GMyrberg

Woody on 680. So far, nothing new. 1. Team needs "a piece or two." 2. Both Kwame and Morris came in today, too (most interesting news, even though we knew Kwame would be back). 3. Dispelled rumors of difficulty with Smoove (duh!). 4. Could see Horford at 4 (no kidding, Woody). 5. Milwaukee better with Jefferson. Across the board "the East has gotten better." 6. Must get going "right out the box." 7. Expected Hawks to be a .500 lteam ast year, not affected too much by being under by 4 games. 8. Re-interated need for extra piece at close of interview. 680 playing the "Josh can't get along with Woody" and "What's wrong with Josh since he hasn't gotten any offers" cards. Not much knowledge of NBA econmics by that crew.

Anyone who supports, excuses, or rationalizes Woodson's abject failure has to take into consideration his record (90-207). I can concede every item that works against Woody (although it, at some point, seems like only an apologist can give Woody some kind of escape clause to his failure), and still believe he's got to go. Rather than building a case as to why he's in a tough spot, can anyone summarize why he deserves to stay? This is exactly the kind of question that could provoke a long debate, but really, why should it?

I think it's come to this for me. Until they get rid of Woody, I just don't have much hope. We can analyze game moves and apologize for deficiencies in team construction, but the record really does say it all: 90-206. What else needs to be said? Start here and then we can discuss what's left. No news here, just a a clear moment of faithlessness.

Wait and see, with a healthy dose of optimism seems about right. It's seems obvious that many of the past problems have disappeared or are improving. They still have lots of flaws that get exposed once in a while (not unlike most teams in the NBA). There's a few reasons to believe that the Hawks will keep the same pace or better it. Improving PG play will make a big difference. Lots riding on how quickly Law can be effective in backup role. Just can't say enough about AJ. I was one who thought we were throwing away a second round pick for no particularly good reason. Will have to weather some nights where Joe will be overwhelmed and inside play is spotty. I think they can do that. The good defense of the present streak seems to be the best indicator of where the team is.

Great and lucid comments regarding Marvin's progress. There's just so many signs that he's filling in the missing parts in his game while refining the parts that come naturally to him. Fun to watch. I thought the Washington win was full of good things. The NBA's tough and you have to win in different ways, sometimes depending on a big fourth quarter from your superstar, sometimes not. I really think that the PG situation will sort itself out (and AJ's generally been great for the last few games), along with some other issues, once the team's health improves. Good time to have some days off. What can you say about Zaza that hasn't already been said?

Just listened to Bucher on ESPN. Said Hawks are a surprise darkhorse. They're "young, talented, and 2-deep at every position." Admitted they dog the Hawks all the time. Said Horford and Law were two of the top three rookie players to watch. Encouraging.

Speedy JJ Marvin Josh ZaZa I think Horford and Law will squeeze in as quickly as Woody will let them, with Law perhaps the first choice if Speedy gets hurt. Shelden may supplant ZaZa, but I don't think that will last long.

I already had a good opinion of IV, but I felt even better after watching him three times. Good PG instincts, a great sense of rhythm and pace. I though he tried to take it inside too much, but he'll learn that that part is radically different in the NBA, and it won't change the effectiveness of his game. Good defense with his feet. Inclined to pass for a better shot, even if he has a good one. These things are very difficult to tell from clips, anecdotes, and stats. Can't wait until he plays with better toys.

Usual good writing by Sekou. The one has some tasty content. Nice to get the NBA view on Shelden and Marvin. Those guys get paid to do what they do and they seem to evaluate those two players a little differently than do some of their detractors on the board. Good insight on Shellhead's initiation of contact. Something to look for in RMR games, if you can see 'em.

Well, I certainly don't feel sorry for King and Spaulding. It's a huge, multi-million dollar law firm. They'll get through it okay. Hard to believe that it comes down to whether something is plural or singular (English teacher, here). It looks like the AS lawyers just never thought long and hard enough about worst case scenarios. If they had (and who said Belkin was everybody's friend anyway?), the wording of the valuation process would have been much more specific. The AS lawyers' argument seems to be, "Yeah, we made a mistake. Just don't punish us for it." Clearly Belkin benefits beyond what was imagined. I wish I could parlay $11.5 million into $140 million by just raising an objection. I don't even blame Belkin. The NBA is a business and the Spirit group has proven not to be very good at it. Belkin is probably better at what he does. Just because I admire Gordon Gecko's business savvy, doesn't mean I'd hold him up as a role model, though. Belkin's cut throat ways would result, as many here have opined, in a team run on the cheap. Worst part is that this looks like it could out drag longer (four years) than any Hawks fan should have to endure. Good read. Thanks.

Thanks, Bump. I spent about 15 minutes looking for that yesterday. Should be easier to find. NBA.TV's site was useless. Gonna get the expanded package for a while so I can watch the games this week.

This is what happens when you have a good draft. Imagine if we had had three or four striaght years of smart drafts!

Can't remember where I saw it, but the news about Speedy's surgery has been out for at least a few days. RealGM board perhaps. Still not reliable PG, but at least a 65-game Claxton backed by AJ and Law would be serviceable. Just not a good signing there, but BK was in a tight place of his own making. I think Law will be a solid starter, not spectacular, but more than capable. Good IQ (helpful in several areas to offset somewhat limited atleticism), some size, a scoring sensibility, and some leadership intangibles it appears.

Waiting for this thread. 1. Trades for vet help, including trading Shellhead and Chillz with picks if necessary. But who will trade with us? For what? I would rather take the draft and current PGs than Ri "NO D" enour. 2. I am going Horford and Stuckey, after much thought, in the draft. Conley is too high, but I will be okay if we go that way. Stuckey is just as much a PG as the others (Law, Critt), with more upside. I like Law, but think he is limited defensively. I think Horford can play a little C and I do not believe that he copies SW. I think he is much more athletic. He will be a 13/8 guy for a decade. 3. Conley and Stuckey. Tough not get a big, but here are two very valuable pieces that can allow you to look for some big help. 4. Yi and Law. Good talent additions, no matter the exact fit. Nothing from the draft will transform us into a playoff team and trades will be dang hard to come by.

Getting away from the draft per se for a minute. The draft talk is just making my head spin at this point. Wanted to tie this into one thread. Ford's a bum. Much of what he says is wrong, proves to be far off base, or just appears made up. I read over 50 responses to Ford reporting that Belkin killed the Stoudamire deal. Not only does that not make sense, it seems pretty hard to sign off on a deal that Phoenix had never heard of (okay, I can imagine afew scenarios where both could be true). The point is that Ford consistently manages to take a shot at the Hawks, even if he's not really talking about them. I know the easy answer is "Don't read his stuff." A couple items here. First, I know I'm not adding an awful lot to the discussion, who here thinks highly of Ford? Show of hands. Right. Next, we're all hungry like the wolf for draft information and we are following that addiction to whatever source it leads us to. I'll read less Ford in a couple weeks and almost nothing at all during the season. The last, and biggest, reason is that as one of the main NBA reporters on ESPN, I think he does a big disservice to our team's reputation (even if we deserve a lot of it) and his reputation as a "reporter." I can't help but see that such constant sniping has the potential to marginally hurt the marketability of the franchise in several areas. I don't want to give too much credit to Ford's influence, either. At that point, it's more about ESPN's influence than Ford's. I always figured he defined himself as some kind of journalist. You would think ESPN could do better. Here's an example. I like Chris Mortensen for "inside" info from the pros. Here's why. First, he tries not to dump on people/franchises, even though you can tell his real opinion many times. That's good journalism since you may have to come back and talk to those same folks later, as well as reporting seems to be about keeping your opinion out of it. Also, sometimes just reporting the facts is damning enough without piling on. This is what gets Mort good information on a constant basis. Ford says we should take Conley with 3. Guess we'll see how that works out. The Darko praise says it all for me.