Sekou (relatively) scathing in criticism of Speedy

mrhonline · February 20, 2007

Quote:

True or not, the mere notion that the team would consider acquiring another point guard speaks directly to what they have been

unable to consistently get from Claxton

, who has played 36 of 52 games, missing 16 with knee soreness. No one knows this better than the player, who has battled injuries throughout his career.

Quote:

Knight opted to draft forward Marvin Williams instead of a point guard with the second overall pick in 2005 (the next two selections were both point guards: budding star Deron Williams, by Utah, and eventual rookie of the year Chris Paul, New Orleans), then took power forward Shelden Williams fifth overall in 2006 (point guard Marcus Williams slipped to the 22nd pick by New Jersey).

Quote:

Hawks management shouldn't be surprised. Knight signed Claxton knowing he had missed 189 career games due to injury and illness, the list literally covering head to toe.

There have been a concussion, a dislocated shoulder, back spasms, groin strains, torn knee ligaments, ankle sprains and a bruised right toe, according to the Hawks media guide.

Knight did not respond to several requests through the team's public relations department for an interview regarding Claxton, who has been mostly a career backup but was signed to start for the Hawks.

Quote:

There does not seem to be an indication of when Claxton will be pain-free this season. He has been strengthening the knee, stimulating it and icing it. Surgery would not ease the pain and could cause more damage, Claxton said team doctors told him.

TexasPete · February 20, 2007

Sekou must have gotten bored writing that article because he decided about half way through the player evaluations to stop. He failed to grade Shelden, Chill, Lue, Salim, and Ivey. Why? He also failed to give Woodson a grade...

Sekou is kind of a puzzle at times. There are articles that I read that are great and others where I want to ask him why he even bothered. This bogus player grade article could have been skipped. Those players who did not receive a grade should have...My grade for Sekou's piece is Incomplete.

hawkman · February 20, 2007

I'm surprised Sekou wrote this article. It's refreshing actually. He even kind of questioned BK's thought process as to why he would sign a guy who has a history of injuries to a multi year contract in the first place. There's even a season-by-season breakdown of the guy's injuries. Makes me wonder why we even considered him as a viable starter on this team. Anyway, this is a major departure from the norm for Sekou. I wonder how an article like this will affect his "relationship" with Hawks management?

jerrywest · February 20, 2007

Quote:

the list literally covering head to toe.

There have been a concussion, a dislocated shoulder, back spasms, groin strains, torn knee ligaments, ankle sprains and a bruised right toe

Very funny and

very sad, and

very desperate move by the GM.

exodus · February 20, 2007

Quote:

I wonder how an article like this will affect his "relationship" with Hawks management?

he doesn't really have much of one, which is one of the points of the article. BK wouldn't return his calls about Speedy.

BK is arrogant and incompetent as far as i am concerned. The only things i can give him credit for are the JJ deal and not signing any large, bad contracts (other than Speedy).

If it was my call he would be gone. I have absolutely no confidence that he can make the moves necessary for the Hawks to become contenders.

Just look at his summer acquisitions; Speedy, Lo and Shelden. They have all been disappointments. Last summer was the time when he was supposed to fill out the roster and give the Hawks a chance to be competitive.

The only reason the Hawks have won as many games as they have is because JJ and Smith have stepped up big.

coachx · February 20, 2007

(In my opinion the 3 people you speak of have made the Hawks more competitve. ( Lo, Speedy, Sheldon). by the way, Sekou has a tough job coming up with a Hawks article when they have not played in almost a week.

Your last post was thanking JJ and Smoove. Well, we have JJ and Smoove thanks to guess who ? Knight

Funny how you diss Knight and then in the next breath praise him without even realizing you did it.

So does he get credit for that ? (You did give credit for JJ but not the pick of Smoove). Has Chils not been a major factor too ? Has Marvin not shown development. The board was hoping for 14 ppg out od Marvin this year before the broken hand set him back. Well, he is giving us 12ppg with the set back. Not bad for a 20 year old with adversity.

I feel like this board is such a broken record.

Wa, Wa, Wa. So tired of the whining & finger pointing.

In case you have not noticed the team is improving. Sheldon, Speedy and Lo are big parts in that. Ever since Lo was put in the starting line up we start a 5 game road winning trip. Speedy playing / Lo starting and the win streak are no coincidence either.

In the off season the Hawks glaring holes were interior defense and a point gard / leadership void.

If these holes were not plugged with something,the whole ship would sink.

Honestly, without Sheldon, Lo and Speedy the Hawks would have maybe won one of the 5 consective road victories they just completed. Josh has been in foul trouble alot lately. Guess who has his back - Sheldon. Sheldon keeps the other teams from having a layup / dunk drill the second Smoove steps off the floor in 4th quarter crunch time due to his chronic foul trouble.

In my opinion the holes were plugged with the best free agents and pick available (who would sign with us). Of course we could have traded young developing talent for other hole pluggers. That would have made fans even more upset.

We could have drafted guys with more potential than Sheldon. Problem is that Roy and Foy would not see the court enough to show it for the Hawks thanks to JJ and Chils. Guess what, the whole board would then by whining about how Knight should not have drafted more wing players.

No matter what happens, some fans expect instant results. Well, in reality this does not happen. (Unless you luck out & win the lottery in a Tim Duncan or Shaq year). The Hawks are the youngest team in the NBA and are showing improvement each year. I love the team situation and give Knight props for what he has accomplished given what he has to work with, (ownership situation).

Sure, the response is Knight should have signed this guy, or that guy. Easy to say without knowing if this guy or that guy cared anything about playing here.

If the Hawks can tread water for this brutal shedule coming up --no one on this board should be complaining about a thing. We are in the playoff hunt. Did anyone realistically expect more before the season started. If you honestly expected this team to be over .500 beger the season started....well, that makes me wonder about your sanity.

The Hawks are right where most on this board expected them to be.

Like alwayse, the board is full whiners b/c that is all some people no how to do. Some how they do not realize the team is drastically improving yet all they no how to do is whine. (That is so sad b/c I'm lead to believe these people see life that way - alwayse picking out negatives and failing to the poitives and good things in life right before your eyes). Society unfortunatley teaches us to point the finger and whine. The people who see through live much better lives. So unfortunate but its true.

Packfill · February 20, 2007

Quote:

Your last post was thanking JJ and Smoove. Well, we have JJ and Smoove thanks to guess who ? Knight

Funny how you diss Knight and then in the next breath praise him without even realizing you did it.

So does he get credit for that ?

I feel like this board is such a broken record.

Wa, Wa, Wa. So tired of the whining & finger pointing.

In case you have not noticed the team is improving. Speedy and Lo are big parts in that. Ever since Lo was put in the starting line up we start a 5 game road winning trip. Speedy playing / Lo starting and the win streak are no coincidence either.

In the off season the Hawks glaring holes were interior defense and a point gard / leadership void.

If these holes were not plugged with something,the whole ship would sink.

Honestly, without Sheldon, Lo and Speedy the Hawks would have maybe won one of the 5 consective road victories they just completed. Josh has been in foul trouble alot lately. Guess who has his back - Sheldon. Sheldon keeps the other teams from having a layup / dunk drill the second Smoove steps off the floor in 4th quarter crunch time due to his chronic foul trouble.

In my opinion the holes were plugged with the best free agents and pick available. Of course we could have traded young developing talent for other hole pluggers. That would have made fans even more upset.

We could have drafted guys with more potential than Sheldon. Problem is that Roy and Foy would not see the court enough to show it for the Hawks thanks to JJ and Chils. Guess what, the whole board would then by whining about how Knight should have drafted more wing players.

No matter what happens, fans expect instant results. Well, in reality this does not happen. The Hawks are the youngest team in the NBA and are showing improvement each year. I love the team situation and give Knight props for what he has accomplished given what he has to work with, (ownership situation).

Sure, the response is Knight should signed this guy, or that guy. Easy to say without knowing ifthis guy or that guy cared anything about playing here.

If the Hawks can tread water for this brutal shedule coming up --no one on this board should be complaining about a thing.

I think Exodus was pointing out that even bad GM's make a few good deals. Heck, Isiah Thomas drafted David Lee. The fact that BK has made two good moves during his tenure does not exuse his over-all poor performance and inability to put a winning product on the court in 4 years at the controls.

DeacKillsaDevil · February 20, 2007

"Hawks need Claxton healthy, quickly

By CURTIS BUNN"

exodus · February 20, 2007

Quote:

Your last post was thanking JJ and Smoove. Well, we have JJ and Smoove thanks to guess who ? Knight

Funny how you diss Knight and then in the next breath praise him without even realizing you did it.

So does he get credit for that ?

If you actually read my post you would have seen that i did give BK credit for the JJ deal. Although his idea that JJ would be the point was just plain nutty.

I don't give him credit for the Smith pick since BK was trying to trade up to get him during the draft and it wasn't hard to pick the hometown athletic freak at 17. After all he was projected top 10 not long before.

Quote:

Honestly, without Sheldon, Lo and Speedy the Hawks would have maybe won one of the 5 consective road victories

That is just plain ignorant.

So you think that if the Hawks didn't have these three that they wouldn't have gotten anyone else to replace them this summer? You think the Hawks would have just forfieted their #5 pick and not chosen anyone? You think they would have signed no free agents?

Foye and Roy have both outperformed Shelden and it would be hard to come up with a free agent that has performed worse than Speedy and Lo.

HawksFan87 · February 20, 2007