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
vava74
July 9th, 2012
8:58 am
http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/player/gamelog/_/id/45892/john-jenkins
Jenkins game log last year.
Pretty consistent with very few games in which he shot under .400, however, he did have 3 kind-of-duds (out of 3) against Kentuky…
Rev in Tampa
July 9th, 2012
9:01 am
“D12 or bust is my motto here. This ought to also move LD out of the way because you won’t see the word ‘development’ in his resume.”
Co-sign.
Hope springs eternal or until D12 signs with the Nets.
KevinM
July 9th, 2012
9:12 am
Rev, to add another note, I think we’ve all seen what LD can do in his 2 years. He still has a lot of Woody in him, and that isn’t exactly what you want when you have young players on a team.
As every day goes by this year, I predict we continue to get younger.
I gotta think we want to get a Top 5-10 draft pick to rejuvenate last year’s oldest roster in the NBA.
kwooden1
July 9th, 2012
9:14 am
D12 or bust …. Co-sign!
KevinM
July 9th, 2012
9:16 am
“Pretty consistent with very few games in which he shot under .400, however, he did have 3 kind-of-duds (out of 3) against Kentucky”
Makes sense, Vava…UK focused on shutting down Jenkins and they had enough guys to defend him. He did get his points in those 3 games, so he does show he can still score when he is the focus of the defense.
I would have liked to see Lamb here as well, but you go with what you see in workouts to make a choice.
If Jenkins can get to the line, he will be very valuable for us.
kwooden1
July 9th, 2012
9:27 am
I’ve watched a little bit of the Kentucky/Vandy and Florida/Vandy games and I like Jenkins scoring mentality and his attitude. If it wasn’t for the JJ trade I would have definitely preferred Taylor over Jenkins, but since things have changed I’m not as sure. If we can get D12, I definitely prefer having Jenkins, but if we don’t I’m on the fence. It clearly wasn’t a bad selection, but time will tell if it was a very good selection.
Jenkins = JJ Redick
kwooden1
July 9th, 2012
9:29 am
Reddick
vava74
July 9th, 2012
9:32 am
Kevin,
Jenkins only managed to go to the line 1 out of 3 games against UK a significant number of times.
However, hopefully he will be a type of player which has deceptive skills.
Bird was incredibly un-athletic but nonetheless he was virtually unstoppable.
Vertical, bench press, lane speed, etc are all important elements to evaluate players but they hardly tell the whole story.
Obviously, I am not comparing Jenkins to Bird, merely exemplifying that physical attributes can be meaningless in some cases (and it’s not that Jenkins can’t jump or run).
From the youtube video I liked his ability to shoot with zero preparation and even hitting shots after double mid air pumps.
I am hopeful that he is a crafty ballplayer.
Marvin had excellent measurements and look at him, incapable of posting Ridnour, a bad fall waiting to happen!
Astro Joe
July 9th, 2012
9:36 am
When I looked at Jenkins’ game log last week, the thing that stood out to me were the games when he had 8+ FTAs. I’m guessing that when defenders ran to chase him off the 3-point line, that he was able to draw some cheap fouls. I also noticed that he had a 36 inch vertical in the combine… not elite but above average. MC’s article suggests that he is a guy who will work hard to improve his game. At #23, we were NOT going to get a finished product. Hopefully Morrow and Jenkins will nail enough jumpers from the weakside that we can be competitive in most games next season.
Sounds like the Howard saga should be resolved within the next 24 hours. If I were Dwight, I’d rather go witht eh Nets and the long-term tandem of Deron and Joe. He could do big things there and won’t be asked to deliver a game in the last seconds. If he signs here, he has to hope that Ferry brings the right pieces in (including head coach). The Nets are much more “plug & Play” than the Hawks, thanks in part to Joe Johnson.
Ken Strickland
July 9th, 2012
9:40 am
I don’t understand that so called logic some of you use sometimes. Al Horford has earned 2 Allstar selectios and an All NBA 3rd team selection in just his 1st 4yrs. He was a part of a back to back NCAA championship team, and our string of playoff appearances started upon his arrival. Yet, some redicule him for his accomplishments and claim he’s soft, as if Josh and JJ played any differently.
Now, his ability to be an effective player next yr has been reduced to the outcome of 2 international gms played against Nigeria and Lithuania, as if he was the sole reason for his teams loss. Quit frankly, this on going argument over the value of JSmith vs AHorford is quite childish, with stupid and inaccruate assumptions and accusations, along with some outright lies, being presented by their distractors.
If we end up with DHoward, fine, if not, that’s fine too. If we can sign at least 2 quility FAs, and get a productive SF to go with Horford at OC and Josh at PF, along with Harris and Teague in the backcourt, we’ll have a solid playoff team. Having Zaza, Scott, Jenkins, and Ivan coming off the bench will give us a solid bench core. Add a producive backup PG, SF, OC, and SG, and we are in business.
You can bet Josh is going to work his butt off this off season, as always, to improve his overall gm. With JJ gone, Teague now knows he’ll be in charge of the OFF and won’t have to give the ball up or defer to anyone. Teague will also be going into his 1st off season, fas well as his 1st full training camp and preseason as the incumbent PG. Having to battle DHarris for the starting PG slot, and with this being a contract yr, he’ll be forced to elevate his gm.
Having 2 PGs in our starting backcourt will help us create more halfcourt scoring opportunities for others, and allow us to breakdown DEFs more frequently. It will also allow us to put more DEF pressure on the ball. DHarris should be able to replace JJ’s assists, and probably 14 of JJs 18-19PPG. I believe Teague, Josh, Horford, and our new SF should make up, or exceed, the remaining PPG.
Jenkins should be able to give us the dynamic scoring threat off the bench that JCrawford gave us, but with more consistency and far less ball dominance and OFF disruption. How successful he’ll be will depend upon how well LDrew designs plays that takes full advantage of his talents and incorporates him into the OFF. If DHoward ends up with the Nets, they’ll have a solid starting lineup, but no bench.
They’ve already shipped 4-5 of their bench players to us, and you add the remaining 3-4 players they’ll have to ship to Orlando to get Howard, they’d have absolutely no talent remaining on their bench, and little cap room to acquire more than minimum contract players. So acquiring Dwight won’t make the Nets any more of a powerhouse than he managed to make Orlando the last couple of yrs.
pointguardslim
July 9th, 2012
9:49 am
Ken Strickland, what is OC? Does it mean Offensive Center?
vava74
July 9th, 2012
9:49 am
If you look at JJ Reddick’s highlights, you’ll see that most of his shots came out of assists, following his cuts from the baseline.
You see very little shots in which he was handling the rock on half court plays.
Jenkins seems to have that. Many of his shots on the highlights are shots in which he was already handling the rock and shoots off the dribble.
To me, that is a good pointer. Let’s hope that it materializes.
JustSayinB
July 9th, 2012
9:50 am
LD sink or swim? Are you kidding me? Somebody get the long pole and pull that joker out of pool. After getting the players that he wants-Danny Ferry will pull the plug on LD and hire a REAL head coach with a REAL resume; not a resume that was built on someone elses where all they had to done was sit at the controls and feed the machine (oil) such as with Larry Drew.
pointguardslim
July 9th, 2012
10:03 am
Having 2 PGs means you HAVE to drive everything. And rely on big men to get the ball.
The fact you want an undersized backcourt and then 3 forwards in Al, Josh, and a random SF who by the way, will likely be less efficient than Marvin, only means one thing.
You want a more undersized less talented version of last years roster. Why the tank?
To circumvent the loss of talent you have to play bigger. Devin Harris’ isnt replacing JJ’s anything. He’s a PG. And Josh Smith at the PF just means LD pulls him to the top of the key to shoot jumpers anytime the offense stagnates where Smith’s numbers are piss poor.
Replacing 6′8 talented guard JJ with 6′2 bench player Devin Harris is just another excuse to lose.
And for the Hawks offense it means shut down all lanes and funnel all the jumpers to the top of the key ie the power forward.
Now who do you want at the top of the key? Josh Smith as a 6′8 PF shooting contested jumpers or Horford at 6′10 with Josh racking up triple doubles as an SF?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IS92xrjkSKg
The real reason some Hawks fans dont want Horford at PF is because the gimmick of “OC” or offensive center has gotten him all star accolades and they use that as a substitute for actually winning to fulfill their pride. #Psycho-Analyzing
Well wake up – that’s loser crap. Horford and Josh need to move up a position if the Hawks have any chance of competing.
The talent loss margin is too wide, Smith needs his offense usage to go down, not up. Making him the PF and playing drive and kick is a clusterfnck waiting to happen.
Astro Joe
July 9th, 2012
10:04 am
Teague0 Jeff Teague
Dwill joe joe and D Howard is that the new big 3?
Teague0 Jeff Teague
That would be crazy if that happens o well #Hawks
NORRIS CHUCK
July 9th, 2012
10:07 am
We have our own big 3 in Teague, Josh and Al…LOL!
Melvin
July 9th, 2012
10:20 am
Josh may have a nervous breakdown b/c of Joe Johnson. Just think, Joe was name to multiply All-Stars games and got a max contract while in a Hawks uniform. Now, Joe may have a chance to play with Dwight Howards for the few years. They may have to put Josh on suicide watch….lol
KevinM
July 9th, 2012
10:22 am
I gotta say, I like the acquisition of Harris more after looking at his stats from last year. He had chances to get several shots up and his percentages look very good.
The worse shooting game he had was against us in that 4 OT game Utah lost 139-133. He went 4-18 which were the most shots he put up in a game all year.
27.6 mpg 0.445 fg% 0.362 3fg% 0.746 ft%
I like him and Teague fighting for the starter’s role as well. I don’t see him as a 2G however.
We have to somehow improve ourselves at the 2 and 3 to have a solid team for next year if we aren’t cleaning house.
vava74
July 9th, 2012
10:30 am
I think we should take a look at Manny Harris.
He could be a nice 5th guard since he is a stat stuffer (rebounds well and racks up assists too) and last year lost the beginning of the season due to a freak accident when he burned his feet.
He put up very good numbers in the D-League, averaging 7.9 rebounds per game and got back with the Cavs.
If you look at his game log in the D-League, he had some pretty incredible games.
46 points in one game, even on a shot happy league is a lot of points.
Just Joe
July 9th, 2012
10:43 am
Harris needs to be traded before the trade deadline. If Teague is going to get 35 minutes a game, then having Harris as the backup PG is a waste. Houston & Dallas need PG’s now (maybe Orlando too). Once camps start and the injuries start piling up, someone out there will be willing to pay for Harris. Of course if Teague goes down, we’ll be the team needing Harris.
Start developing the other Wisconsin badger, Jordan Taylor, for the current 3rd string & future backup role. NCAA leader in career assist to turnover ratio. Not drafted because of his height (6′1″) and lack of athleticism (yet at the combine, he matched Marquis Teague in the lane agility drills & 3/4 court sprint).
Astro Joe
July 9th, 2012
10:45 am
Kevin, I think Devin Harris lost considerable playing time to Earl Watson either last season or the year before. I guess we’re approaching the rationalization stage… when we start projecting players to have above average years just to hide from the truth. And I will likely be guilty of that same nonsense myself.
Melvin, I wonder if Josh will understand his buddy’s desire to sign long-term with the Nets and chase a title or if he will feel like when Howard had a chance to join him in Altanta, he bailed on Josh? Or if he has some “Dwight chose Joe over me” feelings?
ryan
July 9th, 2012
10:54 am
Is there a chance we make a trade for OJ Mayo the Hawks have to do something Nets , Knicks , Heat will very dangerous teams in the east Howard ego is about playing in the big city he took the easy way out screw D12 .
Astro Joe
July 9th, 2012
10:56 am
Didn’t Danny Ferry “discover” Jamario Moon? He’s a UFA and would likely accept a 1-year minimum deal to come and jack up shots from the SF position.
The Truth
July 9th, 2012
10:57 am
Instead of buying him out (@ 1.5M), don’t understand why Danny can’t use Jordan Farmar for trade bait for a SF upgrade since FA SF are limited. I’m sure there are teams such as Houston that can used his services. If the salaries don’t match, he could use the Hawks trade exception.
Now that D12 is becoming less likely, this cap relief mission has reached an impasse. It least this year anyway, no big name stars left to entice.
Clarification
July 9th, 2012
11:01 am
This from High-sider:
“doc, you actually proved my point. JC1 during the 2009-2010 regular season averaged 18ppg on roughly 14 FGA’s/game. If Hinrich did indeed average 5 FGA’s/game in the 2012 playoffs, I would consider Hinrich’s offensive production as inefficient because he only averaged 5.7ppg. In Crawford’s case, 18ppg on roughly 14 shots/game calculates to 1.286 points per FGA and in Hinrich’s case, 5.7ppg on 5 shots/game calculates to 1.14 points per FGA. In this example, Crawford is the more efficient scorer but the comparison is based on Crawford’s 2009-2010 regular season stats and Hinrich’s 2012 playoff stats. The comparison is skewed and unfair. But you, doc, are the individual who introduced the numbers (stats) for comparison.”
————————————————————————————————————
OK then, let’s make an unskewed comparison. We’ll take Jamal’s 09-10 playoffs (surely you won’t mind using his best playoff showing) and Kirk’s 10-11 playoffs (his best as a Hawk), fair enough?
JC: 154 fga in 11 gms: 14.0 fga / gm
16.3 ppg divided by 14.0 = 1.164 points per fga
KH: 52 fga in 6 gms: 8.66 fga / gm
10.2 ppg divided by 8.66 = 1.177 points per fga
Well whadda you know? Jamal’s best showing in the playoffs is actually LESS efficient than pitiful lil’ Kirk Hinrich’s. How proud are you now, given how little you think of KH?
Are you surprised? OK, let’s take the long view, since both of those were small samples. Here are their career totals:
JC: 100608 fga divided by 812 games = 13.06 fga / gm
career 15.3 avg divided by 13.06 = 1.171 points per fga
KH: 6971 fga divided by 634 games = 10.99 fga / gm
career 12.5 avg divided by 10.99 = 1.137 points per fga
Basically what this means is: If they both had 100 fga, Jamal would score a whopping 3.4 more points than Kirk.
High-Sider do you see that there is only a small difference in the “sharpshooting” Jamal and the plodding Hinrich? I’m shocked. I would have thought Jamal’s margin would be MUCH larger, given that JC gets to the FT line at a higher rate.
But there you go. An Inconvenient fact for you. And a shocker for me.
One more thing: How many guards shot 60% or better this or any other season? None. So why is 60% your “standard” for what you’d expect of a player shooting 5 shots per game?
KevinM
July 9th, 2012
11:06 am
“Astro Joe
July 9th, 2012
10:45 am
Kevin, I think Devin Harris lost considerable playing time to Earl Watson either last season or the year before. I guess we’re approaching the rationalization stage… when we start projecting players to have above average years just to hide from the truth. And I will likely be guilty of that same nonsense myself.”
I’m not projecting Devin to be a savior, but you gotta admit for the 1st time in a long time, we have 2 viable PGs who could start and lead a team in this league. If one guy goes down during this long season, you have to have a guy you can count on to lead on the court.
If we’re looking to move Al or Josh and pieces to contend, I like having the 2 PGs we have way over having Marvin at the 3. We do have an asset or 2 to continue to see if we can improve our playoff progress..that 4/5 seed is a tough slot to be in year after year.
We aren’t getting there with the current frontcourt of Al/Josh/Zaza.
FYI, Slim, you boy Andrew Nicholson is on NBA TV – NBA SL basketball vs. the Nets.
Just Joe
July 9th, 2012
11:11 am
Farmar has already agreed to a new deal to pay overseas. He can be used to make salaries match up though.
I still like Morrow & Farmar to Memphis for OJ Mayo. Mayo on a new 4 yr $30M deal. Memphis needs a shooter. They were one of the teams briefly in the mix for Ray Allen. Hawks can offer Mayo a starting SG role.
doc
July 9th, 2012
11:13 am
high sider you missed the point, you were not judging jamal in the same way you were hinrich. hinrich never was the guy to take volume shots either which is a more difficult role. how many times does the volume shooter say i couldnt find my groove. hinrich still made as many shots percentage wise as many of the gunners. you arent giving him credit for that still playing coy.
i still say if you judge jamal by the std of 2pts/shot attempt as your std then jamal fell way short; as does just about any player in the game today. how many times do we se these guys take 20 shots to get their 20 points or worse say 25 shots to get 20 points, westbrook in some of the finals games for example. i am not saying jamal isnt good, only your deflation of hinrich follows no logic based on your own thoughts and expectations of hinrich if they were used on jamal.
again you missed my point, i am not as you, arguing one is better. as i said and repeat, i liked them both at their best. jamal is good at 6 mil, hinrich good at 3 mil and wish we had either one of them with proper leadership at that price. also glad jamal’s risk at voiding his contract with portland worked so well for him at 6 mil for 3 years. i am pointing to your own logic which makes jamal’s numbers inadequate and are unrealistic on any player, much less hinrich taking few shots in a system designed for others to take the shots.
Michael Cunningham
July 9th, 2012
11:17 am
new blog posted. shutting down this thread.