Another Spirit dilemma: Can Hawks afford Jamal Crawford?
Jamal Crawford has made a real difference as a Hawk. (AJC photo by Curtis Compton)
The hockey arm of the Atlanta Spirit might be headed out of town, and a key part of the Spirit’s basketball operation could be, too. This assumes the Spirit will keep the Hawks, which it might not. Confused yet?)
Jamal Crawford won’t be taking his talents to Winnipeg, but he might not be a Hawk much longer.
Crawford isn’t anxious to leave. Of his four NBA stops, this has been the sweetest: He made the playoffs for the first time, and last season he was voted the league’s best sixth man. But he wants more money. He’s not apt to find it here.
He made $10 million this season. He’s scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent July 1. He informed the Hawks a year ago that he’d like a new contract, and nothing much has happened. (Nothing beyond Rick Sund, the general manager, saying he’d like to keep Crawford.)
Unless the NBA thrashes out a new collective bargaining agreement that radically boosts the salary cap, the Hawks won’t be in position to spend. The Spirit, which funded the league’s seventh-highest payroll in 2010-2011, doesn’t want to pay one penny of luxury tax, the threshold for which was $70 million this season. (And even if the Hawks were sold, the sale wouldn’t be finalized until after the keep-or-dump decision on Crawford is made.)
The Hawks have committed almost $67 million to salaries for 2011-2012, which brings us to the greater issue. Their surprising playoff run notwithstanding, is there financial room for growth?
Joe Johnson will make $18 million next season. There was a time when — at least to some people, this correspondent included — it made sense for the Hawks to pay whatever it took to keep their best player. One year into his $120-million contract, Johnson is no longer that player. He slipped from 11th in the NBA in scoring in 2009-2010 to 28th this season, and he didn’t draw a single vote in All-NBA balloting. (He’d made third team the year before.)
Combine the $18 million due Johnson with the $8 million on Kirk Hinrich’s contract and the $1.5 million due Jeff Teague, and you’ve got nearly $28 million sunk into a backcourt without Crawford. And the price paid for Hinrich — the rookie Jordan Crawford plus the Hawks’ No. 1 pick in 2011 — wrecked the chance of developing young talent at an entry-level rate.
If the Hawks lose Jamal Crawford, they won’t be as good. He’s a difference-maker. He’s also 31, and Johnson is set to turn 30 next month. Even if the Spirit could afford it, would it be wise to spend big to keep another shooting guard of similar talent and age?
Small forward is the bigger concern. With his increasing reliance on size over skill, Larry Drew moved Al Horford to power forward, which enabled him to shoot more jump shots to lesser effect, and Josh Smith to the perimeter, which did the same. Marvin Williams, who’s under contract through 2013, has become a lost soul. If Horford and Smith remain at 4 and 3 — and I’m not sure that’s the answer — then the Hawks can get by with Williams doing little.
Loading ...If not, could Johnson swing to forward and let Teague and Hinrich start at guard? The learned John Hollinger of ESPN has suggested as much, but I don’t see it. If we know anything about Johnson, it’s that he needs the ball in his hands. And would a team that ranked 22nd in a 30-team league in rebounding differential dare to deploy three guards as its base lineup?
It wouldn’t be a summer if we didn’t have Hawks drama. In 2008 they lost Josh Childress to Greece but kept Josh Smith. In 2009 they kept Marvin Williams, Mike Bibby and Zaza Pachulia but let Flip Murray leave. (Trading for Crawford had rendered Flip expendable.) Last summer the Spirit fired Mike Woodson, promoted Larry Drew and broke the bank for Johnson.
On the record, the Spirit has a pretty good history of keeping the guys it wants to keep. Crawford, however, will be the most severe test. The Hawks like him and value him, but they might not be able to afford him. And he’d be a real loss.
By Mark Bradley
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157 comments Add your comment
Choosen1
May 19th, 2011
7:51 pm
Sign and trade Jamal for a defensive/ rebounding big. Trade Marvin for dependable role player even though Al pissed me off during playoff time let him and Josh start at the 4 and 3 but finish at the 5 and 4 bring kirk off the bench for 30 mins of good D and soild shooting then add a for sure knock down shooter the hawks would then fly
ag
May 19th, 2011
7:51 pm
Before you resign Jamal, the organization has to understand how they are going to get better. Will they improve through the draft or free agency? Because of the financial constraints, I think they have to decide on improving in the draft. That is not a bad thing, because two of the four teams still in the playoffs are built through the draft (OKC – Durant, Westbrook, Harden, Collison; Chicago – Noah, Deng, Rose, Gibson, Asik).
The Hawks are built similar to those teams (Horford, Smith, Teague, Williams), but the latter is the one that is keeping the Hawks from getting over the Hump (imagine if Williams was as good as Dang?). Woodie and Drew also have done a horrible job in their commitment to young talent (list to long to mention).
Starting Teague and Hinrich, drafting a pure shooter – possibly trading Marvin for a late pick to grab Klay Thompson or Jimmer Fredette will improve the Hawks. Starting Joe at SF will give us a scoring punch at SF we have not seen in years and KH and JT will make up a good back court. Both players will have to understand they will each log in about 35-40 minutes per night. Resigning Wilkins to backup JJ will also ease the burdin. The only FA pickup is a center or PF who is a hustler and willing to do the dirty work.
RM
May 19th, 2011
8:03 pm
Crawford purposely sabotaged the Hawks in the Bulls series b/c he didn’t get a new contract. He showed up big time against the Magic and then missed 137 layups against the Bulls and played zero D. I’m sayin that was on purpose, but that’s just me.
Batcork
May 19th, 2011
8:37 pm
I was web browsing and soon after seeing Mark’s headline, I saw this headline on a yahoo page…. ” ‘Hawks sign G Crawford for 3 years”.
That story was about the Chicago Blackhawks and goalie Cory Crawford. How’s that for a freaky coincidence? The ‘ should have been the tipoff.
tony
May 19th, 2011
8:57 pm
Sorry JC but the hawks need to go in a different direction. Here’s what I would do.
1) Sign Shane Battier(sf) because he brings stability, intelligence and good defense.
2) Draft Keith Benson(c) in the 2nd round
3) Sign undraft free agent Shumpert, Iman(pg) or Kitchen, Derwin(pg). One them might not get drafted.
2011-12 Lineup
(pg) Jeff Teague……..Iman Shumpert(r)
(sg) J.Johnson………..Kirk Hinrich
(sf) Shane Battier……Marvin Williams
(pf) Al Horford…………Josh Smith
(c)) Collins………………Zaza and Keith Benson(r)
PMC
May 19th, 2011
10:46 pm
It’s really no wonder that this town has mainly love hate relationships with it’s teams.
The expenses are so great for the minuscule returns. If you’re going to invest in tickets, how many of these players do you really want or need to be in the building to see?
Josh is fun sometimes. Vick was fun to watch. Andrew Jones in center; Smoltz on the mound.
Other than that. I mean I spend my money mostly on the Falcons… but there’s not a lot of hope really.
Tom
May 19th, 2011
11:56 pm
Mark Bradley’s negative columns about the Thrashers over the years has done more damage to a franchise than any in the history of sports. Yeah they haven’t been very good but his finger pointing at players, management, owners and even a call for fans to not attend games sealed the deal. Thanks Mark – you were in a position to help and opted to consistently go glass half full as your writing always is.
A Free Man
May 20th, 2011
2:14 am
Give Joe Johnson and his ridiculous contract to anyone who will take him. Give Marvin Williams and his ridiculous contract to anyone who is stupid enough to take him. With those two gone, start building a real team from there!
Jason
May 20th, 2011
2:27 am
Hope JC can stay but, if you can’t give him what he deserves, there are many other teams that will appreciate him, not only on the court but off! If he leaves, hope he lands with a stable franchise, with dedicated fans. Sorry haters, looks like 65% polled say We Want Jamal! Want to really win, stop dreaming about “Wanna go to a party..?” as your starting point guard.
Antoine Carr
May 20th, 2011
6:42 am
Mark: Is there any chance of dumping/trading Joe Johnson to one of the NBA’s worst teams? It would seem that a team that is rebuilding might be willing to pick him up. Am I wrong?
Antoine Carr
May 20th, 2011
6:46 am
Good article Mark, But it really is depressing to think about all the moves sund has mad over the last two years. For example, overpaying for bibby, williams, johnson, the Hinrich trade, etc. Other than resigning Horford which was a complete no brainer Sund has really done a poor job.
Newbie
May 20th, 2011
6:51 am
@ Slim
I agree that Ajinca needs to put on some weight, but if we team him up with either Gooden, Zaza, Sanders, and eiter Armstrong or Rolle (if we keep either of them), I think it is a chance worth taking and would be at a good price.
Bench
PG – one of the point gaurds you suggested
SG – John Solmons
SF – Al Thorton and Wilkins
PF – Drew Gooden, Sanders, and either Armstrong or Rolle (if we keep one of them)
C – Zaza and Ajinca
I also read that the Cavs maybe looking at trading J.J. Hickson.
What do you think?
superiorblogman
May 20th, 2011
7:21 am
Can’t afford him and should not try to hard to keep him. If some team wants to give us Dalembert, Oden, Wilson Chandler, Tayshaun Prince, or something that is more of a need we should sign and trade him though.
dap01
May 20th, 2011
8:09 am
Yes, I hope we keep him. We need jumpshooters who play no team ball and no defense. We need shooters who shoot contested 3’s with 17 seconds on the 24 second clock.
Larry loves offense.
Newbie
May 20th, 2011
8:42 am
I have seen on the nba-trade-rumors website about people wanting the Hawks to trade Josh Smith to the Lakers to help lure Howard there.
Lakers and Hawks
PF Odom, PF caracter, SF ebanks, SG brown PG Fisher, and draft pick for josh smith
Also saw one that had Smith and Williams go to the Kings.
Kings deal – Dalembert, Casspi, Taylor, and 2012 1st
Hawks deal: Josh Smith, Marvin Williams
Do any of you think that these are good trades or even a possibility or are you in favor of the Hawks and Bucks trade that has been post on our blogs?
South ga boy in the atl
May 20th, 2011
9:41 am
Hold on Mark. Moving JJ to SF is the answer. JJ is listed at 6′8″ and MW is listed as 6′9″ so what do we lose. MW could still be brought off the bench and be of some benefit with scoring on the 2nd unit with JC gone. Yes we lose some size going from JJ to KH at SG but we make some up if we trade JS for a true CENTER. If we had a true 5, who like Noah say, was committed to hustle for every rebound, play defense first and do all the dirty work that Noah does for the Bulls then we gain some size and “ROLE UNDERSTANDING” that we most certainly lack now. Develop PS to come off the bench as the backup SG. if the Hawks are to ever improve we have to have defined roles that every other elite team has. We need 2 perimeter scorer’s on the floor in JJ and KH to pull defenders away from the block. We need a distributor and penetrator at the PG and we have that in JT. it’s a simple formula that works, but we can’t do it with all this confusion about guys that sometime/part-time small forward or power forward or combo guards that better than avg at shooting guard or point guard but don’t excel at either one. GET DEFINED ROLES FOR PLAYERS
Morris Day and The Time
May 20th, 2011
10:39 am
This off season, no player should be off limits from being in trade talks, INCLUDING Al Horford. Rick Sund would be very wise to listen to all offers, and also be proactive. This team definitely needs to be shaken up.
robdawg
May 20th, 2011
10:40 am
To quote the late great Richard Pryor, “While you’re packing, pack this @#$%”. Pack Jamal, aka “I need one more tattoo”, aka “I need to take one more jump shot”, aka “the black hole”, along with BIG BUTT, MW and let’s spend that $18Million on some guys that play defense and will take it to the hoop. We can find another sharpshooter on the cheap. Jamal has served us well but we need guys who play Defense. Marvin was a bad idea by Billy “the idiot GM”. The sooner he is off the roster, the sooner we can move on. Might even be able to get Chris Paul next year.
Morris Day and The Time
May 20th, 2011
10:47 am
We need to rehire Billy Knight … JUST HEAR ME OUT.
Knight is definitely the WORST TALENT EVALUATOR IN HISTORY. Passing on CP3, D-Will, Andre Iguadala, Luol Deng, Brandon Roy and a host of others still stings to this day. However, he was a master at dumping egregious contracts. Remember he was the one who moved Shareef Addur-Rahim and the rest of those early naughts players who no one thought could be moved due to their high-priced contracts.
Get this guy back on board to exorcise all these current bad contracts (JJohnson, MWilliams, KHinrich), then once he’s done, tell him to hit the road.
Morris Day and The Time
May 20th, 2011
10:50 am
@ JeJe
Where you at man? We need an updated list on who else needs to be fired. Come on man.
dap01
May 20th, 2011
10:58 am
If this team adds Presbilla and a shooter, it will be ok.
Provided LD does not hide Teague (or any other non jumpshooter) on the team.
PBT Friday morning one liners | ProBasketballTalk
May 20th, 2011
11:32 am
[...] There are some serious roster building questions in Atlanta. [...]
truth
May 20th, 2011
12:21 pm
Al: did not show up in the Bulls series
Josh showed up and people want to get rid of him? Josh is inconsistent and lacks effort every night but a 50% effort Josh Smith > 100% Al
KevinM
May 20th, 2011
12:26 pm
“And the price paid for Hinrich — the rookie Jordan Crawford plus the Hawks’ No. 1 pick in 2011 — wrecked the chance of developing young talent at an entry-level rate”
Truer words have never been spoken. Sund was forced to do something at the deadline, and lost any future flexibility. We are going to have to develop a bench at the entry level rate for NBA vets as well.
Jamal is gone…he is telling you he wants more money. He isn’t going to get anything out of the ASG. You think they are spending more money at this point?
For a team that is ranked #24 in overall value by Forbes, and with the Hawks finishing in the top 8, the value of this franchise doesn’t appear to be rising unless they get more done in the playoffs.
We have been a Top 8 team the last 3 years. Has that done anything for this franchise?
An elite player like the Clippers have with Blake Griffin might help with the value of the franchise. That and getting the ASG out of the way. Their management style? Total chaos since Day 1.
K-Dogg
May 20th, 2011
12:29 pm
Let him walk it just sucks b/c we gave away a mini younger and cheaper version of him and a draft pick and we knew we were not going to resign him. They would have been better of trading him and his expiring contract at the deadline but once again us fans on here saying that are not the smart ones!!!! Go figure huh Sund!!!!!
K-Dogg
May 20th, 2011
12:34 pm
Crawford going to New Jersey they already said they will target him like a week after they got Williams so once we offer him 5 and they offer like 8-10 he gone…
K-Dogg
May 20th, 2011
12:41 pm
“”Ok Hawks fan lets start up the chatter to try to get my new idea this year going”
Westbrook to the ATL. He is frustrated him and KD are not going to work they would love not to trade him in the west.. We send over our 1st offer to them Teague and a package of Marvin or ZAZA and if that dont work we offer Josh for him next year and then try to find a cheap bench guy through free agency… We can run with Teague and Westbrook together. Westbrook can play the 2 and we slide Joe to the 3 BIg Al to the 4 and center???… We maybe able to do Teague though bc his value is high right now too but if it dont work send them Josh and one of their bigs or good role players..!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Lets do this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Casey
May 20th, 2011
12:45 pm
There probably won’t be a season folks. It’s too early to worry about this.
K-Dogg
May 20th, 2011
12:53 pm
Naw seeing what the L is offering i think the players will accept it i think the NBA will be ok not like the NFL they talking about thinks being the same way for two years and them over a period of time lowering the tax amount and so on…
Jhovan
May 20th, 2011
1:07 pm
It is very hard being a hawks fans…..especially after we continue to do stupid things….i thought they gave up on the stupidity when they signed Jordan but then proved me REALLY wrong by trading him, letting Joe rob us, and now Jamal is about to go…..smh…..i need to find another team to like…cuz these guys are depressing…GO SMOOVE!
joey1
May 20th, 2011
1:27 pm
1 samuel dalembert is a free agent this summer that would be a great defensive center , we could let jamal go trade m williams for a draft pick and sign him im agine
teague,johnson, smith, horford, dalebert,, what a huge backcourt we would defenitley not get out rebounded much anymore
joey1
May 20th, 2011
1:32 pm
123
jarvis
May 20th, 2011
3:22 pm
How much would it cost to get Sheldon Williams back? I tink he’s still got potential. He just needs to find the right system.
Jackets 2011
May 20th, 2011
5:02 pm
First year of another ridiculous contract and JJ already has stared to drop in value.
Not my problem.
I only pay to see my Jackets play.
Overpaid pros are someone else’s problem.
Big Ray
May 20th, 2011
5:11 pm
Jamal would be a good fit if we could have him for cheaper and use him solely as a 2 guard off the bench.
Instead, we use him as our #2 offensive option.
We need to force more production out of our bigs (Al, Josh) and get Marvin into a groove off the bench. Stop relying on Jamal. To do that, you have to let him go. Not worth the money.
Big Ray
May 20th, 2011
5:18 pm
“And the price paid for Hinrich — the rookie Jordan Crawford plus the Hawks’ No. 1 pick in 2011 — wrecked the chance of developing young talent at an entry-level rate”
Truer words have never been spoken. Sund was forced to do something at the deadline, and lost any future flexibility. We are going to have to develop a bench at the entry level rate for NBA vets as well.
Yeah? And just how have the Hawks done with this young talent?
1) Marvin = our highest draft pick. No longer worthy of being a starter.
2) Josh = plays the game the way he wants to half the time, not the way he should.
3) Al = no longer wants to play his position.
4) Teague = would not have broken out if he Hinrich hadn’t been injured beyond playing ability.
5) Jordan Crawford = hardly got to play at all. And that was after trading for him, and pocketing the cash. Brilliant.
6) Sheldon Williams, Acie Law, Salim Stoudamire – do I really have to say it?
Don’t even want to talk about 2nd rounders…this organization does NOT know how to maximize it’s young players. Period.
robdawg
May 20th, 2011
7:27 pm
It all starts at the top. That’s why the Braves and now the falcons have their acts together and the Hawks are a @#$%^ joke. They lost all credibility when they fired Lenny 15 years ago.
robdawg
May 20th, 2011
7:31 pm
GM is a joke, coach is a joke!!!
Rangers forward Boogaard dead at 28
May 20th, 2011
8:46 pm
[...] [...]
redd
May 20th, 2011
8:53 pm
why does every one want to trade al i want to trade smith an williams for some pick an get some body in fa
duh
May 21st, 2011
12:08 am
I AM SO SICK AND TIRED OF ESPN CRANKING THE VOLUME ON THEIR IDIOT DUMB GUY COMMERCIALS.. not only r they so ridicules, but they make it about 40% louder so all the dumb jocks might understand to buy some chemical laced shaving cream.
duh
May 21st, 2011
12:10 am
Another boring article from bradley so might as well vent about another topic on this useless article
John
May 21st, 2011
10:34 am
First of all… I like Jamal Crawford, but I don’t think the Hawks should pay alot to keep him. As much as he helps this team, I think he is part of the problem too. When he is not hitting shots, he is useless on the court, but Drew feels like he has to keep him out there in case he gets hot. Plus, Teague has to start. We have Hinrich under contract who can play SG off the bench or start at SG with JJ playing SF. I would rather Hinrich come off the bench and back up JJ and Teague. He is more suited to play SG than Jamal. Jamal’s D is awful and this creates a liability when he is not lighting it up on offense. Also Mark, the Hawks overpaid for JJ, but I don’t think he has fallen off as a player as much as the stats indicate. I think that elbow maybe bothered him more than we thought and Drew’s offense impacted him the most. As other posters have said, this team needs to define player roles better. As much as people want to disagree. Al is not a player you build around. He is a very good player that can make the all-star team as a center, but has not chance at PF. He made third team all-NBA because they needed a Center. That is not a knock on him, but he is what he is.. A very good player. I think we need Al to revert back to the player he was before this season. I would rather him average less points and bang down low more than score more and only shoot jumpshots. This helps the team more. The Hawks need to let Jamal walk and bring in some more glue type guys to hold the team together. Plus, I don’t think JJ and Jamal play very well together when on the court at the same time.
John
May 21st, 2011
10:41 am
Correction: Hinrich is more suited to play PG than Jamal.
Dawg Tired
May 21st, 2011
10:54 am
UGA’s Leslie starts Twitter feud with Grizzlies’ Allen
The only person who is a bigger dufus than the above parties is the person who Gives A Ship.
Willie Beamen
May 21st, 2011
2:12 pm
I dont know if we can afford jamal .
secondly why would he resign here at this point as we have peaked and will start to slide next season maybe even out of the playoffs
Does anyone not realize that we dont get out of the 1st rd without him this year and we would be talking about the firing of LD and the blowing up of the roster right now if it wasnt for him ? he was the second best player on the floor in the Orlando series.
The problem with this team is not a defensive center nor jamals defense and maybe just a little bit of Marvin but the fact that Joe,Al,and Josh dont play consistently well enough to be the top three players on our team. When was the last time any of them played well for 15+ games individually ? Now think about when was the last time all 3 played well at the same time for any stretch ?
There is no money regardless of what we do with Crawford and when Als extension kicks in Al,Josh and Joe will combine to make 42 million and Hinrich Zaza and Marvin will make 19 million .
The only thing we will have is the MLE to sign someone with or make a trade .
I dont know who we should trade or how we should do it but I do know that our trio is done as a group. You can try and hold onto the dream that they will someday morph into the big three but seriously we know thats not gonna happen . In fact they are getting worse yeah of course they have nice numbers because the minutes are there but the things that should come with a young team thats been in the playoffs 4 straight years .
da'boomer
May 21st, 2011
2:32 pm
i hope the asg octo-cluster have all died in a fiery plane crash before these decisions need to be made
chad
May 21st, 2011
2:36 pm
can winnipeg take the sorry hawks too?
jamillion
May 21st, 2011
5:25 pm
ACTUALLY TRADING JAMAL WOULD ACTUALLY BE ADDITION BY SUBTRACTING,SAME AS I SAID ABOUT THE HINRICH INJURY IT IS ADDITION BY SUBTRACTION CUZ JEFF IS BETTER AND IS WHAT TE TEAM NEEDS TO PUSH THE BALL UPTEMPO,ACTUALLY ALL THE HAWKS NEED IS A ENFORCER TYPE PLAYER AND FOR COACH DREW TO COACH ZAZA IS A CAPABLE CENTER WHO PLAYS HARD,LET TEAGUE RUN THE SHOW AND WE WILL BE GOOD SIMPLE AS THAT.LET THE PG RUN THE OFFENSE PENETRATE MAKE THE DEFENSE SCRAMBLE AND THE OPEN MAN OR MISMATCH GUY TAKES THE SHOT,
DirtyBirdShawty
May 22nd, 2011
2:21 am
I think we should resign J Crawford. We don’t win that Orlando series without him. Plus he gets his own shot easier than anyone else on our team. Plus the most we could hope to get for him in a sign & trade is a 2011 1st rd pick. If we lose Crawford for nothing it takes away our ability to use one of oir most valuble trade chips in K Hinrich’s expiring contract. If we let Jamal walk Hinrich will have to play that 6th man backup PG/SG role limiting our ability to make a blockbuster move. I know its probably a pipe dream but im hoping Orlando will trade D Howard to the Lakers in a deal for Pau Gasol & L Odom. That way they will be forced to move Andrew Bynum. We could off them a choice of Smith or Hortford and Hinrich for Bynum. I know Bynum is an injury risk but he’s tough & has shown he will play through injuries. He is the 2nd best C in the NBA and is itching at the chance to get more low post touches.
Hortford is too much to give up for Bogut but I would definitely be down with a K Hinrich and M Williams for Either Bogut or C Kayman deal.