Iman

Good question. Asked the way you did, I'd take Bibby, he's better than Shelden and we probably wouldn't have done anything more than resign Lue with the money. Bibby's also might get us something good in a trade, if not, it's freed up after this year. But if you really think about it like someone paying out salaries, Bibby is only worth about half of what he's paid. That's a lot of wasted money. If I were an owner, I think I'd rather have Shelden and the money.

I'm optimistic about the upcoming season. I don't really think losing Chillz will hurt much due largely to our original glut of SF's anyways. I know how we use them, but really when you get down to it JJ, Marvin, and Smoove are all practically SF's. The botched drafting of Marvin vs a PG helps us here. And people forget Chillz has been rumored to a foot problem that might effect his career. His inside play was fun to watch but his lack of outside shooting probably contributed to Smoove taking too many outside shots and to our poor floor spacing. Our players will improve, but I don't think this offseason was a success because I don't think we did enough to get us out of the first round of the playoffs. A new Coach or a good bigman probably would have gotten us to a homecourt advantage first round IMO. As it is, the only way I see us getting a top4 seed is if an allstar or two goes down to injuries on Toronto, Detroit, Orlando, Cleveland, etc. If we win a round in the playoffs I'd consider keeping Woodson and maybe even Bibby depending on how much he was responsible, etc. Hopefully if we don't win a round, both will be gone.

Wow Diesel I got to give it to you on this one for sure! I'm think Horford is the next Karl Malone, I like homegrown teams, etc but I'd still do the deal at the deadline for an injured Tim Duncan that wouldn't play until 2009. As you said, for sure we'd be a top2 team in the East, maybe not make it to the finals on a upset or maybe the finals and even win it all. As constructed with Al I don't see how we ever make it above just a top 3 or 4 team in the East. I guess maybe being a Braves fan makes me see how you have to deal your young talent to get to and stay at the top. I wouldn't move Horford for Bynum at this time, probably should but I wouldn't. Diesel, how bout moving Horford and Bibby for Paul or Deron and fillers. Would you do it and which would you rather have?

Wow, especially after what Boston did I'd think more here would be willing to deal part of our future for a shot very soon. I think that if we gave up Bibby and Al for Tim then our remaining team is of JJ, Smoove, Marvin is better than Manu, Parker, etc. Even if it isn't, it'd be nice to be in contention for a championship and not just a lower playoff slot.

Wow, I can't believe that many said no. I'd do the trade without any hesitation whatsoever and I'm the one who keeps comparing Al with Karl Malone. As mentioned, the trade would actually have to be Bibby, Al, and a 1st. If the Spurs come out really weak next season and decide to rebuild I guess they might do it at the deadline. They'd get Al plus our mid 1st rounder (I'd guess it's have to be 2010 though, I don't think you can trade you first rounder two years in a row). Then they'd get the capspace at the end of the year. About the only way I see them doing it is if Tim were injured and that's why they were playing poorly and we'd have to trade for him but not get him for our team during that year. Dropping the Tim Duncan thing though, a deal like that might come available near the deadline. I think most of us would give up Bibby and Al for Kobe, Lebron, Dwight, Bosh, KG. Then it would get more dicey, Nowitski, Yao, Brand, etc. Or if the other teams throw in a contract to make it even out, what about for Chris Paul or Deron? That one is interesting in my mind, I thought I liked Deron as much as a player but I wouldn't make the trade for him but I would for Chris Paul.

The next year or two will tell the story. I felt Al was just deferring to teammates his rookie year. For sure Karl Malone is a stretch and probably Boozer or Brand but we'll see. Charles Barkley sure seems to be impressed with Al as are other scouts. Doubt they'd be that impressed if Al is just gonna be another Dale or Antonio Davis, which by no means were bad players, but not allstars like many think Al will be.

I've never seen Al compared to Bosh or Howard, both are unique athletes. The Amare comparisons come from when we almost Al's pick for Amare. I was glad we didn't, thinking Al could be a cheaper alternative to Amare and I still feel that way. For sure even after knee surgery, Amare is much more fluid and athletic. However, I do think the proper Al comparison are to Boozer, Brand, and moreso a young Karl Malone if he didn't have Stockton. All are similar sized and skilled to me, it's just a matter of how much Al improves. My dream would be to hear about Al working with Karl one of these offseasons.

I think Bibby is gonna be hard to move for that solid center that we need. However, we'll have to try that or try to move some salaries at least. That way maybe we'll have enough money if Bibby just leaves to make a good free agent offer. I'm guessing we'd have to gain Bibby's capspace and either Zaza's or Speedy's to get enough under the cap to offer more than just the MLE. I doubt it happens though. Probably next offseason we'll resign Marvin and use the MLE again. We'll just have to hope that our main core of JJ, Marvin, Smoove, and Horford will carry us to contention.

Having a better crowd would definitely help our home record. However, I don't see what happened during the last playoffs ever happening again. It was that root for the underdog thing multiplied by tons of other factors. I actually didn't really enjoy it that much because it went to the point of being slightly goofy. Kinda like the wave or the tomahawk gets goofy after a point to me too. But the side benefit was it got us the wins and it also made a Hawks game the place to be in Atlanta. With continuation of that new viewpoint, the crowds should be good for a while now if the Hawks win, just like what happened with the Braves. As you mentioned, one of the other easiest ways to also keep it going is to try to get a little of that Staples attitude with some of Atlanta's stars to come out more regularly.

To answer Walter, No, Marvin be as good as Deron or Paul were last year. However, even with our glut of young SF's, I would have drafted Marvin sorta because I didn't know for sure if Paul or Deron would be good NBA points or which one to take. It's done, it was a blown pick. But it kept us bad enough to get to keep the Phoenix pick and get Horford. I'd rather have Marvin and Horford than Deron or Paul, but actually just barely and depending on how much their contracts cost. On Marvin improving, he seems to come out improved each year and then loses confidence as the year goes on. He supposedly gained some strength this offseason. With Smoove and Horford seeming to be hard workers, peer pressure alone will probably cause Marvin to work and play harder. So I think Marvin will still get much better. I think he has the skills to be as good as Carmelo, he just needs some of Carmelo's confidence.

JJ is probably still heavier and and for sure stronger than Marvin or JSmoove. It's nice having guys that we can rotate on defense to cover others. None of our guys including Horford can really cover a dominant center so we just double team and rotate. That's why we also need a big point like Acie.

Nice Traceman, I run into VIP's all around the city but not many NBA players. I guess they don't hang out as much where I hang out (ie strip bars, free weight gyms, standard Buckhead restaurants, etc). The NBA player that I used to see the most often is Kevin Willis. He'd show up at my gym, did curls with him once. Shannon Sharpe is there so much that sometimes I forget and just think he's some gym regular. But I don't see many NBA guys away from Phillips.

I'm a big Al fan but I still think Smoove has a little higher upside. The key is learning let the game come to him and as stated, figuring out how to control his jumping while jumpshooting. Many of the pure athletes such as Vince Carter and Chris Webber figured out how to do it, many others never did. Smoove's biggest limitation in my mind is his small hands. They slightly limit what he'll ever be able to do in the post. So I guess I think Al will be better and both will be near all-stars by 26. However, there is more of a chance that Smoove will be a superstar. I don't think it will happen and I also worry about what will happen to Smoove as he loses some athleticism since really that's all his game is based on.

Good post Txsting! I agree, why would a Euroleague team go hard after a player like Childress? Ben Gordon or someone like that would probably tear up a league like that, maybe even Salim. I call Childress into my office and ask him what it will take for him to stay here. Anything much higher than the MLE and I'd congratulate him on the Euro offer and tell him our door is always open if he changes his mind.

I think Chillz has already pretty much reached his potential, the next most likely to me is Al.

I must toot my own horn a little here and say that I couldn't figure out why no one had interest in Azubuike outta KY, I would have drafted him in the second for sure. That made it even more maddening for me when he was playing so well with GS. I'm not sure that he isn't as good as Chillz but he's gonna cost nearly as much now. We blew it (as did everyone else) not getting him out of college and locking him up for a few yrs. Now he'll cost about what Chillz will so why bother with the risk that he just look good in GS's weird system.

Of course none of us know what really happened, but I think Solo and his agent thought about it and decided that his status as a returning vet might make him more likely to be extended than his performance in the summer league would. He sucked in the past two summers, probably would have again.

I think the Joshes deserve deals starting where you mentioned to $1 mil more plus annual increases, but otherwise I totally agree.

ASG did try to market the Bibby trade when trying to sell playoff packages so I'd say it's at least in their mind to try to make a move before July 26th. Maybe they'll just sign Kwame instead..lol.

Those sound like great target stats for Horford this year. That was a weak Cleveland team also I'd assume. I'd luv to stats on how much Karl Malone's jumper improved. I'd guess his shooting improvement is pretty much unmatched in NBA history. I think he could barely even hit a free throw early on. Same with Chris Weber. Both did have better footwork than Horford seems to have.

Lol, I see what people are trying to say. Exodus did make me watch and he was right, Horford never did try to take slow centers off the dribble. He does frequently pass up open 18 footers. He does look a little mechanical at times. Still, I guess others of us don't see it as timid, we see it more like deferring due to being a rookie and just trying to improve the team. We also remember him taking to Oden on a multi-option team with the championship on the line. We see his leadership skills and sometimes near taunting and know that he's got an aggressive side that he keeps under control. If we traded JJ for Oden. Moved Horford to PF and told him it was his team. I don't think timid would be on anyone's mind.

Now that the gamble with Smoove seems to be panning out, I don't see us making an offer to Marvin at all. I also wonder a little if we'd worry that a signed Marvin might try less to improve than an unsigned Marvin would. Assuming we resign Smoove for around $10 to $11 mil per and Chillz for around $6, Marvin probably will expect something around $7-8 unless he improves significantly. If he does improve that much, GREAT!

If Smoove went to Utah we'd expect his stats to approach Boozer's. The board values Horford more than Smoove for our team. Somehow the stats just don't link with what we think Horford can do. I guess when I see him grab the rebound and then dribble up the court past smaller players I just don't think we have seen what Horford can do yet. He definitely needs to work on being aggressive, shooting, and finishing. Malone couldn't shoot when he joined the league. I don't expect Horford to ever have Malone's jumper but I'm sure he'll improve. Everyone thought Utah way overpaid for Boozer. I'm not sure what his stats were prior to the move but I'm sure they were Horford like. I think someone is just a stathead if they can't see Horford improving to be nearly Boozer like on the right team? Of course he'll have to improve but why do some people think he won't?

It's kinda weird, I think we'd be a better team if we traded Smoove, Speedy for Kaman and a 1st but I'd be disappointed if we did it. I like watching Smoove and enjoy thinking about what would happen if his shooting and decision making improved. More likely is that his bb IQ and shooting improves but his athleticism regresses as he ages. It probably doesn't matter since I doubt a proper deal ever comes up since we slightly overvalue Smoove due to the hometown thing. I thought JB was serious at first. I guess we need to only consider Smoove for Dalembert or Greg Oden to keep him happy. Hmm, maybe a trade with Portland with Smoove for Oden or Aldridge might could be worked out as our teams progress the next year or two.

I just don't see how anyone can not see that Horford is already one of the best bigmen in the game as just a rookie. In my mind about the only stat that solidly makes this debatable is why did our record only marginally improve when we added such a great player and had so few injuries. I'd blame that on JJ's slow start, losing many close games early, and mostly on Woodson. 10 and 10 doesn't look that good on paper but with our offense it's to be expected. Not taking an 18 footer when that's not part of the offense is good bb IQ, not being timid. I think Woodie pretty much wants JJ to be our offense, he wants Marvin to take 18 footers, and he wants Smoove to just play under control. Our centers, and Chillz just aren't part of the primary offense. Bibby was supposed to hit the outside shot when JJ was covered whereas Acie was expected to penetrate. Horford is a slightly less explosive Karl Malone in my mind. Put him on Utah then or now and he'd nearly match Malone or Boozer's stats, and he'd make up the slight decrease with better efficiency and less mistakes. On our team with Woodson as coach, I look for 13 and 10 this year.