Ok forgot about that, but yea that adds to my point that if Josh Smith is that essential to the ATL, wouldn't their front office be more willing to just let Childress walk? I read some where that the Hawks refuse to pay him more then 8-9 mil, can you confirm that?
PDJACK: no to pietrus. no to ricky davis. yes to childress. we need to sign landry asap for between 2-3MM for no more than 3 yrs. take the remainder and go for josh. he's a smart, young, good shooting, long, athletic player who needs a haircut and a home in houston. kelenna's a good fallback prize. barnes is a better fallback prize.
That would be great,but it appears highly unlikely that Childress would agree to half of the MLE. Barnes has fallen but I still would be willing to consider him as a fall back and Kelenna too.
No, I can't confirm anything. All I can do is speculate but I can tell you that Josh Smith is from the Atlanta area, the fans absolutely love him and are expecting them to match whatever offer he receives. Not only is he a restricted FA but the Hawks also have his Bird Rights. There is absolutely no excuse imaginable for the Hawks to not match any offer he receives. If they let him walk despite having every resource needed to retain him what kind of message does that send to the fans? That's the way I see it. You let him walk, that's a slap in the face to the fans. And yes, despite whatever you heard the Hawks do have some fans.
you're probably right if a bidding war ensues. keep in mind what morey said just after the season ended, though. there will bemore players available this summer than teams with $ to spend. it's a buyer's market, so to speak. so someone(s) will end up getting less this season than they would in others, ala bonzi. I don't have a complete FA list, but I would think your higher profile FA's will get the most money, while guys (gems?) coming out of smaller market or lottery teams won't have the resume to command the big $$. josh childress fits that description perfectly. ATLs not going to get in a bidding war for his services, due to commitments to JJ, JSmith, Marvin, etc. its a numbers game. at worst, we'll end up in a bidding war with a team like, say, the spurs. they do extensive research and - obviously - are great at it. nevermind that he would fill a very specific need for them, as well. they need to get younger, longer, more athletic, and he is that. my HOPE is they'll go for the french connection instead (parker/pietrus). give tony a fellow countryman. manu has fabricio, right? LAs another team we may end up in a bidding contest with for his services, but I see them focusing more on getting tougher up front, not more athletic in the backcourt (unless we're talking about the pg spot). last, don't forget that we could temporarily go into luxtax until midseason, where we'll, in all likelihood, package 2 or 3 players for 1 complimentary "star". les said he'd be willing to pay the tax "for the right person/(situation?)" maybe this is applicable.
That is what I am trying to say, i would think ATL would let Childress walk in order to have more money to throw at Josh Smith. Here is what I dug up. http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=ford_chad&page=FreeAgents-080629 and I don't know the truth behind this story but http://www.yardbarker.com/nba/artic...ith_Ready_for_the_Taking_by_the_Sixers/280966
Yes, going into luxtax is the only way to get a significant piece after signing Landry. But I hope we get lucky and money runs out and we find a gem for 1/2 MLE.
Nice job on the research. I have heard the Philly rumors as well but I still find it incomprehensible that Atlanta would even consider letting him walk for the reasons I mentioned earlier. Philly would be better off throwing that money at Brand. Every franchise needs an identity and for the Hawks its their youth and athleticism. Smith is their real franchise player and he's only 22-years-old. He's still going to get better. If you let a guy like that walk out the door don't expect to be taken seriously. Childress is one thing. Childress is a good player in his own right but he's not Josh Smith.
Remember, even if Childress agrees to play for the Rockets for 1/2 of the MLE, the Hawks would then simply match the offer sheet he signs with Houston. Even if the team is overstocked with athletic forwards, being able to re-sign Childress for ~$2.5M per season would be a godsend. Heck, they could then use that contract later in the year to get something even more valuable.
That's the bummer about the Landry situation. The MLE would have an excellent chance of landing Childress, IMO, but you give the reason why a much lower offer would not.
i rate finley over pietrus. Spurs is trying to get younger, they are not resigning him. I guess finley will sign for the vet min to 2.5m.
Does Chris Webber ring a bell? Does Patrick Ewing ring a bell? bad shot selections? we're talking about the warriors. Jeeze! 3 warriors: Pietrus > Azubuike > Barnes Pietrus is the better defender among the 3 and the better shooter. But Pietrus is more of a spot up shooter. I think Pietrus asked for more PT from Nelly which he didnt get. Josh Childress is interesting and desirable. But Childress is a restricted FA and will need at least full MLE. Ricky D is the most gifted scorer. But we are talking about a player who takes bad shots, not passing the ball, and plays poor defense. James Posey is good but very similar to Shane Battier. So, I dont think we need one more Battier.
Finley doesnt have legs anymore. That's death sentence to a shooter. Finley will have 1 good game in 5 games.
I wouldn`t mind having him either, but we need someone at the 2 spot moreso than the 3. we can play donte backing up shane, but who do we have backing up mac, luther? c`mon...
Pietrus is probably tied with Jarret Jack for leading the league in stepping out of bounds. He's not a very smart player. He's also not very skilled, with poor handles being his main weakness. He plays like a tall PF trapped in a swingman's body. His 3pt shot is inconsistent, though to his credit he can hit some damn tough ones. I watched and rooted for the warriors all season long, even when they were ahead of us in the standings, so I know all about Pietrus. I don't know where he got his reputation as a good defender. He gambles for steals all the time and struggles to keep quick guys in front of him. They don't even put him on the toughest assignment anymore. In those epic games against the lakers they put Azubuike on Kobe instead and he did a great job, as he did all season long. If you trust opposing PER, which I don't at all, Azubuike is much better defender than Pietrus across the season according to 82games.com. Kelenna is a much better overall player but his shot is lacking. Yes to Childress, yes to Azubuike, no to Pietrus, and maybe to Ricky Davis. I didn't watch Davis at all last season, but his numbers look good and I know he can create his own offense. Can he really be that bad of a player or is it just his reputation?
I did say unless you are a post player. ewing and webber are both what again? as for posey being similar 2 battier, ur right. and where is that a problem? don't forget there are other roster moves to be made... your point about bad shots on the gsw further supports my premise re: peitrus. it's the freakin warriors! re-read my post, db. pietrus' positives aren't being "masked" somehow in golden state. he's no diamond in the rough. put simply, he's a CZ stone in a beautiful setting. barnes on the other hand is a midgrade gem in a midgrade setting. not superb, not garbage, just valuable. azubuike? I like the brief moments of potential I've seen enough to take a closer look at him at a cheap price. I'd take the solid, if unspectacular, gem (barnes) over him at face value, but wouldn't be devastated to settle for him.
You traitor!!! As someone mentioned earlier in the thread, it probably does make the most sense to target players who are primarily SG's and secondarily SF's, instead of vice-versa.
