Hawks

By evg

July 11, 2007 11:22 PM | Link to this

Hey guys! Darko signs with Memphis.

Jul 11, 2007 10:29pm ET Report: Milicic, Grizzlies Agree on Three-year Deal Chad Ford of ESPN writes, “Free-agent center Darko Milicic agreed in principle to a three-year contract with the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday.”

By lionel

July 10, 2007 11:08 PM | Link to this

This kind of trade will definitely kill Hawks. I know Darko can be very good(Thing is, he need minutes in order to shine). Hawks already has Zaza, he is a gifted rebounder and a good scorer too. I knew that compare to Darko, Zaza’s defense is worse and he can’t block shots. However, Al Horford will help him out. It is not necessary to trade in Darko for improving the team, the team only needs a scoring small forward(Unless Josh Smith and Josh Childress really work hard in this summer and do some works on there long-range jumpers).For this, they should trade someone like Battier or Morris Peterson. Tade those forward/center players, there are too much of them, Marvin Williams,Solomon Jones, Esteban Batista or even Shelden Williams. There are too much forward/center but too less guard/forward players. Never trade Darko in but try hard to trade a foward/center and get a guy like Battier or Steveson.

By huh

July 9, 2007 3:21 PM | Link to this

I only typed what i read about Yi’s summer league performances. He might have gotten to the line a lot but they still said he doesnt seem to like contact.

By terrell

July 9, 2007 2:10 PM | Link to this

To all you Jianlin lovers, I wasn’t knocking Yi in my last post because SUMMER LEAGUE MEANS NOTHING. I was just going on what I saw. I dont know how many minutes he played, but I dont recall seeing him on the floor that much. And like I said before, he did some good things. In my opinion he would be better at small forward in the NBA.

By terrell

July 9, 2007 1:47 PM | Link to this

Make the switch to Comcast EVG. I had Dish Network, and everytime a storm passed, I would lose a signal. Comcast is digital and I’ve never had a problem. There is a quadrupal-header today on NBA TV. I dont put too much into those summer league games but they are fun to watch. I did see Yi play yesterday, and from what I saw he wasnt even the best player on his own team, although, he did do some nice things on the court. Shannon Brown, of all people went nuts against the team from CHINA, and he can’t even get off the bench in Cleveland.

By evg

July 9, 2007 12:36 PM | Link to this

Hey Reese!

I have Dishnetwork, not comcast. Does any of these summer league games show on Dishnetwork?

By The Flash

July 9, 2007 12:35 PM | Link to this

Darko belongs on a team with other Internationals. He will flourish in such an environment. One might say the same for ZaZa.

The guy who really interests me is the Spaniard whom the Zards have the rights to. He might solidify the backcourt, allow JJ to slide to the three, and provide the type of ball movement that would make Z’s offensive contribution much more potent.

By reese

July 9, 2007 11:17 AM | Link to this

aj and atf, we finally agree on something. I would love to see dancer Yareliz Fuentes strut her stuff at hawks games.

By A Thinking Fan

July 9, 2007 11:03 AM | Link to this

AJ I concur!!!

By Anakin Joe

July 9, 2007 10:39 AM | Link to this

I’m Encouraged. I had my concerns, expecting another lackluster season. Nothing that appealing to see on the floor. More of the same.

But I find myself excited again after this weekend.

Did you see the photos of the Hawks Dance Team auditions? The talent looks VERY WELL balanced and the measurements appear ideal to return excitement to the arena. God Bless America! Looks like Hawks fans may be able to “Rise Up” this coming season.

By m berry

July 9, 2007 9:40 AM | Link to this

YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING!!! Darko is another JON KONCAK, an overhypped player whose physical ability is better than his basketball production. If you trade more than Lorenzo Wright, you will regret it.

By A Thinking Fan

July 9, 2007 8:27 AM | Link to this

Reese & Doc You have to wait and see YI play Bb against the best TEAM & Individual schemed DEFENSES. This is Pony League stuff. Doc, just ask your boy Steve Nash about schemed & playoff defenses with grown a$$ men playing it against you!!!

By reese

July 9, 2007 1:02 AM | Link to this

Doc, even though I asked the height question to sekou, I already know the answer is by design.

Bk has convinced management that the league is changing and the forwards will be playing center.

BK likes the fact that his first option on the front line is undersized, his 2nd option is undersized and his third option wright is useless.

Its funny how woodson, knight and bernie say we drafted a big and then follow up with he is undersized but they believe he can get the job done.

goodnight all

By doc

July 9, 2007 12:41 AM | Link to this

reese, i feel your pain. it was such a difficult thing to watch every night where we got over matched size wise and there is no come back for it. the other teams 6’10” guys towered over our supposedly tall guys, shels among them. it seems that our roster heights are almost made up to be as tall as they could possibly be made to sound.

people talk about how the east doesnt have any depth down low and i dont see it, there are few teams we can match up to size wise, maybe it is unlucky draft position, just doubt it. there is only one team in our division or in the east period, that didnt add some size and that was boston. even chicago went tall with their picks.

By reese

July 9, 2007 12:27 AM | Link to this

evg, the games are on NBA TV. Channel 293 on Comcast.

Terrell, ditto everything that Doc said.

Doc, I just wish that the hawks would place their new players in situation to be comparable to the teams they are playing. Both Sheldon and Horford played alongside taller players in college. Josh Smiths AAU team was taller and more talented than the hawks frontline.

Its shameful that the hawks won’t accumalate taller players. Without taller players, practice does not represent the teams in which they will be playing against and therefore the coaches and players don’t know what they truly have.

We can’t even field a summer league team with more than 1 player 6’11 or taller.

Sekou, is it by design, poor scouting or players don’t want to come to atlanta that are 6’11 or taller. They do exist, just look at the roster of every team in the vegas summer league.

By evg

July 8, 2007 11:51 PM | Link to this

Hey Reese!

On what channel are you seeing these games of Yi.

By doc

July 8, 2007 11:22 PM | Link to this

terrell, just comparing what was said to be expected when each was selected after the draft. shels was to be the answer, now it is horford. the proof in the puddin is soon to come. i really hope to see something from al in utah. if he and law do even middle of the road there, the hopes will begin to take off even though it is just rook league. if they fall flat it will be hard to get enthusaiastic. been there, done that, now it is time to get er done.

By terrell

July 8, 2007 11:05 PM | Link to this

Just watched Horford in action from last year. People on this blog that compared him to Sheldon are crazy. He is far more athletic, a lot quicker, and just a better player in my opinion. The guy was posting up, blocking shots, and hitting shots with consistency. That was really my first time watching a game where I just focused on one player, and I have to admit I was impressed. Billy just might have got this one right. At least I hope he did.

By doc

July 8, 2007 11:04 PM | Link to this

reese, the bucks have 5 guys 6’11” or greater if yi joins their team. that is the going thing with many teams loaded up on size and all those teams anilhilate us each time we go up against them. look at the spurs roster, two guys are guys that many bloggers said go after last year in free agency and they didnt cost a bundle. we have one in zaza. truly sad.

By doc

July 8, 2007 10:57 PM | Link to this

correction on yi as i posted before the end of the game. yi scores game winner by backing down the lane and scores with .4 sec on clock with a turn around to end up with 20.

By doc

July 8, 2007 10:52 PM | Link to this

addendum, correction not duncan, but chris paul was the last guy to come right out and go lights out in his first season as a pro but after two years in college. no excuses for our guys coming in this year they got to deal and do better than our last guy, nba “ready”.

By reese

July 8, 2007 10:49 PM | Link to this

A Thinking Fan, it case you missed it, Yi just hit the winning shot against the Cleveland summer league team. He posted up down low and banked the shot with a man in his face and 1 second left.

His offense was off and he shot poorly from the field. However, he made 14 of 16 free throws and had 3 blocked shots.

Ray, the things that translate from the summer league is footwork, willingness to take the big shot, ability to make free throws, rotating on defense, etc.

I hope that the hawks scouts are watching Yi and I hope that Hawks management is trying to work a deal with Milwaukee.

I don’t care if it takes 2 to 3 years as ATF says for him to be dominate. If you use him properly, he will rotate on defense, block shots, make free throws and take the last second shot. These are things that Jchill and Marvin have not proven to do in the 2/3 years that they have played in the NBA.

I want some taller players on the team and there have been taller players available via the draft, free agency and trades. I’m not buying the company spin being dished out to the fans that there are not quality big men (6’11 and taller) available.

Its funny, it seems that each of these summer league teams I’ve been watching has players who are 6’11 and taller. I can’t wait to see how our 6’8 thru 6’10 players fare.

By mo

July 8, 2007 10:32 PM | Link to this

Why?! Leave the team alone! Why do we need another big man to sit on the bench. Woodward… Waldo…oh no my bad… Woodson won’t play him.

By doc

July 8, 2007 10:29 PM | Link to this

atf, that is a very safe bet about yi but it doesnt say much and dont bet against him. it took your guy labron that much time to develop as well and there are few that came right in and dealt it out. the fundamental may have been the last to step up his game when going to the next phase. 20-10 now since he got to the bigs. huge.

well, yi, 18 tonight tough night forom the field but mad 14 of 17 from the foul line so he must have taken a few blows for a guy people want to beleive he doesnt want contact.

another guy i spoke up in favor for was crit who didnt fall on his face for a young kid going 8 of 13 from the field for 18 in 25 minutes. the kid can go lights out and will be a better player and scorer than law in 3 years. pretty good start, but before anyone tries to think i am making it out to be more than it is, but not a career.

By ray

July 8, 2007 10:19 PM | Link to this

I keep seeing posts about having guys like Darko and Yi on the team. Get it through your heads that this doesn’t happen unless we trade probably half our core or more. This is foolishness, no matter how you slice it. Chemistry and coaching-wise, this is nothing more than rebuilding and starting over. Is this what we really want?

As tangled as things are, that’s simply one more tangle. I don’t see the point in blowing things up like that until we know for sure we can’t make it anywhere with the pieces we have (with a little tweaking, of course). As I’ve said before, unless we have a repeat of injuries like last year, this team should be able to show us something this year. It’s sort of like a remedial purification process. As the heat is applied, the impurities will rise to the surface. We’ll know whether or not Billy really can evaluate talent well or not. We’ll know if Woodson is the right guy for the program (some of us already think we know, but that’s another story). We’ll know if the players we have can take it to the next level. As it is, with the number of forwards we have, coupled with the number of small guards, even a few injuries shouldn’t cripple like they did last year. The experience gained from last year coupled with offseason development should cut out the need to place guys like L.Wright on the floor all the time.

Losing Speedy (the probability is always there) should mean more opportunity for Law, rather than “how are we going to make it all season with AJ and Lue, with a squirt or two of Salim?”

Law also should take pressure off of Childress as far as offensive igniting and ball-handling duties when JJ is out of the game or injured.

If Horford is everything we need him to be, he’ll take pressure off of guys like Smoove and Pachulia. And, he’ll add pressure on guys like Marvin, Sheldon, and Jones. Meaning, he’ll force them to play better or lose a spot. If he proves himself to be the kind of guy you just can’t keep on the bench, then someone loses a starting spot. If that ain’t motivation, I don’t know what is. Imagine him in the game with Smoove and Pachulia. Then you switch gears and bring Marvin in. It’s all about matchups baby.

By ray

July 8, 2007 10:07 PM | Link to this

I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if HHoops is right. I don’t expect management to facilitate a bold move in the trade/free agency market. We have no reason or evidence since the infamous Joe Johnson deal to think otherwise. Getting Pachulia was a good move, especially for the price. But bold it wasn’t. And true enough, getting Darko may not pay for itself. But I only see that happening due to the Woody factor.

I know I keep heaping so much on the guy, but he really has a lot to prove in my opinion. And I’m not so sure he can prove it. We’ll see what happens in a season with hopefully far fewer injuries. As Doc says, there will then be no room for double speak and cliches. Put up or f’in shut up.

Ok, we did go over this on the blog in detail last year. Summer league does little more than allow teams to look at certain details of players. More than anything, it gives us poor working stiffs something to talk about.

EVG, not to start an argument with you, but I’ll think more of Yi when he does his thing on a nightly basis against the denizens of this league. That’s what I look forward to. Him playing a game or two or even three in his own team’s style against our disjointed team of NBA stars just doesn’t get it for me. It’s not enough. While it does deserve some merit (and Yi deserves some credit), I’ll give you a small sample of just how much it means, and how it isn’t a sure indicator of a player’s ability:

Sarunas Jasikevicius. Remember him? He absolutely destroyed us in the Olympics. He was a nightmare. Nobody could stop the guy. Considered the best guard in the world outside the NBA. Uh, let’s see. 2nd guard off the bench on an Indiana Pacer’s squad featuring the ineffective Jamaal Tinsley. And then traded to the Warriors later. He won’t start there either, unless someone gets injured.

On the flip side of that coin, guys like Andres Noccioni and Manu Ginobilli have come in and continued to wreak havoc on the rest of the league. Even though we didn’t draft him, I hope he’s part of the latter group of players.

By jj#1fan

July 8, 2007 10:00 PM | Link to this

I can’t believe none of you have written anything about your boy Dwight Howard and how he has said to every media person who cares to listen that he will be signing the MAX extension for the MAX allowable number of years (not the three year deals that Lebron and company signed). Does this kill everyone here who were hoping and praying that he would one day come back to the ATL?? I saw a bunch of posters who swore that Dwight Howard was a real possibility…Not NO MORE!!! He will be beating us year in and year out now with his new scoring sidekick Rashard Lewis!! God help us!!

By A Thinking Fan

July 8, 2007 9:29 PM | Link to this

It is going to take YI 3 years to develop into a dominate player. He’ll score, but he won’t be dominate his 1st. 2 years…

By HHoops

July 8, 2007 9:06 PM | Link to this

Melvin,

I think that you have a good trade idea. I would go for it, but I’m not the one to make that decission. I would like the trade better if we were trading Claxton and Shelden W. instead of M. Williams and Shelden W. They may not go for that though. I really think that Claxton’s contract is the one that we need to move since we got Law in the draft.

When it is all said and done, this is what I think the Hawks will do:

Keep the team that they have right now. They will possibly trade AJ or Lue before the trade deadline to someone that needs a guard for the playoff run. Can we make the playoffs with the team that we have right now? Possibly, if we can stay healthy!

If my prediction is true, the Hawks will have around 12 M. next summer to sign free agents. Not bad if we can make the playoffs this coming season!

By Melvin

July 8, 2007 8:29 PM | Link to this

HHoops, Going back to my trade scenario with the Bucks, Marvin & Sheldon for Yi & the Bucks ‘08 1st rounder would probably free up 4-5 mil. We could use that money combine with the money we have available to sign Darko. However, I don’t think we should offer him 8 -10 mil/yr range either more like 5-6 would be the max that i would offer. Also, keep in mind we can go over the cap to sign our own free agents ( chill and smoove). Not sure the current ownership group would be willing to do that? That’s why trading for Yi would make sense, hoping that his impact financially would be similiar to Yao or Lebron. And if he could play as well as those guys on the court that would help too. Follow the money as Astro Joe would say…

By reese

July 8, 2007 8:13 PM | Link to this

Ray, some people will never understand. I’m sure that the same people complained that 6’9” magic johnson shouldn’t be playing point guard.

The bottom line about Yi folks, is that he displayed nice footwork, he hit both short range and long range shots, he dunked the ball in traffic and he blocked shots.

For those who have NBA TV, you can see Yi for yourself at 8:00pm e.s.t against Cleveland.

Also, Thinking fan, what part about Yi playing on China’s team against the US olympic team don’t you grasp. Watch him before you criticize him.

Also, for those of you who just want a tall goon to foul people. We have that in Lorenzen Wright. And if you want someone else like him, then I feel sorry for you.

By terrell

July 8, 2007 7:57 PM | Link to this

TRIKE, New Jersey wanted Bynum and Odom. It was LA that refused. They didn’t want to include Andrew in the deal.

By Steve T

July 8, 2007 7:03 PM | Link to this

I know a lot of people want us to trade for a point guard. Mr. Jack was the PG most people wanted. Can you guys prove to me how these guys are better than the guys we have? I think Mr. Jack had 5 assist per game. We have yet to see what Mr. Law could do? He may be a 16 points and 8 assist guy.

By huh

July 8, 2007 6:41 PM | Link to this

Actually Yi has only had one good summer league game. They are basically saying he is not very strong and is shying away from contact. They guy might end up being good but he has a ways to go. The summer league is fun because it gives fans something to talk about but dont put too much stock in them. Dion Glover , Marcus Haslip, Kendrick Brown and others were Summer League hall of famers who couldnt do anything in the NBA. I think that injury Marvin had really held him back. It was obvious he rushed back from injury to play. He had moments where you saw how good he could be and moments where you thought this kid wont get it. I think he could easily be a 19 and 7 a night player in the league which aint bad. He has all the tools to be great he just doesnt have that fire as some others have mentioned.

By terrell

July 8, 2007 5:08 PM | Link to this

Evg, You obviously didn’t realize that I was being sarcastic. Marvin was lights out in the summer league, but wasnt against real competition. Do you see what I’m saying bro? SUMMER LEAGUE MEANS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.

By HHoops

July 8, 2007 4:35 PM | Link to this

Melvin,

In order for the Hawks to be able to sign Darko, we have to create some cap space. The best way to do that right now(before the season starts) is to trade one player with a contract that is not expiring(Claxton, M. Williams, S. Williams) and one contract that is expiring(AJ, Lue, Salim S. L. Wright). That will save at least 3 expiring contracts to create cap space for next year to resign J. Smith or make a trade.

Do you have a better plan?

By evg

July 8, 2007 4:05 PM | Link to this

TO “Terrell”

I forgot to point out also that Marvin Williams might not have done well during regular season after he was lights out in his 2nd Summer League because he immediately got injured and never recovered fully during the regular NBA season. That’s something you need to consider. Please respond.

By Melvin

July 8, 2007 4:02 PM | Link to this

Sorry ATF, my response was to HHoops

By evg

July 8, 2007 3:57 PM | Link to this

To “By A Thinking Fan”:

If Yi hasn’t played against those grown a$$ men in the real NBA, then against whom did he play when he went against Dwight Howard and Chris Bosh during the Olympics. Furthermore, Yi will punk Rasheed Wallace in return with all his offensive skills. Please respond.

And “BigJohn!”

Tell me how Yi is another Koncak. Could Koncak shoot the jumper, create off the dribble, block shots and handle the ball like a SF; please answer that my friend. And as for world league play, talented players like Yi are encouraged to be less aggressive and play more team ball. I’m sure you read about this in one of the articles; but if you didn’t, I did.

And to “Terrell”

Marvin Williams has to play “TWO” SUMMER LEAGUES to be “lights out,” but Yi is “light out” in his “FIRST” SUMMER LEAGUE. ENOUGH SAID (LOL).

By Tmike

July 8, 2007 3:51 PM | Link to this

Jersey had a trade for Bynum in exchange for Jason Kid, but they decided to keep Kid, so I know they would be willing to trade Bynum. That said it’ll take more than Bynum to get Amare or KG.

Most teams that are familiar with foreign players are already familiar with YI. I didn’t see a GM in a rush to move up the draft to get’em. The Bucks did him a favor by drafting him at #4 he should willing to at lease report to team and prove his worth. Every foreign player faces the same dilemma Yi face once they decide to declare for the NBA. What makes him so different?

The Hawks have Zaza at 6’11’’ for a bargain basement price of 4 or 5mil a year. He scores all his points in the paint where the team needs. Neither Zaza nor Yi are shoot blockers, yet people are will to trade away guys that’s played in the NBA for 2 or 3 years for an unproven commodity. Your better off going with Zaza and keeping your young assets.

The only thing that’s makes the Hawks better is a banger and shot blocker in the post. BK drafted a young guy like that. Now he needs to bring a Veteran banger or shot blocker to compliment him. The Hawks don’t need more scorers. The only thing that prevented them from scoring was Woodson. They a defensive stopper in the post.

Now Darko would be a nice addition to the team. This guy has played in the NBA so you know what you’re getting. Most Hawks fan would welcome a trade for Darko, but at the right price. It makes no sense to max the team cap space for unproven players. If Darko agents continue to demand premium dollars, there want be a few teams in the mix for his services. Most experts say that the 2008 will be deepest pool of FA’s, with no lottery picks for 2008. Why on earth would you max out your cap space in2007??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

By roan st

July 8, 2007 3:48 PM | Link to this

First of all, thanks thinking fan for your brilliant and articulate insight on Yi. What would we do without folks like you?

Secondly, gentlemen what does summer league really tell us about players? If a guy struggles then we know he has a long ways to go toward being NBA ready. However, some guys are all world in summer league and then not so good when the real games start. So what do we really learn from summer league and what real purpose does it serve? Does it really help prepare the young players for the NBA? Most of the guys on these teams don’t even make it to training camp so it doesn’t help build continuity. No real defense is played in these games and no real offensive plays are run. I think players would be better served just going to an extended camp for rookies and players trying to make the squad. Teams could then try to incorporate their defensive and offensive schemes. Summer league seems to be way overrated in terms of preparing players for the NBA.

By Melvin

July 8, 2007 3:43 PM | Link to this

ATF, If we could make that trade, that would free up monies (losing Shelden & Marvin contracts) to sign Darko. Hopefully Darko could develop into a low post presence. Imagine if he develop into the player everyone thought he would be when he got drafted along with the growth of JSmoove, Solomon and Horford. Then throw Yi and ZaZa into that Mix. I think we would have a nice group of Bigs to rotate and a 1st round pick in next year draft. Also, if Yi can generate revenue for the club then we would have monies to resign Smoove and Chills…

By doc

July 8, 2007 3:22 PM | Link to this

let’s see who did the griz get for stevie boy francis and his posse? gusee it was no one of significance.

who did the hornets get for kobe? …. vlade. i would say that was an uneven swap even though vlade had some value, he is gone now.

no, the bucks will not getequal value to what position they drafted, a star or a long term fix of equal quality of a 6 draft pick in exchange for yi unless they are lucky. if they dont get anything with a senator of the u s of a as its owner to help in negotiation then you can really say these guys just didnt do their homework before the draft.

yi loses leverage for 4 years when the contract is signed. he is on display for all to see now even though he isnt on the roster of an nba team so if he does well he ups his leverage and maybe helps the bucks if he really does well. this will take the tag of unknown from him if he holds his own in toe to toe battle against players of equal stature or import. that may be the only win - win situation that the bucks can hope for.

there is an advantage this year to not having a first round pick for next year. it means that all the effort will be to win this year and not to tank to gain draft position. it also may mean that the team will be quick to pull the plug if the team gets off to a slow start. they have no reason not to going into the season and if they are doing due diligence that should already be a contingency plan. ray, this may be the answer to your question and to those of us that dont see a way clear until the courts have had their say. if they start poorly and dont pull the plug then it really is a dead organization until the legal stuff is resolved.

By A Thinking Fan

July 8, 2007 3:04 PM | Link to this

Yi hasn’t played against those grown a$$ men in the real NBA who will punk him on a nightly basis… like Rasheed Wallace!

By HHoops

July 8, 2007 2:47 PM | Link to this

Melvin,

Make that trade! I’m with you. Childress would be our starting #3 if that trade were made. Yi would come along with time and experience.

We will still need a post player. Let me know when you figure out a trade for a post that will help us. Losing S. Williams in your trade would leave us Zaza and Horford that we could really depend on @ 5. I guess we would have to get some minutes from L. Wright.

By Melvin

July 8, 2007 2:01 PM | Link to this

Terrell, Yi agent (Dan Fegan) was quoted as of yesterday that there’s no way Yi will play for the Bucks. I think thats confirmation that he will be traded at some point in the future. The longer the Bucks stay in denial, the less leverage they will have in trading him. As much as I like Yi, he has yet to prove he’s a player on the NBA level. So, how can the Bucks expect superstar player in return? The most they will get for him is a 1st rnder and/or promising young player(MW). Marvin and Shelden are legit players. Marvin would be good complement to Reed and fill the needed SF position for them. Shelden would be a good player to sub for Charlie V and Andrew Bogut…

By terrell

July 8, 2007 1:39 PM | Link to this

Melvin, RAY just said that the Bucks WILL NOT trade Yi. They wouldnt make that deal if they were to trade him. Trade their 2 first rdrs who could turn out to be great for our 2 first rdrs who aren’t. YEAH, RIGHT.

By Melvin

July 8, 2007 12:50 PM | Link to this

Trade Marvin & Shelden for Yi & the Bucks 1st rounder in ‘08….

By ray

July 8, 2007 12:40 PM | Link to this

Reese, I tried bringing up that point to almost no avail. You’re right. No doubt our esteemed coach (and the GM too), would try to take Yi and put him smack in the middle of the paint. Most people just won’t believe that 7ft doesn’t always mean CENTER.

As for Mike Woodson’s knowledge of Darko, what the devil is that supposed to mean? Larry Brown never let the guy play, and Woodson was his understudy. Another very clear case of a player getting misused. I firmly believe that Darko would be so much more than he is if they had just let him play his game and figured a way to incorporate it into their style. He could have been the offensive mismatch that Yi presents. But, as goes his mentor, so goes Woodson. How else do you explain Boris Diaw “suddenly” turning into something worth having when he left here and went to Phoenix?

Get rid of Woodson. Get rid of Billy if he doesn’t want to do it. Sorry, but I think we can only take so much. Woodson better be on a hot seat this year with ownership/managment. Let’s hope there’s half or less than half the injuries of last year. That would put things into perspective, because no cliches will suffice for explanation. Then we’ll see for certain what this team can do under the guidance of it’s coach. Put up or shut up, and few people have more to show me than Woodson.

Doc, you know I’ve kept up with Yi. Keeping up with Conley too. And Oden? A foul machine right now. The future is not quite yet here. Durant doesn’t look so great either, but hard time on the hardwood will forge both of them into what they will be. Oden has a lot to learn about the nuances of playing in the paint. Guys are going to pull all kinds of tricks on him. He’ll learn. I think his learning curve will take longer than Durant’s.

I see Milwaukee is taking the hard-liner stance with Yi, saying they WILL NOT trade him. Interesting. So, Doc, who will win the staring contest, hmmm?

By BigJohn

July 8, 2007 12:35 PM | Link to this

Are you people so impress by 2 inches to thik Yi is so great,I’dbet half of you would have him in the hall of fame already.Look at his stats for his career and in world league play.H’e another Koncak at best.

By gregw

July 8, 2007 12:27 PM | Link to this

Andrew Bynum? Are u guys serious? NO way LA is shipping him here unless its for you know who. So cancel that. The only way Lakers trade Bynum is in a trade to get a superstar (K.G, J. Oneal.

By terell

July 8, 2007 11:31 AM | Link to this

We drafted Al Horford and Acie Law. Yi is not a hawk people, get over it! And dont get it twisted, ITS THE SUMMER LEAGUE. Marvin was lights out last year, ENOUGH SAID.

By terell

July 8, 2007 11:31 AM | Link to this

We drafted Al Horford and Acie Law. Yi is not a hawk people, get over it? And dont get it twisted, ITS THE SUMMER LEAGUE. Marvin was lights out last year, ENOUGH SAID.

By evg

July 8, 2007 10:19 AM | Link to this

Here is an article about Yi Jianlian; I still think we should have picked him instead of Al Horford; a good coach would have learned how to us Yi at Center and PF:

Jianlian Shines In First Day Of Summer League Play

July 7, 2007 7:46 p.m. EST

Todd Sikorski - AHN Sports Reporter Las Vegas, NV (AHN) - One thing is for certain, Yi Jianlian might not want to play for the Milwaukee Bucks, but the NBA team sure wants the talented Chinese big man to play for them.

The Bucks were overjoyed with what they saw from their first round draft pick in the first day of the NBA’s Summer League as Jianlian scored 23 points in a Team China uniform on Friday.

Jianlian is playing for the Chinese team which lost to the Memphis Grizzlies 86-77 in the first day of action in Las Vegas.

Milwaukee drafted the Chinese player with the sixth pick in the 2007 NBA draft but the possibility that the Bucks might not be able to sign the 7-footer are growing day by day.

Jianlian is not happy he was selected by the club because he would prefer to play in a city which has a big Asian population. Bucks executives are trying to persuade their draft pick their city has much to offer and they even met with him for the first time this past Thursday.

Milwaukee general manager Larry Harris and head coach Larry Krystkowiak met with Jianlian for a good hour at the basketball player’s hotel he is staying at while in Vegas.

Harris characterized the meeting as one in which “there was a lot accomplished.”

While Jianlian would not comment about the meeting, he let his play on the basketball court on Friday speak for himself.

He scored 23 points on 7-of-15 shooting and he had a nice dunk over the Grizzlies’ talented Rudy Gay.

Memphis head coach, Marc Iavaroni, was especially impressed with Jianlian.

“He made the game look easy,” he said. “I think he’s going to be more physical than people think. And you definitely have to scheme him (defensively).”

The Grizzlies’ leader also noticed something else even more impressive about the big man.

“He played with no jitters at all,” he said.

That confidence should been a godsend for whichever NBA team Jianlian ends up playing with, whether it be the one in Milwaukee or not.

By Mike The Mechanic

July 8, 2007 10:02 AM | Link to this

Darious Rice, Denham Brown, Julius Hodge, Matt Walsh, Anthony Roberson, Ron Lewis, these are a few players I wish we had on our summer league roster to get a closer look at.

By the other Mike

July 8, 2007 9:12 AM | Link to this

HHoops tried to post back yesterday day couldn’t get in.

No HHoops not sure if we can get Bynum for that deal But for what it would take to sign Darko I think LA would be willing to make a deal. However nothing is certain. I’m just saying when we consider the cost of signing Darko lets see what other players could offer the same potential as Darko.

I concur on the Summer League sentiment. I remember when Dion Glover was the MVP of the Summer League, only to become a complete bust once the regular season started. One thing for sure, if guy is getting dominated in summer play it’s only going worst the regular season start.

By HHoops

July 8, 2007 8:46 AM | Link to this

How good is Terrance Thomas? Some think that he may be good enough to make the Hawks team this year. He could fill the need for a player that can play 2 & 3 that can score.

By Ernest

July 8, 2007 7:55 AM | Link to this

While the thought of Darko playing for the Hawks is intriguing, he doesn’t make sense if the reports of his price are true. Rumors were that he and Arroyo could have come to the Hawks for Harrington a few years ago however Woodson vetoed it because of his personal knowledge of Darko.

If this rumor was true, I still like the idea of Sheldon for Haywood in DC. I like the idea of having a legitimate 7 footer with size (girth) on the team. A change of scenery might do well for both players and enable them to make contributions.

By idecris

July 8, 2007 6:13 AM | Link to this

it could work.

coach with him before at detroit.

By Steve T

July 7, 2007 7:33 PM | Link to this

I would for you guys to take a look at Dan Gadzuric. Hs started ahead of Zaza when he was with the bucks. Let compare Dan to Joel. Both played similar minutse. Dan averaged 4.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 0.59 blocks. Joel avearged 2.0 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.56 blocks.

Let compare Dan to Jamal. Jamal played about 6 minutes more. Jamal avearged 6.5 points, 6.1 rebounds, and .81 blocks.

I would rather get Dan/Jamal because they can be very serviceable guys.
Dan played 40 minutes against Boston. He scored 20 points, and grabbed 15 rebounds. If we could get that kind of production from this guy, I would be happy. He may need to play 40 minutes some nights and we know that he could produce.

Jamal would be an excellent pick up. He has scored 27 points, grabbed 22 rebounds, and blocked 7 shots. With him, the hawks know that they will get a good rebounder and shot blocker.

By frustrated_ticketholder

July 7, 2007 6:27 PM | Link to this

I am seriously losing patience, I am a season ticket holder damn it we could have had stoudemire and who knows who would follow. I would go to the games with pride. I will stop ranting we need to get Darko, I think the Horford pick was good. I am not sold on Law to me it seems like he is a bigger version of stoudemire that is good if we want a back to JJ but the purpose was to draft a pass first point guard who can control the tempo so Bk has failed me again

By gregw

July 7, 2007 6:16 PM | Link to this

Darko isnt worth it!!!! Let someone else over pay for him. He wants 10M a year? Will anyone pay that much for him? Well if they do, let them. As an earlier poster stated, if Atlanta wants to become a half court team, then maybe he helps. I think we get more out of our investment with Pachulia(4M a year). Try to find an inexpensive banger for maybe 4-5 mill a year.

I would rather see us trade for a guy like Pryzbilla at Portland, who wont play much anyway now that Oden is there. I figure if we get 25 good minutes a night out of Pachulia and he can give us 10 and 7, then I am satisfied, Add a Pryzbilla/Magloire type for maybe 5 mill a year and get a good 15 minutes a night. they give u a few hard fouls/elbows and 5 or 6 boards a game. The rest of the time, u can use Shelden/Horford at the Center.

By Steve T

July 7, 2007 5:38 PM | Link to this

I had to say this but it started to look like the Hawks may have had the best draft. I know the summer league does not mean much, but it might be an indicator for us.

I was concerned about getting the number one pick. It would mean that we would have drafted you know. I did not think he was that good. I was not that impressed with him in college. The leg thing had me very concerned.

Everyone wanted Conley. I knew he was fast and could play the point. But he needed to develop some offense.

By Steve B.

July 7, 2007 4:51 PM | Link to this

Dako is a 7 foot 270 pounder, who will play inside get rebounds, block shots, and take up space. Yeah we do need that.

By Steve T

July 7, 2007 4:48 PM | Link to this

Hey C, I do not know a whole lot of 7 foot 275 pound forwatds.

I do not know why you guys want to trade Sjones. He will be pretty good if someone would work with him. The guy has a skills that is hard to teach…. shot blocking.

By C

July 7, 2007 4:05 PM | Link to this

Darko is basically a 7ft FORWARD. The Hawks DO NOT NEED ANY MORE FORWARDS!!!!

By reese

July 7, 2007 2:51 PM | Link to this

After watching Seattle’s jeff green and durant, does anyone else wonder what Seattle was thinking by trading away Ray Allen and not resigning Rashad Lewis.

Wouldn’t they have eased the transition of Durant and Green by learning from Ray and Rashad.

Wouldn’t the better scenerio be to have your 2 veteran star salaries complimented by 2 rookie stud contracts.

Wouldn’t Durant get more open looks when teams are trying to stop Ray and Rashad. Now, they can wait to see if durant is the real deal before devising schemes to neutralize him.

By reese

July 7, 2007 2:38 PM | Link to this

Yahoo sports was definitely generous with having durant and conley in the thumbs up. The hype machine is at work.

Durant was agressive in his debut. He tried scoring by driving and posting up. However, he either missed the shots or was bailed out by foul calls. He did hit a few deep jump shots. But I don’t remember him doing anything on defense.

Conley was not the most impressive guard on the Memphis team. Some guy named McFadden should have been listed in the thumbs up. Having McFadden on the floor with Conley took a lot of pressure off Conley who didn’t even start. The most memorable play concerning conley is when he stole the ball, dribbled down for an uncontested layup and got his shot blocked by the chinese point guard who ran him down.

Yi is the 2nd best player on the chinese team. Center Wang zhi zhi plays with the most confidence and Yi is his side kick. Wang Zhi Zhi and Yi played the same type of game as Durant, they showed that they will try to drive, post and shoot from the outside. The difference is that wang and Yi made more of their outside shots. If you drafted or signed Yi, Durant or Wang and expect them to bang down low, then you do not understand their games.

By mykhalc

July 7, 2007 2:09 PM | Link to this

HHOOPS, dreamin’ is a good thing!!!LOL

By HHoops

July 7, 2007 1:54 PM | Link to this

How about these two trades?

Trade #1 - Send S. Claxton to the Lakers, who need a point guard, for a 1st or 2nd round draft pick in 2009. That frees up 5-6 M. in cap space.

Trade #2 - Send L. Wright to the Magic, who need a post so they can play Howard at 4 and Lewis at 3, for a 2nd round draft pick in 2008. That frees up 3.2 M. in cap space.

Now you have 8-9 M. to sign Darko. If we get another 1-2 M. added to the cap next Wednesday, then we will have 9 M. of cap space when you count the expiring contracts of Lue, Salim, and AJ to sign J. Smith to an extension.

This is your line up:

1-Law, Lue, AJ

2-JJ, Childress, Salim, Law

3-J. Smith, M. Williams, Childress, JJ

4-Horford, J. Smith, S. Jones

5-Darko, Zaza, S. Williams, Horford

We may loose Childress next summer unless we could move Zaza in a trade. That would depend on how he plays and how the other posts players play.

I think these trades have possibilities! What do you think?

By doc

July 7, 2007 1:18 PM | Link to this

honest, i have said all along i wouldnt get yi and try to make a predatory cheetah into a bull. his primary game will never be defense so it is funny when people try to detract from his game because of it. all these guys had warts this year youth among the warts. yi’s offense and ultimately his aquired defense will make him a tremendous ballplayer.

i have never heard dirk mentioned with the defender tag by his name but i would still want him on my team if i had a chance to get him. there are very few talents out there that can play both sides of the ball equally well. one that comes to mind is the fundamental a 20/10/4/2 guy since he entered the league, what 8 years ago? that is a powerful statement.

rook leagues give us something to write about and keeps bball fresh in our minds. it is a foreboding for some players but nothing that they cant overcome. it is going to be dry when all is said and done in august as we bite on the bit until october comes around.

By Steve B.

July 7, 2007 1:12 PM | Link to this

Luke and Darko would get us into the play-offs next year. Blow off the idea of Orlando trading with us, it’s not likely to happen. Sea just dumped a lot of sallery, we should try to move any combo of ZaZa, Aj, Salim, Wright, Solo, Sheldon, Batista, or Lue to Sea for Luke. Then Sign Darko straight up. I think Luke only makes 2.5(i could be wrong), So dump some sallery om Sea. I don’t want to trade Chills either but if it could make this starting line up happen I would agree to it. Starers Luke and JJ in the backcourt, Marvin Smoove and Darko up front. We’re bigger, faster and more athletic.

By A Thinking Fan

July 7, 2007 12:26 PM | Link to this

NBA Summer League is well - summer league! It gives sports writers something to write about. It keeps the new wealthy b-ballers from the hustlers and women. Gives them a place to play unimpeded by fans.

By Steve T

July 7, 2007 11:46 AM | Link to this

This guy has potential. I know a lot of y’all hate that word, but he has also been productive in the NBA with his limited minutes. He is a good rebounder and shot blocker. He only played around 23 minutes a game. Let compare him to Zaza and see how he compares. You will be able to see how good this guy is because only played 5 more minutes. Darko was able to average 8.0 points and 5.5 rebounds. He average 1.1 assist and 1.75 blocks. In the mean time, Zaza averaged 12.2 points and 6.9 rebounds. He also 1.5 assist and ½ a block. There are two things that I see here about Darko. He is a better rebounder and shot blocker than Zaza. He is a serviceable guy who is young. He could improve and become a guy that could get you 14 points, 10 rebounds, and 2 blocks per game.

I have another guy who I think is very serviceable and his name is Dan Gadzuric. To make all comparision fair, we will look at his number when he played 22 minutes a game. During that time, he averaged 8.3 rebounds and 7.3 points. He also had 1.3 blocks per game.

I would take Darko and develop SJones. SJones if he develop can be a player in NBA. He is a pretty good shooter from both the field and at the line. he is a good rebounder and shot blocker.

If I was the Hawks, I would get this guy in an off season weight program. I would like to see him add another 15 - 20 pounds of muscles. I would like to see him follow JSmith to his workouts.

By honest_abe

July 7, 2007 11:44 AM | Link to this

doc: you check out the chinaman last night? he showed an impressive offensive repotoire, but did look pretty darn bad on the defensive end. but it’s not like the other sure fire draft picks didnt’ have their weaknesses…heh first thing to remember its summer league. second, these are a bunch of kids. i wasn’t as miffed by oden’s performance as i was by durant’s. summer league as we all know is a glorified pick up game. oden never got a chance to get it going after picking up to weak fouls in the early minutes of the game. durant on the other hand should more than shine in this type of setting. he showed a couple of nice offensive moves but brought absolutely nothing else to the table.

hhoops: i like chills too buddy. but are you really trying to debate me on the worth of a 6th man compared to a potential starting center? please. chills rookie contract works both ways. seeing as we most likely won’t sign both him and jsmith to extensions, chills is most likely the odd man out. the hawks should trade him in order to at least getting something in return instead of seeing him walk for nothing. once again, realize i’m one of chills biggest fans. i think he’s bring alot of intangibles to the team. he does plenty without having plays called or the ball in his hands. he finds ways to contribute in so many other ways. but he does have some injury issues and if i have to trade him to get a blocking machine i’d do it in a heartbeat. anyday.

By HHoops

July 7, 2007 11:40 AM | Link to this

By the other Mike,

Do you think that LA would go for this trade:

Lue (former Laker) and L. Wright for Bynum

If you can make that deal, DO IT NOW!

By the other Mike

July 7, 2007 11:14 AM | Link to this

I still say Kevin Cato could be a serviceable guy at the post for the Hawks. Again he’s not a world beater, but neither is most of the supporting cast for the Spurs. These are role players that are inexpensive which allow you to keep the core of your team intact. He played for the Knicks last season. He didn’t play any significant minutes due to injuries, but he’s 6’11’’ 275 pounds and he’s a shot blocker. Plus he’s been in the league about 10 years and he’s still young. His stats wants blow you away, which is good, that means you can get’em cheap for an AJ and LWright trade. The Knicks could use some expiring contracts.

If Darko is only viable Big available then yea you commit that kind of cash to sign him, but if there are other players still available, you have to be patient and evaluate all possible options. The NBA season just finished. Let’s evaluate all the deals. For that kind of transaction why not try to get Bynum from LA. He’s a young 7 footer with tremendous upside.

By HHoops

July 7, 2007 11:12 AM | Link to this

Honest Abe,

I understand your point of view. I want to win now also and I think Darko would be a major piece of the puzzle to get to the playoffs. If you consider our present owner situation, they are not going to go over the cap to make a trade. I’m trying to remember if they were prevented from going over the cap by the last court ruling. I believe the ruling said that they could make trades but could not go over the cap until ownership was decided. I may be wrong, but I don’t think so.

Let’s look and see if your proposal would work. After signing Horford(3.1 M) and Law (1.6 M), our cap space that we have right now, will disappear. We may get some more space after next Wednesday. Probably no more than 1-2 M.

Since Childress is still on his first contract, it would not be very smart to trade him with his present contract. You would not get very much value for a very valuable player that can play 3 positions. Trading three of your expiring contracts (AJ-2.6 M), Salim-.9 M, Lue-3.5 M, or L. Wright-3.2 M) would probably be enough to make the trade. But if you do that, you will have no money to resign J. Smith or J. Childress next summer.

I’m like you, I want to get Darko. I just don’t see how you can do it without forfeiting your future. Now, if we could get the Magic to take Speedy(5-6 M) with L. Wright in the sign and trade, we could probably do the deal. I don’t think that the Magic have any cap room left which means we will need to get a third team involved to make the deal work. I’m sure that the Hawks Brass are going over these same possible deals.

By doc

July 7, 2007 11:09 AM | Link to this

oh my, is oden taking on the same cloak as shels in roook leagu this year. fouled out with ten fouls and 6 points, naybe yi should have been to behind durrant who performed well in his first look.

now to speak of a true champion and take tongue clearly out of cheek. CONGRATS TO VENUS!

By honest_abe

July 7, 2007 11:05 AM | Link to this

found this on draftexpress.

Cenk Akyol, Atlanta Hawks- Akyol is also in the States right now, working out with renowned trainer Tim Grover in Chicago. Grover seems to like him a lot from the conversation we had with him earlier today, talking extensively about how well he shoots the ball, but also about his toughness, coachability, and the fact that “he’s a lot more athletic than people give him credit for.” Grover told us that he thinks Akyol should be able to make Atlanta’s roster and be effective for them, reminding us that he’s only 20 years old at the moment. The Hawks will be going to watch Akyol play later this week before he heads back to Turkey to join the national team in preparation for the European Championship in Spain starting in September. He’s reportedly only looking for a minimum contract, and would be amenable to being sent down to the D-League as well if he was asked to. From what we’ve seen of Akyol with the Turkish National team and Efes Pilsen before he surprisingly fell out of his team’s rotation, he looks like he would have been a very intriguing prospect had he not kept his name in the draft back in 2005. They very well could have gotten a steal with the recommendation their international scout Mark Crow made in the late 2nd round.

By doc

July 7, 2007 11:02 AM | Link to this

thanks evg, wonder if ray is reading and keeping up with how things go.

at the end of the season will the draft of 07 be bk folly mark 4? time will tell.

since others like to ramble on about bringing in talent, how would a line up to pull from look, if it had; yi, darko, solo, sheldon, zaza and j smash to divide time between 4 and 5. then have yi, j smoove, marvin, shels, jj and j chills to do stuff at 3 and/or 4? if i were a coach with an imagination you couldnt stop me from my own excitement. plug in horford and take out yi and darko and the glitter is gone.wont even go to the misses and possible looks we could have had in the backcourt. funny a lot could have been done to kep things at cap by those actions and more balance in the lineup than the way it is. they could have approached the portland oranization in imagination if they had it to give.

adam i sang your song for two years. you seem to have been affected by the ulysses’ sirens of this odessy with the last draft. as far as i am concerned it is now or never for this crew of leadership. i will follow honest of the boat after 50 years as a hawks fan if they cant deliver on their promise of the playoffs. all we get is double speak and cliches without any accountability for their actions. maybe four will be our lucky number.

first look, soon, in utah. i will get excited when i read how horford and law are a dynamic duo and dominating the league. two seasoned college players and lottery picks on the same squad, two guys inside and outside in that kind of a format should have a blast if allowed to show their stuff if it is there to show. go baby hawks!

honest, keep singing it loud that a cap is a misnomer. if you spend at cap you are only furthering the teams demise and admitting that you cant play with the big boys. there are few teams at cap or less, only two were there at the end of last season and both didnt make the playoffs; included of course is our hawks. we would be a very good team if teams had to spend to cap only as it does in the nhl and nfl. most teams would lose their superstars or cap misses in personel value evauation like the knicks who take the road of if we spend enough we will eventually get it right. bk doent get that kind of support. we will see soon if his plan comes together or the fan base is told that there is something to cheer for as the team goes beyond the cap base if only by a mil or two, that in itself would be a suggestion of things to come if only a symbol of it.

By Mike

July 7, 2007 10:36 AM | Link to this

Man its amazing summer league play just started and Yi is already getting dunk on, struggling with defense and getting push around. You can find all the articles you want this comment came from Yahoo sports, but that’s not a good sign for someone who supposes to play defense at the 4 and 5 spot in the NBA.

By honest_abe

July 7, 2007 10:31 AM | Link to this

i don’t know much in terms of the salary cap, but i didn’t think the salary cap meant all that much. after all isn’t it just a soft cap? if you go over you just pay a luxury tax which i believe is just a dollar for every dollar over. how much over the cap are the knicks? some of you make it seem like the hawks can’t spend anymore money if they reach the salary cap. i know our owners are a bunch of broke _ (i’ll let you fill in the blank) but if we get another owner, ie belkin he might be more apt to spend some change.!! my point being i don’t believe its prudent to count on next year when some free agents MIGHT be available. most likely the top free agents will either resign with their same team or try to sign with a contender. i’ve been saying lets be patient for the last five years. this is the end of the road for me. this year the hawks have to make the playoffs or i might just have to stop being a hawks fan until they get a new front office. i’ve been one of their most ardent supporters/defenders but if they can’t make the playoffs once again in the JV conference, i’m done.

look darko is a 22 yr old 7 ft 275 lb speciman who has show improvement when given the chance to play. he looked really good in the playoffs againt detroits mammoth front line. his ceiling is unlimited. look fellas the price of free agents are going up. jason kapono, jason who?, ya him the guy the comes into the game to shoot a couple of 3 pointers before exiting the game because he cant’ do anything else just signed for 6mil per/. so signing darko for 8-9 mil is not that outrageous.

i’m a hawks fan just like the rest of you so i understand if some of you have gotten emotionally attached to the current players and you don’t want to see any of them go. well its too bad that we have a glut of forwards and we don’t have any legitimate centers. darko is a legitimate center who i believe will blossom this year. the hawks need to broker a trade for him now! send chills, lo and aj in a sign and trade and i believe that will be sufficent.

having a frontcourt rotation of darko, zaza, shelden, jsmith, horford and solo gives you a lot of options on any given night and a bunch of big bodies with which to bang and guard that paint unlike previous years.

By HHoops

July 7, 2007 9:26 AM | Link to this

I have been thinking about this possible Darko trade. I want the Hawks to be the best they can be ASAP and I have been for the Darko trade up until now. If we sign Darko, then we will use ALL of our cap space in doing so and may need to give up a player to make it happen.

I’m like most of you, I like having money in the bank. I know that there will come a time when I am going to need the money for something. The Hawks are the same way. If they give up these expiring contracts now on a trade, we will not have the 10 million that they will add to our cap space next summer when there are going to be some really great free agents available. Plus, there may be an opportunity to pick up a valuable player before the trade deadline if we see that we can get a player that may help put us in the playoffs.

I like the team that we have right now. I wish that we had a better post player than Zaza, but he and Horford and S. Williams may have to get us through this season @ the 5 position. Let’s just stay the course right now and see what other options come our way.

You know when you really think about it, being a GM for a professional sports team, is a pretty tough job. You don’t have the ability to see into the future. You can only predict it. Injuries are going to happen. How do you predict when and to whom they are going to happen?

Can we make the playoffs with the team that we have right now? Maybe, with some luck on injuries.

By mike

July 7, 2007 8:13 AM | Link to this

Darko is not what this team needs. We need a vet how can help us close out games. This team lost a 10 games by 5 points or less. and let’s not forget the injuries… We are very close guys let’s not blow it with a Domnique Wilkens type trade (thanks for that one Sam K)

By fidgety!

July 7, 2007 5:01 AM | Link to this

Also excited to see Derek Raivio at least have the opportunity to play in Summer League. BUT I would consider him more of a combo guard as opposed to a true point, and yes at Gonzaga he was absolutely the LAST guy anybody wanted to foul. He ended his college career as the second-most accurate from the FT line in NCAA history. I also agree he is an EXTREME long shot to stick but his getting the opportunity to play is good.

By evg

July 7, 2007 1:30 AM | Link to this

Hey guys, read the article below from NBA.com concerning Yi and Gay:

The Duel: Yi vs. Gay By Maurice Brooks Posted Jul 6 2007 11:16PM

2007 Summer League Blog presented by adidas NBA Summer League Index Maurice Brooks Archive The Wright Stuff

Garrett Ellwood/NBAE/Getty Images Flights like this is why Gay is a fan favorite.

LAS VEGAS, July 6, 2007 — The Mavericks’ Jose Juan Barea did a masterful job of running the point, the Sixers’ Louis Amundson flexed his muscles in the paint and the Sonics’ Kevin Durant showed flashes of promise during the opening day of the NBA Summer League presented by adidas.

Still, in a day full of sparkling performances by players trying to show the crowd inside Cox Pavilion what they could do, the Grizzlies’ Rudy Gay and Team China Basketball’s Yi Jianlian were the biggest stars.

Gay, the second-year swingman, brought the crowd to its feet on several occasions demonstrating why he is one of the best high flyers in the league. He set the tone early, dropping seven points on 3-for-5 from the floor, to help the Grizzlies take an early first-quarter lead.

Yi, who the Bucks selected with the sixth pick of last week’s NBA Draft, was not to be outdone.

After getting posterized early in the game by the Grizzlies’ Alexander Johnson and picking up four fouls in four minutes (no that is not a typo), he began to fulfill the hype.

He nailed a couple of jumpers. He pulled down an offensive rebound and flushed it home. And then in one of the best sequences of the day, he elevated to block a shot near the rim, ran the floor, received a pass in traffic and dunked it home drawing the foul.

The play, which happened early in the second quarter, will probably end up on YouTube.

A few minutes later Gay did a play that will end up on YouTube.

With the side of the floor cleared out and Yi defending, Gay drove baseline, came up on the other side of the rim and jammed in Yi’s mug. He drew a technical foul for taunting but I’m sure the Grizzlies’ coaches didn’t mind.

The duo’s numbers at halftime almost had you questioning what they were doing on the court with everyone else. They seemed to be playing at a different speed.

At intermission: Yi had 14 points on 5-for-11 shooting from the floor, 4-for-7 from the line and three boards. He also had five turnovers and seven fouls (remember in summer league it’s 10 to foul out) but nobody is perfect.

At the same point, Gay led all scorers with 19 points on 7-for-9 shooting. He was 2-for-2 from beyond the arc and also grabbed six rebounds as Memphis built a 47-35 advantage.

In the second half, both players slowed down the pace a bit leaving the crowd wanting more.

At one point a fan could be heard screaming to Gay, “Rudy, please give us one more dunk.”

And he almost obliged late in the fourth quarter. Running up the right wing, Gay cocked the ball back in preparation for another monster jam only to watch it slip out of his hands and out of bounds.

Turnover aside, new Grizzlies head coach Marc Iavaroni was impressed with the play of his super sophomore.

“I like Rudy playing inside,” Iavaroni said. “He asserted himself today and showed that he can play inside and outside. He knows he needs to improve his defense but I love the fire he played with.”

Over the final 20 minutes, Yi only committed two more turnovers and didn’t have anymore fouls. He finished the contest with 23 points on 7-for-15 shooting and added four rebounds. The reason his offensive numbers slowed down is because teammate Wang Zhizhi went nuts offensively in the final period.

Zhizhi scored 14 of his game-high 27 points in the last quarter to lead a rally but in the end Memphis hung on for an 86-77 victory.

“We had a chance to win the game but we had too many turnovers,” Yi said. “I think we played better today than we did in our last game.”

Gay, who finished with 21 points, three steals and two assists, was pleased with his performance.

“I want to be more aggressive this season and prove that I can be one of the best,” Gay said. “Everyone knows I can score but in the second half tonight I tried to get my teammates involved.”

Gay also had nothing but kind words on the play of Yi.

“He is a good talent,” said Gay about Yi. “He can shoot it and he can pass. He does a lot of different things.”

By reese

July 7, 2007 12:51 AM | Link to this

Adam, the team would have been built around the collective combination of jason, theo and rasheed. Taking 1 and singling out their weaknesses can be done against several teams.

Theo was averaging 3 blocks a game before the trade. Rasheed was the missing piece to allow Detroit to change their season and win a championship. Jason Terry was an integral piece to getting Dallas to the championship series against Miami.

The key is that they were a piece. Billy still would have needed to find a point guard and small forward (he has not had any problems finding small forwards).

If you don’t feel that those three could have gotten atlanta to the playoffs and deem them to be too expensive, then yes your the type of fan that BK is looking to appease.

I on the other hand am going to question and challenge his approach untilthey make the playoffs.

By the way, I didn’t win the lottery. Time to watch Dallas against Seattle in a summer league game. Boy, Dallas’ summer league team looks more balanced size wise than the hawks.

By Adam Krohn

July 7, 2007 12:18 AM | Link to this

I honestly don’t think you can build a team around Jason Terry. If he’s not shooting the ball well, he offers nothing else. To me, he’s just a scorer. Theo was/is always hurt, and you saw Rasheed give up at the end of the Cavs series - he’s a cry baby. I don’t think those players were the building blocks to a championship. But they would have been really expensive.

By reese

July 6, 2007 11:30 PM | Link to this

Adam, BK’s early mantra was that he did not see a need to be over or at the salary cap and have a losing team.

Therefore, he went about getting rid of every player and starting over his way. I’m over it but my contention is that he could have just traded shareef 1 all star for rasheed 1 all star. Then, we could have built around jason terry, rasheed and theo.

You last paragraph about hard to correct 4 decades in the making leads me to believe that you are on the same mindset as Tyger.

The last I have to say about the past kasten and babcock eras are I enjoyed watching our player balanced hawks teams in the playoffs. It made the playoffs more interesting for me personally.

Whether its the owners fault, Billy’s fault, the coaches fault or the players fault, one stroke of the judges pen can bring about changes to all.

I just wish that I could see a more balanced team that makes the playoffs before any of that happens.

But hey, let me go check my lottery numbers. I have just about an equal chance when compared to this team billy has assembled.

By terrell

July 6, 2007 10:50 PM | Link to this

Where ya at BK? Its time to make a move man. Magloire/Eddie Jones. Let somebody else overpay for Darko.

By Adam Krohn

July 6, 2007 10:45 PM | Link to this

Reese,

I wouldn’t say BK overspent on those rookies. Whoever he drafted at that spot would have cost the same. Marvin and Sheldon might take awhile to develop, and it’s too soon to dub them busts (although the last two rookie of the year winners were drafted right after the Hawks selections).

Speedy Claxton (a career backup) was clearly a mistake, and Lorenzen Wright, for what he brings to the table, is a waste of cap space - I’ll give you that.

As for JJ, the Hawks, I don’t believe, had a choice. They had to start somewhere, and no one is going to willingly come to a team that just came off a 13-win season - unless that team offers them a boatload of cash. The only mistake, if any, was not calling Phoenix out on their bluff to match the offer, keeping the draft picks in the process. But then again, Phoenix may not have been bluffing (as far as salary cap space, the Bird rule allows you to resign your own players without penalty).

As for drafting all these forwards, I do believe it’s a learning experience for them to play interchangeably and out of position early on. Later on, when some of the positions are filled, their experience will add depth and make a lot more sense.

Of course, you could be right. Knight might be screwing this up, but turning around a mess 4 decades in the making takes some time.

By reese

July 6, 2007 10:43 PM | Link to this

Tyger, if you are not happy with 15 out of 20 years of playoff basketball and feel better about the team/approach that billy knight is taking, then I don’t know what to say to you anymore.

But it wouldn’t be any fun if I didn’t say anything.

Therefore, my point is that kasten and babcock was successful and sustained 15 playoff appearences in 20 years by relying on trades and free agency instead of depending on their draft picks.

Yes, they had good coaches during that span. These were coaches who valued veterans over rookies and the GM brought them what they requested.

Don’t get me wrong, Billy has brought woodson what he requested. Woodson asked for veteran point guards and billy has brought in tlue, anthony johnson and speedy claxton. Woodson has asked for big men to man the paint. Billy has brought in shelden, zaza, wright, slava, batista, solomon and now horford.

Billy is listening, he just isn’t getting the same caliper of players like Antoine carr, kevin willis, spud web, steve smith, mookie blaylock and dikembe mutombo that were part of those 15 playoff appearences.

By HHoops

July 6, 2007 10:43 PM | Link to this

Alright all of you Hawks Junkies, let’s start another discussion about the future of the Hawks.

What current players of the Hawks will still be on the team when they start the 2008-09 season?

I predict that the Hawks will still have the following players to start the 2008-09 season:

1- Law & Claxton

2- JJ & Childress

3- J. Smith & M. Williams

4- A. Horford, S. Jones

5- Zaza,

Traded or not resigned - AJ, Lue, Salim S., L. Wright, S. Williams

I predict that this will have to take place in order to keep the key players in place and hopefully be able to add other key players.

What do you think?

By reese

July 6, 2007 10:28 PM | Link to this

Adam, I also believe in answer d (billy knight is really trying). However, that is the sad part. His approach is flawed and he is too stubborn to adjust to another approach.

In the 5 years he has drafted for the hawks. Would it have hurt to draft 2 point guards, 2 shooting guards, 2 small forwards, 2 power forwards and 2 centers.

Instead he drafted 7 players around the same height and the coach plays 6 of them or will play them out of position (childress pg, Marvin sg/pf, j smith pf, shelden c, horford c, donta smith sg)

Also, BK has overspent on scrubs (wright, speeedy, anthony johnson), overspent on wrong draft picks (shelden and marvin) and thats why we are at the salary cap and can’t sign any free agents outright. BK has admitted that he overspent on Joe Johnson, but it does not draw as much criticism anymore because we needed a player to build around and there are far many more worse players making just as much or more.

By Travis

July 6, 2007 10:26 PM | Link to this

Well, if the Hawks don’t make any free agent pickups, we are going to start the season in 12th place in the East. Detroit,Clev,Toronto,Miami,Chicago,NJ,Washington, and Orl.are the same teams or have gotten stronger, and NY,Boston, and Charlotte have a better team than us, at this point. Looking at it this way seems very dim. Some of y’all are still cryin over who we should have picked in the draft. Deal with this reality. We are not better than any of these 11 teams and the season ain’t started yet. WHAT ARE WE WAITING ON???!!!

By reese

July 6, 2007 9:56 PM | Link to this

Flash, this is the 2nd time that you have mentioned getting rid of Josh Smith. Are you just kidding or do you hate watching talented, athletic, work hard to improve their game players like Josh Smith.

I know that he is not Coppenwrath, but hey thats a good thing.

By Paul

July 6, 2007 9:47 PM | Link to this

Oh and the trade for Wesley Person as well. Not doubting him totally but his decisions in the past and here we are now. Better but could be more.

By Paul

July 6, 2007 9:45 PM | Link to this

Interesting how Billy Knight is supposedly not able to spend the big bucks when all he has been doing for the past 5-6 years is trading and etc. for guys with expiring contracts i.e. Bob Sura, Rasheed Wallace, Dan Dickau, Zeljko Rebraca, Chris Mills, Terrell Brandon(which was just for his contract that was expiring and never played a game), etc. Still don’t know why Knight would trade a player like Rasheed Wallace regardless of his attitude? Interesting how knight said, “I think this is what’s best for the Hawks,” Hawks general manager Billy Knight said. “I’m trying to build a team for the long haul in the best way possible. Rasheed’s a heck of a player, but I think this is best for us and best for him.”…Wrong answer.

By Macaroni Tony

July 6, 2007 9:37 PM | Link to this

I can not understand for the life of me why do some of you all want to get rid of a 22 year old stud like JS. This guy is working out with the Dream and getting better while Holford nor Law have not made a single basket in the NBA. And Darko is one of the biggest damn bust out there yes even bigger than Kwame Brown. I wouldn’t even trade LW for this guy, but you want to give up a great 22 year old (JS) for a 22 year old chump in Darko. Some of you need to check yourself because drift too much. MW & JC will have great seasons but some you want to get ride of them for people like Luke and s&&t how dum is that. (Without the injuries that we had a last season then we would have been a much better team) Go Hawks

By Steve B.

July 6, 2007 9:16 PM | Link to this

Darko will give this team much needed size and bulk in the middle. If we can get him and some how land Luke Ridnour to start in front of AC we could finnaly make that play-off push.

By Adam Krohn

July 6, 2007 8:47 PM | Link to this

Anakin Joe, Thanks. I’m glad that out of the 650+ words you read, that’s the only thing you saw.

By Anakin Joe

July 6, 2007 7:50 PM | Link to this

Adam, interesting article. Especially that part where we would have had to trade Dallas’ coach (Avery Johnson) to Phoenix for Amare. Somehow, I doubt Mark Cuban would have allowed that to happen. But then again, it would have facilitated Amare leaving the Western Conference, so maybe Cuban would have allowed it after all.

By Greg Hopkins

July 6, 2007 7:41 PM | Link to this

Try this:Terrance Thomas Euro Stats [www.tasm.org/detail-TerranceT.html] Don’t know why the other link didn’t work.

By The Flash

July 6, 2007 6:51 PM | Link to this

I’d move Smooth and some of the dead weight for Darko and a pick or Darko and a shooter, JJ perhaps.

By Greg Hopkins

July 6, 2007 6:41 PM | Link to this

If you didn’t believe me about Terrance Thomas, Chech this out www.tasm.org/detail-TerranceT.html. ATL, you got yourselves a baller. In the basketball world 37ppg, 18rpg in the top European League is balling. 37and 18 anywhere is balling, your local YMCA Included. The Flyers Coach didn’t know what he had until after 1/3 of the season had passed. So the D-League stats don’t Show you everything. However a Triple Double in the NBDL and 14 double doubles from the SG and SF position this past season is again, Ballinggggg. G-Hop (Basketball Junkie)

By The Flash

July 6, 2007 6:30 PM | Link to this

For some reason, my postings have not been appearing for some time now. Must be a conspiracy.

By Adam Krohn

July 6, 2007 5:42 PM | Link to this

I don’t really see Knight spending the big bucks in free agency. The Hawks aren’t yet in a position to start spending the big bucks. I think they’ll need a winning season before ownership sees a reason to spend money.

http://sundaypaper.com/CurrentArticles/tabid/98/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/315/070807-SPORTSTALK-A-genius-or-a-fool.aspx

By Tyger

July 6, 2007 5:37 PM | Link to this

Reese

The Babcock-Kasten era did produce several playoff appearances that went nowhere. They were blessed with great coaching: Lenny Wilkens, Hubie Brown and Mike Fratello during those runs.

But the achilles heel, just as much due to MJ, Bird, Isiah, etc., was the lack of young legs and any draft success. Yes, trades and free agency do provide the veterans to carry the bulk of the load, but at some point you have to get it right in the draft for balance, the spark you need, and thats where the evil regime repeatedly missed and were always stuck with aged players and capped out with no future.

Now, we are just the opposite. And drafting late is no excuse, if you have an eye for talent. Its common knowledge how many good players Babcock missed over the years, where, BK has hit on Josh Smith #17, Salim #31, Solomon #36.

Babcock had 4 #1’s one year and only JTerry is still a player.

By Greg Hopkins

July 6, 2007 5:37 PM | Link to this

Keep your eye on Terrance Thomas. Living in Dallas he was the anchor for the Flyers. The Flyers were one of the best teams last season with alot of call ups. Azubike(Warriors), Jeremy Richardson (Hawks, Blazers) Luke Schenscher(Blazers)and Popsu and Ager (Mavs). He is 6’8 w/ handles like Isiah, crossover like Iverson, boards like Rodman and he shoots the long ball exceptionally well. He kept them hovering right at the top all season. He also recorded a triple double and came close on several other occasions. G-Hop (basketball junkie)

By ScoobySnacks

July 6, 2007 5:36 PM | Link to this

Personally I am ready to just line up and play. Maybe add another shooter. But the fact is adding Acie and Al makes us better. How much better, can’t really know until this new group has a couple games under its belt. Marvin may have something to show us. And Josh Smith has been staying after school with some heavy weight tutors. Say I say we might not want to make any more moves (unless it is to exchange those extra 1’s for a 2) until we see just what we have.

By redhawk

July 6, 2007 5:35 PM | Link to this

I would never trade Josh Childress for Darko—that’s trading a player for a body. Chill brings energy and points off the bench. Since the Sonics got Delonte West via trade, they have three viable point guards (with Ridenour and Earl Watson). Any chance of getting Ridenour for AJ and TLue? or a little more? One more thing, can we please not play Joe Johnson 45 mins a game this year? He is the man. Don’t wear him out.

By Lifelong Hawks Fan

July 6, 2007 5:04 PM | Link to this

newkid, you hit the head on the nail with that one! That was very well thought out Joe. I don’t think most people take anything like that into account when dreaming up trade scenarios for this team. In all fairness to them, they love their Hawks!

By newkid

July 6, 2007 4:45 PM | Link to this

AJ, thanks for your 4:02 post. Amazing how many apparently don’t get that concept.

By G Money

July 6, 2007 4:17 PM | Link to this

The reality is that the Hawks have nice pieces but few are seasoned and most importantly the system that was used in the past is not the system that will get us wins with the players we have now. As someone said earlier, the system has to fit the players, not the other way around. If Woody can’t do it, then he needs to be excused.

With a new system and barring injury, the Hawks should be good for 40+ games. Last year in November we had a winning pct of 46% and 53% in January. In November, we were at our healthiest and without Speedy and Marvin. In January there were only a few nicks. Now that we are actually deeper (better players all around with everyone healthy), we should improve. With injury, I think we still have a shot at 35 to 40 wins. Speedy can only be used sparingly or else he’ll break. Law has to come around in the first couple of months. If eveyone is working out like JSmoove reportedly is, there is no reason why we can’t be a .500 ball club. I’ll take that for starters.

By reese

July 6, 2007 4:10 PM | Link to this

Tyger, the babcock and kasten era’s showcased some of the best basketball in the Atlanta franchise history.

A team is built via trades, free agency and draft.

Babcock and Kasten had teams that were in the playoffs 15 of those 20 years and were drafting late in the first round.

In other words they utilized free agency and trades more than the draft to sustain playoff teams.

Their biggest problem is that they played in eras that contained Dr J, Moses, Maurice cheeks, Malone, Magic, kareem and worthy, parish, mchale, bird, isaiah, dumars, rodman, jordan, pippen, olujuwon, duncan and robinson.

Babcock gave a team 4 years to achieve success and then he started swapping out players. After 4 years of not making the playoffs, the team swapped him out.

Last year was BK’s 4 year and he is at the make or break year for determining which players to keep and which to let go. The fact that we have reached the salary cap with 7 rookie contracts to me indicates that he is overpaying some of the other players.

As far as darko goes, do you really think that Mike woodson wants this guy.

By Anakin Joe

July 6, 2007 4:02 PM | Link to this

Even if you want to trade Josh Smith, there is NO way that you do so this year. His value is far greater than his contract. He is being paid like a bench player while obviously he has the potential to produce 18/8/3 blocks type numbers. So trading him while he is on his rookie contract will result in bringing back very little value (I hope that most understand that you can’t trade a $3M player for a $10M player straight up). So unless there is another poorly paid player with comparable production, trading SMith now is straight up stupid.

By Patrick

July 6, 2007 3:57 PM | Link to this

Sekou Any word on Josh Smith’s contract talks?

By mykhalc

July 6, 2007 3:52 PM | Link to this

DKM, so in your mind YI is ALREADY worth JSMITH, who is close to bein’ a 20/10 guy??? i don’t get your thinkin’ but it is just a BLOG and we can say and think it ANY KINDA way!!! JS’ production far outweighs ANY POTENTIAL that YI might currently possess, IMHO!! i bet ya most BUCKS fans would like your trade idea!!!

By DKM

July 6, 2007 3:32 PM | Link to this

After picking another undersized forward in the draft and talking about him playing center like ZaZa last season, signing Darko would be a step in the right direction. Somebody said it wouldn’t work without a trade and I still say get on the phone and get Yi from Milwaukee for Josh Smith and two of the veteran point guards. Please hurry as the Lakers are probably sniffing around right now! An incredible lineup would be Darko at center, Horford at PF, Yi at SF, JJ at SG, and Law at PG with ZaZa(C)(PF), M. Williams(SF)(SG), AJ (PG), and JChildress(SF) coming off the bench! Great competition at every position and a manageable payroll. 50 wins at least for 5 years and Coach could play whoever is hot that night! big tall team that couldn’t be posted up in the slow Eastern Conference. Offense in the 100s every night. When they learn to play defense, we win the East and challenge for the title!

By brandon

July 6, 2007 3:12 PM | Link to this

to lifelong hawk fan, donell taylor spent the last 2 years with the Wizards and is a restricted free agent, while twin brother ronell taylor wasin the d-league at idaho last year and played in the d-league all-star game. Both played at okaloosa walton community college and at uab.

By musicmanswatlx2007

July 6, 2007 2:54 PM | Link to this

i,m here to say that the hawks have taken my love and abused it. there’s no way i would have WASTED my 3rd pick on al hordford 3 years, 3 forwards, 8 strait losing seasons, make it 9 al won’t change that. i would have taken yi, at the very least yi would have attracted more fans[asian] but atleast there would have been more people in phillips than just the players…..the hawks should get rid of joe johnson and josh smith because those are great players who shouldn’t have to go down in mediocrity with the owners and coach, a staff that traded a 2nd round pick for a point that’s probally too old to resign, why do that’s this was our year to have three picks and make our name felt in our division. oh i love the new uni’s too bad the new look hawks are going to take an old fashioned beating. but what’s better than looking good while losing, if you can’t win. welcome to atlanta but don’t expect exellence because we don’t!

By Tyger

July 6, 2007 2:39 PM | Link to this

Hawks Recent Draft Success

For all the long timers, you’ve got to respect the recent success experienced by the Hawks in re. the draft.

After 20 years of futility, by Pete Babcock and Snake Kasten, the Hawks have accumulated quite an impressive list of draftees:

Acquired #7 Lo Wright, #10 Joe Johnson

Considering our past, this is a pretty impressive list considering Babcock-Kasten players were out of the league after 3 years and the franchise was left with nothing to show from the draft year-in, year-out.

Eventually they fired the winningest coach in the NBA b/c the NYKnicks ran us out, but thats was b/c we had no young legs due to all the wasted drafts. The rest is history and we havent sniffed the playoffs since after 6 consecutive appearances.

By Ricky Tan (SC)

July 6, 2007 2:27 PM | Link to this

I’m so psyched to see the Hawks play this year! We finally have a chance to be decent with Acie Law and an absolute stud in Horford to go along with the usual suspects Josh Smith and Joe Johnson. Adding Darko would definitely make us a playoff team, but here’s another name to throw out there - Maurice Williams. Cat is young, a good shooter and a pure point and could play the 2 at times w/ Acie Law. Go HAWKS!!!

By Old Hoosier

July 6, 2007 1:35 PM | Link to this

Todd Abernathy should make the roster. Great family history as his dad played for IU, and Todd did a great job in the state of Mississippi.

Calloway is turnover waiting to happen.

By Voice of Reason

July 6, 2007 1:32 PM | Link to this

Fits off to answer some of the questions as to what happens now that the Magic have made Darko a free agent. The Magic can still sign Darko to a max contract if they wanted to since he is their free agent they can go over to the cap to retain him. The only difference between restricted and un restricted is that before all the Magic had to do was match an offer to keep him and now they will have to either spend more than the other guy or let him walk.

The Second thing I wanted to comment on is how many people actaully want this guy. I am a Magic fan I would tell all of Atlanta Fans that if you guys traded to get this guy at 9-10 million a year then you guys should go and kill Billy Knight. When I read that the Magic rescended their offer about did flips at my computer. I was worried that we would do something stupid and sign him to a 10 mil contract and have us lose Rashard Lewis. Now we can sign both or if his agent really wants to hold to the Darko will never play for the Magic we can rip off some other team for something in return. Seeing as anyone with enough cap space doesn’t want to sign him he will have to make his money in a sign and trade.

As a Magic fan if the Hawks wanted to throw in any big bodied rebounder that can play PF I would hop on that trade in a minute heck he doesn’t even have to be a starter just a backup for us we are short up front and need someone who can play 20-25 mins a game.

By Anakin Joe

July 6, 2007 1:30 PM | Link to this

Thanks Sekou. And I’m looking forward to your reviews of the various soul food joints in Utah.

Newkid, yeah, an anvil on the throat of loyal Hawks fans. I’m not excited about the current group of FAs and would be okay standing pat. If by some miracle we are in the playoff hunt in January, then maybe we can turn those expiring contracts into a mid-season trade to get us over the hump. But assuming everyone stays relatively healthy, we have good depth and should go 10 deep (I’m assuming Lue will end up as the back-up SG with Law & Speedy manning the PG position).

This is likely the last year for this regime, as I have zero confidence that we will win more than 36 games. So I’d rather leave a little cash for the next GM/Coach combo than see BK/Woody waste it away.

By lost in space

July 6, 2007 12:49 PM | Link to this

hey flash, i’ve been reading this blog for over a year and I still don’t get this obsession you have for wanting to trade josh smith?

By Roman

July 6, 2007 12:49 PM | Link to this

I have to admit I am excited to see Derek Raivio on the Hawks summer league team. I know he is probably a REAL long shot to make the team, but I was always impressed with his game at Gonzaga. Good shooter, ball-handler, and played well against a lot of tough teams. I also remember him being like a 90%+ FT shooter. It should be fun watching him at least during summer ball.

By newkid

July 6, 2007 12:47 PM | Link to this

Sekou/AJ, considering the ASG’s ~$4.7 million commitment to the two draft choices, the Hawks currently are committed to about $53.3 million in salary for 07/08 (14 players). With the Raptors already committing ~$6 million to Kapono (on top of their $52+ million to other players under contract), it’s likely that the word’s been leaked to the teams to expect a 07/08 salary cap in the $58+ million range. If so, we’ll have about $5 million with which to acquire a FA (w/out exceeding cap), but this could move up or down with trades.

However, as some have already pointed out, there’s also the need to consider how 07/08 contract decisions might affect opportunities (to acquire players and re-sign our own) over the next several seasons. If the courts continue to restrict us to staying at/beneath the salary cap, that ~$10 million in expiring contracts could be of vital importance in pursuing FAs next summer and paying Smoove. This unresolved matter with ownership is one hell of an albatross, isn’t it.

By Earl's Fan

July 6, 2007 12:42 PM | Link to this

Earl Calloway’s play as a senior at Indiana certainly earned him a tryout at a summer NBA camp. I am now a Hawks fan because they have given him that tryout.

By J

July 6, 2007 12:08 PM | Link to this

WHY SHOULD ANYONE LISTEN TO TONY SHOULD BE THE QUESTION ASKED!!! AS HE STATES, MIKE CONLEY WILL LEAD HIS TEAM TO THE FINALS … HAHA

By GA Buckeye

July 6, 2007 11:34 AM | Link to this

Hey Sekou, what’s the story with Medvendenko?

By Sekou K. Smith

July 6, 2007 11:27 AM | Link to this

Anakin Joe,

They haven’t signed anything yet so I didn’t include them. But you know the No. 3 pick is slotted for over $3.1 million this season and the No. 11 pick $1.6 million.

But the new numbers for the cap (and thus the luxury tax threshold will be out on the 11th), so that’s why the amount of cap space the Hawks have right now could go up or down depending on things turn out.

By The Flash

July 6, 2007 11:23 AM | Link to this

Is there anyone else on Orlando that we would also want and could get, aka the Turk. I’m thinking moving Smooth to Orlando to join his boy Howard; we get a big and the Turk, or better still, the other JJ. Or maybe a three way, getting Darko and an asset from someone else, or Darko and a pick for Smooth and some trash thrown in. Just a thought.

By G Money

July 6, 2007 10:49 AM | Link to this

Sekou,

Just wondering…what happens after the 11th that the cap may increase? Are some trades or signings in the offing? Haven’t Horford and Law’s contracts already been acconted for?

By MikeM

July 6, 2007 10:41 AM | Link to this

Everyone complains about how unproductive Speedy was for his nearly $6 million per year, and now there are some that jump on the Darko bandwagon for around $9 mil per? Has anyone actually seen Darko play? 24 minutes per game last year: he showed potential in 3-4 of those minutes per game, and spent the remaining 20 minutes picking up fouls and daydreaming.

I’m all for getting someone with size at 7 feet and 245lbs. But to go after one of the biggest busts in NBA Draft history at such an unreasonable price is a horrible idea. Plus as someone mentioned earlier, he is still a project. Everyone agrees that the Hawks need a veteran big man, and it has become painfully obvious to me that this coaching staff is terrible at developing talent.

For the first time I am thankful that the disfunctional Atlanta Spirit will not be able to decide on this one.

By Anakin Joe

July 6, 2007 10:38 AM | Link to this

Sekou, does you $4-5M range include the slotted salaries for Horford & Law? For some reason, I thought we were closer to maybe $1-2M under the salary cap.

By HHoops

July 6, 2007 10:36 AM | Link to this

Roman,

I’m with you on that line up. Don’t forget to add J. Childress (23 yrs.)to your bench. That team can be really good for years to come!

According to the information that Sekou Smith just posted, the Hawks are going to be under the cap by 7 million (+ or -) after next Wednesday. Will that be enough to sign Darko? I hope it will. I’m not sure that I would go any higher for him.

Look at the expiring contracts that Sekou Smith just posted. The Hawks will have 10 million available after this next season, if they do not resign any of those players, to resign J. Smith and J. Childress. Will that be enough? I would really hate to loose either one of them. We need for Speedy to play well early this next season and stay injury free while Law is coming along. Maybe there will be some teams interested in Speedy in a trade. That could free up some money to use to resign Smith and Childress also.

I think that you will agree, the Hawks are very close to being really good for the 2007-08 season!

By MagicFan

July 6, 2007 10:22 AM | Link to this

Darko should stay with the Magic. He’s got Dwight and Rashard now. Who would you rather play with? His agent needs to get over his feelings being hurt and sign with the Magic.

By Sekou K. Smith

July 6, 2007 9:51 AM | Link to this

HHoops,

Lue ($3.5 million), Salim (under a million), AJ ($2.6) and Lo Wright ($3.2) are all playing out the final years of their respective deals.

Speedy has three years and over $17 million remaining on his deal. Shelden has potentially four years and about $16.5 million remaining on his deal (provided the all the options are picked up on his rookie deal during that span).

The “actual” cap figure won’t be known until the 11th, btu as of right now the Hawks are in the $4-$5 million range in terms of cap space. That number could rise after the 11th.

By clint

July 6, 2007 9:45 AM | Link to this

Extend jsmooves contract soon, don’t p** him off by waiting till the last minute. I know the norm is to wait until you have made moves for players outside the organization, but if his contract is not extended it will be as bad as the smith-rider trade. Only the second worst blunder compared to the nique-manning deal. Extend this hawk soon.

By Roman

July 6, 2007 9:30 AM | Link to this

I’d love to see the Hawks get a hold of Darko. This guy comes in with a stigma about being a bust, but remember that he is only 5 days older than our 1st round pick Acie Law IV.

Darko played really well against Detroit in this year’s playoffs. His offense game is still developing but he is a really good shot blocker and like people say, you can’t teach height.

Think of how young and exciting this team would be in a few years: PG: Law IV (22 years old) SG: JJ (26 years old) SF: Josh Smith (21 years old) PF: Horford (21 years old) C: Darko (22 years old)

Bench: Zaza: 23 years old Marvin: 21 years old Solomon: 23 years old

That is an impressive young roster. I know fans are itching to win NOW, but I think that team would have a chance to grab a 7th or 8th seed in the East and would be have a strong nucleus for the future.

By doc

July 6, 2007 9:11 AM | Link to this

whoo irony, that is deep. no the irony of it is that coincidence may truly be the synchronicity of life, the invisible driving force behind it all that jung said was only leaving man who thinks he is in control absolutely helpless. it is in the stars, i ching whatever, seek and ye shall find.

the irony is now i am left to wonder where the irony, coincidence or sychronicity of this blog is. irony, now where did that come from enlighten please or have you disappeared forever leaving us pause to reflect?

okay back to reality, do you really think there are any movements coming up that will truly take this team beyond the 37 to 40 victories that this squad without injury during a long season can muster?

By HHoops

July 6, 2007 9:03 AM | Link to this

SEKOU,

What are the individual yearly contracts of the following players worth and when are they up:

Anthony Johnson Tyron Lue Speedy Claxton Salim Stodamire Lorenzen Wright Shelden Williams

Last question, what is the actual figure that the Hawks are under the salary cap right now? I know that it will go up next Wednesday.

Thanks!

By HHoops

July 6, 2007 8:54 AM | Link to this

Whether to sign Darko or not is a coaching decission in my opinion. Most coaches are going to play at a tempo that they are comfortable with and that they believe in. A few coaches have the ability to play at any tempo as long as it fits their personnel. In my opinion if you look at the Hawks right now, they are set up for a up tempo style of play. Does this fit Coach Woodson’s perferred style of play? It appears to me that he would perfer more of a half court tempo style of play as opposed to an up tempo style of play. If Coach Woodson is not going to adjust to our present personnel with his style of play, then we need to sign Darko. If he is willing to adjust, then we need to keep the team that we have and try to really get it up and down the court on every possession possible.

With that being said, I believe if all things are equal between two teams, the team that has the best half court offense will win in the end. The transition game is very important and scoring is much easier if you can run, but there will come a time when you will face the really great teams that will contain your fast break. When that happens, you had better be able to score in a 5 on 5 set consistently or you will not win those games. Look at the reason that the Spurs are better than the rest right now. They run when they can, but they are really good on half court offense and they play really good defense! The Hawks have to decide what they are going to be great at and shape their team to fit that goal!

By Wedgie Evans

July 6, 2007 4:36 AM | Link to this

Darko averaged 8 points and 5 boards last year. Even if he can beat out Zaza and Al Horford for playing time and average 30-35 minutes a game, I don’t see how he’s going over 12 points, 8 boards, and a couple of blocks. If the Hawks really need that, they could just go sign Melvin Ely, or better yet just give Al Horford more playing time. And for $9 million a year? Gimme a break. Pass on Darko.

By Alex

July 6, 2007 3:47 AM | Link to this

I would do it in a heartbeat! BTW I wouldn’t mind sending Zaza to Orlando if it could work… Darko is still very young, he is a good kid who works hard and he will bust-out very soon!He just needs to be more agressive and get some confidence… I can see him average 15 ppg, 10 rpg and 4 bpg… I say go and get him!

By Lifelong Hawks Fan

July 6, 2007 1:40 AM | Link to this

Hey Sekou, was it Ronell or Donell that saw some PT in the league before?

By irony police

July 6, 2007 1:24 AM | Link to this

news flash…every coincidence is not ironic.If people can’t grasp the concept,I wish they’d stop trying.

By A-ville Ranger

July 6, 2007 1:16 AM | Link to this

I’m cool with the way the post work now.I don’t see any problem at all with not having to scroll all the way through to get to the latest post.I wish DOB and others would follow suit.

By ConyersDawg

July 6, 2007 12:22 AM | Link to this

12.3 pts, 1.0 ast, 4.5 rbs, 1.0 blk in 4 games against Detriot.*

That’s not bad folks. Darko is 22 and getting better every year. With that said, I would rather save the money and hope that Dwight Howard will opt out of his contract when he can and want to play at home here in the ATL.

By j-rock

July 5, 2007 11:16 PM | Link to this

Steven good to see we hornets are representing on this blog.I was just talking to my co worker 2day about mario west and he mentioned griffin beat them in the 03 playoffs.I said griffen also beat my skool,south atlanta, and that it is ironic that mario west and pettway ended up facing each other in the college dunk contest.Also that it was even more ironic that they will be on the same summer league team now.Its a shame because Vincent Banks was better than both of them.As for the hawks,trading sheldon williams for either D.Diop,S.Sene,J.Petro,R.Swift,J.Pryzbilla or B.Haywood would be a great idea for the Hawks.Go Hawks!!!

By GuyFromUruguay

July 5, 2007 9:28 PM | Link to this

On the summer league, the Derek Raivio name struck a chord, and I had read about him before, so I checked him up.. he’s a Point Guard from Gonzaga.. I think we already have enough of those, but if he’s a really good distributor (which he doesn’t seem to be by his stats) ownership could take a flyer on him.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/player/profile?playerId=15400

Also, whatever happened to the Greek guy that was with Seattle last season?

By DJ

July 5, 2007 9:24 PM | Link to this

The owners in all the Atlanta sports franchises take away all the off season fun because they do not want to spend any money. If they would spend the money and produce some more wins they will make it back ten fold. Except the Falcons

By GuyFromUruguay

July 5, 2007 9:19 PM | Link to this

Sekou: do you have any info to back up what Draftexpress said on Cenk Akyol? Will the Hawks sign him?

On Wink from Lithonia’s FA list:

-PJ Brown: one of the better ideas, but I doubt he’ll want to come here

-Jamaal Magloire: he did very well with the Blazers but according to the Oregon Live, he’s seeking both more than U$S 5 million and extended minutes, and that’s why the Blazers didn’t resign him. I’d like him (he was an All-Star in the east, remember?) but I don’t know if the owners will be willing to pay for him (and there’s all this cap space issues and he won’t take the biannual midlevel exception like Grant Hill did).

http://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/sports/1175993727144970.xml&coll=7#continue

-Darko: his agent is insane and wants like U$ 9 million per. He is underrated but definitely not worth that much. He’s a great shot blocker, as others mentioned.

-Rafael Araujo: strike him from the list. He has bad attitude and he’s not very good… he’s a worse Esteban Batista and he’s not even in the roster anymore (Batista dominated him last time they played over here, and Araujo got ejected and broke a chair in disgust)

I wouldn’t get Boykins either, much as I like him, because he’s a mini ball hog, and the Hawks already have Salim.

I don’t like how everybody wants to trade Childress, he’s a great energy player in a team that needs that, other than his ugly shot, he’s Shawn Marion-like and everybody would want Marion. He’s better than Marvin currently, and Marvin won’t be traded because he’s a Darko-like 2nd pick (in a much weaker draft class obviously).

By ray

July 5, 2007 9:08 PM | Link to this

I may as well add my two cents worth: Sekou, if you have anything to do with this at all, the entry order of posts is really quite…bothersome. I would greatly appreciate if you could somehow get it fixed so that it functions the way it used to.

Anakin Joe, thanks for the congrats. No, I won’t be buying any thousand-dollar seats, not anytime soon. Besides, isn’t that section 115, home of the tampon-wearing troll? Yeecch. Oh wait, maybe those seats don’t cost quite that much.

Hey, if getting Darko sounds like a good idea, it won’t happen. Or if it does, he’ll never succeed here, right? Murphy’s law I tell ya. No, I get the bad feeling that a couple of non-descript moves will be made (much like last year) and managment will be happy to stand pat with what we have. Or I could be wrong. Sure, you have to do things that make sense. But doesn’t that mean that when they make sense, you should do them? Who knows….

By B. Green in SW ATL

July 5, 2007 9:00 PM | Link to this

I was thinking that maybe the Hawks could pursue every forward that’s available and not just Darko. I mean, that is the objective of the game - right? Whoever has the most forwards on the roster obviously wins in some twisted side made by the Hawks brass. Maybe the Hawks think that by obtaining all these forwards that it will propell us…will mean that we’re getting ahead…in the sense of moving forward. Yeah, that’s got to be it, right? We’re “progressing”…”moving forward”….yeah….now it all makes sense…hey, sign up another 6 foot 9 or 10 guy….I mean, if everyone is the same size, then we can save a buck or two by ordering the same size warmups….people who want a point guard or a true center should realize that we wouldn’t be able to obtain the group discounts when ordering unis….NOW I SEE!!!!!

By Bertie

July 5, 2007 7:57 PM | Link to this

I agree, please fix the entry order. Its maddening

Signing Darko would have been financially possible last offseason but not this year.

By Scott Newton

July 5, 2007 7:45 PM | Link to this

Which summer league team is Todd Abernathy playing for?

By Jay

July 5, 2007 7:40 PM | Link to this

Signing Darko will not work without a trade. Period.

I would have done it pre-draft, then draft Conley and BPA. Too late for that though.

Lets pretend that we did sign Darko. How would minutes work out? Josh Smith is good for 36. Zaza is at least 25. That would leave a combined 35 minutes left for: Shelden, Horford, Solo, Zen, Darko. Even with Solo and Zen inactive, you’d still be short-changing either your #3 pick, your #5 pick, or your new free-agent. It just doesnt work.

By mike

July 5, 2007 7:27 PM | Link to this

I think most of the guys are making the right call on Darko. Guys like that hang around league but continue under achieve the rest of their Career. Besides the Hawks need a veteran Big, not another project. While I’m ready to see the Hawks makes some noise with a big trade or a move in FA, I feel the Hawks should be prudent and exercise some patience. Let the other teams over pay for over hype guys trading away valuable assets and getting mediocrity in return. We have young talent and we have expiring contracts, so we know that’s the Hawks can pull off trade. I would like to acquire a veteran big like a Camby or Magliore. These guys ain’t world beaters, but you know what you’re going to get. Before we consider Darko, we should take chance on Kevin Cato. He’s a lot cheaper and he’s a shot blocker. Someone that doesn’t forces you to give your best assets.

I see teams like Orlando and Charlotte making some moves, but I don’t think we have to panic. If we are going to trade young talent like Jchill, Marvin, or Sheldon, then we better make sure we get that a banger at the 5 spot not another project. There are deals to be had because there are several teams looking to make a deal. Like someone stated on a previous blog, less wait for the right offer and go with what have. If BK job is on the line, you can bet that Woody’s is too. Any repeat of the notorious slow starts that we have painfully endured over the last couple of seasons from the Hawks squad should get Woody run off. Once this team start playing up-tempo ball they can use all the versatile SF and PF.

By sleepy

July 5, 2007 6:59 PM | Link to this

Darko Milic … can you say Jon Konkak? Resist the temptation and don’t pay big bucks on promise and heighth.

By truhawksfan

July 5, 2007 6:58 PM | Link to this

I’ve always thought that a good coach looks at the players that he has and uses a system to fit them, not try and make the players fit his system. The hawks have a team that can get up and down the floor not a half court team. Either Mike needs to change his philosphy or we need to get a coach in here who can !!!!!!!

By MannyT

July 5, 2007 6:58 PM | Link to this

I’ll admit that I am not current on this, but since Darko was CHANGED from restricted to unrestricted, doesn’t something happen to his Bird rights that makes it harder for them to sign or sign & trade him? Otherwise, Orlando uses his money to sign Lewis and gets to double dip by using his Bird rights to give him another contract beyond their cap space.

SI article implies Darko’s agent is unhappy. That seems to mean his contract size shrinks because of something that happened in the process.

All that to say, are the Hawks a more likley player because we had more favorable cap room?

Just curious. If not we can alsways call John Cheney to find out where to pick up a goon on the cheap ;-)

By travis

July 5, 2007 6:53 PM | Link to this

Well, the Orlando Magic are looking into signing Ron Artest. DAMN!! These dudes are loading up. I am a season ticket holder, so I have a vested interest. The East is going to be brutal this year people!! If Darko would help, get ‘em. Please do something. Based on how young the Hawks are and how the East, the Southeastern division, especially, is beefing up, I see us finishing last in the se division based on what’s goin’ on now

By Someone with some sense

July 5, 2007 6:40 PM | Link to this

I don’t think signing Darko would be a good thing. The players we have are already better than Darko, and Darko doesn’t deserve 10 mil a year, he hasn’t come close to deserving that kind of money. You can see his demeanor on the court that he doesn’t play hard and he’s usually out of shape. I believe Billy knows that, hopefully.

By truhawksfan

July 5, 2007 6:08 PM | Link to this

*Sorry! I got ahead of myself and didn’t read further after I read about Josh being included I guess I need to work on my blog etiquette

By truhawksfan

July 5, 2007 6:02 PM | Link to this

The problem with giving up Josh Childress is that every team needs need a high energy player night end and night out off the bench. We have that in Josh, who we would have to replace if we give him up. I would much rather include Zaza,Johnson and Wright. How about that Sekou. How much longer does Zaza have on his contract.

By terrell

July 5, 2007 6:01 PM | Link to this

The Hawks could you his shot-blocking ability on the defensive end, but I hear he’s asking for 10 mill a year. Is he really worth it when he doesnt really have that good of an offensive game? Thats the question.

By tony

July 5, 2007 5:54 PM | Link to this

Greg, what r u talking about!! Before Bk took over, this team had a better winning precentage. This team is worse off with Woodson than they r with Kruger and Stotts as the head coach. Woodson has the worse winning % of all the coaches in the history of this fanchise who coached a full season. WHY IS HE STILL COACHING THIS TEAM SHOULD BE THE QUESTION ASKED!!!!!!!!!!!

By John

July 5, 2007 5:46 PM | Link to this

The Hawks should not sign Darko. He is going to get overpaid somewhere and what about this log jam of interior player the Hawks have. I would not take a chance on him and give minutes to Solomon, and let him develop. Darko has not shown me anything. He was a little better last year but shouldn’t he be. He will be entering his fifth NBA season. If we pursue him, lets go ahead and pursue Tshkitisvili( or however you spell it) He is another player with “potential”. I would rather throw money at Childress and Smoove than players like Darko.

By Clyde

July 5, 2007 5:33 PM | Link to this

FIRE BILLY AND WOODY

By Ed W.

July 5, 2007 5:25 PM | Link to this

Sekou, the last thing the Hawks need is a young guy with effort issues. If he diidn’t play hard consistently in Orlando, what are the chances he will play hard after getting $50 from the Hawks?

By Gutz

July 5, 2007 5:07 PM | Link to this

Sekou, the Magic haven’t renounced Darko’s bird rights yet, but the problem is that if they take back any salary at all in a S&T then they wouldn’t have the caproom to sign Rashard Lewis. So the only thing they could do is do a S/T deal with Seattle for Lewis where Darko would be included going to Seattle. We can’t do a S/T with Orlando for Darko.

By Ed

July 5, 2007 4:51 PM | Link to this

Sekou is the best columnist the ajc has to offer, and atl b-ball bloggers are the most knowledgable i have read. Thanks for helping us less knowledgeable hawks fans enjoy the run up to what should be an exciting season!

By tb

July 5, 2007 4:50 PM | Link to this

It will be interesting to see the Darko situation play out. Magic blundered big-time by resending their offer.

He is a young 7’0”er with potential and he did at least show that he belongs in an NBA lineup last year.

The price is going to be high.

i think the only way the Hawks could get in on it is if they trade a valuable piece and get someone to take a couple of contracts (speedy/L0/AJ) then we would have enough to make an offer.

I don’t think that I am willing to give up all that to get Darko.

By #21=Top 50,1stBallot

July 5, 2007 4:40 PM | Link to this

Additionally, WHY THE HELL IS JOSH SMITH’S NAME COMING UP IN TRADE DISCUSSION?!?!?!?!?!?!

I know he is one of those Shawn Marion type fantasy basketball players where his stat lines serve teams more, but honestly I cant understand why you wouldnt want this guy on the roster. He is a better version of AK-47 because he’s getting his shot. He is the hustler on the team, and while he still has to work on reigning in his emotions, his passion is undeniable. Honestly there isnt 1 comparable player in the league I’d trade him for head up. There must be serious concern for his pending contract extension, because clearing him for the sake of the 3/4 “logjam” only creates more problems for us. We lose our only shot blocker and second scorer with confidence (marvin doesnt have it yet and chills doesnt gun enough). There isnt another young 3/4 (combo) I’d rather have in the league. I may sound like a homer, but I bet other GM’s would agree.

By HHoops

July 5, 2007 4:33 PM | Link to this

Sekou,

Thanks for the information. You are doing a great job of keeping us up to date on the potential moves that the Hawks may make.

With that being said, I am like the majority of Hawks fans, we want to win and we want to win now! The Hawks are very close to the playoffs with the team that they have right now. The question is, can we do what we need to do with a trade that would make us better for this season or do we hold on to what we have and hope that the “Young Guns” grow and mature into a playoff team? The salary cap is the road block to making our dreams come true for now and the future. I believe that signing Darko would make us better this season. The question is, how do we do that and have enough cap space to be able to resign J. Smith and J. Childress next year? We have to make some kind of trade to be able to clear some cap room to sign Darko. We have expiring contracts that can help us next year when we need to resign Smith and Childress unless we decide to use them now. I do not see any way that we can sign all three. Is Darko more valuable to us that either J. Smith or J. Childress? Most people would agree that J. Smith is more valuable, but what about J. Childress? He can play alot of positions that makes him very versitle.

Why not see if we can move as many of the following players as possible so that we can open up some cap space: Claxton, AJ, Lue, Salim, Sheldon W., Soloman J., and L. Wright?

I understand that you have to give up something to get something. I just think that Darko would be more valuable to the Hawks than any of the players that I just mentioned. Will Darko work out? I don’t know, but I think that we need to find out. If he does, GREAT! If not, there will always be trades down the road.

The big decision I think that the Hawks have to make right now is whether they want to hold on to what they have and be able to resign J. Smith and/or J. Childress or take a risk on getting to the next level with Darko and maybe losing J. Childress after one year!

By #21=Top 50,1stBallot

July 5, 2007 4:32 PM | Link to this

Not that I wouldnt support such a bold stroke as to get Darko, his defensive presence would be a WELCOME addition. We wouldnt require that much out of him offensively, thus has time to continue to develop.At the same time however wouldnt that only further logjam things on the roster? I know that Darko’s a true C type, but his minutes would only decrease Horford’s in the middle (which I presume is the plan). The Domino for Horford minutes would go into Smoov and Marvin (still in need of meaningful court time), not to mention Shelden (in need of QT with Candace Parker). Ive always maintained that Josh Childress is a good player that should have been named Deng or Igoudala, but I digress. He is a perfect role player and on a team where he would be asked to fill the etc columns as 3rd option for departed Hill, he’d be a problem to deal with within the same division.

By Anakin Joe

July 5, 2007 4:31 PM | Link to this

Sekou no worries. Besides, while I have more pateince for my fellow bloggers, you have FAR more patience than I for these freakin’ (and you know that’s not the word I want to use) owners.

But can you PLEASE fix this entry-order thing, it’s driving me crazy!!!

By Vic

July 5, 2007 4:20 PM | Link to this

I don’t see why you guys are salivating over Darko or even Childress for that matter. Darko plays like he has no heart beating in his chest, and if the ultimate goal is to win a championship, you have to have players, even role players, who will still contribute through the injuries, scrutiny, and competition in the NBA.

I have to disagree with whoever said that Childress is one of the top 6th men in the NBA. Childress has a decent game, but you never know what he’ll give you from game to game. Sometimes he plays well, and sometimes he disappears. Whoever thinks he is a top 6th man is probably one of those rabbid hometown fans who doesn’t pay attention to the other teams in the NBA.

By Harry Hawk

July 5, 2007 4:20 PM | Link to this

I want players who have to win, not merely want to. I’ve seen enough of Darko to surmise that he neither has to win nor really cares about winning very much. The Hawks certainly don’t need that. To me, Darko seems destined to be a player whose heart will always come into question. Say whatever you want about Josh Childress’s jumpshot, but the guy does a lot of things to help a team win. At this point, that’s more important than adding an enigmatic youngster to the rotation.

By Sekou K. Smith

July 5, 2007 4:00 PM | Link to this

Thank Naismith for good folks like you Anakin Joe, for not only understanding what’s being said all the time but for having the patience I do not.

By Braves Fan 79

July 5, 2007 3:58 PM | Link to this

Id like Darko as a true center. I wouldnt wanna get rid of childress thou….id rather get rid of marvin.

By Ryder

July 5, 2007 3:43 PM | Link to this

Atlanta should absolutely not go after Darko Milicic. He does not possess the assertiveness that this team needs in the low post. The roster as it is now is good enough, they just need more seasoning.

I believe that they will need to deal one of these players with expiring contracts (Johnson, Lue, or Childress) to obtain a low post presence later on in the season but for as it stands now, Atlanta needs to utilize the talent they have now and watch them develop. I believe that Horford, Solomon, and another post presence (perhaps a Jamaal Magloire) will suffice.

Again, if the Hawks want to maximize the talent on this roster they need to have Marvin come off the bench. This team is going to need depth and they have it now thanks to a successful draft. Woodson is set on creating a halfcourt offense and now has the tools to complete it.

By ryan

July 5, 2007 3:40 PM | Link to this

Darko starting power forward for the NJ Nets. Multi-year contract for less than mid exception with an OPT OUT CLAUSE next summer

By tyger

July 5, 2007 3:11 PM | Link to this

Darko is a guilty pleasure the Hawks cannot afford. I like his length and skill set and do believe in the right situation he could prosper. But alas, truth be told, he is another Kwame Brown. Drafted high, shows flashes, gets paid, but never puts it all together for any extended period of time.

Hawks need a 7’ banger aka A GOON!!! Anything less is unacceptable.

By Anakin Joe

July 5, 2007 3:08 PM | Link to this

Jay, the Hawks do NOT have cap room to just sign Darko, therefore, they would have to get him through a sign and trade. That’s why most teams don’t just sign a guy, because most teams are at the cap number. We have about $10M in expiring contracts that can be used toward extensions for Smith and/or Childress next summer. But this year, we do not have the $8M-$10M to “just sign” Darko. Are you sure you know what you are talking about?

By jay

July 5, 2007 2:54 PM | Link to this

Sekou, are you mad? what’s wrong with you? Darko is not worth 7 million a year, we’ll have to resign Josh smith and Josh Childress at the end of next year and finally we don’t have to give anything up if we do sign him. He will be an unrestricted free agent once Lewis signs so Orlando can go under the cap.

I’m not tryin to dog ya but dude I think I know more about how the NBA works than you do. This is the second time I’ve caught you making a mistake. The thing is there is no way the Magic do a sign and trade for Lewis because then they would have to end up paying Darko 8 million a year. Instead, they’ll just release him on july 11. Come on now, learn how to do your job and get the facts straight. This is just terrible journalism.

By Greg

July 5, 2007 2:49 PM | Link to this

Sekou this is a wasted suggestion. Good one, but wasted. To do this would be admitting that they made a mistake with their draft pick. I would love for us to go after a 7 footer, to play along side Al and JSmith. Also how is that we are close to being max out in cap space and we are the worst franchise in the league. This is the same situation we had before BK took over only the players weren’t the problem we had 2 bad coached Lon Kruger, & Terry Stotts both not equip to coach a veteren team.

I wish we would take this chance. 2007-2008 perdictions Hawks 35 wins 47 loses no lottery pick 2008-2009 predictions 40 wins 42 loses. Lottery pick Josh Smith not on this team.

By John

July 5, 2007 2:48 PM | Link to this

How about you look at Darko’s game log and you’ll see that when he started he was capable of putting up numbers like 17ppg and 9rbs.. and that wasn’t even getting in 40 minutes of work… more importantly however, the guy is a great great GREAT shot blocker and I’d say aside from needing a little confidence in him he just needs to stay out of foul trouble.. GET DARKO

By mykhalc

July 5, 2007 2:39 PM | Link to this

MAVID, good call on the trade package. and like others have said, i WOULD NOT give up CHILLS in a DARKO trade. maybe some other trade but not for DARKO. his 7’ numbers ain’t all that!!! SHELDEN, AJ (LUE would be my pref tho), and WRIGHT would work in my book too!!!

By Don

July 5, 2007 2:28 PM | Link to this

No no a thousand times no. Sign Darko based on what, that he didn’t look like a complete stiff for the last 15 or 20 games of this season? That he looks like a “physical specimen”, which is overshadowed by his questionable motivation? Sounds to me like the sequel to the Jon Koncak Story, and I don’t need to see that one based on how bad the original sucked.

By CASHMERE

July 5, 2007 2:26 PM | Link to this

lets bring in cenk and david anderson from europe.

brevin knight is good(now that his jump shot is here)

and why not trade lo,lue,aj,and speedy and get PATRICK O’BRYANT his offense is yrs away but not his “D”

By Big Kev

July 5, 2007 2:25 PM | Link to this

with washington wanting to move navarro, maybe the hawks could trade sheldon, marvin , speedy and the rights to cenk akoyl to washington for the rights to navarro, jarvis hayes, deshawn stevenson and brendon haywood.

its a high price to pay, but it allows you to put chill in the starting line up, with jarvis and stevenson as your bench 2 and 3, and gives you another legit center.

By Bill

July 5, 2007 2:22 PM | Link to this

Yes, go after Darko but don’t give up Childress. Need some more big men. With proper coaching I think he would be worth it.

By Bill

July 5, 2007 2:19 PM | Link to this

Yes, go after Darko but don’t give up Childress. Need some more big men. With proper coaching I think he would be worth it.

By Odogg

July 5, 2007 2:18 PM | Link to this

Josh Smith, Zaza Pachulia, Speedy Claxton and Lorenzen Wright for the Lakers’ Andrew Bynum and Jordan Damar.

By Big Kev

July 5, 2007 2:07 PM | Link to this

I agree. I would rather see Mikki More and Aaron McKie than darko. They fill the need and give you defense and hustle, setting good examples for the young guys. If Cenk Akoyl can be signed, then I would waive AJ and Lo Wright before I just kept them on the roster. They will pick up somewhere else and you wont have to pay their full salaries.

By Ryan

July 5, 2007 2:06 PM | Link to this

MARIO!!!!!!!

By Mash

July 5, 2007 2:03 PM | Link to this

I also suggested we go after Darko to my friends, good call Sekou! He’s only 21, a few years from now, he’ll be very servicable - if not better.

What about Steve Blake, have the Hawks shown any interest in him?

Sekou, the bigger question is - What happened to all of the cap space? Did we really blow all that space on Speedy Claxton? We could give up Lou’s expiring contract too (and should will Claxton and Law under contract long term). We should probably try to deal Salim, rather than just cut him which I fear will happen. I’m going to be angry when he ends up on a team that actually has a plan for him.

By Steven

July 5, 2007 2:00 PM | Link to this

Mentioning Brent Petway brought back a distant memory and the greatest game I ever witnessed in my 21 years. Griffin vs South Atlanta High School in the 2003 Championship game. Griffin made a great comeback and ultimately defeated my alma mater, South Atlanta but that game serves as my own personal greatest memory in sports. Vincent Banks should get himself together and joing the summer league. I truly feel he was a star. However, back to the subject. Darko is a decent player and he has size that can help the Hawks. But I dont think he should sign with the Hawks at the expense of J. Childress, who brings energy, athleticism, professionalism and scoring off the bench. He backs up JJ and he plays the lanes with good defense. Darko simply is a tall body not tough and physical like we need. Plus he likes to shoot and play more of a forward position and we have way too many of those. But whatever the Hawks do, they need to get rid of expiring contracts…AJ and whomever else.

By Anakin Joe

July 5, 2007 1:54 PM | Link to this

Doc, from the previous blog, big men can’t score without the ball. And much like the NBDL is dominated by guards and ball-handling SFs, so is the summer league (essentially the same talent pool). I recall last year that Salim and Marvin were all-world because they kept the ball in their hands. Let’s hope that Law spends the time as an active facilitator and delivers the ball to Horford, Shelden and Solomon. Those other cats need to enjoy the hotel room, scenery and practices with NBA coaches and let the 4 keepers get 95% of the touches. Why isn’t Jamon Gordon with out team, I thought he got crazy love from our coaching staff?

I can’t help but wonder if Darko will be motivated after he doubles (or triples) his current salary. And do we really think that he has any desire to play for a Larry Brown disciple, after Brown made him the “human victory cigar” in Detroit? Personally, I think he could be a true beast with the proper coaching and motivation.

Sekou, you should post a picture suggesting the Hawks should trade Smith for Darko… that would get some folk all wadded up.

By Malted Falcon

July 5, 2007 1:42 PM | Link to this

This makes sense so it probably won’t happen. I wish we could see Darko in our hideous new uniforms.

By j-rock

July 5, 2007 1:42 PM | Link to this

Sekou I thought that if a player is an unrestricted free agent that a sign-and-trade is more difficult.If that is the same Bradshaw from Winthrop then he and pettway will be the players I follow the closest this summer other than our draft picks.As far as Darko,I would rather trade Aj and Lo wright for a second round pick and sign him outright at 7 million outright without giving up chilldress.I agree with mavid to send Sheldon before chills.His minutes will be very low if he is kept anyways.Whether it be Darko or another big man this team needs a bonafide center.I would agree with Darko and desmond mason in free agency.Go Hawks!!!!!

By JohnGTFan

July 5, 2007 1:42 PM | Link to this

Sekou

You do know how much this idiot (Darko’s agent) is going to demand, right? You’re suggesting we “take a chance” on a guy who has proven nothing, for 9 - 10 million dollars a year! ARE YOU INSANE!!! There are All-NBA players right now who do not make 10million a year! Just because he’s 7 feet tall! I’ll admit, I’m not the biggest fan of yours, but I do enjoy some of your columns. This one though, you must have nothing else to write about. So, 7 feet is worth the money…Shawn Bradley, Manute Bol…shall I continue.

NO, ATL should not take a chance on him, unless they can get him for significantly less.

Wink has it right…spend less on bangers inside like a Mikki Moore. No, he may not be flashy, but the guy is mean inside and isn’t intimidated by anyone.

By Jay D

July 5, 2007 1:27 PM | Link to this

I am excited about some of the free agents at summer league tryouts - I saw Craig Bradshaw play several times -lots of talent, maybe even some time at center. What’s the deal with Beasley - not much online about him. Certainly an NBA body (7ft 270lbs). Not overly interested in the forwards though, not sure if another one can fit. Please keep us updated.

By Fred Everett

July 5, 2007 1:18 PM | Link to this

“Heart” and “toughness”…are two traits that I do not associate with Darko. Is he really a player we want…or…just an “available” 7’ who “may” address our Center need ? Personally speaking…Joe…Marvin…Josh…Chill are four players I would be loath to part with…period.

Go Billy…Go Hawks

By Bubba

July 5, 2007 1:00 PM | Link to this

Hi Y’all! To be honest, I have been salivating over this since I heard the possibility that Darko might be turned loose. Now he is, and I hope that BK & Boys are working the numbers to see what we can do. To have a body like that on the roster would solve a lot of our backcourt problems. C’mon BK, let’s see if we can do this one…

By Hatertots

July 5, 2007 12:52 PM | Link to this

Sekou

Other than the guy being 7 feet tall, what’s to like about Darko? Or more specifically, what’s to like about Darko that you would consider parting with a player as skilled as Josh Childress? He’s one of the team’s 3 most talented players and the most underrated guy in a Hawks uni.

If Darko failed to beat out Zaza and Shel for minutes (not unlikely), trading Josh to Orlando would be a move we Hawks fans would get to regret all season long.

By mavid

July 5, 2007 12:46 PM | Link to this

If they’d do Shelden, AJ and ‘Lo, I’d be all over that!

By doc

July 5, 2007 12:39 PM | Link to this

cool, literally, then. look forward to your recaps.

tight fits then might deter any action. sure would like to see something better than rens turned out to be. bargain in zaza, overpaid for rens.

By Wink from Lithonia

July 5, 2007 12:36 PM | Link to this

We should make a serious run at Darko Milicic to start at center, but I would not mortgage the farm for him (Jon Kontract).

I would hate to see JChill go in trade, I believe he is one of the best 6th men in NBA or at least up an coming.

I say we keep all our recent draft picks Law, Horford,Salem,Sheldon William, Sheldon Jones, JChill,JSmoove,Marvin, JJ, Lue, Pachulia, Speedy. We can trade the remaining players or not renew contracts.

Open the vault and spend some cap money on Free Agents to work inside (Rick Mahorn types).

Unrestricted Free Agent Available:

PJ Brown, Dale Davis, Chris Mihm, Mikki Moore, Marc Jackson, Kevin Cato,Jamal Magloire,Rafael Arajo. All have serious beef to bang inside.

Aaron McKie or Ruben Patterson to apply defensive pressure or lock down shooting guards.

Last but certainly not least, look at getting some gas to go with the wing players in Earl Boykins ( can you say Spud Webb)—guy can flat out push the ball & score at 5’5” and a dripping wet 133lbs. This guy can apply pressure on offensive end.

From this list we should be able to get 2-3 players to help this team win 10 - 12 more games to make the playoffs.

Sprit it’s time to spend some of that CASH or whatever is left over.

Get her done!!

By Ken Strickland

July 5, 2007 12:35 PM | Link to this

It will be very interesting watching SWilliams and SJones’ performances this yr, and comparing it to last yrs. ALaw and Horford should provide an indication of what we can expect from them.

It really puzzles me why people are always complaining about the Hawks having too many forwards. What’s wrong with having a deep versatile bench, especially on the NBA’s youngest and least experienced team?

(SF) MWilliams, JChildress (PF) JSmith, AHorford (C) ZPachulia, SJones, SWilliams

Childress also provides support at SG and PG. SWilliams and SJones provide support at PF. We don’t have too many forwards, or bigs, we have too many injury prone PG’s. The Hawks don’t need to get rid of any players to be competitive. They simply need coach Woodson to fit a system around the talent at hand rather than trying to fit the talent at hand into a system.

By Reggie

July 5, 2007 12:33 PM | Link to this

Sekou

What moves or trades could you see the hawks actually make

By Sekou K. Smith

July 5, 2007 12:26 PM | Link to this

I don’t think going over the cap is in the plans, doc. Why Salt Lake over Sin City? Because someone was kind enough to save me from the record heat boiling Vegas this time of year.

By doc

July 5, 2007 12:08 PM | Link to this

thanks for the coverage sekou, timely answer to my question left on the old blog just a few minutes ago. why salt lake over las vegas?

another question to you; has there been any indication this team will go over cap and isnt that a prerequesite before contemplating who or what might be available on the free agent market?

By bryan

July 5, 2007 12:05 PM | Link to this

First?