How do you feel about Billy Knight and the ASG now?

Post #1 » by **HMFFL** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 10:02 pm

We finally have our point guard and the ASG allowed Billy to go after some needs. How do you feel about the two now?

I feel all the pressure is now on the shoulders of Coach Woodson. I believe Woodson has all the weapons to put us into the playoffs, so the only excuses now can be injuries, and hopefully our foundation players can stay healthy for the rest of the season.

This makes me feel better about the ASG and Billy has pulled off another good trade.

JoshB914 · Post #2 » by **JoshB914** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 10:06 pm

I feel better about ASG because they showed they are willing to pay a little extra to win games. I still think BK sucks. If he knew what he was doing we would be well on our way to the playoffs already.

evildallas · Post #3 » by **evildallas** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 10:09 pm

I hate to say this, but I think Billy Knight just got earned an extension. I reserve the right to decide on the ASG until things play out with my favorite player in the off season, but I give them credit for being a buyer not a seller this time. Don't get me wrong, I don't like BK, but I do give him credit for turning a PF that our coach won't even play and expiring contracts into a competent PG.

As for Woodson, we'll see. Making the playoffs is not enough in my eyes. If he gets the team over .500 by the end of the regular season or if he can win a series or two then it will be hard to show him the door. He can't say he doesn't have a PG.

Post #4 » by **Jamaaliver** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 10:27 pm

I feel better about the ASG, but still not impressed by BK. Let's not mistake this for a blockbuster trade. Chris Paul and Brandon Roy are both All-Stars this year. The guy we drfated ahead of Roy just got traded. His free agent pickups haven't been particularly impressive (outside of JJ) and his draft record has seen more misses (Shellhead, Marv) than hits (Smoove, Horford).

For good GMs, look to TOR and POR for examples.

But Bibby and JJ should be enough to get us in the playoffs and give Acie enough time to grow into his role as starter by the end of next year.

HoopsGuru25 · Post #5 » by **HoopsGuru25** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 10:29 pm

Billy Knight should still be fired. I will wait and see how this move works out but I don't think there was much risk involve so it has a chance to be one of his better ones. His bad moves are just TOO bad though.

I feel alot better about the ASG though. If we made a move I expected it to be a conservative move like the move we made getting AJ last year. Bibby makes $14 million next year so it shows that they are willing to spend money. They have gone out and got Zaza/Joe/Speedy/Bibby for us in the past 3 years and looks like they are on the verge of re-signing Josh so I can't complain about them being cheap(other than Harrington who nobody wanted to re-sign).

will · Post #6 » by **will** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 10:35 pm

Last ditch effort on everyone's part.

mattlanta · Post #7 » by **mattlanta** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 10:45 pm

Either way, if this goes down the sink hole, Woodson and BK are screwed.

td00 · Post #8 » by **td00** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 10:56 pm

We were not going to get JKidd. We weren't going to get Shaq and Gasol when they were available.
We got a huge need filled and for what? We gave up Shelden, Lue, AJ and Lo Wright. That to me is a mega improvement. I don't feel this weakens our bench at all.
We talked about Bibby in the offseason and I bet LeBron won't like this news.
Bibby gives us a legitimate chance to improve before the playoffs whether it is in the half court or running.
We needed a leader with experience.
BK could not have done better with any other trade. While we didn't see the benefits of Shelden being drafted, I am happy today with the results.
To me, this is the best move BK has made since he came here. I expect to see a lot of good things going forward.
We now can be considered a threat in the East. I take Bibby right now over any other PG in the East with the exception of Billups.
Bibby comes in playing for a contract next year and it couldn't have fit any better for ASG. His numbers are very fair to his ability. We now have a running mate with JJ.

Congrats to ASG, BK and the team. I still am stunned by this event.
A good starting five to make some noise and get back in the playoff hunt:

Smoove, JJ, Marvin, Horford and Mike Bibby. We have 5 legit NBA players now.

N.O.R.E. · Post #9 » by **N.O.R.E.** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 11:04 pm

If adding Bibby affects Hawks management willingness to give Josh Smith a big extension I feel sorry for you Hawks fans. As it stands the trade is great for the Hawks IMHO, even though Chill may be squeezed out (for nothing in return) this offseason.

evildallas · Post #10 » by **evildallas** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 11:20 pm

John Hollinger has an insider column up on this already.

I won't go into his analysis, but I will share one small quote.

In the meantime, it's a been a long time since we've heard these words, but ... yes, kudos are due to Knight and the Hawks. They've acted decisively to address the team's two biggest weaknesses and -- surprise, surprise -- opened up the checkbook to do it. As a result, the league's longest playoff drought seems likely to come to an end.

Post #11 » by **HMFFL** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 11:28 pm

Billy Knight should gain some respect from this trade. While he didn't draft us our biggest need, he now has acquired us a name at the 1, and Joe seems to be thrilled.

I loved the Indiana trade and now I'm please with this trade by Billy. I just hope he puts his priorities first next time we have the opportunity to select a Deron Williams. Yes, I'm still a homer for Deron Williams and not Chris Paul.

The foundation of this team is even stronger now, but our depth has some questions marks, and now we need even more size on the bench.

I believe Billy's job has been safe all year. As I said before, he really seems to be close with the owners and Dominique Wilkins. Coach Woodson is the one that has the pressure on his shoulders and needs to revamp his coaching.

Billy's going to be around for awhile, so I hope the haters prepare yourself, because it's time to accept it.

Post #12 » by **HMFFL** » Sun Feb 17, 2008 12:48 am

I was thinking.

If the city wants the ASG to continue to spend money during the future the fans will need to fill the seats. The ASG has done their part, now it's time for the players, coaches and fans.

If the fans want the ASG to go over the cap, at some point the seats will need to be filled, and this should provide the fans with a reason to go to the games. We have the biggest needs filled at both the 1 and 2.

What a relief!

Master8492 · Post #13 » by **Master8492** » Sun Feb 17, 2008 1:06 am

Dang. Would be a clean sweep if Zaza goes instead of Lo. I'm just glad one of T-Lue and Zaza isn't around any longer.

HoopsGuru25 · Post #14 » by **HoopsGuru25** » Sun Feb 17, 2008 2:24 am

Zaza instead of Lo? Zaza was a productive player for us as recent as last season. Lo has been washed for three years.

LL Cool Scott · Post #15 » by **LL Cool Scott** » Sun Feb 17, 2008 2:39 am

HMFFL wrote:
This makes me feel better about the ASG and Billy has pulled off another good trade.

Another? What was the first good trade he pulled off? Please don't mention the Joe Johnson trade because we got absolutely fleeced in that one.

As for this trade - TREMENDOUS job by Knight. I hate him, but he really pulled off a great one this time.

My only fear is that this trade and our inevitable allow Knight/Woodson to keep their jobs after the season.

_BBIB_ · Post #16 » by **_BBIB_** » Sun Feb 17, 2008 5:03 am

LL Cool Scott wrote:-= original quote snipped =-

Another? What was the first good trade he pulled off? Please don't mention the Joe Johnson trade because we got absolutely fleeced in that one.

As for this trade - TREMENDOUS job by Knight. I hate him, but he really pulled off a great one this time.

My only fear is that this trade and our inevitable allow Knight/Woodson to keep their jobs after the season.

We got absolutely fleeced?

We gave up Boris Diaw for Joe Johnson.

Billy Knight also made the move to help build this team from the ground up by trading for Rasheed Wallace in a move that ultimately turned into Josh Smith.

He dealt Al Harrington for what became the 11th pick which led to Acie Law and the emergence of Josh Smith at the 4.

We needed some luck (by keeping the 3rd pick) but eventually adding Al Horford on top of that and he has built the 2nd most promising young roster in the ENTIRE NBA.

Only a freaking tool bag would bash that

Master8492 · Post #17 » by **Master8492** » Sun Feb 17, 2008 5:51 am

^^^Wright knows his role being a role player that he is... Zaza, not so much... he tries to do things that he's not capable of doing. Wright plays better defense and rebounding. And Solomon is likely to play more when Wright is around since he always got in foul trouble... Zaza will sacrifice a layup to keep him from getting in foul trouble.

killbuckner · Post #18 » by **killbuckner** » Sun Feb 17, 2008 2:51 pm

This was a competent trade to fill a massive hole. But honestly the credit should be going to the ASG on this one- they basically wrote a 14 million dollar check for next season to get it done. I give BK a lot of credit for accepting that where shelden was drafted is irrelevant and a sunk cost . And for not worrying about "blocking" Acie. Oh- and the main thing that BK deserves a lot of credit is for not having a whole lot of bad contracts on the team. He did leave the team with flexible contracts and without them this trade wouldn't have gotten done.

Bibby will need a little time still go get over his injury, but the Hawks finally have a legitimate starting PG on the team!

HoopsGuru25 · Post #19 » by **HoopsGuru25** » Sun Feb 17, 2008 3:06 pm

^^^and this is from the most pessimistic Hawks fan online. I don't see how any one can NOT like this deal.

^^^Wright knows his role being a role player that he is... Zaza, not so much... he tries to do things that he's not capable of doing. Wright plays better defense and rebounding. And Solomon is likely to play more when Wright is around since he always got in foul trouble... Zaza will sacrifice a layup to keep him from getting in foul trouble.

Wright sucks though. There's nothing that's going to change that. Zaza is a solid player who just sucks this year. If he regains his 06/07 form then the Hawks have a valuable trading piece in the off-season. I think giving up Zaza just for the sake of giving him up would be a dumb move. We should buy low and sell high and right now Zaza's value will never get lower.

We gave up Boris Diaw for Joe Johnson.

lol we gave up Diaw and two first round picks for Joe Johnson. If the Hawks didn't get the 3rd pick last year then the trade would have been a complete disaster. I also think Phoenix trading the rights to Rondo has made people forget that he was picked with one of our picks and likely would have been the pick if we stayed at that slot because Josh Smith lobbied for BK to draft him. I think the point LL is making is that we could have just signed Joe Johnson outright thus keeping our draft picks. The trade only looks good in hindsight because the Hawks are in the playoff race(when the pick was slotted at 4 last year),Phoenix overpaid Diaw(who looked like a good pickup his 1st year)and that they traded Rondo.

killbuckner · Post #20 » by **killbuckner** » Sun Feb 17, 2008 3:41 pm

The only downside to the trade would be if the Hawks were going to try and make a run at someone in FA and this takes them off the market. Other than that there just isn't any downside. It wasn't a fleecing like the Gasol or Shaq trades, but it was a good trade that will help the team a lot. \