Reactions to the Trade

Before getting to reactions to the trade, I must take a moment to acknowledge that Matt at Atlanta Hawks blog saw this coming.

John Hollinger likes the trade for the Hawks:

Atlanta's two biggest weaknesses this year have been 3-point shooting and point guard play; at a stroke, Bibby solves both problems.

and doubles up my estimation of Bibby's on-court value for the remainder of the season:

...replacing Johnson/Lue with 35 minutes a game of Bibby would be worth about six wins over an 82-game season; over the final 32 games, it would be more like two wins, but that still could be huge, given the tight race for the final playoff spots in the East.

Micah Hart reports that there's an overwhelmingly positive reaction to the trade at the All-Star game:

I came over to the Arena tonight with Hawks PR man Jon Steinberg, and every person we saw when we walked into the building stopped to congratulate us on the trade. It seriously feels like we just had a son - I feel like we should be passing out victory cigars. Everyone loves this deal for Atlanta.

Sekou Smith reported Tyronn Lue's magnanimous reaction to the trade this morning:

"It's definitely a good trade for the Hawks...If you could trade me and AJ for Bibby, you've definitely upgraded the point-guard position."

Sekou also provides three reasons the trade works for the Hawks and goes a bit overboard in his blog with the proposition that Mike Bibby is exactly as good now as he was at his (younger) best:

Bibby can score at a high level (he averaged 21.2 points per game just two years ago). And he can dish at a high level (he averaged more than 8.0 assists per game twice in his career). The fact that can do both at the same time is what makes him so valuable to the Hawks right now.

Bibby scored 21.1 PPG two years ago (taking 17 shots a game), but has shot the ball considerably worse than his career average last season and this, and averaged over 8 assists in the 99-00 and 00-01 seasons playing for Vancouver. I don't think he can do either of things right now and he never did them at the same time. An upgrade at point guard? No doubt. An above average player? Possibly. A savior? Certainly not.

Drew at Hawks, Dawgs, and Jesus keeps it brief but his meaning is clear.

As is TZ's at Sactown Royalty. Pookeyguru takes a longer look there at the trade from Sacramento's perspective.

Charley Rosen gives the Hawks a B+ for the deal, breaks down Bibby's game, and again makes me wonder about the copy editing at FOXsports.com. A.C. Law? Come on, Charley, you're better than that.

Scott Howard-Cooper of The Sacramento Bee is extraordinarily pessimistic about what this trade means for Acie Law's NBA career (registration or bugmenot required):

Atlanta, though, invested heavily in a point guard eight months ago, drafting Acie Law with the 11th selection in the draft. The move for Bibby is an obvious sign the Hawks are playing for the moment rather than another season of developing the kids. What it means beyond that, however, is unclear. Lottery picks have to play at some point to get better, unless they are completely clueless, and Law is a leader and is tough. Sitting him now and in 2008-09 greatly diminishes the return on a high choice.

Playing Mike Bibby so much that Acie Law doesn't have a chance to develop would greatly diminish the return on this trade as well.

Also in the SacBee, Ailene Voisin looks back on Bibby's time in Sacramento.

UPDATE: One I missed on my first pass through the blogosphere: Braves & Birds gives a good account of how Bibby might make Atlanta better by making Mike Woodson less bad:

This team has a chronic inability to score on critical possessions because they have nothing approaching a coherent offensive structure and they end up giving the ball to Joe Johnson on iso plays, despite the fact that he's not very good at beating opponents off the dribble. The Bibby trade solves some of these problems, as it gives the Hawks a one-on-one option for the end of games. It does not solve the problem that the past six weeks have given me serious reservations about Mike Woodson's ability to coach these players. I feel good about the team now because Bibby can cover some of Woodson's failings, but I'd feel better with Larry Brown in charge.

It's amazing. One can't have a conversation about the Hawks or read a Hawks blog (or its comments without the subject quickly moving to those futile, poorly designed isolation plays. Every single person who watches this team regularly understands this yet nothing changes.