ESPN's Hollinger: Speedy deal in Top 10 of worst..

[DeacKillsaDevil]

offseason moves:

1. Suns sign Banks

2. Knicks waive Ime Udoka, sign Jared Jeffries

3. Hornets sign Peja Stojakovic

4. Sixers re-sign Willie Green

5. Nuggets re-sign Nene

6. Hawks sign Speedy Claxton

"Those of you who read my recent piece on Steve Nash know that the type of point guard most likely to age well is the one who shoots well, passes well and is tall for the position. Which brings up another question: What type of point guard tends to age particularly poorly? Logically, the ones at the other end of the spectrum. So if you're a 5-foot-11, shoot-first guard with a shaky outside shot, the odds probably aren't in your favor.

The beginning of Claxton's season illustrates why: He tried to play through knee problems, but with his quickness compromised and no jumper to fall back on, he was essentially showing up for battle unarmed. As a result, he's shooting a ghastly 32.3 percent and setting a career high for turnovers.

Claxton's four-year, $25 million deal, which pays him until he's nearly 32, would rank higher but for one factor: redeemability. He's played well of late now that his knees are back in working order, and will probably produce for as long as they stay that way. So the Hawks are likely to get a better return than they've seen so far, and might be able to trade their way out of it during one of his healthy stretches."

7. Magic extend Tony Battie

8. Clippers sign Tim Thomas

9. Clippers extend Chris Kaman

10. Pacers trade Austin Croshere for Marquis Daniels

[macdaddy]

What idiots we are for signing someone who gets hurt. I'm not sure I'd classify Speedy as a shoot first guard and his good defense can help make up for a low shooting percentage.

I guess we should have signed one of those other great free agent point guards that were available last year. You know the tall ones with great shots and good passing. I'm not sure Magic is in shape though.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

Quote:

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offseason moves:

1. Suns sign Banks

2. Knicks waive Ime Udoka, sign Jared Jeffries

3. Hornets sign Peja Stojakovic

4. Sixers re-sign Willie Green

5. Nuggets re-sign Nene

6. Hawks sign Speedy Claxton

"Those of you who read my recent piece on Steve Nash know that the type of point guard most likely to age well is the one who shoots well, passes well and is tall for the position. Which brings up another question: What type of point guard tends to age particularly poorly? Logically, the ones at the other end of the spectrum. So if you're a 5-foot-11, shoot-first guard with a shaky outside shot, the odds probably aren't in your favor.

The beginning of Claxton's season illustrates why: He tried to play through knee problems, but with his quickness compromised and no jumper to fall back on, he was essentially showing up for battle unarmed. As a result, he's shooting a ghastly 32.3 percent and setting a career high for turnovers.

Claxton's four-year, $25 million deal, which pays him until he's nearly 32, would rank higher but for one factor: redeemability. He's played well of late now that his knees are back in working order, and will probably produce for as long as they stay that way. So the Hawks are likely to get a better return than they've seen so far, and might be able to trade their way out of it during one of his healthy stretches."

7. Magic extend Tony Battie

8. Clippers sign Tim Thomas

9. Clippers extend Chris Kaman

10. Pacers trade Austin Croshere for Marquis Daniels

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I can't argue against that RIGHT NOW, when you look at the entire season, that the Speedy deal would be in the top 10 worst. But in the past few weeks, we're starting to really see what Speedy brings to the table as a defensive PG and as a guard that understands how to set up people.

In the first 20 or so games of the season, the kid didn't have one single game in which he had over 5 assists. But since the Memphis game, in which he had a season high 19 points and 11 assists, he hasn't had a game in which he's had less than 5 assists.

From the Memphis game till now, Speedy is averaging:

11.5 ppg

8.8 assists

3.5 stls

while shooting a little over 42% FG

THAT is the Speedy Claxton I expected to run the team at the beginning of the season. And that's why he got the contract that he did.

I know a lot of you guys are already into the "doom and gloom" . . / . . "oh woe is me as a Hawks fan" mode, but I see some good things potentially coming out of all of this adversity.

- JJ learning how to play while being doubled and triple-teamed.

- Shelden getting a lot more PT, than he probably should've gotten this year, which will help his development as an NBA player.

- Marvin getting a chance to find his niche as a player ( which I don't think he's done yet )

- The team having time to evaulate the worth of guys like Ivey, Salim, Lo, and even Solomon to the team. Some of their stock has dropped, while others have risen. It has and probably will continue to lead to the tweaking of the bench in the coming weeks and months. And definitely during the offseason.

- The owners being able to evaulate the mental toughness of Mike Woodson. Although we're not winning, the coach hasn't lost his resolve or given up on the team ( like some of the fans have ). Woody's not "going through the motions" yet. He's still coaching these guys up, even of the vast majority of you despise him as a coach. It still may not be enough to save his job, especially if the Hawks see a guy who could possibly help this team mature at a faster rate. Too bad Hubie Brown doesn't want to coach anymore.

It's the type of adversity that can either kill you as a team, or make you stronger once everyone comes back. I see this happen in sports all the time. That's why I want to see this team at FULL STRENGTH, before making any drastic evaulation on what direction we're headed in.

I saw a team that wasn't close to being full strength and healthy at the beginning of the year, get off to a great start. So it'll be interesting to watch this team come early February.

[skyhawk]

Very nice post...

[exodus]

The thing Speedy does that really pisses me off is that he frequently jumps to pass. A veteran should know better. And his foul shooting is a joke.

However he is a very tough defender, even more so than i thought.

[vdunkndunk]

I agree about Speedy's defense. He had a good reputation as a defender, but he's even better on that end than I thought.

But the freethrows and jumpshooting are bad, and so is the shooting percentage and especially the injury history.

I like Speedy, I just wished we hadn't signed him for so long and for so much money.

But like Hollinger said, I bet we could trade him this year or next at the trade deadline to a contender who needs a veteran PG (maybe to Cleveland or Miami, etc.).

[CBAreject]

This deal just isn't that bad. Speedy has battled 2 injuries. We knew he was injury-prone, but being such made him as affordable as he was.

This is a fairly short deal, and a fairly cheap one, relative to other contracts. This deal is normal for a productive top-8 rotation player. His defense is good enough to justify the deal.

[Guest]

Quote:

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This deal is normal for a productive top-8 rotation player.

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What? No it isn't. He is making starters type money. Not a rotational top 8 players money.

The deal is structured nicely though, in that it decreases in value and cap hits for the value of the contract which makes him more valuable(trade-wise) as he gets older. But besides the nice structuring, it is a horrible contract for a player you will get to play 60 games a year. Even when he is healthy, he is only a slightly above average starter. If you get an average starter for 82 games then that pretty much equates to...the mid-level exception. Speedy makes more than the MLE, won't ever play 82 games, and is only slightly above average when he is healthy(rare). The contract does not reflect his value as an NBA player, he gets more than he should. I guess one could justify this by saying we are so bad that we need to overcompensate but I don't like saying that because you get into a circular argument with that even though it isn't true (you can certainly get better without overpaying and thus avoid the overpaying).

[DJlaysitup]

agreed Hawksfanatic...well stated (IMO).