T21

I mentioned this possibility before... My arguments were clear and simple! Gasol would instantly give us low-post presence and open up the floor for JJ's (Salim) outside game and create open lanes for our slashers (who play better without the ball!)... Plus, this guy can run the floor and would perfectly fit the Hawks (still very young, high BB-IQ). I strongly believe that he and Al would create sensational front-court. Hawks would no longer be one-dimensional/easy to defend team... Now, I'm bringing this up because I've just read the article on Insidehoops / Memphis local newspappers about Gasol's name being mentioned again in trade rumors... According to the article (which mostly revolves around Memphis-Chicago saga) our GM had a standing offer for Gasol (he made a trade for Gasol) and I was wondering who was on the table, if there's any truth to this info? P.S. Gasol would make us contenders and we would be set for the future...

I don't want to rain on your parade, but Ukic is simply not that good. He is not NBA material! He is a bad version of Lakers' Sasha Vujacic... Don't get me wrong, he is a decent player, who can hold his own in Europe. BTW, he is not a true PG, more a combo-guard...

I would certainly contemplate ways to acquire Gasol, maybe even Miller... Let's face the fact that Hawks need low-post pressence, a guy who can score down-low and kick it out...

Quote: Quote: Id say after the 1st couple games it was over reacting or emotional as you say. Now its just plain contempt that this guy tries to be a one man gang every time he gets the ball. Its getiin to be ground hog day with Smoove. My God at least Al Harrington could make shots. Like I said I dont know enough about Biedrins but something has to be done. I guess we can wait til Acie comes back and hope that a rookie pg will make the differance and keep Smoove in his place on offense. If he cant then it may be time to MOVE SMOOVE. lol How old is he? How often is a player fully developed offensively by the time they're 21 years old? He needs better coaching, obviously, if he's allowed to have such horrible shot selection, but why trade a great raw talent? You got it! Sometimes we forget that we have the youngest team in the NBA... Well, for couple of years now... I understand the frustrations, but we have to be just a bit more patient! We got so much talent, others would kill for... Better coaching would certainly speed up that process...

Yes! I'm in Europe, so its more difficult to get that kind of info... I'm already having hard time watching Hawks games... Thanks!

I'm fine with it, especially if he eats 200 innings and keeps his ERA at 4.00...

You're right, he's been moving around like a dark cloud, but I don't think its poor Rickey's fault... Just bad luck!

Good post! I like Horford very much anyway (without the stats)... So far, he really looks great... and BTW, he'll be playing both 4 and 5 through his career. As far as he is concerned, its fine, guy just wants to win and do whatever it takes for his team to achive those goals... Stand-up young man, who is definetely one of our corner-stones for the present and future!

Quote: Quote: ...In terms of us getting Gasol, I'd be less worried about their willingness to trade him, and more worried that a team like Chicago might beat us to it. Good point (sadly). That's obvious... If Chicago keeps playing this way, pressure will be greater on Paxson and Skiles to work something out. Its clear now to everyone that they screwed up with Ben Wallace! However, the bad thing (from our perspective) is the fact that we, as well as the Bulls, desperately need low-post offense. Plus the fact that they failed to land Kobe... P.S. I truly believe that Gasol would make us look great! All the pieces would perfectly slide into right places (Al to PF, Smoove to SF...)

Lets face it! Our team needs one or two moves to become real basketball team and a legitimate contender... I mean, we need a low-post offense (C or PF)! Running game is fun and we sure have athletic roster to implement that, but we can't rely only on that. Other teams make adjustments and they will employ zone-D's on us, slow the game down, intimidate us down-low... Hawks will strugle under such circumstances, as we witnessed against Wizards... I was never a big fan of Woody (God knows that), but in all honesty, its damn hard to play successful half-court offense with our roster... What would you do?! That's where all the trouble begins. Our team is very young and when they strugle on offense, it makes a reflection on defense as well, as they lose focus, composure and intensity. In today's NBA, if you're off for 5 or 10 minutes, its over, you won't have the chance to get back in the game! No matter how much we all like fast pace, highlight b-ball, we know that come second half of the season and especially playoffs, teams with strong D and half-court games are always on the winning side of score-line! We have an obvious surplus of forwards, and we know we won't be able to keep'em all... We could assemble a package of (for instance) Marvin, Zaza/Shelden, one of our PG's and try to lure Pau Gasol from Memphis... Hawks line-up would look like: PG Law SG JJ SF Smoove PF Al C Gasol Bench: Chillz Salim Zaza/Shelden Solo This team wouldn't lose any of the atributes we all like, plus we would be set for years! Just imagine Pau inside and JJ outside? Smoove and Al roaming the lanes? Anyway, I believe that Smoove's better playing off of options 1 and 2 on offense, without the ball, cutting to the basket, comming from the weakside, just using his athleticism... If you look at this lineup, you can easily see that nobody in the NBA would be able to physically match with us...

Well... This guy is a great talent and a winner (you haven't seen that side of him yet!), and he would certainly fit well with the Hawks. He could immediately impact our team's play with his: 1. Low post offense, 2. Passing ability, 3. Our half-court game would instantly improve, and we wouldn't be one-dimensional team anymore. Hawks would have legitimate inside-outside game, with him inside and JJ outside, not the mention the benefits that guys like Acie and Salim would reap playing off this kind of system, 4. Paired with Al Horford, Hawks would finally have a true front-court, 5. Gasol can run the floor as well, so he wouldn't hurt Hawks' running game. Remember, Gasol is still very young and he would fit very well... Finally, Hawks would have real line-up with true 1,2,3,4 and 5! I would certainly give a package of Marvin, Shelden/Zaza and a filler for Gasol. I understand that (if Pau's traded) the Bulls are the front runners in this race, but I strongly believe that this move would get Hawks to another level!

Quote: Let's all thank BK for being stubborn enough to stick to his plan even when his teams' fans and all star had/has complaints!! I agree! OK, we all understand that few things here and there could have been done in a different way, but hey, at the end of the day we have a very talented, young and deep team, that has nothing but the bright future ahead! We were frustrated and anxious to see results immediately, but it takes time! That's why the process is called rebuilding in the first place...

Unfortunately, I must agree and say that we'll eventualy lose one of 3 (Smith, Marvin, Childress)... I just don't see Hawks being able to afford all of them... So if we realize its going to happen' regardless of what, we might as well get something in return via trade... Just commom logic! I know it suck, because we're talking about our baby, soon to be grown-up, Hawks!

I hate to bring this up, but just imagine what Rick Adelman would do with our team?!

Yeah! I feel very positive about our future, but... If we glance the stat sheets of first two games, we can easily notice that Woody is under great deal of pressure to win, and win now! That may lead to some distractions and mistakes... I didn't like short rotations he used. I felt, comming into this season, that our advantage over other teams would be deep rotation, young legs and high-level rythm... I believe that we can be very successful if we employ that kind of strategy... Last night's game was illustration of that. Our Hawks lost some of the energy and focus when it was make or brake! I know that we have shown lots of guts when we came back, but realy, it shouldn't have happened, because we should have had an easy W!OK, I give some credit to the Pistons, refs and the fact that we were shorthanded (but we still had Salim and Solo on the bench), but I just wouldn't want to see Hawks missusing obvious potential...

...even few years ago I thought Dre was best PG to lead our young team! I still consider him one of better pure PS's in the NBA. I believe that he could still help us in more than just one way, and I would love to get him... He could lead this team on and off the floor, plus he would be a great mentor to Acie! But again, there's the obvious... We have surplus of PG's. We have Acie and we need to make sure he gets enough minutes. If there would be any kind of a deal, it would have to include at least one of our PG's, and I would hate to see any of our young guys go in opposite direction. I know some of our posters don't think Shelden is much... but I would hate to see him leave after just one season, because I believe that every team need such kind of player, and I feel he will find his game...

Quote: First of all, any deal for Kobe would NOT include JJ. Kobe wouldn't want to come here unless JJ is on the roster. So, that means you have to include Josh Smith (or maybe Al Horford). You also have to include Speedy to makes things work capwise. I see the deal as: Josh Smith -or- Al Horford Speedy Claxton Tyronn Lue (expiring) Marvin Williams -or- Josh Childress Based on contract lengths, if you trade Smith, I think you have to include Marvin. If it's Horford, you give up Childress. Since a Smith+Marvin combo is more enticing to the Lakers, I think that's the one that would be considered. Smith + Claxton + Lue + Williams -for- the BPITG. Law/AJ Kobe/Salim JJ/Childress Horford/Shelden Zaza/Wright/Jones In the offseason, you replace AJ with a PG who can defend like Chris Duhon. (The Bulls' attention will be on Gordon). You re-sign Childress (he's the perfect backup to the JJ/Kobe machine), and then add Kwame Brown for the MLE to play center. You can easily add some decent, cheap depth at the wings (e.g., Maurice Evans). Law/Duhon/2nd rounder Kobe/Evans JJ/Childress Horford/Shelden Brown/Zaza/Jones ^^^That's a team I think Atlanta would come out to watch. Its tempting... I'm honestly against trading Smith or Horford, but then again... if such deal would make Hawks instant contenders in the East and potentialy for the crown, well... Perhaps I'd do it, because, you can't get anything if you don't take risk and make some sacrifices...

Yep! I've read the article... I honestly believe that we'll have a breakout year! I mean, the Hawks don't get good criticism from ESPN and others just like that! Why is this year different? I guess we could tell by many articles we read about Hawks and upcomming season... The climate has changed... These analysts now understand that Hawks have assembled a very good team, with lots of talent and depth, which is ready to make that crucial step forward and take this team to another level! Obviously, they're not reluctant to freely express their oppinions (its not a wild guess)...

I don't know what's wrong with this kid. When I first saw him (few years back), he was agile, making plays, scoring... You could see why he was drafted... But then I saw him in some Euro-cup and Turkish national team games and he was just invisible, totaly lost! I guess that some euro teams (bigger ones) have difficulties developing young players. First, when they show flashes of talent, they acquire them... But then they sit them on the bench behind foreign players... That might have been the case with him... But he is still very young, and if he can resurect that old form and gain some confidence, who knows...

Quote: Quote: We very well could be seeing Smoove and Horford starting together very soon under Woodson. Al very well could be a 12/9 player. Smoove is a 20/10 player waiting to happen. I agree. It is not a matter of if, only when ? The only question is who do you sit ? There will definately be an expeirmental faze. There are 2 approaches. Woody will get ridicule mo matter which route he takes. Should he stick with one line up of the sake of chemistry and roles ? or Should he constantly expierement with different line ups at the expense of consistent roles ? There won't be long before everyone realize that Smoove and Al need to be on the floor together! They present the future of our franchise! No other team in the league has such combo on the wings!

JJ - 11th SG?! That's crazy! JJ is better than that, he is ammong 5-6 best SG's in the NBA!

I know its way too early, but I just can't help but notice how Smith and Horford resemble young Dominique Wilkins and Kevin Willis... They are both very athletic, up-beat and above-the-rim players, who can take over the game simply by unleashing themselves on opponents... just like Nique and Kev did some time ago... They are the future of our franchise and Hawks should stay on this course and build around these guys, creating the style of ball that suits them the best...

I truly believe that both Horford and Law deserve starting positions, but I don't want to jump into any premature conclusions... We should first see how these units work together and what comes out of it... Eventually, both Horford and Law will be playing more minutes than Speedy and Zaza, especially come chrunch time. Horford because of his defense (far superior to Zaza's) and Acie because of his shot (opponents' D's will focus on JJ and someone will have to make shots)...

I can only put it this way! I'd rather have JJ that any of these guys ranked in front of him: - Kidd - too old... - T-mac - banged up, about the same production as JJ... - Pierce - rest my case... - Boozer - 're you kidding me... - Parker - I'd like to see him on his own... - JO - great talent, but he is fadding (injuries)... - Davis - another great talent, but also banged up... - Marion, Redd, Rip, Vince, Chauncey, Deron, Josh Howard, Allen, Deng, Ginobilli. Let me think... that's number 17. on my list! So much about the NBA, markets and medias that surround it!

43!