mdawg

The panel was on the ESPN show "Outside the Lines Nightly." I think it was Friday night, and it was hosted by Bob Ley. Two of the panelists were basketball writers, and the other was a college professor. They were partially responding to anarticle written by the editor of one of the basketball magazines. In the article, he suggested that GMs were drafting more white international players because the NBA wanted to keep white people as fans of the game, and because drafting foreign players would help bring in more money from the international market. He actually suggested that the NBA was encouraging teams to draft international players. I personally think that any GM drafts the best player because they know if they don't win they will be fired. Doc Rivers made an interesting point in the story before the panel discussion. He said that the international players see the NBA as a privilege, while the American players see it as a right. I just think the rest of the world is catching up to the USA in basketball, much like the USA is catching up with the world in soccer. Ther is nothing racial about it. If there were, would Joe Dumars (a black man) spend each of his draft picks this year on foreign players?

The panel was on the ESPN show "Outside the Lines Nightly." I think it was Friday night, and it was hosted by Bob Ley. Two of the panelists were basketball writers, and the other was a college professor. They were partially responding to anarticle written by the editor of one of the basketball magazines. In the article, he suggested that GMs were drafting more white international players because the NBA wanted to keep white people as fans of the game, and because drafting foreign players would help bring in more money from the international market. He actually suggested that the NBA was encouraging teams to draft international players. I personally think that any GM drafts the best player because they know if they don't win they will be fired. Doc Rivers made an interesting point in the story before the panel discussion. He said that the international players see the NBA as a privilege, while the American players see it as a right. I ust think the rest of the world is catching up to the USA in basketball, much like the USA is catching up with the world in soccer. Ther is nothing racial about it. If there were, would Joe Dumars (a black man) spend each of his draft picks this year on foreign players?

I say Gaines in the 1st because it seems like a deal with Golden State will happen. In the 2nd, I think it will be Travis Hansen, SG from BYU. He had 2 workouts in Atlanta.

The only workouts the Hawks have made public are the ones they want the rest of the league to know about. They may have worked out many other guys in secret, but they don't want other teams to know who they like. Or, they may have already promised someone they will use the 1st round pick on them, and now they are focusing on the 2nd round.

We all need to take a deep breath and calm down. It takes time to close a deal like this. I think we are all worried because this franchise has such a long history of bad luck and missed opportunities. I think it will all work out with McDavid. He wouldn't talk with the AJC unless everything was going according to plan.

DET: Larry Brown

CLE: Paul Silas

TOR: media reports say Kevin O'Neil, former Pistons assistant, will be announced as new coach this week.

WSH: They want to hire a GM, maybe NJ assistant GM Ed Stefanski, before they hire a coach.

PHI: Apparently the haven't gotten permission to talk to Cheeks. They want to interview Eddie Jordan. Another we don't know about.

NO: According to sports illustrated, they are down to Tim Floyd and Brian Hill. Don't ask me why.

HOU: either Van Gundy or Dunleavy.

So, the unknowns are WSH and PHI. It looks like Eddie Jordan will get one of the jobs. So, it is possible that the Hawks will get to choose from Van Gundy/Dunleavy(whichever doesn't go to HOU), Carlisle, Fratello, or any assistant. They will have a chance to get a good coach.

Apparently, Carlisle is going to Portland, and Cheeks is going to Philadelphia. The 76ers have been given permission to talk with Cheeks.

Arenas/JT: JT

SAR/Jamison: SAR

Mash/Marion: Marion. Mash can't stay healthy.

Barry/ Christie: Christie. Even though he's whipped.

Duncan/ KG: Duncan

GRob/Wally: GRob

Baron/Francis: Francis

Payton/Kidd: Kidd

Theo/Ben: Ben

Hudson/Bibby: Bibby. Come on.

Malone/Rasheed: Rasheed. 3 years ago, Karl.

Amare/Yao: Yao. He's the future of the NBA. Best passing big man since Sabonis.

Kobe/Tmac: Kobe because of rings.

Parker/MIller: Parker

Pierce/Dirk: Dirk

Thanks Pete. Thanks for trading high draft picks for players who were not good enough to get to the playoffs, and not bad enough to get a high draft pick. Thanks for using the draft picks you did have on players who did nothing to help the team improve. Thanks for making horrible choices on head coaching hires, and thank you for making a riduculous playoff guarantee. One more time, from Hawks fans all around the world, thank you Pete. You will not be missed.

I guess anybody can score 36 points in the playoffs. I know Jon Koncack did it many times. Come on man. Get a clue.

I heard the same thing tonight from David Aldridge on ESPN. He said that Mcdavid and Dunleavy were good friends, and that Dunleavy was the first choice to be GM. He did say that Silas was a candidate to be head coach because his agent is Lonnie Cooper, and Copper helped put the AOL/Mcdavid deal together.

Dunleavy can't do any worse than the past few years. And, he did take the Blazers to Game 7 of the West Finals, and they haven't been anywhere close to that since he left. I'm really rooting for the Mavericks to lose in the 1st round, because there have been rumors that Don Nelson could lose his job if that happens. He hasn't built a team that can get out of the West, but he has built a team that could dominate the East.

Wilks is not the PG for that team. Troy Hudson is, and his numbers are very similar to Parker's.

Hudson: 14.4 ppg, 5 apg

Parker: 15.8 ppg, 5 apg.

Robinson and Rasho are not equal. Robinson is done. Rasho averages about 12 ppg. Wally has been an all-star and averages over 15 ppg; Ginobili is a rookie and averages 7.2 ppg.

Tim Duncan.

I'm right with you on Garnett, but you can't forget about what Duncan has around him. It's not much.

Jerry Sloan

I don't think you can underestimate what he has done in Utah.

Malik Rose

I wouldn't mind seeing Don Nelson as the coach/GM of the Hawks. He's done a [censored] good job with a team that was more pathetic than the Hawks before he took over.

If you want a team full of athleticism, look at the Clippers. They have a great record, don't they?

There is no reason for Pete Babcock to have a job in the NBA, and if he is not fired, I will not watch the Hawks until he is fired. I will wait for the Charlotte expansion team, and when they start playing I will root for them.

On the Best D**N Sports Show, Stephen A. Smith said that the Hawks asked Babcock to resign when they fired Lon Kruger, but he declined. Why didn't they just fire him too? If someone refuses to resign, isn't the next step to fire him? It's things like this that show why the Hawks will never win.

Do you believe everything you read?

I would take Milicic for 2 reasons:

1. He's a 7 footer, and good 7 footers are hard to find.

2. Unlike most Europeans, he likes to play with his back to the basket. He isn't a perimeter guy like Nowitzki, and he's not afraid to be physical.

It is a lot easier to find great guards than great centers.

This team is garbage, and I think it should be blown up. So, how about this offseason, the Hawks build a team of nothing but foreigners. Make a trade with SAR like Memphis did and get Milicic. Trade anybody other teams will take and get young foreigners. Guys like Anderson Varejao, Sofoklis Schortsianitis, Mikael Pietrus, Carlos Delfino, and Zarko Cabarkapa. Do whatever you have to to get Jiri Welsch from Golden State. Hire the first foreign coach in NBA history. [censored], import the whole [censored] Yugoslavian National team. How much worse could it be? At least they would be known for something other than losing.

Lineup:

C Milicic

F Varejao

F Schortsianitis

SG Pietrus

PG Welsch

6th man: Delfino, Cabarkapa

Now that's a basketball team!

My signature line was a joke.

The Thrashers have a much brighter future, a better coach and a better front office. And they want to win.

If I had the money, I would buy this team, because the price won't get any lower. You have a new arena and an area of the country where many pro athletes are comfortable living. All you need is the right leadership to make this team successful. You could get this team at a bargain price and turn it into a riduculous profit.