Sekou Smith predicts us to be 'Utah Jazz South' after 2013 Free Agency

[pimp]

Jefferson seems like the new S.A.R (Shareef)he puts up nices stats, but Jazz fans don't think he's a winner ,and they would prefer to keep Milsap instead of him.

[Jody23]

I'm not remotely interested in anything that means a return to mediocrity and what Sekou suggested in that article would mean exactly that. We've been there as a franchise for the last seven years. No thanks.

Edited May 10, 2013 by Jody23

[Kimsey]

For the love of everything holy, stop these ideas for the Hawks SS. It's better off just letting go of Teague and Josh while signing younger players like Pat Beverly, Mack, Reggie Williams, Speights, and keeping the 4 draft picks. Just tank for the 2014 season and go for a high pick with a deeper free agent class.

Those saying tank for Wiggins, you can't out tank atleast three teams. If we get a top 5 pick we'll be alright.

[coachx]

Can't use that logic, even though they did help Utah. The problem in Utah was that their guard play overall was poor, especially on the defensive end.

Saying Jefferson is not a center is like saying Tim Duncan is not a center. And I'm not saying that Jefferson has comparable talent to Duncan. What I am saying though is that in the NBA today, Jefferson plays like a center, rebounds like a center, and can hold his position defensively like a center.

And the BIG reason to bring him on, is that you can still interchange both players at center, by playing one of them with the 2nd unit. Imagine having the option to play Horford or Jefferson with the 2nd unit, instead of Zaza or Johan Petro. That would be an instant upgrade to this team. At that point, what the Hawks would need to decide, is if we'd be better off with a defensive center on the team, or a good PF off the bench.

LOL . . so I'd be all for a situation in which we brought in both Jefferson and Millsap, to play with Horford. That's arguably the best trio of big men in the Eastern Conference. As long as we added the right type of guards and defensive wings on this team, that would be a big upgrade to this squad overall.

I like everything you said but disagree on Milsap.

I'd rather sling that money to JJ Hickson or Tyreke Evans.

I would also be fine relying on Dieng in the draft. He is a natural rim protector and would fit in well covering Jefferson's weaknesses.

With a post player like Jefferson, Atlanta would have a steady half court offense for the first time this century.

Edited May 10, 2013 by coachx

[Dragitoff]

The interchangeable thing is a good point since Jefferson, while he can block shots, is generally considered a weak defender. You can use Horf against the better offensive player, but Jefferson against the guys who are "bangers" since he has a bigger frame. Getting a defensive guy to come off the bench like Dalembert or through the draft would be smart money IMO.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

For the love of everything holy, stop these ideas for the Hawks SS. It's better off just letting go of Teague and Josh while signing younger players like Pat Beverly, Mack, Reggie Williams, Speights, and keeping the 4 draft picks. Just tank for the 2014 season and go for a high pick with a deeper free agent class.

Those saying tank for Wiggins, you can't out tank atleast three teams. If we get a top 5 pick we'll be alright.

Top 5 picks the last 5 years

All-Stars in RED

Starters in ORANGE

Disappointments in BLUE

2008

1) Derrick Rose

2) Michael Beasley

3) OJ Mayo

4) Russell Westbrook

5) Kevin Love

2009

1) Blake Griffin

2) Hasheem Thabeet

3) James Harden

4) Tyreke Evans

5) Ricky Rubio

2010

1) John Wall

2) Evan Turner

3) Derrick Favors

4) Wesley Johnson

5) Demarcus Cousins

2011

1) Kyrie Irving

2) Derrick Williams

3) Enes Kanter

4) Tristan Thompson

5) Jonas Valanciunas

2012

1) Anthony Davis

2) Michael Kidd-Gilchrist

3) Bradley Beal

4) Dion Waiters

5) Thomas Robinson

[MaceCase]

LOL . . what style? WE only averaged 98 ppg last year.

Who cares about "boring" if you win? Memphis is "boring", but their fans embrace that team unconditionally.

Heck, if the Hawks want to produce an "exciting" team, just go out and give JR Smith and Nate Robinson 3 yr - 24 million dollar deals, and let them run and gun all day with Lou. It might not produce a lot of wins, but we'd be "exciting".

Hawks pace was ranked 12th in the league (to Utah's 21st) while being tops in fast break points. I think they managed to stay entertaining while also winning.

[MrNique]

I love the idea of Jefferson as far as half court offense go. Hes amongst a dying breed of post players with actual offensive skill (Pau, ZBo...) And I think Al is a really nice 4 to have next to him with his shooting and defensive skills. And he's only 28! This is sometimes where post players really start to use their experience to their advantage.What scares me is this winner thing. None of his teams have ever been succesful despite his strengths in the post. Maybe it's circumstance. Rebuilding Boston team, rebuilding Minny team, rebuilding Utah team... Maybe not.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

I like everything you said but disagree on Milsap.

I'd rather sling that money to JJ Hickson or Tyreke Evans.

I would also be fine relying on Dieng in the draft. He is a natural rim protector and would fit in well covering Jefferson's weaknesses.

With a post player like Jefferson, Atlanta would have a steady half court offense for the first time this century.

If you want Hickson instead of Millsap, I'd have no problem with that. Horford - Jefferson - Hickson . . . no problem with that at all, especially considering that Lou Williams would probably still take most of the shots with that 2nd unit. JJ can rebound Lou's and Jenkins' misses. And he almost always attacks the rim.

He looked better than Blake Griffin in this game

Portland fans would have a fit if they lost that dude this summer.

[nitte]

I will really hate if we sign underachieving (Tyreke, O.J.), delusional (Monta Ellis, Jennings, JR Smith) or injury prone (Bynum) players. We need high character guys.

[gt4403]

The thing you have to ask yourself is whether that team is any better than the team we just dismantled last summer. I believe Joe Johnson's contract runs three more years. My opinion is if we go that direction, we should have just stayed the course and settled for the second round each year. My guess is, Ferry doesn't do anything that he doesn't believe would lead to a championship and those players are not leading us to a championship.

[Kimsey]

Top 5 picks the last 5 years

All-Stars in RED

Starters in ORANGE

Disappointments in BLUE

2008

1) Derrick Rose

2) Michael Beasley

3) OJ Mayo

4) Russell Westbrook

5) Kevin Love

2009

1) Blake Griffin

2) Hasheem Thabeet

3) James Harden

4) Tyreke Evans

5) Ricky Rubio

2010

1) John Wall

2) Evan Turner

3) Derrick Favors

4) Wesley Johnson

5) Demarcus Cousins

2011

1) Kyrie Irving

2) Derrick Williams

3) Enes Kanter

4) Tristan Thompson

5) Jonas Valanciunas

2012

1) Anthony Davis

2) Michael Kidd-Gilchrist

3) Bradley Beal

4) Dion Waiters

5) Thomas Robinson

But Wiggins, Parker, Smart, Randle, Harrison is headlining the 2014 draft though. The next 5 prospects after them are very good prospects as well.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

Hawks pace was ranked 12th in the league (to Utah's 21st) while being tops in fast break points. I think they managed to stay entertaining while also winning.

Faster pace, but averaged exactly the same number of points ( 98 ) . . . had a worse offensive rating ( ATL - 104.8 . . . UTH - 106.7 ) . . . and won one more game in the East, while the Jazz played in the tougher Western Conference.

Entertaining were the Hawks in 2009 - 10, when we were averaging over 101 ppg and beating just about everybody at home ( 34 wins ). Last year's team was up and down like a roller coaster.

[gt4403]

We are in such a difficult position right now. Teams without stars don't win big and we don't have any. I'm not a proponent of tanking because it's too unpredictable and for the most part the good organizations never tank, they just make good decisions. I'm also not a proponent of signing mid career veterans to large contracts who are not stars and have reached their ceiling. I think the only way to move forward is to identify the young player or players that you can build around. They can be in the draft or on some teams roster right now. You identify them and then find a way to make a deal to get them. Then when you have your new core, you fill in the gaps with veterans to build a team that can compete for titles.

[MaceCase]

I love the idea of Jefferson as far as half court offense go. Hes amongst a dying breed of post players with actual offensive skill (Pau, ZBo...) And I think Al is a really nice 4 to have next to him with his shooting and defensive skills. And he's only 28! This is sometimes where post players really start to use their experience to their advantage.What scares me is this winner thing. None of his teams have ever been succesful despite his strengths in the post. Maybe it's circumstance. Rebuilding Boston team, rebuilding Minny team, rebuilding Utah team... Maybe not.

The winner thing is relevant because he's never been in the realm of the same scoring efficiency as those other post players. His TS% hovers right above league average which is never great for someone taking up that much of your offense.

But Wiggins, Parker, Smart, Randle, Harrison is headlining the 2014 draft though. The next 5 prospects after them are very good prospects as well.

Yup and add in that even in those years:

2008 also saw Gallinari, Eric Gordon and Brook Lopez go in the next 5 picks.

2009 saw Steph Curry go at 7

2010 saw Greg Monroe and Paul George go in the next 5 picks

2011 was panned as monumentally weak draft yet you can still take Brandon Knight and Kemba Walker as rotation guys in the top 10

2012 was a much deeper class and featured Damian Lillard, Harrison Barnes and Andre Drummond right outside the top 5

There are some duds but overall your percentage on hitting on a stud player is rather high in the top 10.

Faster pace, but averaged exactly the same number of points ( 98 ) . . . had a worse offensive rating ( ATL - 104.8 . . . UTH - 106.7 ) . . . and won one more game in the East, while the Jazz played in the tougher Western Conference.

Entertaining were the Hawks in 2009 - 10, when we were averaging over 101 ppg and beating just about everybody at home ( 34 wins ). Last year's team was up and down like a roller coaster.

The Hawks tanked the end of the season while the Jazz were playing for their play off lives and bowed out from the 7th seed. That 09 team was also near dead last in pace so you seem to be greatly confusing efficiency (odd since this criteria is never brought up with Jefferson) with speed of the game.

[GameTime]

We are in such a difficult position right now. Teams without stars don't win big and we don't have any. I'm not a proponent of tanking because it's too unpredictable and for the most part the good organizations never tank, they just make good decisions. I'm also not a proponent of signing mid career veterans to large contracts who are not stars and have reached their ceiling. I think the only way to move forward is to identify the young player or players that you can build around. They can be in the draft or on some teams roster right now. You identify them and then find a way to make a deal to get them. Then when you have your new core, you fill in the gaps with veterans to build a team that can compete for titles.

Good organizations either tank or get the Big FA in the offseason. If you can't do the latter you tank. This is where the good GM (team) comes to bring in elite talent that he scouted or you will be the Clippers (Sterling) or Bobcats (Jordan)

[Plainview1981]

Can't use that logic, even though they did help Utah. The problem in Utah was that their guard play overall was poor, especially on the defensive end.

Saying Jefferson is not a center is like saying Tim Duncan is not a center. And I'm not saying that Jefferson has comparable talent to Duncan. What I am saying though is that in the NBA today, Jefferson plays like a center, rebounds like a center, and can hold his position defensively like a center.

And the BIG reason to bring him on, is that you can still interchange both players at center, by playing one of them with the 2nd unit. Imagine having the option to play Horford or Jefferson with the 2nd unit, instead of Zaza or Johan Petro. That would be an instant upgrade to this team. At that point, what the Hawks would need to decide, is if we'd be better off with a defensive center on the team, or a good PF off the bench.

LOL . . so I'd be all for a situation in which we brought in both Jefferson and Millsap, to play with Horford. That's arguably the best trio of big men in the Eastern Conference. As long as we added the right type of guards and defensive wings on this team, that would be a big upgrade to this squad overall.

Jefferson is a poor defender. Duncan blocks shots and all of that stuff, Jefferson does nothing. He's a blackhole somewhat like Shareef was. He rebounds at the same level as Al roughly and we want to move Al away from the center position. If you're the Thunder and you already have Durant and Westbrook... Adding Jefferson seems reasonable. But if you're the Hawks and you go locking Teague, Horf, Milsap and Jefferson into big contracts then you're just going to get more of the same. It's simply not good enough and signing those two guys to big contracts suggest that this franchise still doesn't have the drive to try and piece a championship team together.

On top of that, neither Milsap or Jefferson are that young and Jefferson's numbers have been on the decline for 3 years.

Edited May 10, 2013 by Hotlanta1981

[yungsta]

signing jefferson and milsap or hickson would be terrible. We would be stuck as a 40 win team for the next 4 or 5 years. With little room for improvement. We cant just keep stacking B and C level talent and expect things to be different.

[Plainview1981]

signing jefferson and milsap or hickson would be terrible. We would be stuck as a 40 win team for the next 4 or 5 years. With little room for improvement. We cant just keep stacking B and C level talent and expect things to be different.

If those guys want to sign fairly cheaper contracts then that might be different. But 10-15 million for Jefferson isn't going to cut it for this team.

[GameTime]

If those guys want to sign fairly cheaper contracts then that might be different. But 10-15 million for Jefferson isn't going to cut it for this team.

Jefferson is AT least getting 15 million