Now that we have JJ.. New trade...

[Diesel]

It's not a problem having a good bench.

I just think that we'd be wasting his talent.

I guess the real hope is that JChillz shows up in a big way. So big that we don't bench him. Instead we keep JJ at the 1 for the year at PG (even if he doesn't run the PG so well)...

Then next offseason, we can use JJ as trade bait. Here's why:

With the 20 million off the books, JJ's contract becomes...12.5 million per year. I think that's more reasonable to a lot of teams.

[cyman3]

dang diesel!

hes not even officially on the team, and u got trade ideas lined up already?

lets watch him play for half a season, for crying out loud!

[Buzzard]

I understand what you are saying. I just do not see BK trading away Chilz, Smoove, or MWill until he is sure that Johnson and Chilz cannot operate in the same backcourt.

Think of this as BK's experiment of putting no one starter on the floor under 6'7". It's just way to early to tell how this will workout that's all I am saying.

We really do not know how MWill or Smoove are going to workout yet either. What if MWill and/or Josh fail? We would still be able to move Chilz to the three and JJ at the two.

Another full season or two and maybe then (if this does not work out) BK shakes things up by trading away one of his picks. But not right now.

It took JJ three full years before he hit his stride, I am pretty sure BK will show that much patience with the others as well.

[Plainview1981]

I'd use Al in the trade I guess, but I'd rather not

trade Childress right now. I think he will be one

that puts up 15/8 without being a goto type of guy

and as we have seen with Detroit and the Suns it

doesn't hurt to have those type of guys.

We are in a pretty good situation... Even if Marvin

is the twin of TT, you would still have a Childress/

Smith combo at the forward to look forward too.

Other than a two rebounds there is nothing TM is

going to give the Hawks that Childress can;t.

In fact, Childress averaged as many blocks as

TM did:

http://www.nba.com/playerfile/josh_childress/index.html

Murphy is like a Danny Fortson that shoots 3's.

[Plainview1981]

Sorry, I thought I saw somebody on one of threads

say the euro was in the doghouse. My mistake.

[Diesel]

No..

I don't have trade ideas for JJ..

I said if JChillz comes on strong... then trading JJ might be the best way around a logjam IF JJ can't cut it at PG. ..

In actuallity, I was just noting how JJ's contract is constructed that we can find a favorable trade for him after the first year.

[Diesel]

No doubt about that. I think BK will run this thing as long as it will run.

His dream has come true!

I just see some dangers if Chillz does develop and JJ doesn't run the PG so well.

WHY?

Well, I was reading an article that quoted Chillz last week. He said something like... " The Hawks are looking at JJ? I thought I was the Sg of the future."..

He later went on to talk about how dangerous they could be as a combination. But let's not be fooled. Now that Chillz has worked his way up into the starting rotation, he's not looking forward to going back to the bench. And if he develops more and we send him back, I can see Chillz wanting out of Atlanta...

[Diesel]

[Plainview1981]

I just got to thinking.... If Billups can play PG

why can't JJ? It isn't like Billups has great court

vision. I think Billy wants a mix of Detroit and

the Suns. He wants to build an athletic team that

can run, but he also wants to have 5 scoring options

on the court. I haven't liked the idea of JJ starting

at PG, but when you look at Billups and Wade aren't

real PG's either...

But the mix of the Pistons and Suns are what the Hawks

are starting to look like to me.

[Diesel]

Well the heat are about to import a PG...

I think Billups is an interesting prospect.

I hope that we can do whatDetroit has done... However, let's remember, Detroit is a very veteran team. Guys that know how to do what they do. Our team still has milk on their breath. I think when you look at us, you can see the Suns before Nash...

[Plainview1981]

That's a point....

Joe Johnson/Josh Childress/Josh Smith

Joe Johnson/Shawn Marion/Amare Stoudmire

You surely can see it, but you hope the Hawks can

play defense which the Suns have been unable to

do. The team could be less of a offensive club, but

alittle better on defense.

You also hope Woodson will be a better coach than

Andrew, who I believe once said that Nash is really

the Suns coach. You also want to build more depth

so all the guys don't have to play 40MPG.

The thing is the Suns only had 3 guys average double

figures before Nash... After JJ, Amare, and Marion the

Suns didn't have much talent. In fact, Barbosa was the

teams 4th leading scorer at 7PPG.

I think this years Hawks will be better than that Suns

team. I can see Chill/Smith/Al/JJ all averaging double

figures with guys like ZaZa(if he comes) and Delk along

with Lue possibly averaging 6-7PPG each.

Suns before Nash...

http://www.nba.com/suns/stats/2003/index.html

[CBAreject]

[swolehawk2]

The Hawks are looking at JJ? I thought I was the Sg of the future."..

SALT LAKE CITY — When Josh Childress heard about the Hawks' contract offer to Suns restricted free agent guard Joe Johnson, he wasn't sure what to make of it.

Wasn't he, supposed to be the Hawks' shooting guard of the future? Wasn't he the same player who raised him game to another level the second half of his rookie season, which culminated with a second-team All-Rookie selection?

T. LEVETTE BAGWELL /AJC

(ENLARGE)

The Hawks were delighted with Josh Childress' game and presence as a rookie.

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But the Hawks want Johnson to play point guard, a radical idea to some, and not take over the position earmarked for Childress.

The news was as shocking as it was refreshing to Childress, who immediately started having visions of a backcourt with two versatile, 6-8 guards capable of causing match up nightmares for teams throughout the league.

"That could be dangerous," Childress said. "Real dangerous."

The Hawks, of course, have to get Johnson first. The Suns can match any offer made to Johnson.

But Childress is already in the fold for at least the next three years. And his progress from last summer, when the Hawks picked him sixth in the draft, to this one, where he's leading the Hawks in scoring and blocks during summer league play, has created a buzz.

For all the talent and potential Josh Smith and Marvin Williams posses, it's the ultra mature Childress that has emerged as the unquestioned leader of the Hawks' young brigade of talent.

And he's already surpassed the expectations of many pundits who deemed his selection before All-rookie first team picks Luol Deng and Andre Iguodala as a "reach."

Hawks general manager Billy Knight said six teams inquired about the possibility of the Hawks trading Childress on draft night, when they added North Carolina forward Marvin Williams with the No. 2 overall pick.

"Josh Childress doesn't have to worry about his (future) with us," Knight said. "We couldn't be more pleased with him and the way he's developing. We felt like he was the kind of guy we could build with for the long term and he's done any and everything we've asked of him."

Childress was one of just seven rookies to average 10 or more points this past season and he was also the fourth leading rebounder among rookies, 6.0 per game, just behind Smith (6.2), and ahead of both Deng and Iguodala.

"The fact that he went to Stanford and spent three years at a good program has really helped him from a maturity standpoint," said Hawks assistant Larry Drew, who has coached the Hawks' summer league contingent here at the Rocky Mountain Revue. "What he's done for us out here is lead by example, because he's not necessarily a real vocal guy. But he understood what we needed and he realized that somebody was going to have step up out here. And he was willing to take that step."

It wouldn't have happened last year. Childress knew better than to try and assume anything. Like most young players, he sat back and waited before leaping into the fray.

But he wasted little time this summer, asserting himself.

"Just being in the system for a year and having a better understanding of what the coaches expect from us and what the organization expects from all of us is what has helped me get more comfortable," Childress said. "This isn't any one guy's team. It's all of ours. And we have to take ownership of it collectively.

"And we had our struggles last year, everybody knows that. But we're done with that. We've got to move beyond what transpired last season and get this thing back on track."

That turnaround could start with a most unlikely backcourt duo of Childress and Joe Johnson, easily the NBA's tallest and most difficult to match up with.

"I'm telling you, we could be dangerous man," Childress said with one eye cocked. "Dangerous."