99PROBL3MS

How can Shaq possibly turn down 2yrs at the MLE from a 53 win team? Make it happen Sund.

Smooves 2pt % would be near 60% if he didn't jack up so many 20ft jumpshots. He is at his best in the paint. Drew plans to help him understand that, which is a win for us.

Not much substance at all. They spent most of the time talking about the contract. Ryan mentioned Boozer. They both agreed that ATL wants to/should dump Marvin Williams contract.

I wonder how much they will bash the Hawks franchise in this segment.............

I am about as big an analytical basketball junkie as you will find. I appreciate what he has done but smirk at his attempts to become something he isn't. JJ has no where near the injury history of guys like Houston, Finley etc. That will help his long term projections and shelf-life. I want to see how jj operates in Coach Drew's scheme and how our team operates before I declare the sky is falling. As far as I am concerned we are on the upswing.

Buzzard I wasn't saying it made sense but there is the possibility. If he is forced to play Center here and doesn't want to as a result, restricted or unrestricted he will find an escape route. I hope we get that quality big he has been lobbying for.

Reading between the lines, it is obvious he wants to play that PF spot. I can't blame him for wanting to play his natural position. Resigning JJand finding a true C sound like two thingsx that will lead to us getting him back. Even as a restricted agent players can ask teams not to match offers. It would be nice to reunite him with Noah down the road.

You beat me to it. Lol at this guy talking smack about JJ and his contract when NYK paid Marbury 20+M to not even play.

I think you hit the nail on the head. Dirk's team lost in the first round as a 2 seed. You here nothing but praise for him. The Hawks have been getting killed in the media from everyone to your ESPN talking heads to your basement bloggers.

In theory you are correct. He didn't in so many words I am saying that they had no interest in a SnT. Which means stay here for six years or go somewhere else for 5 but you won't get 6 in a SnT.

It sounds like the hold up on the contract was: 1. ATL was only willing to give JJ a SnT on a 5 year deal. Essentially saying if you want the 6th year, you will stay here. This is essentially how the system was designed to work by letting the team with Bird rights give the best deal. SnT's defeated the purpose of that but it looks like the Hawks put it back in its place in this instance. 2. Sense JJ is staying, he wanted a no trade clause. I'm glad this is overwith. Lets get Shaq Diesel and Carmelo Anthony in here now.

It amazes me how concerned everyone is about what happens four years from now (as if the next for years until then don't matter). Some people will say anything to hate on JJ. If we let him walk and the team goes backwards, what kind of message does that send to Horford? Would he even want to stick around???? I am more concerned about this coming season than 4-5 years from now.

Good news. I have my fingers crossed that one of JJs demands was bringing in Beidrins, Shaq etc

I could see this feeling making sense if Wade, Dirk, Lebron, Amare, etc had already chosen teams ANDif it had been more than TWO doggone days. Why the heck shpould Joe treat his free agency anydifferent than those guys???? The fact that it has ONLY BEEN TWO DAYS is why all this whining makes no sense to me. If the situation is unchanged a week from now AND other big name free agents have signed THEN I could see your point. Until then it ismuch ado about nothing in my opinion.

Good post. Woody ran Joe into the ground. He played far too many minutes and had to endure far too many responsibilities due to the makeup of the roster and Woody's offensive ineptitude. He reaggravated the sprained thumb on his shooting hand during the Bucks series and shot bad from there. People saying he doesn't show up for the playoffs seem to forget Game 7 vs Miami last season when JJ put on a show. He held Wade to 10-25 shooting and also came up with 27pts 5rebs 5asst and 5stls. No one ever mentions games like that. He has earned the right to make this decision when he so chooses. As it has been pointed out, It has been TWO days. TWO!!!! Is it that big of a deal after TWO days? I also can't see Melo coming here to play without JJ here. Melo is surrounded by plenty of talent out there in Denver and has only been past the first round of the playoffs once. They would make a great 1/2 punch but replacing JJ with Melo would yield identical results in terms of win/loss record.

That is also why Wade has been rolled off in a wheel chair twice the last two seasons. Wade finishes so strong because he has an insane wingspan. He is only 6'4 but has an unreal 6'10" .75 wings span. JJ only has a 6'9" wingspan. Lebron's wingspan is 7'0 so Wade's wingspan is only an inch shorter than Lebron's.

Slightly above average???? lol. Ok man.......

Swift, you are certainly entitled to your opinion man. No one is trying to take that from you. I am just astonished at how many people want to pull an offer to Joe Johnson after TWO days of free agency. That is..........just wow.

It has been two days since free agency began. TWO DAYS!

Why does JJ not deserve the right to go through this process? He has been great for us the last 5 years. You would think he was Gun-toting Gilbert Arenas the way some of you guys bash the guy. If you don't like him for some reason fine but to bash the guy for not making a decision 48hours after the start of free agency is baffling. Everyone is entitled to their opinions though. If they pull this offer after two days, the national media will destroy the Hawks. What big name would run to an organization like that in the near future? When dealing with players of this caliber, there is no take it or leave it. There is a process.

These knee jerk reactions kill me. It has been two days since free agency started......two days! I'm sure Sund anfd the ASG isn't as impatient as you guys. Why the rush??? They can't actually sign until Tuesday anyway. I can't blame him for possibly wanting to play with Amare and Lebron. Just chiill and be patient. None of the big nameshas made a decision yet. There is more at stake from their point of view. This is the biggestdecision of his life. "Pulling the offer" after two days would be stupid in more ways than one.

I agree Wades time as an elite player is ticking fast. Three years from now, I can still se JJ as a 20/5/5 guy. I'm not sure Wade will hold up that much longer given his history of injuries and risky style of play.

I don't know about that GameTime. 09-10 At the Rim: JJ-58.1% JP-51.5% <10 Feet: JJ-51.1% JP-27.3% 10-15 Feet: JJ-47.7% JP-33.3% 16-23 Feet: JJ- 40.9% JP-29.0% 3pt: JJ-36.9% JP-33.5%

You bring some valid points coachx, but even at his old age, he still commands a double team and that would make things so much easier on Horford. He doesn't even have to be what he was at 35. If he can still give us that 12pts 7rebs 1.2blks and convert on 57% of his shot attempts like he did this pass season, we are golden. Between he, Horford and Smoove, we are talking, about 42pts 30rebs and 5.5blks from our C & PF positions. That is unreal once you couple that with Marvin's 10pts, JJ's 20-25pts and Crawford's 18pts. that alone is 90pts not counting what we can get from the PG position and the bench. I like the idea of bringing Shaq. He doesn't have to be any better than he was in Cleveland to change the makeup of our team considerably. I can understand why some people have their reservations though.

How is it bad? I just would like you to elaborate on what makes it so bad.