Jody23

I agree that this team has a lot of pieces to offer in trade (contrary to what others may say). I'll say this though, Horford is the one guy the Hawks must hold onto. He's exactly the type of physical, back to the basket power forward a team needs to have an advantage in the playoffs. Seeing as how he's said he wants to play the 4 in recent weeks, the Hawks would do well accommodate his request. If not, he may find somewhere else where they will grant his wish and he'll become a perennial All-Star and the Hawks will be left looking foolish once again.

Precisely. This team needs a proven commodity. Experimentation time was six years ago.

I hope they choose Avery. He's exactly the type guy this team needs at this point in time and his resume backs that up. I believe Sund has wanted Casey all along, but hiring Casey wouldn't make sense. Why would you turn to hire an assistant as the head coach for a 50 win playoff team looking to take the next step? Not trying to knock Casey, but if Rick Sund wasn't the GM, would he be a candidate for this job? Just sayin'.

If the Hawks continue to play Horford and Smith together at the 4 and 5 for the majority of the minutes, the second round will be the ceiling for this team imho.

I was thinking the same thing and if this is the case, I would be worried. The ASG should be VERY leery of allowing the GM to create a situation where his coach is essentially a yes man. We saw how that turned out earlier on in the Billy Knight era. Effective checks and balances are needed for successful personnel decisions in my opinion (unless your Poppovich or West).

Conceptually, I agree with Diesel. The Hawks may not get Lebron, but if their really serious about keeping Joe, I think they need to use a couple of their current assets to bring in a major player. Simply hiring a new coach won't cut it.

Honestly, defensively, Perkins, Wallace and Davis are better because they have both the size and skill to guard Howard single coverage with minimal help. In theory, one could say the Hawks should have done the same, but none of the Hawks bigs could hold their own and make it difficult for Howard the way the Celts did. I do think Woody had flaws that were detrimental to the team, but the fact that this roster has flaws cannot be ignored.

Simply put, the Celtics had the personnel to defend Howard and the Hawks did not. The Hawks could not prevent Howard from getting right to front of the rim whenever he wanted. That was the center of the problem. That was what opened the rest of the floor up for the Magic against Atlanta.

If they've done their home work, it shouldn't take this long or this many interviews on one candidate to make an informed decision. That leads me to question what the Hawks are really up to. Are they stalling or what?

Very true D, but those guys will also have to guard him on the block and outside of KG, those other guys were not strong enough to keep Horf from getting to the front of the rim.

One of the things I think Horford would give the Hawks as a power forward is a legitimate post prescence on offense. As good as Josh is, that's something he doesn't have the size to give the Hawks. When it comes to the playoffs, this is something that is critical to have. I think Horford would draw double teams in the post as a four and his passing would create high percentage shots for others. As an example, look at the games where Horford played against other power forwards playing center (New York, Toronto, etc...). He was more than good. He was dominate and he drew double teams because his size and strength were factors in his favor.

Objectively speaking, I'd keep Horford, hands down. He has all the tools to be a legitimate perenial all star power forward as oppossed to just being a "good" center. I love Josh Smith and everything he brings to the team, but he'd be the one I'd trade. I think we have to get away from the bias toward him because he's from Atlanta or was drafted by Atlanta. That point of view only ensures bad decision making.

I wonder if management will accommodate Al on this? If not, we could see yet another player yearn for greener pastures.

I agree. It's becoming apparent to me that he wants to play with Lebron or Wade or both. If not that, then with the Lakers if the Raptors will do a sign and trade with Bynum. I think he really wants to win a title and isn't concerned with being a number one option.

Horford isn't 6'10. I do agree that he would be one of the best power forwards easily in this league. Also, when he played against Bosh this year, Bosh wasn't strong enough to keep Al from getting right to the front of the rim. I don't think many 4s in the league can keep him from doing that. That's what I like about Al at the 4, not only can he face up, but he can back guys down for high percentage shots consistently (bully ball if you want to call it that).

I'm starting to worry that Sund just doesn't get it.

Chandler Kaman Okafor Camby Heywood Jefferson Thabeet Marc Gasol McGee Pryzbilla These are all names I like off the top of my head. There are probably other options. Either way the Hawks go, I don't think you rely on one guy to solve the dilemma.

I'd take a step back and look at the situation objectively. I would'nt be swayed by the individual stats and accomplishments as they don't tell the whole story. I'd look at how the team matched up against the teams that matter in the conference during the past playoffs. If the answer is not good, then I think you explore moving in another direction. By no means do I think you just give one of these guys away. But, by moving one, you could strengthen your team in another area. I agree that it's not an easy problem to solve, but avoiding or ignoring the issue is not an option for this team.

As much as I love Al and Josh, the team might have to move one to take a step forward. I'm not of the opinion that the Hawks must keep both at all cost. I know those guys are favorites among many here, but it's important to look at the big picture.

A necessary sacrifice might have to be made in order to take a step forward. This team cannot continue to not be able to match in the areas that matter the most come playoff time. The numbers don't lie.

My thoughts exactly.

If the Hawks can't figure out the obvious, then I smh. This kid is too good to be playing out of position and the only help he has is from a undersized tweener forward (sorry Josh, it's the truth). I happen to think they could add someone the caliber of say a Kendrick Perkins or Robin Lopez (who's starting tonight for the Suns). Part of the effectiveness for these guys is not simply their own talent, but the advantage they give the power forwards that play next to them.

And I don't think he's merely talking about a 10-15 minute backup either.

Interesting quote from Al: "We probably need another solid big [man], in order to have any kind of chance to do anything special,” said Hawks forward/center Al Horford. I hope he' telling this to management as he's obviously watching the playoffs. http://www.ajc.com/sports/atlanta-hawks/hawks-gm-rick-sund-528857.html

It says the Hawks need more size up front to match up with the elite teams. It says some other things as well, but that's the one thing that sticks out in my mind.