The truth about the Hawks.

[Diesel]

The truth is that the Hawks need a new coach. A guy who knows how to manage talent and how to develop players. Unfortunately, I feel that we are definitely in over Woody's head and have been for some time. Woody doesn't understand the talent that he has so it's hard for him to put that talent in their best light. I don't blame Woody for injuries, only for mismanagement.

That Said, let's go position for position and discover our needs:

1. PG

I think that we need a PG but it's not our most pressing need. I think we should give Speedy a chance next year. Let Speedy learn to play with his injury. I also like the fact that we have AJ. At PG it is good to have a veteran hand. What I would like to see is us get a young PG to learn from these two vets. My choices would be: Acie Law or Jordan Farmar. I would love to see us trade Lue for Farmar. Tellem can make that happen for us and LAL might do it because Lue knows the system and Farmar only had a 2 year deal. Needless to say, I think we should trade Lue. Lue is a wonderful scorer, but he dribbles the paint off the ball in the halfcourt set and he couldn't find water at the ocean on a fast break.

2. SG

JJ has shooting guard on Lock. I also like Backups JC and Salim. I think we should resign JC. I think JC pays us many more dividens than many realize. Salim is good to have as a shooter. He may be able to play himself into a PG's rotation if he works on his shot selection and turnovers.

3. SF

I'm still of the belief that JSmoove's best position is Sf. I don't think he knows enough defensively to play PF. That whole give a Low post player room to catch the ball (close to the basket) so that i can try for the block is ball basketball. If he's Sf, I say he's #1. MWilliams has done nothing to impress me, but I believe he could be good off the bench. I would also consider trading Marvin for either PG/Pick or Center. If I traded Marvin and had a late pick (such as Phoenix's pick), i would take Morris Almond who is made for the Sf position and would probably gel very nicely with Smoove.

4. PF

I like the combination of Shelden/Solomon/Este. Under a different coach, I think we should see the versatility of having these three. Mainly defense and rebounding. I don't know why Woody has ignored Solomon for so long. I think Solomon is our next great player. He and Smoove had 11 blocks the other day. All day Long, I hear hawks fan crying for oden... Well, Jones is a poor man's Oden. The problem is that Woody has doghouses and don't know how to use the talent we have.

5. C

Here's an area of concern. I would let Lo Wright go. I would also look for this position in the draft. I would like to see us get Hibbert. But if not, I think maybe we should turn to FAcy or trade. What would Magloire cost us? I don't like his game much, but he plays good defense. If not Magloire, how much for Petro from Seattle. I would jump at the opportunity to trade Marvin/2nd for Petro and Seattle's first. Hell, maybe Marvin/Indy's pick for Petro/1st. The same is true (but not so much) with Dalembert. I like Dalembert but I hate his price tag. However, if we could trade Marvin/1st for Dalembert/1st (early).. I would do it. I don't think we have to continuously cry for Oden. We have other centers out there who can help us reach our goal.

So that's my words about the Hawks. That's not to suggest that I have any problems with Zaza. I think Young Vlade is a good pickup. Either we use him off the bench behind a more defensive C or we trade him in a package for something else we want.

Just envisioning a dream scenerio here:

Salim to Phoenix for #24.

Marvin/Lo/Indy's first to Philly for Dalembert/Philly's first.

Lue to Lakers for Farmar

#6 = JianLian

#24 = Morris Almond

Our squad:

Farmar/Speedy/AJ

JJ/JC

Smoove/Almond

Jianlian/Shelden/Solomon

Dalembert/Zaza

Coach = Terry Porter!

[thesheedera]

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Well, Jones is a poor man's Oden.

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Technically I'm a poor man's Oden too, just depends on how poor you're willing to go.

[mudderfudder77]

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I think we should give Speedy a chance next year.

Well, Jones is a poor man's Oden.

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I read those two quotes, and I knew that I had read enough.

[DJlaysitup]

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I think we should give Speedy a chance next year.

Well, Jones is a poor man's Oden.

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I read those two quotes, and I knew that I had read enough.

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Yeah...LOL...a real, real, real, real, poor man's Oden...

[AHF]

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I think we should give Speedy a chance next year.

Well, Jones is a poor man's Oden.

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I read those two quotes, and I knew that I had read enough.

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Personally, I would move on to find a young PG as a high priority for this team but do agree we should give Speedy a chance next year (assuming he isn't in such bad shape that he would consider retirement). His efficiency was so out of line last season with his previous 4 or 5 years that I still hold out hope he could be more productive if he gets his legs back under him. All he needs to do is return to his normal form which isn't too unrealistic an expectation, IMO.

[Joker]

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I think we should give Speedy a chance next year.

Well, Jones is a poor man's Oden.

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I read those two quotes, and I knew that I had read enough.

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I wasn't gonna respond, wait I'm still not gonna respond...

[Diesel]

Well, How poorly do you think of Jones in respect to Oden?

He was 13/10/3 in college.

[Diesel]

I believe we have to get a Young PG in order to train him and build chemistry with the team, but I don't know if we definitely need a drafted young PG.

For example, if we get the 12th pick in the draft and Acie Law is there and Hibbert is there, I would take Hibbert. If Acie Law is there and there's no other bigs, I would take Law and he would be our young PG.

I think the Lakers might be willing to trade Jordan for the simple fact that they have put him in the d-League. I think this guy is going to be a great PG. I actually thought that the Lakers got a steal last year.

[thesheedera]

I think highly of Jones' potential, but in respect to Oden it barely registers.

Jones might be a legit starter if he works his tail off and really improves his strength, or if he works his tail off and finds himself on a transition oriented team. I think the Oden conversation is more along the lines of, will he be a truly great player one day?, not, will be be a legit starter one day?

[mudderfudder77]

Did he have his shooting hand in a cast for much of his freshman season?

Jones played on the worst team in the Big East, was a senior putting up those numbers, and shot 48%.

The comparison is (I wish I could think of a more appropriate word) laughable - even for you Diesel

Oden put up 15/10/3, on 61%, and played the season with his off-hand.

[exodus]

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The comparison is (I wish I could think of a more appropriate word) laughable - even for you Diesel

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Don't underestimate him.

[Diesel]

Outside of the constant excuses you make for everybody...

Let's get to the gist of the matter.

Very similar to Jones, Oden does not have a defined offensive goto move. Every GREAT Center has one of those... YOu know like an Up and Under or a SkyHook or the dream fake or something that can go in with consistency.

Like I said Yesterday, Oden is NOT a Great Center yet and if he doesn't work on his offense, he will never be one. He is definitely the most hyped player since Lebron, but unlike Lebron, he doesn't have a great range of offensive moves that translates well in the pros. For a Big, Being big alone will not make him great. Sure he will be a starter but that too is on the basis of him being picked first.

I was not comparing Jones to Oden. I was saying that in Jones, we have the very same defensive potential that people cry about in Oden. Sure Jones is a Pf and Oden is a Center. But Jones (like Oden) can get us 3-4 bpg and can be an intimidator (if we get his weight up). Match that with Smoove and we got something. What I'm really saying is getting Oden is a pipe dream of the tankers. When that Pipe dream doesn't come true, we have to go back to the real world that everybody else is living in. IN that real world, we have a 6'10" Pf who is an excellent shot blocker and with more weight he could be so much more.

However, it seems to me, on that bloody sunday (which I will call it) when the Hawks give up the 4th or 5th pick to the Suns, you may be too pre-occupied crying about what could have been than what is... At that time, will you recognize what we have in Jones? (Poor man's Oden).

[DJlaysitup]

Well Sekou says Solomon Jones is getting the start tonight so at least we will be able to watch and see how far he has progressed to date...and how he does against other team's starters.

[Diesel]

I'm glad about that. I hope he's at Pf and Smoove's getting a rest. I think what we will see is that he can rebound and block shots and hit free throws... He doesn't have an offensive skill yet but you put him in a big man camp and let him eat and lift weights all summer and I can guarantee that Next year, we're talking about a monster!!

[TexasPete]

You realize you kill your credibility with these insane comparisons right?

Putting Solomon Jones against Oden, poor man or not, would make you the ONLY person in the United States that would do that...not even Solomon's mother would make that comparison.

[thesheedera]

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Very similar to Jones, Oden does not have a defined offensive goto move.

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Oden doesn't have a signature move, but he does have post moves. You're spreading a myth that Oden is a complete zero on the offensive end. The truth is that he needs to refine and polish up his low post moves, but it's not like he's starting from scratch. First of all he does an excellent job getting position using what nature gave him, and he always keeps the ball high in the lane. He has a solid drop step in both directions, and at his size, that's about all he needs to get to the rim. Once he gets anywhere close to the rim, he can usually get a dunk on someone due to his strength and length. He shoots a hook, but it looks like he's kind of winging it, just making that up as he goes, but the fact is that it's something he uses. He needs refinement and repetition on his moves, and he would be extremely deadly with a little turnaround jumper or something, but it's not like his offensive game is a clean slate. It's a substantial but raw product that needs work.

In reality he has more of a post up game than almost any college center I can think of. Off the top of my head, Spencer Hawes is pretty polished, and I've read a lot more about him than I've seen. Hibbert relies on size and a very quick drop step/spin move looking thing, but he doesn't have many weapons. Hansbrough (future PF) is certainly not polished, but he was a pretty good baby hook from 10 feet in and closer. The rest of his points are all effort and brute force. Deon Thompson (freshman for UNC) has a great post game from 10 feet in. Hooks, drop step, quick dribble drives, etc., but he's 6'9" and not gonne grow much more. He'll be a fantastic PF, but he wouldn't have a prayer against a true NBA center.

Solomon? He's a great garbage guy (not an insult) but he has nothing that resembles a "post game", and he's very thin and he's not strong (the rest are sort of insults). He's lightyears from producing as an NBA center offensively.

Oden needs work, but he'll be able to compete right away in the big league.

[AHF]

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Every GREAT Center has one of those... YOu know like an Up and Under or a SkyHook or the dream fake or something that can go in with consistency.

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Didn't Oden shoot 61% from the field and average more ppg than any Florida starter? That is pretty darn consistent.

[TexasPete]

I'm a poor man's Bill Gates. A very poor man's Bill Gates.

[BusBoyIsBack]

I think some of you are giving Solo too much of a hard time.

Honestly right now the difference between he and Oden is that Oden is 2 inches taller and 40 pounds heavier.

Now I know that is a huge difference and a damn good one.

I know Solo can't add that height and he can't get 4 years younger to be Oden.

But what he can do is put on some weight and he truly could be a poor man's Oden.

What people are missing about Solo is that he actually has some ATHLETICISM. The man has a 40 inch vert and was mighty impressive in his 3/4 court sprint and agility drills. He may not look athletic at times because he's not that coordinated right now but that's because he's so raw.

I think 2 years is a realistic time table for Solo to add 30-40 pounds if he truly works hard in the off-season. But he's got to want to be great.

By then he could be a dang good player in this league at the age of 25.

[TroyMcClure]

I agree Sheed. I think he looks a little clumsy because he is concentrating on his footwork and such. He's really trying to be fundamental. Looks a little awkward like Tim Duncan did early on in college.

Just curious though, did you watch a lot of South Florida games?

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Solomon? He's a great garbage guy (not an insult) but he has nothing that resembles a "post game", and he's very thin and he's not strong (the rest are sort of insults). He's lightyears from producing as an NBA center offensively.

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I've really never seen Solomon get a chance on the block. He's played like 200 minutes? If he got to start and play 40 minutes, who knows? You're probably right. I've just not seen enough of him. It's not like our guards are concerned with trying to get it in the post, anyway. They half-heartedly look at the post and the guy usually gives up. A coach has to demand that the ball go into the post. Our's doesn't.