Offseason Blues - Updated...

I wanted to update my offseason report card from a few weeks ago since 1. many things have changed since our last report card and 2. many people continue to try to sell me on the fact that the Hawks have done good things this offseason. Since we've been unmoved by our offseason upgrades (re-signing last year's players do not qualify), Hawk Str8Talk HQ is looking to figure out what we can do to improve this team. That will be the subject of our next blog. First, we'll update the offseason board below and then get to analysizing.

1. Lakers - Added Artest. Lost Ariza. (Limbo - Odom)
2. Nuggets - Added Lawson, Afflalo. Lost D. Jones (Limbo - Kleiza, Petro, Carter)
3. Spurs - Added Jefferson, Blair, McDyess. Lost Bowen, Oberto, Thomas (Limbo - Udoka, Vaughn, Gooden)
4. Blazers - Added no one. Lost Rodriguez, Frye. (Limbo - LaFrentz)
5. Rockets - Added Ariza, D. Andersen. Lost Artest, Yao, Mutumbo. (Limbo - Wafer, McGrady injury)
6. Mavericks - Added Marion, Q. Ross. Lost Bass, Stackhouse, George, A. Wright. (Limbo - G. Green)
7. Hornets - Added D. Collison. Lost No One. (Limbo - Ely, R. Bowen)
8. Jazz - Added Maynor. Lost Boozer (soon) (Limbo - Collins, Almond, B. Knight)

East
1. Cavs - Added O'Neal, A. Parker. Lost Wallace, Pavlovic. (Limbo - Smith, Szczerbiak)
2. Celtics - Added Wallace. In Limbo - Marbury, G. Davis, L. Powe, M. Moore.
3. Magic - Added Carter, R. Anderson, Bass. Subtracted by Alston, Battie, Lee, & Turkgolu. (Limbo - Lue, Foyle)
4. Hawks - Added Crawford, Teague. Lost Law, Claxton. (Limbo - West, Jones, Williams, Murray)
5. Heat - Added no one, but possibly Odom. Lost no one (Limbo - Moon, Magloire, Head)
6. Sixers - Added Brand, Holiday, Kapono. Lost R. Evans (Limbo - A. Miller, Marshall, Ivey, Ratliff, Rush)
7. Bulls - Added James Johnson, T. Gibson, Pargo. Lost Gordon (Limbo - A. Gray)
8. Pistons - Added Gordon, Villanueva, Daye, Coach Kuerster. Subtracted Wallace, Afflalo, McDyess, Iverson, Coach Curry
9. Wizards - Added Arenas, Foye, and Miller. Lost Pecherov, E. Thomas, Songalia
10. Raptors - Added Turkgolu, DeRozan, Evans, A. Wright, J. Jack. Lost Marion, Kapono, A. Parker (Limbo - Delfino, J. Graham)

Well, it looks like we have updated the list to include one more team in the East - the Raptors. While most of the Atlanta fan base seems to have sated by the trade of spare parts for a useful part, it is still unsettled on whether the Hawks have made any appreciable upgrades to the team outside of a reliance on our current players' offseason improvement. But we recall that last season's 2nd half and postseason revealed areas that need improvement in order to move up in the East (or even to keep status quo).

It was apparent to most that the Hawks were lacking in defense, rebounding, interior depth, leadership, and toughness. These areas were not up for much debate, so what has been done to address these areas? Nothing...so far!

While the East's Big Three all made moves to improve upon their core assets, the Hawks tried to match them with the acquisition of Jamal Crawford. As we noted earlier this summer, we are not as enamored of this deal as most. At a price of $1.5M, Flip Murray provided us 12pts a game in 24 minutes as the backup shooting guard/point guard. As a starter for the Golden State Warriors (a team that plays at the highest pace in the league), Crawford provided 19.7pts a game in 38 minutes as the starting shooting guard. Basically a 1 pt per 2 minute clip for each player. Now at a price of $9.3M, that trade doesn't look so appetizing as the prospect of using Law & Claxton as chips for a big man and then re-signing Flip Murray at a fraction of the cost for similar production. While we certainly don't believe Murray to be a defensive stalwart - he's still an upgrade over Crawford defensively.

That said, we admit that on its face - the trade is better than nothing, but the question remains that it might be short-sighted to take a trade that improves your talent base when that talent isn't addressing the areas that caused your 2nd half slump and postseason collapse (Note: we consider 7 games to beat the Heat (3 losses by an avg of 20+pts) and a sweep by the Cavs in all uncompetitive games a collapse.) So, while our friends at the AJC seem to be declaring the Sund era a success, we are still in wait and see mode. This roster still hasn't been filled out. We still don't have Marvin Williams in the fold. We still have qualifying offers out to Solomon Jones and Mario West (which still puzzles us). We still have no idea how our 5 weaknesses have been improved. These are weaknesses that are time worn for winning championships.

That coupled with the fact that other teams are netting at more talent than what the Hawks have attained to date speaks to our working assertion that we're losing ground to the teams ahead of us AND that the teams behind us are catching us. If the Heat add Odom, we will have another team in the running for the 4th seed in the East. It's no guarantee that any of the new teams' additions will result in the chemistry that will result in a rise in the standings, but it stands to reason that adding All Star talents in Washington and Philly, adding NBA champion experience and talent in Toronto and Miami, growth in Chicago, and possibly just a new coach and chemistry will catapult Detroit and/or 3-5 other teams past the Atlanta Hawks.

We're going to wait until the roster has been filled out to pass judgment on where this team will reside in the standings, but at this juncture - we're still not convinced that healed injuries and Flip 2.0 is enough to keep our standing as the 4th best team in the East.

Allow Us To Re-Introduce Ourselves

The Hawks Str8Talk blog has been around for almost a full year and we've found a niche in the Hawks Blogosphere where we get to speak our truth. There are some fan blogs dedicated to complete homer-dom, some dedicated to criticizing everything that the organization does that isn't deemed successful, and some that are just all about calling it like it is.

That's where we wanted to fall into the blog spectrum, so it's important we reset our compass for our loyal readers (all 7 or 8 of them). So, here's the Hawk Str8Talk creed:

1. The writer of this blog above all else wants to see the Atlanta Hawks win a NBA championship.
2. The writer of this blog will always cheer for this goal to be achieved.
3. The writer of this blog will always tell the truth about this organization in good times and in bad times.
4. The writer of this blog will always view the actions and progress of this team through the prism of 'does what I see translate into winning a NBA championship?'
5. This writer of this blog will add other filler around this to entertain the people and give them a glimpse into the things not normally talked about in NBA blogs (as examples, we discussed the comparison in dance teams, marketing and sales staff, game operations, celebrities seen, fights, ticketing and logistics, etc - all in additon to analysis of the players, coaches, and ownership)

So, it's with that creed that we speak about my beloved Atlanta Hawks. In the past few days, there have been some interesting debates and challenges to our beliefs, but make no mistake - we are always first and foremost - hopeful about the prospects of our Atlanta Hawks, but let it be clear - this is Hawks Str8Talk. Just b/c we want something to be one way doesn't mean we're going to say something that isn't our truth.

In our last post, there seemed to be some thought that at HST HQ - we were panicking. Nothing could be further from the truth. In an offseason where we are currently staring at bringing back the same type of team (with Flip traded out for Jamal and possibly David Andersen traded out for Randolph Morris), we simply said - as presently constituted, we haven't addressed the problems that plagued us the latter half of the regular season and during the playoffs. Those problems were the reason we almost lost to a woeful, inferior Miami Heat team and were swept by a strong, but not so strong that we couldn't compete with them Cleveland Cavaliers (and yes, we're accounting for the injuries).

So, when faced with that, and the potential that all the other teams were adding pieces that POSSIBLY can make them better (Magic - Carter, Celtics - KG and Rasheed, Cavs - Shaq, Wizards - Arenas, Andersen, and Miller & coach; Pistons - Gordon & Villanueva & coach, Bulls - didn't need anyone - they made their moves at the trade deadline and looked young, yet better than us during the last half of the season and postseason; Sixers - Brand) - the Hawks seem to be stuck in mud.

We don't feel good about just re-signing the old team when we are still lacking defense, rebounding, and a true backup point guard who will play next year (Woodson has shown that he's not playing young players unless he's forced to - i.e. our first 3 years, so Teague is a thought for 2011, but not now) and trading Flip for Jamal didn't seem like much of an upgrade. Don't let our pessimism about that confuse anyone regarding our ability to make the playoffs. We can make the playoffs with last year's team. Can we win a 1st round playoff series or even compete in a 2nd round playoff series? That's a question that concerns us based on last year's results. So, here at Str8Talk, we can't ignore how badly we needed leadership, better strategy, toughness when finally faced with good teams in the playoffs (or in the Heat's case - even bad teams with a superstar). It's not a good feeling to see other teams trying to add things that change the course of their fate vs. taking essentially the same recipe and hoping for a different result.

That said, there's still time and we'll waiting with bated breath to see what GM Sund has in store. Hopefully, our fears and concerns will be addressed and our path to a title becomes clearer. Thanks for your time...

The Notorious Hawk L.U.V.

Hawks As An 8th Seed?

In true Str8Talk fashion, it was with great hope that we thought that the Hawks would be players in the offseason. So, we decided that it was time to assess what the top teams have done in free agency to date AND figure out where the Hawks project out for next season's playoff seeding based on that assessment.

So, in NBA news...and reporting on teams that were as good or better than the Hawks last season
West

1. Lakers - picked up Artest, lost Ariza
2. Nuggets - Done nothing yet
3. Spurs - picked up Jefferson
4. Blazers - picked up Turkgolu
5. Rockets - picked up Ariza, lost Artest, injury woes with McGrady and Yao
6. Mavericks - in limbo with Kidd
7. Hornets - Nothing
8. Jazz - all potential free agents decided to stay

East
1. Cavs - picked up Shaq
2. Celtics - lost Marbury, might be able to pick up Wallace, injury issues with Garnett
3. Magic - lost Lee, Turkgolu, and Alston...got Carter
4. Hawks - picked up Crawford - still unsure about Zaza, Flip, Childress, Bibby, Marvin Williams
5. Heat - nothing
6. Sixers - nothing, but Brand should be coming back
7. Bulls - lost Gordon
8. Pistons - picked up Gordon, Villanueva...losing Wallace & Iverson
9. Wizards - picking up Arenas, Foye, and Miller

Now, looking at this list...it becomes fairly apparent that the Hawks are performing up to recent standards (last midseason included) with regards to making championship level improvements. There's no doubt that the Hawks have caught no one this offseason and likely have sacrificed their ability to even get the 4th seed in the East. In the West, all the teams have made moves with the understanding that to stand pat is to allow another team to pass you by.

While there were many who were excited about Jamal Crawford, count us among those who were not. I'd much rather be in the position of the Pistons, Bulls, or Wizards this offseason and despite the Magic's net loss - they still are better than the Hawks at full strength. Which brings us to our current state...we still have no point guard (Teague, Crawford, Johnson are all shooting guards - don't let anyone tell you otherwise), we still don't have a center (or a backup center), and the ownership is not known for spending money.

So, where does that leave us during the offseason...as the #8 seed at best. Fortunately, the Heat haven't done anything or else we'd be staring at the possibility of not being in the playoffs this upcoming season. To be sure, things certainly can change with a few contract signings, a few injuries, or coaching changes, but as it stands - we are a team in hopes of making the playoffs ONCE AGAIN. These thoughts of 50 win seasons are not being harbored by this fan. Let's hope that we are singing a different song on Aug. 1st.

Tears of a Clown

We'll keep this short - which is a significant accomplishment for us.

I don't believe anything that was said tonight. Jeff Teague will not make one dent for the Atlanta Hawks this season or next. Who knows if he'll be a good player, but I'm fairly sure he won't be a good player for us. Just what I've been conditioned to believe. We had a shot at Blair who would have solved some rebounding woes no matter what happens with Zaza.

So, we go another draft with our most glaring problems not addressed (or even attempted to be addressed). Let's hope that this free agency period is much better. Oh, and we're intentionally ignoring our 2nd round pick. When thinking that in the next pick - we could have had a 7ft presence that could contribute, but no we went back to what we are accustomed to. So, again - no distributor, no defensive help, no low post scoring. Yep, these are our Hawks. The fact that Blair was picked by San Antonio says everything about whether or not I feel like we messed up tonight. Jamal, Jeff, and Sergey...yep, you'd think someone died tonight. And something did - my faith that our draft acumen would change with new management. Color me unconvinced...

Draft Day/Trade Thoughts

Str8 Talk Fans,

Sorry for the delay, but between Stevie Wonder concert preparation & US / Spain - I was unaware that something was going on in Hawks land of any consequence, but then I got a Tweet and text during Do I Do (what a wondrous song!). So, GM Sund has pulled the trigger on the thing that we already knew to be true - Acie Law and Craig Claxton are useless to Coach Woodson. [Note: And we do hold Sund partially accountable for lying to me about Law's upside and importance to the Hawks when I told him that there's nothing we see that says that that's the case. Unless of course, he meant - his importance as trade bait.]

Which brings us to...Jamal Crawford. JAMAL CRAWFORD!?! Say word! Ok, since we're seeing a bunch of feedback from all quarters saying things like - great trade, good to get something for nothing, and what does this mean for the draft. I say a big collective YAWN!!!! Let's enumerate the ways...

1. So, we traded away 2 Point Guards, last year's point guard (Bibby) and last year's fake point guard (Murray) are free agents, which means we certainly were looking to get our starting point guard back....and we ended up with a $10M backup shooting guard. Color me unimpressed.
2. Now, Crawford playing and allowing Johnson to get some rest is really the only upside I see in this deal as it stands today. Obviously, it's a good deal if you don't bring back Murray and you go get a real penetrating, defensive minded, dish the ball point guard, but only b/c his contract requires that he will play. Law should have played but he didn't. I have serious doubts about Woodson getting defense and good decision making out of Crawford.
3. Well, this actually could be a good thing - I would revel in Acie Law showing that he's actually a great PG and further highlighting the biggest offseason problem (and this includes all the holes in the Hawks' roster right now) and that's coaching.

So, you're telling us that Crawford fills a glaring need...uh, no! You simply fortified the one position we have no questions about. Sure, you may try to convince again that a volume shooter is really part point guard. And I'd say - stop the madness! For all the love I have for Flip the shooting guard, I have as much antipathy for Flip the point guard. I anticipate having a similar reaction to Flip Murray 2.0. Microwave Jamal Crawford being used as the spark plug scoring machine on the 2nd team - AWESOME! Selfish Jamal Crawford being used as a point guard or allowed to take shots away from the 4-5 players that are better than him on the team - PERPLEXING!

So, what does this say to us? It says that we still don't have an identity as a team. We still haven't addressed our biggest holes - center (and no, we're not buying Al Horford as a center who you can win a championship with. Playoffs - Maybe! Win against poor/average teams - YES! Championship with Al Horford as your center - Absolutely not!), point guard (double no! In fact, we don't have a point guard on the roster right now.), and finally defense (a triple no!!!!! - I mean he has a reputation that puts him in the all-time not playing defense players...wonder how this is going to play in Woodson land! Expect more angst this season from Bret)

Which leads us to draft day:

Well, I would love to say I know what we're going to do, but here's what I would suggest. Pick from this group of players...Blair (PLEASE FALL TO US), Maynor, Lawson, Teague, or sell the pick. Yep, I said - sell it. Let us use the money to try to get Sessions or Milsap or some known commodity that Woodson will play. I don't see him playing anyone we select in either round, so why even pick. All I know is that if you select a scorer - he's not playing. If you select a low post guy who isn't Blair, he isn't playing (and Blair might not even play). If you select a point guard like Maynor (see Law - he AIN'T playing).

The biggest problem for our team is that our coach isn't going to develop our players. For as much as I don't blame him, the guy didn't even play Speedy when he was healthy (yes, he was healthy all season), didn't play Law when we saw the need for a point guard to play. There are just too many examples of Woodson coaching for the moment to believe that during his lame duck season that he's developing players that he doesn't have a contract to outlast and coach. And that's the biggest issue for the Hawks this offseason. If you aren't swinging for a 50 win season with vets that Mike Woodson can quickly trust and play, you are playing the fans for 2009-2010. So, we don't care who gets picked - we care about whether or not this coaching situation gets resolved (extend or fire) and then we'll tell you who we should select. Right now, the best answer is - get some money for the picks and put it into a coaching extension or new coach, getting Zaza back, getting a defensive presence at center or point guard. That's what I'd like for Christmas....and since I don't normally get what I want from the Hawks for Christmas - again, we say - color us unimpressed. See you at Draft Night!

Why Mike Vick Got EXACTLY What He Deserved?

This has nothing to do with the Hawks, but since it's my blog and we have little to talk about until the draft and free agent signings start up next week - I thought I'd put my long winded rant about Mike Vick to paper...it's long, but worth the read (or so I think).

Enjoy!!!1

Over the last 2 years, we've heard a lot about Michael Vick and whether or not he was treated unfairly by the legal system. Much of it has come from the African-American community and it has only gotten hotter with the recent sentence that Donte Stallworth received. Well, I've finally gotten fed up to the point that it deserves some rant/blog time.

Let me preface this with a sincere comment. I have no ax to grind for Mike. It is my hope that he is able to prove that he can come back from this setback stronger, smarter, and emboldened to do the right thing for his family and for his career, football or otherwise. He deserves that chance as every American does. As many Americans who've made mistakes, I hope that his Behind the Athlete story is one that is ultimately a triumphant one.

Now, that said, Michael Vick, to date, has gotten EVERY thing he deserves from the legal system. It is very baffling to me that the public (particularly the black community) doesn't understand why Michael Vick went to jail in the first place. Contrary to popular belief, he did not go to jail because he kill dogs or bankrolled a dogfighting operation. Vick went to jail for 23 months for the same reason that many African American males go to jail - because they don't understand the best way to stay out of jail. Donte Stallworth did understand this (or his lawyers did). That's that - if you admit what you have done when you have been caught, the legal system will have mercy on you. T.I. understood that. Leonard Little understood. Many people who can afford to broker a deal are able to find a more equitable justice system than those who can't, but even those who can't afford it - are able to give the authorities what they need to prevent themselves from serving sentences that the courts are allowed to levy. The 'stay out of jail' playbook starts with - hey, I did it and here's how I plan to atone for it. That's the starting point. It doesn't start at - hey, you convicted me, spent the taypayer's loot, and now judge have leniency on me.

It's puzzling that fans of Michael Vick are not upset with him for the things he did to cause himself to receive 23 months in jail. Can we all say this together? HE DID THE CRIME!!!!! I repeat - regardless of what you believe about the crime's punishment (and yes, him allowing it to get beyond the state case to a federal case - again, another Vick error, not 'the man's' problem) - HE DID THE CRIME!!!! Ok, let's recount the problem: He bankrolled a dogfighting ring. He participated in fighting and killing dogs. He lied to the public and the authorities about what he did to state and federal authorities. He smoked weed while on bail. He never attempted to atone for his mistake with the groups he offended - the Atlanta Falcons, PETA, his fans, etc - until AFTER he was sentenced.

In contrast, Stallworth called the police, submitted to a breathalyzer that he was sure to not pass, he admitted his crime, he worked with the family, police, and judge to find a financial and judicial settlement that worked for everyone involved. One that includes jail time, financial loss, job suspension, revocation of driving privileges, and enough community service that allows him to preach about his wrongs for an hour every single day for almost 3 years. What's so unfair about that? You can't bring back that man's life, but if the family forgives and determines that he's served better by this sentence, then isn't that justice served. What better way can a case be handled?

Conversely, the same is said for Mike Vick's sentence. Put yourself in the judicial system/authority's shoes. You have a man who you have dead to rights on a state and federal charge, but will not admit it. So, instead of settlement that includes helping us get all these criminals who have participated (oh, wait - can't 'snitch' on the criminals - well, ok, so you take their time in jail too, Mr. Vick), we have to spend the taxpayer's money to prosecute him. Not only did he lie, but he's arrogant about the lie as displayed by the radio and TV interviews I saw. Not only that - due to the high profile nature of this case, if you win - you actually can send a message to every dog fighter in the country (particularly high profile athletes and entertainers who may think this practice is ok to be apart of). Don't you go for the jugular after giving him the chance to admit it. If you're PETA, why not press to make sure he loses everything and goes to jail to show everyone that it doesn't pay to fight dogs. Who in their right mind doesn't know how sadistic dogfighting is now? What person with something to lose like Vick is ever going to get caught up with this stuff? It's a win-win. Not only do you prove to folks to not lie to the gov't. You also get the residual benefit of basically deterring everyone with any sense from dogfighting. Regardless of whether you blow the budget on this case, you can recover the savings from all the dogfighting cases you avert by the attention given this case.

So, I say to you - what happened that was wrong here? If Vick said he did it when they started talking about the stuff that he KNEW to be true, then he gets a fine, a ding on his character, and some probation and suspension and he's still playing for the Atlanta Falcons right now. Instead he took the knucklehead - I got money - I'm gonna talk in 3rd person role and guess what? route. It was a roulette wheel bet that he lost. HE LOST! Not us, not black folk, not athletes, not non-dog lovers, not football fans, just Michael Vick. Michael Vick hasn't done ANYTHING in the black community to engender this kind of support. R Kelly didn't, Michael Jackson didn't. Barry Bonds didn't. This isn't Arthur Ashe or Warrick Dunn or Hank Aaron we're talking about here.

So, let's dispense with this notion that he got railroaded. He got what he deserved. It's my hope that his jail time taught him the lesson that he didn't get before this all went down. We all love a redemption story. I want to see one, but not at the expense of our collective understanding that sometimes you make mistakes and you have to pay for them in a more harsh fashion than if you actually act like you understand the mistake you made. To this date, I'm not sure he's learned the lesson, but I hope his time out of jail proves his supporters correct, but if not - please acknowledge at that time - if not now..that he got EXACTLY what he deserved. Not for dogfighting, but for misjudging how the justice system works. It worked as it always has - harshly against those who wrongly believe they can beat it.

Lessons From The Title - The Trevor Ariza Story

Basically, the affirmation of everything I've said about Salim Stoudamire, Acie Law, Solomon Jones, Gardner, or even Mario West...if only the coach believed in the concept...read and then apply this to our players (it can even apply to our low post offense and Horford/J. Smoove)

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-41-94/Lessons-from-the-Title--Trust-and-Work.html