Rick Sund: STRIKE TWO

[NJHAWK]

Actually bringing back Woody should qualify for all 3 strikes lol. To be far I will say Woody is strike 1 and not getting David Anderson in free agency from Europe is strike 2. What else is this guy going to screw up this off season? I wonder if Smoove winds up on Beale Street?

[Admin]

How did he screw up? I love the assumptions that you guys make around here. If Andersen wanted 5 million a year should we give it to him without having seen him play in the NBA? That would be all that we could do this year since it would take our full MLE to sign him to a contract like that. For LESS than what it would take to sign an unproven Andersen we can sign Diop and another player of his caliber to help fill an extra hole in the roster.

[Admin]

I'd also like to add that what if Sund did (foolishly) offer our entire MLE and Andersen turned it down? Considering that we can't offer him room and board like the Euro leagues can that is quite a bit of extra money that he would save. Not to mention there is no risk for him to return to his comfort zone and get paid well do it.

[NJHAWK]

I have a feeling someone will overpay Diop big time. I think he will get over 5 mill or right in that area. He really has not done anything in the league either, not much of anything. As far as Sund goes, Woody was a horrible move. We dont know all the facts about Anderson but we know we need a big who can score in the half court. We may have had this big in Anderson already without having to trade anything to get him. He isnt a young player and there were no language issues. He played big time for an overseas championship team. Id say there was good reason to offer the 5 mil he wanted which is chump change for a big in this league. Oh well same ole same ole.

[Admin]

We have been down this road before, over paying for a big and then being stuck with his contract when he doesn't work out. Even Zaza, who seemed like such a huge bargain last year, seemed drastically overpaid this year and he only made 4 million. Imagine if we offer Andersen 3-4 years at 5 million and he totally flops? We would be screwed with the cap and it could cost us Marvin, or Horford, or Acie, etc down the line.

[WraithSentinel]

How is Sund to blame for not getting him over here? I think he has more important things on his plate than to worry about Andersen. If David was serious about coming over he would have been here already.

[NJHAWK]

Diop is going to sign the same type of deal. I would almost guarantee he gets at least a 3 year 5 mil a year deal. Diop doesnt play alot of minutes and reall is a loaf most of the time. There is no guarantee Anderson will be an offensive weapon in this league BUT he has shown more on a higher level than any of this years draft picks have shown. Its not like adding some raw 19 or 20 year old kid. We will be getting a legit star on a Championship Euro team. I think a 3 year deal would have been worth the risk. I think he would have a least been a very good scorer off the bench. Oh well all sour grapes now.

[Chris18]

I don't see how you can blame Sund for David Andesen signing with FC Barcelona. This just shows that David was not serious about playing in the NBA and was using us to get a bigger contract from a European team.

[AHF]

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I don't see how you can blame Sund for David Andesen signing with FC Barcelona. This just shows that David was not serious about playing in the NBA and was using us to get a bigger contract from a European team.

And/or we weren't interested in bidding competitively. Either way, I am skeptical that Sund was the driving force behind this result.

[DrReality]

With each passing day it looks as if nothing has changed with ASG. All the moves have been predictable and I hope that is not true all the way down the line. Woody has been saying for a while, with JJ that we need vets. Hope this comes to fruition.

[Seano]

I don't blame Sund or the ASG one bit for not wanting to spend 5 million per on a totally unproven (NBA-wise) commodity like David Andersen. I mean that's ridiculous, and there's a great deal to be said for actually proving yourself before making a grab for the big bucks. It sucks he's not coming here, but I'm glad Hawks management didn't cave in to those demands.

[Peoriabird]

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I don't blame Sund or the ASG one bit for not wanting to spend 5 million per on a totally unproven (NBA-wise) commodity like David Andersen. I mean that's ridiculous, and there's a great deal to be said for actually proving yourself before making a grab for the big bucks. It sucks he's not coming here, but I'm glad Hawks management didn't cave in to those demands.

Didn't really look that good when I saw him play in the championship game this year. He is a weak rebounder and defender! The exact opposite of what we are looking for in a big man! Not worth $5 million per year to contribute 10-15 minutes per game in my opinion. What is so bad about not making any significant changes anyway? Lets see what we have now! Add some muscle and a shooter and we'll be pretty good!

[Chris18]

I just can't see spending 5 million a year on a guy who has never played in the NBA when we have bigger needs than a jump shooting big. This leaves us with more money to sign a defensive big and a backup for Joe.

[DrReality]

don't they play a much shorter season in Russia? Wonder if that would have impacted his ability to play all season?

[ausballer]

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How did he screw up? I love the assumptions that you guys make around here. If Andersen wanted 5 million a year should we give it to him without having seen him play in the NBA? That would be all that we could do this year since it would take our full MLE to sign him to a contract like that. For LESS than what it would take to sign an unproven Andersen we can sign Diop and another player of his caliber to help fill an extra hole in the roster.

It was more like David wanted an offer verbal offer before july. I heard 2-3m first year. Sund didnt want to make an offer.

[ausballer]

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I don't see how you can blame Sund for David Andesen signing with FC Barcelona. This just shows that David was not serious about playing in the NBA and was using us to get a bigger contract from a European team.

I dont think that is the case. David has always wanted to sign with Atlanta every year, there has been no offer or they told David to wait and see what happens. Last year was a good example I heard he had NBA out in his contract and he waited for an offer. I think he will have the same for next year.

[Admin]

That goes against what Rick posted from the Sydney paper yesterday.

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Australian Boomers forward David Andersen ha splaced a remarkable $5 million price tag on himself to join the NBA next season.

"Atlanta have got to come to the ball game a bit. I don't want to be taking a massive pay cut just to go to the NBA" Andersen said. "If they can come to the ball game a bit, obviously I'll be going there.

That doesn't sound like a guy willing to take a 2-3 million salary to come to the NBA. The fact is that we cannot (and should not) pay this guy 5 million per year because of the salary cap.

Read Rick's post here

[Rick]

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That goes against what Rick posted from the Sydney paper yesterday.

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Australian Boomers forward David Andersen ha splaced a remarkable $5 million price tag on himself to join the NBA next season.

"Atlanta have got to come to the ball game a bit. I don't want to be taking a massive pay cut just to go to the NBA" Andersen said. "If they can come to the ball game a bit, obviously I'll be going there.

That doesn't sound like a guy willing to take a 2-3 million salary to come to the NBA. The fact is that we cannot (and should not) pay this guy 5 million per year because of the salary cap.

Read Rick's post here

Also, that excerpt from the paper is now online, just so you all know that I wasn't making up BS....http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,23902300-23769,00.html

I'm shattered that DA isn't coming, I was shattered that we didnt get the number 1 pick in 2005 so that we could get Bogut, I would love to cheer an Aussie in my team, especially when I'll be in ATL in November....but at $5 million a season?? that is pretty big bikkies for someone who hasn't proven themselves in the NBA yet, and will be the second or third person off the bench...

Maybe there is a NBA out in his contract with Barcelona, I guess it would give us a chance to sign him next year, or even makes his rights a bit more valuable to trade to someone else...

[MoonKnight]

I have not posted here in awhile due to many factors but this Andersen talk has finally brought me out. I do not understand the fascination with him. I have not watched him play at all on television but most people who have describe him as a finesse jump shooting big man. We simply do not need a finesse jump shooting big man, especially one that is unproven in the NBA and demanding 5 million a year. I would have been very upset if Sund had agreed to pay him anywhere near that amount. IMO, we need a tree rollins type starting center. With a true center, Al moves to the 4 spot and Smoove to the 3 spot. Tree, despite being a starter with very limited skills, only averaged alittle more than 20 mpg during the gravy days. There are many guys in the free agency class that could fit this bill: Diop, Brian Skinner, F. Elson (who might have a connection to Sund), Foyle, Ely, DJ Mebenga, Theo Ratliff (he did average 16 mpg with the Pistons which surprised me). Some of these guys should come cheap and yet provide us with the physical defensive center we need.

[Rick]

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IMO, we need a tree rollins type starting center. With a true center, Al moves to the 4 spot and Smoove to the 3 spot.

Hey MoonKnight, I think this is why people were getting excited about DA. He is an outside shooter, which Smoove isnt. So while on offense DA could play on the perimeter whilst JS and AH played inside. If you have a Tree clone with AH at 4 and JS at 3, you then only have two 3 point threats in Bibs and JJ.

I was excited for another reason about DA, but I think Ive over done that now.

Edit - You're right about the $5 mill though, it would have been a big risk to take....

I need to change my sig too, what a waste that was putting the singlet on DA.......