AnakinJoe

But what if it is Solo and Robert Swift?

Marvin's FTAs increased in his last healthy month, February. There's no evidence that refs stopped calling fouls against him because they think that he is clumsy. If anything, he was learning how to transfer his 3-point shot into drives into the lane. The hardest thing to do is to accurately project what a guy who got a lot of shot attempts on losing teams will do when they are moved to a winning squad. I'd be very careful about setting high expectations for Crawford. I think he will emerge as a smaller version of Al Harrington... a one-dimensional player who will ultimately have a very forgettable tenure with the Hawks. He'll undoubtedly will have some really nice games for us (remember when Harrington and Joe had like 20 in the 1st half against the Knicks?) but he won't truly impact the team's success/failure (other than costing us valuable cap space).

ShamSports shows that Bowen has a partially guaranteed contract. So I think the attraction is to trade for Bowen, a protected 1st round pick and then buy-out his contract. It resolves the Childress issue without a long-term salary cap hit. And we get an extra pick in the process. But I personally wouldn't object to having him on our bench for a season. The moment he walks to the scorers table, the opposing team's best wing player will get distracted.

Robert or Stromile?

3 years/$25M. His back injury makes me nervous.

Hawks finished 23rd in rebounding last year and were destroyed in the Cavs series. A Bibby/Crawford/Joe combination would not only leave our backcourt exceptionally vulnerable to any opposing guard with average quickness but would make us even smaller to grab the rebound. I understand that Joe played the opposing team's top perimeter scorer at times, but do we really want to see him play 30 minutes a game against the likes of Granger, Pierce, LeBron & Beasley?

If someone else is directly or indirectly responsible for Smith's bad shot selection, does that mean that if he improves his shot selection, that someone other than Smith should receive credit for the improvement? My son came home with a bad test grade and blamed it on his buddy who was supposedly yapping in his ear during the test. He took no responsibility for not being able to focus on his exam (even though he is able to routinely tune me out when I tell him to brush his teeth or sweep the floor). So when he came home a week later with a better score, I suggested that I needed to reward his buddy for helping him improve his test results. There is NEVER anything wrong with personal accountability. If Smith wants to improve his shot selection, I have every confidence that he can do so independent of his teammates.

I agree in principle with AHF. Marvin is extremely disciplined, almost to a fault. I recall Solo's comment about feeling like he needed to stay within the role that was previously defined by the coaching staff. It became an excuse of sorts for not fully developing himself (and his skills) during the off-season. Then we read that Marvin may have developed his 3-ball shooting after a conversation with Sund. Again, Marvin is playing the role of good solider and doing exactly what his bosses are telling him to do. But to fully optimize his considerable talents, he needs to decide to go above and beyond the box where he has grown comfortable. He needs a 6 for 15 kind of shooting night. We need to see him chuck up shots throughout a game. Because the 6-8 shots he takes most nights won't cut it, especially with Smith and Horford out. But he has to be willing to fail in order to experience unprecedented success. And let's face it, Woody doesn't seem the sort to reward guys for failure... which may be one of the reasons why Marvin stays comfortably in his 14 point box (with a 50% FG%).

I'm nervous. Sure, Peavy is among the very best pitchers in the NL, but he has also benefitted from playing in a great pitcher's park. And he was on the DL last season. I personally think that Escobar could be a Derek Jeter type player. The kind that just always seems to make the right play, come up with the big hit and just show off his high baseball IQ all the time. But he does have some maturity issues that may impede his natural talents. Personally, I'd be more than content with spending on 2 FAs like Dempster and Oliver Perez and keeping Escobar and our minor leagers. But, I am still a little gun-shy from the Texiera deal that left us with a mid-level 1st basemen in exchange for a few blue-chip prospects.

When jump shooters are nailing their shots, you can't help BUT love jump shooters. And after 3 games, these guys have been good at hitting jumpers. But is that likely to last the entire season? Flip can get his points in a variety of ways, but he could have easily co-existed with Chill (both from an on-court and salary perspective). Chill was able to score 12+ points without any plays run for him. He was able to roam the baseline and turn an offensive possession that may have ended in a missed 18 footer into a successful field goal attempt from inside the paint. (Personally, I haven't seen Mo play above average defense. His offense play has been strong but I don't recall him "locking down" anyone yet... so I'm not yet feeling him as a difference maker in these first 3 games). What I thought we would miss the most was his energy and hustle, but I've been thrilled to see that this team "brings it" hard every minute of this early season. We all know that has not always been the case with our team. If we continue to play this wicked-nasty defense, then those easy points-in-the-paint that Chill gave us won't be missed. But eventually, shots won't fall and we will lose a game because the VAST majority of this team would rather hoist a distant shot than constantly look for that open seam in the paint to convert a lay-up.

Starbury will more than likely be playing in the Euro league next season. I can't imagine him being offered more than about $5M to play in the NBA while he could get a better deal over there (and more love from the fans). I'm glad to see that Childress is playing well for his new team. I'm not sure that his play will increase his NBA trade value but it obviously won't hurt it. I'd like to see Sund do something with both Andersen and Childress next summer. Trade their rights or bring them over... do something.

Wow, you mean that we added a journeyman player to the league minimum for 1 year and he actually has flaws in his game? Oh my! I thought we were getting the second-coming of D.Wade that no one else in the league had discovered. Oh shoot. Well at least, we were able to sign Randolph Morris to a league minimum contract and he is clearly looking Dwight Howard-like. Yes, the VAST majority of players on a second unit have flaws and need to be "managed" appropriately by the Head Coach. That's true for Flip, Barbosa, Varejao and every other sub in the league.

I'd like to see them make a run at Ryan Dempster (yeah, I know that he sucked last night but he has another good 4-5 years in him) and Oliver Perez (just reaching his prime). Both of those guys are in a grouping below CC, Garland & Lowe. But they are young enough that they should still be very good when Hudson returns in '10. And their price tag should be reasonable. I also hope that Wren goes hard after a big-time bat. Our only 2 prime-time run producers are incapable of playing 155 games/season... Chipper due to injuries and McCann due to his position. I'd like to think Escobar will be great when healthy and that KJ can be a .300 hitter with 80 RBIs as he becomes more consistent. But that's a guess, based on limited data. I'd take Adam Dunn and his 200 KOs in a heart-beat.

I don't think that "Shooting Coaches" sit on the bench. I expect to see Price behind the bench. Let's not take this to an extreme. Price has been trying to get on as an assistant coach position in the league since he retired. For whatever reason, team after team have turned him away. He even had to go to Australia to get some coaching experience. And he still is only able to perform as a "consultant" which is not quite the same level as assistant coach. I'm VERY glad he's here to work with our shooters on all facets of their game. And hopefully, Woody will allow him to work with the PGs about decision-making and floor leadership. But I'm guessing the "interim coach" line starts & ends with Larry Drew and Jim Todd. I don't think Price will come up in the discussion if/when Woody gets whacked.

I wonder if unsigned free agents can play in the NBDL? That could be a better option because he would not have any contract issues if he shows and proves before the NBA season ends and someone wants to add him to their roster. And yes, it is a shame when injury/health problems rob someone from realizing their potential. While Penny Hardaway and Larry Johnson enjoyed success in their careers, they were both robbed of being mega-stars by injuries. Same with Ron Harper, Jamal Mashburn and Ralph Sampson (who was pretty good but was unable to meet the massive expectations placed on him).

I'm anxious to see if Solo is ready to compete for playing time. No one doubts his physical tools and even though he was light in the pants last year, he still showed that his physical abilities could provide a meaningful contribution to the team. While I recognize that Woody has poorly used his resources in the past, I can't help but wonder if Solo has done what it takes to rid himself of the "raw" label. That reputation is usually more about your experience and maturity and less about physical strength or ability. So while he was doing the gym-thing, I'm hoping that he was also spending some time praciticing the nuances of the game that will earn him some consistent time on the floor.

I wonder how many of us are so insecure that we concern ourselves with what other people think about our work performance (or school performance)? Imagine if you left your current job and were hired in a new company. You pretty much know that the new company interviewed other candidates but you were offered the job and accepted. At some point, maybe 6 or 9 months down the road when you may still be behind the learning curve, do you say to yourself, "I wonder how do I prove to people that I wasn't the wrong pick?" Boy, I hope not. Hopefully, you'd just keep chopping at the block of wood and use all of your resources to improve your performance, please your boss and get the job done. DAMN the water-cooler critics. Anyway, back to the question... I'd ask Marvin why he thinks that players from recent NCAA championship teams haven't become NBA All-Stars (other than Carmelo most recently) and if he'd trade his NCAA championship ring for the individual accolades of being among the NBA elite.

I'm pretty sure Roy Williams and Calvin Johnson is having thoughts of hanging Pro Bowl numbers up this Sunday afternoon. Two 'no-name' cornerbacks, safeties who are more known for run-support than their cover skills, a non-existent pass rush unless John Abraham has a monster day. Hopefully, the Birds can pull this one out.... I too thought Grimes did a really good job in the pre-season. But the thought of him trying to match-up against the more physical receivers must give Coach Smith nightmares. The arrival of Foxworth also means the young cats (Houston, Grimes & Jackson) must keep working hard at their game or one of them won't see much playing time. 4 quality players competing for 3 key spots should translate into elevated performance. (Unless one of them punks out like Forney did when he opted to beg out of the competition with Dahl).

3G requires both the right SIM card AND a 3G-enabled phone. When you call to activate the phone/SIM card, they will match the SIM card number to your cell phone's number so that it works. I'm not sure that I understood your point about the upgrades and your father... but I hope I answered your question about how to access a 3G network.

Our true GM (Gearon) said that Woody deserved the chance to coach this team for a full season. That, to me, says that Woody deserves the chance to coach the team with Bibby for a whole year. So I think Bibby is definitely starting the season in a Hawks uniform. If Sund is looking to move Solo, it is likely because he doesn't want more than 12 guaranteed contracts entering the veteran's camp and needs to move Solo to offer a more proven veteran a deal. And I'm guessing that he is looking at a big. Mbenga? Josh Powell? (I'm also assuming that 1 or 2 of the undrafted FAs that were invited to the camp will get a guaranteed deal, giving us 13-14 players for the season).

AMEN!

I agree. I keep wondering why so many are clamoring for Randolph Morris. Sure, we need a big man but why not at least target someone who has shown the ability to actually play (defend) in this league for 18+ minutes a night? Is Adonal Foyle available? I think I'd rather have the snail-like Magloire than Morris. Kwame was always my first choice but I didn't see the ASG agreeing to his terms. I was just glad they at least lived the dream by having him workout.

Quote: Of course not. They are cowards. They should have been on the airwaves as soon as this news broke to explain to their fans what the course of action will be. They should be open with their fans for better or worse. This media blackout policy they have only leads to more distrust. The best way to answer this issue is to sign Josh Smith (to a reasonable contract), trade for Damien Wilkins to play the "Childress" role and then sign Kwame. Oh and do it all by Friday. Then, they could discuss how the team is better and deeper than last year's team. Absent that, there is nothing I need to hear from them (or at least nothing that will have meaning for me).

I think the "Euro option" is only impactful if guys stay over there long-term. While some Hawks fans are upset about Childress and (Smith if he went that way), let's not believe that either of these guys are critical to the success of the league. Stern didn't even televised any Hawks regular season games last season. This would be a far bigger deal if it were a top 3 player from an often televised team, like Carlos Boozer, Ben Gordon or Josh Howard (notice that I didn't mention any iconic names). And I really don't see any circumstance where Stern would "force" a team to make a S&T for fear of losing that player to the Euro League. That essentially dilutes the power of the RFA status won through the CBA. Now, instead of the incumbent team having most of the power, a player could punk a team (with an assist from the NBA Commissioner) into forcing a trade? Nope, I don't see Stern doing that. If Smith wants out, he'll have to go and deal with 2-a-day practices and living in a foreign country and a style of basketball that doesn't appear to suit his skills. Or, take the QO and wait a year. I can't imagine Stern ruining the CBA for all 30 teams because of a little dust-up down here in Atlanta. By the way, most of Mike Tirico's radio show this afternoon was spent on the USA Olympic Team and Brett Favre. I'm not sure that this Euro defection is getting a ton of national media attention.

Strange that a GM with 30+ years of NBA front-office experience would be making such a huge mistake. I'm simply not buying it. Maybe from another GM but not from a guy like Sund. Also, I'm predicting that Sund will be re-united with Mik. Gelabale. Evidently, he's a UFA and I think Sund drafted him while in Seattle. He could be considered in that Childress-category. The other guy I could see is Quinton Ross, also a UFA.