Hawks Roundup: Hawks Hold a Pair of Jackets

[jaywalker72]

http://hawks.realgm.com/showarticle.php?artid=472

It will become official tomorrow, but the HFO has learned from sources that the Hawks will near completion of their 2004-2005 roster with the signing of 2 veteran guards, namely Kenny Anderson and Jon Barry.

Anderson and Barry both attended local institution Georgia Tech, and they both will now by asked by Hawks Czar Billy Knight to instruct the very young Hawks core how to be a pro.

No doubt when we go to the press conference tomorrow at 1pm at the arena, we will hear Billy Knight extol the virtues of the veteran backcourt signees, but if his pattern holds to the same praised bestowed upon recent additions Antoine Walker and Tony Delk, little of his words will relate to actual on-court performance.

When Knight acquired Walker and Delk, he went out of his way to tell Hawks watchers that they were here to show the young Hawks the class, professionalism, and preparation of being a member of the L. Safe to say that Knight is going to do the same with Anderson and Barry, hoping to show kids like Josh Childress, Boris Diaw, Donta Smith, and Royal Ivey how to get themselves ready to be a pro.

Neither signings catch anyone by surprise, as both had been rumored for quite a while. Anderson had told people that he would one day like to finish his career in Atlanta, and Barry kept the Hawks in mind while he was underwhelmed by the dried out free agent market. When the Nuggets made their move to sign Sixers flop Greg Buckner, it eliminated the main competitor to the Hawks for Barry’s service.

Anderson helps the Hawks next year by being a more than capable playmaker for a team that has lacked such a player for a few years. It would certainly players like Walker, Al Harrington, Josh Smith, Childress, Diaw, and others to have a table setter to make the offensive end flow a little better, and make the transition for the younger guards a little easier as well.

Anderson played very well with Walker in Boston, where his departure after the Celtics took the Nets to the playoff limit made both Walker and Paul Pierce a little wanting for Anderson’s assistance.

Barry brings a toughness and hustle that Bob Sura left behind on his way to Houston. His defensive reputation and his hustle are attributes that Knight would surely like to rub off on his younger charges.

[Weez]

all I gotta say is the table's now set. I'm rooting for an all-out 'get swift' campaign. accumulate talent...we now have a mix of "true vets" (on the 5 year players who're called "vets") and true "youngens"...

[capstone21]

I feel this sigh of relief. Two great signings and a great move forward for the franchise. The roster is really shaping up now!!!!

We can now focus on our C/PF. I think the money for Swift is gone. Clark is still a great possibility.

[emeans]

Excellent informtation. These are good veteran guards that will offer some leadership on the floor.

This is a mute question because Sura is not on the team anymore, however I am just curious on what this questions answer will be from the guys on the forum.

Would you have wanted Sura or Barry?

[JaHawk10]

"Would you have wanted Sura or Barry?"

I'd have to say Barry, although i loved Sura's hustle. Barry brings more to the table as far as offense and shooting is concerned. And he is not afraid to get his hands dirty either. I would not have been upset if Sura was re-signed tho...

[CBAreject]

I think this team will be 'in it' by the end of the year, and the addition of Swift could really help us on a run at the 8th spot. There's enough veteran leadership now to make playoffs feasible, though not probable, IMO.

Swift or no, Billy Knight's offseason will still be called a 'failure' by sports writers since he 'failed' to get KMart or Damp to take his money.

Is anyone disappointed that we don't have those guys locked up to massive deals right now?

[OGRat]

I'm pretty happy with the off-season's additions to the team, but I hope that we are not done with regards to the C position. I don't think anyone will fear going to the rack against Drob or Collier. Otherwise our perimeter D will have to be impermeable.

[jezmund]

Kevin Willis I read might be the big man.

[Spiral]

I would love to have Swift as well. I hope we at least make an offer to put some heat on the Griz. I feel Jerry West intimidates other GM's because of his rep. Even if Memphis does match, I'd like to see Jerry have to sweat it out and be forced to make roster cuts that he doesn't really want to make.

[Plainview1981]

It says that Anderson is likely for one year and Barry

might be signed for two years. I kind of figured it to

be the other way around. But perhaps this is Kenny

Andersons final year in the league.

[Packfill]

Swift would be nice to have but I don't see how he fits the teams long term goals if the future at forward is a combo of Josh Smith and Al Harrington. Swift is better than anything the Hawks have at center now, but if this team has long range playoff ambitions then a real center will be needed in the future.

The accumulation of talent idea has worked in Memphis but it has backfired in other places - I am thinking Portland, but those guys were more established.

[d2v16DKG]

Let me get this straight. We have a much-publicized fire sale because we were going to use all the money to get some great players. For some strange reason, we couldn't or didn't want to sign Bobby Sura (who played his heart out for us) and the net result is we get Kenny Anderson (who never reached the hype potential he was supposed to and has traveled from team to team) and Jon Barry (who we've seen once before). So this is supposed to be the great players we were looking for. I don't even recognize the Hawks anymore (other than Chris Crawford). Who's Tony Delk?

[Sage11]

I have been waiting to exhale for a while now as it pertains to this roster. Good moves BK, both capable teachers. I can’t wait for the season to start. Another Big man will not hurt. I think we are still "soft" in the middle.

[Nicholasp27]

Quote:

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Let me get this straight. We have a much-publicized fire sale because we were going to use all the money to get some great players.

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yes

we got from our "fire sale":

a) Josh Smith

b) Al Harrington

c) Antoine Walker (good player, or great cap space or great trade bait...take ur pick)

d) Drobs (ok, jury still out on this one)

e) rid of JT, the tweener who wasn't leading us anywhere

not bad considering we still have space and flexibility and potential...much different from our previous team that couldn't win games and cost 2x the price and was gonna leave this summer anyway for nothing...

btw, f) will come about in february at the trade deadline...just wait and see

[macdaddy]

I agree. I think we are doing really well at putting a competitive entertaining team on the floor without tying are hands with long term contracts. This team has some players and Walker adds some star quality to it.

[d2v16DKG]

The main thing that concerns me is that in the sport of basketball, playing together as a team is important; and if we keep changing all our players, we will never get a cohesive unit out there. Can somebody please explain why we didn't try to sign Bobby Sura!! I actually thought JT and Bobby Sura played well together last year.

[macdaddy]

I agree about team chemistry but that was gone (if it was ever here) when we traded SAR and Theo. Jt was our only valuable trade bait so we had to get rid of him. I like Sura too but looking good in playground ball on a lottery team is a lot different than contributing to a good team. He's been in the league a while and hasn't established himself very well. His hustle is great but he doesn't seem like a good shooter. Still I would have like to have him but I don't know that we really need him. It would be fun to see him play with Walker though.

[OGRat]

Not to mention the health issues with Bobby Sura. He often spends major portions of a season on IL. That withstanding, I believe that if he had been a better shooter, and wasn't looking for a contract to retire on, we would have resigned him.

[d2v16DKG]

Ok, I'll let it rest with Bobby Sura, but we're not going to find anybody to play as hard as he did! I just wish I could remember some of these names of current Hawk players. I am really expecting total disaster this year, but I'll try to keep an open mind.

[Nicholasp27]

barry is a hustler and hard worker

and we have all-new players and knight won't be swapping them out TOO often, so our team won't be in disarray and will have time to gel

but in order to turn over a whole squad of 12 players, u have to have change...