GTfan44

It's too bad we didn't more heavily pursue him. I remember around May of 2007 I saw the rumor the Hawks may have been pursuing him, and he playing very well vs. U.S.A.--getting into the lane at ease it looks like.

I hear a lot of talk about how the East has so vastly improved, but I really don't see this improvement much at all. 1) Boston is a lock 2) Detroit is a lock 3) Orlando is decent 4) Cleveland always hangs around, not much to say about them 5) Washington plays no defense 6) Toronto's whole season depends on a player who plays 60 games on a good year 7) Philly has improved Indiana sucks--two best players are Danny Granger and Mike Dunleavy New Jersey sucks Chicago is the mystery team which may win a ton of games, but may be a year or two away Charlotte is not a threat Milwaukee sucks and has no defense New York sucks Miami -- who is their point guard? So basically, Philly, who was above us last year, improved, and Chicago has improved. I expect us to finish ahead of Washington if we are healthy and everyone steps us. #7 in the East this year

He wasn't stuttering, but he was REPEATING EVERYTHING. He obviously is smart and had that 4-step career process which I found very clever and thought-out, but unless he's nervous or something, this guy really is bad at interviews

No depth? ZaZa averaged 14/7 2 years ago and was hampered by injuries this year. Acie Law will be improved. We signed Mo Evans and Randolph Morris and still have money to sign players. Time for you to quit being a pessimist and get off this board. You bring nothing here but negativity. Get lost. :dancing18:

Who in the East who had a worse record last year, has improved and is now better than us?

Right now. Talking about the economic pie, etc. But wow, this guy stutters / is nervous as hell every time I hear him. No clean sentences

Because Josh Smith is the 3rd best player on the team.

Yes, this news also sucked yesterday when it was released.

Hey genius, Notice how I said "on the most part." He shot at least 34 % on 3's for the season before. It's called a suggestion or idea. A-holes like you must not understand that. Good luck with your life.

He said earlier this summer he wanted "2 bigs and a veteran shooter." So far he got a veteran shooter (Mo Evans), which he claims he wanted before he planned on resigning the Joshes. He also got a big (Randolph Morris). What now? I saw Orlando has 13 players under contract and will not resign Pat Garrity or Carlos Arroyo. Does Sund make a run at Garrity, a 30 year old lethal shooter (on the most part?) Does he trade Bibby for an assortment of rugged 32 year olds? Nice to hear about James White.

LOL, he actually will have 71 by the fall semester, and needs 120 to graduate, so probably 3 more years of college for him. "After taking Swahili during UNC's first summer session and finishing an independent study course over the coming months, he plans to have 71 credits completed by the time the fall semester begins. Students at North Carolina need at least 120 credits to graduate."

I was a bit off with the 15 or 16 ppg statement-- I meant 17 or 18. I hope he averages that high, but he probably won't. How did he have a good season? His PPG dropped steadily throughout the season. He seemed to enjoy scoring 8 points and hiding in the corner the rest of the game. In terms of being a #2 pick and a starter, I'd say his season was pretty average/mediocre. Marvin's awkward athleticism and inability to hold onto the ball justify my statement.

So if 5 things is better than 1, would you take Smoove over Iverson or Carmelo, players who basically score and do nothing else?

Then why is his off-season focus his after basketball career? MW left after one season as a BU. At his current pace of education he will not have a single basketball offseason without spending it at school. He will not spend ONE, SINGLE OFF-SEASON, NOT ONE OFFSEASON without SCHOOL as his primary (full-time) focus. Think about it. With likely 6 semesters of school remaining for him MW will be a professional basketball player alone for the first time in the year 2014! This isn't Horford who has already proven himself both on the college and professional level, who practiced with TEAM USA, and who has maybe 2 years left to get his degree. This is Marvin f***ing Williams who will be into likely his 3rd contract before he's done with school. His PER is meager and his range hasn't improved. And he's a good BASKETBALL professional? Hell no! He's a nice guy, but no professional. He came into the biggest interview OF ANYBODY'S LIFE OUT OF SHAPE despite only having 6 weeks since his last collegiate game. That's "professional". Man pu-leaze. There isn't a GM in the world that would rather MW play pick up games than "work on his game". There isn't a GM in the world that would rather MW finish a degree that will consume possibly his first EIGHT off-seasons rather than commit to his PROFESSION! Not one. W :clap: Pickup games involve: 1) No defense 2) Layup drills 3) Trying out And1 Moves

Al Horford. He already started to show a pretty 15 footer in the latter part of the year, is CONSISTENT, is a team player, and strength will come with time. JJ and Horford are the two core players of this team. J Smoove is the 3rd player. Al would take less money to help a team out, which has nothing to do with the topic, but just thought i'd throw that out there. Anyway, Al Horford will be a very special player in this league, and I'm sure HOF coaches like Larry Brown, Pops, and Phil Jackson would take Horford over Smoove if it came to that.

Look-- The bottom line is: Marvin does this same routine every summer, improves his PPG because he is a year older. If you saw his performance this past year on the most part, it was pretty pathetic. He shot FT's well, but could not dribble, got stripped every time, and couldn't even post up Luther Head (I was at that game). The guy wasn't even working out last summer until Mr. Fizdale approached him about it (as I've read Walter state many times). Tell me the truth: With what you've read: 1) Marvin working out with Sean May 2) Working toward a degree Do you see him averaging over 15 or 16 ppg this year? Do you see him improving his numbers at all besides the fact that Chillz is gone so they may naturally go up a point or two?

No I don't. I read it already. Marvin makes good money. Maybe him getting the AA degree has some intrinsic value to him, but the guy isn't strong physically and wasn't impressive at all this past year. If he was taking classes and working out with a basketball player who was actually relevant (like Antwawn Jamison), maybe I'd change my mind, but to work out with a scrub like Sean May and take classes (dude isn't even close to finishing his degree. 71/120 hours means he has at least 3 more years at this rate because he probably got about 30 his 1st year and he probably gets about 15 hours or so a summer) is not the way to go. On the other hand, Josh Smith worked out with Olajuwon and Calvin Murphy last summer. While Smoove's intellectual prowess isn't the highest-regarded, to work with players of that caliber is a manifestation of his ambition and strive to become better. Even though I didn't see a Dream Shake or good shooting at all, at least Smoove had the initiative to go out and do this

He signed with a Spanish team (I believe). Next season hopefully. It didn't really help that BK was really fond of bringing him over , and Sund had no idea who he was and probably would've held off negotiations for 5 months till Anderson would've rejected us. :brick wall:

Why all the attacks on Diesel? Dude is spot on. Working out with a trash NBA player who was out all year (Sean May) and getting a useless degree (got nothing against that). He is the #2 pick from his class and especially with a key role player gone, he should be spending his whole day working out, watching tape, and working with someone like Jamison.

Wow, what do you know. it's the guy who allegedly talks to Chillz by email. Do you guys have play dates together and conversate at Starbuck's too? Does he pay for your latte? Sounds like he lives on the top bunk and you live on the bottom one. :stirthepot:

Lol if you read that quote closely...Is Evans saying he's one of the "different pieces" that may potentially "downgrade" the situation? Read closely. haha :temperature:

http://www.ajc.com/hawks/content/sports/ha...sign_evans.html Some very interesting quotes: "One of the things that I think is important in the process is to have the integrity and professionalism to not negotiate in the newspapers," Hawks general manager Rick Sund said. "I said that in the beginning to Josh Smith's [representatives] and they haven't said a whole lot. They've done an excellent job representing their client. The bottom line is we've had a lot of dialogue, but it's not done yet." "We don't feel like there has been much difference in our conversations from July 1 until now," Wallace Prather said Thursday. "But I'm optimistic that in the end what is best for Josh is what will happen." ^^Smith's agent

Also, we need to take into account the fact that Horford is a career winner. When we were playing Boston in the playoffs, if there was 1 reason I thought we'd upset them (unfortunately we didn't), it was because Al Horford would not let us lose. Just wait 1 or 2 years until you see how special this guy really is.

Great post, james. If ASG is in fact committed to paying Horford and Joe the MONEY they WANT when the TIME COMES, this is 100 % correct. It all depends if the team is really built around our two best players (JJ and Horford), which I HOPE it is. DO not overpay for Smoove! :brick wall:

PLus Chillz isn't good enough to start. 12 ppg in 30 min, with pedestrian numbers aside from that will not earn many starting slots in the league.