Packfill

I would trade Zaza for Pryz in a heartbeat.

Well, he seems to feel he owes the blazers and has family nearby. You could argue that by looking at their roster it was likely they would not be a .500 team the following season given the loss of Rasheed and the turmoil. I am surprised Atlanta didn't give him an offer.

For another losing situation?

For all the "squawking" we do, we have to remember that being a Hawks fan makes all of us a part of a small community and we stand together in the end.

Right now it is just speculation as to what Smith will become. It is really up to him and the coaches. The coaches need to decide what they want him to be. On his end if he is going to be a power forward he has to continue getting stronger and work on a post game and post defense, blocking out, etc. If he is going to be a small forward he has to learn to dribble, work on his jump shot and learn to stay in front of his man on defense. He may become Ben Wallace - he may become Keon Clark. He may become Dominique or he may become Kenny "Sky" Walker.

Howard as I think he has more potential on the defensive end. I believe Bosh is the superior scoring threat though and probably always will be.

He should know better.

Why didn't he sign with the Hawks previously? Either BK did not want him or he did not want to play for the Hawks. Plus, it is unclear whether Pryz is worth more then the mid-level exception.

Quote: Actually JJ has been playing the point more often lately because Ivey can't. There are three teams that can offer Joel more that the MLE; NO, Charlotte, and the Bulls. NO has Anderson. Charlotte has Okafor. The Bulls have Chandler. Even if Portland did a sign and trade Joel couldn't get more than MLE because Portland is over the cap. And even if they could do it they wouldn't because they are looking to unload salary and rebuild through youth. That leaves the Hawks as the only team that can offer more than the MLE and doesn't have a similar player on the roster already. Slim and none....right. Maybe you haven't notice but Anderson is not very good. PJ Brown is playing most of the minutes at center for NO. PJ likely will not be wearing a NO uniform next year. So, Pryz is a pretty good fit there and they don't have the bad blood that exists between Pryz and Atlanta for whatever reason. You want Atlanta to stockpile centers by acquiring Nene and Pryz. Why wouldn't NO want to do the same? Plus Okafor is a power forward. Prezac is their center. Chandler can play power forward (although he is not playing well period right now) for the Bulls and is injury prone so I imagine they wouldn't mind stockpiling talent as well. Slim and none!

He wasn't exactly telling the truth when he proclaimed JJ the Hawks new point guard in the off-season.

Charlie V?

Quote: Quote: Either way it makes the chances of signing him as a free agent slim to none. Those would be about the same odds that Vegas would have given the Hawks of landing JJ. Trace met with BK on a season ticket holder get together and asked him why Przybilla left. BK wouldn't give specifics other than to say he wanted him but Joel wanted to go elsewhere. So what makes you think he would sign with the Hawks now? Circular logic. And I doubt BK was telling Traceman the whole truth. That is like saying President Bush is telling us the whole truth about illegally listening into private conversations.

Lets be honest here, even if Donta develops into a player his chances of getting meaningful playing time are slim to none with Marvin/Chill/JJ/Salim in his way.

I would do the Donta for Loren Woods trade but doubt it will have a meaningful impact on the court.

The thing I don't understand is why people want/expect him to fail? He is a 20 year old rookie that has played brilliantly and his play has directly translated into wins for a team that is very young and lacks talent. To suggest that a 20 year old will not improve is laughable. Obviously it can happen, but it would be the exception not the norm.

Quote: apparently it was out of bk's control...he did not cause pryz's leave and couldn't resign pryz...we are unsure if it was pryz's decision or something else, but we know it wasn't bk's choice to let him go Why are we sure of this? Did BK try and resign him? Did Pryz just say he doesn't want to be in Atlanta? Either way it makes the chances of signing him as a free agent slim to none.

Quote: one thing to keep in mind is learning the weaknesses of a new player..once the league's players play with Paul more I think he'll have a little tougher time defensively with them due to his size that we talked about predraft.. once marvin gets it, his naturaly physical skills will help him against that.. I am sorry, but regardless of where you stand on the Marvin/Paul debate, that is the biggest load of crap ever. John Stockton never slowed down did he? Mark Price got worse? Kevin Johnson was hindered by his six foot frame? Larry Bird was hindered by his lack of athleticism? Reggie Miller was thrown of his game because of his lack of strength? There are hundreds of players with exceptional athletic abilities that were not able to translate that into NBA stardom.

I doubt both would sign long-term due to the playing time issue.

Francis is a shooting guard (he is not a point guard, watch him play). Joe Johnson and Salim Stoudamire are shooting guards. Why do the Hawks need Francis?

But you gotta love his potential!

So he is injury prone?

Foyle's contract is an abomination. The Hawks want no part of that.

Quote: Quote: But do any of those guys help their teams win? You think the Hawks will win giving up 45 pts in the paint per game? Any big man who has ability will get paid. Nene is seen by most non-Hawks homers as being the best available center. He will get paid. The key issue is that the Hawks have all the leverage against him. How many offer sheets did Curry, Chandler and Dalembert get from other teams last year? Coming off an injury Nene is unlikely to go the Rodmonovich route taking a one year tender offer. And other teams are unlikely to sign him to an offer sheet for fear the Hawks will simply match. After the JJ episode other teams know the Hawks will pay a player they like. Nene may not like it but he will quickly learn losing a season due to injury in a contract year can be expensive. actually, since he is coming off injury he may want to sign the one year tender so he can play well for a year and get a bigger deal after. If he is as good as advertised it should be a no brainer.

Quote: Daly, Chandler, Curry all are overpaid based on their production. That is the way it is with big men. Look at the contracts of Dampier or Martin. Think those are good deals? Hawks won't get any center for a bargain price who is a good defender. it is called supply and demand. They will, however, continue to be the worst interior D in the league without one. But do any of those guys help their teams win?

I am pretty sure Al would sign a long term deal with the Hawks if given a fair offer and if the team continues to develop. As for Nene's injuries lowering his contract expectations it clearly should. But Chandler has a bad back which is a big deal with big men. Nene's injuries are expected to fully heal and result in no long term damage. Someone will likely offer him $10 million because of the dearth of big men - the question is whether he becomes an anchor player who plays to the value of his contract or whether he becomes a colossal waste of money like Adonal Foyle, Eric Dampier, Michael Olowakandi, Shawn Bradley, Jerome James, etc.