On hiatus

I’m headed for a few days of R&R. C-Viv is on the beat to keep you updated while I’m away.

The plan is to maintain a space here for your to discuss the Hawks. Be cool, keep it clean and and the forum stays open.

Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat

451 comments Add your comment

KevinM

July 13th, 2012
12:02 pm

“BIG DOG

July 13th, 2012
11:56 am
ESPN just reported the Hawks are now consider the front runner for D12.

Bring him home Danny.”

Come on BD; now you’re going to get everyone geeked about the possibilities……good stuff!

BIG DOG

July 13th, 2012
12:03 pm

Devin, Horford, Zaza and 2 first for D12 and Jason Richard.

Turk was not included.

Horford is now Magic target.

BIG DOG IN THE HOUSE

The Truth

July 13th, 2012
12:05 pm

“ESPN just reported the Hawks are now consider the front runner for D12″

That’s not surprising, After a Houston trade, can you imagine Orlando trying to sell season tickets to their fans promoting unknown draft players, picks, cap space and scrubs from Houston.

No one would show-up to see them.

BIG DOG

July 13th, 2012
12:06 pm

I dont understand why Magic not want Teague ?

May be Teague will be included in the deal two.

BIG DOG IN THE HOUSE

Wabe

July 13th, 2012
12:07 pm

When did ESPN report that?

I heard yesterday that the Lakers were the 3rd of three teams, and now they’ve effectively dropped out.

It would seem the Rockets are the frontrunners based on what they’re willing to take on in bad Magic contracts.

Wabe

July 13th, 2012
12:09 pm

Marc Stein’s talkin on Sportscenter right now saying that no other team can offer what houston’s offering and said that houston is the frontrunner at this point.

ryan

July 13th, 2012
12:10 pm

Hope this thing happens bring home all the Atlanta players Ferry D12 and hope we go after OJ Mayo to .

BIG DOG

July 13th, 2012
12:10 pm

No way the GM not take Teague, i believe there is more to this.

Magic GM must no nothing about basketball, JUST DAM

What is this guy doing down there Wow.

BIG DOG IN THE HOUSE

Slimjr

July 13th, 2012
12:11 pm

BIG DOG

July 13th, 2012
11:56 am

“ESPN just reported the Hawks are now consider the front runner for D12.

Bring him home Danny.

BIG DOG IN THE HOUSE”

BIG DOG, Danny is getting ready to pounce! He already laid the trap! Brilliant Stuff dude! Yeah!!!!!

Hey Josh go gas up the Limo and bring your boy home!!!!

ryan

July 13th, 2012
12:11 pm

I doubt Howard wants to go to Houston though not exactly a playoff team .

The Truth

July 13th, 2012
12:12 pm

“I dont understand why Magic not want Teague ?”

For the salaries to match, D Harris 8M must be included (would think)

ryan

July 13th, 2012
12:16 pm

What does the Rockets have the Hawks have the better pieces to make the trade work is Orlando GM stupid or something i figure he would value for D12 not crap .

Glenn

July 13th, 2012
12:19 pm

If Houston is willing to absorb the contracts of Jason Richardson, Glen Davis and Chris Duhon — in addition to sending Orlando multiple future first-round picks and the three recent draftees , Orlando would be retarded not to take this trade .

Orlando would be foolish no to do this trade if Dwight wanted to stay in Orlando . After what the Nets were offering this is a silly big break .

Slimjr

July 13th, 2012
12:21 pm

The Truth

July 13th, 2012
11:56 am

“Didn’t see Horford game against Team USA. Do you think his recent injury played any role in his performance?

In other words, do you think he’s playing at 100% following his rehab”

Al appears to be fully recovered..Same Al trying to add the 3pt. shot to his his arsenal! sheesh….

He missed by 7 ft…….Yawn…

ryan

July 13th, 2012
12:22 pm

It looks like the Hawks out of it the running again ESPN says Atlanta not the best option for D12 so looks it not happen .

O'Brien

July 13th, 2012
12:23 pm

KevinM,

OB, you can’t pay a complementary player 12M if that is what Al is being labeled as….as a complementary player, you can’t even allow him to be a captain..

Iguodala makes $15 mil, Boozer makes $15 mil, Brook Lopez just got $15 mil, DeAndre Jordan got $10 mil, Javal McGee is being offered $10 mil, Deng got $13+ mil. Are these guys anything more than complimentary players?

As for being a captain, leadership starts on the sidelines. We have not had that with Woody and LD, so the players follow the HC lead. Read up on what Billy Donovan used to say about Al at UF.

I think whenever we get a new HC, either Josh or Al will make strides as captain.

ryan

July 13th, 2012
12:25 pm

Howard is heading west Orlando GM intent to move him out of the eastern conference .

Ray

July 13th, 2012
12:26 pm

Yeah nowhere on ESPN did it say we were even frontrunners all I keep hearing is Houston Houston and more Houston.

If we take of Hedo Turks bad contract give me Glen Davis only then could I effectively say I’m okay with us giving up Horford. Plus Dwight of course that is.

ryan

July 13th, 2012
12:28 pm

Seems like Orlando GM just going make D12 life a living hell after what Howard been saying in the media .

EmirS.

July 13th, 2012
12:29 pm

I agree. For Orlando not to do that deal with the Rockets would be utterly foolish.

However, what are Houston’s plans on keeping him there? It’s been reported that Hakeem can talk to him and entice him to stay and that it’s a really good thing as to what Rockets management is doing? That is nonsense. The Rockets will basically have the sub-par talent that the Magic have, without room to add anyone significant to their roster. I think the Rocket’s are screwing themselves over if they actually go through with this trade.

EmirS.

July 13th, 2012
12:30 pm

Mind as well call them the Houston Magic.

Ra'mon

July 13th, 2012
12:32 pm

Guys, I don’t understand why a team like OKC or the Knicks didn’t make a run for Brand.

ryan

July 13th, 2012
12:33 pm

They just want to put butts in the seat remember the last big trade Orlando and Houston made ironically was for Tracy McGrady how did that work out .

O'Brien

July 13th, 2012
12:33 pm

Rod,

Make a decision on one guy, and get something for the other..

Agreed. But I don’t think that decision will come until next offseason. If Josh resigns, then I think they trade Al. But if Josh is leaving, they will keep Al.

Grandad

July 13th, 2012
12:35 pm

Slimjr

“Iguodala,Al, and Josh on your front line would be counter productive”

With all due respect sir:
That statement was either untrue, misinformed, or trifling and vacuous.

Slim;
since I feel the statement belied your feelings of animosity toward Al;
then I`ll go with trifling out of respect.

BIG DOG

July 13th, 2012
12:35 pm

Ray – ESPN radio reported that Hawks was front runner 30min ago.

BIG DOG IN THE HOUSE

doc

July 13th, 2012
12:38 pm

yeah too funny if d12 gets to leave orlando and takes the dirty baggage with him he encouraged smith to go get for him. remember d12 threw smith under the bus a long time ago saying he wasnt considered in trades. quickly smith shot back d12 not only knew about them but strongly encouraged them. it has been a long dramatic over bearing series not unlike atlanta housewives.

Grandad

July 13th, 2012
12:38 pm

We should trade Josh for Iguodala to improve our defense.

A.I. was added to Team USA for his defense, as was Chandler.
I have never heard Josh mentioned as a candidate for Team USA.
*As a defensive stalwart or otherwise.

ryan

July 13th, 2012
12:46 pm

I wounder if Orlando is just calling every teams bluff that wants Howard .

MsDee

July 13th, 2012
12:47 pm

Actually, I like how Danny Ferry is handling all of this Dwight stuff. Instead of him gambling away valuable assets w/o an extension, he is allowing Houston to shoot themselves in the foot by turning into, what EmirS stated, “the Houston Magic”, and giving us ALL THE ADVANTAGE IN THE WORLD TO ACTUALLY GETTING DWIGHT TO WALK RIGHT INTO OUR ARENA AND BEG FOR US TO SIGN HIM. Dwight wont no part of Houston and just think about it, if Houston gets all of Orlando’s junk contracts, Dwight would be right back looking into the faces of his non-advancing teammates. Now WHY WOULD HE SIGN AN EXTENSION, HOUSTON???? We would still have the money to offer both Dwight AND Josh huge contracts W/O LOSING ANY KEY PLAYERS..would love to get CP3 that next season as well, but I would still be content with Teague and Harris running the show!! Wow, a starting team of Teague, Morrow, Josh, Horford, and Dwight would be JUST WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED!!

Or if getting Iggy would help, we could then trade Horford and draft pieces to Philly for Iggy and a lineup of Teague, Morrow, Iggy, Josh, and Dwight would be even more DANGEROUS!! Dangit Ferry, lets make our own kind of MAGIC!!

O'Brien

July 13th, 2012
12:49 pm

Rod,

Please name me another NBA all star that you could have put on the Dominican team, and they would have not been able to score at all..

Honestly, I think you read too much into the “all-star” title. It has been well documented on here that the main reason Al made the all-star team is because he was playing center, not because he was playing PF (and he was playing with more toughness).

Also, a guy being an all-star does not mean he should have an all-star career every season for the rest of his career. Mo Williams made the all-star team when he was playing in Cleveland. Jameer Nelson made the all-star team thanks to playing with Howard. Should we expect more out of Mo Williams or Jameer Nelson just because they were all-stars at one point?

And besides besides Horford and Francisco Garcia, can you name me one other member of the DR team? The team is made up of a bunch of nobodys.

O'Brien

July 13th, 2012
12:51 pm

Ra’mon,

Brand will go through the waiver wire where teams under the salary cap can bid for him. I’m not sure if that has happened already, but when it does, I think more teams will be mentioned as being interested.

Buddy Grizzard

July 13th, 2012
1:04 pm

“Buddy, is the talent here will be better out of the gate than what he had in ORL in 08-09?” – KevinM

Our back court completely dominates the 08-09 back court. I’d take Teague or Lou Williams now over Jameer Nelson on the best day of his NBA career. Their best shooting guard was? Courtney Lee, a rookie who 3 years later gets released by his team? Redick, who can’t guard anyone? I’d take Morrow or Lou Williams in a heartbeat over Reddick on the best day of his NBA career. And we’ve got both of them.

Gortat, and Pietrus are the key here. Zaza is good, but not close to Gortat. An aging DeShawn Stevenson is nothing close to Pietrus in his lock-down prime. Advantage: 08-09 Magic.

The Magic also have the advantage at small forward. Turk was the best player not named Kobe in that NBA finals. He obviously played all out in a contract year, then signed-and-retired with Toronto where he was out of shape and disinterested (pretty much has been that way since the 09 Finals). The Hawks don’t have a small forward on the roster so the position must be addressed. If you want to compare Turk on his best day to moder day Josh, I think you know Dwight Howard has never had a player on his team as good as Josh Smith. Advantage: Hawks.

“Can D12 be convinced our roster will be more formidable after the move?”

Our roster is formidable now. The overall talent level has vastly increased over last year. 90% of Joe’s offensive production is replaced by Lou. In place of scrubs like Green and Pargo, we have Williams and Morrow. Collins, Damp, Vlad, Stack, all washed up scrubs, won’t be back. I fully expect the Hawks to compete for home court advantage in the playoffs. Add Dwight Howard and we are championship contenders. Can Houston say that?

Ryan

July 13th, 2012
1:16 pm

If that trade offer from the Rockets is legit, the Magic would have to be ignorant not to except that deal. The Magic would instantly become a pretty decent team with what that got for basically one player. The Rockets on the other hand would be the laughing stock of the West. No way Dwight would want to stay after an embarrassing 12′-13′ season they would have.

Buddy Grizzard

July 13th, 2012
1:20 pm

“or get that big guy from Greece, Sofoklis something…”

Panathinaikos Athens signed Sofoklis Schortsanitis to a three-year deal this month. Good thinking, but even if he didn’t have a long-term contract in Greece, his NBA rights are owned by the Clippers. For those who don’t know, this is the guy Nenad Kristic punched from behind in a pre-World Championships friendly, then ran away like a little girl because Sofoklis is twice his size.

Also for those of you who keep going on about Scola, the Hawks are capped out and not eligible to make a bid for any amnesty casualties. If Scola clears amnesty waivers, which is possible due to the $3.3m minimum bid due to his contract structure, he can negotiate with any team. We still won’t have cap space. Look for him to land in Dallas.

ryan

July 13th, 2012
1:21 pm

I think Ferry knows what he doing that’s why he cleared that cap space he is letting this Howard saga play out .

Ra'mon

July 13th, 2012
1:39 pm

G’Dad, Josh was mentioned for the Team USA. And he was on the tryout teams for the 2008 team. And that was before he improved his midrange shot. Every since then, Josh has turned down the invitation to play 2 times.

Slimjr

July 13th, 2012
1:44 pm

Its okay Grand just don’t call me late for dinner? LOL!

We will just have to respectfully disagree on the theory of how Al, Josh, and Andre would or would not operate in a playoff atmosphere…

Besides, hopefully Danny’s dream of creating an elite team in Atlanta is one huge step closer towards that goal real soon..

“trifling” that describes All NBA Al’s game last night! Hehehehehehehe

High-sider

July 13th, 2012
1:45 pm

@vava74, Buddy Grizzard, Clarification, Ken Strickland and all other Jamal Crawford-hating bloggers

“Clutch stats 2011/12 (per 48 minutes of clutch time)

Lou Williams posted decent, but not great numbers.

His best stat is FTA, where he ranked 8th.

Points is good too at 14th…” – vava74 @5:55am, 7/13/2012

“…Our back court completely dominates the 08-09 back court. I’d take Teague or Lou Williams now over Jameer Nelson on the best day of his NBA career. Their best shooting guard was? Courtney Lee, a rookie who 3 years later gets released by his team? Redick, who can’t guard anyone? I’d take Morrow or Lou Williams in a heartbeat over Reddick on the best day of his NBA career. And we’ve got both of them…” – Buddy Grizzard @1:04pm, 7/13/2012

You [Jamal Crawford-hating] bloggers might as well start steppin’ up your “‘hate’ game” now for Lou Williams. Both Jamal Crawford and Lou Williams are similar players with similar strengths, weaknesses, styles and skill sets. One player is just a taller version of the other; you’ll see. You bloggers are just trying to “save face” about the Lou Williams acquisition because that Lou Williams pickup was a Danny Ferry “move”/decision. You bloggers just don’t want to criticize Danny Ferry [at least right now] and are basically trying to deify him [Ferry] as some “GM god.” In the words of Buddy Grizzard, Lou Williams is Jamal Crawford 2.0; mark my words.

KevinM

July 13th, 2012
1:50 pm

“Iguodala makes $15 mil, Boozer makes $15 mil, Brook Lopez just got $15 mil, DeAndre Jordan got $10 mil, Javal McGee is being offered $10 mil, Deng got $13+ mil. Are these guys anything more than complimentary players?”

Perhaps I see the guys you listed not as complementary, but as go-to guys..IMO, they are more than role players; Iggy is the Philly go-to guy for now despite all the controversy whether to keep him or not.

FYI, Hennigan on NBA-TV right now…….time to start working things out.
His comments:”the D12 situation it is what it is….we’re sitting and evaluating to where we want to go from here”….3D changed the subject so not much out of him today.

So, is there a moratorium where deals are at a standstill prior to preseason?

FYI, Slim, Hennigan nothing but awesome comments on ‘Drew’ Nicholson.

O'Brien

July 13th, 2012
1:51 pm

From Lang Whitaker’s Summer League marathon notes on nba.com;

To me, guys like Solomon Jones, playing for Philly today, are the kind of players who make following the NBA interesting. Jones was a second-round pick by the Atlanta Hawks back in 2006 out of South Florida. He was tall (610), with an impressive #wingspan. He was known mostly for blocking shots, and the Hawks needed size, so he got a shot and played almost 60 games as a rookie.

Since then he’s bounced around, playing for Indiana, New Orleans and Clippers. He contests shots, grabs rebounds. He’s not going to score 40 points, not going to grab 20 boards, but he’s a competent role player coming off the bench that allows you to rest your starting five for a few minutes without giving up too much.

Jones has now played six seasons in the NBA, but he’s still here playing in the summer league, trying to prove himself to NBA teams. Or perhaps he’s just trying to prove something to himself. Either way, these are the kind of players who make the NBA work. And watching them put in work around the margins is another facet of what makes the NBA fun. For me, anyway..

Slimjr

July 13th, 2012
1:52 pm

I would rather have Rudy Gay at the 3 over Andre any day of the week…

#1 hawks fan in PR

July 13th, 2012
1:53 pm

ESPN Report Quote:

Dwight Howard isn’t the only big man on the minds of the Los Angeles Lakers’ front office staff these days.

One source familiar with the trade negotiations said Thursday that calls between the Houston Rockets and Lakers discussing a three-way trade have cooled, while the Atlanta Hawks appear to be gaining steam in their pursuit of Howard.

DO IT…GO HAWKS!!!

KevinM

July 13th, 2012
1:55 pm

Whoever Hennigan gets as a HC in ORL will probably be in the same situation that Byron Scott walked into in Cleveland.

Houston can provide all those pieces for D12, but both teams will have a lot of substantial holes to fill to even scrape together wins. ORL can’t gut their entire roster and bring in Rockets who may not be any better than their roles in Houston.
If ORL does a deal with Houston, they are on a long range plan and not planning on contending for a playoff spot for years.

#1 hawks fan in PR

July 13th, 2012
1:56 pm

KevinM

July 13th, 2012
1:57 pm

“Slimjr

July 13th, 2012
1:52 pm
I would rather have Rudy Gay at the 3 over Andre any day of the week…”

Depends on what you want the 3 to be for you. If we need buckets, I think Gay is the guy….but if you need to try and slow down LeBron and Melo, you gotta go with Iggy.

A backline of Iggy, Josh and D12 would be quite impressive, but it won’t be cheap to accomplish.

KevinM

July 13th, 2012
2:00 pm

“Ra’mon

July 13th, 2012
1:39 pm
G’Dad, Josh was mentioned for the Team USA. And he was on the tryout teams for the 2008 team. And that was before he improved his midrange shot. Every since then, Josh has turned down the invitation to play 2 times.”

That info has been under the radar, but I wonder why Josh wouldn’t want to be considered for an Olympic team slot? He would fit better at the 4 on that team, and they could have used him this year, with Bosh and Griffin out of the picture.

Slimjr

July 13th, 2012
2:02 pm

IMO, I do not believe some of us “read too much into the “all-star” title” on the contrary it can be said that some of these coaches have abused their power in inviting this player to the Allstar game not once but twice?

He proved last night for the whole world to see that his game does not back it up.

High-sider

July 13th, 2012
2:05 pm

@O’Brien

In response to your post @7:58am, dated 7/13/2012, regarding the proposed Crawford-Hinrich trade, I tried to perform a “mock” trade involving those two players on NBA Trade Machine. I believe it [the trade] was successful if I included Jeff Pendergraph and Kurt Thomas in that “hypothetical” deal.

Trade example/scenario:

Hawks get Jamal Crawford, Jeff Pendergraph and Kurt Thomas.

Trail Blazers get Kirk Hinrich.

Grandad

July 13th, 2012
2:05 pm

Ra`mon

So, Josh is un-American ?