joannes3000

I was pumped to see this deal go through. I agree that while Milloy never provided many big plays (ints/fumbles/etc), he provides a lot of sound plays with his constant tackling. Our run defense looks instantly better with him in the secondary and we could be adding John Abraham to disrupt opposing O-Lines. Can you imagine having to gameplan against Abraham, Coleman, AND Kerney?!?!?! And that's just the front 4.

Quote: There is no need to draft another SF its that simple we need a center or a PG those are our biggest holes right now. I agree that PG/C are our areas of need but at what cost do you draft to fill that need? Like I said in my earlier post, I don't think that filling a need with a far less talented player really solves the problem. Now if we were talking about drafting a consensus answer at PG/C, then yes, let's do that. But it doesn't look like this year has the answer at either of those positions. In that case, we draft BPA to either add more fieldable talent on the court or to have talent that we can trade to fill our needs. Watching us draft Marvelous last year was fine to me, because I felt that we still needed to stockpile talent last year. Watching us draft someone like Rondo this year (especially if it's not in the 7-10 range) will be an extreme case of reaching.

I agree. Stars are good from a PR perspective but so is winning.

Last year, as much as it hurt to draft BPA when we had two nice looking PGs available, it was better for us to assemble talent. This year I think we have enough talent assembled, but I think we would still draft BPA if we landed a top 5 pick. Granted I think we would then turn around and trade the pick for a PG or C, but there's no way you draft out of need and reach that far down. I'd rather us draft another forward instead of overvaluing. If Aldridge isn't available, you have to go with BPA, whether it's one of the Euros (my pick) or Gay/Morrison. I'd rather deal with threads complaining about how we drafted another forward who has better ability and upside instead of dealing with threads complaining about how we reached for a PG/C.

Arg... I can prolly get in on a live draft for at least an hour this morning (I'm at work till at least 8am PST), but if you guys are just gonna auto draft I'll pass. I'll PM you an email address.

I found it especially painful watching David Lee throw down in the lane. Interior defense please!!!

I'm not losing sight of the fact that Artest is probably aided by his relocation and that, not a change in his own way of thinking, is the reason for his good behavior. But like I said, it seemed like he had started to cool off a little bit before the Detroit incident. I made the comment about him being in ATL looking in hindsight, but I agree that the probable risk of him imploding would have stopped me from being the one to bring him here. It's just nice to sit on the fence and have one foot on both sides sometimes.

What time? I'll join if I can manage to sit in for the draft, otherwise I don't want to take up a league spot.

Quote: Blake has looked very good since getting the playing time and he would be a great additrion to our squad. Definetely worth the risk... His stat line against PHX was impressive to say the least. 16 pts, 13 dimes, 3/3 from deep. I wonder if the Blazers have officially given up on Telfair and maybe we can pick him up. I watched the game the other day and he was looking like more of a distributor and since Blake is playing lights out, we could prolly get Telfair for much less.

I thought that he had shown signs of maturity (even after the Malice at the Palace) since being traded to Indy and I honestly believed that a change of scenery was all he needed. Of course Artest could always find something that pushes his buttons in Sac-Town, but he's definitely worth the risk. It's too bad he's not wearing a Hawks uni...

Quote: Sheed is shooting 36%. That isn't that bad but the problem is at 6'11" he should be posting up more. I agree it's a waste of height to be jacking up so many 3s, but at that rate I don't blame him.

Yeah, as usual I didn't catch the game, but any time you leave points at the free throw line, you're prolly gonna come up short.

Having been displaced out here in the NW it was definitely nice to have stumbled onto this forum. Not only have I been able to keep up with the Hawks but I've been able to get even better in-depth information here.

I'm in using my screen name.

I'm down.

Quote: I know the Suns loss. Diaw put up basically the same numbers he has all year in tonight game. Diaw is likely a product of the Suns System. He sure isn't a product of Nash which Q turn out to be. http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/gamecast?gameId=260309021 I agree. Richardson is nothing more than a spot up shooter that was glorified in the Suns offense. I give Diaw credit for being a very good fit in the system.

Is there any other way to play other than aggressively in the PHX offense?

There's no other answer but to play hard and attempt to win every game. Regardless of what happens that's the best situation to be in. Let PHX get their choice of years for the picks. The better we do the less valuable it is. It's out of our hands anyway so why worry about it? Also, more wins makes us look better for fans and for free agents. Remember guys, we're past the point of watching and waiting on ping pong balls!

Quote: we do have rmorris (if he's ready) and andersen for new bigs, and there is nene and pryz in the offseason, so if we can't get a decent big in the draft, all is not lost I didn't think that we had any exclusive rights to Morris.

Yeah, it was difficult to let Billups go with his numbers but I was willing to do it because I was getting back two more guards that could put up more combined. Things are working out right now and I'm slowly but surely closing the gap on 1st. Ironically, I'm actually hating the fact that I threw in Gerald Wallace, knowing that he was set to come back.

Quote: Why would the Hawks move down to pick up TWO more rookies? We are already the youngest team in the NBA. We don't need any more youth. I actually wouldn't be adverse to trading the pick in some sort of pre-draft deal that returns us a big man, e.g. Magloire or maybe Frye. The Hawks need experience, and the only guy in the draft that is really an exprienced player that the Hawks could use is Williams, and I am not sold on him. I didn't say that they would move down to pick up an extra pick. I said that it wouldn't be a bad idea to move down instead of reaching for a guy. My thought would be to trade down to get a PG/C or at worst a player and a pick; not two picks. I wouldn't be adverse to getting Frye either, but that's one thing that Isiah's done right to this point by keeping him.

Quote: And, wait a minute...this was supposed to be a thread patting JJ on the back...not a battle of what All-Star could care less. Joe Johnson is becoming a great player right before our eyes...I am worried what Lue may do to the harmony when he returns. Hopefully they won't miss a beat. Whoops, the thread seems to have disappeared. JJ is definitely ready to get into the first tier of SGs next year. I'm thinking that with the team gelling like it has, adding Lue would be like the Pistons adding 'Sheed. It will prove to be the missing piece to our puzzle for the year, which unfortunately is only further evaluation and not a playoff run - yet. Can we get away with Lue as the starting PG next year? Probably in some aspects but not enough to be the longterm answer. But if he allows us to concentrate fully on going after a C this offseason, I think the mission would be accomplished.

Quote: you are condoning playing a board game or pulling a fantasy basketball trade in essence. the hawks are VERY close to being a GOOD team. my message to Billy Knight would be to not screw around and get the player you feel would best fit on this squad. if you move down you take the chance on not getting that player. For the most part, trade downs are well calculated risks though, and I would rather deal with the potential that we lose the person we want instead of getting the person we want by overreaching. This holds especially true in this year's draft since talent levels look like they blend in when you're looking at spans of 7 or so picks. If we can get another piece and still get our guy, why not?

Quote: Boozer's career could be done at this point. He stabbed LeBron in the back and now karma is getting him. Nobody wants his contract either. Golden State just has to face the fact that they may never be good until they get a true center. Wait, what about Adonal Foyle?

Quote: I think the unquestioned legitimacy of his legacy ended a long time ago. Until someone can produce legit documents to back up the claims, there will always been enough people who will support him and back up his side. If they really do have proof I hope it is solid, unquestionable proof. Becuase if there's lost of gray area and room for doubt it will only draw it out longer. I just can't stand the fact that if he were to break Aaron's record there would possibly be an asterisk by it. That's ridiculous and should never even be allowed to happen in the first place. Sure the good point has been brought up about the potential for other generations of players to have taken substances as well, but that doesn't mean we can't make a change for the good in today's game by not allowing records to be tainted further.