TheNorthCydeRises

The same GM that wasted a draft pick on him.

You called it 100% correctly. People really can't say anything to you now. We just have to hope that the player we get in this draft is a transcendent talent, and that the current players on this team RAPIDLY develop.

That's why they're letting him go for little or nothing. I tried to tell some of you that some of their decisions are strictly financial. Did we even get a 2nd round pick? SMH.

Sorry, but you can't make the comment he did, with him being in an executive position, and expect to survive. Especially if you're in a metropolitan area full of people of African descent ( whether they be African-American, or immigrants from Africa ) Put it like this. If anyone Black ( or specifically a person with 1st generation African heritage ) would've been on that conference call, he WOULD NOT have made that statement. That was Gearon Jr's issue with the statement he made. Not to completely re-hash all of this, but let's have some context here. Ferry's comment about Deng, from Gearon Jr's letter: During the call, which we recorded so that notes could be made for our partners unable to participate live, our GM Danny Ferry discussed player personnel issues at some length. With respect to one potential free agent, a highly-regarded African-American player and humanitarian, Ferry talked about the player’s good points, and then on to describe his negatives, stating that “he has a little African in him. Not in a bad way, but he’s like a guy who would have a nice store out front but sell you counterfeit stuff out the back.” Ferry completed the racial slur by describing the player (and impliedly, all persons of African descent) as a two-faced liar and cheat. We believe these comments by Ferry were far worse than Sterling’s because they were not from a private personal conversation—they were in a business environment on a business matter in front of a dozen or more people. If Ferry would make such a slur in a semi-public forum, we can only imagine what he has said in smaller groups or to individuals. We also note that the racial diversity of our management team has changed for the worse since Ferry took over. The media (and any savvy lawyer) would have a field day with that fact. *************** Yes, Ferry did not write the negative comment about Deng. But it's the equivalent of telling a racial joke, and saying "no offense", before or after telling the joke. All Ferry had to say, was that Deng has a perception by some, of being dishonest, or going back on his word at times. He STILL may have caught some flack for that, but that's at least a statement that doesn't have any racial connotation to it. Imagine a similar comment being said about a woman seeking an executive position in the Hawks organization. "She has a little "woman" in her. Not in a bad way, but she’s like a girl who would make great decisions 90% of the time. But she may be too emotional to make correct decisions 10% of the time, when that "that time of the month" came around. Would Ferry survive, if he made a comment like that? That is the litmus test when you're an executive or the boss. If you can't say something that you can't say in front of everyone, especially when you're talking about employment, it's best to keep it to yourself. Instead, Ferry used some ridiculous analogy to describe a player who is one of the better human beings in the league.

Let's not let Ferry off the hook for what is happening now either. It was his initial commitment to keep the team "flexible", that led us to this situation in the first place. The Hawks weren't supposed to go from 38 wins to 60 wins and a EC Finals in a mere 2 years. But when that happened, that put the Hawks in a situation in which they either had to decide that they wanted to sustain the winning with their current roster, or continue to keep the roster "flexible". The initial contract to Millsap, which was at first viewed as a great deal, ended up costing this team big time. Millsap took the short deal, because he knew that the 2nd deal may get him paid a significant amount, with the huge bump in the Salary Cap looming in the summer of 2016. But the fact that Ferry didn't offer him a significant amount of money and years on that first deal, not only prevented the Hawks for owning his Bird Rights, it kept the Hawks from going over the salary cap to keep him, if need be. That's why when push came to shove at the end of the 2015 season, Bud and Wes had to make a choice between Millsap and Demarre Carroll, who was also signed to a 2-year contract, because they couldn't go over the cap to sign either guy. Ferry got too cute, when he thought he was being the smartest dude in the room. He didn't account for the fact that the team could rapidly improve so soon. What Bud and Wes tried to do, was sustain the roster . . . ( i.e. - try to keep the "winning culture" going ). Had to make the tough decision between keeping Millsap or Carroll. They chose Millsap, of course. CORRECT MOVE. Had to make another tough decision between keeping Jeff Teague or rolling with Dennis. They chose Dennis and flipped Teague for Taurean Prince. CORRECT MOVE. Traded their 2015 1st round pick, to acquire Tim Hardaway Jr. Kelly Oubre Jr isn't a better talent than Hardaway Jr. And the only possible guy picked after Oubre that has shown to be a decent player has been Josh Richardson ( GO VOLS! ). CORRECT MOVE. Signed Bazemore to a 4yr / 70 mill deal. If Baze played like he did last season, the deal still would be scrutinized, but not totally hated. But this deal affected whether or not we brought Hardaway Jr back. INCORRECT MOVE. Signed Dwight Howard to a 3yr / 70 mill deal. ( due to being dominated on the boards in the 2016 playoffs ). They had to do something to stop the bleeding on the boards. CORRECT MOVE Decided not to Max out Al Horford, but offer him close to the Max. Horford is NOT a Max player, but obviously was important to team chemistry. The Howard signing was initially an indication that they were "going for it", but the Hawks either weren't fully committed to "going for it" from a financial standpoint, or Horford was "offended" that Howard got his deal first. In hindsight . . INCORRECT MOVE. When people talk about "winning culture", the financial aspect goes along with it. The "flexibility" game is really only played by losing teams, or teams who are greatly concerned about their finances. At some point, if you REALLY want to win, you have to financially "go for it". If it works, that's fantastic. If it doesn't, that's OK. Most of you would disagree, but I'd rather be "capped out" with good players on the squad, than to tank and hope for a miracle in the draft. You can still transform your team for the better in the "capped out" mode, due to the trade of a good player for another one ( or a group of decent players ), and by acquiring players via the MLE ( if you're not in the Luxury Tax ).

Oh well. So much for promoting "competitive" tanking. Fans at the arena, nor at home, want to see that. https://www.myajc.com/sports/hawks-have-nba-biggest-drop-local-ratings-report-shows/hALrs6j3VeinIYAi2EZcNK/

Two 2nd rd picks + 3 mill will probably get Bud for the Knicks.

You say that like the Hawks are in a better situation than the Knicks. They have a borderline All-NBA player to build around.

Not out of the woods yet. Milwaukee was the first rumor. But hopefully, this is a good sign that Bud will be back. He DOES need to coach up the guys a little better, and see what the maximum potential of John Collins is.

You gain nothing by holding him. Because after two years of him being here, you still have nothing, and you have to start completely from scratch with a new coach.' If you can cut a deal by getting some type of compensation for him, that's good. But holding him out of spite? Nah.

Question: Can't Bud just resign, and give up his current contract? Then sign with the new organization? We know that Bud is owed 14 million total over the next 2 years. If he resigned and gave that up, then some other team turn around and gives him a 4 yr - 26 million deal, can he do that?

People don't want to hear this. But with Schlenk already announcing that he's willing to take on bad contracts to acquire draft picks, this is the reality of the situation. Best case scenario is to hope that Bud and Ressler can mend whatever went down between them. If not, Darvin Ham it is. Or maybe this person, who would definitely take the job on the cheap . . and be a groundbreaking move at the same time. NOTE: I'm not talking about Pop . . . and I'm not talking about the gentleman in the blue tie.

So I'm not a Hall of Fame talent?

Double post.

This is the type of stuff I'm talking about when I said that tanking make fans act irrationally. If this story has any truth to it, and is one of the reasons why Bud is looking elsewhere, Ressler is a ( bleeping ) idiot. You're dressing down one of the better coaches in the NBA, simply because you want a few extra chances at a top 3 pick? Then again, running Bud out of town will save a few dollars for him.

And I'm sorry. As a fan that pays to go see games, I wouldn't be cool at all waiting 4, 5, 6, 7 years just to get back to playoff level. As a Cincinnati Reds fan, this is the worst point ever in franchise history. They're going to lose 94+ games for the 4th year in a row. That team went 14 years without making the playoffs. Then they made the playoffs 3 out of 4 years, but couldn't get out of their first round playoff series. Now they're on their way to missing the playoffs for the 5th year in a row. Joey Votto should be one of the more celebrated Reds players in history, yet, his entire career is being wasted because he plays on an awful team. He won't be with us much longer, which means more losing.

Saying that the Braves tanked worked, is like saying that the Hawks were right in signing Dwight Howard in 2016, because they began the season 9 - 2. Let's pump the brakes on the Braves and see where they are by the All-Star break.

That article only states that Jokic will have a starting salary of 25 million, if he becomes a restricted free agent this season. At that point, Denver can offer him a 4 year deal worth a little over 100 million. If he waits one more year, that max deal becomes 5 years and probably starts at over 30 million a year. It's definitely a gamble to not try to lock him up right now, and wait until the 2019 offseason. But I would give HIM that option to sign now or wait. And I would explain the ramifications of each decision, and how it relates to the construction of the team in the future.

Because there is a difference in how much the Nuggets can offer him. Denver can offer him a 5 year deal worth more money per year. If they extend him now, that deal will only be for 4 years and less money.

Can every team offer Jokic a 5 year max deal, or just the Nuggets?

Do the Nuggets hold his Bird Rights if he becomes an unrestricted free agent?

My argument hasn't fallen apart at all. It's just an option. You do have a tendency to try to pick apart other's opinion, while tossing insults along the way, without saying what you'd actually do. Your plan: sign Jokic now let Barton walk Stretch the "limbo 3" draft a replacement wing at #14 ( Lonnie Walker / Miles Bridges / Zhaire Smith ) decline Millsap in 2019 sign a significant free agent Nothing wrong with that plan. Losing a cog like Barton may cause them to miss the playoffs next year, without a viable replacement They'll be able to get Chandler and possibly Faried off of their books, if they're willing to give us some draft capital in the coming years ( which a guy like Schlenk is banking on ).

I will say this though. If we lose Dennis for nothing, it'll just be the reoccurring pattern that's been taking place with the Hawks since . . . forever. Marvin . . . Devin Harris JJ . . . . expiring picks + trade exception ( Kyle Korver ) Smoove . . . cap space Teague . . . 1st rd pick ( Prince ) Carroll . . . cap space Horford . . . cap space Hardaway Jr . . . cap space Howard . . . bad contract ( Plumlee ), filler player ( Belineli ) Millsap . . . cap space

So, once again, give an outline of what you would do.

Who can offer Jokic more money next summer?