May as well keep Al...

[exodus]

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Both Nene and Watson are career back-ups

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I assume you realize that they are both coming off their rookie contracts. They were playing behind Jason Williams and Camby, both productive vets. Saying they are career backups is a little misleading since they haven't been in the league very long (Watson 4 yrs, Nene 3).

If they wait until the offseason not only will they be without a pg and c, they will also be without Al. he said himself "It would take a lot for Atlanta to resign me."

I don't see what is so ambiguous about that statement.

Atlanta has a glut at the forward spot and needs a center and a pg. This deal, if it is available, is a no brainer.

[Packfill]

You need to consider the fact that Al's best chance of landing a large contract is with the Hawks. The Hawks do have a glut of forwards but right now it is premature to trade Al since Childress and Marvin are still very much unknown quantities. Neither Nene or Watson are exceptional talents.

It is a trade I would be more inclined to consider in the off-season as a sign and trade. But, it is not exactly a slam dunk trade as similar deals can be had in the off-season.

[exodus]

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It is a trade I would be more inclined to consider in the off-season as a sign and trade.

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It won't be available in the offseason, that is the point. It is available now because it is a 3 way deal and Denver would get Artest. Indy is looking to move him now.

In the offseason Al is unrestricted. Even players who say they want to stay frequently leave. JJ chose to leave a winning team. Hughes left a winning team. All the Hawks would have to show for it is cap space and the daunting prospect of trying to lure free agents.

[Packfill]

I would rather take my chances with signing Al in the off-season (either to keep or trade) then making a trade now that destroys what little chemistry the team now has and does not guarantee any improvement in the long run. There is no guarantee Nene will ever be as good as Zaza and Watson, while a significant improvement over what the Hawks currently have, is not the kind of dynamic floor general that creates opportunities for others. If the trade involved getting a talent like Devin Harris, Jarrett Jack, Shaun Livingston, Chris Paul, Deron Williams or Raymond Felton then I would be strongly inclined to consider it.

[exodus]

Obvously you haven't seen Nene play. He is one of the best man defenders at center in the league. The reason is that he is very quick for his size.

I just don't understand how Al chooses to become a free agent instead of resigning, says he would rather play on a winning team with vets, says how painful it has been playing in Atlanta, says that "It would take a lot" for Atlanta to resign him and yet people still harbor the delusion that Al wants to play here.

And even if he did resign his lack of D and regular turnovers offset his big scoring games.

[Diesel]

The point that you miss Exodus is that Al said his number 1 concern was MONEY..

Go back and do your homework..

Then figure out how many winning teams have money to spend.. More money than the MLE.

BK can do with Al the same thing he has done with every free agent save Walker. Let them test the market and either work out a SNT or catch them with a lowball offer.

If the Market dictates Al's price as an UFA without Bird rights, Al is looking at prolly 6-7 million dollars at best. Not because that's what he's worth, but because that's all that a winning team would have to give.

Again. Do your homework.

So as others have told you... He stands the best chance to be either re-signed by Atlanta or used in a SNT.

There's no need to get excited about Watson - can't run an offense well or Nene' 11ppg, 6.5rpg,

[exodus]

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Nene' 11ppg, 6.5rpg,

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So now you have gone from arguing that Nene is unrestricted, which he isn't, to arguing he is unproductive by using his stats in his 2nd year. Yet you refuse to acknowlege than Chill's stats (8ppg in 27 minutes) have any relevance at all.

And let me introduce you to a word you apparently aren't familiar with....DEFENSE. Apparently you and Al both don't understand this word. The Hawks are the 3rd worst in the league. Nene and Watson are two of the toughest defenders at their positions in the league. As we have seen the Hawks have guys who can shoot. They need guys who can defend. They can conceivably get two of them by trading one of their surplus of forwards.

You tell me to do my homework yet you don't understand when a player is restricted or unrestricted, even though you quoted the terms yourself.

Before Al came here he said he would have liked to play in Chicago. What's their cap situation look like Mr Expert?

[Plainview1981]

About 7 million.

Let's face it, Al's not that good of a rebounder or defensive player and is a blackhole on offense.

[Traceman]

I have heard him say on SEVERAL occasions that he would PREFER to stay in Atlanta but he is keeping ALL of his options open. He has also made it clear that money is #1 on his list but that winning is a huge consideration as well. That said, I don't think there is ANY question that Al would gladly stay here if we offered him the money he is looking for. The million dollar question is HOW MUCH is he looking for?

[Traceman]

I agree that Al is the best player in the deal BUT can we afford to play Al $10M a season with what we are paying Joe already and STILL fill the significant needs we have at PG and Center? Maybe we can but that is the question that BK had better answer before it is too late. I know that the Bulls will be far enough under the cap to make Al a big offer if they choose to do so and I have heard that they were interested. It would be a shame to see him pull a Larry Hughes and see him go to the Bulls without us getting ANY compensation for him.

[Traceman]

That is certainly not inconceivable. What is to stop the Bulls from making a big play for Al next year? In addition, are you confident enough in the idea that Al wants to be here that you would be willing to gamble that he won't sign with the Bulls for equal money?

[Diesel]

I would pay Al 6 yrs 55 million dollars.

No other team could match that deal really. I think the teams that could are the Bulls, the Sonics, and the Hornets, and possibly the Clipps.

The Hornets have Des Mason and West, I don't think they'd spend that much to get Al...

Seattle has to decide if they want Radman back.

The Bulls have to figure out if they want Al or Peja... then what do they do with Nicioni, Deng, and the rest.

And

the Clipps already have the dynamic duo of Maggette/Brand working very well together.

Our needs can be taken care of in the offseason.

PG either from FAcy (Claxton) or in the draft (RONDO)

C from FAcy (Olowakhandi)..

But to be honest. I like Zaza at C. He works hard and can you really find any fault?

I think we can be on tract if we just find a defensive C to back up Zaza (Morris) and we get one of those PGs... More than Likely Rondo.

There's no need to do a knee jerk reaction when the chemistry is starting to look good.

[Diesel]

Let's look at recent History.

We almost paid Kenyon Martin 6 years 70 million dollars.

Has Al been better than Kenyon?

If Not, I think Denver would trade us Kenyon for Al/Delk happily.

BUT.. I trust BK in negotiations. He has a very good poker face and he understands what it takes to get players here.

[TheRedStripes]

I hope we don't get Olawakandi, ZaZa is already twice the player he is, and 9 years younger. The Hawks could use another big man though, Nene would be a good option, I just am not sure if he is worth Al.

[Lascar78]

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That said, I don't think there is ANY question that Al would gladly stay here if we offered him the money he is looking for. The million dollar question is HOW MUCH is he looking for?

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I thought that to be true a month ago. But you can't ignore that quote in which he basically said that it would take a lot for him to stay here, that he needs to be in a winning situation. So it is really a twofold question: will we pay him enough, and will we convince him that we can win?

That is why I now think we should just stick with Al. While we won't win 35 games this year or anything, we might just win enough to convince him to stick around and see how far we can go. Even if we don't, we can always threaten to match like Phx did with JJ, and get something out of it.

He certainly won't be taking a pay cut to stay here

[exodus]

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we can always threaten to match like Phx did with JJ, and get something out of it.

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No we can't. He is unresticted.

[Diesel]

Of Course Nene is not worth Al.

That's comical.

Nene is nothing but big. He's not a solid player. Inconsistent. He doesn't have good rebounding numbers. He doesn't block shots. He's just big. Zaza is already better than Nene'.

I think what we need is a good BU C.

I would try to deal for Pape Sow. Maybe Donta for Sow. It's a deal that Toronto would like because they need more help at SG/Sf than they do at PF/C. Especially if they plan to unload MoPete.

[Lascar78]

oh yeah, my bad. Long day with lots of travelling. I need sleep

I guess the bottom line is BK really needs to know where Al's head is. Officially or not, he needs to start the negotiations now with him or his agent. Maybe not in terms of salary, but in terms of what players it would take to keep him here (if any)

[Traceman]

That is reasonable for a 25 year old with Al's skills/experience.

[Diesel]

Being that we're the only team that will muster up that kind of money.. I like it.

I would even go just a little bit farther. 6 yr 55 million.

However, if Chicago limps in... The most that they can do is a 5 yr deal... and the most that they can offer is 60 million... . Will they do it? Prolly not. But even if they did off that much. They really make themselves vulnerable. They have all these other guys who will be free agents while they are still trying to pay Al. It will be especially hard with Deng, Hinrich, and Gordon. For that reason, I think Chicago would be more likely trying to work a SNT deal with us than to try to go over us in FAcy. Because what happens with Deng and the other Sfs/PFs they have??

I don't think Seattle can even sit at that table; Let alone bid.