June 17th, 2013 at 4:08 PM
By Gordon RobinsonWith the recent hiring of new head coach in Mike Budenholzer of the San Antonio Spurs, the Atlanta Hawks want to start rebuilding a new image. That new image may not include the likes of Josh Smith. The Atlanta Hawks have also found a new home as they named 92.9 The Game as their new flagship station. During all the new press coverage there was no mention of trying to retain the services of "J-Smoove".
One reason that Atlanta may not want to bring back Smith is money. Smith wants as close to a max deal as he can get and Atlanta does not want to dedicate a large chunk of the salary cap in a player that does not appear ready to lead the team night in and night out. Had he been more consistent Atlanta would have already re-signed him by now (had he been more consistent the Hawks may have had a better record and gone further in the playoffs).
The Atlanta Hawks have done more to promote the fact that they are going after Chris Paul and Dwight Howard rather than try to keep Josh Smith around. It appears that if CP3/D12 campaign does not work, the Hawks will look to build around Jeff Teague and Al Horford.
Read more... Join the Conversation... June 14th, 2013 at 2:37 PM
By Gordon Robinson
In a recent report, ESPN the Magazine reporter Chris Broussard states that NBA free agents Chris Paul and Dwight Howard have been in contact with each other so far this offseason and spoke about playing together. According to his sources, the two would love to play together but it appears that Atlanta may not be the destination that they would chose.
Broussard quotes his sources to say that Chris Paul may hold a slight grudge for being passed over in the draft, "He loved Atlanta when they should have drafted him in '05 but not so much since then." He also says that Howard does not appear to have any interest in returning home to play basketball. Both would leave the option open if it meant the only way that they could to play together.
Broussard insists that the Los Angeles Clippers have the best chance at landing the pair, but it would seem highly unlikely as the Los Angeles Lakers would have to agree to sign and trade Dwight Howard to the Clippers. Before that would happen the Clippers would have to agree to trade away Blake Griffin and pair him up with a guy like Eric Bledsoe and some in the Clippers organization view Griffin as a prized piece.
Read more... Join the Conversation... June 13th, 2013 at 12:51 PM
By Gordon RobinsonWith the Atlanta Hawks going all San Antonio Spurs on us by hiring Danny Ferry as the general manager and then he selects Spurs assistant coach Mike Budenholzer, would the Hawks also take the Spurs philosophy in the draft as well? Recently there were some comments reported about Gregg Popovich, his feelings about international players and American born players concerning team play. Coach "Bud" has stated to the local media that his style of play will be very similar to the Spurs and he will be looking for players that will fit in and buy into the philosophy one hundred percent. So, does that mean that the Atlanta Hawks are going to draft international players like the Spurs?
We all know the Spurs have had success with the likes of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. San Antonio has six other players on their roster who have learned the game in areas outside of the states. According to "Pop" those players work harder at the fundamentals than do American born guys. He has stated that foreign players are more coachable typically because they don't have the American AAU ego. It is hard to argue with his philosophy considering the success that the Spurs have had over the past 15 seasons or so. If that is the mentality that the Hawks are going to take then consider these names going into this year's NBA Draft.
Read more... Join the Conversation... June 11th, 2013 at 3:41 AM
By Gordon RobinsonLast week we were under the suspicion that the Atlanta Hawks might be fined by the NBA for tampering after a letter was sent out to potential season ticket buyers and mentioned the names Chris Paul and Dwight Howard. Today, according to the USA Today, we learned that the Hawks were one of three teams to be fined for tampering. The NBA sent out a league memo describing the reason for the fines without naming names or giving out the amount of the penalty. ESPN.com has been quoted to say that they believe that one of the other team may be the Houston Rockets.
The memo sent out by the NBA read, "The conduct at issue involved statements by a team employee to the media, a team e mail to prospective season ticket purchasers, and articles posted online on a team website, each related to players who are currently under contract to other teams but who will become free agents this summer." It is believed that the part about articles posted on a team website is referring to the Houston Rockets.
The Atlanta Hawks have responded to the letter sent out by the league by stating: "We fully understand and respect the NBA's decision."
Read more... Join the Conversation... June 10th, 2013 at 2:52 AM
By Gordon Robinson
A little earlier we spoke about the possible free agents that the Atlanta Hawks may go after during this offseason. We brought up names like Al Jefferson, Paul Milsap, J.J. Hickson, Jarrett Jack and Andrew Bynum. We will also spare you with the Hawks going after Chris Paul and Dwight Howard, they are on everyone's wish list. We will, however, give you more names that you could see in a Hawks jersey next season.
- Kevin Martin- Oklahoma City Thunder- Martin may have lost money this past season as he could not fill the shoes of James Harden. Another team and a different role may be best for him.
- Corey Brewer- Denver Nuggets- Brewer helped the Nuggets in multiple areas, he played good defense and his scoring was crucial off the bench.
- Andre Iguodala- Denver Nuggets- Iguodala continued to show his leadership this past season and even stepped his game up while leading the Nuggets to the playoffs.
- O.J. Mayo- Dallas Mavericks- O.J. may have earned some money this season by taking on a bigger role in Dallas, the only question is have we seen his best?
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