Atlanta Hawks: Danny Ferry covets wing player but no hurry to add one
Yes, Hawks GM Danny Ferry is considering using the final open roster spot (assuming Ivan Johnson eventually signs his qualifying offer) to add a small forward.
“I would say probably a wing that can compete defensively at a high level would be a good thing to be able to add at some point,” Ferry said.
Ferry taking his time with 15th roster spot. (Photo: Johnny Crawford/AJC)
But, no, that doesn’t mean he’s in a hurry to acquire such a player.
“That may happen,” Ferry said. “How that happens, I can’t sit here and tell you. Could it be someone we sign? Could it be a trade at some point and, if so, when could that be? Trades happen in their own time. We have until February to do it.”
And, Ferry said, if the Hawks do sign a free-agent wing, it’s likely the player would have to accept a non-guaranteed contract.
“There is a good chance we will carry 15,” he said. “But preferably that 15th person will be on a ‘make good’ situation that allows us the flexibility needed in case injuries happen and so on. Being locked into 15 [guaranteed contracts] is generally not ideal.”
Players with non-guaranteed deals are easier to include in trades because the team that acquires them can release them to save money. All players contracts become guaranteed on Jan. 10.
Ferry presumably is waiting to see who he can get through a trade or on a non-guaranteed deal because the wing players still on the market aren’t enticing enough to offer a guaranteed contract now. The wing also could come from among those on Atlanta’s summer roster, though Ferry said he and his staff still are deciding which free agents to invite to veterans’ camp.
The next key date for the Hawks is Sept. 11. That’s when the players acquired in the Joe Johnson trade and Devin Harris will be eligible to be used in trades that aggregate their salaries under CBA rules (60 days after they were acquired).
For now, the Hawks will stick with Kyle Korver as the closest thing to a true wing. But, considering Ferry’s flurry of transactions in his short time with the Hawks, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him make a trade this summer or early in the season to reconfigure Atlanta’s unbalanced roster.
Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat
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428 comments Add your comment
The Truth
August 11th, 2012
2:30 pm
Last thought:
“Atlanta Hawks: Danny Ferry covets wing player but no hurry to add one”
Of course Danny is in no hurry. This roster he has assembled is not a roster for LD to win, but by design, to fail.
Don’t read his lips; watch his hips (or his moves). If the Hawks starts the season with 5 SGs and no real SF, then that theory is confirmed.
The Truth
August 11th, 2012
2:34 pm
Big Ray
For LD sake, I hope my theory is wrong.
Stop Farting
August 11th, 2012
2:34 pm
Big Butt Ray, I kinda of figure that may have been your best effort at humor. Point made. Still. hes on the roster and do you see him getting any significant time?
No, I dont know who the poster child is that you reference.
brigadierjerry
August 11th, 2012
3:00 pm
What would you Hawks fans analyze are the Hawks needs?are there for a certain positions or is it for a superstar player?
I see the Hawks making a play for Howard if he becomes UFA, Bynum, Chris Paul or James Harden and Ibaka. If they do not get any one of those type of FA’s, I see a trade for a lesser player.
Astro Joe
August 11th, 2012
3:54 pm
A staff of Red Auerbach, Pop, Phil Jackson, George Karl and Doc Rivers couldn’t get this roster (plus a non-guaranteed SF of your choice) into the 2nd round.
Wait until 2013-14.
terrell
August 11th, 2012
4:02 pm
The NBA is, was, and will always be about the Lakers, the Celtics, the Knicks, the Bulls and now the Heat. Everyone else just has to put a good roster together and HOPE to compete. Perhaps get lucky for one reason or another, and win a championship every now and then. Rockets(MJ retired), Spurs(Coaching((Tim Duncan fell in there laps), etc…
And this team has gone as far as it was gonna go with Joe Johnson as the leader. Might as well try something new. Dude comes in and gets rid of the 2 worst contracts on the team, one of which is one of the worst in NBA history, and some of you clowns still arent happy. Get over Dwight for CRYING out loud. Rather go after CP3/Harden next year myself. That is if my boy Teague proves he’s not the man for the pg job. I can see a team of CP3,Harden,Josh,Al making it to the Finals with a little luck and a few breaks here and there. And if you’re not one of the before mentioned teams, thats what it’s going to take. A lot of luck,(Rockets) or GREAT COACHING.(Spurs)
steven a smith
August 11th, 2012
5:23 pm
I wish Marvin much success in Utah. However, i do believe he has an “Inflated” view of himself and consequently underachieved as a Basketball player. Many were hoping he would be a modern day James Worthy because they both went to North Carolina, quite frankly, that’s where the similarities stopped. Marvin is “Vet minimun” guy at best!
wpl
August 11th, 2012
6:38 pm
Lakers, winning the west? I just don’t see it. Kobe is 34, nash 38-39, gasol 33-34, word peace 33, and then as of right now they don’t even have a bench. Howard, is he really that much better than Bynum? The numbers don’t show that he is.
O'Brien
August 11th, 2012
6:56 pm
If I am Ferry, I find a way to trade Morrow for an expiring SF thats out there. JJ2 needs the PT, and we already have a shooter in Korver.
pointguardslim
August 11th, 2012
8:14 pm
“rather Josh have 18 & 8 as a PF than 20 & 6 as a SF.”
what? Josh Smith averaged 9.8 last year. So you rather have 18 and 8 and get pounded by KG than have 20 & 8 as a SF. Assuming Smith drops off that much from going against smaller players
What is up with people on here. Fantasy team value right?
Ra'mon
August 11th, 2012
8:16 pm
WPL, LAL have Meeks and Jamison on their bench currently. And their recruiting Kenyon Martin to join the bench.
Ra'mon
August 11th, 2012
8:23 pm
PGS, if Josh is at the SF position, he’s away from the defensive boards where he gets majority of his rebounds. As you said, Josh averaged 9.8 rebounds at the PF position. So if he’s rebounding great at his position, why change it? Don’t tell me he got pounded by KG, when majority of the games he was playing on one knee. And also, KG pounded Brand and other PFs his entire career. KG is old, but still 7′0. KG is a first ballot hall of famer. Josh pounded majority of the PFs last season. But you want him to change position because of 3 or 4 SFs/PFs?
Sautee
August 11th, 2012
8:27 pm
“But you want him to change position because of 3 or 4 SFs/PFs?” – Ra’mon
How is that any different from Horford besting all but 3 or 4 centers in the league? That makes this blog want a different center.
Ra'mon
August 11th, 2012
8:50 pm
Sautee, I think the difference is that Horford is coming off an injury, so his value decreased in many eyes. Football coaches live by the saying “The worst thing a player can do is get injured”. I don’t think many on this blog want a different center (other than Dwight or Bynum). Most of the people don’t want to see Horford at the PF position. The problem is not many teams would lose an all star level player, but still keep relatively the same winning percentage. However, the Hawks did it when they lost Horford.
Big Ray
August 11th, 2012
9:16 pm
Stop Farting
August 11th, 2012
2:34 pm
Big Butt Ray, I kinda of figure that may have been your best effort at humor. Point made. Still. hes on the roster and do you see him getting any significant time?
No, I dont know who the poster child is that you reference.
No, that was my best effort at humoring a person who has the…ahem…”ingenuity” to post as a bodily function….
No, I can’t see Petro getting much time on the floor for us. Like I said, he’s just a guy we had to take as part of the deal. And he’s been part of several deals in his career.
I figured you wouldn’t get the poster child joke, but it’s all good.
Fact is, several of the guys who just arrived on our roster may not be there at the start of the season, or might not make it past the trade deadline. I don’t know who that might be, though.
What I can’t see is us going into the season with Korver as our starting SF…or our only one.
And yeah, Horford is our center…for now. Not certain that remains the same either. With Ferry here and in control, all things are possible.
Sautee
August 11th, 2012
9:17 pm
Ra’mon, I agree, but I think that says a lot more about Zaza, and his ability to give starters minutes at center. But to say that Zaza did as well as Horford is just exaggeration. He did his job excellently, but he didn’t approach 15.3 and 9.5 with 3.5 assists. I think the team changed when Josh started asserting himself. To me, THAT had more to do with the surprising results than Zaza filling in well.
I disagree that most don’t want to see him at PF, though I’m certainly in that group that thinks he’s best at center.
Also, Dwight is coming off an injury as well, but I didn’t see any noticeable drop in HIS value.
Ken Strickland
August 11th, 2012
9:22 pm
The Hawks will take an entirely different approach to playing this season. Ferry has acquired the type of players that will allow the team to consistently play uptempo basketball, and has openly stated that’s how the team will play. It will be up to LDrew to make it happen, which will be something former GM Billy Knight tried unsuccessfully to get former HC MWoodson to do.
As far as sizen is concerned, or a perceived lack thereof, the Heat won this yrs NBA title with a 6′10″ none physical jump shooting center, two 6′ 8″ forwards, a 6′ 4″ SG, and a 6′ 2″ PG. So get off our perceived lack of size preventing us from making it to or past the 2nd rd.
Big Ray
August 11th, 2012
9:23 pm
Ra’mon ,
Yes, they did. In a lockout shortened 66 game season. Then the playoffs came along and they went down in the first round.
I’m sure several folks would love to see that and say “see, we don’t need Horford, we were fine without him there.”
Does that really say more about Horford, or does it say more about the nature of this team? We aren’t going to get Bynum or Howard. And both have their issues. I find it odd that it’s so easy to talk about the team keeping the same winning percentage with or without Horford, but they’re hollering for Howard or Bynum.
Strange indeed…because I could have sworn we’ve been beating up on the team that used to have Howard…and we did it with an absolute scrub at center in Jason Collins.
Getting Howard means giving up more than we’d like to have and doing one thing – becoming what the Orlando Magic devolved into. Only the truly rich teams with high level coaching and other great players can manage this. It’s why the Lakers could and may very well succeed with Howard at center….and why the Magic missed their window of opportunity a few years ago…
Big Ray
August 11th, 2012
9:31 pm
Also, Dwight is coming off an injury as well, but I didn’t see any noticeable drop in HIS value.
Ain’t that the truth. Here’s the funny part – there is one guy who might make Dwight look as good or better than even Steve Nash. His name is Pau Gasol.
When’s the last time Howard had anything other than a “stretch 4″ next to him in the paint? Gasol has far more moves than Howard does down low, he can hit jumpers, but even more than that….he rebounds. Howard’s always been on his own in that department. Same thing would have happened in Atlanta.
I’ll tell you why the Hawks didn’t get that trade done. I guarantee that since we didn’t have the draft picks, the Magic were demanding both Horford and Smith in the deal.
There’s no way that they would have taken Horford, Teague, a draft pick and some trash…at least not without us taking back some bad contracts that would continue for a while (Turkoglu, Richardson). The same morons that scream for Howard and bash Horford at the same time…somehow expect the team that used to have him to take such a deal. WTF-ever…
I’ve never understood that. If Horford and Teague aren’t that great, then why in the devil would Orlando be happy with getting them in a deal for Howard?
I really think that was the sticking point for Ferry, and it damn well should have been. Magic probably said, “either give us Horford AND Smith, or give us the other package and take back Turkoglu/Richardson.”
That doesn’t work for us, because neither player had an expiring contract, meaning it would hurt our sizeable cap space for next summer. We’d have far less of a chance at winning out in free agency.
Grandad
August 11th, 2012
9:31 pm
Ra`mon
I think Josh should play short-stop rather than center-field
and Al should play left-tackle as opposed to free-safety.
-which-
Makes as much sense as worrying about [3] and [4] -or- [4] and [5] !
I`m sick and tired of this debate.
Read about the trend in the “new” NBA;
whydon`tcha?
Miami:
is attempting to convert to positionless basketball !
Most everyone has seen how the trend has been set.
Watch the Olympics.
See OKC – Westbrook; Harden; Durant; [Collison / PJ III]; & Ibaka; !
Keep up with what`s going on.
____________________________________________
NO !!!!!
I`m not saying a team does not require a pg.
-also-
I`m not saying a team does not require *Bigs.
*{primarily for rebounding]
-I am-
Saying a basketball player is a basketball player.
____________________________________________
Billy Knight = ahead of his time.
Too bad he lost his way … drafting the Williamses !
Ken Strickland
August 11th, 2012
9:47 pm
There are 2 things that Ferry is a stanch advocate of, which is player development and playing uptempo fast break basketball. Player development means that Scott and Jenkins will get their share of mins. Suppose Ferry traded Harris and maybe Morrow for a starting caliber SF.
That could open the door for Jenkins to start at SG. With Jenkins, Williams, Korver, Smith, Horford, Teague, and whoever we have at SF, we would definitely be able to run and score pts, especially from the outside. The hope is for this team to be able to play enough DEF, especially perimeter DEF, to make our OFF more effective.
Melvin
August 11th, 2012
9:52 pm
“MT @JeffSchultzAJC: Ferry made trade pitch for Dwight but #Magic apprehensive to trade him within SE div.
Big Ray,
According to Jeff Shultz tweet (and blog), I don’t think the Magic really entertained the thought of trading Howard to the Hawks or any other team in Southeast division. Chris Broussard also said on ESPN that he believe the Hawks had the best offer on the table. And I doubt that offer include Josh (just my opinion).
WHEN ARE THEY MOVING ?????
August 11th, 2012
11:12 pm
WHAT IS THE DEAL HERE ? WHY HAS THIS TEAM NOT BEEN SOLD AND MOVED ?
WHO EVEN GIVES A DAMN ABOUT nba BASKETBALL, IT STINKS.
THEY NEVER WIN OR EVEN SHOW UP. HAVE THE MOST DISHONEST OWNERS IN PRO SPORTS, THEY LIE, MOSTLY LIAR STUPIDNEL !!!!
GET THIS WORTHLESS TEAM OUT OF THIS CITY, I CANNOT BEILEVE A DUKE MAN WOULD NOT DO ALL HE COULD TO MOVE TO SEATTLE, A MUCH BETTER PLACE FOR THIS CRAP FRANCHISE !!!!!!!! MOVE MOVE MOVE NOW !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Slimjr
August 11th, 2012
11:46 pm
“The problem is not many teams would lose an all star level player, but still keep relatively the same winning percentage. However, the Hawks did it when they lost Horford.”
28-47[Pretenders] against the winners with and without him the past two seasons..
Hmmmmmmmmm
WHEN ARE THEY MOVING ?????
August 12th, 2012
2:13 am
GUYS YOU KNOW I’M JUST KIDDING. ATLANTA IS A GREAT SPORT TOWN AND SEATTLE SUCKS. THAT CITY HAD A TEAM AND BLEW IT. NO TEAM WILL EVER GO THERE AGAIN.
THE CLOUDY WEATHER IN SEATTLE MAKES ME SICK. I ENVY ATLANTA AND THE SUNNY SOUTH. I’M JEALOUS AND HATE THE GOOD TIME YALL HAVE ON THIS BLOG.
I WANT YALL TO BE AS MISERABLE AS I AM. EVERY TIME YOU LAUGH I CRY
HAVE A BAD NIGHT
Najeh Davenpoop
August 12th, 2012
3:48 am
““I would say probably a wing that can compete defensively at a high level would be a good thing to be able to add at some point,” Ferry said.
PGS: Josh Smith
Najeh: Mike Dunleavy”
At this point in the offseason, it is asking a lot to find a player who is not only good enough to give you quality minutes but also contributes one specific thing (such as defense). Dunleavy may not be a great defender, but he is a quality player. I challenge you to find me one other SF either in free agency or potentially available via trade who is as good as Dunleavy all around, will “compete defensively”, AND won’t kill the Hawks’ financial flexibility going forward.
If the Hawks want to fill their SF hole with a player who is specifically going to “compete defensively”, at this point they are most likely limited to players of Pietrus or Jamario Moon’s caliber. Dunleavy is significantly better than both.
Najeh Davenpoop
August 12th, 2012
3:51 am
“Wishful thinking won’t change the fact that playing with Josh, IN ATLANTA, wasn’t/isn’t one of his desires.”
We have no idea whether that’s true or not, because according to Jeff Schultz, the Hawks didn’t even get a chance to talk to Dwight because the Magic wouldn’t trade him within the division.
Najeh Davenpoop
August 12th, 2012
3:55 am
“I think a change of scenery, so to speak, won’t necessarily be a bad thing. Sure, the days the jumpers aren’t falling, the defense is letting everything through, and the coach looks clueless as far as a solution….those days won’t be fun.
But here’s the odd thing – we had that when Joe and Marvin were here. So I don’t see the difference.”
Emphatic co-sign. And I’ll also add that the inevitable early playoff exit to a more talented, better executing team won’t be fun, but we had that when Joe and Marvin were here too.
Najeh Davenpoop
August 12th, 2012
3:58 am
“What would you Hawks fans analyze are the Hawks needs?are there for a certain positions or is it for a superstar player?”
A superstar player is the biggest need of any team that doesn’t have a superstar player. That has been the Hawks’ biggest need since February 24, 1994.
Najeh Davenpoop
August 12th, 2012
4:02 am
“There are 2 things that Ferry is a stanch advocate of, which is player development and playing uptempo fast break basketball.”
The Cavs never finished in the top half of the league in pace the entire time Ferry was there. Exactly the opposite of uptempo fast break basketball.
We don’t know anything yet about Ferry’s philosophy. All we know is that he is very good at trading seemingly untradeable contracts and is creative at using exceptions to acquire players who can contribute.
ECF or Bust!
August 12th, 2012
7:35 am
addition through subtraction.
Big Al and the Hawks prospects have gotten better in the east cause D12 has gone to the west.
without D12 in the east maybe Big Al won’t mind playing center so much now.
go Hawks.
Ken Strickland
August 12th, 2012
9:06 am
NAJEH DAVENPOOP-Before becoming the Hawks GM, Ferry had no record of being able to trade untradeable contracts either. You claim WE don’t know what his philosophy is. Well, maybe it’s just you that hasn’t been paying attention. He has stated publically that he wants the Hawks to play an uptempo fast breaking style, like the Spurs adopted, and he wants to invest time and resources into player development.
That sounds like a philosophy to me. It’s rather obvious, at least to me, that his approach to how he wants the Hawks to play, and how he wants to develop the team, has been molded by his experiences with the Spurs, not his experiences with the Cavaliers.
We know that his experiences with the Cavs and their owner had an influence on how he negotiated his Hawks contract in terms of responsibilities and how much he’ll be allowed to do as GM. This yrs version of the Hawks might not be as good as we fans would like, but they won’t be as bad as some of our fans seem to think.
brigadierjerry
August 12th, 2012
9:53 am
Here is how I see the Eastern Conference this coming season:
1). Miami
2). Boston
3). Indiana
4). Philadelphia
5). New York
6). Brooklyn
7). Chicago
8). Atlanta
9). Teams a few games behind the Hawks are Milwaukee and Washington
brigadierjerry
August 12th, 2012
9:57 am
Ken Strickland,
Good morning sir. Assuming the hawks get a competent SF for the team, where do you see the Hawks rank as far as the eastern conference?
I MUS WRITE
August 12th, 2012
11:36 am
Wilson Chandler,Alonzo Gee,Delfino……..IN that order..Its early but ol Danny Boy might want to get us a vet C, Zaza and Jump Shot are all we currently hv : (
I MUS WRITE
August 12th, 2012
11:43 am
brigadierjerry
August 12th, 2012
9:53 am
Here is how I see the Eastern Conference this coming season:
1). Miami
2). Boston
3). Indiana
4). Philadelphia
5). New York
6). Brooklyn
7). Chicago
8). Atlanta
9). Teams a few games behind the Hawks are Milwaukee and Washington
Intresting -Heres my top 8
1.Miami 2. Boston 3.Indiana 4.Chicago 5.Brookly 6.Philli 7.New York 8.Hawks
Ken Strickland
August 12th, 2012
11:52 am
BRIGADIERJERRY-Each of the last 4-5yrs the Hawks have exceeded the projections of most Hawk fans and prognosticators. I believe the same will hold true for this yrs team. Here’s why I say that.
1-CHICAGO-They had trouble scoring points with DRose, so you can guess how much more difficult it will be for them to score without him. And there’s no one they can sign or trade for that will replace what he does for their team.
2-BOSTON-They got a slight upgrade by signing JTerry and letting RAllen go. They also got rid of some of the anomosity that existed between Allen and Rondo. They’re still weak inside, and both KG and Pierce are showing the effects of age and injuries, although KG was awsome during the playoffs. That’s was more of a last hurrah than a sign of things to come.
3-INDIANA-They are a very talented team, but there seems to be something missing. I can’t say what it is, but with all of their talent, they’ve been unable to match our success in the playoffs. I do know they’ve been going through PGs trying to find one that can harnass that talent.
4-PHILADELPHIA-Although they’ve acquired Bynum, they lost their leading scorer, LWilliams, and their best all around player, Iggy. And although I’m not certain, they may have lost EBrand. If not, he’s certainly not anywhere close to what he use to be. And with Bynum clogging up the middle, he’ll be even less effective.
5-NEW YORK-With Woodson having an entire off season and training camp to install his beloved ISO OFF, which won’t be very hard to figure out or add that to his obsession for playing over the hill vets over younger more talented players, they won’t be a big obstacle for the Hawks. They’ll certainly crash and burn in the playyoff with his style of play and inaquate coaching, assuming they even make it to the playoffs.
6-BROOKLYN-I honestly don’t know what to expect from this team. They definitely have the talent to be dangerous, but a lot of roles will have to change with the addition of JJ. How well DWill and Lopez adjust to JJ will be key. After all, duing his entire stay as a Hawks, he hijacked the OFF whenever he felt like it.
7-MIAMI-I don’t know how much of an improvement, if any, RAllen and RLewis will be over MMiller and SBattier, but they’re still the team to beat.
I believe the Hawks have the talent to finish ahead of Chicago, New York, and Philly, while Indiana and Brooklyn are question marks. It all depends on what we have to give up, and who we acquire at SF. I see us definitely grabbing a 5-6 seed, and depending on injuries, pro and con, we could finish higher. One thing’s certain, Miami is the only Eastern Conference team that can run with us and match our speed, quickness, and athleticism.
vava74
August 12th, 2012
12:02 pm
Pau Gasol’s critics had a good opportunity to review their opinion.
Excellent gold medal game.
northcyde
August 12th, 2012
12:09 pm
Grandad . . I just watched the Gold medal game. And I watched a Spain team with 2 big men in the post ( the Gasol brothers ) damn near beat the best we have to offer.
“Positionless basketball” only works if you have ELITE LEVEL players who can be very good to dominant at multiple positions. The Hawks just don’t have that. What we have are two guys ( Horford and Smith ) who are good players who can play a few positions.
LOL @ Vava . . . oh no . . Pau is too “soft”. And of course, if you’re “soft”, that means you’re not good.
northcyde
August 12th, 2012
12:12 pm
And SMH @ Ken talking about how JJ “hijacked” the offense whenever he felt like it. Like the Hawks had ANY players on the team who could create their own shot or even make big shots when the game was on the line. The only guy who was close to being able to do that, was Jamal Crawford.
JJ “hijacked” the offense so much, that his shot attempts have bee steadily going DOWN the past two years, while the other guys shots have gone UP.
JJ is a professional and he knows how to play the game. He isn’t going to “hijack” anything in Brooklyn. He’ll simply do what the team needs him to do. He’ll let Deron conduct the offense at times. But when he does need to go into ISO mode, he’ll do that too.
Rod from College Park
August 12th, 2012
12:13 pm
Bynum is the one with the attitude problems and the health issues, not Dwight. Dwight just has problems saying and doing what he wants because he is too nice. Bynum has issues.
Via Charley Walters, Pioneer Press
Before the Los Angeles Lakers traded Andrew Bynum to the Philadelphia 76ers, the Lakers tried to peddle Bynum to the Timberwolves, who said no thanks. …. The Timberwolves are 100-to-1 odds to win the NBA championship next season, according to the Bovada Las Vegas betting service.
Quote:
Bynum went to Jim Buss and demanded that Mike Brown to be fired. Bynum was fined repeatedly for showing up late to practices. Bynum also refuse to have a sit down with Brown, Buss, and Mitch.
Quote:
Bynum comments after game 5 against the Thunder were the final straw. Buss met with his father and Mitch to decide that it was time to trade Bynum. The Lakers were also worried that Bynum had his fourth knee surgery this summer. Bynum will be 25 when the season starts. The Lakers did not want to hand over their franchise to an immature big man with knee problems.
Quote:
“The Lakers knew Bynum would get worse. Especially in a contract year. A LA times reporter claimed that Bynum thought he was untouchable. He went so far as to say “What are they going to do when Kobe retires? Build around Pau or Fish.”
Quote:
Via Joe McDonnell, FoxSportsWest
Ask a Laker player off the record if he felt that Drew would ever outgrow his me-first attitude, many times they’d say probably not. One player even told me that he thought Bynum was playing the game for money. “I don’t think he really likes playing or has a lot of passion for it. He’s doing it because he’s good at it and can make a lot of money.” …. Bynum, when asked about the possibility of being traded during this past season, responded by saying “banks are in every city” giving credence to the theory he’s in it for the money and that’s about all.
northcyde
August 12th, 2012
12:16 pm
Hey Ken . . who is taking the 4th quarter shots down the stretch of games for this current Hawk team? Although people flat out despised ISO JJ at the end of games, the facts are that he was one of the best 4th quarter scorers and shooters in clutch situations last year.
So who is the go-to guy for the Hawks now, when the game is on the line? Who can we trust to get it done?
Rod from College Park
August 12th, 2012
12:20 pm
“Pau Gasol’s critics had a good opportunity to review their opinion.
Excellent gold medal game.”
Pau played very well, but he was supposed to. The USA had no big men, and decided to play small ball.. Pau will look excellent with Dwight in LA also. IF you can pair him with a dominant big man, he is a very good PF. I he has to play center, and guard other bigs he has problems defensively because he is soft. He dam sure looked better than Horford did.
Rod from College Park
August 12th, 2012
12:23 pm
“BRIGADIERJERRY-Each of the last 4-5yrs the Hawks have exceeded the projections of most Hawk fans and prognosticators. I believe the same will hold true for this yrs team. Here’s why I say that.”
You do know that the Hawks lost in the first round of the playoffs this year right. Damn sure did not exceed my expectations.
Rod from College Park
August 12th, 2012
12:27 pm
“And SMH @ Ken talking about how JJ “hijacked” the offense whenever he felt like it. Like the Hawks had ANY players on the team who could create their own shot or even make big shots when the game was on the line. The only guy who was close to being able to do that, was Jamal Crawford.”
At least you are honest. I know it hurt you to give Jamal some credit, but you are exactly correct. That is why we needed him.
northcyde
August 12th, 2012
12:33 pm
Big Ray
August 11th, 2012
9:31 pm
Also, Dwight is coming off an injury as well, but I didn’t see any noticeable drop in HIS value.
Ain’t that the truth. Here’s the funny part – there is one guy who might make Dwight look as good or better than even Steve Nash. His name is Pau Gasol.
When’s the last time Howard had anything other than a “stretch 4″ next to him in the paint? Gasol has far more moves than Howard does down low, he can hit jumpers, but even more than that….he rebounds. Howard’s always been on his own in that department. Same thing would have happened in Atlanta.
I’ll tell you why the Hawks didn’t get that trade done. I guarantee that since we didn’t have the draft picks, the Magic were demanding both Horford and Smith in the deal.
There’s no way that they would have taken Horford, Teague, a draft pick and some trash…at least not without us taking back some bad contracts that would continue for a while (Turkoglu, Richardson). The same morons that scream for Howard and bash Horford at the same time…somehow expect the team that used to have him to take such a deal. WTF-ever…
I’ve never understood that. If Horford and Teague aren’t that great, then why in the devil would Orlando be happy with getting them in a deal for Howard?
I really think that was the sticking point for Ferry, and it damn well should have been. Magic probably said, “either give us Horford AND Smith, or give us the other package and take back Turkoglu/Richardson.”
That doesn’t work for us, because neither player had an expiring contract, meaning it would hurt our sizeable cap space for next summer. We’d have far less of a chance at winning out in free agency.
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I agree with the probably mindset of Ferry. But that is a move that the Hawks should’ve done in the summer of 2011. You basically tell them that they can have ANY 2 of our core, and negotiate from there.
A healthy Dwight Howard has proven time and again that he is > than Horford + Smith combined. The recent success the Hawks have had vs Orlando have more to do with the Hawks guarding their outside shooters, than stopping Howard.
So honestly, if Orlando wanted both guys, you give it to them. If the Hawks truly need a superstar to try to change something here, then you do whatever possible to get that superstar in the mix. It just doesn’t make much sense to go halfway in getting that superstar. May as well go all the way.
Ken Strickland
August 12th, 2012
12:38 pm
Depending on who we end up getting to play SF, here’s how I see this yrs team stacking up with last yrs team.
1-Whoever we get to play SF will surely be able to average more than the 3.7RPG we got from JJ.
2-LWilliams’ 14.9PPG was more than the combined 13.2PPG of WGreen( 5.6PPG) andJPargo(5.6).
3-AMorrow’s 12PPG was more than MWilliams 10.2PPG.
4-DHarris’ 11.3PPG was more than KHinrich’s 6.6PPG.
If you combine the total PPG averages of the top 4 players we’ve acquired so far this yr, and compare the results to the total PPG of the 5 players we’ve lost, you’ll be surprised.
LWilliams-14.9
AMorrow–12.0
DHarris—-11.3
KKorver—–8.1
Total——-46.3
JJohnson–18.8
MWilliams-10.2
WGreen—–7.6
JPargo——-5.6
KHinrich—–6.6
Total———48.6
I’m certain we can expect more than 3.7RPG and the 2.3PPG difference in scoring from our new starting SF. We definitely haven’t lost anything as far as OFF is concerned. In fact, I believe we’ve gained significantly in that area. And the above example doesn’t even factor in the scoring potential of our draft picks, Scott and Jenkins, or the scoring of AHorford, which we were without for most of the season.
With us playing more uptempo fast break style basketball, we should be able to get far more high percentage scoring opportunities. Our DEF might not be as good as it was last yr, but it won’t be as bad as some might think. Besides, our improved OFF should be more than capable of making up the difference.
northcyde
August 12th, 2012
12:49 pm
Rod . . as I’ve said many times, Jamal has the talent to be a much better offensive basketball player than what he is. But it’s his crazy shot selection that will always keep him out of the discussion to be a guy you can count on to make plays. I’ve never liked the dude for that aspect.
He has the ball handling skill and speed to basically get any shot he wants on the court. But he’d rather “tricky dribble” and do his Harlem Globetrotter routine, and jack up off balance 3 pointers.
Forget that dude.
brigadierjerry
August 12th, 2012
12:58 pm
Ken,
Understood in regards to your points, I stated that the Hawks before the Philly acquisition of Bynum that they would battle between 6-8 seed but even if the Hawks get a SF like Chandler from Denver who i think is available I dont see the Hawks finishing at the very best higher than the 6th seed. I see Indiana and Philly finishing ahead of the Hawks as well as NY and Brooklyn. From a talent standpoint this team right now isnt as good as last year although Horford is back.
Also what are your thoughts on LD as coach?Do you think he will do more with less since the talent isnt as good as last year or u think he will be mediocre again because I am not the biggest fan of LD. I feel this team will be somewhat tailor made for him because I think he cares more about offense than defense.If you have young willing athletes you can teach them D. You need players with actual offensive skill to have go offense and the Hawks have that. System and effort can cover up for a lack of “talent” on D. If you have a lack of offensive talent you are pretty well screwed as a coach.
I think the team will be much better offensively but suffer defensively.
pointguardslim
August 12th, 2012
12:59 pm
Ken Strickland is off his rocker. He still wants to think the Hawks can be the Miami Heat.
And Chris Bosh is measured at 6′11.5 in shoes. With a 7′3.5 wingspan. He dominates Josh and also the stronger Al.
And when have the Heat started Lebron at the 4 vs the Hawks? The only time I remember Lebron at the 4 vs the Hawks, Josh had only 1 big man to help if Lebron beat him off the dribble.
At the same time you’ve yet to propose a SF that can get the Hawks to the championship round. All you’re doing is imagining.
You just lost credibility there.
As far as Josh not covering KG:
because of one knee – KG dropped 28 in game 2, Josh left in the 4th quarter.coincidentally got injured banging with 7′0 KG for position on a DEFENSIVE rebound, that his skinny frame had no chance of muscling KG under the basket for.
Because KG’s 7′0 – well we’re just now figuring this out? That’s 1/2 the point why Josh should be at the 3 vs Pierce, the other half because Pierce cant do anything off screens off ball or off the dribble with Josh on him at his age.
And thats patronizing that KG is the only one that Josh struggles with. He struggles with all the premier big forwards. From Chris Bosh to Griffin to Love to Aldridge to Pau Gasol. Lesser forwards such as Elton Brand and Spencer Hawes. Hell he struggled vs Big Baby Davis, Lavoy Allen and Troy Murphy. Any fat dolt can bump him at the right time and he will fumble the ball while driving. I still have Scalabrine vs Josh on VIDEO from a few years ago.
And then there’s switches. Name one premier “power” forward, other than Josh that cannot defend but centers?