Ferry snatching up 3pt shooters

[Admin]

For those who don't think that Ferry values 3pt shooters as a premium.

http://www.foxsports...095&feedID=3796

July 17, 2012

If at first the picture was a bit fuzzy in reference to the kind of team that new Hawks general manager Danny Ferry wanted to build, then it's becoming much clearer just a few weeks into his tenure.

On Monday, Ferry's latest acquisition became official, with the Hawks' receiving 6-foot-7 forward Kyle Korver from Chicago in exchange for cash considerations, providing another glimpse into the plan.

With the addition of Korver, the Hawks now possess two of the NBA's top nine active leaders in three-point shooting percentage. Korver is tied for eighth at 41.3 percent while Anthony Morrow, acquired from New Jersey as part of the Joe Johnson trade, ranks fifth at 42.6 percent.

Also, with the team's first-round pick in June, Ferry took Vanderbilt guard John Jenkins, who brings with him a 43.8 percentage on three-pointers during his three-year NCAA career -- an ability he will attempt to carry over to the NBA.

Here's what Ferry said about Korver in a statement announcing the move: "I appreciate the toughness and the competitive energy Kyle brings to the game every night and we're very excited to add him to our team. Adding him makes shooting an even greater strength for our club."

That last sentence is the key one that brings the insight into the direction in which Ferry is going. Here is what he told FOXSportsSouth.com last week after the Johnson trade became official when asked about trying to get Jenkins to develop while having a very similar player in Morrow:

"I think shooting's a great thing to have on a team. It'll space and open the court for our playmakers, those being Al (Horford), Josh (Smith) and our guards."

In the NBA, there are several ways to build a championship-caliber team, which is Ferry's stated goal. One is by having one of the two or three best players in the league on your team (LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant). Another is having three All-Star-level players, which Boston did with Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce.

Finally, there is the "team approach," which is rarely pulled off but the most oft-cited example ranks as the 2003-04 Detroit Pistons, whose best player, arguably, was Chauncey Billups. Billups was the finals MVP in that title-winning season, yet he did not even make the all-league team that season, though he did earn second-team honors the following year when the Pistons finished as runners-up.

Even without Johnson, the Hawks still have two All-Star-level players in Horford and Smith. With the four expiring contracts that Ferry acquired from New Jersey in exchange for Johnson (plus Jordan Farmar, on whom the team requested waivers on Monday), the Hawks have positioned themselves for a major free-agent play in 2013 -- a Dwight Howard or Chris Paul, if the Hawks can convince one to sign here.

If not, Ferry's Plan B appears to be to go with the so-called team model. (Incisively, he said on draft night that he thinks teams are rarely "one player" away from being an elite team.) So far, he's given himself plenty of flexibility to sign or trade for quality players to make a run at the team model by moving Marvin Williams for Devin Harris and via the Johnson trade. Last season the NBA average for three-point percentage was 34.9 percent -- and the Hawks now have two players who shoot at least six or seven percentage points higher than that rate over the course of their careers. By always having one or two of the league's best three-point shooters in the league on the floor -- at a fairly low cost in terms of both salary dollars and the assets surrendered -- the Hawks will make it difficult if not impossible for opposing teams to double-team Smith and Horford.

This will be a somewhat radical shift in terms of what the Hawks' offense has looked like for the last seven seasons with Johnson in the fold. Fans began to lament the "Iso-Joe" offense, in which Johnson effectively dribbled the air out of the ball until the final seconds of the shot clock before making his move.

Two years ago when Larry Drew took over as head coach, he promised an end to that kind of offensive scenario and more ball movement. However, as long as Johnson was on the team, he seemed to resist those changes. Now, Drew, in the final year of his contract, will have to implement Ferry's vision or he might not be around for the long haul. During rookie camp, Drew was asked about how the Hawks formerly beat teams with size mismatches, using the 6-8 Johnson at guard and 6-9 Williams at small forward.

Next season, their lineup might look a little like this from the point to the small forward: Jeff Teague (6-2), Harris (6-3) and Korver (6-7). Drew talked about beating teams with quickness or other facets of the game instead of size and now it seems that shooting will be one of those elements.

In some ways, the coaching staff and the players might need introductions when training camp starts, along with a new offensive emphasis. Of the 13 players currently on the roster, only four -- Horford, Zaza Pachulia, Smith and Teague -- played for the Hawks last season.

So Hawks fans will have to get used to not only a different style of play that emphasizes shooting on offense, but also a new cast of characters performing it.

[ATLSmith]

Shoot.... I can't wait for the season to start just to see how this all plays out.

[Admin]

Shoot.... I can't wait for the season to start just to see how this all plays out.

I can't wait to get NBA2K13 just to play with this group!

[frankthetank966]

I can't wait to get NBA2K13 just to play with this group!

Agree! If the Hawks add one defensive specialist in additiion to Stevenson they will be a fun team in 2K. Better than they have been in past years.

[clicklandshopping]

I think the plan of having a uptempo style of play with outside shooting is a good plan to work with. I also noticed that Teague, Harris and Lou Williams have all been shooting guards on either the pros or college level. I suppose that is why Ferry has mentioned using a small guard system. I see no big problem with this even on the defensive side because of the help defense I'm sure we are going to use that Josh and Al are great at.

[Dragitoff]

If we're going to be a running, up-tempo team, we have the team to do it. Lots of athleticism, speed, and depth can sometimes make up for lack of size. Imagine if we keep alot of this group around next season and add a guy like Iguodala at SF? That's crazy quick and a lineup of Teague, Harris, AI, Smith, and Horford gives you 3 super fast guys who can all handle the ball well.

[HawkItus]

I think the plan of having a uptempo style of play with outside shooting is a good plan to work with. I also noticed that Teague, Harris and Lou Williams have all been shooting guards on either the pros or college level. I suppose that is why Ferry has mentioned using a small guard system. I see no big problem with this even on the defensive side because of the help defense I'm sure we are going to use that Josh and Al are great at.

Looks to me like we will be trapping and doing full court pressure a lot. You can't have these small guards(+Korver or Morrow) playing defense in the half-court. I remember when Drew started out we did a lot of trapping, then we sort of moved away from it. With Joe and Marvin out we should be able to pick up the pressure before half-court.

[bird_dirt]

i felt the hawks were already a heavy shooting team. it drove me crazy always seeing horf, josh and jj jacking up mid to long range shots so much. that made consisency so difficult since they would all get so hot and cold. i really hope that horf and josh will utilize more of an inside game now, though i'm not holding my breath. one good thing is that if we're going to be a heavy shooting team, at least now have some very good shooters. between morrow, korver and jenkins (plus williams), at least one or two of them should have a hot hand every game should the others go cold. no more live and die by jj and/or crawford alone each and every game.

[macdaddy]

i felt the hawks were already a heavy shooting team. it drove me crazy always seeing horf, josh and jj jacking up mid to long range shots so much. that made consisency so difficult since they would all get so hot and cold. i really hope that horf and josh will utilize more of an inside game now, though i'm not holding my breath. one good thing is that if we're going to be a heavy shooting team, at least now have some very good shooters. between morrow, korver and jenkins (plus williams), at least one or two of them should have a hot hand every game should the others go cold. no more live and die by jj and/or crawford alone each and every game.

We were a jump shooting team with a bunch of average to bad shooters. That ain't good. I think with a bunch of good shooters (and i do mean a bunch) it'll be a huge difference. Josh may not stop shooting them but he will shoot a lot less when there are real shooters open on the floor. I'm liking the way we are shaping up. I think we will be a better team especially come playoff time.

[gurpilo]

If you take the "team approach" to win a championship that's fine and shooting is a good thing to have but you have to had definately defense and rebounding and we don't have any of those.We don't have any decent defender at the wings, probably 3 shooters is a little bit too much and after 8 years we lack a true Center that can control the paint.

[Nicholasp27]

it drove me crazy always seeing horf, josh and jj jacking up mid to long range shots so much. that made consisency so difficult since they would all get so hot and cold.

Didn't horf lead the league in fg% on those midrange jumpers? Not sure why you include him and first on the list at that

[lethalweapon3]

I'm guessing Smoove takes the lead in this category next year (Professor Griff added Jamal, but dealt Mo Williams):

Power Forward Assists for 3-point FGs per 40 minutes (min. 20 mins/Game), NBA 2011-12 (via hoopdata):

1. Blake Griffin 1.8

2. JOSH SMITH 1.4

3. LaMarcus Aldridge 1.4

4. Boris Diaw 1.4

5. Dirk Nowitzki 1.2

6. Nick Collison 1.2

7. David Lee 1.1

8. Lamar Odom 1.1

I do hope he gets his Offensive Rebounding up a ton now that he should be in the paint more.

~lw3

Edited July 18, 2012 by lethalweapon3

[MrNique]

Re: 2k13.There are some pretty up to date Roster DLs online for 2k12. I've been having some fun. Definitely shooting more 3s but making a lot. Especially since my Josh always plays inside-out.

[HawkItus]

Re: 2k13. There are some pretty up to date Roster DLs online for 2k12. I've been having some fun. Definitely shooting more 3s but making a lot. Especially since my Josh always plays inside-out.

me too

[Admin]

Re: 2k13. There are some pretty up to date Roster DLs online for 2k12. I've been having some fun. Definitely shooting more 3s but making a lot. Especially since my Josh always plays inside-out.

How do you get that update on Xbox?

[bird_dirt]

Didn't horf lead the league in fg% on those midrange jumpers? Not sure why you include him and first on the list at that

the order of listing the names was irrelevant to me. why i included him was because so many times when i watched the hawks they would all fall in love with their j's and nobody would be in the paint. opponents had an easier time defending us and out rebounding us since everyone was 15+ feet from the basket. it's not as big of a deal when they are hitting all their shots, but when they aren't, they continued to to throw them up there when it would've benefited them to go inside to make baskets closer to the rim and draw fouls. without someone drawing defenses inside to create more space for the outside shooters, they just compounded the problem, and since horf is our all star center, i put the onus on him to play more inside.

[Nicholasp27]

Yeah but he hits his shots better than anyone in the league

[Jbrinson]

I can't wait to see all of the 3's we hit. Hopefully we can play like the Spurs did this year, but we don't anyone that can defend the best wing player like Kawhi Leonard.

[bird_dirt]

Yeah but he hits his shots better than anyone in the league

that may be true, but he doesn't hit every night, so he needs to play down low when he isn't. ideally we would get a bynum or howard so horf could operate away from the basket, maximizing his talents and continue to lead the league in midrange shots, but as of right now we don't. someone needs to play in the paint, and the starting center is usually that player. hence, horf needs to play in the paint more (unless of course zaza is our primary and starting center). if an inside presence wasn't necessary, then perhaps ferry should go about acquiring the five best 3 point shoots and start them together. stephen curry, ray allen, mike miller, steve novak and ersan ilyasova. maybe that's his plan all along.

[Nicholasp27]

Logically smoove should be our paint guy since he is poor from mid to long range