Hawks being too passive in free agent market
Listen up: Rick Sund wants you to know he thinks the Hawks are going to be just fine.
When the Miami Heat went shopping in this NBA offseason, they chose to bypass the markdowns at the strip malls, the polo shirts from Old Navy that morph into dust rags after two washings and the lime green shorts with a broken zipper from the $1 table at the neighborhood yard sale . They cruised Rodeo Drive. Why? Because they could. Maybe they also have some strange desire to win.
The Hawks are still in the midst of their shopping this offseason. It has been quiet, even as they roam the aisles of Value City. There’s still a chance they will come home with something other than used Play-Doh and a bag of defective socks. But don’t count on it. They have made it clear that their heads are bumping up against the ceiling of their budget. They won’t add a player if it means having to pay a luxury tax. They won’t add a player if it means trading a perceived player of significance. It doesn’t matter if the new player can actually make them better, or if he would ignite a fan base that’s just looking for a reason to walk through a turnstile.
Loading ...Maybe this passive approach works. There was that whole tortoise-and-the-hare thing. Maybe drafting Jordan Crawford, giving more playing time to Jeff Teague and getting Joe Johnson to share the ball will make a difference. But after going 0-8 in the second in the last two years, is this the mindset an NBA franchise should have?
General manager Rick Sund said what he often says: “I like our team.”
He is hesitant to trade a perceived core player, disrupt chemistry or blow the budget. Let’s put aside for a moment that the organization recently overpaid to keep Johnson, who has fizzled in the postseason and doesn’t quite unite the fan base. Sund still sees the Hawks are trending upward.
He states his case: “Our goal is to continue to put an elite caliber ballclub on the floor and stay within the model [owner] Bill Davidson had when the Pistons were winning championships and what San Antonio did with their spending and the way they stayed under the luxury tax.”
Not every team can sign Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh. Most can’t even sign one. But sorry. The idea should be to aim higher. Bringing back Jason Collins, just because he lost weight in Europe and comes cheap, doesn’t cut it.
Replacing Solomon Jones and Randolph Morris with Solomon Jones and Randolph Morris clones is not what aggressive teams do. It’s like painting over a water stain on the ceiling without fixing the leak.
Strange. Sund’s analysis of the roster actually jibes with everybody else’s.
“We need two bigs – a center and a power forward,” he said.
But after some negotiations, the Hawks bailed on signing free agent center Brad Miller because he got too expensive. (Miller ultimately signed with Houston.) They’ve played footsy with Shaquille O’Neal, but they believe the would-be Big Peach’s asking price is too high (for now) and he seems unwilling to take a bench role (for now).
The problem: Shaq is the best player left in the depleted free agent market. It’s not even close.
Here’s the question Sund and ownership should be asking themselves: Who makes us better? They’ve convinced themselves that a center-by-committee (Al Horford, Zaza Pachulia, Collins and maybe you if can get a resume in) will be enough to challenge Orlando, Boston and Miami in the Eastern Conference.
Maybe Sund really believes this. Maybe his hands are tied. Maybe he just likes playing it safe, and if it doesn’t work out, well, he’s near retirement anyway. But can you feel comfortable with the status quo?
Sund again: “I think we’re pointed in the right direction. I’m hopeful we’ll improve with some changes to our offense and our young players getting older, and we can stay among the top four teams in the Eastern Conference.”
It doesn’t make much of a rallying cry.
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369 comments Add your comment
Dr. Warren
July 21st, 2010
1:42 am
ASG will surely feel the “heat” this year from the fans if the Hawks go backwards.
The Way I see it
July 21st, 2010
2:45 am
If J.J was REALLY SERIOUS about winning a ring. He would have taken less money like the other top free agents(Pierce,Bron,Wade,Dirk).
we could really salvage the summer by getting a few nice pieces, LIKE SHAQ.
P. Bull Terrier
July 21st, 2010
3:24 am
Face it. From the ASG point of view, if the Hawks can tread water for the next couple of seasons, winning enough games to fill 3/4 of Phillips Arena on most nights, tack on a round or two of playoffs, and not bleed any more red ink onto the balance sheet, life is good. The ASG doesn’t have the money or the management talent to build a championship team. If they can keep the Hawks in the Top 4 – Top 6 range in the Eastern Confrence, they figure they’ll manage enough attendance to keep them in business.
In a way, I hardly blame them for that kind of attitude. With a salary cap system that is more complex than the US tax code, that lets a team like Miami manipulate the numbers so they can load up on the most talented players in the league and allows back door deals for teams to cut a player and bring him back in time for the playoffs, there’s no real chance for the Hawks to win a championship no matter what they do. David Stern and the NBA are going to ride the Lebron James / Miami train as far as it will take them. They’ll be surprised in a few years when the new Miami Heat doesn’t turn out to be anywhere near the fan favorite that Magic’s Lakers, Larry’s Celtics, and Michael’s Bulls were in past decades. When Miami starts falling apart, the rules will change and the Hawks might once again have an opportunity to compete – if they haven’t already torn the team apart for a new rebuilding plan.
bigstack19
July 21st, 2010
3:53 am
Maybe the team believes life is like a video game and they can create a player.
Joe must go
July 21st, 2010
4:16 am
The Hawks organization is full of losers. Thank goodness football season is starting. Sell the team to A.Blank. At least he’s trying to win.
Atlanta Hawks - Page 48 - iSTORYA.NET
July 21st, 2010
4:18 am
[...] [...]
jose
July 21st, 2010
5:32 am
Same Old Hawks. We’ll be lucky to be 6th in the East
northcyde
July 21st, 2010
5:38 am
As much as I have blasted the fans in Atlanta for their apathy toward this team, even I have to admit that it is VERY HARD to support this ownership group now. When you basically sit back and do nothing to improve the product, how are the fans supposed to get excited about all of this? WTF are we supposed to do? Just smile and grin, while a damn superpower pops up overnight in our own damn division?
I mean damn . . HOW DARE SUND talk about how the ASG is running this team like Detroit and San Antonio.
Detroit put together a juggernaut defensive team, went out and hired ( stole ) a Hall of Fame head coach, and executed a trade with US to add the final piece ( Rasheed Wallace . . after we had acquired him for one day ). That’s what put Detroit over the top.
Meanwhile, the Spurs have one of the top 10 – 15 big men in the HISTORY of the NBA, while constantly trading their fringe pieces around their core 3 ( not core 6 like Sund believes ), every damn year. They don’t EVER keep the same team together.
And they ALWAYS acquire IMPACT VETS that end up helping the team. Duncan, Parker, and Ginobli are the core . . but everybody else is either traded or moved out every 2 or 3 years.
LOL @ he likes our team. We like the team too. We would like it even more if you made a DAMN MOVE to improve the team.
JUSTQUIT (( BLEEPING )) LYING TO THE FAN BASE !!
If you mo-fos had no intention to sign a SIGNIFICANT free agent to improve the team, don’t lie about selling the pick that you acquired ( only for money ). Don’t lie that you’ll go over the Luxury Tax for the “right player”. And why not use that damn pick in the first place? If you had no intention of bringing in a significant free agent, why sell that damn pick? Here I am, defending what you did, thinking that the 3 million could be used to pay for possible luxury tax penalties. The people on the ajc blogs and on Hawksquawk tried to tell me that you simply did it to pocket the money, but I gave you the benefit of the doubt.
NEVER AGAIN WILL I DO THAT.
The pick was “cheap”, since that’s how you guys are going to run the team now. Why not let the fans “drool” over another young guy like we will over Jordan Crawford? Why not let the fans “hope” over that pick at least. Seriously . . WTF?
I, for one, will not let your INCOMPETENCE as a management group deter me from driving 600 miles round trip to go to the games. I support the TEAM unconditionally . . but I could give a damn for this ownership group. You guys are NOT BIG LEAGUE, and will never be BIG LEAGUE.
I know that if I boycott going to the game ( like hundreds, even thousands of others may do ), it’s not going to change a damn thing. It never does. If anything, the ASG would move the Hawks out of ATL, before they sell the team outright. You mo-fos would probably move the Hawks right out of ATL, like the Oilers did in Houston.
It’s a damn shame.
Your young PF/C asks for help on the frontline, and who is he going to get? Jason Collins? What you gonna do Sund? Call your boy Robert Swift to help out Horford? Maybe Saer Sene can help the Hawks out.
We have a damn superpower that sprung up in our division overnight, and you guys sit back and do nothing . . . NOTHING!!
A lot of the fans used to call Billy Knight “arrogant”. Well Sund is a different kind of “arrogant”. They’re both cut from the same cloth. They think they’re the “smartest kid in the room”. He’s rolling the dice on a “new offense” and our guys getting older.
Trying to sell that top 4 ish to the fans isn’t going to work anymore. He’ll, we could be TOP 3 and STILL be the #5 seed in the damn playoffs. The 3 division leaders have to get one of the top 4 seeds. So if Miami wins 60 games – Orlando 58 games – and the Hawks 56 games . . we’re STILL the #5 damn seed, without home court advantage.
I was watching that fake 2012 movie the other night. LOL . .I would be highly pizzed if the Hawks were close to winning a title, but didn’t do it, simply because they were too cheap to acquire a player, and possibly pay a little luxury tax.
Then the world ends.
Mo-fos
neutral observer
July 21st, 2010
7:20 am
Why is everyone in Atlanta criticizes the Hawks’ owners for their payroll but then gives Arthur Blank a free pass for a payroll that ranks even lower in its league? When is the last time the Falcons won a playoff game at all? How many caoches and GMs since Blank has owned the teams? The answers are disturbing, yet the love-fest for Blank continues. The Blank era so far is highlighted by the signing of an overrated qb to a massive contract and then watching him go to prison.
Big Ray
July 21st, 2010
7:44 am
Northcyde
That post was OFF THE CHAIN. Bravo.
neutral observor ,
Your first mistake is comparing football to basketball. The payroll and the system are nothing alike. Secondly, the Falcons are entering year 3 of a total rebuild. The GM was displaced and a new (and better one) was hired. Same thing with the coaching staff. It’s taken the Hawks several more years than that to do that…
Old stogie
July 21st, 2010
7:51 am
1) Hawks had to sign JJ. All insiders knew what king James, Wade and Bosh was planning 2 years ago. Was this really news to anyone. Knowing that why screw around, get JJ signed. They did!
2) all the stupid teams who thought they had a chance for one of the 3 cleared a ton of cap room, and are now are desperate to sign anyone to fill out a roster and they are paying stupid sums for B players or less. ASG kept a 53 game winner together, added a good steal in the draft and are working on using this talented team correctly. Great Job in a stupid free agent market!
3) LD has his chance to showcase this team and their talent, something Woody did not know how to do.
4) do you cry babies know how many cities would love to have a 53 game winner and playoff team? Wake up get a life and find something real to complain about. Maybe become a Wizards fan.
5) ASG have said and been quoted all along they would pay the tax if it made sense and after what they did to keep JJ, I have no reason to doubt them
6) JS you should not write about the Hawks, or the ASG – your unfounded personal feelings about them come through in you very biased writing and that is very unprofessional!
Great job, smart moves
tony
July 21st, 2010
7:55 am
northcyde, I want them to move this team out of Atlanta because we will be sending a message to the next owner who think he can take the fans in the ATL for granted. ITS TIME FOR CHANGE! Sometimes you have to sacrifice to get things moving in the right direction. It won’t be easy at first but time heals all all wounds. I’m more excited about Mark Fox and the DAWGS anyway. That team is on the rise just wait and see.
Walker, Texas Ranger
July 21st, 2010
8:05 am
blow it up, start over
i_am_soulstar
July 21st, 2010
8:10 am
Northcyde,
I feel you, I defended them too. I couldn’t have said it better.
Tech First
July 21st, 2010
8:38 am
We suck again overpaid Joe and drop from 3 and 4 seed to a 7 or 8 seed.
Stoney
July 21st, 2010
8:47 am
The Hawks have the absolute worse ownership/management in the history of sports. I thought the objective is to win championships and not just settle for being 3rd or 4th best in your conference. I say we boycott the Hawks until ASG sell the team. Hell, sale it to Joe Johnson, you paid him enough.
Just Being Real
July 21st, 2010
8:48 am
I went to sleep on it and woke up the same, I hate the owners, if you don’t wanna win then sell the team, Steinbrenner, may he rip, said “winning is the most important thing in my life, after breathing” that’s the mentality of a champion point blank. these owners don’t feel this way,
Don't Drink the Coolade
July 21st, 2010
8:52 am
Classic Hawks: I fully understand your devotion as a Hawks fan and I admire it but, you have to be realistic about how this thing has played out. The Hawks have stoop pat and definitely fell back a step or two. No way the addition of Utah Mafia in Chicago and a new coach don’t take them higher than the 8th seed – they are “younger” than the Hawks and upwardly mobile. It will go Heat – Orlando – Celts – Milwaukee – Chicago – Atl – Tor – Charlotte – you lose in 6 in the first round to the C’s! Book it!
i_am_soulstar
July 21st, 2010
8:54 am
Kwame Brown would piss fans off more than he would help. Just say no.
Just Being Real
July 21st, 2010
8:56 am
Fire Sund!!!!
i_am_soulstar
July 21st, 2010
9:05 am
Does everyone not remember that Atlanta did not win their division last year and was a 3rd seed????????
Please stop saying that we’ll be a 5th or 6th seed because we likely won’t win the division. Makes me think you’re either just tuning in, or slow.
ASHCAN.
July 21st, 2010
9:21 am
@ClassicHawks,did you forget your glasses or are you blind saying the hawks are better than the celtics,bulls and miami is slightly better? its one thing to cheer for your team because its your team but another thing to decieve yourself because its your team.
papadawg
July 21st, 2010
9:32 am
I was wondering, has anyone asked Kobe and his world champ lakers how they feel about the new all world team in Florida
Jeff
July 21st, 2010
9:40 am
No one is happy with the offseason so far. If we want to show ASG just how unhappy we are with them and their lackluster eforts to improve the team. All we have to do is stay home and don’t buy the tickets. It is that simple.
If we stay at home one of two things will happen.
They will sell the team or
They will finally build a winner
i_am_soulstar
July 21st, 2010
9:45 am
papadawg,
Someone asked Kobe where he thought Lebron was going, and apparently, he said didn’t give a rat’s @ss (in my own words). I wouldn’t either, that guys got a ring for every finger, even the gimpy one.
TB
July 21st, 2010
9:52 am
You all have no perspective. This team sucked for a very long time (see the Blalock and Smith trades). Getting to the 2nd round of the playoffs consistently s a great accomplishment – beyond that it takes a little luck, some good calls and some hot shooting to win. Only a very small number of owners are willing to pay the luxury tax, so if you think there is a miracle group/person to buy out the ASG think again. If you can’t root for a team that consistently makes the playoffs and is still developing then you have no idea of what being a fan is.
Ex-Season Ticket Holder
July 21st, 2010
10:00 am
This summer is feeling like last summer – other teams have put pieces together to make their team better while the Hawks… well, do what the Hawks do best – nothing (while continuing to state they like how the team looks). I guess the Hawks just like making it to the playoffs and doing nothing significant once they get there.
The best off season decision I made this summer was not being a season ticket holder for the upcoming year!!!!
Bob Weiss
July 21st, 2010
10:02 am
Let’s run one!
NBA Shots: Carmelo, Hawks, Eyenga « TheUpperCardNetwork.com
July 21st, 2010
10:20 am
[...] Jeff Schultz of the Atlanta Journal Constitution believes the Hawks have been too passive so far in their free agency. [...]
ICEMANcometh10
July 21st, 2010
10:47 am
Passive is an understatement to put it mildly, you ever had a contract hangover? I think they are waiting on Joe to recruit the top FREE AGENTS in the league to come to the ATL. At least that is what he said 30 seconds after the DUPE OF THE CENTURY contract was pulled off. For his next show he will climb Phillips arena and swing over the the GA dome with no ropes………………………….just money
Don't Drink the Coolade
July 21st, 2010
10:55 am
No Ice man – he won’t need ropes cause he’ll land on a bed of $100’s -neatly positoned to cushion his fall. Joe Johnson recruit top free Agents to come to ATL – please – you have to be a top free agent to recruit other free agents – the Hawks didn’t have a “TOP” free agent but, they paid him as if he was one!!
droopydawg
July 21st, 2010
11:08 am
The Hawks will end up #5 in the East AT BEST next year. MIA, ORL, and BOS are clearly better than the Hawks and I would say that the Bucks are ready to break out. The Hawks have no shot of even making it to the second round of the playoffs in my mind, so I can see why only 4% of ATL responders believe they can compete for the East.
B NUT
July 21st, 2010
11:10 am
I have to show some support for my boy Joe. I was dissapointed like everybody else when chocked, didn’t show up in the playoffs. But Joe is a top line 2 who can guard and play the 3. Not to let joe off the hook cause he sucked in the playoffs, but some of it has to be attributed to the sets that were run. Get some motion in the offense. Give al some more down low touches, and marvin some plays. I agree with everyone else that with the addition of Shaq we match well with everybody from L.A to the all pro team MIA if we can get shaq to understand that some nights because of match ups he wont start or his role may be limited. But Shaq along with al, josh, ZaZa, even joe time to time at the 3 and another big will give us the versitility and depth to match up with any front court and the back court should be good with a good combinatoin of experience, youth and talent.
Paddy
July 21st, 2010
11:25 am
ASG….if you are trying to please your fan base, you have made a mess of it.
James
July 21st, 2010
11:29 am
I agree with this comment by P. Bull Terrier.
Face it. From the ASG point of view, if the Hawks can tread water for the next couple of seasons, winning enough games to fill 3/4 of Phillips Arena on most nights, tack on a round or two of playoffs, and not bleed any more red ink onto the balance sheet, life is good. The ASG doesn’t have the money or the management talent to build a championship team. If they can keep the Hawks in the Top 4 – Top 6 range in the Eastern Conference, they figure they’ll manage enough attendance to keep them in business.
KevinM
July 21st, 2010
11:31 am
TB, you need to have this explained to you….
The Hawks’ end of season has not improved in 2 years. They are at a peak now with their current roster. It has been proven for 2 years.
- who is our PG this year?
- who is our big man inside this year to compete with Dwight?
- should we rest Joe more for the playoffs?
Those questions will continue to be asked until this group with the limitations of a cap (despite the JJ fiasco) shows it has an answer.
TB, did you see us against Cleveland and Orlando last year? Did you watch one game in the playoffs? Milwaukee w/o Bogut took us to 7….did you see any of that?
Has Orlando improved? Maybe
Has Cleveland improved? No, but it sure will be laughable if they finish ahead of us and we never considered Byron Scott.
Has Boston improved? Maybe
Has Chicago/Milwaukee/Miami improved? Yes, and these 3 weren’t that far from our level last year with their rosters.
Have we improved? No
We have done nothing to improve….
- coaching could be weaker…is that possible?
- the only potential change is Bibby to the bench
- Teague in the starting lineup makes our bench weaker
So, based on how it is layed out, is it Woodson and Bibby that were the problems to our moving forward last year? That’s the only thing we have changed.
How is it that 90% of the comments here can see that and a select few on these blogs, the inept ASG, and Sund cannot?
We might have hope here, but there sure isn’t much change. Kiss a first round home court advantage goodbye as we look today.
Keep saying its only July..its only July.
Stephen
July 21st, 2010
11:38 am
WE HAVE GOOD PLAYERS BUT POOR COMPETITORS. WE NEED A LEADER. HORFORD IS ON HIS WAY THERE, BUT HE’LL NEVER HAVE JOSH SMITH AND JOE JOHNSON’S ATTENTION.
WE SHOULD PASS ON SHAQ. DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT KIND OF INFLUENCE HE WOULD BE ON JOSH SMITH. JOSH SMITH AND JOE JOHNSON CAN BARELY SHOW UP AND FOCUS FOR 48 MINUTES AS IT IS. IF SHAQ COMES IN, WE’RE DONE. LARRY DREW DOESN’T STAND A CHANCE.
WE NEED A LEGITIMATE POINT GUARD TO RUN A REAL OFFENSE SO IT’S NOT LIKE A SCRIMMAGE WHERE EVERYONE IS WAITING FOR SOMEONE TO TAKE THE LEAD.
LET’S HOPE THE THE REST OF THE YOUNG GUYS ON THE ROSTER DON’T CATCH SMOOVE-ITIS.
Bill Walton
July 21st, 2010
11:40 am
It’s the Hawks –nobody cares!
just SHOOT me
July 21st, 2010
11:44 am
Anyone who thinks the Hawks will finish in the top 4 in the Eastern Conference is an absolute idiot. Home court advantage? Kiss that goodbye. Do you all not realize the Bucks took us to 7 without their start player?!? Additionally, even the Bucks have added the likes of Maggette and Gooden. Along with a few other quality players. And I ask the most important question to date: What exactly have the Hawks done this offseason with the exception of make Joe Johnson the highest paid player in the NBA. Come on people. We’ve been DESTROYED the last two seasons in the second round of the playoffs. 0-8. Crushed. Embarassed. Chemistry? Yeah right. Maybe a little. But not enough to win 50 games. Not enough to make home court advantage. In my opinion, not enough to win the first round of the playoffs. Well at least I hope not anyways…After all…We’d then be 0-12 in the second round with three straight losing years. Sign a big man. Get Al some help. Kwame sucks but I want to add someone. Shaq? I mean hell who cares. Josh Howard? Matt Barnes. Anyone.
I.MUS WRITE
July 21st, 2010
12:04 pm
Operating on the cheap,bussiness as usual. I think the ASG will take a financial hit next season. The attendance was already questionable last season and they Give Joe a gazillion dollars, resign Collins and fail to pursue guys who could have really helped the team. Not alot to get excited about.
I would target Louis Almundson as a reserve PF and Steven Hunter from GS as a backup PF/C and Sign Kwame to goon it up when needed. Almondson and hunter would replace Morris/Joe Smith
Why does it take a Professional ball player a whole dam year to get in shape. Collins is my least favorite player on the team. In shape or not his game sux and he is a foul machine.
JJ’s recruiting HUH? ASG want to improve our team HUH? You cant lie to the fans and expect them to just go with the flow. So far JJ has’nt recruited shyt and Sund is handcuffed by our broke owners.
I personally dont think Teague is ready for prime time and Bibby is past his prime so we should be looking for a Vet PG as well.
STRETCH- That was a sweet analogy man- So True!
I
I.MUS WRITE
July 21st, 2010
12:13 pm
EC Standings 2010-2011
Orlando
Miami
Boston
Atlanta
Milwaukee
Chicago
Bobcats
Philli/New Jersey
ryan
July 21st, 2010
12:17 pm
I am getting becoming more worried about the Heat they putting a great team together they have signed Juwan Howard and could sign Jerry Stackhouse and Bulls and the Bucks have verry much improved i do not like the Hawks chances now.
I.MUS WRITE
July 21st, 2010
12:18 pm
Northcyde- you’re preaching to the chior my man…….Ditto your post.
i_am_soulstar
July 21st, 2010
12:18 pm
No reason to fire Sund. He can only do what the owners allow. Blame the ASG. But I do agree with the Hawks not giving Shaq more than the mid-level, especially when there’s no other playoff team out there that desires his services. He has very little demand among teams he’d consider playing for (perennial 2nd round teams). Beggars can’t be choosers.
StillaHawksFan
July 21st, 2010
12:23 pm
Sign Shaq, and Curt and the hawks have a 10 man rotation to compete with anybody in the leauge! Teauge/Bibby
Joe/Jamal/Jamal
Marvin/Mo
Josh/Kurt
Horford/Shaq
i_am_soulstar
July 21st, 2010
12:25 pm
Concerning the Bucks series, the Hawks did not get outplayed, they simply got outcoached. If any other coach with half a brain was coaching the Hawks, and they saw how Skiles used the switching defense against the Hawks, they would have made adjustments and the series would’ve been over in 5. I was never on the Fire Woody train until I saw his lack of a reaction to Skiles’ coaching in the 1st round. Then I knew that win or lose, he had to go. NOT OUTPLAYED, OUTCOACHED.
Wolverine
July 21st, 2010
12:48 pm
The root of the problem in the ASG not willing to get the right coach in place, b/c quite frankly the Hawks under achieved. I know we finished we finished 3rd but talent wise the Hawks should of really taken that second spot from Orlando. We have 2 Allstars in Joe & Al, 1 budding Allstar in Josh Smith and the six man of the year. That team alone should finish no lower than 2nd in the East. ITs true the Hawks need a big body to bang with the likes of Howard, but the Hawks inability to run effective offenses plays were hidden in the regular season and were exposed in the playoffs. Larry Drew has one year to show that we can win 55+ games. I know the League has gotten tougher with the Heat rising, Bucks, Bulls all improving. The Hawks have the talent to beat anyone in this league. We just need to get bigger..Thats why Shaq should fit in our plans, but only off the bench.
Wolverine
July 21st, 2010
12:50 pm
Larry Drew needs to show quickly that he can coach in this league. Or ASG cheap antics in not hiring Avery Johnson will be second guessed.
northcyde
July 21st, 2010
1:37 pm
It’s not even about passing on Shaq now though. When I saw that report that they were thinking about bringing back Jason Collins, I think that’s what put me over the edge.
JASON COLLINS? REALLY?
That dude has been a complete liability for about 5 years now. He’s nowhere near the defensive presence he was back in the early 2000s, when Jersey was going to the NBA Finals ( in an absolute weak Eastern Conference without a legit big man ).
But the Hawks are thinking about bringing HIM back? I’m sorry, but that’s BS. That’s the BIG that we’re going to add?
As overrated as I thought most of those bigs in the draft were, you CANNOT pass on them, just to bring back Jason Collins. You CANNOT sell that to the fan base, nor to your young PF/C, and believe that it will help us. You just can’t.
This bench was horrible last year, minus Jamal Crawford. Our only hope for an improved bench, may lie in the kids ( Jordan Crawford and Jeff Teague ), taking their games beyond expectations. Otherwise, we’re depending on guys like Zaza, Mo Evans, and Jason friggin Collins to solidify the bench?
Hell . . I don’t think anybody is really even asking these mo-fos to go over the Luxury Tax. Just make the kind of move(s) and decision(s) to make the team better overall.
But like I said . . . it’s a different kind of arrogance from Sund. He’s all “smarter” than us. The question is though . . is he smarter than the rest of the GMs in the league?
#1 Falcon Fan
July 21st, 2010
2:02 pm
The Hawks management are a joke…they know we need a true center. If u are not gonna get a player to fill the seats of the arena, then at least hire a TOP RATED coach, and they didn’t do that. They overpaid for Joe, I don’t think any other team would have offered Joe that type of money..but we will never know because the Hawks didn’t give anyone a chance to offer anything. We need a big man, otherwise we got the same team we had the last 2 years, which means we will make the playoffs as a 3 or 4 seed. In the 1st round we will play down to our competition (like we did against the Bucks) and stretch that series to 7 games instead of winning in a sweep or in 5 games. Then in the 2nd round we will loose to Orlando again, or maybe it will be Miami with their new big 3. Bottom line is, i do not see us making it to the Eastern Conf Finals. We will again loose in the 2nd round and maybe the upper management is satisfied with just making it to the playoffs, but I’m not..I WANT TO WIN!