DJ_Money

FWIW, Herb wasn't anything more than a consultant to Woody last year. He was beginning to step away from the game due to his age. I doubt his role in Charlotte is any larger. I can't see how his departure will have any large effect.

I highly doubt it, D. Butch should go ahead and start scouting for an apartment in Europe.

Crap. Now if we had only kept Shelden, we might have finally gotten something out of him in our one yearly visit to OKC.

Eh...who are they kidding? We know they can't afford both. They can barely afford one.

Sekou's spies say that Philly called Smith's agents shortly after midnight and are trying to get him into town as soon as Wednesday. The Hawks still have the first meeting today, but if they get wind of this trip, maybe they really push to get something done today. http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-bl...01/1201_am.html Quote: Late-breaking developments Monday night saw Elton Brand and Baron Davis opt out of their contracts and join the free agent market, each of them sacrificing millions in search of a longer contracts that will give them the security they desire. But neither Brand nor Davis is the target of the Philadelphia 76ers. That distinction remains Smith’s. And while you were sleeping just after midnight, 76ers president Ed Stefanski, according to one of my well-placed spies, was on the phone with Smith’s representatives making sure that they were headed to the City of Brotherly Love as soon as possible. My spy (who said no call from the Hawks came after midnight) insists that Philly wants Smith to visit as early as Wednesday morning. That would make clear their intentions where Smith is concerned. The Hawks and Smith’s reps are still slated to meet this afternoon (my spy didn’t know where the meeting was slated to go down but I’m working on it). But I would imagine the tenor of that meeting could change dramatically, at least for Smith’s camp, knowing that it’s just the first stop on a mini-tour that includes a stop in Philly. Good teams don’t wait around until May to decide who they like, they’ve usually done their homework on a player and his situation long before they make the move it appears the 76ers are about to make. So I poked around a bit more and found that not only has Stefanski been intrigued by Smith’s talent since he was a high schooler coming out in the 2004 draft, he also has a longstanding relationship with one of Smith’s agents, Brian Dyke, who is also Kenyon Martin’s agent. Stefanski worked in a similar capacity in New Jersey when Martin was there and was in almost the exact same situation as Smith (if you remember, the Nets dared Martin to find a team willing to pay him more than they wanted to and he did just that and left in a sign-and-trade deal with Denver). Those sorts of connections cannot be ignored during situations like the one the Hawks are facing now.

About the best we can hope for based on our cap/financial limitations... http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-bl...01/1201_am.html Quote: BIG MEN NAMES: Worked a few of my other spies last night for some info about what big men the Hawks are eyeballing this summer and two interesting names popped up. Could you see Randolph Morris or Kwame Brown in a Hawks uniform? Both are expected to get a good look from the Hawks’ new brass this summer. Both also come with risks - the risk on taking on Brown being far greater than the risk of taking on a player like Morris. But they’re both the kind of big men the Hawks need to be able to add to their mix. That depth we’ve been talking about around here all year can be bolstered dramatically with the addition of a reasonably priced big man in the mold of either Morris or Brown. There are other rookie and free agent big men that will no doubt be a part of the Hawks’ summer league situation (Brian Butch from Wisconsin being the most noteworthy thus far), but I’d argue that none of them would present the intrigue of either Morris or Brown.

http://www.ajc.com/hawks/content/sports/ha...oshes_0701.html I'll spare you the full article. It's the same stuff we've already heard, "Hawks plan to match any offers for Smith, Childress." Here's the good stuff... Quote: Both Smith and Childress can sign offer sheets with other teams, but the Hawks have the right to match any offer. The Hawks will get first crack at Smith, who is expected to meet Tuesday with his representatives and Hawks management, the first day they are allowed to do so by league rules. Such a meeting with Childress could also occur. "We want to sit down and talk to [the Hawks] first and gauge their interest and see exactly where we are," said Wallace Prather, one of Smith's agents. "I think everybody realizes that Josh loves it here and loves his teammates and loves playing in his hometown. If everything goes well, hopefully, we wont have to talk long. But if they send us off to find another offer, then we'll have to do that as well." Smith is expected to be in Philadelphia for a visit later in the week. And the 76ers, with more than $11 million in projected salary cap space, can offer Smith a lucrative, frontloaded deal greater than the $45 million offer the Hawks made — and Smith turned down — last summer, when Smith was eligible for a contract extension. We know how much Philly can offer. And we know they can't offer the 6th year. Make the right offer and there's no reason for him to ever visit Philly.

Quote: Quote: Can Smoove just refuse to sign a deal with Philly? Is this a trick question? That's what I was wondering. Obviously the 6th year is a huge advantage for us.

Given that the Rocky Mountain Revue is from July 18-25, I guess we now know that Al won't be there...not the entire time, at least. I'd say scrimmaging Team USA is better experience than playing a bunch of guys bound for Europe. Quote: Celtics guard Rajon Rondo and center Kendrick Perkins will not play for a select team that will scrimmage the US Olympic team July 21-24 in Las Vegas, but several talented young players will challenge the NBA stars. The projected roster includes Timberwolves forward Al Jefferson, Atlanta's Al Horford, Portland's LaMarcus Aldridge, Philadelphia's Andre Iguodala, Seattle's Kevin Durant and Jeff Green, Sacramento's Kevin Martin, Detroit's Rodney Stuckey, and Chicago's Derrick Rose.

I fear the old site has been wiped from ezboard's servers. http://pub12.ezboard.com/bhawksquawk There are some pages left on the Archive site. You can read some of the old topic titles, but not what lies within. A fun trip down memory lane, if you've got time to kill. Even back then, Walter and Diesel didn't get along.

Every Summer League squad needs a big, white stiff! (Or two!)

We likely won't hear anything until the Summer League roster is announced. Usually a week or so before the actual Summer League games.

Just a few names off ESPN's Player Tracker list to look at. (I know there's more guys out there, but I'm supposed to be working and don't have time to search the whole internet.) http://insider.espn.go.com/nbadraft/draft/...raftyear%3d2008 Point Guards: -Jamar Butler, Ohio State. -Drew Neitzel, Michigan State. (If Smitty has anyone's ear in the front office, I'm sure he's making calls this morning.) Shooting Guards: -Jamont Gordon, Mississippi State. (A guy that I've always liked. Not a great shooter, but he scores, rebounds, and get assists. Would love to have him for the Summer League, even if his chances of making the team are slim. KB, I know you've got more on him...) -Marcelus Kemp, Nevada. (Good scorer and defender.) -Chris Lofton, Tennessee. (Great college player until health issues took his Senior year away.) -DeMarcus Nelson, Duke. (Defender.) -Richard Roby, Colorado. Small Forward: -Josh Duncan, Xavier. -Keith Brumbaugh, JUCO. (Was a top HS player, but has off-court issues.) -Davon Jefferson, USC. (Should have stayed in school.) Power Forward: Nothing to write home about. Center: -C.J. Giles, Oregon State. (Never lived up to college hype, got kicked out of Kansas.) -David Padgett, Louisville. (No defense, but skilled for a 7-footer. Good passer. Bad injury history, I believe.) Add others, if you wish.

Smith can dunk and hit the three. He literally can't score from anywhere else. Nor does he really contribute in any other way. Other than the wide open three, Childress can't really do much other than get dunks/layups. But at least he contributes elsewhere...and he's less of a headcase.

Quote: Quote: !Mo / Redd / RJ call flat out play. They will be tough next year with Karl focusing on defense. Lets see, the Nets had Kidd, RJ, and Vince cater and didn't make the playoffs but somehow Mo Williams, Redd and Rj is a better combo? Agreed. MIL has Bogut, but RJ is not a difference makes in this league. (SFs rarely are. Right, BK?) I'm glad we're not pinning the entire future of this team on 2010. I think half the league has cleared room for a max deal now. Hell, even we've got $20 million+ in expirings with Joe and Speedy. There will be a lot of disappointed teams that summer.

That's possible, Ex. He might see that 44% as his ticket to cash in and get multiple years. I can't see him getting a huge raise, but getting 10-15 million guaranteed is an objective for many players.

He's definately a shooter to look at. He hit over 44% from 3 last season. He was scheduled to make $3.1 million next year. I'd assume he wants a raise off that. We'd probably have to invest a significant portion of the MLE. Something like 3 years/$13-15 million? I'd prefer to find a shooter (Mason, Rush, etc.) for close to the minimum and save the MLE to chase the bigs, but Jones is one player to keep an eye on.

Barbosa wouldn't make any sense because, as you said, neither him nor Roy is a PG. Maggette would be a fine addition at the SF spot. Another rumor is that they're now talking with New Jersey about moving from #13 to #10. While they're on the phone, they should inquire about Richard Jefferson. It's great what Portland has done, stockpiling picks and young talent, but they have to do something with it at some point. They can't have 20 players on the roster. They need to avoid making Chicago's mistake and falling too in love with their young players. Chicago could have had Gasol. Hell, they had a shot at Kobe...but they hesitated to pull the trigger.

Veteran big could mean anyone from Diop to Lorenzen Wright. So... I like Mason and Kareem Rush as shooters. Neither should be terribly expensive.

Holy crap. Rosenberry is going to give me nightmares.

We frontloaded Joe, so in reality, the money that we're not paying him now can be applied to a frontloaded deal for Josh. A frontloaded deal for Josh might be a wise move anyhow, when you consider massive extensions for Joe and Al looming in 2-3 years.

Quote: Bibby still doesn't know my system like I want him to know it. Run Bibby! Run!

Jamison's defense is just too much of a negative for me. Not to mention, we'd have to likely present a deal north of 10 mil. In order to get him and WAS to agree to a deal. As we've said many times, a SF with Artest's defense and range would be ideal for our team.

Anywhere we can see this "Law and Horford" video?

CBA experts...is there anything that prevents a team from trading a player within X days after he accepts a Player Option year on his contract? Just wondering, since that's the situation with Artest. It looks like will accept the one year to stay in Sacramento. Does that then prohibit them from trading him elsewhere? I'd do Marvin for Artest in a heartbeat. We'd have the potential to be an elite defensive team with him here. We would need to devise a scheme to hide Bibby's defensive shortcomings, as Boston does with Ray Allen. (I'd estimate it would be a difficult task, given that Bibby has to play on ball so often at the PG spot.)