http://www.presstelegram.com/Stories/0,1413,204~28780~2277425,00.html Will 'The Hawk' soar again? Two years removed from the Houston Rockets, former Long Beach State and Lynwood High standout Joaquin Hawkins is trying make a return to the NBA, starting with the SPL. Defense isn't the 6-foot-6 swingman's problem. In fact, his athleticism, hustle and desire to do the all the things that don't show up in the box scores are why Rudy Tomjanovich gave him a chance in Houston. He thinks of himself as the Dennis Rodman of swingmen, taking charges, diving for loose balls, getting deflections. The knock on his game is his inconsistent jump shot. It has kept him from playing at the game's highest level. "I'm definitely ready now,' Hawkins said. "I have been working hard this offseason, trying to get myself prepared for the summer league. That's when a lot of teams bring people in for tryouts. I don't know what the future (holds) for me. But all I can do is prepare myself. I'm looking forward to come out here every day to prove myself. All I need is for one person to like me.'
I almost forgot about Hawkins. Maybe the Rox should pick him up for some depth. He may not be the best basketball player, but the guy hustles and does a lot of dirty work, something that is rarely done in the league these days.
I dont understand why the Rockets got rid of him originally. He played great defense. Understood his role. Despite his jumpshot being a weakness, he hit a couple when he was wide open. Knew how to draw charges. In my opinion, letting Hawkins go was the first time I've seen the Rockets let go of a player that was effective.
I like to have him for cheap. Would make a nice back at SG and SF. I like his hustle, he seems like a JVG type of player.
I also thought the same when we cut Braggs and replaced him w/ Alton Ford. I'm not saying Braggs was our future, but the guy played well when given the minutes and was much, much better than Ford.
i would love to bring back braggs and hawk. there is no way that torraye stands a chance now with 3 PF's on the team. here is my "all 3rd-team team": pig miller braggs padett hawkins tierre brown
The Hawks was one of my favorite Rox in his short stint. But realistically, is he even on a summer league team? Was he in the NBDL or Europe? The CBA? I truly appreciated The Hawks' heart and hustle, but I think his window of opportunity has closed.
Hawkins, Torres.... Guys that we used as one year rentals, played well, then we get rid of for some reason.
We already have a Hawk type player on our team in AG. He just needs to get healthy and get some playing time.
Anyone know what happened to Terence Morris? He was a good shooter as well. It wouldn't hurt to have him as a shooter in JVG's system.
I personally would love to dump some of our losers and replace them with workhorse hardhats like Braggs, Hawk, TBrown and Tmo. If I could, I'd cut MoT, Spoon, Pike, AG, Lue, and Wilks. Nothing in return. Just - bye. Read that list of names and they all have one thing in common - they're losers. None of them deserve a guaranteed contract or a roster spot. There's lots of decent players out there that are serviceable and can play humble and serve a role. We have our stars. I can't stand idiots that fail to recognize who the real stars are.
What losers? I think the Rockets players were pretty hard working last year, Spoon as a big boost on the glass. Lue is also a workhorse, routinely working his butt off despite being undersized. Griffin is also a guy who has bounced around and is a hardworker who happened to get hurt last year. Mo was a godsend for the Rockets in the playoffs. But, just dump those guys. Why? What have those guys done to say they haven't deserved a roster spot?
By the way, you have to give props to one of those "losers", Tyronn Lue, who gave himself up defensively to control Allen Iverson and play a big part in the Lakers winning a second championship. How badly would the Rockets have gotten beaten if Mo wasn't abusing Malone the way he was? Yeah, Malone was hurt, but Mo took advantage of it. I wouldn't label these guys losers. Tell me, which one of those players you called a loser thought of themselves as a star and refused to accept their role?
TMo was garbage. He is playing in the NBDL with the rest of the garbage players. I don't know what gave you the impression that he was a shooter, but his range certainly didn't extend to the 3 pt line, where he shot 20%. That is worse than Barkley and the same as Olajuwon.
The guy is a scrub. The reason Rudy pretty much benched him after the first 20 games or so is because the guy had a knack for throwing up bricks and disrupting our offense. I used to cringe when they passed him the ball. His defense was ok (not as good as everyone makes it out to be though). And I think he would have been a decent bench player if he embraced his role and not try to shoot so much.
I don't even want to think about having him in our lineup... good gosh... both him and T-Mo. We already have a supposedly defensive minded Griffin on the bench. We need to spend that money on a couple players to fill our needs. We still need a point guard and a guy who can play back up center/forward. We don't need to waste space and places on the bench for players like this.
