10 questions with Diesel.

[Diesel]

Right now, It's Atlanta's job to do very little.

I've been reading thread after thread of what we should do. Right now, I'm of the mind, very little. Sund is about to explode. With good reason. Our team is in a very critical state right now.

1. To Keep Bibby or not.

Price is the determining factor. IF we can get Bibby for 6 Million per or below, I say keep him. If not, then we should look for a trade. Defensively, he's a liability.

2. Trade Smoove or not.

I'm firmly in the keep Smoove camp. Smoove will learn. Smoove will learn. Smoove will learn. Just say that to yourselve three times in a row 4 times daily and you will be in the keep Smoove camp too. He's shown that he can be a shot blocker, he's the most athletic joker in the league. We got him at a helluva price. And he's efficient on offense with the exception of dumb shots. BUT... Smoove will learn.

3. Trade JJ or not. Or Sign JJ to an extension.

It's price dependent, but I'm firmly in the camp of signing JJ to an extension. What more does he need to show us. He can score, he can shoot, he can put the team on his shoulders. He can defend the league's elite players.

4. Resign Marvin or not.

Does anybody need to ask where I am on this topic? Marvin is a big nothing but at the same time, we have to recoup something for what we have put into him. I would love to be able to get a lottery pick for Marvin. Or even use him to get a needed player... but we have to wait and see. In the meanwhile, let the market decide his price and be willing to match a reasonable deal.

5. Resign Chillz or not.

I'd resign Chillz or I'd let Chillz go in a trade. It's all dependent on what we get. If Chillz comes cheap (6 or less), why not resign him? He's efficient and at that price, we could look to trade him if we need to.

6. What to do with Flip.

I know we will resign him, but I say it depends on what we can get. I would let Flip walk if we got a pure PG. IN fact, I would want a Pure PG over Flip. And I liked what Flip brought to the table.

7. What to do with Zaza.

No question about it. Resign King Zaza. Zaza more than any other player out there bleeds for the Hawks. He's a symbol of our toughness. A symbol of our grit. We have to have him on our team. Plus we could use more bigs.

8. Any other Hawks free agents worth Keeping?

Yes. Rio, Hunter, and Gardner are guys who I would offer contracts to even before summer camp. They have their issues, but they have great potential. I would have to say So long to Solo. Hands of stone can't make the team.

9. So what's the blueprint?

The start and end of the blueprint is getting a PG who can run an offense. This is not going to be some Rookie. This will be a guy who has NBA experience but doesn't mind barking at a player. I will not limit this to free agents, I think we have to consider all players.

On the short list:

Nash, Kidd, Davis, A. Miller, Billups, D. WIlliams, CP3, Calderon, Rondo, Harris, Hinrich, Parker, Felton, Sessions, Duhon, Nelson, Ridnour, Ford, Lowry, Jack, M. Wiiliams.

of those guys...

CP3, Calderon, Parker, D. Williams, M. Williams, Billups, Rondo, Harris, Nelson.. are probably all untouchable.

So that leaves:

Nash, Kidd, Davis, A. Miller, Hinrich, Felton, Sessions, Duhon, Ridnour, Ford, Lowry, and Jack.

Free agents are in bold.

If I were to give my preference in ranking:

1. Felton

2. A. Miller

3. Hinrich

4. Kidd

5. Sessions

6. Duhon

7. Ford

8. Lowry

9. Nash

10. Jack

11. Ridnour

So how do we proceed? Well, my first step would be to offer Charlotte a trade of Marvin for Felton (SNT @ qualifiers). I have the feeling that Brown will give the team to Augustin. He will also find a way to play Marvin at SF with Boris. And Wallace will be traded.

If that doesn't work, maybe go after Hinrich in trade. I have been against getting Hinrich because I believe he's overpaid. However, he's a good pure PG with combo gaurd skills. Moreover, I think Chicago will use every effort to resign Gordon (after his PO).

Secondly, I would get my big.

In the draft, I would draft the best player available. This is a pick for the future.

I would keep Acie to learn. But more than Likely Acie is gone.

10. What about the Big Diesel?

The heavens have opened and allowed us to go after a guy name DeAndre Jordan. I like Jordan. I think Jordan would fit very well with us. I think he and Horf and Zaza would be a great rotation if used right. He's our 7th man. Maybe we can get him for proven talent like Mo Evans.

I think another guy of interest is Channing Frye. I think as a BU PF, he's a guy who we could mold. Again, it would be good to have a 6'11" PF who can rebound and shoot. Frye is not the most physical of guys, but he gives our team another look and he should be very cheap. Maybe we can get him for Morris and Cash.

So I would go young with the bigs.. but Old with the PGs... We need a PG who can BARK directions at Smith. In fact, I want to hear him say loudly.. until your *ss is on those blocks, I will not pass to you!!

[tbhawksfan]

Good points and a pretty good over-all plan. I hope we don't trade anyone unless it's a good trade. What do you propose at SF if we use MW to get a PG.

I also hope we can get something for Bibby in a S&T and go another direction at PG. I like Sessions, but he could still prove a bit green as the PG on a #4 seed. Kidd would get the ball to the inside players.

You don't like the idea of trading JJ or Smoove, can they co-exist? I think there's been friction between them from the beginning. It was young Smoove's team until JJ got here and took over. Smoove has developed a lot since then. I think we could get a lot for JJ.

[coachx]

Good thoughts D.

I am with you on most of them.

I would move Smoove for a young allstar that is bigger and more polished like Bosh or Stoudemire. Besides those 2 guys............Smoove is here to stay for a long time.

Of course I like Marvin more then you do and would like to keep him at a price of $7 mill, or under, per year.

I like your list of PGs but disagree with your order. Example....I would have Felton towards the bottom instead of the #1 spot and would have Jack much higher..............of course all these PG decisions on contigent on what happens with Bibby and the draft.

Edited May 20, 2009 by coachx

[bird_dirt]

i would be happy if all those moves were made. that being said, it will mean that they won't happen. it never happens how you want it.

unless there is some semi-major snt deal with marvin, i think sund will wait till the last minute to resign marvin. he will let the market dictate what his worth is (like he did with smoove), and given the economy and teams holding out till 2010, that will mean everyone will be waiting a long time to find out what contract he will get. it will be frustrating to go through, but it will yield a good a very good deal in the hawks favor, much like smoove's deal (unless marvin pulls a childress).

[Diesel]

Good points and a pretty good over-all plan. I hope we don't trade anyone unless it's a good trade. What do you propose at SF if we use MW to get a PG.

I also hope we can get something for Bibby in a S&T and go another direction at PG. I like Sessions, but he could still prove a bit green as the PG on a #4 seed. Kidd would get the ball to the inside players.

You don't like the idea of trading JJ or Smoove, can they co-exist? I think there's been friction between them from the beginning. It was young Smoove's team until JJ got here and took over. Smoove has developed a lot since then. I think we could get a lot for JJ.

I definitely think that they could co-exist. I think your PG sets the tone. First and foremost, neither Smoove nor JJ should dominate the ball the way they do. Smoove shouldn't be given the ball on the perimeter and JJ should be allowed to play Iso all day. Our team desparately needs a PG who can direct traffic. This is where Bibby failed but mainly it's Woody's failure. Woody's belief that offense needs not be scripted is what gets our asses handed to us on the road. On the road, shooting is not as easy as it is at home. So you need something to carry you over. Most teams perk up on defense at home so we're left scratching our heads. That's when we lose. There's not a big difference between this team being a winning team and this team being an elite team. We're a winning team now. The strength of our winning is the way we protect our homecourt. However, I think we can move up to the elite team status with a few good moves. First and foremost being a NEW PG who is strong enough to reign in both of those out of control egos. Joe is the allstar but Smoove has potential. Both could be allstars if we get the right PG.

[mrhonline]

4. Resign Marvin or not.

Does anybody need to ask where I am on this topic? Marvin is a big nothing but at the same time, we have to recoup something for what we have put into him. I would love to be able to get a lottery pick for Marvin. Or even use him to get a needed player... but we have to wait and see. In the meanwhile, let the market decide his price and be willing to match a reasonable deal.

I knew we'd agree on that. Sund and his "chips" and "assets."

[Diesel]

Good thoughts D.

I am with you on most of them.

I would move Smoove for a young allstar that is bigger and more polished like Bosh or Stoudemire. Besides those 2 guys............Smoove is here to stay for a long time.

Of course I like Marvin more then you do and would like to keep him at a price of $7 mill, or under, per year.

I like your list of PGs but disagree with your order. Example....I would have Felton towards the bottom instead of the #1 spot and would have Jack much higher..............of course all these PG decisions on contigent on what happens with Bibby and the draft.

First, I don't think that Amare or Bosh does anything that Smoove can't do. IN fact, I think if we can teach Smoove how to play man on man defense, he will be better than both of those guys and he has a very good contract. I have gone completely cold in thinking about getting Amare or Bosh. I think Smoove could be a homegrown star but his development has to happen now. He has to get rid of that whine. He needs dynamic coaching. He needs a PG that will make him cry. His system needs rebooting.

We disagree on Marvin but if Marvin signs for 6.5 per or so, I'm all for holding on to him.

Specifically about my list. Part of it was ease of getting the player and the other part was price point. The most important part was fit. I hear you Ga Tech guys talk about Jack as though he were a top PG. Jack is a 2nd tier guy. That's part of the reason why he's 10th on my list. The other part is that I know Indy will match. I don't want to get into a pissing contest with Indy because it wastes our time and ties up our money. Charlotte is financially strained right now. They have huge contracts like Nazr and Boris that they can't get out of and if we make a midway offer for Felton, I don't see them matching. I see them trading Felton before they allow him to sign anybody's offer sheet. And Marvin would be a good fit in Charlotte. Felton has an incredible work ethic. He plays defense. He's fast. I think he's a good distributor. With Augustin there, he has been trying to play OG. He's not an OG. He doesn't shoot well enough to play OG. However, he has the ability to drive. I compare that to Hinrich. Hinrich has all the skills we're looking for but Hinrich is overpriced (IMO). Still, if we can get him in trade, I'd do that instead of bringing Bibby back.

[JTB]

I definitely think that they could co-exist. I think your PG sets the tone. First and foremost, neither Smoove nor JJ should dominate the ball the way they do. Smoove shouldn't be given the ball on the perimeter and JJ should be allowed to play Iso all day. Our team desparately needs a PG who can direct traffic. This is where Bibby failed but mainly it's Woody's failure. Woody's belief that offense needs not be scripted is what gets our asses handed to us on the road. On the road, shooting is not as easy as it is at home. So you need something to carry you over. Most teams perk up on defense at home so we're left scratching our heads. That's when we lose. There's not a big difference between this team being a winning team and this team being an elite team. We're a winning team now. The strength of our winning is the way we protect our homecourt. However, I think we can move up to the elite team status with a few good moves. First and foremost being a NEW PG who is strong enough to reign in both of those out of control egos. Joe is the allstar but Smoove has potential. Both could be allstars if we get the right PG.

I think we can move up to the elite teams also if this happened but thats a big if dealing with the asg but good plan on the roster. Now all we need is a offense coach to help out woody and were set!

Also i like jack as a point guard on this team i think he can make us elite and come at a cheaper price than other point guards. He can shoot the 3, play defense, and drive to the basket. then he's only 26! i say he's better than sessions and felton but thats my opinion.

Edited May 20, 2009 by JTB

[Diesel]

i would be happy if all those moves were made. that being said, it will mean that they won't happen. it never happens how you want it.

unless there is some semi-major snt deal with marvin, i think sund will wait till the last minute to resign marvin. he will let the market dictate what his worth is (like he did with smoove), and given the economy and teams holding out till 2010, that will mean everyone will be waiting a long time to find out what contract he will get. it will be frustrating to go through, but it will yield a good a very good deal in the hawks favor, much like smoove's deal (unless marvin pulls a childress).

Teams may be tempted to try us. You have to think that this is a time when we're forced to choose between Marvin and Chillz. Teams know this and I suspect that if they really want Marvin, they will throw a bid slightly higher than the QO and see if we match. If we do match, the same team can go after Chillz. Marvin doesn't have the balls to go overseas; unless you can get rugrats and a good game of donkey kong there.

[Diesel]

I think we can move up to the elite teams also if this happened but thats a big if dealing with the asg but good plan on the roster. Now all we need is a offense coach to help out woody and were set!

Notice that nothing is too extravagent in my plan. Basically, we keep everything and we go after a PG. The bigs we try to trade for (or sign) should be easy to get. I really think Mo for Jordan would work... and Cash/Morris for Frye should go too.

Think of our bigs:

Horf/Zaza/Jordan

Smoove/Frye/Hunter

Those are six relatively young guys who we can mold into a good rotation once Woody is gone.

[coachx]

First, I don't think that Amare or Bosh does anything that Smoove can't do. IN fact, I think if we can teach Smoove how to play man on man defense, he will be better than both of those guys and he has a very good contract. I have gone completely cold in thinking about getting Amare or Bosh. I think Smoove could be a homegrown star but his development has to happen now. He has to get rid of that whine. He needs dynamic coaching. He needs a PG that will make him cry. His system needs rebooting.

1. The coaching is not going to change next season.

2. No PG on your list (except Kidd) has the balls to lay it out to Smith and make him cry

3. He has shown he cannot "reboot: his "system" himself.

4. We were saying his development has to happen now last season and his development actually regressed overall. He went back to shooting more 3's then the previous season, his rebounds were down, and his blocked shots were down.

5. Asking Smoove to stop his whining is a must. I hope we see it happen one day while he is a Hawk.

Again. I want to keep a Smith unless we get a true star play in return like Bosh or Stoudemire but the reasons you give to keep Smith over Bosh and Stoudemire have little chance of happening given the current circumstances.

Edited May 20, 2009 by coachx

[HawksFan87]

lol.. Amare and Bosh are both soft as hell.. people think our defense is bad now.. but enither one of them will make it better and they are not Centers.. And AL has not shown that he is or will EVER be good enough for us to trade smoove period... NO Matter what anyone thinks about Smoove...

Edited May 20, 2009 by jsmoovefan

[Sothron]

If we trade Smoove for a true center and move Al to PF then I'd be for that trade. Smoove's shot selection is something I do not know at this point you can safely say he's going to "learn how to get better" over the offseason. We keep hearing different offseason for him: Hakeem was going to teach him to be a low post threat (never happened), he was going to work on his three point and outside shot (never happened) I mean what's left? He's going to become James as a passing forward? C'mon.

I'm not saying we trade Smoove for anything we can but we need to be realistic about what he can actually do.

[HawksFan87]

People also need to be realistic about what Al can do.. And so far he hasn't done anything to be excited about

[coachx]

If we trade Smoove for a true center and move Al to PF then I'd be for that trade.

What centers could help this team more then allstar PFs like Stoudemire or Bosh ?

I have no problem with Horford at center if he is next to another 6'10'' guy who is a proven allstar, that can play both PF and C.

I'll take a 6'10'' guy with mad skills over a 7', injury prone stiff, like Kaman any day.

Edited May 20, 2009 by coachx

[Diesel]

If we trade Smoove for a true center and move Al to PF then I'd be for that trade. Smoove's shot selection is something I do not know at this point you can safely say he's going to "learn how to get better" over the offseason. We keep hearing different offseason for him: Hakeem was going to teach him to be a low post threat (never happened), he was going to work on his three point and outside shot (never happened) I mean what's left? He's going to become James as a passing forward? C'mon.

I'm not saying we trade Smoove for anything we can but we need to be realistic about what he can actually do.

With his potential and his contract, I don't think we look to trade him so easily. I think trading him has to be a all but. Meaning that we've done all but. I would really like to see Smoove under a more seasoned coach. Just because we won't have one next year doesn't mean that one isn't coming. I think a pure PG would work wonders for Smoove. It doesn't have to be Kidd. Hell, look at the difference Mo Williams made in Cleveland and Billups made in DEN. I'd rather just start from scratch with a Center anyway. I don't see much in the way of a good center that's available with the exception of Tyson Chandler. Now imagine. We trade Smoove for Chandler? Who wins that? Chandler's not going to produce on offense. On defense, he's big and he's a shot blocker but he's similar to Smoove in his lack of fundamental defenisve play. Plus, he has no more potential.

Some of you guys would be happy if we traded Smoove for Eddy Curry. Or Smoove for Roy Hibbert.

I say just hold on to Smoove and see if we can't pick up some young guys to train. Bring back Zaza and run a rotation.

[Diesel]

What centers could help this team more then allstar PFs like Stoudemire or Bosh ?

I have no problem with Horford at center if he is next to another 6'10'' guy who is a proven allstar, that can play both PF and C.

I'll take a 6'10'' guy with mad skills over a 7', injury prone stiff, like Kaman any day.

Your logic is better than Ron's. The problem is that Horf hasn't done anything to prove that he's worthy of being kept at all risk. Let's not confuse our success with the acquisition of Horf. I think those are two unrelated issues. PLUS, Bosh and Amare are good names, but the major problem I have with them is that neither of them are cheap and signed for a long time. Neither of them are head and shoulders better than Smoove. Now both of them may be smarter... but you can train players to be good. That's coaching. Our coach doesn't get along with Smoove, well that's ASG's fault. Maybe Woody ought to grab his sack and start benching Smoove everytime he fs up. I guarantee you that if Woody gave Smoove the quick seat like he gave Shelden and Acie, Smoove would shape up after 2 or 3 weeks.

[Sothron]

With his potential and his contract, I don't think we look to trade him so easily. I think trading him has to be a all but. Meaning that we've done all but. I would really like to see Smoove under a more seasoned coach. Just because we won't have one next year doesn't mean that one isn't coming. I think a pure PG would work wonders for Smoove. It doesn't have to be Kidd. Hell, look at the difference Mo Williams made in Cleveland and Billups made in DEN. I'd rather just start from scratch with a Center anyway. I don't see much in the way of a good center that's available with the exception of Tyson Chandler. Now imagine. We trade Smoove for Chandler? Who wins that? Chandler's not going to produce on offense. On defense, he's big and he's a shot blocker but he's similar to Smoove in his lack of fundamental defenisve play. Plus, he has no more potential.

Some of you guys would be happy if we traded Smoove for Eddy Curry. Or Smoove for Roy Hibbert.

I say just hold on to Smoove and see if we can't pick up some young guys to train. Bring back Zaza and run a rotation.

Again, I'm not saying you trade Smoove just to get rid of him and his contract. I'm saying if there is a deal out there that gets tangible benefits in return then we need to do it. Amare/Bosh would only interest me if we had another true center out of it which means we'd have to deal Horf as well. Personally I think Horford needs to be moved to PF, get a real center by moving Smoove and in that same deal we should also get another piece say a backup point or two guard to replace Law and probably Murray.

These trade suggestions for Amare/Bosh just aren't tangible to me. If you take out what Smoove does on defense that those two COMBINED can never bring to the table then their offense just isn't good enough to make up for that UNLESS we got one true center and shotblocker in the middle who can make up for those two guys slack.

[HawksFan87]

Al played PF when Smoove was out and he did nothing... So I don't see why people are in a rush to move him there...

Edited May 20, 2009 by jsmoovefan

[Diesel]

Al played PF when Smoove was out and he did nothing... So I don't see why people are in a rush to move him there...

You are the biggest Smoove homer on the board.

Ok. Now.

I think that Al could play PF... It will take time and training. I don't think he can play Mike Woodson's version of PF because Mike Woodson's version is one where the PF move out of the way and Let guards Post up. It's derived from being in Detroit with Sheed and Okur. The difference is that those guys can shoot. Horf is not a shooter. Hell, Horf is not a high post shooter yet (so we can't run pick and fade with him). But Horf has a face up game. He can finish. Once Horf learns to play Pick and ROll with a PG, he's going to be dangerous. Especially coming from the high post. Right now, theres too much Hot Rod Williams and not enough Karl Malone in Horf's game. Horf is too rugged to play so soft and there's no reason why he shouldn't learn to play high post and in the blocks.

I know that it's a learning experience but you got to get the PG in here that can teach him. Had we gotten Mo WIlliams, Horf would be there by now. Bibby could have done it but elected to work on his three pointers and easy offense instead.