If we go by what's coming out of Hawks mouths...

[chillzatl]

Nene and two first rounders has very limited value. First off, Nene could have been had several times over and was not wanted here. Second, they were late picks. We don't need late picks. We need experienced players with talent. While you can get experienced players late in the draft. They rarely have more than average role player talent. It's a stab in the dark.

Having the 2nd most coveted free agent (by most lists) that you can ink to a long term deal and then trade for proven talent is great thing to have. BK knew going into it that Al was more than willing to go the SnT route because he has said as much.

[Diesel]

If he wanted to trade him so badly, why not trade him at the deadline. Good deals came through at the deadline... BK basically said no.

Here's the parallel..

He traded Antoine Walker at the deadline and got back a 1st rounder.

He traded Rasheed Wallace at the deadline and got back a 1st rounder.

He kept Al Harrington and said we like what he brings and would like to continue it... In the process, he turned down a big and 2 first rounders...

Logic suggests that you can take BK at his word here.

[Lascar78]

2 very distant first rounders.

And Billy Knight believes that he can sign Nene outright by offering more cash than Denver will be willing to.

So in his mind he'd basically be trading Al for 2 distant first rounders (was it 08 and 10? I forget).

Besides, this isn't about whether the decision will pay off or not. It might not. The point is that just because Bk is saying that he wants to re-sign Al doesn't make it true, and certainly doesn't mean that he'll pay Al what he's looking for.

It's in his interest to say that regardless. Just like it was in Sarver's interest to say that they'd match any team's offer on JJ last year. It just makes sense to maximize your bargaining position regardless of whether what you are saying is true or not.

I would bet that Al will be gone.

[drzachary]

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Somewhat off-topic, but why is Shelden Williams called the Landlord?

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because it sounds better than Shelden "Wharf" Williams.

Shelden, engage!

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Why did you link to a photo of Shane Battier?

I'd recognize those Shar-Pei head ridges anywhere!

[Diesel]

Al has stated that he's looking for 5 years 50 million dollars.

BK was willing to pay Kenyon Martin 70 million dollars.

I think this would be a definite steal in those terms..

[chillzatl]

Nene and two late first rounders is NOT a good deal. He had the opportunity to get Nene before and didn't want him.

What other great deals came up? None that I would assess to be better than what you could get for the 2nd best free agent of the class via SnT. Especially when that players has expressed all willingness to do a SnT to help both himself AND the team.

[Lascar78]

Al has stated that he's looking for the max

Al doesn't play D.

BK was willing to pay KMart when he was looking for our first big FA. You always have to overpay for your first FA, like we overpaid for JJ. He wouldn't offer KMart anywhere near that money today, and he's not giving Al anywhere near the max.

[Diesel]

Many of you guys are willing to let redundancy dictate what BK will do.

However, BK has never cared about redundancy.

So we have 5 Sfs...

BK doesn't care.

Al is a 18/8 player and if BK can get him at his price, BK will.

BK is in the business of collecting talent. If BK gets him at his price, BK certainly have another trading piece if he needs one.

[Lascar78]

We're moving along in the rebuilding process. Duh.

We don't want nothing but young guns on this team forever. We are looking to add veterans at this point.

When Al is traded, look for us to get a veteran, not just a rookie or a draft pick. Possibly a veteran and a 2007 draft pick.

We already have

1st rounder

2nd rounder

Josh Smith

Josh Childress

Marvin Williams

Salim Stoudamire

John Edwards

Esteban Batista

Donta Smith

Royal Ivey

that all will have 0-2 years experience going into next season. How many more draft picks / inexperienced guys do you think we need?

[Diesel]

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Al has stated that he's looking for the max

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Find that quote Las... I don't think you can.

But let me show you what I can find.

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Harrington wants to come back to the place and the team he's called home the past two seasons. Hawks GM Billy Knight wants him back. But the mutual admiration that colors April fades in July, when a free agent like Harrington becomes the hunted for teams desperate for that one player they feel can put them over the top.

So unless the Hawks are willing to show Harrington the money --

we're talking about a deal in the five-year, $50 million range for starters

-- the Hawks' most seasoned player might be calling Chicago, New York or Los Angeles home next season.

"Right now, I really don't even know what to say about it," said Harrington, whose summer recruiting visits won't start for two months but will no doubt include the aforementioned cities. "You realize the gravity of your situation once the season ends. It's one thing to talk about it. But to be on the brink of what could be your biggest summer, it all hits home then."

"And now, it's really in the hands of my agent (New York-based Andy Miller) and the Hawks, to see how the details get worked out."

Knight said the Hawks' feelings about Harrington haven't changed a bit since they traded for him two summers ago, when he was coming off a breakout season in Indiana.

"We like Al and we'd like to keep him," Knight said. "We're very happy with him and what he's brought not only to our team but to our franchise. He's been the consummate pro. Al's been great for the two years he's been here and we'd like it to continue in the future."

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Click 1

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SF Al Harrington, who is likely to be the grand prize of the summer free-agent market, continues to claim he'll give Atlanta a legitimate shot at re-signing him. But the Hawks probably are not ready

to invest $50 million

or so in him, and he'll be recruited heavily by the Bulls, Knicks and Lakers.

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Click2

[Lascar78]

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Find that quote Las... I don't think you can.

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Bernie Mullin told me directly that Al and his agent were looking for the max.

What you found was some quotes of journalists speculating. Most people here have speculated similar numbers. It's just guesses based on what teams usually pay and how he's played. I think in the end Al ends up having to settle for 11 million per year or so.

[Nicholasp27]

another funny thread

bk HAD to say what he said regardless of what his actual plans are, thus his quote is meaningless in determining what we are gonna actually do

we plan on keeping him: he of course says this

we plan on snt him: he says this or else he loses bargaining power and may threaten the idea of an SNT happening at all

therefore, either way this quote was bk's best move so it's a non-factor

the pertinent info is that Al will want (and be offered by other teams) more than BK/owners will likely be willing to spend on him...therefore Al will be gone

I know in diesel's world Al would be re-signed and Marvin would be traded, but the opposite will happen in the real world

[macdaddy]

We're overlooking the real issue here which is Al doesn't want to play for the Hawks. That is painfully obvious so even if BK wants him he won't get him without seriously overpaying.

Al wants to be on a winning team and he has said that for 2 years. You think he's going to come back to this exact same team that only has added S. Williams? I don't think so.

[Nicholasp27]

that's the other issue

al said it would take a lot for him to stay here; and he didn't just mean money (tho he will stay if we give him the most, but he'll leave if we merely match another team (or give him just a lil over the next bidder))

[AHF]

I think it has already been said but pure logic dictates:

(1) There is no incentive for the Hawks to publically state they have no interest in AI unless they want to shut down that line of speculation to stop dissappointed expectations from fans who were hoping the trade would go through. If they were planning on acquiring AI they would be neutral about him. (Since they also don't have much interest to say they are interested in him directly and risk driving up the price and fan expectations).

For this reason, when the Hawks say they have no interest in AI it is credible.

(2) There is a lot of incentive for the Hawks to say they hope to resign Al regardless of whether they intend to sign him or not. If they want to trade him, they should say they love him and want him back. If they want to keep him, they should say the same thing. As many people have said here, it would destroy their bargaining power to admit they won't resign him in the same way that a player who is demaning a trade publically can destroy a team's bargaining power.

For this reason, when the Hawks say they have interest in keeping Al Harrington it does not really tell you anything. Here, the fact that the Hawks have not made any offer to Harrington suggests either that they are OK trading him or that they believe his initial demands are way too high and they are OK letting him test the market to set his price (somewhat like the Hawks did with JT).

[Diesel]

I think we have another disagreement here..

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There is a lot of incentive for the Hawks to say they hope to resign Al regardless of whether they intend to sign him or not. If they want to trade him, they should say they love him and want him back. If they want to keep him, they should say the same thing. As many people have said here, it would destroy their bargaining power to admit they won't resign him in the same way that a player who is demaning a trade publically can destroy a team's bargaining power.

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You don't go out of your way to say.. We really want to hold on to Al... when you hold the main cards... If we believe that Al's first and Major motive is money, then we have no need to go out and outright lie about our intentions with Al. The reason being is that the only way he can get a 6 year deal is through us.

BK would have been better stated if he had said " we plan to consider either re-signing Al or Sign and trading Al depending on what's best for our team and Al.".. But to go out and say " We love what Al brings and hope to keep him here for the future" really suggests that SNT is not one of our major considerations.

IF BK would have said " we plan to consider either re-signing Al or Sign and trading Al depending on what's best for our team and Al." I'm sure it would have made teams bring their best SNT packages...

Instead we have put the word out that our intention is to keep Al. That doesn't sound the alarm to teams that he's available. That can just as easily turn a team away than it can bring them to the table.

[DrReality]

As I said in another post, I thihk that Cedrick Simmons will be a better pro. He really showed up Sheldon in their face off. He reminds me of a young Darrel Dawkins, great body that will still develop. I remember him playing Tech and having his way inside. Will be interesting to see how his workouts go, but I think he's going to move up the board. My prediction is he'll be a better pro than Aldridge.

[Diesel]

Yeah, when they played Duke in Jan. he had like 7 or 8 blocks... and almost got a triple double. He also scored like 20 something points.

He's being called the next Theo...

I think of him as a PF though..

[DJlaysitup]

Article where he was called the next Theo also said he is 6'9"...it'll be interesting to see how tall he really is.

[jezmund]

I don't see him being much bigger than 6'9. I think that he is a stout 6'9. He isn't as strong as Shelden but he is probably a better run-jump athlete.