Hawks want cheap big men, Teague looking like Paul and Deron?

[NJHAWK]

http://blogs.ajc.com/hawks/2009/07/27/vacation-visions/?cxntfid=blogs_hawks

Thats what I got from Sekou's latest blog. That and he wants some cred from us for working on vaca.

[Blunt91]

http://blogs.ajc.com/hawks/2009/07/27/vacation-visions/?cxntfid=blogs_hawks

Thats what I got from Sekou's latest blog. That and he wants some cred from us for working on vaca.

Sekou confirmed what we all thought. The Hawks are either cheap or don't have much money. It's a shame we are scared to throw 2 or 3million at a decent backup big.

[Peoriabird]

It's a shame we are scared to throw 2 or 3million at a decent backup big.

Which makes it even more puzzling that we didn't resign Solo for less than a Million!

[capstone21]

Which makes it even more puzzling that we didn't resign Solo for less than a Million!

They told him he was not going to play.

Well hopfully we can get Joe Smith signed up and then take care of Marvin. I would then try to get Chris Mihm to a minimum contract and call it a day.

[DrReality]

Glad to get an update. Hadn't heard anything in a while. The info on Teague is enticing.

[macdaddy]

It is sad we aren't willing to spend money even on a one year deal for a real big man. Some here still contend that the owners aren't running on the cheap but how much more evidence do you need than :

"It’s not secret the Hawks aren’t paying the same rate for backup bigs that some other teams are...Drew Gooden and the reported $4.5 mil he’ll bring in on a one-year deal with the Spurs"

I'm happy they are being smart with their money but at the same time we have some real constraints, more than other teams.

I hope we sign Joe Smith and bring in Siler. As Sekou mentioned at least Siler can give us some minutes and meaningful punishment against Howard and Shaq.

[AHF]

Which makes it even more puzzling that we didn't resign Solo for less than a Million!

I don't understand why we aren't bidding competitively on these backup big men. $3M/year is too much money to spend on this?? I don't get it. If you are already spending on Crawford, Zaza, Bibby and Marvin this offseason, you better invest in a reasonable backup or two at those prices or you will penny-wise and pound foolish. I understand absolutely not being willing to pay the luxury tax, but you don't want to be stuck relying on Morris or Siler when Al and/or Josh go down with their first injury of the season.

[MaceCase]

It is sad we aren't willing to spend money even on a one year deal for a real big man. Some here still contend that the owners aren't running on the cheap but how much more evidence do you need than :

"It’s not secret the Hawks aren’t paying the same rate for backup bigs that some other teams are...Drew Gooden and the reported $4.5 mil he’ll bring in on a one-year deal with the Spurs"

I'm happy they are being smart with their money but at the same time we have some real constraints, more than other teams.

I hope we sign Joe Smith and bring in Siler. As Sekou mentioned at least Siler can give us some minutes and meaningful punishment against Howard and Shaq.

It's one thing to overpay for a backup but to overpay for a backup to a backup then I would hope the organization expresses some fiscal responsibility. Zaza is going to make 4.75 mill this year I see no sense in paying the guy that comes off the bench after him 4.5 mill.

[AHF]

It's one thing to overpay for a backup but to overpay for a backup to a backup then I would hope the organization expresses some fiscal responsibility. Zaza is going to make 4.75 mill this year I see no sense in paying the guy that comes off the bench after him 4.5 mill.

They would be singing Drew Gooden as a backup PF, not a backup C - i.e., the same role as Joe Smith would fill if he signs:

Smith/Gooden

Horford/Zaza

not

Smith/??

Horford/Zaza/Gooden

[hawksrule9]

I hope Teague turns out to be great. If we could land Joe Smith that would be huge. I liked Solo and wished he would have turned into something better but he wasn't going to get the playing time. I hope it doesn't bite us in the *ss.

[MaceCase]

They would be singing Drew Gooden as a backup PF, not a backup C - i.e., the same role as Joe Smith would fill if he signs:

Smith/Gooden

Horford/Zaza

not

Smith/??

Horford/Zaza/Gooden

I meant more as in paying 4.5 mill to the big coming off the bench AFTER Zaza. You are forgetting that we have Crawford now who will see some spells at the 2 pushing Joe to the 3 for stints and if the intention is to bring back Marvin who also flexes at the 4 along with Horf then it makes zero sense to pay a guy as though he is the number one backup at that position. Yea he may appear as the backup option on the positional depth chart but in terms of actual minutes played it makes no sense to pay him that amount of money. Now if we had no intention or don't bring Marvin back then yea I'll shake my fist like the rest of you that we didn't pay 4 mill for a backup PF.

[mrhonline]

I can understand not wanting to commit $4.5M or more to Gooden, but Wilcox's deal isn't bad.

I think the real problem is that veterans realize there's no playing time here...

[macdaddy]

I meant more as in paying 4.5 mill to the big coming off the bench AFTER Zaza. You are forgetting that we have Crawford now who will see some spells at the 2 pushing Joe to the 3 for stints and if the intention is to bring back Marvin who also flexes at the 4 along with Horf then it makes zero sense to pay a guy as though he is the number one backup at that position. Yea he may appear as the backup option on the positional depth chart but in terms of actual minutes played it makes no sense to pay him that amount of money. Now if we had no intention or don't bring Marvin back then yea I'll shake my fist like the rest of you that we didn't pay 4 mill for a backup PF.

Even if we do bring back Marvin where will we be when more than zero of our 3 and half bigs are banged up? We will be getting swept out of the playoffs. Its not just the fans screaming for bigs its the coach and gm too. They mention it all the time. I can understand not committing $4 million per to a backup on a multi-year deal but for one season? What's the risk there?

[MaceCase]

I can understand not wanting to commit $4.5M or more to Gooden, but Wilcox's deal isn't bad.

I think the real problem is that veterans realize there's no playing time here...

Agreed, the only way a vet would see consistent PT is if he is a PF type that can also flex at the C position. That would be the only way to maximize his minutes but even then he wouldn't see much PT. Pure PFs or Cs don't seem like viable options to me which is why I can see why the focus has been on guys like Wallace, McDyess, Smith and Big Ben because they are older guys who might not demand alot of minutes but would be able to fill in at both frontcourt positions effectively.

[Plainview1981]

It looks like the owners are going to force Woodson to play the starters 40 minutes per game again. Why do they keep talking about Randolph Morris as if he has NBA talent? Anytime he was on the court last year he looked like a worthless player out there. I know he didn't get much playing time, but you also don't give the vibe that this is a a real NBA player. Sent him down to the development league and be done with him.

[hawksrule9]

It looks like the owners are going to force Woodson to play the starters 40 minutes per game again. Why do they keep talking about Randolph Morris as if he has NBA talent? Anytime he was on the court last year he looked like a worthless player out there. I know he didn't get much playing time, but you also don't give the vibe that this is a a real NBA player. Sent him down to the development league and be done with him.

I don't know. Morris got absolutly no playing time. I bet his playing time goes up this year. He has size and can bang down low. If given the chance and confidense to bang with the big boys he might turn out not to be all that bad. I don't expect him to become a stand out back up but if he can consistently provide quality minutes off the bench then I'm all for him.

-Resolve the Marv issue. Give him a nice contract.

-Sign Siler

-Sign Hakim Warrick

[MaceCase]

Even if we do bring back Marvin where will we be when more than zero of our 3 and half bigs are banged up? We will be getting swept out of the playoffs. Its not just the fans screaming for bigs its the coach and gm too. They mention it all the time. I can understand not committing $4 million per to a backup on a multi-year deal but for one season? What's the risk there?

From a financial standpoint the team has to worry about what kind of production are they getting per dollar for the little minutes they are seeing from the player. They can't just say my million dollar investment will be worthwhile only if my other million dollar investments fail on me.

[Plainview1981]

If a contending team offered Joe 3 million I bet he takes it. Why would he accept near league min from a team that has no shot of winning anything?

[hawksrule9]

He will not land in Atlanta. At least I hope he doesn't. I wouldn't want to pay Smith 3 mill to back up Smoove, average 5 to 6ppg, and "teach" our players a thing or two. Why not bring in a couple young guys for very cheap that are athletic, can score, and can still learn and improve their game.

[DrReality]

But the frustrating thing about it is that other teams have signed bigs for very reasonable deals . . . . hope we can do the same.