Hawks

By Bret "The Hitman" Heart

April 19, 2006 12:52 PM | Link to this

I could have won that many games on my own and I’m Canadian.

By Jake

April 19, 2006 12:53 PM | Link to this

Woody’s done a fantastic job. Considering the lack of depth and loss of key players during the course of the season makes 26 wins far more formidable.

Just waiting on a defensive presence in the 5 spot and the playoffs can be a 2006-2007 reality.

Check your inbox Sekou.

By Tyger

April 19, 2006 01:52 PM | Link to this

Again, I think the Hawks are in great shape, we just need pieces. Fortunately, we’ve got the best talent man, next to Jerry West, in the business, so that’ll be corrected soon.

I’ll try to look past the ownership fiasco and assume that everything works out in the best interests of the Hawks and NBA. Enough said…

Credit has to be given to the players, coaching staff and BK. Last summer, when other teams were preparing we were the laughing stocks of the league. Later, Collier passed and we lost our first 16 games. Weaker souls wouldve folded, but these guys sucked it up and perservered to double their win total. Kudos!

Surely, we couldve easily won 35 games but we have to be realistic given the totality of the circumstances. Next year I believe we make our move.

Hopefully, BK adds the key pieces and keeps the core together. In two years these guys are going to be something special.

Anyway, did anyone scout Earl Barron, the Miami Heat backup center?

By Astro Joe

April 19, 2006 02:09 PM | Link to this

I thought last night after hearing the walk-off interview with Woody, that if this team had actualy made the playoffs, the national media would have been talking about the death of Jason Collier and this team’s ability to overcome that tragedy. Woody made an interesting comment that the young players were looking for him to provide an answer after Collier’s sudden death and that he had no answer for them. I wonder if maybe there was a period when Collier’s death kept this team from gelling. I also wonder if the young guys actually blamed Woody for the physical conditioning drills that they may have thought contributed to his death. I never really thought about how the circumstances around his death could have impacted the team’s chemistry, because it was such a tragedy that I never went beyond the pure emotional affect. Obviously, we will never know how it impacted the team collectively.

Anyway, congratulations to Woody, BK and the team on finishing the season by winning about 39% of their games after the 2-17 debacle). Had we done that all season, we would have posted 32 wins. One thing’s for sure, when we are winning 45-50 games in another 2-3 seasons, those of us who blogged so tirelessly during the “dark days” should have our entires printed in a heavy, bold, italicized print. We have earned our “Premier Blogging” rights.

By Harry Hawk

April 19, 2006 02:36 PM | Link to this

Astro Joe…Amen.

Harry Hawk

I like it.

By Jameyan

April 19, 2006 02:48 PM | Link to this

I also agree with Astro Joe. If you are not with us now don’t come around when we are in the playoffs next season.

By Clyde

April 19, 2006 02:49 PM | Link to this

Jake: Above you said “Considering the lack of depth and loss of key players during the course of the season makes 26 wins far more formidable.” Don’t you think its Billy’s fault for not having enough depth? We have been in need of power forwards, centers, and a point guard for 3 years now and what does he bring in; small forwards. Last year around this time we were saying what this team needed and what did we get this year. A small forward, a 5’10 two guard, and a shooting guard that plays in Europe. Billy needs to be held accountable.

Last year people were saying if Billy messes up on this draft he should be fired. I don’t care what no one says, HE MESSED UP. Yall need to quit believing lies and come to grips with reality. FIRE BILLY AND WOODY

By g

April 19, 2006 03:42 PM | Link to this

Clyde you need to shutup, you know nothing. Don’t jump on the band wagon next year

By A Real Fan

April 19, 2006 03:58 PM | Link to this

Would Clyde prefer the Hawks to bring back Badcock?

By vdunkndunk

April 19, 2006 04:10 PM | Link to this

Billy Knight is doing a good job and taking the long view. It’s hard for some people to understand that it takes patience when you blow up a really, really bad team.

Two years ago we were basically an expansion team. Now look at the pieces we’ve assembled: Joe Johnson, Marvin Williams, and Josh Smith look like future all-stars. Childress, Zaza, and Salim are very sold pieces. Plus we still have a top 5 pick, $20 million of cap space, and Al Harrington to sign-and-trade this summer.

By buddy

April 19, 2006 04:18 PM | Link to this

This Hawks season for me has been like following the braves in 1990, the season before the amazing turnaround and start of the string of division titles. In both cases, there was obvious talent and there were obvious holes. The Braves had a couple of budding stars in Glavine and Smoltz. The Hawks have a couple in JJ and J-Smoove. The Braves had obvious holes in their defense at the corners. The Hawks have obvious holes in their interior defense and playmaking/ballhandling. Bobby Cox brought in Terry Pendleton and Sid Bream, and the rest is history. If the Hawks draft Tyrus Thomas and bring back Jason Terry, a similar turnaround is a real possibility.

By buddy

April 19, 2006 04:21 PM | Link to this

Vdunk, where do you get that $20m figure?

By Outside Observer

April 19, 2006 04:30 PM | Link to this

You guys are funny. Maybe it’s been too long since you’ve seen a good team with good management. This ain’t what they look like. Something tells me the hawks will draft rudy gay and trade for an over-the-hill iverson. Until the ownership group figure out who actually owns this debacle, bk will just keep living his groundhog day existance. Oh,and the piped in “crowd noise” recorded from some n’sync concert is more funny than motivating! “Keep hope alive!”

By Ladi

April 19, 2006 04:32 PM | Link to this

To be plus 13 games over this season with this team is something to write about. I applaud everybody from the players to the coaches, g.m, owners, fans, sports writers, blog writers, radio and tv broadcasters for the hawks. You all have done wonderful jobs elevating this team to be a future playoffs contender. Let us join the missing pieces together in the idle season and get ready for the 2006-2007 season. Go hawks!

By Astro Joe

April 19, 2006 04:33 PM | Link to this

Buddy, take a look at www.nbadraft.net. They are doing an anslysis of the salary cap situation for every team going into the off-season. The Hawks write-up was yesterday. I don’t know how accurate their source is, but it sounds about right. I think I read a similar figure ($20M) on espn.com from the guy who attempted to analyze each of the non-playoff teams.

By Basketball Princess

April 19, 2006 04:37 PM | Link to this

Well said SS. I think that a lot of the Hawks players will ride off on this energy and work extra hard during the off-season. These fly guys have gotten a appetite for winning now and I think they are willing to do anything to continue fine dinning. I expect those who stay to come back fired up! Especially our golden child J. Smoove. I’ve gone from fan, to behind the scenes and back again, and I’m truley stoked about what is to come in the future.

What ever GOD has planned for this franchise remains to be seen, and faith doesn’t come by sight. It comes by love. We need to love this team in their ups and downs, through their endless mistakes, and support them.

We are making progress. If we were not doing that then it’ll be a lil different.

So those of you who still choose to relish on what has not been seen in the forefront does not mean that success is not a moment away.

By Basketball Princess

April 19, 2006 04:47 PM | Link to this

Oh and Dorrel, he is a diamond in the ruff. Look what he did with his 1st real NBA GAME. He did go down to the D-league and dominate for a staight two weeks about 2 months ago. Dorrel has never seen any min. And if he has it’s only been the seconds he’s played that’s added up to min.

By Harry Hawk

April 19, 2006 04:57 PM | Link to this

Outside Observer,

My all-time favorite Hawks game music:

A tie between the music from Bowser’s dungeons in “Super Mario Brothers” and Tone Loc’s classic cover of “Wild Thing”.

And yeah, there’s some sarcasm in this post.

Here’s a funny link for my fellow Hawks fans…

Atlanta Hawks Greatest Hits: Vol. 1

By doc

April 19, 2006 05:01 PM | Link to this

aj you took the words out of my mouth from earlier in the season as the team was struglling after i ranted a bit myself. colliers death was significant from many vantage points.

negative emotion is a down draft of energy and focus and it is amazing what this young team has overcome when you think about it. maybe they were too young and naive to do otherwise but as you pointed out there were several aspects to consider in the loss of a teeammate much less than their own mortality that was thrown in their face. a colleague down is signficant from the grief standpoint at any age, people can even have a strange form of survival guilt.

this closely followed the blowup by management that caused a significant emotional toll in itself. anyone who has been involved with a company that has significant internal problems know how difficult it is to come to work even if it is the nba. i remember back to the draft day with the two josh’s attending with bk and things sounded pretty upbeat and unified, then the blowup and the picture of bk and in real honesty i believe it adversely affected the team and bk tremendously.

this is added to the fact that they were working in two new starters and two draft picks this team shouldnt have expected much and could have tanked early. when they didnt i thought that woody was somehow getting the job done in spite of the occasional criticisms i threw out there and said so back in december. these guys didnt quit and should be proud and hold their heads up.

somehow i hope this organization can get back to the halcion days of just last summer and all be on the same page. we need to wait a bit longer before judging too harshly. i say that as a fan of the hawks now for 49 years. can you say long suffering?

now go get em hawks and win this meaningless game for 27 so i can be wrong and accuse myself of underestimating you with an expected total victory number of 26.

By Steve B.

April 19, 2006 05:10 PM | Link to this

Astro has a very good point their is no telling how much the death of Jason Collier had on this young team. This is a team that will progress as is next season. I’m not saying they shouldn’t make upgrades because they should but be careful not to mess up the buzz we have now. I don’t know if you guys remember what the HAWKS looked liked before BK took the job but I’ll tell you. We had an overpaid team, no cap space, with no upside, not much athletsism, boaring to watch, and oh yhea we were loosing. Every one knew how bad P.Babcock had messed up our cap, traded picks and assembled a team that wasn’t going to get any better. BK said something thats true if you like him or not.” A loosing team should not be over the cap.”Every one knew it would take a couple of years to rebuild this team. All of can agree this team has better athletes,a great cap # to work with, very exciting to watch and tons of upside. Billy deserves one more year to get us back to respectability. It’s way to early in their NBA life to say BK messed up in the 05 draft. That judgement should be made at least 3 years down the road.

By Ty

April 19, 2006 05:37 PM | Link to this

Isn’t Joel Przybilla a free agent this summer? His 2.5-plus blocks per game (top 10 in the league) and his huge 7-foot body could proove really, really useful next season. He was also listed among the NBA players’ most feared rebounders in a poll conducted by Sports Illustrated.

A front-line of Joel at C and Zaza at PF would be a pretty spectacular inside presence. I really think that we’ve got the scorers in Joe Johnson, Josh Smith (and Marvin and Tyronne off the bench) to offset a defense- and rebounding-heavy front court. Jason Terry’d be a great addition at PG, but I doubt he’d want to come back after all the fun of winning in Dallas.

By chris paul

April 19, 2006 05:44 PM | Link to this

QUOTE: “(only the Hornets, +20, and Jazz, +16 made bigger improvements)”

let’s see, the Hornets drafted Chris Paul, a GUARD and the Jazz drafted Deron Williams, a GUARD and the Hawks drafted Marvin Williams, a FORWARD. Great Move.

By Ty

April 19, 2006 05:53 PM | Link to this

Water under the bridge, Mr. Paul. I look forward to watching your team battle my team in the playoffs real soon.

By Adam

April 19, 2006 06:03 PM | Link to this

This is the first time since 1999 that I felt optimistic about the Hawks. They’re finally moving in the right direction after so many years of stagnating. And the best part is the way Josh Smith and Marvin Williams have played the last couple weeks of the season. There is definitely reason for hope - I mean, at this point, what else is there?

My hopes for the offseason are that (1) the ownership dispute gets settled, preferably with Belkin on the outside looking in; (2) management can sign and trade Harrington for a player - either big or point - who can contribute immediately and fit into the nice foundation they’ve established; (3) we find value in the draft; and (4) of course, get aggressive with a couple free agents who can also help immediately. To build a winner in any league you need to draft wisely and delve into free agency when necessary. The Hawks can’t stay in the 20-win range for too much longer before more than the bloggers here get too restless to wait any further. It’s time now to start winning again.

By MBATL

April 19, 2006 06:36 PM | Link to this

An honest question: can someone (briefly) explain what advantage we have in the ‘sign and trade’ deal with Al? What’s to keep L.A., or NY, or anyone else, from just signing him directly? Thanks.

By Hal

April 19, 2006 07:02 PM | Link to this

21298OK, I must have read yesterday’s post wrong. You said Who were those guys Miami threw out there - only ones I knew of was Haslem and Walker. How about Jason Williams? He’s a little better than what we throw out at point. Not to mention everyone in here wasn’t pushing Doleac back to Miami when there was talk of him coming here. He’s not Shaq. But he’s not Koncak either. Well, maybe he is. But we needed him either way.

By Hal

April 19, 2006 07:06 PM | Link to this

MBATL, the other team would take on too much salary by just signing for Harrington straight up.

By Cathy

April 19, 2006 07:14 PM | Link to this

WAY TO GO HAWKS!!!!! I AM READY FOR NEXT SEASON!!!! With some help on the front line, the hawks will surely make the play-offs.

By MBATL

April 19, 2006 07:15 PM | Link to this

Thanks, Hal.

By Astro Joe

April 19, 2006 07:47 PM | Link to this

MBATL, another point. There is an advantgae to L signing with us also. If he signs with NY (as an example), contractually they can only offer him something like a 5% pay raise from year to the next. So if it were a 2 year contract and they started at $9M the second year could only be $9.45M. If he signs with his current team, he can get something like an 8% raise, so that same $9M gets to $9.72M the second year. Now do that over 4-5 years and it begins to make a difference (I may have my percentaghes wrong but I am sure that the existing team can provide their free agent with a bigger raise than other teams). So it is in Al’s best interest to try to sign a deal with the Hawks and then accept a trade to another team. They usually go hand in hand, so it’s not like we can sign him and then trade him to a big loser, he will likely give us a list of teams and BK will try to negotiate some talt\ent in return while Al’s agent negtiates the new contract. Lastly, it helps the new team (NY in this example) because instead of bidding against every other interested team (like let’s say Minnesota), they only have to truly bid against teams on Al’s short list (probably Chicago). ts truly a win-win for all three parties when done right. Remember we did a sign and trade with Stephen Jackson that landed us Al two years ago.

By HB Ando

April 19, 2006 07:48 PM | Link to this

MB, under the collective bargaining agreement, a player who is a free agent can receive more money, and an additional year of contract length from his current team, versus what any other team can give him. It’s set up to give teams a slight advantage in re-signing their own players. So Al gets, potentially, a longer and more lucrative contract from the Hawks than any other team. We find a trading partner, in a team that Al likes, and who wants to obtain Al, like the Knicks or the Bulls, and we provide Al with contract terms that both he and his new team are happy with. Al is free to go, with no compensation for the Hawks, to any team he wants. But if he wants the extra guaranteed year on the contract, he works with us on the sign and trade, so we can obtain something in return for him.

I had predicted 26 wins, as well, at the beginning of the season. I thought we might play .500 ball at home and win 5 on the road. Was a little high on the home total and a little short on the road wins. And while the players and coaching staff should be proud of their effort and improvement this year, the fact is that this team could have been even better if management had committed to addressing the imbalanced roster before the all-star break. You can’t get too charged about 26 wins as proof that things are swell here. 13 wins was historically bad last year; one of the worst teams in NBA history. 26 is still the fourth worst record in the league. If the team does not make the moves so many are certain they will, during the summer, we may see a repeat of this season. Those moves are not a foregone conclusion, as we all thought it was obvious what needed to happen before the trade deadline and with waiver pickups, things that never occurred throughout the season.

This summer truly could be the most important time frame for this organization in its recent history. Whether we get something of value in return for Al leaving, how we use our draft picks, and if we actually sign a free agent or two, all will be the valid judgement point for the GM and ownership. There is room to improve significantly in the off-season. There is also the real possibility that we will fail to optimize these three areas of opportunity, either through Billy’s ineptitude, or ownerships unstable situation, or some combination of both. Guess we’ll just have to see how it turns out.

By j-man

April 19, 2006 07:48 PM | Link to this

First of all Bret your last name is spelled Hart and second the Hawks have shown to be a talented team with a lot of potiential now all we need to do is sign-trade Harrington for some talent and draft wisely and we will make the playoffs next season.

By MBATL

April 19, 2006 08:25 PM | Link to this

Astro, HB, thanks for the “tutorials”. Really, I knew we MUST have some leverage in this thing, but didn’t understand how it worked.

Sure seems like the Suns used it to full advantage last year.. and I’m not complaining: glad to have JJ. He’s better than I really thought he would be. But (as has been discussed at length) we sure gave a lot.

Seemed to me that the big concern last year was that Phoenix would match our offer, so we made our offer very strong to avoid that eventuality.

I wouldn’t think any GM in the league thinks the Hawks will actually match an offer for Al. Because we’re so overstocked at the 3/maybe 4 position, and so young, we just seem set up to be taken advantage of. But maybe the reality of contract terms gives us a good shot to get something for Al. Seems it will indeed be a good test of our GM.

I’ve been a big (if infrequent) critic of this whole Hawks’ administration. But must admit, in JJ, JS, Marvin, ZaZa, and JC as a 6th man, we have some pieces in place. They’r all young and beginning to establish themselves as players.

As I’ve watched the team more this year, I’m convinced that the 5 is much more crucial than the 1, though we need both. I’d rather see us address the inside with a veteran than another 21-yr-old. (e.g., Chris Paul could come in as a rook and do a great job at pg, but Bogut, May, etc, though good, have not had that much effect. I’d like to see this team win before I retire to Boca.)

I still don’t see, and can’t remember seeing, any championship caliber teams that didn’t have veteran stars, or at least veteran leadership. And though I don’t know the league like some of you do, sure don’t think you build a great team “10 wins per year”. You either add the pieces and strike while the iron’s hot, or you become the Clippers.

By ILL-logical

April 19, 2006 10:27 PM | Link to this

The last 3 NBA champions featured a super star at power forward: SA=Tim Duncan,DT=Ra-weed Wallace.Hawks have got to trade MW,SS as well as AH to get a 1)star power forward;2)a center at least 7 ft and 250+ lbs;and,3)a point guard like Speedy Claxton. Anything less will not be acceptable and should result in some adverse personnel actions.PS Zaza is not now nor will he ever be an NBA center,at best he is a competant back up power forward.At best.

By doc

April 19, 2006 11:05 PM | Link to this

mbatl, you’re next to last paragraph is contradictory. though you think this team needs a 5 foremaost you go on to show how little a 5 can do to have an impact if he doesnt have the 1 to get him the ball where he needs it selfishly. a lot of bloggers have been on the bandwagon for both the 1 and the big 5 but teams that want to be in the playoffs need the star point. that is what really threw me with bk’s comments to terance in todays paper. for example look what happened to the nets when they got a healthy kidd and what happened to the suns when they gave him up. then look to what the suns did last year with the single addition of nash. the point can make that much difference especially with a nucleus like the hawks have put together of some talent and some guys that are overachievers.

By Ken Strickland

April 19, 2006 11:10 PM | Link to this

Wow! These are the most positive and uplifting responses I’ve had the pleasure of reading. I agree with the overall assessment of the team, its future and the direction management, not ownership, is headed. I want to respond to Clyde’s criticism of Knight for not providing enough depth. Adding quality veteran depth requires committing playing time and cap room to sign these vets. The playing time issue would have inhibited the development of our young talent. Remember Lenny Wilkins, he played his vets at the expense of developing his young talent in persuit of his record for total career wins. That’s what got him fired. Why are you so hard on Knight. Do you think Zaza, JJ and Lue are small forwards. No GM can fill all of the Hawks needs with quality talent all at one time. He spent a major part of last yr blowing up a roster of overrated, overpaid talent accumulated by his predessor. Patience, not anger and frustration, will be your reward in the long run.

By HB Ando

April 19, 2006 11:21 PM | Link to this

Ken, the fact that we didn’t move Al before the deadline, to free up playing time for the development of Marvin, suggests that your logic for Billy’s lack of action during the season does not apply in this instance. Obviously, cap room was not an issue here either. Billy could have moved Al before the all-star break for Nene and Watson, two players who would fill much needed roles for this team next year. By resigning Nene for roughly what we paid Al, we could have managed similar cap numbers, and Watson’s mid-level salary is reasonable for the level of skill he brings to the point. Now some are of the opinion that these two players, in exchange for Al, would not be sufficient value. But lets see what Billy gets in exchange for Al, in a sign-and-trade, or if anything at all, before we render judgement on whether Billy mishandled the utilization of Harrington as an asset for the rebuilding of the organization. Maybe we sign Nene as a free agent and get some other, different value or piece for Al. If that’s the case, Billy will prove to us that he knew what he was doing all along. But if Al leaves as an unrestrictd free agent, without engaging in a sign and trade, and we fail to land a power forward or point guard via free agency, then I think it would be reasonable to conclude that Billy bungled the handling of the situation, further delaying our rebuilding time frames. Stay tuned.

By RichieRich

April 19, 2006 11:50 PM | Link to this

I beleive BK spent 3 million between John Edwards and bruiser brody…AKA(Batista)…..With Tom Gugliotta, Kevin Willis, and a few other free agents out there, i am sure we could have found some other backups than these two clowns.

By RichieRich

April 20, 2006 12:19 AM | Link to this

Coach Woodson 39 wins and 125 losses

Does this guy deserve to come back?

Billy Knight, none of the teams he has been affiliated with has won over 27 games.

Same question, does he deserve to come back?

By Clyde

April 20, 2006 12:28 AM | Link to this

Some of yall are like women these days that believe every little lie men tell them. The Hawks are not making the playoffs next year (maybe year after next. Charlotte and Orlando with the right lottery picks might be ready for the playoffs but not the Hawks. FIRE BILLY AND WOODY

By Mel

April 20, 2006 12:37 AM | Link to this

Look at what JJ said: “I’ve looked at how we progressed from the start of the season to now, and the reality is had we done anything, anything at all, we’d be in the playoff hunt right now instead of getting ready for the summer.” I hope management reads or hears about what Joe had to say. I love the Hawks but if this was the season where they were trying to make it gel and see what works, why not get rid of AL in february and just let Marvin play his way in…..if this was just a rebuilding season.

By buddy

April 20, 2006 08:06 AM | Link to this

The Bobcats finished with a win to tie the Hawks’ record, and they own the tie breaker since they won the season series against the Hawks. That gives the Hawks the third-worst record in the league behind Portland and New York. Early entry deadline is Saturday. C’mon Joakim!

By Astro Joe

April 20, 2006 09:41 AM | Link to this

Doctor, you may be right about the PG vs. Big comment. But I think that Kidd, Nash, Cassell and Paul (maybe, still too early), are each exceptionally gifted leaders. So I’m not sure that if we plug in Speedy or Mike James that we would get the same type of lift as if we were to add a quality low post defensive presence. But I’m greedy and I want both (we certainly have the draft assets and cap space for both). One of my new crazy notions (assuming we get to spend money) is a trade of Al and Lue to Denver for Andre Miller and Elson. I think that is a fair trade for both teams.

Ando, I’m not so sure that we should compare the reported value for Al before the trade deadline against the value we get for him in the summer. I still think that the ownership uncertainty played into our lack of player movement all season long. If the Maryland judge makes a decision that brings it closer to resolution in the next few weeks, BK may be operating under a completely different set of parameters this summer than he did in January/February.

Great news on moving into the third slot. Odds suggest that the pick should be of tremendous value to ourselves or another team if we remain in the top 3. I’m expecting Gay will have great workouts and have a lot of buzz going into the draft. I’m expecting the same with Bargnani and we know that Aldridge, Thomas, Morrison and Roy will attract many GMs.

By Don Keeballz

April 20, 2006 09:50 AM | Link to this

Can I take the place of John Edwards on the bench next yr. I will even take half his salary and how cool would it be to see KeeBallz on the back of a jersey?

Now go get a CENTER.

By brewerfaninATL

April 20, 2006 11:14 AM | Link to this

Come on Sekou, after a 13 win season, was there really no other place to go but up? Ok, you improved from dead to terrible, even the Clippers accomplished that “feat” on more than one occasion. Okay, all kidding aside, yes, you beat some playoff teams but take a look at the Eastern representatives. Three .500 teams and one that is two games under, not much to brag about. Yeah, sweeping Indiana is pretty good, but you need to build on that. Correct me if I’m wrong but didn’t Charlotte own you, same with Orlando (OK, they played great the last month, but not before that). Once you beat a team like Detroit you need to follow that up with wins against even or inferior teams, that way you gain momentum. Yes, you showed spunk in some games but they were very sporadic and few and far between. Now, take the 26 wins this season and bump it up to 35-40 next year…THEN I’ll say you made a big improvement! But climbing up from 13 to 26 is still a terrible season, and it SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED A FEAT!!!

By ebineezer

April 20, 2006 11:40 AM | Link to this

To be a Hawks fan you have to learn to love them for what they are. What they, with a few exceptions over the years, have always been. Bottom feeders that will be better, that for sure will make the playoffs NEXT year. This is the best time of the year to be a Hawks fan because now we deal in the what ifs and the what can be and not the reality of the NBA season. Hope springs eternal! A comment on the 13 game “improvement” this season, the worst team in the league had an 8 game improvement over last years Hawks so the 13 game improvement really is nothing to brag about. It is more an emphasis on just how bad last season was. The Hawks still finished tied for last in the division and next to last in the conference and 3rd from the last in the league. On the bright side there is still no way to go but up! FIRE BILLY KNIGHTMARE!!!

By doc

April 20, 2006 12:19 PM | Link to this

astro i was saying in a perfect world where you can spend your bucks however you want, if i had the option for one or the other i think the point is the way to go. that is especially true for a team that if it geared up it could out tempo a lot of teams and win that way. you just cant do it with the big boy, he slows you down if you have to run, whereas the great or good point should have more speeds.

i would try to take the point now with experience and draft the big taht could step in early. that way i consider it getting the best of both worlds win now with some upscale as the big develops. i dont know much about bargnani that you and ando tout, care to share some about him? i guess now we hope for the ball yto roll our way and get either aldridge or bargnani, if gay grades out in the top three and the other two are gone that would appear to be our worst nightmare scenario if that turns out to be the drafting order. that would end up dictating an effort to trade down in the order to get one of the lesser known or rated bigs.

loved jj’s effort this year but if he is saying we need a point then i hope bk is listening, it would also allow jj to be the total weapon that he couldnt be as he had to handle the ball too much as noted by you, ando and many others.

btw e. griffin had a really good night last night pulling 52 minutes and racking up some stats. again the vets that we need are along the lines of a speedy, griffin and a lorenzen, then we need a highly touted big and a capable point in the draft. i am not making an appeal for those three guys but we need someone of their calaber and possible development to round out what we have.

By Mel

April 20, 2006 12:35 PM | Link to this

I think that if the Hawks let AL walk and not spend big on the necessesary like inside presence then next years free agents are going to be as good as people hype the 07 draft.One free-agent crop that could include Pierce, Dirk Nowitzki, Vince Carter, Rashard Lewis, Chauncey Billups, Antawn Jamison and Josh Howard. Young stars LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Bosh also could be available if they don’t sign extensions this summer.

By Ken Strickland

April 20, 2006 12:48 PM | Link to this

For HD Ando. We don’t know what teams were offering for Harrington at that time. It’s possible, knowing our situation, thsy were trying to steal him by offering less than acceptable value. Knight is very shrewd when comes to making trades and judging talent. He put that Memphis team together, in part, by outsmarting his Hawks predessor in a trade. In less than 2yrs he’s put together a solid very young core of talent with the Hawks through the draft, FA and a sign and trade for Harrington. Marvin Williams is a very, very talented teenager that couldn’t start for his college team. Keeping Al gave us a veteran leader, a tutor for our young fowards and our only inside scorer. Nobody knew J. Smith would develop so quickly. It all worked out perfectly, because not even J. Smith made as much progress as Marvin has his 1st yr. Forget Nene and Watson. Nene is a health risk and has played in less than 55 games in 2yrs. However, Denver does have a young talented 7’ c/f combo, I think his name is Francisco, that would be less costly and less of a health risk. Keep in mind, we are talking primarily about backup talent. We will have a high lottery pick to acquire additional inside help and we can use Al in a sign and trade with a number of teams to acquire a PG. Add to that our CAP situation, the Hawks have a long bright future thanks to Billy Knight.

By vdunkndunk

April 20, 2006 01:07 PM | Link to this

When BK inherited this team the roster was made up of OLD, OVERPRICED LOSERS, we had NO CAP SPACE, we had NO YOUNG TALENT to speak of, and we were BORING. That’s not the kind of team you try to tweak—BK had to BLOW IT UP and START FROM SCRATCH, and that was the right thing to do. Something like that takes patience.

Look at the team we have now and compare it to the Big Dog, Theo, and Shareef days: We are in a nice cap situation, we’ve added some exciting young talent, we’ve added a really nice free agent who scored 20 ppg with 6 apg, and we’ve positioned ourselves for another good draft pick this year. In other words, BK has been putting us IN POSITION—we’re not supposed to be all the way there yet.

That’s why we’ve got to have some patience and appreciate what’s going on here. We are finally becoming a team that a young free agent might consider, we are a team with a future and some exciting potential. We’re only just now getting to the point we’re we can start filling the rest of the holes—you can’t get good young players at every position in one off season.

By brewerfaninATL

April 20, 2006 01:53 PM | Link to this

Mel, I see what you’re getting at, but in order to even get a SNIFF of interest from those guys, you have to build a solid foundation…one that requires playoff expeditions. Who in their right mind would choose a perennial loser for a multi-year deal, especially those guys? Build through the draft first, get some mid-level free agents, win some games, THEN the high talented players will come. That’s how the Pistons built their team, you should follow suit!

By HB Ando

April 20, 2006 03:29 PM | Link to this

Ken, Francisco Elson is 29 years “young”. And with Nene out for the whole season, and Martin hurt throughout it, he managed to contribute 21 minutes per game though there was virtually nobody standing in his way for playing time. That says to me that he’s probably reached his upside as a player in the NBA. Nene, on the other hand, is in his early 20’s, and is recovering from an ACL injury, which is no longer viewed as career threatening, as reconstruction of that ligament has become quite perfected (doc, feel free to comment on my medical input here). In addition, where do you get that Miller is on the block? Denver is in the playoffs with him at the point. Who would they replace him with? And why would they trade for Harrington unless they could unload Martin’s contract. Last time I checked the Denver front line was ‘Melo, Camby and Martin. Why in the world would Denver pay Harrington the $10 million a year, or so, that he expects to command on the open market. You’re correct in saying that we don’t know what was offered before the deadline, when Harrington’s value to Denver was greater due to their position in the playoff race and the uncertainty over Martin’s availability was greater. But word through the grapevine was that Billy turned down Nene and Watson. Since Billy doesn’t feel any obligation to communicate with the fans, it’s the best we had to go on.

As the Bulls found out several years ago, cap space is only as useful as your team is attractive. Spurned by the big-name free agents, due to questions regarding the skills and attitude of the front office, they ended up signing guys like Ron Mercer to ridiculous deals. Sekou can’t say it, but if you don’t think that the word amongst players and agents is that Atlanta is the last place to trust your career, you’re living in LaLa Land. Joe Johnson wanted to be closer to home, and take the opportunity to be “the Man”. He also surely like the $20 million he got for the first year of his contract. But all the big name free agents coming up in the next two years can’t make more money here than their existing teams, or other teams in the league. Most of the name players are far enough along in age that they aren’t going to go anywhere that is still in rebuilding mode. They want a real chance to win a ring. Cap money does not mean they will come. We’ll have t spend money on guys like Nene (not necessarily Nene, but guys like that) who are viewed as having upside, but come with some level of risk. Because bonafide stars aren’t leaving to come to a team that is widely viewed as a joke in the NBA. Just like they’re not rushing out to sign with Toronto or Charlotte, or New Orleans. Great players don’t go to question mark organizations and risk their legacies to the unknown. And if you think that the Atlanta Spirit, Knight and Woodson are viewed as equal or above their peers, you need to put down the sauce.

I think that the BrewerFan has certainly characterized my feelings on a 26 win season. There’s no where to go but up from 13 wins. Too many people try and look at the moves made and say it’s proof that Billy is doing a good job. That’s too black or white for me. There are still several moves that should have been made in the last year, both for players who subsequently went to other teams, as well as for players who would have addressed the ridiculous holes Billy built into this roster. Sekou himself has alluded to comments he’s heard in his travels to other arenas, that this roster is the most imbalanced many league people have ever seen.

There’s absolutely nothing in this years’ performance that reinforces Billy’s idea that a succesfull team can be built out of swing men. In fact, this season all but confirmed just how ridiculous his approach is, as most of our losses have been a direct result of no post players, bad decision making and the inability to guard either bigs or points. The team can score, but it cannot defend, because it cannot match up. This is something I pointed out in the very first blog, regarding the idea of Johnson as a point guard. Of the three options that existed, from a practical standpoint, mid way through the season, Knight picked the worst possible of the three. Get help at the point and in the paint, keeping Al, and giving this team a fighting chance for the 8th seed (and minimizing the final cost of the Johnson trade by giving them a non-lottery pick in this weakest of drafts), trade Al, develop Marvin, take your lumps and benefit from possibly the first pick in the draft, or do nothing, retard Marvin’s development by keeping Al here as a lame duck player, fail to address the holes in your ridiculously constructed roster, and win a couple of extra games to lose a couple of extra slot on the draft chart, while doing nothing to build retained chemistry for next season, since there may be as many as three new starters if the team acts on the expectations of fans and basketball folks.

So it’s not the worst possible situation. Johnson has been tremendous, Smith a breakthrough, and Marvin has shown signs of justifying his lofty draft status (though being outshined by Paul’s success and the obvious projections of what his abilities would have done for a team that still counts Royal Ivey as a viable option at the point). But to take those small improvements and say that things are clearly headed in the right direction, and that Billy is a genius, is abjectly absurd. I continue to suspect that Billy’s most ardent supporters on this blog are Hawks’ employees. And you guys know who you are.

By Astro Joe

April 20, 2006 03:59 PM | Link to this

BK’s most ardent supporters on this blog may be even worse than employees, they may be owners, you know, the guys who write out a paycheck to BK every 30 days. The same ones who impressed you at the ticketholders meeting several months ago. You know, the guys who are REALLY running this franchise. Sobering thought, huh?

By The Flash

April 20, 2006 04:56 PM | Link to this

Nique just said on the vine that the no. 1 need is a one. Later, boyz.

By Rutherford Seydel

April 20, 2006 05:07 PM | Link to this

Mr. Joe, are you hacking into my PC?

By RPH

April 20, 2006 05:15 PM | Link to this

I can’t believe you guys like BK and are actually defending him. Here is a quote from the article today on the hawks and BK says “Everybody says that we need a point guard,” said Knight, pausing and smiling before adding in a hurry, “But it’s still debatable whether I agree with them or not. We’ll see how that goes. Certainly I like some of the players that we have to play that position. Is John Stockton coming out of retirement? Is Magic Johnson coming back?” I’m sorry but BK is clueless!!! Don’t expect a PG anytime soon with our abundance of talent at that position. Oh and to the post toward the beginning of the page about do you want babcock back? He put together WAY better teams than BK for the record, and he was a joke too!

By doc

April 20, 2006 05:29 PM | Link to this

ando, your medical acumen today ranks right there with your ballin knowledge. hard to believe that is the injury that cut pistol down in his prime and now they are rebuilding strss fractures of the major stress bearing bone of the leg a la amare.

ando, i am amazed at your patience at times with the casual folk who come up with some really unweldy schmes to make this team better. yeah, francisco was called by a funny nickname by his team “geico” after a couple of good games late in the season but it didnt hold and his age surely makes him a liability. the nickname was to signify he was added insurance with the understatement that he came cheap. not our man. like griffin though, he was ready to blossum until the mn team had to make the deal with boston.

all is food for thought though and credible as entries and glad people are involved to make comments.

flash dont know nique’s rationale but glad he agrees with me and many others and you probably as you have suggeted more points i think than bigs. i think ando likes em big the way he talks about em, dont you?

to the contrary to one of the comments ando i continue to be pleased with most of what i see. with that said i think this is a make or break year. it wont be long before these guys will be seeking real money and moving on as we cant keep all. if we havent developed some depth by then the franchise will have missed its opportunity.

first things first, manifest the first ball in the lottery through collective energy. think positive on this one guys. when do we get to the lottery?

By Ken Strickland

April 20, 2006 05:29 PM | Link to this

Hey HD Ando, I did’t mean to get you all riled up. First, I agree with a lot of what you said, but not all. Secondly, you got so carried away with your response you apparently forgot who you were addressing. I never mentioned anything about Miller or trading Al Harrington to Den. I am well aware of the Bulls situation which happened right after their anal retentive management ran Jordon and crew out of town. However, I’d rather have generous cap room and risk having no significant FA sign than have zero cap(see Knicks or previous Hawks)and guarantee no FA signs. We agree on a number of issues, but not on Knight. Personally, I like what he has done and the direction he seems to be heading with the franchise. I also love the way Woodson has developed the young talent in such a short time, especially with limited veteran help. But, then again I’m an optimist that knows the value of patience and understanding.

By allen

April 20, 2006 06:15 PM | Link to this

hawks got to get a true point guard and move joe to the 2guard at get a center who can score and block shots!!!!!!!!!!! WE WILL MAKE THE PLAY OFFS THEN

By HB Ando

April 20, 2006 06:26 PM | Link to this

The whole spiel was not intended for you, Ken, and I am prone to long-windedness. The Miller comment was in combination with the overall theme. And though I tend to come across as fairly negative, it’s less that I don’t see or acknowledge the good things that happen, and more that I still find there is room for some fair criticisms. In other words, I think more could have been done, and decisions that should have been made, and moves that could have been made that were not, find me concluding that Knight’s performance has been average at best. I continue to believe that he’s not the person to lead us to the promised land, while increasingly finding value in the thoughts of others that his hands have been tied by ownership issues. Since we can never likely know where the blame should lay, then we provide examples of our concerns in the hopes that no one thinks they’re bamboozling the ticket buyers/fans.

It’s not that I am incapable of optimism, it’s just that there are enough folks like yourself who want to shine the light of your “glass half full” mentality that my joining in is unecessary. So I offer the other side of the coin as a counterbalance and in consideration for other folks who haven’t formed an opinion, or are curious to hear both arguments. And sometimes I hope that criticisms are heard by the owners and force them to address these positions as they carry a responsibility to provide us with the best product if they want us to continue to buy tickets. Because it’s at the ticket office that the fan can best express his or her dissatisfaction with the commitment of ownership and management.

Riled, as you so aptly put it, is one of several voices I use when I write. It shouldn’t be confused with me as a person. I mean this is a blog, right?

By HB Ando

April 20, 2006 06:30 PM | Link to this

And I’m all with doc on the positive imagery to channel that ping pong ball. Though if we can maintain the top-3 slot I think things should work out one way or the other.

By buddy

April 20, 2006 07:26 PM | Link to this

Sorry Ando, I work for Clear Channel, not the Hawks. Although I’ll listen to offers ;)

By Ken Strickland

April 20, 2006 08:43 PM | Link to this

HD Ando, don’t lose any sleep over it. I’m not an overly sensitive person, so no harm no foul. We are merely exchanging dialogue about a team and personnel we obviously like and support. After reflecting over the last 10yrs of this franchise, it’s refreshing to have something positive to discuss.

By HB Ando

April 20, 2006 09:57 PM | Link to this

Yup. If I didn’t care, I wouldn’t have been posting since last August.

And Joe, for me to have a sobering thought, I’d have to slow down on the drinking. Whew, glad I have no intention to do that……..

By RichieRich

April 20, 2006 09:59 PM | Link to this

Billy Knight and Pete Babcock are both BUM’S….comparing them against each other is useless.

By HB Ando

April 20, 2006 10:02 PM | Link to this

On the bigger issue of ownership, sure sounds like Belkin could end up owning these teams. I wonder how soon these fellas need to look into serious settlement negotiations. If Belkin gets to buy them out for their orginal investment, does he have to make up for their projected $22 million in losses this year? If not, these guys may be getting screwed pretty hard. I think they need to flood the payroll if they find they’re going to lose, since he has no control over operations. I’d leave him both teams capped out, especially given rampant rumors that he wanted to have a league minimum payroll to avoid losses.

I can’t help but feel like the real losers in this battle will ultimately be us fans. Hooray for us.

By HB Ando

April 20, 2006 10:04 PM | Link to this

And Buddy, you’re in my bottom five for folks I’d think were Hawks employees…..

By Hal

April 20, 2006 10:20 PM | Link to this

Buddy, Noah already announced that he’s returning to school next year. I wish like you that he would come out now.

By doc

April 20, 2006 11:41 PM | Link to this

well ando i agree wholeheartedly with what you are saying and know the role of devil’s advocate well. in a way i have taken the high road because it is just to easy to kick when someone is down and that is not my nature. there are enough vultures in this world to do it especially,when i see effort which has been aparant this year.

as far as ownership issues you know where i satnd on that one and i take a deep breath when i consider the possibility of belkin being the one in control. it is with no offense to flash who is belkin, a relative or seems to know belkin well but i have not seen the true value of ownership that is not either home grown or invested heavily in the community. it rarely works unless it is a steinbrener type ego maniac who is in the biggest market. belkin is a really smart guy but i just dont know his true agenda but without his ties to atlanta he can go anywhere he wants in due time. as a idea man and builder he most likely is patient in his goals, not like the impatient surgeon that wants to fix it now.

on the positive side for those of you that are bk haters or detractors, belkin being in charge will be the quickest way to get rid of him because i doubt he will let begones be bygones. additionally, as i have said before i dont think it is beyond the realm of possibilities that he be complete owner or even the courts dividing it up so that he takes the hawks and the spirit takes the rest wih some kind of a settlement on the debt. maybe there would be a promise behind the scenes of the nba to bring a team back to the spirit. there are many combinations and permutaions that it could fall out. once there is a viable team this market will support it but the public here is too cosmopolitan to suppport it in its present state. i am a rare breed of native atlantan and most that move here continue alliance to the original team if they had one so they discern the emotion better and dont support the product out of blind loyalty like in some markets.

the other thing that belkin may have the tendency to do will be to undo everything that bk did to make sure no one cosiders it bk’s team and not belkins and his new charge of a gm. flash you may disagree on paper but i doubt that once that comes about you would accept a wager to say otherwise in spite of your affections for the team as it is presently. please dont misconstrue to say belkin is a bad guy but he has to have his ego in check to not do it. most at his level are there for the ego. they have not reached the realm of non-attachment for the most part, the opposite is what drives them.

By cordele

April 21, 2006 12:56 AM | Link to this

to all blog that seem to take personal attacks on player like Al. he was not a good defender last year either. players all have limitation and they are what they are. Nash is not a good defender and the same with dirk but no one is taking him to task as a team killer. hopefully he will move to a team in need of his services next year and that will be that. his job this year was to be a shooter will j smith and marvin grow there game in the nba. he did that job well. t-lou said himself he was a backup point and not a starter and the team payed the price for it to. but he came to play and try to win every game. joe johnson did not leave a winning team for the money but for the only chance he would get to grow into a true floor leader he was. if he stay with the suns would he be on the usa team. he will be the floor leader next year and much better then Diaw as the fouth, fifth,or sixth option on the suns when Amare comes back. did anyboby notice that when he play most of the game at point with jchill in the backcourt beside him how josh smith game seem to take over and look a lot like a young s marion. and the times marvin was with them he fit in well. do we need bigs yes but the players on the team did there jobs. Zaza is very young and learning the nba game too. i beleve we need to draft a center and get another big FA and then find a back up point. the super fast point gaurds that seem to beat us all year are all sitting at home with us because there game dose not produce win over teams with two or three shot blockers down low. pistons,spurs i say this because starting point guards like starbery,francis,damon stoudmire,can amaze you with ball handling skills and adv. 20pts. 6asst. but never make a team better enough for a champinship. and yes i am a glass half full person but you have to be one if you are a lifelong falcons and hawk fan.

By Clyde

April 21, 2006 01:03 AM | Link to this

Having Billy and Woody running things is like having Vick at quarterback. All talk and no titles. Going nowhere quick. FIRE BILLY AND WOODY.

By Samuel

April 21, 2006 06:29 AM | Link to this

Cuz,

Can we talk about the Playoofs now. I’m kinda tired of reading the same thing over and over. The Hawks had a good season and now it’s just a waiting game. The real teams are bot to string em up. Who do yall like in the first round matchups any upsets other than The Lakers over Pheonix?

By buddy

April 21, 2006 07:08 AM | Link to this

Huh huh… JJ said I love Wood.

By doc

April 21, 2006 08:03 AM | Link to this

sam the reason you dont need to talk about the playoffs much this week is it isnt competitive. the top seeds win easy. i would be surprised if any makes the sixth game beyond the cavs and wiz. think clips take the nuggets easy but that one may be competitive as well.

the suns run the lakers in the ground i think. k. brown and mihms who was back for limited minutes cant keep up and they dont match up well with what the suns can do. shame the suns lost their single big man because it may bring them down in the league or nba championship. kobe is good but i dont think he is superman and that is what he willl have to be to take it to 6 games.

the kings dont have a prayer either but they may look more competitive because of the style that the spurs play. artest is now one dimensional due to his injury. he is going to look worse than larry hughes did while he tried to play with a broken finger for the first part of the season. kings were nothing wthout artest and he is literally half the player he was as he took them on his back to the playoffs. no one onthat team can make up for that which he doesnt have right now. bowen wont even have to look his way so he gets to help parker and double down on bibby. it could look silly.

same goes for the next step in the playoffs, depending on who is healthy. we may have about 2 1/2 to 3 weeks before it gets competitive and meaningful.

By jhan

April 21, 2006 08:52 AM | Link to this

Good idea Ando. I would do the same thing if I was the Spirit. Leave Belkin in the same shape as the Knicks.

As far as the playoffs I’ll go with a rematch of last year. The Mavericks might have a chance to dethrone SA in the west. I still have to say that Phx will not go anywhere due to their lack of defense. Their sytle is great in the regular season but wilts in the playoffs.

By Astro Joe

April 21, 2006 09:36 AM | Link to this

There are several ways to approach this blog. One is to focus on the GM as most of us tend to do. Probably because we are more comfortable with what appears to be his job than we are Woody’s job. There are very few discussions of coaching decisions on this blog, unlike the second guessing that happens more frequently with the Braves and Falcons. (Kind of interesting that people would second guess a future HOP manager like Cox but largely leave a virtual rookie coach like Woody alone). Others may think of “the team” as the collection of players. For those bloggers, they recognize that our current players are not responsible for trades, draft picks, player rotations or offensive philosophy. They just focus on is Smith playing better and is JJ earning his salary. Those bloggers tend to be pleased, for what I consider to be obvious reasons as the on-court team has surely played better collectively and individually. In all cases, I doubt that anyone is satisfied. But depending on your perspective, one could give a completely different grade to “The Atlanta Hawks”. One could grade the 12 players, or the coaching staff or the GM/ownership decisions or a combo of all of the above. The only common thread is that we all have interest in this franchise.

Imagine how many posts would be here if we all uniformly agreed on every possible player personnel decision, coaching move and assessment of individual players.

For all of those employees and non-employees of the Atlanta Spirit, I salute you and appreciate your differing viewpoints. Thanks for making this blog one of the most entertaining around. Rise Up Hawks Fans!!!

By Tim

April 21, 2006 09:44 AM | Link to this

Ahhhh, how quickly we forget. Don’t you guys remember how many times the Hawks lost a game in the final few minutes because of turnovers, crappy shots as the shot clock wound down, or, more often that not, poor defense (layup, after layup, after layup)? I attribute some of that to young players, and the fact that they have not played together for more than a season, but some of this mess has to be attributed to coaching. When a team is making the same mistakes in game 70 that they were in game 1, something isn’t right.

By Samuel

April 21, 2006 10:35 AM | Link to this

I gottcha Doc. Please don’t discount the Phil factor and the fact that the game will slow down tremendously during the playoffs.

this “will” be an upset. The Lakers will steal home court advantage the first game and Kobe will be Superman this series. He will ave. 40ppg. Also, you guys still are not giving Kwame any credit for his turnaround under Phil. Who will match up with Odom?

By HB Ando

April 21, 2006 11:00 AM | Link to this

Gotta agree, Sam. I think Phoenix is kind of deflated from realizing that they weren’t going to get a healthy Amare for the playoffs. And the Lakers are playing really good ball right now. Clips/Nuggets will be a good one to watch, and I’ve just got a feeling that Karl is the better coach and the Nuggets win. This despite the fact that I believe Brand should be a top-5 for MVP voting this season. 25/10 and 2.5 and the Clippers make the playoffs? That’s got to be worth something. I’m so bored with the Spurs, that I’m going to root for Dallas. Let’s see my boy, Dirk, go head to head with Sam’s boy, ‘Sheed, for all the marbles. That would make the playoffs much fun here on the old blog.

Tim, no one’s forgetting squat. The issue you point out is a direct result of not having a true point guard on the team. In the fourth quarter the game slows down and becomes a series of half-court set. This requires decision making from the point. Unfortunately, our best player was having to make the decisions, instead of being freed up to work himself open for good looks at the off-guard. He can’t do two roles at once. And since Woody never sat him down and gave him a minutes rest, he was usually dog-a* tired by late in the fourth quarter.

I don’t blame Woody for the fourth quarter failures. I blame Knight for not getting this team a viable point guard during the season and leaving the team in a position to fail repeatedly on the court.

And Joe, that really goes to your point. What’s the value of picking on players who’ve been set up to fail? This roster was never built to win games this year. That they won 26, having neither a true power forward or true point guard, two of the five essential pieces for a basic basketball squad, is a testament to the coaching staff and the players. They did over achieve in my book. We won’t know how good Woody is as a coach until he’s given a full complement of players with which to judge. And we don’t know if that’s going to happen.

By The Flash

April 21, 2006 11:22 AM | Link to this

Doc, I do know Belkin and have to say that you and others have badly misjudged him. Only time will tell what will happen with this dispute, and what kind of owner Belkin will be if it should come to pass that he is the sole owner of the Hawks. My best guess, and I say this genuinely, is that you and the boyz will be pleasantly surprised, very, very, very pleasantly surprised. I certainly wouldn’t be concerned with his dismantling this team for ego purposes. That’s completely not his style, not in his makeup, and besides I’d have to think he believes at least that he at a minimum helped build it.

By Bill

April 21, 2006 11:23 AM | Link to this

HB — Totally agree with your comments, as well as some of the other bloggers who have been following team all season. That quote from BK — “Certainly I like some of the players that we have to play that position. Is John Stockton coming out of retirement? Is Magic Johnson coming back?” — PLease!

Regardless, with ownership woes & 2-year record during the BK/MW era, next season will be the “tipping point”…either BK gets to tell all of us fans “I told you so…”, or he’s working for Isiah in NY and the Hawks reload again!

By Samuel

April 21, 2006 11:40 AM | Link to this

Ando,

Yea that Clipper/Denver series should be a good one. I agree about Carl however that coach on the floor(Sam), will make the difference. Clips in 7.

I also would love to See Dallas beat SA. For Avery and Dirk’s sake. You boy(Dirk) needs to have a good series otherwise that “choker necklace” will get tighter and tighter. I’m still inclined to go with the Champs until someone knocks them off. They’re boring but good.

By Astro Joe

April 21, 2006 12:59 PM | Link to this

Here is my biggest concern if Belkin takes over. Not that he will replace BK, as virtually every new owner of a new property brings in their own set of execs to lead the new asset, but that the nightmare that proceeded the ownership resolution would encourage him to gut everything. BK got rid of every player from the previous regime (which I think was stupid but that’s another story). Brining in a new GM to add to our nucleus is one thing, bringing in a GM to blow-up the core that we currently have is another. Yes, I know that our nucleus is so far only good for 26 wins. But I would hate to start over and experience another 3 years of top 5 lottery selections because a new GM was mandated to gut every player that is assoicated with BK and the old owners. Doc, your idea to split the children between the parents makes a lot of sense. And chances are, the Hawks would be the prize for Belkin and the almost-playoff bound Thrashers would likely stay with the other owners. And I guess they could attempt to jointly run Philips Arena. YUCK! I wonder if the ownership approval process for the NBA would kick-in if Belkin goes from a 30% to 100% stake?

By The Flash

April 21, 2006 01:06 PM | Link to this

Doc, I should also add that I am by no means one of Belkin’s confidants, not by a long, long stretch. In answering my e-mails concerning the moves he should make, etc., Belkin NEVER once replied in the first person. It was always “WE.” Our e-mail exchanges regarding the club, the league, etc., were always lighthearted bits of humor, with a bit of my, ahem, basketball accumen (you guys know what that is worth) thrown in. On the other hand, I do know Belkin a long time, and spoke to your concerns with a great degree of confidence.

By Ramon

April 21, 2006 01:10 PM | Link to this

EVERYONE WHAT DO YOU THINK OF HARRINGTON AND IVEY FOR THEO RATLIFF AND TELFAIR OR JACK

By The Flash

April 21, 2006 01:19 PM | Link to this

And, in case any of you bloggers are as cynical as me, you might find interesting the one exchange we had regarding my possible affiliation with the Hawks. It was before they ever closed on the deal during which I was putting forth my two cents on what kind of offense and who might coach it I thought was best.

By Astro Joe

April 21, 2006 01:50 PM | Link to this

Sorry to keep going back to the ownership mess, but I just read yesterday’s article. Technically, I guess it is quite possible that the legal wrangling will not impact what happens to these franchises (as Levinson claims). But does anyone think that $22M in losses might have an impact on how much you spend on salaries? And yes, I know that you can’t go out with 12 NBDL players and grow revenue. But if anyone had delusions about going after a mega-salaried player like AI, think again. I think we’d be lucky to next season’s payroll match this season’s payroll. I’m betting that BK will work with a $40M budget next season.

By The Flash

April 21, 2006 02:00 PM | Link to this

Continued from before we were so rudely interrupted:

So, anyway, I’m recommending like a madman, and Belkin writes back that a mutual friend of mine from way back then reminded him of what a great dancer I was and said that she thought that he should hire me as the coach and that I could build an offense around the moves. I wrote back to tell my old friend thanks for the love, but that I couldn’t do those old dance moves if I could remember them (you never forget them), and besides, what would it be like for an old fat white guy who used to get over back in the day by trying to emulate his black friends on the dance floor to try to build an offense around dance moves that the young black guys on the team would find comically even if done authentically, which I could never do, although Jane never knew it. The only advice Belkin ever agreed with, all too readily. Later.

By Astro Joe

April 21, 2006 02:04 PM | Link to this

Yet, another lost to the Bobcats…

Press Release - Seven ties among teams that finished the 2005-06 NBA regular season with identical records were broken today through random drawings to help determine the order of selection for NBA Draft 2006, which will be held on Wednesday, June 28 at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

The drawings were conducted live on NBA TV earlier today at the NBA League Office in New York City by Stu Jackson, NBA Senior Vice President, Basketball Operations.

The results of the random drawings:

• Charlotte (26-56) won a tie-breaker with Atlanta
• Minnesota (33-49) won a tie-breaker with Boston
• Houston (34-48) won a tie-breaker with Golden State
• New Orleans/Oklahoma City (38-44) won a tie-breaker with Philadelphia
• Chicago (41-41) won a tie-breaker with Indiana
• Sacramento (44-38) won a tie-breaker with Denver
• New Jersey (49-33) won a tie-breaker with Memphis

Below is the order of selection for the NBA Draft 2006, as well as the number of chances for teams in NBA Draft Lottery 2006, to be held May 23, at the NBA Entertainment studio in Secaucus, New Jersey.

2006 FIRST ROUND DRAFT CHOICE ORDER

The teams entered in the lottery, to be held on May 23, 2006, are as follows (note: the first three picks in the Draft will be determined by the lottery and the remainder of the “lottery teams” will select in positions 4 through 14 in inverse order of their consolidated standings at the end of the regular season):

Lottery Chances out of 1,000

Portland: 250 New York (To Chicago): 199 Charlotte: 138 Atlanta: 137 Toronto: 88 Minnesota: 53 Boston: 53 Houston: 23 Golden State: 22 Seattle: 11 Orlando: 8 New Orleans/Oklahoma City: 7 Philadelphia: 6 Utah: 5

By HB Ando

April 21, 2006 03:23 PM | Link to this

138 to 137 is a wash. So we might as well be tied.

Ramon, I’ll say for you what I’ve said to others about Al Harrington. We can only get him to agree to a sign and trade if he’s willing to go to the team we would trade with. I don’t know Al Harrington, but I’d bet the ranch that he’s not very interested in Portland as a destination. He has been clear that if he is to leave he expects to go to a team with a realistic chance of making the playoffs. Finally, Theo is DONE as an effective player in this league. I don’t know why some folks don’t bother to go look at his statistics, but he barely contributed to the team with the worst record in the league. So how would he be of signigicant assistance to this franchise. He also makes quite a bit of money. He’d be a truly unwise investment, and you can rest assured that he is not likely a player that the organization is looking to obtain.

But here’s a thought. Let’s say the draft slots hold to pre-lotto form. If Portland is interested in Morrison, as the local connection would be solid, but doesn’t feel he’s worthy of being the first pick, why don’t we trade Childress for Jack and swap spots. Though I don’t agree with those of you who believe that Childress is worth more than Jack, straight up, this would seem to balance out any advantage in value that Childress has, would land us Aldridge and Jack, and allow the Blazers to add Morrison and Childress, both solid on and off the court, which remains an issue in Portland.

And with Chicago making the playoffs, I’m thinking that they are leery of getting younger with the second overall pick and may feel that they are one quality veteran forward from making a push in the East next year. We know they love Harrington. I’m not convinced that some type of swap could not be worked out, after the draft for some combination of Harrington to them and the rights to their pick to us. So let’s pick up the first two picks, Jack and maybe a forward from Chicago. Let’s obtain Aldridge with one of the picks and make the trade Joe suggested with the other, one of New Orleans picks and David West. NO gets to pick, or we trade the right to, Ty Thomas, a local boy from Lousiana. We use the extra pick for a big or a PG, depending on who’s available and what we actually get in the NO and Chicago trades. I truly think that Chicago would like a known entity, like Harrington, more than a rookie who’s several years away, like Thomas, when they are already in the playoff mix. Also, they get the added value of the right to trade slots with NY next year as part of the Curry trade, meaning that if either the Bulls or the Knicks are lottery teams, the Bulls get the highest pick, in the much stronger ‘07 draft. Don’t forget that Chicago made the mistake of trading Brand for the rights to Chandler and set themselves back several years. Make it their turn to trade future for potential for immediate production. It’s win/win, because we’re not keeping Al no matter what. Throw us Sweetney to make the salaries match (though I’d love Nocioni). Al would be replacing either one of them in Chicago anyway.

I’d be on the phone with Chicago, Portland and NO if I was Billy, and that would be my pitch. He must get something of value for Harrington, who remains the second highest rated FA available this summer according to Chad Ford of ESPN. Letting him walk would just be unacceptable.

By HB Ando

April 21, 2006 03:26 PM | Link to this

BTW, saw a quote from ESPN.com, with reference to Adam Morrison, that said, think Wally Szerbiak, not Larry Bird. Seems like I said that exact same thing on this blog about 2-3 months ago (though I actually said think Wally or Mike Miller, and understand that Morrison isn’t as athletic as either one). Where do those guys come up with this stuff?

By Astro Joe

April 21, 2006 03:58 PM | Link to this

Ando, sign me up with the concept. Especially since the most affordable way to build a team is through the draft. And it feels like we will definitely need to stay out of Nordstrom’s and do our shopping at Filene’s Basement. I’d do the Portland deal as you outlined (I still have no idea how you could justify a straight Chill for Jack trade but we won’t get into that again). But you lost me after that, sounds like when you’re done, we have 8 first round picks. Huh?

I agree with the theory, find a way to stack up draft picks and a few young players. I’ve been suggesting that for the past several months now. But I was thinking about trading down (trading the rights to Gay to Minnesota for Eddie Griffin and their pick and then draft Shelden Williams). At the end of the draft day, whether we are trading up or down, I fully expect that we should walk away with at least 1 draft pick and 1 young vet. Then we have to obtain at least 2 more players by dealing Al.

By HB Ando

April 21, 2006 04:42 PM | Link to this

I think Al may be good for a player and a pick. Because I don’t know if we can get another team to send a quality PG/PF in the $10 mill annual range. So it may be a first and a 5-6 mill (mid-level) guy. I know it sounds outlandish at first, but I’m not convinced you couldn’t talk Chicago our of their Knicks pick for Harrington. That would give us two top-5’s. Do the Portland swap and that gives us 1 and 2 and Jack. Draft Aldridge with one. Trade 2 to NO for 12 and West. Pick a point or a big. You’ve now added Aldridge, Jack, West (?) and the second pick for Childress, Harrington, and the rights to Thomas, who NO moves up for, as he’s a local and doesn’t replicate Smith and Williams like he would here. Next year your frontline rotation is Zaza, Smith, Williams, West and Aldridge and your backcourt is Jack and Johnson. Draft M. Williams at 12 or Rondo at 15 depending on which you get for Thomas’ rights, throw in Salim and there’s your four guards for next year. No free agents necessary with this roster, but feel free to add where appropriate (Terry and don’t draft a PG, but draft another big?).

The Chicago thing may not work, but don’t tell me it’s outlandish, ‘cause it’s not. They’re a playoff team right now, and adding an 18 and 8 guy like Harrington, who they covet, make give them the sense that they’re ready for a run at the East right now, versus waiting on a Thomas (again think back to them giving up the vet in Brand for Chandler, which back fired for them). Giving up the vet for the rook can’t backfire for us, because Al is replaced already and is leaving no matter what. Pit the Bulls against the Knicks and bid the price up to that pick. Selling a deal like this is where Billy Knight should make is money. Remember how much he gave up to get Johnson. Now make somebody else pay a premium for Al (#2 free agent this summer). Be the team that gets the slight edge in the deal for once.

By vdunkndunk

April 21, 2006 04:47 PM | Link to this

The only problem with trying to get the Bulls’ picks is we can’t sign-and-trade Al until after the draft is over. I don’t think they will give up their top 5 pick but maybe we could work something out for their own pick.

And the difference between Al and Joe in terms of their trade value this summer is that Joe was a restricted free agent, while Al is an UNrestricted free agent. There’s a big difference there.

By cowa

April 21, 2006 05:01 PM | Link to this

Ando, love the idea. I don’t want Sweetney, though. Undersized (except for weight) PF is not what we need. I don’t hink we’d need to take anybody back from Chicago, since we’re both well under the cap, but I might be wrong. West has potential, as he’s a solid defender in the paint for the few minutes he’d get.

Another thought on top of yours would be to try to obtain Chicago’s 2007 pick instead of their 2006 1st pick, along with the swapping rights with NY. That would take care of us getting back into the 2007 draft without tanking the year (and no, I’m not suggesting we tank next year). And if we took something off their hands this year, we might even be able to swing getting their later pick in 2006. Then I wouldn’t mind getting Sweetney. Not sure they would go for it, but it never hurts to try!

BTW, just out of curiosity, if everything else fell through, and GS came to us with a Baron Davis for Harrington swap, would anyone consider it? He may have worn out his welcome in GS, and they could use a forward to go along with JRich (they’re regretting the Dunleavy signing).

By doc

April 21, 2006 05:17 PM | Link to this

ando, love the creativity man. got your pipe out again? definitely, agree on the lowered expectations for al but aj is correct in the order of things, so we get for al in 2007 a draft choice and get a mid-level player or two for the upcomng season. i think sam’s gang are the best stooge’s for this one and maybe get their one in 2007, a player that they dont want with a year’s salary that we could use and maybe a nate or channing depending on the needs after the draft.

sam, i guess one of us will wear the fed ex cloak. now tell me is the phil factor any better than the larrrrrry brown one? and how can you talk about resurecting a guy at 24 who had his career year at 22 and still hasnt approached those numbers this year under the tutelage of the zen master. as for odum he will go to sleep watching kobe play his game.

now are you and ando off together with that pipe or what?

at least now, i am a bit more interested in this fiasco for this round. :-)

flash, i heard ya re: belkin. tiny dancer huh? not anymore? good story in wonderful self deprecating syle, good weekend dude.

By buddy

April 21, 2006 05:25 PM | Link to this

Dang, didn’t know about the tie breaker system. Even though our odds are about the same, if we don’t hit one of the top three positions we look to get pushed back if anyone jumps ahead of us. So we could get anything from the first to the seventh pick right? (that is, if three teams after us beat the odds and all moved up… do I have that right?)

By The Flash

April 21, 2006 05:49 PM | Link to this

Doc,

I can still get it done on the dance floor only with a whole lot more illusion (think Adrian Dantley’s ability to get guys off their feet by moving his eyebrows). Glad you enjoyed the story; it was precisely the way it happened. Jane, by the way, is not only an excellent judge of talent, but also “one great, great broad.” Intro to Janius Jopplin’s, “Cheap Thrills” Album (Lady’s and gentlemen, four guys and one, great, great broad, Big Brother and the Holding Company,” loud guitar riff).

By HB Ando

April 21, 2006 07:07 PM | Link to this

Joe, You know how strongly I feel about the quality of the ‘07 class, so I’d be more than happy to take that pick and the switching rights, if they conveyed. Cowa, I’m not a big Baron fan, as he rarely gets into shape and is injury prone (he even said he made an error in judgement by not coming into the season in top shape, instead hoping to ease his way into the year). And Dunleavy played much better the last 6 weeks of the season. Finally, they have Michael Pietras if they wanted to get more athletic at the 3. They are looking to dump Murphy on someone, and hopefully, we’re not takers.

As weak as the free agent class is, the prominent names that may be available via trade, AI, Garnett, Marbury, O’Neal, etc., might well have a big impact on the market for Al Harrington. We could see their availability lessen his value to some of the teams that have expressed interest in his services. I’m pretty sure he’d take Indy of his list if they traded his best friend, J O’Neal. Chicago could actually put together a compelling package if Garnett was truly available for trade, like Hinrich, Chandler and both this years’ and next years’ lottery picks, should Minnesota decide to rebuild.

How about Marbury and Iverson trading places, with an AI reunion with Larry Brown? Say Marbury and either Robinson or Crawford, to go with Webber, Igoudala and Dalembert. There was a lot of talk about some unnamed young guys in Philly not caring about losing. Don’t know if that was Dalembert, but it seemed like it might have been. He’s still so young, and such a tremendous rebounder/shot blocker, I’d love him here. He was my first choice for restricted free agents last summer, but we never even made a bid for him, due to the Johnson thing and the ownership issues surrounding it.

I think all these big names being thrown around supports the idea that there are two kinds of NBA success. There’s a small number of teams that realistically can compete for championships, and then there’s everyone else. If you are one of the also-rans, and you can’t make the moves you would need to compete for a championship, then your other measure of succes is box office. So the Sixers and the Knicks can’t win next year. Swap stars and market the new blood. Most fans don’t realize that their team can’t win it all, and anywhere Iverson goes, the average fan won’t realize for 2-3 years that he’s not going to take you to the promised land. They’ll buy tickets and watch him put on a show. We still need to find out whether this team is shooting for rings or butts in the seats. These aren’t the deepest of pocket owners. And getting to the title series is daunting no matter how much money you have and how inviting your city is Be interesting to see how much of the rumors about big names moving on is just talk, or whether this is going to be a summer of shake ups through out the NBA, as teams try to reinvigorate they’re season ticket fan base. If Garnett can be traded, LeBron may be the only truly untouchable player in the NBA (and Kobe).

By Chuck P from Bankhead

April 21, 2006 07:51 PM | Link to this

I have seen much said about JJ’s $20.0 million first year salary. Let’s break that down. BK knew we would be sorry this year (qualifying for a high draft pick this year) and have a lot of unused cap space available becuase of the low salaries of the young players, AH’s undervalued contract, and the other low salaried players on the bench. In my opinion, he gave JJ the upfront cash to use up the available cap space this year, give JJ less money in succeeding years, and use the space in the succeeding years to sign FAs. If this is the case, it is a brilliant move, one that I have never seen in NBA basketball. Now, we have suffered through this year (paying JJ the lion’s share of his contract), and it was a bad year. We can now pay him less on average when we are expected to have a better team. Brilliant. B.K. is the man!

Now do not get me wrong. I believe BK is arrongant and his communicative skills are lacking. However, I must give him credit when credit is due.

The Hawks will be much better in years to come given that we have a high draft pick this year, more salary cap space because of JJs front-loaded contract, a coach who has grown into his job, seasoned young talant, and a growing fan base to cheer the squad on. All we need now is a little more veteran leadership and we are on our way (as many of you have said, a point guard and Big would not hurt).

By the way, I was B and R in the “A”. Bankhead, Baby! Tasty Dog…Little White House…Yates Drive…Oasis Ballroom…The Flame…TI…Yeah Baby! Not very many of us are there? To those of you from other environs, it is not a bad place, is it? And if you aren’t ready to support the “A” although you live here, to coin a phrase from LUDA, “ROLLOUT!”

By Astro Joe

April 21, 2006 08:24 PM | Link to this

Chuck P., the Astro in my title should feel good to you if you are where you say you are.

Ando, I don’t think that we could get a top 3 pick for Al. I think at best we can get something like Duhon, Sweetney and the Bulls’ ‘08 pick. Paxton did not make any deadline deals and seemed determined not to give up any assets. I personally doubt they would trade Aldridge for Al. Paxton seems very patient and probably feels like he can easily have both (or Peja) so why choose one vs. the other. And I also don’t think that we could pry West AND a first rounder from NOK least not for the draft rights to Thomas. I’m pretty sure West is still fairly cheap and most GMs do not trade young, productive big men who are earning a reasonable salary.

But I like that you are offering up some creative ideas that go beyond the obvious.

By Samuel

April 21, 2006 08:38 PM | Link to this

Ando,

Am I reading you right in saying you would not takke B. Davis for Al?

By doc

April 22, 2006 11:06 AM | Link to this

ok dc boy, that means you flash, what are the wiz gonna do? you have been mighty mum as we head into the playoffs.

are you going out to the ballpark to see the braves or are you not bi-sportual?

By HB Ando

April 22, 2006 12:34 PM | Link to this

No, Sam, I’d take him for Al. But I don’t think we could get him, and he continues to be oft-injured and out of shape, despite unbelieveable talent and athleticism. As I said, he directly admitted he didn’t do it right this year and said he was still maturing as a player. He said he hadn’t really won his teammates over as a leader as a result. He also is a woeful FT shooter, which is a bad thing coming from the guy who’d going to have the ball in his hands at the end of tight games. Mullin said Baron really needed to commit himself to working hard to make the game easier, instead of coasting on his obvious talent. So I’d certainly take Baron for Al, though the Warriors wouldn’t. I’m just not a big Baron fan. I like guys that play 82 games. The last four years, Baron has missed 28, 36, 15 and 32 games, respectively, each season. How can anyone commit max dollars to a guy 30% of his teams’ games over four years?

By HB Ando

April 22, 2006 12:36 PM | Link to this

He’s also a career 40% FG shooter and a career 66% FT shooter. I know you can’t be impressed by those kind of numbers, Sam, as you’ve always used Curry’s high FG% as a means of defending his talent.

By DustinH

April 22, 2006 03:01 PM | Link to this

the hawks need a true center. but in a trade we should get AI or Garnett. i say trade AL Harrington.

By MrHughes

April 22, 2006 04:17 PM | Link to this

Y’all should know that over his career Watson is a 41.6% FG and 66.8% FT shooter. When you add his low assist totals, I’d rather have Baron. And, I didn’t want Baron Davis either.

That’s why the Denver deal made no sense. Why make a deal for a backup PG with a long term contract that’s worse than the one you already have on your roster. Nene is a 51.2% FG and 60.9% FT shooter over his career. He’s averaged 6 rebounds and 10 points over his career. I’m not going to trade those two guys for an 18 7 player that’s the top free agent of the summer. That’s why BK wanted Denver to throw in the picks. Truth be told, the picks had so much protection is wasn’t worth the trouble when you can grab him for free after a physical over the summer.

By HB Ando

April 22, 2006 05:06 PM | Link to this

Watson, as a starter in Memphis in ‘05, averaged 12 points and 6.5 assists, shooting 47% from the field, numbers he basically matched (11.5 and 5.4) splitting time with Ridnour after the trade to Seattle (and throw in 1.8 3’s per game, on 42% from behind the arc. Tell me what kind of production we got out of Lue and Ivey. Like Mike James, Watson is a player who has fought his way to stay in the league, and developed into a solid player, improving each year. Nene is 23 and, like most big men, has not yet reached his expected peak as a player. He’s 6’11, strong as an ox and very athletic. He has played behind Martina and Camby, limiting his minutes, at an age when many of his peers would be college juniors or seniors. Evaluating players takes a lot more than quoting numbers. Understanding a players’ role, and his minutes, and whether he’s viewed as having further upside, given the right opportunity, gives a far better picture of a players’ value. Don’t confuse my position as viewing a Watson as the answer. But he’s far better than the current options, and making the mid-level exemption, which is dirt cheap in the NBA for a potential starter, at any position.

One of the hottest point guard prospects that will be available this summer has career averages of 6.5 points and 2.5 assist, on 42% FG shooting. What will you give me for Marcus Banks, Mr. Hughes? Minnesota scouted him and took him off of Boston’s bench, and gave him an opporuntity to play. Atlanta isn’t good enough, or rich enough, to seek out players who’s production and reputations are already confirmed. They’ll have to use scouting skill to identify players who can grow by leaps and bounds, given the opporunity. Just like they did with Zaza and Johnson. What would you have given me for Zaza last summer, Mr. Hughes? Nothing.

Before you tell me what you wouldn’t take for Al Harrington, why don’t you wait and see what Billy actually gets for him, if anything. Then we’ll see if a Watson and a Nene would have been such a bad deal after all. We’re bottom feeders. We’re not a particularly attractive destination as an organization right now. No one even knows for sure who will own the franchise next season. Free agents of note will not be lining up to come here. The numbers two ranked free agent, our own Al Harrington, is leaving, not arriving. And we don’t have any security that he’ll end up participating in a sign and trade. Not even a public commitment. Just the hope that our ability to give him a better contract than any other team will be enough to get him to agree to such a sign and trade. If we don’t get a little lucky with the ping pong balls, it’s quite possible that the three best big men will be gone when we pick fourth (Aldridge, Thomas and Bargnani), leaving the next best players as small forwards, of which we still have too many.

Keeping Al was probably good for the extra couple of wins that cost us those draft slots. Brilliant. Marvin is less developed, we may have missed out on the big man we covet and need, and Al is free to walk away without compensation. Our two supremely talented young forwards play the same position. Sounds like some genius work by the general manager and ownership.

By Samuel

April 22, 2006 06:52 PM | Link to this

Ando,

Davis is a scorer and a guard therefore his shooting percentage is not as important. I’d rather have a guard go 8-20 than one go 5-10.

I know Davis has missed games over his career but he’s a gammer and as you mentioned, highly talented and I’ll take him anyday over what we have and any of the guys mentioned here lately. I too don’t believe Golden State will get rid of him but I do believe they are going to move one of their guards. I believe it will be Fisher, considering my boy Monte Ellis came on so strong at the end of the year.

That being said, Fisher would be a good addition to the Hawks.

I’ll also admitt that I liked what I saw in Watson during his brief appearance in Seattle. On NeNe, I can’t say. I haven’t seen enough of him and I would wait and see how he recovers from his injury.

I saw what you said about Morrison(I didn’t see it on ESPN.com ,i’m not an insider nor do I wanna be). I disagree. He doesn’t at all remind me of Wally. He plays much better inside. But we’ll see. I sure would hate to be the team to pass on him.

By HB Ando

April 22, 2006 06:55 PM | Link to this

Sam, I’m hoping Portland feels the same way you do. That’s our best chance to land a big man in the position we’re in……

By MrHughes

April 22, 2006 07:30 PM | Link to this

I guess that was a nice try HB. When Earl Watson was in Memphis he averaged 7.7 PPG, 4.5 APG and shot 42.6% from the field. Your numbers seem to be from Fantasyland. He only started 14 games for them that year. I’m not interested in 14 games somebody happened to start versus an entire season. Please tell me that you are not taking less than a 5th of the season and extrapolating Watson’s performance for an entire year. That’s the epitome of fuzzy math. Also, anytime anyone uses the phrase “basically matched” it’s a clue that they are full of feces. There’s no doubt that Watson is a solid player. The problem with Watson is his albatross-like contract. Please tell me how Watson is worth 29 million dollars over 5 years. We’re talking about a contract that would not come off the books until 2010! How is that fiscally responsible given the plethora of young talent we have under contract? Part of the point of drafting and developing young talent is keeping it. I’m sure BK figuratively saw himself saying to Marvin, JChill and Jsmooth “sorry dudes we can’t keep y’all because we’ve got dollars tied up in Earl Watson”. The trio then replies “Earl Who?” Please! Royal Ivey’s entire contract is worth less than 2 million and comes off the books in ’07. That’s 3 years earlier and 27 million less. We can sign one of those guys long term for that money. I’d doubt Lue is breaking the bank either. When you add Ivey and Lue’s numbers together they are comparable to Watson’s. Thus, any professional sports franchise that wants to stay competitive for the long term is primarily interested in getting value for the money they spend. Which of the big name big men that were rumored to come here recently was a better deal dollar for dollar than Zaza? Not Eric Dampier, Andrew Bogut, Kwame Brown, Eddy Curry, or Samuel Dalembert. This argument isn’t about what I’d give you for Zaza. I’m not the professional. However, the most intelligent thing you say in your entire post is that the Hawks must “use scouting skill to identify players who can grow by leaps and bounds, given the opportunity”. Clearly, neither you nor I can say that Watson and Nene are on that list. Again, J. Smith, Childress become free agents the year after Ivey’s contract goes off the books. We’d still be stuck with the albatross and likely lose one of them if we did things your way. The number rule of running a business is don’t spend everything in your pocket like a drunken sailor in a whorehouse. As for Nene… The guy is injured. I wasn’t interested in making a deadline deal to trade away our number 2 scorer, rebounder and assist guy for a contract that doesn’t expire until 2010, a guy on crutches and protected picks that likely wouldn’t amount to much. What’s the difference in picking him up when you are more sure he’s fine versus taking an unnecessary risk. This is one reason that Eddy Curry is not in a Hawks uniform. Didn’t you learn from that? We know Denver doesn’t want to pay Nene, so the possibility of getting him isn’t as bleak as you say. You can’t really trade for guys that aren’t willing to sign with you as a free agent in the first place. What you’re alluding to seems almost like tricking players into coming here. I don’t see how that’s an effective strategy for building a contender. Al Harrington is more likely to work a sign and trade with us because it allows him to go to a cash strapped franchise, and get more money and years added to his deal. Marvin will develop just fine. Two months won’t make the difference in his 10+-year career. The word is out. Atlanta is going to make noise next year. We are a two powerful low post players away from making a playoff run next year.

By vdunkndunk

April 22, 2006 08:01 PM | Link to this

I don’t want Baron Davis. He’s talented, but there are plenty of reasons his teams keep wanting to get rid of him (in no particular order):

(1) He’s basically the PG version of Antione Walker—he loves to jack up 3’s (averaging 7 three-point attempts a game over the last 3 years) even though he can’t make them (averaging 32%, same as Walker).

(2) He’s a PG who has the ball in his hands all the time but he can’t hit free throws either (66% on his career).

(3) He’s injured all the time.

(4) He’s really expensive.

(5) He doesn’t listen to his coaches and does whatever he wants on the floor.

By Trophead

April 22, 2006 08:59 PM | Link to this

Baron Davis is the last thing the Hawks need. The Hawks need a point guard who can make good decisions, handle the ball well, not turn it over, and preferably hit the open 3. Baron Davis makes bad decisions, turns it over a lot, hogs the ball, and shoots poorly from the field, not to mention he gets injured way too much. Also Mr. Hughes makes a great point, signing or trading for high priced players right now (like Davis for example) is foolish when you gotta sign Josh Smith to at least $10 million a year and Childress to at least $6.5 million a year in the near future. Ask the Warriors how it feels to have a bunch of high-salaried, underachieving veterans on the payroll when you gotta pay your young talent — that’s the reason why they were forced to let Gilbert Arenas sign with Washington. The last thing the Hawks need is to let Josh Smith sign with someone else in 2 years because we are busy paying Sam Dalembert $10 mil a year for his 8 points per game.

I don’t know if this was mentioned earlier, but the Bulls have nearly as much cap space next year as we do. So if we were to trade Harrington to them in a sign-and-trade, we would not be required to take back equal salary. In other words we could clear his salary out and just get a pick in return, instead of having to take on someone like Sweetney who wouldn’t really help that much (not a good defender, which is exactly what we DON’T need inside). Trading Harrington straight up for Aldridge is possible if the Bulls agree to it. Looking at it from their point of view though, they have 2 guys who can fill roughly the same role Harrington fills (Deng and Nocioni), but Chandler’s really their best big man and he provides very little offense. I would think if they got a chance to take Aldridge they would keep the pick rather than trade it for Harrington.

Y’all gotta keep the salary cap in mind when you throw out these trade scenarios. Trading for someone like Theo Ratliff who gets paid $12 mil over the next 2 years is straight up lunacy. Trading for a one-dimensional, offensively challenged player like Dalembert who gets $10 mil a year for the next 6 years is even worse. Trading for an undersized shoot-first point guard over the age of 30 who gets paid $7 mil over the next 4 years (Derek Fisher) is possibly the worst thing the Hawks could do this offseason. Compared to most of the moves the Hawks could make, getting Watson would not be a bad move considering his salary and the fact that he would fill a lot of the needs the Hawks have at point — but please explain to me why the Sonics are gonna take Al Harrington when the already have Rashard Lewis (who is probably better than Al) and Damien Wilkins (who is much less expensive than Al)? Say what you want about Billy Knight’s communication skills or draft decisions, but one thing he has proven while he’s been here is that he’s not gonna overpay for questionable talent or players who don’t fit in here. The two times he has paid anything significant for a free agent in Atlanta, he got a major steal (Pachulia) and a guy who probably should have been in the All-Star game (Johnson). Trading for big name high priced free agents without regard to the salary cap or team chemistry turns your team into the Knicks, and right now I would much rather be a Hawks fan than a Knicks fan.

Having said all that, here are a few players off the top of my head I think the Hawks could get at a good price in free agency or through trades, and who would fill some of our needs: Jay Williams (former #2 overall pick, coming off surgery so kinda risky, but he would probably be pretty affordable and would be a great player for the salary if he returns to full health) Any of the Blazers’ point guards (although I doubt they would trade any of them without making us take Darius Miles’ or Zach Randolph’s ridiculous contracts, so I doubt that we would make that move) Melvin Ely (chances are he gets squeezed out of Charlotte with Okafor and May getting healthy again… not a great player but probably wouldn’t cost much, and he can block shots)

It doesn’t matter how rich your owners are, if you don’t have an established core group of players and you don’t have cap space, you are screwed. Once the Hawks get 3 or 4 players they can rely on and build around, then they can go spend their mid-level exceptions on all kinds of garbage like Erick Dampier and still live through it. But right now it is crucial that more than anything else, the Hawks don’t burn their cap space on overpriced underachievers.

By Neil Lewis

April 22, 2006 11:27 PM | Link to this

Thanks for all of the blogging. I am kind of busy (3rd year med student) but I am an avid Hawks fan. Great debates, keep it up!

By Neil Lewis

April 22, 2006 11:28 PM | Link to this

Thanks for all of the blogging. I am kind of busy (3rd year med student) and don’t have time to chime in. Great debates, keep it up!

By Trophead

April 22, 2006 11:43 PM | Link to this

Oh yeah one guy I forgot to mention that we could get is Brevin Knight, he gets paid about 4 million a year and would be an excellent addition at that price. Especially when you consider that Charlotte probably wants to give Felton more playing time, it would be great if the Hawks find a way to get Knight.

By The Flash

April 23, 2006 12:34 AM | Link to this

Zards, Been a big critic of Edie Jordan, who for years had people in the media talking princeton offense when the z’s weren’t coming close. The PO runs through a high post player who is talk to pass and see and create passing lanes for back door and to shoot from distance and drive the basket, breaking down defenses and passing out for threes. Took me the better part of last year communicating with my boyz in the media here, know some of the guys, for Edie to finally stop the Princeton talk. Now he talks about the big three. No one wins with a big three. It takes five. Don’t get me wrong, Arenas is amazingly entertaining, but he cannot involve the bigs in the offense without losing his ability to score the ball. It’s amazing but true. Butler and Jameson are terrific and could play anywhere and make whatever team they are on better, but neither is capable of involving the bigs either. Hence, the spotty contributions of haywood, thomas, and to a lesser extent Ruffin. Went to a first series game last year; won’t this year. Cleveland is who I’m picking. More cohesive five man ball, beats three.

Not much of a baseball fan since the Dodgers broke my heart and left brooklyn when I was a kid. Love soccer, my 16 year old is pretty damn good, and the sport reminds me of the best parts of b-ball only the passing and dribbling and receiving is much more diverse and amazing. DC United and great college soccer in the DC area. Catch an occasional, dare I say it, lacrosse game too.

Have enjoyed rooting from afar for LB’s teams in the past, also Portland when they almost got over, also Sac town when the same (Carril is my favorite coach of all time). Interest in the Hawks has been a real kick; thoroughly enjoy rooting from a far, and participating in this blog.

By ray

April 23, 2006 01:32 AM | Link to this

No, we need a pass-first pg that also can score some, not a score-first pg that can also pass a bit. Baron Davis fits the latter description. While JJ and someone as explosive as BD is exciting, team chemistry gets you places, not 55ppg from your backcourt and next to nothing from your frontcourt. BD is not conducive to team play from what I’ve seen. Too hard-headed, although quite talented and occasionally injury prone.

By MrHughes

April 23, 2006 02:09 AM | Link to this

Final Jeapordy Question: Who are Kmart and Tyson Chandler?

Two more big name big men rumored to come here recently that were not better dollar for dollar deals than Zaza?

I’m not postive on the details of the deal, but I have to think that the Bulls would be much better off had they not given away Brand for the rights to Tyson “Chicken Legs” Chandler. Moreover, I have to think that Eddy Curry would have ended up a much better pro playing in practices and games next to a workhorse like Elton.

Random Observation: In a completely unrelated observation, what’s up with Sam “I am” Cassell and George “Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton made me look like a better coach than I really was” Karl grinning like they were holding hands on a moonlit stroll at Staples Center tonight.

By Samuel

April 23, 2006 08:52 AM | Link to this

Trophead, Ray and whoever else this applies. We “do” need Baron Davis. We need all the help we can get as it relates to upgrading our talent. Any coach in the league would take 55ppg from two players whereever it comes from. I guarantee you that Woody wouldn’t turn him down. Does Detroit have a so-called pass first PG?

Who cares about Josh Childress. It aint like he’s some stud. Let him walk along with the rest of the scrubbs you guys mentioned. Brevin Knight, Melvin Ely who wants more scrubbs. All the interviews and comments i’ve seen as it relates to the job Woody has done has said the same thing. He needs more talent. Not more scrubbs. Give the man some talent, please.

Please save your “pass first” PG BS. We need basketball players. Is Kobe pass first. Is Dwade. Is Dirk. Is Lebron. Is Billips.

You guys are still getting caught up in these positions. There is hardly a such thing as a pure point guard anymore. Give me someone who can score handle the ball and play defense, which BDavis can do.

By Samuel

April 23, 2006 08:55 AM | Link to this

Hey Doc,

Yo boy Mr. Game winning shot Mello missed last night. What’s up with that?

By doc

April 23, 2006 10:27 AM | Link to this

sam, not my boy but it is interesting that he missed three. i guess he is finding the atmosphere a little different in the playoffs. lets see that one was in denver so they have lost the home field advantage?

By MrHughes

April 23, 2006 12:43 PM | Link to this

Samuel, you kill me dude. Baron Davis! We are talking about the cat that spent so much time injured that they brought Will Bynum in on a 10 day contract two days after the ides of march. That should tell you that the Warriors are not satisfied with Baron. Will has skills, but it should tell you something that they had to go to the NBDL to replace a superstar. I like Baron, but he has a fat contract, a bad back, a sore Achilles and conditioning like the girls from the Jenny Craig commercials. He’s the complete anti-thesis of Joe Johnson. Dwade, Dirk, Lebron and Billips all show up. Grant Hill shows up more than Baron does.

Baron’s deal does not end until the ‘08-‘09 season. And, he’s getting a max contract so his cap hit goes up every year. Given his production is he really worth 85 million dollars through ‘08-‘09? Baron’s contract has a player opt meaning the team that holds him is on or off the hook based on Baron’s whim. Is Baron worth a potential balloon payment in ‘09-‘10? Contrast that with J Chill, J Smooth and Marvin who are all team opts, meaning the Hawks keep them an extra year if we desire. We could pay at least two of those three guys with the money that we’d tie up in Baron. Also, stop bashing Childress. I’ve seen growth and potential in Childress. He’s capable of handling the ball, has emerged as a team leader on defense, takes the ball to the hole. Wasn’t he #2 in the NBA in FG% for most of the year?. When the team made runs this year J Chill often led them. The only things Baron leads his teams to are the hot tub, training table and lottery. Here’s a quote from your boy two days ago…

Baron Admits He Wasn’t Prepared For Season Oakland Tribune - Baron Davis is as disappointed about the 2005-2006 Warriors’ season as anybody and he is admitting that his off-season preparation wasn’t as good as it could have been.

“I didn’t come (in) as prepared as I should from the get-go,” Davis said. “I should have come out the gate smoking, and I wasn’t. I just wanted to try to ease my way into the offense and into conditioning, kind of get my rhythm by December, but it was just the wrong approach.

We are talking about a professional athlete that’s been in the league for 7 years! There’s no excuse for that after being in the league half that time. Do you think Wade, Lebron, Kobe, Dirk, Duncan, Brand, Nash, Magic, Bird, Billups, B Wallace, Mourning or even Jordan ever had that problem? That’s like Martha Stewart showing up for her show and popping a Hungry Man dinner into the oven instead of actually cooking something. Please… Baron Davis isn’t an albatross… Getting him would be like hanging a cinder block around the neck of the Hawks franchise. As a Hawks fan I hope for better.

By Samuel

April 23, 2006 01:03 PM | Link to this

90% of the players in the NBA get hurt. So what’s your point. It’s a part of the game. If he was out of shape. At least he was man enough to admitt it. I’ve seen plenty of superstars start the season out of shape and work themselves into shape over an 82 game(plus playoffs) season. No excuse, but it happens.

As for the Warriors, they need to be looking for another coach if you asked me. There is no excuse whatsoever to not make the playoffs with the roster they have. It surely wasn’t Davis’ fault. Say what you want but that team will go as far as Davis takes them.

Say what you want about Childress, Smith and (even JJ for that matter) but they got a ways to go to earn the respect that Davis has earned in the NBA.

By doc

April 23, 2006 01:06 PM | Link to this

ray you a sherrif yet?

sam, my bad, the clips are the higher seed, thought i had read they were lower than the denver team in the standings. i have already gone with the clips for this series so carmelo missing three shots at the end for the win didnt hurt my feelings. guess we’ll see soon how the phil factor plays out. could be fun.

By Astro Joe

April 23, 2006 01:22 PM | Link to this

Let’s see, Chicago may be able to draft Aldridge AND sign a quality SF like Harrington or Peja (to use two names often linked to them). They seem to feel like they need to upgrade their SF spot (by the way, where was the healthy Deng last night). So why would we expect that instead of getting both, they would use one to obtain the other? I’m not buying it. Also, they will undoubtedly make a run at KG this summer. Rumors suggest they could offer Aldridge/Deng/Hinrich for KG (if I were Minnesota I would jump at that deal).

I think that we may be able to get the rights to their 16th pick (or somewhere around there) along with other assets for Al (if they don’t acquire KG). For example, the rights to Armstrong/Rondo, Duhon and Othella/Sweetney for Al. The other thought is to trade Al for Ben Gordon and the draft rights. I’d bet anything that Gordon gets dealt during the sumer and the Bulls will bring in someone bigger to do a better job of defending scoring guards like Arenas, Wade, Hughes, Redd & JJ. Duhon is too small and Deng is not quick enough, so I predict Gordon gets traded while his value is fairly high. BK might bite if he truly wants to keep JJ in his “lead guard” role. Matching Gordon with the opposing team’s PG will keep him from being a huge defensive liability. BK could trade Salim, in this scenario, and possibly get a late first rounder for him (he certainly would look good coming off the bench for teams like Miami, Detroit).

Unlike many others, I’m not married to any one perfect plan. I see the value of many different options that can still help this team improve, as long as they do not involve bloated or lenghty contracts.

By ILL-logical

April 23, 2006 03:17 PM | Link to this

Again,the last three NBA champs have had a dominator at the 4 position-SA=Tim Dunican,DT=Ra-Weed Wallace.IF,the Hawks are serios about winning,that is the priority: a 6’11” + 250 lbs+ who can block shots ,rebouind and run the floor.THEN,a real point guard who makes teammates better! Marvin Williams is redundant:He is a 3 who cannot play defense,cannot rebound and is at least 4 years from reaching his admittedly vast potential. The Hawks got to win now!

By HB Ando

April 23, 2006 03:46 PM | Link to this

Hughes, what part of this direct quote escaped you:

“Watson, as a starter in Memphis in ‘05, averaged 12 points and 6.5 assists, shooting 47% from the field”

I said, as a starter, when Williams was hurt. And it does matter, because it’s indicative of what he does when he starts. All the talk about how cheap Ivey and Lue are? They suck. That’s why they’re cheap. Who do you think SS was talking about when he said the Hawks have the most players on their roster, of any NBA team, that couldn’t make another roster in the league. Ivey is a D-leaguer. Why do you think we’re one of the worst teams in the league? I see you conveniently ignored my point about Banks. Let’s see how you break down the genius BK, explaining to his players he signed a Banks. Marcus who? Hoopshype sites sources saying Banks will seek the same contract as Watson’s, and will take 4 years at over 4 million per. How much do you think it’s going to cost to get a lower level starting point guard that’s worth a crap? If you can find a starter in this league, who’s not on his rookie contract, for less than $5 million, let me know. You’ve got no answer for Banks as an example, because you’re wrong. Using your logic on Watson, there’s no way Banks can justify a deal like he’s going to get from the Wolves. Because using your stats only assessment of Watson nullifies Banks as well. Wrong.

Now, Hughes, you and me couldn’t agree more on Baron. Sam’s back on the pipe. We need a guy who misses a third of his teams’ games a year for the last four years? We need him like we need KMart…….

Trop, no one was talking about trading for Watson now. Harrington isn’t going to Seattle, so you wasted your time explaining to us. The issue referred back to rumors that Billy turned down Watson and Nene for Al before the break. And is only a point of comparison for what if anything we get for Al now that he’s free to walk away without compensation this summer. On Ely getting squeezed, Charlotte would not trade him this season for anything less than a first round draft pick (New Jersey was trying hard to get him). He’s restricted, and has said he wants to stay. Ely was first brought up here by us regulars, seven months ago, as options like Wilcox, for big men that were young, with upside, that Billy should pursue. If we could get him, we should. But we certainly made no effort to do so during the season.

We’ve already had the good doctor, (doc) weigh in on Nene’s knee issue. It’s an ACL. No problem. Those are no longer career threatening. And I’m not saying we should sign him. My point was let’s see what Billy gets for Al, if anything, before calling him smart for not getting two players who would project as starters at the point and power forward positions next season. Wait and see.

By HB Ando

April 23, 2006 04:06 PM | Link to this

And this from Billy:

“We like Al and we’d like to keep him,” Knight said. “We’re very happy with him and what he’s brought not only to our team but to our franchise. He’s been the consummate pro. Al’s been great for the two years he’s been here and we’d like it to continue in the future.”

Mabye, maybe he has to say it. But he sounds so stupid when he does. There is simply no good reason to draft Marvin Williams if you wanted to re-sign Al Harrington. NOT ONE SINGLE GOOD REASON. Why bother to posture? No one else in the league believes it either. Al proved that this team cannot succeed with him playing power forward. And he’s been quoted as saying he wants to play small forward for his next team, while using his low-post skills on the OFFENSIVE end. He’s a non-factor defensively.

So Billy is just blowing smoke for no good reason. If he’s trying to appease the fans, it’ll backfire when he let’s him go. Any fan who believes the Hawks need to keep Al, and our logjam of swingmen, is the same fan who’s going to be p** when Al leaves. So why not prepare those uneducated fans for the inevitable, instead of misleading them with quotes like the one above? Billy has a knack for p** off both kinds of fans. Because the insightful ones, like we have on this blog, understand how absurd it would be to keep him. Sekou talks about replacing his 18 points. I think it’s safe to say that either Josh or Marvin showed, late in the season, that replacing Al’s offensive output will not be that hard. Hopefully, an upgraded lineup, without Al (Al, no offense, because I’m not knocking you. You and I would agree that it was unfair to make you play the four on defense) will be a better defensive team. So Al leaves, we find a shot blocker/rebounder this off-season, and Josh and Marvin make up whatever offense Al takes with him.

It’s NOT that damn hard to figure out. Billy, quit yanking our chain and earn your damn money. You let Al walk without compensation, you failed us again. You sign him, and keep him here, you failed big time drafting Marvin. What the hell are you doing?

By doc

April 23, 2006 05:01 PM | Link to this

first upset today with indiana doing it to a team that some said might push miami out of the way for the right to lose to detroit on the way to the finals.

has anyone seen what kind of a hoss foster has become. he eats up the rebounds when given a chance. he is the type of guy we will need on our bench next year. where is he?

By Astro Joe

April 23, 2006 07:03 PM | Link to this

Ando, I hate Billy-speak as much as the next guy. I have come to realize that he is not speaking to the fans, but most likely, to his peers, ageents and other execs. I do not think he has an ounce of “fan relations” in him. Its too bad that the owners do not recognize the need to find another “face of the franchise”, Maybe that is what Dominique is supposed to be doing by coming on the Zone weekly, but he sounds like a homer and former player and not like an exec with the team.

Any who, you’re right, he has to say that. He certainly can’t say that we are indifferent toward re-signing Al and then expect to negotiate anything of value for him. The good news is that guys like Paxton, Zeke and others may actually give some credence to BK’s statement that they want him back. And at the end of the day, don’t we want maximum value for this guy? I think that once you realize that he is NOT talking to us, the Hawks nation, then his comments won’t sting as much.

By HB Ando

April 23, 2006 07:08 PM | Link to this

He’s a heck of a rebounder, doc. Can’t block a shot to save his life. He’s a taller version of Fortson or Evans, without all the baggage in the lockerroom. And with his limitations, he’s still the reason Harrison can’t get in the game. Which leads me to think that Harrison isn’t as good as some people might think (he has been mentioned by some, here, as a guy we should try to obtain). I’d still like the guy we get (or guys) to be legitimate shot blocking threats. But you know what they say about beggars.

By A Thinking Fan

April 23, 2006 08:24 PM | Link to this

Is there a Hawks’game on tonight? I’m having “No HAWKS’ Game” withdrawal. Please Dr. Phil HELP!!! I have to read the same takes on this Blog over and over again. I pray the Hawks get a big and point so we can still be playing in April ‘07 & beyond…

AH! Whatz-up Doc?

By doc

April 23, 2006 08:25 PM | Link to this

ando, i have to laugh dude, i thought you first said he is a hack. im like going so what? that was my game man, poke, probe, grab, step on feet, use the shoulder of the other guy for lift and hold jerseys. then i saw you said heck. i love the guy, he was a vacuum cleaner out there until o’neal got back, not pretty, not athletic as some, but a force that does the dirty work proudly.

no, foster doesnt block shots but i think we are going to have two guys that will challenge in the paint eventually, josh and marvin. a guy like foster, a guy like griffin to block shots and a quick vet point and we are in the playoffs babee. pick up a big in the draft and a gnarly 6’4” point in the draft and we stay there a while and i am not even worried about what comes in the 2007 draft.

By doc

April 23, 2006 08:27 PM | Link to this

atf, we were posting at the same time. on the same page dude.

By Ty

April 23, 2006 09:08 PM | Link to this

I’d love to sign Joel Pryzbilla in the off-season (big body, 2.5+ blocks per game, tough rebounder, great character). Play him at C and start Zaza and PF, and that’d be a big, tough front court and trade Al Harrington to the Bulls for one of their PG’s. Kirk’d be great, but I don’t think we could get him for Al. I think we might be able to get Ben Gordon for him, though. And if not, Chris Duhon and a 1st rounder would be a fair trade that would really, really benefit both teams. They have several great young PG’s, we have several great young SF’s…it just makes sense. The Joel thing makes a LOT of sense, by the way.

By doc

April 23, 2006 09:32 PM | Link to this

ty, earlier in the season joel said he would accept less to stay in portlandread it then heard it on tv. that is before their own ownership issues came up so he may have changed his mind or will have it changed for him. i would like to know how his taste of the big a was to know if he was interested but i dont hink he was too impressed the first time through.

hate to remind all that the lakers need the same thing we do, a big and a quick point. can you imagine what kobe could do if he had someone that brought the ball up to feed him dimes? our competition is great for the type of players we need, so it wont come cheap.

By Astro Joe

April 24, 2006 12:49 AM | Link to this

Doc, I’m right with you in terms of optimism, we are a few right players away from having a competitive for many years (assuming a general degree of health).

And just as a reminder for all the bloggers out there, Miami is a fraud of a contender, as I said around the All Star break. Too many bad acquisitions by Riley will surely ensure this team’s doom. They’ll make it by Chicago, but watch carefully as they get exposed during this series. Detroit will sleep walk their way to The Finals!

By Samuel

April 24, 2006 06:15 AM | Link to this

I really like Foster. He would definately be an upgrade inside. I don’t care about shot blocking. I care about low post defense and rebounding. It’s much more inportant to get good positioning and block out for the defensive rebound than to try to block every shot and get beat on the boards. He’s playing over Harrison because he’s better just like Al is getting minutes over Marvin.

I’m not so sure BK is blowing smoke. He may understand that to be a contender you need more than one ore two “good” fowards. I wouldn’t be upset at all if we keep Al and the rest of our fowards. We still got plenty of other “dead weight” to unload and replace. Resigning and keeping Al would not be the worst thing that could happen to a talent lacking squad like the Hawks.

Doc, I was waiting on you to rag me about Kobe and the Lakers. Did you see the game. It looked like a definate “Tank Job” to me. Kobe got to the rim at will but was too “pass first” for the first 42 minutes. Damn I wish these guys would quit reading yall’s post. They’re killing Me.

Eventhough Miami didn’t look great. Don’t hand the trophy to Motown yet. If Shaq and DWade are healthy. They still will be no pushovers. Jersey and VC got a little too much “French Pastry” and ESPN in them and no post defense.

By doc

April 24, 2006 08:21 AM | Link to this

sam, it is way to early in the series to rag you or provoke you. i was surprised to see how l.a. stuck in there. that said the lakers have to be concerned how the suns quickly and efficiently took huge chunks of points on them in short periods of time as if they scored when they got ready, this after the lakers played real hard to stay in it. it was a competitive game but unless the suns have an injury this one will go 6 at best and maybe five if the lakers get tired. i dont think odum can match shawn and it is like the lakers have 2.5 guys playing a team. kobe cant beat them by himself nor can he beat them by distributing is my asessment and kind of resounds what you said about tanking. now who said tank?

i still respect the lakers though as they have the best player and best coach but need more firepower.

nets are imposters and rang up some wins when teams had folded, cant trust win streaks late in the season.

clips and nuggets will be the one to go 7 and maybe the pacers if they cant hold home court.

next step will be fun as the best in the west collide in spite of my affection for the suns. the spurs and the mavs however may tear each other up to the point that they dont have much in the tank and allow the suns to make a break and steal one into the finals to play for the big ring.

sam, you are playing possum son, when talking up the heat over the pistons. who you playin dude?

By Astro Joe

April 24, 2006 09:45 AM | Link to this

Sam, our old friend Antoine Walker will undoubtedly lose more games for Miami than he will win. In the last few minutes of a close game, only Wade should have the ball, but I fully expect the egocentric trio of Payton, White Chocolate and Antoine to find a way to blow at least a few games during this playoff run. BAD, BAD acquisitions for a team that was a healthy Wade from making the Finals last year.

By Kwan

April 24, 2006 10:08 AM | Link to this

I think Hawks fans should be getting very excited about Josh Smith. Last season, I enjoyed his dunks and blocked shots. I liked him, but assumed the best we could hope for would be that he become an inside power player. He obviously put in time on his shooting, dribbling, and passing skills. His floor vision is excellent and if he continues his progress, he will be an all star in two years.

By lilman

April 24, 2006 11:00 AM | Link to this

get pryzbilla and terry back in ATl and were a playoff team.

Trade AL for whatever, who even cares anemore

Get terry/jj/marvin/josh/pryz with chillz and zaza and lue off the bench. sign someone like giffin or reggie evans and we will be a 7th seed

By HB Ando

April 24, 2006 11:02 AM | Link to this

Here’s why you shouldn’t have Chinese tatooed on your body unless you speak Chinese:

“Marquis Daniels of the Dallas Mavericks thought he was getting his initials in Chinese characters, but what his arm actually says is “healthy woman roof,” Tang said. Similarly, Shawn Marion of the Phoenix Suns was under the impression that his nickname, “The Matrix,” was tattooed on his leg, but Tang says the inscription translates as something like “demon bird moth balls.” New York Times

Demon Bird Moth Balls. HaHa.

By HB Ando

April 24, 2006 11:11 AM | Link to this

Joe and Sam, my opinion is actually split between the two of you. I agree that Riley was crazy to pick up Walker, but Williams and Payton have made the transition to really solid role players. Walker tries, but it’s not in his nature. So while I thought those were crazy moves, and I still think they were a mistake, I will give all involved credit for making the most of the chemistry. Now, I have to agree with Sam, that writing off Miami is a mistake. I still think they are the one team that could shock Detroit (and that includes San Antonio). That being said, it sure seems like Detroit is the perfect team. They can play any style on either end of the court.

Though I know there was no way ‘Sheed would have ever stayed in Atlanta, most GM’s refuse to trade an all-star to an in conference rival. Leave it to Billy Knight to send Detroit the final piece it needed to start a dynasty. Billy CAN build winners. Unfortuneatly, it’s opposing teams that he builds……….

By Astro Joe

April 24, 2006 11:44 AM | Link to this

Here’s hoping that the guy that we got for Rasheed (Josh Smith) becomes the next version of the Demon Bird Moth Balls Man.

By The Flash

April 24, 2006 12:23 PM | Link to this

Just a few takes:

The Heat: Walker, to me, is the one pick up who might, not saying he will, be a difference maker against Detroit in a game or two.

The Lakers: If Kobe continues to stay within the triangle, they could well beat Phoenix. If Kobe goes off, Phoenix I think will cruise.

San Antonio v. Kings: Mano was da man, took on Artest and that was that. But, with Duncan hurting with the foot, I don’t look for a repeat. Mano! Mano! Mano! Great theater.

Nets v. Indiana: If Vince thinks he’s gonna soar his way through this series, he’s gonna be sorely misstaken. Did you see that take down? Here’s where the Nets miss the guy they let go to Denver. Rick C coaches a very, very rough style, and let Artest take the fall. Somebody on the Nets has to put someone on Indiana down and hard or this series is over.

By ray

April 25, 2006 01:49 AM | Link to this

Sam, I know you really don’t want to hear this, but here goes anyhow. Upgrading talent is a wonderful idea as long as you don’t destroy chemistry. Example? Your Knicks. Upgraded talent like crazy. I’m sure you’re familiar with the results. Fact is, you have to be careful how you upgrade. I didn’t say we needed a PURE pg, just one with better pass-first skills and mentality. My comment about 55 points per game from the backcourt also came with the comment about little or nothing from the other three positions. We need a talented (solid-to-great talented, that is) big man more than we need a talented Pg who thinks everything revolves around him. Yeah, you gotta give BD respect, he’s dang good. Especially one-on-one….or one-on-two…or one-on-three. But does he make his teammates better? Not really. And I’d not compare him to Billups. Chauncey is a floor leader big time. He can score, he can pass. What he does is RUN the offense, not RUN OVER the offense. Oh, and Billups plays hellacious D. Davis doesn’t.

Doc, with all the work I’ve been doing, you’d think I’d make Sheriff. Yeah, right. Too young and I don’t want that spot anyway. I’ve never been good at politics. Well, that might be an oxymoron…naw, just a lot of Homeland Security stuff. How’s things going in your patch of grass? The medical profession never catches a break.

By Afrocentric

April 27, 2006 09:17 PM | Link to this

Wow! these playoff games are really making these guys earn their money $Uhm the Lakers vs Suns offered a blueprint of how to stop a literal Scoring Machine! Kobe was grea t not excellent ,but played to win and not to win the scoring battle.It was the first time i ve seen this Lakers team play together..Now…I said now ,dreadfully to the pitiful hawk org. I do not understand a major franchise like the hawks not firing a non motivating ,non winning, no strategy( left it in cold detroit with the LEGENDARY LARRY BROWN)…Hey i here Rick Adelman(sacramento Kings) is available after the season( no contract extension)and it would be prudent(George W Bush Sr.famous word) and smart move to pick up Him as your new coach and G.M. Why , because his coaching strategy is exceptional(Bibby,Christie,Vlade,and Webber).In the past and present he would be a better than average coach in the eastern division…..Or we can go through another miserable season wi th a lame duck coach, a mill$on dollar super star player with no motivation,and another ( billy you will love this)Power/small forward draft pick….Hey i here Alec Kessler is unretiring and will reenter the draft!

By hawkfromhinesville

May 3, 2006 05:02 PM | Link to this

13 game improvement again next year poises us for playoffs in 2008 and returning to ‘nique like prominence in nba…other teams are getting old and it will be our time staying with youth movement….SOUTH GEORGIA HAWK NATION!!!!!!!!