Mohammed for Battier

[KB21]

Based on what I'm hearing out of Memphis, this deal has a chance to go down. The Grizzlies are angling hard to get Nazr, and they are willing to trade any of their shooting guard/small forward players with the exception of James Posey and Mike Miller to get him.

A deal for Wesley Person isn't going to work because Memphis doesn't want to take on Chris Crawford as well.

The deal, in principle, will be Nazr Mohammed for Shane Battier, but Memphis will include Ryan Humphrey and Cezary Trebanski to make the salaries work.

If this deal goes down, it is a good one for the Hawks. Battier will solidify the small forward position and allow the Hawks to work Diaw into that role slowly. Ryan Humphrey will give the Hawks a good small forward/power forward player who can provide some depth and defensive ability off the bench. Trebanski is a project, but he has size.

In the end, the Hawks would line up:

PG - Jason Terry, Jacque Vaughn, Dan Dickau

SG - Dion Glover, Boris Diaw, Travis Hansen

SF - Shane Battier, Ryan Humphrey, Chris Crawford

PF - Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Alan Henderson, Ryan Humphrey

C - Theo Ratliff, Alan Henderson, Cezary Trebanski

[Lascar78]

I like it, except that we have Hendu as the #1 backup for theo and reef. With Theo's tendency to pick up quick fouls (although he got better as the season progressed) this could be a problem. I'd still take it though

[flava]

i read vecsey talking about this deal. it leaves us seriously thin at C, but if we re-sign mikki moore and pray theo doesn't get injured, it would give us a legit starting SF.

at the same time, memphis is taking a serious gamble that Nazr (who did post 9/7 two years ago) would be healthy and ready to contribute.

its a toss up, but a good trade IF we can get a legit BU C.

flava

[JTFan31]

Guys first off the league is not full of great centers, they are just a handful of great/good centers in this league, do we really need a great back up for Theo? NO of course not, just someone that will come in contribute with defense, rebounding, and hustle and thats it, job well done.

I love that trade Nazr for Shane, we will have a complete team in every position, and we are ready to go.

[mrhonline]

Atlanta does this deal in a heartbeat. Why?

Because Nazr is completely unnecessary on this team. IF Theo gets injured, this team is going nowhere with or without Nazr.

The only problem is that the deal must be a 3-for-1, meaning the Hawks will have to go over the "12-only" rule enforced by Kasten:

PG - JT/Vaughn/Dickau/Brandon (4)

SG - Glover/Diaw/Hansen (3)

SF - Battier/Humphrey/Crawford (3)

PF - Abdur-Rahim/Henderson (2)

CE - Ratliff/Trybanski/Moore (3)

[swolehawk2]

If we are not trying to make the playoffs this year...we can develop that young talent on the bench. If we are looking forward to the 8th spot...then even with this trade we stiill need a veteran swing player than can score....Walt Williams would work. We have to have some scoring from the bench. With this trade we don't have any except maybe Hendu.

[jjjohns3]

Brandon doesn't count against the roster does he?????It also wouldn't suprise me to see Jacque cut.

~Peace

[Admin]

No Brandon doesnt count against the roster, he will be placed on the injured reserve and wont count against our 12 man active roster......we can carry up to 3 injured guys on the team and he will just be one of those.

I wouldnt count on Jacque getting cut either. I have a feeling that JT will see more time playing the 2 this year with Dickau running the point in spots early in the game so that JT can get into his offensive game early and JV will be the main backup at PG. I think that its important that the team finds a way to get JT scoring early because when he is scoring early he usually has big games and we win. His problems come when he waits until the 4th quarter to get his game going and then its too late....but thats just something he has to learn as a young PG who is still learning how to be a point. The big question will be are we a big enough and good enough defensive team from the 3-5 spots to allow DD/JT do be on the court at the same time? I think that with Battier out there we will be.

I really like this trade idea and I hope it goes through. Humphreys is still a young player with decent size and potential and Cezary is a really big man with a ton of potential, even though he is still very raw. The question for me though is that Jerry West really loves him and would he really use him as an add on in the trade or would he possibly send us one of their rookie 2guards instead?

[Diesel]

Defensively....

Under Nazr...

33 wins. 98.3 ppg given up. 45.9% FG% given up.

Under Theo....

35 wins. 97.6 ppg given up. 43.7% FG% given up.

With less Big Dog, more Ira.....

21 wins. 98.0 ppg given up. 43.8% FG% given up.

What these numbers show is that There is NO real Theo effect... Other than the FG% being decreased meaning that guys are just walking down the lane and dunking on us. But that's all.

However plug in the offensive numbers:

Theo:

31 mpg. 8.7 ppg (13.46/48). 7.5 rpg (11.60/48). 46.4% FG%

Nazr:

26 mpg. 9.7 ppg (17.60/48). 7.9 rpg (14.40/48) 46.1% FG%

I'm not trying to promote per 48... However, it's evident that those things which Theo gains us by his defense... He loses on offense. I would even say that rebounding is much more important than blocking shots. 3 blocks per game doesn't mean anything if you can't stop your opponent from scoring.

[Guest]

It's amazing just how talented Memphis really is!

Jason Terry

Dion Glover

Shane Battier

Shareef

Theo Ratliff

Jason Williams

Mike Miller

Stromile Swift

Paul Gasol

Nazr Mohammad

The would still be better than us at nearly ever position.

And they'd still have LO/Brevin/Dickerson/Posey/Person

coming off the bench. [censored]!

[Diesel]

First you got lineup problems...

Last year, Memphis played:

Jayson Williams/Miller/Person/Gasol/Swift for the second half of the season.

I like the potential in this lineup... BUT Swift is not a C and he's definitely not a SF. He's a PF.

Williams is too Shaky to be PG.

Miller is one dimensional.

Now, if we were to make the trade, here's the comparison.

Theo vs. Nazr. I like Theo.. However, God only knows why West like Nazr so much. I think there's a good reason.

SAR vs. Gasol. Reef all day, twice on Sunday. Gasol cannot be a Power Forward but he does play better defense than Reef. However, being 7'1 should make you a strong defender.

Battier vs. Person. Why Person? I think Person will start because he's a great team player and even better three point shooter. However, in comparison to what Battier will be here... Battier wins. I think Battier is a better Sf than SG. I also think with Reef playing low post, Battier fits with his I can do everything game. Actually, Battier is Glenn Robinson with Defense but lacking the standstill shooting. I think that a good mix. IF Grob could play defense and could drive the lan, it would be good for Atlanta.

Glover vs. Miller. This is tough to call. Miller is a player who is very one dimensional. Hard to say if he will beat out Person. BUT Glover is so streaky. He has potential to be great but he has potential to be sorry too. I would say true toss up. If Miller gets hot though, Miller wins... same with Glover.

Jay Will vs. Jay Tee. Neither are good PGs but both have the ability to be good performers. I say Jay Tee. JT is a better scorer. while JWill is a better passer than JT, it doesn't mean much because he often gets outside of the offense and he's not the clutch player that JT is.

Bench.... Memphis by miles. Memphis has a very strong bench which makes them a good customer for trades. West knows this and it's interesting how West has not made one move this offseason but I expect 2 before we start playing. One for a C and One involving Swift.

Coaching.... you know I love Hubie. I haven't seen enough of Stotts to say for sure, but Hubie brings back that old school define roles first play defense second, offense brings up the rear style that wins games. I think that once everybody knows what they are supposed to be doing, they can focus on winning a lot better. So, my hope is that Stotts clearly define the roles of this team.

[Gray Mule]

YES!! YES!! YES!!

Nazr is a big, strong center. When he was completely healthy,

which I believe he is right now, he is a very good center.

He has started for the Hawks before and he did a very

good job for the Atlanta Hawks.

As bad as I would hate to do this and loose Nazr, every

poster here knows how I feel about Battier. I have

always pushed here for us to get him. And, we are

adding, apparently, some more much needed young

talent to the roster.

Would I agree to this ?? Yep, I sure would.

Big, strong centers bring a premium price. Hawks are

getting premium value for Nazr. {And, we still have a

pretty good center left on the roster}

[Guest]

Gasol will be better than Reef this year. He'll average about

21/10 this year and close to two blocks. Shareef is a poor

rebounder for a PF that plays 40minutes.

"Theo vs. Nazr. I like Theo.. However, God only knows why West like Nazr so much. I think there's a good reason

"

If Nazr is healthy and can contribute the 12/9 he did

last year that makes him better than Theo

The only matchup the team would win in at SF and that's

barely..

Dion has always had potential, but he's still unproven and

has yet to average double figures.

[Gray Mule]

Just checked the info on the other two we might

expect to get from Memphis, since I didn't know.

Humphrey----- 6'8" ---- 235 lbs ---- 23 years old

Trebanski----- 7'2" ---- 240 lbs ---- 24 years old monday.

Don't know how good these guys are, but they are both

young and have some good size.

Addition by subtraction for Memphis. They loose three

players for one, so they reduce the size of their roster.

Hawks, on the other hand have have empty spots on

their roster which these players would fill.

I like it ---- AND WE GET BATTIER !!!!!!!

[Diesel]

I doubt it.

I think Reef will always be better than Gasol. In his rookie year, Gasol was allowed to sneak up on the stats because he played a lot against Garbage time. However, with Hubie, the Grizz are playing well. That means that teams will start to focus on stopping them.

Last year, Gasol's FG% dropped along with his rebs per game. His PPG and FGA went up. I suggest that this is about the best that he will ever be. That's about 19/9. However, Gasol is not able to carry a team. Reef is.

[Guest]

Gasol is not able to carry a team. Reef is. "

You cant be carrying a team when you've never

had a winning season.

"I think Reef will always be better than Gasol."

Gasol was atleast as good this season

"I suggest that this is about the best that he will ever be. That's about 19/9."

That's about all Reef is. Infact, that's about what he

done this year. The fact that Gasol is younger and can

block shots plays a factor aswell.

[SWISH9061]

I think that of all the moves that Babcock made, this trade will prove to be his biggest mistake - Gasol will show this year that he's much better than Reef on both ends of the floor as he becomes one the elite players in the league

And as much as I like Reef I do have to say that he's overrated - IMHO even with his 20/10....

[hds428]

Exactly what team did Reef ever carry? I must have been asleep in between his time in Vancouver and Atlanta because he sure as [censored] never remotely carried either of those teams.... except to the lottery.

[Diesel]

Reef carrying a team means that Reef is the focus of the offense.

You can build a team around Reef's offense. Can you do the same with Gasol? NO. Gasol is not the type of player who you can entrust to have the offense run through.

The comparison is similar to comparing Nique with Scottie Pippen. Sure Pip put up some good numbers over his career. However, if you don't have anybody else on the team, who do you want... Nique or Pip? I'd take Nique because I know that when the offensive load is put on his shoulders, he won't buckle. However, Pippen might claim migrane or something like that. The same is said of Gasol. If he were the only focus of any offense, he'd be easy to stop.

[Diesel]

Over History...

Finding a player who can consistently give 20/10 is a hard thing.

As far as Gasol being better than Reef? I doubt that seriously.

Finally, don't forget, Babcock didn't trade Gasol for Reef. He traded the third pick.

Ask Babcock today. Had we kept the pick we would have gotten Battier... NOT Gasol. Our need was not at Pf. Our need was Sf.