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Sunday, February 8, 2009
Say what? (and trade talk)
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
HAWKSVILLE - Of all the things uttered during after the Hawks’ inexplicable home loss to the Los Angeles Clippers Saturday night, these words from their captain and All-Star sting the most.
“Had I known we were going to stink this bad, I’d have come in a suit,” Joe Johnson told a crowd of reporters around his locker after the Hawks deflating 121-97 loss, just their sixth this season at Philips Arena.
Surely those were not the kind words of encouragement the rest of the Hawks were looking for after winning back-to-back road games earlier in the week without him. Johnson couldn’t have been more brutal in his assessment of how things had gone (although, before anyone assumes he was throwing his teammates under the bus he did say “we” and not “they”).
Truth be told, the chill in Johnson’s tone and game dating back to early last month have been unmistakable. He’s not feeling his best these days. There’s been no real indication as to why, other than the extensive minutes he’s logged all season and his growing frustration with the way teams are scheming to stop him.
If he’s frustrated with his teammates, though, I’d argue he has targeted the wrong group. They’ve played fairly well during his swoon, scrapping for wins (with and without him on the floor) in ways that simply weren’t conceivable the past few years.
Lest Johnson escape scrutiny himself, it has to be pointed out that the Hawks’ bell cow hasn’t exactly made life much easier for his teammates (despite his rising assist totals during the past six weeks) lately.
His struggles have been their struggles. His funk their funk. His roller coaster their roller coaster … sorry, I got carried away there for a second.
If this team does indeed rise and fall based on his play, they’ve certainly fallen as Johnson’s numbers have in the past five weeks. So long as Johnson was feeling good and playing as he was used to, the Hawks were fine (they entered January sporting a 21-11 record and feeling like they could conquer the Eastern Conference on their best nights).
They are just 8-10 since then, and save for a three-week win-streak two weeks ago, playing much more like the work in progress many of the so-called pundits predicted they would be in the preseason.
It’s hard to believe the Hawks of the past six weeks are related to the Hawks of the first six weeks of this season, yet their link is undeniable.
The DNA samples match.
But somewhere along the way these Hawks lost themselves.
There are only a few days left before the All-Star break (could any team need a chance to rest, reflect and recharge?), so the Hawks won’t have long to find their way back to that harmonious place they lived in November and December.
Take a good look at the upcoming schedule and you’ll understand why it is so crucial that they get back to normal.
* TRADE TALK *
Before I dive head first into this whole trade discussion involving Amare Stoudemire, I’d like to know what it is exactly about this dynamic, 6-10, 245-pound bull that the fine folks in Phoenix have a problem with?
I understand the Suns are currently out of the playoff picture in the Western Conference. But what does that have to do with Stoudemire (who is giving the Pistons the business tonight)?
Granted, we’re talking about the Suns here, a team known for egregious personnel miscalculations in recent years (see Joe Johnson above). And if they are determined to make a move as foolish as trading Stoudemire, someone stands to reap the benefit of their boorish behavior.
The Hawks have been featured prominently in the speculation surrounding Stoudemire - as should be expected of any team with quality young players (guys named Horford, Smith and Williams) and expiring contracts (Bibby and Pachulia) - one of more than a half dozen teams being reported haphazardly by various outlets.
Two major glitches to the Hawks being players in this scenario - a) the Hawks are over the salary cap right now and b) the one asset (Josh Smith) they have that would appear to fit with the Suns going forward has a contract status that conflicts with any deal being done before the summer (base year compensation rules apply).
So I made a few calls over the past four days to gauge just how legitimate a potential Hawks-Suns deal could be, and the vote was 4-0 on the negative side.
“There’s just no way I see it happening,” an Eastern Conference pro personnel director friend of mine told me. “It’s one of those things that sounds good when people are talking about it. And it might even seem like it makes sense on paper. And if you could make a straight up swap or a 2-for-1 deal that allowed you to cover yourself, maybe you’d stretch to get it done. But that’s just what I could see getting done here.”
Another director of scouting friend told me that if the Hawks do anything, he sees them doing something like what the Bobcats did when they moved Adam Morrison and Shannon Brown to the Lakers Saturday.
“When they’re healthy, the Hawks core groups is fine,” he said. “What they need is some help in the depth department. If they’re going to stick around that top five in the East, they’re going to have to find a little more help off the bench to have a chance to advance in the playoffs. But they’d be nuts to ship off one of these young guys before it’s time. They owe to themselves to see how far this group can push it this year before doing anything hasty.”
Only time will tell. The trade deadline is Feb. 19, so we’ll see if my guys know what they’re talking about soon enough.
