Updated: Hawks acquire Korver

Good addition by the Hawks. Knock down shooter

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WannaplaysomeD?

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How do you write an article about a trade for Kyle Korver without mentioning who might be, you know, traded for him?

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Well, I maintain that the Hawks won’t be terribly relevant in the coming season, so whether it is Korver, Pietrus, Brewer, Martell Webster or Stacey Augmon… it won’t make a big difference. Given the current salaries, we weren’t going to likely find someone to guard elite SFs. The Heat didn’t have anyone to shut down Durant and the Thunder couldn’t stop Lebron… and they had maxed puit players trying to hold each other down. Lastly, Korver could potentially be flipped at the trade deadline for a draft pick. I recall when the Wizards acquired Hinrich by using their available cap space/trade exemption. They later turned that into a few draft picks (courtesy of Rick Sund). A legit contender may trade a super-late 1st round pick to add a proven shooter like Korver. The only opportunity cost is that the trade exemption could have been used on another player and presumably, Ferry did his homework and this was the best player available for the price.

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What is Danny working on as far as a wing man?

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I hate to join the chorus, but I don’t know who we have that can defend. I feel bad for Josh, Al, and Zaza as they are going to be doing a lot of work defensively bc our guards and forwards can’t stop their man.

I hope Danny Ferry has a different idea or something up his sleeve and proves me wrong.

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The other thing to consider is that Ferry has to wait x number of days before e can ship out the 17 guys name Moe that came from the Nets. So maybe that terrific SF that will shut down elite scorers and send us to the ECF is waiting to be traded for the likes of Stevenson, Jordan Williams and Anthony Morrow.

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Still no big man….

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WTH is #20 doing. Take him out…

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Man this is a shady trade. No new deatils in like a week. Nothing against the writers, i think this deal has everyone confused.

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Overrall, the Hawks summer league team is terrible. Just like I thought when it was first release. Jenkins, Scott, Benson and maybe Taylor should be in training camp…

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Folks, this is not the final deal of the offseson. Stay tuned………..

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I wonder what Dan Ferry is trying to do

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Astro,

Should the Hawks sign Flip Flops….lol

“Sam Amick: The Kings’ Hassan Whiteside was waived to make room for Brooks. Atlanta also waived Jordan Farmar. Twitter”

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Buddy, Wilkins played LeBron well for a few minutes in one game. But I’m sure that there is room to sign him. It is essentially “rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic”, as neither Korver nor Wilkins will make a material impact.

And after watching how LeBron forced Thabo to spend a goodly time riding the bench, I think the days of that kid being held down by a smaller and weaker player has passed by.

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Buddy,

The key is “a couple of seasons ago”.

Damien is 32 or 33 this year… Don’t think he still has a lot left in the tank.

Obviously, I would call him up since Pietrus and Barnes will look to sign with a contender.

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To think that Sacramento did a monumental outdoor with Coudins and Whiteside…

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During the 2011 Finals, no one thought Dallas had anyone to stop Lebron, but Deshawn Stevenson did exceptionally well at it. I could see Stevenson starting against teams with elite small forwards (MIA, BOS, IND, PHI, OKC).

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(correction)

GREAT MOVE! NOW GO GET 6″11″ANTHONY RANDOLPH SF(correction)

PG Devin Harris/Jeff Teague/Lou Williams
SG DeShawn Stevenson/Anthony Morrow/John Jenkins
SF Josh Smith/ Anthony Randolph/Kyle Korver
PF Al Horford/Ivan Johnson/Jordan Williams
C Zsa Zsa Pachulia/Johan Petro/Keith Benson

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I said it once and I’ll say it again; how many of these guys do we need? When are we going after the bigs?

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NBA PM: Smith Excited About New-Look Hawks
By Alex Kennedy
NBA Writer

Last season, Josh Smith’s unhappiness with the Atlanta Hawks was well-documented. The star small forward demanded a trade at midseason and routinely expressed frustration with the organization. After watching the Hawks lose free agent Jamal Crawford and fill out the roster with cheap veterans last offseason, Smith didn’t believe the team was committed to building a contender.

Now, with Danny Ferry taking over as general manager of the Hawks, Smith believes the team is heading in the right direction. Atlanta traded away Joe Johnson to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for Jordan Farmar, Johan Petro, Anthony Morrow, Jordan Williams, DeShawn Stevenson and a future first-round pick. Shortly after, the Hawks dealt Marvin Williams to the Utah Jazz for Devin Harris, and then signed free agent guard Lou Williams. That’s a lot of change in one offseason, but Smith likes the moves.

“Since I’ve been in the league, I’ve always been about winning,” Smith said. “I want to one day be able to play for a ring. I want to give myself the opportunity to do that. With a good GM like Danny Ferry and everybody else, I think this organization is heading in a positive direction.”

“Those are guys who can create for themselves and others,” Smith said of Harris and Williams. “We got a guy in Louis Williams who is a pure scorer. He can shoot the ball and really play. Devin Harris is fast, quick and plays similar to Jeff Teague. He can definitely be a facilitator because we have a lot of guys who can really stroke the ball.”

Smith is excited about the new-look roster, and the cap flexibility that they’ll have next summer. By unloading Johnson and Williams, Ferry created enough cap space to sign two players to maximum deals. Dwight Howard will be an unrestricted free agent next offseason and he’s already being mentioned as a possibility for Atlanta. Smith, who has known Howard since preschool, would love to have him.

“We do have a lot of money coming off the books, especially after this year,” Smith said. “I don’t know what the plans are. I guess every team that’s unloading money, the media thinks they’re targeting Dwight. And who wouldn’t want a guy like that on your team? He’s the best big man in the league. I’d love to have him. Who wouldn’t? He’s the most dominant big in the game right now.”

Howard and Paul aren’t the only star players who will be unrestricted free agents next summer. Smith is entering the final year of his contract and he’ll be able to weigh his options next offseason. He admitted that players have already started recruiting him, but insists that he’s focused on building a winner in Atlanta.

“My main concern is playing for the team that I have right now on the Atlanta Hawks and trying to have the best season of my career,” Smith said. “I want to keep getting better as my career progresses and then worry about [free agency] when it comes to that point.”

Smith approves of Atlanta’s direction and, with so much flexibility going forward, the future of the Hawks is certainly bright.

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I would also like Damien back if the Hawks can’t get a better SF who can play perimeter D.

With that said, y’all are getting a little too carried away about this Korver deal. Everything I have seen says they are giving up nothing more than a trade exception. This trade will look pretty good if the Hawks can flip Korver to some other team at the trade deadline for a draft pick. All these moves Ferry is making, targeting players with expiring deals, should be seen from the point of view of long-term asset management, not so much about fielding a team this year. Get players who can contribute in the short term without taking up salary cap space, and flip them for other tradeable assets that can then be used in a Dwight deal.

While I was writing that post, Hollinger just tweeted that the Hawks got Korver for cash. He will fit into the trade exception acquired in the Joe deal. For once, this team is sending cash out to bring players in, instead of the other way around.

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@steven a smith, u dont have Korver listed on your roster.

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Here’s the link to the article Gritty Buzzard posted.

http://www.hoopsworld.com/nba-pm-smith-excited-about-new-look-hawks?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=nba-pm-smith-excited-about-new-look-hawks&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

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Speculation by Sacramento Kings writer Jason Jones that the Kings might pursue Jeff Teague was followed quickly by the news of the Kings signing Aaron Brooks to a two-year contract.

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Najeh & Buddy,

Here’s the video to the Josh interview…

http://www.hoopsworld.com/las-vegas-summer-league-josh-smith

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“and houston gettin asian players…”

He was encouraged to sign an offer sheet with Houston by his mentor, Yao Ming.

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Nice to hear those comments from Josh. If it looks like Hawks are going in the right direction, Josh will stay.

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Comments from Josh Smith, lol, no one is recruiting his butt. This is the same guy that said the NBA all star game you have to kiss butt to get picked, what an idiot. Please ATL build around Josh, I will watch every game just for the entertainment value. If he knew anything about winning, he wouldnt be killing momentum and double clutching three point shots.

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that would be the icing on the cake!

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Turning into the Nuggets of the early 80’s – even if we lose, it shouldn’t be boring – which isn’t the worst thing to have in a transition season.

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Thanks CV for updates!

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We need to get Blatch if the Wizards amesty him!

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I would like to see the Hawks sign another SF, Randolph, Barnes, Pietrus or Childress would work for me. I would take a gamble on Blatche for he vet min if he’s amnesty. If not, then Ryan Hollins or Jermaine O’neal would be the last big I would sign.

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missed the game but watched the SA game. Why was Josh in Los Vegas watching rookies? Does not sound like a guy who wants to leave Atlanta

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1.Teague
2.Jenkins
3.Smith
4.I.Johnson
5.Horford

or

1.Teague
2.Jenkins
3.Smith
4.Horford
5.Benson (killing it in Summer league)

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@kdub

kdub
July 16th, 2012
4:35 pm

2nd? never been 2nd..or 1st
————————————————–

That means you have a “life”; consider it is blessing. LOL

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So we traded or lost:

Joe Johnson
Marvin Williams
Kirk Hinrich
Willie Green
Pargo
TMac
Collins
Damp

We got Petro and Williams that probably cancel out Collins and Damp – close anyway.

Lou Williams had a much higher PER than JJ – but let’s face it, JJ is better than Lou. JJ is aging however.

Harris is way better than Pargo no matter how you slice it.

Marvin is probably a little better than Korver.

Stevenson and TMac may end up being somewhat of a wash, just with each excelling in different areas.

Jenkins and Morrow for Hinrich remains to be seen. I’d take Jenkins and Morrow.

Teague and Josh will be better.

And we’ll have Al for a full season.

While the roster is obviously a work in progress, I’m not sure we’re going to be that much worse of a team.

Looking at 40-45 wins right now?

And I know you could do the above analysis many different ways obviously. But we’ve stockpiled some talent – but need a wing, unless we plan on playing Josh out there, with Korver backing him up, with some help from Stevenson.

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why was Josh in Vegas, lol. I think you should be able to answer that.

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@Steve, 1. there is no way we are giving up both Teague and Harris. 2. There is no way Orlando is taking on 2 PG’s when they have a starting PG.

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Why does anyone think that Anthony Randolph can play SF?

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I have to agree with another poster about Miller from Kentucky. He would have been a better fit than Scott. Scott is pretty much jump shot or nothing. He is having trouble finishing against the long athletic players so if his j is not falling then I dont know what more he does for you on offense. I think Kyle O’ Quinn would have been a better pick also.

We need to get a sf in here. Randolph, Pietrus, Barnes, somebody. I dont see the need for Delfino but I guess we want to have a bunch of shooters and not much defense this season.

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I have only seen Randolph play for about twenty game minutes, and I would guess most of this blog has only seen him for about that much if even that. From everything I have seen and heard, Randolph is a skinny PF and has no little or no SF skills.

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High-Sider, welcome to the group. We try to fit in at first, until something needs to get done. Then we let our superiority complex show. You’ll fit in nicely here with us.

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Kyle Korver quote on ESPN “It is a bummer leaving Chicago” dude does not even want to be here.How do you expect some one to give you their all if they want to be some where else.I am glad he is honest.Folks wanted change now we got it.Heck Joe Johnson was quoted ” I have not been as exited to play for the Nets since I played in Phoenix” This town is not taken seriously by fans or players and it starts at the top with owners.If management wants fans to come out quit being cheap and field a team that can hang with the big boys!!!!!!!!!! GO HAWKS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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I always thought Randolph was a combo forward that was better suited at PF but could play some spot mins at SF. However, I like his length to compliment the other SFs on the roster (that are on the small side for that position).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyffO6Bp_80&feature=related

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Hugh Jass
July 16th, 2012
10:05 pm

Can we please give Danny Ferry the benefit of the doubt and let him construct the roster?

With a screen name like that, you must be incredibly disappointed to see Marvin get traded.

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Lang Greene ‏@LangGreene
Spoke with Atlanta Hawks first round pick John Jenkins, said he’s been loving the support from Hawks fans

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Yannis Koutroupis ‏@YannisHW
The Magic want to rebuild through the draft with multiple high picks, cap relief, and a potential young star who can grow with them.

2h Yannis Koutroupis ‏@YannisHW
I don’t think Andrew Bynum is the kind of centerpiece Orlando is looking for because of his impending free agency status.

2h Yannis Koutroupis ‏@YannisHW
Magic are looking for a player on his way to becoming an All-Star, Houston has everything they’re looking for otherwise, though, source said

3h Yannis Koutroupis ‏@YannisHW
Magic still talking about a large number of scenarios with various teams but still have not found an acceptable deal according to sources.

3h Yannis Koutroupis ‏@YannisHW
Hold up on Magic deal with Rockets for Dwight Howardis no centerpiece player. Nothing is immenent according to sources in Las Vegas.

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It’ll be easier for the Hawks to become a true contender if guys like Josh Smith aren’t main cogs. Therefore, he should be traded in the final year of his deal to acquire assets that could be moved for a superstar-level talent. That is all.

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Josh Smith is a good main cog. The problem is him being the pressure release.

He’s more Lebron or Iguodala (big wing and passer) than Bosh or Elton Brand. Put Horford at the PF and let the Hawks break some necks.

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Josh Smith had his best year as a pro basketball player this past season. Why? Al Horford was injuried and Josh had to play PF most of the time. Josh IS NOT a SF. All of you people that want to move Al to PF are just moving your best player out of position! Trade Al or keep him at 5. JOSH is a PF.

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Larry Drew is not the problem…….. get a complete team then evaluate LD. hell the same thing was said about the Celtics and Doc Rivers before they got the Big Three, now he is said to be one of the best coaches in the game right now.

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a line-up like this:

CP3/ L-Will
Harris/ L-Will
JChill/ Krover
Smoove/ Ivan
Dwight/ Zaza

equals LD one of the best coaches in the game……

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I think it’s funny how people make assumptions about a team before one game! Heck even one practice!!! A team on paper means nothing! If teams were judged on paper, the Knicks would be the best team in the NBA! The last time I checked, teams win by working together. Give this year’s team a chance before calling them terrible…

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Dwight Howard Trade Rumors: Could The Center Sit Out Season If Not Dealt? Lakers, Rockets, Hawks Still in Running

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By IBTimes Staff Reporter:

July 16, 2012 2:57 PM EDT

Dwight Howard is determined to get out of Orlando by any means necessary.

The Hawks have also been targeting Howard, hoping to bring the center back to his hometown. Atlanta would send Al Horford and Jeff Teague to Orlando in a potential deal. The Hawks might be reluctant to make such a deal without a commitment from Howard, but they’re hopeful that his friend Josh Smith could convince him to stay in Atlanta.

It’s hard to visualize Howard not playing this season if Orlando can’t move him. NBA Commissioner David Stern would almost certainly step in, and possibly suspend him without pay.

Howard has not publicly responded to the report.

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test

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Josh is a top 4 power forward

Al aint even top 15 so the best team is Howard and Josh in the front court and Al off the bench. But the reality is Al would be homeless on that team because he cant play the 4 better than Josh and he cant play the 5 better than D12. and he cant play the 3 at all. So Al is gone dude. Say good by to Average Al .

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Damn. Please tell me you are some import fan or something.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tIRqlWBvYE
We beat the Bulls, Thunder, Knicks and Orlando with Josh on their SFs last year

I dont know what bothers me more the lack of respect or the ignorance.

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Anyone who thinks LD can be a good NBA coach is just down right stupid.

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Enter your comments here

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Josh is one of the best power forwards in the NBA The only people that are stupid enough to ask he to play the 3 are Al Horford Fans who realize their boy cant play his position. And while Al may be a serviceable 4 hes not the caliber of 4 that Josh is, not by a long shot so the only way Al has a position if we get a real center is if Josh move over as a charity to Al. It aint happen folks. Josh is our power forward and is a better power forward than Al. Our goal is to put the best player in the positions not give charity to our favorite friend .

Get real.

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Hugh Jass!

“With a screen name like that, you must be incredibly disappointed to see Marvin get traded.” – Najeh -
______________

Ha Ha Ha … I was thinking the exact same thing when, i saw that handle. LOL!

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pointguardslim,

You’re funny!

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Don’t know if this was posted earlier, but Joe thinks his swag level is at 9.5 and that will help Brooklyn win a title. I wonder if an increased swag level allows him to make quicker decisions with the ball.

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pgslim:

About positions and such. (again)

I was not exactly certain as to your point about LeBron @ 12:53 am.

You were aware that LeBron played mostly the [4] last season;
especially during the playoffs and most people attributed his
Post-Play with the reason Miami was Uber successful last season.

LBJ is a unique talent that could play the [1] through the [5]
-and-
be the best player in the league at [whatever] position he chose to play.

Last summer I made a statement;
that if I were coaching LBJ – I would play him in the post;
primarily the High Post.
I was roasted on this here blog for making such an assertion.

Just sayin`.

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@Grandad
My bad, I edited it at 1:06 to try and make the point clearer.

The point of the 1:06 point is that pigeonholing players to 1 spot is idiotic. You have to shift around and see what works.

Now, Let’s be honest. Lebron at the PF is what Hawks fans think Josh should be.
The description fits him to a tee:
more athletic than 4s, drive past PFs, score at will, facilitate, scoring machine etc. etc.

Well Lebron is 260 lbs and an obviously better ball handler than Josh and even he settles for Js at the 4 at times.

As a 3, Josh would be posting up or on the wing and Teague would be the primary ball handler using PnRs to create semi double team situations.

And he’d be the #1 rebounder and shotblocker at his position. And if Kobe Bryant can’t guard Josh Smith how many guards can?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIepUUANijo

Run some motion and get Josh vs SGs and PGs and bomb 3s and jumpers from the double teams.

And top 4 PFs don’t get bullied out of the post by Troy Murphy.

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Danny Ferry knows a hell of alot more about Basketball than anyone on this blog. He thought it was a good move, so do I. We will make the playoffs next year with the Roster he will put together and Free Agents will start wanting to come here. I’m a huge fan of what Ferry has done, and I hope it all works out for him.

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I really think Myrak43 is probably more stupid than me,I also know that he doesn’t have have a sense of humor.

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* which means he`s *[as] close to 6-11 as Al is to 6-10

*as

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I don’t see how the hawks will be worse this year.. Just by shear logic. I mean losing jj doesn’t hurt when you look at it we picked up damn near seven serviceable players for JJ, he avg 18 ppg Lou avg 15 off the bench, Morrow,D-Harris,Stevenson,Kyle Korver,JJ2, & whatever we get for this Farmar move is going to be more than enough to supplant the loss of JJ. JJ was actually the reason for more of our losses Aby way of how we played. We did not lose Lebron, Wade,hell Chris Bosh even.

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Grandad,

I saw a lot of randolph when he played for the Knicks and Golden State. He is weak mentally and has a broke jumper. He can run the break and bring the ball up, decent in transition can block some shots. Problem is he has a broke jumper and is frail and has had issues with his ankles. Worst thing that happen to him was being drafted by Nellie in Golden state and him not having confidence in him.

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It appears that the Hawks are building a RUN AND GUN squad…

CAN THAT KIND OF TEAM EXCEL IN TODAY’S LEAGUE…..NOT WITHOUT A SOLID REBOUNDER AND A STRONG INTERIOR DEFENDER…

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IMO though, the up-tempo style is just short term. Once he has the right players, we’ll return to his half court, San Antonio-style. Defense, ball movement, post play, and outside shooting.

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“for all of you saying that Larry Drew needs to be fired and the Hawks will never win with him as the coach…………… the same thing was said about Erik Spoelstra and the Heat. How did that turn out?”

-Myrak43

Three words:

LeBron
Wade
Bosh

Let’s be honest……even Drew could win a ring as the head Coach.

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Josh commanded double teams most of last year. Al rarely commands a double team. The only time I ve seen a double team towards Al is when the come to take the ball away from him. But yeah, Josh commands a double team and had quite a few games at +25pts and some at +30. Josh is a scorer. He was tied with JJ for the team lead in scoring, which by the way, makes JJ expendable. Josh has so many ways he can score. The only way Al scores is if we slow down the offense to set him up or pick his man off him so he can get a shot off. Al cant create a shot. he has a face up shot at 10-15 ft but that is it. He has very little offensive skills. He too mechanical and uncoordinated. No Al wont command much attention offensively.

His career numbers speak for themselves

College? 12pts ppg
Pros ? 12pts ppg
playoffs? 11pts ppg
allstar? 5pts ppg

No Al is not in Josh’s league offensively nor defensively.

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Really Kyle Korver!!! I see a trade in the future, this guy can’t defend. Josh Childress would have been a great fit here. but, what can you say Ferry can’t get them all right.

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Im sure this is old news but will post anyways..

“Gery Woelfel: Hawks are one of several teams interested in UFA Carlos Delfino. Twitter

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Jason Quick: Add another to the list of Blazers coaching candidates: Atlanta assistant and former Oregon State legend Lester Conner Twitter

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Now, let’s use the same logic which has been put in place around here on the blog (please mind that I am critic of Horford):

Carmelo went 1 for 7 (0 for 4 from 3 point land) and 1 for 3 from the FT against Brazil in 17 minutes, totalling 3 points, 4 rebounds and 3 fouls.

Carmelo was playing with high quality teammates – logically his task was made easy by this fact.

Carmelo was playing against a team (Brazil) which is undoubtly less talented than Team USA, another factor making his life easy.

Conclusion?

‘Melo is pure garbage and a much worse player than Horford since Horford had better numbers with worse teammates and against a much more difficult opponent.

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MsDee,

Actually, I like Conner and I am under the impression that he will be a much much better head coach than LD.

Last year our defense was pretty solid and I credit that in great part to Conner.

Also, he dresses better than LD another important factor in the NBA. How can today’s multimillionaire players respect a guy who dresses like someone who just picked up his suit from the Salvation Army depot?

In LD’s credit, his wardrobe improved last year significantly

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Bossmann
July 17th, 2012
8:47 am

The old team is responsible for the differential between the new contract and the previous one.

Amnestied players go through an auction procedure with a minimum salary as a base.

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Ferry has more upgrades than not:

Devin Harris > Pargo
Korver > Marvin
Morrow>Green
Joe Johnson > Stevenson, Jenkins

If you think about it, Stevenson does not give what Joe Johnson gave, but you have to like his toughness over Joe. Korver is an upgrade, actually my grandma would have been an upgrade over Marvin. Morrow is a more pure shooter than Green. Devin Harris is bigger and better than Pargo. I think there are a couple of more moves for Ferry to make. Here is my prediction. Either Ferry will sign a serviceable veteran at SF like Josh Howard, A Jamison, or Rasual Butler. If the big deal that we want to get done doesn’t get done. Randolph is cool, but not a SF. His outside shot is not the best. JJ Hickson was the guy I wanted but he has been scooped up already.

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brendan Heyward is still available, he was amnestied by the mavericks…

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“Conclusion?

‘Melo is pure garbage and a much worse player than Horford since Horford had better numbers with worse teammates and against a much more difficult opponent.” -vava-

coming from a closet Nets fan -enough said-

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alex how tall are u? 5′2

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I mean Haywood.

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Here’s a fan prospective on Anthony Randolph:

“According to Marcus Thompson of Bay Area News Group, Anthony Randolph, a first round selection by the Warriors of the 2008 NBA Draft, would like to return to the Warriors”

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/fan-anthony-randolph-return-golden-state-warriors-011000102–nba.html

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Josh Smith commanded double teams on who???

Not even on Brandon Bass or Kevin Garnett (Bos) Chris Bosh (Mia) or Lavoy Allen (Phi) or any PF in Chicago, Gibson, Boozer.

But he did go off on David West! 1 Team out of Top 6 ain’t bad according to some Hawks Fans.

And then others complain why we never make it to the ECF.

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It’s funny how the market for NBA FA market works. Once a team publicly expresses an interest in a player, the stock of that player goes up regardless if that player sucks or not. Agents sales their clients according to market demands. So the more there are rumors about teams pursuing that player, the longer that player will hold-out for more money or the best deal.

This perhaps is the case with Anthony Randolph. His stat numbers isn’t bearing out greatness (by any means) but since he’s been mentioned on several occasions from different teams, it justifies a hold-out from him.

Danny should move on to Plan B. Either way, the Hawks need an athletic wing defender with length (by any means necessary).

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I finally got a chance to watch the Hawks Summer League team last night. I watched the game against the Celtics. A few observations:

Jenkins has a crazy-quick release and clearly has a scorer’s mentality. I don’t think his defense is any worse than most college players. He closes quickly on guys shooting jumpers but doesn’t appear to have the best defensive agility. It seems unlikely that he would average less than 18 minutes/game… or said differently, he is at minimum a solid rotation player.

Mike Scott. When I read his scouting report, I was thinking about David West. And that doesn’t seem too far off after watching him play. He missed a ton of open jumpers but did a nice job on the boards. In the 2nd quarter, he spent more time in the post and baseline and had some nice moves. He missed a slew of shots but he seems to at least know how to get off a quality attempt. He battled well on the defensive end. IMO, he needs to spend a year (at least) in the D-League but I don’t think he projects to be more than a 3rd string PF.

Keith Benson. Still woefully thin and fairly weak but he has a very good offensive skill set. I would definitely sign him to a 2-3 year contract (no more than $1.5/year) and work to increase his strength. I doubt that he ever gets as big as even Tyson Chandler, but he could become a nice big off the bench who can score in the post, block a few shots and run the floor. I’m guessing his upside is around 15 minutes/game as a back-up to a more traditional center.

Others. I didn’t see much worth noting from others. The PGs didn’t seem as good as Donald Sloan to me.

So bottom line, from what I saw, only Jenkins and Benson would make the big-league team. Scott goes to the D-League and all others kick rocks. Again, one game worth of evaluation, I have 2 more on the DVR to watch later this week.

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I agree, SteveW but is he defense material?

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vava, yes, LD stopped buying suits from the same place where he buys his bulk paper products. His wardrobe significantly improved last year… I’m not saying that he is approaching the legendary Pat Riley in the fashion department, just that he finally found suits that fit him and don’t have him looking like he is wearing his older and bigger brother’s hand-me-downs.

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Adonal Foyle, who obviously has inside info on Orlando’s thinking says Houston will eventually get Dwight, because they are willing to take back Orlando’s junk.

Since as of right now, the Nets can’t sign D12 on the open market, and I don’t see a realistic way that they can after next season, you’d think whoever gets Dwight would be the team to re-sign him, since they can offer him much more money.

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I like this as a decent pick up for the Hawks.

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Delfino’s not that good on D I don’t think.

AJ – I agree wholeheartedly with your assessment of our Summer League. Keith Benson reminds me of Theo Ratliff for some reason. Not his play, but his build – in Theo’s early years.

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When are the Hawks going to get a true center? Surely by now they realize that they need one, Horford has done an admirabe job but is not a center but a power foward. When will they stop this 6′7 – 6′9 parade ?

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Point guards throw it into their big men.
Hawks expect to make playoffs they’ll have to recoup some of the size they lost in Joe and Marvin.

……..
To review: Atlanta has basically traded Joe Johnson and Marvin Williams on the wing for Lou Williams, DeShawn Stevenson, Anthony Morrow, Jenkins and a potential dose of Harris as part of lineups with two point guards. They may also try to find another wing on a veteran’s minimum deal, as they did last season with Willie Green and Tracy McGrady.

The Hawks have lost some major size in this meta-transaction, and with it some of the versatility they had to play big lineups, small lineups and lineups that simultaneously played big and small — with Johnson as a bully shooting guard and Horford as the rangy center. That will hurt on both sides of the floor and on the glass, where Marvin Williams served as a solid rebounder on the wing.

But Lou Williams can replicate some of Johnson’s shot creation and add free throws that Johnson didn’t generate, Morrow provides elite shooting and Stevenson can defend a lot of small forwards. Also, Smith can shift to small forward when coach Larry Drew wants super-big lineups on the floor.

In other words: It shouldn’t surprise at all if the Hawks are again a solid playoff team, even amid all this turmoil. But that isn’t the end goal here, anymore.
……..

Get Anthony Randolph in here! And Dwight if possible. And if you get D12 communicate with Dwight as a person, not as a $ sign. Not like what the Magic did with him.

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“Josh never needed a double because his percentage of shooting from the outside was so paltry he was his own double team. ”

Or perhaps his back to the basket game was so paltry that he resorted to face up game????

“He was prone to traps when he got the ball down low and held it for any length of time.”

Huh? Traps are very hard double teams. You just contradicted yourself….moving on.

“Guys like boozer and even kg overwhelmed him physically, taking away his inside game, kg with height to easily take his shot away in close and boozer by beating him physically on both ends. Boozer took at least one or two good body shots to josh on offense and sometimes you could hear the groan on impact, on defense boozer just crowded him and kept him from turning to the basket.”

True. But that’s a size issue. I wonder how much banging against PF has diminished Smith’s jumping ability compared to if he played against SFs.
Josh is more undersized for his position than Al on a lot of nights. Boozer 6′9.5, 260+. That’s 2 inches and 35 lbs on Josh.
KG 4 inches taller, and 25 lbs heavier.

Troy Murphy made Josh shoot a wild blind post up shot.

Thats why Josh stays at the high elbow. Where he can get a step back jumpshot any time on slower PFs.

But the problem is if Josh is at the PF. Who ~isn’t~ shooting jumpers?

http://blogs.ajc.com/hawks/2011/03/09/atlanta-hawks-j-j-we-all-are-jump-shooters-thats-pretty-much-what-it-is/
How many points do people expect to score from guards driving the lane? 40 from Harris and Teague and Lou? That’s generous.
Then 30 from 3 point shots?

This team is going to suck if Hawks don’t recoup some size and Josh is not at least the part time starting SF.

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I knew Lin’s days were numbered when Woody was hired. He’s too young. lol.

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Jason Eugene Terry won a championship and was a monster in the Finals a year ago.
Go check his historic advanced numbers versus Joe Johnson. WS/48, true shooting% etc.

Ray Allen…is a hall of Famer. For the vet min? Where do I sign up.

Nick Young…is the 6′6 replacement for Lou Williams, whom Iguodala dissed.

Jamal Crawford signing is a bad one judging off last year in my opinion. But if Crawford can reclaim his catch and shoot ability and role which he did in his 1st year in a Hawks uni, and do less stagnating iso. Then he’ll be a good fit. I don’t know if his defense is deteriorating though…

At least the other guys can put their body into you,

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Lou Williams PER – 20.22

Joe Johnson PER – 18.50

Lou Williams Contract – 3 years, 15.7 mill.

Joe Johnson Contract – 4 years, 89+ mill remaining

Lou Williams 25 years old

Joe Johnson 31 years old

Thanks Danny Ferry, I’m sold!

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PGS – And your point?

JET is what he is regardless of what you posted.

Ray Allen signed for the Mid Level (mini) at 3 + mill, not the Vet. Min.

So Iggy disses Lou, and the sign a worse player for more money? Your point?

And Jamal being a bad signing is your opinion, no basis of fact.

Wasn’t it your point that Jon Leuer was the missing piece for the Hawks or something also?

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Pgs i thought i was agreeing with you. Those times that josh was in that situaion were minimal, not everytime he got the ball which is what i consider double teams. Josh only fell prey to the trap in very limited circumstances the point i was making and teams easily took the ball from him and negated any presence of this going forward in a game. Most players by design will fall into traps but are not subject to constant attention like jj did, really the only guy on our team that needed this amount of attention. It is also why our offense deteriorated so late in games or crucial times.

To clarify my point, if josh required a double and jj as well then we would have been able to free up others which never happened. Almost any player can be trapped by his own poor play and the opponents defensive scheme but i dont consider it a double team but help defense when it is transitory and fluid. It wasnt like everytime josh got the ball he got the attention of two players, whereas jj often faced this no matter where he got the ball, a true double up. Josh got no attention from anyone from ten feet out. Of course spacing makes it more difficult in the former trap situation and why perimeter shooters are part of the plan that df seems to be plotting.

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PGS – So your saying JET plays defense? I thought we were talking volume scorers here.

And JET’s 34, lost a step or two, and still gets the Full Mid Level – from a good winning organization.

I’d just admit I was wrong and move on. Much easier than defending the Titanic, saying it’s unsinkable, as it lies at the bottom of the ocean.

Couldn’t the Sixers have replaced Lou (2nd in 6th man of the year voting) with a strong defender instead of 6 mill for Nick Young? Since guys like Young are worthless? And Collins is such a strong, defensive minded Coach?

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Carmelo went 1 for 7 (0 for 4 from 3 point land) and 1 for 3 from the FT against Brazil in 17 minutes, totalling 3 points, 4 rebounds and
3 fouls.

Carmelo was playing with high quality teammates – logically his task was made easy by this fact. Carmelo was playing against a team (Brazil) which is undoubtly less talented than Team USA, another factor making his life easy..

Rod from CP,

You killed Horford because he struggled against team USA. So how do you feel about Carmelo’s game last night? Carmelo must not be that good then, because he is not only a multiple all-star, he is all-NBA.

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Wow. 2 years, $24 mil for Humphries. He got more annually, but they only gave him 2 years. I thought he would get 3 years, $30 mil.

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Vava – I liked Brand (not for that money of course) but he was a load inside. Killed the Hawks that last game we should have won up in Philly.

And I don’t even like Nick Young – not at all as a BB player.

But the point was that scorers would not be signed by good teams this off season – and not only were they signed by good teams, they were signed at a premium. 6 mill for Nick Young? Give me a break.

Now Philly could have signed say Damien Wilkens, or tons of other lock down wings for far less.

But Doug Collins and Rod Thorn know you have to have players who put the ball in the hoop, so they sign Nick Young for 6 mill for a season.

That’s the point

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So as of right now, the Nets have abour $76MM tied to 5 players: JJ $20MM, DW $19MM, Lopez $13MM, Humphries $12MM, Wallace $9MM. I think they also added Teletovic and CJ Watson for about $3MM each. This russian guy is gonna pay the luxury tax to cover for all the “losses” in the NBA!

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^Should say $73MM

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OB – 12 mill per year is good money no matter how you slice it.

Kris Humphries is officially making as much per year as Al Horford.

And yes, if I heard the Hawks signed Pietrus, Delfino, Barnes or Randolph, I would like that. I’ve always like Pietrus game – and Barnes for that matter.

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Dang, I would have loved to have Keith Bogans..that dude can play some DEFENSE! Not a bad shooter either. The Nets will be making some noise next season.

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Danny Ferry, when asked by Chris Webber what his initial impressions were of Larry Drew: “Well, Larry’s just a really, really good guy.”

Uh oh………so long, LD.

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SteveW,

“Rod – reckon any of these bloggers are man enough to come on here and admit you were right and they were wrong?”

None of these clowns will ever admit they are wrong or give credit when it is due. I does not bother me. I told everyone what would happen with this years Hawks team before we even got to the playoffs, and it happened exactly as I stated. I told everyone that Marvin was a bum 4 years ago and I was correct again. I argued with these same clowns about Josh Smith being better than Marvin Williams for almost two years. Those who were here know. I glad you remember.

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“Rod from CP,

You killed Horford because he struggled against team USA. So how do you feel about Carmelo’s game last night? Carmelo must not be that good then, because he is not only a multiple all-star, he is all-NBA.”

The difference with me is that I have been giving him a hard time since last year in the playoffs when Orlando and Chicago took his heart, and stole his game. I actually like Horford, but I realize that he is overated, and very easy to shut down offensively. If he will work on some post moves, he can actually become a better player, but as long as he continues to depend on mid range jumpshots, he can be shut down offensively. Carmelo is a scorer. Horford is not. Scorers have bad games often. (See Jason Terry, Jamal Crawford, Lou Williams, James Harden…..). Horford has become easy to defend simply because he has not developed any sort of post game. I don’t think that he is a bad player, I just know that NBA teams, scouts and other players have figured out how to shut him down. He need to adjust his game now.

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@heat check

I thk he is out too, maybe thats why Lester Conner is being interviewed for a future head coaching position to Portland.

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Hilton Armstrong last night in his summer league game: 11 pts, 9 boards, and 4 blocks.

Better than Benson?

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I’m interested to know what Jordan Williams 6′-10″ 260 lbs PF(acquired from the Nets) brings to to Hawks. Nice size

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The Truth
July 17th, 2012
12:26 pm

He brings a huge food and beverage bill every single day. He looks at least 290lbs right now.

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it is nice to see a roster void of Joe “average joe” Johnson. The only thing that could have made this sweeter would have been Joe also being jettisoned or shipped to Utah!!! hasta la vista Joe!

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Come on Danny, dont let Dwight slip out of your hands

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Come on, for that to happen that Byunm must always have a contract extension as well. I dont think he would sign in Orlando, if LAL does get him, Josh would be shopped to the Rockets.

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Kile Korver, Not bad…thats lil more upgrade there!

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Interesting speculation on the terms of Humphries new contract in relation to D12.

http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/47923/to-make-sense-of-nets-deal-look-south

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Adrian Wojnarowski: Free agent Grant Hill has reached agreement on a deal with the Los Angeles Clippers, league sources tells Y! Twitter

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Random thoughts:

Ferry ain`t gonna trade *assets for D.Howard.
*[major team components such as Al or Teague]
He will have cap space to sign him; [2013]
many people think he ends up in Atl *’`next yr`’* !

Teaguer may not be a Hawk [long term].
I`m reading into Ferry`s statements:
He talks much about the ability of Harris and Lou Will.
I`m guessing – of course.

Summer Team:
Mike Scott is a Gamer.
Korver is here to mentor *’`Jenkins`’*
Benson makes the team immediate upgrade over Collins / Damp
Jordan Taylor from Wisconsin may be a keeper [defense]
Jordan Williams [acq from Brklyn Nets] is on smmr team / has-NPCD
*[I think he got in 1 min in one game, committed 1 foul / only stat]

*** If we have a true [5] *** along with Al & Josh:
Josh should destroy a wing [3] in the post !
Much like Melo – who is a very good post-up [3].

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This franchise should be renamed the Rip Van Winkles. If he slept and awoke every year for the past 45 years, he would find nothing changed.

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Hit Mamma Up!

SMH … Dallas Cowboy’s WR, Dez Bryant turned himself in today for domestic violence. Allegedly, that dude smacked his mamma in the face with his baseball cap … ouch! And, jacked her up by her shirt on Saturday night.

Calm down Dez man, didn’t your mamma teach you not to put your hands on a woman? How does one explain this behavior? Not enough hugs as a kid?

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AJ

Regarding your D12 link, I think this blogger said it best:

NBAguy119: “Can someone explain to me why Orlando would be excited about Net’s draft picks which I assume would be late rounders in a poor draft??”

By mid Jan, I would expect the Nets (with their studded Lay-up) to be among the top 4 teams in the east before this trade. With D12 after this trade, they could become the 2nd best team in the east by season end.

If Orlando got picks from the Nets from this trade, it won’t amount to much compared to Houston who will suck this season. The Hawks are likely the next best option considering how they are re-tooling.

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“with their studded Line-up”

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“compared to Houston who will give away anything and will take back anything”.

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Adrian Wojnarowski: “Free agent Grant Hill has reached agreement on a deal with the Los Angeles Clippers, league sources tells Y! Twitter”

Marc J. Spears: “Lakers could be landing forward Antawn Jamison & center Jermaine O’Neal to minimum deals, sources tell Y! Jordan Hill interest remains, too.”

Nash with Lakers it goes on and on, all these FA players chasing a ring and the backs of title-holding teams. The need to revise the CBA or the NBA is headed toward boredom.

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The Truth,

Only way any other teams other than named, Lakers/Boston/Miami/Spurs is to draft a super super star and surround him with ball players, other than that, we will continue to see guys chase rings when they are all but done.

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“Horford has become easy to defend simply because he has not developed any sort of post game. I don’t think that he is a bad player, I just know that NBA teams, scouts and other players have figured out how to shut him down. ” – Rod from CP

Wasn’t Boston the league’s best defense this year? In Games 5 and 6 Horford was 14-24 from the field. If the best defensive team in the league has “figured out how to shut him down”, how did he shoot so well? Wasn’t he guarded by Brandon Bass, whom everyone claimed had “shut Al down” in the Orlando series in ‘11?

With that said:

I was supremely disappointed with Al in the 2011 playoffs, but I never thought that he was defended so well that he was “shut down”. If anything, he shut himself down. I saw him getting the same midrange shot,and getting it off easily, but missing an inordinate amount of shots he hit all season. I never saw all these “hard close outs” that I saw people claiming. I went back and looked at the games I had recorded, and sure enough, Al was just missing shots that he had hit all year. I don’t know if it was nerves, but it surely was NOT great defense that caused him to “hurry his shot” as one poster said repeatedly.

Not that Chicago didn’t play great team defense against the Hawks, but the main thing they did to Al was not leave him alone, as Orlando mostly did. The Bulls definitely did a better job closing out because they never left him for long. But I thought he was rushing his shot, even when wide open. That’s what I saw when I went back to the tapes. To me, that’s a mental thing, and NOT “great defense”. He was just truly awful for the 2011 playoffs. It happens. I want to see what he can do next year.

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By the way, Rod, I totally agree that Horford needs better post moves, and a left hand counter move as well.

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@ myrak43 “these day one is speaking about Dolphin or Delfino?”

He was saying Delfino instead of Dolphin, right?

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LOL MsDee…LOL!

Yeah i think he was too.

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“Calm down Dez man, didn’t your mamma teach you not to put your hands on a woman? How does one explain this behavior? Not enough hugs as a kid?”

Dez Mom was locked up for I believe 18 months for selling Crack…

Run Dez, Run….

Just a sad story…

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No sé inglés DS,sólo algunos anglicismos después de 23 años de aficionado nba(de los hawks)gracias por las traducciones amigos.

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Never thought we had a shot at Hill. Still sucks though. We need T-Mac! Danny, get Damien otp!

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I falchi sarà un team di guardia dura quest’anno! Im molto eccitato. Tutti hanno bisogno è un piccolo legitamate avanti.

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MsDee
July 17th, 2012
3:41 pm

@ myrak43 “these day one is speaking about Dolphin or Delfino?”

He was saying Delfino instead of Dolphin, right?

Yes that is correct it was Delfino.

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TMACfan
July 17th, 2012
3:47 pm

Jeff Teague better start over Devin…

why should Teague start over Devin???? if Teague is better he should start if Devin is better he should start. lets see how it plays out. or are you just a Jeff Teague fan boy and want him to play no matter if he isn’t playing well or not?

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Gery Woelfel: Shannon Brown, whom the Bucks have had interest in, is close to signing with another unknown team. Twitter

Ummm, could it be with the Hawks?? His wife, R&B singer Monica IS from Atlanta!!

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With the rate Ferry is going with all the guards/Atlanta connections, I wouldnt be surprised if Shannon Brown was on his way here too…

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12-man active roster:

Ball handlers: Teague, Harris, Williams
Shooters: Jenkins, Morrow, Korver
Forwards: Smith, Ivan, ???
Centers: Horford, Pachulia, ???

I don’t want Stevenson, Petro, or Jordan Williams on this roster. What kind of SF or C can we get for $6.5M in expiring contracts?

Hawks need some legit size in those last two active spots.

I’d like for the 3 inactive roster spots (13-15) to be Jordan Taylor, Mike Scott & Keith Benson.

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Buddy, you’re right, the Humphries contract is 2 years. So according to Hollinger, the Nets could trade Humphries (who would have roughly 1.5 years left at the deadline) for Big Baby, JRich, Hedo, etc. and give Orlando cap space in the summer of 2014. Houston, could give them cap space in the summer of 2013. But Nets also give them Lopez & Humphries, while Houston doesn’t really have an above average player to deal.

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Here’s a quote from 7/5 on Lin potentially leaving NY:

“”They will match any offer on Lin up to one billion dollars,” said one source to Marc Stein”
I can’t fathom the Knicks letting this momentum leave the Big Apple.

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Vava74: Terry and Mayo may be slightly better versions of Young, Crawford and the 37 year old ankle surgery hampered Ray Allen, but the idea is the same. Score buckets.

Throw Lou Williams in that group as well.

The Julio Jones illustration is that even though D and Lack of turnovers win Championships, you still gotta score points.

D and Rebounding win BB Championships, but you still have to score pts.

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can anybody see a derrick williams for kyle korver or anthony morrow trade?
MINN paying 40 mill for batum seems really unappropriate for his talents(id give batum 3/12mill at most), idk why they value him so much when they just drafted dwill #2. give dwill a year and he will be productive. so do the hawks make a trade for a SF named williams drafted #2 overall again, or do we already know what that path holds?

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But= by

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I notice that Benson has been taking shots in the blog and by various commentors. In spite of his critics, he looks like our best summer league player. Are we sure this guy can’t play? I like this team and have to believe we will trade one of the extra guards on this roster for a defensive minded SF.

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Jermaine is a corpse now

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Al “Tito” Horford is a flat out “Scrub” Al Horford is Garbage. His instincts are average at best. He is a back-up player on most play-off teams—at best. And i a talking about him at the 4 position.

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Joe hasn’t been this excited since his Phoenix days?

Joe gets excited? I was pretty sure this guy could have an orgy w/ the Hawks cheerleaders and keep a straight face.

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Jeff Teague PER 15.83 EWA 5.2
Devin Harris PER 16.08 EWA 4.4

Tough call.

Maybe Drew will let them battle it out in camp.

Or if Devin’s time here is likely to be temporary, maybe he’s stuck in a backup role regardless of whether or not he can beat JT0 out for the starting job.

I have my money on Teague continuing to improve and being a better point guard than Harris next season.

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I like Jeff Teague, however, he tends to get “Punked out” by guys like D. Rose and other elite point guards. He loses his confidence when playing against elite PGs.

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With Pachulia, I. Johnson, and Dominic Mcguire, toughness and defense will be our calling card

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Wroten regressing to the mean.

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Why would you take the keys away from Teague now? Now is his time to shine – he won’t have to constantly defer to Joe. Let him execute the offense & see what we have with him. If he works out we won’t have to overspend for CP3 or he will be great trade bait. Harris is not what he once was & will never be that good again.

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SI has a huge article on Josh Smoove who says hes here to stay….

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/sam_amick/07/17/josh-smith-hawks-dwight-howard/index.html

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” The run-and-gun portion of the program will be handled by new point guard Devin Harris, whose $8.5 million expiring contract was acquired from Utah in exchange for forward Marvin Williams, and newly signed guard Lou Williams, who averaged 14.9 points for Philadelphia last season. All of the additions will give the Hawks’ offense a new look after years of relying on Johnson as the first option. In the trade with Brooklyn for the six-time All-Star,”

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I’m excited that we will hear more “JJJJJSMOOOOVVVEE” in Philips!!

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Atlanta received a lottery-protected first-round pick in 2013,

Yes!!!!

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The Nets are going to be formidable. Deep – deeper than the Heat – more balanced than the Heat.

Humphries and Evans at the PF give them crazy rebounding at that position – then an overseas player also who’s supposed to be pretty good.

But the Heat do have the Big 3, so we’ll see.

I like LeBron better now – great playoff performance all the way thru.

But I still don’t like the Heat.

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Lotta amnesty guys and unsigned FAs …

not sure who would fit our needs, but a SF would be nice …. Carl Landry?

I am not feelin’ Andray Blatche …. too much drama, like a reality show.

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The run-and-gun portion of the program will be handled by new point guard Devin Harris, and newly signed guard Lou Williams, who averaged 14.9 points for Philadelphia last season.

Harris
Williams
Jenkins
Smoove
Howard

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I am glad to move away from the Teague Marvin Al JJ core. I can say Amen Ferry That replaces the core. No more projects or excuses. The core is history. Heres the new starting team. – assistant general manager Wes Wilcox

New Day has come.

Harris
Williams
Jenkins
Smoove
Howard

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Harris
Williams
Jenkins
Smoove
Howard

*This starting 5 can play with any team out there.

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“The Hawks have added shooters Lou Williams, Devin Harris, Anthony Morrow and first-round pick John Jenkins during the off season”

No more excuses for Teague or Al or Marvin nor JJ.

A new day has come.

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melvin, it aint a done deal until they get er dun, bro.

maybe there can be some optimism. with that said i dont think josh walks without some return. he will be three steps ahead. the preceding gm’s were three steps behind and never managed player assets.

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*Breaking up the core that got us nowhere and was sinking is the right thing to do.

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Denver must have offered more money than the Hawks to Randolph b/c the Nuggets have a logjam at the forward positions so I can’t see him getting more playing time there then he would here.

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doc,

you are right. it done until it’s done but I like the direction its going…

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“Atlanta received a lottery-protected first-round pick in 2013, Yes!!!!”

That’s Houston’s pick that is lottery protected for the next two years, then converts to a second round pick in the third year if it has not been conveyed. This means that if Houston misses the playoffs the next two years (a distinct possibility), this pick will end up being a second rounder. We’d all better hope that Jeremy Lin lives up to the hype and leads Houston to the playoffs.

Also, I’ve long insisted on this blog that Josh Childress would never consider playing for the Hawks again after he was forced to seek a contract overseas. However, Billy Knight is no longer here. The small forward position is up for grabs. And Chills might want to try to resurrect his career with the only NBA team he’s enjoyed any success with. Childress for the vet’s minimum could be Danny Ferry’s next gift to my beloved A.

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Also… BRING BACK MAC!

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yes buddy, there is no possible reason josh can validate being any further than ten feet from the basket, ever.

i say no strongly to tmac, please. there is nothing redeeming in this aging ex-star who hasnt rehabbed his injuries. knee and back issues are too much to overcome as they are the same injury essentially. look at j oneal not kg as where tmac is going. we need players, ballers ready for every game and that is hat df has gotten. let boston or miami or even new york/brooklyn have him as they can absorb his injury tendency and his ego.

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I see Othello Hunter is playing for the Bobcats summer league. Look like the Hawks made a good decision to let him go. He has D-League or over seas talent….

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Atlanta Hawks Offseason Moves & Analysis
Leave a comment
By Chris Bernucca
July 17, 2012 at 10:25 PM
UNDER CONTRACT: F Josh Smith, F-C Al Horford, G Devin Harris, C Zaza Pachulia, G Jeff Teague, G Lou Williams, F Kyle Korver, C Johan Petro, G Anthony Morrow, F Jordan Williams, G DeShawn Stevenson
DRAFT PICKS: G John Jenkins, F Mike Scott
FREE AGENTS: F Ivan Johnson (R), C Jason Collins, C Erick Dampier, G Willie Green, G Tracy McGrady, G Jannero Pargo, F Vladimir Radmanovic
MOVES: New GM Danny Ferry hasn’t wasted time showing he is a can-do man, moving the contracts of both Joe Johnson (4 years, $90 million remaining) and Marvin Williams (2 years, $16 million remaining) in separate trades. Johnson was traded to Brooklyn for the expiring deals of Anthony Morrow, Johan Petro and Jordan Williams, a signed-and-traded DeShawn Stevenson, a bought-out Jordan Farmar and Houston’s 2013 lottery-protected first-round pick. Marvin Williams was traded to Utah for Devin Harris. The deals cleared future money off Atlanta’s cap and make the Hawks a potential player in next summer’s free agency market, which could include Chris Paul, Andrew Bynum, Manu Ginobili, Paul Millsap, Al Jefferson and maybe even Dwight Howard. But Ferry isn’t waiting until next year, signing Lou Williams to a multi-year deal. Williams will help offset some of Johnson’s missing offense. So will Kyle Korver, who was acquired from Chicago for cash and a $5 million trade exception. Korver has just one year left on his deal, keeping alive next summer’s plan.
TO-DO LIST: There is a school of thought that says Ferry is collecting friends of Howard – former AAU teammate Josh Smith, desired teammate Morrow, Georgia native Williams – to lure the big man to Atlanta. Al Horford, Jeff Teague, a couple of extra parts and multiple draft picks are as good a deal as any other that was presented to Orlando. Whether or not the Hawks can land Howard, more deals likely are on the way. Ferry would be smart to retain bigs Ivan Johnson and Jason Collins, who probably won’t cost much.
PROJECTION: Ferry’s cap-clearing will have consequences. He took a bag of hammers in return for Joe Johnson, and who knows what Harris’ frame of mind will be if he has to back up Teague in a contract year. Unless they snare Howard, the Hawks are going to take a step back next season. They could struggle to make the playoffs, because Eastern Conference teams such as Milwaukee and Brooklyn already look better. But at least they are positioned to get better, and Ferry didn’t have to totally detonate the roster to get there.
For offseason analysis of every team, click here.

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ah I see lots of love for TMAC on this blog good stuff. As long as LD is head coach, he won’t be back sadly.

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TMAC tweeted that he is in New York right now taking care of some “business.” Take what you will from that.

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FIRE LD

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SteveW

July 17th, 2012
9:50 pm

The Nets are going to be formidable. Deep – deeper than the Heat – more balanced than the Heat.

Humphries and Evans at the PF give them crazy rebounding at that position – then an overseas player also who’s supposed to be pretty good.

But the Heat do have the Big 3, so we’ll see.

I like LeBron better now – great playoff performance all the way thru.

But I still don’t like the Heat.

The Nets are deeper than the Heat??!! Now I see that your comments about Marvin were not tongue-in-cheek. The Nets only made two big moves: 1) resigning Derron Williams,which is a great move. 2) Adding Joe Johnson (a player that ALL of you are happy to see go). Miami still has the big 3 and the cast of characters that won them the championship AND they have added Ray Allen (maybe they are the big 4 now) and Rashard Lewis. These 2 are great additions for their team. So the Heat have added 2 great shooters to their team and all the Nets did was resign their own player (Joe Johnson is garbage, remember), so this makes the Nets deeper than the Heat??!!?? In what parallel zany universe do you live in?

Even if the Nets had added D Howard, they still wouldn’t have been as deep as the Heat. Better, yes. As deep, no. Without Howard, they surely are not as deep.

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Asked if he still wants to be traded, Smith promptly responded, “No.”

Best thing I saw all day.

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(On acquiring Dwight Howard…)

“But he has so much going on right now that I don’t want to clutter his head with any more of it. I know that he’s going through a lot right now with that decision, and it’s a long process for him. I don’t really bother him about it. I just call him sometimes to check up on him and see what he’s doing.” -Josh Smith

That, my friends, is a REAL friend.

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Has anyone seen Houston squad in SL, they got serious talent. They have a chance to make playoffs this year with Lin leading them there.

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Jordan Williams came in to Nets camp last year as the 36th pick coming off his sophomore year in college. He was so out of shape that he suffered from dehydration and didn’t even get to compete in all of camp. It took a couple of trips to the dleague just to get him in shape to play. Now he shows up to Hawks summer league looking like he’s pushing 290. I just don’t understand some of these young kids. Go look at his pre-draft interviews where he talks about how he’s lost weight and is now watching what he eats., and then see if you can find some Nets training camp pics from last year. I’d rather spend a roster spot on someone else. There’s no reason for a 20 yr old professional athlete to not be in reasonably good shape year round. He eventually produced for the Nets last year, but they had to give him an extra two months over every other player, just to get him in game shape.

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Rubeun

July 17th, 2012
9:20 pm

SI has a huge article on Josh Smoove who says hes here to stay….

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/sam_amick/07/17/josh-smith-hawks-dwight-howard/index.html

Rubeun

July 17th, 2012
9:26 pm

Rejuvenated in Atlanta, Josh Smith holds out hope for Dwight Howard

LAS VEGAS — When last we checked in with Josh Smith in mid-March, he was a young man conflicted. The dynamic forward who spent all eight of his seasons in Atlanta reportedly wanted a change, a trade that would remove him from a team with a payroll so bloated that Smith understandably questioned what it meant for his long-term future.

Changes came, of course, but not the kind Smith envisioned. A new general manager arrived in late June, when former Cleveland GM and San Antonio executive Danny Ferry replaced longtime Hawks GM Rick Sund. A revamped roster came soon after, as Ferry dealt shooting guard Joe Johnson — and the four years and nearly $90 million remaining on his contract — to Brooklyn in a money-saving trade that has shifted the Hawks into rebuilding mode after five consecutive postseason berths.

Suddenly, circumstances have changed. And coming off a season in which he averaged 18.8 points, 9.6 rebounds and 1.7 blocks, Smith doesn’t seem so eager to get out of town anymore.

Similar to many other teams, the Hawks are creating financial flexibility with the hope that one of the league’s elusive stars will come to Atlanta either via trade or in the next round of free agency. Orlando center Dwight Howard certainly tops that list, and the Hawks — while seemingly an afterthought — have been among the teams in talks with the Magic. They want to acquire the player who grew up in Atlanta and counts Smith as one of his closest friends.

Like Howard, Smith has one year left on his contract (worth $13.2 million). But unlike Howard, Smith isn’t set on leaving the team with which he spent his entire career.

“It’s interesting,” Smith said this week in an interview with SI.com. “I think we have a great GM in Danny Ferry, and he has a plan that he’s putting together. It looks good. I really am just trying to get to know these guys, to build a relationship and see where the team is going to end up closer to veterans’ camp. I’m just excited. We have a lot of elite shooters, and I can see us being a run-and-gun shooting team.”

Asked if he still wants to be traded, Smith promptly responded, “No.”

That mentality was in full effect in Las Vegas, where Smith visited with new assistant general manager Wes Wilcox near the top of the stands at Cox Pavilion. The two had never met before they sat down together on Sunday. They spoke about everything from the franchise’s future to Smith’s young daughter, Genesis, and son, Josh, during a friendly chat that lasted longer than half an hour.

Wilcox touched on the Hawks’ influx of shooters, rookie John Jenkins (the 23rd pick in last month’s draft, from Vanderbilt), four-year pro Anthony Morrow (obtained in the Johnson deal) and three-point specialist Kyle Korver, the 31-year-old who arrived Monday in a trade with the Bulls. Jenkins was viewed as one of the best pure shooters in the draft and has impressed coaches thus far on the summer league circuit. He will play on a rookie-scale deal that could arguably be labeled the anti-Joe Johnson contract (it will pay him about $1 million next season). Korver, meanwhile, has just one year and an affordable $5 million remaining on his deal.

The run-and-gun portion of the program will be handled by new point guard Devin Harris, whose $8.5 million expiring contract was acquired from Utah in exchange for forward Marvin Williams, and newly signed guard Lou Williams, who averaged 14.9 points for Philadelphia last season. All of the additions will give the Hawks’ offense a new look after years of relying on Johnson as the first option. In the trade with Brooklyn for the six-time All-Star, Atlanta received a lottery-protected first-round pick in 2013, the Nets’ second-round pick in 2017 and a package of players with expiring contracts: Morrow, Jordan Farmar, Jordan Williams, Johan Petro and DeShawn Stevenson. Only Williams, Jenkins and two-time All-Star center Al Horford (four years, $36 million remaining) are on the books for the 2013-14 season and beyond.

“I played a lot of years with Joe,” said Smith, who spent seven of his eight seasons with Johnson. “I built a relationship with him, like a brother relationship. And to see somebody depart that you’ve been playing with for so long, it’s tough. But at the end of the day, it’s still a business and I wish him the best. I definitely wish him the best.”

Smith isn’t expecting Howard to join him anytime soon, but he certainly welcomes the possibility. The two friends still keep in close contact, whether it’s having dinner together or Smith checking in on Howard to see how he’s handling the never-ending trade rumors.

“You never know” about getting Howard, Smith said. “I mean, everybody has a possibility of getting him. To have a guy of that caliber would definitely be awesome. But he has so much going on right now that I don’t want to clutter his head with any more of it. I know that he’s going through a lot right now with that decision, and it’s a long process for him. I don’t really bother him about it. I just call him sometimes to check up on him and see what he’s doing.”

According to Smith, the Hawks haven’t told him of any specific plans.

“I haven’t heard anything concrete yet,” he said. “I’m just getting to know these people, and I think later on the summer or even during the season we’ll come together and discuss the plans on going forward with the team.”

After a complete roster overhaul, those plans are just getting started. But for now, they appear to include Smith staying put.

Rubeun

July 17th, 2012
9:29 pm

” The run-and-gun portion of the program will be handled by new point guard Devin Harris, whose $8.5 million expiring contract was acquired from Utah in exchange for forward Marvin Williams, and newly signed guard Lou Williams, who averaged 14.9 points for Philadelphia last season. All of the additions will give the Hawks’ offense a new look after years of relying on Johnson as the first option. In the trade with Brooklyn for the six-time All-Star,”

BLACKMAN

July 17th, 2012
9:31 pm

HAWKS! OFF TO THE RACES….. SEEEYAAAA!

TMACfan

July 17th, 2012
9:32 pm

I’m excited that we will hear more “JJJJJSMOOOOVVVEE” in Philips!!

SteveW

July 17th, 2012
9:41 pm

Was just posting part of that Sam Amick interview from SI.

So Josh no longer wants to get traded. Good. He’s headed towards a max deal here it looks like. He’ll be 28 on Dec. 5th 2013, part way into the 1st year of a 5 year contract. That means he’ll be 32 when it ends.

For the slow learners here. Oh well – Great news!!

BTW A team of:

ZaZa
Al
Josh

Up front, will be one of the best frontlines in BB. Not the best, but very good.

And a backcourt of:

Teague/Harris
Lou/Morrow

Is going to be solid by anybody’s standards.

Even if we whiff on Dwight, I’m liking this team more and more.

And Ivan, Jenkins, Stevenson, Korver, even Petro just adds to the depth.

Maybe Benson, Scott, and Delfino fill out the roster.

Not sold on Jordan Williams and Pape Sy. Sure wish Scott could play the 3. Not looking promising yet.

BLACKMAN

July 17th, 2012
9:43 pm

Atlanta received a lottery-protected first-round pick in 2013,

Yes!!!!

BLACKMAN

July 17th, 2012
9:50 pm

ZaZa
Al
Josh

Up front, will be one of the best frontlines in BB. Not the best, but very good.

Not really. Al is the starting center and Josh is the power forward. There is no way we move smoove from the 4 as charity to Al. I agree that Zaza may beat Al out of his center position.

Harris Teague
Williams Morrow
Jenkins,Morrow
Smoove, Ivan
Howard (zaza until the trade

SteveW

July 17th, 2012
9:50 pm

The Nets are going to be formidable. Deep – deeper than the Heat – more balanced than the Heat.

Humphries and Evans at the PF give them crazy rebounding at that position – then an overseas player also who’s supposed to be pretty good.

But the Heat do have the Big 3, so we’ll see.

I like LeBron better now – great playoff performance all the way thru.

But I still don’t like the Heat.

BLACKMAN

July 17th, 2012
9:53 pm

Damn

Harris
Williams
Jenkins
Smoove
Howard

That will put some teams away fast. real fast. better bring your “A” game.

Marcus

July 17th, 2012
9:54 pm

Lotta amnesty guys and unsigned FAs …

not sure who would fit our needs, but a SF would be nice …. Carl Landry?

I am not feelin’ Andray Blatche …. too much drama, like a reality show.

Rubeun

July 17th, 2012
9:57 pm

The run-and-gun portion of the program will be handled by new point guard Devin Harris, and newly signed guard Lou Williams, who averaged 14.9 points for Philadelphia last season.

Harris
Williams
Jenkins
Smoove
Howard

Marcus

July 17th, 2012
9:59 pm

There are way too many combos and overlapping roles to pinpoint who will be the starting players and their positions. The only real thing “remotely” settled is that Josh will be a starter and Horford will be the 5.
There are a couple of veterans with expiring contracts who could float between starter and 2nd team

Larry James. T.

July 17th, 2012
10:02 pm

I am glad to move away from the Teague Marvin Al JJ core. I can say Amen Ferry That replaces the core. No more projects or excuses. The core is history. Heres the new starting team. – assistant general manager Wes Wilcox

New Day has come.

Harris
Williams
Jenkins
Smoove
Howard

BLACKMAN

July 17th, 2012
10:09 pm

Yeah, Ditto. if the assistant GM says Harris and Williams will handle our run and gun Then Im good I like that. Time to pull the plug on the core. Tried of the same ol S hit. Its a new day.

Harris
Williams
Jenkins
Smoove
Howard

This starting 5 can play with any time out there.

BLACKMAN

July 17th, 2012
10:13 pm

Harris
Williams
Jenkins
Smoove
Howard

*This starting 5 can play with any team out there.

Melvin

July 17th, 2012
10:19 pm

Asked if he still wants to be traded, (Josh) Smith promptly responded, “No.” SI.com

Uh oh, some of these bloggers may have to come off their stance that we have to trade Josh or he will walk in Free Agency…LOL

Break up the core baby!

July 17th, 2012
10:20 pm

“The Hawks have added shooters Lou Williams, Devin Harris, Anthony Morrow and first-round pick John Jenkins during the off season”

No more excuses for Teague or Al or Marvin nor JJ.

A new day has come.

Break up the core baby!

July 17th, 2012
10:23 pm

“It’s interesting,” Smith said this week in an interview with SI.com. “I think we have a great GM in Danny Ferry, and he has a plan that he’s putting together. It looks good. I’m just excited. We have a lot of elite shooters, and I can see us being a run-and-gun shooting team.”

Ditto on the LOL

“Uh oh, some of these bloggers may have to come off their stance that we have to trade Josh or he will walk in Free Agency…LOL”

They will find a new way to hate….

doc

July 17th, 2012
10:27 pm

melvin, it aint a done deal until they get er dun, bro.

maybe there can be some optimism. with that said i dont think josh walks without some return. he will be three steps ahead. the preceding gm’s were three steps behind and never managed player assets.

Rubeun

July 17th, 2012
11:10 pm

Well things are pointing in the right direction. Breaking up the core that got us now were and was sinking is the right thing to do.

Rubeun

July 17th, 2012
11:12 pm

*Breaking up the core that got us nowhere and was sinking is the right thing to do.
t

UGA

July 17th, 2012
11:14 pm

Birdman was cut, Denver signed A Randolph…..via Denver Post

Melvin

July 17th, 2012
11:22 pm

Denver must have offered more money than the Hawks to Randolph b/c the Nuggets have a logjam at the forward positions so I can’t see him getting more playing time there then he would here.

TMACfan

July 17th, 2012
11:22 pm

Melvin

July 17th, 2012
11:25 pm

doc,

you are right. it done until it’s done but I like the direction its going…

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Looks like Randolph got 3 yrs $6M. That’s basically what the Hawks had to offer (bi-annual of $1.9M + raises), I’m just not sure if the Hawks wanted to give 3 years or not.

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To: All bloggers especially doc

Which is/was worse?

LeBron’s (Queen’s) “Decision” vs. Dwight’s (Supergirl’s) “Indecision”

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And, in spite of all our dreams and of the somewhat renovation of the hawks’ image as a franchise, it’s highly, highly, highly doubtful that Howard will effectively want to sign with us.

I don’t think he is looking to emulate the less obvious path to a ring which for instance could be the past cases of the Pistons and the Spurs, ie. smaller market organizations which had success (Detroit in not small, but its not NY, CHI or LA), I think he is looking to try an easier big market, big bucks route.

Granted, the Nets do not have an history of success, however, NY is NY and Prokhorov has deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep pockets… so, I think Howard will probably look to sign with the Lakers if he does not get his wish and join Brooklyn.

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high sider rather than concentrate on the negatives i will flatly say the way durant did it had a lot more class. quiet. it also did not involve changing teams which i dont dislike as a fan as i think these guys should be able to go where they want to just as every citizen does and they have clearly defined what rules pave the way for it. every one of them has the opportunity to make the decisons, it is how they do it that shows much about their character.

the decision was media hype and lbj was mislead by his handlers. maybe the same could be said for d12. what d12 is doing now is what melo did in denver. he is very decided as to what he wants right now. that is how he should have handled it all along. however, it is handled, my thought is the best way to public support if that is what they want, is to let their agents speak and keep quiet to the media. best corporate managers let others do the dirty work for them and keep their hands clean of the negative or bad news.

for some of these ego guys it is very hard to do this and let others speak for them but it is the best way. if an agent does it, they can always blame it on them. if they say it, all fingers point their way and they can only look stupid by saying they were stupid for listening to them and agreeing with the strategy if it blows up on them. that is how d12 ended up looking so bad, he made a decision then tried to blame it on others. that is what i fear about getting into bed with d12, he doesnt speak with any notes of personal accountability but finds others to blame for the lack of success. he has blamed agents, teammates, gm’s and coaches but has never said he needed to do better.

i can only hope we dont get into the drama game with josh and df can begin to show him the love he deserves. ultimately jj going means there is more money for josh. that is bottom line. if jj had stayed they would have had to low ball him again and it would have not worked. i hops josh saw this as an affirmative towards him as much as the negative of getting rid of bad contracts.

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Tumbledown,

I agree that Atlanta probably gives him the best opportunity to have a clean slate, revive his career and elevate him to legendary status if he could win a championship for the Hawks.

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I forgot about Motumbo as a former Hawks’ center, but his accomplishments with the Hawks are easily eclipsed. Ferry seems to have his eye on a championship, as opposed to Sund who just wanted to maintain a consistent money stream for the owners and hoped the core would magicaly evolve. Hopefully, Howard can understand this new mindset with the Hawks and all that can be accomplished only in this championship-starved city.

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We need more of this now that we have a ton of shooters…..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhTFVnry0yE&feature=related

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Ra’mon,

You did. But I still wanted to hear it from Josh’s mouth. And although he doesn’t want to be traded, he is smart enough to leave the door open to leaving in ¬free agency.

Vava,

I think you’re reading too much into Josh’s comments and silence at the same time

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O’B, a player’s only leverage is free agency. But Josh PUBLICLY saying that he wants to play well into his career in Atlanta says a lot. That is way more than CP3, Melo, Lebron, Bosh, or D12 have said during their contract year.

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I’m just glad that Josh said something either way.

My only thing is this . . . if he plays the same way and takes some of the same shots he has over the past 2 years, the Philips Arena crowd isn’t going to be kind to him.

Josh will be billed as the top player this season, finally being introduced last when the starting lineups are announced. Dude is going to get every chance in the world to prove that he is a true leader. I hope he rises to the challenge and properly leads this team.

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Melvin, he is, but they’re wanting to trade him to re-sign Wallace.

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what about josh howard

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Also, I was referring to last years Heat roster, not this years.

But Rashard Lewis has been garbage recently. And while I like Ray Allen, 37 years old, ankle surgeries – I’m not sure how much he gives them. We’ll see I guess.

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SteveW, I’ll take Miller, Ray Allen, R. Lewis, Haslem, Battier and Coles over Bogans, Nazr, Brooks, Evans, and Watson.

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Ferry said during a summer league game that Teague and Harris will be playing together. I think you’re reading too much into what the assistant gm said.

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Gomes would be a cheap decent option to fill the roster with at least an half decent SF.

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From Washington Post;
Blatche occasionally flashed his immense talents while backing up Antawn Jamison in his first 41 / 2 seasons in Washington, but often got in his own way with a questionable work ethic and other unfortunate moments, including being shot before his rookie season and getting arrested for soliciting a prostitute.
When Grunfeld started his rebuilding efforts by dealing away Jamison and Caron Butler, Blatche took full advantage of his opportunity. In the final 32 games of the 2009-10 season, Blatche averaged 22.1 points on 48.5 percent shooting, with 8.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.5 steals.
Leonsis and Grunfeld rewarded him with an extension but came to regret the decision as Blatche’s production waned and he continued to make poor decisions off the court, such as engaging in a fight with teammate JaVale McGee outside a local club and hosting a party in Miami known as “Lap Dance Tuesdays.” Blatche vowed to change last summer — as he had done two years earlier when he changed his jersey number from 32 to 7 to represent “seven days of hard work.” But he erred on the season opener against New Jersey when he introduced himself as “your captain” to fans at Verizon Center and later complained about his role in the offense after the loss.
He regressed statistically for the first time in his career last season, averaging just 8.5 points and 5.8 rebounds, and Coach Randy Wittman shut him down in March for what the Wizards termed poor conditioning..

Melvin,

Are you still interested in Blatche? Change of scenery will do a player good sometimes, but I cant see the ASG making a move to bring him in (even if the price is right).

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I wouldnt mine considering Austin Daye. I dont this Detroit used him properly

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I would like either Austin Daye or Childress at starting SF

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“Leonsis and Grunfeld rewarded him with an extension but came to regret the decision as Blatche’s production waned and he continued to make poor decisions off the court, such as engaging in a fight with teammate JaVale McGee outside a local club and hosting a party in Miami known as “Lap Dance Tuesdays.” Blatche vowed to change last summer — as he had done two years earlier when he changed his jersey number from 32 to 7 to represent “seven days of hard work.” But he erred on the season opener against New Jersey when he introduced himself as “your captain” to fans at Verizon Center and later complained about his role in the offense after the loss. Washington Post

Yeah vava74, but do u really want him to be tempted for lap dances at MagicCity?? U see what happened to Joe Johnson hanging around there.

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MsDee,

JJ was a very professional player whilst he was with us. Always came in good, even perfect shape, played injured, returned earlier.

If he did frequent Magic City or not, the fact is that you did not see it on the court.

His major flaw was his inability to “sell himself” to the fans but that can be perceived as problem miss managed by the ASG.

Look at what the Nets did upon his arrival. Suddenly he gives interviews which are several pages long and not a short collection of two word sentences.

JJ was coached into becoming a ISO-oriented player, because we needed him to be like that in the beginning and because Woody knows no other offensive scheme, and that was curtailed JJ’s efficiency.

Last year with Josh becoming more of a feature on offense, JJ’s efficiency and numbers in the clutch improved again, back to elite status (with more assisted buckets), but LD was too weak to make JJ revert back to a more catch and shoot player.

Look for JJ to have a very good year under Avery and with Deron besides him.

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What of Derrick Williams That is someone I’d get right now thing about Derrick is while he was a #2 draft pick like Marvin we didn’t draft him so basically to me it’s a low risk how reward type thing going on.

What of this other talk like Robin Lopez I want to know as well?

Also I seriously question anyone that wants Collins or Dampier back on this blog talking about useless. You talk about Steveson, Morrow, and Petro I’d rather have them then half the people we had this previous year.

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BTW Josh Childress is NOT HAPPENING He already said he never wants to come back to ATL Hawks stop that crap.

It’s like the people who want Jamal Crawford back NO and NO again.

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Checked twitter and google, didn’t see anything about any Robin Lopez movement.

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@Ray. Derrick Williams is playing in the summer league. He isn’t knocking down that 3 like he was in college but he continues to fire them up anyway. I think he was highly overrated coming out of Arizona. If the Hawks could acquire him without giving up much then I dont think it would be a bad move.

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@cp

That’s pretty much what I’m saying D-will(2) is a low risk high reward kind of player for us. I don’t think the T-wolves want much for him give them a future draft pick for him or something would be okay by them I would think.

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I want Terry Stotts!!!!!!

LD ain’t the right coach for this roster.

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vava74,

I wasnt knocking JJ for not being a pretty good ball player, I was mensioning him in relation to MagicCity where he ended up meeting a dancer, got her pregnant, married her, now suing her for child support..yea, the million dollar man suing his baby momma for Child support. If we get Blatche, the same might happen to him.

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As good as Josh was last year, I hope Hawks fans won’t overlook the fact that having JJ on the court with him did help distract the defense at times (and JJ still got occasional double teams).

With JJ gone, Josh will be the undisputed focus of the opponent’s game plan, and coaches will study his film even more. I think he is a good passer out of double teams, which should help Al Horford out. However, opponents will back off him and dare him to shoot the open jumper, or try and force him to go to his off-hand. It will be interesting to see how he responds.

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Here is a picture of Joe Johnson’s face after he hit a full-court game winner to cap off a game in which he scored 100 points: http://cdn3.sbnation.com/entry_photo_images/4544211/20120330_lbm_sa2_342_extra_large.jpg

There is a reason why ATL wasn’t very exciting to watch…

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MsDee,

“I wasnt knocking JJ for not being a pretty good ball player, I was mensioning him in relation to MagicCity where he ended up meeting a dancer, got her pregnant, married her, now suing her for child support.”

She was not a dancer, she was a waitress, Big difference. LOL

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will miss JJ hitting very tough shots and playing solid D and getting double teamed

won’t miss all the nights where the ball stops with him, and the nights when he seemed to so often go 6-20

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vava74, I think the (holdover) staff, JJ and players didn’t fully transition to new roles once the young players matured and could handle sharing the load. We never got fully out of the habits formed when we were low double-digit wins (e.g. Iso-JJ) to the detriment of the offense, even after other players proved capable of scoring (5 years removed from the lottery days).

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I’m curious as to where are the JJ interviews about him leaving from MC, Chris, Bradley or Schultz? lol. Also, Josh isnt excited about leaving now, he thinks in free agency next year he will get JJ money from ATL, hence, trying to say all the right things. However, no team, and I mean no team is going to give him max money. Also, if you notice a trend during free agency, no one is signing with ATL, Lou did, but players are choosing other teams and the Hawks are only getting players by trade. Most of the free agents and amnestied players are scrubs.

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jlewis,

Or maybe Ferry has HIS eye on certain players. Again, we dont know what’s up his sleeves, I do hope it goes all the way up to his arm pitts..LOL

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Oh O—K, ROD from CP

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Jlewis, Josh isn’t wanting max dollar numbers like Deron or Joe.

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Pointguardslim
if thats true and anderson gets cleared of all wrong he should be signed immediatley to backup zaza and let petro be part of a trade at the deadline. having ivan and birdman off the bench would be incredibley beneficial and entertaining. i hope he is not guilty and this is a lie by a greedy mom.

still waiting on that defensive SF signee…

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birdman is a terrible defender check the advanced stats

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Marcus

July 18th, 2012
3:31 pm

“vava74, I think the (holdover) staff, JJ and players didn’t fully transition to new roles once the young players matured and could handle sharing the load. We never got fully out of the habits formed when we were low double-digit wins (e.g. Iso-JJ) to the detriment of the offense, even after other players proved capable of scoring (5 years removed from the lottery days).”

Exactomundo Marcus and that equates to…

LACK OF REAL COACHING!!!

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“Through these trades, hopefully we put ourselves in a position of strength going into the CBA” Doesnt saying anything about winning a championship, means we are going to be fiscally responsible and make money when the new CBA hits.

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From Grantland’s piece on Lin (by Jay Caspian Kang):

“Jeremy Lin had a well-publicized turnover problem last season that became a talking point for every talking head who wanted to point out something bad about a player who had saved a dismal season, ignited interest in the NBA among millions of people worldwide, and dropped 38 against Kobe Bryant in the Garden. It’s true — of those same 259 players who used over 300 possessions, Lin ranked 252nd with a 21.4 turnover percentage. Raymond Felton ranked 244th at 19.6 percent. Jason Kidd? 257th at 24.2 percent. Guess who was 256th? Rajon Rondo. 258th? Steve Nash.

Maybe it’s time to stop worrying about turnover numbers and examine whether or not those turnovers came within an aggressive system that created a lot of open shots, and, more important, generated wins for the team.”

To some extent, this is applicable to Josh. What he brought to the table last year superseded most of his bad jump shots and frustrating turnovers.

JUST A TAD of better coaching and the above will be applicable to Josh in full and with no restrictions.

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Dwight Howard Rumors: Josh Smith Wants Howard in Atlanta, Could Chris Paul Join?

By DJ Dunson | July 18, 2012 5:37 PM EDT
Josh Smith dwight Howard sportskings.com

It’s mid-July and the NBA free-agency period has died down as NBA teams are in the midst of inking up their final free agent targets and snatching up recently waived players. However, the best player available, Dwight Howard, remains a man without a team.

The Brooklyn Nets took themselves out of the Howard sweepstakes after signing restricted free agent Brook Lopez to a four-year $60 million contract. Thus their prime trade asset, Brook Lopez, won’t be tradable until Jan. 15.

Howard has had his heart set on becoming a Net for at least a year, however, it’s time to face the facts that even Mikhail Prokhorov and Jay-Z cannot swing a deal for Howard before Orlando trades him during the offseason.

Brooklyn cannot receive a player in a sign-and-trade in the summer of 2012 because the Nets are more than $4 million over the luxury tax.

The Magic finally seem ready to dump Howard in either Los Angeles or Houston.

If Howard is traded to the Rockets, Daryl Morey believes he can convince Howard to re-sign and would hold on to him until he finally becomes a free agent next summer.

The Lakers may also be willing to challenge Howard’s bluff while they chase their 17th title in franchise history but Orlando does not want to endure the same indecision with Andrew Bynum. The Lakers and Rockets trade rumors have been discussed ad nausea, however, there may be a dark horse contender for Howard’s services next summer.

If you’ve ever watched Friday Night Light’s, as this writer was doing Sunday night, you’ll remember Dillon High’s star senior running back Smash Williams’ season two dilemma.

After turning down a scholarship offer from Alabama, Williams delivered a verbal commitment to his dream school, the fictional Texas Methodist University. However, towards the end of the season Williams gets his scholarship offer pulled by TMU after assaulting a teenager at a movie theatre.

Williams then finds himself lost in the recruiting wilderness without a college scholarship and Alabama is unable to offer him a scholarship after they filled up their recruiting class. Ultimately, Williams is offered a scholarship from Whitmore College, whose coach had been scouting him since he was in seventh grade.

Dwight Howard is Smash Williams and Brooklyn is his TMU. The New York Knicks, who’ve spent all their cap money on Carmelo Anthony, Jeremy Lin, Tyson Chandler and Amare Stoudemire, are his Alabama.

Howard’s hometown team, the Atlanta Hawks, are Dwight Howard’s Whitmore College.

Not only did Howard attend high school in Atlanta but he also played AAU hoops with Hawks star Josh Smith and served as best man at his wedding.

At Carmelo Anthony’s wedding in 2010, then-Hornets point guard Chris Paul toasted to the idea of forming a ‘Big Three’ alongside Anthony and Stoudemire in New York. However, barring the NBA salary cap going the way of the dodo bird, Paul doesn’t have a future with the Knicks.

After newly hired Hawks general manager Danny Ferry traded Joe Johnson to Brooklyn and shipped Marvin Williams to Utah, he may have cleared a path for Paul and Howard to Atlanta in 2013.

This season, the Hawks have $65.5 million committed to their roster. In 2013, that number shrinks to $25 million. The cap for 2013 will be approximately the same as this season’s $58 million cap.

Paul and Howard have reciprocated their desires to play alongside one another in the past and Paul will be a free agent in 2013. Given the current NBA climate and the growing accumulation of superstars as teammates, Paul is a superstar short in Clipper Land.

If Howard and Paul are still devoted to playing alongside one another next season, the Hawks can make that happen.

The Hawks could be an even more attractive reunion after they signed Snellville, Georgia product Lou Williams, who succeeded Howard as Naismith Prep Player of the Year in 2005.

While a starting quartet of Deron Williams, Gerald Wallace, Johnson and Howard is attractive, it’s also extremely unlikely to happen now.

The Hawks finally appear to have righted the ship in their front office. As a result, Smith’s relationship with the Hawks has been altered in a short period of time.

After years of requesting trades, Smith proclaimed to SI.com on Wednesday that he would no longer like to be traded.

“Since I’ve been in the league, I’ve always been about winning,’ Smith said. “With a good GM like Danny Ferry and everybody else, I think this organization is heading in a positive direction.”

Smith also entertained the idea of linking up with his former best man.

“I guess every team that’s unloading money, the media thinks they’re targeting Dwight. And who wouldn’t want a guy like that on your team? He’s the best big man in the league. I’d love to have him. Who wouldn’t? He’s the most dominant big in the game right now.” Smith added.

If winning championships were Howard’s priority, he would agree to sign an extension with the Lakers in a heartbeat. If he ’s cncerned about playing in the shadow of teammate Kobe Bryant as well as retired legends Jabbar, Wilt, Shaq and Mikan, he won’t have that problem with the Hawks whose last great center, Bob Pettit, retired when the franchise was based in St. Louis.

Reportedly, the Mavericks are second on Howard’s list if he doesn’t end up in Brooklyn but Dallas doesn’t offer anything the youth and cap flexibility to acquire multiple All-Stars like Atlanta can.

Not many insiders believed the Miami Heat could actually pull off their unprecedented free agent haul either. The friendship that Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Lebron James forged at the 2008 Olympic Games played a vital role in their decision to link up in 2013.

The Hawks are quickly becoming a homegrown team. Howard has already held the ring at Smith’s wedding. As teammates in Atlanta, they could win rings of a different sort together. It sounds like a pipe dream but in the city of Martin Luther King, dreams can come true.

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Not only is Josh THE best power forward on the Hawks. He is A top 5 power forward in the NBA. To the Al horford Fans Who wants Josh to play the 3 so Al can have a position since he is an underachiever as a center. Sorry. Its either Center or Trade for Al. Josh is our power forward. Sorry.

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Folks Ken is not that stupid. He just bumped his head.

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Hawks need a center. Horfords a PF and Zaza gabor is a backup center.

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Basically Hawks replaced JJ with Louis Williams and took on poor talents with big contracts. I can watch them lose this year if they can bring in a couple superstars to win the next 10 years.

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DeJa Vu

July 18th, 2012
6:31 pm

Not only is Josh THE best power forward on the Hawks. He is A top 5 power forward in the NBA. To the Al horford Fans Who wants Josh to play the 3 so Al can have a position since he is an underachiever as a center. Sorry. Its either Center or Trade for Al. Josh is our power forward. Sorry.

De ja vu….You are just as “cluless as Ken Strickland, Najeh Davenpoop and SlimJim. Josh Smith is not top “10″ any category!!!

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I figured we would not be getting Anthony Randolph. Nuggets were showing more interest, reportedly, and I’m fairly sure were also showing more money.

So they waived the Bird Man, huh…

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All the shooters are here to make that happen. No way Josh can justify in his own mind floating outside when every shooter on the roster is better outside than him. This is designed so that Josh knows his role is to stay inside. Making sure Josh makes the All-Star team is surely a big part of Danny Ferry’s plans to make Josh want to sign a new contract.
——-

Buddy Grizzard LD beg’s to differ.
Dated August 2010

http://blogs.ajc.com/hawks/2010/08/11/atlanta-hawks-inside-camp-drew/

If the picture of coaches playing only Horford inside and Josh outside isn’t enough to convince you that Hawks intentionally play 4 out 1 in….

““We have the luxury a lot of interchangeable positions. We’ve got twos that can be play 3, threes that can play four, fours that can play five. We can even move Josh to the five against certain matchups. You might see the five at the three. You might even see the five at the one. [Regardless of lineup] nothing changes as far as the action on the floor. I want to utilize our abilities as interchangeable pieces.”

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Ryan Hollins is a “Scrub” So are Nazr and Darko. As Mike Singletary once said ” WE NEED WINNERS”

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pointguardslim

Long time reader of this blog and you talk a lot of nonsense.

TONS OF BS

WHAT ABOUT JON LEUER?

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@Jae Evolution

I usually watch the games on NBATV but I guess they don’t like the Hawks. I found a stream on the web.

http://atdhenet.tv/48051/watch-summer-league-atlanta-hawks-vs-dallas-mavericks

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Jenkins is definitely money with that jump shot. He has half their pts. Just imagine when he has guys like Zaza and Horford who will set a pickfor him to get open.

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Tell that guy who raved about Jon Leuer last year can now come out and find him a team….he’s been waived to clear space in Houston.

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