Wolves/Hawks

[revprodeji]

love is a starter...his production and skill set deserves it. I would still look to draft hardin or jrue and bring a vet center in.

15 years from now love would have had the better pro career than thabeast.

[Krapinsky]

I don't get it. Complete head scratcher to me. We give up Miller to get Williams for the rest of the year? He'll be an RFA, If the wolves want him why not just try and sign him in the offseason? That way we get both Miler and Williams next year. If the Hawks threaten to match, then at the time we could work out a sign and trade and potentially add Miller into the mix.

[B Calrissian]

I don't get it. Complete head scratcher to me. We give up Miller to get Williams for the rest of the year? He'll be an RFA, If the wolves want him why not just try and sign him in the offseason? That way we get both Miler and Williams next year. If the Hawks threaten to match, then at the time we could work out a sign and trade and potentially add Miller into the mix.

I don't think they drafted him before Paul/Williams to let him go after his rookie contract. They will probably just wait like they did with Smith and let someone else try to sign him then match the offer. I would rather have Williams and no Miller than hope to get Williams (who resigns with the Hawks) and still have Miller. This team isn't going anywhere with Miller as the best wing.

[shrink]

Just an FYI .. Marvin Williams could be a UFA this summer, and, surprisingly, the Hawks may waive him!

The reasoning for this would be to get into the 2009 Free Agency grab. Right now, they can't make a max deal offer, because the cap hold on Williams is too great. There could be trememndous incentive for ATL to get into 2009, because, like I've said for MIN, they'd be the #1 choice against teams like MEM and OKC. The 2009 free agents also are a better fit for the Hawks than the Wolves.

Knowing this, ATL might be very approachable on a trade for Marvin Williams rather than cut his salary for nothing, particularly if they continue to struggle after such a fine start to the season. Either way, if Marvin Williams is your man, he may be more attainable than most would imagine.

[GopherIt!]

Williams is a goal of mine this summer. I think he would help a ton. I would offer atlanta a package now with the idea that we will offer him big money this summer.

btw, Williams would be a 3 not a 2. But it would be a long nice wing group with Brewer and Him.

He can play some 2. But yeah most his minutes would be at sf. I just didn't want to have Carney starting and have someone call me bananas (for some reason I hate "bananas" not the fruit but the slang term) like the last time I did.

play some two? Carney? your bananas! bananas I say! absolutely bananas!

[TheFranchise21]

Acie Law has been given inconsistent minutes this year and produced inconsistent play. The one game he got real minutes(23) he produced a monster game of 20pts 7 assist and 7 rebounds.

Don't be mislead. That one good game he had, the Hawks were getting blown out and he picked up those numbers is extended garbage time. If he would've put up those numbers in a meaningful game, he would've earned more minutes.

I have a hard time believing Atlanta would waive Marvin Williams. You don't let that good of a player go for nothing. Waiving your #2 pick from a few years go in order to have a better chance at a free agent you might not even land is a foolish idea.

[john2jer]

Acie Law has been given inconsistent minutes this year and produced inconsistent play. The one game he got real minutes(23) he produced a monster game of 20pts 7 assist and 7 rebounds.

Don't be mislead. That one good game he had, the Hawks were getting blown out and he picked up those numbers is extended garbage time. If he would've put up those numbers in a meaningful game, he would've earned more minutes.

I have a hard time believing Atlanta would waive Marvin Williams. You don't let that good of a player go for nothing. Waiving your #2 pick from a few years go in order to have a better chance at a free agent you might not even land is a foolish idea.

I might have been misled, I didn't see the game, just pulled up game-by-game stats. I'm not saying he's a top level point guard because he had one good game, but I'm not willing to give up on him as a waste of a roster spot, either.

I agree waiving Williams would be foolish, but there is talk on the Atlanta board that if he doesn't sign early in Free Agency, they might actually waive him. I think offering a smaller package now to see what turns up would be an excellent idea.

[shrink]

I agree waiving Williams would be foolish, but there is talk on the Atlanta board that if he doesn't sign early in Free Agency, they might actually waive him. I think offering a smaller package now to see what turns up would be an excellent idea.

Yep. I've read about waiving him in multiple sources, and it surprised me too, which is why I brought it up. If they Hawks fall from contention, and they don't need Williams this year, then I think we could start to see a move from "waive" to "trade for an expiring and a pick."

I'd also point out that while Williams is a good player, he has been a pretty big disappointment as a #2 pick. He's never averaged 15 PPG despite getting plenty of minutes, and the qualifying offer for him next year is $7.35 mil. He's still very young though. How's his defense?

[B Calrissian]

I'd also point out that while Williams is a good player, he has been a pretty big disappointment as a #2 pick. He's never averaged 15 PPG despite getting plenty of minutes, and the qualifying offer for him next year is $7.35 mil. He's still very young though. How's his defense?

Considering that Brewer is out, Williams would be the best defender on the team. He might be as good as Brewer, I haven't seen a ton of Hawks games this year. He can cover 2,3,4 depending on match ups. He would average more than 15 ppg being a second option here.

[PeeDee]

He's better at defending than any wing we have.

[john2jer]

I was HIGHLY critical of Marvin Williams coming into the league and his first couple years. He's definitely improved this year. If the Wolves got him, I wouldn't claim him to be Baby Jesus(Joe Mauer), but keep in mind, in his one year of college ball he was their 6th man. Granted that UNC team was stacked, but he was drafted purely on raw potential. I think he's just now, at 22, starting to realize that potential. Plus he's playing alongside Joe Johnson and Josh Smith where he'll always be a third option, then toss in Mike Bibby and the development of Al Horford. He's also playing slightly out of position. He's not a traditional 3, even though he is very versatile. But Josh Smith isn't necessarily a traditional 4, nor is Horford a traditional 5, but they all work together because of Marvin Williams, I think. He has an excellent shot and range, has a high basketball IQ,.

Age, talent, position, and price, I think he's perfect for the Wolves. Everyone else in the 2009 class is either too old, a position we're stacked at already(PF), or going to cost way too much.

[revprodeji]

Gitrdone!!!

[raleigh]

Hawks' fan here.

Marvin's well thought of in Atlanta because he's become a good defender and is VERY coachable. He's still inconsistent on offense, but that's mostly a result of a lack of his aggressiveness more than anything else. I don't believe he's reached his ceiling by any means.

For those reasons, I don't see Atlanta letting him go very easily. I think the Wolves would have to offer him upwards of $11M+ starting to get Atlanta to change their minds. Looking at Minnesota's current contract situation, you'd have to dump a key player or two to get near that amount of money.

Adding in the $3M draft pick, the Wolves are at $53M. With the cap most likely not going any higher, Minny would have to get to shave at least $5M in salary to be able to make that offer. It's definitely doable, but to do so will make the Timberwolves even less appealing to FA's...

Marvin has just now tasted success. I'm not sure how open he would be to joining a rebuilding team after all he's been through unless there was a wide disparity of money...

[shrink]

I think the Wolves would have to offer him upwards of $11M+ starting to get Atlanta to change their minds.

I think this is twice the contract he's going to get in an open market. You gotta be a star these days to pass the MLE, and some decent players don't even get that.

In 2009, there are only a handful of teams that can offer over the MLE, and I don't think they are going to use their money under the cap on Marvin Williams. Would ATL keep him, eat the cap hold, and bow out of 2009 Free Agency?

[raleigh]

^^^They don't really have any cap space to speak of.

They have a $10M cap hold on Childress, a near max cap hold on Marvin (RFA), a huge cap hold on Bibby, and a $6M cap hold on Zaza.

Childress will be a valuable S&T option (with Claxton's expiring, if he doesn't retire), Bibby and Marvin are likely to re-signed, and Zaza is arguably one of the best unrestricted bigs available (sad, huh?). So, I don't see the Hawks renouncing any of those players. (I'm not sure what they'll do with Murray).

They'll try to re-sign Bibby, Marvin, and Zaza, and then use the MLE and/or Childress in a S&T to add more talent to the bench. They also have the rights to David Andersen, who at one time was a decent big in Europe. In other words, they're not really pressed to get under the cap.

[revprodeji]

A lot of it depends on what happens to the front office. Our current group lacks the pair needed to make a run at a guy like Williams. If we bring in a new GM he would be looking for trades and serious FA options such as WIlliams.

Williams would be such a good fit with this team.