Atlanta Hawks: Wings are the thing
The Hawks are interested in free agent forward Anthony Randolph, as reported today by Marc Spears of Yahoo! Sports. The Hawks also remain in contact with the Magic about trade possibilities for Dwight Howard.
But the more pressing concern for the Hawks is signing a small forward after they agreed to trade away Marvin Williams and Joe Johnson.
“We have to look at the wing area to bring somebody in that can help us,” Drew said. “With having the six spots filled [including] the two draft picks on the roster, solidifying on the wing becomes more of a priority than a ‘big.’ We could add another big but, right now, certainly the priority is strengthening the wing area and then possibly adding another big.”
As things stand now, Atlanta’s options include playing one of Josh Smith, Anthony Morrow or DeShawn Stevenson at small forward. Smith was able to play the wing effectively in certain matchups last season but neither he nor Morrow or Stevenson is a natural for the position.
The Hawks are interested in Rashard Lewis and Courtney Lee. They’ve also reportedly inquired about O.J. Mayo.
Other free-agent wings still on the board include Matt Barnes, Grant Hill, Carlos Delfino, Antawn Jamison, Mickael Pietrus, C.J. Miles and Tracy McGrady.
The Hawks can offer a contract that starts as high as the non-taxpayer mid-level exception maximum of $5 million. It appears that the first wave of free-agent signings isn’t quite over as players look for money and/or contending teams to join. The Hawks could still be a pretty good team next season but clearly no longer are as attractive to free agents as they were last season, when they could sell the possibility of a strong postseason run.
With that in mind, expect the Hawks to zero in on free agents to sign once the market settles.
“There’s been some surprising things that have happened with free agents,” Drew said. “Our stand is just to continue to look at possibilities that can help our ball club. There are still some interesting names out there. We’ve had contact with a number of free agents and we want to bring in guys that can play right away, whether they start or come off the bench.”
Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat
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779 comments Add your comment
Just Joe
July 8th, 2012
6:38 pm
OB….word is Cleveland is willing to absorb Humphries as part of a 3 team Dwight trade. Dwight to the Nets appears to be getting close.
ryan
July 8th, 2012
6:45 pm
What a bummer well what do you expect its still ASG/ Hawks its never going to happen New York always gets what it wants Atlanta left out in the cold again SUCKS .
Neki
July 8th, 2012
6:46 pm
Like I say, parity in the NBA sucks, you have to be smart and bring in the right personnel to win. I think Hawks would probably going to trade Smith and start using the SAS model.
ryan
July 8th, 2012
6:51 pm
We are going to be a lottery team my gut feeling knew we not getting D12 i had hopes after the trade but its ASG that still own this team .
brigadierjerry
July 8th, 2012
7:02 pm
Gaboy,
Andre Miller resigned in Denver for 3 more years.
Q-Man
July 8th, 2012
7:04 pm
Being a lottery team for a year is not a bad thing. Its what you do with the pick in the lottery and the free agents of next year. As i stated earlier go sign James Harden next off season pair him with teague in the back court. Tell me that not a hell of a back court
Sautee
July 8th, 2012
7:04 pm
Troll alert:
The 6:18 and 6:20 posts listed as Sautee were not me. For the umpteenth time lately.
Q-Man
July 8th, 2012
7:06 pm
If you not sold on Harden go to youtube and see for ya self. Dude a beast and a winner
Hawks Fan
July 8th, 2012
7:16 pm
I agree with the Gerald Green supporters, I think he would be a great fit. I also agree with the Larry Drew haters. Wish Ferry would punt him asap. I disagree with the comment by “Runner” that T-Mac was inconsistent… the only inconsistent with T-Mac was Larry Drew’s randomness, that and Drew’s love affair with Marvin Williams’ ability to do nothing with good minutes.
Bill
July 8th, 2012
7:17 pm
Why has no one mentioned signing Lou Williams? He’s from Atlanta, and has shown to be a decent scorer. Sure it doesn’t help the SF situation, but it might make Josh and Dwight a little happier to stay/come to Atlanta.
Ray
July 8th, 2012
7:20 pm
If anyone seriously thought we were going to get D12 go jump off a cliff I’m serious. We need to be focused on other things right now.
Look at it this way the Indiana Pacers without a superstar and fringe all-star gave the heat some trouble this past playoffs. The only real problem they had was their youth same with OKC most of the players had never seen the playoffs on that team except now, and most have never been in a ECF or Finals for that matter.
What I’m trying to say is I’d rather build a team like SAS that will get ish done then build these superstar Big 3 teams.
We don’t even know if it will work out for Brooklyn yet it barely worked out for Miami say what you will, but it did.
John Drew
July 8th, 2012
7:20 pm
It’s a wrap! Dwight Howard will be a member of the BK Nets sometime this week. Book it!!!I hope the Hawks have a plan b.
ryan
July 8th, 2012
7:40 pm
Green would have to be plan b would love to get Rashard Lewis or OJ Mayo i hope the Hawks don’t remain quiet and do nothing Atlanta never getting big name when does football start ready for the NFL .
ryan
July 8th, 2012
7:46 pm
Hold on here a minute Cavs may not be ready to deal for Humhpries yet Hawks still could be in this thing .
pointguardslim
July 8th, 2012
7:47 pm
Hawks aren’t signing anybpdy while CP3 and Dwight Howard are out there. What don’t you guys understand about that?
ryan
July 8th, 2012
7:51 pm
Cavs really not interested in signing Humphries still a chance here who would want to sign him just to make the Nets happy no one .
Buddy Grizzard
July 8th, 2012
7:57 pm
Steve Kyler: Unclear what Hawks are really offering, as Hawks source deny emphatically that Al Horford has been offered to anyone Twitter
Sorry Orlando, All-NBA Al is NOT AVAILABLE.
tjhook
July 8th, 2012
8:00 pm
you know, we keep talking about who should be at PF and who is soft and hard . . . the team mainly lost a guy who knew how to put the ball in the basketball and another who could defend pretty well and hit a three-pointer. I think we should pick up Courtney Lee who can get his own shot and also defend pretty well. I also still like James Anderson as a replacement at the wing, but Courtney Lee is a proven baller and if we like him, we can package up the other players we got into a trade for a three man.
Big Ray
July 8th, 2012
8:21 pm
Kirk Hinrich wasn’t given the sixth most FGA for the Hawks. Hinrich chose to be unaggressive/unassertive on the offensive end. Hinrich chose not to or refused to shoot/score the basketball. That lack of offensive aggressiveness/assertiveness is on Kirk Hinrich and no one else. Because he (Hinrich) didn’t score was Kirk Hinrich’s fault – not the coach, not his teammates and, hell, not even the opposing defense. Dude (Hinrich) just refused to shoot/score (the basketball).
That argument works well if you insert Marvin’s name into it. It works quite badly for Hinrich, who was repeatedly used incorrectly as a pg. Reference Najeh Davenpoop , who has presented more intelligent arguments on the subject than anybody else on this blog.
That said, if a guy is shooting a subpar percentage from the field (like Hinrich) do you feel that he should “be aggressive” and keep on shooting? I can see it now, “Kirk shot us out of the game”….
If Hinrich is only going to shoot five shots per game, then he (Hinrich) should average between nine and ten points per game. Scoring five points on five shots (FGA’s) is not (exactly) what I would call being (offensively) efficient.
In other words, you’re saying Hinrich should shoot 95% from the field? That’s what he’d have to shoot if he’s going to get between 9 and 10 ppg on just five shots per game…unless at least one of those made shots is a 3 pointer. In THAT case, he need only shoot 80% from the field (make 4 out of 5 shots, with one of them being a 3 pointer). Up that to a couple of 3 pointers, and he need only make 3 out of 5 shots (60% of his field goals)….so long as he shoots 100% on his 3 pointers. Unless of course you’re expecting him to get to the line fairly frequently in those 5 shot attempts (and get 3 point plays in the process).
You’re digging a big enough hole with this argument to bury Godzilla. But I digress….
I agree that 5 points on 5 shots is not efficient. It’s why the entire Hawks offense could be so largely inefficient at times. Because believe me, a lot of the team was doing that way too much of the time.
Here’s something for ya – Kirk Hinrich’s career FG percentage is 41.7, which equates to hitting a tad over 2 of every 5 two point shots. Now here’s some salt for ya….Jamal Crawford’s career FG percentage is 40.8….
So much for scoring 9-10 points on 5 shots….
Buddy Grizzard
July 8th, 2012
8:29 pm
“That said, if a guy is shooting a subpar percentage from the field (like Hinrich) do you feel that he should “be aggressive” and keep on shooting?”
Hinrich shot 43% from the field and 38% from three in the BOS series. When was Hinrich shooting for a subpar percentage?
Big Ray
July 8th, 2012
8:31 pm
I’m with Buddy and tjhook …..I’d like to get Courtney Lee.
However, I’m leery of getting smacked in the face by our “rivals” the Celtics, who stand a good shot at signing him over us. Sucks, but the threat is there, and here’s the funny part – nobody is mentioning us in connection with Lee, but there’s been plenty of chatter about him and the Celts.
As for Dwight Howard ….I’m actually gonna give the ASG a pass on this if we don’t get him. I never really thought we had a shot at him…even after Ferry came in and began moving heaven and earth….this isn’t about our ownership. It’s all about Howard and his drama.
He’s hooked into some idea, who knows what, but the last anybody’s heard is that he wants to be in Brooklyn and nowhere else…..that’s not a knock on our organization, because if it is, then you can go ahead and say it’s a knock on the LA Lakers (and you’re not gonna go there, so just quit), Houston, Dallas (come on, you know better) and several others.
The only team that really deserves any sort of knock for being on Dwight’s “you can’t have me” list is Orlando.
I had a feeling that Orlando was just posing anyway. They clearly weren’t happy about Howard flexing his muscles as far as where he would go, how he did the organization, etc. But the simple fact is this – they have to trade him or lose him for nothing, and they know it. The most important thing for them has NEVER been about winning a battle of egos and doing anything out of spite. Bottom line – if NJ has the best offer, then that’s who they’ll trade with. That’s all it’s EVER been about since the day they realized he wouldn’t stay in Orlando.
That said, is it all over? Is he as good as gone to the Nets? Still don’t know, but suspect that this is the case unless some sort of negotiation goes bad along the way. Nets used the “we’ll do what WE want to do” attitude (notice they never really said that out loud) as leverage. And it has probably worked. With the Nets or somebody else.
drmaryb.(""_*).
July 8th, 2012
8:33 pm
I hate that Joe is gone. I never got the chance to polish his pole.
Big Ray
July 8th, 2012
8:34 pm
Buddy ,
Sorry for the misconception. I wasn’t saying that Hinrich shot badly. I was insinuating that High Sider feels that he shot badly.
Big Ray
July 8th, 2012
8:37 pm
Meant to say the MAGIC used the “we will do what WE want to do” attitude….
ryan
July 8th, 2012
8:39 pm
It sucks Nets and Heat will rule the east .
KevinM
July 8th, 2012
8:47 pm
Dominican team on NBATV tonight. Our Al is not helping his team enough…down to Nigeria and the Aminu brothers 47-39 at the half.
Al has 6 points and has 3-6 FTs to show for his work.
For some reason, Mrs. Al Horford is getting as much air time as our Hawks ‘C’.
KevinM
July 8th, 2012
8:49 pm
It sure sounds almost done……..
“Just spoke with a source that tells me that Billy King is “very close” to getting Dwight Howard. And deal could be completed “very soon”
We will be seeing some action from Danny coming soon it appears.
Astro Joe
July 8th, 2012
8:53 pm
There will be fewer bloggers if D12 goes to another team. A bunch of heart-broken grown men… sad. And I have even more depressing news in addition to the growing possibility that Howard goes elsewhere… Garrett Siler is playing for a different summer league team. (Let the weeping and gnashing of teeth begin).
PaulieOldschool
July 8th, 2012
8:53 pm
Man, I was pretty sure Grant Hill was out of the league. Oh, maybe he is.
High-sider
July 8th, 2012
9:00 pm
@O’Brien
O’Brien
July 8th, 2012
6:35 pm
High-sider,
I was* surprised that Jamal got a multi-year deal, especially at his age, and coming off a disappointing year in Portland.
Hopefully he will rebound to form, and playing with CP3 and Blake Griffin should help.
————————————————————————-
I have been experiencing some major technical difficulties over that past few days and I still don’t know the general terms of the agreement between Crawford and the Clippers. Since Mo Williams is gone to the Jazz and Randy Foye will likely sign with another NBA team, I believe that leaves the Clippers with Chris Paul, Chauncey Billups, Jamal Crawford and Eric Bledsoe splitting [the] 96 [regulation] minutes at the guard position[s] with the bulk of those minutes most likely going to Paul, Billups and Crawford (in probably that order). Thanks for the info. I didn’t know Crawford signed a multi-year deal with the Clippers. I believe Crawford will bounce back because this time around (barring injury) he, Crawford, will be playing with two guards (C. Paul and C. Billups) that know how to play (basketball) the “right way” and without (petty) jealousies.
J.J.M.
July 8th, 2012
9:06 pm
lol horford is playing so bad
Big Ray
July 8th, 2012
9:12 pm
I believe Crawford will bounce back because this time around (barring injury) he, Crawford, will be playing with two guards (C. Paul and C. Billups) that know how to play (basketball) the “right way” and without (petty) jealousies.
So who were the guards that didn’t play the right way and had petty jealousies? The guys in Portland?
H. Wright
July 8th, 2012
9:14 pm
Larry Drew can’t coach. Teague,t-Mac,josh,horford and zaza .that’s the five its the return of the Mac . He can play three spot on any team best passer last yr. If drew could coach you would already be singing the song. Stop hating on t-Mac
H. Wright
July 8th, 2012
9:14 pm
Enter your comments here
Big Ray
July 8th, 2012
9:16 pm
If nothing else, Billups and Paul will relegate JC to strictly SG status. There won’t be this overwhelming need for him to create his own shot and what not.
Wait….can he bounce back to his ATL form without there being such a big need for his production? Hmmm…
Big Ray
July 8th, 2012
9:17 pm
Like shooting fish in barrel….boring…..
Melvin
July 8th, 2012
9:22 pm
John Hollinger: Again, people: Cleveland isn’t providing picks to trade for a player it can sign for free. Any picks are going the other way. 2 minutes ago
H. Wright
July 8th, 2012
9:25 pm
Hawks fan got it right. Drew didn’t use t-Mac right and Marvin did’t give nothing . Kirks gone and t-Mac already know the system,plus he’s 6′8″ can pass ,shoot and drive . And remember he was the first to go over seas and see that Dr. Then told Kobe.Everyone can come back but him?hahaha . Come back player of the year or most improved you call it .
Buddy Grizzard
July 8th, 2012
9:29 pm
All good, Big Ray. If anyone is looking to point a finger in the BOS series, look no further than Josh Smith shooting 13-for-47 on jump shots for the series. That’s 34 missed jump shots in 5 games played or almost 7 missed jump shots per game for Josh. Three of the Hawks’ four losses in the series were by single digits.
H. Wright
July 8th, 2012
9:33 pm
Real talk the clippers are scary. They got everything with J.C. And L.O. To add to the mix nothing is missing. The three guards can do it all. Nash gives Lakers a chance if they keep everyone or get D.H. For drew. Miami gets Camby and it’s going to be hard to loose.
High-sider
July 8th, 2012
9:36 pm
@Big Ray
Big Ray
July 8th, 2012
8:21 pm
“That argument works well if you insert Marvin’s name into it. It works quite badly for Hinrich, who was repeatedly used incorrectly as a pg. Reference Najeh Davenpoop , who has presented more intelligent arguments on the subject than anybody else on this blog.
That said, if a guy is shooting a subpar percentage from the field (like Hinrich) do you feel that he should “be aggressive” and keep on shooting? I can see it now, “Kirk shot us out of the game”….”
Big Ray, I never said Kirk Hinrich didn’t shoot well from the field [in the playoffs]; he [Hinrich] just refused to shoot [in the playoffs]. Buddy Grizzard provided you Hinrich’s FG and 3PFG shooting percentages for the playoffs which I will admit are/were very respectable considering his position and the situation/circumstance [eg., guard position, playoffs, etc]. I said that Hinrich lacked offensive aggressiveness. I believe Hinrich took only three shots in Game 3 vs. the Celtics in the playoffs and failed to score a single point. That was inexcusable and unacceptable in my opinion especially with Al Horford and Josh Smith out with injury for [that] Game 3.
“In other words, you’re saying Hinrich should shoot 95% from the field? That’s what he’d have to shoot if he’s going to get between 9 and 10 ppg on just five shots per game…unless at least one of those made shots is a 3 pointer. In THAT case, he need only shoot 80% from the field (make 4 out of 5 shots, with one of them being a 3 pointer). Up that to a couple of 3 pointers, and he need only make 3 out of 5 shots (60% of his field goals)….so long as he shoots 100% on his 3 pointers. Unless of course you’re expecting him to get to the line fairly frequently in those 5 shot attempts (and get 3 point plays in the process).
You’re digging a big enough hole with this argument to bury Godzilla. But I digress….
I agree that 5 points on 5 shots is not efficient. It’s why the entire Hawks offense could be so largely inefficient at times. Because believe me, a lot of the team was doing that way too much of the time.
Here’s something for ya – Kirk Hinrich’s career FG percentage is 41.7, which equates to hitting a tad over 2 of every 5 two point shots. Now here’s some salt for ya….Jamal Crawford’s career FG percentage is 40.8….
So much for scoring 9-10 points on 5 shots….”
When a basketball analyst says a player scored, for example, 15 points on 15 shots, that analyst does not factor in free throws made and free throws attempted into his “assessment.” Hinrich can theoretically score 12 points on 5 shots if he makes 3 field goals with one field goal being a made 3pt. field goal and he makes 5 of 5 free throws attempted. That would be 7 points from the field and 5 points from the FT line which gives you a total of 12 points. You are making my point. Even though Crawford has a lower career FG shooting percentage than Hinrich, Crawford still has a higher career scoring [ppg] average than Hinrich. Crawford knows how to “manufacture” points.
As you can see, Hinrich doesn’t need to shoot “80%” or “90%” from the field but he [Hinrich] does need to shoot a very good or “efficient” percentage from the field if he, Hinrich, is going to take modest to very low field goal attempts. In my example above, the player scored 12 points on 5 field goal attempts while shooting 60% from the field.
Atlanta Hawks: Wings are the thing | Atlanta Informer
July 8th, 2012
9:37 pm
[...] today by Marc Spears of Yahoo! Sports. The Hawks also remain in contact with the. Read more on Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog) ← Bradford Cox spins ’50s/’60s country and soul records at Sauced [...]
H. Wright
July 8th, 2012
9:40 pm
Josh needs to play the three and Al the four. Josh needs to use his height and hops. On smaller SF plus he a lefty all in his favor. Play smart!!! Al been out of position all the time needs to play the four . With T-Mac Teague don’t have run the offense All the time which he sometime struggle to do . Shoot first PG that when T-Mac pays off
BIG DOG
July 8th, 2012
9:43 pm
The Hawks could get CP3 and D12, and also have Teague, Josh, Horford.
Hawks management must play it smart this year if so happen.
BIG DOG IN THE HOUSE
drmaryb.(""_*).
July 8th, 2012
9:43 pm
Sautee!
Not to worry … content reveals character.
ryan
July 8th, 2012
9:48 pm
So who will the Hawks target now that Howard is going up north Gerald Green should we look at P .Gasol and what happens with Josh Smith .
bigdave
July 8th, 2012
9:49 pm
Lol..
Al pulling a lebron
champion chips plz
July 8th, 2012
9:51 pm
Even if the Nets make the trade for D12, I don’t see how they could re-sign him. I am guessing Dwight will want a max deal, so… $20 million for Joe, $20 million for D-Will, $10 million for Wallace, and $20 million for Dwight. $70 million for four players. It is possible, but Prokhorov would have to be a crazy SOB. No matter what happens this year, I could still see the Hawks being contenders to get D12. Bynum is also going to be a FA in 2013, so the Hawks could make a run at him as well. With all the cap space ATL will have next year (what is it, like 40 million?), I would expect that J-Smoove would stay if we could land a big free agent. Anyways, I could still see the Hawks making noise in the playoffs this year if they add a few pieces.
BIG DOG
July 8th, 2012
9:54 pm
If the Hawks sign Gerald Green this around 4 years 15mill it will not hurt them cap wise in 2013.
1. Teague 3mill
2. Horford 12mill
3. Gerald Green 3mill
4. Jenkins 1mill
5. Scott 5hundred
19mill with 5 players being sign.
Hawks could still sign Josh, D12, CP3
BIG DOG IN THE HOUSE
High-sider
July 8th, 2012
9:56 pm
@Big Ray
Big Ray
July 8th, 2012
9:12 pm
I believe Crawford will bounce back because this time around (barring injury) he, Crawford, will be playing with two guards (C. Paul and C. Billups) that know how to play (basketball) the “right way” and without (petty) jealousies.
So who were the guards that didn’t play the right way and had petty jealousies? The guys in Portland?
————————————————————————–
Judging strictly from players’ body language[s] and my personal opinion, I felt the players that were “jealous” of Jamal Crawford in Portland included [most definitely] Raymond Felton, Wesley Matthews, Jr., and, to some extent, Nicolas Batum. In Atlanta, I thought Crawford experienced some jealousy [especially in Crawford's first with the Hawks] from Joe Johnson, Mike Bibby and Josh Smith and later Jeff Teague [in Crawford's second year with the Hawks]. In New York, there was definitely some “friction” between Zach Randolph and Jamal Crawford. Again, I am forming my opinion[s] based on players’ body language[s], facial expressions and player interaction/communication.