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Mike Bibby Trade: Sweet
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I wrote a piece for the Hawks blog on the trade deadline last Monday. I did not mention Mike Bibby. I didn’t because his salary is large, he is declining, and I thought a Mike Miller or true five would better serve the team than a point guard.
I am totally fine with being wrong.
I don’t really see how you can be upset by this trade. You could hate Billy Knight down to your core, but the hate turns irrational if you want to knock this one. It would be as if brussel sprouts traded out the slop of peas on your plate and brought in some chocolate. Yeah, you still have brussel sprouts, but you have to come to terms with that and enjoy the fact that you got chocolate for peas.
Ok, maybe it is nothing like that.
But at the very least this trade forced Woodson to not suck as much. If he still manages to play Tyronn Lue at the two guard or Lorenzon Wright at all, I will be more impressed than mad.
I remember reading at the beginning of the season that Wright and Speedy Claxton played so bad last year that if even average players replaced them, the Hawks would be substantially better. This is how I feel about this trade. Lue and Anthony played like professionals this year. In fact, AJ surprised me with his play. He had many timely threes. Wright even put in some decent minutes of late. But when you see Zaza and Wright out there giving the Hawks their version of the two towers, you know you don’t have the best five on the floor. The player rotation just became simpler. Instead of firing Woodson, Knight just made things more idiot proof.
Tryonn Lue
"It's definitely a good trade for the Hawks," Lue said by phone from Mexico, where he was vacationing for All-Star Weekend. "Bibby's a great point guard. And Acie can learn a lot from him. Bibby's a proven scorer and a proven winner in this league. If you could trade me and AJ for Bibby, you've definitely upgraded the point-guard position.”
"Hopefully, this will be what the Hawks need to get to the next level."
Future
Some people are freaking out about the development Acie Law and the resigning of the Joshes. But the Hawks went from three point guards to two. And they went from Anthony Johnson mentoring Acie to Mike Bibby.
Bibby is a very close match to Acie. Scoring point guards. Clutch shooters (at least Acie was in college). Bibby will probably be here a year and a half. I think Acie will get 15 minutes a game during that stretch and that is IF Bibby stays healthy. I will take that for development with the law taking over after two years in the league.
As far as salaries go, we lose the next THREE years of Sheldon’s salary. Yeah, it was a rookie contract but you don’t want to pay someone five million a year to set picks and fumble rebounds out of bounds.
And if the Hawks made this trade without making sure they could resign the Inspector even in a worse case scenario then they are idiots and would have fouled up the extension anyway.
And in my mind, Josh Childress was a mid-level salary guy with the Hawks or on another team. I don’t think this trade changes that.
Finally, Bibby’s huge expiring contract could land a true five about a year from now.
Big man free agent
I am all about me some P.J. Brown. And as a side note, he has one of the bigger butts of any professional athlete I have ever seen.
Slight Downside
At games, I sit in Landlord's tenants. I am now in a nameless section. I have lost a part of my identity. I need something to ground me. My vote Bibby's Bodacious Bodies. General, complimentary, alliteration. It has no weaknesses.
Slight Upside
Imagine the poo face Lebron had when he heard about this trade.
Links
Hoopinion has all the necessary links. Check it out.
Go Hawks.
