A little general analysys of the Hawks squad.

[Guest]

Looking at the present roster of:

PG: Terry 6'2'', Dickua 6'3/4'', Davis 6'5''

SG: D.J. 6'9'', Glover 6'5''

SF: Newbel 6'7'' {not signed but the Hawks have said they Wish to keep him },Toni, Crawford

PF: Reef 6'9'', Hendu 6'9''

C: Theo 6'10'', Nazr 6'10'', Leon 7'0''

**Many of the Hawk's players play more then one position.

This looks like a decent roster. We could keep continuity and progress by keeping the same starting 5 and gaining chemstry with time to gell with Theo. However there are a few probems with this:

1. With the drafting of Dickua and the hopeful signing of Newbel that gives us 13 roster players on a 12 man roster. That is a problem since the Hawks don't "hide" players on the injured list like most other teams. Well it looks like its time to start, if they want to better the team they would "hide Crawfors or Smith on the injured list to make room for Dickua and Newbel.

2. A real player at the 2 or 3 would really benefit the offense. Maybe DJ and Glover will make us forget about this, but can we count on them?

3. Babcock said during an interview on 680 AM ESPN radio that they weren't done improving the team, hopeully he can work out a deal for a true talented starter at the 2 or 3.

4. Babcock has also stated that he has invited 19 undrafted players to play in the Hawks summer league rookie camp and already has that big bad pf from Fla. Udolis Haslem saying he will attend. It would be great to make room for this kid, he would sign for dirt cheap and is alot nastier then Mottola and Bowdler.

What do the rest of you think ?

[KB21]

Let the injuries that will occur during training camp sort it out.

I think the Hawks go into training camp with 17-18 players.

Emanuel Davis isn't safe in his position, IMO. He's a tall point guard, but he wasn't very effective other than playing defense and has only a year left on his contract. It won't be too difficult to eat his $750,000 salary for this season, or whatever it is he is paid.

I wouldn't say that Leon Smith is safe either. He's got potential, but he is a guy that has shown an unstable mentality in the past. He also is only under contract for another year.

I'd like to see who the rookies that the Hawks have invited are.

[Guest]

Give Leon Smith 2 years he doesn't cost much. Besides who isn't a little odd at age 18 or 19 especially when we just got a million dollars and cant trust anyone we meet. Anyone would start acting strange. Besides Leon may be the missing piece to a championship equation.

[KB21]

Most 18-19 year olds don't take an entire bottle of aspirin in attempt to commit suicide after they have become millionaires.

Maybe that is all behind him. I certainly hope so, and I would like to see him do for us what he did with the Gary team of the CBA last season. But, that mental instability is still in his past. Whether it was depression or if he is a bipolar case, the instability was there.

I'm more than willing to give Leon Smith 2 more years though. I feel that NBA teams should have 1 or 2 roster spots designated to players that have potential for the future but may not contribute now. A year ago, DerMarr Johnson was one of those players. He pretty much sat at the end of the bench and learned what NBA play was like by watching it. Now, DerMarr is on the verge of breaking out and becoming the type of player his talent suggests he can be.

[Guest]

Ken Griffey Jr. attempted suicide nobody even mentions it . I'm not saying it shouldn't be remembered but contrary to popular opinion being a pro athelete is not a fun life at least in the beginning.

By the way your mentioned roster spots for developing players. Isn't The NBDL going to allow that next season for developing players. DJ could have used a year in the NBDL. Kwame Brown, Eddy Curry and Tyson Chandler too. Not to mention Yao Ming

[Admin]

the minor leagues in baseball. Its more like an NFL practice squad, but without a league. Teams will be able to pluck players off of any team and sign them to a contract. Nobody would put their players with potential on there because they could get stolen. I really wish that every sport had a minor league farm system like baseball does.

[BlackHawkDown]

If Players remained the property of their NBA team the NBDL would solve the problem High School players joining the leauge before they are physically ( or even emotionally) ready. Teams could send early entrys to the NBDL for a year. God only know DJ and Kwame Brown desperately needed this their first season.

[Admin]

for the most part.......of course that would probably mean more HS kids skipping college, like HS kids do, to join the leagues........but it would definitely be a good thing for the league I think.

Nice to see u register also

[BlackHawkDown]

It would be good if more HS kid went pro it would force colleges to at least pay a stipend to star players.Thus mre mature rookies and fewer loosers from Europe being call sensations just b/c they have had pro grooming before joining the league.

PS I checked out your site great flash I'm a web designer too

[Admin]

Thanks........actually this is a new site I am putting together. Its still kinda rough and has some work do to though, but I certainly appreciate it.

Do you have a URL for yourself?

[BlackHawkDown]

My company's new site is www.softenginesolutions.com but it wont be ready until August; Check out www.blueberrypictures.com

[Admin]

I like that flash intro.......catchy! Clean site also, nice! I am not super creative with that kinda stuff, but I am working on trying to get better at it.......thanks for sharing

[Gray Mule]

I agree. As I have said many times, minor league baseball works. They

already have the blueprint in place. If the NBA would let a team "Own"

the players on one minor league team or, if the want to, two NBA teams

together owning one team, with each NBA team responsible for furnishing

half of the players, but with each NBA team "Owning" the contract for their

own players.

Then, just as it is in baseball, players could become free agents after a set

period of time in the minors. If no one claimed them, they could continue to

play in the minor league if the NBA team was willing to keep them there.

Set a minor league salary schedule that the NBA teams could "Live with" and

not cause a hardship on either the NBA team or the minor league players.

This might not work in the NBA but it has flourished in baseball for many years.

Gray Mule

[BlackHawkDown]

In addition the nba could work with some of the foriegn leagues. It would be a great chance for some mediocre former college stars to make some $$$. The Euroleague has developed some talent i.e. Tony Parker. It could do the same for some players like Scoonie Penn.

[KB21]

The NCAA would fight that tooth and nail because it would cause them to lose money. Mens Basketball is their second biggest money maker behind football.

I agree though that the NBA and NBDL should make the teams affiliates of the NBA squads or at least allow the NBA teams to allocate certain players. The roster limit already puts a strain on the NBA teams. They should be allowed to at least keep 3 or 4 on a taxi squad.