# Atlanta Hawks Free Agency



## ATLien

PG: Jeff Teague, Shelvin Mack (qualifying offer), Dennis Schroder
SG: Kyle Korver, Lou Williams, John Jenkins
SF: DeMarre Carroll
PF: Paul Millsap, Mike Scott (qualifying offer), Adreian Payne
C: Al Horford, Pero Antic (team option), Mike Muscala (team option)

Don't know the exact cap number, but we have enough to bring in another SF. Or do you pick up the options and go into the season with this?

Luol Deng is probably the best unrestricted free agent SF available.

Did not include C Lucas Nogueira, C Walter Tavares and SF Lamar Patterson who all may be in Europe in 2014-15. Don't know yet.


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## BlakeJesus

Korver will be playing SF minutes too of course, but I do agree the Hawks need to target a SF in free agency.

I would agree that Deng would be a nice addd, but I a starting to like the idea of Hayward more and more. A chance of scenery could be huge for him, and his skillset fits the offense quite well too.


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## ATLien

BlakeJesus said:


> Korver will be playing SF minutes too of course, but I do agree the Hawks need to target a SF in free agency.
> 
> I would agree that Deng would be a nice addd, but I a starting to like the idea of Hayward more and more. A chance of scenery could be huge for him, and his skillset fits the offense quite well too.


Hayward is restricted, though.

I wouldn't even mind going older if the contract is a lot cheaper and for a shorter period of time. Paul Pierce, Shawn Marion, Mike Miller, etc.


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## BlakeJesus

It's true, but it's hard to tell how attached they are to him if they view the offer sheet as an overpay. Of course that would mean the Hawks would have to throw more money at him than is ideal, but he could grow into the contract if he's as good a fit with the coach/system as it would appear.


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## BlakeJesus

__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/483407777638150145

__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/483410711054278656


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## ATLien

If this is all for Lance Stephenson I am going to kill @R-Star

We could have signed Luol Deng without needing to clear more cap space. I dunno if there is some big plan or they just wanted to get rid of Lou Williams. He was awful in the playoffs.


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## Dissonance

__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/483458041979760640

edit:


__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/483468119382306820


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## BlakeJesus

Not that Deng can't shoot, but his play style doesn't seem ideal for the Hawks. Maybe that's part of what they like about him, and I could see him succeeding in Atlanta, but I'd rather see money thrown at Parsons or Hayward (Deng would be a good Plan B though).


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## ATLien

Woj is good, but I wonder if that came from Atlanta or Deng's agent. Ferry's front office usually doesn't just leak information.


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## BlakeJesus

Very true, probably coming from the agent. I don't doubt he's on their radar though, and it seems like they are ready to spend this offseason. He would fill an obvious hole to boot.


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## ATLien

BlakeJesus said:


> Very true, probably coming from the agent. I don't doubt he's on their radar though, and it seems like they are ready to spend this offseason. He would fill an obvious hole to boot.


I'm just saying, nobody had Millsap to Atlanta until it happened and we were one of the few draft picks that Woj didn't know in advance. They like to run a tight ship so I question where this leak is coming from.

Deng on a five-year deal would be awful, but I could get behind this if it's on a Millsap-like contract for two years.


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## Bogg

BlakeJesus said:


> Not that Deng can't shoot, but his play style doesn't seem ideal for the Hawks. Maybe that's part of what they like about him, and I could see him succeeding in Atlanta, but I'd rather see money thrown at Parsons or Hayward (Deng would be a good Plan B though).


Okay, but once Utah and Houston match your offers you'll have to go look elsewhere.


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## Wilt_The_Stilt

If you don't extend a qualifying offer to Scott, then you have just over $16 mil in cap space, plus the room exception ($2.7 mil).

Deng and Kaman?


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## BlakeJesus

Kaman? Please no...

And yes @Bogg, I am aware how RFA works. But if Parsons signs an offer sheet with ANY other team it puts a damper on what Houston is trying to do, thus meaning it is a success. And if the Jazz view Hayward as an 8 million a year player, and the Hawks offer him something like 12, it's entirely possible they let him walk. Even if they resign him, by making them pay more than they were otherwise comfortable doing, it is a success. I think another RFA target could be Greg Monroe.

RFA success is not strictly about bringing in the player or not bringing in the player.


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## ATLien

If you are filling needs then Atlanta should sign a starting SF and a back-up SG. With $14M+ in space, they should have enough for both.


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## BlakeJesus

Loul Deng and Vince Carter?


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## Bogg

BlakeJesus said:


> Kaman? Please no...
> 
> And yes @Bogg, I am aware how RFA works. But if Parsons signs an offer sheet with ANY other team it puts a damper on what Houston is trying to do, thus meaning it is a success. And if the Jazz view Hayward as an 8 million a year player, and the Hawks offer him something like 12, it's entirely possible they let him walk. Even if they resign him, by making them pay more than they were otherwise comfortable doing, it is a success. I think another RFA target could be Greg Monroe.
> 
> RFA success is not strictly about bringing in the player or not bringing in the player.


Both teams have come out and said they intend to match whatever offer gets thrown these particular guys' way, and I wouldn't be surprised if Parsons has some sort of handshake agreement with Morey to avoid blowing up the possibility of signing James or Anthony. Like I said, extending them an offer is fine and all, but you'll still be looking for somewhere to spend that money elsewhere. Furthermore, I'm not sure why an eastern conference team looking to make the playoffs would want to make it _harder_ for Carmelo and/or Lebron to head west. I mean, if you think you have a real shot at Parsons I get that, but sending him an offer sheet you know they'll match simply so that Lebron stays on the Heat? How does that serve Atlanta's interest?


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## RollWithEm

BlakeJesus said:


> Loul Deng and Vince Carter?


Both are entirely possible. I think Devin Harris might be another potential bench piece. Don't rule out Kaman for this team, either.


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## ATLien

Our bench should be a lot better next year.

Mack/FA/Carroll/Scott/Antic and that isn't taking into account Dennis or Payne who are still question marks, but both have talent to be rotation guys.

I'd actually be okay if another team came and overpaid for Scott, but I want to keep Shelvin Mack around.


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## RollWithEm

There are lots of possibilities on the market with the cap space Ferry has accumulated. Al-Farouq Aminu is another piece that makes a lot of sense for this roster that is not exactly loaded with wing stoppers.


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## BlakeJesus

RollWithEm said:


> Both are entirely possible. I think Devin Harris might be another potential bench piece. Don't rule out Kaman for this team, either.


Devin Harris and Chris Kaman would be an extremely disappointing free agency haul.


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## BlakeJesus

Bogg said:


> Both teams have come out and said they intend to match whatever offer gets thrown these particular guys' way, and I wouldn't be surprised if Parsons has some sort of handshake agreement with Morey to avoid blowing up the possibility of signing James or Anthony. Like I said, extending them an offer is fine and all, but you'll still be looking for somewhere to spend that money elsewhere. Furthermore, I'm not sure why an eastern conference team looking to make the playoffs would want to make it _harder_ for Carmelo and/or Lebron to head west. I mean, if you think you have a real shot at Parsons I get that, but sending him an offer sheet you know they'll match simply so that Lebron stays on the Heat? How does that serve Atlanta's interest?


How does it serve their interest to LET it happen? I mean, that offer wouldn't be solely to prevent the addition of LeBron to Houston...that's more of a byproduct. The real purpose would be to bring in Chandler Parsons, preventing the forming of a new super-team would be icing on the cake (and the silver lining if he were to be matched as you would anticipate). Besides you can see an end to Miami's window (Wade's clear decline, Riley is old and ready to hang it up as soon as their run is done, Bosh doesn't really take over putting more pressure on LBJ, etc.), but if the Rockets are touting Harden/Parsons/LBJ/D12....they could be relevant as a contender for another 7-8 years.


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## RollWithEm

BlakeJesus said:


> Devin Harris and Chris Kaman would be an extremely disappointing free agency haul.


Not if Deng was also signed.


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## ATLien

This could be legitimate or coming from Monroe's agent. Since everyone knows we have cap space, we'll be "linked" to a lot of FA's soon.


__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/483786125643747329


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## ATLien

Gasol on a two-year contract actually sounds very intriguing.


__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/483792654241898496


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## BlakeJesus

Agreed, Pau can play PF or C depending on the matchup...gives the team even more flexibility with the rotation.


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## ATLien

It is hard to see either happening unless Horford or Millsap are moved for a SG/SF.

Al Horford and Klay Thompson was a rumor I heard last week for the draft, but I figure that is dead now.


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## ATLien

__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/483942180781056000


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## Dissonance

__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/483995691526524929

Who?


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## BlakeJesus

Young-ish three point shooting forward, I would not be too upset to see him go...especially if somebody overpays. Not because he's terrible, but I'd rather see the cap space maintained/more minutes for other guys.


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## Bogg

BlakeJesus said:


> How does it serve their interest to LET it happen?


It gets two of the best individual players in the East out of the conference, further diluting the talent on the Hawks' side of the bracket come playoff time and giving what's in all honestly a fairly mediocre team a legitimate chance at a run to the conference finals or even winning the East outright. Besides, their division is going to be brutal by Eastern Conference standards next year if Miami stay together - the Heat, Hawks, Wizards, and Hornets are all going to be gunning for as many wins as possible and even the Magic will at least have an athletic young team that's better than you'd think. Going out of your way to keep Lebron in Miami while eating up your cap space by maxing Parsons seems like an easy way to shoot yourself in the foot trying to out-think everyone.


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## BlakeJesus

If you are or are not making moves for any reason other than trying to improve your own team there's a real chance you're doing your team a disservice. Adding Parsons would be huge for Atlanta.


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## ATLien

Dissonance said:


> __ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/483995691526524929
> 
> Who?


Stretch power forward, but Atlanta just drafted his replacement. We'd be dumb to bring him back on a larger deal IF other teams are interested in signing him.


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## Bogg

BlakeJesus said:


> If you are or are not making moves for any reason other than trying to improve your own team there's a real chance you're doing your team a disservice. * Adding Parsons would be huge for Atlanta.*


Yea, it would be, but Houston's going to match. Like I said, if you thought you had a real shot at Parsons it would be one thing, but they're going to match and "putting a damper on what Houston's trying to do" screws the Hawks as much as it screws Houston. You'd be wasting three days worth of the free agency period helping the best team in your division try to stay at the top, with nothing to show for it at the end.


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## ATLien

Cleveland is reportedly set to offer Gordon Hayward the max. Um, maybe we should sit this free agency out. I want to improve the roster, but at what cost?


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## BlakeJesus

I was a supporter of overpaying for Hayward, but that was when I thought 12 million was overpaying (they view him 6-8, Hawks offer 10-12...something of that nature). But the max is probably too high of a price to pay.

For the Cavs I do kind of like the fit though, Irving/Hayward/Wiggins is a pretty solid young backcourt.


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## ATLien

Nick Young??



> So far we have seen the Atlanta Hawks linked to the likes of big names like Luol Deng, Greg Monroe and even Pau Gasol. Perhaps its their interest in Kent Bazemore that is making the most noise. However, ESPN's Dave McMenamin reports that Atlanta has also reached out to the Lakers' Nick Young as have several other teams.


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## ATLien

The actual quote is: 

Nick Young heard from Atlanta along with the Lakers, as well as “several other teams registering interest,” *according to his agent*, Mark Bartelstein.

LOL.. so, more agent leaks most likely.


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## ATLien

Deng is looking for $12M



> Atlanta Hawks head coach Mike Budenholzer was slated to speak with Luol Deng on the phone Thursday night as a free agency pitch according to a report by USA Today's Sam Amick. Deng is still in Europe and isn't expected to start meeting face-to-face with teams until next week but the Hawks were granted an early pitch.


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## RollWithEm

ATLien said:


> Deng is looking for $12M


Which is just about what the Hawks have to spend.


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## ATLien

RollWithEm said:


> Which is just about what the Hawks have to spend.


Which would make the Thabo signing look even more questionable, IMO. Having both Carroll & Thabo off the bench would be kind of redundant, right?

Re: Deng, I am more worried about his age, injuries and heavy minutes played than I am about terms of the contract.

EDIT: Just realized Deng, Thabo, Korver were all on the same Bulls team.


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## BlakeJesus

I am curious to see what happens with the rest of the cap space, I do not think it will be Deng though.


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## ATLien

__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/485937570686066688


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## ATLien

How the hell did we get Paul Millsap for 2 years/$19 million. Even the Teague and Korver deals look like steals now in this market


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## ATLien

@Dissonance


__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/487649792500461569


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## ATLien

__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/487784373341933568


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## ATLien

Going to be hard to beat out Miami for Deng.


__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/488130285377454081


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## BlakeJesus

So who is left that the Hawks can throw their money at?


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## Porn Player

I hope you land Deng.


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## ATLien

Thanks LeBron!

We probably sign 1 more player, a PF or C, to fill the Elton Brand role or maybe even just re-sign Elton Brand. I don't know. Cleveland, Indiana, Miami and Chicago look way better than us. But I don't think Toronto, Charlotte, Brooklyn, New York, etc. are that much better if at all. We should still, barring injuries, be more competitive than 2013 while having a ton of flexibility and cap space moving forward.


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## BlakeJesus

Having a healthy Horford alone will make an impact. If Payne is useful and Thabo isn't a scrub, the Hawks should be better. It would be nice to see them bring in a C who fits what they want to do to a degree, there are like five PF's on this team.


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## ATLien

BlakeJesus said:


> Having a healthy Horford alone will make an impact. If Payne is useful and Thabo isn't a scrub, the Hawks should be better. It would be nice to see them bring in a C who fits what they want to do to a degree, there are like five PF's on this team.


I feel like "Al Horford is a better C than PF" is the 2005 version of "Josh Smith is a better PF than SF." It only took about five years for people to catch on to that one, so I'm not holding my breath.

I am looking forward to Year 2 in Bud's system. It was rough at the beginning, and the end, but got better over time. This is based on a small sample size, but we looked like a Top 3 offense in the East before Al Horford went down. Throw in a deeper bench and this is an interesting team, IMO.


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## Adam

ATLien said:


> I feel like "Al Horford is a better C than PF" is the 2005 version of "Josh Smith is a better PF than SF." It only took about five years for people to catch on to that one, so I'm not holding my breath.
> 
> I am looking forward to Year 2 in Bud's system. It was rough at the beginning, and the middle, but got better over time. This is based on a small sample size, but we looked like a Top 3 offense in the East before Al Horford went down. Throw in a deeper bench and this is an interesting team, IMO.


Did somebody say Josh Smith?


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## BlakeJesus

I feel like Horford, in this system particularly, is a good fit at C. He plays that Tim Duncan role quite well.


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## ATLien

http://grantland.com/features/2014-...-and-losers-houston-rockets-chandler-parsons/

Loser: Atlanta Hawks

No one will take Atlanta’s money, despite a good core of players, a very good coaching staff, and an innovative style of play Mike Budenholzer has only just begun installing. Some stars won’t even meet with them. I almost wanted to hug Budenholzer when I saw him in Vegas. The most common theory among insiders for Atlanta’s lack of appeal is that players see the Hawks as a dull franchise with a dead crowd and a limited postseason history that almost always involves NBA TV.

That will turn around at some point, but just about everyone Atlanta has approached so far rebuffed the Hawks’ invitation to get in on the ground floor.


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## ATLien

Boozer?


__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/489153777854078978


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## BlakeJesus

Boozer? I'd rather see him go to Charlotte, but I suppose it would probably be at least a solid replacement for Elton Brand. Seems like the Hawks have like 5 PF's.


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## Damian Necronamous

With Horford, Millsap, Antic and Payne...do they really need Boozer? Or will they play Millsap at the 3?

I had figured their starting unit would be Teague/Thabo/Korver/Millsap/Horford with Schroeder/Bazemore/Carroll/Payne/Antic off the bench.


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## ATLien

PG: Jeff Teague, Shelvin Mack*, Dennis Schröder
SG: Kyle Korver, Kent Bazemore, John Jenkins
SF: DeMarre Carroll, Thabo Sefolosha, Lamar Patterson
PF: Paul Millsap, Mike Scott*, Adreian Payne, Mike Muscala
C: Al Horford, Pero Antic

Mack and Scott are still RFA's, I think.

Boozer would come off the bench if he is signed. Danny Ferry really wanted Pau Gasol earlier, I guess they want a bigger and better 3-man rotation in the frontcourt.


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