Broussard of ESPN just said Hawks are frontrunner for signing Shaq

[Flight]

Does the fact that no other team wants him raise a red flag to anyone else? I'm not saying getting him would be a bad pickup but it seems odd that nobody else wants him. :cant believe:

No other contender needs him tbh. Everybody has a solid big but us.

Not saying Al isn't solid it's just tougher for him against Dwight then it is for teams like the Celtics or Lakers

[frankthetank966]

Just sign him already so we can at least pretend/feel as if the ASG tried to improve the team from the last season!

[KB21]

As I've said before, Shaq is the difference between a horrible off-season to a good one. As for Shaq drawing no interest, I'm fine with it. I'm pretty sure he would draw a lot more interest if he wanted to play for a lottery team, but he doesn't. He wants to play for a winning team...and all those winning teams either have no cap space or have no space for him.

He's not drawing interest because other teams know he's done and is no longer an effective player with the way the league is now. To be an effective center in the NBA today, you have to be mobile. Shaq isn't a mobile player. Most teams also don't want his presence in the locker room, as he has caused problems everywhere he has been. He's not a player that can help a team win any longer, therefore Atlanta will be grossly overpaying if they give him anything above the vet minimum.

[KB21]

Why are people thinking shaq is going to be a business boom or something. He's going to be nothing more than a freak show circus, interesting for a while and then pathetic immediately afterwards. If gms thought they could get extra ticket sales than I'm sure someone would have signed him already. He views this franchise beneath his presence at the same time demanding 5+ mill as doing us a favor.

Exactly. Look at this thread. People are already thinking that Shaq should be the face of the franchise when he is barely better than a replacement level player at this stage in his career. It is ridiculous. Shaq's ego will not let him accept the role that his body will allow him to play, and when he isn't getting his way, he's going to do something to undermine his teammates and his coaches. Signing Shaq could honestly be the kiss of death to Larry Drew's coaching career. The only way Larry would survive it is if he stands up to Shaq and just tells him to leave the way Lenny Wilkens did to JR Rider.

[GST]

Does the fact that no other team wants him raise a red flag to anyone else? I'm not saying getting him would be a bad pickup but it seems odd that nobody else wants him. :cant believe:

It concerns me. I get the feeling Shaq has a ego/role imbalance. He just doesn't seem like the type who can handle his decline gracefully.

[JTB]

its a risk but i say we just take that risk and add shaq. it will be intresting to know what happens to the team this year if we land him!

[Sothron]

If we sign Shaq and he accepts a backup role and about, say, fifteen games in the season he starts grumbling about "you need to feed the big man" what will the Shaq supporters say then? How many teams has Shaq literally burned bridges behind him at this point? Let's count:

Orlando: roasted the city on his way out and even took less money to leave

LA; had a LOOOOOOOOOOONG running feud with Kobe and left angry

Miami: he trashed everything there: the owner, Riley, the medical staff and his teammates

Phoenix: Reports are he was so cancerous even mild mannered Steve Nash begged them to trade him

Cleveland: he was grumbling about touches all season and he was openly telling them IN THE PLAYOFFS to IGNORE the COACH because "I've got rings and he doesn't"

Now how is very old 38 year old Shaq going to fit in with this team? The last openly cancerous player we had was Rider. I guess the Hawks are due to bring in another problem player.

If Shaq had a different mentality and the same body and skill set I'd be for this. But that's not reality. Reality is that Shaq has burned bridges on the way out of town every single team he's been on.

[KB21]

If we sign Shaq and he accepts a backup role and about, say, fifteen games in the season he starts grumbling about "you need to feed the big man" what will the Shaq supporters say then? How many teams has Shaq literally burned bridges behind him at this point? Let's count:

Orlando: roasted the city on his way out and even took less money to leave

LA; had a LOOOOOOOOOOONG running feud with Kobe and left angry

Miami: he trashed everything there: the owner, Riley, the medical staff and his teammates

Phoenix: Reports are he was so cancerous even mild mannered Steve Nash begged them to trade him

Cleveland: he was grumbling about touches all season and he was openly telling them IN THE PLAYOFFS to IGNORE the COACH because "I've got rings and he doesn't"

Now how is very old 38 year old Shaq going to fit in with this team? The last openly cancerous player we had was Rider. I guess the Hawks are due to bring in another problem player.

If Shaq had a different mentality and the same body and skill set I'd be for this. But that's not reality. Reality is that Shaq has burned bridges on the way out of town every single team he's been on.

Exactly, and that doesn't even take into account how drastically his skill and ability has declined.

[thescout5]

Exactly, and that doesn't even take into account how drastically his skill and ability has declined.

What's the alternative Powell ,Zaza? Both get tore up by Dwight. If the guy doesn't play well and complains you cut him despite the salary. If people think Powell, a resigned JJ and Drew's coaching philosphy is going to close the gap they have another thing coming, Shaq isn't what he was but is still alot better than what is available and what we have now.

[KB21]

What's the alternative Powell ,Zaza? Both get tore up by Dwight. If the guy doesn't play well and complains you cut him despite the salary. If people think Powell, a resigned JJ and Drew's coaching philosphy is going to close the gap they have another thing coming, Shaq isn't what he was but is still alot better than what is available and what we have now.

Actually, Shaq as he is now would barely be an upgrade over Zaza, and that's not taking into account that the Hawks actually play very well when Zaza is on the floor with Al. Shaq produced 3.1 win shares to Zaza's 2.7 win shares last season, so signing him wouldn't even get us one win more than what we have with Zaza. He clearly isn't better than Al Horford, who produced 10.9 win shares to Shaq's 3.1 win shares last season and will only get better. But we need to continue this knee jerk reaction to Dwight Howard in the playoffs, completely ignoring the fact that he was not the reason the Hawks got beat in that series. The reason the Hawks got beat was their porous perimeter defense, which was poor all season long.

A much better alternative than Shaq at this point would be to just wait till Charlotte cuts Erick Dampier. He's a better player right now, and he doesn't bring the headaches that Shaq's ego will bring.

[Buzzard]

Actually, Shaq as he is now would barely be an upgrade over Zaza, and that's not taking into account that the Hawks actually play very well when Zaza is on the floor with Al. Shaq produced 3.1 win shares to Zaza's 2.7 win shares last season, so signing him wouldn't even get us one win more than what we have with Zaza. He clearly isn't better than Al Horford, who produced 10.9 win shares to Shaq's 3.1 win shares last season and will only get better. But we need to continue this knee jerk reaction to Dwight Howard in the playoffs, completely ignoring the fact that he was not the reason the Hawks got beat in that series. The reason the Hawks got beat was their porous perimeter defense, which was poor all season long.

A much better alternative than Shaq at this point would be to just wait till Charlotte cuts Erick Dampier. He's a better player right now, and he doesn't bring the headaches that Shaq's ego will bring.

Charlottes bigs: Damp, Diop, Mohammed. I am not so sure they cut him. May just let him go next year. If they keep him at least they will have plenty of size this season to rotate in and out of the five spot. Plus they can trade that fat unguaranteed contract for a younger big and filler later in the season if they get a good offer.

Damp could be a good get by a playoff team that needs some depth for the stretch run. Like us.

[Chickenstanley]

The only accurate comparison betwen Dampier and Shaq is that both are comical free-throw shooters. Dampier is probably worse, actually.

Name me one guy in the league who can guard Shaq in the post today? It certainly isn't Howard. As big as he is, he isn't THAT big or THAT strong.

Name me one player who can consistently score on Shaq in the post today? It isn't Howard. Howard has a poor offensive game skillset.

Is the poster who claimed that Shaq wasn't an upgrade over Zaza actually freakin' serious? Or claimed that Dampier was in some way comparable or even a better option at center?

I mean, really?

CS

[tonegully]

Basically when just someone to tell Shaq to STFU when he starts shooting off at the mouth. Problem solved.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

The only accurate comparison betwen Dampier and Shaq is that both are comical free-throw shooters. Dampier is probably worse, actually.

Name me one guy in the league who can guard Shaq in the post today? It certainly isn't Howard. As big as he is, he isn't THAT big or THAT strong.

Name me one player who can consistently score on Shaq in the post today? It isn't Howard. Howard has a poor offensive game skillset.

Is the poster who claimed that Shaq wasn't an upgrade over Zaza actually freakin' serious? Or claimed that Dampier was in some way comparable or even a better option at center?

I mean, really?

CS

I'm not going to go as far as to say that Howard can't guard Shaq, even though with his size, Shaq has gotten him in foul trouble in the past. ( which is another asset that Shaq brings to the table. He forces opposing bigs to play him on the offensive end, and can draw fouls against them )

They just want you to believe that Shaq ( at age 38 ) is a garbage basketball player not even worth considering. The truth is, they simply don't like the dude, and wouldn't add him on the team, regardless of what price we could get him at. To compare Shaq to Zaza is ridiculous. Almost laughable.

KB has to hold on desperately to that "win share" stat, because every other stat about Shaq will support the fact that he's still a very productive player. What he won't tell you, is that "win shares" is a stat based on overall individual and team production while a player is on the court . . compared to overall team production total. In essence . . you have to play a lot and produce a lot, to post a good win share number most of the time.

Funny thing is . . Shaq with his small 3.1 win share number, is still better than Zaza's, Collins', and Powell's win shares . . . COMBINED

Zaza: 2.7

Powell: 0.0

Collins: -0.1 ( which is damn near impossible to do, unless you just flat out suck )

Total win shares: 2.6

But these are the lies that they want to sell you on. That Shaq is sooooo sorry, that a 3-headed monster like Zaza, Powell, and Collins is a better alternative than he is.

The same people that act like Shaq destroyed Phoenix, won't even tell you that it was SHAQ who led that team in win shares in 2008 - 09. But one of the main reasons why he led them in win shares, was because Amare Stoudemire got hurt and only played in 53 games that year.

But it's easier to perpetuate lies and say that it was Shaq's fault that the team didn't live up to expectations, than to actually look at the truth, and cite Amare's injury as a BIG REASON why the Suns didn't make the playoffs that year. Just like it is easy to say that Cleveland declined, despite the Cavs going 40 - 13 with Shaq in the lineup.

It's sad what is going on here. But I'll tell the truth, by stating nothing but the FACTS:

* Shaq's PER last year: 17.9 ( 2nd on the Cavs, and would've been 5th on the Hawks . . . 16th overall amongst all centers . .really #15, if you take the guy who only played 2 games out. )

* Shaq's Per 36 Numbers last year: 18.5 ppg - 10.3 rebs - 1.8 blks - 57% FG ( those numbers are better than Brook Lopez, Andrew Bynum, Al Horford and a host of other guys )

* Shaq's PER on a 48 minute basis at Center last year: 20.3 ( top 15 amongst the centers )

* Shaq's Opponents PER on a 48 minute basis at Center last year: 14.4 ( which is TOP 5 amongst the centers . . this is basically Shaq's Defensive PER at Center )

* Shaq drew a foul on 20% of his shots last season: ( only Zaza was better last year for the Hawks at 21% . . . Smoove: 18% . . . Horford: 14% )

Those are just some of the things that one can tangibly see on a nightly basis, when you watch the guy play. These guys are simply better off criticizing Shaq for his supposed locker room destructive traits and his supposed demands for money and playing time which will prevent him from accepting a role off the bench. Because the "Shaq is barely better than Zaza" argument is complete BS. The "Shaq is a scrub" argument, is complete BS.

You would essentially add a starting quality center to the Hawks, that would backup Al Horford, plus allow him to play more PF to really showcase what he can potentially do. From a basketball and economical standpoint, It's an absolute no-brainer to bring Shaq to Atlanta.

And just about everybody knows this, except our scared and "frugal" owners, and a few fans that can't stand Shaq.

Never fear though. Zaza, Powell, and maybe Collins can get the job done. They'll adequately backup Smoove and Horford, and all will be well.

Edited July 27, 2010 by northcyde

[TheNorthCydeRises]

Why are people thinking shaq is going to be a business boom or something. He's going to be nothing more than a freak show circus, interesting for a while and then pathetic immediately afterwards. If gms thought they could get extra ticket sales than I'm sure someone would have signed him already. He views this franchise beneath his presence at the same time demanding 5+ mill as doing us a favor.

He would be a business boom. That's almost non-debatable.

In all of our discussions about the fan base in ATL, the one thing that most people agree on, is that ATL fans like to see big name players, no matter what the sport. Shaq is still one of the most popular players in the league. The "circus", as you call him, can still play basketball. As for the teams that can land Shaq, he's only considering top level playoff teams. Squads like Miami, LA Lakers, and Phoenix are automatically eliminated, because he's already been there. San Antonio passed on him. Orlando doesn't need him. Boston may need him, because of the Perkins injury. And Dallas decided to re-up on the younger Brendan Haywood.

We're really the only team who could definitely use him, plus see the effect of his arrival at the box office. If the fans, and ATL in general, need someone to bring them out to more games, Shaq is it. No other entity on this team has the appeal of a Shaq.

As far as making him the "face of the franchise", why not? Who do people think of when they think of the Hawks? Who is the face of the franchise right now?

Is it JJ? I bet a lot of people would disagree with that, despite him being our highest paid player.

Is it Smoove? He's the guy that you'll most likely see on Sportscenter, but do a lot of people go to games specifically to see Josh Smith?

Is it Horford? Do people race to Philips to see him?

How about Crawford? Does the "tricky dribble" excite fans enough to go see it when we play Memphis?

Do other NBA fans specifically go to games to specifically see any of these players? This would be a good question to ask non-Hawk fans. Who IS the face of the Hawks?

If Shaq wants to make Atlanta . . . "Shaq-Lanta", I have no problem with that. If it meant increased revenue at the gate and from advertising, I'm putting Shaq's face everywhere concerning the Hawks. If that what it takes to move the meter in ATL, then so be it. JJ is so laid back, he probably wouldn't even care. Nor would Horford. Smoove might though.

From an arena capacity standpoint, the Hawks drew almost exactly the same amount at home, than they did out on the road ( 88.3% at home to 88.5% on the road ). The 88% may sound good, but that ranked 18th overall, if you combine both totals. Add Shaq to the mix, and both of those percentages probably go into the 90% range.

You can't ignore the 15 million in endorsements he got last year ( 2nd in the NBA behind Lebron . . and just ahead of Kobe and Wade ). You can't deny that the "old man" was still in the top 10 in jersey sales last year. You can't deny that women still love that dude.

I would bet that Shaq's ATL jersey would instantly become the #1 jersey bought in Atlanta in 2010. His track record to "move the needle" speaks for itself.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

The crazy thing . . . is that NIQUE may STILL be the face of the Hawks. And he hasn't played in ATL in over 15 yrs.

[Joker]

north, Shaq is going to be a Hawk, there just working other things out first. You will be happy at the end of the day, that's for sure.

[KB21]

I'm not going to go as far as to say that Howard can't guard Shaq, even though with his size, Shaq has gotten him in foul trouble in the past. ( which is another asset that Shaq brings to the table. He forces opposing bigs to play him on the offensive end, and can draw fouls against them )

They just want you to believe that Shaq ( at age 38 ) is a garbage basketball player not even worth considering. The truth is, they simply don't like the dude, and wouldn't add him on the team, regardless of what price we could get him at. To compare Shaq to Zaza is ridiculous. Almost laughable.

KB has to hold on desperately to that "win share" stat, because every other stat about Shaq will support the fact that he's still a very productive player. What he won't tell you, is that "win shares" is a stat based on overall individual and team production while a player is on the court . . compared to overall team production total. In essence . . you have to play a lot and produce a lot, to post a good win share number most of the time.

Funny thing is . . Shaq with his small 3.1 win share number, is still better than Zaza's, Collins', and Powell's win shares . . . COMBINED

Zaza: 2.7

Powell: 0.0

Collins: -0.1 ( which is damn near impossible to do, unless you just flat out suck )

Total win shares: 2.6

But these are the lies that they want to sell you on. That Shaq is sooooo sorry, that a 3-headed monster like Zaza, Powell, and Collins is a better alternative than he is.

The same people that act like Shaq destroyed Phoenix, won't even tell you that it was SHAQ who led that team in win shares in 2008 - 09. But one of the main reasons why he led them in win shares, was because Amare Stoudemire got hurt and only played in 53 games that year.

But it's easier to perpetuate lies and say that it was Shaq's fault that the team didn't live up to expectations, than to actually look at the truth, and cite Amare's injury as a BIG REASON why the Suns didn't make the playoffs that year. Just like it is easy to say that Cleveland declined, despite the Cavs going 40 - 13 with Shaq in the lineup.

It's sad what is going on here. But I'll tell the truth, by stating nothing but the FACTS:

* Shaq's PER last year: 17.9 ( 2nd on the Cavs, and would've been 5th on the Hawks . . . 16th overall amongst all centers . .really #15, if you take the guy who only played 2 games out. )

* Shaq's Per 36 Numbers last year: 18.5 ppg - 10.3 rebs - 1.8 blks - 57% FG ( those numbers are better than Brook Lopez, Andrew Bynum, Al Horford and a host of other guys )

* Shaq's PER on a 48 minute basis at Center last year: 20.3 ( top 15 amongst the centers )

* Shaq's Opponents PER on a 48 minute basis at Center last year: 14.4 ( which is TOP 5 amongst the centers . . this is basically Shaq's Defensive PER at Center )

* Shaq drew a foul on 20% of his shots last season: ( only Zaza was better last year for the Hawks at 21% . . . Smoove: 18% . . . Horford: 14% )

Those are just some of the things that one can tangibly see on a nightly basis, when you watch the guy play. These guys are simply better off criticizing Shaq for his supposed locker room destructive traits and his supposed demands for money and playing time which will prevent him from accepting a role off the bench. Because the "Shaq is barely better than Zaza" argument is complete BS. The "Shaq is a scrub" argument, is complete BS.

You would essentially add a starting quality center to the Hawks, that would backup Al Horford, plus allow him to play more PF to really showcase what he can potentially do. From a basketball and economical standpoint, It's an absolute no-brainer to bring Shaq to Atlanta.

And just about everybody knows this, except our scared and "frugal" owners, and a few fans that can't stand Shaq.

Never fear though. Zaza, Powell, and maybe Collins can get the job done. They'll adequately backup Smoove and Horford, and all will be well.

This is why they have a stat called WS/48, which measures your individual contribution to team wins on a per minute basis. Guess what. Zaza has a higher WS/48 than Shaq. Zaza is 18th in the NBA among centers with a 0.121 WS/48. Shaq is 20th with a 0.119 WS/48. Once again, Atlanta doesn't gain anything relative to wins by adding Shaq and diminishing Zaza's playing time.

PER is a nice stat, but it is flawed because it puts too much emphasis on scoring and not enough on rebounding and defense.

Also, per 36 numbers definitely tell you more than the standard per game numbers, but if you want to go there, then Randolph Morris averaged 18.0 P/36 and 11.0 R/36 last year, and he also had 2.4 combined blocks + steals per 36 minutes last year. So, if you want to use Shaq's per 36 averages as a sign that he still is a strong player, then we might as well bring Randolph back and just give him more playing time.

[KB21]

He would be a business boom. That's almost non-debatable.

In all of our discussions about the fan base in ATL, the one thing that most people agree on, is that ATL fans like to see big name players, no matter what the sport. Shaq is still one of the most popular players in the league. The "circus", as you call him, can still play basketball. As for the teams that can land Shaq, he's only considering top level playoff teams. Squads like Miami, LA Lakers, and Phoenix are automatically eliminated, because he's already been there. San Antonio passed on him. Orlando doesn't need him. Boston may need him, because of the Perkins injury. And Dallas decided to re-up on the younger Brendan Haywood.

We're really the only team who could definitely use him, plus see the effect of his arrival at the box office. If the fans, and ATL in general, need someone to bring them out to more games, Shaq is it. No other entity on this team has the appeal of a Shaq.

As far as making him the "face of the franchise", why not? Who do people think of when they think of the Hawks? Who is the face of the franchise right now?

Is it JJ? I bet a lot of people would disagree with that, despite him being our highest paid player.

Is it Smoove? He's the guy that you'll most likely see on Sportscenter, but do a lot of people go to games specifically to see Josh Smith?

Is it Horford? Do people race to Philips to see him?

How about Crawford? Does the "tricky dribble" excite fans enough to go see it when we play Memphis?

Do other NBA fans specifically go to games to specifically see any of these players? This would be a good question to ask non-Hawk fans. Who IS the face of the Hawks?

If Shaq wants to make Atlanta . . . "Shaq-Lanta", I have no problem with that. If it meant increased revenue at the gate and from advertising, I'm putting Shaq's face everywhere concerning the Hawks. If that what it takes to move the meter in ATL, then so be it. JJ is so laid back, he probably wouldn't even care. Nor would Horford. Smoove might though.

From an arena capacity standpoint, the Hawks drew almost exactly the same amount at home, than they did out on the road ( 88.3% at home to 88.5% on the road ). The 88% may sound good, but that ranked 18th overall, if you combine both totals. Add Shaq to the mix, and both of those percentages probably go into the 90% range.

You can't ignore the 15 million in endorsements he got last year ( 2nd in the NBA behind Lebron . . and just ahead of Kobe and Wade ). You can't deny that the "old man" was still in the top 10 in jersey sales last year. You can't deny that women still love that dude.

I would bet that Shaq's ATL jersey would instantly become the #1 jersey bought in Atlanta in 2010. His track record to "move the needle" speaks for itself.

So, basically you are saying that we should make personnel decisions based on ticket sells and merchandising rather than basing the decisions on whether it will help the team win, which Shaq doesn't do.

[frankthetank966]

anyone heard anything fresh this am?