Harrington In, Jackson Out

[Lascar78]

yeah I guess it's official

the same link hotlanta posted now mentions the trade espn link

Harrington is no savior, but as a freebie, it's a great deal.

Now I wonder what's going to happen with K-Mart

Also, there's no way CC is even close to being as good as Harrington.

[KB21]

It was well known before this deal that Billy Knight really liked Al Harrington. Jay and I were just talking about this. Al brings everything Billy is looking for in a player. He's long, athletic, and versatile. What more could you want?

It is well known that Billy Knight likes Stromile Swift as well. With Memphis signing Brian Cardinal to a foolish contract, IMO, the Grizzlies are unlikely to match an offer for Swift. I believe the Hawks could get Swift on a short term deal that gives him an opportunity to get a big pay day in 2 years if he proves himself.

[pusha_c]

JT/Chill/Harrington/Swift/???

[Derek]

Do you think the Hawks will pull the offer to Martin off of the table? Or are they hoping this helps recruit him?

Things that make you go hmmmmmm.

[Plainview1981]

Swift would make a good bench player.... But JT/JC/Harrington and Swift doesn't really give you much of a future. SO sign

him to a smaller contract.

[Derek]

The thing I like about Swift is that he is a shot-blocking machine. Give him starter minutes and he could lead the NBA in blocks. We all know Woodson is going to start this rebuild with defense. Could Mr. Mean help Stro reach his potential?

[KB21]

Dude. Stromile Swift is 23 years old and is coming off a season where he shot 48% from the floor and averaged 10 points, 5 rebounds, and 1 blocked shot per game in less than 20 minutes per game. With a chance to start, this guy could explode onto the scene.

Knight won't overpay to get him. As I said, the Hawks may be able to get him to sign a short term deal that gives him the opportunity to get a big pay day if he proves himself. I personaly feel that with a starting opportunity, Stromile will put up numbers that compare to Kenyon Martin's.

[Plainview1981]

Lots of guys put up numbers. No biggie. That' doesn't

mean they really help you win as we have seen with

Reef and Dog.

Stromile can't even shoot. He'll score some junk basketpoints... But he isn't all that.

[f_town]

man this is great news...im glad we got Harrington and im glad we didnt have to give up JT to get him

keep it coming BK!

[KB21]

Stromile has never shot below 46% in his career. He knows his range limitations and doesn't jack shots from the outside like an embecile.

[Plainview1981]

His limits on offense are anything other than dunking. He'll

be a decent role player but nothing more.

[emeans]

This is great!! I love Harringtons game. If we sign Harrington and Kenyon we will be very competitive THIS YEAR!!

Billy Knight has really impressed me!!!!

[MoonKnight]

It is far from moronic to say that a healthy CC is similar to AH especially considering that CC makes far less per season cap wise. In fact the two have very similar styles of play and both are very injury prone.

[jaywalker72]

http://hawks.realgm.com/showarticle.php?artid=458

According to ESPN’s Ric Bucher, the Hawks have pulled off a major trade that will send Stephen Jackson to the Pacers for Al Harrington.

The deal would be a sign and trade with Jackson, who will reportedly get a 6 year, 44 million dollar deal from Indiana. Jackson showed what he could do statistically last season with the Hawks, showing a great ability to score, especially after the deals that sent Shareef Abdur-Rahim and Theo Ratliff out of town. Jackson also displayed great emotion, heart, and hustle during his season in Atlanta, and proved to be the team’s best defender over the course of the year.

Harrington, the 24 year old small forward, is due 13.3 million over the next two seasons, spending some of the Hawks cap space this offseason. Harrington has usually been a bench player, yet still averaged over 30 minutes per game for the Pacers. In the 15 games as a starter, Harrington averaged 14.6 points and 6.7 rebounds per contest.

The Pacers have been trying to move Harrington since just before the draft, being rumored to be dealt to a pair of lottery teams for their pick.

Jackson told us after the last home game of the season that he was seeking a 6 year deal for a salary starting just above the mid level exception (Jackson Eyes Free Agency) and now Jack appears to be getting it from Indiana. Jackson looks real good now for turning down the 3 year, 10 million dollar offer from the Spurs last offseason, cashing in on the 1 year, 1 million dollar playing time gambit with the Hawks.

Jackson averaged an amazing 24 ppg over the last 34 games of the season, all while displaying the same energy and enthusiasm he had shown all year for the Hawks.

Our sources can’t comment until the sign and trade is official, but didn’t deny knowledge of the deal. The Hawks have no official comment until the 14th on any signing or deal, per team policy.

What’s next for the Hawks?

The Hawks also got word today that the Denver Nuggets have decided to belly up to Kenyon’s Martin’s bar and match the offer the Hawks made Saturday, according to the AJC. With the acquisition of Harrington, signing Martin to an offer sheet would leave the Hawks with little cap room. Considering the Hawks are primed to go after Stromile Swift, the Hawks could pull their max offer off the table in order to attack signing the young Memphis F/C.

[Admin]

as what it would cost to get K-Mart. I definitley prefer that. As far as I am concerned I hope that we rescind the offer to K-Mart now. I would try and pick up Swift and Troy Hudson and maybe a shooter now. I might look to bring Person back.

Thanks for the news Jay......its much appreciated.

[Iman]

Wild deal. It appeared we were gonna lose Jax so Harrington seems like a freebie. Not the case, it really comes down to do we want Harrington for two years or Jax for four at similar pay. Both athletic players with upside but sometimes outta control games, Jax more of a 2/3 with Harrington a 3/4. Locking up Jax was kinda out since we hope all the 2/3's that we have will pan out, then Jax would have been redundant, Billy probably didnt want that or the longer contract requirement.

Given all that, I like it. It's a better fit. Really, Harrington is similar to an older Josh Smith. If Josh pans out, we just trade or let Harrington go. Jax would have taken PT from players we wanna develop.

Harrington gives us a deeper team that I thought we would have this year. Now we just need some bigmen. Even though super scout Hottlanta states it's fact that Harrington is gonna be a big upgrade over Crawford and Diaw at the 3, I'm not that sure but I do like the depth. Harrington seems to have limited basketball knowledge. Hottlanta probably just likes Harrington because best I can tell both are about equal in intelligence..lol. I would have rather had a Battier type player if we were gonna get more swingmen. But no doubt Harrington is an athlete and can be fun to watch. Coach Woodson may get sick of hollering at Harrington and JT's idiotic moves if he keeps them on the floor together too much.

[sinctybldh]

I would like to at the bare minimum get Swift and bring back Sura. You gotta love the heart and hustle Sura brings. He and Diaw would be excellent options coming off the bench.

[Snaggle]

Ok, so you're saying thatif CC played on a really good team he couldn't put up decent numbers? He averaged 19 ppg as a starter and that was against some of the better teams. Do you really believe Harrington can do this? CC has never had the chance partly because of his injuries to show us his best but when he's healthy we can't do much better for the money. We could resign him for what he's making now which would be a bargain. Harrignton hasn't shown anything that CC can't do. If we are going after talent sign someone better than what we have. CC is a bargain and we should keep him for the same amount of money. Let's not eat up cap space to get mediocre talent. To say Harrington is better is SO WRONG.

[DominiqueWilkins]

I'm glad to hear the news, because I have been wanting this to happen, and felt it had came to a end. The rumors with Jackson/Harrington and Jason Terry/Harrington have been around for awhile now, but they seemed to die out not long ago.

Al Harrington is a great pickup for the Hawks, and I just hope the trade actually happenes.

[thrasherdog21]

How big is Swift? Can he play C?

JT/Child/Smith(J or D)/Harrington/Swift would be fun to watch