Atlanta Hawks: Season Review: Jason Collins
Season reviews presented in alphabetical order . . .
One of the Hawks’ odd organizational quarks is the insistence that Jason Collins is more than a specialist best suited for a narrowly defined role. Perhaps even weirder is how often that line of thinking has worked out for them . . . until it doesn’t.
Consider the 2012 playoffs. Larry Drew’s decision to start Collins against the Celtics in Game 1 seemed foolhardy but Collins had probably his best performance of the season in Game 1. He not only played good defense against Kevin Garnett but added six points and five rebounds in 32 minutes.
Collins’ production dropped off in Game 2 but his on-court, off-court was positive even as it became apparent Boston would focus more on attacking him with screen-rolls. Collins was OK in Game 3 but Drew’s faith in him had diminishing returns as Garnett abandoned his strange insistence on posting up Collins.
That Drew stuck with Collins as long as he did is an example of his tendency to give a long leash to veterans who have done anything positive for him in the past regardless of the negative things they are doing at the present (or, for that matter, the limitations suggested by their long-term history). That’s not to say the Hawks had any great options in the front court, especially after Ivan Johnson’s shaky outing in Game 2, but best to try something different when what you are using isn’t working.
I offer these critiques while acknowledging I thought it was a bad idea for the Hawks to bring back Collins in 2010-11. It seemed absurd that part of the reason the Hawks parted ways with Mike Woodson was because he didn’t play Collins enough minutes against the Magic in the 2010 playoffs. But it turned out Collins was a key part of the Dwight Defense in 2011. I also thought playing Collins significant minutes against the Celtics was a mistake but his play in Games 1 and (most of) 2 showed that he could help in small doses.
But if I’ve undervalued Collins at times, the Hawks continue to overvalue him. He’s still a solid post defender in certain matchups, though there’s evidence he’s slipping in that area: According to Synergy Sports Technology, this season Collins allowed .84 points per possession in 32 chances (141st in the league). His defensive on-court, off-court magic subsided even as his opponent PER was respectable.
Those defensive numbers (which, mind you, were accumulated in circumstances most favorable to Collins) would have to be much better to compensate for Collins’ career-long lack of offensive production and poor efficiency for a big man. There’s also the matter of Collins missing six weeks with an elbow injury, though that development had the effect of freeing up frontcourt minutes for Johnson.
Word is the Hawks will extend a tender to Johnson (as soon as they get around to putting a permanent GM in place) which probably would be enough to keep him. Perhaps that also would mean the end of the occasionally-fruitful-most-times-perplexing Collins era for the Hawks.
Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat
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344 comments Add your comment
O'Brien
June 6th, 2012
4:35 pm
Ra’mon,
What do you think Josh’s next contract will be? And can the ASG afford him?
donte080
June 6th, 2012
4:37 pm
re: We need a natural center…
We already have an all-star center in Horford, and ZaZa did a fine job replacing him last season. Center is not this team’s problem, SF is. If Josh forces us to trade him, move horford to PF, ZaZa to Center, and acquiring either a SF or a SG (moving Joe to SF)
donte080
June 6th, 2012
4:39 pm
re: Worthless story on Collins…
What do you guys want, a story complaining about Joe’s contract every freaking day? As he stated, MC is going to report on how each hawk performed last year….real hawk fans should enjoy that analysis.
tyger
June 6th, 2012
4:42 pm
Jason Collins is the 13th man…
At 7′0, 255 with 14 years NBA experience…
The Hawks have room for Jason Collins…
Never forget who we are, this is the Hawks…
Collins’ 10yr+ vet contract only counts 85% toward cap…
So, a min. $1M x .85 deal is always a safe bet…
Especially for team with no cap room…
All that Synergy PER crap is fine in a rotisserie league…
But the game is played on the floor not in stat book…
LD knows this, thats why we won the games we did…
Collin’s nor Dampier’s “real value” will show in the stat line…
But it will on the court – there are intangibles in sports…
True 7fters that “bang” are a tremendous help…
Collins/Damp/Ivan keep the “moistness” out of the lineup…
Vs Boston, KG “could not” post…that’s invaluable…
We already know Collins is kryptonite to Superboy…
Thus, Collins nuetralizes two of best BIGS in league…
And we shouldnt give him $800,000?….really????
I’m penciling in both Dampier/Collins 12/13th spot…
If something better falls to us, so be it, but…
I’m comfy with Horford, Pachulia, Collins, Dampier…
I like what they bring – size, strength, experience, security…
Had they not been ready in crunch time, I’d feel differently…
But, they both made the case for more P/T and another k…
Grandad
June 6th, 2012
5:05 pm
High-Sider
” thnaks ”
Are what people with the speech impediment *[sigmatism] …
eat between meals.
*[sigmatism] … commonly referred to as a lisp.
Grandad
June 6th, 2012
5:07 pm
My apologies to one and all:
That was horrible.
High-sider
June 6th, 2012
5:08 pm
An NBA championship contender almost never has too many scorers [on its team]. Look at the Heat last night [in Game 5 vs. the Celtics]. LBJ and D-Wade went for [or scored] 30[pts] and 27[pts], respectively, while no other Heat player scored in double figures. A prolific scoring sixth-man is valuable in the NBA especially in the playoffs, [See James Harden for the OKC Thunder.] Jamal Crawford as a “crunch time” scoring sixth-man would be a good fit for the Heat right about now [especially with C. Bosh at less than 100%] because Chalmers, Battier, M. Miller, U. Haslem, Ja. Jones, N. Cole, Jo. Anthony and R. Turiaf are not giving the Heat “consistent” scoring, if any, off the bench or as starters. I believe Jason Terry, the Mavs’ sixth man, in the 2011 NBA Finals averaged ~18ppg as a reseve [off the bench]. Jason Terry was arguably “the difference” in the Mavs winning an NBA title last year. An NBA team with four to six players who can score 20+ points in a playoff game [on any given day or night] poses a tremendous threat to the opposition.
The Hawks needed Jamal Crawford in the 2012 playoffs vs. the Celtics; again, he [Crawford] was the Hawks’ “Boston Strangler” and is/was also known as “The Difference.” You naysayers and detractors can say that Crawford’s stats vs. the Celtics were regular season stats but those [regular season] stats were the best indicator[s] of what Jamal [Crawford] could do or produce against the Celtics in the playoffs.
Look at the Hawks-Magic 2011 playoff series. Although the Magic finished the 2010-2011 regular season at 52-30 [EC 4th seed] while the Hawks finished that same [regular] season at 44-38 [EC 5th seed], the Hawks still managed to take the [regular] season series matchup over the Magic 3-1 [or three games to one game]. Even though the Magic had home court advantage over the Hawks in the playoffs last year, the Hawks still had confidence and a regular season “track record” that showed the Hawks [team] could beat the Magic [team] in the playoffs. So don’t tell me Crawford wouldn’t have made a difference in [the outcome of] this year’s playoffs for the Hawks. How do you know that he [Crawford] would not have made “the [most] difference” in the Hawks winning in the first round of this year’s playoffs vs. the Celtics? You don’t [know].
The Hawks [ASG] gambled on [Rick] Sund, Sund gambled on [Kirk] Hinrich and we [the Hawks franchise and fans] all lost. [smh]
Ra'mon
June 6th, 2012
5:09 pm
O’B, I don’t think his contract should be more than the neighborhood of 5 years $80 mil. Yes I think they can. Because that is roughly $3-$4 million increase, and that’s basically half of what Marvin and Kirk made last season each, without being a significant player. So they could re-sign Josh for that deal. And stop trading their draft picks, and do well. Still remains, very doubtful to win a title without going into the luxury at least $5 mil.
Astro Joe
June 6th, 2012
5:10 pm
Let’s trade Marvin for Dwight Howard. That seems like about the one and only trade that would get unanimous agreement around here. Can’t trade Joe because his contract is so awful that not a single team on the planet would want him (not to mention that he is basically an average player who should be earning closer to $6m/year). Can’t trade Al because he is a guy who refuses to play C and performs like a robot in the low post (not to mention he can’t hit a jumper against elite defenses). And can’t trade Josh Smith because he is a future HOFer and has doen so much to prop this horrific franchise on his broad shoulders that are forced to carry the other 14 bums around him. And after watching well-executed basketball played in the conference finals, it is so perfectly clear that Josh has all of the characteristics of a player who can lead his team to the conference finals… so let’s scrap the whole thing and build around him. In fact, we don’t need no stinking Dwight Howard, let’s trade Marvin for Al Thornton and simply put the right pieces around Josh the Legendary. Who’s with me?
Ra'mon
June 6th, 2012
5:12 pm
O’B, question, at the trading deadline, Doc admitted that Rondo was available. I threw around the Rondo for Horford and Teague scenario for a long time. Have this playoffs not shown everyone, that was the right deal to at least offer Boston with Rondo’s play?
Grandad
June 6th, 2012
5:17 pm
cp
My point exactly:
I said – ‘`going into the draft`’
Pendercraph = joke
if `n we are goin to get a new / real GM;
then why is he not on board already ?
Shouldn`t he be prepping for the draft ?
Once again Sund/Pendercraph …
equals trade into the 2nd round.
Wait – League rules prevent us from doing that;
Unless … we draft somebody then trade him …
“thats the ticket”
-0R-
sell the player after we draft him;
Can we do that ?
The half-ASG/Sund/Pendercrap way !
SteveW
June 6th, 2012
5:19 pm
Some suggested trading for Derrick Williams – While I’m def. not against that, I do have to say he did not impress me at all this past season. Looks a little pudgy – and looks like a tweener. He probably turns into a star since I said this of course – but just going on my observations.
Ditch Jason Collins. Thanks for the contributions Jason!
Najeh – If what you postulate occurs in Brooklyn, then, yes, they have a team. If not, and DeRon is gone, with or w/o Dwight, they don’t have much going on up there.
With Dwight and no DeRon, a playoff team. Not much more.
I wonder what Robin Lopez gets in FA? Hawes? Hibbert? Brook Lopez (or is he even a RFA? Kaman? Kwame?
hawksfancents95
June 6th, 2012
5:21 pm
@hawksfansince89
original name
Astro Joe
June 6th, 2012
5:22 pm
f the Hawks were going up against Dwight Howard, and they had to guard him with either Al or Gasol, I know who I’d rather have guarding Dwight, and it ain’t Pau. That is a problem if Pau is being brought in to be the C who moves Al to his “natural position”.
I’m pretty sure the Hawks beat the Magic with Howard averaging “Wilt-like” numbers against Twin, Zaza, Al, Etan and Hilton Armstrong. The Hawks won because of the combination of better defense against the supporting cast and the deterioration of the magic supporting cast.
In the next two years, Gasol would be a better fit for a team that is NOT going to exceed the luxury tax, use the amnesty clause or use the MLE than just about any other player that may likely be available. Because the Hawks are an ensemble cast, won’t likely be able to acquire a classic “leading man” and Gasol would be the best player available who appears capable of fitting with an ensemble cast. Someone like Al Jefferson is a black hole, guys will quickly learn that once he gets the ball, they won’t see it again. The guys who are tradeable ALL have warts (including our 3 captains)… get over the notion that we can use some combination of our captains to land the perfect player. Gasol is better than any player we have… if we can get him, we have upgraded the top of our roster . That is a really good start, because historically, we’ve only been focused on upgrading the bottom of our roster, and that hasn’t (and won’t work.
Grandad
June 6th, 2012
5:23 pm
Hey guys:
At least it`s a blog.
It keeps the blog open !
Kinda like drmaryb said last summer:
“Just type a period or a comma to keep the blog open;
we`ll do the rest”
SteveW
June 6th, 2012
5:23 pm
I even wonder what Camby and Asik get as FA’s?
SteveW
June 6th, 2012
5:25 pm
Najeh – I still think at full strength we can beat Miami. Boston is beginning to look like some kind of miracle team however.
SteveW
June 6th, 2012
5:28 pm
I wouldn’t be surprised to see ATL make a run at Daniel Orton. Our scouting dept. was supposedly high on him coming out of college.
Looks like the backup, cheap FA PG market is a little deeper than last season. Same with backup C’s.
And I’ve always thought of Jefferson of more of a real Center than Gasol. Just me.
SteveW
June 6th, 2012
5:32 pm
Glad to hear we’re trying to keep Ivan – good move on our part too me. Hazell, Gladyr, Caracter – I wonder if we’ll see Benson in the Summer League?
AJ – Well, Thabeet is finally a FA, so we could just sign him to build around, and make somebody that at least used to frequent this blog very happy.
SteveW
June 6th, 2012
5:32 pm
I feel like those old Chuck Tanner Braves commercials – “This could be the year”
SteveW
June 6th, 2012
5:36 pm
We could sign Jason Terry and Pau Gasol, along with Damien Wilkens and try to atone for past sins and transgressions or something.
Royal Ivey and Shelden are floating around out there as well.
SteveW
June 6th, 2012
5:39 pm
This group of potential affordable (vet min. or close) FA’s is deeper and has more breadth than last season. If Sund or whoever knows what they’re doing (I’ll let ya’ll have fun with that), we could have a better, deeper team than last season.
I guess it all depends on Josh doesn’t it? And what we do with him – extend him, trade him or whatever.
High-sider
June 6th, 2012
5:45 pm
@Fundamentals
“…Maybe you can feature a blog on why Jamal would/could/will save the Hawks and another to bash the Hinrich/JC2 deal to rehash more stuff that has nothing to do with our future…” – Fundamentals
See my post @5:08pm [on] 6/6/2012. It [my post] may not be “blog worthy” but what the hell [LOL]. I see you saw the “Allen Iverson Practice” YouTube clip.
Fundamentals
June 6th, 2012
6:02 pm
Summer of Sameness….no excitement on the horizon.
donte080
June 6th, 2012
6:11 pm
Sund did a fine job last year putting together our bench with Ivan/McGrady/Pargo/Green…strongest bench we’ve had during hawks current core group…
For the Jamal Crawford maniac, he was a luxury we could no longer afford for a team already above their cap…..and frankly, he was not that good this season anyway for Portland, shooting a woeful .384. He would have hurt us, not helped us, this past season……….
joeygt1
June 6th, 2012
6:13 pm
whoever thinks gasol is better than josh smith are idoit..gasol is to old and would make this team terrible definsively
ryan
June 6th, 2012
6:22 pm
Will the Hawks do something this summer count Dwight Howard out because he is Brooklyn bound after 2 seasons with out making any moves with Josh Smith rumors they have to at least try don’t care if not a superstar we just need couple of decent players Center and maybe a point guard .
glw
June 6th, 2012
6:24 pm
Twin is a journeyman big man. All teams need guys like him. Twin is best as a 3rd center/12th man kind of guy, who is good to use for a few minutes mostly against a Dwight Howard or somebody like that. Plain and simple, he’s nothing special, but we werent expecting it when we signed him. It was just unfortunate that Drew put him in the lineup and played him more than he should have.
cp
June 6th, 2012
6:31 pm
@Grandad. Look I agree with you. Ive felt for a while that if Sund does not come back then Pendergraph will get the job. I just dont see much changing on that front. There are a few GM’s available right now that would be an upgrade but it seems like the ASG would prefer a yes man over a guy who would have his own opinion on what moves need to be made. And as far as the draft , I think the Hawks will try and trade down and pick up some cash and maybe another second rounder.
@SteveW. Orton is terrible. I watched a few Orlando games and I saw nothing in his game that would make me want the Hawks to sign him. RandyMo looked like a better player than Orton but since he will probably be cheap I wouldnt be shocked if the Hawks went after him. Ive read some T Wolve boards and they didnt seem to happy with Derrick Williams. He looks like a tweener because he is one.
Slimjr
June 6th, 2012
6:56 pm
“WE DONT NEED NO LOSERS, WE NEED WINNERS MAN!!!!!!!!!!’ -MEL- [Frequent sports talk radio caller from Atlanta]
Slimjr
June 6th, 2012
7:07 pm
Eric pulled a Larry last night? Well I’ll be………………………Greyhound leaves on the hour!
[square peg],[round hole]
Wade Phillips, Kevin Loughery, Norv Turner, Lon Kruger, Bob Weiss,Terry Stotts..I cant take it no more Viv….
Slimjr
June 6th, 2012
7:18 pm
Hey, they call you “doc” for a reason Mr. Rivers? Yes!
What do they call you Mr. Spoelstra? A day late and a dollar short? Wow……..
glw
June 6th, 2012
7:22 pm
Hey, they call you “doc” for a reason Mr. Rivers? Yes!
What do they call you Mr. Spoelstra? A day late and a dollar short? Wow……..
If Doc was the coach here, does anyone doubt the Hawks would still be playing?
Najeh Davenpoop
June 6th, 2012
7:24 pm
The Raptors want to trade their #8 overall pick for a swingman. They have their sights set on Rudy Gay and Andre Iguodala.
Neither Joe nor Josh fits the bill perfectly, but depending on who is available at #8, this could be a good deal for the Hawks if the Raptors are interested.
Najeh Davenpoop
June 6th, 2012
7:30 pm
“Because the Hawks are an ensemble cast, won’t likely be able to acquire a classic “leading man””
They can if they blow up the team and get a high draft pick.
“Gasol is better than any player we have”
That is highly debatable.
Najeh Davenpoop
June 6th, 2012
7:33 pm
“And can’t trade Josh Smith because he is a future HOFer and has doen so much to prop this horrific franchise on his broad shoulders that are forced to carry the other 14 bums around him. And after watching well-executed basketball played in the conference finals, it is so perfectly clear that Josh has all of the characteristics of a player who can lead his team to the conference finals… so let’s scrap the whole thing and build around him. In fact, we don’t need no stinking Dwight Howard, let’s trade Marvin for Al Thornton and simply put the right pieces around Josh the Legendary. Who’s with me?”
And gotta acquire Pau Gasol because he is a future HOFer and has done so much to carry lesser players on his shoulders. And after watching defense and toughness win out time and time again in the playoffs, it is so perfectly clear that Gasol has all the characteristics of a player who can lead his team to the conference finals… so let’s build around him.
Josh for Gasol is a lateral, cap-clogging move and does absolutely nothing to push this team over their current second-round ceiling. Either blow it up completely or make a move for Dwight.
Slimjr
June 6th, 2012
7:34 pm
Trade Josh and the #23 pick for the #8 pick and select:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L66QmiB0xj4
He’s on one…
Sautee
June 6th, 2012
7:36 pm
“One of the Hawks’ odd organizational quarks is the insistence that Jason Collins is more than a specialist best suited for a narrowly defined role.”
I suppose an organizational electrically charged particle would be odd. Not to mention a physics miracle. Somehow, they just can’t make those little boogers organize.
High-sider
June 6th, 2012
7:36 pm
Let’s face it; with the ASG and Rick Sund at the helm, this Hawks [team] is going nowhere [fast, quick and in a hurry] in the near future. Enough with the “Either Josh Smith or Al Horford” diatribe. Why can’t the narrative be a “Both Josh Smith and Al Horford” discussion? [This is coming from a guy who obsessively and compulsively talks about Jamal Crawford (to no end); go figure (LOL)]. I think the two players [Smith and Horford] can and do play well together. The Hawks need to extract Marvin Williams from the starting lineup and insert a quality, rim-protecting big [man] as a replacement. The Hawks just need to find that big [man]. If the Hawks make the playoffs next year, I propose the Hawks players for inspiration and motivation wear mouthpieces [mouthguards] that read the Roman numeral “8″ [VIII] on the outer, upper front to signify/denote the eight wins needed to reach the ECF. That is/was a joke.
If the Heat “bow out” to the Celtics tomorrow night, do the [Miami] Heat fire Head Coach [Erik] Spoelstra and then hire [Phil] Jackson as “The Replacement”? Is it back to the video room for the [former] video coordinator [Spoelstra]? Do the [Miami] Heat then offer the [Los Angeles] Lakers Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh for Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol in a straight-up swap [trade]? Does the “trade scenario” “lure” Bryant and Gasol if Phil Jackson is named the Heat’s new head coach? Do the Heat cut ties with ‘Rio [Chalmers], Mike Miller, Shane Battier, Rony Turiaf and Joel Anthony? Do the Heat go after Steve Nash to “man” the point [guard position] and ‘Mal [Jamal Crawford] for a quality, “clutch” scoring sixth-man? Do the Heat go after Samuel Dalembert or Marcus Camby to be that rim-protecting, defensive stopper? [I don't know the contract situations of either Dalembert or Camby.] Is it Year 3 of “Championship or Bust” for the Heat if all those aforementioned scenarios are a-go for the Heat? Does this give the Heat three legitimate “closers” – Bryant, Crawford and Nash; maybe, that would be three and a half [legitimate] “closers” if you include LeBron James. [I apologize Bron-Bron (as) I mean no disrespect.] If all those scenarios come to fruition for the Heat, do LeBron [James], [Steve] Nash, and [Ja]‘Mal [Crawford] finally get their [championship] ring[s]? Do Kobe Bryant, Paul Gasol, Phil Jackson and Pat Riley add a “meaningful accomplishment” to their legacy if they win another NBA championship under the proposed scenario and circumstances?
Please overlook the grammatical errors such as in the case of subject/verb [dis]agreement [ex. do (or does) the Heat (team)...].
Sautee
June 6th, 2012
7:38 pm
Beat you to it, DUI. hee, hee.
Hawkeye
June 6th, 2012
7:38 pm
seriously,Jason Collins. There has got to be something better to read.
Just Joe
June 6th, 2012
7:44 pm
I would check in and see if the Clippers are having any buyer’s remorse on Deandre Jordan. Hawks could send the expiring contracts of Josh and ZaZa for Jordan and either Mo Williams or Caron Butler.
Clippers would go in to the 2013 summer with CP3, Josh, and ZaZa as unrestricted free agents, and Griffin as a restricted free agent. Hard to say whether that’s good or bad.
Jordan put up 4.5 pts, 5.3 rebs, and 1.6 blocks in 22 minutes per game in the playoffs. That’s not exactly tearing it up for a guy earning $33M over the next 3 years. Hawks can afford to take the chance. Clippers should be in a win-now mode with CP3.
Slimjr
June 6th, 2012
7:53 pm
Coach Spoelstra; read my lips, YOU HAVE TO GO BIG TO BEAT ONE OF THE WORST REBOUNDING TEAMS IN THE LEAGUE THIS PAST SEASON..
They destroyed you on the boards last night Coach? Sound familiar Larry?
Hey, how much are Vegas paying you guys? Hmmmmm
Astro Joe
June 6th, 2012
8:09 pm
Gasol is signed for a single season longer than Josh. 82 more games.
Cap space (which no one can say would be used by these owners) would get us what? At best, a chance for some level 2 or 3 FA (like Al Jefferson or Deng) but it certainly won’t deliver a clear cut #1 scoring option. Any team willing to trade a clear cut #1 scoring option would be looking to dump salary after that guy proves that he isn’t able to carry the team deep in the playoffs (e.g. Joe Johnson, Brand, Granger) or someone at the end of their career who can no longer carrry a team on their back.
“Blowing it up” means what in terms of managing the business? Shedding expenses and watching revenue decline only to turn around and increase expenses later whil revenue drags behind (as fans wait to be shown that it is time to spend again). My guess is the ASG already lived that cycle during the early Woody days… Sund has indicated that they won’t look to step backwards. So time to stop the “blow it up” discussion. Heck, they aren’t even willing to spend a fairly modest $3-4M on a real head coach.
SteveW, yeah and folk hyped up Al Thornton a year or two ago as being better than Marvin and I said back then that Thornton would likely not get another non-minimum salary contract. And he spent last season watching the NBA on TV. Thabeet will likely get a 2 year deal around $3M in an attempt to save his career.
The thing that GMs (and bloggers) seem to fail to consider is passion. I read about “motor”, but I think that is different than passion. IMO, Marvin’s motor is fine (not great, but fine). It is his passion that is absent. There are a bunch of young players who seem to be missing the passion. That is why I instantly thought JC2 would make a more immediate impact than Teague.. passion. It is also why I don’t like the idea of compiling draft picks… because I see way too many young players lacking passion these days.
High-sider
June 6th, 2012
8:16 pm
@donte080
“…For the Jamal Crawford maniac, he was a luxury we could no longer afford for a team already above their cap…..and frankly, he was not that good this season anyway for Portland, shooting a woeful .384. He would have hurt us, not helped us, this past season……….” – donte080
So you would rather “afford” Kirk Hinrich and Marvin Williams as opposed to ["affording"] Jamal Crawford? I’ll admit his FG% [field goal shooting] was off [subpar] this past regular season but he [J. Crawford] did lead the NBA in FT% [free throw shooting] at 0.927. BTW, Crawford still managed to shoot a 2PFG% of 0.426, which is still a respectable field goal percentage for a perimeter-oriented shooting guard, while averaging 13.9~14.0ppg.
O"Brien
June 6th, 2012
8:17 pm
Ra’mon,
It has always been my opinion that this team could use a pass first PG to get other guys easier shots, and a PG who plays defense like Rondo would be that much better.
But at the trading deadline, Horford was injured, so no team was going to trade for him (imo), especially not a team like Boston that still wanted to make the playoffs, because they had no idea if and when Al would come back.
AJ,
Gasol is better than any player we have….
While I would welcome Gasol in a trade if it came down to it, I’m not so sure he is better than Josh.
O"Brien
June 6th, 2012
8:21 pm
Najeh,
Josh for Gasol is a lateral, cap-clogging move and does absolutely nothing to push this team over their current second-round ceiling..
If the Hawks trade Josh and Marvin ($20.7 mil annually combined) for Gasol ($20 mil per year), how is that a cap killing move? Their salaries would cancel out for next season, and they could sign a FA SG or SF and then the season after that when we have Gasol for $20 mil, his salary is expiring, so the Hawks could probably find a trade partner.
And how do you know it does nothing to push them past their second round ceiling? That is your opinion, and although you might be right, I don’t mind taking one season to find out, instead of blowing it up right now.
You say trade for a high draft pick. Are you talking top 5? top 8?
O"Brien
June 6th, 2012
8:26 pm
High-sider,
Let it go. Hinrich and Marvin were already under contract, and the cheap ASG were not going to amnesty either of them to make room for Jamal.
tjhook
June 6th, 2012
8:27 pm
The Hawks should make a play for Chris Bosh after the season. Since Josh Smith wants to be traded and Bosh doesn’t fit in Miami, the trade makes sense. Smoove can get with the best AAU team in the game and I believe Bosh and Joe Johnson would make a good one-two punch. Miami will be looking to make a move after they fail in a pursuit of a championship ring again.
Josh Smith for Chris Bosh – HO!!
Sautee
June 6th, 2012
8:29 pm
High-Sider,
You should realize that you are beginning to be as repetitive as pgslim with his Jon Leuer posts.
We all know how you feel. Telling us again and again changes nothing. And you know what Einstein said…