Hawks are one good big man away from being a really good team

[TruJerz]

by really good, I mean contenders! despite our record last year, Hawks proved in the playoffs that they can hang with anyone in the league and can be a really good home team too. I like our nucleus of Bibby, JJ, Marvin, Josh Smith, and Horford. And I think our bench got better with the signings of Flip and Evans. But I think we are still not good enough in the big men department. Zaza isnt a bad backup but Soloman and Randolph Morris isnt too much to work with. Maybe and hopefully Im wrong but thats my opinion for now. I hope Hawks can somehow work out a deal to bring in another quality big man to play alongside Horford or at least who can come into the game off the bench and play 20 good minutes for us. I wouldnt even mind if we have to trade Marvin(who I am a fan of) to make us a better team. He has some value, and can be replaced by either Smith or Evans at SF. I wanna be in a win now situation with this team but our current roster will still have us exiting in the 2nd round, at best. anyone agree? I may be a little bit inpatient but oh well lol

[Buzzard]

by really good, I mean contenders! despite our record last year, Hawks proved in the playoffs that they can hang with anyone in the league and can be a really good home team too. I like our nucleus of Bibby, JJ, Marvin, Josh Smith, and Horford. And I think our bench got better with the signings of Flip and Evans. But I think we are still not good enough in the big men department. Zaza isnt a bad backup but Soloman and Randolph Morris isnt too much to work with. Maybe and hopefully Im wrong but thats my opinion for now. I hope Hawks can somehow work out a deal to bring in another quality big man to play alongside Horford or at least who can come into the game off the bench and play 20 good minutes for us. I wouldnt even mind if we have to trade Marvin(who I am a fan of) to make us a better team. He has some value, and can be replaced by either Smith or Evans at SF. I wanna be in a win now situation with this team but our current roster will still have us exiting in the 2nd round, at best. anyone agree? I may be a little bit inpatient but oh well lol

80 to 90% of the league is looking for one more good big man.

I agree we could use a great big man; but getting one is a whole different story. I would not trade Marvin or any of our starters for a 2nd tier big. Trading for a high quality starting big is going to cost a lot more than just one starter and I really do not think there is a team out there that wants to get rid of their high quality starting center....

So my answers: yes, we need a high quality starting center as does 80 to 90% of the league. No, we do not trade any starter for a 20 minute a night backup big.

Edited October 21, 2008 by jamesdcrockett

[atlien]

Ok, what big man would you go after, and what would you give up?

I think an interesting situation to watch is Utah. Boozer is up for an extension this summer, and likely will get Maxed out.

Utah already has a ton of money wrapped up in AK47, Deron and Okur.

Boozer already has been looking at the possibilities of Miami (who will have the cap space to make a giant offer if they ley Marion walk).

Thus, I think if Utah wants to have the money to give Boozer what he wants, they gotta look at dealing either AK47 or Okur. Obviously, AK47 would be their preference, but would also be harder.

Okur very well might be their best possibility, especially if Korver and Brewer both are money from long range this year.

Marvin and Zaza for Okur? (trying to get salaries to match, plus Zaza is expiring).

Now, Smoove slides to the 3, Horford to the 4 and Okur to the 5, but it works because Okur is a money outside shooter (we HAVE to have a good shooter next to Smoove and Horford in the frontcourt... thus, it only makes sense to trade Marvin for an Okur, Bargnani or Sheed type).

Okur can also guard the longer 5s of the league that we struggle against. The big problem is Smoove´s on-the-ball D from the 3 spot (Smoove guarding LBJ, Pierce, Granger, etc, scares me some).

Not saying I completely endorse the deal, but it is interesting. Basically gives us the frontcourt that Utah has had the last few years, with the worrisome comparison of Smoove to Ak47 at the 3.

Edited October 21, 2008 by atlien

[gsuteke]

I'm not sure how the salaries would have fit but they may have missed th bus on Marcus Camby.

Even at the cost of renouncing Childress after he signed in Greece it would have been worth it IMO. Seriosly, Chillz isn't coming back here and do you really think we could get more than Camby in a Sign and Trade?

That ship has sailed though unfortunately.

[skyhawk]

Okur very well might be their best possibility, especially if Korver and Brewer both are money from long range this year.

I don't think Okur is the big man that we need - he's not a rebounder and I do have questions about his toughness and defensive abilities. Just my opinion.

[Buzzard]

I think Okur is a legit starting center and I would be willing to part with any one of our starters except Horford and JJ...

[Buzzard]

I don't think Okur is the big man that we need - he's not a rebounder and I do have questions about his toughness and defensive abilities. Just my opinion.

His rebounding stats are misleading. The season Boozer was hurt he averaged 9 boards a game. And even though he plays a lot on the offensive perimeter he still averages 2.1 offensive boards a game for his career...

He is a very talented player, well worth either Marvin, Smoove, Bibby, or Acie in my opinion...

Edited October 21, 2008 by jamesdcrockett

[Packfill]

His rebounding stats are misleading. The season Boozer was hurt he averaged 9 boards a game. And even though he plays a lot on the offensive perimeter he still averages 2.1 offensive boards a game for his career...

He is a very talented player, well worth either Marvin, Smoove, Bibby, or Acie in my opinion...

There is no way I would trade Marvin or Smoove for Okur. That is crazy.

[frosgrim]

His rebounding stats are misleading. The season Boozer was hurt he averaged 9 boards a game. And even though he plays a lot on the offensive perimeter he still averages 2.1 offensive boards a game for his career...

He is a very talented player, well worth either Marvin, Smoove, Bibby, or Acie in my opinion...

I can't see trading a dynamic player like Josh Smith for a jump shooting center. Smith's contributions would be impossible to make up with adding Okur. I am not certain that Marvin even makes that much sense as it leaves a hole at 3. Smith really isn't a full-time 3. In all, I don't think Okur is the right guy to go after.

[Gray Mule]

Who could the Hawks trade for to play center if they included Josh Smith in the deal?

I know. we don't want to lose him. He's someone that fills the stat sheet and all those

"WOW! did you see that" type plays.

But, The new guy plays center doesn't he? That moves Horford to PF where many want

him to be anyway. Marvin starts at SF and that makes an entire front court.

You can't expect to trade your used F100 PU for a new sports car, even up. Likewise, we

shouldn't expect to trade for a front line starting center by sending away one or two of

our bench players. A big man? Sure. A STARTER type big man? No way.

Crazy idea? If you are going to get something good, you've got to give up something good.

[Buzzard]

There is no way I would trade Marvin or Smoove for Okur. That is crazy.

If you want a good starting center in this league you either draft one or trade for one; I think he is worth it. Problem is Utah probably feels he is worth more. I see Utah moving Boozer or AK47 before they move Okur.

Starting centers that can keep the Duncan's and Bosh's occupied in this league are hard to come by.

[crimedog]

I think having Smith at the 3 and Okur at the 5 would work for us better than it has with Okur in Utah because Johnson is a better shooter than Brewer. That being said, I still don't really understand the reasoning unless you think that Okur/Horford can guard most PF/C combos better than Smith/Horford, which I'm certainly not convinced of.

If you trade Smith for Okur, your best shotblocker becomes Al Horford which isn't too appealing with Mike Bibby as your starting pg.

If you want a good NBA starting caliber center, you probably have to trade Al or Josh. If you trade Josh, whoever you get back has to be at least a decent team defender although that should be less of a need without Chil getting beat by guards on every trip.

If you want a good backup quality center, chances are you have to pay $6m-8m/yr for a guy like Pryz, Diop, Foster, or Rasho.

[TruJerz]

His rebounding stats are misleading. The season Boozer was hurt he averaged 9 boards a game. And even though he plays a lot on the offensive perimeter he still averages 2.1 offensive boards a game for his career...

He is a very talented player, well worth either Marvin, Smoove, Bibby, or Acie in my opinion...

JJ, JSmooth, and Horford are all of limits. Marvin and a filler for Okur would do..even tho I dont think Okur is the kind of big I would want either. he is a shooter..we need someone who can bang inside. Chris Wilcox would be nice for us I think. I would give up Marvin for him

[Packfill]

JJ, JSmooth, and Horford are all of limits. Marvin and a filler for Okur would do..even tho I dont think Okur is the kind of big I would want either. he is a shooter..we need someone who can bang inside. Chris Wilcox would be nice for us I think. I would give up Marvin for him

Chris Wilcox is not the answer. He is a backup caliber talent. He does not rebound, block shots or play defense commensurate with his athletic abilities.

I am certaintly no Marvin lover, but to suggest that the Hawks trade him for Okur is crazy. Okur doesn't play nearly enough defense to lift the Hawks in a meaningful way. If you want to trade Marvin for a big, it has to be someone who can legitimately play defense and rebound - particularly sense it will mean giving up one of the teams better mid-range shooters. Marvin for an Emeka Okafor I can understand.

[TruJerz]

Chris Wilcox is not the answer. He is a backup caliber talent. He does not rebound, block shots or play defense commensurate with his athletic abilities.

I am certaintly no Marvin lover, but to suggest that the Hawks trade him for Okur is crazy. Okur doesn't play nearly enough defense to lift the Hawks in a meaningful way. If you want to trade Marvin for a big, it has to be someone who can legitimately play defense and rebound - particularly sense it will mean giving up one of the teams better mid-range shooters. Marvin for an Emeka Okafor I can understand.

Okafor would be nice and Marvin would be playing with Felton and May again in Charlotte too! that would be somehting lol but anyway, I dont think Okafor is that much better than Wilcox. I think Wilcox is underrated and can flourish if put in the right situation with the right team. Also his trade wouldnt work because Bobcats have a log jam at SF already and wouldnt wanna give up their best big..so we would have to include Zaza and a draft pick I would think

[crimedog]

Okafor would be nice and Marvin would be playing with Felton and May again in Charlotte too! that would be somehting lol but anyway, I dont think Okafor is that much better than Wilcox. I think Wilcox is underrated and can flourish if put in the right situation with the right team. Also his trade wouldnt work because Bobcats have a log jam at SF already and wouldnt wanna give up their best big..so we would have to include Zaza and a draft pick I would think

Marv/Zaza isn't going to get you Okafor. Marv isn't as good as Okafor, Marv is a perimeter player, and Okafor is already signed but Marv is about to be a FA. The draft pick would have to be lottery I'd imagine and even then they might not pull the trigger.

Marv is gonna have to have a big year to reel in someone like Oak and if he does, why not just keep him?

[atlien]

An Okafor-Horf-Smoove frontcourt would be the best defensively in the league, but would blow on offense. Someone has to be able to shoot.

Plus, we could never get Okafor without giving up either Horf or Smoove, so its a moot point.

I was trying to put forward something realistic.

Okur is a better rebounder than Marvin and can guard the long 5s of the league (something we struggle with). Plus, he´s a lights-out shooter.

Not saying I would definitely do it, but it would be an interesting look for the team.

[BusBoyIsBack]

We are fine as far as starting big men goes.

The only way Horford and Smoove can co-exist is at the 4-5 spot. This has been explained tirelessly. It's the only way to maximize their contributions offensively and defensively.

It's mostly because Smoove is not as effective especially on offense at the 3 position. Heck he's arguably a better defender at the 4 as well where he is near the basket more for rebounding and contesting shots and isn't susceptible to being taken off the dribble.

[crimedog]

We are fine as far as starting big men goes.

The only way Horford and Smoove can co-exist is at the 4-5 spot. This has been explained tirelessly. It's the only way to maximize their contributions offensively and defensively.

It's mostly because Smoove is not as effective especially on offense at the 3 position. Heck he's arguably a better defender at the 4 as well where he is near the basket more for rebounding and contesting shots and isn't susceptible to being taken off the dribble.

Smith at the 4 IS our defense unfortunately. I think Acie/Flip/Mo could really help out against dribble penetration but as of last season Smith had the largest defensive +/- out of any rotation player in the NBA.

[Watchman]

Chris Wilcox is not the answer. He is a backup caliber talent. He does not rebound, block shots or play defense commensurate with his athletic abilities.

I am certaintly no Marvin lover, but to suggest that the Hawks trade him for Okur is crazy. Okur doesn't play nearly enough defense to lift the Hawks in a meaningful way. If you want to trade Marvin for a big, it has to be someone who can legitimately play defense and rebound - particularly sense it will mean giving up one of the teams better mid-range shooters. Marvin for an Emeka Okafor I can understand.

Yeah, I remember one game several years back when Wilcox just wore us out. I remember being so impressed with his athletic ability and energy level. However, over the years it seems odd that someone so athletic really is not much of a shot blocker at all and is really a rather mediocre rebounder. I thought he was really going to really take off when he got traded, but he really has just kind of fizzled out in mediocrity.