If McGrady replaces Crawford, Hawks have problems
Tracy McGrady can't score like he used to.
The Hawks are scheduled to play their lone home exhibition Dec. 22 against Charlotte.
Let us hope the Atlanta Spirit doesn’t plan to fund raise between quarters.
The Hawks plan to sign veteran Tracy McGrady to a one-year contract for the NBA minimum. This can be taken either as a pretty good sign or a really bad sign. It’s a good sign if McGrady’s addition is meant only to add depth on the bench. It’s a bad sign if his signing is intended to soften the blow for the possible loss of Jamal Crawford.
This is the McGrady of 2011. He is long past his All-Star days in Orlando and Houston, but he can still play a little bit. He
Jamal Crawford averaged over 15 points per game for the Hawks last season. (Johnny Crawford)
showed last year in Detroit (39 starts, 72 games) that he can still handle the ball and give the Hawks some quality minutes off the bench.
What he can’t do is provide the scoring Crawford can, and this is where the Hawks’ financial issues come in.
The team has been for sale. It already has salary-cap issues. You can once again blame Joe Johnson’s contract, which will pay him $18 million this season. Add Al Horford ($12 million) and Josh Smith ($12.4 million), and that’s already $42.4 million for only three players.
General manager Rick Sund, who takes his cue from ownership, isn’t anxious to go over the cap (which was at $58 million last year) and play a luxury tax, which is probably would it would take to keep Crawford.
But the Hawks are kidding themselves if they don’t think they need Crawford’s scoring (15.4 points per game last year, which was No. 2 on the team). The condensed NBA schedule, which will provide few days off, means depth is more important than ever.
Among those pushing the Hawks to re-sign Crawford is Al Horford, who told our Michael Cunningham, “We are a much better team with him,” Horford said. “We need his scoring and his presence, and he just makes our team better.”
Even ownership can’t dispute that. But as we’ve seen over the past few years, the financial decisions this organization makes don’t necessarily equate to success.
By Jeff Schultz
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175 comments Add your comment
El Lobo Salvaje del Rio
December 8th, 2011
11:09 am
I can’t believe that sensible adults still buy into the farce that “professional” basketball has digressed into in the last 20 years… what an absolute joke this sport is, with all of the self-importance its players put on themselves…
duronimo
December 8th, 2011
11:09 am
Exorbitant salaries along with other indicators such as ticket prices (and smaller baseball venues for example) make it clear that professorial sports is hardly an option for working families anymore. When one considers that a star player makes more in 60 minutes than a lot of people make in a year, something is out of whack. As families are priced out, their places are taken by corporations and executives. I believe this erodes the generational foundation professional sports has always had.
Coach D.
December 8th, 2011
11:11 am
Terrible bench, plus crappy ownership makes for a less than enthusiastic fan base, & a long few years until there is a new owner.
leonard anderson
December 8th, 2011
11:13 am
i agree with most of the comments. people are frustrated because the hawks are not winning. rightfully so.
i know management has plans for the best team, fans need to realize their effort .
i also think that joe j is a great guard that tries to hard . josh s is one of the best that need to shoot more shoots in / or near the paint.
marv needs to drive to the basket more. teague and zaza are actually improving more and more.
t mac is a great add for one yr. THE HAWKS WOULD BE CRAZY NOT DO SOMETHING FINANACIALLY TO SIGN CRAWFORD.
WITH THESE COMMENTS ADHERED TO THE TEAM WOULD GO FAR….
Ken Strickland
December 8th, 2011
11:16 am
It pretty clear there are many who don’t have an indepth understanding when it comes to basketball. First, part of JCrawford’s production can be replaced by providing improved perimeter DEF. Yes, he scored over 15PPG, but how much pressure did he put on our frontline, and how many PPG did he allow, with his MATADOR DEF?
The obvious increased production JTeague will provide at the PG position, both offensively and defensively, will also help replace some of Crawford’s production. Then add the production, consistency, versatility, and improved DEF from McGrady, and you further replace his production. Since McGrady is a much better facilitator than Crawford, he can increase team scoring without scoring himself.
If you take a look back at the problems the Hawks had, it was perimeter, transition, and interior DEF, as well as rebounding. Scoring wasn’t a major problem with the Hawks last yr. But with improvement in rebounding, transition, perimeter and interior DEF, along with the added speed, quickness, penetrating and fast breaking ability we’ll realize with Teague, Crawford’s absence won’t be as much of a problem as some might think.
Remember, he had serious problems scoring and trying to function within the confines of a structured OFF, and had to dominate the ball to be effective. I think far too much emphasis has been placed on his PPG average, and not enough emphasis placed on what had to be tolerated and sacrificed for him to score those points.
Say It Aint So
December 8th, 2011
11:21 am
It looks like history has repeated itself. This time its Joe Johnson being grossly overpaid and last time it was Jon Koncak. Its a damn shame how hard it is to be a sports fan in Atlanta. We truely are cursed!
Carl Erskine McKinney
December 8th, 2011
11:22 am
Do anyone remember Jon Konack? Detroit offered him a contract and the hawks management matched it. The Hawks were bad for several years and now we will have to wait out Joe Johnson contract. I wonder could be trade Joe and pick up part of his contract?
zachdahater
December 8th, 2011
11:28 am
I’d let go of Kirk Hinrich to keep Jamal Crawford. Is that possible? And I love the McGrady signing, I wanted him since last year, plus he KILLED the Hawks when we went to Detroit. I think he was just unmotivated in Detroit.
And get off of Joe Johnson’s back everyone! Someone said he was worth 5 million! No. I will say that you should be able to score 1 point a game for however many millions you get though. He was injured a lot of last year, but he MUST score 21 points a game again. Healthy Joe, finally healthy Marvin, the Teague is freed, I’m excited about this season! We HAVE TO keep Jamal, or replace him. Let go of Hinrich or Zaza to keep him or make space for someone else.
ATL_Native
December 8th, 2011
11:35 am
LeBron and D-Wade and Bosh ALLLLLLL took less money in order to make the dollars fit into building a competitive team.
JOE JOHNSON is SELFISH! He hasn’t even sounded off on sacrificing for the good of the team. So there goes Jamal and anybody else without the word “minimum” attached to them. That contract has us going backwards… FIRST ROUND EXIT. You heard it here first.
Dozer
December 8th, 2011
11:35 am
The Hawks have problems???? Duh…..
PMC
December 8th, 2011
11:36 am
We Got TRACY MCGRADY??? THAT’S AWESOME!!!
It’s 1999 right?
ATL_Native
December 8th, 2011
11:37 am
They won’t see 1 hard-earned red penny from me until we get un-handicapped from JJ’s contract. PERIOD.
Chad
December 8th, 2011
11:38 am
This team was done when they signed johnson to that ridic contract. I wouldn;’t go watch them if the tickets were free. Especially after complaining about more money. F them. I hope the league goes bk.
Michael
December 8th, 2011
11:39 am
Use the amnesty clause on Johnson and solve the problem.
BigTimeTECHFan
December 8th, 2011
11:40 am
Any chance the Hawks can send Joe Johnson, J Crawford, M Williams to the Spurs for Manu Ginobili
Teague
Ginobili
J Smith
K Benson
A Hortford
Would win title with a nice bench
Jay Dubu
December 8th, 2011
11:41 am
The Hawks’ management has to make some very creative moves to get this team past the level they reached last season. JJ, Marvin, Smoove, and Harford will all need to play better than they did last season.
JJ being healthy, should return to form. Hopefully Marvin’s game improves with a healthy back. Smoove should have been working with Dirk’s shooting coach during the off season, if he wants to play outside. Either way, he needs to play smarter, and the Hawks need his talent as close to the basket as possible. Horford will have to up his overall game.
With the condensed schedule, the current bench will need major changes.
Dozer
December 8th, 2011
11:41 am
i just know Allen Iverson’s next…..
ryan
December 8th, 2011
11:41 am
I been hearing a lot about Earl Watson and David West possibly joining the Hawks .
Joey
December 8th, 2011
11:43 am
Well, if Crawford leaves, that’s what we got JCII for, right?
I know.
I know.
JSS
December 8th, 2011
11:43 am
It is not an either or thing with McGrady and Crawford. As Cunningham has pointed out, they’ll make a play for Jamal, but if they can get a sign and trade and get some pieces return especially if they get an actual shooter like Kover. This team needs depth that can play as well as a 5 who is not a stiff…
Oh yeah, Hawks Drive-by blog!!!
Jay Dubu
December 8th, 2011
11:44 am
JJ will need to average 25 ppg, and do it with fewer shoys and less ball hogging.
Horford and Smoove need to average double digit points and rebounds.
Marvin needs double digit points, 7 – 8 rebounds, and 3 – 4 assist.
Teague needs to average double digit points and assist.
moboman
December 8th, 2011
11:50 am
Even if we overpaid for JJ, It wasnt by a significant amount. If we were paying him 14 a year, which certainly is in line with JS and AH at 12 each, we would only have 4 additional to spend. The problem is that the whole salary structure of the league is out of whack. Hopefully that will rebalance with the new CBA. Will take a few years to correct. For a team like the Hawks who need a piece or two, it will be difficult in the short run.
JOHN KONKACK
December 8th, 2011
11:52 am
IM AVAILABLE, I HAVE BEEN WORKING OUT I
M WORTH THE MONEY REMEMBER
i_am_soulstar
December 8th, 2011
11:53 am
Schultz,
TMac for the veteran’s minimum, how can you not like that? What’ll probably be 10 ppg, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists, great passing, and pretty good defense for the veteran’s minimum. I appreciate all that Jamal Crawford did for the Hawks, but you people are seriously hyping him up if you’re not admitting that his defense hurt just as much as his offense helped. There’s a reason TMac had a higher PER than Crawford last season. We’ll miss Crawford’s scoring, but defense wins games.
And to be honest, LD did not know how to use Crawford the way Woody did.
STRETCH
December 8th, 2011
12:02 pm
Shane Battier to the Heat.
Grant Hill to Knicks.
Hmmm…can someone tell me what the Hawks plan on doing about their SF void?
Big D
December 8th, 2011
12:15 pm
i_am_soulstar – yeah Tmac had a higher PER where was he when Crawford was destroying Orlando in the first rd ? Oh thats right Tmac and his PER were at home . I actually like the Tmac signing for depth reasons too but thats a really bad comparison .
There is a reason why our best players want jamal back as well as some of the games best players wanted jamal to join there team and why the best defensive team in the league the Bulls want him .
I think a lot of hawks fans take for granted what Crawford can do from the bench.even though hes not the best defender .
STRETCH
December 8th, 2011
12:16 pm
Jamal Crawford teased on Twitter that he might need to change the profile picture of him wearing an Atlanta jersey “in a couple days.” Crawford is known to be among the many wings on Chicago’s list, and a source close to him said Wednesday that his top four options were the Bulls (either via sign-and-trade or the full mid-level) and three teams with cap room in New Orleans, Indiana and New Jersey. SI.com
alex
December 8th, 2011
12:18 pm
remember when jj signed big contract, he stated that he going to help attract good free agents to hawks. thank you jj for mc grady, this is “big move” for hawks, compare only with pujols to la. by the way asg wright on track to eliminate second pro team in atlanta. it going to take more time than for thrashers because of structure philips deal, but it’s for real. mr gearon please watch carefully attendance number this year. last year atlanta been 22. couple more mc grady signing and we for sure going to be last. we cursed with asg idiots.
jgsbirds
December 8th, 2011
12:19 pm
i don’t mind the mcgrady signing at all–they need someone like him off the bench but only if he’s not a cancer in the locker room. we all know this teams psyche is not very high! if used properly he can provide a role for this team.
if crawford leaves i understand but we can still be very good with out him. i like some of the names i’ve been reading on this blog: there are players out there that can score–the hawks just to nab one of them.
i’m ready for the season to get rolling. excited about teague, watched joe johnson’s workout video on the team website and it was very intense and he looked a lot more cut up and we all know this team has been together a while now so maybe this can be used to our advantage in this year of less games. got to get more depth–
@stretch-i’ve been a big fan of battier for a long time and have always wanted him in atlanta. i think he would provide exactly what the hawks need in several areas. very smart, passes well, good defense, leader, can hit the outside jumper…why can’t the hawks ever get someone like him!
oh yea we did get christian laettner–but no one here liked him…he was way too unselfish to play in this league.
Maybe
December 8th, 2011
12:20 pm
Yeah where was Jamal and his whack defense before he came to the Hawks? Oh thats right, he was watching us on his television at home during the playoffs.
whoaaaa
December 8th, 2011
12:29 pm
damnnnnn hawks just traded josh marvin teague 2 first round picks for david west and chris paul
J.J.M.
December 8th, 2011
12:30 pm
This will be a long season…
KevinM
December 8th, 2011
12:45 pm
I like the signing because it is strictly a monetary decision and JC1 is not 5X better than T-Mac….he’s not even 2X. T-Mac will help us.
Every team needs veteran help off the bench.
JC2 – we hardly knew ya, and we got you just in case Sund couldn’t convince Joe to take the Brinks truck filled with goodies with him. Who here would have turned that offer down? Don’t blame Joe and don’t ask him to take a paycut when he isn’t offered to take a paycut.
Now that we have a player with a little better defense, hopefully one who moves the ball better, and one who can jell with our Big 3, we might have a successful transaction here.
Schultz, you act like this is the only move. Its never apples for apples in this league. T-Mac should fill a bench role and if Joe goes down for a couple of games, he can fill that role. I don’t think we lose much to be honest. The Big 3 are the guys who need to get us our points. The Big 3 could use some improvement on their FTs which they should be able to do…..that’ll lessen the 15 ppg departure.
But truthfully, where has JC1 taken us? We can do 2nd round appearances around here like no other EC team. The problem is moving forward from that. Can T-Mac do that? Dunno, he’s never been there either. If T-Mac plays one good game for us a week, then that’s as much as Marvin does, and Marvin wallet is so stuffed…..so to me, T-Mac is my Marvin replacement and young #24 can be sent to amnesty camp.
But at least there’s a ray of sunshine out there instead of just sticking with the current roster. This isn’t a bad move….we just need to continue to make good moves.
KevinM
December 8th, 2011
12:49 pm
Sund, go get Chalmers from the Heat…..he would fit in the rotation and comes with good experience.
i_am_soulstar
December 8th, 2011
12:51 pm
Big D
December 8th, 2011
12:15 pm
i_am_soulstar – yeah Tmac had a higher PER where was he when Crawford was destroying Orlando in the first rd ? Oh thats right Tmac and his PER were at home . I actually like the Tmac signing for depth reasons too but thats a really bad comparison .
There is a reason why our best players want jamal back as well as some of the games best players wanted jamal to join there team and why the best defensive team in the league the Bulls want him .
I think a lot of hawks fans take for granted what Crawford can do from the bench.even though hes not the best defender.
I respectfully disagree. I don’t even understand the logic behind this statement dude. If you watch all 82 Hawks games, you’ll understand that Crawford scoring 14.2 points a game just barely balances with his LEAGUE-WORST REBOUNDING and matador defense, but I don’t expect everyone to understand. I comprehend being blown away by amazing scoring ability, but an analytical mind would understand why he’s not as great an asset as the NBA teams are making him out to be, especially with Teague bringing additional scoring next season. Pretty sure I’d miss him without the emergence of Teague though.
Diezel
December 8th, 2011
12:51 pm
That show yall how real my comment is, they wont even post it cause all you tmac critics sound like naggin A** H*es………lol Tmac going to suprise everbody……….
BYC
December 8th, 2011
12:53 pm
Am I the only one that doesn’t think we need jamal crawford? We are already paying $20+ million to a guy that starts at his position, and we have a young PG that has shown promise that we need to finally give some playing time. Take that money and spend it to fill the GAPING hole in our lineup at center! Amnesty Marvin Williams and pick up a SF that can actually contribute to the team.
KevinM
December 8th, 2011
12:58 pm
BYC, all those statements move us in the right direction.
The ASG should just swallow Marvin and open up our roster to fill needs.
And we aren’t hearing us looking at a MLE acquisition at this time.
tmc
December 8th, 2011
1:00 pm
the last sentence in this article is the BIGGEST understatement of the decade!
LMAO
who cares
December 8th, 2011
1:07 pm
Hawks need to start over. This team can’t win, period. A championship is what is the goal and the team assembled is not going to get that.
J
December 8th, 2011
1:08 pm
If T-Mac is willing to take the minimum to come here, all the better for the Hawks. We still have depth on the bench if crawford leaves w/ Kirk (if he stays).
Too many ifs though … IF Teague is what we saw out of him during the Bulls series, we’ll be fine. If not and Crawford leaves, then we are screwed!
J
December 8th, 2011
1:11 pm
i agree with a lot of people though, you make Jamal Crawford sound like he’s Kobe. Schultz, not sure you really know your basketball.
Tremaine
December 8th, 2011
1:11 pm
If they would have just started Jeff Teague like so many of us wanted last year, there would have been no need to trade Jordan Crawford and Jamal Crawford would have be a after thought right now. IT’S TOUGH BEING A HAWKS FAN!
tyger
December 8th, 2011
1:12 pm
1. McGrady is perferct for the Hawks, whether they re-sign Jamal Crawford or not.
2. Everyone knows the Spirit is cheap, no need in re-hashing it every article.
3. 66 game season favors elderly players, get more.
4. Jason Collins performed admirably last season, save a slot for him, where’s Iverson?
5. Hawks have youth, they need balance, CBA favors Hawks – vets have to cave for $1M.
6. If Iverson 2 steps faster than Bibby, sign him, fans love him and will help fill that empty upper row.
Gwinnett Fred
December 8th, 2011
1:12 pm
1- Crawford is GONE. Get ready for it. He will follow the bucks and ATL doesn’t have enough bucks for him to follow. The top concern is will they use the money, or at least part of the money, they would offer him to get another legit 6th man to come off the bemch and not a collection of old-timers?
2- Crawford gone or not, this is a good signing just in the realm that we only have 7 players under contract. Now we have 8. A bench has to be created somewhere.
3- No mention anywhere of the kid we drafted, Keith Benson. Did he put on any pounds during the lockout? We are so bad at center, if he really got on the stick, he could actually get a few minutes here and there this year replacing Collins (9.5 mpg last year) and/or Thomas (9.2 mpg last year).
4- Also no word of Wilkins that I have heard of. I though he was a good role player last year as a swing man and wouldn’t be too expensive.
Corzine the lying criminal
December 8th, 2011
1:13 pm
I sure am glad I have liberals like Jeff Schultz to support me. My boy Obuma will make sure I don’t go to prison. I just don’t know where that 1.4 Billion went. Please don’t audit any of Obuma’s and other dems campaign coffers though. And thank you media for focusing more on things like herman cain and newt. It sure helps when the american dopes can’t see what’s really happening here. Go OWS!!!
DALE
December 8th, 2011
1:15 pm
FROM WHAT I SAW FROM AL HORFORD IN THE PLAYOFFS LAST YEAR, THE HAWKS WOULD BE BETTER OFF DUMPING HIM AND RE-SIGNING JAMAL CRAWFORD. AL HORFORD MAY BE A NICE GUY, BUT HE IS SOFT AS BUTTER!
Hot err
December 8th, 2011
1:16 pm
Congrats we have just become the 2010-11 Detroit Pistons!!!
more of the same
December 8th, 2011
1:17 pm
sign some old, washed up player with a “name” from previous years—overpay, mediocre again. this franchise never learns.
26belly
December 8th, 2011
1:17 pm
Tracy McGrady may be past his prime years, injury plagued, and a bargain for a Family Dollar signing price but hey,…he ain’t no Jon Contract, …I mean Jon Koncak!