phoostal

Here is the guy from the sporting news again giving us some good hype. This is become comical now. I thought you guys would be interested in this letter. P I was just wondering what you think my Atlanta Hawks should do with their point/shooting guard problem? Jason Terry can't play both at the same time. Petty Officer Randolph U.S. Navy Japan *** Randolph: A hearty salute to you, P.O. Randolph. I don't think the Hawks did enough to address the problem, and that is one reason I am a little more skeptical of this team than a lot of other people. I don't think this is a playoff team. The only thing that makes Terry a point guard is that he is not tall enough to be a shooting guard. The guy needs to shoot, which is fine, except that the Hawks also want to run a post offense with Shareef Abdur-Rahim. Oh, and they also have to get shots for Glenn Robinson. I think Terry is a good player, but he is not someone who can distribute the ball well, set up the offense and make the right passes. What's worse that is there is no real point guard on the bench, either. Emanual Davis certainly proved he is not up to that role, and Dan Dickau is as much a shooting guard in a point guard's body as Terry is. You can look at the numbers and say, "Well, Robinson averages this many points, Abdur-Rahim averages this many and Terry averages this many, so it is going to be a good team." I disagree. I just don't see the parts fitting together. I think a point guard -- someone who could take charge, make sure everyone got his shots and keep everyone happy -- would solve that problem.

What can you do the media just doesn't believe in this team. This article just doesn't think the trade was good. Like I said before it has become humorous now. P Risky proposition Marty Burns, Sports Illustrated When Glenn Robinson was a freshman at Purdue, a school custodian gave him the nickname "Big Dog." Robinson liked it so much he had the image of a bulldog with a spiked collar tattooed on his chest. The Hawks can only pray that Robinson, acquired in a trade with the Bucks last week, behaves like man's best friend in his new city. While it seems Atlanta pulled off a major coup -- basically giving up only veteran Toni Kukoc and a 2003 first-round pick for the talented Robinson -- the deal is not without significant risk. Big Dog may have an All-Star pedigree, but he's also capable of coming back to bite his new team. Robinson faces three misdemeanor charges of domestic battery, assault and illegal possession of a firearm, stemming from a domestic dispute that occurred last month. According to police and prosecutors, he showed up drunk at his fiancee's suburban Chicago home in the wee hours of the morning demanding to be let inside. Once there, he allegedly pushed the woman and demanded she turn over a handgun he had left there previously. Robinson, 29, apologized for the incident the following day, but the damage was done. He's free on $5,000 bond, and a court hearing is schedule for later this month. Robinson is innocent until proven guilty, of course, but the incident should make the Hawks wary. Burned badly by the failed Isaiah Rider experiment of three years ago, they can ill afford another public relations disaster. The fact that Robinson carries other baggage as well -- he has a previous arrest for public intoxication and was once stripped of his captaincy in Milwaukee -- only makes it more dicey. Still, Hawks president Stan Kasten says the organization is convinced that Robinson's recent arrest was an "aberration" and called the star player genuinely "remorseful." He also said the team researched Robinson's character, talking to people around the league, before agreeing to the deal. "It was a one-time thing," Kasten said. "Having been through this before with guys who screwed up ... it's a very good thing to see somebody say, 'I was just wrong. I was embarrassed. It'll never happen again.' That's not the typical way today, but it's the right way." The funny thing is, for all his scoring skills, Robinson's on-court game isn't without its critics, either. He doesn't play much defense, a major weakness for the Hawks last season, and he often has trouble handling the ball in traffic. Though Robinson is clearly a better overall player than Kukoc, the fact remains that the Bucks were basically willing to give him away. Ever since the Rider fiasco, Hawks GM Pete Babcock has talked about the need for character guys on his roster. It's why he supposedly didn't want Latrell Sprewell, even though the Knicks were shopping the one-time coach-choker to the Hawks. Yet in taking on Robinson, the organization apparently has decided the silky-smooth scoring machine is worth the trouble. "He accepted responsibility," Babcock said. "Some athletes don't accept their responsibilities. That's a positive sign." It had better be. For if Robinson doesn't work out for the Hawks, Babcock might be the next guy who gets tattooed (by fans and the media) and comes out looking like a dog. Marty Burns covers pro basketball for CNNSI.com. Click here to send Marty a question or comment.

Thank God, there is another sensible person on this board. I have been a member on this board for over two years and when I first got here the board was great. Now I find that you find less information and more bitching like little school girls. I wish people would grow up and make well rounded decisions before they make comments. Take in all considerations that is what makes this board what it is. But, knowing the people we have on this board I will probably get called a jackass or something. Believe it won't be a shock, I've come to expect this from some of the people on this board and that is why I hardly post anymore. Take it for what it is worth. I'm sure you will. P

You almost got to laugh at these polls and what people think. I was just on yahoo sports and they had a poll with a very simple question. Do you think the Hawks will make the playoffs? Yes or No Well over 25,000 people voted and here were the results: 43% say yes and 57% say no This goes to show it doesn't matter what the Hawks do in the off season, people across the country just aren't sold on the organization. And remember the question wasn't are the Hawks going to win the east, it was just make the playoffs. No respect from anyone. I'm going to enjoy proven everyone wrong this year and to be honest I like it better this way. I don't want anything handed to us, let's just go out there and hand everyone there a**. P

Here is what an article from the Sporting News said about the deal. Evidently they don't think we will be any better. Thought you guys would be interested. Sorry I haven't posted in awhile. P Did Hawks really get better end of deal? By Sean Deveney - The Sporting News The signs were there all along, with Hawks general manager Pete Babcock repeatedly saying this summer he was working on "something big." The signs were in Milwaukee, where coach George Karl normally rips his team the way most of us rip off post-it notes. Instead, over the last few months of the season, an eerie calm settled over the Bucks and their fiery coach, and he even became complimentary of his team and its effort. It was if he knew it would be over soon, that a change would come one way or another, and that players who were ripped by their coach tend to drop in trade value. Well, the signs came together, with Milwaukee star and thorn in Karl's side Glenn Robinson being traded to the Hawks for Toni Kukoc, a first-round pick and Leon Smith. Heavily weighted toward the Hawks, right? Not necessarily. The financial implications of the deal for the Bucks are obvious. They are freed from the remaining three years and $34 million on Robinson's deal and replace it with two years and $18 million for Kukoc. In terms of the team's roster, the move probably means Anthony Mason and Tim Thomas, two other prime Bucks trade candidates, will stay put. The same can be said for the Hawks. They have obviously taken on more salary -- and for a team that guaranteed a playoff berth or a partial refund to its season ticket holders, taking on more salary for the sake of winning was a necessary step. But, on both sides, there's a big question of how this will work on the court. For Milwaukee, many of Robinson's ex-teammates -- particularly Mason, who dished out thinly veiled slams at Robinson's selfish play almost nightly -- will not miss him. Moving him along is addition by subtraction and makes this a good deal for the Bucks. Robinson could score, but he would frequently rush the offense, take shots before the play was set and put the Bucks in a bind defensively by yielding fast breaks. Without Robinson, the Bucks should emphasize a less freewheeling offense and a more consistent defense. Surely, though, Kukoc will not replace Robinson as the starting small forward. In fact, he is probably going to be the team's eighth man. The starting role will likely fall to Thomas, a versatile scorer who did a good job replacing Robinson when he was injured last season. But that takes away one of Karl's favorite weapons -- a high-energy scorer off the bench -- unless Karl plans to use free-agent shooting guard Michael Redd in that role. Another possibility -- and this would be a big departure from Karl's down-with-rookies style -- is that draftee Marcus Haislip will see significant time off the bench, with Mason flopping between the 3, 4 and 5 positions. Either way, what it means in the end for the Bucks is that the two-third of the team's Big Three that is still in Milwaukee, Sam Cassell and Ray Allen, will carry the offensive load. While the Bucks have cleared a logjam by trading Robinson, the Hawks have created one by acquiring him. The team has been desperate for a small forward, and appears to have given up on lottery pick DerMarr Johnson. But given its current lineup, Robinson does not seem to be a good fit. The team already has two players who need the ball, Jason Terry in the backcourt and Shareef Abdur-Rahim in the post. Finding shots for Robinson could be difficult. Scoring was hardly the Hawks' problem last year -- at 94 points per game, they were in the middle of the NBA pack. Defense (98.3 points per game) was where the team was lacking, and Robinson certainly isn't going to solve that problem. Having center Theo Ratliff healthy would be a big boost, but for matching up with the quality wing players in the East, the Hawks still have no one. Based on talent, the Hawks seem to have gotten the better of this deal. But when looking at whether this can actually work on the court ... maybe not.

Sorry to rain on your parade, but I don't think the Bulls will ever make that trade. Unless Jalen gets into some sort of legal trouble.

Thought you guys would be interested in this deal going down. Source: Cavs on verge of trading Andre Miller to Clippers By TOM WITHERS AP Sports Writer July 29, 2002 CLEVELAND (AP) -- Andre Miller, the NBA's assist leader last season, and forward Bryant Stith were on the verge of being traded by the Cleveland Cavaliers to the Los Angeles Clippers for forwards Darius Miles and Harold Jamison, The Associated Press has learned. A team source told the AP that the teams were finalizing the deal and that it could be announced Tuesday. ``It's not done yet, but it's close,'' the source said Monday, speaking on condition of anonymity. ``Some things still have to be worked out.'' Miller, 26, was nearly traded to the Clippers on draft night last month, but the deal fell through. A Cavaliers spokesman would not confirm the four-player trade, and said the team had no announcements planned Monday. No one from the Clippers was available for comment Monday. The 6-foot-2 Miller averaged 10.9 assists last season for the Cavs, but he can become a restricted free agent after this season and had told Cleveland he wants a maximum contract. But the team, which owner Gordon Gund has denied he is selling, didn't plan to offer Miller a new deal until he becomes an unrestricted free agent next season. In exchange for Miller, the Cavs are getting Miles, a 6-foot-9 bundle of energy and athleticism the club hopes can help sell tickets at Gund Arena next season and beyond. He averaged 9.5 points and 5.5 rebounds last season and helped the Clippers partially shed their sad-sack image as one of the league's worst teams. Miles' agent, Jeffrey Wechsler of Miami, said the deal wasn't done. ``There has not been a trade completed yet,'' he said Monday. ``If a trade involving Darius is completed I'm sure he'll be very disappointed for the fans of the Los Angeles Clippers.'' Miles, who will turn 21 in October, was the No. 3 overall pick in the 2000 NBA draft out of high school. He averaged 9.4 points in 81 games as a rookie, and showed flashes he could be a future All-Star. Miller has also emerged as one of the NBA's rising stars, and the former Utah standout would be returning to his hometown to play with the Clippers. Miller's departure would mean the Cavs need a point guard. That job could go to Dajuan Wagner, a shooting guard who was taken by Cleveland with the sixth overall pick in last month's draft. Wagner has played well during the Cavs' summer league games. The source said Los Angeles general manager Elgin Baylor stayed in contact with the Cavs over the past few weeks after the prospective deal on draft night fell through in hopes he could rework the trade. The Clippers have two point guards on their roster -- Keyon Dooling, who was limited to 14 games last season, his second in the NBA, due to a severely sprained left ankle, and 23-year-old Marko Jaric, a second-round draft pick two years ago who they signed to a multiyear contract three weeks ago. Jaric has been playing in the Italian League. Jeff McInnis, the starter last season, is an unrestricted free agent who has yet to be signed. His backup, Earl Boykins, was released by the Clippers last month. Jamison, 25, was signed as a free agent by the Clippers shortly before the start of last season. He averaged 1.9 points and 1.6 rebounds in 25 games. Stith, 31, missed 12 games last season because of a hip flexor and underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee last week. He is not expected to miss the start of training camp in October. The 6-5 Stith, who was signed as a free agent last August, averaged 4.2 points in 50 games.