http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=2akej98

This trade makes sense for the Hornets for 2 reasons. (1.) They get rid of their disgruntled star, and in return get a sold starting caliber SF in Marvin Williams, along with a shooter off the bench in Mike Bibby. (2.), they also get rid of Okafor's awful contract. Between the Hawks and Hornets, this trade wouldn't work, which is why New Jersey is involved. This way the Hawks don't have to give up a 'core' player, or a natural scorer (JC). This trade also makes sense for the Nets (or whoever under the cap team is used) because aside from Derrick Favors there is no other (good) PF on this roster. With "Mecca" on the team, Favors can develop by watching Okafor's game instead of Josh Boone's. The Hawks can also sweeten the deal by adding future draft picks. So what do you think. Should the Hawks offer this trade?

Ever since the 2005 NBA Draft, when the Atlanta Hawks picked Marvin Williams with the #2 overall draft , and Deron Williams and CP3 went 3rd and 4th respectively, everyone said the Hawks made a big mistake. At the time, however, every NBA analyst said that it was a good idea. However, CP3 and Deron became all-stars and Marvin became an average NBA small forward. However if this move was really analyzed Hawks fans would realize it is really paying off for the Hawks now.

Had the Hawks picked either Chris Paul or Deron Williams, the Hawks could be a contender right now, or they could be another average team scrapping and fighting for the 5th-8th seeds. Right now we could log on to NBA.COM and see Marvin Williams putting up 35 points, 13 rebounds, and 12 assists. On Opening night of 2005, the Hawks had only T-Lue, Salim Stoudamire, Royal Ivey, and JJ as actual, capable point guards. Neither of these jump out as traditional point guards. However, giving Mike Woodson's tendencies to not play rookies, could harm the development of a young CP3 or Deron Williams. During this time, Marvin Williams could be flourishing in Byron Scott's system

Had the Hawks taken Paul or Williams with that #2 pick, we could be contenders right now. The available cap space would be much less. Sure, we probably wouldn't have JJ or Jamal Crawford, and CP3 could just turn as an average point guard. 

The bottom line is, no rookie can essentially become a "star" in Atlanta. The reason being is that we have a very stubborn head coach, who thinks playing rookie point guards is next to playing cards with Satan. So really, we got lucky with Marvin, and had we gotten CP3, he would probably be an average guard in the League, and Marvin would be dropping 50 every three games.

Recently, there has been some complaining about Joe Johnson's inability to score until he realizes his team will lose unless he starts playing. He then realizes that he will lose his bet he has going on with an anonymous betting company under the name Josh Smith and turns his game on. This has frustrated us Hawks fans and we long for the Joe Johnson that carried the Hawks to a 7 game series with the Celtics.

Unfortunately for Blazer fans, Joe Johnson went home, ate some cereal, had a tuna sandwich, took a complex vitamin, read my fanpost, and decided to take it to heart. Tonight, Mr. Johnson entered what appeared to be a typical night. He scored just 9 points in the first half, and the rest of his team couldn't buy a basket (not even Josh Smith with his 11 million dollar contract) however, the Hawks were grabbing every offensive rebound and stayed somewhat in this game.

While the Hawks were struggling to get over the hump, Joe Johnson realized that he had to step it up. After only scoring 9 in the first half, Joe Johnson went on to score 24 points ******In an unrelated story, Al Horford "Boss" scored his first NBA 3 pointer. When asked about it, Horford said it was "Nice"********* anyways, Joe went on to score 24 points in the next 21/2 quarters.

While I take full credit for this inspired effort by Joe with my post about trading Joe to the Cavs for LBJ. Obviously, Joe doesn't want to play with Shaq, and the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (and the Dangerous) Delonte West. Joe took over, making impossible shot, after impossible shot. The only knock on this game was the fact that Joe and Josh Smith (who had his 2nd straight 15+ points, 15+ rebound night) played 44 minutes. However, if you subtract the 5 minute overtime, they really only played 39 minutes, which is very good time management by Coach Woodson, considering the fact that the Hawks trailed for most of the game.

The bottom line is, if Joe Johnson can continue to play at this high of a level, the Hawks have a chance to make some noise in the playoffs. As the tied leader for the best record in the NBA, there is reason the Hawks are the #1 team on both the NBA and ESPN power rankings. Remember if you have been stranded on a desert island, have been locked in a Saw V Jigsaw trap, or have been living in a cave for the last two years, NOW YOU KNOW.

After this 82 game season (82 games of practice for the Knicks), Free Agency 2010 officially begins. For us here at Hawksville, we hope* that Joe Johnson will once again wear #2 for us next year. However, if that doesn't happen, the Hawks could snag a disgruntled LeBron James from Cleveland. The salary numbers are almost similar, and if LeBron came to town, the Hawks would definitely become one of the best teams in the East, if not in the NBA. If you look at the starting lineup for the Cavs on Opening Night** against the Wizards: Drew Gooden was the starting PF, Larry Hughes the starting 2 guard, Big Z the C, LBJ the SF and Eric Snow the pg. Now while all these people are decently good players, I don't personally think that the make up of that Cavs team should have made to the Finals.

In Atlanta, LBJ would have a totally different scene. Mike Bibby would be the starting point guard, and he would be able to feed LeBron on the break, and can also knock down what seem like 4 pointers regularly. LBJ could shift to the 2 guard for a big line up, or Marvin, Mo , or Jamal could step up and fill the void vacated by Johnson. The possibilities with a hyper-athletic combo of J-Smoove, Big Al, and LBJ, would make SportsCenter a one team show. This would also pack Phillips Arena regularly and would truly merit the term the Highlight Factory.

Another reason to consider this swap is the fact that Joe Johnson is old (Not old in people years, but in NBA mileage years) If we could see inside Joe, he would probably be 65+ years old. LeBron, on the other hand, has played a lot of minutes, but his odometer is far lower than that of Johnson.

Basically, Cleveland realizes that they are in trouble if they don't make LeBron happy, so they are trying to do everything in their power to keep him. LeBron also realizes that no matter how much he likes NY, he will NEVER win a championship there. He will also have to re-embrace the one man show badge. The Brooklyn New Jersey Nets are also a team that is highly unstable, and wouldn't have much to offer LBJ. ATL on the other hand has a developed team that can only get better with his addition.

However, this addition may prove to be a double edged sword. Many people will argue that we already have a team in place, there is no reason to mess it up. To that I say, the Hawks may be able to win a title in a few years, but as presently constructed, they will not win a title. The question is is LBJ for ATL, and is ATL for LBJ? The world may never know.

*With the exception of Hoopinion

**The same Cavs team that went to the NBA FInals

While everyone was getting their swine flu vaccine, Joe Johnson was busy getting his own shot: a shot of reality. No one knows who administered this shot, but so far, the results have been mixed. Joe is in a contract year and is faced with a decision if he wants anything near the 5 year, 70 million dollar contract he signed a few years ago. Now Joe is faced with a dilemma: If he continues his Kobesque criticism of his players, he may not have many friends left in the ATL.

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