As previously believed, ESPN radio in Atlanta is reporting the #Cavs are close to sending Shaq to the Hawks for Marvin Williams in S&T.

[NJHAWK]

Marc Stein twitter:

RT @PDcavsinsider: #Cavs & Hawks have talked but there's no sign-and-trade w/Shaq coming. Doesn't sound like either party is very interested

[tonegully]

Man we need a 1st round pick..bump this

[DJKadafi]

look for another early EXIT>>... JUST SELL THIS ALREADY>.

[Guest]

Both Phoenix and Cleveland got Shaq for the playoffs so I don't know how the expectations are different. Phoenix wanted him to beat the Spurs and Duncan, their own version of our Orlando Magic only that they were knocked out 3 times in the playoffs by them before they overreacted and took the plunge. They failed. Year later they were still compromising to utilize Shaq and didn't even make the playoffs. Cleveland got Shaq to combat Dwight after he kept them from the finals, they then spent the season walking a tight rope trying to keep all their bigs happy only to not face Orlando in the playoffs and get bounced.

Again, you are putting your own expectations on Shaq and not reality. You expect him to be fine coming off the bench when he is already dictating exorbitant salary demands. You expect him to be a seamless fit with our other players on the court and in the locker room and you expect him to put up more than the modest numbers he's put up in his last two playoffs. This is not about what you and I think of Marvin this is about paying a guy more money than he's currently worth for unrealistic expectations in production.

Thank you, thank you, thank you...I can't believe so many people on here believe that Shaq is gonna put us over the top, he teamed up with arguably the best player in LeBron and what did that get them...it's laughable. Shag will not willing come off the bench, he is gonna want 25+ mpg and he wants too much money for a 38 year old who is already talking retirement. Shaq is using the HAWKS plain and simple.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

Shaq PER 36 NUMBERS

18 ppg

10 rebs

57% FG

Even Horford doesn't give us that kind of production PER 36.

While I'd rather keep Marvin and add Shaq, I'd give up Marvin for him in a heartbeat.

The time to strike for a title is NOW. Hell . . . I guess many of you forget that there may not even be a 2011 - 12 NBA season, due to a lockout.

It's funny how "untouchable" Marvin is now. 2 months ago when he was "Casper" in the playoffs, people would've traded him for one of the Atlanta Dream forwards.

Nobody hardly even wanted Marvin last year when he was a FA. I thought Toronto would make a play for him, but they acquired Turkoglu instead.

Acquiring Shaq would be one of the best basketball and PR moves this franchise has done in a looooooong time.

[DJKadafi]

Would you like too see an early sweep at the playoffs or someone like Shaq who can make an impact. Watch, people gonna start complaining why we didnt move Marvin when he struggles again. Theres no room for him to get shots for himself.

[NickJYD]

did you guys see Stephn A Smiths tweet earlier today that said Joe Johnson was recruiting Shaq to come to Atlanta and SA was saying it was his best option right now?

[Crank]

So JJ Red is worth 6+M per but Marvin isn't?

Y'all are on crack.

Neither one of them is worth 6 million .

[Guest]

Neither one of them is worth 6 million .

Shaq at 38 and ready for retirement is also not worth 2yrs/16 mil.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

If he's producing at 18.5 ppg and 10 rebs PER 36 . . . he actually is.

But we should be able to secure him for a pricetag less than 2 yrs / 16 mill. Maybe 2 yrs / 13.5 or 14 mill

[Guest]

That also means he is logging quite a lot of minutes which means Horfords steadily improving offensive game is gonna suffer, It will force Josh to the perimeter which everyone knows is baaaaad.

[HAWKSFAN89]

YES!!!! OH MY

[Yeti]

What a stupid idea.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

That also means he is logging quite a lot of minutes which means Horfords steadily improving offensive game is gonna suffer, It will force Josh to the perimeter which everyone knows is baaaaad.

Let's say Shaq plays 24 minutes a game in ATL.

PF - Smoove ( 32 ) - Horford ( 16 )

C - Horford ( 16 ) - Shaq ( 24 ) - Zaza ( 8 )

Those are your minutes breakdown. You could still start Horford and Smoove, and bring Shaq off the bench for 12 minutes per half.

If you wanted to start the Shaq - Horford - Smith frontline, you can go like this:

SF - Smith ( 8 ) - Johnson ( 24 ) - Evans ( 16 )

PF - Horford ( 22 ) - Smith ( 26 )

C - Shaq ( 24 ) - Zaza ( 12 ) - Horford ( 12 )

Al Horford was most comfortable last year being a face-up shooter from about 12 - 18 feet away from the basket. He struggled when he tried to score in the low post against bigger centers. Add a big guy like Shaq to the mix, not only will he get more face-up jumpers, when he does go into the post, it'll be against a PF his size, instead of a center bigger than him.

[NineOhTheRino]

Shaq at 38 and ready for retirement is also not worth 2yrs/16 mil.

my fear is Shaq gets here then decides he doesn't have what it take to play another NBA season. What then? You just gave away a nice bargaining chip for nothing.

Edited July 16, 2010 by NineOhTheRino

[Diesel]

Shaq PER 36 NUMBERS

18 ppg

10 rebs

57% FG

Even Horford doesn't give us that kind of production PER 36.

While I'd rather keep Marvin and add Shaq, I'd give up Marvin for him in a heartbeat.

The time to strike for a title is NOW. Hell . . . I guess many of you forget that there may not even be a 2011 - 12 NBA season, due to a lockout.

It's funny how "untouchable" Marvin is now. 2 months ago when he was "Casper" in the playoffs, people would've traded him for one of the Atlanta Dream forwards.

Nobody hardly even wanted Marvin last year when he was a FA. I thought Toronto would make a play for him, but they acquired Turkoglu instead.

Acquiring Shaq would be one of the best basketball and PR moves this franchise has done in a looooooong time.

Must agree here.

Not only would it be a great basketball move (gives us a true low post presence). It also is a great PR move... and a great down the line financial move. Now that we have maxed out Joe, we can't afford to carry dead weight. Marvin was dead weight. IN 4 years, Marvin would have still be dead weight. We trade him now, take a two year flyer on Shaq, lose Shaq and Bibby at the same time. By then Horf is resigned and who knows what we have done with Craw. However, we still have a great core and our financial picture is looking pretty sweet too. We would again be a team that FAs would want to come and play for because of the good moves we had made.

It's sad that these people believe that it's Woody fault. It's not Woody's fault that Marvin sucks. Marvin has been giving opportunity after opportunity. Every year, we get that same speech from Marvin " I gotta step up." IN the playoffs against the Magic Marvin's PPG: 9, 9, 6, 2. in over 20 minutes of play.

[Atlantaholic]

Shaq's not worth Marvin. What does Shaq have left? One year at the most? His PER stats are nice and all but he is 38. You guys know how quickly a 38 old 300 pound man can become useless? Literally from one day to the next. The guy is a huge risk, and trading a 24 player for him is pure folly. Not to mention the guy was driven out of Phoenix and failed to make an impact in Cleveland. Marvin sucks, but Shaq isn't exactly an attractive player right now (how many East contenders are lining up to sign this guy?)

What if we trade Marvin and Shaq gets injured? What if he only plays a few games this year and then that's that. Hardly a far fetched possibility with a man his age. We would have given up Marvin for nothing. We need to at least get another Forward/Center in this trade otherwise it would be a big gamble for us.

Edited July 16, 2010 by Atlantaholic

[Dragitoff]

Let's just say this deal is actually going to happen. The Hawks currently have quite a few guys that play SG (Johnson, Crawford X2, Mo Evans). With Joe's size, do the Hawks feel he can play significant time at SF?

Teague

Crawford Sr.

Johnson

Smith

Horford

Bench: Bibby, Crawford Jr., Evans, O'Neal, Pachulia

I started Teague over Bibby because of defense. Sign a vet guy for the min. like Damien Wilkins for SF depth. Is that team better than what we had last year?

[Diesel]

Let's just say this deal is actually going to happen. The Hawks currently have quite a few guys that play SG (Johnson, Crawford X2, Mo Evans). With Joe's size, do the Hawks feel he can play significant time at SF?

Teague

Crawford Sr.

Johnson

Smith

Horford

Bench: Bibby, Crawford Jr., Evans, O'Neal, Pachulia

I started Teague over Bibby because of defense. Sign a vet guy for the min. like Damien Wilkins for SF depth. Is that team better than what we had last year?

No, I think a third Guard would be necessary. Two reasons.

1. As Bibby contract ages, he becomes more popular as a trade piece. If we can find a trade for him by the deadline, we want a guy familiar with the offense in place.

2. Teague does not seem confident right now. I say let LD work with him, but we should also get a guy who can still bring it. The Bobcats have loaded up on BU PGs. They have Augustin followed by: Sessions, Livingston, and my boy Collins. I would look to see if CJ Watson is available. Earl Watson is also Low hanging fruit.

[frankthetank966]

Whats the latest today? I read we aren't interested and now I see this. Too many mixed reports.