January 5, 2003 -- TEN days after replacing Lon Kruger with assistant coach Terry Stotts, the Hawks are trying to arrange a trade involving restricted free agent-to-be Jason Terry. According to sources, the Blazers and Heat are ardently interested in acquiring Atlanta's assist leader (7.4; No. 6 in the league) and third-highest (16.8) scorer.
For salary purposes, Alan Henderson ($7.09 million /$7.6M / $8.2M) and another low-budgeted Hawk (DerMarr Johnson, perhaps) would have to be part of any package since Terry's skill value far exceeds his current ($2.15M) earnings.
Terry figured his three-year-plus tour was coming to an end when Stotts' first command decision was to return him to his unnatural position at off guard (in favor of rookie Michael Wilkes, fresh from the Developmental League), where he's being asked to split infinitives with TV analyst Mike Glenn.
Miami is offering either Brian Grant or Eddie Jones, both of whom flaunt maximum ($11M) contracts and own four guaranteed years after this one. Other than rookie Caron Butler, they are Pat Riley's only two recruits who remotely qualify as assets.
Having already done Padre Riles one big solid (getting snuffed at home by 34 points), why not, I submit, extend more goodwill by bailing him out of an outlandish max deal.
Portland's various proposals incorporate just about everyone on the roster, exempting Rasheed Wallace, Zach Randolph and GM-in-training Chris Dudley.
Obviously, at least one guard - Damon Stoudamire, Jeff McInnis, Derek Anderson, Bonzi Wells, or Antonio Daniels (not coincidentally, he got his first start of the season in Friday's road kill of the Celtics) - must go in order to create sufficient minutes, shots and money for Terry, whose max pact demand is definitely an influencing factor in management making him available.
Bonzi makes perfect sense for the Hawks, who don't have to worry about alienating the already turned-off public. On the flip side, given the choice between Georgia and jail, Bonzi confided, "You might as well measure me now for an orange jump suit."
This just in: The Hawks have been mathematically eliminated from the South and James Dolan has given GM Pete Babcock a multi-year extension.