Hawks Rumors

[JTFan31]

This an article I found date back to January 20, 2003.

The Hawks' situation could provide an opportunity for the Bulls. Center Nazr Mohammed could be acquired for a package including Jamal Crawford because the Hawks need a point guard. The Bulls like guard Jason Terry, in the last year of his deal, though the Hawks aren't desperate to deal him.

The Miami Heat might be the best team to work with the Hawks. Miami President Pat Riley has talked about getting under the salary cap to recruit major free agents. But the Heat will have only about $7 million available next off-season--not enough to be a difference-maker. And the Heat has had difficulty trying to deal the long-term contracts of either Eddie Jones or Brian Grant to create more salary-cap room, though the Bulls still are interested in Jones.

Riley doesn't look like he's ready for a rebuilding project, so here is an alternative plan.

The Heat's Alonzo Mourning is making $20 million in the final year of his contract. Miami could send him to Atlanta for 26-year-old All-Star Shareef Abdur-Rahim. Averaging 19.7 points and 7.8 rebounds, Abdur-Rahim is a better player than any of the free agents the Heat could get. Miami also could take on Mohammed, giving it a replacement at center. Atlanta gets under the salary cap and gets Miami's lottery pick. The Hawks gave up theirs to the Bucks, except if it is top three, as part of the Glenn Robinson deal.

But if Miami doesn't move fast, Portland, hardly a championship contender this season, could get into the mix. Don't put it past deep-pockets general manager Bob Whitsitt to take a shot at an offensive force like Abdur-Rahim, with Scottie Pippen making about $19 million in the final year of his contract. And there's Robinson, that Big Doggie in the window, if anyone is interested.

A healthy mourning for Rahim, I will do it in a heart beat. Now Zo has a kidney condition, not sure if I will do it, plus Reef is still only 26 years old and has alot in his tank left.

[Diesel]

It doesn't make sense for Miami to trade for Shareef if what is killing them is the contracts of Jones and Grant. My feeling is that one or both of them will be traded.

For instance. What makes sense if Grant traded for Pippen.

Trader Bob wants to get something for Pippen. Part of the reason Pipp is being Showcased now. Pipp represents 16 million in CR next yr for whoever would take him. I think Miami would give up Grant. Secondly, Portland would take Grant Back. His hard work and fan favoriteness is just what they could use in PTL.

How can Atlanta get in. Well, we'd have to come up with a trade and take Jones? So the question is... Would Portland take Theo.

Jones to Atlanta.

Theo/Glover to PTL.

??? to Miami.

This has the smell of a Four way to be honest.

IF Mighty Mouse goes to NY...

and

Spreewell goes to Miami...

This trade works. Reason being....

NY needs a PG.

Miami needs a Shorter contract than Jones' plus Spree plays good defense too.

We need a SG.

Theo would plug in as defensive C....

JT/Jones/Big Dog/SAR/Nazr.... Offensive minded.

[JTFan31]

This 4 way deal makes perfect D. But it will be veryhard to get 4 teams, actually 4 GM's to agree to all this, thats the hard part about it. When was the last time we saw a 4 team trade, I dont recall one. Another point is that it looks like either Miami or Portland want Nazr and not Theo. Therefore we still our defensive center in Theo.......Big Dog, Reef, & Jones burning the net and JT driving defenses crazy. Now JT can definitely concentrate on passing the ball and on D.

JT/EJ/Big Dog/Reef/Theo

Bench:

Benjamin

Dickau

Newble

Hendu

Ham

Crawford

With this trade our bench will be extremely short we need some size and some offense coming off the bench

[jezmund]

I've been one of the people on here really pushing for Jones but I've realized that we'll be in bad shape money wise if we had Jones/Dog/Reef plus JT to be signed over the summer. I'd be all over it if they'd take Dog for him. Miami's lottery pick would be tempting but I'm not sure if I want to get rid of Reef that badly. I would be interested in acquiring Pippen if it meant getting rid of the contracts of Robinson, CC, and Hendu. Those 3 for Pippen works salary wise but I doubt POR would do that. That would be huge for us in saving money.

I definitely want to see what Ratliff is worth out there..... I know there are some teams that would love to have him. I'd love for us to become some great defensive team with him in the middle but I just don't see it happening.

1.Ratliff/CC to POR for Davis/Daniels works (I know everyone is sick of POR trades; they just have an overload of talent) Daniels would come off our books after the season and Davis would give us more rebounding in the middle than Ratliff.

JT/Dickau/Wilks

Daniels/Benjamin/Glover

Robinson/Ham/Newble(IL)

Reef/Hendu

Davis/Nazr

Personally, I like that lineup.....

[jeddelong]

With less than a month to go before the NBA trade deadline, the names surfacing on the trading block become more curious by the minute. You've been bored to death already with the Latrell Sprewell-to-anywhere and the Wally Szczerbiak-to-nowhere speculation. But a few new names are starting to become the talk of the league.

Among the most intriguing? League sources told Insider over the weekend that Cleveland's Zydrunas Ilgauskas, the Sixers' Eric Snow and the Raptors' Alvin Williams are all being dangled right now.

Ilgauskas has teams licking their chops for one reason -- when he's healthy, he's one of the two or three best offensive centers in the league. The big question though, is how much longer he can stay off crutches. After missing two full seasons with foot injuries, Ilgauskas made a miraculous comeback midway through last season. Is there a team out there willing to take the risk?

He has been phenomenal for the Cavs through the first half, which is partly why Cleveland wants to trade him -- his value has never been higher. Cavs GM Jim Paxson is also concerned that the heavy minutes he logged under John Lucas's tutelage will eventually catch up with him. Add three young centers -- DeSagana Diop, Chris Mihm and Michael Stewart -- to the mix and you can understand the Cavs' motivation. They need their young bigs to get more playing time and would love to be out from under the remaining two years and $28 million of Ilgauskas's contract.

So, who is rumored to be interested? The Knicks could put together a package of Charlie Ward, Travis Knight and Othella Harrington that would put them in the picture. Ward only has $2 million worth of salary protection on his contract next season, Knight has just one more year left on his deal, and Harrington's salary won't do any major cap damage. The move would allow the Cavs to clear about $5 million in additional cap room for next summer and $11 million of cap space for the summer of 2004.

The Jazz could also be interested, possibly shipping Greg Ostertag, John Amaechi, Jason Collins and a No. 1 draft pick. And the Blazers, always willing to wheel and deal, have looked at moving soon-to-be free agents Scottie Pippen and Antonio Daniels to Cleveland for Ilguaskas, Tyrone Hill and Michael Stewart.

Snow's status might even be more tenuous. Several league sources told Insider the Sixers are once again shopping their point guard in return for a post player. While Snow has been a valuable piece of the Sixers puzzle, coach Larry Brown feels that he has enough depth with Aaron McKie and rookie John Salmons to make Snow expendable. Snow's salary, $4.1 million a year, and his solid point guard play makes him attractive trade bait.

Several teams are still looking for a point guard and are rumored to be interested in Snow. The Warriors would swap Danny Fortson straight up in a heartbeat. The Hawks likely would part with a combination of rookie Dan Dickau and Nazr Mohammed. And the T-Wolves are ready to part ways with Joe Smith. However, whether any of those players would help Larry Brown turn around his Sixers is questionable.

The other player to keep your eye on is the Raptors' Alvin Williams. The emergence of Rafer Alston, combined with the team's lackluster play, has management looking to cut costs. You can add Jerome Williams and Antonio Davis to this list as well, but Alvin is generating the most interest right now. First, he's a big point guard, something just about everyone in the league covets. Second, his contract is pretty long, but he's not making outrageous money (around $5 million a year). Where will he land? Look to Boston, where the combo of Shammond Williams and Tony Delk is struggling. The Celtics could offer a package of Shammond Williams (free agent this summer) and Eric Williams (one more year left on his contract) that would allow the Raptors to clear some cap room.

Gooden, Turkoglu also on the block?

Still hungry for more trade rumors? Ilgauskas, Snow and Williams aren't the only new names on the block. Chicago Tribune scribe Sam Smith adds the Kings' Hidayet Turkoglu and Grizzlies rookie Drew Gooden to the list.

According to Smith, the Kings are looking for a lottery-caliber draft pick in return for Turkoglu. Many in Sacramento thought Turkoglu was poised to send Doug Christie to the bench after a solid off-season playing for the Turkish national team, but lately Turkoglu has struggled to find minutes in a deep rotation that includes Keon Clark and second-year guard Gerald Wallace. Turkoglu becomes a restricted free agent after next season and according to Smith, the Kings have spread the word that he's available.

Gooden is more interesting. It's hard to believe Grizzlies GM Jerry West, who proclaimed that Gooden a legit candidate for Rookie of the Year, would pull the plug on his first draft pick so quickly. The problem for the Griz right now is fit. Pau Gasol is their power forward of the future, and Gooden has struggled to adapt to playing small forward. His struggles have led to decreased playing time. Gooden's pouting over his role with the team hasn't helped things. Smith suggests that the Grizzlies may be willing to rekindle talks with the Magic. This summer, the Grizzlies were trying to get the Magic to agree to a Stromile Swift for Mike Miller swap. Will they up the ante to Gooden for Miller?

And what would any trade deadline column be without an old standby like Gary Payton? Coach Nate McMillan gave even more evidence on Sunday why Payton's antics no longer fit with the rebuilding program he's trying to put into place.

Payton, who will undoubtedly be selected tomorrow to play in his ninth straight All-Star Game, may be leading the league in assists and averaging more than 20 points, but McMillan feels that his young players, especially Rashard Lewis, need to be taking control in the deciding moments of games. Will he really get the opportunity with the ultra competitive Payton on the floor?

"If you're going to be a go-to kind of guy, the kind of guy Gary has been for us for years, then you have to take those shots," McMillan said. "I want Rashard taking those shots. That's what he wanted and that's what we want.

"You learn from your defeats and he's no different. He'll be better the next game and the game after that because he's taking those big shots."

[JTFan31]

Just like I thought, some of you guys really thought the hawks were shopping JT to get a 2 guard for Dickau? hahaha, thats funny. Dickau hasn't shown diddly squat here in Atlanta, to me he is at best a backup PG and maybe just maybe a starting PG. While JT is allstar caliber PG and is just now clicking much better with the team, although he avg the 1st half of the season 7.1 apg, not too shabby.....while he still avg's 17 ppg and 1.8 spg. Some of you really thought Babs was gonna trade that, you must of been kidding yourself. Some of us called it that JT will not be traded and Dickau was no big deal. I would not like to see Nazr go, but it also depends on what we receive back. Nazr has been a great spark off the bench with his offense, defense and hustle. Thanks Jedde.

[DJ_Money]

...and you're positive that the author of this article is right about us?

Remember, Vescey said we were going to trade JT for Spree.

I don't want JT to be traded either. But, we don't know what will happen. The media doesn't either. Babcock doesn't even seem to know what the [censored] he's doing most of the time.

[Diesel]

Last time a 4some was done...

I think it was Pat Ewing.

NY, Seattle, Phoenix, and ??? I know there was a 4th team involved....

Orlando!

The hinge on this trade is weather NY would take Stoudamire. He's a lot better than what they have, but something tells me, they'd want a cheap Big man too. Maybe Portland would think about sending Randolph... If they get Grant in a second deal.

Miami would have:

Best/Spree/Butler/Davis/Allen?

[Diesel]

I would take Big Z!

He's exactly what we need at C.

Theo/Filler for Big Z!!

[Blunt91]

Why would the sixers want Nazr back. He is basically the same no defensive presence under the post that MCcollough is now.Dan has showed signs that he can play. Dan Dickau isn't going anywhere!

[Diesel]

The Sixers want Theo.

They made a bid for Camby....

Theo is the same player just less injured.

What would we get back for Theo?

[Iman]

I'm really not sure if many of our main salary cap wasters are considered to be worth what we pay them. I think Shareef is so I'd keep him, and I like having BigDog, Theo, Hendu, and Nazr but I just as soon trade any of them for someone good but less expensive. To trade for the BigZ or Alonzo or Stoudemire or Pippen or Sprewell, etc is not what I'd look for. I know you cant pull off some trades because of cap restrictions etc but I'd luv to deal one of those guys for someone like Gooden, maybe West likes BigDog?..lol. I guess I'd give up Theo for Snow and filler although Snow really doesnt impress me much. I'd pass on Jamal Crawford for Nazr.

[Guest]

What would Memphi want for Drew Gooden???Looks

like they picked Pau Gasol over him though.

[BlackHawkDown]

I dont want Jones or Grant or any of these early 30's scrubs. Lets lose Reef/Big Dog for Zo anda pair of Lotto Picks. We will have cap room and the ability to rebuild. Move Theo/JT in a similar manner and draft some high schoolers acquire Kwame Brown and D.Miles and start a true rebuildin project, with only the top talent we can find.

Chris Marcus (WKU)/Brown/Miles/ Lotto Pick/Lotto Pick

[Guest]

Do that, and watch the loses role in for several seasons...and the likelihood that some of those HS picks either a) won't pan out, or B) will develop, come into their own, and leave the team.

Do you want us to be the Clippers of the East?

[Guest]

that's not to say that I'd take those contracts or mind one/two guys on the team fresh out of their freshmen year (maybe HS, though I hate them) in order to get some athleticism in here...

but to scrap it all....I disagree

[KB21]

The guy simply has no game. He's the odd man out in Cleveland with Parker, Wagner, and Davis playing the wing positions.

Darius Miles is a guy who lacks the size to play inside and lacks the perimeter skills to play outside. All the guy can do is jump. He absolutely, without question, cannot shoot the basketball at all.

I'm sorry, but the NBA is not about being able to dunk. Being able to shoot the ball is a lot more important than being able to connect on an alley oop during a fast break.

[BlackHawkDown]

The Clippers dont want to win they develop players just to unload them. The fact is the Hawks have always been boring and mediocre. Always a 1st 2nd rounfd loser, If I have to watch a loser I want an exciting loser. If we take our knocks for 3 seasons, then we can have a winner. its not like we're going to win anything anyway.

[JTFan31]

Are you kidding, BHD? Rebuild, you must be on some kind of medication. We have been rebuilding for 3 years now, we are sick and tired of rebuilding. We do that and we are in for another 3-4 years. That would be disaster for this team, city, and US. No way in [censored] would I make any of those trades you mentioned BHD. You need to seriously see the doctor.

[TheDude]

they would be idiots to trade dan dickau..the kid has played like 15 regular season games and we're willing to give up on him?...

look, this kid is a basketball fanatic...he has a great shot and has the clutch mentality..he hasn't lit it up yet cuz he's trying to set up his point guard game and other allaround skills..

this guy is a rookie and he has a solid game...let us keep the guy...trading him for a snow who would only play a few more years would be detrimental..