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Sekou: Have the Hawks quit on Woody?

DrReality

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I didn't see this posted. If it has been . . . . my bad.

5 Things (4 clarity’s sake)!

By Sekou K Smith | Monday, February 4, 2008, 11:08 AM

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

SMYRNA - I feel like I work for the Obama campaign, screaming for change around here all the time.

Well, it’s going to stop until something actually happens. My feelings on the Hawks’ situation have remained the same. Since early in the season I’ve argued that they needed more. Some of you agreed then. Some of you did not.

It seems now that we’re all in agreement (Saturday’s rout of New Jersey aside) that the only way to move forward is with some sort of substantive change. We’re down to 16 days, and counting, until the trade deadline. So we’ll see what happens.

In the meantime, there’s a pile of other issues I want to address that for various reasons I haven’t. So I’ll take that time this morning to give you whatever I can to clear up anything that might have been unclear:

Have these Hawks quit on Mike Woodson?

I can’t tell you how many times someone has asked me this question the past six weeks. The answer should be obvious (NO!). I think they’ve had the same doubts about Woodson and themselves that any team does when they’re struggling. But they’ve maintained a professionalism in the work they’ve put forth every night that is above reproach (can’t say the same for the Nets, who showed up the other night in full coach-killer mode, the same way they did a few years back when they got Byron Scott whacked). And believe me when I tell you that I’ve checked the pulse of this team routinely to see if they’d thrown in the towel on Woodson. They’re simply too proud for that. They want to make the playoffs too much to play that card. I also don’t think they’re the kind of bunch that would dog it on purpose (too many cats like Josh Smith, Al Horford, Josh Childress, Marvin Williams, Joe Johnson and the like just don’t operate like that). Another reason this hasn’t happened is because the Hawks’ locker room is devoid of a terrorizing force that can split the players in half (the pro Woodson crowd and the anti Woodson crowd). One guy like that can turn a locker room upside down in a situation like the one the Hawks are in now. I also believe that’s why the Hawks are being awful cautious (perhaps even overly cautious) about who they add and/or subtract from their mix right now.

Why didn’t the Hawks get Pau Gasol, after all the Lakers gave up peanuts to get him?

The Hawks (along with the Chicago Bulls) were dangling from the Grizzlies’ string for at least a year in the Gasol talks. The one glitch for the Hawks is that they didn’t have that one big expiring contract the Grizzlies so desperately wanted (turns out the Lakers had Kwame Brown). All of the Hawks’ expiring contracts are $3.5 million or less, which isn’t good for working out blockbuster deals like the one that went down late last week. I guess the Hawks could have explored other options, including finding a third team to help facilitate that deal. That said, I’m still not sure the organization was willing to take on Gasol’s salary (some $45 million after this season) with all of their young players up for extensions over the next three seasons. There is another deal out there just waiting to be done. The Hawks have to sniff it out and make sure it works for them. Because they do have several salary combinations (take a guy that makes $4 million and another that makes $3.5 and you’ve got plenty work with) that should fetch the required pieces to help them solidify their playoff status.

Have the Hawks overestimated their talent by keeping this roster together all this time or are they just stubborn?

All teams overvalue their talent until they are in dire straights. Then they start tossing lottery picks overboard as fast as they can. What the Hawks are guilty of is piling up too many like talents and not retooling soon enough. Somewhere along the way their balance got out of whack (you just can’t take as many 6-9 forwards as the Hawks have the past five years and expect to have the enough directors, shooters, defenders and other specialists on board). While everyone tends to point out the drafting of Marvin Williams over Chris Paul and Deron Williams as the Hawks’ most egregious draft-day gaffe, the Shelden Williams over Brandon Roy selection is far more costly right now. And that’s mostly because the Hawks landed Al Horford in the last draft. Roy was considered redundant when the Hawks were on the clock two drafts ago. But he was the best player in that draft and certainly could have paired with JJ to form a wicked backcourt combination. The folly in both those decisions is that the Hawks chose stick to their guns the first year by taking the best talent available (in 2005, anyone picking at No. 2 - save for our boy Ando - was prepared to take either Marvin Williams or Andrew Bogut, whichever one didn’t go No. 1 to Milwaukee) and then abandoned it a year later by passing on Roy and Rudy Gay, both of whom were ranked ahead of Shelden by everyone. Someone would have had to have been a pretty convincing orator to talk me out of taking Brandon Roy in favor of anyone in that draft.

Who is most likely to get a new address by the trade deadline?

Honestly, it’s hard to tell right now. As the Gasol trade proved, the deals most likely to get done are the ones that are rarely rumored to be in the works. I think it’s safe to say that the Hawks’ needs, in order of importance, include 1) A shooter that allows them to spread the floor in the half court (a dude like Mike Miller or Jason Kapono) when things slow down. 2) Another big man to help ease the burden on Al Horford and Josh Smith over the course of the rest of the season (I’ll continue to tout guys like the Clippers’ Aaron Williams, the king of low-maintenance big men who come to work every night and do the dirty job few others relish doing) and potentially the playoffs. And 3) another shooter or big man, you can never have too many, to bolster whatever they find after completing No. 1. I’m sure you were expecting me to go off on another one of my Luke Ridnour tirades. Not today. I actually think the Hawks’ point guard rotation right now is workable. They’ll no doubt be under siege in a playoff series against a team like Detroit, with their guys having to match up with Chauncey Billups over the course of a seven-game series. But there isn’t another team, at least among the top three in the Eastern Conference, that poses that sort of threat. Neither Boston (Rajon Rondo) nor Orlando (presumably Jameer Nelson or Carlos Arroyo) strikes fear into anyone at point guard. If a marquee PG became available during trade talks, the Hawks would be foolish not to listen. Otherwise, address the more pressing needs first. And the Hawks need shooters and more quality big men in the worst way. To answer the original question, I’d say the cats most likely to need Three Men and a Truck on speed dial are Shelden, Salim Stoudamire and Zaza Pachulia (though, I could see keeping Zaza if he can continue to regain his form). Parting with others, though, might be necessary to get the quality of player you want in return.

So Joe Johnson wasn’t totally off base earlier this season when he talked about the Hawks needing more?

Not only was he on-point, he had every right to speak his mind in that manner. And for the last time, I don’t think his comments were a dig at any of his current teammates. Any player in the league who has been on quality teams understands that it takes a cast of talented and specifically skilled individuals to make up the right mix. Opposing defenses feast on Johnson with double teams and by sagging off of other guys to make sure they don’t’ allow him to get rolling. It’s a tried and true strategy that has worked for anyone trying to limit a team with one, main catalyst. For a little more than two full seasons JJ was able to grind his way through the constant double-teaming. But the wear and tear of not only that focus on one end but having to be the Hawks’ defensive stopper, facilitator and Mr. Everything has taken its toll. Someone asked me after the Nets game why JJ can’t do it like Iverson, who also plays 40-plus minutes a night. Well, Iverson is (aside from being an absolute freak of nature) carrying 159 pounds on his frame, allowed to excuse himself from practice, plays alongside four (Carmelo, Camby and K-Mart) other All-Star caliber veterans, gets fouls only Jordan and DWade have gotten … and did I mention he’s a freak of nature. If you don’t think the glut of minutes wears on a guy just see how much different DWade looks now compared to two years ago. When a player totes the load the way he has, his body inevitably pays the price. That’s why the Hawks would be wise to find some relief ASAP, so JJ has the bounce they need come playoff time and beyond, when Josh Smith, Marvin Williams, Al Horford, Josh Childress and the rest of these cats are moving into the next phase of their development. You want them all peaking, physically and otherwise, at the same time if you’re going to take full advantage of what this unique group of cats has to offer.

In closing, I want to welcome a new member to our ‘hood. Stoned Mountain (you gotta love that one) is a longtime, behind the scenes advisor to Blog Z who has only recently emerged from his shroud of secrecy to join us here on the public playground. Treat him like you treat everyone else here, hopefully with a little respect and your claws showing when you disagree, but also know that he is well informed about the things we speak of here. And he’ll finish you off with the quickness if you come at him weak.

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TheNorthCydeRises Grand Master

TheNorthCydeRises

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Even on the road trip, the Hawks didn't quit. Only the people that despise Woody with a passion, even suggests that. For the most part, they're a mentally tough team.

They may not play well all the time, but they're not quitters, unlike some in the fan base that routinely gives up on this team with every 2 - 3 game losing streak.

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Guest Walter

Guest Walter

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Quote:

They may not play well all the time, but they're not quitters, unlike some in the fan base that routinely gives up on this team with every 2 - 3 game losing streak.

Quitting on this franchise would be accepting the mediocrity we now find ourselves in or destined for with BK and Woody as it's "leaders".

W

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Plainview1981 Mentor

Plainview1981

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Quote:

Even on the road trip, the Hawks didn't quit. Only the people that despise Woody with a passion, even suggests that. For the most part, they're a mentally tough team.

They may not play well all the time, but they're not quitters, unlike some in the fan base that routinely gives up on this team with every 2 - 3 game losing streak.

If they had mental toughness they wouldn't have lost that game to the Clippers. They would have saw an extremely weak opponents and took advance of them. Instead, they completely blew that game. The team has some very painful losses this month. But that's a game you surely can't afford to lose. You can't lose to a team that is basically starting their entire bench except for Mobley. They were also starting Cassell, but he is a has been now.

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