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
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
779 comments Add your comment
northcyde
July 7th, 2012
4:19 pm
Also, the ownership when over the salary cap, NEVER used the MLE or the Bi-Annual exception on better players, because that would take them well into the Luxury Tax. But that’s part of the deal sometimes, when you want to advance further in the playoffs.
The ASG did a good job in staying under the tax. But they were never committed enough that another decent player added to the team would help this current squad.
And they’re still not going to do it this year, even when they are under the Salary Cap ( which I honestly don’t blame them this year ).
It is what it is. When you let your best player go, and don’t adequately replace his production, you get what you get.
Let’s hope John Jenkins is MUCH BETTER than advertised.
Slimjr
July 7th, 2012
4:25 pm
“man that’s some powerful drink?” –unknown author–
If you believe this present Core will blossom into “legit All-Stars or Superstar status you’ll be waiting another 44 years.[2056]… Yawn….
In-fact the Brooklyn Bridge maybe up for sale by then…. Dont stop now Danny, keep it up…
Sautee
July 7th, 2012
4:26 pm
“The Hawks simply could’ve chosen to swap out pieces of the Core for players close or above their caliber.” – northcyde
So do you not think that Devin Harris is close to or above Marvin’s caliber?
Slimjr
July 7th, 2012
4:28 pm
Danny aint done swapping Core pieces? Do not be surprised if All is the next core piece to go..
northcyde
July 7th, 2012
4:29 pm
My plan was simple:
- Trade Josh Smith + Marvin Williams for Pau Gasol + another Laker player to make the numbers work ( maybe PF Josh McRoberts who has a 3.1 mill expiring deal this year )
- Based on the draft picks, this would be the Hawks so far
PG: Teague
G: Jenkins
F: Johnson
PF: Horford – Ivan – Scott – McRoberts
C: Gasol – Zaza
At this point, you’d have 9 players under contract at around 63 m. Add 4 players
Rufus1
July 7th, 2012
4:41 pm
The Jazz expect Marvin to be their starting SF…
They planned to use their trade exception on Marvin but needed it for Mo Williams. They think he was miscast in ATL and will fit their system perfectly… They don’t think he will be a star, but a better player for them, than for the Hawks.
Translation- He was poorly coached…. I am sure you have heard that story before…. But most only give the benefit of the doubt to Josh when it comes to coaching.
Slimjr
July 7th, 2012
4:42 pm
All and Gasol are redundant…Too soft up the middle..
Keep Josh and trade All for Gasol..Obviously dress it up so the Lakers will bite?
PEDRO EL GITANO
July 7th, 2012
4:43 pm
Como creo que comentó northcyde hay que seguir de cerca a Eric Griffin en la liga de verano.Los informes que tengo de él son muy buenos,hablan de un atleta excepcional.Creo que podría ser el 3 que estamos buscando.
northcyde
July 7th, 2012
4:54 pm
That’s 9 players at 64 million.
Hawks could’ve done one of two things:
- add 4 more cheap players to round out the bench, using the 6.5 mill or so left before they’d reach the Luxury Tax
or
- use the MLE and the Bi-Annual to bring in 2 potential rotational players, then stock the team with cheap talent. Going this route may put the Hawks 1 or 2 million over the Tax. And they would be “going for it” for one year ( at least going for it as well as we could )
But let’s say that by using the full MLE, we got
- OJ Mayo
And by using the Bi-Annual, we got
- Keyon Dooling
And with the 2 remaining spots, we focused on few guys who could play SF and/or a combo guard. Let’s say we go with two vets and 1 young guy:
- Matt Barnes ( vet minimum )
- Damien Wilkins ( vet minimum )
- Jeremy Hazell ( rookie minimum – combo guard )
This would be your Hawks team for 2012 – 13
PG: Teague – Dooling
G: Mayo – Jenkins – Hazell
F: Johnson – Barnes – Wilkins
PF: Horford – Ivan – Scott – McRoberts
C: Gasol – Zaza
Main Rotation would be:
Starters
PG – Teague
G – Johnson ( who would also play a lot of SF )
F – Barnes ( would start but play limited minutes )
PF – Horford
C – Gasol
Bench
6th man – Mayo ( G )
7th man – Zaza ( C )
8th man – Ivan ( F )
9th man – Dooling ( PG )
10th man – Jenkins ( G )
That’s probably about a 73 million dollar team for one year. Hawks could even execute a buyout of McRoberts, to reduce that tax bill. That would be as much of a commitment that I could see the ASG making for a team like this. See if they could get it done for one year. See if the team was balanced out, if they would be better.
Sautee
July 7th, 2012
4:58 pm
slimjr,
Let me ask you a question:
Who got more first team votes for the 2011 NBA-All Defensive Team (voted by the coaches) Josh or Al?
frankly, we need to become smarter fans
July 7th, 2012
4:58 pm
I would be very surprised if Danny Ferry is interested in having Dwight Howard on his team, considering the insane amount of money his next contract is going to require (he ALREADY gets 19 mil a year) AND his bad attitude. He’s just not worth what he’s going to get paid and Ferry has stated that he wants to have a value based team. Just like the Spurs where you spend money but you make sure that you spend it wisely so that you’re rarely regretting contracts down the road.
And I think the same can be said for Josh. I’m expecting them to announce that they’ve traded Josh for several draft picks any day now.
Oh, and anybody wanting Gasol is out of their mind. The guy is 32 and has 2 years left at 19 mil per year. He is not worth that kind of money at this point.
Thrasher Fan!
July 7th, 2012
4:59 pm
GIVE
US
DWIGHT
AND
CP3
frankly, we need to become smarter fans
July 7th, 2012
5:03 pm
Al’s contract has 4 years left at 12 mil each year. There’s A LOT of value in that deal. You can’t get his production at that kind of money very often. That’s why I think they have no intention of trading him away.
Rufus1
July 7th, 2012
5:03 pm
My plan was:
Trade Josh to trade to the Nets for Morrow, farmar and Green..
Trade Marvin for Harris
Then sign Jordan Hill or JJ Hickson for the Midlevel exception.
PG: Teague/ Harris
SG: Joe/ Jenkins/ Morrow
SF: Joe/ Green
PF: Al/ Ivan/ Scott
C: Zaza/ Al/ Jordan Hill
Buy out Farmar 1.5mil…
We just got younger and more athletic.
———————————————————————————————————————————————-
PS. We just traded away JJ because we could not afford the future Lux Tax… To sign MAX ELITE players, a team is going to have to go into the LUX TAX… They expect the Nets to pay 150mil in Lux Tax if they sign D12.
How are the Hawks going to explain to D12, how they will build a winner here, when they don’t want to pay the TAX and would never pay as much as the NETS.
The Nets have DWILL and Joe…. We have Josh, your friend…. He would leave the next year.
Slimjr
July 7th, 2012
5:03 pm
“Oh, and anybody wanting Gasol is out of their mind. The guy is 32 and has 2 years left at 19 mil per year. He is not worth that kind of money at this point.”
There are a few intellectuals on this blog that want Gasol, you already know who they are Sir…Their opinions about the matter have been documented over the past several weeks now…
Slimjr
July 7th, 2012
5:06 pm
Hawk Fans: ISO JOE is gone. Long gone…….
Coming back from time to time to drop 25 and make it look easy…….
Slimjr
July 7th, 2012
5:08 pm
Sautee is one of the wisest dudes on this blog..But he knows who to annoy and who not too? LMAO!!
Sautee
July 7th, 2012
5:09 pm
slim,
wise-ass maybe.
Slimjr
July 7th, 2012
5:10 pm
more like smart _____….LOL!
northcyde
July 7th, 2012
5:13 pm
Slimjr . . you keep saying that, without looking at the other side. Both Al and Gasol are a load to guard on the offensive end. You act like these are two scrub players. They’re not. They represent 2 of the best mid-range shooting big men in the game, along with two of the best rebounding big men in the game.
A lot of you can keep throwing those labels of “soft” around all you want. The fact is that a Gasol – Horford frontline would’ve been a load for teams to handle. Those two are All-Star caliber big men.
***********************
But let’s say we go with that, and the Hawks STILL can’t get to the EC Finals
This is what you’d have
- JJ going into year 4 ( a year in which he could re-negotiate his contract ), but will start making 21+ million
- Pau Gasol going into his last year of his deal, representing a potential 19.2 million dollar expiring contract for a team
- Jeff Teague being a restricted free agent
- Zaza Pachulia being an unrestricted free agent
- the rest of those players falling off the books, except Jenkins
If the plan THEN was to blow it up, you could still do it by trading off both JJ and Gasol. Under this scenario, the Nets are probably without Deron Williams ( who would be in Dallas ) and maybe couldn’t make a play for Dwight at that time.
So you offer up either JJ or Gasol to them, with them giving you back a guy like Gerald Wallace + a few draft picks.
With JJ having 3 years left on his deal, he’d still be an asset that teams would want. If made known to the league that he was up for a trade, a team like Toronto or any other struggling team would offer up a package deal to acquire JJ.
Both JJ and Gasol could’ve gotten us multiple 1st round draft picks in return, and started the rebuilding process around Horford ( who’d have 3 years on his deal left ), 2nd year player John Jenkins, and Mayo ( who’d probably be in the 2nd year of a 3 year deal )
Make a decision to retain Teague, to see if he would be part of that rebuild process.
Let Zaza go, because the market will probably inflate his value beyond belief.
*******************
Basically it would be starting the rebuild a year later. This also means that I’m not clearing a ton of cap space on the “hope” that some top notch free agent would come here and sign with what will probably be a bad team for a year or two.
My focus would be to flip JJ and Gasol for draft picks, and get some young talent in here very quickly.
Ferry has chosen to play the “cap space” role, to see if he can land the big fish. If he can’t, we’d be in the same situation that my plan would currently be in, without the draft picks.
Let’s hope Ferry’s plan is right.
Najeh Davenpoop
July 7th, 2012
5:14 pm
“Instead, they did what people in their fan base wanted them to do . . get rid of JJ and Marvin, because those were the two most hated Hawks on the team.”
I am 100% sure the fan base’s wishes had absolutely no impact on the decision to trade Joe and Marvin. That decision was made because it was the right decision to give this team a chance to move forward. As long as Joe was getting paid 30% of this team’s total salary, it was going to be impossible for this team to improve.
It’s easy to look at the Nets and say our overpaid garbage is their overpaid treasure, when Joe is going there to be a complementary player to someone better than him. There is no realistic move the Hawks could have made to bring someone in here who is significantly better than Joe and would have allowed him to complement them. This includes the Gasol trade, since Gasol is no better than Joe and nowhere near the same caliber player as Deron at this point in his career.
The Hawks painted themselves in a corner by locking themselves into this core. Getting rid of Joe was a necessary first step.
Najeh Davenpoop
July 7th, 2012
5:15 pm
“It is what it is. When you let your best player go, and don’t adequately replace his production, you get what you get.”
They didn’t let their best player go. Josh is still on the roster.
northcyde
July 7th, 2012
5:19 pm
Sautee
July 7th, 2012
4:26 pm
“The Hawks simply could’ve chosen to swap out pieces of the Core for players close or above their caliber.” – northcyde
So do you not think that Devin Harris is close to or above Marvin’s caliber?
*******************
Devin Harris is above Marvin’s caliber. That was a damn good trade in my opinion. Here are the Hawks if we do that trade FIRST
PG – Teague
G – Harris
F – Johnson
PF – Smith
C – Horford
That’s a damn good 5 to roll with. Harris would be a lot better option than Jamal Crawford, because Harris can play both the 1 and the 2 effectively. We’d have a big time speed advantage with that lineup as well ( if you know who gave his defensive rebound to one of those 2 guards ).
Teams would be afraid to all out double JJ, because both Harris and Teague could get the ball and immediately attack the paint and either create for themselves, or create for Horford and Smith.
That Devin Harris trade would’ve been big time, if JJ wasn’t moved.
pointguardslim
July 7th, 2012
5:23 pm
If Josh Smith is the power forward help off him just enough as to stop penetration AND contest Smith’s jumpers. Ride his hip if he drives.
How many more seasons will Hawks play Josh Smith as their stretch 4?
Slimjr
July 7th, 2012
5:26 pm
‘A Day Late and A Dollar Short’
Nice Poster though?
Yea we seen this B4? Yes?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0toy0kh20E
Rufus1
July 7th, 2012
5:30 pm
Najeh,
Josh maybe the most talented, but not the best(IMO)… Joe was the best. Joe scored 18pts a game, while being double constantly. I watched every game and Joe was the main focus of EVERY teams defensive strategy… not Josh.
Joe was also our best defender.
Sautee
July 7th, 2012
5:31 pm
hey slim, I could link to Al dunkin’ on Duncan, but what’s the point? Every basketball player has been dunked on and most have dunked on somebody else. So what?
You didn’t answer my earlier question. Who had the most first place votes for 2011 NBA All-Defensive Team, Josh or Al?
northcyde
July 7th, 2012
5:32 pm
I’ve given you enough to go through each of my posts Najeh. Have at it man.
My main point is that the Hawks had options, but they’re setting themselves up to go all-in with Josh Smith as the leader ( and highest paid on this team ). If we have no other options, I’m actually cool with that.
But with him as “the man” on the team, it is what it is. You’re going to have a guy who is a great all around talent, but will always be limited offensively. I hope he proves me wrong, and starts playing like the team needs him to play. And I hope he and Horford don’t clash to the point where they’re both seeking control of the team ( which I see coming ).
Josh will not be content being the defensive leader of the team. He wants to be the offensive and defensive leader, even if Horford and possibly even Teague will end up being better offensive players.
This season is going to be very interesting. I have no expectations of these guys, which is why I’m not going to stress out over whom they will add to round out the team. I’ll just watch them all year, and support them in person when I can.
donte080
July 7th, 2012
5:32 pm
Agree with northcyde on us having a better team with Marvin for Harris trade and keeping JJ, I always thought as JJ skills declined he was better suited to play SF, but we had to get rid of JJ’s contract, even if it means we take a (hopefully) temporary step back on talent ..
Both trades were good trades by Ferry….
Tommy want wingy
July 7th, 2012
5:35 pm
Josh Smith is not a small forward. End of discussion.
Slimjr
July 7th, 2012
5:35 pm
Your almost seven feaking two? This can’t happen…Just can’t from your Allstar 4 or 5.. Soft? Yes?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2WVMxvwr7w
myrak43
July 7th, 2012
5:37 pm
Slimjr @5:26 pm
here is Lebron James getting dunked on by Jordan……………………….. Crawford
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sL3KDhhUZ0
does that mean that Lebron isn’t the best player in the world?
myrak43
July 7th, 2012
5:39 pm
and I too feel we would be in a better position to win if we would have kept JJ and had Harris to take some of the defensive pressure off of him….. but I still like the trade if we go after Howard.
Slimjr
July 7th, 2012
5:40 pm
Coach said ” That’s just nasty”!
pointguardslim
July 7th, 2012
5:40 pm
All that proves is that coaches respect Horford more than Josh. They hate Josh’s offense and begrudgingly vote him for anything. Nothing new.
But Josh Smith had the best defensive wins in the entire NBA last year. A testimony to defensive efficieny (points allowed per possession) No matter what the coaches voted.
I havent scrolled back to look what the actual argument is but citing coach’s pets awards is a horrible argument. Use actual empirical evidence if we;re talking about best defenders.
Whiplash
July 7th, 2012
5:42 pm
Josh already is the Leader of the team offensively and defensively. More Josh is the emotional leader of this team and a top 5 power forward. Al is the second best power forward behind Josh Although at 6′10 1/2 ” 260lbs Al is traditional center size, hes just doesnt embrace his position.
Sure, C/F Al is soft. everybody knows that. ask Amare. but the question really means is can we advance past the second round with Charmin soft Al… NO.
northcyde
July 7th, 2012
5:43 pm
pointguardslim
July 7th, 2012
5:23 pm
If Josh Smith is the power forward help off him just enough as to stop penetration AND contest Smith’s jumpers. Ride his hip if he drives.
How many more seasons will Hawks play Josh Smith as their stretch 4?
***************
You’ve watched Josh Smith since he’s come into the league. You honestly think that if he played the 3, that his post up possessions would increase to the point that he’d be known as that kind of player, rather than a player that shot a lot of jumpers?
Will we see a Josh Smith in which 50% of his shots come via cuts and post ups at the basket? Or will we continue to see a guy who will take over 20% of his shots via spot up?
Slimjr
July 7th, 2012
5:43 pm
“everybody gets dunked on” Yea whatever….
C’mon Danny keep it moving!
Whiplash
July 7th, 2012
5:45 pm
This team gets swept in the playoffs by at some where between 4 – 6 teams
PG: Teague
G: Jenkins
F: Johnson
PF: Horford – Ivan – Scott – McRoberts
C: Gasol – Zaza
Mel O
July 7th, 2012
5:46 pm
We (the ATLANTA HAWKS) need to win a chapmionship. We can do this next year and for the next 5 years if we do one thing. Get Dwight Howard to a 5 year deal now. Howard at center averageing a double double every night. Al Harford averageing a double double every night. Josh Smith averageing a double double every night. Jeff Teage averageing a double double every night. Coming off the bench Tacy McGrady, Kirk Hinrick, Zaza Pachulia,Ivan Johnson & Willie Green. No I didn’t forget our new starting guard John jENKINS. That is one hell of a team. Three players averageing 10 rebounds a night. Four players averageing over 15 points a night. John Jenkins should average at least 15 points per game. Oh and don’t forget three of the top shot blockers in the NBA.We should dominate the paint on offense & defense. Like Moses Malone said you can’t shoot the ball if you ain’t got the ball.
Tommy want wingy
July 7th, 2012
5:48 pm
Josh and Al are both great values in their current contracts. Problem is that Josh’s contract only has a year left and then he’s going to get PAID. At that point, I’m not so sure that he’ll be a great value anymore.
You can win without a true center as long as you have a good point guard (or have Dwayne Wade and Lebron James). So if we go the route of resigning Josh, we will HAVE to get a high caliber point guard (we obviously wouldn’t get a center b/c Josh isn’t a full-time small forward).
But I think we trade Josh and stock up on some picks. We’ve got Al for at least 4 more years and can build a young team around him.
northcyde
July 7th, 2012
5:49 pm
LOL @ Whiplash
And with Josh being the offensive and defensive leader of the team, we got bounced in the 1st round.
In Game 6 in Boston, Josh went 1 – 8 FG in the 2nd half . . JJ goes scoreless in the 4th quarter . . but Al scores 11 points on 5 – 6 FG in the 4th quarter. He did everything but make the critical FT at the very end of the game. The other two guys didn’t do crap.
Yet, people still diss Horford?
Please.
...I MUS WRITE
July 7th, 2012
5:51 pm
Myrak 43.. I think Houston would do Royce White for Devin Harris/Draft pick, They need a PG to since Lowry is gone. We would have to take another player to make the numbers work but doable.
Grandad: “Hot Toddy” “Case of Vertigo” Lol Whaaaa? – “Say Jack” “Jive Turkey” “Sucka” and “Disco” are all remnents of the past itz 2012…..Come to the other side.
You said they couldnt be cornerstones and I disagree….
Stephen A Smith… So u want to start Anthony Randolph over Josh Smith i see. SMH
northcyde
July 7th, 2012
5:52 pm
Whiplash
July 7th, 2012
5:45 pm
This team gets swept in the playoffs by at some where between 4 – 6 teams
PG: Teague
G: Jenkins
F: Johnson
PF: Horford – Ivan – Scott – McRoberts
C: Gasol – Zaza
*****************
That team isn’t getting swept by anybody in the East, that’s for sure. Two high quality big men is the very scenario that you need to attack Miami with. No other team in the East could match up with that frontline.
That team would give a guy like Jeff Teague a chance to really blossom in the PG role, especially as a playmaker out of the Pick and Roll.
bama52
July 7th, 2012
5:52 pm
If Possible bring Jamison and Defino in, they could help the Hawks. I still like former hawk J Childress if we can get him back, he’s a smart basketball player and can play and defend 3 positions PG,SG and Small Forward. J Chidress also runs the open court great and will finish at the rack. Great all around team player.
Sautee
July 7th, 2012
5:54 pm
“This can’t happen…Just can’t from your Allstar 4 or 5.. Soft? Yes?”
slim, is Tim Duncan soft? Horford dunked on him, so what does that make Duncan?
northcyde
July 7th, 2012
5:54 pm
This team may not make the playoffs though
PG – Teague
G – Harris
F – Smith
PF – Horford
C – Zaza
I hope they do though. Because if they don’t, that would be a big time indictment on Smith as a guy to build around. Playing him at SF would be a disaster, if he’s also leading the Hawks in shots.
Sautee
July 7th, 2012
5:55 pm
Josh has dunked on Defensive player of the year D12.
Are we looking at adding another softie?
High-sider
July 7th, 2012
5:55 pm
High-sider is experiencing major technical difficulties.
Jamal Crawford to the Clippers and Joe Johnson to the Nets equals major disaster for the Hawks. The Hawks have to “pure” scorers. Thanks, Danny boy.
Slimjr
July 7th, 2012
5:56 pm
“Sure, C/F Al is soft. everybody knows that. ask Amare. but the question really means is can we advance past the second round with Charmin soft Al… NO.” -Whiplash-
Agree..It take a trained eye to see that…
See when you drink that Kool-aide you’ll miss out.
Example look at whats happening at the Dome a couple of blocks from Phillips..That Kool-aid is so powerful most of the Fanactics do not realize the major piece to their lack of winning the money games is the guy running the huddle..Oh no he did not go there..Give em a couple of more years…
By that time that 4-10 record may look like 8-20? hmmmmm