skyhawk

Quote: The Bibby deal, while not a lump of coal, brings no excitement to me. He's 30-31 and declining. His 5 APG will not be much of an impact if you ask me. BUT his overly sized deal would be a good trade chip next year assuming ownership would want to take on any salary (cough). However, if we're willing to pay Bibby $14 million and give up little to get for him, I would hope we would have been willing to pay Gasol similarly and give up little similarly for him. We weren't even whispered about in that deal. Let's ALL hope the deal is a bigger and better deal than the one "rumored" for Bibby. W For once I agree with you as I just can't understand the excitement around getting Bibby - he's certainly on the downside of his career. He might score but his +/- is horrible even for being on a bad team. The only way I'd do this deal is for bench players or expiring contracts and even then I won't be all that hyped. I remember when Reef and Big Dog came and how excited you guys where - see how that turned out.

I don't get a chance to watch the Hawks so can't really comment on his play. Can someone give me feedback on whether he'll ever make a contribution. I've always felt that he had a low ceiling but I'm hoping that his lack of production is caused by him not having adapted to the NBA - which may be due to a lack of confidence - as opposed to not having an NBA skill set.

Quote: he has done a good job rebounding and we certainly need that but i keep waiting for some sign of offense from him. He isn't 7' 280 pounds and he needs to stop playing like he is. He shows his quickness pushing the ball on the break and guarding smaller players but he never shows it on offense. I agree with most of what you say but think you're wrong about his quickness. Did you see the move he put on McDyess last night? Sure, McDyess doesn't have the lateral agility he once had but that move would have beaten any big man.

Last night was the first time I've seen the Hawks play in years and I certainly picked the wrong game. I won't re-hash the obvious but just some general comments.. - Mario West impressed me with his energy and defense - he made a nice strip on T-MAC and surprised me by sticking with Aaron Brooks whose a quick PG. Definitely needs to work on his jumper - Childress is very creative around the basket and can finish. - BK likes peanuts and is actually a nice guy. Talked with him for several minutes. - Good to see Acie get some love especially from Gary Kubiak - Someone needs to teach Marvin to block out as there were times when he just watched his man board. He's got skills but needs to ramp it up. I'll give him another year before dropping his jock:). - JJ looked really sad in the 4th and I felt bad for him. He and BK had the longest faces of anyone. MIke Woodson looked frustrated the whole game. - The Hawks do have the potential to be a great defensive team. They still have trouble switching and of course need more size in the middle. - I've never seen a team miss with that many good look. The had trouble getting in the paint but couldn't finish when they did. Give the Rockets credit for that. Marvin needs to come stronger. - Wither Solomon? Woodson cleared the bench but he didn't play and have no idea why. I'll give him credit as he wasn't pouting about it. - Shelden has absolutely zero confidence as he had no idea what to do and was very timid. Nice touch on FTs. - Horford will be a beast and Acie will do fine as our PG The game wasn't as close as the final score but I do see promise with this group even with missing pieces.

I was at the game sitting near the Hawks bench and happened to look up and there was BK staring at me - must have been the Hawks jersey. I stopped by and chatted with him for a minute nothing earth shattering - just basic BB conversation. He's actually a nice guy. He looked bored most of the game until the peanut vendor stopped by - he gave him a fat tip by the way. He'd look up whenever a hottie passed by but mostly he was talking with some guy who I assumed was with the Hawks front office. Met Steve Smith last night and this dude looks like he can still play. I offered him my jersey so he could get on the floor...he got a kick out that. Super nice guy...

Quote: Oscar Robertson. Hall of Famer, no doubt. Great, great player. I'm no expert on him.. Just saw him at the tail end of his career, when he was in Milwaukee with Kareem. He was fantastic. A great passer, but I would put him more at the 2. He was at the stage of his career then, that Nash is now. You can't really compare players from different eras but I was fortunate to see Oscar Robertson in his prime and I'd have a hard time putting Magic ahead of him. Oscar didn't quite have Magic's vision and flair but he was close. However, he was a much better scorer, rebounder and defender. He could do everything that you'd want a player to do and, he was a great guy. His stats from the '61-62' season: 30.8 points, 12.5 rebounds, and 11.4 assists per game-an average of a triple-double for an entire season. Not even Magic Johnson or Larry Bird could match those numbers. Not taking anything from Magic, Stockton or Nash - he's the standard that all PGs should measured against - just one man's opinion.

Quote: You cant deny the facts can you imagine how good this team would be Paul/Deron JJ Smoove and Al Horford along with Chillz off the bench we would def have a better record. You check out Pauls game last night I think he is turning into the best pg in the nba in his 3rd season. I doubt if we'd have gotten Al if either of them would have been our PG as the team would have been much better - which translates to less ping pong balls....and,I don't think he would have lasted to the 11th pick.

Quote: What a great job by Woody to have this team motivated every single night playing their hardest...That is such a difficult thing to accomplish in today's NBA...Most teams are just lazy as hell. I couldn't agree more as the one thing you have to give these guys credit for is that they play hard - every night and that's a tribute to the coach.

Quote: Here's what I know... I went to the game, when the Hawks came to Philly. And one of the Philly fans told me, "I thought the Hawks were the most athletic team across the board. That was until Smith went to the bench. Without him, they are no more athletic than the Spurs." Of course I laughed him off. But since then, I have noticed that he may just be right. Without him in the lineup, we are normal. But he must be some athletic freak, to give this team that type of perception across the league. This guy has some value...and thats before you realize his age. Sorry - I can't agree with that as Childress and Marvin are a lot more athletic than you give them credit for being. Horford is great athlete as well. Sure, they're not in Smoove's class but not many players are.

Quote: We should have extended him pre-season. That was dumb. His agent would have been even dumber to get him extended before the season began - so don't blame the front office as it takes 2 to make a deal.

Quote: It is true we don't have shooters but we do have guys who can attack the rim, get to the line and make their free throws. It is easier to attack the basket before the defense gets set. The hawks have done this many times (mainly in the first half) recently. The other reason to push the ball after made baskets is to have more time on the clock to run a half court offense. Given the hawks lack of execution they need all the time they can get. The reason why it's so difficult to run on a made basket is that the other team WILL have it's defense set no matter how fast/quickly we get up the floor. I do agree with you about maximizing the shot clock as this will definitely help ball movement and shot selection.

I was with you until your idea of trading for/signing overrated and overpaid players just because they're bigs. I don't doubt that JO or Gasol would make us a better team - but both players are on the downside of their careers and would provide nothing more than a short-term fix....that's not worth the price IMHO. Pryz, Dalembert and Miller - do you really think either of these guys make us better?? No comment on your assessment on Marvin vs. Chillz...I think you've been hammered enough on this issue. There's no doubt that we need another big but these guys are not the answer.

Tell me - why does it matter that Deng is better than Childress? You sound my wife who's always harping on stuff that happened 5 years ago.

Quote: Quote: Woodson seems more comfortable in the grind it out game. To me, Woodson seems to have no identity at all. When a team wants to run with us, we run. When a team wants to play halfcourt, we play halfcourt. I agree that we need to establish an identity but I don't think playing both styles depending upon match-ups is a problem because you need to both in the playoffs. A good defensive team will force you into a half-court game..so what do you then??

http://realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/482...o_knee_surgery/ This is why I never wanted the trade to go through...

Quote: am I the only one on here who thinks Gasol is a great player. 20. Actually, I'd say the majority on this board are with you as many think he's our 'big' man saviour..I don't see that. Good player...but more of a stop-gap IMHO. Long-term we'd be better off with keeping both picks.

I'm with you on this as I have nightmares of SAR II. I think Gasol's a nice player but not worth 3 and 11. I can see him making us better but not to a point where we'd make the EC Finals...

Quote: He's growing up, that's all you can say," Hawks coach Mike Woodson said. "You guys have been watching him. You watched him when he first got here. He's made major strides in terms of this game. He's growing up right before our eyes. Tonight [he] was huge." It's funny how Woody gets very little credit for Josh Smith's development but is always bashed for everything else he does. I'm still not sure if he'll ever become a good coach but I do feel he deserves props for helping Josh raise his game to a higher level.

I understand that and maybe this was the wrong thread for my comment on what I see as continual negativity from a Hawks fan on a subject that's been beaten to death.

Man, what's up with you? All you do is bash, bash, and bash some more. I've never seen a positive comment from you even on days where we win or play well. I agree that every fan has the right to express his/her opinion and I do believe you are indeed a Hawks fan. However, I just don't understand your endless big man rant. It's obvious that we need improved PG and C play as you've so eloquently stated every day since the draft. It's also obvious that this team has the potential to be very good. But somehow you can't or won't accept this. No disrespect intended as I'm just to trying understand why you can't get over your fixation on our lack of a big man. Is it too much to ask that you move on to another topic - one that hopefully would provide an opportunity for you to express a positive viewpoint.

Quote: I'm sorry but it doesn't really matter what he TRIED to do. He's a very highly paid professional, this is his job. All that counts is what he got done. ... not much I'm a poorly paid professional who negotiates deals every day and one thing I've learned is that you don't say yes to a deal you're not comfortable with just to get it done.

Quote: Quote: In fact, I wonder why the Hawks didn't try to get Udrih instead of Johnson. He is one and we didn't. I'd much rather have Udrih. W How do you or Chad Ford know what BK did or didn't do? Oh, my bad, he must have called to tell you that he didn't make a play for Udrih.

Very nice post...

Yes..I've watched Haywood play also and he won't be much of an upgrade.

Quote: All...Day...Long. Where do we sign up? Jarvis off the bench would be instant offense. Instant offense? Hayes is shooting 38% from the field (not sure on the 3pt %). I don't know much about the rest of his game but I don't see him providing coonsistent offense from the bench. This looks likd a trade for the sake of trading to me as I don't see these players being much better than what we'd give up. Yeah, if Salim has an attitude problem that would be a factor but is Haywood that much better than Lo? Teams don't move good bigs...