falc82

1) Trade Speedy and the rights to Josh Childress for Raymond Felton.

Bobcats get some salary relief with the expiring contract in Speedy and Josh Childress would be a nice fit for them.

Also MJ prefers Augustin to Felton at this point so they would be willing to trade him.

2) Let Bibby walk or entertain what we could get back for him in a potential sign and trade.

Perhaps to Golden State for Ronny Turiaf or if possible Kelenna Azubuike. Otherwise let him walk.

3) Bring over David Anderson

Brings outside shooting touch that should force Smoove closer to the basket. Also brings size and depth to our bench.

4) Resign Flip, ZaZa, and Marvin

5) Draft Tyreke Evans from Memphis.

Gives us depth and potential at SG.

6)Sign a minor unrestricted free agent for depth at guard.

Potentially someone like Eddie House, Lindsey Hunter, Brevin Knight, Desmond Mason, Bobby Jackson, or Juan Dixon. Any of these would be fine.

Felton/Law/Eddie House/

Joe/Flip/Tyreke Evans

Marvin/Mo Evans/West

Smoove/ZaZa/Hunter

Horford/Anderson/Solo

We have excellent depth and competition in the lineup. Felton gives us a point guard with the ability to run a team, drive to the basket, and defend. With the addition of Anderson we improve our size off the bench which is sorely needed. With Felton on board we don't need to draft a pg in the draft and can use that pick for someone with great potential and offensive ability in Tyreke Evans. The lineup listed doesn't include any return for Bibby, if we got something for him that would just be a plus. What do you guys think?

Joe Johnson for Luol Deng and a first round pick.

Joe Johnson for Jerryd Bayless and Lefrentz and 2010 1st? I don't know if Lefentrz is expiring this offseason though.

Joe Johnson for Rudy Gay and Milicic?

Just throwing some ideas against the wall. I just think we're better off keeping Joe and either signing a co-star in '10 or trading Chillz, Speedy and a pick for something of quality.

I say we keep Joe and Josh and sign a true # 1 in 2010. Bibby's contract will free up 9-10 million/yr even if he's resigned. Speedy's contract is expiring. That's another 6 mil per. Trade the rights to Chills for cash considerations. You could clear 20 mill per to sign a "Dwayne Wade" to put next to Joe. If we could draft a PG and sign a utilitarian center like Brendan Haywood, then we'd roll out a lineup including Joe, Josh, Dwayne, Haywood and whatever PG we draft. Sign Marvin for the MLE and let Mo Evans walk after 2010. Your bench now has Bibby, Marvin, Flip, and Al filling it out. This is realistic. Even if we had to pay a luxury tax, we wouldn't be that far over the cap.

Morris also comes off the books in 10'

Allstars make their teammates better and that is seldom the case with JJ. A new location would do him good . . . . and us.

Fair enough. But for what and who?

I'm not so sure trading Joe Johnson is the best option we have to improve this team.

If we trade Joe then does Josh Smith become our #1 option? Better question is does Josh Smith then think he is our #1 option? If you think you see him taking too many jumpers now just wait till next season if we trade Joe.

Trading Joe destroys our chemistry. We could get rid of a Marvin or a Bibby and still have the chemistry unharmed, but trading away the focal point of your team will undo that chemistry.

With that said lets assume we do shop Joe Johnson. What do you guys think we could and should get back for him? I don't really see an enticing package out there that really improves this team. Lets discuss what an appropriate return for Joe is.

4 points from the bench tonight will not get the job done. It seems of late that we just can't get production from our bench. Is this due to coaching or talent or both? If I were coaching I'd seriously have to consider moving Marvin to the bench and utilizing Salim more.

Seems ever since we got Bibby we have been awful at defending the 3 point shot. I don't know if it has to do with Bibby or not, but what gives?

Quote of the day. Seriously how do so many uninformed basketball fans all seemingly show up at once?

I've read a good bit about Jared Jordan but admittedly have never seen him play. He was projected as an early 2nd late first at one point in the year, yet now NBAdraft.net and draftexpress.com both have him going undrafted.

He's led the country each of the last two years in apg both times being above 8. Nickname is the Magician, and is supposedly a modest kid. Expectations of him tend to be all over the board as some think he is the next Stockton and other thinks he's only European material. So who knows, he admits that he is limited and will probably need to go to a western conference team to succeed. I'm sure this article mentions most of that though, since all the info I have seen of this kid seems to be the same stuff just repeated.

If he goes undrafted I would love for BK to invite this guy to camp to see what he can do.

Is it the statistical evidence I use to support my opinions that has you saying this? Or just the fact that I disagree with you? I think the latter.

It's apparent that your mind is made up on Smoove and that in no way am I going to change that, but to deny that Smoove has improved his game since the time he entered the league is just ignorant. He was 2nd in the league in bpg this year. Just in this year alone he improved his PPG and RPG every month (in jan his rpg dipped just a bit as he came back from injury). His bpg after the first month hovered around 2.8-3 per game. He led the league in steals+blocks per game.

His scoring, rebounding, assist, blocks, steals all went up every year he's played in the league. His ppg has increased by 7pg (up to 16.4), his apg by 1.6 (to 3.3), his rebounds by 2.4 (up to 8.6), his blocks by 1 (up to 2.9), and his steals by .6 (up to 1.4).

With a stat line of 16.4/8.6/3.3/2.9/1.4 (points/rebounds/assist/blocks/steals) he is one of the best all around players in the game at the age of 21. He needs to improve on his consistency (fg %) which will come with better shot selection and thus maturity, and he needs to control his emotions better which should also come with maturity. To say he hasn't improved since coming into the league (or trying to undermine that improvement by saying he was sub par when entering the league) is to ignore the statistically and observational evidence.

1.) I really hope he can stay healthy, but either way I don't see him as the long term future at PG for us. There is no way that we can go into this coming season with playoff aspirations and just depend on Speedy being healthy.

2.) I think Shelden will find his role on this team and settle in nicely. It's amazing how well he did when he wasn't hurt. I think it hindered him a lot more than he let on, all the same he was top 2 in rookies reb/48. I'd like to see more blocks from him though seeing as how that was a huge part of his game in college. I think he can be a serviceable player, even if he was the wrong pick.

3.)Signing Josh Smith is paramount in my opinion. He was the most influential player on the team last year in terms of win/losses. When he went down last year so did the Hawks playoff aspirations. When he returned we were an improved team. When JJ went down the Hawks responded (led by Smith) and played quality basketball. Josh Smith has such a wide impact on the game, but needs to continue to improve his shot select and turnovers. I wouldn't offer a max deal by any means, but I would make signing him a priority. He could be a top PF in the East as soon as next year. He averaged 20 ppg 10 rpg and 3 bpg to end the season in the month of March and April (22 games).

I fail to see how your personal evaluation of him is any more "factual" than my evaluation of him. How can you come to the conclusion from my first paragraph that I only watch one player and not the entire team when I am basing my evaluation of Josh Smith on him improved court vision, passing, defensive (yes 1 on 1 has improved), help defense, and moving without the ball among other things..involve a team concept and not an individual concept.

Lines like that are not based on my opinion, saying that he wants to win in Atlanta is based on direct quotes from Josh Smith, and saying that losing when you want to win is frustrating is common sense.

The Hawks have a ton of talent on their team, but lack it in the key position of PG/C which really holds the team back. We're not a balanced team in the least, but there is talent here.

You seem to try and pass off your opinions as factual, while condemning everyone else as opinion based.

---It's only three games, but for the long-suffering Hawks, any winning record -- even 2-1 -- is notable.

"I know it doesn't mean nothing, but it means a lot to us," said Hawks forward Josh Smith.

http://www.sportsline.com/nba/gamecenter/r...0061105_ORL@ATL

Many similar quotes can be found with a few mins of googleing post game quotes from him. Or listening to the announcers speak about Josh Smith and his desire to win during the 70 or so broadcast during the year. (Not every game was televised)

I'll agree with this. Law definitely has a higher BBIQ than Terry, and Terry never really wanted to be identified as a PG in this league whereas Law seems to want that. But really..lets not post his stats against one team and claim he's the PG we need.

Conley may have flaws..3-point shooting and his free throw shooting was a shade under 70%. But other than those two aspects the kid is above average. He also shows really good form on his shot, so with a lot of practice he can really improve that aspect of his game.

I see Conley as more of a mix between Paul and TJ Ford. Closer to Ford than Paul, but either way, that makes for an excellent PG. Worst case is maybe Ray Felton in my opinion which is still not half bad.

JT is probably the better NBA 3-point shooter and a tad bit quicker coming into the league. JT was pretty clutch when he played for the Hawks..the few times we were in position for the term clutch to come into play.

C'mon Texas. Don't be so hard on him. Don't you know he borrowed all the CBA game film on Yi from NCThompson11?

Its a lot to give up if we offer both Chillz and the #11. It may only take one or the other. Calderon may have topped out, but if you increase his mins his numbers will increase, I like him as a player from the limited amount I've seen of him.

We're all Hawks fans here, and the majority of us saw 40-50 games if not more as well. I really think you sell Josh Smith short. He most certainly has star potential, and he most certainly still has holes in his game. But if you watched 40-50 games surely you saw the improvement in his game from the beginning of the season to the end. He is still a bit out of control, but he will settle in soon, the move to PF was a good one for him. Also I think this stuff about his attitude is being blown out of proportion. He has his outbreaks sure, but the guy truly wants to bring winning to Atlanta. To want that and to go out and lose at the rate we have has to be frustrating.

With that said, back to the original topic. Do any of those players have trade veto options? If not then I don't see why theres an issue if they want to come here or not. If they get traded they have no option but to come here. This isn't the same Hawks as it was when Rasheed came over, we have talent and can be playoff caliber with a few moves this off season. An up and coming team with playoff aspirations is something a lot of players want to be a part of. We have a more promising future than Memphis or Indiana if we acquire Gasol/JO and add a PG with our remaining draft pick.

Yes, we can't disregard the impact an above average PG has on a teams offense. A PG like Conley makes the entire team better on the offensive side of the ball. You bring in a PG that can pass, run, set the tempo, set up his teammates for easier shots, and you have an overall improved offense. Exactly what the Hawks need.

I like Calderon. If we could work something out for him centered around the #11 pick then I'd be interested.

I think the route to go is Aldridge/Gasol/JO. In that order.

They all offer low post scoring but with average-above average interior defense to boot. Much better defense than Yi would provide. And I think a lot of the Yi projections are a bit optimistic by some on this board.

I agree. When I was saying he was soft I meant on the defensive end. I just don't think he holds his own on that end of the court. Offensively I bet he settles for more jumpers in the NBA than in the CBA. The big difference is going against 6'11"-7'0" PF/C's as opposed to 6'6-6'8 players in the CBA. Just a hunch.

I've actually seen both players play on numerous occasions. I love both players, and wouldn't mind either on the Hawks. Conley however is a much better Point Guard than Law and fits the bill on what type of PG we need. I just don't see Law's game translating as well to the league as Conley's.

Paul seemed to be able to translate the drive and dish ability despite his small stature. Conley is larger than he is. Though I do see your point, the majority of PGs are 6'2-6'3. I think Conley will hold his own and that he will do just fine.

Are you questioning the expression or me comparing them? I see no way that a similar comparison can be made between a senior in college and a freshmen in college as some people on here try to do. So yes, I do believe that comparing their freshmen years is a much more similar barometer than the alternative.

Also can you claim that Conley having a higher apg, a:to, spg, fg%, pps than Law at any point in his career was because of the adversity Law faced? Give me a break. Besides I never said you were a moron. And an excellent point by Texas, how did Conley inherit a team that was fueled by 3 freshmen (including himself). He was a leader on the 2nd best team in college basketball, and excelled at running the team.

Everyone else in the NCAA/NBA nation sees Conley as the quicker player.

Conley was a freshmen, Law a senior. Both were leaders on their team. Conley is the better pure PG in my opinion.

Freshmen stats: Conley: 11.3 ppg 6.1 apg 3.4 rpg .518 fg% .304 3-fg% 2.2 spg, 2.77 a:to

Freshmen stats: Law: 7.5 ppg 3.9 apg 2.1 rpg .387 fg% .216 3-fg% 1.3spg, 2.00 a:to

Conley had better spg, apg, fg%, pps, a:to than Law did AT ANY POINT in his 4 year career.

Law had his A:TO go down each of his first 3 years and then a slight bump to only 1.92 in his senior year. Very telling. Sounds like a JT type player. I was avoiding making this comparison until I saw these stats.

Now that we're comparing apples to apples (freshmen years) who looks like the better player?