Atlanta Braves trade rumors: Buyers or Sellers?

The trade deadline is about teams adding value, whether short term or long term. Usually, the deals entail trading hot veterans with short contracts to teams on the cusp of postseason play. Sometimes the traded player is the much-needed spark in the rotation or lineup.

In the Braves case, Matt Adams was acquired after Freddie Freeman broke his wrist. The hole that Freddie left disappeared once Adams checked into the four-hole. He has imitated Freeman’s 2017 stats.

Matt Adams’ domination mimics the MVP year of Matt Kemp. Left fielder Kemp leads the team in BA (.320) and keeps a positive spirit alive in the clubhouse and fan base. His presence is monumental, so much that a trade including him would be disastrous. The Braves have 32 year old Kemp signed through 2019, and the left fielder has several more prime years left.

Brandon Phillips, on the other hand, does not. Soon-to-be 36, Phillips is a pending free agent. The Braves likely bid adieu to Phillips after this year, and this fact makes Brandon the perfect centerpiece of a trade. He currently sports a .303 BA and displays good power for a second baseman. Phillips won a Silver Slugger Award in 2011, and his current season compares favorably. A hot-hitting Brandon Phillips could really help a team seeking a playoff berth, particularly if that team’s starting 2b is a typically soft hitting middle infielder.

Phillips’ presence in Atlanta’s lineup helps fill the void of Freddie Freeman’s absence. The second baseman’s bat helped tack on 12 runs on Friday with the ailing Freeman on the bench. Braves’ fans can only imagine the runs Freeman might add to this suddenly potent Atlanta lineup.

Best teams for Phillips:

Tampa Bay Rays: 40-37 and third in the AL East, the Rays are looking to compete for a wild card berth or division title. Brad Miller, their current second baseman, possesses a .194 BA and is currently on the DL for groin soreness.

The Rays are head-to-head with the Yankees and Red Sox. Brandon Phillips could tilt the odds Tampa’s way.

Texas Rangers: Rougned Odor, Ranger’s second baseman, is hitting .209 and is projected to strike out 156 times. The team is currently at .500 and third in the AL West behind the Astros and Mariners.

Securing a wild card berth looks unlikely because of the top heavy AL East. The Rangers have a stronger chance in vying for a division title.

Milwaukee Brewers: After losing the series against the Braves this weekend, many holes have been magnified. Defensively and offensively, the second base position is struggling. Jonathan Villar is their usual starter with a .213 BA.

The Brewers today cling precariously to first place in the NL Central. Brandon Phillips could lockdown second base, bolster the Brewer lineup and cement the Brew Crew claim to the division lead.

Each team currently struggles at second base position, and each yearns for postseason play. Phillips could be exactly what the doctor ordered.

The trade deadline would be the perfect time to trade Phillips. With luck, Freeman returns from the D soon thereafter. And the Braves have a plethora of middle infielders, both in Atlanta and in their suddenly fertile minor leagues. None will hit as effectively as Phillips, but the Braves have little hope of postseason play this year. Now is the time to trade the hard-hitting Brandon Phillips.

In return, the Braves should seek young prospects, or perhaps reliever help. Closer Jim Johnson’s consistency is, well, inconsistent. A closer’s role combines trust with aggression. The closer is there to secure the team’s win, to sow desperation in opponents and their fans whenever the closer’s team leads in the ninth inning. Johnson doesn’t possess that aura.

Overall, the Braves look decent enough to allow the deadline to pass without action. If the Braves desire to be budget-conscious today and divisionally competitive tomorrow, however, aging but short term producers should be ousted, and fresh new faces called up.

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Atlanta Hawks: 5 options for pick No. 60 in the 2017 NBA Draft

The 2017 NBA Draft will wrap up with the Atlanta Hawks making the 60th and final selection of the night, hoping an overlooked prospect becomes a valuable addition to their roster.

The Atlanta Hawks are looking for the 2017 edition Mr. Irrelevant, the last pick of the draft, to make an impact on the team next season.

Pick No. 60, usually is reserved for international prospects that organizations are hoping can make an impact sometime down the road, rarely pans out, but as Celtics All-Star point guard Isaiah Thomas has proven, it can happen.

Thomas was taken by the Sacramento Kings with the final selection of the 2011 NBA Draft, but blossomed into a star. This season, Thomas ranked third in the league in scoring, averaging 28.9 points per game.

Over the past 10 years, only four players selected 60th overall have even logged a single minute in the NBA, with Thomas accounting for 441 of the 757 total games played by the group.

Since the last pick of Thursday’s draft will be the third of the night for Atlanta, barring any trades, there is little risk to taking anyone — either a college senior or an 18-year-old from thousands of miles away.

Atlanta under new general manager Travis Schlenk has already conducted several workouts with players at all positions and is prepared to take the most talented prospect when selecting 19th, 31st and 60th.

Numerous players, including Marc Gasol, Draymond Green and Hawks All-Star forward Paul Millsap, an unrestricted free agent next month, have become All-Stars after being selected in the second round.

The Hawks are hoping the player that slips to them with the final pick can develop into a rotation player in the coming years.

5. L.J. Peak, SG, Georgetown

2016-17 statistics: 16.3 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 3.5 APG

After a disappointing season for Georgetown, resulting in Patrick Ewing being tabbed to replace John Thompson following consecutive losing campaigns, junior guard L.J. Peak opted to bypass his final collegiate season and declared for the NBA.

Peak could be available at the tail end of the draft after he failed to secure a place on any of the Big East All-Conference teams, or even receive an invitation to participate at the NBA Draft Combine.

While Peak wasn’t able to receive an additional chance to showcase his array of skills in front of NBA executives, his 6’9″ reach, five additional inches than his height, will be extremely useful as a perimeter defender at the next level.

During his two seasons at Georgetown, Peak managed to pile up 16.2 points per game on just 10.9 shot attempts.

HIs offensive efficiency, as he shot 48 percent from the field and posted a true shooting percentage of 60.2 percent, could be enough to garner some playing time in the NBA next year.

As with any late second round prospects, there is a glaring weakness in his game, as Peak shot just 32.7 percent from three-point range, an area he will have to improve if he hopes to latch on with any organization.

4. V.J. Beachem, SF, Notre Dame

2016-17 statistics: 14.5 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 1.1 BPG

Acquiring players capable of guarding multiple positions while stretching out opposing defenses is a priority for every team.

With very few viable small forward options capable of thriving in both roles immediately, the Atlanta Hawks could focus on Notre Dame’s V.J. Beachem to close out the 2017 NBA Draft.

During his senior season, Beachem knocked down 2.4 shots from beyond the arc at a 36.1 percent clip.

On a team with four players averaging more than 10 shots per game, Beachem still managed to pour in 20 or more points on 10 occasions, including a standout performance against Syracuse that saw him total 30 points, seven rebounds, two blocks and a steal.

The outing was highlighted by 6-of-10 shooting from beyond the arc, a feat he accomplished three times during the season.

After struggling during the Fighting Irish’s two games at the NCCA Tournament, Beachem may be available toward the end of the draft.

If Beachem is able to improve on his consistency shooting the ball, as he shot below 30 percent from the field nine times and above 50 percent eight times last season, he could be a steal.

The 22-year-old can catch fire from long range at any time, as evidenced by his seven conversions from beyond the arc against NC State, but will have to prove he can contribute on a nightly basis to warrant a roster spot.

3. Vlatko Cancar, SF, Slovenia

2016-17 statistics: 8.2 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 1.6 APG

In 21 games for Mega Leks, a Serbian club with a reputation for developing promising players, Cancar posted 40.7 percent shooting from three-point range, as he knocked down 22-of-54 attempts from beyond the arc.

Cancar tied for the second-worst vertical jump, along with Caleb Swanigan and Isaiah Hartenstein as he measured at just 29 inches, but his intrigue as a draft prospect isn’t centered around his leaping ability.

Capable of playing both forward positions, Cancar is an intriguing prospect because of his ability to create his own shots off the dribble, employing an exceptional shot fake to generate separation from his opponents.

His quick release and excellent precision from all over the perimeter could carve out a spot in the NBA for the 20-year-old.

Over the past few years, Cancar has added muscle to his frame, but at 210 pounds, he can be pushed around by larger opponents.

The 6’8″ frame, along with a fluid long range shot, makes Cancar a potential draft-and-stash prospect for the Atlanta Hawks with the final selection of the 2017 NBA Draft, as the team may attempt to avoid adding salary to the roster.

2. Edmond Sumner, SG/PG, Xavier

2016-17 statistics: 14.3 PPG, 4.8 APG, 4.2 RPG

The Atlanta Hawks could land a viable option at either backcourt position to close out the 2017 NBA Draft.

Perpetual injury problems robbed Edmond Sumner throughout his college career, as knee tendinitis limited him to just six games during his freshman year, while a torn ACL ended his sophomore season after just 17 games.

During his limited time on the court, Sumner managed to impress throughout the year, with perhaps his most impressive outing coming during a victory over Georgetown.

Sumner continually attacked the basket, earning 17 trips to the free throw line, as part of a 28-point, eight-rebound, six-assist effort.

The 6’6″ guard managed to post several other impressive stat lines throughout the year.

The Hawks could use a backup point guard, with Jose Calderon slated to become an unrestricted free agent next month and Malcom Delaney, an unproven NBA player, being the only other backup available to Dennis Schroder.

1. Wesley Iwundu, SG, Kansas State

2016-17 statistics: 13 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 3.5 APG

The Atlanta Hawks were one of numerous teams to bring in Wesley Iwundu for a pre-draft workout this summer.

When the 6’7″ guard met with the Hawks last week, it was the 12th different organization he had met, with another six teams already slated to bring him in for workouts.

Mock drafts have Iwundu projected to be taken throughout the draft, as NBADraft.net has Orlando selecting him 25th overall, while DraftExpress believes Utah will take him him 55th.

Since the second round is wildly unpredictable, with international prospects adding to the uncertainty, players like Iwundu have a tendency to slip, simply because of the time he spent in college.

After four seasons at Kansas State, the 22-year-old could be bypassed in the draft for candidates with more upside.

If Iwundu manages to slip five spots past Utah in the second round, Atlanta would gladly add him to the roster before the conclusion of the 2017 NBA Draft.

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Michael Vick will get his wish to retire with the Atlanta Falcons

Michael Vick was and now will always be an Atlanta Falcon. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Two weeks after Michael Vick declared he wanted to retire as an Atlanta Falcon, the team has decided to grant his wish. On Friday, the Falcons announced it will honor the former quarterback, as well as, former wide receiver Roddy White, during an official retirement press conference and reception.

“We consider all former Falcons to be Falcons for life, and part of our family,” team owner Arthur Blank said in a press statement. “Both men have made a huge impact on my family, our franchise and this city and we are thrilled to be able to honor both Roddy and Michael’s wishes to retire as Falcons, and celebrate their careers.”

One thing that won’t happen at the ceremony, which is scheduled to take place on June 12, are any contract signings. Vick had indicated that what he really wanted was to sign a one-day contract with the team before retiring, but Blank said that won’t be necessary.

“We do not need a contract in place to consider them a part of our family and honor their decision to retire as a Falcon,” Blank said.

Vick, whom the Falcons drafted No. 1 overall in 2001, spent six seasons with the team before he was found guilty of a federal dog fighting charge in 2007, which temporarily derailed his career. After serving 19 months in prison for his conviction, Vick did not return to the Falcons, but instead found spots with the Philadelphia Eagles, New York Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers, for whom he last played in 2015.

Vick has tried to rehabilitate his reputation by working with children, whom he regularly speaks with to urge them to make better choices than he did in the past. He remains a popular figure in Atlanta, where he played his best football.

During his time with the team from 2001 to 2006, Vick completed 930 passes for 11,505 yards and 71 touchdowns, as well as rushed for 3,859 yards and scored 21 touchdowns on 529 runs. Those accolades earned him three Pro Bowl appearances.

White, meanwhile, spent his entire 11-season career in Atlanta, racking up 808 receptions for 10,863 yards and 63 touchdowns. Those all remain franchise records, according to the Falcons, despite that White stopped playing in 2015. He made four Pro Bowl appearances.

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The Atlanta BeltLine Has a Long Way to Go

Portions of the Atlanta BeltLine have now opened, but the $4.8 billion project still faces a long road ahead.

In the introduction to his new book, City on the Verge: Atlanta and the Fight for America’s Urban Future, Mark Pendergrast writes that “Atlanta is on the brink of either tremendous birth or inexorable decline.” Having lived in Atlanta for several years, I’ve become familiar with the forces at work here that suggest the latter.

The city’s structural challenges are immense. Atlanta leads the nation in both income inequality and sprawl. Its car-choked roads and highways rank among the very worst in the world, and when things go awry—as when Atlanta receives two inches of snow, or a highway bridge collapses—the city’s infrastructure becomes a national laughingstock. Atlanta’s public transportation system, MARTA, has long been underfunded and unloved. Relatedly, Atlantans are among the least healthy American urbanites when it comes to exercise: A recent study found that 79 percent of city residents “do not meet minimum recommended physical activity guidelines.”

Currently, however, Atlanta is undertaking one of the nation’s most ambitious urban redevelopment programs. The Atlanta BeltLine—born of a 1999 master’s thesis by a former Georgia Tech architecture student named Ryan Gravel—will eventually be 22-mile multi-use path connecting 45 neighborhoods. It promises to convert a ring of mostly abandoned railroad tracks into a chain of interconnected parks and pathways, which will attract bars, shops, restaurants, and new housing all the way. Though it’s been dubbed “a glorified sidewalk” in the New York Times, the BeltLine may eventually feature an adjacent streetcar or light railway line. Many locals hope that the $4.8 billion project could be a game changer for Atlanta.

As Pendergrast explores in City on the Verge, the BeltLine also reflects the city’s troubled history of racial conflict and its modern efforts at reconciliation. “The racial divide remains an often unspoken aspect of every other issue facing the city, including transportation, housing, food, education, religion, health, and the environment,” he writes. Although many affluent African Americans live in Atlanta, it “continues to maintain fundamentally unequal schools, jobs, parks, and medical care for black versus white.” Pendergrast describes failed urban renewal policies that encouraged migration from the city center, and shows how white (and black) flight, along with the triumph of the automobile, fed a cycle of sprawl: Today, the population of the city proper is about 450,000, but nearly six million people live in Atlanta’s outlying suburbs.

Recently, we spoke over email. Here’s lightly edited version of our conversation.

I’m a person who loves charming, walkable cities; I’ve lived in New York City and Cambridge, Massachusetts. I moved to Atlanta seven years ago. Some longtime residents don’t like me saying this, but it’s not as alluring as other places I’ve lived.

I went to Harvard long ago as an undergrad, and I’ve revisited Cambridge and New York over the years, so I know their appeal—when you take the subway there, you walk up into vital, dense, interesting neighborhoods, whereas in Atlanta, when you come out of a MARTA station, you generally face a desolation of parking lots. That is changing now, with transit-oriented developments in process or in planning stages.

You write that the BeltLine could be an incredible catalyst for that kind of growth. But it’s not planned to be finished until 2030! Robert Moses built giant expressways, parks, bridges, tunnels, and public housing faster than Atlanta can build a 22-mile cement path. What gives?

First, it is expensive, and Atlanta’s tax base isn’t that big. So they have had to rely on federal grants, philanthropists and foundations, and tax allocation district funds that were hammered by the Great Recession. The idea behind the TAD is to freeze the taxes going to the city, county, and public schools for a specified period of time, so that tax increments above that amount help to fund the project.

Also, they are building the BeltLine to provide space for two streetcars to run alongside the trail, in opposite directions. That adds hugely to the expense. It isn’t clear at this point when or if they will add streetcars to the BeltLine.

In the last chapter of the book, I suggest that they just secure the rest of the BeltLine corridor—about 40 percent of which is still owned by the railroad company CSX. Then they should slap a trail down. It doesn’t even need to be paved. If they put it right in the middle of the former rail corridor, it won’t require retaining walls or much foundational work.

I visited my brother in Toronto last year, and we walked along the Toronto Beltline—yes, that’s what it is called. They’re pursuing the same idea, though theirs is not a loop, and it’s not complete. The section we walked on was composed of compacted, fine gravel, and it was fine for bikes and pedestrians. Why not do that to complete the Atlanta BeltLine, and then go back and tear it all up to put in streetcars and a concrete bike path when the time comes?

Some critics complain that the BeltLine is geared toward middle and upper class Atlantans, and it’s not the type of development that poorer citizens may desire.

My impression is that the Eastside Trail section of the BeltLine—part of which has already been completed—does indeed appeal primarily to middle- and upper-class folks. About half the city population is white and half black, but that isn’t reflected by who you see on the Eastside Trail. It’s majority white.

Having said that, though, I think the trail can appeal just as much to lower income folks, especially if it provides transit in the form of streetcars that link with bus rapid transit and MARTA, eventually. It will be very interesting to see who uses the Westside Trail when it opens later this year, since it’s going through predominantly African American neighborhoods.

The BeltLine is being funded in part with property taxes meant for Atlanta’s public schools. Some have argued that in essence, poor people of color are paying for amenities enjoyed by white homeowners. And some lower income Atlantans fear that they’re going to be pushed out of their homes as a result of the BeltLine. Are they right to be concerned?

Yes, lower-income Atlantans have every right to fear displacement as a result of the BeltLine. It has already happened near the Eastside Trail, as rents and house prices have shot up. The TAD was set up so that 15 percent of all bond proceeds go to pay for affordable housing near the BeltLine, with a goal of 5,600 units by 2030. They are far, far from that goal, largely because the economy tanked and the TAD is just starting to provide funds, with a new bond planned. Ryan Gravel, the BeltLine visionary who first suggested the project, quit the Atlanta BeltLine Partnership board a few months ago to protest lack of focus on affordable housing issues.

Since then, various city and Atlanta BeltLine Inc. efforts to boost affordable housing have been announced. This is all to the good, but until the city passes a comprehensive inclusionary zoning law, it is mostly an ad hoc process.

The question of whether school taxes (along with county and municipal taxes) should contribute to the TAD—that was the subject of a lawsuit in which the Georgia Supreme Court ruled that it was illegal. [Later, TAD was saved by a ballot referendum that amended the constitution.] We don’t have room here to get into that whole debate, but those in favor of the TAD believe that as the BeltLine attracts new residents and development, the tax base will rise, and eventually that momentum will help the schools.

You argue that Atlanta’s current redevelopment efforts could provide a model for other cities moving forward. What lessons—or warnings—should people be taking from Atlanta as they look to improve their own communities?

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Very briefly: A grassroots effort to support a brilliantly conceived project can really jumpstart innovative urban efforts. In this case, Ryan Gravel and then city-council member Cathy Woolard, who’s now running for mayor, spent several years building community support. Without it, this would have been just another mega-project imposed from on high.

Having said that, however, it was important to set up a bureaucratic mechanism with full support from the city, but with enough autonomy to act decisively and quickly. Nothing will go the way you plan, exactly, and you will have to adjust continually to unexpected challenges. In the case of the BeltLine, those challenges have ranged from the economic downturn to neighborhood battles over planned twin towers [a proposed high-rise apartment complex that would have hovered over Piedmont Park], and many other near-disasters.

Other lessons: It’s important to attend to issues around affordable housing and dealing with impact of gentrification. It is also important to get philanthropies and businesses to help. In Atlanta, money from Home Depot, Coca-Cola, and Cox Enterprises, in addition to others such as UPS and Kaiser Permanente, has been crucial.

I’m excited about all of this, but it’s clear that Atlanta has a long ways to go. I’m forty-six, and I’ve been thinking about relocating. What would you advise?

I certainly can’t tell you where to live or how to live your life. As I said in my book title, Atlanta is on the verge of many things, and most of them are headed in a positive direction. The good news is that Atlanta is still a city in its adolescence, and you can have input and impact, if you stick around.

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