On Thursday night I was sitting in my living room thoroughly enjoying the Boston Celtics victory in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, when I suddenly began thinking about my favorite team, the Atlanta Hawks. I began to think about the moves that new General Manager, Rick Sund should make (besides re-signing Josh Smith & Josh Childress to long-term contracts) to improve our young, exciting, up and coming team.
Some of the ideas that entered my mind included:
Draft Derrick Rose (my regular readers might have noticed that I am a huge Derrick Rose fan) – That won’t happen because unlike previous years, we made the playoffs and are without a lottery pick; in fact, we don’t have a draft pick at all.
Require the entire team to grow Josh Childress style afros (to promote team unity) – That won’t happen because Al Horford would look incredibly funny.
Petition the league to allow them to play all 82 games at home – THAT SIMPLY WON’T HAPPEN
Trade Mario West for LeBron James (we found a team dumb enough to take Sheldon Williams, so anything is possible) – OK, this is just wishful thinking, and if we lose Mario West, who will guard the opposing teams best perimeter player for the last 2.3 seconds of each quarter.
Although I know that none of the previous suggestions will ever be seriously considered (although they would be interesting), I do have the answer that will propel the Hawks to a top four team in the Eastern Conference. THEY SHOULD ACQUIRE TAYSHAUN PRINCE from the Detroit Pistons.
After losing in the Eastern Conference Finals, Pistons GM Joe Dumars said that things would change and that he would evaluate all of his options. With that in mind, it is now the time for us to make our move for Tayshaun Prince. He is the missing piece to the Hawks puzzle. Acquiring a player of Prince’s caliber is not going to be cheap. We are definitely going to have to give up something of value to acquire a player who can shut down the opposing teams best perimeter scorer, defend a quality post player, all while rebounding well and giving you 12 to 15 points a game. Therefore I propose that we offer Marvin Williams (former #2 overall pick) and Salim Stoudamire to Detroit for Prince. This trade will be a win-win for both teams. It would shake things up in Detroit with a quality young player with great upside. It would also give Atlanta just what they have been missing, an elite perimeter defender with the ability to score.
Adding Tayshaun Prince would give the Hawks one of the best starting lineups in the NBA. It would also help Joe Johnson immensely. Joe Johnson is the best scorer and the best perimeter defender on the Hawks team and having Prince would allow him to guard someone other than the best perimeter player on the opposing team. That way he would have more energy on the offensive end of the court in the fourth quarter. This would also help him to stay out of foul trouble. Tayshaun Prince also provides VETERAN LEADERSHIP and CHAMPIONSHIP EXPERIENCE to one of the youngest and inexperienced teams in the league. He is a team first guy who is very unselfish and will easily fit in with the Hawks.
I know that some of you won’t like the idea of parting ways with the talented Williams, but his skill set simply doesn’t mesh well with the Hawks. He is basically a 6’9’’ mid-range jump shooter, who is not an elite rebounder or defender. I truly believe that he will improve and be a very good player down the line, but you have to give up something to get something in the NBA. (That’s unless you make a deal with the Grizzlies who, as Jeff Van Gundy stated, simply "donated" Pau Gasol to the Lakers cause for basically nothing). I too would miss Williams. But let’s be honest, he is a nice guy and a nice player, but he NEVER SHOULD HAVE BEEN A HAWK (we should have drafted Chris Paul or Deron Williams in the 2005). If Rick Sund is serious about building a contender in Atlanta, he should take my advice and trade Marvin Williams for Tayshaun Prince. Trust me on this, he won’t be sorry.
4 comments:
I immediately stopped reading at the word "Tayshaun." Your lovefest for UK basketball is causing your judgement of NBA talent to display symptoms of dysentery or whatever I always died from on Oregon Trail. I should call you Billy Knight, Jr. because the last thing we need right now is another 6'9" versatile wingman with long arms.
In response to the comment from Martin....
We would not be adding a new 6'9" swingman, we would simply be UPGRADING the one that we have. The Small Forward position in the NBA is the one where you NEED A 6'9" SWINGMAN, and the one that we have doesn't fit. If you have ever watched Tayshaun and Marvin play, then you would know that Tayshaun is the defensive and veteran player that we need. AGAIN, WE SHOULD NOT ADD ANOTHER SWINGMAN, WE SHOULD SIMPLY IMPROVE UPON WHAT WE HAVE.
Why the hate for Mario? At least he is a role player. Now Solomon Jones....
In response to the comment from Scott....
There is no hate for Mario West. It's simple, Solomon Jones has no trade value. He never plays, but the entire league knows that Mario West is a defensive stopper for up to three seconds a quarter. So we can obviously get more for him.
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