Ska its been going on long enough...time to lock....

[mateen cleaves]

Originally Posted by lnMyMind

Hawks have to match that...unless he REALLY does not want to be there.

A frontline of Gay, Smith, and Gasol/Darko is potentially scary if Gasol pans out.

Hawks will match if he wants to be there or not. Thats what happens when your a restricted free agent and your good. The team wont let you go even if youhate every single player on the team.

 

[beats05]

My thing is that I know Memphis didn't send him an offer knowing that ATL would match and it would completely eliminate the possibility of getting him next off-season as an UFA. Either a sign and trade has to be in the talks or ATL just isn't going to match.
yeah that's what i was thinking. why make an offer that you know will be matched? the grizzlies are either 1, stupid, 2, really naive, or 3,know something we don't.

 

[mdub706]

i'd like to see him stay with the hawks but at least he's not goin to spain

 

[bangdak]

Originally Posted by Mateen Cleaves

Originally Posted by lnMyMind

Hawks have to match that...unless he REALLY does not want to be there.

A frontline of Gay, Smith, and Gasol/Darko is potentially scary if Gasol pans out.

Hawks will match if he wants to be there or not. Thats what happens when your a restricted free agent and your good. The team wont let you go even if you hate every single player on the team.

its the chemistry bro. you dont want another stephon marbury on your team now do you?

i know thats going a bit too far, but you get the point

 

[i nasmatic i]

Originally Posted by BangDak

Originally Posted by Mateen Cleaves

Originally Posted by lnMyMind

Hawks have to match that...unless he REALLY does not want to be there.

A frontline of Gay, Smith, and Gasol/Darko is potentially scary if Gasol pans out.

Hawks will match if he wants to be there or not. Thats what happens when your a restricted free agent and your good. The team wont let you go even if you hate every single player on the team.

its the chemistry bro. you dont want another stephon marbury on your team now do you?

i know thats going a bit too far, but you get the point

even if smith did hate the organization, the hawks would at least be smart enough to match the offer and then trade him in december (when he's eligibleto be traded) than have him leave for nothing.

 

[dlo13]

Hawks didn't waste time. They've already matched the offer. Check hawks.com, ajc.com, etc.

 

[bhzmafia14]

None of this make sense from the Grizzlies and Hawks side. Why not just do a sign and trade? Now that they've matched, I don't think they can trade forhim til' December or is it a year? (Since Memphis was the team that signed him to the offer sheet?)

 

[eeibaby]

Originally Posted by DLo13

Hawks didn't waste time. They've already matched the offer. Check hawks.com, ajc.com, etc.

HAWKS RETAIN FORWARD JOSH SMITH
Atlanta matches offer sheet from Memphis Grizzlies

ATLANTA, GA (Aug. 8, 200 -- Atlanta Hawks General Manager Rick Sund announced tonight that the club has retained forward Josh Smith and matched the offer sheet of the Memphis Grizzlies.

"Tonight, the Hawks organization received an offer sheet from the Memphis Grizzlies for Josh Smith," said Sund. "We are happy to announce that we will match their offer sheet. Ownership, management and the team are happy to have Josh return as a member of the Hawks. We look forward to training camp in October and we will continue to look at additional opportunities to improve our roster."

Smith, whom the Hawks drafted with the 17th pick overall in the first round of the 2004 NBA Draft, has finished second in the NBA in blocks per game in each of the past two years and averaged team-highs in blocks per game (2.80) and steals per game (1.57), while also ranking second on the Hawks in points per game (17.2), rebounds per game (8.2) and assists per game (3.4) in 81 appearances last season.

The 22-year-old forward from Oak Hill Academy (VA) and College Park (GA) has averaged 13.6 points, 7.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.5 blocks in 307 career games with the Hawks, and during last May's first round series, Smith recorded 15.7 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.86 blocks in helping the eighth-seeded Hawks to a decisive seventh game in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs against the eventual NBA world champion Boston Celtics.

 

[clutchshooter]

that was a no brainer.

 

[japanair21]

Originally Posted by bhzmafia14

None of this make sense from the Grizzlies and Hawks side. Why not just do a sign and trade? Now that they've matched, I don't think they can trade for him til' December or is it a year? (Since Memphis was the team that signed him to the offer sheet?)

Easy, because the Hawks DON'T WANT to trade him.

Don't misunderstand things, Josh Smith is happy in ATL, he knows they're in a good situation in the West. Honestly, the Hawks can and probably willbe a top 4 team in the East this year. The Hawks couldn't get anything they want in return for Josh Smith.


I love how people freaked out when Josh Smith signed the offer sheet, they thought he was actually going to Memphis.

 

[i nasmatic i]

Originally Posted by JapanAir21

Originally Posted by bhzmafia14

None of this make sense from the Grizzlies and Hawks side. Why not just do a sign and trade? Now that they've matched, I don't think they can trade for him til' December or is it a year? (Since Memphis was the team that signed him to the offer sheet?)

Honestly, the Hawks can and probably will be a top 4 team in the East this year.

don't see this happening...hell, they might not even make the playoffs.

 

[willinc]

Honestly, the Hawks can and probably will be a top 4 team in the East this year.
I think that's a bit high, but definitely a playoff team.

 

[supafly122]

what happened to Ron Artest to the Rockets?

 

[japanair21]

Originally Posted by Supafly122

what happened to Ron Artest to the Rockets?

Uhh, it happened.



Top 4 might have been a little high, but the Hawks without Josh Smith >>>>> the Grizzlies without Josh Smith. Boston, Detroit, Washington,and Cleveland are the only clear-cut better teams IMO. You can throw Orlando in the mix as well, and probably Miami/Toronto, but the Hawks have the capabilityof being one of those top four teams. I expect Acie Law to step out and starting playing well, and eventually split minutes with Bibby. Mo Evans isn't asgood of a shooter as Childress, but he's a bit more athletic, and is a good replacement and cheaper to boot. Horford is going to be a problem in theEastern Conference.

 

[dj entendre]

Josh Smith was just at the Bestbuy I work at in Houston like last week, I shoulda asked him to where he was goin lol

 

[gangsta207therevolution]

The Hawks really wanted the market to determine Josh's value, thats the advantage you have when a guy is RFA. Childress didnt like that he Hawks were doingthat so he created a new market for himself.

 

[bhzmafia14]

Top 4 might have been a little high, but the Hawks without Josh Smith >>>>> the Grizzlies without Josh Smith

You really think that the Hawks without Childress and Josh Smith would be better than a young Grizzlie team? First off, the Hawks need a PG that won't turnthe ball over 2.5 times a game and can show up better in the playoffs than what he did. As athletic as that team is and the options they had, he only averagedlike 3apg.

Of course they would have a better chance at making the playoffs in the East, but their record was 37-45 last year. The Grizzlies could possibly get close to35 games this season in the West which wouldn't make ATL better. Just means they're in the weaker conference.

 

[i nasmatic i]

boston, detroit, orlando, philly and cleveland are all cleary better than atlanta.

so atlanta should be battling with toronto, washington, miami, chicago and new jersey for the final spots.

 

[kal ripped ken]

atlanta will not make the playoffs next season

 

[DCAllAfrican]

LOL @ Grizzly fans laughing at ANYBODY

 

[shuges]

BEIJING - Kobe Bryant won't sign a contract extension with the Los Angeles Lakers until he has tested the global market, the U.S. Olympic basketball star told Yahoo! Sports on Saturday.

Asked whether he plans to solicit overseas offers before signing an extension, Bryant flatly said yes.

It's possible Bryant could leave the NBA for Europe - perhaps in a dual role of owner and player - as early as next summer. Bryant is signed with the Lakers through the 2010-11 season, but can opt out after next season.

Suddenly, the best player in the world seems determined to pair the changing global economics with his unparalleled popularity to create an international bidding war. A day earlier, Bryant told the Boston Globe that he would consider a $50 million offer to play in Europe.

"As players, the business of the game (is) evolving," Bryant said before a Team USA practice at Beijing Normal University. "I think free agency now is becoming a global thing …. When players become free agents, the team they're currently with - their competition is no longer the rest of the teams in the NBA. But it's global. So, the market's opened up. So we'll just have to see how the league responds to it."

Bryant spent several years of his childhood in Italy and loves it there. Seven years ago, he bought an ownership stake in Olimpia Milano of the Italian league for his father Joe to run. When Bryant was asked whether he held intrigue with owning and playing on a team together, he said, "Absolutely."

Some basketball executives believe Bryant's ultimate ambition might be to have a majority ownership with a powerhouse Italian team while serving as its superstar. What's more, Bryant, 29, insists that it wouldn't be such a leap of faith for him to leave the NBA.

"I think people kind of make it out to be a little more than what it is," he said.

With the Lakers' resurgence and Bryant having won his first most valuable player award last season, it was believed that he would sign a long-term, maximum contract without pursuing unrestricted free agency. Now, Bryant is suggesting that the possibility of a monumental European offer - perhaps paired with ownership - has armed him with fresh leverage.

This summer, the movement of players to Europe - as well as a belief that several European teams are gearing up to lure NBA superstars with contracts worth $30- to $40 million annually - has made him believe that this could be an option for him. Josh Childress of the Atlanta Hawks signed a three-year, $20 million deal with Olympiakos of Greece. Several other good NBA players, including Carlos Delfino and Juan Carlos Navarro, left the NBA for multi-million dollar European offers.

"Childress, Delfino, and all these other offers start coming up and all of a sudden you start hearing the talk circulating from teams over there and what they're willing to do," Bryant said. "As athletes, you have to listen to that. That's the least you can do."

Even so, Bryant conceded that it would be "Almost impossible … very difficult …" to leave the Lakers, who are primed to make a run at multiple championships over the next several years.

"But," he said cryptically, "it is what it is."

 

[mateen cleaves]

Kobe is a lier.

 

[noblekane]

stephon marbury > jason williams

stephon marbury is a bald headed b diddy...

 

[bhzmafia14]

Originally Posted by DCAllAmerican

LOL @ Grizzly fans laughing at ANYBODY

Why you say that?

It's not like we never made the playoffs, we made it three years in a row actually. Even though we got swept each year, it still showed that we camefrom nothing to something. Now, things are only looking better because the average age of our starting lineup is 23 years old and we have a lot of potentialstars that could bust out anytime within' the next 2-3 years. So, I'm going to continue to laugh

 

[tupac003]

[h2]Gordon Hinting He's Done In Chicago?[/h2]
Aug 09, 2008 11:57 PM EST

Ben Gordon, the restricted free agentshooting guard with the Chicago Bulls, admitted that he is at a stalemate in negotiations and that his time in the Windy City may be over, according to areport in the Hartford Courant.

"Right now, honestly, it doesn't look like it," Gordon said when asked if he'll be back in Chicago this season. "I think a decisionis going to be made soon. ... I've had a great time here. I was fortunate enough to play on a team that made the playoffs; I led the team in scoring threeof the four seasons I've been here. It's been a good experience, but we haven't been able to come to any common ground. It's just part of thebusiness. You have to do what you have to do sometimes."

Via HartfordCourant

Chicago Bulls

Read the FullStory Discuss Send Feedback Buy Tickets

---

[h2]Report: Hornets Re-Sign Bowen[/h2]
Aug 09, 2008 10:57 PM EST

The Hornets have reportedly reachedan agreement with reserve forward Ryan Bowen to bring him back for the 2008-09 season, according to The Times-Picayune.

According to the initial report, Bowen agreed to a one-year deal with New Orleans on Friday.

"Last year was a lot of fun," Bowen said. "It was fun to be a part of it, and I enjoyed playing for a great organization. We had a wonderfulyear. That's why I wanted to go back."

Via TheTimes-Picayune

New Orleans Hornets

Read the FullStory Discuss Send Feedback Buy Tickets