Posted by: Nick Cobey on January 30, 2008 5:10PM EST I was a the pre-season draft party and a lot of people were skeptic of the team drafting you, but I knew all along you were the one for, us, now your hard work, and mature play, have payed off, you are a future star piece to a successful future championship hawks team, and I wish you congrats, and good luck in New orleans...

Posted by: James on January 30, 2008 8:04PM EST Al is great but, we, and I mean we because I am a part of the Hawks, need to trade Joe Johnson. He's not getting it done. In fact the best player on the team is Josh Smith. We need to trade Joe while the rest of the league still thinks he's all-star material and get something good in return (point gaurd, legit shooter, along with draft picks). I used to like JJ, but in an article during the preseason Joe said he didn't want to run the point because it takes away from his offense, but we are very good and hard to beat when JJ is at yhe point. He's selfish and not willing to do whatever it takes to win. Yet we constantly complain about the PG position. It is true that right now we have the worst pg situation in the league. Think about it: If Joe ran the point we could have Marvin at the 2, Josh at the 3, Al at the 4 where he's supposed to be, Zaza 5. I still have J-Chill, Sheldon, Young Solomon, Anthony Johnson, T-Lue, Lorenzen, and Salim off the bench. We all know J-Chill is productive, A. Johnson IS a BACKUP point gaurd, and you can still play matchups. Fortunately, or unfortunately, Joe doesn't decide what , when, or where he'll play on the court; the coach does. Unfortunately for him he hasn't made the proper moves which means he isn't in control. The inmates run the asylum. A couple more strange, tired, or uncompetitive losses before all-star break and it's time to pull the strings on Woody. If the strings are not pulled then Billy Knight (who I think has done a fair job) has to be cut loose. We MUST make the playoffs THIS YEAR! 'Nuff said/written.

Posted by: J-mill on January 30, 2008 9:12PM EST James, what the heck are talkin' about? Joe scored 19 points in the first period vs. the bulls and gets it done night in and out, even when he's off, he still has about 8 assists or 8 rebounds like last night. We are in the east and are going against the clippers, how easy can it get to make the playoffs? Then, March first, we'll get two wins vs. Miami in the same night.

Posted by: koomi on January 30, 2008 9:49PM EST j-mill joe is not getting it done look at his stats when they lose... we got a losing record... and when hes cold he keeps shooting, and mike woodson needs to get fired, and zaza needs to be traded for a pg, and if all else fails sell him for gas money. if we need a point pick up boykins and anthony johnson is getting it done majority of the time look at his asists, and we need to trade a couple guys for charlie viluenhoweveryouspellit from the bucks that dude is a true unknown talent.

Posted by: javier on January 30, 2008 10:39PM EST al is the best.

Posted by: Mario on January 30, 2008 10:54PM EST Al Horford is the big body that we needed down low to bang with the other big men,and he has been doin his thing considering the fact that he is only a rookie and will continue to develop into a dominant big man.If we can get production from Shelden Williams and add another big man to the mix,look out for my Hawks to be more of a threat than we already are.

Posted by: Carlos on January 31, 2008 7:42AM EST You guys are on crack. JJ is the best player on the team. He is not a PG. He can't play the point. When we go big, Childress is the one running the point most of the time. JJ needs to make better decisions when his shot is not falling and the coach needs to use him better because we are SO predictable on offense. Doubling Joe is a golden play for whoever is playing us. I don't think the coach knows how to run plays. Is like playground basketball out there.

Posted by: chris on January 31, 2008 1:36PM EST Trust me people, JJ is your best palyer. I saw the dude in High School. Get a real point guard and a better coach and ATL will be ok.

Posted by: Matt on January 31, 2008 7:48PM EST Joe is the best on the team. Its the coaching that sucks. Mike Woodson makes stupid decisions and the hawks are my favorite team but they are very selfish. JJ is the only one who actually makes the right decision most of the time. Sometimes he just throws up shots to score but still, Josh Smith is wild and Marvin is gettin a lot better but he is still selfish. If JJ gets traded, the hawks should get a shooter like a salim stoudamire type but who actually plays and a true point guard like Antonio Daniels who can score 10 points and dish out 7 to 8 assists a game.

Posted by: John on January 31, 2008 10:45PM EST We need to get rid of josh childress garbage tail.

Posted by: mac on January 31, 2008 10:56PM EST Stop hating on JJ. If we didn't have him we would be horrible. And what are you talking about trade Zaza for another point guard? Then we'd have Acie Law who's pretty inconsistent on the court and with playing time, Anthony Johnson who actually isn't doing too bad, Tyronn Lue who's been semi-injured for more than half the season, and Speedy Claxton who is only eating up our cap money right now and for a couple more years. I don't see how ANOTHER point guard will help. I think we should trade Zaza, Childress, Tyronn Lue, and cash considerations for a legit center. We're going to be set at the point guard once Acie Law gets better and all we'll need is a little bit of a better bench since Childress will be gone but we can address that with our next draft pick. Oh yeah and I think Solomon Jones needs to get more playing time to help our frontcourt.

Posted by: mac on January 31, 2008 10:57PM EST Josh Childress isn't garbage are you kidding me? He has the best field goal percentage and is one of the better sixth men in the league. He grabs a lot of offensive rebounds for his size and is pretty underrated.

Posted by: Sam love on January 31, 2008 10:59PM EST I agree with james, we can trade joe for a good shooting point guard and a couple of draft pick and mabe get a guy like..... in the future

Posted by: Carlos on February 1, 2008 7:13AM EST You guys that want to trade Joe tell me who can we get that will make us better. The trade has to be worth it to the other team. There is not a lot of shooting guards better than JJ out there. Kobe, Rip, that's probably it.

Posted by: Prince Tondo on February 1, 2008 7:46AM EST Joe is the best player, but he need to increase his shooting attempt maybe that will help alot josh smith play selfish even though he help contribute he need to not be forcing oppunity and play with control. i don't care what any one say, j-chill is always doing his thing, he need to get more playing time and work on his permiter shots because he already know how to demostrate in the paint. marvin is doing his thing this season, but he need to go in the paint more so that he can create d(fouls). Al is doing his thing, he earn every honor.

Posted by: SouthernHunay on February 1, 2008 8:34AM EST I think we need to trade Zaza and Speedy. Salim is fustrated because he isn't getting enough playing time. We are too predictable on both ends of the floor period. So either the Coach needs to get with the program or we need to start looking for another qualified coach. I am so sick of Woodson making excuses night in and night out I mean does he honestly think that we believe that crap? It starts with the coaching then the rest is up to the team but we are hurting ourselves going when we are up by as much as 19 and then loose momentum and the lead because of stupid mistakes.

Posted by: melman on February 1, 2008 12:41PM EST man ya'll full of u know what. jj is the best player and if it wasn't for jj we will be up sh...t creek. trade jj man ya'll are sick. you cause yourselves hawk fans. uuhh!!! don't be a fair weather fan if you with them be with them if not jump on the celtics, la lakers, phonix, etc... you know what. yea woody makes some bad decisons but you can't blame the coach for everything. they was down by 20 points in the 4th qu. with 3 mins left against la clippers and they come back within 3 points. who made the come back the players or coach? quit complaing and pull for your team.

Posted by: Cam on February 2, 2008 12:28PM EST I'm backing Melman, get off JJ's back, he's one of the best shooting gaurds in the league, and easily the best player on the hawks, trading him would wreck all the work that has been built up in the last few years. I've questioned some of the choices made in the past but we're so much closer to getting there now, bringing JJ from phoenix was the first step, now we have talented forwards in Josh and Marvin and Horford is going to be a beast in for years to come, and Acie is a winner and a big time player when he gets the time and experience in the NBA, Horford your the future, JJ your the man. Hawks Dynasty to come!!!

Posted by: Ma on February 2, 2008 1:29PM EST James, what the heck are talkin' about? Joe scored 19 points in the first period vs. the bulls and gets it done night in and out, even when he's off, he still has about 8 assists or 8 rebounds like last night. We are in the east and are going against the clippers, how easy can it get to make the playoffs? Then, March first, we'll get two wins vs. Miami in the same night. Mike Woodson makesstupid decisions

Posted by: c.chase on February 2, 2008 8:54PM EST Joe Johnson is not the best player the hawks have. Don't get me wrong he is very good and underated I might add but Josh Smith and Josh Childress are just as good, the only difference between the players is Joe Johnson had a chance to build his good name with a winning team when he was with phoenix as to where J-Smoove and J.Chill have been with a losing team their entire NBA career, but when given the oppurtunity they put up big numbers for the hawks. Also Mike Woodson sucks as a head coach! I can't figure out why zaza is even on the hawks roster! and Salim and Mario need to get way more playing time...If they had Salim in with Joe then they would most definitely be a threat to the opposing defense and if they had Mario in with J-Smoove and Al they would be a threat to the opposing offense...but really its time for Mike Woodson to go. On another note the PG situation for the hawks is not that bad. AJ is exactly who we need right now to go in front of Acie. As Acie develops himself he will become that PG the hawks have been needing for the past few seasons but for now he is only a rookie with very little game time experience. By next season he should know who he is and should be ready to take the lead role as PG. If You think about it the hawks have a pretty good squad minus zaza and solomon jones. Lorenzen Wright has poor offense and he is out of shape but he can go in and do the dirty work just like Al. Get rid of zaza, solo and Mike Woodson and the hawks will have chances to make it deep into the playoffs consistently each year. C.Chase

Posted by: dino on February 2, 2008 10:03PM EST i dont know why everyone wants to go and change the hawks's roster, it would just make things worst. For example two years ago when hawks traded Jason Terry and a bunch of other guys they ended up 12-70. This year the Timberwolves and Heat made a complete roster change and theyre in huge slumps. Sure Boston is good because they got Superstars but im sayin Hawks are in the playoff picture and they got a win against the Nets tonight and if we capitalize on the winable games, i think we will be fine so do not change a thing on the Hawks Roster

Posted by: jack on February 3, 2008 1:58PM EST We need to trade JJ and someone else for D-Wade or JJ to a bad team i.e. Sonics, T-wolves who have a good pick and need veteran help so we can get Mayo or Gordon who won't jsut be a second bannana like JJ and also tie in another young talent at the point.

Posted by: Dave Tabor on February 3, 2008 4:42PM EST I went to high school with Al and knew from the first time I saw him play, he was going to do big things. The Atlanta fans (I am the newest one) should be really excited for this team's future. Al is the kind of guy that will only work harder and improve in whatever way he has to in order to help this team win. He is the ultimate team player and above all else, he is a good guy that will represent your city with class. I hope he shines in the rookie game because in my opinion, he and Durant are in a dead heat for ROY, especially if the Hawks make the playoffs.

Posted by: aliG on February 3, 2008 9:41PM EST if you want to trade our only all-star, our go 2 guy, there is something wrong with you

Posted by: melman on February 4, 2008 4:06PM EST im with dino, we don't need to change our roster because like he said things would possible get worst. yea it sounds good to say trade this person for that person and so forth, but it's a lot harder than it seems. you have to have the right person in the right position,and right know it sure isn't the sg position. if anybody needs to be traded it needs to be speedy claxton. he hasn't played no more than 50 games since he been there.so while everyone is worried about the person that is productive for us, they need to shift their focus on the one that is hurting us. don't get me wrong, j smoove, j chill,mavin, and big al is making big dividins for us. all the ones i name is our future if we keep them and let them gel together. personally, i'm very exiceted bout the upcoming of our young talented team!!! hey look at the ny football giants they pulled the impossible!! if they did it why can't we? beleive hawks fans if we keep everybody together including the coaches and a couple more key players, we have ourselves a future dynasty!!!! BELIEVE!!!!!!! GO HAWKS!!!!!!!

Posted by: bringram on February 6, 2008 9:42AM EST WoW... I'm glad you guys are not GM's. The Hawks are great team to watch, exciting and always great to find good seats at the games... But, Championship teams are built from two positions, PG and C. We have neither. We have a great SG, a couple of good SF's, a couple of PF's, and no true C. Please do not follow up with a comment regarding Zaza Pachulia, it's not even worth the time typing. I don't understand why the Hawks never traded all those picks they gave to the Suns for Dwight Howard before the beast came out.... Also, having that point guard CP3 would have been a great compliment at PG. SO... What the Hawks do have is great trade bait. I would suggest to the Hawks to keep Josh Childress as the leagues best 6th man. Get a PG and Center! How about Calderon, and one thos extra centers in Portland...

Posted by: melman on February 6, 2008 2:06PM EST i agree with you that we don't have a center,but we have a bright and talent point guard in acie law. give him time he will be one of the elite players. i'm glad you are not a GM because you will be like the lakers when they had karl malone. to many superstars not enough balls!!!

Posted by: Anonymous on February 6, 2008 2:10PM EST How did this whole thing about Al Horford turn into a conversation from story to story to story to story? Every story is a new topic! GOSH!

Posted by: ttdaven on February 7, 2008 5:56AM EST Charles Barkley predicted correctly when Atlanta acquired JJ from Pheonix... "The Atlanta Hawks will be a playoff team in a few years!" ... those few years have expired and Atlanta is in the playoff picture at the midway point of the season. Atlanta sports fans should be enthusiastic about the direction this team is headed considering how it has been plagued by injury at the pg position. This is definitely a rising team in the East. A few more years of keeping this talent together could mean big things for the Hawks organization!

Posted by: Hawksd911 on February 7, 2008 8:11AM EST Al knew how to win in florida and now in atlanta

Posted by: Henry on February 7, 2008 2:20PM EST Felicitaciones Al, siempre fui seguidor del juego de tu padre, y me impresiono la primera vez que te vi jugar en la Salle con Fernando Teruel, desde ese momento tambien soy seguidor de tu carrera. Trabaja duro porque mantenerse en la liga no es facil, solo estas comenzando y tienes mucho talento. Felicidades

Posted by: Jordan on February 7, 2008 9:12PM EST OK. Honestly, I didn't know how this would work when we drafted Al. I knew he was good from watching him in Florida, but I was questioning the situation with another power forward and still no center, but Al has surprised me playing at a higher skill level and harder. Congatulations Al.

Posted by: drew on February 8, 2008 12:57PM EST ok everybody this is what we need to do we need to make this blockbuster trade..... if we trade josh childress, zaza, and maybe some picks to get jermaine oneal and then we will have a chance to make somthing happen imagine acie law when he gets good , joe jhonson, josh smith, al horford and jermaine oneal thats a damn good starting five with the reserves marvin, anthony, and salim......its sound good huh?

Posted by: Brian Aust on February 8, 2008 9:04PM EST People honestly how can ya'll hate on Josh Childress, he has got to be one of if not the hardest working players in the league if ya'll actually went to some practices or games you'd see he is always one of the first players on the court and one of the last to leave I guess ya'll are entitled to your own opinions but if ya'll just watched you'd see that even when the hawks are losing bad he still is giving it his all./// Josh Smith is a great player but needs to go he is stat hog just trying to get himself on another team. he wants to go!/// Al man ppl though I was stupid to pick you up in my fantasy draft now they're trying to trade for you you're a beast just wait till we get a big man and you can stay at power forward.