Endy9

Concerning the value, I'm not complaining about the amount of dollars we got for rights to a player that wasn't going to help us. If I narrow my vision and look at just that one detail, good job Mr. Ferry. But what worries me is when I see a team that is the #3 seed in the east and has shown some signs they might gel and be able to rise even higher, start crashing due to injuries...A. No matter how many other people love draft picks more than winning, I don't like seeing our management/ownership say "Do nothing, let's just do the minimum, pick up some 10 day contracts and wait til next year. Where I currently live Cub fans have been chanting wait til next year for a hundred years now. And where do we draw the line on tanking? Third in the east isn't worth fighting for? What about 2nd in the east. If that's the best we can do let's just tank then too. If we'll lose in the 2nd round of the playoffs. Tank!!! Tank!! Well I think you get my point. Will never like that way of thinking and prefer the 70s Braves I watched in 5th or 6th place for 6 straight years but never quit fighting in any game I saw.B. Is that all we are looking for the rest of the year, a dollar here, 10,000 there. When we were still in the playoff mix had we closed our eyes to even looking for players that could help? Only looking for dollars?

Gsuteke, Just a sour attitude tonite. Sorry. I do have more hope and it was nice to see us put it on the Knicks tonight. So feeling a little better. Just afraid that the ASG is heading toward a team full of 10 day contractors as a strategy. We'll see if Ferry opens the pocketbooks he is clearing room for this year.

I'll keep rooting for them to win and maybe this bargain basement crowd can overperform and make the playoffs.The alternative is to watch them lose miserably thinking that salvation will come thru the draft and then will find out the ASG had Ferry trade our #1 for a 10 bucks and a carton of cigarettes <grin>.

The way the ASG is always scrounging to save a buck, I'm surprised they aren't selling cupcakes in front of Publix to raise money. They make Charley Finley look like a big spender.

Viper, good to know. I don't get to see the Hawks too often up here in Chicagoland.

I was wondering how fans felt about Pero continuing to throw up threes even though he was 0 for the field. I'm glad he hit it of course and glad we fought hard to win this one. Just wondered if Pero got a different reception than Josh who was always crucified for throwing up threes even when they went in.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1875031-watch-josh-smith-posterize-chris-bosh-with-sick-transition-dunk?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=programming-national

Didn't see the game so can't comment on that. I just hope Bud keeps doing what he says he has been doing. Preaching to Teague that everytime he gets the chance he needs to take the ball to the rim. Reminds me of back in the 80s when we had that total loser Weiss as coach and he pumped up Koncak for one game. Working with him on how to play his game more aggressively. And Koncak went out and scored 33 pts, had 18 rebounds and we won handily that night. Cak had been averaging less that 10 pts a game that season. And Weiss said after the game something like "Well I can't do that every night. I have other duties to attend to." And we then went on to lose 5 of the next 6 with Koncak reverting to his nonaggressive play. And I thought, just what is your job? So I'm hoping that if Bud sees Teague can be a difference maker, than he doesn't, like Weiss, start feeling that it isn't worth the effort to get him to play his best. Let's hope Bud keeps on until Teague gets in the habit of playing aggressively.

http://www.ajc.com/weblogs/mark-bradley/2013/nov/13/josh-smith-benched-game-7-piston/ Mark Bradley That didn't take long. Josh Smith, who left the Atlanta Hawks to sign with Detroit for $54 million as a free agent, was benched in his seventh game as a Piston. He started against Golden State on Tuesday but played only 19 minutes. He was removed with 1:39 remaining in the first quarter. He returned with 5:25 left in the third period. He finished with two points and no rebounds. According to Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press, Pistons coach Maurice Cheeks denied that he was, in the vernacular, trying to send a message: "Not at all. It's about trying to change some things up." The 19 minutes marked the first time as a Piston that Smith hadn't played at least 33. A byproduct of his reduced court time was that he could manage only two 3-point shots Tuesday; in six previous games, he'd tried an average of 6.3 treys. (He has made 11 of 40 on the season, or 27.5 percent.) As a Hawk last season, Smith tried an average of 3.3 treys. It would seem that he has taken his new contract as a license to hoist even more. From his benching, it would seem that his new employers aren't terribly enthused. The Pistons are 2-5 and rank last in the NBA in field-goal percentage defense. Smith is third on the team in scoring (15.3 points), third in rebounding (5.4) and third in assists (2.7). He has made 41.6 percent of his shots, which would mark a career worst by a wide margin. The Hawks, meanwhile, are 4-3 and are very happy with Paul Millsap, who signed at a bargain price and who is averaging 18.6 points, 7.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists. He has made 55.9 percent of his shots. Heck, he has even made 5 of 11 treys.

"Korver made a 3 in his 79th consecutive game to surpass Dennis Scott and tie Michael Adams for second place on the NBA career list"

Don't forget the Josh Smith, Billy Knight and Steve Belkin hired a voodoo queen to put a spell on our guys causing those missed layups. Oh wait, I still have those in my draft folder <grin>

I must say, the other poster (sorry can't remember now who said it) that said Al is just the new guy to label "He's the problem and must go" since Smooth left town, is starting to look like he nailed it. Must have someone to hate on. Just my two cents.

Winning any west coast road game is always a measuring stick I use as to whether we might have a good team or not. West coast road trips have not been kind to us since I began following the Hawks in the early 70s.

It's probably more a list of my favorite five Dominque WIlkens Pete Maravich Tree Rollins Lou Hudson Josh

Found this: The Hawks signed Cartier Martin to a non-fully guaranteed contract Tuesday.He was rumored to go over to China for the upcoming season, but may want to give it one more chance stateside. Martin has a shot to make the team, but will not be in the rotation while the team is healthy http://www.rotoworld.com/player/nba/1589/cartier-martin

I understand that people that did not watch Pete Maravich play will never *get* just how good he was. Just like people can describe Bob Cousy all day long to me and I will not be able to *get* his greatness just from things I have read. But I do feel sorry for people that never saw "showtime" live.

I agree with Wilkins and Petit 1 2. I can see with the championship why he gave Petit the edge there. I thought John Drew was rated too high. If he had played defense like he did his rookie year he would be right there with Wilkens, but he learned if he slacked on defense he could put more energy into scoring and stopped playing any defense. I think Truck was left out because he only played 1 year with us. Pete Maravich should be #3. Koncak, although I liked him, wasn't a hater, was too high. Josh I thought about right. He's been the leader of this resurgence into the playoffs since 2008 IMHO. Jimmy Washington should be in there somewhere in the 40s. And on a different but similar note when I walk down memory lane I can't help but think about the one year we almost had Pete and Dr. J playing together until the courts ordered Dr. J back to the ABA Nets. Imagine Pete floating a ball about 10 feet about the foul line and Dr. J coming out of nowhere flying thru the air grabbing it and flying all the way to the rim dunking it. Damn judge.

I agree with the posts about affecting shots being more valuable than the actual number of blocks. Another advantage someone like Josh brought was allowing Horford to play differently. He could front a player knowing Josh could help defend the rim.

Especially after watching the Atlanta Hawks FaceBook page the last 6 months. Which Hawk would you want to Karoke with? Which Hawk would you want to play Iron Man at your birthday party? Nice to come to this site and see serious basketball discussions :)

Once again from what I've read previously, in most states if you refuse the test you are considered guilty but the sentence and fine is less than if they test you and you're over the limit. Maybe by half the jail time and fine. So lawyers were saying you could not lose if you refused and telling all their clients to refuse. States figured this out and then many began implementing the laws that allow them to forcibly take blood for a test if you decline.

From what I've read, although the law applies to all of GA and about 20 something other states that have passed it, only certain police districts have decided to apply for the warrants and apply it. The article I read was by a group that is always watching out for the increasing "police state" nationwide and thought it was a disturbing trend. There are lots of Youtube videos showing upset drunks having their blood drawn against their will. Although I oppose most of the police state trends I see, I do think law enforcement should have the right to determine if legal or illegal substances have impaired one's ability to drive.

Not sure of the current GA law. I've read articles that many states have passed laws due to lawyers advising clients to always refuse the breathalyzer. The law gives the state the right to forcibly draw blood at the police station for purposes of testing. Found this. http://www.georgiacriminaldefense.com/georgiaduibloodtestwarrantsandforcibleblooddraws.html

I'm hoping that he was believing all the sports analysts' reports saying we have a better team than last year and drinking in celebration, rather than the oh crap, this is what Ferry gave me to work with?? (grin)

It was kind of hard to pick out even with me remember it was in there "somewhere". Comes to 4.6% have done it so far.

http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2013/8/15/4621594/nba-draft-europe-stash-2013 How often do draft picks stashed in Europe return to the NBA?By Scott Schröder  &lt;img alt="" size_name="large_730" src="http://cdn1.sbnation.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/17913327/20130718_lbm_cs1_052.0_standard_352.0.jpg" /&gt; USA TODAY SportsStay connected with SB Nation Six of this year's second-round picks have decided to sign overseas after playing collegiately in the states. In an effort to find out if they'll ever make their way back to the NBA, we've done the research on the past 10 drafts to see how similar players have fared. The NBA has developed a tradition of drafting and stashing international players with their second-round picks in the NBA Draft. More recently, a few of the more cunning teams have also tried to do this with players that spent their formative years already playing in America.Twenty-four of this year's 30 second-round picks played college basketball in the United States. Half of them have already inked deals to go to training camp with the squad that drafted them, hoping to play in the NBA during their first professional season. Not all players will get that opportunity this year, though. Several teams have selected their second-round picks with no intentions of adding them to their roster this season. Boston Celtics big man Colton Iverson, New Orleans Hornets guard Pierre Jackson, Mike Muscala of the Atlanta Hawks, Denver Nuggets draftee Erick Green, James Ennis of the Miami Heat, San Antonio Spurs pick DeShaun Thomas and Alex Oriakhi of the Phoenix Suns have all signed their first professional contracts with teams across the pond, ranging from the regular destinations -- Spain, Turkey, France and Italy -- to Ennis' strange decision to play in Australia. Other unsigned second-round picks like Grant Jerrett, Ryan Kelly, Romero Osby, Lorenzo Brown and Arsalan Kazemi are currently free agents on the international market, though their rights are held by the NBA teams that drafted them. It's been reported that the majority of those players will return to the states in the near future to stake their claim on a roster spot of the NBA team that drafted them. Obviously, that'd work out best for both sides. as the team won't have wasted their second-round pick and the player gets to play in the best league in the world after making some money and earning solid experience overseas. Historically, becoming a solid contributor on an NBA team after leaving America to begin your career overseas is a lot easier said than done. From 2002 through 2012, there were 195 "American" players -- meaning they either played at an American college or were drafted directly out of high school or the NBA Development League -- that heard their names called in the second round. Because they'd already spent their formative years playing in the USA and the "draft and stash" methodology typically only applied to international prospects, over 85 percent of those players elected to sign a contract to head to training camp right away. The majority of the players that end up taking that route aren't typically ready for the NBA, however, and are cut before ever making any sort of real impact in the NBA. NCAA draft and stashesAtlanta: Mike Muscala Boston: Colton Iverson Cleveland: Sasha Kaun Denver: Erick Green, Chukwdibiere Maduabum* Houston: Jon Diebler, Maarty Leunen L.A Lakers: Chinemelu Elonu, Ryan Kelly Miami: James Ennis, Justin Hamilton Minnesota: Lorenzo Brown, Robbie Hummel New Orleans: Pierre Jackson New York: Ahmad Nivins Oklahoma City: Grant Jerrett, Latavious Williams* Philadelphia: Arsalan Kazemi Phoenix: Dwayne Collins, Alex Oriakhi San Antonio: Marcus Denmon, Deshaun Thomas Utah: Shan Foster *: Drafted out of the NBA D-League Twenty-seven of the aforementioned 195 players elected to sign their first professional contracts outside of the NBA, because either they or the team that drafted them decided they wouldn't have a shot of making the NBA right away. Those 27 -- ranging from guys like Matt Bonner, Ronny Turiaf and Darius Songaila to Deron Washington, Jon Diebler and the notorious Chukwudiebere Maduabum -- are essentially the case study for Muscala, Jackson, Iverson, Green, Ennis, Thomas and Oriakhi, as they were all essentially drafted and stashed. Thirteen of those 27 players are still plying their trades in Europe, with their rights still held by the NBA team that drafted them, while five others were released by their NBA teams after failing to earn a roster spot upon their return to the states. There are therefore just nine of 195 players in the past 10 years that have succeeded with what this year's draft-and-stash second rounders hope to accomplish. Even then, their results haven't ended with a ton of success. [*]Darius Songaila is best known for his solid play for Lithuania's national team, but he was also a productive four-year player for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. He finished his career in the top 10 in points scored, rebounds, blocks and games played. Nevertheless, Songaila spent his first professional season with CSKA Moscow in Russia after being selected by the Boston Celtics with the 49th pick in the 2003 NBA Draft. Songaila's rights were traded to the Sacramento Kings the following year, signaling the start of an eight-year NBA career that saw him play in 495 games. [*]Matt Bonner isn't thought of as a draft-and-stash player, but he spent his rookie season averaging nearly 19 points and nine rebounds in Italy after being selected with the 45th overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft. Bonner joined the Toronto Raptors for his second season and has been a cult favorite in the NBA since, shooting better than 41 percent from beyond the arc and even starting four games for the Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs last season. [*]Ronny Turiaf is an interesting case for this list, because he actually did sign with the Los Angeles Lakers less than a month after he was selected with the 37th pick in the 2005 NBA Draft. Turiaf ended up failing his physical due to a heart problem, however, negating his contract and forcing him to start his professional career with the CBA's Yakima Sun Kings until the Lakers were convinced he could healthily play professional basketball. They were convinced by January of 2006, and he's gone on to play 440 NBA games since. [*]Nick Calathes is the newest member of this list after the Memphis Grizzlies signed him to a two-year, $2 million deal earlier this month. The former Florida standout was was originally drafted by the Timberwolves, but the Mavericks acquired his rights on draft night before watching him spend the next three seasons playing in Greece and Russia. The Grizzlies were apparently keeping close tabs on him overseas and worked out a deal with Dallas to acquire his rights before signing him. [*]Robert Vaden was signed by the Thunder out of the D-League late in the 2010-11 season after spending the first year of his career in Italy, but 2009's 54th pick never actually appeared in an NBA game and is now signed in Belgium for the upcoming season. [*]Jarvis Varnado spent his first two professional seasons in Europe, but the Miami Heat's second-round pick in 2010 decided to give the NBA a try this year. It didn't work out right away, but after amazing play in the NBA Development League, Varnado eventually earned his way back to the Heat for the rest of the regular season and got a shiny NBA championship ring in the process. [*]Jerome Jordan was acquired by the Knicks in the 2010 NBA Draft after they bought a second-round pick from the Milwaukee Bucks, but the 7-footer out of Tulsa spent his first season playing in Serbia. Jordan signed with the Knicks for the 2011-12 season, appearing in 21 games before being traded to (and subsequently cut) by the Houston Rockets as part of a package that sent Marcus Camby to New York. Jordan played in the D-League this past year before playing for both the Knicks and Indiana Pacers in Summer League action. [*]Ryan Reid was a surprise selection for the Oklahoma City Thunder with the 57th pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, but OKC apparently thought they could develop him. They did, too, by convincing him to sign a D-League contract for the first two years of his career, paying him substantially less than he would've made overseas. It sort of paid off, when the Thunder signed Reid following last year's NBA lockout ... though he was eventually waived after just five NBA appearances and is now scheduled to play in France this season. [*]Kyle Singler is probably the prototype for this year's draft class, considering he's now a borderline NBA starter. Singler parlayed a solid four-year career at Duke into becoming a second-round pick, a solid rookie season in Spain and 74 starts for the Detroit Pistons last year, his first in the NBA. Looking at the evidence, it's difficult to think that all of this year's second-round picks currently signed overseas are going to someday have successful stateside returns. Players like Singler, Songaila, Turiaf and Bonner have shown it's possible, however, to go overseas and return to the team that drafted you, thereby proving that the non-international draft and stash process can sometimes work out for the player. And even if these second-round picks don't make it on their first run under an NBA contract, there's still potential for an NBA future. Patrick Beverley was originally drafted and stashed by the Miami Heat in 2009, but was cut when he returned for training camp in 2010. Beverley then decided to work on his game by going back overseas for two more seasons before giving the NBA another shot last year,and eventually wound up as the Houston Rockets' starting point guard in the playoffs. The odds are obviously long for American draft-and-stash players to someday meaningfully contribute to the NBA teams that select them in the second round ... but at least there are precedents set.