Billy Knight:Inside the brain of the mad scientist

[RAHMOR]

I'm watching this Mavs vs. Suns game and almost immediately they take out Eric Dampier. They take him out because the Suns have forced the Mavs to adjust to them. It made me wonder what are all the skills that we need for the team Billy Knight is building. The problem:The only person that knows what kind of team we are building is Billy Knight.

Back to the Suns, even when Amare returns, he runs the floor so well that they won't be slowed down much. They as well as the Mavericks have players who can play multiple position and even have Dirk who isn't a traditional player for his position. This causes matchup problems for other teams. I don't know if this new style, I guess it is called small ball, will ever win a title but if it does. When?

So this is a two part question?

Question 1.

Will a Phoenix (With Amare) or a Phoenix/Dallas/extremely non-traditional style team win a championship in the near future?

I think non-traditional type team will win a title but I still don't believe that it will be the new style of the NBA. Maybe I'm just stuck with the old style of the way teams are built but I think a real post player and a real point guard combination will always have a place at the top of the league. I believe without a doublt Billy is building a nontraditional type of team but I'm not convinced it will resemble the Suns. I don't know if it will resemble anything we have ever seen before but it does make me wonder what type of players do we need to acquire to make it work.

Question 2.

What other abilities are we in need of?

Rebounding

Interior defense

The ability to control the tempo of the game.

There are other things we could use but I think it depends on what we are making. For instance we could use a big man that could run the floor if were building more like Phoenix. In that case I would suggest Aldridge, Thomas, or even Shelden. If we are building a half court team those guys would be good but there maybe be better players such as Sene or O'bryant for us. Some don't believe we are building a team that needs a traditional point guard so that means we take Roy in favor of Marcus Williams. If we are going that route doesn't that favor a guy like Marcus or even Rondo.

Is Billy Knight thinking that are ahead? I'm believe he is, don't you. This may be an important draft for us if it provides us with an important player in the style we are looking to play or we may just be acquiring a trade piece. We may get Rudy Gay or not, we may resign Harrington or not. These players maybe important in what Billy wants to do. The truth is none of us know what the grand plan Billy Knight has for the Hawks. As I close this post I watch as both Dampier and Diop sit the bench. Dampier doesn't have one drop of sweat on him and the announcers have just said Diop hasn't been in the game yet and it's the 3rd quarter. What does all of this mean to us?

[jerrywest]

[KB21]

Billy is just a guy that goes against traditional thinking when it comes to the construction of a team, and this threatens some of the old school basketball people.

Billy wants a team that can create mismatch problems with its size and ability to interchange players at multiple positions. That's what I can deduce from the comments he has made on these issues in the past.

For instance, let's take the stance some have on getting a so called pure point guard. Joe Johnson is a terrific playmaker and is a lot better when the ball is in his hands than he is off the ball. Why would we diminish his overall impact and effectiveness on the game by taking the ball out of his hands and putting it into the hands of a point guard simply because he is considered to be a "pure" point guard? It makes very little sense. Joe Johnson is one of only 5 players in the entire NBA that averaged over 20 points per game and 6 assists per game this past season. In all five instances, the players basically played the role of the point guard in the half court settings of their offense. Would you take the ball out of the hands of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Allen Iverson, and Gilbert Arenas simply because they aren't traditional point guards? Somehow, I don't think so. So, why should the ball be taken out of Joe Johnson's hands? It shouldn't. The only thing we need at the so called point guard position is a guy that can help Joe get the ball up the court, play off the ball, and hit the open jumper. That's why Brandon Roy is a good fit for a back court mate to Joe Johnson. He brings good ball handling skills, good decision making, good vision, and good size to the position. The other two guys that fit this position are Ronnie Brewer and Randy Foye, IMO. With Marcus Williams, you have a guy who is much better at making decisions with the basketball than he is at playing off the ball, and putting him in the same back court will diminish the return you get on either him or Joe.

[jezmund]

I don't consider BK a dumb/arrogant person to the extent of some on here and most of the general public. There is a reason he is trying to build a certain type of team. Is it the best philosophy? I don't know. There's a reason I don't get paid to talk about stuff that I enjoy so much. I'm watching the Suns/Mavs right now and I have no clue what 'position' each player is playing. I will admit that I think Nash is an incredible 'true' PG and I think Devin Harris is going to be tremendous with time so I definitely envy that about them but the rest of their teams are just versatile players for the most part. Tim Thomas is as much a PF/C as Josh Childress. Shawn Marion is a fantastic rebounder but that is the only aspect of his game that makes him a real big.

[RAHMOR]

Thanks. I just think maybe this GM thing is a little harder than it seems on the surface. I didn't really think about it but there is alot to consider. I read quotes from GM's who say that they acquire the best talent and it is up the the coach to make it work but truthfully that is plain stupid. At some point you have to get players to fit the system of your coach or the GM and coach will be at each other like Larry Brown and Isiah Thomas. This really happens alot in football.

In early rebuilding it makes sense to acquire talent but when the coach develops a system around his core players then everyone else you get has to work within that system IMO.

[Packfill]

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For instance, let's take the stance some have on getting a so called pure point guard. Joe Johnson is a terrific playmaker and is a lot better when the ball is in his hands than he is off the ball. Why would we diminish his overall impact and effectiveness on the game by taking the ball out of his hands and putting it into the hands of a point guard simply because he is considered to be a "pure" point guard? It makes very little sense. Joe Johnson is one of only 5 players in the entire NBA that averaged over 20 points per game and 6 assists per game this past season. In all five instances, the players basically played the role of the point guard in the half court settings of their offense. Would you take the ball out of the hands of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Allen Iverson, and Gilbert Arenas simply because they aren't traditional point guards? Somehow, I don't think so. So, why should the ball be taken out of Joe Johnson's hands? It shouldn't. The only thing we need at the so called point guard position is a guy that can help Joe get the ball up the court, play off the ball, and hit the open jumper. That's why Brandon Roy is a good fit for a back court mate to Joe Johnson. He brings good ball handling skills, good decision making, good vision, and good size to the position. The other two guys that fit this position are Ronnie Brewer and Randy Foye, IMO. With Marcus Williams, you have a guy who is much better at making decisions with the basketball than he is at playing off the ball, and putting him in the same back court will diminish the return you get on either him or Joe.

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The Suns took the ball out of JJ's hand when they signed Nash and don't seem to be regretting that decision.

JJ is extremely talented, but until he leads the team to some wins he is just another talented player on a bad team. LeBron, Wade, AI and even Arenas have lead teams to the playoffs. As soon as JJ does that then you can compare him to those guys, but that day has not come yet.

[Johnnybravo4]

Last night's game is an illustration of why Billy Knight thinks the way he does. Playing Diaw forces you to make bad switches on the pick and roll with Steve Nash. They were constantly ending up with a 6'3 pg guarding a 6'8 Diaw in the post.

In the final shot you had a mismatch with a 6'6 non defensive Stackhouse, guarding Diaw. In Billy Knight's world, since every one is similar in size and skill sets, you can make good switches on every pick and roll. It basically eliminates the effectiveness of the two man game. Your only disadvantage is when you play teams that are bigger than you...however what Phoenix has shown in the playoffs is that if you spread out the court and force big men to come out on the perimeter, you can get dribble penetrations and kill the big lineup. You force big teams to go small...and their smaller is probably smaller than your small.

[drzachary]

So the question is... is Woodson a coach that can implement BK's vision?

[Johnnybravo4]

Probably not. I want Stan Van Gundy personally.

[Guest Walter]

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So this is a two part question?

Question 1.

Will a Phoenix (With Amare) or a Phoenix/Dallas/extremely non-traditional style team win a championship in the near future?

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No. The new rules changes are just that. New. Over time they will relax (who knows there may even be a backlash against it) and even now they aren't that significant. Pheonix is a bad example to model after. Nash, D'antoni, and to an extent Diaw are unique players and coaches. We can't reasonably hope to reproduce their particular brand of moderate success.

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I believe without a doublt Billy is building a nontraditional type of team but I'm not convinced it will resemble the Suns.

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Again, it can't resemble the suns. Short of a rare skilled 2-time MVP and the most unique COY candidate in Pheonix, they would have been lottery bound.

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Is Billy Knight thinking that are ahead? I'm believe he is, don't you.

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GOD NO!!! Last year with a glut at Sf, a need at Pg, a Pg-heavy draft, and this year's draft projected to (like many) have a glut at forward he chose MW over Chris Paul, Deron Williams, and Raymond Felton. How on earth is this "thinking ahead"? Just an atrocious decision with little thought beyond "project".

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The truth is none of us know what the grand plan Billy Knight has for the Hawks.

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But I can say that so far, despite mass amounts of cap space, significant player trade capitol (SAR and Theo then Rasheed), and many, repeatedly high picks (including next year's which we have traded) the returns aren't so great and look to get worse as this frankenstein team with skill centered around the swingman "position" must make serious personel changes to fill out its roster with talent at every position, not just 2.

I think this is BK's last offseason to get it right, I doubt he can do it, & I'm afrid he's not able to question his own mistakes and unmake them. The worst case is he doesn't make the necessary bold moves and establishes a mediocre team that saves his job for some time but costs us real postseason hope. He's already mortgaged next year's offseason. The time is now for him. Hopefully not at the franchise's expense.

W

[gsuteke]

yeah well let's say Billy Knight falls flat on his face this offseason.

next year we suck again and wind up with 31 wins.

the following year JJ will still have 3 years left on his deal. Pachulia will be signed. Josh Smith and Childress will be entering their 4th season. Marvin Williams and Salim will be entering their 3rd. whatever "project" players we take on through the draft will be entering their sophomore seasons.

if you build it and proceed to start taking it apart you will break it.

JJ/Chillz/Smoove/Marv/Zaza = 5 solid NBA players today. they should be 5 very solid NBA players after next year.

it's really not that bad people!

[Traceman]

I read an article on Portland's website where the reporter (Jason Quick) questioned Portland's President (Steve Patterson) regarding whether or not Portland got enough for Sheed in trade. Quick implied that he felt they did not and while Patterson indicated that he thought they did, he qualified that by saying he couldn't have predicted Theo's injuries (I don't know why he couldn't have - everyone on this board could have) or the fact that Reef would fail his physical when they tried to trade him.

In addition, we didn't have trade capital AND capspace, we traded the capital to GET capspace. That has resulted in AT LEAST JJ, Smoove and Zaza so far. I'd MUCH rather have JJ, Smoove and Zaza than Theo and Reef.

[Teeareess]

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In addition, we didn't have trade capital AND capspace, we traded the capital to GET capspace. That has resulted in AT LEAST JJ, Smoove and Zaza so far. I'd MUCH rather have JJ, Smoove and Zaza than Theo and Reef.

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by the time we signed JJ and Zaza, Theo and Reef's contracts were up anyway, so I don't see how you say that we aquired them because of that trade.

[Traceman]

capspace would have been gone and we likely wouldn't have Josh Smith either. Just because BK didn't use the capspace the first year it was available to him should not be a problem.

Under your scenario, who is to say what we would have got had we simply let Reef and Theo's contracts expire? Obviously, neither was worth much in trade when they became FAs.

[Diesel]

Basketball will do what it has always done...

Go back to what works.

There have always and will always be trends in the NBA... However, the NBA always seems to make it way back to a dominate team that has all positions accounted for and a star player or two...

You guys doubt, but i believe that the dominant C is on the way back...

Next year alone, we will probably have Oden, Noah, Splitter, Hibbert, McRoberts, Hawes, JSmith (maybe a C), and Hortford (may be a C).

That's just next year.

I think what's going to happen is just like when there was Deke, Ewing, Robinson, and Shaq... There will be some dominant Cs in the league to lead us to a time when every team will need a dominant C.

[RAHMOR]

I stated in the post that I believe a true center and point guard combination will always have a place at the top of the league so I agree with you on that. What I was getting at is I don't think we are headed in that direction and will our draft pick be made with a look towards what we are building. I really just want to have an idea what this team will look like as a finished product, but I don't know because Billy Knight won't tell us sh*t.

The other thing is can/will a team built in a non-traditional way win a championship. If it will happen I hope it is us because I think we are clearly not going for the PG,SG,SF,PF,C in the traditional sense.

[Diesel]

I honestly believe that BK is from the school of acquire talent.. then find a suitable trade for redundancy.

However, BK has not proven that to be true yet...

He's done part one... BUT he's failing horribly on part 2.

It may be that he's just in love with Sfs.