laved11

I saw on NBAdraft.com and hoopshype.com that Atlanta will select either Armon Johnson, combo guard from Neveda or some under-sized PF. (Aren't those what this team is made up of?) I know the Hawks worked out Greivis Vasquez, but I also want them to look at Jon Scheyer from Duke. Both are capable guards who are 6-5 plus and can shoot. I'd rather have basketball players than these one-and-done 9.8 ppg players we've never heard of. Holla!

For the most part, I don't think we see a lot of players developing into All-Stars in the NBA. After the first year, guys just become who they will be for the rest of their career. Aside from Jermaine O'Neal, who I consider his career to be a huge dissappointment, I honestly can't think of anyone who became an All-Star after four or five years of erratic play. Maybe Josh Smith will be different, but it hasn't seemed like he's improved any part of his game since entering the league. Holla!

Not being a downer... but how come it didn't take Lebron 5 years to turn into a productive player? In 5 years, LeBron is the game's best. Can we expect Smith to be among the top five or even a perenniel All-Star? Holla!

I don't think Sund would be crusified for letting go of Woodson. It would let many know that they have high expectations. My question is with the 4th seed in teh playoffs and a second round exit... isn't that why the Atlanta Hawks blew up the 1999 team. They said they were tired of being mediocre and wanted to take steps to be a championship team. Now... the second round is not only an accomplishment... it is a goal. Simply comical. Holla!

1. I am missing the cause for all of this bashing of Acie Law's game. The idea of he couldn't shoot shocks me. When did we find out he couldn't shoot... the first or second year? I tell you, when you average four shots a game, your average can get pretty low. 2. Acie is not a change-of-pace guy? What the heaven kind of pace are we changing from in Woody's "offense?" There is no pace to his offense and I guess Acie doesn't fit in with our pot-luck style of standing around. 3. Lost cause?!!! I refer back to No. 1... in the first or second year he was here? I'm not saying losing Law and gaining Teague was the right or wrong move, but how the heaven do we know. These two years is not what I call giving anyone a chance. Watching Rajon Rondo and Rodney Stuckey go through turnovers and playing time before becoming productive starters is what I call giving someone a chance. But saying Teague is going to be so much better is asinine, because we simply don't know. Holla!

I hear many on both sides of the fence about Josh Smith, saying that he is still growing and maturing and the Hawks will be glad they kept him. My question is: What will a mature Josh Smith look like? So far it has been five years and I want to know what should I and we expect from Smith as he becomes 26, 27, 28 years old? Should we expect an All-Star who scores 25 points a night... is he a tremendous on-the-ball defender that hustles and runs the floor... Will he turn into a low-post presents with a strong move to the basket? In the five years Smith has been a Hawk, I honestly can't tell one thing he does on a consistent basis. I am not bashing or saying we should get rid of him... all I'm saying is right now, he does a lot of stuff... some good and some bad, but nothing consistent. What do some of you think he will be in the coming years? Holla!

After a lackluster performance and making a professional statement by Jon Barry personal, I think Mike Woodson owes Barry an apology because as offended as Woodson was, he still got swept in embarrassing fashion just as the analyst said. Mike... now turn to Jon and say, "I'm sorry and play nice." Holla!

You make yourself sound foolish. When Knight and Woodson realized after playing significant minutes for less than half of a season, Woodson realized Acie was not the guy? With that kind of logic, PG's like Tony Parker, Monta Ellis, Chris Duhon, Jarrett Jack, Jameer Nelson, Mo Williams, Rodney Stuckey or anyone else taken late rounds shouldn't be productive starters either... because none of them had to adjust to the NBA and improve before becoming starters. (sarcasm) When guys have the skill-set, like Acie Law has, GOOD coaches train and develop them to help them get better. Don't get misled by the 2007-08 playoff appearance. The Hawks had no business in the post-season winning only 37 games. In fact, Woodson and his ridiculous strategy of "if it doesn't work... do it some more!" helped his team back into the playoffs by dropping four of the final five games, then not coming within 100 points of beating Boston in Boston. In that time, Law could have been developing so we are not in this position. Holla!

I think that many fans on this cite understand that the NBA is a player-driven league and just because the players are getting older we all know they are getting better. However, as many Hawks fans have seen, we don't know how much influence Mike Woodson has on this team on a nightly basis. We as fans get the players and coaches talk about how unprepared they were to play, or unmotivated. Honestly, anyone one of us can stand on the sidelines, play the same people and never make adjustments even when our brains are getting kicked in. Holla!

Good numbers, but you are making my point for me. Why did Marvin not start from day one, knowing you were losing Harrington and weren't winning anything? Yeah he was 19, but Chris Paul was 20 playing a much tougher position and he started from day one. You passed on long-term answers at the PG, but Salim and Royal are splitting time with players that were third string PG's at the peak of their careers. Getting good minutes and trying to build something relevant are two completely different things. Lue putting up better numbers is a cop-out, because no other team he played with viewed him as a starter. In my opinion, Woodson did his best to lower expectations to make these small steps seem a lot bigger than what they were.

Good points except for one misunderstanding. The year Marvin Williams and Salim were drafted, neither started one game. Knowing the team was going to trade Al Harrington, Woodson still started Harrington and Ty Lue, Tony Delk or Royal Ivey (for 5 minutes) at PG. I think that team won 27 games. He never changed the lineup, knowing those guys weren't going to be here.

That is a load and you know it. There has not been one player that has gotten better under Mike Woodson. We all have watched our draft picks get surpassed by players we passed on... not because they are more talented, but they play for coaches that establishes roles for his players and they focus on getting better in their roles. Luo Deng and Andre Iguodala surpassed Childress, we know Paul and Deron Williams, Chris Duhon taken after Royal Ivey, J.R. Smith has become a much better player than Josh Smith who was taken a pick before. Even Al Horford who many agree is a good pick, what specifically has he been asked to do in Woodson's "system." Face it, we still don't know what position Josh Smith, Marvin Williams and Al Horford are trying to play. They just float with no direction and this team has never had any sort of identity unders Woodson. Honestly, the Hawks under Woodson simply look like a pick-up game night-in and night-out. Holla!

Two points... One, no one will trade for Acie Law because they don't know what he is capable of. In fact, the Hawks don't know what he is capable of because Woodson buried him behind Tyronn Lue on a 30-win team. That is lazy and ridiculious coaching. Secondly, when you bury players at the end of the bench without letting them develop, the Hawks run the risk of getting screwed over like in the Joe Johnson deal. 2 first round picks and a player we thought was worthless because he never played under Woodson. I have a feeling that if you let Law go, he will be a more productive starter than Jarrett Jack or Rajon Rondo. Holla!

I'm sorry, but this is not a smart move by the Hawks. Sund needs to get with the owners and make a strong decision. Obviously, the owners and Sund aren't completely sold on the direction Woodson is taking the Hawks, but feel obligated to stick with him because of his pedestrian improvement every year. Either say Woodson is your guy and give him an extension or move on with another coach. What seems most likely to happen is the worst case scenario for the Hawks which is Woodson getting fired mid-season and Sund has to then find an interim before a permanent replacement for the 2010-11 season. As a fan, I beg the owners to stop being so PC, thank Woodson for his time and what he's done and get someone who can put an identity with this team. Bump for Eddie Jordan... Holla!

The toughest part about being a fan of this team is they're total reative approach to this team. When Arthur Blank saw Jim Mora Jr. wasn't working, he made a change despite Mora's winning record. Either Woodson and the front office has failed at developing ANY of our young talent or the front office blew it on every single draft pick. Every year, fans say, "All Josh Smith needs to do is..." but whatever he needs to do he hasn't done it in five years. Woodson has failed Acie Law, Solomon Jones and even Al Horford. Salim Stoudamire produced the few times he played and the GM lets him go... then signs an older version of the sharp-shooting combo-guard in Flip Murray. The truth is Acie Law could be a Rajon Rondo or a Jarrett Jack if not better, but with our current administration being so reactive and reluctant to make necessary changes, I think we as fans would still be wondering what Chris Paul and Deron Williams were capable of as Hawks because they would have played for Mike Woodson... ask Boris Diaw. Holla!

No need for snap decisions 11:48 pm May 13, 2009, by Sekou Smith The only thing that rages more than Josh Smith's emotions is his over-the-top talent . The Hawks would be wise to find ways to help channel that emotion in a positive direction. HAWKSVILLE - Raise your hand if you thought we’d all end up here. Go ahead, raise it up high. Let the rest of us see you. I need to make sure we count the hands. Good. Now that the roll call is over, it’s time to get down the serious business that will be retooling this Hawks roster for next season. In case you missed it, nearly half the roster is going to be diving into the free agent waters this summer. That means there’s a chance that the Hawks team you saw on the floor in the Eastern Conference semifinals against Cleveland will be no more as of July 1, the date the free agent negotiating season kicks off. That also means that the ball switches from Mike Woodson, Joe Johnson, Mike Bibby and Josh Smith’s court to that of Hawks general manager Rick Sund. And judging by his 30-plus year resume in the league, Sund is well aware that now is not the time for snap decisions. Those are the things, as my guy Jeff Schultz alluded to his in his column from Game 4 of the Cleveland series, that can implode a franchise. Sund needs to do what his predecessor did not after last year’s Game 7 loss to Boston, and that’s take a week or so to decompress from this experience before coming to any conclusions about this team. (Injuries to both Al Horford and Marvin Williams complicate any postseason studies into their performances, so basically all you can go off of is their healthy regular season work.) We, on the other hand, don’t have to wait for anything to start making our assessments of what we saw, what we liked and disliked and what we think needs to be done to improve for the future (a wise . We can dive right in, as I know you have been doing for days. So without further ado, here is one thing that can’t wait: Since he’s the one player Hawks fans ride worse than any other, it’s only fitting that we address Josh Smith first. No fewer than a dozen people came up to me in the minutes after the game to insist that he was the reason the Hawks lost yet another game. He wasn’t locked in on defense, I was told, and he was the one giving up all the big shots, and he let Anderson Varejao work him on the boards the entire series and that’s ultimately what cost the Hawks. I’ve written it before and I’ll write it again, once again Smith serves as the easy scapegoat for the Hawks’ larger problems (their paper-thin depth, their flawed offensive scheme the wordsmith Mark Bradley nailed in his recent column and their inability to get ball pressure on the ball at the outset of offensive possessions, just to name a few). In addition to outscoring all the Hawks other starters (26 to 25) in Game 4, Smith led the Hawks in scoring (17.1), rebounds (7.5), blocks (1.5) and steals (1.1, he tied with Flip Murray) in 11 postseason games. He only shot 42 percent from the floor and putrid 13 percent (2-for-15) from beyond the 3-point line. But he raised his dismal free throw shooting percentage from the regular season up 72 percent during the playoffs. The point is, for every deficiency he has (and five years into his career, Smith, like scores of other pros in the same situation, still has plenty) Smith has a matching skill that can’t be overlooked. His mission this summer, forget about the 3-point line and hone the post skills that few teams can deal with. Take a page out of the book of New Orleans Hornets forward David West and come back with a money 16-footer that makes teams pay for leaving you open on the wing. I place as much of the responsibility for that happening on Smith as I do his employers. There has to be some sort of marriage of philosophies this summer to make sure that he comes back next season a more polished player and one that fulfills his role as the Hawks’ truly most dynamic player. We’re going to toss Bibby’s name around quite a bit in the coming weeks, so let me start by insisting that you consider what the Hawks looked like before he showed up and then compare that to what they looked like in his 130 games in uniform. It was a different world, folks. So keep that in mind this summer as the Hawks start weighing their point guard possibilities - and they are endless, what with the free agent market, the draft and whatever sign-and-trade possibilities might be out there. Bibby’s status as an unrestricted free agent means he’ll have suitors other than the Hawks capable of presenting him with the opportunity to play at least three or four more years (Bibby’s been around for 11 years but just made 31 today). “The Hawks can get someone that’s a better defender and better distributor at that position, but I don’t know that they’re going to get a better shot maker or a better fit for their Hey Hawks, what are you going to do with Mike Bibby? team,” a scout friend told me via email earlier today when I inquired about his assessment of Bibby’s situation with the Hawks. “There’s not a team in the league that doesn’t need a guy who’s going to knock down the big shots he does. And the funny thing is, for all the talk about his big salary this year ($15 million in the final year of his deal), you know you’re going to get him for half that or even less on this next deal. He’ll actually be a bargain on his next deal, compared to what he was.” Bibby is and remains the biggest question mark of the Hawks’ free agents. If you keep him, his successor has to be located immediately and then groomed (what the Hawks did the past two years with Acie Law IV was anything but grooming him) to eventually take over the starting job. If you decide against keeping Bibby, you almost guarantee that you’ll have to locate your new starter via some sort of trade. Because there is little to no chance of finding a point guard ready to be pressed into immediate starting service in the June draft, not where the Hawks are picking (deep in the first round at either 19 or 20). The Hawks could pull a fast one and snag their point guard of the future and Bibby’s immediate replacement all at once. But as an Eastern Conference executive explained to me Tuesday morning, they’ll have to find someone else’s “garbage” (it wasn’t garbage in the sense you might think, he meant a guy that someone deemed expendable) and make him their own - sort of like what Cleveland did with Delonte West, who has blossomed into one of the league’s top young attack guards (a point guard in size but whatever he wants to be because of his tenacity and fearlessness). Guys that fit that mold to me, and I think there are plenty, including former Georgia Tech star Jarrett Jack, Lakers backup Jordan Farmar (he’s under contract for the next two years and under siege by Shannon Brown), Milwaukee’s Ramon Sessions (unrestricted free agent and ready for prime time) and Portland’s Sergio Rodriguez (still under contract for another year but clearly expendable with Steve Blake and Jerryd Bayless on the roster). There are Might former Georgia Tech star Jarrett Jack be in the Hawks' future plans at point guard? We'll find out this summer. also veterans like Philly’s Andre Miller (unrestricted), Chicago’s Kirk Hinrich (hefty salary for the next three years but absolutely expendable with Derrick Rose at the helm and Ben Gordon an unrestricted free agent), Charlotte’s Raymond Felton (restricted) and Utah’s Ronnie Price (unrestricted). Again, the Hawks’ options are limitless, especially when you consider that basically half the players on their own roster are free agents of one form or another. But make no mistake, figuring out what to do at point guard remains the Hawks’ highest priority. And there are several reasons why - the first being their utter refusal to draft the right point guard year after year during the previous regime. The most important, however, is that point guard play in the NBA has become the equivalent of quarterback play in the NFL. Either you have a veteran hand capable of orchestrating almost any situation, a guy that can make everything run smoothly (Kurt Warner anyone) or you have the young phenom (the Falcons’ Matt Ryan comes to mind) that simply will not be denied. If you get caught between those two extremes, you’re gambling with your team’s future. If you don’t believe quality point guard play can make the absolute difference between mediocre and championship worthy, you should spend a few minutes reading one of the best stories I’ve read about that very subject (courtesy of Tom Friend of ESPN’s Outside The Lines). Seriously, if you don’t do anything else, read this story from top to bottom to see how the right guy at the most important position on the floor (or field) can make all the difference in the world for a team … sort of like Bibby did for the Hawks the last year and a half. What really jumps out at me are three points that Sekou made. He mentioned the Hawks' lack of depth, Smith talked about the horrific offense where there are five versions of one-on-one and the lack of development from Josh Smith and Acie Law who has not been groomed to play even when Bibby and Flip are free agents. All of that completely speaks to the Hawks' coaching or lack there of. Marvin Williams is a fine player, but is completely injury-prone and a coach has to prepare others to step in when you know he will break down during the season. (Not one year healthy). We watched D-Wade and LeBron get easy buckets off picks and running offensive sets, but Woodson sets Joe Johnson at the top of the key to play one-on-one. I'm sick of hearing from coaches and front office that everything is fine and they are where they wanted to be. The fact is they blew up this team 10 years ago because we couldn't get out of the second round. We all watched this team go hot and cold and completely quit at times and the last time I checked, inconsistency is not the step before title contention. Woodson has to go first or else any other move you make is moot. Holla!

I will tell you how a center like Kaman will help. When Smith is productive, it is at the expense of the team. For 11 games, we all watched Miami and Cleveland leave Josh Smith open because his shot is so bad it creates an instant fast break. To be honest, I'm sick of hearing about his potential... you don't pay potential $10 million a year, you pay production. Kaman gives you a big who can guard the post and help Horford rebound. What Kaman lacks in athleticism, he more than makes up with his basktball I.Q. and can hit the 15-the jumper. Trading Josh takes the horrible shots away from a glorified role player and gives them to Horford who has the heart and desire to be the best. Now, I think all of this is moot if Woodson comes back because his basketball I.Q. and half-court offense is ridiculously lathargic. But the longer you keep Smith, the more his value will fall so you must trade him now before he becomes a 27-year-old inconsistent waste of talent. Holla!

After aquiring a Kaman, Thabeet, Chandler, also Chris Wilcox is available... nonetheless, I think Horford needs to become the focal point in the post. I think he is a player you can throw it into to get 17 to 20 points a game and that will help free up Joe Johnson and possibly Bibby if he comes back. The center we aquire should be able to protect the paint, rebound and defend the best big inside.

The big question for the Hawks and Hawks fans is what can you fetch for Josh Smith and what exactly do you want back here in Atlanta? Personally, I think the longer he is with Mike Woodson and getting dogged by national analyst Kenny Smith, Barkley, etc., Josh Smith is loosing value. To me, Hasheem Thabeet could be the target for the Hawks and the Clippers. I'd want them to trade Smith for either the Clippers pick to draft Thabeet or Chris Kaman, who still has three years left to be our starting center. Thoughts....