TheNorthCydeRises

That doesn't make any sense. It's not like the young guys learn from losing. So what difference does a "bad vet" have to do with anything, when it comes to trying to develop young talent, when you're not good enough to win 70% of yout? All losing does is piss you off. Ask Devin Booker.

This wasn't a year to judge Dennis' defense. If he played defense, we'd be picking 10th in the draft.

So if Schlenk wasn't responsible for Collins, was he even responsible for Dorsey? Schlenk will take Trae Young if the Hawks are outside the top 2. And when he takes him at 3, people bet not be shocked around here.

OMG . . the dead has arisen! Welcome back legend.

If you truly believe that, why was Dwight traded? If he was such a bad fit chemistry wise, we possibly could've lost even more games. We took on a bad contract in Plumlee, traded a very high 2nd round pick, and brought on a player in Belinelli that we had to trade because he was "too good".

Nah JTB . . . it's the exact opposite. We shouldn't have tanked at all and brought back at least 2 of the 3 between Howard - Millsap - Hardaway Jr. Let's say you still let Millsap walk, but keep Howard and Hardaway Jr. This is the Hawks team. PG - Schröder ( 15.5 mil ) G - Hardaway Jr ( 16.5 mill ) F - Prince ( 2.4 mill ) PF - Dedmon ( 6.9 mill ) C - Howard ( 23.2 mill ) Total starter payroll ( 64.5 mill ) The max void left by not signing Millsap could've easily fit Hardaway Jr and Dedmon into the mix. Core bench rotation players in bold. PG - Delaney ( 2.5 mill ) / PG - Taylor ( 1.3 mill ) G - Dorsey ( 0.8 mill ) F - Bazemore ( 16.9 mill ) / F - Bembry ( 1.6 mill ) PF - Collins ( 1.9 mill ) F/C - Muscala ( 5 mill ) 7-man bench payroll ( 30 mill ) That 12 man lineup is a playoff team, and potentially a top 5 squad ( 45+ wins ). Moving Bazemore to the bench as a super sub would do wonders for his career, IMO. The big thing is that you wouldn't have to depend on his production if he's not playing well. And I personally like the idea of having a Howard - Collins - Dedmon rotation in the frontcourt. You can do a lot of things and play a lot of ways with that frontcourt. Hopefully, Taylor could beat out Delaney for the backup PG spot.

So what happens if the Hawks start the season 5 - 1? Does management order the coach to play the good players less, so that they'll have a greater chance to lose games and stay in the lottery?

Woody: "It DID translate sir. Everyone knows that I got a raw deal. Who doesn't get a new cotnract when they increase their win total for 5 consecutive years and make the EC Semis twice in a row? I was the underdog in both series we got swept in, so we were supposed to lose. I've even done something that Bud hasn't done. I've won 50+ games twice in the regular season. I've even won in NEW YORK!! Who wins in New York?"

So did Bud REJECT the idea of trading Dwight?

That means I can name myself the coach. I can be like Pop and Bud and do BOTH THINGS!!

I'll be shocked if Collins doesn't get this job. Coach Fitz would be a great addition to the Hawks though. And his wife Natasha is impressive, and not just from a looks standpoint.

Exactly.

This is my goal for the summer . . . to go to at least 2 Dream games, at least. I refuse to watch the Hawks tank away another season, and make my basketball watching experience miserable. At least if I put forth some of my efforts toward the Dream, maybe the summer won't be as painful as the fall and winter will be.

Gearon doesn't get a free pass from me. Because of Gearon's business success, he's the type that feels that his input should have some value to overall decision making, and not just summarily dismissed. As an owner though, it's probably best to let the guys who make basketball decisions, do their job. Two differences though between the two. His family had been involved with the team for decades and was extremely loyal to individuals in the franchise ( especially to Dominique ) Unlike Ferry, Gearon wasn't viewed as an a-hole by others in the organization This is a great article by ESPN, illustrating how everything basically crumbled between Gearon, Levenson, and Ferry. I think this is the most unbiased look at everything that went on. http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/13457071/nba-how-atlanta-hawks-regime-fell-apart In our corporation, our core values are defined as Teamwork - Respect - Integrity - Courage and Innovation. When you look at Ferry, I don't think that he was a team player, nor had much respect for people. He was a "my way or the highway" type of guy. The integrity component can be seen both ways. Those who didn't mind Ferry's personna would consider him a guy with integrity. Those who had a problem with his personna wouldn't see him a a dude that had much integrity. I do think he was excellent on the Courage and Innovation front. Ferry was exactly right in wanting to expand the "infrastructure" of the Hawks, from a development and analytical standpoint. So if Ferry worked in our corporation, he'd be strong in 2 of our core values, needed some work on the integrity front, but needed a lot of work on the teamwork and respect elements. So as far as giving Gearon a pass, no. But you can't give Ferry a pass in this either. He wasn't an innocent bystander who made a simple "mistake". A dude that is normally as meticulous about all other aspects, doesn't make "mistakes" like that. Also, Ferry was linked to the guy who has always been viewed as the "outside owner" who hardly ever stepped foot in Atlanta and watched games. Levenson, like Belkin before him, spent a lot of time outside of Atlanta, despite being majority owners. And like I said, Ferry's unwillingness to get in front of the camera and show some remorse in all of this, was something that his ego simply wouldn't allow him to do. I think if Ferry tried to "fake it", it would definitely show.

My bad, wrong link. https://saportareport.com/more-calls-for-hawks-gm-danny-ferry-to-step-down-as-focus-turns-to-star-dominique-wilkins/

And let's not forget the Levenson 2012 e-mail to Ferry, about the crowd in Atlanta https://www.ajc.com/sports/complete-mail-sent-levenson/GOSCdvuIDL9DH0geiLUpBO/ Also, Tommy Dortch, who wanted to build a statue for Dominique, but Ferry ( and probably Levenson, by Dortch's account ), "didn't believe in statues". https://www.ajc.com/sports/complete-mail-sent-levenson/GOSCdvuIDL9DH0geiLUpBO/ Even Dominique's comments at his statue unveiling, when he gave Bud ALL of the praise for the success of the Hawks that season, was a clear indication that even Nique didn't see eye to eye with Ferry. I personally don't think Danny Ferry was/is a racist. I think he's a pompous ass who always did things "his way", regardless of what everyone else though. And he didn't mind if anyone's feelings or ego's were bruised, as long as the decisions he made were implemented. He made a mistake, and didn't have the guts to face everyone and own up to it. So he ran away.

He was NEVER terminated. He was asked by the team to take a leave of absence. He could've came back if he wanted to, but he chose to resign after we got knocked out of the playoffs in 2015. For the people who believe that Ferry made a simple mistake, why didn't Ferry admit to this as soon as the story broke . . . on camera? He could've lessened all of this if he'd just gone on camera and apologized for reading the report ( and adding things to it ). A person making a mistake almost always gets a 2nd chance and forgiveness from the public, when they show a little bit of contrition in an on camera interview. Heck, even Michael Vick had the balls to get on camera and admit what he did was wrong. Did Ferry? Nope. He released a written statement saying that he was going on a leave of absence. Then he flat out disappeared for about 7 months, supposedly doing things behind the scenes involving racial sensitivity. He even had a lot of blacks, both in the sports and political world, backing him and saying that he wasn't a racist. And when he resigned, it wasn't a press conference. It was another written statement. At the end of the day, he didn't even have the balls to look Hawks fans in the eye, and offer some sort of contrition for his "mistake". Had he did that in September 2014, he may have been right back in his GM spot by Christmas 2014. But, like what some of you are saying about Bud, he put his head between his legs and ultimately ran away.

Cap management skills? He's bottoming the team out. Even you and I can do this. Don't offer Millsap a contract Don't offer Hardaway Jr a contract Sell off Dwight for a bad contract + trade the 31st pick Let your head coach go Flat out tell the league that he's willing to take on MORE bad contracts in exchange for draft picks How much skill does that take? You and I can could do this.

Schlenk wants his "Steph Curry". Trae is the closest thing to that. He'll either be Steph Curry or Salim Stoudamire.

Just specifically talking about Bud not being down with the tank. And if we lost him, that we'll be looking at an assistant we can pay on the cheap, and not an established coach. He was dead on the money in that aspect.

This team has operated on "the cheap" for years. The Dwight deal was actually an indication that they might just be changing their mindset. But once the Tank Commander came on, we're back to being on a G-League budget.

Outline what has to happen for the Hawks to get back to the playoffs in 3 years?

I'm almost hoping that they do something groundbreaking, and give Becky a shot. At least if she loses, she won't be judged as harshly as a more experienced assistant coach. Draft Trae Young, and let Becky get in his ass when he starts pouting about how rough people are playing him. Becky won't be there to console him. She'll tell him to "man up".

Dennis is now in GRAVE DANGER of being traded. He will be the next domino to fall.

Actually . . . everybody. Quin and Brad were proven college coaches. Brad was the superstar college coach in waiting. Quin got a little international experience after his college and NBA assistant stints. That helped him get the job here, and next in Utah as their top guy.