GM Rick Sund signs Flip Murray, Atlanta Hawks starting to look like a team...

its a beautiful day in sports worldwide, the most beautiful sports event ever is in full effect, as is basketball for the USA and the NBA off-season

team usa is dominating in every game (except australia, we'll get them back later), it's too bad we didn't see Childress play with Greece to be dominated with the rest of them, that would make him home sweet home real soon, lol, but i hope Josh Childress is the star player and MVP of that team and league, so when he comes back to the hawks it would be monumental

the hawks are moving on without Childress for now though, GM Rick Sund continuing to explore the free agent market and make good decisions. GM Rick Sund recently signed Flip Murray, a 6'3 combo guard who played well in indiana and detroit, to be a veteran leader, scorer off the bench. Mike Woodson and Flip are on one accord (for now) and the hawks team is looking very strong for this upcoming season. There had been questions of team chemistry in the past, urgenct contract matters of important parts of the team and organization were rightfully a concern, after the resignation of the man that drafted and traded for all of the current hawks players of today, we chose someone we felt could make good decisions for the organization and team, and even though we have gone through the ludacris of Josh Childress, there seems to be some method to the madness after all.

This is a realistic opinion prediction of the Atlanta Hawks and the Southeast Division, i am a hawks blogger that believes Josh Smith is the best player on the team, Mike Woodson is the man for the job (for now) and the Hawks could win 45+ games this upcoming season, realisticly.

Southeast Division Alalysis:

Orlando Magic

Washington Wizards

Miami Heat

Charlotte Bobcats

this is actually going to be detailed analysis of the atlanta hawks of this season, , all factors considered:

coach Mike Woodson the hawks are better defensively than they have ever been, they play with a new confidence and swagger they gained in the playoffs, great home record, but also impressively winning on the road against teams that aren't supposed to lose to the hawks at home, earning the hawks some respect. believe it or not, Mike Woodson is not that bad. he actually has the favor and some respect of some of his players, and this team wants to be a defensive force, and believe it or not, mike was an intricate part of 04 Detroit Pistons championship defensive identity, hey if Doc Rivers can do it why not mike?

predicted team record : 47-35

Joe Johnson3x all-star

previous season stats: 21.7 ppg 4.5 rpg 5.8 apg 43.2% FGs 38.1% 3pt FGs 83.4% FTs

joe johnson is the leader of this team, mr. consistent has proven to be a top 10 SG in this league and one of the best all-around players in the nba. he improved hisp lay this season by increasing his FG and 3pt % by taking less shots and better shots, also formed a dynamic duo with Josh Smith, making plays for each other in the games, making opponents pay for double teaming him.
predicted next season stats: 20.2 pts 5.0 rbs 5.5 asts 48.2% FGs 40.1% 3pt FGs 85% FTs

Josh Smithall-star. dpoy.

previous season stats:17.2 ppg 8.2 rpg 3.4 apg 2.8 bpg 1.5 spg 45.9% FGs 25.3% 3pt FGs 71.1% FTs
Joshes improved shot selection and free throw shooting is what game him his first all-star selection and his continued improvement, focus on defense is what got him his first defensive player of the year award. after continuing to make his place in nba history as the first forward to average 3 bpg of all-time, and having an unstoppable in-the-paint game, josh also improved his game by being able to hit that 12-15 foot jumpshot, and he improved his 3pt shooting percentage, rightfully leading this young hawks team defensively and offensively.

predicted next season stats: 22.2 pts 8.3 rbs 3.0 asts 3.1 blks 2.1 stls 48.4% FGs 34.7% 3pt FGs 80.4% FTs

Al Horford

previous season stats: 10.1 ppg 9.7 rpg 1.5 apg 49.9% FGs 73.4% FTs

al horford and josh smith make the defensive identity of this hawks team, horford was one of the best rookies in the league last season and he proves his elite status in the east with improved play on both ends of the court, still playing the center position he has improved his jumpshot and led the hawks in scoring in 10 games this season, he is the leading rebounder on the team and 6th in rebounding in the league

predicted next season stats: 16.5 pts 11.3 rbs 2.0 asts 2.0 blks 50.4% FGs 82.1% FTs

Mike Bibbyprevious season stats: 13.9 ppg 3.5 rpg 6.0 apg 41.1% FGs 37.5% 3pt FGs 78.1% FTs

mike bibby is a solid point guard with good descision making skills, he has evolved as a passer because he elects to be more of a distributing PG first, scoring second. bibby is in the final year of his contract and he knows he wont be kept by the hawks so he is doing the best he can to help them win this season and in the post-season
predicted next season stats: 14.1 pts 4.1 rbs 6.2 asts 44.4% FGs 33.7% 3pt FGs 78.4% FTs

Marvin Williamsprevious season stats: 14.8 ppg 5.7 rpg 1.7 apg 46.2% FGs 10.1% 3pt FGs 82.2% FTs

marvin williams is a very bad player, he is very ackward inconsistent with no real specialty to his game, unless you consider a 12 foot jumpshot a specialty. he takes a step back this season with the improved play of josh smith and lack of josh childress, marvins minutes decline and so does his overall contribution to the team, he is not expected to be retained in the 09 off-season
predicted next season stats: 12.2 pts 4.3 rbs 2.1 asts 43.2% FGs 31.2% 3pt FGs

bench

Maurice Evans

previous season stats: 9.0 ppg 3.0 rpg 1.0 apg 48.1% FGs 38.8% 3pt FGs 71.2% FTs
mo evans turned out to be a great signing, bringing experienced veteran leadership, poise, and good shooting to the team, he is the teams 2nd most accurate 3 pt shooter, something childress could not provide, and he scores just as many points
predicted next season stats: 10.1 pts 3.1 rbs 2.3 asts 45.2% FGs 37.4 3pt FGs 78.3% FTs

Flip Murray

previous season stats: 9.4 ppg 2.0 rpg 3.5 apg 42.1% FGs 31.1% 3pt FGs 69.4% FTs
Flip Murray is pretty good for our team, he doesn't play as often because of his combo guard style of play, he is a pretty good scorer though, his veteran leadership is appreciated
predicted next season stats: 6.0 pts 2.1 rbs 1.3 asts

Acie Law IV

previous season stats: 4.2 ppg 2.1 apg

Acie Law wanted to really redeem himself this season, he did okay as the primary backup to mike bibby, but due to he splitting time with speedy claxton he did not get consistent minutes, acie law continues to be frustrated, he will be even more frustrated when bibby leaves and we sign someone else to be the starting pg
predicted next season stats: 6.1 pts 2.3 rbs 3.1 asts

Zaza Pachulia

previous season stats:
5.2 ppg 4.2 rpg

ZaZa is an intrigal part of this Hawks bench, he is our token foreign big man from the great republic of georgia, after being devestated by the war in his country, and due to the swagger shown in the playoffs, he is a fan favorite, and always brings aggresive play and good plays
predicted next season stats: 6.4 pts 6.5 rbs 2.3 asts 47.2% FGs 81% FTs

Randolph Morrisprevious season stats: irrelevent

this is a learning experience for morris, he is competing from the bench to be the starting center for the team when marvin leaves, he must lose alot of weight and become a more skilled passer, shot-blocker first, he will need to be a diop type enforcer center, not expected to be a scorer
predicted next season stats: 4.5 pts 3.4 rbs 1.1 blks

Jeremy Richardson
previous season stats:
Jeremy is a good role bench player, he is a SG/SF scorer, he is a good shooter, free throws, 3 pts, driving to the basket, and even a good defensive player
predicted next season stats:

Speedy Claxton
summer league stats:
predicted next season stats:


in conclusion, i am highlighting this hawks team because i see a eastern conference contender in the making, we got our big three, good PG (for now) and good center in the making, what will become one of the best benches in the league, i can see this occuring

Zaza Pachulia on CNN - Peace in the Republic of Georgia please

It is really a terrible tragedy in this current event, world news.

Let us step away from basketball with Zaza for a second and confront a terrible reality occuring in our ally's neighborhoods.

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The last few days have been tough on the Hawks' big man, as he has seen his otherwise peaceful homeland ravaged by fighting that has left over 2,000 dead and many more homeless..

Pachulia, who is about as big a sports celebrity as there is in Georgia (the Republic of, not the state), has been incredibly active since fighting broke out nearly a week ago, trying to help bring about a peaceful resolution. He attended peace rallies on Sunday and Tuesday night, and has appeared on CNN twice, once on CNN International and again yesterday on the regular network.

While most of the world's attention is on the Olympics in Beijing, Pachulia calls this time "the most stressful of his life" as he tries to stay in contact with his friends and family who are half the world away.

"Because of my age," says Pachulia, "A lot of my friends are still serving in the military. I have been able to get in contact with some of them, but others I have no idea. It's scary - I just want the fighting to end. Innocent people are being killed or losing their homes, and that just can't continue."

Zaza is supposed to travel back to Georgia next week to begin playing with his national team as they try to qualify for the 2009 European championships, but now that is up in the air.

"There are more important things than basketball going on right now," said Pachulia. "I want to go home and represent my country, but we can't be playing games when we have to worry about the stadium we are playing in being bombed."
Pachulia plans to continue to do all he can to help resolve the situation, but was quick to say that politics is not his game.
"I am not trying to talk about who is wrong and who is right," he said. "The most important thing to me is that there be peace, and that the people of Georgia not have to live in fear for their lives or their homes."

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Hawks fans finally breathe, Josh Smith has been re-signed, Can the Hawks be better than last season?

Finally, the conflict has been resolved. the rooster has crowed, the fat lady has sung, and our hero is Rick Sund. I believe he deserves all of the credit for organizing this deal, for making the arrangements for the Grizzlies to sign him an offer sheet of 5 years $58 million, and the Hawks to match that immediately. This was truely a bargain, while all of Josh Smith's draft classmates all got 6 year deals, at 60-72 million, he is getting more than the $9 million has was initially offered, and less than the $11-$12 million he was demanding.

Now that our core is set, our big three is in tact - Josh Smith, Al Horford, and Joe Johnson, we the Hawks and the fans can start concentrating on filling some holes, signing remaining free agents. Here are a few potential free agents we could/should sign:

Shaun Livingston

Fred Jones

Juan Dixon

Dikembe Mutumbo (lol)

Josh Smith is the heart and soul of this young hawks team, it was never a question of SHOULD the Hawks keep him, it was a question of how much we can afford and how much he deserves. He is what they call, "a freakish athlete who can score" but so much more than that.

There's a good, short interview with Mr. Marvin Williams from Sekou Smith of AJC.com, apparently Marvin has put on some weight, and is getting stronger and faster. We hope so, so he can increase his trade value, maybe we can get Allen Iverson for Williams and Bibby, just an idea.

Well, the game schedule for next season is out, and with the increased talent in the eastern conference, i think the Hawks are starting to develop some rivalries that will be intriguing match-ups in the future. Here are some of the teams that i believe the Hawks have beef with that will make for some great games in the future:

Boston Celtics

Milwalkee Bucks

Miami Heat

Orlando Magic

Chicago Bulls

Charlotte Bobcats

Olympikos (lol j/k)


I see a 45+ win season in the works here, a first time all-star in Josh Smith, and another playoff match-up with the Boston Celtics, and one of the greatest, biggest upsets in the NBA again, but it won't be such an upset when it happens, it will just be a natural passing of power from one champion to the next in the near future. Josh Smith NBA Finals MVP.

the REAL Winners and Losers of the NBA Off-Season 08....and yes, the Hawks (management) are losers

Happy Monday, people.

It's a great, brave new month of August in the city of Atlanta. Kids going back to school, Falcons in training camp (we still miss Vick though, Matt Ryan can never be Micheal Vick), but unfortunately, today we mourn the death of a certain Mr. Skip Caray of the Atlanta Braves. The AJC reports he was the announcer for the Braves for more than 33 years, he died in his sleep in his Atlanta home, he was 68 years old. BUT, life goes on, we still have more pressing issues in Atlanta Sports, for the Josh Smith debacle has no known end in sight. AJC's Sekou Smith reports that it looks like a Mexican Standoff, the Hawks wanting to give Smith approximately 9 million/year, and Smith is demanding at least 10 million/year, for the Sixers were willing to give him 12 and the Clippers were willing to give him 13. It seems clear to me that Josh Smith is worth at least the 10 he feels he deserves, especially when many of his 2004 draft classmates are getting 11-13/year like Monta Ellis and Emeka Okafor, Josh Smith has already proven his skill, work ethic and ability to improve, he is the francise player, identity of the Hawks and the 2nd best player out of the Dwight Howard draft of 2004. But, it seems like new GM Rick Sund doesn't see that too clearly, maybe his eyesight is dimming on him, because anyone can see that he, not Marvin Williams, is the future of the successful Atlanta Hawks, and even if they have to go a little into Luxury Tax to pay Smith this off-season, it will pay off this 08-09 season when he averages 20+ ppg, makes his first all-star game, and he with Joe and Al leads us back into the playoffs, because even without Josh Childress, we can improve to a better record next season and who knows, maybe Maurice Evans and Randolph Morris will be a pleasant suprise for us. BUT, all of this depends of bringing Josh Smith back and making the kid happy in his hometown.

Anyway, this article is in response to an article also posted today by Mr. Chad Ford of ESPN.com, he writes a report of the Winners and Losers of the Off-Season so far. Right. I can already tell by his NBA bias that the Sixers will be #1 winners and the Hawks will be #1 losers, which might actually be the case but to me, he really reveals his bias in the other teams he analyzes. Here is his analysis and my responses to it.

Chad: "Their first move was a good one, letting GM Billy Knight walk. The Hawks were in the playoffs despite Knight's consistent botching of the draft, not because of him. Unfortunately, after Knight resigned, everything got seriously mangled in Atlanta. A number of the top GM candidates they pursued said "no, thanks" and the Hawks ended up settling on Rick Sund, a nice guy who's failed badly as a GM in his last two stops in Seattle and Detroit."

PlayoffsHawks: That is an interesting perspective to see Sund, everyone knows Sund for his media persistence that they want to keep Rashard Lewis in the summer of '07, and we all know what happened with that, not to blame Lewis, i mean who wouldn't go to the sunny beaches of Orlando for $118 million/7 years, but Sund never drafted well either, Robert Swift.

Chad: "Sund's first move was to bring back head coach Mike Woodson -- a guy who several players don't really like and whose coaching style doesn't fit the talent on the team."

PlayoffsHawks: i did not have a problem with this decision, it was better to keep a guy that is already established, unfortunately not respected, with the team, rather than go out and find a new guy to have to start over with, giving Woodson one more chance was the best way to keep the spirit of the playoffs hawks in tact, hopefully they had a talk about his substitution patterns...

Chad: "Then the Hawks completely mishandled Josh Childress. First, they offered him a contract for less than the midlevel exception. Then they told him to go find a better deal, thinking no team would make a strong offer. Childress found a better deal in Greece and warned the Hawks he'd take the money. The Hawks called his bluff and Childress took the money and ran. Normally, I wouldn't make such a fuss over a sixth man, but Childress was the glue that held the team together -- he was very underrated."

PlayoffsHawks: Couldn't have said it better myself. Childress was a major part of the identity of the young Atlanta Hawks, his husltle, playmaking ability, and afro will be dearly missed. This is the first major mistake Rick Sund has made, trying to undercut a player like Childress, this is what we are defining Sund as until further notice, he really messed that situation up, now this may be a blessing is disguise, for Childress might blow up in Greece then come back to the Hawks in the summer of '10, and this might also allow Smith to be a bigger part of the offense to showcase his ability, but until and unless Sund makes the smart move of signing Smith to a huge contract, Sund is not a good GM.

CHAD: "Now the Hawks are between a rock and hard place with Josh Smith. Their offer is lower than what Emeka Okafor and Luol Deng got. Smith is upset and doesn't really want to play in Atlanta. If they up the offer, they risk overpaying a player who is unhappy in Atlanta. If the Hawks don't increase the offer, they risk Smith taking the one-year qualifying offer in Atlanta and bolting next summer as an unrestricted free agent."

PlayoffsHawks: Now, this is how it is, if Josh Smith is forced to sign a one-year qualifying offer, which is symbolism of his direct intent to leave no-matter-what in the summer of '09, this is going to enrage the ATLANTA Hawks fans. i guarentee there will be in-game protests, fan demands that the ASG just sell the team to people who care about winning, and massive action by Atlanta sports fans to show the ownership just how foolish they are. We have endured almost a decade of losing and irrevelancy for this new GM to come in here and screw up the team like apprently he has done in Seattle and Detriot. Old policies and rules don't apply in this situation, that GM must understand that this is a new era, and a new situation, and they are in the business of WINNING not making money, and if it costs a lil' money for a year or two to build that winning team, then so be it! But, no, these men and their penny-pinching ways is going to get them in trouble with the real people who control sports, the fans, and we are not going to stand idly and do nothing while our potential is snatched away by another team where he will be sure to shine and everyone will talk about, "well, he was pretty good in Atlanta, but they had a bad coach, and now he's GREAT!" when he can be great HERE. That's how it is supposed to be, and that's what we're demanding, the ASG to start caring about winning and do what it takes to get Josh Smith back in a Hawks uniform long term.

THAT'S ALL THIS SUMMER IS ABOUT, PEOPLE, THAT'S ALL THIS SUMMER IS ABOUT...