Since there is no Smoove news...the '09 starting lineup?

[td00]

What do you perceive your starting lineup will be for this team?
Do you see any more acquisitions coming our way? I saw where we have offered Francisco Elson a contract. Is he an option?

If we had to go into the season minus our energy, we start off with:

Horford
Zaza
Marvin
JJ
Bibby

Bench: Law/Evans/Morris/Richardson/West

Not very imposing to opponents is it? We are under the cap though!!

[geeman]

You Know, if you had a shooter of the bench.... not a bad big three Bibby-JJ-Horford.

[td00]

Dang, how could I forget about Speedy?

Put Speedy just before Morris......does that leave 2 slots to fill?

[killbuckner]

the Funny thing is that the Hawks still aren't under the cap. Remember that Childress still counts as 11 million!

[evildallas]

I believe the under the cap comment wasn't meant in terms of able to sign anyone, just in money paid. The cap holds are really immaterial if the purse strings are pulled tight.

That lineup in the capable hands of Mike Woodson and I'm seeing 25-30 wins provided they stay healthy. I guess that means that I see Josh Smith worth around 15 wins to the team give or take. Hard to lose the energy, the defense, and the #2 scoring option and still see success.

[td00]

Right, cap comment was money actually being paid out. And evil, 30 wins is going to be quite a challenge. I only put that together to show the worse case scenario as it probably won't be that bad. But it might involve just getting a mid-level player and a draft pick.

I wonder if Smoove's agent put his client's value together based on potential wins? While I don't see Smoove as scoring option number 2 with Bibby around, he does bring a lot to the table. ITs unbelieveable to think a player like Smoove won't get paid near the max? IMO he is more valuable than Deng, Iggy and Kirilenko to their respective teams.

Seriously, why would Memphis not be willing to put an offer out there? That team even compared to ours looks like someone just threw a bunch of trading cards out of a jumbo pack together.
What could Chris Wallace be visualizing there? Is Memphis wanting to wait until '10 for the big names? To me, they are a lot like us with no winning history and an unproven coach. That recipe won't cook well. How many young teams can keep 4-5 young point guards in one roster against that Western Conference?

[BMF Jet Jaguar]

only way we win 35+ without smoove is if HOFO is a STAR right out of the gates.

[evildallas]

I was basing the 25-30 prediction on the 2005-2006 season when the team went 26-56 with a lineup of Royal Ivey, JJ, Al Harrington, Josh Smith, and Zaza Pachulia with Lue, Childress and Marvin coming off the bench. I also said that was if they could avoid injuries. With the lack of depth, injuries are likely.