As I try to mention every once in a while, Sekou Smith of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution is one of the best beat writers in the biz. I haven't been within 3,000 miles of Georgia in a while, yet reading Smith always leaves me feeling like I've been in the Hawks practice facility. Like the great sportswriters, he puts you there, in the games, in the practices.Right now he's writing about pre-camp practices, and the showstopper is ... Jerry Stackhouse, a free agent cut loose in the Hedo Turkoglu-Shawn Marion swap. Stack turns 35 during the first week of the season, and he effectively sat out last season in Dallas (not by choice). He's just working out with the Hawks -- there have been no rumors of his addition to the roster.
Smith and the Hawks players he's talked to hope that stance changes, because they think Stackhouse can help Atlanta this season.
The last season in which Stackhouse played major minutes -- 2007-08 -- he had fallen off quite a bit, shooting 44% on two-pointers and 32% on threes. Since Stack is a scorer primarily, his efficiency needs to be decent to justify minutes. And in Dallas, his efficiency was no longer decent. Unless that's changed, Stackhouse probably doesn't merit NBA minutes.
But there is certainly something to be said for a replacement level veteran at the end of the bench for playoff teams. (NOT REBUILDING TEAMS, HOWEVER.) The Injury Bug is relentless, and while Atlanta has improved its guard depth with the addition of Jamal Crawford (replacing the forgettable Acie Law) and Jeff Teague (who could be a top-5 rookie, seriously) you can't have enough depth. The question is whether Stackhouse would be an upgrade over, say, a D-League level guard, or another (perhaps younger) free agent.
That's a choice each team (including the Hawks) must make on its own. But it's good to hear the discouraging way Stackhouse's Mavericks career ended hasn't prevented the ol' Tar Heel from getting his name back into the conversation.
