, we have to look at our club and say where are the areas we can improve, what can we do without taking a step back. So we will have to explore all opportunities.
MC: The team’s deficiencies were mostly on offense, which came to fruition against the Celtics, a very good defensive team. From a personnel standpoint, how can the team improve offensively?
Sund: Again, you say separate the injuries, you really can’t, because if your key personnel are core members of your club, you are going to miss the points that that person may bring or the rebounds. I think we were one of the better defensive teams in the league, something last season we really wanted to focus on. I think Larry and the team did a great job. Points-wise it was Chicago one, Boston two, Philly three, Miami four, Memphis five, we are sixth. Defending in certain areas [like] field-goal percentage. In all of that, we really improved. I think that was the strength of our team. Now we have got to focus on, can we score a little more. Having said that, our offensive efficiency—which I know you are a big stat guy—was really good in the fourth quarter, particularly the last five minutes of the game. Joe [Johnson] in particular [was good] in crunch time. We were good in the fourth quarter, we were good in overtime games, close games. You are always looking at how you get better. I think some of that will come, if the team is the same, from [Jeff] Teague. Teague is going to continue to get better. He got a lot of easy shots for us in the playoffs for some of our players. Joe really improved his 3-point shooting. Marvin [Williams] shot the 3-pointer pretty good. You are asking me questions that really Larry should answer but I think, overall, the dialogue from the coaching staff and the management last year was [about] defense. We’ve got to focus on that and we can manufacture and we have enough talent to get shots.
MC: Why do you think things like good offensive efficiency in fourth quarter didn’t translate to the playoffs?
Sund: I haven’t really zeroed in on that. I think with the exception of the blowout game, all of the games—and we pretty much dominated Game 1-you take those two games out and the other four games were pretty close and could have gone either way. It was a missed shot here and a missed shot there.
MC: We saw the tension between Joe’s deliberate style that he likes to play and LD’s motion offense, something that he expressed his frustration about at one point. Can that tension be resolved with this personnel?
Sund: That question should be to Coach.
MC: Do you plan to extend a tender to Ivan [Johnson]?
Sund: I’m not going to comment on that right now.
MC: Will you try to sign Josh Smith to an extension?
Sund: I’m not going to get into contract stuff.
MC: Josh had a great year production-wise but–
Sund: I think it was the best year Josh has had, at least in the four years I’ve been here. I’ve said it for the record and I’ll say it again: Irrespective of how the voting came out, he should have been an All-Star. I thought Josh had an absolutely terrific year. He did a great job of making sure, hey, we lost some huge production with [Al] Horford and he picked it up.
MC: But his offensive efficiency fell off, and a large part of that is because he’s taking more shots away from the basket and not shooting–
Sund: You have to ask those questions to Larry.
MC: But from a personnel standpoint, do you think he fits with what Larry is trying to do offensively?
Sund: Yes.
MC: Does that mean the migration away from the basket–
Sund: Those are questions you have to ask Larry. I think he’s an All-Star player. He played a total All-Star caliber play this year. He’s been exceptional in the post. I thought his defense was great. He’s one of the better passing power forwards in the league. I think he had a very good year.
MC: Is it your perception Josh is still happy being here with the Hawks?
Sund: I’m going to have his exit interview sometime this week. But, yeah, when you read the things of him saying . . . He’s such a competitor. I was talking to his dad the other day, and he mentioned we all think we should be playing, and that’s great. And [Josh] is one of them.
MC: Can you discuss tour team salary situation going forward?
Sund: I don’t like to talk about it until we find out what the taxes are and the league does its audit. We are in a situation where we have six guys under contract and we will have to fill in either via trade, first-round pick, second-round pick. How much room [under the tax level] do we have to use the mid-level, the bi-annual. We have all of those exceptions. Its’ too early to say.
MC: Is it possible you may have to build the same way as last year, when you had to find some value with minimum-salaried guys?
Sund: Many of the good teams are going to have to finesse their way around and look at that as an option. If you don’t want to be a perennial taxpayer, you have to look at those options. . . . I thought our team this year had a legitimate chance to get to the one or two spot [in the East]. We ended up with the fourth-best record in the [East] but we thought we could still be playing. I asked ownership if we think we are going to have a chance to make a run at it, we are going to have to dip our toe into and go into the tax and pay a little bit of tax. And they did it with no problem. We are an official taxpayer this year and I thought that was a good move for us given the injuries.
MC: I know you probably haven’t had much chance to study prospects in detail, but do you have an idea of the quality of depth in the draft?
Sund: I’m a real division of labor guy and that’s Dave Pendergraft and Mike McNeive, they focus on that all the time. I am getting more involved. During the year I go out and see some people but really focusing in on the groupings, where we pick at 23 who is going to be there, who do I really need to look at, who do you like in the combines, who do you not like. Chicago [combine] has become a really good tool because it’s basically all interviews for two or three days. That’s turned out to be really more productive than even in the past, when they just play.
MC: Have you gotten a feel from Dave and Mike on what they think about the draft prospects?
Sund: They’ve handled the draft pretty good the last couple of years. We got a good player in Teague and we got a good player in [Jordan] Crawford, which we parlayed into [Kirk] Hinrich. They feel that we will get a quality player at the 23rd pick, or there are quality people there. There are a few people they like that they might want to move down to get. Who knows. It’s way too early to tell. The lottery is tonight and next week is when it really starts to focus.
MC: How do you think that Crawford trade turned out now that Hinrich’s contract is expiring?
Sund: We felt we could make a run last year. Not quite as good as this year [but] we had to get through Orlando. It was the first time in four years we didn’t have home-court advantage and many people picked Orlando to win the conference. And then we took the best team record-wise [the Bulls] where we won the first game and then won another game. Hinrich didn’t play in that [series]. We like to think if Hinrich did play we would have advanced that round. It’s just unfortunate he came in with the injury this year. But I don’t think there’s any question in my mind that we wouldn’t have advanced to the second round last year without Kirk on our team.
Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat
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535 comments Add your comment
Najeh Davenpoop
June 4th, 2012
11:00 pm
High-Sider, why are half the words in each of your sentences in [brackets]? Just wondering.
Najeh Davenpoop
June 4th, 2012
11:06 pm
“If this is a superstar league (each of the four teams left have a superstar – say what you want Duncan is the greatest PF/C ever to play the game skills wise, during my life time, he’s a superstar commercials or not), and you don’t have a superstar on the team. And you don’t have the ownership to lure a superstar, what’s wrong with going into the lottery to find a superstar?”
Yup.
If they trade Josh for an equal player (e.g. Gasol or Lowry, two names frequently mentioned over the last couple of weeks), they are treading water. They will continue being a first or second round team with no hope for a championship.
If they trade Josh for several lesser players (which is the most likely scenario in a Josh trade), they will be taking a step back regardless, since he is their best player. If they are going to take a step back, why not take a step all the way back so that they get a chance to get a superstar on the team?
My preferred course of action is to trade Joe and Al for Dwight, go into next season with a Teague-Josh-Dwight core, hope you can convince Josh and Dwight to stay next summer, and if not, bottom out the next two years and build around the 2014 and 2015 first round picks + Teague + one or two smart free agent signings. The worst place to be in the NBA is in the no-man’s land in which the Hawks currently find themselves.
Najeh Davenpoop
June 4th, 2012
11:07 pm
And regardless of how well my plan goes, I can guarantee that the Hawks would post their highest single season attendance since the Nique era if they actually managed to pull off a Dwight trade.
High-sider
June 4th, 2012
11:13 pm
@Najeh Davenpoop
Najeh Davenpoop
June 4th, 2012
11:00 pm
High-Sider, why are half the words in each of your sentences in [brackets]? Just wondering.
————————————————————————————————-
That’s [my] style [much] like [Russell] Westbrook wearing frames [without lenses]. [with brackets]
That’s style like Westbrook wearing frames. [without brackets]
See the difference. [LOL]
Grandad
June 4th, 2012
11:14 pm
” If Horford moves from Center to Forward;
his trade value will diminish ”
paraphrased … by Ra`mon
Ra`mon;
I did not think anyone could top Rod this eve;
-but-
you may have managed to do just that.
I don`t care if Al moves to pg;
he will be the same person, the same player.
If OKC moves K.Durant to Center next season;
will his trade value diminish ?
If Doc make Rondo the 6th man next yr
will his trade value diminish ?
By the same logic:
If the Nets move Johan Petro to [2] guard next yr
will that increase his trade value ?
No / No / & / No … !
They will all still be the same person, the same player.
High-sider
June 4th, 2012
11:29 pm
I hope you [bloggers] out there in [the] “Blogland” [blog-o-sphere] see [Russell] Westbrook for the ball hog he [really] is. This dude’s [Westbrook] an [arrogant] as-hole.
Ra'mon
June 4th, 2012
11:39 pm
G’Dad, he may be the same person, but the guy guarding him will not have the same responsibility as normal when he’s guarded by a Center. For instance, if the Hawks were playing the Clippers, with Horford at the center position, he will have that mid range shot available all game long. Because a center such as Jordan (Mcgee, Hibbert, and many others) are going to sag off of Horford so they can still help defend the lane, because they are their teams’ last line of defense. However. If Horford is playing the PF position (similar to Horford against Orlando and Chicago last season), he will have a PF guarding him, who isn’t the rim protector for his team, so he will be allowed to stay on Horford the entire possession, or simply switch if in a pick and roll situation. That extra 4-5 feet is all the difference between a good shot and a tough shot for someone who has not shown the ability to create their own shot. Right now, the perception around the league is that Horford is out of position at the Center position because they have yet to see him play that position and only sees his height. But given an entire season of Horford playing majority of his minutes at the PF position, and not having his best offensive shot available as often as he does at the C position, shooting efficiency will go down dramatically. Remember, Horford doesn’t play for a coach who is a master at getting his best players easy shots, so there will not be any adjustments through out the season for this to be a trend, and not a new way of life with the Hawks. Now you being a coach, and not understanding the magnitudes of match ups by the OTHER team, is disheartening, and that’s the comment of the night.
Ra'mon
June 4th, 2012
11:41 pm
HS, I would hate to see Westbrook end up with a ring this season.
High-sider
June 4th, 2012
11:49 pm
Will [Derek] Fisher get his 6th [NBA] championship [ring] before [Kobe] Bryant? I guess it’s too early to tell.
Najeh Davenpoop
June 4th, 2012
11:59 pm
Tracy McGrady @Real_T_Mac
Wish I had that in my prime..
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Tracy McGrady @Real_T_Mac
That’s gotta be a great feeling to have multiple weapons on one team like OKC!
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Rod from College Park
June 5th, 2012
12:04 am
Grandad,
So are you saying that you think John Wall is a great point guard?
High-sider
June 5th, 2012
12:10 am
Ra’mon, I know I’m about to commit blasphemy on this blog but, of the four teams left in the NBA playoffs, I would rather see the Heat win the championship this year. I hope I won’t be banned [from this blog] for saying this. [LOL]
Ra'mon
June 5th, 2012
12:14 am
John Wall is a great athlete who’s playing basketball right now.
Grandad
June 5th, 2012
12:15 am
Ra`mon
1st of all;
I do not think the situation will be as dire as you say.
In motion offense … a player who understands
how to move w/o the ball, will get open.
Our blog brethren, constantly speak of getting one`s own shot,
w/o ever mentioning moving w/o the ball.
Everything is dribble, dribble, dribble.
Moving w/o the ball and coming off screens is a skill also,
one that Al possesses.
Moving w/o the ball is a skill that Josh does not possess;
much like screening, Josh does not pick and roll `cause
Josh doesn`t [fundamentally] understand how to screen.
After all that:
Any team will want Al.
Yeasterday, Today, Tomorrow – regardless !
Grandad
June 5th, 2012
12:16 am
And Yes;
Al & Teaguer will / would run the P & R effectively !
-guaranteed-
Ra'mon
June 5th, 2012
12:24 am
G’dad, have we ever seen Josh play in a system that emphasized moving without the ball? From what I see, no one since Chillz left moves effectively without the ball on this team. And you speak of a motion offense, but where do you see a motion offense being ran? LD said that just to get hired. He ran that for two weeks in his first preseason, and we haven’t seen it consistently since then.
High-sider
June 5th, 2012
1:00 am
Actually, Jerry West’s likeness is the NBA logo.
cp
June 5th, 2012
1:15 am
@O’Brien. The Hawks are waiting until the pre draft camp is over to work prospects out. It was reported last week I think.
SteveW
June 5th, 2012
1:38 am
Bleacher Report had a trade suggestion of:
Denver sends ATL Wilson Chandler, Mozgov, Harrington and the #20 pick for
Josh Smith
I’m not interested, how about ya’ll?
SteveW
June 5th, 2012
1:43 am
Bleacher did rightly point out that:
1) George Karl would definitely benefit Josh – I can’t argue with that
2) A Javale McGee/Josh Smith backline would be very entertaining. Can’t argue with that either.
Now Kenneth Faried/Wilson Chandler for Josh, now I’m listening. Throw in a 1st pick, and I gotta take a serious look at that.
SteveW
June 5th, 2012
1:46 am
What ya’ll think Hibbert brings on the open market (RFA)? 8,9, 10 mill per year? He’s not a max player, is he? I don’t think so. But people do overpay for decent C’s. And Hibbert was a real difference maker this year, with the lack of C’s in the League and everything.
I wonder what George Hill will bring on the open market?
SteveW
June 5th, 2012
1:49 am
NBA draft has us taking Jeff Taylor #23. I could see that. I like that pick. Pretty safe and solid.
Draftexpress has us taking Moultrie – more potential, but probably less safe.
I like Taylor’s work ethic. I think he takes Marvin’s spot when Marvin leaves, and maybe does a better job.
He probably won’t fall down nearly as much for one thing.
SteveW
June 5th, 2012
1:52 am
NBA Mock has Nicholson going to the Celtics at #21
And us getting Darius Miller at #43 – I like that pick also if he’s there. He’s got an NBA build.
Include Marvin for Al Harrington in a Nuggets trade? Al is cheaper per year, but has 1 more season on the contract.
I’m for re-signing Ivan.
SteveW
June 5th, 2012
1:57 am
Wroten at #35 in the NBA Mock – I could see Sund trading up or down to get him. Up from 43, or down from 23.
I could see Sund trading #23 for #30 and 35 from GSW, and maybe a 2nd pick next season from them also.
30 is the lowest he can trade too this season – We have to have a 1st pick according to League rules.
And my OKC/Miami finals with OKC as champions is getting close – been predicting that since last offseason.
I hope i’m right – can’t stand Miami
SteveW
June 5th, 2012
2:02 am
Ra’mon – I’m a Horford fan, but I think people do forget how he looked against Orlando and Chicago playing PF in the playoffs last season. Not good – not quick enough to handle PF’s on O or D. I remember this blog seeing the same thing. It caught me off guard that Al looked so awkward at PF.
Now I’m not saying he couldn’t improve. But I know how he looked then.
SteveW
June 5th, 2012
2:07 am
Grandad – I do agree with you point on stats not telling the whole story – that a trained eye can see if someone can play BB or not.
That’s how I knew Teague could play unlike Acie. You could just tell watching him, he changed the whole temp of the game when he came in on O and D.
Teague’s got a chance to be a pretty good PG in this League. I’ve said 15 and 7 good in a couple of years. His ceiling actually may be a tad higher than that.
SteveW
June 5th, 2012
2:12 am
HS – I know your point about Westbrook – and he is a ball hog, bad. I’d still rather see Durant, DFish, Perkins, Ibaka, Thabo, Nazr and the crew win over LeBron. I just couldn’t stand that Free agent Big 3 thing.
And Riley is getting on my nerves signing the best midlevel available in the offseason’s, and the vet’s coming down to get a ring.
Give me OKC this season, and then maybe the Griz next season.
Thats if the Hawks can’t win it.
northcyde
June 5th, 2012
2:13 am
Ra’mon
June 4th, 2012
11:39 pm
G’Dad, he may be the same person, but the guy guarding him will not have the same responsibility as normal when he’s guarded by a Center. For instance, if the Hawks were playing the Clippers, with Horford at the center position, he will have that mid range shot available all game long. Because a center such as Jordan (Mcgee, Hibbert, and many others) are going to sag off of Horford so they can still help defend the lane, because they are their teams’ last line of defense. However. If Horford is playing the PF position (similar to Horford against Orlando and Chicago last season), he will have a PF guarding him, who isn’t the rim protector for his team, so he will be allowed to stay on Horford the entire possession, or simply switch if in a pick and roll situation. That extra 4-5 feet is all the difference between a good shot and a tough shot for someone who has not shown the ability to create their own shot. Right now, the perception around the league is that Horford is out of position at the Center position because they have yet to see him play that position and only sees his height. But given an entire season of Horford playing majority of his minutes at the PF position, and not having his best offensive shot available as often as he does at the C position, shooting efficiency will go down dramatically. Remember, Horford doesn’t play for a coach who is a master at getting his best players easy shots, so there will not be any adjustments through out the season for this to be a trend, and not a new way of life with the Hawks. Now you being a coach, and not understanding the magnitudes of match ups by the OTHER team, is disheartening, and that’s the comment of the night.
************************
So how do you explain his performance vs Boston?
Despite Horford playing center, the guy that was guarding him most of the time was either Kevin Garnett or Ryan Hollins. Regardless of position, the Boston frontline doesn’t just let anyone score on them.
And before you even say it, Horford only hit 5 midrange jumpers vs Boston.
Five.
The other 10 shots he made in that series came within 6 feet of the basket. And he was flat out dominant in the 4th quarters of Game 5 and 6, going 9 – 11 FG.
He shoots 59% in the series.
Explain how he did that vs the Boston frontline please?
SteveW
June 5th, 2012
2:13 am
I’m not sure the Nuggets won’t be a darkhorse next season either.
northcyde
June 5th, 2012
2:14 am
That should’ve said the other 15 shots he made in that series.
SteveW
June 5th, 2012
2:16 am
NC – In fairness, I do think he had fresh legs for the Boston series – the body, while weak from the injury, and the lack of playing time, didn’t have the normal bumps and bruises of a brutal season – compressed schedule and all.
He was fresh, and it was only a 2 game sample. But I do admire him for coming back. But he had not gone thru the grind of this regular season.
I saw that alot this season – Lucas from Chicago etc. – when the fresh legs came in, mediocre players (and Al is not mediocre by any stretch) could for awhile outplay more talented players, simply because of the fresh legs.
SteveW
June 5th, 2012
2:18 am
Al average 15.3 and 9+ rbs a game his last full season. I could see 18 and 9 from him full time at PF. He’ll only get better I would think.
SteveW
June 5th, 2012
2:23 am
And I agree with Grandad about Al – Al knows BB, and is fundamentally sound. Knows what position to be in with and w/o the BB in his hands.
And I agree with others that say he is somewhat robotic, and is not a fluid player. Struggles creating his own shot. And PF’s in the playoffs last season did bother him
Both are correct to my eyes.
And this playoff shooting % stuff – almost everybody’s shooting % goes down in the playoffs – think about it – your playing better teams in pressure packed situations – of course most players shooting %’s go down. That doesn’t tell us a whole lot – unless it’s drastic or something.
High-sider
June 5th, 2012
2:43 am
SteveW, I hear what you’re sayin’.
northcyde
June 5th, 2012
2:51 am
Stats are your friend folks.
4th quarter shooting in the playoffs
- Horford: 9 – 11 FG
- Smith and Johnson: 9 – 31 FG
Can’t have Smith and Johnson taking the same type of shots
northcyde
June 5th, 2012
2:57 am
SteveW, despite the “fresh legs” hypothesis, that’s still the #1 defense in the NBA he was going up against. “Robo-Al” was essentially our closer in both Game 5 and Game 6, because the other two stars on the team couldn’t get it done.
EmirS.
June 5th, 2012
4:38 am
David Alrdridge expects Sund to be back.
No surprise there!
EmirS.
June 5th, 2012
5:23 am
I understand that ALOT of you despise that whole “The Decision” thing and would LOVE to see LeBron fail again this season. But I wouldn’t. It’s in the past. Like most girlfriends/boyfriends from the past….you move on and appreciate other things.
At the moment, I’m appreciating LeBron’s DESIRE to win an NBA ring. I want the guy to win a ring. I know many other players deserve it to, but so does LBJ. I hope he wins it this year. Then if the Heat get Nash next season, then I hope they win it again (that is if the Hawks don’t). One thing I am scared of witnessing…..is him actually not getting one. I would hate to see him in Nash’s position. Nearing the end of a spectacular career with no championships under his belt. That would be awful.
Buddy Grizzard
June 5th, 2012
5:47 am
“I can’t believe anyone could shoot more than Kobe? Is this really true?” – drmaryb
No, I said Josh takes more long jumpers than anybody EXCEPT Kobe. If you go to basketball-reference and go to the shot finder, search for all players, shots between 15 and 23 feet. Then, once it pulls up the list, click at the top of the column for field goals attempted, so it sorts in order of most FGT. The top ten in attempts at this distance, followed by their shooting percentage (plus Joe Johnson) are as follows.
1. Kobe 445 FGA .404
2. Josh 410 FGA .366
3. Dirk 392 FGA .490
4. Garnett 363 FGA .496
5. Monta 357 FGA .401
6. LaMarcus 354 FGA .421
7. LeBron 352 FGA .403
8. DeMar DeRozan 351 FGA .345
9. Westbrook 350 FGA .426
10. Gerald Henderson 339 FGA .401
21. Joe Johnson 280 FGA .404
As you can see, the only person in the top 10 in attempts at this distance that shoots worse than Josh is DeRozan. JOSH TAKES MORE LONG JUMPERS THAN DIRK!
“Memphis needs a closer for some games. And JJ is great at that.” – Ra’mon
As of last year’s playoffs, JJ had the second worst shooting percentage among active players in win-or-go-home playoff games. Not my definition of a “great” closer.
Just Joe
June 5th, 2012
5:53 am
The Decision will stick with me for a while. I’m rooting for Boston and San Antonio first (team play, underdogs facing younger, more talented teams), and against Miami second. If Lebron had stayed in Cleveland, or handled his free agency with some respect for his former team, and maybe a bit of humility, then I’d be his biggest fan. He’s got some growing up to do still. I like how OKC has built their team, but I’m also not a Westbrook fan. I think he leaves before Harden, and the team will be fine.
Buddy Grizzard
June 5th, 2012
6:10 am
“Stats are your friend folks.” – northcyde
Hawks 4th quarter shooting in Boston series, ranked by FGA:
1. Jeff 7-17 .412
2. Joe 4-17 .235
3. Josh 5-14 .357
4. Al 9-11 .818
5. Pargo 2-9 .222
5. (tie) Marv 2-9 .222
Buddy Grizzard
June 5th, 2012
6:11 am
Again, Joe shooting .235 in the 4th quarter for a playoff series is not my definition of a “great” closer.
Just Joe
June 5th, 2012
7:29 am
I still think this trade helps all involved:
Hawks get Derrick Williams, Darko Milicic, and the 14th and 18th picks. Milicic’s contract is a necessary evil to get Williams.
Rockets get Josh Smith and the 23rd pick. They still have the pieces needed to pull off the Scola, Lowry, and draft pick for Gasol trade, with cap space to sign a 2-guard to go with Lee.
T’wolves get Kevin Martin and the 16th pick. Reuniting Martin with Adelman and giving that team a proven, veteran scorer on the wing, plus they move up two spots in the draft.
At 14 & 18, I would target Dion Waiters and Meyers Leonard. Get the best available player in the second round (Draymond Green please!!!). We would still be a very athletic team with Teague, Waiters, D. Williams, Horford, and Leonard as the team’s future, with veterans Joe, Marvin, and ZaZa, and hopefully bringing back Hinrich and Ivan.
O'Brien
June 5th, 2012
7:47 am
SteveW,
I think Hibbert is looking at $10 mil per year. That seems to be the starting point point for solid centers (Nene, Al, DeAndre Jordan).
And for that reason, I think Hawks will have a hard time keeping Zaza (who makes $4.5 mil right now). I can see a team offering him $8 mil to be their starting center, so unless he is the Hawks starting center, I think he is gone after next year.
Include Marvin for Al Harrington in a Nuggets trade?.
The Hawks would come full circle, because we traded Harrington so that Marvin could get the starting spot.
O'Brien
June 5th, 2012
7:59 am
As for the remaining teams in the playoffs…I’m rooting for OKC. If not them, then anybody but Miami.
Ra’mon,
I like Eric Gordon and his potential. However, I don’t think N.O will let Gordon get away (he is a RFA). And with Anthony Davis, Eric Gordon, and the #10 pick, that gives them a head start on rebuilding.
drmaryb.(*_*).
June 5th, 2012
8:01 am
High-Sider!
Your brackets look stupid, and Poop is jealous. You two are stuck on stupid!
Stupid!!!!
Rod from College Park
June 5th, 2012
8:33 am
“So how do you explain his performance vs Boston?
Despite Horford playing center, the guy that was guarding him most of the time was either Kevin Garnett or Ryan Hollins. Regardless of position, the Boston frontline doesn’t just let anyone score on them.”
“SteveW, despite the “fresh legs” hypothesis, that’s still the #1 defense in the NBA he was going up against. “Robo-Al” was essentially our closer in both Game 5 and Game 6, because the other two stars on the team couldn’t get it done.”
OK northcyde. So lets take a 2 game sample size. In the first two games vs the Celtics, before he got hurt, Josh was averaging 19pts, 12 rebounds, 4.5 assist, 2.5 turnovers per game (less than Joe) all while being guarded primarily by one of the best defensive centers in the league. See how easy that is. Josh scored on the Celtics also. It’s obvious Horford has fresh legs, as he was more active than anyone on the floor. He played well, but should we not expect that from our ALLSTAR CENTER. Especially when Josh Smith and Joe Johnson were the guys that the Celtics were focused on stopping. Lets also not forget that Horford (the guy that shot 9-11 in the 4th quarter in the playoffs) is the guy that missed a free throw that puts us in overtime in game 6. Lets please not forget that. Do you want 9-11 in 4th quarter, or 2 of 2 free throws to continue your season?
Buddy Grizzard
June 5th, 2012
9:08 am
I would love it if Al made his free throws. Would also love it if Josh didn’t quit on plays to argue refs, as if the refs were going to change their mind and it would benefit the Hawks more than, you know, hustling back on defense. I would also love it if Joe Johnson was worth half his salary. But like Schultz said, $20 million doesn’t buy heart.
Dawg
June 5th, 2012
9:36 am
Could/Would Portland be trade partners with us considering their two early picks?
O'Brien
June 5th, 2012
9:47 am
To me, it all comes down to this. Is Josh more talented than Al, and a better PF (offensively and defensively)..Yes (imo).
Can Al Horford (by himself) give us exactly what Josh was giving us as a PF? No.
But is it possible that Al AND whatever pieces Josh brings back in a trade could replace what Josh is giving us? I think so. So there is a possibility that trading Josh could make the Hawks a better team, depending on what we get back in return (just like trading Al or JJ could make us a better team, depending on the pieces we bring back).
And I am a fan of the Hawks, first and foremost (regardless of which players are on the team).