AJC/Peachtree: Mario West to stick around

[Hawksquawk]

The Hawks are set to sign Mario West to a second 10-day contract. West, a Douglas County and Georgia Tech product, has appeared in four games since signing on Jan. 12 and is averaging 7.8 minutes per game. He played in 117 games for the Hawks from 2007-09.

When West signed, Woody said “I’m not scared to throw him in the game and he has to defend the best player on the opposing team,” and West drew an extended assignment against Thunder forward Kevin Durant in the Hawks’ 94-91 loss on Monday.

The Hawks cut West in training camp last summer and he was playing for the D-League’s Maine Red Claws when he was re-signed. Under NBA rules, after the latest 10-day contract expires the Hawks can retain West only by signing him for the remainder of the season.

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[Hawksquawk]

The Hawks cut West in training camp last summer and he was playing for the D-League's Maine Red Claws when he was re-signed. Under NBA rules, after the latest 10-day contract expires the Hawks can retain West only by signing him for the remainder of the season.

Hawks sign Mario West to second 10 day contract

Start your own personal countdown. Mario might be a Hawks until June come ten days from now.

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[mrhonline]

I'm not surprised. After all the research the Hawks did on the D-League guards who defend well (Sucks for you , Dontell Jefferson!), it's clear that Mario West is the best of them all.

Clearly, all of the scouts (HA!) that the Hawks had attend the D-League Showcase agreed that Mario West is the best talent out there. And it's not like there's an end-of-rotation guard on teams over the cap (You would give away Bobby Brown for nothing, New Orleans?) that would be better investments.

I applaud the Hawks for this "low risk, low reward" move. This is the kind of creative management that will get this team to the EC finals.

[exodus]

I always liked Mario. A cheap defensive specialist that can guard several positions is good to have around.

The hawks have 5 guys averaging double figures and Bibby is certainly capable of big scoring games so they don't need any offense additions.

[mrhonline]

Since 1979 (start of 3 pt era), there have been 13 players 6'5 or shorter to play at least 500 minutes in the NBA despite:

TO% worse than 17%

At least 5 PF/36

eFG% < 45%

In other words, there have only been 12 guards in the NBA over the last THIRTY YEARS that have been equally as unimpressive as Mario West on the court, while still managing to make a coach happy.

Among those 13 players, Mario's only positive skill? His offensive rebounding.

Of note: this list gets much larger if you look at players much taller than Mario (i.e., bigs and true forwards). Translation: it's of more value to have a defensive specialist if he plays in the frontcourt. Defensive specialists that can't shoot, defend the post, dribble, pass, or not foul are not NBA worthy.

Edited January 22, 2010 by mrhonline

[jerrywest]

I applaud the Hawks for this "low risk, low reward" move. This is the kind of creative management that will get this team to the EC finals.

Woody likes Mario more than Stackhouse.

Woody doesn't have to give a $hit about offense or defense while teaching Mario.

[Admin]

Woody likes Mario more than Stackhouse.

Woody doesn't have to give a $hit about offense or defense while teaching Mario.

I doubt that is true, I'm sure it probably had more to do with the fact that Mario is most likely a better defender, he's younger with fresh legs and no injury history, and he's not going to expect to take many, if any, shots while he's in there whereas Stackhouse was a premier scorer earlier in his career and is far more likely to want to score when he's on the court. Plus he would offer no help in slowing down super quick PG's like Mario should be able to do.

[coachx]

Since 1979 (start of 3 pt era), there have been 13 players 6'5 or shorter to play at least 500 minutes in the NBA despite:

TO% worse than 17%

At least 5 PF/36

eFG% < 45%

In other words, there have only been 12 guards in the NBA over the last THIRTY YEARS that have been equally as unimpressive as Mario West on the court, while still managing to make a coach happy.

Among those 13 players, Mario's only positive skill? His offensive rebounding.

Of note: this list gets much larger if you look at players much taller than Mario (i.e., bigs and true forwards). Translation: it's of more value to have a defensive specialist if he plays in the frontcourt. Defensive specialists that can't shoot, defend the post, dribble, pass, or not foul are not NBA worthy.

Does he affect the game in a postive way or not ?

[mrhonline]

Does he affect the game in a postive way or not ?

His +/- and adjusted +/- numbers suggest he does not. It's been mentioned before that he tends to guard players too closely, resulting in a lot of foul calls. He turns the ball over at a high rate for someone who almost never touches the ball intentionally. He cannot shoot, pass, or penetrate.

There are moments when his aggressiveness, energy, and hustle seem to motivate his teammates (to many, that's more a criticism of his teammates/coach than anything else). He definitely has a "nose for the ball" - forcing an occasional steal or nabbing an offensive rebound.

His overall impact on the actual scoreboard is negative, however. For every hustle play, there's an offensive foul, a turnover, or a defensive foul to equal it. The problem with using our eyes to evaluate Mario is that we only tend to notice him when he does something successful. We discount the negative plays by saying, "Oh, that's just Rio. He'll get 'em on the other end."

I would strongly prefer the Hawks replace him with either 1.) a true guard with some semblance of upside that can switch to the 2 to play alongside Teague, or 2.) a veteran defender who can work with Teague and guard the little squirts that drive the Hawks crazy.

I would like to see the Hawks give Dontell Jefferson a shot. He's another Georgia kid who has worked his tail off since college, but he's actually improved on the offensive side of the ball. (He's known for his perimeter D).

[arhawkfan]

Dontell must have really improved since college. I am from Arkansas and watched every game he played in while he was here. At the time he was here I had a really good friend that I thought has a shot in the NBA play so I never missed a game. Dontell did not impress me at all and was down right horrible.

[mrhonline]

My brother-in-law is a huge Razorback fan, so I've watched games with him over the years. Jefferson has really improved:

Jefferson has used the D-League better than any player the past few years as he has gone from a raw, passive, pass-first point guard (3.2 ppg in college at Arkansas) to a legitimate offensive threat scoring 18.2 ppg last year with Utah. 6-5 and long-armed, defense is still his calling card, which is why Larry Brown liked him enough in Charlotte last season to keep him around until the end of the season. He must continue to work on his shooting range this season to garner legit NBA looks.

DX

[arhawkfan]

My brother-in-law is a huge Razorback fan, so I've watched games with him over the years. Jefferson has really improved:

DX

Thats good to know.