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
Frankie
December 8th, 2011
1:19 pm
Hiow about Joe, al, and Josh redo your contractes to keep Crawford if he really means that much to the franchise and winning…
Frankie
December 8th, 2011
1:20 pm
We are waiting, no reaction just like I thought..Money walks….B…S..t talks
The Real JC
December 8th, 2011
1:21 pm
Heck, I’m just excited to be arguing about the Hawks on ajc.com!
@Maybe, I hear Steve Francis, Jamal Mashburn, Chris Webber and Antoine Walker are also available! If we sign them all, we could field a starting five made entirely of 2003 NBA All-Stars!
MB in SC
December 8th, 2011
1:22 pm
There’s a lot of ignorance and amateurs clogging up this blog. Not sure what I expect, but it is taxing trying to sort through the crap comments and get to someone that makes a sensible post.
Jon
December 8th, 2011
1:23 pm
As long as this ownership group is running the show, I COULD GIVE A RAT’S AS* WHAT HAPPENS WITH THE HAWKS.
Ossie
December 8th, 2011
1:26 pm
Well it’s a good sign because all i’m hearing about the Jamal Crawford situation is we’re going to do a sign and trade with Chicago. We get back Brewer and another player (praying it’s asek). So there we have our depth that we have been lacking since I can remember.
G
December 8th, 2011
1:27 pm
Who gives a $%*& about the Hawks?
Spanky Monkey
December 8th, 2011
1:29 pm
What Joe johnson are you watching ? The one I watched last year scored 22,27,34 in three games then 6,12,9 in three games. To get paid Kobe,LeBron,& D.Wade money you got to be a scorer EVERY game.
Hot err
December 8th, 2011
1:29 pm
Joe Johnson = Sunk Cost
Our only hope is to amnesty him and hit the lotto on a real superstar in the draft.
Peter
December 8th, 2011
1:33 pm
They are a better team with Crawford ?
HA HA HA the Spirit should have thought of that before giving Hide and Go Seek JJ all that money for nothing !
The Hawks have failure written all over them……couldn’t happen to a worse group of owners !
Hawks sign Tracy McGrady to one-year contract - Digital Sports Daily
December 8th, 2011
1:33 pm
[...] Jeff Schultz of the Atlanta Journal Constitution writes, “This can be taken as either 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.” Tags Atlanta HawksTracy McGrady input, textarea{} #authorarea{ height: 89px; padding-left:5px; margin:12px 0; width: 635px; } .authorareah3{ height:23px; border-bottom: 1px solid #B0B0B0; color: #333333; font-family: georgia; font-size: 19px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 22px; margin:0 4px 5px; padding-left: 8px;} .authorareah3 a{text-decoration:none; color:#333; font-weight:bold} #authorarea img{margin:0 4px; float:left; border:1px solid #ddd; width:85px; height:85px;} #authorarea p{color:#333; margin:0} #authorarea p a{color:#333} .authorinfo{ } About the Author Travis Duncan [...]
Greg
December 8th, 2011
1:35 pm
It;s nice in a day full of news, the ajc deems a high school football rap song is front page material. And they wonder why they have no subscribers.
Rick D.
December 8th, 2011
1:44 pm
Be serious… the Spirit Group doing something bold, something big, building a real championship level team instead of just a contender? Yeah… right? They really aught to rename themselves the “Dis-Spirited Group”. The reality is that everyone can’t wait for them to leave town and release the Hawks to an owner with real guts and a real intent to build a champion. It would be best until that time if they just got out of the way of Rick Sund and let the man do what he really wants to do… build a real championship team. Right now he’s just a glorified baby sitter with a GM title and one arm tied behind his back.
RealMikeJ
December 8th, 2011
1:51 pm
Let’s get rid of the Hawks all together and let’s see if Al Horford can play TE for the Falcons. I bet he would be great!
KSU Alum
December 8th, 2011
1:51 pm
“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”
They don’t necessarily equate to logic either, Schultzie…
gee
December 8th, 2011
1:51 pm
The problem with Crawford is consistency..he can either shoot you out or help you win games, but it’s no guarantee that he’s “on” each night.
KSU Alum
December 8th, 2011
1:56 pm
I’m officially forming a “Draft Tyler Perry for Hawks Owner” group. Since apparently there are no other rich people in Atlanta who give a [expletive deleted]. Come on, Tyler! Do it for us! Be Mark Cuban 2.0!
Big Ump
December 8th, 2011
2:01 pm
Ken Strickland
How you doing Man? Glad to see you on the blog again. I hope all is well. I’s always a pleasure to hear from the old timers and and my main girl drmaryb.
Ray
December 8th, 2011
2:04 pm
We don’t need to keep crawford…he will end up just like Bibby 2 years down the road. Crawford is awful at defense. Crawford often shoots the hawks either in the game or out the game which is why we are so inconsistent. It’s time for horford to stop saying resign Crawford and start steping his game up to 20 and 10 every night. The problem isn’t that the hawks have spent 40 million on three players but that those 3 players haven’t step up to the plate and purduce. People forget that we have Teague who should start this year and average 10 points and 10 assists. Johnson needs to be at 20 points and 5 assists per game. Marvin needs to be role player and just do what ever he does. Josh needs to get 15 points a game, 4 assists, 10 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Oh yeah, and elimate the jump shots. Al needs to be at 20 and 10. Kirt needs to be 8 points per game and 3 assists coming of the bench. We need to sign shane b. (can’t spell his last name- small forward and he is an excellent defender. Also we need to sign big baby. He comes from Boston and will be a great role player. Lastly we can use another 7 footer who can block shots and trade zaza. If we are going to beat the heat, Bulls, Knicks it’s going to be with defence, role players, and our big 3 steping up not Crawford trying to out shoot them. All of the guys I have talked about us resigning are low cost and high reward.
Jeff please write on this and quote me on it.
Hoops
December 8th, 2011
2:04 pm
The Hawks have Hinrich on the DL. They better sign Crawford and Jefferson.
Hawk4Life
December 8th, 2011
2:12 pm
We don’t need Jamal. We need big man that play D like Tyson Chandler. Jamal is a nice piece and i’m a big Jamal fan but we are stuck with Joe so we need to add size and defense to compete.
Grover Gaddis
December 8th, 2011
2:18 pm
It’s a good sign. McDonalds in the Atlanta area has jumped on the bandwagon and named an all dark meat chicken sandwich after him. It’s called the Chicken McGrady. The sandwich isn’t too bad but it’s a bit pricey.
JSS
December 8th, 2011
2:26 pm
KSU Alum
December 8th, 2011
1:56 pm
“I’m officially forming a “Draft Tyler Perry for Hawks Owner” group.”
You’re wasting time… That’s not his cup of tea, and he has about a half a billion dollars in bond debt that he’s servicing for the next 10 years too…
Idiot Atlanta Media
December 8th, 2011
2:33 pm
Another Atlanta media person taking shots at Atlanta teams. So typical, so pathetic. T-Mac is a great signing for Atlanta; especially for vet min. This will help us out on the bench in depth, not to mention, it will give Teague the better opportunity to fill out, and have others with more scoring opportunity. But yet, Atlanta media want’s to try and degrade anything that’s possible. S A D
Ray
December 8th, 2011
2:36 pm
Wow guess I need to change my name someone stole my tag.
Big D
December 8th, 2011
2:36 pm
We do need Crawford contrary to some of the comments here Crawford took a lot of pressure offensively off of Joe ,Al,and Smoove . Teams had to gameplan for him even off the bench I dont know why some of you think that type of ability is a dime a dozen in the NBA.
Now I know that we cant afford Crawford but lets not try and act as though he hasnt and cant continue to help this team .
Ray(Original)
December 8th, 2011
2:39 pm
I like the T-mac signing especially for the vet min like everyone else is saying Jamal is gone point blank period it’s more about what can the hawks get for him. I like the idea of Chicago being a trade partner.
As for J-smoove I wish to keep him if we bring in CP3 that all but means Jeff Teague is gone and also the only way CP3 stays is if you can get probably Dwight Howard. The only way he gets here is J-smoove being here so it’s like what do you do.
STRETCH
December 8th, 2011
2:44 pm
Marc Stein: Source close to Tyson Chandler talks just told http://ESPN.com: “It’s 98 percent sure that Tyson is going to wind up with the Knicks.” Twitter
STRETCH
December 8th, 2011
2:45 pm
Does anyone know or has anyone heard any more Hawks news?
Ray(Original)
December 8th, 2011
2:59 pm
Nope haven’t heard anymore Hawks news except there is interest in David West, Earl Watson apparently.
My wishlist is We get D12 here and if push comes to shove I guess we have to let go of Jeff Teague for CP3.
jdewayneatl
December 8th, 2011
3:02 pm
Its a good sign. The Hawks will pay the tax this year, but it won’t be to sign the one-dimensional Jamal. The Hawks can’t afford to go forward with one or two man bench. Not signing Jamal means that the Hawks can add quality depth behind the starting five. Quality and quantity is the key this season.
ryan
December 8th, 2011
3:06 pm
Is Crawford, Teague , Williams for Paul and West doable or wishful thinking .
David Smith
December 8th, 2011
3:11 pm
Calm down Jeff. T-Mac may not be the same All Star caliber player he was in the past but his depth is much needed for our bench. Crawford is a gifted scorer but his defense is horrible and he wants a chance to be a started again. We had his heir apparent in Jordan Crawford but traded him for average point guard who can’t shoot and can barely defend his man. I hope the rumored trade with Chicago (Crawford for Asik and Brewer) is true so we can get on with the season.
Jimmy Crack
December 8th, 2011
3:18 pm
We in Atlanta are at the mercy of a failed sale. If anything the ownership/management/puppets will pick up scraps (see MacGrady) or do nothing but pose and excuse and deflect.
The Hawks will never be title contenders without 1) A true Center, and 2) A consistent point guard.
A playoff team? Yes. A Champion? No chance with present ownership.
HockeyFan
December 8th, 2011
3:21 pm
I’ll become a Hawks season ticket holder as soon as Atlanta is granted another NHL franchise.
Hawks Ownership is a JOKE
December 8th, 2011
3:29 pm
If they can’t muster up the cash to keep Crawford on the team, they might as well go ahead and count on losing a large % of their “fanbase”. A team struggling to keep fans on board can’t afford to let a top player walk away for nothing, only to replace him with an aging veteran at the league minimum.
BravesFanSince1966
December 8th, 2011
4:00 pm
Excluding the Falcons, Atlanta has the worst owned teams in professional sports. Liberty Media and the Atlanta Spirit are total wastes in my humble opinion.
david
December 8th, 2011
4:01 pm
who cares?
superiorblogman
December 8th, 2011
4:03 pm
Much respect to Jamal Crawford but some people are making too much out of such a one-dimensional player. No T-Mac alone does not make up for Jamal but maybe he is not alone. Send Marvin to the bench and let him earn his money, along with adding more pieces. I would rather add more pieces (depth) with the same money I would pay one one-dimensional player like Jamal.
Paddy
December 8th, 2011
4:33 pm
Jeff…….Sorry to disappoint you. The ASG is doing a 50/50 raffel at half time. 1/2 to the winner and 1/2 to the ASG’s favorite charity. Want to take a guess on the charity?
J
December 8th, 2011
4:58 pm
more of the same – ummm, how is signing somebody at league minimum overpaying? READ the article, it said nothing about overpaying T-Mac.
Bob
December 8th, 2011
5:05 pm
When you sign TMac, why not see if Willis Reed and Earl Monroe are availble…and also, see if Ted Munchack is interested in owning the Hawks again.
uh er
December 8th, 2011
5:07 pm
how can anyone bash signing tmac? for MINIMUM? and even if he is coming to “replace crawford”, so what? crawford does not deserve the money he would be paid to be on this team. on a contender, sure. but this team does not need crawford and joe holding the ball for 20 seconds at the top of the key and then chuck the ball up towards the hoop for the fun of it. the team needs change by subtracting the bad. crawford did some special things, but its time to move on. let teague develop. change the team! that is what we all know needs to happen. (and a coach..owner..and gm..but i digress)
superiorblogman
December 8th, 2011
5:14 pm
I think a better indicator of the Hawks having problems is if Marvin Williams is a starter or if Al Horford is still moonlighting as a starting NBA Center.
Snake Doc
December 8th, 2011
5:42 pm
Who? What? When? Who cares!
Producer
December 8th, 2011
5:45 pm
Atlanta still plays professional basketball? Who knew?
diezel
December 8th, 2011
5:55 pm
Hold real fast, the only reason y’all being citics is because of wat u hear from everybody else. Be honest, none of u haven’t real sat down think if mcgrady is a bad or good signing. Y’all just rollin with the puches right along with everbody else. If you don’t know basketball, just quit commenting so this blog can be a better place
Jim
December 8th, 2011
6:00 pm
If the Hawks can get a big man that can play defense/rebound for Crawford in a sign and trade or straight up free agent move please do it. This will be a different team with Teague/Heinrich at the point, both on offense and on defense. Anybody know what Heinrich status is health wise?.
WC_HAWKS_FAN_WC
December 8th, 2011
6:04 pm
We could do a sign and trade with crawford to minn for beasley, then turn around and trade J.Smith for a true center and a couple of bench players or draft picks.
diezel
December 8th, 2011
6:12 pm
Hell naw, beasley don’t play D just O. Just like Crawford