Traceman's notes - worthy of it's own thread

[Atlantaholic]

To put it another way.

BR at SG = JJ at SG

JJ at SF >>>>>>>>>>>> Marvin at SF

I don't see how our lineup wouldn't be better this way

[Iman]

Thanks for the update Traceman!

Yup DC, I'm sure these are Traceman's notes from the season ticket holder meeting they had before the Chicago game.

I also have to add that this meeting must have fired up Traceman. I sat near him during the Chicago game, and he was very vocal and supportive, especially for Smoove.

I'm still hoping we go after a trade for Kaman this offseason (Bibby and Zaza for Kaman+?). If not then at least I'd like to see us pick up a good backup center like Petro.

[Atlantaholic]

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To put it another way.

BR at SG = JJ at SG

JJ at SF >>>>>>>>>>>> Marvin at SF

I don't see how our lineup wouldn't be better this way

Oops.. Wrong thread guys. Ignore this post.

[DJ_Money]

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He did indicate at one point that he could see Marv coming off the bench so I wouldn't assume anything about who might be traded. If he can see Marv coming off the bench then he can obviously see Smoove at the 3. It might come down to who we can get in RETURN for either guy (or Chillz).

I agree with Trace here.

When the mention of moving Al to the 4 came up, BK said "Josh to the 3, Marvin to the bench." No mention of Marvin starting over Josh at all. I also agree on the factor that expected return could play a large part in who gets traded.

I wanted to get in a question on whether we would look to get into the draft this summer. Whether we will hold any private workouts or not, etc. Time ran out, though...

BK answered questions for 45-50 minutes. He was very composed. He needs a better tailor, though. His suit was too big. (Sorry, personal pet peeve.)

[Traceman]

Basically, they gave us a nice buffet, Billy addressed the group and then we were allowed to ask him questions. I thought he was very open and I thought he did a great job. I didn't agree with everything he said but I thought the session was very informative regarding his philosophy and regarding his vision for the team.

[Traceman]

I saw last night as a MUST win game for a lot of reasons and I figured that I would try my best to be supportive of the team. We have GOT to win games at home versus teams that we are ahead of in the standings because we are so suspect on the road. We MUST beat the Knicks tomorrow too.

As for Smoove, I think he has been losing focus a lot lately so I was just trying to show him support, hoping that would keep him focused. I thought he was focused in the first half and he kept Gooden from going off this time. He had some mental miscues with shot selection/TOs in the 2nd half but overall, I thought his effort was better than it has been recently. We really need that guy to play the way we all know he can play if we are going to make the playoffs.

[exodus]

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I said it's a common theme with him (that is, he does this in many other games). This happens with a lot of games I see.

Marvin gets 8 in the first, 4 or so in the 2nd, and goes to sleep. This is why he has only broken 20 points about 5 times this year (maybe 10, I dont know)

Marvin scores 4.0 ppg in the 3rd quarter.

http://www.82games.com/QTR3S11.HTM

Marvin scores 3.6 in the 4th quarter.

http://www.82games.com/QTR4S11.HTM

That is 7.6 ppg in the second half.

[exodus]

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To put it another way.

BR at SG = JJ at SG

JJ at SF >>>>>>>>>>>> Marvin at SF

I don't see how our lineup wouldn't be better this way

We could have done that if we drafted Roy instead of Shelden. JJ would be fine at the 3. Oh well.

[exodus]

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He did indicate at one point that he could see Marv coming off the bench so I wouldn't assume anything about who might be traded. If he can see Marv coming off the bench then he can obviously see Smoove at the 3. It might come down to who we can get in RETURN for either guy (or Chillz).

I agree with Trace here.

When the mention of moving Al to the 4 came up, BK said "Josh to the 3, Marvin to the bench." No mention of Marvin starting over Josh at all. I also agree on the factor that expected return could play a large part in who gets traded.

I wanted to get in a question on whether we would look to get into the draft this summer. Whether we will hold any private workouts or not, etc. Time ran out, though...

BK answered questions for 45-50 minutes. He was very composed. He needs a better tailor, though. His suit was too big. (Sorry, personal pet peeve.)

Smiths trade value has to be much higher than Marvin's i would think.

Smith can't guard 3s. He may be the worst jump shooter in the league and turns it over way too much. Our spacing is bad enough as it is. Smith at the 3 would just make it worse.

[Atlantaholic]

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To put it another way.

BR at SG = JJ at SG

JJ at SF >>>>>>>>>>>> Marvin at SF

I don't see how our lineup wouldn't be better this way

We could have done that if we drafted Roy instead of Shelden. JJ would be fine at the 3. Oh well.

Yeah, that argument has raged on in the Jim Rome thread... I posted it here by mistake.

[exodus]

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Calling Shelden "the original Horford" is like calling Ed Gray the original JJ.

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Shelden SUCKS and he was always going to suck as an NBA player. It was as sure as the sun coming up tomorrow.

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One last thing. Shelden benched 185 (not 285) 25 times. If he could bench 285 25 times, he might have been able to prevent Boozer from backing him down and dunking right in his face!

ROFL

Dayum Trace is in rare form today. Bravo.

Sheldens standing reach is 4" shorter than Marvin. He has a 33" vertical, didn't exactly impress with his sprint and has poor hands. Ugh

[PureGreatness]

smith is not the worst jumpshooter in the league. he looks like his hole body is turn left while shooting. i said smith is not a hawk next year. he will go somewhere and succeed.

[exodus]

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smith is not the worst jumpshooter in the league. he looks like his hole body is turn left while shooting. i said smith is not a hawk next year. he will go somewhere and succeed.

Try finding one player who shoots as many jumpers as Smith does and shoots them worse.

As a side note the Suns have been struggling to finish off the nets tonight. I think the Nets did well to get Harris for Kidd.

[pimp]

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smith is not the worst jumpshooter in the league. he looks like his hole body is turn left while shooting. i said smith is not a hawk next year. he will go somewhere and succeed.

Try finding one player who shoots as many jumpers as Smith does and shoots them worse.

Maybe Larry Hughes , Speedy Claxton and Corey Brewer.

They may not be worst be assume the are close to it.

[GST]

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BK indicated that both Smoove and Chillz are restricted FAs and we plan on matching any offers for both.

BK is blowing smoke here because Chillz isn't the kind of player you would match "any offer" on. How they handle Smoove is going to be interesting. Do you sign the fan favorite to a near max contract and then have him or Al play out of position? Or do you try for a sign-and-trade for a center, and hope that Marvin can step up at SF?

[capstone21]

I would do a trade of a resigned Smith for a resigned Bendris/Pietrus from GS.

That gives us a solid SF off the bench to backup Marvin and gives us our Center that allows Horford to move to the PF position.

Very solid roster:

Bibby/Law/Speedy

JJ/Childress/West

Marvin/Pietus

Horford/Solomon

Benidris/ Zaza

[Kimsey]

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BK indicated that both Smoove and Chillz are restricted FAs and we plan on matching any offers for both.

He indicated that we would be spending more money next year and that we would likely approach but not exceed the luxury tax. He said that as GM, he did not believe you had to exceed the luxury tax to be good and that the only way he would ask an owner to exceed the luxury tax is if doing so would put the team in contention for a championship.

He said that the restrictions that the judge had imposed in the ongoing legal battle between the ASG and Belking have been lifted and that the restrictions DID limit their abilites to do some things but that is no longer the case. He said the legal wrangling is ongoing and that as things currently stand, Belkin is still one of the team's owners.

He indicated that we would PURSUE a trade this summer in an rffort to improve the team but that we would not realistically be in the hunt for the top FAs. He said he would only make a trade if it clearly made us better. He stated that he likes all of our young guys but that sometimes you have to trade good guys to get better (hmm...Marvin?, Chillz?, Smoove?).

He indicated that Horford is a PF but that he had to play Center for us as we are currently constructed. He said there were VERY few quality Centers out there and that while Al is a PF, he is better than a lot of Centers out there. He pointed out how a lot of teams are playing small ball now.

He said that Al was a good player now but that he was going to be great. He compared him to Karl Malone. He said that Al was the only rookie he has ever drafted (including his stints in Indy and MEM) who has never asked him for ANYTHING in his first season. He said that Al has GREAT character and that he is just an exceptional young man.

He indicated that if we were able to get a good Center, he could envision a scenario where Smoove moves to the 3 and Marvin goes to the bench. He thinks Marv and Chillz would be great off the bench.

He said that we need a vocal, veteran leader in the locker room. He said that JJ has become a little more vocal but that he is a quiet leader who leads by example. He said that JJ leads by being first on the practice court, first in the weight room, etc. He said that we need a veteran (not necessarily an old veteran but maybe someone with 5-6 years in the league) to come in and take on that role. A little funny story about JJ is that he apparently goes around the locker room with his shirt off teasing the younger guys by showing off his guns. I thought that was hilarious.

He said that David Andersen's game was more like Jason Collier's than that of a defensive stopper.

He said that he had talked to Dale Davis but it sounded like BK didn't think he would help us because he thinks teams would leave Dale open and double someone else with his man (I disagree but what can you say?).

He said he would like to see us play more uptempo but that he understands Woody's point that we can't play uptempo if we don't rebound and defend on the other end. He said that the NBA is a copy cat league and that GS, PHO and DEN are the only teams that are committed to playing uptempo at all costs.

He tiptoed carefully around all the criticism of Woody. He didn't throw Wody under the bus but he didn't really defend him either. He just kept saying "I see your point" when people made negative statements and he said that the coaching situation and his own situation would be addressed in the off season "one way or another."

He indicated that he would like to see JJ and Bibby play less but that he thinks Woody just gets caught up in trying to win the game and he decides to ride them too much. He said that you can ride a guy on occasion but that you have to be concerned about their AVERAGE mpg. He said that he is aware that JJ's mpg are among the league leaders and he thinks JJ gets tired late in games and he think it limits his effectiveness. He said the he and Woody have talked about it and that Woody agrees that JJ plays too many minutes. He said that Woody will say after a game that he knows that JJ played too many minutes in that game and then he will go back out and play him too many minutes the very next game.

He said that he would like to see Mario and Jeremy play more at SG. He said they are night and day as playes, one offensive and one defensive. He said that NOBODY likes being guarded by Mario and that he frustrates guys by "getting up in 'em." He said that any time a guy like Kobe, T Mac, Pierce, etc got hot on the perimeter, he would put Mario on them. He said that Jeremy can really shoot the ball and that he had scored 50+ in an NBDL game.

To add a little on the Speedy front, apparently he went in for the microfracure surgery but when the doctor cut him open, he determined that microfracture surgery would not help his condition. The doctor did cleaned out his knee while he was in surgery. Billy said that it appeared that Speedy would try to play again next season.

I'm sure I am forgetting something but that was pretty much it.

So do we still have rights to D. Andersen?

I was going to make a thread about him but here some new info here.

http://www.euroleague.net/competition/play...e=csk&pcode=AKT

His free throw and 3 point % are video game like. I think he would be the perfect replacement for Zaza that could hit open shots from 15-20 feet all day. Diop or Kwame could be brought in for rebounding and defensive purposes. Another replacement for Chilldress could be Antoine Wright. He would not cost as much as Chill and could back up both SF and SG.

J. Smith at Sf is not that bad of an idea. Obviously you don't want him there too many minutes but there are certain advantages there. Him there we could be a top 3 defensive squad and he does provide slashing at that position and the ability to get "and 1's". With Bibby, Joe, Horford, and potentially D. Andersen you have to believe they can shoot from 15-25 feet particularly well and alleviate some of Josh's errant shots.

[Diesel]

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I am thinking more of Brad Miller or Ilgauskas maybe?

Moving Marvin to the bench is great because he won't be allowed to go to sleep anymore, like he currently does after he scores 10 in the first half.

I like what BK said about Mario too.

Let's get Larry Brown, Carlisle, Skiles, Fratello or Silas in here, and we'll be set. BK is doing a nice job.

The price tag on Miller is too high. Cleveland won't give up big Z.

Moreover, I'm thinking about the vocal veteran leader.

When you think of Bigs, that's hard to find...

Unless you're talking about JO or somebody from Detroit.

The play of Maxille is making McDyess expendable.

I think Detroit has to come off of some money to pay him.

[Diesel]

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Does anybody think it's possible for us to make a trade involving Smoove that would bring Andrew Bynum to Atlanta?

Bynum and Horford would be NASTY.

Maybe when Bynum gets Back, LAL would rather trade Gasol... SNT for Smoove!

[Diesel]

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He indicated that Horford is a PF

but that he had to play Center for us as we are currently constructed. He said there were VERY few quality Centers out there and that while Al is a PF, he is better than a lot of Centers out there. He pointed out how a lot of teams are playing small ball now.

This says it all. It's what I've been saying all alone.

Sure Horford isn't a traditional C but

A)There aren't many traditional Centers left in this league

B)He's a top 15 C as a rookie

Who are you going to get better than that? Despite being a rookie with room to grow physically and mentally, despite being a 4th option on a team that had no PG for most the season, Al is still close to average 10/10/1.

That's pretty dang good.

Finding someone more effective than that as young as he is? Yeah good luck with that!

Guys like those are UNTOUCHABLE

Just because you can put moutain bike tires on a ten speed and get a good ride doesn't mean that you prefer to keep it that way.

We will see the real Al Horford stand up when we play him at PF. There he will probably be one of the most dominate players in the league. Especially if we can get a good Center. That's what BK and everybody else realizes.

We struggle against big Centers.