Atlanta Hawks Roster Set After Requesting Waivers On Keith Benson

we only have two young shot blockers…both of them starting. Marvin Williams still doesn’t have “youthful” competition behind him.

I agree keeping Stackhouse, letting Benson go, are surprise moves.

It tells us some revealing things though about the internal happenings at ASG and relationships to LD/Sund.

After LD asked for Sy to be waived, the same Sy he was a proponent of for the last year and a half, the same Sy that ASG spent half a million $ to keep, I am sure he & Sund lost some credibility within the ASG ranks. Remember this is the cheap org we have come to know who do not hesitate about selling draft picks and not paying for coaches.

To me, keeping Benson in D-League, which is where he belongs, is a future move. ASG must have given LD and probably Sund an ultimatum about this being the year for improvements or else. Keeping Benson for future does not do a thing for LD. Benson’s usefulness this year, is open to debate. I personally don’t think he is ready to compete in NBA. Remember, he was cut by the Italian team he played for during the lockout, and I have no doubt, he would not have been able to withstand the rigors of playing center in NBA, even as a backup.

So if it is all about this year for LD and Sund, then the context is set. The moves then make sense. Sy is a future product if ever, lacking basketball acumen but being a great athlete. Same for Bensen and even Rolle as they are future players if ever. So instead we now have a useless Stackhouse from a basketball skill perspective, but one that may be able to help our fragile minded Hawks. Remember gang, we lost many games last year by staggering margins, even to Bobcats, so the psyche of this team needs improving. In that context, keeping Stackhouse to help Hawks psyche, and to put all the chips down for this year, then moves make sense.

What does all this drama mean to Hawks? We still lack a seven foot center banger to relieve Lion from his center duties. But at least, we have a tough guy in Ivan Johnson, so Hawks are close to where they need to be. Just need a seven footer to bang around.

I have read some of the quotes from Stack and I have to like him for his leadership and his knowledge of this team. I am hoping he will vocalize some of the things we have been bitching about for years.
Sloan and Johnson impressed me in the preseason and I can’t complain about getting Willie Green.
At least our bench is comprised of a bunch of guys who I have heard of unlike in years past.

Josh Smith, with his slimming over the offseason, no longer has the body of a PF, so I think we needed to keep Benson around, instead cutting Johnson who has an incredibly low ceiling. The Hawks are going to have to rely on the starters to play impressively if the team is going to make an impact on the standings.

I’m glad to see the organization actually admit they have made a mistake and cut their loses early, rather than string us along with two players who will wither on the vine and never see legit court time.

why are we waiving drafts picks? should have traded them for cash or future picks if thats what we were doing with it. Sy looked capable of backing up at the pg and giving us a difficult match up for other pg’s. all the guards are not needed hope Sy comes back

Do the players have to be contracted to the Hawks to suit up for the Bighorns?