So Much For Those Plans

[TheTruth]

New Sekou blog:

By Sekou K Smith | Wednesday, July 16, 2008, 12:32 AM

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

SMYRNA - My plan was to regale you with observations from the Hawks’ rookie/free agent mini camp workouts and scrimmages, to fill you full of details that you can only get here.

And then the Los Angles Clippers stole my thunder (while also whacking the last of the tall weeds the Hawks had to worry about where Josh Smith is concerned - an emailer said it best when he wrote “get him signed already so we can all have whatever is left of our summer back.”).

I’m still going to give you details about the goings on at Philips Arena. But I won’t do it at the expense of this latest twist in the plot of this week’s episode of As The Joshes Turn.

Whatever plans Josh Smith or any of the other restricted free agents had of making a splash this summer with one of the few teams with cap space have all but vanished (Memphis has cap space but they’re not spending, so that should be the end of that).

There’s a reason why Smith and the rest of the big dollar restricted free agents are still waiting for contracts to sign. Their teams, all of which have the right to match any offer sheets submitted, remained steadfast in their plan(s) to do just that. If a team with cap space knows they could end up having their cap space tied up for seven days and potentially lose out on another deal while playing a game of chicken they can’t win, they just decided to skip the game of chicken altogether and find alternative routes for doing their business.

It’s the risk of playing the restricted free agent game for the player. Now the teams have to sit down and talk contract numbers with the agents of their own players and decide if they want pay what they think is the market price (which is always a number skewed by whether or not a guy is restricted or unrestricted) or pay something closer to what the agent thinks the market price should be (and that’s always a number much higher than the one the team has on their sheet of paper).

There are always sign-and-trade options, but those are much more complicated to get done with Base Year Compensation concerns clouding matters (with teams at or over the salary cap).

An even riskier option for the player is to play out the season on that qualifying offer that had to be extended before the free agent period began (we’re talking $4.8 million for Josh Childress and $3.1 million for Josh Smith), which would allow the player to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2008-09 season. A maverick would get a $10 million insurance policy (just for safe measure) and play this thing out and then see what free agency looks like without restrictions. But there are too many things that could go haywire in that scenario, which is why you rarely see anyone opt for that strategy.

I wouldn’t rule anything out at this point, because too much time has passed for things to work out smoothly. I’d imagine the negotiations for both Smith and Childress won’t be as cordial as they might have been if completed on July 1 or even last October. I also don’t think the discrepancy between what the players and their agents feel they are worth and what the team thinks they are worth is that great. I’m just not sure if either side realizes as much.

Trying to put a timetable on things is an impossible task, since both sides could spend the next two months trying to get what they want and not bend to the will of the other side. That long, hot summer predicted here a couple weeks back looks like it could be on the way.

So in an effort to lighten the mood (and really just to change the dang subject), here a few notes, quotes and an observation or two from mini camp:

CLASH OF THE (FORMER GEORGIA HIGH SCHOOL TITANS): That workout with Kwame Brown and Randolph Morris that we told you would happen this summer took place today (no, the media was not allowed to watch). Both players reportedly gave a good showing, with Brown drawing the most raves from onlookers.

Both guys appeared to be in good to decent shape and after three years with limited big men available, Hawks coach Mike Woodson said it was just good to see guys as big as Brown and Randolph wearing Hawks colors, even if it was just practice gear.

“It’s nice to see two big bodies first and foremost,” Woodson said. “Zaza, Al Horford and Solomon Jones are the only real bigs we’ve got. Josh Smith isn’t the big 7-footer, even though he’s done a great job for us holding it down at that position. But it was nice to have two big guys like those guys competing against each other in our gym and giving us an opportunity to look at them in hopes that they might be a part of our basketball team. Kwame might come back [Wednesday], so that let’s me know that he’s sincere about our team.”

Randolph worked out with the rest of the Hawks’ mini-campers during the afternoon session and will finish out the Atlanta portion of the schedule but will not accompany them to Salt Lake City Thursday for the Rocky Mountain Revue summer league competition.

Randolph, the former Landmark Christian star, did say that the idea of playing for the Hawks and before his hometown fans, is a tantalizing proposition.

“Of course it would be nice to come back home and play,” said Randolph, who spent the first year and a half of his NBA career with the New York Knicks. “But you’d have to talk to my agent [Wallace Prather] about where we go from here. I’m here and doing everything I can. We’ll just have to see where it goes from here.”

There’s no question the Hawks have a need for another big body, or two, to fill out a frontcourt rotation that was sorely lacking in the size and depth departments last season.

CRAIG CLAXTON SIGHTING: The artist formerly known as Speedy Claxton was back in action Tuesday evening and he looked up to the task of working out against a hungry bunch of youngsters, mostly summer leaguers and Hawks backup point guard Acie Law IV.

Claxton cleared up any confusion about his role here when told me that he absolutely intends to play in Salt Lake City. How much he plays will depend on how his knee responds. He looked exactly the way he did during training camp last October before they shut him down for basically the entire season with that recurring knee problem.

He looked quick getting to the basket and was his usual scrappy and aggressive self in the open court and on defense. Claxton insists he’s played ball this summer without any discomfort.

But the real test comes with watching how Claxton (and more specifically his knee) responds day after day in this kind of environment, how he responds to both the physical and mental pounding that awaits. He acknowledged as much (and I’ll delve further into that and more in a story on him that will be on aj.com sometime later today).

SHOOTER: Never one to get too terribly excited or disappointed by a performance in summer league, I have to admit that there needs to be an investigation into the water in the greater Portland (Oregon) area.

Free agent camper Thomas Gardner carried on a Hawks’ practice court tradition, started by Salim Stoudamire, by putting on a mini-showcase from beyond the 3-point line during the scrimmage portion of Tuesday’s workout.

While the action was a bit choppy (the players were divided into three different teams and they played fast-paced, seven-minute sessions), it wasn’t hard to notice his confidence from deep. He knocked down two deep 3-pointers from the top of the key and then added two more from the right wing while his team was on the floor. He’s a fearless deep shooter and has more size (a legit 6-5 and 225) than I remember when I saw him play as a high school senior.

He could be one to watch the rest of this week and out in Salt Lake City.

THE REGULARS: Acie Law IV has some familiar faces around this week in Horford, Mario West and Jeremy Richardson.

Horford did all the drill work but did not participate in the scrimmage, drawing a little light-hearted ribbing from Woodson. Richardson looked comfortable, as you might expect from a guy who is on his third stint with the team, playing within himself and knocking down a couple of long-range shots to assert himself in a crowded field of wing players.

West, however, couldn’t wait to get dirty. He played at his usual breakneck pace, slashing his way to the basket on the offensive end and harassing anyone with the ball on the defensive end. I thought he was going to go through the wall once and then later through the floor after he fell hard on a drive to the bucket for a layup. I just don’t understand where he finds the kind of energy to play that way day after day. It’s hard to explain.

Horford’s the only one from that group that won’t be making the trip to Salt Lake City, so they’ll be expected to help Law lead the charge for the Hawks at the Revue.

CHASE ME IF YOU CAN: If you’re looking for an early camp favorite, just for you purists out there who love a feisty competitor, I’m going with this point guard named Brian Chase.

He’s a 5-10, 170-pound bottle rocket from Virginia Tech that I knew I’d seen before. I had to ask a couple other people where I’d seen him before and then they reminded me that he was the point guard on Miami’s roster during a preseason game that gave the Hawks the business.

He scored 11 points that night last October, making four of his six shots from the floor, all the while making an impression on us all.

The thing that sticks out about a guy like this is that gets wherever he wants to on the floor despite being the smallest man out there basically at all times. The Mavericks had a similar guy (JJ Barea) a couple years back at the Revue and have since signed him to a guaranteed two-year deal.

Cats like Chase and Barea, fearless cats who know they can play and don’t allow perceived limitations deter them from trying to dominate, are always on my favorites list. I love anybody that plays that way, big or small.

I’ll be interested to see if Chase makes the cut for the Revue. With the emphasis on Law and Claxton, in that order, you just don’t know how many point guards the Hawke will take with them.

Anyway, check back for more updates, because I’m sure we’ll have another twist in As The Joshes Turn when we least expect it.

[Zone034life]

Justin Williams?Wayne Simien? I am grateful for the update but wanted to hear about these young bigs. We have already debated Morris or Brown and now the Hawks brass is as well. My vote is for Brown but I don't know how well he will play with ZaZa. It looks like Gardner or Richardson will have a good chance to be the shooter off the bench with Rich having the experience edge.

[Admin]

That is really good to hear that Speedy is looking good and more importantly that we are looking at Kwame so intently.

[Zone034life]

I have no faith in Speedy. He hasn't given me any reason to trust he will contribute to this team. Next summer him and Mike Hampton will no longer be in Atlanta and it can't come soon enough.

[TheTruth]

You know Dolfan, I wouldn't be totally surprised if Brown is the big we end up signing now. Does that mean we will need to clear this thing up with Smoove sooner rather than later? I think so. But if they REALLY want Brown and feel no other big will do the job, don't be too shocked if the Hawks aggressively move forward in trying to sign Smoove within the next 5-10 days. And yes, a 5 year/60 mil contract will probably wrap these things up.

I also like what I hear about the shooters. Any way we cut it, if we dont go over into luxury tax land, we will likely be filling out our roster with near-league minimum/vet minimum cats such as Kwame and the summer league invitees.

[Peoriabird]

Quote:

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But if they REALLY want Brown and feel no other big will do the job, don't be too shocked if the Hawks aggressively move forward in trying to sign Smoove within the next 5-10 days. And yes, a 5 year/60 mil contract will probably wrap these things up.

The Hawks don't have to sign Smith first before signing Brown!

[DrReality]

It may be premature, but it was good news all around. I had not heard the Brown and Morris were coming to town. That shocked me. I'll take either one over what we've had. And Solo's decision not to play could be in error. And there are still the other bigs not metioned.

The bottom line is we have OPTIONS. And that has not been the case in many years. Look forward to the updates.

[Chris18]

We need to get Kwame because it will give us a legit backup at the 5 and he will allow Zaza to focus on scoring instead of trying to play defense.

[EazyRoc]

Quote:

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We need to get Kwame because it will give us a legit backup at the 5 and

he will allow Zaza to focus on scoring instead of trying to play defense.

Funk that. ZaZa needs to worry about playing D and passing the ball.

[DrReality]

Sekou later:

By Sekou K. Smith

July 16, 2008 7:56 AM | Link to this

Some of you cats are true night owls or early risers, however you want to look at it.

Najeh, I agree with you that it’s risky all the way around for a player to test the qualifying offer waters and the team that he plays for has to hold their breath because they might lose a vaulable young talent for nothing. I didn’t meant to place all the risk on the player alone.

Justin Williams, Wayne Simien and Jamal Sampson were other bigs that looked pretty good Tuesday (as did guys like Luke Jackson and another tweener guard named Dominique Kirk and a rookie shooting guard named Frank Robinson), but I was focused, like most everyone else in the gym on Morris (and to an extent Brown, who was already gone but left an impression on everyone who saw him earlier).

These practices aren’t open to the public. They’re barely open to the media since we have to fist-fight wtih some security company that has Philips on lock for some Microsoft convention.

And I wouldn’t be so quick to dismiss a cat like Kwame or Morris. A lot of times players only need the right fit to find their game (DeSagana Diop comes to mind). I’m trying to keep an open mind about it.

[DrReality]

And more:

By Sekou K. Smith

July 16, 2008 10:15 AM | Link to this

I saw the story on SI’s website and I’ll say it again for the umpteenth time, neither Smith nor anyone else affiliated with him has ever said (on or off the record) that he doesn’t want to be here or doesn’t want to play for Woodson.

Despite their very public dust ups in the past, Smith and Woodson had a smooth (no pun intended) working relationship this past season. Are they going to be spotted at each other’s houses partying anytime soon? Probably not. But neither are any of his teammates.

But you’d be surprised, his relationship with Woodson is better than Woodson’s relationship with some other guys on the team (lots of guys chafed under Woodson’s gruff style the past four years but didn’t shoot back at him the way Smith did).

What I can tell you for a fact is that when the new general manager sat down with all the players and asked them for their honest opinions on all things, including Woodson (and this was before Woodson received his contract extension), Smith is one of the players that didn’t have a single bad thing to say about Woodson (I know of at least two other guys that didn’t hold back and let Woodson have it). So even if he felt it deep down, Smith never voiced it to Rick Sund or anyone else.

Listen, the kid’s 22 and had some dust ups with his coach. Big deal. I think far too much has been made of all the drama. I’ll aslo point out that those rifts were far from a one-sided deal. Woodson owns just as much of the blame for those dust ups as Smith does.

But they’ve never allowed that stuff to keep them from being able to work together. And Woodson knows better than anyone how important Smith is to the Hawks’ cause now and in the future, so don’t believe all the hype about their frayed relationship.

Those two will work together just fine if (and really when) Smith’s new deal is done.

[Zone034life]

The news on all the big man competition is very encouraging to everyone in Atlanta not named Solomon Jones.