Billy Knight extended?

[OGRat]

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I believe it was supposed to be a 5-yr. plan, with the goal being 50 wins next season. Anything less, and he's gone next season.

Woodson's time is up, Knight will probably get one more year.

I did not like the long journey. Does it have to take 5 years before the team is respectable enough for fans to want to buy tickets? Pat Riley does not seem to think so:

''It's time to start over again,'' said Riley, who referred to the Feb. 6 trade of Shaquille O'Neal as the start of a two-year retooling process that could leave the Heat with major salary-cap space in the summer of 2009. Miami Herald

How long did it take Portland to catch up to us?

[coachx]

I did not like the long journey. Does it have to take 5 years before the team is respectable enough for fans to want to buy tickets? Pat Riley does not seem to think so:

''It's time to start over again,'' said Riley, who referred to the Feb. 6 trade of Shaquille O'Neal as the start of a two-year retooling process that could leave the Heat with major salary-cap space in the summer of 2009. Miami Herald

Just keepin' it reel.

The Heat have 3 things that Hawks did not have at the beginning of their rebuild:

1. Championship Coach

2. Top 5 NBA talent when healthy (Wade)

3. Multi year allstar who is still in prime / Marion at 29

You call that a rebuild ?

The Heat's house just needs a room redone..........the Hawks tore the whole thing down and started over.

[OGRat]

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Just keepin' it reel.

The Heat have 3 things that Hawks did not have at the beginning of their rebuild:

1. Championship Coach

2. Top 5 NBA talent when healthy (Wade)

3. Multi year allstar who is still in prime / Marion at 29

You call that a rebuild ?

The Heat's house just needs a room redone..........the Hawks tore the whole thing down and started over.

Good points, but we did have JT, GROB, Shareef and Ratliff. Granted the house was not pretty, but the contractor(coach) stunk. We could have renovated a few rooms or finished the basement instead of demolishing the whole house. I believe we could have gotten more for the pieces we had.

[Kimsey]

Thinking back 04' was a pivotal year for us. We could have offered Rasheed Wallace a near max contract and still selected J. Smith with the sixth pick because Devon Harris and Livingston were just out of grasp and we were all drooling over them.

We could of traded the sixth pick for Utah's 15 and 17 picks but how realistic was that. This is my hindsight 20/20 of the day.

Center = R. Wallace

PF = Al Jefferson

Sf = J. Smith

(I'm in my Homer Simpson drooling mode)

[coachx]

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Just keepin' it reel.

The Heat have 3 things that Hawks did not have at the beginning of their rebuild:

1. Championship Coach

2. Top 5 NBA talent when healthy (Wade)

3. Multi year allstar who is still in prime / Marion at 29

You call that a rebuild ?

The Heat's house just needs a room redone..........the Hawks tore the whole thing down and started over.

Good points, but we did have JT, GROB, Shareef and Ratliff. Granted the house was not pretty, but the contractor(coach) stunk. We could have renovated a few rooms or finished the basement instead of demolishing the whole house. I believe we could have gotten more for the pieces we had.

I'm just trying to remember what we got for those pieces:

JT traded for Antwan Walker who turned into to ? I can't remember

Glen " Big Dog" Robinson turned into to Toni Kucock / fillers who turned into ? or did we trade Toni for Big Dog ?

Rartliff / Reef traded for Rasheed Wallace who was traded for J. Smith's pick

Rasheed Wallace for Reef and Ratliff was a pretty sweet deal. We then got some guys like Sura, Rebracca (a true center) and pick that turned into Josh Smith from Detroit for Rasheed.

[oiatlhawksfan]

I have no problem with Knight being extended, Woody is the one that really needs to go.

[AHF]

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Forcing BK to keep Woodson is like giving your chef a Tastybake oven.

I love the analogy but the chef does deserve some criticism for thinking the Tastybake oven was a good idea for several years.

[pimp]

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I have no problem with Knight being extended, Woody is the one that really needs to go.

So, do you trust Bk to hire another coach??

Keep in mind that he has hired Woody and Sidney Lowe in the past.

That's 2 of the worst coaches in the history of the Nba.

[Lascar78]

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Forcing BK to keep Woodson is like giving your chef a Tastybake oven.

I love the analogy but the chef does deserve some criticism for thinking the Tastybake oven was a good idea for several years.

and selecting some crappy ingredients

[JoeyPeters]

How the hell could anyone say BK deserves an extension?

1) Marvin will go down as one of the worst picks of all time. He picked a 6'8" swingman on a team loaded with swingman instead of a PG that will probably if he's not already end up being the best in the league

2) Major FA signing include Speedy Claxton and Za Za Pachulia.

3) Drafted Shelden Williams in the lottery. An udersized unathletic forward. He might as well drafted a white guy.

4) Probably too early but paying Bibby almost 40 million for 2 seasons is looking worse with every game.

5) Hasn't been close to the playoffs in a league where you almost have to try to miss the playoffs.

[coachx]

I would prefer a new set of eyes (as GM) that may look to gage Marvin's worth around the league. Hs regression really worries me.

I am beginning to think he will never be better then a Tim Thomas.

Corey Magettee or Richard Jefferson would be nice, legit, SFs to have. If a veteran such as Matt Harpring is availale in FA he would be nice too. ....at least he knows how to play......Heck, I'd llike to revisit he Matt Carroll talk as a guy off the bench. We need a shooter like him.

We need a better wing player to pair with JJ. Either find a good / quick SG and play JJ at SF or get a better SF and keep JJ at SG.

[Johann]

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He might as well drafted a white guy.

So it's OK to be racist?

Don't complain about it if you are going to perpetuate it.

[Guest Walter]

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All I know is the month before the draft I was one of 2 or 3 that wanted Horford. Everyone bought into Walter's daily post on Horford being an undersized clone of Sheldon Williams and Yi being the next Dirk that they fell for it based on YouTube clips.

I have always liked Horford. He is the prototypical NBA PF. He is not an NBA center. Aside from a superstar/mismatch advantage (which we still need, right?) and a Pg, THAT is what we needed. Unfortunately the draft didn't offer a center prospect. I chose a potential superstar/mismatch advantage in Yi over a guy I knew wasn't an NBA center, who most resembled our own Shelden Williams and a guy I thought was slightly less talented albeit a Pg in Conley. I knew full well that Yi was 2-3 years away from the impact he will have. He's making the biggest transition of any player in college if not HS.

W

[Johann]

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He might as well drafted a white guy.

So it's OK to be racist?

Don't complain about it if you are going to perpetuate it.

No offense intended. I do the same crap myself of course. But I am trying to catch myself. Basketball is the one arena where we have the best chance to get past that stuff, don't you think? None of us really care about a player's background or parents. We respect him if he can play, and dont if he cant. We all claim MJ and Bird.

[coachx]

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All I know is the month before the draft I was one of 2 or 3 that wanted Horford. Everyone bought into Walter's daily post on Horford being an undersized clone of Sheldon Williams and Yi being the next Dirk that they fell for it based on YouTube clips.

I have always liked Horford. He is the prototypical NBA PF. He is not an NBA center. Aside from a superstar/mismatch advantage (which we still need, right?) and a Pg, THAT is what we needed. Unfortunately the draft didn't offer a center prospect. I chose a potential superstar/mismatch advantage in Yi over a guy I knew wasn't an NBA center, who most resembled our own Shelden Williams and a guy I thought was slightly less talented albeit a Pg in Conley. I knew full well that Yi was 2-3 years away from the impact he will have. He's making the biggest transition of any player in college if not HS.

W

Based on everything you just typed it appears my facts were right.

You wanted Yi.......right ?

You thought Horford could not play effectively at the center position and was a Sheldon Williams clone. Right ?

You thought Yi was the 2nd coming of Dirk b/c you see Yi as a "mis-match advantage." That is why you wanted to pick Yi a #3. Right ?

So what are you b*tching about ?

[exodus]

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All I know is the month before the draft I was one of 2 or 3 that wanted Horford. Everyone bought into Walter's daily post on Horford being an undersized clone of Sheldon Williams and Yi being the next Dirk that they fell for it based on YouTube clips.

I have always liked Horford. He is the prototypical NBA PF. He is not an NBA center. Aside from a superstar/mismatch advantage (which we still need, right?) and a Pg, THAT is what we needed. Unfortunately the draft didn't offer a center prospect. I chose a potential superstar/mismatch advantage in Yi over a guy I knew wasn't an NBA center, who most resembled our own Shelden Williams and a guy I thought was slightly less talented albeit a Pg in Conley. I knew full well that Yi was 2-3 years away from the impact he will have. He's making the biggest transition of any player in college if not HS.

W

Based on everything you just typed it appears my facts were right.

You wanted Yi.......right ?

You thought Horford could not play effectively at the center position and was a Sheldon Williams clone. Right ?

You thought Yi was the 2nd coming of Dirk b/c you see Yi as a "mis-match advantage." That is why you wanted to pick Yi a #3. Right ?

So what are you b*tching about ?

Saying that Horford resembled Shelden and saying he is a Shelden clone are two different things. If we played Shelden 30 minutes a game what would his numbers look like?

They both are good rebounders and weak scorers.

Pretty much everyone on this site agrees (and so do Woody, Horford, Sekou, and pretty much everyone around the league) that we still need a center and that Horford is playing out of position.

[dig]

First of all, I just wanted to make sure this is some cruel rumor. Right?

I love Al Horford and he's been everything I hoped for and more, and of our options at the time he certainly was the most ready to contribute. The Horford/Law combo gave us the best chance of winning this season, which is what BK was thinking with his job (hopefully) on the line. But still, even after unloading Shelden, our two most promising players play the same position.

If BK was thinking about the long-term success of the team (which he should have been).... then I still think Conley is the better option over Yi because we have no picks this year and I'm not high on Acie to fill our gaping hole at PG. Then, I think at #11 you evaluate who falls (at the time I was thinking Noah, Hawes followed by Rodney Stuckey & Sean Williams in that order).

Whatever the criteria, letting BK off the hook because Al looks like a player & Smoove was a good value pick -- while ignoring his multitude of mistakes -- is ridiculous. How anyone can have confidence in his ability to evaluate coaching and player talent is unfathomable, not to mention the fact that he doesn't have the balls/ability to make deals (outside of Bibby) and has already been undermined by our "ownership"...

[exodus]

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But still, even after unloading Shelden, our two most promising players play the same position.

Pretty much. As the season has progressed i am becoming less optimistic about them sharing the floor at the same time, unless we are up against a team going small.

Smith has the talent and the heart but not the brains. And given the way he keeps jacking up jumpers and throwing crazy passes i am starting to wonder if he will ever get it. He is definitely starting to frustrate me.

Horford doesn't make the myriad of stupid mistakes that Smith does, but at the same time doesn't have the game changing ability that Smith does. I wish he showed more game on offense. He basically has to relearn how to play on offense in order to take advantage of his quickness against bigger guys. it will probably take a couple of years for make that adjustment completely.

But it is definitely starting to feel like having Smith around holds Horford back. I can't be sure of this though. I guess only time will tell.

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Whatever the criteria, letting BK off the hook because Al looks like a player & Smoove was a good value pick -- while ignoring his multitude of mistakes -- is ridiculous. How anyone can have confidence in his ability to evaluate coaching and player talent is unfathomable, not to mention the fact that he doesn't have the balls/ability to make deals (outside of Bibby) and has already been undermined by our "ownership"...

Very true

[coachx]

Saying that Horford resembled Shelden and saying he is a Shelden clone are two different things. If we played Shelden 30 minutes a game what would his numbers look like?

They both are good rebounders and weak scorers.

Pretty much everyone on this site agrees (and so do Woody, Horford, Sekou, and pretty much everyone around the league) that we still need a center and that Horford is playing out of position.

I agree we need a true center.....that was not my point, there was no "true center" in the draft worth a #3 pick any way.

Horford is better then half the starting centers in the NBA right now while playing out of postion. My point was that Horford can play center and play it better then most "true centers" in the NBA today. While many argued Horford would be a good PF who could not be effective at the center position so picking on him would be waisted since Smoove is a PF.

Does that mean we still don't need a true center ? No. You know I'm on the Diop band wagon.

[exodus]

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Horford is better then half the starting centers in the NBA right now while playing out of postion

Right now Horford's PER is ranked 32nd among centers, tied with Kendrick Perkins. Here are a few of the guys with a higher PER.

Haywood

Bogut

Brad Miller

Daly

Nazr

Dampier

JO

Blatche

Noah

Rasho

Okur

I left out the obvious ones.

When you look at Horfords net production at center

http://www.82games.com/0708/07ATL12C.HTM

it definitely does not argue that he is better than half the starters he faces.