Johann

Quote: SHAME ON YOU MY GOOD SIR! I hate people who say "my good sir." But I'm not voting in your poll. Leave or not, doesn't matter to me. You and some others think it's cute to just repeat your woody diatribe. Who is a practical replacement given the situation? Are you going to cream if Drew is the coach?

To Soth: Keep posting. Get and stay well. Enjoy your spiritual convictions. To everyone: Keep bashing if you like, who cares? But try not to take yourself seriously. Is anyone here intelligent? Not overly - no one who has been a Hawks fan through all this can be called really intelligent. Addictive, obsessive, insanely loyal maybe; but hardly rational.

I'm not in favor of banning anyone for anything less than inflammatory behavior. All-caps posts, and flaming someone (whatever their age) or unjustified arrogance are hardly the kind of incendiary factors that I mean. Suits me if someone wants to join these discussions without any understanding of the draft process - but get ready to duck! This is a big-boy site (and girl). You post on here, you risk getting flamed. A good place to develop thick skin. All Hawks fans need thick hides (and UGa fans - now it's Mercer - Gad!).

Magnifico! Muchas gracias.

He basically parlayed Mookie, Smitty and Deke into a rookie Jason Terry, and gave up 2 number 1 picks in the process (for Lo Wright, who he later dumped, along with another number 1 pick, which was used to pick Pau Gasol).

Certainly a chronicle of clueless GM moves. Clueless. No matter how gloomy things can sometimes look now, I am totally thrilled, absolutely delighted, to know P. Babcock has nothing to do with this basketball team anymore. Thank you, God. Every day is positive day now that PB has moved along.

Quote: I'm POSITIVE that I'm HAPPY he got a job ELSEWHERE. LOL. You and me both bro.

However, I do think positive day has been inspirational and should be repeated every November 16.

ROFL. That made the whole day worth it.

Quote: Pete was the best GM in Hawks history. You do realize the Hawks once won the NBA title, I'm sure. You may have meant ATLANTA Hawks history. If so, that is a backhanded compliment. Wonder why he's not GMing another NBA franchise?

Quote: Pete was the best GM in Hawks history. He did not sign Koncrap to that deal, that was Stan Kasten. I also might add that its hard to draft great talent when his picks were usually late teen to early twenties picks. He took over a veteran winning team, dismantled it, rebuilt another winning team and dismantled it and while the rebuilding did not work out he did not leave any bad contracts behind. He had a good run here. Atta boy!

Quote: Is that banana frowning?

Ken Norman! Why can't I ever remember that name?

Woops! Just looked it up - the other pick was Jason Terry. That one was good. (1999 draft)

Forgotten what year - it was Dion Glover, Jumaine Jones, Cal Bowdler and someone else whom I can't remember.

Steve Belkin has the gonads to hire tricky lawyers and pull daring legal stunts, and almost ended up with 2 franchises and the rights to Philips Arena, for next to nothing! And kudos to the Md. judge who had the acumen to recognize and reward true sleight of hand.

Dismantling the heart of the franchise to add JR Rider was a reasonable risk to take. Koncak's contract set the tone for the future of the NBA. Signing that guy (who's name always escapes me) to a huge, cap-crippling contract while watching the guy spend years on injured reserve, was an act of heartwarming charity. It was a pretty good idea to give Nique a breath of fresh air somewhere else while he still had a little gas in his tank. And the draft picks! Oh, the draft picks! Who could have been more creative? Who else could have, even blindly, invested 4 first round picks in one draft, and the only one who stuck in the NBA was the one he dumped to another team on draft night? We were pretty smart to trust the franchise to him for so many years.

Quote: Now Shelden? Thats a different story. Easy now, Pete. Shelden is in the early part of his second year in the league. He is not getting consistent treatment from his coach. Yet, his game is much improved from his rookie season, and he has shown that no one pushes this team around. He has made good contributions this year, when I for one don't expect them until next year. Just becuz folks gave up on Marv too soon is no reason to make the same mistake with another kid.

Quote: What's laughable is that you can't refute one point he makes, and still you say Bk is better. You have already said that you were young in the 90's. You don't know what you're talking about. It's people like you that make this town have a bad fan reputation. You're too stupid to know we used to be in the playoffs. Virtually every year. Usually a 4 or 5 seed. We are in our 8th year of misery. Any REAL fan knows Babcock was a good NBA Gm. He gambled at the end and failed. I was not his biggest fan, but look at the numbers. Are you an idiot? I remember reading that. Had no idea who wrote it. Anyone who was around during the Bab era knows full well that keeping him after it was clear that he was nuts is what brought on the years of ping-pong ball karma, leading us to miss out on Dwight among many others. Now that we have finally outlived that jinx (witness our luck in the last draft), any poster who says anything less than the ABSOLUTE TRUTH about Babs is risking our luck with the karma police and should be flamed unmercifully and continuously. Do not put such persons on ignore. As for tomorrow, I'm in!:)

I don't know him personally. But his motivation is to get back out on the court. Look at Penny, Reggie, Scottie Pippin, etc. Staying home with the fam is great for a few weeks. But...

I haven't seen the C's this year, but based on his college production, I imagine Rondo is a defensive force in the backcourt.

Medical information is confidential. It can't be disclosed without the patient's consent. The team is entitled to know it, but they can not reveal a word of it without authorization from the patient. At this point, Speedy no doubt has no interest in having his medical condition revealed to the press and public; he is laying as low as he can and does not want to discuss it. No one who has never experienced having their personal matters debated in public and on the airwaves can know how unpleasant that is. I'm not a doctor, but I did stay at a Hol. Inn Express, so here is the lowdown on Speedy's condition: Speedy now listens only to the Orthopod in Vancouver, or wherever that was, who properly diagnosed and surgically repaired his knee this offseason. When the other knee became inflamed a few weeks ago, Speedy went back to him. He told S. that there are only 2 alternatives: rest (and hope) and surgery. Surgery might well end his season. So he is going to try rest, probably for about 6 to 8 weeks, and then gradually try to work himself back. If that doesnt' work, he'll have the surgery and we'll see him next year. The players said it was obvious Speedy had worked hard this offseason, and he was in great shape and really impressive on the court at the beginning of camp. I personally have no reason to see him as a slacker. He's had a frustrating experience, with big setbacks, a la Mike Hampton (who is really eating up some salary). He's universally vilified for it, unlike Mike. Don't expect him to supply the frenzy with any more fresh meat in the form of current medical information anytime soon.

I loved the moment early in the Detroit game when Shelden bowed up and started after Nazr. Granted it wasn't Big Ben, but I gotta feeling S won't take lip from nobody. That's what I was hoping for from him - badass attitude. Started the game and the season off just right for this team.

(They call Marvin a guard too) Hawks Guard Marvin Williams “Guys were setting me up and putting me in a good position to make shots. We were moving the ball really well and we were making open shots. Our rebounding was advantage was key for us too. Guys were really getting after it on the boards.” They didn’t have (Amare) Stoudemire tonight, but Nash was fantastic. Phoenix is a great team and every time we’d get a lead, they’d come right back at us. I’m really proud of how we weathered the storm and kept fighting.” Al Horford is a beast. We’ve all said that before, but for a rookie to come in and get 15 boards like that is unbelievable.” link

(They call him a guard) Hawks Guard Josh Smith: “We came out tonight and just wanted to attack the glass. Second chance points were huge for us. It was a good team effort on the boards.” Marvin (Williams) was unbelievable, he was hitting everything. The guys off the bench were tremendous as well. That was a big key, Chills (Josh Childress) was great and Salim (Stoudamire) made some big shots.” The crowd was great tonight, they brought a lot of energy and really helped give us a lift when Phoenix was coming back.”