2007 Hawks Presser
Posted: Mon Apr 18, 2016 11:53 am
Another year, another wasted season where we didn't win the title. On the flip side, we didn't make any tax payments either, so that's good.
Where to start? Let's look at our rotation:
1. Rudy Gay comes into the season as the reigning Rookie of the Year. We expect him not to have to carry the load as much this season since we have a few more options around him. That said, we are still looking at him as one of our future cornerstones.
2. We were not thrilled to drop 3 spots in the draft order; however, the pickup of Joakim Noah in the draft was a pleasant surprise. He's not the force Ben Wallace was (but who could be?) but we feel he can hold down a big man spot for the next decade in Atlanta. He'll need to be paired with a more scoring oriented big man, but finding a guy who loves doing the dirty work is always a good thing.
3. Speaking of scoring big man, McDyess, coming off an all-star season, had only a modest decline in Training Camp. While we've been able to add more talent this season so he won't be called upon to carry the scoring load again, I expect he'll continue to pile up points and rebounds as he enters his 13th season in Atlanta. That kind of loyalty and long-term productivity is a rare beast.
4. Devin Harris appears to finally be growing into his promise at point guard, and we're excited to see what he can do this season.
5. Josh Howard settled on a very modest deal in RFA, and we feel a deal like that for a player of his caliber is definitely a good thing for the franchise. He set a career-high mark last season in FG% and if he continues to show that kind of judgement in shot selection, the starting SG spot is his for the time being.
6. We were also excited to bring back Andrei Kirilenko (despite the media-induced controversy). He has shown amazing versatility in the time we've had him and, like Noah, is a guy who likes doing the work on the defensive end. We're hopeful that moving him out of the PF role for the most part, where his lack of bulk was a liability, will help him with his efficiency.
7. And of course we're not forgetting Lamar Odom, whose skills we have long coveted. He was another free agent signee that we were happy to bring into the fold. We like his floor game and his ability to play multiple positions for us.
8. Ben Gordon has shown flashes of brilliance in pre-season play the last couple of years, but it hasn't translated into playing time in the regular season. At least out of the gate, though, we have the luxury of giving him a chance to get some shots up and see if he can produce well.
We like our team - it's young (outside of McDyess) and pretty athletic. Are the Hawks ready to compete for a title? Of course not. For a playoff spot? Maybe not. But this is a year where we can throw a lot of looks at our opponents and really isolate which of our young pieces are gamers (and long-term puzzle pieces) and which ones don't fit our system. I do feel confident that we have enough talent to avoid another trip to the Central basement, however.
Our goal is to be active participants in the trade market - we spent frugally and retain enough cap space to swallow even a maximum contract if the move is right. With a lot of teams looking at significant tax bills, we are confident we will be on the phone list for teams that need to offload salary, and so long as we are getting some assets along with that salary, we are quite happy to help out. I don't expect the team in its current form to be the same team you see after the trade deadline.
So... questions?
Where to start? Let's look at our rotation:
1. Rudy Gay comes into the season as the reigning Rookie of the Year. We expect him not to have to carry the load as much this season since we have a few more options around him. That said, we are still looking at him as one of our future cornerstones.
2. We were not thrilled to drop 3 spots in the draft order; however, the pickup of Joakim Noah in the draft was a pleasant surprise. He's not the force Ben Wallace was (but who could be?) but we feel he can hold down a big man spot for the next decade in Atlanta. He'll need to be paired with a more scoring oriented big man, but finding a guy who loves doing the dirty work is always a good thing.
3. Speaking of scoring big man, McDyess, coming off an all-star season, had only a modest decline in Training Camp. While we've been able to add more talent this season so he won't be called upon to carry the scoring load again, I expect he'll continue to pile up points and rebounds as he enters his 13th season in Atlanta. That kind of loyalty and long-term productivity is a rare beast.
4. Devin Harris appears to finally be growing into his promise at point guard, and we're excited to see what he can do this season.
5. Josh Howard settled on a very modest deal in RFA, and we feel a deal like that for a player of his caliber is definitely a good thing for the franchise. He set a career-high mark last season in FG% and if he continues to show that kind of judgement in shot selection, the starting SG spot is his for the time being.
6. We were also excited to bring back Andrei Kirilenko (despite the media-induced controversy). He has shown amazing versatility in the time we've had him and, like Noah, is a guy who likes doing the work on the defensive end. We're hopeful that moving him out of the PF role for the most part, where his lack of bulk was a liability, will help him with his efficiency.
7. And of course we're not forgetting Lamar Odom, whose skills we have long coveted. He was another free agent signee that we were happy to bring into the fold. We like his floor game and his ability to play multiple positions for us.
8. Ben Gordon has shown flashes of brilliance in pre-season play the last couple of years, but it hasn't translated into playing time in the regular season. At least out of the gate, though, we have the luxury of giving him a chance to get some shots up and see if he can produce well.
We like our team - it's young (outside of McDyess) and pretty athletic. Are the Hawks ready to compete for a title? Of course not. For a playoff spot? Maybe not. But this is a year where we can throw a lot of looks at our opponents and really isolate which of our young pieces are gamers (and long-term puzzle pieces) and which ones don't fit our system. I do feel confident that we have enough talent to avoid another trip to the Central basement, however.
Our goal is to be active participants in the trade market - we spent frugally and retain enough cap space to swallow even a maximum contract if the move is right. With a lot of teams looking at significant tax bills, we are confident we will be on the phone list for teams that need to offload salary, and so long as we are getting some assets along with that salary, we are quite happy to help out. I don't expect the team in its current form to be the same team you see after the trade deadline.
So... questions?