Quickie Hawks Free Agent Update

With the latest in non-Hawks signings this past week, let's take a look at how those moves might impact the Hawks.

Lamar Odom signs with the Lakers:

Obviously, this was good for the Hawks because the main competition for Odom's services was in Miami--fortunately the lure of "riding Kobe's coattails" and being an "apostle" in Los Angeles was stronger than the attraction of South Beach and Dwayne Wade and becoming part of what might be an epic sequel to a "memorable" first round playoff series last year.

Too bad.

Hakim Warrick signs with the Bucks:

It's the size of the contract, the 1 year-3 million dollar type, that interests the HHB because such a small deal for a player of Warrick's productivity and youth should positively influence the price range of the Hawks' alleged target, Joe Smith. If the Hawks didn't want to pay Smith the same deal as some of the other players in his price range, then surely a much younger, more productive player getting such a small deal should help the Hawks position.

Warrick signed with Milwaukee despite reportedly being chased by the Cavaliers, who may now turn their attention to the services of former Celtic Leon Powe. Powe has the highest PER of any unrestricted free agent remaining unsigned on the list.

Drew Gooden signs with Dallas

This hurt for a couple of reasons. One is that is was a very affordable deal (1 year 4.5 million plus incentives) for a player that is still young, very productive, and fills the largest Hawks need (rebounding) and the Birds weren't involved (But CLE, SAS, and CHA were). Two is that it's the kind of signing that teams that are serious about going further in the playoffs seem to make (see McDyess/Ratliff to the Spurs, Marion/Gooden to the Mavs, etc.).

While the Hawks are still sitting on their bag of magic MLE beans, the Cavs are racing to sign the last remaining talent on the market that could aid their championship. That the Bobcats were in pursuit of Gooden and not the Hawks tells you what Sekou Smith validated earlier---the Hawks aren't interested in even spending three million dollars on another role player, much less would it would have taken to get Drew Gooden.

As it stands, there are few unrestricted free agents of a productive nature left to sign, fewer still that could help in the frontcourt. Your move, Atlanta.


Time to update the Big Free Agent Board--please remember to follow the color coded maps and signs to recognize the teams that these fine gentlemen have selected. Here is the updated list of free agents for 2009 with their corresponding PER (Hawks players in bold; Attempted to highlight in the team's colors that the free agents choose--and please secure all loose items before reading.)

David Lee (RFA)	19.07
Nate Robinson (RFA)	18.95
Paul Millsap (RFA)	18.77
Andre Miller	18.71
Charlie Villanueva	18.64
Chris Anderson	18.16
Ramon Sessions (RFA)	17.65
Marcin Gortat (RFA) Leon Powe Ben Gordon	17.20 17.20 17.02
Jason Kidd	16.95
Hakim Warrick	16.91
Antonio McDyess	16.63
Lamar Odom	16.60
Brandon Bass	16.49
Mike Bibby	16.38
Drew Gooden	16.34
Marvin Williams (RFA)	16.04
Shawn Marion	16.02
Allen Iverson	15.89
Ron Artest	15.64
Trevor Ariza	15.51
Grant Hill	15.26
Rasheed Wallace	14.91
Hedo Turkoglu	14.82
Von Wafer	14.79
RFM	14.79
Anderson Varejao	14.62
Rasho Nesterovic	14.15
Zaza Pachulia	14.14
Joe Smith	13.85
Raymond Felton (RFA)	13.80
Shelden Williams	13.78
Chris Wilcox	13.37
Jarrett Jack (RFA) Matt Barnes Ben Wallace	13.10 12.60 12.18
Wally Szczerbiak	12.18
Anthony Parker	12.16
Solomon Jones	12.08
Robert Swift	11.50
Theo Ratliff	11.22
Glen Davis (RFA)	10.77
Raef Lafrentz	10.40
Channing Frye	10.09
Mario West (RFA)	10.00

Marrrrviiiinnn!!

Shame on the HHB.

Having been called out on Twitter by the fine folk(s) @peachtreehoops for not having a reaction to the not-yet-but-close-enough-to-say-it's-close-enough signing of Marvin Williams, the HHB is compelled to pander--something that comes naturally to the attention needy such as we.

The contract, as being tossed about by various media outlets, is a reported 5 years, 40ish million dollars with incentives to bridge the gap between 37 and 40 million that are probably related to Marvin not missing an unreasonable amount of games over the course of the contract. (Hey, at least the Hawks are trying to save the insurance companies a buck or two. Viva economy!)

From the Hawks point of view, this is a good deal.

They lock up their Age 23 small forward for his prime years, and was able to do so after watching a season where he showed the Hawks what he can provide at the very least throughout those years.

His numbers improved almost across the board, with the lone exception of assist rate (come on, Marv!). A 117 offensive rating, 16PER, and career highs in eFG (.502) and TS% (.569) tell the story of what we thought we were seeing last season; a player who, after two seasons of feeling around the basketball floor, finally found his rhythm on the court, and became a big reason the Hawks improved to (47) wins last season.

Maybe the biggest non-statistical indication of Marvin's progress came when he missed over a dozen games during the season with a bad back. His return was not only newsworthy, he received a standing ovation from the loving fans @ Philips Arena--and put the "but he's not" conversations to rest for a little while.

As for the money involved, the team could have played hardball with Marvin, as they did with Josh Smith and Josh Childress a season before, and made him find the market value for himself. But the Hawks could not afford to dare Marvin to play out the qualifier and become an unrestricted free agent after next year. Even with a doom-and-gloom prediction over a cap reduction next season, there are plenty of indications that there will be a lot of money available for next year's free agent crop--with few top end free agents to spend it on, which could lead to overspending on players like Williams for those teams who don't nab those top free agents in 2010.

The Hawks also would have risked Williams taking another step forward in his development next season and leaving the Hawks wishing they had locked him up when they had the chance. (D'oh!) After having Josh Childress in Greek purgatory, the Hawks had to ensure they would not lose another above average producing player for nothing.

Even if the Hawks aren't completely satisfied, Williams' youth and (getting) well rounded game should make him an interesting trade piece for whatever shows to be a more obvious need over the course of the 2009-2010 Hawks campaign.


It's a good deal for Marvin, too.

He now doesn't have to sweat it out throughout next season, wondering if he will make it through the year without suffering an injury that would significantly hurt his chances at a high dollar package.

He can also proceed with just playing basketball--in that contract watching and worrying can be an amazing distraction for any player. Marvin can cash his checks and focus on the game now--no small positive there.

5 years, 40 million dollars. Not too shabby.


...stroking their beards and wondering, "What's to be done with this HHB?"

This is a good deal for the fans, also. Marvin is a likable, productive player who has worked hard (and succeeded) at getting better every season. He is rounding himself into a productive player in every facet of the game and can be counted on to give great effort, especially on defense.

We are only left to hope that the incentives in this proposed contract commit Marvin to keeping the all important and powerful mustache, his consistently great quotes, and an instructional video on how to solve the Rubik's Cube.

The HHB is happy that the Hawks were able to take care of Marvin and finish off the internal free agent season (sorry RFM). Odes to Marvin's Mustache can be sung in the sound proof Comments Area.

Lose My Mind

Y'all gon' make me lose my mind
up in HERE up in here
Y'all gon' make me go all out
up in here up in here
Y'all gon' make me act a FOOL
up in HERE up in here
Y'all gon' make me lose my cool
up in here up in here

Much like the performer of the above, the Hawks have entered a puzzling/confusing stage in their development---as well as their attempts to improve on a second round ouster at the hands of the Cleveland Cavaliers last season.

Sekou Smith divulges the inner financial minds of the Hawks decision makers in his latest blog offering and the results are somewhat upsetting, but not all that surprising.

Our favorite passage from the Book of Sekou in regards to the well documented pursuit of free agent frontcourtman Joe Smith:

All that said, major work must be done to secure Smith’s signature on a contract. It’s not secret the Hawks aren’t paying the same rate for backup bigs that some other teams are (for example, Chris Wilcox got cash - $6 million over two years - in Detroit that he never could have from the Hawks. Same goes for Drew Gooden and the reported $4.5 mil he’ll bring in on a one-year deal with the Spurs). So they have to find ways (PLAYING TIME!!!!!!!!!!) to lure the kind of players they need to help bolster their cause. It probably helps that, in a summer marked by taking care of in-house business (home grown free agents), Smith is the first player outside of the family that the Hawks actually courted. Again, there is major work still to be done on this front.

Apparently the work doesn't involve spending even a majority (or plurality if they really want to stretch it to include three players) of the MLE.

Though they ponied up the money to resign Mike Bibby (at less cost of either Andre Miller or Jason Kidd it should be noted) and Zaza Pachulia (less cost than Anderson Varejao or Marcin Gortat), they seem unwilling to go a step further and improve the team by bringing in a player(s) that addresses one of the key shortcomings (rebounding) of last year's team.

Teams like the Utah Jazz have even gone so far as to consider loans to ensure they have enough talent to be a contender in the West. This is a standard practice in the world of sports--seeking lines of credit to fund an up front purchase. The Hawks, or at least some of the ownership, aren't as likely to dip into those financial waters, and what is left is having to try to do a vaudevillian sales pitch to try and get even one free agent to come on in. It's no wonder that the Hawks weren't involved with the Bobcats, Cavs, or Mavericks in trying to acquire Drew Gooden or why even with a lovefest and full court press attention to Joe Smith there isn't a signed contract in hand as yet. The Hawks would rather spend 2 million on slightly above replacement level talent than to pay a premium on a role player of any significance.

In the modest HHB minds, that's not how you improve your roster to address the needs of the team and move into the contender stage of a franchise's development.

This is not to say that the Hawks are cheapskates--well, at least not in roster payroll terms--they are making sure the product is good enough, therein the reason why they re-signed Bibby and Zaza. But good enough isn't the same good enough for a championship and actions such as these indicate the Hawks will always be faced with just enough financial restrictions to prevent them from really making the jump beyond a really nice regular season team.

And, in This Corner

Bret over @Hoopinion lays out a pretty strong case why the Question is Moot (or maybe moot) regarding the addition of a fourth big man to the rotation.

The origin of the insight provided was the surrender of the Hawks' rights to Solomon Jones to the Pacers so that he could sign a 2-year deal at the minimum salary level. Now, we would still question why the Hawks felt it was necessary to qualify Jones in the first place if they were willing to part with the forward even at the minimum--you know, since the Hawks have (15) slots to fill and all. We would also ask if Flubber West is now jealous.

The HHB would still like a frontcourt security blanket to provide coverage in case of catastrophic injury loss, rebounding enhancement, and the occasional need to "instruct" Josh Smith in games.

We passed the hat around the offices here at the HHB headquarters and we can give the Hawks $300 towards one of those premium players mentioned. Just let us know, fellas.


Sky Is Blue, Grass is Green, Dept.

Josh Smith took the opportunity to mix it up with other young talents in Las Vegas and the results were as expected to anyone who has watched Smith play more than (5) games with the Hawks the last two seasons.

Turnovers, poor shooting, and a lack of fundamentals were a theme over the course of his stay there, as were the usual athletic big plays that Smith is capable of.

The issue is clear: Smith can choose to shape up his game to take the next step up in his career, or he can embrace and settle into what he is today: A talented big who can occasionally make the remarkable happen but never able to be consistent or technically sound enough to be among the top players in the league. All of which means to the Hawks that they have a 10 million dollar a year player who will only sometimes play to that level.

The HHB has been caught head nodding to music enough in traffic to elicit hysterical laughter in motorists around us---Lessons and groove tips can be sent directly to the Comments area.

Prepare for Joe Smith

Saturday Night UPDATE: According to Sekou Smith, Solomon Jones is in fact heading to IND on a 2 year contract at the minimum, prompting this exchange between Smith and myself:

My question:

@sekousmith01 So what was the purpose of restricting Solo if they are just going to let him run for 2 years @ the minimum?

His response:

@THHB Good question. I'll have an item on the blog tomorrow where Solo explains his situation.

So I guess we'll stay tuned and all will be revealed.

Also, looks like we put the HHB Mojo on the Lakers---We had placed Lamar Odom in yellow based on his leanings toward the Lakers in many reports, but as of Saturday Night Yahoo Sports reports he was close to signing with the Heat. We are moving this race back to "Too Close Too Call."

(We rejoin yesterdays' blog--already in progress)

Well, we learned from our friends that Joe Smith is snacking with the front office again tonight, meaning the Hawks would seem to be serious about bringing in the age 34 year forward, considering this would be the second round of munchies with the team.

We already posted our thoughts on the matter here so we won't rehash them in this stream of consciouslessness now. That tempts us to wildly speculate that Smith was being offered what the going rate is for an older frontcourt guy--hopefully something along the lines of the 2 year, 6 million dollar contract agreed to by Chris Wilcox and the Pistons earlier in the offseason.

This would leave the Hawks enough to sign another slightly above replacement level frontcourt player, but the one we were eyeballing, former Hawk Theo Ratliff, was snapped up by the Spurs, which means it definitely would have been a good idea. Ratliff would have been able to provide some shot blocking off the bench, which was currently the occupation of restricted free agent Solomon Jones.

And speaking of the former Floridian, did anyone see that the Pacers might have been interested in the restricted free agent? We've even had some Indiana fans poking around the site, looking for nuggets of info regarding the "big" fella. We'll say this--we still don't agree with "locking him down" with the qualifier, but after observing the free agent landscape and Solo's numbers a little closer, it wouldn't hurt to have him back on the squad for another season--but he simply can't be counted on for extended minutes--he's a spot player at this point until his play proves otherwise. Oh, and "locking him up" would not be ideal until he's proven he's better than the replacement player.

Says in POR that Andre Miller will finally come on down as their replacement for Steve Blake, who always seemed better suited for role playing games anyway. Miller's contract is rumored to be almost the same as Bibby's (3 and 21). This means the Sixers join the Knicks as teams that are likely to be looking at now former Pacer PG Jamaal Tinsley. Tinsley has some sick assist rates, and though he can't shoot straight, it might not matter on either of those teams. Also, Memphis has taken the qualifier off of Hakim Warrick--presumably to make room for Allen Iverson. Both Warrick and Iverson are two of the higher rater free agents left to sign on our PER chart.

And since we've seen some more signings (Moon to Cleveland, Ratliff to the Spurs), it's time to update the Big Free Agent Board--please remember to follow the color coded maps and signs to recognize the teams that these fine gentlemen have selected. Here is the updated list of free agents for 2009 with their corresponding PER (Hawks players in bold; Attempted to highlight in the team's colors that the free agents choose--and as always, no wagering.)

David Lee (RFA)	19.07
Nate Robinson (RFA)	18.95
Paul Millsap (RFA)	18.77
Andre Miller	18.71
Charlie Villanueva	18.64
Chris Anderson	18.16
Ramon Sessions (RFA)	17.65
Marcin Gortat (RFA) Leon Powe Ben Gordon	17.20 17.20 17.02
Jason Kidd	16.95
Hakim Warrick	16.91
Antonio McDyess	16.63
Lamar Odom	16.60
Brandon Bass	16.49
Mike Bibby	16.38
Drew Gooden	16.34
Marvin Williams (RFA)	16.04
Shawn Marion	16.02
Allen Iverson	15.89
Ron Artest	15.64
Trevor Ariza	15.51
Grant Hill	15.26
Rasheed Wallace	14.91
Hedo Turkoglu	14.82
Von Wafer	14.79
RFM	14.79
Anderson Varejao	14.62
Rasho Nesterovic	14.15
Zaza Pachulia	14.14
Joe Smith	13.85
Raymond Felton (RFA)	13.80
Shelden Williams	13.78
Chris Wilcox	13.37
Jarrett Jack (RFA) Matt Barnes Ben Wallace	13.10 12.60 12.18
Wally Szczerbiak	12.18
Anthony Parker	12.16
Solomon Jones (RFA)	12.08
Robert Swift	11.50
Theo Ratliff	11.22
Glen Davis (RFA)	10.77
Raef Lafrentz	10.40
Channing Frye	10.09
Mario West (RFA) Ime Udoka	10.00 9.57
Stromile Swift	6.80
Malik Rose	5.28

Raining on Parades

When Sekou Smith revealed that the Hawks were in pursuit of Joe Smith on Tuesday, it registered just above "dang" but below "yahoo" inside the walls of the HHB.

It's not that Joe Smith isn't a good player or even someone who wouldn't help the Hawks--it's just that with better options still available, it's settling a bit to get Smith now.

Younger, more productive players such as Drew Gooden and Leon Powe (yes, we know he's hurt) are still out there for the Hawks to bring in to address their rebounding and overall front court effectiveness.

Gooden provides some nice creativity in the post (though it's unclear whether that matters in Atlanta's offense) and Powe gives the energy and hustle that Woodson seems to enjoy in his frontcourt players (assumed again because they don't get to play much offense unless it's coming from 20+ feet from the basket).

Their stats, especially compared with Smith's, prove this out---Gooden and Powe's rebounding rates are higher, as is their PER. Both also get to the line considerably more than Smith, with Gooden getting 16.2% draw foul rate and Powe a staggering 27.8% to Joe Smith's comparitively pedestrian 9.4%.

Gooden is entering his Age 28 year; Powe his Age 26th. Smith is on his Age 34 season and has seen some slippage in his numbers, though his career has always been a bit of a roller coaster. We're sure we'll hear someone talk about Smith's veteran leadership and being a Proven Winner (trademark pending), but the HHB believes that there is no winning formula like production and finding the pieces that fit what your team lacks--and asking a 34 year old big man who has been in the L since he was 20 years old to be that might not be the best bang for the buck at this point.

Bottom line, while it's an improvement in outlook that the Hawks are looking at a player like Smith, and that he is interested in return, we would prefer that the team seek out Gooden and Powe first--younger, more long term and potentially still improving or able to maintain level better options that fill in some of the skills white space more completely than Smith does.

The HHB Catches Up

Looks like we picked the right week to take a holiday on the farm.

In the Hawks World, we saw:


Josh Childress Returns to Greece

Sure, we can lament the fact that the Hawks almost had the bones of Bruce Bowen or Kurt Thomas---or both---but we just can't get worked up about the fact that Childress decided to go back to the greenery of Greece.

In the halls of the HHB HQ, we felt this was a sailed ship a year ago, when the team failed to recognize how productive Childress was and let him entertain offers from pastures that are free from NBA extradition. That the Hawks (and some fans, mind you) mused that Maurice Evans might be a less expensive match for Childress indicates the serious devaluing of the former #6 pick's skills and contributions.

We thought it strange at the time (and if you go back through our entries from that period, we were in full D-Nial mode) that Childress would take an overseas offer, given that the Hawks would hold his NBA rights as long as they posed a qualifying offer every offseason. The same frustration he felt in the summer of 2008 he will continue to feel every season unless some team knocks the socks off the Hawks with a sign and trade offer, Childress signs a tender and plays out the season, or the Hawks feel generous enough to not offer and let Josh go.

Being good businessmen, the Hawks have not just let him go--the NBA is hardly a place where you can be so noble to a mid-20's aged lottery pick who, by the way, can be very productive. And no team has reportedly offered a "gotta take it" deal either summer, unless you really have a thing for former defensive specialists.

So that leaves Childress deciding to either continue his European Vacation or hold his nose--play out the qualifier--and become a free agent the next season. If he had done this last season he would have made a couple million less in '08-'09, sure, but he would have been free to sign with anybody this offseason. If his dream is to have a long, successful career in the NBA, he is letting it drip away by staying away with every season. As it stands, he goes back through the same dance again in June 2010.


David Andersen Realizes His NBA Dream---In Houston

If Josh wants to know how long the Hawks may hold rights without doing anything, the most recent example can now be closed. David Andersen, who had been Hawks property since 2002 without ever coming over to Philips Arena will finally, at age 29, make it to the NBA thanks to the Hawks dealing the Aussie big man to Houston for some second round suds.

It's interesting that the Hawks finally made a move on Andersen, since it doesn't seem like a second rounder wouldn't have been offered in the past by another team, though we wouldn't know that for sure. Certainly we can understand Houston's interest, after Yao's injury and failing to get either Marcin Gortat or Zaza Pachulia.

What would entice the Hawks to make a move now as Andersen cost them no cap space to hold his rights? It might indicate, as Hoopinion mentioned soon after the deal, that the Hawks don't seem interested in a quality 10th man on the roster, else they might have brought him on themselves in addition to re-signing Pachulia. Rumor was it wouldn't take much more than 2-3 million to bring the big guy over.

Since the Hawks need more size, and have really since even before 2002, it's not entirely encouraging that this transaction occurred. It means that Hawks fans might have to get used to the idea of spending the MLE on 2 or 3 replacement level free agents vs. one above average player in the frontcourt, but hey, we'll stay somewhat optimistic until that times comes.

Hawks Summer League Highlights





Ok, Ok---There is a mini-camp going on--but when the highlights are of Coach Woodson "coaching up" Jeff Teague and Othello Hunter putting on a dunk show, it's probably pressing to look for real important stuff there. You can check out pictures and summaries from Micah over here. As nice as the Philips Practice Court is, we miss the opportunity to watch summer league games and overrate our young talent just like everybody else.

Imagine hearing that Teague scored (27) against the "Jazz" at the RMR---or that Hunter pulled down double digit boards in (16) minutes---it's our right to be overly excited about their play and the prospects for greatness heading into the season. Heck, we used to gush about the play of Dion Glover and DerMarr Johnson in the Shaw league for crying out loud--you know we would have hyped Garrett Siler blocking a shot against some D-leaguer in Vegas.

Alas, we'll just wait until the preseason camp---hopefully we'll have another big rebounder to watch at that point---and know if Marvin Williams signed the tender, got an extension, or took Terrence Morris' spot in Russia, leaving the Hawks with (2) refugees abroad.

Until then here is the updated list of free agents for 2009 with their corresponding PER (Hawks players in bold; Attempted to highlight in the team's colors that the free agents choose---who's your money on for the next to go?)

David Lee (RFA)	19.07
Nate Robinson (RFA)	18.95
Paul Millsap (RFA)	18.77
Andre Miller	18.71
Charlie Villanueva	18.64
Chris Anderson	18.16
Ramon Sessions (RFA)	17.65
Marcin Gortat (RFA) Leon Powe Ben Gordon	17.20 17.20 17.02
Jason Kidd	16.95
Hakim Warrick (RFA)	16.91
Antonio McDyess	16.63
Lamar Odom	16.60
Brandon Bass	16.49
Mike Bibby	16.38
Drew Gooden	16.34
Marvin Williams (RFA)	16.04
Shawn Marion	16.02
Allen Iverson	15.89
Ron Artest	15.64
Trevor Ariza	15.51
Grant Hill	15.26
Rasheed Wallace	14.91
Hedo Turkoglu	14.82
Von Wafer	14.79
RFM	14.79
Anderson Varejao	14.62
Rasho Nesterovic	14.15
Zaza Pachulia	14.14
Joe Smith	13.85
Raymond Felton (RFA)	13.80
Shelden Williams	13.78
Chris Wilcox	13.37
Jarrett Jack (RFA) Matt Barnes Ben Wallace	13.10 12.60 12.18
Wally Szczerbiak	12.18
Anthony Parker	12.16
Solomon Jones (RFA)	12.08
Robert Swift	11.50
Theo Ratliff	11.22
Glen Davis (RFA)	10.77
Raef Lafrentz	10.40
Channing Frye	10.09
Mario West (RFA) Ime Udoka	10.00 9.57
Stromile Swift	6.80
Malik Rose	5.28

Official HHB Updated Free Agent List

The Human Highlight Blog takes its show on vacation (Congratulations, Douds, Iowa!) and won't be back in full until July 20th. We're hoping to have some great news to gush about when we get back, but until then we'll leave you with the Official HHB Updated Free Agent List (now in fantastic Technicolor--brought to you by the good people at Globex!)

Here is the updated list of free agents for 2009 with their corresponding PER (Hawks players in bold; Attempted to highlight in the team's colors that the free agents choose--Hurry, your favorite might be gone soon--supplies are running out!)

David Lee (RFA)	19.07
Nate Robinson (RFA)	18.95
Paul Millsap (RFA)	18.77
Andre Miller	18.71
Charlie Villanueva	18.64
Chris Anderson	18.16
Ramon Sessions (RFA)	17.65
Marcin Gortat (RFA) Leon Powe Ben Gordon	17.20 17.20 17.02
Jason Kidd	16.95
Hakim Warrick (RFA)	16.91
Antonio McDyess	16.63
Lamar Odom	16.60
Brandon Bass	16.49
Mike Bibby	16.38
Drew Gooden	16.34
Marvin Williams (RFA)	16.04
Shawn Marion	16.02
Allen Iverson	15.89
Ron Artest	15.64
Trevor Ariza	15.51
Grant Hill	15.26
Rasheed Wallace	14.91
Hedo Turkoglu	14.82
Von Wafer	14.79
RFM	14.79
Anderson Varejao	14.62
Rasho Nesterovic	14.15
Zaza Pachulia	14.14
Joe Smith	13.85
Raymond Felton (RFA)	13.80
Shelden Williams	13.78
Chris Wilcox	13.37
Jarrett Jack (RFA) Matt Barnes	13.10 12.60
Wally Szczerbiak	12.18
Anthony Parker	12.16
Solomon Jones (RFA)	12.08
Robert Swift	11.50
Theo Ratliff	11.22
Glen Davis (RFA)	10.77
Raef Lafrentz	10.40
Channing Frye	10.09
Mario West (RFA) Ime Udoka	10.00 9.57
Stromile Swift	6.80
Malik Rose	5.28

Updated Free Agent List

FRIDAY UPDATE: Multiple reports have the Magic signing Brandon Bass. David Aldridge of NBATV reports it's a 4 year, 18 million dollar deal. We have to ask Cleveland, are you feeling like you spent a tad too much on Anderson Varejao (6 years, 50 million) when two similar or better players (Bass, Pachulia) were signed for significantly less?

Here is the updated list of free agents for 2009 with their corresponding PER (Hawks players in bold; Attempted to highlight in the team's colors that the free agents choose--Pick your favorite and take him home! Not so fast, Portland!)

David Lee (RFA)	19.07
Nate Robinson (RFA)	18.95
Paul Millsap (RFA)	18.77
Andre Miller	18.71
Charlie Villanueva	18.64
Chris Anderson	18.16
Ramon Sessions (RFA)	17.65
Marcin Gortat (RFA) Leon Powe Ben Gordon	17.20 17.20 17.02
Jason Kidd	16.95
Hakim Warrick (RFA)	16.91
Antonio McDyess	16.63
Lamar Odom	16.60
Brandon Bass	16.49
Mike Bibby	16.38
Drew Gooden	16.34
Marvin Williams (RFA)	16.04
Shawn Marion	16.02
Allen Iverson	15.89
Ron Artest	15.64
Trevor Ariza	15.51
Grant Hill	15.26
Rasheed Wallace	14.91
Hedo Turkoglu	14.82
Von Wafer	14.79
RFM	14.79
Anderson Varejao	14.62
Rasho Nesterovic	14.15
Zaza Pachulia	14.14
Joe Smith	13.85
Raymond Felton (RFA)	13.80
Shelden Williams	13.78
Chris Wilcox	13.37
Jarrett Jack (RFA) Matt Barnes	13.10 12.60
Wally Szczerbiak	12.18
Anthony Parker	12.16
Solomon Jones (RFA)	12.08
Robert Swift	11.50
Theo Ratliff	11.22
Glen Davis (RFA)	10.77
Raef Lafrentz	10.40
Channing Frye	10.09
Mario West (RFA) Ime Udoka	10.00 9.57
Stromile Swift	6.80
Malik Rose	5.28

What Hawks Fans Should Watch For

As the actual Free Agency Week (you know, when people can actually sign and teams can finally relax) comes into being, let's quickly review what Hawks fans should be watching for, according to the last few days of reports:

Jason Kidd, who was being sought after by, in large part, the Knicks and Mavericks, has apparently decided to take more of Mark Cuban's money and remain in Dallas. In addition to being the best offer, it also allows Kidd to perform in an offense and with teammates that best suit him at this time in his career. The terms of Kidd's contract are widely reported to being in the 3 year, 25 million+ range.

This impacts Hawks free agent PG Mike Bibby, who the Philadelphia Inquirer noted was intent on staying a Hawk over the weekend. Kidd's contract (terms and length) should serve as a high-end benchmark for the 31 year old PG, slated for his 12th season in the league. Though, as Sekou Smith reported over the weekend, a deal is not finalized, it makes sense that Bibby should stay where he likely will be the best paid, has had good success, and fits in well.

Also being reported is that this is finally the year that David Andersen realizes his dream of playing in the NBA. Sekou reported this as a probability last week, and over the weekend reports like this started finding its way into Bird Watchers' view. (We first saw it referenced over at Peachtree Hoops) . The highlight (for those who don't want to translate):

The Atlanta Hawks, who chose the number 37 in the 2002 draft, require players inside as they are about to lose Zaza patchouli, which has become a free agent.

"David is an option, as has every summer, to break his contract if it receives an offer from the NBA before July 15. I can not say anything more," said his agent, Kenny Grant, a "World Sports" .The Australian pivot Hawks will leave if the offer at least a contract similar to that charged in the Regal Barcelona: 2 million euros per season.

That's about 2.8 million dollars to match what Andersen currently earns over there. The July 15th deadline should mean that we may find out this week if Andersen is truly on his way over to play for the Hawks.

BTW, it's interesting (at least to the basketball nerds here at the HHB) that at the bottom of the article it talks about replacing Andersen there with Terrence Morris, who is done with his team in Russia. Morris was a selected by the Hawks in the 2nd round in 2001, and then was traded on draft night to the Houston Rockets for a future 1st rounder (which the Hawks in turn traded to SAC for the draft rights to Dan Dickau in 2002).

As was reported last week, Andersen was thought to be a fallback in case Zaza Pachulia was set to depart the Nest. Though no reports have contained the details of deals like Rasheed Wallace or Marcin Gortat, there is no question that Pachulia has suitors. Being unrestricted, Zaza can go wherever there is money and, given teams that were jilted by Gortat and Wallace still have their exceptions, Zaza may be finding the greener pastures in cities like Houston or Orlando, for starters.

That July 15th deadline is also in place for Josh Childress, who had a well publicized meeting in Milwaukee, but little other public detail. Over the course of this free agent week, we'll likely know if Childress has indeed opted out of his deal in Greece to come back to the NBA, and he won't opt out of that deal without something concrete here in the States.

It remains to be seen if the re-signing of Bibby does indeed mean the end of the short, but productive, RFM era in the ATL. Long thought that the Hawks would keep one or the other after the arrival of Jamal Crawford and the first round selection of Jeff Teague, keeping Bibby could Flip the switch off for the Hawks. It's important to remember, however, that the then 6-yr vet guard was headed to Russia with no better offers last season before believer-Rick Sund gave him a million dollar deal to come aboard the Hawks. One would think Murray's solid, even performance this season as the Hawks top reserve would open some other doors, but teams may still be wary of his past inconsistency.

Alas, this only contains folks we currently have---the natural reaction is to ask, "what about the Hawks getting in on some of these other names floating around?" For starters, the names right now out there are the higher dollar names, and those the Hawks would have to renounce the right to their own free agents to be able to sign, which the Hawks obviously haven't been interested in doing (it would include Bibby and Marvin, as well as Chill, Zaza, or some combination of any or all). So it really leaves the Hawks with their full mid-level exception and there are still some names that would good to use that on---they're just not the names that are out there in full force at this time. It does makes sense to wait for the smoke to clear and money to be spent before you start showing your hand.

Our bet? When the signings start and some of the names we've seen come off the free agent board, the Hawks will be in the mix for one of the second or third tier free agents. We would love to see Antonio McDyess or Drew Gooden get serious consideration from the Hawks given that they address a major weakness for the team last season---rebounding.

The HHB takes its show on the road to the ATL this week, so buckle up Atlanta! Complaints and traffic violations can be mailed directly to the Comments Area.

Free Agency: Day 2

The only Hawks news came from Sekou Smith, who was tracking the hows and whys of Josh Chilldress' visit to Milwaukee. The Hawks say they'll match anything MLE and less, and with Childress perhaps not wanting to take a chance of having to be in Atlanta, he might head back to Greece if he doesn't get a deal the Hawks won't likely match or a sign/trade.

The Hawks should become more active once some of these front line free agents find homes, leaving the next tier, glamour-wise--not necessarily production wise--, for the Hawks to deal with, including their own free agents, who have had to wait their turn as well.


What we learned on Thursday:


Ron Artest/Trevor Ariza

Artest, despite the emtpy protests of his agent, did indeed leave Houston, not for Shaq and the King in Cleve-land, but to help Kobe and Pau try to repeat in LA. We're not sold on the big win boost that the Lakers are already being ordained with for next season by replacing Ariza w/Artest. Artest hasn't played more than 70 games since 2003-04 and never a full season, while Ariza played every game last year. And while Artest has been more productive than Ariza to a small degree last season, it remains to be seen if Artest continues to decline and Ariza continues to improve, especially if it's over the same (5) years.

Hedo Turkoglu

He is still on track for Portland, though Ric Bucher reported Thursday night that Turk's wife liked the city of Toronto and that could play a factor in Hedo's decision. Our bet is that, if Kevin Pritchard wants Turk for the 5 and 50 that's being discussed, he'll find a way to get him into a Blazer.

Marcin Gortat

Gortat has reportedly decided to sign his full MLE offer sheet with the Dallas Mavericks. The Magic will be able to match or work out a sign and trade, but it got many free agent watchers talking about the old Jon Koncak offer sheet the Pistons signed before the 1989-90 season, which of course, the Hawks matched. The full MLE should be something in the order of 5 years, 33 million dollars.

Jason Kidd

Kidd has discussed a 3 year offer from the Knicks, which is stunning considering they have been playing the 2010 card (otherwise known "Waiting for LeBron) and any sort of infringement on the cap space was heretofor thought of as being taboo. The HHB still expects Kidd to stay in DAL, where he can continue to play with Dirk and JT, but it might be interesting if he and the Knicks think that having him in the Big Apple could help in luring the King to the Knicks.

Rasheed Wallace

Once thought to be a done deal to the Celtics (might still be), the San Antonio Spurs popped in and seemed poised to offer as much as the C's. The Celtics on Thursday rolled out the red carpet (may not actually be red) for Rasheed.

Here is the updated list of free agents for 2009 with their corresponding PER (Hawks players in bold; Attempted to highlight in the team's colors that the free agents choose---fancy!)

Free Agents (restricted)	PER
David Lee (RFA)	19.07
Nate Robinson (RFA)	18.95
Paul Millsap (RFA)	18.77
Andre Miller	18.71
Charlie Villanueva	18.64
Chris Anderson	18.16
Ramon Sessions (RFA)	17.65
Marcin Gortat (RFA) Ben Gordon	17.20 17.02
Jason Kidd	16.95
Hakim Warrick (RFA)	16.91
Antonio McDyess	16.63
Lamar Odom	16.60
Brandon Bass	16.49
Mike Bibby	16.38
Drew Gooden	16.34
Marvin Williams (RFA)	16.04
Shawn Marion	16.02
Allen Iverson	15.89
Ron Artest	15.64
Trevor Ariza	15.51
Grant Hill	15.26
Rasheed Wallace	14.91
Hedo Turkoglu	14.82
Von Wafer	14.79
RFM	14.79
Anderson Varajao	14.62
Rasho Nesterovic	14.15
Zaza Pachulia	14.14
Joe Smith	13.85
Raymond Felton (RFA)	13.80
Shelden Williams	13.78
Chris Wilcox	13.37
Jarrett Jack (RFA)	13.10
Wally Szczerbiak	12.18
Anthony Parker	12.16
Solomon Jones (RFA)	12.08
Robert Swift	11.50
Theo Ratliff	11.22
Glen Davis (RFA)	10.77
Raef Lafrentz	10.40
Channing Frye	10.09
Mario West (RFA) Ime Udoka	10.00 9.57
Stromile Swift	6.80
Malik Rose	5.28

Free Agency: Day 1

The Free Agent period has started out with a public bang for some clubs---but not so fast for Hawks fans.

It shouldn't come as a surprise--as the Hawks, with their current contracts and cap holds for unrestricted and restricted free agents, are more than up against the cap. This leaves only trades and the full mid-level exception for the Hawks to work with, as well as signing their own free agents.

When a good beat writer like Sekou Smith is left with vague blind items on Twitter and nothing more, there must not be much information to work with. We should expect to see action heat up as the few teams that have money spend it, leaving the rest of the mid-level exception dwellers and sign and trade partners to dance.

What we learned on Wednesday:

The Detroit Pistons don't mess around. Joe Dumars went 2 for 2 in his quest to spend his loot, opening the bank for Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva to the tune of a combined 10 years and 90 million dollars. Gordon (5/55) and Villanueva (5/35) can now be put in the places where Allen Iverson (Bobcats?) and Rasheed Wallace (Celtics?) used to reside, making it a younger, more effective combination at this stage in all their careers. Gordon will come off the bench to begin the season, vowing to be a "super bench" player. The superscorer position off the bench that Gordon will be in DET could become the new glamour position in the NBA.

They are also looking for a coach, and the HHB is speculating that, should Joe Dumars be able to deal either Tayshaun Prince or Rip Hamilton this season, they could set the stage for bringing in Chris Bosh next offseason by bringing in former Raptor coach Sam Mitchell. Thanks to @RapsFan for confirming the positive relationship between the two yesterday.

It looks like Portland has settled on Hedo Turkoglu and willing to fulfill his 5 and 50 desires. The fit is better in POR than in TOR, the other potential stop, in that Turk provides a piece that was missing for the Blazers, where as TOR has more than one to fill that cap number with.

Jason Kidd looks like he has Dallas' attention as they stepped into New York where Kidd was due to visit the Knicks and allegedly offered a 3 year, 24 million dollar deal, which is in line what we had mentioned earlier about a Sam Cassell in '05 offer---but Kidd seems to be hedging, feeling he is worth more. He might be able to score a bigger per year payday in a one year deal, but the HHB doesn't think he's going to get more than that from anybody else, including the Knicks who can only offer the mid-level without a sign/trade and likely don't want to mess with the LeBron cap space of 2010.

Dallas also supposedly offered center Marcin Gortat a max mid-level deal and is in competition with Houston (who is also supposed to have offered Gortat that compensation to fill in for Yao) and any other team looking for center help (hellooo---Atlanta).

Gortat got love from the Texas teams and also from ESPN's John Hollinger, who included the soon-to-be former Orlando center on his list of Best Under the Radar free agents. He must have written the piece before the two teams set up tents in front on Marcin's domicile, ready to offer all they could to get him. Also on that list was Drew Gooden, whom we have been touting in this space as a good fit for the Hawks given that he can create in the post, rebounds very well, and only (27). He's a bit of an afterthought (hence his inclusion on John's list) and the Hawks would do well to pursue we think.

We'll see what happens with other veteran point guards like Andre Miller, who Portland was also interested in, but we think they will have to work out a trade since Turk is taking the free agent cash. Mike Bibby has not been mentioned, as he is likely down people's list, but he could get undervalued as he was instrumental in turning the Hawks into a playoff team and had one of his best years shooting the 3. Could have a hard time getting a better deal than in Atlanta.

We wrote yesterday that the Jazz would have a tough decision regarding Paul Millsap, considering the opt-ins of Carlos Boozer and Mehmet Okur. The Jazz are in the cap stratosphere right now, even without Millsap, but may be looking to lock him in anyway, hoping to build beyond next season when Okur and Boozer are expected to leave. The other team mentioned in the Millsap chase is Oklahoma City, who might turn to Andreson Varejao if Utah does indeed hang onto Millsap.

Late in the evening, everyone starting talking about Ron Artest heading out to Cleveland to join LeBron James and his Merry Men. Since CLE can only offer the mid-level, we thought this might be little more than interesting rumor--and then Ron posted this message on his Twitter page:

THANKS ALOT HOUSTON.:) I HAD ALOT OF FUN:)

UPDATE: This from ESPN.com

A message attributed to Ron Artest ("THANKS A LOT HOUSTON :) I HAD A LOT OF FUN.") appeared on Twitter late Wednesday. Artest's agent, David Bauman, told the Houston Chronicle that the message was sent by an imposter.

"That is not Ron's account," Bauman said. "That's what happens with the so-called new media."

Now on Twitter they have something called a Verified Account which attempts to eliminate imposters. Artest's account is Verified as Artest, but it may not have been Ron tweeting.


Finally, buck up Hawks fans--even if the first day left you searching for any action from the Nest, at least you are not the Memphis Grizzlies. First, rumor has it that the owner, Michael Heisley put the kabosh on a proposed 5 year, 60 million dollar offer to Knicks restricted free agent David Lee. Then, they did go ahead and deal recently "acquired" Quentin Richardson to the Clippers for Zach Randolph. It's a bad trade when an entire fan base and writers say that the Clippers found a "sucker" and Bill Simmons says all is forgiven to Mike Dunleavy for the deal. Randolph gets paid 16 and 17 million for the next two season and Richardson's approx 9 million dollar deal expires after this season. Randolph is still very productive (19.6 PER), but is the kind of talent/personality that teams can't seem to unload fast enough. The HHB remembers how it feels @the bottom and we salute the Memphis fans who do go to the games and hope for the best.

Here is an updated list of free agents for 2009 with their corresponding PER (Hawks players in bold) and will be updated regularly (And attempted to highlight in the team's colors that the free agents choose---fancy!)

Free Agents (restricted)	PER
David Lee (RFA)	19.07
Nate Robinson (RFA)	18.95
Paul Millsap (RFA)	18.77
Andre Miller	18.71
Charlie Villanueva	18.64
Chris Anderson	18.16
Ramon Sessions (RFA)	17.65
Marcin Gortat (RFA) Ben Gordon	17.20 17.02
Jason Kidd	16.95
Hakim Warrick (RFA)	16.91
Antonio McDyess	16.63
Lamar Odom	16.60
Brandon Bass	16.49
Mike Bibby	16.38
Drew Gooden	16.34
Marvin Williams (RFA)	16.04
Shawn Marion	16.02
Allen Iverson	15.89
Ron Artest	15.64
Trevor Ariza	15.51
Grant Hill	15.26
Rasheed Wallace	14.91
Hedo Turkoglu	14.82
Von Wafer	14.79
RFM	14.79
Anderson Varajao	14.62
Rasho Nesterovic	14.15
Zaza Pachulia	14.14
Joe Smith	13.85
Raymond Felton (RFA)	13.80
Shelden Williams	13.78
Chris Wilcox	13.37
Jarrett Jack (RFA)	13.10
Wally Szczerbiak	12.18
Anthony Parker	12.16
Solomon Jones (RFA)	12.08
Robert Swift	11.50
Theo Ratliff	11.22
Glen Davis (RFA)	10.77
Raef Lafrentz	10.40
Channing Frye	10.09
Mario West (RFA) Ime Udoka	10.00 9.57
Stromile Swift	6.80
Malik Rose	5.28