Only Downer right now is JJ Situation

[JackB1]

I just wish we didn't have this JJ thing looming. If we lose JJ and get nothing in return, the Hawks as a franchise

will take a HUGE step backwards. And don't tell me Crawford will cover for JJ. The reason Crawford is so effective

now is that JJ gets all the attention, leaving Crawford to freelance. Without JJ, Crawford would be less effective.

Joe gets a LOT more respect around the NBA than he does here in the ATL because he's so low key, but 90% of

the other teams out there would give anything to sign him next year.

So do you think if we make a great playoff run Joe will stay? I really think there will be other teams offering up

more money than the stingy Atlanta Spirit group will. We have heard no reassurance from them saying they will

do everything to keep Joe.

I am so mad they didn't get a deal done before this season!!!!!!!

[hawkman]

There's too much basketball left to be played to be worrying about the offseason.

[spotatl]

Joe wouldn't have signed a contract before this season- he can make FAR more money by becoming a FA.

If the Hawks weren't willing to max out Joe Johnson then they should have traded him this past offseason. Because now he has them over a barrel and SOMEONE is going to pay him the max.

[coachx]

So do you think if we make a great playoff run Joe will stay? I really think there will be other teams offering up

more money than the stingy Atlanta Spirit group will. We have heard no reassurance from them saying they will

do everything to keep Joe.

I am so mad they didn't get a deal done before this season!!!!!!!

You do know the Hawks offered JJ the max contract they could under the current collective bargaining agreement. We can offer JJ both a longer and larger contract this off season. We can also offer him a deal 1 year longer then any other team can. The CBA allows teams to offer larger and longer contracts to unrestricted free agents (which JJ is about to become) then they do extensions for players currently under contract. This is just how the collective bargaining agreement works. Ever wonder why NO ONE signed an extension this off season ? Not James, Wade, Bosh, or JJ did. None of those players could have gotten a 6 year offer like they could this season. The longest extension they could have signed in the last off season was 5 years.

Sund positioned the Hawks to offer JJ a max contract. With the graciousness of Marvin, ZaZa. and Bibby, all 3 structured their new contracts where their 2nd year (this coming season) their contracts dip in pay. This will make it easier for the Hawks to offer a max deal. JJ knows these 3 guys did this for him.

The more the Hawks win........the more likely JJ will be to stay..........that is as long as the Hawks pay him what the other teams will and I think the Hawks are committed to doing that.

Edited April 2, 2010 by coachx

[coachx]

If the Hawks weren't willing to max out Joe Johnson then they should have traded him this past offseason. Because now he has them over a barrel and SOMEONE is going to pay him the max.

Exactly !

If JJ leaves its not b/c of more money. If you don't plan on paying a guy you move them at the deadline.

Edited April 2, 2010 by coachx

[DJlaysitup]

...So do you think if we make a great playoff run Joe will stay? I really think there will be other teams offering up

more money than the stingy Atlanta Spirit group will. We have heard no reassurance from them saying they will

do everything to keep Joe.

I am so mad they didn't get a deal done before this season!!!!!!!

I dunno Jack.

I've never been a JJ hater at all...still...this off-season might be the time for a transition (not a rebuild). If Sund can somehow figure out how to get a reasonably good center I could see our team transitioning from perimeter oriented to inside oriented. Of course Craw will not become our new JJ....no need for ISO Craws unless it's last shot time and we need a three. JJ is not the longterm future of this team IMO. Our young guns are coming into their own and our best young guns are bigs. If we could get a young center who can play we could be a fairly dominant team in the paint. With Al, Smoove, and Marvin at the 3/4 spots we are fine there. We have to hope that Teague works and improves like Smoove has and he can be the yin to Bibby's yang.

If we play next year with:

5 - New Guy center/Zaza

4 - Horford/Smoove

3 - Smoove/Marvin/Mo

2 - Craw/Mo/Mario

1 - Bibby/Teague

I think we could become more of an old school Pistons-type team. Don't get me wrong...I enjoy watching the Hawks as we are now...but if we want to seriously cmpete against ORL in the next five years we are going to have to change the balance of power. I love Horford's and Smoove's game but lets face it - they ain't centers and Dwight is. We won't be able to get a center who is on par with Dwight, but, sometimes if you can't beat a guy 1 on 1 the best thing to do is outnumber him.

P.S. - I think that a more interior oriented team would be better for Woody's style.

Edited April 2, 2010 by DJlaysitup

[TheNorthCydeRises]

I dunno Jack.

I've never been a JJ hater at all...still...this off-season might be the time for a transition (not a rebuild). If Sund can somehow figure out how to get a reasonably good center I could see our team transitioning from perimeter oriented to inside oriented. Of course Craw will not become our new JJ....no need for ISO Craws unless it's last shot time and we need a three. JJ is not the longterm future of this team IMO. Our young guns are coming into their own and our best young guns are bigs. If we could get a young center who can play we could be a fairly dominant team in the paint. With Al, Smoove, and Marvin at the 3/4 spots we are fine there. We have to hope that Teague works and improves like Smoove has and he can be the yin to Bibby's yang.

If we play next year with:

5 - New Guy center/Zaza

4 - Horford/Smoove

3 - Smoove/Marvin/Mo

2 - Craw/Mo/Mario

1 - Bibby/Teague

I think we could become more of an old school Pistons-type team. Don't get me wrong...I enjoy watching the Hawks as we are now...but if we want to seriously cmpete against ORL in the next five years we are going to have to change the balance of power. I love Horford's and Smoove's game but lets face it - they ain't centers and Dwight is. We won't be able to get a center who is on par with Dwight, but, sometimes if you can't beat a guy 1 on 1 the best thing to do is outnumber him.

P.S. - I think that a more interior oriented team would be better for Woody's style.

Who is the "new guy center"? People always say we need a center, but can never give a name that other teams would feesibly give up.

And here you go with that Smoove at the 3 stuff. LOL . .come on man, give that dream up. Josh Smith is a PF. He HAS to play PF for the Hawks, or come off the bench and be the 6th man ( which very few people would be cool with ). Josh Smith does not have the lateral quickness to guard the good SFs in this league, and he doesn't have the jumpshot nor the handles to excel at that spot.

Shoot . . . we'd be better off playing Josh Smith at CENTER than we would at SF. At least at Center, he'd be around the rim most nights and could take opposing centers off the dribble and score.

[coachx]

I think many posters just lack a basic understanding of the how the collective bargaining agreement works. I'm no capologist but I at least know the basics. That why we hear simplified statements that lack much logic like: "Im so mad we didn't sign JJ to an extension this past off season." or "Let JJ walk and we can just go sign a center." If only it were that simple.

If JJ walks will we still be over the cap............but still under the luxury tax. That means all we would have to spend on FAs is the MLE. What center can we get here for hte MLE of around $5.2 mill per year ?

Now those who want to move Smoove to the SF are just plain ignorant. You can't have the worst jump shooter in the league starting at SF.

COM' ON MAN !

Edited April 2, 2010 by coachx

[JackB1]

You do know the Hawks offered JJ the max contract they could under the current collective bargaining agreement. We can offer JJ both a longer and larger contract this off season. We can also offer him a deal 1 year longer then any other team can. The CBA allows teams to offer larger and longer contracts to unrestricted free agents (which JJ is about to become) then they do extensions for players currently under contract. This is just how the collective bargaining agreement works. Ever wonder why NO ONE signed an extension this off season ? Not James, Wade, Bosh, or JJ did. None of those players could have gotten a 6 year offer like they could this season. The longest extension they could have signed in the last off season was 5 years.

Sund positioned the Hawks to offer JJ a max contract. With the graciousness of Marvin, ZaZa. and Bibby, all 3 structured their new contracts where their 2nd year (this coming season) their contracts dip in pay. This will make it easier for the Hawks to offer a max deal. JJ knows these 3 guys did this for him.

The more the Hawks win........the more likely JJ will be to stay..........that is as long as the Hawks pay him what the other teams will and I think the Hawks are committed to doing that.

Russ..you stole my pic!! :)

Seriously though, you think if the Hawks offer similar money to what the other top offers to JJ are, he will stay in ATL? JJ had nothing to lose by going the FA route, as long as he had a good season, which he has. It's just that you dont know whats going on inside hi head.

He may think he will get more recognition as a "Elite Star" somewhere else with a bigger more respected team than the Hawks. I do know that if he walks, the Hawks are a worse team for it.......MUCH worse. JJ is sorely needed in a Woodson-type offense that relies so much on

guards that can go get their own shot. We all have seen Woody's offensive playcalling skills :)

[coachx]

Russ..you stole my pic!! :)

Seriously though, you think if the Hawks offer similar money to what the other top offers to JJ are, he will stay in ATL? JJ had nothing to lose by going the FA route, as long as he had a good season, which he has. It's just that you dont know whats going on inside hi head.

He may think he will get more recognition as a "Elite Star" somewhere else with a bigger more respected team than the Hawks. I do know that if he walks, the Hawks are a worse team for it.......MUCH worse. JJ is sorely needed in a Woodson-type offense that relies so much on

guards that can go get their own shot. We all have seen Woody's offensive playcalling skills :)

I hope so. Especially after ZaZa, Bibby, & Marvin all took a dip in pay next year just to make it easier to retain JJ. The Hawks playoff performance will definately have a lot to do with it. If we get swept out of the 1st round of the playoffs..........or even swept out of the 2nd round then he may walk. After that win vs. the Lakers they are riding high and I expect a very competitive 2nd round that goes to 6 or 7 games. With a little luck we are in the EC Finals.

I do think the ASGs plan is to pay him and not let him walk for nothing. If they did not want to pay him then he would have traded at the trade deadline for whatever they could get.

How lucky would we be if Larry Brown's Bobcats take out hte Magic in the 1st round setting up a Hawks / Bobcats 2nd round ? Even if we get the Magic, in the 2nd round, I think we can give them all they can handle in 7 game series. Especially after beating both the Magic and Lakers recently.

Edited April 2, 2010 by coachx

[Crank]

I think many posters just lack a basic understanding of the how the collective bargaining agreement works. I'm no capologist but I at least know the basics. That why we hear simplified statements that lack much logic like: "Im so mad we didn't sign JJ to an extension this past off season." or "Let JJ walk and we can just go sign a center." If only it were that simple.

If JJ walks will we still be over the cap............but still under the luxury tax. That means all we would have to spend on FAs is the MLE. What center can we get here for hte MLE of around $5.2 mill per year ?

Now those who want to move Smoove to the SF are just plain ignorant. You can't have the worst jump shooter in the league starting at SF.

COM' ON MAN !

If JJ walks we would be UNDER the tax and UNDER the cap . The problem is we would only be about 7-9 million under and thats not enough for a major player but it still gives us a chance to get one maybe even two smaller fish that could still help us in a big way.

Scola

Camby

Craig Smith

Tmac

Ray-Ray

Mike Miller

Manu

Etan Thomas

Chris Duhon

Ridnour

Haslem

Magliore

J. Oneal

Tinsley

Farmar

Ronnie Brewer

Outlaw

Rasual Butler

Steve Blake

Drew Gooden

Earl watson

Raja bell

Big Ben

Will Bynum

Anthony Morrow and CJ watson are restricted free agents

Brendon haywood

Tyrus thomas

Brad Miller

if Joe walked we would have options.

[APE]

Camby..but hopefully we won't have that option. :thumbsdownsmileyanim:

[DJlaysitup]

Who is the "new guy center"? People always say we need a center, but can never give a name that other teams would feesibly give up.

And here you go with that Smoove at the 3 stuff. LOL . .come on man, give that dream up....

Well north, as far as who is the "new guy" center - that's a very good point. A solid one isn't easy to get (albeit not impossible, some teams have em) we just gotta get one if we go in the direction of being an interior oriented team. If not we have the players to still be entertaining as heck - we will just never get to the top.

As far as Smoove playing the 3 - that's no big deal (non-issue), Rodman played at the 3 for the Pistons (won a title) and couldn't hit the side of a barn from outside 10 feet.

[MaceCase]

If JJ walks we would be UNDER the tax and UNDER the cap . The problem is we would only be about 7-9 million under and thats not enough for a major player but it still gives us a chance to get one maybe even two smaller fish that could still help us in a big way.

Scola

Camby

Craig Smith

Tmac

Ray-Ray

Mike Miller

Manu

Etan Thomas

Chris Duhon

Ridnour

Haslem

Magliore

J. Oneal

Tinsley

Farmar

Ronnie Brewer

Outlaw

Rasual Butler

Steve Blake

Drew Gooden

Earl watson

Raja bell

Big Ben

Will Bynum

Anthony Morrow and CJ watson are restricted free agents

Brendon haywood

Tyrus thomas

Brad Miller

if Joe walked we would have options.

Chills caphold essentially obliterates that capspace. We would have to let two assets go for nothing just to see that capspace.

[exodus]

There's too much basketball left to be played to be worrying about the offseason.

That's the way i look at it. The Hawks sucked for so long it is nice to actually be a relevant team for a change. There will be plenty of time to worry about the offseason after the playoffs are over. After all nobody can make an offer for JJ until july.

[DJlaysitup]

Now those who want to move Smoove to the SF are just plain ignorant. You can't have the worst jump shooter in the league starting at SF.

COM' ON MAN !

C'mon coachx...you are being silly. How would having Smoove at SF be a problem? Just because he plays that position sometimes doesn't mean he has to jack threes all the time. The key to having Smoove at the 3 is to get Horford to the 4 and add a center that could make our combined front line more competitive with the likes of ORL.

You need to stop looking at positions in such a traditional way and step back and look at the big picture.

[DJlaysitup]

Chills caphold essentially obliterates that capspace. We would have to let two assets go for nothing just to see that capspace.

One thing is for sure C-T-C, I have no clue about the JChillz issue. Is he still a team asset while he cruises the beaches in Greece? Has he cut his hair? I really liked the guy when he was actually putting on a Hawks uniform. He was a real go-getter, a slasher to some degree, and stood his ground on the boards. Of course he had the ugliest "jumper"m this side of Topeka, but nobody is perfect.

(note: being somewhat into aviation I always thought that JChillz's Fro was a problem. It simply isn't aerodynamic and causes to much drag. With a shaved head or a close cut I'm sure JChillz would pick up at least .012 percent in overall quickness.)

[Diesel]

Russ..you stole my pic!! :)

Seriously though, you think if the Hawks offer similar money to what the other top offers to JJ are, he will stay in ATL? JJ had nothing to lose by going the FA route, as long as he had a good season, which he has. It's just that you dont know whats going on inside hi head.

He may think he will get more recognition as a "Elite Star" somewhere else with a bigger more respected team than the Hawks. I do know that if he walks, the Hawks are a worse team for it.......MUCH worse. JJ is sorely needed in a Woodson-type offense that relies so much on

guards that can go get their own shot. We all have seen Woody's offensive playcalling skills :)

The way I see it...

The factors to Joe staying:

1. The Money = That's on ASG. I think if Money was an issue, we would have moved Joe before the deadline.

2. Respect = Check. I think Joe is respected by Sund and the ASG. He's our first option. We've gone out and got him talent when he said to. We've kept the coach he wanted to keep when he said to. He is the franchise.

3. Ability to win a championship = Check. I have said that this offseason will be the tell but this season means a lot too. We have beaten good teams and we have elevated into the upper echelon of teams. I would say top 5.

Based on these things, I say that we have a strong shot at resigning him. Plus, no other team can offer him more.

[exodus]

C'mon coachx...you are being silly. How would having Smoove at SF be a problem? Just because he plays that position sometimes doesn't mean he has to jack threes all the time. The key to having Smoove at the 3 is to get Horford to the 4 and add a center that could make our combined front line more competitive with the likes of ORL.

You need to stop looking at positions in such a traditional way and step back and look at the big picture.

The big picture shows that Smith sucks at the 3 on both ends of the court.

[DJlaysitup]

The big picture shows that Smith sucks at the 3 on both ends of the court.

Yes ex...you are always so right. It'samazing how Smoove s_cks so much at both ends of the court that he actually dominates games and wins them. You think a guy like Smoove can't rebound from the 3 ?. He would cheat inside all the time. Are you worried about his perimeter defense? We have no real perimeter defense anyways.

Smoove is a 3/4...that's it.

If a person (or the ASG) is so positionally oriented that they can't handle that fact - well trade him - (my preference would be to Utah so them Mormons could have a Championship)