Atlanta Hawks: New era begins
“We would be good, but not good enough.”
When Danny Ferry said it, I felt like Micheal Keaton in “The Paper” (underrated flick, by the way).
“He said the headline! The guy actually said the headline!”
Ferry succinctly summed up the frustrations I’ve heard expressed so many times by my blog people. That’s why the reaction has been overwhelmingly positive to Ferry’s decision to extract the franchise from two burdensome contracts.
But already I sense some anxiety among you about the next step. No doubt that feeling is heightened by Ferry’s failed (for now) pursuit of a trade for Dwight Howard, who’s status is in limbo. I’ve seen Hawks fans already fretting that no superstar would ever actually choose to sign with this franchise.
None of this surprises me, of course. It didn’t take me long in this job to learn that a sense of insecurity and pending dread appears to be a common symptom of your affection for the Hawks.
But, more than that, these concerns are reasonable. You recognize this is just the first step in a plan that’s difficult to execute. Bold moves may be necessary at times but they don’t always or even usually lead to more success than the status quo.
Ferry’s decision to take a step back comes with significant risk. That’s still true even if you believe there never would be any greater reward for staying pat.
Ferry chuckled when I told him that elation among Hawks fans about the trades had been supplanted by some nervousness that there would be no follow-through.
“I can’t give you all the answers,” he said. “We were good but not good enough, and now how do we find a way to get even better than before?”
Some tweeps interpreted Ferry’s comments about the status quo not being good enough as a shot at his predecessors and the team’s ownership. I didn’t read it that way–and, besides, Bruce Levenson himself was blunt in acknowledging that the franchise’s basketball operations needed a fresh philosophy.
On the day Ferry was introduced as GM, he mentioned that the organization seemed a bit too humble in light of its accomplishments. He seemed a bit incredulous when reporters peppered him with questions about his plan to make the Hawks better.
“They’ve been good here and I have to come to that with respect,” Ferry said. “There are teams that are trying to get to where the Atlanta Hawks are at now.”
These new Hawks are now behind those Hawks and it’s up to Ferry to get them where they’ve never been. He has the assets to do it now: expiring contracts, productive young players with reasonable deals, draft picks and massive cap space in the near future.
In fact, those chips should help alleviate your worries about free agents choosing Atlanta. Ferry has the tools to bring talent here in trades (the cap space will make that simpler, too). It’s telling that when Ferry is asked about free agents, he usually comes back to trades.
“There should be options but it’s also not all going to happen on July 15,” he said. “We have through to the trade deadline and we will continue to build on our team.”
Ferry decided that the Hawks’ good wasn’t good enough. It may take a while before my blog people can hope for greatness and it’s possible it may never come. But you said all along you wanted the Hawks to shoot for a championship and now they can at least try.
Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat
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264 comments Add your comment
terrell
July 12th, 2012
2:41 pm
Same clowns dissin Ferry’s moves are the same clowns that begged Sund to go after Sessions, Leon Powe, Julian Wright, Aaron Brooks, etc………………… last year. LMAO!
Eric
July 12th, 2012
2:47 pm
Guys Devin Harris was an all-star and avgerage over 21 ppg one year, there is no way in hell Teague is going to start at point. Morrow is a good shooter, but he’s no more than a solid bench guy. Lue Williams was runner up to six-man of the year and the Sixers leading scorer, he’s a starter on this team.
terrell
July 12th, 2012
2:49 pm
This just in:
Rod from CP loves Jamal as much as he hates Marvin. lol
Mike is Back
July 12th, 2012
2:49 pm
AJ, your 2:19 post…very funny stuff!!!!!!
I would pass on Korver…unless he coming for the cheap…I know we need SFs but dang.
Rod from College Park
July 12th, 2012
2:56 pm
“MIA won the title because they played incredible defense, something that Jamal has never been a part of.”
One players does not make a great defensive team. You seem to forget that that greatt defensive Miami team had a very weak defender in Mike Miller on the floor in the closeout game because he was knocking down shots. Korver is another example.
“Yes, MIA played a lot of isolation, one on one, kick out basketball, but what allowed that to be successful was their strong defense.”
Their denfense was not what caused then to win a championship. You rarely saw fast break points coming for Miami is the OKC series. OKC simply missed a ton of open looks. Miami ran a very high percentage of ISO plays with kick outs and cutters to win that series. They also manged to ISO Lebron when ever they had Durant covering him, and drew fouls on him to get him out of the game.
“We did not lose the series against BOS because we missed Jamal, nor because Hinrich was not productive.”
We lost to Boston because we could not score. The defense was better than normal for every game in the series except for one. The offense was anemic, as we only averaged 82ppg for the series.
“Hinrich was indeed miserable last year – there is no way to put it differently since he looked slow, old and many times lost in the dust,”
We actually agree on this. Tell this to Buddy G.
Jason S
July 12th, 2012
2:56 pm
Korver would be an expiring that we would be able to get via a trade exception.
Since the MLE has been used, there is really no $$$ left to grab another quality player (be it a SF or otherwise) in free agency.
Short of trading any of the players on the Hawks roster, the Hawks basically have the trade exception, plus minimums to offer (assuming the Hawks won’t use the bi-annual … ). Maybe there is a better SF that would fit our trade exception and that the other team is willing to give away … or maybe there is a better SF that would sign for the minimum to come to Atlanta … or maybe not.
Juan From Norcross
July 12th, 2012
2:58 pm
TO Rod from College Park: You’re right that Kirk is not a great player… but he’s better than lame Marvin. I have a feeling Marvin got into the NBA purely because of the color of his skin… Billy Knight must have hit the bong with Marvin one night before the draft and hit it off well… or they boff smoked some crack and Billy said let me ax you a question: what if I choose you in da giraffe?
vava74
July 12th, 2012
2:59 pm
Rod,
Hinrich was coming off two very limiting injuries.
Hamstring in the playoffs and shoulder as he was starting to prep for the new season.
You have to take that into consideration, in particular in a guy who has a lot of mileage and busts his @ss on every play.
He had a great series the year before against ORL limiting Nelson and shooting above .400 from 3 point land, being a major part of that series’ success.
Jon
July 12th, 2012
2:59 pm
I am surprised anyone wanted Marvin in a deal…
Rod from College Park
July 12th, 2012
3:05 pm
“Rod from CP loves Jamal as much as he hates Marvin. lol”
Actually never was a big Jamal fan until he came here. I respect guys that play with emotion and show up everynight. Jamal, Josh, Zaza all have weaknesses in their games, but they give effort, and act like they care most of the time. All of those guys also don’t back down and cower in the face of adversity. I depise guys who don’t have much to say, and really act like it does not matter to them either way. Even the Joe falls in that category, I actually respect him because he comes to play every night. He just does not have that “Killa” in him. Marvin does not really want to play basketball. He is just collecting a check. He has all the measurables just has no desire to be a great basketball player.
Rod from College Park
July 12th, 2012
3:07 pm
“He had a great series the year before against ORL limiting Nelson and shooting above .400 from 3 point land, being a major part of that series’ success.”
Jamal was the major reason we won that series not Kirk Hinrich. That is the only time since Kirk has been a Hawk that he ever made ant king of difference with this team. Again at 3 mil he is ok, at 8 mil he is bad.
northcyde
July 12th, 2012
3:11 pm
pointguardslim
July 12th, 2012
11:20 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kG7smUGa8h0
Josh Smith and Al Horford @ SF + PF
better defense, better ball movement. Maximizing scoring at the PF with Josh eating up jumpers is not what the Hawks need.
Get Brandon Bass or Mike Scott or Horford in PF if you want stand still midrange jumpers.
Josh at SF enhances the whole team with his defense blocks posting up and boards.
***********************
And when you pause that video at the 7:51 mark, you see the truth
JOSH SMITH
12 points
11 rebounds
4 – 15 FG
He finished that game ( Game 4 vs Bulls ) with 23 points ( 8 – 22 FG ) – 16 rebounds – 8 assists, due to an outstanding 4th quarter that saw him score 11 points – grab 5 rebounds ( 3 offensive ) – and dish out 2 assists. He had a plus/minus of ( +18 ) that night, due to the +14 he posted in the 4th quarter . . . .
. . . all at the PF position.
Josh Smith’s numbers at SF in that game:
1st quartrer: ( 7 minutes ) . . 1 – 2 FG . . 2 pts – 1 reb – 1 asst
2nd quarter: ( 0 minutes )
3rd quarter: ( 11 minutes ) . . 1 – 4 FG . . 3 pts – 3 rebs – 2 asst – 1 blk
4th quarter: ( 0 minutes )
So in the very game in which you claim that everything is all good with Smith playing SF, in 18 minutes he produces
5 pts ( on 2 – 6 FG )
4 rebs
3 asst
1 blk
( -2 ) plus/minus
At PF, these were his numbers in that game
26 minutes
18 pts ( on 6 – 16 FG )
13 rebs
5 asst
1 blk
1 stl
( +20 ) plus minus
And you wonder why people call Smith a PF? He’s much much much more active when he’s around the rim. That is nowhere near a guarantee if he plays SF for a significant stretch.
What you’re a master at, is showing game footage in which Josh plays decent at the SF spot. But if you have noticed, those videos also show an inactive, even passive Smith at times. You call Ivan the “weak link” in one of the vids you posted.
But the real thing you see is now inactive Smith is. There is no diving down into the post to dominate Durant. Nope. He’s standing out on the perimeter, looking to pass to a cutter or someone floating out to the wing.
Even in that Chicago clip, you see the inactivity.
Try again dude. And look at it from the TOTAL PERSPECTIVE. If you want Josh to be a secondary option in the offense. That’s cool. But I bet Josh wouldn’t be cool with that AT ALL.
Rod from College Park
July 12th, 2012
3:13 pm
“Hinrich was coming off two very limiting injuries.
Hamstring in the playoffs and shoulder as he was starting to prep for the new season.”
Hawks motto last year was NO EXCUSES. Al Horford came back off a worse injury that Kirk Hinrich and played two of the better playoff games he has ever had. Maybe he should have been hurt last year before we played Chicago. Excuses are lame. Kirk’s hamstring was healed, and his shoulder was as well. Being injured all the time is what makes him almost useless at this point in his career. If you can’t stay healthy, then you can’t help the team.
Don Woody
July 12th, 2012
3:16 pm
Um Rod? You need to move on to a new topic… you’re starting to sound as racist as a klan member, or malcom x, etc. Move on man.
northcyde
July 12th, 2012
3:19 pm
And the 6 – 16 that game at PF was due to him struggling inside vs the Bulls tough frontline, and his inability to hit a few jumpers. But he was much more active at PF than he ever was at SF in that game. And the team was better too when he was active.
As I’ve said in the past, I’d love for Josh Smith to play more like Shawn Kemp or a souped-up Shawn Marion, with him giving up the ball after defensive rebounds, and filling the lanes to score in transition, or by crashing the offensive boards more. Cut down the jumpers from 7 a game, to around 3 a game, and focus on scoring the basketball from 10 feet and in.
It’s just in his nature to shoot jumpers now, which was made worse when Drew came aboard.
High-sider
July 12th, 2012
3:20 pm
@vava74
“…He had a great series the year before against ORL limiting Nelson and shooting above .400 from 3 point land, being a major part of that series’ success.” – vava74 @2:59pm, 7/12/2012
But if I tell you [vava74] that Jamal Crawford averaged 20.5ppg in that same 2011 playoff series vs. Orlando, you’ll say, “Yeah, but the Magic sucked on defense and didn’t guard Jamal ‘after the first quarter.’” Hypocrisy like a “big dog.” Let’s just forget that Jamal made 17 3-pointers in six games vs. the Magic in that 2011 playoff series. SMH
Astro Joe
July 12th, 2012
3:20 pm
Mike is Back… thanks.
BIG DOG
July 12th, 2012
3:21 pm
Don Woody – Com on “Man” starting sound racist, JUST DAM
BIG DOG IN THE HOUSE
Ra'mon
July 12th, 2012
3:21 pm
AJ, I don’t have a problem with the Hawks getting Korver. I actually like the addition because its only a one year deal. I just hope LD can coach the pieces he is getting. Also, I expect Sy to make the team as the one wing defender to go along with Stephenson.
Rick James
July 12th, 2012
3:22 pm
It seems to me that Rick Sund has just stolen money since replacing Billy Knight..Billy made some bad moves but he was doing something.Unless was just put in place by the Spirit Group until a replacement could be found.All’s well that ends well..
doc
July 12th, 2012
3:23 pm
rod you never answered my question. as i said you couldnt so you wouldnt. i’ll repeat it for you, who would take an injured hinrich? i also credit hinrich as a gamer and baller to come back way ahead of schedule form his shoulder repair. even you legitimately cant take that away from him. he could have collected a paycheck and waited it out is my guess.
again with that, if all things equal, i would have taken jamal at 5 mil last year over a healthy hinrich at 8 mil. that is the problem he wasnt and there was no way to unload him. glad he was gamer enough to make a come back against all odds instead of sitting and watching us flounder with pargo and green only.
Jason S
July 12th, 2012
3:24 pm
Zaza + D. Harris + 2nd round pick (if needed) –> Philadelphia
Andre Iguodala –> Atlanta
Rumors are that Philly wouldn’t mind moving Iguodala. With this trade, Philly gets quality backups at C and PG and cap flexibility going forward. Hawks get a very good SF without losing too much cap flexibility.
Horford
Smith
Iguodala
Morrow
Teague
BIG DOG
July 12th, 2012
3:24 pm
Hinrich is the most overrated player in the history of Atlanta since Keith Brooking of the Falcons.
BIG DOG IN THE HOUSE
northcyde
July 12th, 2012
3:27 pm
Astro Joe
July 12th, 2012
2:37 pm
northcyde, fun challenge. Since I want a lottery pick next year, let’s go with:
PG = Teague (30); Harris (15); Williams (3)
SG = Morrow (16); Williams (27 but off the bench); Jenkins (5)
SF = Josh (24); Minimum Vet TBD Guy (16); Morrow (8)
*******************
So in your scenario, Stevenson would not see the court, and Jenkins gets the “rookie Teague” treatment. Morrow starts, but Lou probably finishes the game at the 2.
And Josh gets significant time at the 3.
OK
So in this scenario, the guys most affected by all of these guards here, is Jenkins and Harris ( who hasn’t averaged 15 minutes a game since his rookie year, scoring 5.7 ppg )
The more I look at this current lineup, the more that I think we’re “Golden State East”. This team may play more uptempo and score a little bit more, but can they get stops?
Teague and Lou will play a lot together in this rotation. So can Lou defend the 2? Or do we have a 3 that can defend the 2, while Lou gets “hidden” guarding the 3?
LOL . . Josh may have to guard Lebron AND Wade this year.
jhan
July 12th, 2012
3:27 pm
I’m pretty sure Sund was doing what he was told after being hired. He didn’t care about making bold moves because he was about to retire. Either Ferry or some other factor caused the ASG to change their philosophy and I am very glad it happened!
Jason S
July 12th, 2012
3:31 pm
Hinrich is more overrated than …
MARVIN WILLIAMS?
JON KONCAK?
You are trying to be hyperbolic right?
northcyde
July 12th, 2012
3:32 pm
Jason S
July 12th, 2012
3:24 pm
Zaza + D. Harris + 2nd round pick (if needed) –> Philadelphia
Andre Iguodala –> Atlanta
Rumors are that Philly wouldn’t mind moving Iguodala. With this trade, Philly gets quality backups at C and PG and cap flexibility going forward. Hawks get a very good SF without losing too much cap flexibility.
Horford
Smith
Iguodala
Morrow
Teague
***************************
May have to throw in a 1st round pick to get that done. But I’d do that all day, every day. That would set the Hawks up to be an ELITE defensive team, with the ability to have Iggy guard the top perimeter defender at all times.
Your bench still would be
L. Williams
Jenkins
Scott ( if he can play SF )
Ivan
Petro
Pick up another big body if need be. Regardless, that would be a pretty good top 8 or 9 rotation to roll with.
Big Nut
July 12th, 2012
3:37 pm
Jason,
BIG DOG ain’t gunna knowed what da word “hyperbolic” means. You have to write at a 6th grade level for da bro ta undahstand ya.
BIG DOG
July 12th, 2012
3:39 pm
The Hawks have only 1 SF on the team and that Josh Smith, Danny has to find another SF.
Mickael Pietrus is still out there, Hawks have miss out on good opportunity to sign Gerald Green so now Mickael should be the next guy.
A great solid defensive player that the Hawks need.
BIG DOG IN THE HOUSE
jhan
July 12th, 2012
3:40 pm
Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin injured his knee during a scrimmage at Team USA training camp and is returning to Los Angeles to be examined by the Clippers’ doctors, a source confirmed to ESPN The Magazine’s Ric Bucher – OUCH! Good thing he just got his $95M
High-sider
July 12th, 2012
3:41 pm
@donte080
donte080
July 12th, 2012
1:54 pm
…and Jamal Crawford had a horrible season last year, worse than Hinrich…heck, worse than Marvin’s….why people on this board long for him is a mystery…we just got a younger and better version in Lou Williams….
—————————————————————————-
Last season, Jamal Crawford averaged 13.9~14.0ppg while Kirk Hinrich and Marvin Williams averaged 6.6ppg and 10.2ppg, respectively. I find it odd that Jamal Crawford, prior to and/or during this year’s free agency period, signed with the Clippers before Nick Young and Lou Williams [both] signed with the 76ers and Hawks, respectively.
In an interview, Jamal Crawford stated that he [Crawford] received phone calls from Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, Chauncey Billups and DeAndre Jordan who all expressed their desire of wanting him [Crawford] on the Clippers team.
http://www.nba.com/2012/news/07/11/clippers-crawford.ap/index.html
Ray
July 12th, 2012
3:43 pm
I’ll take Korver over Vlad Rad right now that much is for sure.
Hinrich is overrated, but not to the extent of Marvin Freaking Williams or even Keith Brooking.
Actually if he is so overrated why does Chicago want him back?
BIG DOG
July 12th, 2012
3:43 pm
Big Nut – Your name is self explanatory Bro, I BE DAM
BIG DOG IN THE HOUSE
glw
July 12th, 2012
3:45 pm
@northcyde
Your points are valid about Josh playing SF, but as the team is currently constructed, its probably a likelihood that Josh plays some minutes at the 3. My preference would be starting him at the 3 at the start of each half. And related to your distribution of minutes, I see something like this.
PG
Teague 30 Harris -18
SG
Morrow 12 Williams 24 Harris 6 Jenkins 6
SF
Josh 12 Morrow- 12 Stevenson- 6 vet pickup- 18
PF
Horford 24 Josh 24
C
Zaza 20 Ivan/3rd Center 16 Al 12
I classify Ivan as a center, just for simplcation purpose, I figure Drew will always have either Josh or Al on the floor at all times.
jhan
July 12th, 2012
3:47 pm
H-S – they wanted someone else to come play for that sorry franchise! Wonder why the Lakers, Celtic, Heat or Thunder weren’t knocking on the door of Jamal?
ryan
July 12th, 2012
3:54 pm
If we get Andre Iguodala that intrigue D12 come to Atlanta glad to see Ferry active .
High-sider
July 12th, 2012
3:54 pm
Buddy Grizzard,
You always talk about how Jamal Crawford “came up small” in Games 5 and 6 vs. the Bulls in the 2011 EC Semis but you act as if you fail to realize that without Jamal Crawford, the Hawks probably wouldn’t even make it to the EC Semis. Heck, just look at this past 2012 post season for the Hawks. Message to Buddy Grizzard: The Hawks [without Crawford] in this year’s playoff were eliminated in the first round. Please understand you can complain about Crawford’s performance in the SECOND ROUND of the playoffs when the Hawks had Crawford but you can’t even complain about a Hawks’ second round performance because without Crawford the Hawks can’t even get out of the FIRST ROUND of the playoffs. Get it? I hope you ["get it"]. [smh]
soullrenaissance
July 12th, 2012
4:03 pm
Joe’s nonchalant approach and silence on the court spoke volues Rod From CP. He was the quintessential complimentary piece and he should excell next to Deron W but we all know he had to get the HELL outta these parts for us to move forward..What we will never know is how Joe could have been being the complimentary piece to CP3 in Atlanta…Billy Knight, F your wing dreams.
Buddy Grizzard
July 12th, 2012
4:05 pm
“Without Crawford the Hawks can’t even get out of the FIRST ROUND of the playoffs.”
Haha that’s funny, you’re using Crawford’s performance against a team that lost in the first round of the playoffs the last two years (Orlando) as the litmus test. I’m talking about performances against Eastern Conference finalists Chicago and Boston from the past two seasons. Against ECF competition, not FIRST ROUND FAILURE competition [Orlando].
Against ECF competition [Boston] in this year’s playoffs, if Larry Drew had played Hinrich more and played Pargo and Green less, the Hawks would have advanced.
High-sider
July 12th, 2012
4:06 pm
@jhan
jhan
July 12th, 2012
3:47 pm
H-S – they wanted someone else to come play for that sorry franchise! Wonder why the Lakers, Celtic, Heat or Thunder weren’t knocking on the door of Jamal?
—————————————————————————————————–
The Clippers won a playoff series in the 2012 post season. How well did the Hawks perform this past 2012 post season? If I were you, jhan, I’d be careful of which NBA franchise I would “call” or label as “sorry.” In terms of post season performance with respect to the 2012 playoffs, the Clippers “progressed” while the Hawks “regressed.” You can take it or leave it alone.
Rod from College Park
July 12th, 2012
4:09 pm
“H-S – they wanted someone else to come play for that sorry franchise! Wonder why the Lakers, Celtic, Heat or Thunder weren’t knocking on the door of Jamal?”
They Celtics actually were knocking on his door. They ended up gertting Jason Terry for a little less. Miami, lakers and the thunder are not under the cap enough to pay Jamal 6 mil per. This after all is a business.
Rod from College Park
July 12th, 2012
4:14 pm
Buddy G,
Get real dude. the playoffs are the playoffs. It’s win and advance. That same first round failure team you speak of (Orlando) Was the ECF champions the year before, and had about a 10 game winning streak agianst us. Kirk Hinrich. LOL
Astro Joe
July 12th, 2012
4:18 pm
northcyde, I think it is reasonable to expect no more than 10 guys to play regular minutes… 2 at each traditional position. And to use a line from last week, since the hawks have more guards than Queen Elizabeth, obviously there will be some guards who get to spend the season modeling their finest clothes on the bench. I expect that Ferry will look for a little more balance (i.e. shed some SGs) but until then, yeah, Jenkins gets to learn the NBA game at practice (or in the D-League) and Stevenson gets to use his personal ATM to pay rent for accupying the Tony Delk Hawks Career Bench Chair.
BBIB
July 12th, 2012
4:21 pm
Ferry has been great so far BUT all of his comments are in vain and actually laughably ironic if we don’t do all we can to land Dwight Howard
We are NOT going to win if Josh or Al Horford are the best player on this team and I love both guys
But neither one is good enough to be #1 player on a championship team.
Dwight Howard is our only chance at having a #1 player good enough to win a championship
And for those of you scared that he won’t re-sign, I go back to Ferry’s point
“We would be good, but not good enough”
Even if he didn’t re-sign we weren’t going anywhere anyway without a superstar! So take the chance!
High-sider
July 12th, 2012
4:24 pm
@Buddy Grizzard
“…Against ECF competition [Boston] in this year’s playoffs, if Larry Drew had played Hinrich more and played Pargo and Green less, the Hawks would have advanced.” – Buddy Grizzard @4:05pm, 7/12/2012
When a starting 2-guard like Hinrich only scores a grand total of two points during a period/stretch of 10+ quarters of playoff basketball [125 minutes to be exact], it’s hard for a coach to keep that player in a playoff game especially when that player is NOT producing. And please spare me of those lame +/- statistics accumulated by Hinrich in Game 3 vs. the Boston Celtics in 2012 playoffs. Really? You were about to use +/- statistics to justify keeping a particular player on the floor/court in the playoffs yet that same player can’t score a single point in a playoff game? Get real dude.
Astro Joe
July 12th, 2012
4:25 pm
Iguodala is the most popular 13 PPG player in the NBA. I don’t get the fascination. Speaking of “value for the production”, sign Ronnie Brewer for a 10th of the price of Iggy for comparable stats (if they play comparable minutes).
BILLY KNIGHT
July 12th, 2012
4:26 pm
soullrenaissance
Billy Knight F your wing dreams.
BIG DOG
July 12th, 2012
4:29 pm
Astro Joe – I agree i would rather have Mickael Pietrus than Igg.
BIG DOG IN THE HOUSE
Buddy Grizzard
July 12th, 2012
4:31 pm
“Hinrich was indeed miserable last year – there is no way to put it differently since he looked slow, old and many times lost in the dust.”
That’s funny because according to MC he was the only Hawks guard who could stay in front of Rondo. Teague, one of the quickest players in the NBA, couldn’t keep Rondo from making layups but somehow the old man did.
“Lou Williams in not better than Jamal in anything. At least if you are going to make statement back then up with facts.”
Fact: Jamal Crawford peed his pants in Game 5 & 6 against Chicago.
Fact: Lou Williams had the best +/- on the team in the 76ers Game 7 loss to Boston. He was +3 in 26 minutes. Starting 2 guard Evan Turner was -23 in 31 minutes. Think Doug Collins was starting the wrong guy maybe?
Rod from College Park
July 12th, 2012
4:35 pm
“rod you never answered my question. as i said you couldnt so you wouldnt. i’ll repeat it for you, who would take an injured hinrich? i also credit hinrich as a gamer and baller to come back way ahead of schedule form his shoulder repair. even you legitimately cant take that away from him. he could have collected a paycheck and waited it out is my guess.”
I’m not qualified to answer your question doc. I’m not a gm. Being injured does not prevent you from being traded. There seems to be a lot of noise and waiting around for Dwight Howard, a guy coming off back surgery to be traded. We all said Joe Johnson and Marvin Williams could never be traded, and look what happened. You will have to ask Rick Sund that question. All I know is he was an expiring contract who could have been moved in order to make room for a guy who could contribute.