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It was clear Al was better at the PF position and was more effective. He was a better player when Zaza was at the Center spot and Al was in the PF spot. Switch Zaza with Shaq, Horford becomes even better at the PF position. Shaq is the difference between the most horrible off-season in years to one of the best off-season in years for the Hawks.

What world do you live in? It's only been 4 days, and he's supposed to be signing Monday(tomorrow).

Marvin I think can be a Corey Maggette type of player who can get to the Free throw line at will. Like nbasuperstar said, it's a mental thing for Marvin. Whenever you see Marvin aggressive during the whole course of the game, he's a pretty good player. He just needs to do it in a daily and consistent basis.

The smartest thing to do for a team that is trading their star player is to accept whoever is giving the best talent. It doesn't matter if they don't fill a positional need. It's kind of like if you have the #1 pick. You take the best player available regardless if you have a player that is already serviceable at that position. For example, Washington already has one of the best scoring point guards in the league, but they still drafted John Wall instead of filling in a positional need and draft Evan Turner. They should accept the best talent and make moves accordingly.

That is a very scary thing to hear about. I imagine his family is in a wreck right now. Well wishes to them and let's all hope he's safe.

I definitely agree. Adding Shaq to this team I think will make us more competitive, and I would consider that a pretty successful off-season.

Dumb analogy. First, I'm not saying I won't root for the Hawks if they don't win anything. Heck, they haven't won anything since I've been a fan of them. You can't compare sports to other sources of entertainment. Sure, sports is in the category of Entertainment, but sports is different than any other because they are competing for something. In the music industry, you want all the awards and accolades but there isn't a competition like the SuperBowl, World Series, NBA Finals, World Cup, etc.

The world may not end next year but it might end in 2012. :saythat: On a serious point, I enjoy the group that we have right now, but it all comes down to winning. I enjoy the fact that we are a consistent playoff team now, but the ultimate dream for a fan is for their team to win a championship. If it's not, then what's the point of rooting for them?

http://www.slamonline.com/online/nba/2010/07/a-few-words-with-a-smith/

Fact of the matter is we're not going to reach the level of the likes of LA, MIami, Orlando, etc. by signing the players who barely made an impact on their team.

Definitely true. Chris Paul can demand a trade, but New Orleans will be the one to decide where he goes. If New Orleans can't have Chris Paul, they will make sure they get the best talent for him.

I like Mbenga but seriously, Hawks need to make some real moves. We're not going to win a title or compete with the best of the NBA by signing the scrubs that came from the Lakers.

Nice find, it was a great read. The ESPN article makes me a little bit excited to have him. I hope he does the same thing he did (leadership wise) in LA to here in Atlanta. I still worry about his love for his jumpshot though.

Not sure who I would prefer more between Joe Smith or Josh Powell. I don't expect either of them to be our answer to winning the championship so it doesn't really matter. I don't mind the signing at all since we do need to fill in the void we have in the backup PF. It sucks that we don't have a player that will make a song about the whole team anymore.

I think if Chris Paul was to end up with the Hawks, he wouldn't hate it. I remember back when Cp3 and JJ played in the USA team and Chris Paul said that he would have loved to play with Joe Johnson. I still think we're one of the few teams that can offer something for Chris Paul that is desirable to New Orleans.

Why is everyone assuming that Larry Drew will do everything opposite that Woody did wrong? We haven't seen him coach. While I think LD is an upgrade over Woody, I don't expect him to be the saviour of our team. If we bring the same players we had last year and our only additions is Larry Drew being head coach and drafting Jordan Crawford, there is no way we win it next season. Coach Woodson got us to the 2nd round of the playoffs. Larry Drew isn't the difference between getting humiliated in the 2nd round to winning the NBA Championship.

Wow, completely forgot about the big man from Congo. He definitely is someone I would like the Hawks to pursue. Positive attitude, good work ethic, a big body who is a reliable defender. He puts in reasonable numbers when given the chance. I know it's a small sampling...but DJ started 2 games early season last year when both Pau Gasol and Bynum were hurt. In those games, he averaged 7.5 ppg, 12.5 rpg, and 4.0 bpg. Plus he'll probably come cheap. Seems like a perfect fit to me.

Jannero Pargo Will Bynum Earl Watson Rafer Alston Carlos Arroyo Anthony Johnson Jason Williams Heck, I'd take Lue's personality and locker room presence before Acie.

Training camp doesn't start until around late September, we have plenty of time to make moves. I'm kind of frustrated as well, but no need to make quick assumptions. The smartest moves aren't always the quickest ones.

So many point guards still available in Free Agency and Acie Law is your choice?

Not official yet and Hawks still have a shot. Orlando are prevented by salary-cap rules from doing a sign-and-trade for Barnes that will be higher than $2M due to Orlando not having his bird rights.

@STEIN_LINE_HQ Just filed to ESPN.com: Matt Barnes and Raptors closing in on two-year deal in $10 million range. Will be completed TUES barring late snag. Boooooooooooooo.

I'm excited to know that we're one of the few teams that have a guaranteed 4 games against them. You can bet that at least 2 home games will be completely sold out.

Isn't Joe Johnson untradeable for 90 days?

Bleacher Report isn't the source..