pathway23

My thoughts and prayers are with the people of the Mississippi Gulf Delta and Louisiana as well. The poor especially have suffered the most having nowhere to go.

Hey happy b-day graymule! ?You're One of my favorite posters

I said no because I like Boris as a person and I like the skillset he brings. I think he will do well in Phoenix and he can blossom as a player. I just think he was not a fit for our system here, the kind of system we're trying to develop.

Well Foster and Harrison were healthy and not suspended most of the year weren't they? that could explain some of his lack of opportunity...he must have shown something else in the SL besides that one game against Bogut...I'm sure every game he played in was scouted by our staff.

Very well put together response Wretch. I too voted for Chill, with some consideration to JJ. The reason I see it is the off court leadership ability and also the play to back it up on the court..when this guy has another threat on the perimeter with him, look out! I expect his shot to be much improved this season and I think undoubtedly that Chill has star written all over him RIGHT NOW. Smoove and Marvin have some development growing pains ahead of them, particularly Marvin. One thing about Marvin though is his GREAT attitude and work ethic, Imo that will pull him through. In a few years JJ might again be in a situation where he is one of 4 or 5 really good to great players, will he still want to be THE GUY then? that is my only question.

I saw somewhere that Edwards is indeed a RFA so I assume the delay is for the week for the Pacers to match to run out. His signing will likely be announced sometime early this week.

I think Salim will be more productive than Marvin at the earlier part of the season, but I don't see Marvin failing to improve throughout the season, Imo Marvin will duplicate what Chill did last year, except he might just barely make the rookie team, and by the end of the year show he earned it. I can see Salim getting in if he does what Ben Gordon did last year, I could easily see Salim doing that. I think he is actually a better shooter than Ben Gordon.

Well put, I agree. This is a low risk cheap move, there is noone Billy likes available, obviously, so he is saving up some cap to use next offseason on a player he likes.

W is overreacting. W is overreacting. W is overreacting. The season hasn't started yet. We haven't seen John Edwards play.

I think Javier Vasquez was the better reliever on that AA team than Devine...why didn't they bring Vasquez back up? I don't think Devine is ready and I don't even think he is one of the top 3 relievers in the Braves minor league system right now! His confidence has to be smashed right now, no matter how bad you are to give up 2 grand slams in 2 appearances is amazing.

Heatley is a couple years younger and has Hall of Fame potential but he has question marks on his mental makeup, perhaps he could never reach his full potential in Atlanta because it was the site of the car wreck that killed Snyder...and also that knee injured in the carwreck...knee injuries can be with you for life. He also had an orbital eye injury which was even more serious than that of Joe Johnson. Hossa doesn't have those question marks though he might not be the player Heatley could possibly be. I think the Thrashers are better now. And no they did not save money. The Ottawa Senators did. Heatley will probably be slightly cheaper than Hossa. Also the Thrashers got something else with Hossa...proven playoff experience, and 7 years overall experience in the league despite being only 2 years older than Heatley, with 3 years experience. I don't mind this deal even though I like Heatley and wish him well.

I agree, I think that Dimino asked the wrong questions, and Billy answered them as he could. I also think Dimino was wrong when he blamed the playoff guarantee on Knight, I think that was Babcock? Dimino should have asked about the players that were acquired rather than the team performance before the games are even played. I usually like Dimino's interviews, but I thought this one sucked and it was mostly his fault. There is a lighter side of Billy that Dimino failed to bring out.

Tim was a horse tonight, going the distance, and Chipper with two bombs off two hardthrowers, Zambrano and then Wood! Excellent performances! I really hope Druw steps up soon though. We need him to get hot again.

Did you read those comments after that article? Geez some of those were inane. Particularly the one about Joe supposedly being unable to guard any PG in the NBA?! I must need my vision checked because I thought I saw him guard Tony Parker quite effectively and if he can do that I'm sure he can guard anybody else, because quickness is the only thing he lacks and his length seemed to overcome that with parker, who is arguably the quickest PG in the NBA!

You're right.. bad analogy, lets hope Maybe a better one would be what the Falcons have done with the defensive line?

Walter you're about as bad as Diesel...I don't know how you guys draw these conclusions before the season even plays itself out. Didn't you get yourself in trouble being all over J Chill last year? I hope the same thing occurs this way again with M Will this year and also your doubts about JJ as a PG.. I am very skeptical about your criticisms of versatility, because I think it can create mismatches in our favor most of the time. You didn't notice it last year because we lacked talent. Now that we have more talent on our roster we will have more mismatches in our favor. I don't think most teams in the NBA will stay with your vision of a prototype team much longer, and I think the zone defense is what is making the long athletic swingman type the prototype player rather than the big bruisers.

I see what you're saying. I agree with it, somewhat. But then I see Smoove as more susceptible to confidence issues though with Marvin behind him. It will be interesting to see how these guys take competition. I think this is part of what BK had in mind to create depth at these positions so that we have quality competing for PT at those positions. Like in NFL what the Falcons have done at WR with Roddy White and Michael Jenkins putting pressure on Finneran, Dez, and Peerless.

Quote: chillz will have some problems this year, especially with his shot. field goal percentage will drop to around 38%, however will make it up by deveoping a limited post game over smaller defenders, and getting to the free throw line where he will continue to improve. I know this is your low end forecast, but Chill shot over 45% last year despite having a weak outside shot. How do you figure he will fall off to 38% even on the low end? I would think on the low end he would stay the same...I think his outside shooting will improve, since it appeared to improve in the summer league according to those who saw the games.

You're not going to get a top 12 pick in 07. Mark it down. You're not going to get a lottery pick in 07. Mark it down. In the .00001% chance you do, we'll have a regime change.

Plenty of Boston and Phoenix fans do, very few Hawks fans do. Lots of people in Atlanta from Boston like Taves on 680 who side with Belkin.

sorry for the double post..

Chill came out after his Junior year, 3 year player at Stanford

Chill came out after his Junior year, 3 year player at Stanford

One of Phoenix's broadcasters had said that about Joe on 790 the zone that he had spent the entire summer working on his shot the year after he hit for 30%. For the record, Chill has also been said to have worked on his shot this summer. I expect Chill's shot to be improved. Certainly doesn't hurt having Salim on the team. Another thing we're forgetting that helps 3 point shooters. Another 3 point shooter! (That might be more important than having a "drive and dish PG"....you can spot up on the perimeter. Remember JT , S Jax, and Bob Sura? it was 3 ball city with those 3 together....now picture Salim, Delk, and JJ, or Salim, Chill (with the improved shot) and JJ....Chill will get easier looks this year because he actually has a couple teammates that can shoot. What did he have last year?

I think it will be like having Steve Smith and Mookie Blaylock again with Salim + JJ. I don't see any reason why they couldn't be just as effective from behind the 3 pt arc as Smitty and Mookie were even without Deke. Deke was a prolific defensive player but he wasn't much of a threat in the post. I think Al could draw enough attention to get Salim +JJ open looks, not as open as they were in Phoenix, because he is no Amare, but open enough to have 2 3 pt shooters hit at around a 40% clip. I can't remember what year/team it was but Smitty had a JJ type year hitting about 48% from 3. With us , w/ Smitty and Deke, the best he did was about 40%. I figure it will be the same for JJ here unless we find a guy in the post as prolific as Amare or Duncan (good luck)