Johan Petro and Jason Collins two leading possibilities.

Post #1 » by **HMFFL** » Thu Aug 20, 2009 12:50 am

True or False, the Hawks will add another veteran big man or two in addition to Joe Smith?

True. And we’ve already discussed two guys in particular, Johan Petro and Jason Collins, that could be in that mix. And that doesn’t include rookie behemoth Garret Siler, who will be on the Hawks’ training camp roster. But all of those reasonable fears about this team’s size and depth on the frontline could be wiped away with the addition of any two of these aforementioned larger humans. Link

evildallas · Post #2 » by **evildallas** » Thu Aug 20, 2009 2:37 am

Jason Collins?

theatlfan · Post #3 » by **theatlfan** » Thu Aug 20, 2009 3:05 am

I guess Sund is still hunting down some depth @ C. Can't say I'm disappointed.

Sund could replace Speedy, Acie, Flip, and whoever doesn't make the cut from the 3rd team last year (West / Gardner / Morris / Hunter), with Crawford, Teague, Joe Smith, and another veteran big (hopefully Petro, but Collins could help as a 1-on-1 defensive C). We'll go from one of the swallowest teams in the NBA to one of the deepest. If anyone remembers the pre-season prediction last year, most talked about how our starting 5 could compete with anyone in the league, but our bench was suspect. It'll be interesting to see how much this new depth buys us...

Hawks · Post #4 » by **Hawks** » Thu Aug 20, 2009 6:36 am

I hope Sund goes with the guy he drafted in Petro. If Woodson has his way he may want Collins. Petro is a better fit for us.

Harry10 · Post #5 » by **Harry10** » Thu Aug 20, 2009 9:16 am

how about Pops Mensah Bonsu and David Noel. i wouldn't mind giving the 11th and 12th spot to some young guys who might really want it. Petro and Collins i think are two guys that have been round long enough that the only reason why they play basketball is because they are 7 feet tall and have nothing else better to do.

azuresou1 · Post #6 » by **azuresou1** » Thu Aug 20, 2009 12:18 pm

Pops Mensah Bonsu + Garret Siler please.

ACE_reppin_ATL · Post #7 » by **ACE_reppin_ATL** » Thu Aug 20, 2009 1:01 pm

azuresou1 wrote:Pops Mensah Bonsu + Garret Siler please.

That's what I've been asking for...

raleigh · Post #8 » by **raleigh** » Fri Aug 21, 2009 12:03 am

Well, Pops has signed with Houston.

There goes the championship.

HoopsGuru25 · Post #9 » by **HoopsGuru25** » Fri Aug 21, 2009 12:13 am

You're pretty unlikely to find any big that isn't bad at basketball this late in free agency. With that said Pops was probably my favorite one left....he has rebounded like crazy in the minutes hes gotten in the NBA,D league,and Europe. My next choice is Petro....hasn't really done much but he's a legit 7 footer who has grabbed 11 rebounds per 40 in his last 2 years. The next guy would be Jon Bryant solely based on his college numbers. I would imagine he's probably not athletic enough for this level but a guy who rebounded and blocked shots that well(and actually shoots 78 percent from the line)deserves a look.

evildallas · Post #10 » by **evildallas** » Fri Aug 21, 2009 3:59 am

I've liked the idea of Jon Bryant as well, but I suspect he's not willing to trek across the country for just a camp invite as he can probably get one of those in California (he was on Sacramento's summer league team). I'm guessing we'd have to sign him to get him here and I don't think the team is willing to do so at this point.

theatlfan · Post #11 » by **theatlfan** » Fri Aug 21, 2009 8:15 am

As long as we're talking about young Cs, what's up with Courtney Sims? He was the NBDL MVP last year and he was supposedly on our radar earlier this off-season. Has he signed w/ someone? Have we cut negotiations? After I saw the one report, I've seen nothing else. If we're going to take a chance on someone, then a player who has shown incredible improvement over the last 2 years in a professional environment isn't a bad play...

rag-time4 · Post #12 » by **rag-time4** » Wed Aug 26, 2009 12:49 am

The Hawks should absolutely sign Stromile Swift if there is any chance of him competing for playing time. Swift would be better than anyone they have now in the frontline, though, so getting him could be a waste if they don't play him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-oIMP6Hpkw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPXY2nbeaW8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0UT_hzNq_M

MaceCase · Post #13 » by **MaceCase** » Wed Aug 26, 2009 1:05 am

rag-time4 wrote:The Hawks should absolutely sign Stromile Swift if there is any chance of him competing for playing time. Swift would be better than anyone they have now in the frontline, though, so getting him could be a waste if they don't play him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-oIMP6Hpkw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPXY2nbeaW8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0UT_hzNq_M

*wanking motion*

If only Stro was as motivated to play as you are for us to sign him.

rag-time4 · Post #14 » by **rag-time4** » Wed Aug 26, 2009 5:53 am

MaceCase wrote:
rag-time4 wrote:The Hawks should absolutely sign Stromile Swift if there is any chance of him competing for playing time. Swift would be better than anyone they have now in the frontline, though, so getting him could be a waste if they don't play him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-oIMP6Hpkw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPXY2nbeaW8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0UT_hzNq_M

*wanking motion*

If only Stro was as motivated to play as you are for us to sign him.

If only you were aware that Stromile took a buyout from New Jersey last season to join Phoenix because he was motivated to play...

MaceCase · Post #15 » by **MaceCase** » Wed Aug 26, 2009 6:33 am

rag-time4 wrote:
MaceCase wrote:
rag-time4 wrote:The Hawks should absolutely sign Stromile Swift if there is any chance of him competing for playing time. Swift would be better than anyone they have now in the frontline, though, so getting him could be a waste if they don't play him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-oIMP6Hpkw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPXY2nbeaW8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0UT_hzNq_M

*wanking motion*

If only Stro was as motivated to play as you are for us to sign him.

If only you were aware that Stromile took a buyout from New Jersey last season to join Phoenix because he was motivated to play...

Only hurts his case more that he was motivated yet couldn't beat out Lou Amundson for minutes. Atleast before we could say he doesn't care now he just plain sucks. Hell Rob Kurz got a contract before Swift, what does that tell you? Ah yes I'll answer that for you, peddle your broken wares elsewhere.

rag-time4 · Post #16 » by **rag-time4** » Thu Aug 27, 2009 1:23 am

MaceCase wrote:Only hurts his case more that he was motivated yet couldn't beat out Lou Amundson for minutes. Atleast before we could say he doesn't care now he just plain sucks. Hell Rob Kurz got a contract before Swift, what does that tell you? Ah yes I'll answer that for you, peddle your broken wares elsewhere.

The one season Stromile Swift played in Houston, he started only 5 games while "Flyin" Ryan Bowen started 19! :lol:

Does that mean that Ryan Bowen is better than Stromile Swift? Or does it show you that there is widespread incompetence. If you want to put stock into the opinions of bad coaches and GMs who never treated Stromile Swift fairly and made good use of what he brings to a team, that's on you.

As Obi Wan Kenobi asked, who is more foolish, the fool or the fool who follows him?

We saw how Phoenix' decision not to play Stromile Swift worked out for them! The {url=http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/200903210PHO.html]one game they really played him[/url], he played very well. They rewarded that excellent performance with 5 minutes in the next game. I don't see how you can rationally blame that on Stromile Swift, being a thinking person. How can you play great in one game, then stay buried on the bench in the next game?

Only if you're not being given a fair chance is the answer you're looking for.

raleigh · Post #17 » by **raleigh** » Thu Aug 27, 2009 12:24 pm

On a side note, I was noticing how much Swift's career numbers resemble the taller Elden Campbell's.

MaceCase · Post #18 » by **MaceCase** » Thu Aug 27, 2009 1:23 pm

rag-time4 wrote:We saw how Phoenix' decision not to play Stromile Swift worked out for them! The {url=http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/200903210PHO.html]one game they really played him[/url], he played very well. They rewarded that excellent performance with 5 minutes in the next game. I don't see how you can rationally blame that on Stromile Swift, being a thinking person. How can you play great in one game, then stay buried on the bench in the next game?

Only if you're not being given a fair chance is the answer you're looking for.

Let's see Stro had such a "great" game scoring 10 points and grabbing 12 rebounds that he had to do it on 41% shooting against one of the weakest frontlines in basketball whom by the way all scored double digits (That's right, all of 4 of them, even Pech managed 5 points) I'm sure against him while nearly fouling out in only 20 minutes. My heart goes out to Stro. :violin:

I'm sure you overlooked the fact that in the next game where he was only given 5 minutes that his 3 fouls and 1 turnover had more to do with him being benched rather than the incompetence of the world.

azuresou1 · Post #19 » by **azuresou1** » Thu Aug 27, 2009 3:42 pm

Stromile Swift is like taller Tyrus Thomas with less athleticism and even less basketball IQ, who is in turn Smoove with slightly less athleticism and less basketball IQ. He's been in the league 11 years now, soon to be 12, and he's never been anything better than a backup big, at the PEAK of his career. On the flip side, Joe Smith at his peak was a 19/9 player, and has had a career where he has always contributed because he, unlike Swift, has good basketball IQ.

evildallas · Post #20 » by **evildallas** » Fri Aug 28, 2009 1:17 am

Petro resigned with Denver, so he is no longer in the plans.