Posted by: J-Mill on July 8, 2008 11:24PM EST Yea Baby! Smoove is comin' back now Chillz is next, Smith wouldn't want to go to the clippers 'cause the Hawks have a better furture if they keep the main seven man group (Bibby, Joe, Horford, Marvin, Smith, Childress and Law)

Posted by: Melanie on July 9, 2008 4:17AM EST *jumps up and down* YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY! thank you Jesus!

Posted by: BigBoi on July 9, 2008 5:47AM EST These are great great news. I was really scared by the Sixers, and Josh was feeling so good in Philly, but now I know it's over, he'll feel so bad that he'll sign for ATL baby!

Posted by: Mark on July 9, 2008 9:59AM EST This might not be so bad for the clips.. They still have Chris Kaman and they just got a potential beast in DeAndre Jordan.....(possibly the next Andrew Bynum if he puts in the work). Al thorton is good, eric gordon is good. They have a more talented team than Golden state last year if they just get out on the break and run..... As for for the joshes... we need to sign those boys for what they are worth. I personally don't think that josh smith is going to make us championship contenters unless he develops his perimiter game. He and Al Horford as of right now play the same position.. i think Horford has the tools and the mentality to be the answer for us at the 4. Before last years draft i was screaming for us to trade our 10th pick and josh smith to portland for LaMarcus Aldridge and JArret Jack.... Coming up with Aldridge looks like its not going to happen now but we've got to sign our boys in time to be on the offensive... Signing Nenad Kristic to an offer sheet or sign Patrick O'Bryant to a couple of 10 day contracts... we need to sctively find a 7 footer who can play with horford. If we do that, josh smith in my view is expendible...

Posted by: Carlos on July 9, 2008 11:04AM EST We have room for both Aero-Smith and Al "El Presidente" Horford. Especially when we go small and run everyone out of the gym. I think Marvin goes to the bench with Childress and we get a center. I still believe Solo and Richardson can be a good backup center and shooter respectively. I like Salim as a shooter but his decision making and shot selection are questionable. Not to mention his ball handling and defense. If we can resign him for cheap he will be a good bench player but not more unless he improves a lot. Try to get Okafor for Zaza, Speedy and whoever else. If nothing happens we can hope Acie's health is not a factor this season and he can take over the starting role. Then we have assets to trade later with Bibby, Speedy and Zaza.

Posted by: J.M on July 9, 2008 5:29PM EST i agree with carlos.. try and get OKAFOR!.. we deffinately need someone who can't me moved in the post.. so now we got the joshes back.. atl will be a top team in the east i think.. ooh and we should try and get eddie house.. u saw what he did for boston in the playoffs.. we need another guy other then joey who's consistant shootin 3s

Posted by: J.M on July 9, 2008 5:49PM EST this is perfect for atl!.. i agre with carlos.. try and get okafor.. that's probly not a very likely thin to happen right now so!.. here's what we do: resign joshes.. check that off the list.. we need another shooter.. edie house i dono if ricky davis is cheap or not.. but he'd be a good match for the team

Posted by: Anonymous on July 9, 2008 6:22PM EST sign the joshes get cheak that off the list and go andris beindris

Posted by: Anonymous on July 9, 2008 6:25PM EST sign the joshes get cheak that off the list and go andris beindris get a shoother like eddie house maybe we can get jr smith but i dont think he will come cheap but hes a good fit for the hawks or maybe get ben gordan hes a constant shooter again i dont think he will come cheap either

Posted by: ray on July 9, 2008 7:32PM EST This is good that brand signed with the sixers. we still have to be worried about the clippers who are now desparate. but it is looking really good to sign the joshes and if they werent resigned next year would be hell. Okafor would be nice but lets just be thankful for the joshes, but still try for okafor

Posted by: Kofi on July 9, 2008 10:43PM EST First of all ive been saying this time and time again... Sign both of our Joshes now!!! Secondly... I could be wrong... but i saw PTI ( Pardon The Interruption) and i think i saw them talk about Michael Pietrus going to the Orlando Magic and the magic is letting J.J Reddick go? If it is then I think we found our shooter. Yea he sucks in size and defense but he is a a great shooter, he can make 3's and pretty much never misses a free throw! I say he would be perfect and not costly since he has been complaining about not getting no play time in Orlando which i don't blame him... So there is o reason why he should complain about the money we give him as long as he gets playing time and proves himself. Correct me if im wrong please.

Posted by: al on July 10, 2008 12:37AM EST alright, ive got a really important question that i want someone truly knowledgable about the hawks to answer: is speedy finally healthy now? because if he's healthy, he could be such a great backup pg to bibby for this team along with acie law. acie's got a lot to work on but im confident he will be a very good player in this league one day. But, if claxton can produce like he produced in san antonio and new orleans, he makes this club MUCH MUCH better. im not at all on the trade speedy banwaggon. if he's healthy he's gonna be great, and if he's not, who's gonna want him? I agree with the people talking about JJ redick also. i have not given up on that guy. he's one of the greatest college players of all time. he can learn how to play in the league, we all know he can shoot. that jumper's perfect. i think he'd be a great guy to pick up if we didn't have to trade much. i agree. bring back both the joshes. but for some reason i get the same vibes from smith as i do from andruw jones on the baseball field. stick with me here. both great players of their sports. but andruw got lazy after a while, and idk but i can kinda see j smith, as much as i love him, not caring as much once he receives the big bucks. i hope im wrong. last but not least, we've needed a center for years. pg too, but now weve got some of those. but somehow we need to get a big man. idk who, but we need one.

Posted by: scott on July 10, 2008 12:54AM EST dont let josh smith go please.that would put the hawks down in the east. it would be sad to see josh childeress go but josh smith has to stay.good young talent and with a hawk team that isnt the biggest would hurt us.my fingers are crossed for smith.

Posted by: chris on July 10, 2008 4:11AM EST exactly the point bigboi...josh smith will feel bad and sign for atl he doesnt want to go there obviously..and we paid elton brand 79mil 795 dollors..so maybe josh smith can come to philly for alittle less money...because at this point he wants to be on a future winning team atl is garbage!!

Posted by: BigBoi on July 10, 2008 4:50AM EST I know it's hard to say when you know wev'e drafted him at 2, but between Marvin and Chil', I'll pick Josh. And with that, and Richardson in back-up, we can get a gret great center and send Marvin. I love this kid, he's a hard worker and he has shown everybody how godd he is this year. But him and Childress, this is too much on the wing. Someone has to go, for a center. This is so rare to have two great small forwards to replace each other, but we need a center right now. We're fun, we run, but we'll never reach the finals if we don't have any presence inside. Horford is cool, but he's alone. Salomon is a great back-up. But Marvin, even if he's improving impressively, even if we've drafted him at 2, even if if we trade him it would show how bad was this selection, even if everybody love this guy, he has to go. Why? Because his talent has been shown to everybody and so as an effect his value has increased and so with a Speedy or a Zaza, we can get an Okafor or a better center. I think this is the move to do. Right now.

Posted by: J.M on July 10, 2008 6:38PM EST J.R. Smith lookin good too?

Posted by: Daniel on July 10, 2008 8:50PM EST oh my god it not 100% that the hawks still got josh smith although we really need him. Clippers have major room in cap space but are trying to sign Emeka Okafor(news from today) Goldenstate still has alot cap space as well but again today they were trying to get Ronny Turiaf from the Lakers and that looks like it will happen, i defenitly think we need to get rid of speedy and butterfingers(ZaZa), maybe marv as well so we can get a better small forward and a center. Al Horford is playing really well in the center postion for the hawks so rather than finding a starting center find a backup 1 and get a starting small forward..because we all know marv was a bust and hes not that explosive, yes he had a cople of 30 point games but thats now enough, we need someone that will come out every night and work really hard, to me Marv only tries in the 1st quater and than gives up. so hopefully we will sign josh smith bak get rid of marv and Zaza,speedy next year.

Posted by: Anonymous on July 10, 2008 9:54PM EST I agree all the hawks need to do is resign Smith and Chilldress and go after Andris Beindris this guy is a perfect fit give up marvin speedy and ZaZa if management can make happen.

Posted by: Daniel on July 10, 2008 11:00PM EST Isnt Beindris asking for like 7mil??? i trade Marv and speedy up before this years trade deadline and let Zaza go.

Posted by: Atlplayer on July 10, 2008 11:52PM EST I say sign both Joshes. Get kwame as a center since he is cheap and we dont got much to spend, and get JJ Reddick as our other shooter.

Posted by: go_hawks on July 11, 2008 1:52AM EST if weren't able to sign j.smith we should just go after childress. we can sign him cheaper than smith and they also have similar type of game, only j.smith is much explosive and talented but at least we can have more space to sign okafor. but i still hope that we can keep both joshes. we should get rid of claxton and get pargo instead. last playoffs pargo showed that he can be an explosive player off the bench. if only we can sign him cheap.

Posted by: Colby on July 11, 2008 2:35AM EST I agree with nearly everyone here, sign the joshes, and then i think we should make a big trade to get a nice center, package zaza, marvin, and some others(if nec.), our biggest weakness was not having a big game to go to when our shooting was off.

Posted by: Daniel on July 11, 2008 5:15AM EST Kwame Brown???are u serious??? he is a major bust and why waste the money on him we should save it for later free agents.

Posted by: BigBoi on July 11, 2008 5:20AM EST Yeah, we all understand what we need, but there are some things not that good for us: Larry Brown has major plans for Okafor, and he said he wanted him to be resigned. So for me, it's over for Emeka. Then, we have to understand that our best way to play is when we run. And so with that, we have to find a great big man who can run the floor and have great hands. Because, if we get a great guy but who's only good down low, it will slow our game and it might not be that good. That's why Horford had such a great rookie season. I love this kid, but him in Charlotte or Milwaukee, and he would'nt have been that good. He's fast, he runs the floor very well, and that's why he was that good. So we have to get that kind of big man, run run run like Amare (as an exemple, not serious rumors) and we'll be unstoppable.

Posted by: hawks girl on July 11, 2008 10:20AM EST sign both joshes and do what bigboi boy say which i agree with. Run run run. We dont want to trade someone away for a guy who cant keep up. So we need to just focuse on resigning and see how the summer camps go.

Posted by: wailer on July 11, 2008 10:54AM EST Sign both joshes and Jorge Garbajosa. He's a free agent. He recovered from his injury and is a great bench player. He can rebound, defend, pass and score. Great help for big Al. Lakers have put an eye on him.

Posted by: Peter on July 11, 2008 11:05AM EST Can we finally have a productive off-season? Why do they drag their feet every summer? C'Mon Hawks if this is such a no-brainer pay these guys and build the bench with shooters and bigs. This waiting for other teams to make offers to determine their value is ridiculous!!!!!!! If you cannot pay sell the team !!!!!!!!! Where is the front office progress!!!!!!!!??????

Posted by: Peter on July 11, 2008 11:06AM EST It is just pathetic to let another team determine your FUTURE!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by: michael saunders on July 11, 2008 12:56PM EST the starting line ups SHOULD be........................ PG:MIKE BIBBY SG:JOE JOHNSON SF:MARVIN WILLIAMS PF:JOSH SMITH C:AL HORFORD IN THAT PARTICULAR ORDER

Posted by: hawkfan on July 11, 2008 2:41PM EST okay, all this waiting doesn't make sense, i mean its july 11, signing free agents started on the 9th and we still havent heard anything about an offer to josh smith or anything from the hawks, are we going to keep dragging this out to the 16th? even the whole brand situation is done, i feel that we're moving to slow

Posted by: Anonymous on July 11, 2008 5:28PM EST we need to trade for brook lopez we should have a draft pick it could been us instead of suns we could have gotten a big guy

Posted by: D Staden on July 11, 2008 7:58PM EST Everyone please join me by threating to turn in your season tickets or posting that you will not purchase one if, the OWNERSHIP does not get off their tails and get busy, signing one of the Joshes and getting us some veterans to help Joe!!!!

Posted by: Anonymous on July 11, 2008 8:11PM EST I agree with Staden those guys are key elements and I hope they are not trying to keep ZaZa,Speedy and Marvin Williams those guys should be involve in some kind of trade deal.

Posted by: Anonymous on July 11, 2008 8:18PM EST If the hawks don't upgrade they can forget about a successful season every major team in the East has gotten better so you know what that means if we keep the same team as last year without any upgrade ( a major big man) we might win 20 games and that maybe pushing it.

Posted by: rashaad on July 11, 2008 10:24PM EST man get the joshes back cause we know that the hawks get money they just not spending and get okafor

Posted by: justin on July 11, 2008 11:05PM EST whats taking so long? just lock up the joshes asap

Posted by: young j on July 11, 2008 11:08PM EST man we better make some moves..philly and new jersey isn't making it any easier in the east..nj have made some smart offseason acquisitions in the draft and free agency

Posted by: Mark Stapleton on July 12, 2008 12:23AM EST I agree with everyone else that we need to get rid of ZaZa ,Speedy, and Marvin and to get J.R. Smith and Okafor or Andris Biedrins. I hate Duke bluedevils. But go and get J.J Redick.

Posted by: hawks girl on July 12, 2008 11:00AM EST hurry up and sign both joshes or atleast one please. why wait on other teams and let them determine the hawks future. Like young j said, other teams are movin on up and makin their teams stronger. Not sayin our team aint strong but we need to make things official or its gonna come back to bite us in the ass next season.

Posted by: Maurice on July 12, 2008 2:16PM EST So what's going on Hawks? Why are you taking so long to make another offer to the Joshes? This is ridiculous. You resign a head coach who should have been fired a year ago, but you are reluctant to resign the cornerstones of the franchise. Come on get with it. These guys need to be training to get into shape for the start of next season. Get them signed. Get them off the airplanes and let them get into a gym. The longer you wait the more time they are missing working on their game. Lets go!

Posted by: jj on July 12, 2008 9:00PM EST Look J-Smoove is great, but Al Horford is our man of the future, the next Tim Duncan. But he won't be the next Tim Duncan play as an undersized center and not getting a chance to show off his skills away from the basket. Plus J-Smoove may get the crowd into it and fill up the stat sheet, but he's not a go-to guy and more importantly a winner. So here's what I propose sign-and-trade with the Clippers for Eric Gordon and Deandre Jordan. at first both of those guys may come off the bench, but imagine their production and our rotation and lineup. PG AC Law SG Eric Gordon SF Joe Johnson PF Al Horford C Deandre Jordan Bench Marvin Williams and Josh Childress 2010, 2011, 2012 NBA CHAMPS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by: BigBoi on July 13, 2008 10:23AM EST Please jj, how can you do this. I mean, Horford is great, he's a solid power forward/center, but he won't get the ball in important situations to give the Hawks the win! I mean, come on, even Josh Smith is closer to this position! He might be a winner, he's not a game-winning shot maker or a clutch player. You got to keep the ball in the hands of Joe Johnson, everybody agrees with that. Then, try to make Acie and Horford better, to have in 2 years a solid starting PG in Acie (a 13 points, 7 assists guy) and a strong PF in Al (don't talk about a 20-10 guy, let's say 17-12). With those three guys, we're done for the next 5 years. Then, keep Childress OR josh Smith in Atlanta. Not as leaders and proven winners, but as the guys who fill up the stat sheet as you said and every big teams, and winning teams have a guy like that. You have to keep one of them in here, and I think J-Smoove is the best of both. I love Childress and he also has to stay, but the best group is Joe/Al/Acie/Smoove and a center. So for a great center, we can give a lot of good players to make a big trade. Trade Marvin, trade Bibby in two years, trade Speedy and Zaza, and get a good center in a blockbuster deal with 3 teams to have the best starting 5 of the NBA. Law at PG, Joe at SG, Josh at SF, Horford at PF and Biedrins or Okafor at C, this is fantastic. So keep the team together, it's not time to torn the guys apart, we're doing a great job of construction so why sould we make trades? I know, for a better presence inside, but keep the guys together, unless Marvin Zaza and Speedy. I'll even try some food minutes with Salomon inside with Horford.

Posted by: virgil leonard on July 13, 2008 2:31PM EST OK this is crazy. Are we going to make any moves during this offseason. I want to keep josh smith but J-chill could get us a big man and marvin williams could at least get us a 2nd rounder. We need a big man who can get up an down the court since we dont really have an offensive strategy. and he needs to be able at least 250 a 7-fter would be fantastic or a 6-11 250 would be great if he plays bigger then he is.

Posted by: vtk on July 13, 2008 4:17PM EST In my opinion, Josh had a good year this year but when it really counted like in Boston, he did not show up. Josh is almost ready for the next though however, Josh should stay with Atlanta and be the building block for this team. Afterall, Atlanta is his home we we love him here like we do Dominique!!! My vote is # 5 should stay and be # 1 in Atlanta!!! VTK

Posted by: Anonymous on July 13, 2008 8:51PM EST Hawks please resign J Smith and J Childress and work a trade for ZaZA,Marvin,speedy and maybe Bibby for Biedrin and Shaun Livington Biedrin is 6'11 and can run the floor Shaun Livington is an outstanding shooter and can help other teams honest with double and triple teaming Joe Johnson.Any thing else we are missing off the bench go to the d league.

Posted by: Charles on July 13, 2008 11:18PM EST first of all, it's biedrins... (not biedrin) second of all, livingston is a free agent. The clippers flat out released him because it's doubtful that his knee will ever heal to normal. The trade of marvin, bibby, zaza, and speedy for biedrins could never happen due to the salary cap restrictions on trades and the fact that the hawks are not complete morons. I hate it when people post completely ridiculous trades.

Posted by: TNC on July 13, 2008 11:43PM EST Now that butch will be playing for memphis, Hawks should go for Robert Swift as he's the cheapest and the youngest free agent left!!! What do you think guys!!!

Posted by: jboi on July 14, 2008 12:14AM EST yall are retarded!!! josh smith is essential to our future and there are no centers out there on the free agency that would fit in our schemes. okafor is good but theres no way we could afford him..our only hope is signing an old vet to play some center and create depth. i agree that horford is a better fit at the 4 but josh smith is way too talented and young and versatile to play the 3 or 4 to make him expendible just give them time and well be at the top of the EAST baby!!

Posted by: virgil leonard on July 14, 2008 11:52AM EST I think we could afford Okafor is we cut childress or marvin williams go. We need a big man to compete in the east. no matter what we do with the other starters we are going to need a big man in the middle to take the pressure of JJ, Bibby & Horford. Okafor could not only alleviate that pressure but he would be a great asset and we could contend for the next 4 to 6 years

Posted by: jak on July 14, 2008 10:19PM EST charles is on his period.

Posted by: she said it was razor burn... on July 14, 2008 10:24PM EST get jj redick, he's such a beast. he's so fast and can jump really high.he'll solve our center problem. afterall, he's an upgrade over zaza.

Posted by: Anonymous on July 14, 2008 11:17PM EST I say the hawks need to trade bibby for a good center and a back up point guard. Acie Law I think is capable enough to be the starting point guard and will grow as the season progresses.. we also need to resign both josh smith and childress asap.

Posted by: she said it was razor burn... on July 15, 2008 3:16AM EST maybe once greg oden starts playin good for portland, they wont need lamarcus aldridge anymore, so at the trade deadline or somethin we can make a move for him.

Posted by: BYRON PARKER on July 15, 2008 7:38PM EST HELLO HAWKS I DO AGREE THAT ASG NEED TO SIGN JOSH SMITH AND JOSH CHILL ASAP AND ANOTHER OFF SEASON SIGN THEY SHOULD GO AFTER FRANCISO ELSON AND SEE WHAT HAPPEN IN THE HAWKS SUMMER LEAGUE AND IM REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO ACIE LAW HAVING A GREAT YR WITH THE ATLANTA HAWKS AND GO AFTER A SHOOTER SO JOE JOHNSON CAN GETS SOME REST FOR THE 4TH QUARTER SEE PLAYERS LIKE ELSON WONT BE ASKING FOR A LOT OF MONEY AND YOU CAN PUT HIM AT THE CENTER POSTION AND MOVE MARVIN WILLIAMS EITHER TO THE BENCH OR TRADE HIM THIS TEAM HAS A LOT OF POTENTIAL TO DO SOME SERIOUS DAMAGE IN THE EASTERN CONFERENCE AND THIS HAWKS TEAM CAN WIN 40 TO 45 WINS AND GET HOME COURT IN THE 2009 NBA PLAYOFFS AND ANOTHER OPTION IS I WOULD TRADE FOR THE DEANDRE JORDAN KID BECAUSE THAT KID WILL BE MOTIVATE BECAUSE HE DIDNT GET DRAFT IN THE 1ST RD SO HE HAS A CHIP ON HIS SHOULDERS AND IM LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING THE HAWKS WHEN I MOVED FROM OHIO TO THE ATLANTA REGION

Posted by: Sheila on July 15, 2008 11:59PM EST Patience - Hawk Fans - Patience !!! I too am checking the internet daily, for news on the signings of both Josh's. But we all must admit... things sure seem to be working out pretty well for the Hawks this offseason - huh ! I for one, tend to think, our talented new G.M. has done an excellent job of monitoring the current offseason developments and will put together lucrative, but fair contract's for both Josh's very soon. And I close with two final thoughts: 1 - The only way to build a good team for the long haul, is through the draft - not through trades !!! (So don't look for short-cuts Hawks Management, continue to build our team through the draft with quality people!) 2 - I repeat., "Marvin Williams is going to have a Break Our Year!!!" Go Hawks & GOD Bless Our Team !

Posted by: Atlplayer on July 16, 2008 2:55PM EST YES! THE Clippers dont want Smith! SUnd it is now time to sign Josh Smith! His is limited in choices now and just give him a fair offer and he will have to take it cause noone really wants him aside from philly and the clippers! Only team we might have to worry about... is the warriors. But if the plan to re sign Biedrins and Monta Ellis then they wont really have enough to give Josh Smith! Hurry and and offer his something and watch him take it!