ggp

I can't access the article. Can you paraphrase?

Quote: I think we should use Al Harrington and/or Boris Diaw to trade for one. If we package both Harrington, Diaw and 1 of our 1st round picks next year I feel we can get a guy like Steve Francis, we could also get Jason Williams for a cheaper price, or we can look to the Free Agent market for a PG like Larry Hughes or Joe Johnson. Steve Francis? You are kidding right? He is all about himself. Keep him in Orlando.

How does Z compare to Magloire, Curry, Chandler, and Dalembert?

Hoopshype is reporting that the Hawks are hot after Ilgauskas. I didn't see that one coming.

We are lucky to have this many quality Centers available in free agency or via trade. I can't remember an offseason that offered so many starter quality Centers.

Quote: it's amazing how a little radio and tv coverage makes experts and life long fans out of people who couldn't name any of hte players on last years team before Josh Smith won the dunk contest. But it's all good. Now it's up to the team to keep the momentum going and make real fans out of them. I don't think that it is the radio or TV that is bringing people, like myself, back. It is the the moves from the front office. Logic once again reigns. There are many "distant fans" that have been completely disgusted by what had been going on for the past decade and a half. I think that is will become increasingly difficult to find a decent seat at Phillips. The Hawks are back. Build a team and they will come.

Quote: All I've seen is that you're willing to be in the lottery for two more years. Heck, you're not just willing, you want it that way. That does absolutely nothing to make us a future contender. Realistically it makes us into the Clippers east. By the time we're out of the lottery, the players that we intended to build around are sick of losing and are ready to go elsewhere. We don't need the lottery any more. We have cap space and we have three extremely talented players to build around. We also have a very talented player in Al that could be traded to improve us further. The smart move is to focus on building around those guys, bringing in good players via trades and free agency and let our core learn how to win. You won't find out whether or not they have the potential to contend until you put them in a position to win. Hoping for the lottery is nothing more than an extension of the loser mentality we've been trying to shed. No team with the cap space we have and the consecutive great drafts we've had has any business in hoping for the lottery for a third year. The only reason to do that is if the players we've taken aren't good enough to get it done. We won't know that until we put good players around them and see what they can do. No, that is not what I am saying. We must be careful how we spend our considerable cap space. Jumping for a popular player can hurt if he coasts after the ink is dry. Curry is a big question mark. Jamal Magloire is a hard worker and a tough guy....he is the sort of player that can be signed to an extension and will continue to perform. There are no top grade point guards in freee agency. Joe Johnson has the talent to be a PG, but he has been a SG so far. The same can be said for Salim. I am saying that if we want to make a big splash in free agency, it should be done for players that are money in the bank. If there are no such players, then wait another year and develope the players that you draft. No Impulse buying. Shop smart.

Curry would be a fine addition, but what about his heart? These conditions can be tricky. Curry may check out OK now, but there is no way to predict his future. Cardiac dysrythmias can pop up any time in this risk group. If the deal can be done and if Curry submits to a full workup by the specialists at Emory, then maybe we should go for it. The safer bet would be to trade for Magloire.

Quote: According to a couple of reports, the Hawks are rumored to be hot and heavy after Joe Johnson and may offer him a deal close to the max. It will be interesting to see how high Phoenix will go to match the offer, especially if the Richardson deal to New York doesn't go through. This brings up an interesting topic. Everyone knows that Joe Johnson is a great ball handler and can set an offense. I believe the Hawks may be looking at him to run their point guard position, and I speculated when he was drafted that he would eventually be a point guard. Think about it. If this goes down, and Atlanta is able to get a post man like Jamaal Magliore in here, they will have: G - Joe Johnson (6'8") G - Josh Childress (6'8") F - Marvin Williams (6'9") F - Josh Smith (6'9") C - Jamaal Magliore (6'11") Who would be able to match up with that line up defensively? I admit that your lineup looks good. I still think that we should trade for Magliore and see what Salim can do at the point. If JJ is signed, I would not be surprised to see Childress as our 6th man by the end of the season.

I am going to assume that we are going to trade Harrington for a Center. In my opinion, we should send Al to NO for Magloire. Mag is a solid Center and he wants out of NO. The trade is a clean one and on paper looks better for the Hornets because Al's offensive numbers are better. However, if Marvin can put up numbers close to Al's, we will be ahead of the game. If Al Harrington is traded, we will need depth at PF. I don't know which PF's are out there, but one will have to be signed to give Marvin and Josh a break. Googs might fill the bill for one year...he still has limitted minutes left in him. I would also like to invite Dwayn Jones to summer camp. He has the size and skill to make it in the NBA. As far as the PG position goes, I think that we should sit tight. There are no remarkable PG's in free agency this year. I want to see what Stoudamire can do. Something tells me that he will provide excellent point play for the Hawks. What a steal he will be if he can run the point!

If we sign Johnson, I think that Childress would be the odd man out. Johnson is most dangerous as a SG. If you pay a player the max, you have to get the most out of him. Playing him next to Chidress doesn't make much sense to me. Playing him next to Salim makes more sense. Both players score like mad and can handle and dish adequately. I doubt we go after JJ. I think that BK likes Childress a lot. Childress was a very visible guy during the draft process. That sort of thing is not done with a guy that does not figure prominently in your plans.

We all feel the millions of cap space burning a hole in our pockets. We all want to win it all tomorrow. The reality is that if we are able to sign all of the best FA's out there, we will still not be in the finals. So, what does Mr Knight need to do? We went into this draft with two outstanding needs: Point Guard and Center. Did we fill those needs?....Maybe. M Williams was the best prospect in the draft. Paul and Deron are bound to be all-stars , but Marvin will be a STAR. I can say this because he has the physical talent to impress coaches by just glancing at his game. He also has the right attitude and work ethic to maximize his awesome potential. I expect him to do OK as a rookie, but the real payoff will come shortly thereafter. In three years, he will be the dominant Forward in the league...the kind of player that will make you forget what position he plays. On the surface, we look foolish for not taking a PG like Paul or Deron. However, we now have the luxury of developing Marvin slowly or working a trade using Al Harrington. Rumors are going around that we will trade Al for a good Center. If that happens, then we effectively addressed the need for a Center via the draft. The name that I am hearing most often is Jamal Magloire. I have not seen either player much, but my impression is that Magloire is a better NBA Center than Andrew Bogut. Other possibilies include Chandler, Curry, or even Dalembert. It is obvious that BK has made room for another Center by releasing Drobs. Drobs was a better Center than Collier, but he is viewed as an expensive back up. Collier may get cut as well, depending on the signing of David Andersen. I am not concerned much about the Center position, I am confident that BK will upgrade that position before the season starts. I will continue this thread in a later post. I want to address the Point Guard position as well as the immediate future at PF.

Our scouts went to see Salim play many times (more than any other team scouts). They know Salim better than anyone else in the NBA. Our scouts were looking for a player that could handle the PG position in our offense. That is why they drafted Salim. Salim was an extraordinary SG for Arizona. He was told to take the shots and leave distribution to someone else. I admit that I am concerned when we draft a 6-1 SG, but if BK and his scouts call him a PG, then I believe. Salim will put points on the board and is said to have the talent to run the point. If it takes him a couple of seasons to develop into a solid PG, then we will all have to be patient. I like the pick.

Quote: Quote: so I would much rather take a chance on Morris than the guy who wants to play in Toronto of all places. Morris is 4th or 5th big man material. He might end up better, but his head sure doesn't seem screwed on right at the moment, so that doesn't seem likely. As far as Toronto, it's Magliore's hometown and a world-class city with a famous hospitality to people of all races, shapes, and idiosyncracries. What's wrong with Toronto? There is only one problem with Toronto.....TAXES You are right though...Toronto is a classy city.

Steve Francis? NO!

Attitude makes a huge difference. I like the fact that SS calls himself a point guard. I may be a desperate fan, but the feeling I get about SS is good....he may truly be the steal of the draft. If he is, draft night can be considered the turning point of this team.

Aaron Miles played PG for Kansas for four years. Excellent distributor and a solid defender. Dwayne Jones should be looked at as well.

Not too sure about your choices. BK may want to see if his second round find can play the point. Also, Curry is out there and can be had in a SNT deal. Don't forget Dally...he is still out there as well.

That is on the money. I like the pick, but don't too excited. BK tried to acquire another second rounder to draft the Mississippi HS point guard.

Quote: If the Lakers had made the playoffs, Gerald Green might be in a Hawks uni.....if we had gone with BPA. can you imagine drafting 2 more 6'9" guys. Smoove, Al, Green, Chill, Marvin = a team of 6'8-6'9" players The fact is that we did not get the Lakers pick. If we did, we would have drafted Paul with the #2 and possibly Green with the #10.

Toronto was interested in Frye, but was told, in no uncertain terms, that Frye would never play for the Raptors. The Raptors were going to draft Frye and then work a trade, but could not find takers. Then, they tried to trade down, but no one was interested. They were forced to go for Charlie, who was the highest guy on their charts. I got this info from someone within the organization. BTW, they liked Granger but they did not like Green. He was viewed as a gifted high schooler with a maturity risk. Once you know the facts, you can follow their logic.

Quote: We need to give up our next year's first, along with boston/la pick, and al harrington to get either deron or chris paul. We really have no clue who will or won't be in next year's draft. The best pg might be Dee Brown. We should go very, very, and I mean very strong to get one of the two. I'm willing even to give 10 million in cap space to either team. This is why I didn't want Marvin, because if paul/deron don't workout we will always have Rudy Gay, but if Marvin doesn't workout at best we may have Daniel Gibson. We HAVE to get a good pg, because they are the cornerstone of your team, that and a dominant big man. Since we weren't getting Bogut we should have went after a pg. Hopefully BK can work his Magic, because right now we are in deep $hit. Give it some time. I read today that we had scouts evaluating Stoudemire extensively. It is the feeling of our scouts that Salim is a PG.....they may be right, so let's wait and see.

Dwayne Jones and Aaron Miles would be good guys to bring in and evaluate.

Jack is a PG that can play the 2. It would be an excellent move on their part.

Jack and Ukic are the guys in the first round, but Miles and Harris are solid picks for the second round. I like Orien Harris a lot. He is a strong defender, handles the ball well but is also a very sharp passer. Miles is as good as Harris but is shorter.