Hawks News (1-24-04)

Hawks News (1-24-04)

Hawks face daunting Detroit (1-24-04).
http://www.ajc.com/hawks/content/sports/ha...04/25hawks.html

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In position to sneak in (1-24-04).
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/basketb.../sfl-ira25jan25,0,2020419.column

NOT A MENACE:

The thought was sincere, but considering he's an NBA player, something will likely get lost in the translation: A day after his fiancee delivered a baby girl, Hawks forward Stephen Jackson went out and scored 19 points on a season-high four 3-pointers in a victory over Toronto. "Well," Jackson said, "if I can shoot like this every night, I'll be having a baby every day." The child was his third.

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For Hometown Hero Abdur-Rahim, New York's Not the Apple of His Eye (1-24-04).
http://www.newsday.com/sports/basketball/n...e243640674jan24,0,3115956.story?coll=ny-basketball-headlines

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Knicks notebook: Three-way deal unlikely (1-24-04).
http://www.nj.com/sports/ledger/index.ssf?...27238102750.xml

ATLANTA -- Isiah Thomas and Billy Knight met for about 35 minutes outside the Hawks' locker room last night, each man highly motivated to change his roster for very different reasons.

Thomas wants to make his Knicks more athletic while Knight, the Hawks' GM, wants to slash payroll. And not coincidentally, rumors abound that the two general managers are trying to put together a three-way trade with Portland.

But it may be problematic.

The Knicks would acquire forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim ($13.5M) in the proposed deal, and ship Keith Van Horn ($13.3M) to Portland. The Blazers, in turn, would send Rasheed Wallace ($16.9M) to Atlanta, which is in salary-dump mode and would let him skip in the summer. Spare parts would be added to make the salaries match.

The problem: The Blazers held it up because they also want Kurt Thomas, according to one Eastern Conference GM familiar with the talks. Van Horn is not enough, especially for Blazers GM John Nash, who was bum-rushed by agent David Falk into giving Van Horn that $73 million deal with the Nets four years ago.

Secondly, are the Knicks willing to send away two starting forwards for the price of one -- even if Abdur-Rahim is a near 20-and-10 man? Not likely, unless there is a side deal for an athletic small forward.

But Isiah Thomas doesn't want to be put in a situation in which he has to proclaim his everlasting loyalty to Kurt Thomas. When asked how difficult it would be to part with his starting power forward, the team president replied, "I'll never talk about anything like that. And if I was to answer that question, I would totally have to lie to you."

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NBA RUMOR MILL - Making The Trade? The East (1-24-04).
http://www.hoopsworld.com/article_6924.shtml

WHAT’S ACTIVE – The East:

Atlanta Hawks: The Hawks have a few players on the market namely Shareef Abdur-Rahim and Theo Ratliff, the prices on these guys are pretty steep, and it’s said making a deal with Atlanta, which is still influx pending the sale of the team is complicated. Jason terry is mentioned as a player who’d like a trade, but his new contract makes him a tough chip to move, not to mention the one on his shoulder.

Who’s Interested? The Blazers are rumored to have eyes for Shareef, and the Mavericks were rumored to have eyes for Theo. Its also possible Theo ends up with the 76ers again, rumor has it they have been inquiring in a quiet kind of way.

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NBA season: First-half recap (1-24-04).
http://www.tcpalm.com/tcp/basketball/article/0,1651,TCP_1190_2600046,00.html

FIVE PLAYERS ON THE TRADING BLOCK:

Jason Terry, Atlanta: The Hawks need to make dramatic changes. It could start by dealing either this frustrated guard or by moving talented but expensive forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim. Both players could help contending teams, but they've already proved they can't turn around Atlanta.

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Atlanta Hawks Team Report - January 24.
http://sportsnetwork.com/default.asp?c=spo.../ACN3019342.htm

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Win 4 VIP Tickets to See Hawks vs. T-Mac Plus a Philips DVD Player.
http://www.nba.com/hawks/fans/hawkssurvey_040116.html