Iverson

[killbuckner]

I just wanted to stop and take the time to point out there is a strong chance that Iverson is going to be the team's PG next season. Bibby is a FA who is having his best season in the last 4 and who knows what kind of offers he can get. Its going to be a tight FA market but a veteran PG who can knock down an outside shot would seem to be an attractive piece for many teams. Meanwhile I don't really know where Iverson is going to get more than the MLE. I don't think that he would be particularly attractive to the "championship" quality rosters out there just because of the volume of shots he takes. I have said for a long time that I thought Iverson would absolutely own this town- he would be a big draw for the team. There is an argument to be made that Joe is about the perfect SG to let Iverson play next to. I just think the way things are playing out this has a chance of actually happening. I THINK that most people here would not be in favor of it, but for the owners I think the idea of drawing that many more fans (in a recession) would be too strong to pass up.

[HoopsGuru25]

It seemed like it wasn't too long ago that the idea of trading Bibby for Stephon Marbury was a good idea....now we are going to lose him because championship caliber teams want him to be their starting pg? Have you ever considered that the worst case scenario might not happen when it comes to free agency?

I'm not an A.I. fan at all. He's not a traditional point guard and his scoring efficiency is still pretty low despite playing with better teammates and taking less shots. The sad thing is that if we lose Bibby he's still a much better option than starting Law,a rookie pg,or starting a washed up backup like AJ. Maybe he would also play better under Woody's "offense" that would pretty much let him do whatever he wanted. Iverson is also a big time casino/club guy so I suspect his 1st two choices(of teams that don't suck and may actually may want him to be the starting pg)would be Miami and Atlanta to fit his lifestyle.

[killbuckner]

HG- oh... I don't have any idea what Bibby is going to get. The Hawks have bird rights and with so few teams having caproom they have big structural advantages to keeping him. Actually I am not at all saying that I think that Bibby is going to break the bank in FA- only that I think that the market for Iverson is going to be very tight and that the idea of bringing him in for the MLE might be irresistible for the ownership.

[HoopsGuru25]

Well that make's sense. I guess that would be a smart move financially but I still don't like the idea of Iverson as a Hawk for basketball reasons. I haven't seen many Detroit games this year but he has clearly sacrificed his individual numbers(he's shooting about TEN less shots a game than he did in his peak in Philly) to win this year but his team still sucks and he's still as inefficient as ever. This confirms my belief that Iverson(despite being an all time great talent)couldn't fit into a team concept even if he tried. The casual fan might be excited by getting Iverson but just the thought of Iverson and Joe taking turns going 1 on 1 every play makes me sick. I will say that Iverson is more likely to maintain and/or improve his current play(atleast in terms of stats) than Bibby in 2009-2010 though.

[td00]

Would any of you guys be surprised if AI ends up in Charlotte with Jordan and Larry Brown?
Hey, who says that the Knicks wouldn't bring him in to try to ignite the fan base.

And I just can't agree with AI signing for the MLE. I think he gets at least $10M/year based on the market out there. I had doubts about Kwame getting the MLE last year. Is anyone disappointed that he isn't here helping here?

Look for Bibby to get a 3-year $30M offer from a Portland or perhaps the Rockets?

[raleigh]

I agree, and have been hinting it for a while myself.

Iverson, I believe, would like to play for Atlanta.

[JoshB914]

A.I. is clearly on the decline. I'm not too interested in bringing him in.

[evildallas]

I'm not crazy about signing AI because he's not shown me that he's accepted just playing a role instead expecting the keys to the team to still be placed in his hands. I think Iverson will be forced to take the MLE unless one of the few teams with cap room is nostalgic. As for what Bibby will command - I'm thinking that 3yr - 25M will be the contract level he gets offered. If he has multiple suitors I can see it going up to 3yr - 30M. I expect Bibby's agent to push for a longer deal because after this one he'll probably be a biannual exception guy when he's 34 or 35 trying to sign again.

I was scanning the Chad Ford free agency article (link here) wondering which of the free agent PGs might be a candidate if the competition for Bibby's services was too high or if he just didn't want to accept the pay cut to stay here. Most are restricted free agents, but there are questions about whether their deals would be matched.
Andre Miller (more of a PG, less of a shooter)
Ramon Sessions (probably will be too expensive)
Raymond Felton (has played better at 2 guard)
Jarrett Jack (not sure he's a good enough PG, but I think he's a good backup combo G)
Nate Robinson (he can score, but can a team with him at PG win consistently)

The drawback on signing any of the free agents is our own cap situation. Cap holds leave us with no space, so either deals have to be worked out with our own free agents first or some renouncing of rights must occur.

I think what we'll see is one of 2 things:
If Portland covets Bibby, a sign and trade getting us Blake (and maybe filler if needed financially) and allowing them to outbid others for Bibby. We get a cheaper veteran to fill the role and possibly use the cap space to resign Flip to more a reasonable PG platoon.
or
Just resign and promote Flip Murray while Bibby walks. Flip's played very well this season and maybe he's found a home and is ready to step up into a starting role. This might be the most economical way of filling the position (3yr/12M a possibility). The big questions would be how to replace the scorer off the bench and whether we would have usable depth at PG (Acie? a rookie? a free agent?). Jarrett Jack might be a solution to both issues off the bench, but as I said earlier he'd have to be handled after the other situations are resolved.

[killbuckner]

I think I'd rather have Iverson for the MLE than either bibby on a 3 year 30 million dollar contract or Flip on a 3 year 12 million dollar one. Though I suppose that might depend on how long Iverson was signed for.

[LL Cool Scott]

I'd love to have him. I don't blame him for the Pistons struggles, they're simply not trying anymore. Watch them play - the body language and effort are sad. He would improve our team offensively, even though he's not the oustide shooter Bibby is - he'd be a perfect backcourt compliment to Joe. His defense is no worse than Bibby's. He'd put fans in the seats. Most importantly, he'd bring some fire to this group. We're about the most boring, non-emotional team out there. We have no leaders on the team. He'd help us in both regards. I'd love to have him.

[evildallas]

I think I'd rather have Iverson for the MLE than either bibby on a 3 year 30 million dollar contract or Flip on a 3 year 12 million dollar one. Though I suppose that might depend on how long Iverson was signed for.

Talent-wise Iverson for the MLE seems like a bargain, but to me it seems like a long time since he made a team more competitive. If Detroit couldn't stay at our level with Iverson at guard, then I can't imagine that we'd fair better. His name may sell a few more tickets, but I don't think signing Iverson is a way to make Atlanta any more competitive as a team.

Those were just guesses on dollar figures, Flip might be cheaper than that. If teams are being extra tight, he may be able to be locked up at Mo Evans prices (3 yr/7.5M). Also, I wasn't necessarily thinking it is the best move, just given all the economic factors and his play this year, I think it might be a likely one.

[tontoz]

If Iverson was our pg Marvin would probably average 10 ppg and Horford would average about 6 ppg.

[raleigh]

On 75% efficiency.

[tontoz]

On 75% efficiency.

I want to see the hawks go after Hinrich this summer. I think he is the best pg the Hawks could conceivably get. He can hit 3s, takes care of the ball and plays D. He has a lot of experience playing the point and the 2. He can defend both positions.

I think he would make a big difference defensively and we wouldn't lose anything offensively.

[raleigh]

I've always been a Hinrich fan myself.

Either way, the first priority is re-signing Marvin.

[Skyhawk1]

Our #1 priority should be Bibby. Without him we're in trouble. I like Hinrich, but he's not that consistent. He had a bad stretch part of last year and begining of this one, but I'd take him over Iverson anytime. Now to the idea of Iverson here to ATL ? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. I'm about to have a heart attack with J. Smith alone and you want to pair him with Iverson?

[raleigh]

I don't think you'll have to worry about making Bibby the #1 priority. Unrestricted FA's tend to sign early in the offseason.

[D21]

We had been lucky to get Bibby for this package of expiring and Shelden, lucky that it was the perfect moment as he was at his lowest value.

We saw that he's kind of perfect style of PG to play with Joe (excepting he's not a good defender).

So, I don't understand how we can imagine let him walk and not offer him 10M if it's the best offer he can get.
I would not pay him more, but I have no problem with that, because it's 5M less than now, and these 5M$ give money for Marvin extension, and not pushing the team total higher than now.

Then Speedy will expire at the end of the season, giving 5 more $M.

We have no money problem with keeping him for 10M, so why let the guy walk ? even if it's a sign-&-trade and we get something.

Portland is the same kind of team, they missed the playoffs last year, but has improve like ATL. This year, they continue to be the ATL from Western conference.
If they want Bibby, it's that he would be a perfect fit with Roy, because Roy is POR's Joe.
The fact that they want him just prove that we need to keep him.

I think that his agent will search for guaranteed money, and longer than 3 years. Maybe we can give him 36M/4year on a flat contract.
I also hope that Joe will get an extension for what he makes now (45M/3yr) and not more, unless he pushes the team to the Conference Finals, or 6 or 7 games Semi-Finals.

[tontoz]

I've always been a Hinrich fan myself.

Either way, the first priority is re-signing Marvin.

If history is any guide Marvin won't get signed until august at the earliest.

[raleigh]

I dunno. I think Sund will have a much better idea what he wants to pay Marvin than he did Childress or Smith.