TheNorthCydeRises

The same way someone would try to defend a drunk with slurred speech, who got behind the wheel, 15 minutes after having a strong alcoholic drink

Wow . . . just wow. http://www.cbs46.com/story/21812706/2012-domestic-violence-deaths-in-ga-report-released 128 people killed in Georgia due to domestic violence in 2012 . . which is 10th highest in the nation. Probably tens of thousands of other women ( and a few men ) were injured due to domestic violence. About 1,200 women die from domestic violence every year. That's horrible. http://www.madd.org/blog/2013/november/2012-drunk-driving-fatalities.html 301 people killed in Georgia due to drunk driving accidents in 2012. Probably tens of thousands of other people injured in drunk driving wreks. About 10,000 people die from drunk driving wrecks every year. But according to you guys, that's not as bad. Once again . . in the Lance case, his girl was treated and released for her injuries. And Lance, while being arrested, was not prosecuted for this incident. Bud was arrested and charged with DUI. He refused a breathalyzer test, which could've solidified that he was drunk ( and a smart move if indeed he was drunk ). Despite being arrested, he has not been prosecuted for that crime ( as of right now ).

You think that was the first time that Bud ever got behind the wheel after having something to drink? Or was it the first time he was CAUGHT. But refused the breath test, because he said that he had just finished a glass of wine 15 minutes before getting behind the wheel. 15 minutes now. He got arrested because the officer felt his speech patterns were slow, mumbled and slurred. Here's Bud's arrest report http://media.cmgdigital.com/shared/news/documents/2013/08/29/Michael_Budenholzer-Arrest-Page-2.pdf Bud's lawyer gave a slightly different story http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-dont-lie/atlanta-hawks-head-coach-mike-budenholzer-arrested-charged-133742259--nba.html Last night, Atlanta Hawks head basketball coach Michael Budenholzer was stopped by a Georgia State Patrol DUI Task Force officer for a broken taillight. He was stopped solely for an equipment violation and committed no traffic offenses. The trooper demanded that he submit to a breathalyzer, and when Coach Budenholzer asked to consult with an attorney first, he was immediately arrested and charged with DUI. While at the jail, after consulting with an attorney by telephone, he immediately volunteered to take both a breathalyzer and also requested that a blood alcohol test be performed. His request for testing was refused. Immediately upon his release on bond, Coach Budenholzer went directly to Piedmont Hospital where his blood was tested at the earliest opportunity, albeit several hours after his arrest. The official report from the hospital blood test revealed that his blood alcohol concentration was less than .01, well below the legal limit of .08. Coach Budenholzer has no prior criminal record and entered a plea of Not Guilty to all charges this morning in the Atlanta Municipal Court. “I take my role as a leader very seriously and hold myself to a high standard. I apologize to the fans and to the Hawks organization for any negative attention this incident has brought upon my family and the organization while the legal process evolves and I contest these misdemeanor charges,” said Coach Budenholzer. Neither Lance, nor Bud were convicted because of their arrest. Nor were they disciplined by the league. But one is somewhat more heinous than the other? If Lance could've killed his girl by allegedly pushing her down some stairs, Bud could've killed somebody by having his driving impaired by allegedly having too much to drink What if he's gotten behind the wheel of a car with a BAC much higher than what he got caught with? What if he routinely did it in San Antonio, but cops let him off when they found out who he was?

So when he hits free agency next season, how much do you think it will cost the Hawks to retain him?

Drunk driving is nothing to play with. Thousands of people lose their lives at the hands of drunk drivers every year, and is the #1 cause of accidents across the board. Hell, didn't a major sports star in Atlanta ( Danny Heatley ) kill his best friend because he had a wreck while driving drunk? He didn't go to jail for killing his friend. He got probation, and had to speak to people about drunk driving for a few years. I don;t think the team or the league even suspended him for that. I may be wrong though. Anyway, he went on to play like 10 more years in the NHL. I think he's still playing in the league. You give Bud a complete pass for driving drunk . . . but want to treat Lance like he's Hannibal Lecter for getting into it with his girlfriend? Both are things that shouldn't be tolerated. But both are things that can also be forgiven.

Millsap's game isn't based on athleticism. It's based on hustle and fundamentals. And he'll be 29 next free agency period. He'll either get a 3 or 4 year deal from somebody and make anywhere from 36 - 50 million for the entire deal. Millsap may not get much better than what he is right now, but he's not going to decline much in 4 years either. Pau Gasol is 33. Watch him get a 10+ million a year deal from somebody, unless he goes to the Heat and takes a pay cut.

You can provide it all you want. His girl either dropped the charges, or the police didn't find enough evidence to continue the case against him. He made a bad decision in a domestic situation one night. Since then, he's been in other relationships that didn't work out . . but also didn't end in him being physical with a woman. You hold that against that guy, while the Hawks continue to pass on individuals that could rapidly see us contend for an East title. You and I both know that we need a talent like Lance on this team. Even the "righteous" are supposed to forgive. Unfortunately, it's normally the righteous who are the least forgiving. Not calling you "righteous", but that's the mentality you're giving off here. The kid made a mistake 3 years ago . . . and really hasn't done anything remotely to that since. Heck, Bud was caught drunk driving . . . may as well change coaches, instead of trusting him not to drive dunk and put people's lives in danger anymore.

Millsap has always been a very good player. He's a guy that's easily going to command 12 - 14 million on the open market next season. And our GM might as well get ready for it. Now that he's finally gotten some All-Star exposure, the price for him will skyrocket.

You know he led the NBA in triple-doubles, right? Here's one against the Thunder back in April. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjuCVudrKcg This guy plays the game beautifully on most nights. And he'd definitely fit in Bud's system. If people are looking for a Ginobli type . . it's Lance. Almost the same type of game, with a little more flash from Lance. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9OEsyiDtcU

Jefferson's salary = Millsap + Brand Jefferson = true C He's worth every bit of 13.5 million. Millsap is worth more than 9.5 million . . . and he'll get much more than that on his next deal. So the Millsap savings is only temporary. And if the GM can't do anything significant with the money saved by signing Millsap to that "small" deal, then Jefferson at his price would've been the better buy . . . although even Jefferson can opt out next season and get even more money . . . which he will.

That 2nd incident came after he was drafted.

No way that team wins that many games. That schedule switched from 5th easiest before New Years, to about 5th hardest from New Years Day till the beginning of March. Too many road games. To many tougher home games. And like Dolfan said, some of the other "good" teams in the East were hurt, just like we were. As for the topic question . . . NO . . that would not be a good offseason. Kent Bazemore is no better than Jordan Crawford. Deng, while still good, isn't the best of the 2nd tier free agents that we can get. Payne should be solid, but only if he's contributing from Day 1.

Oh . . . I thought you were talking about our current GM.

You mean a 13.8 ppg guy who basically led his team in rebounds ( 7.2 ) and assists ( 4.6 ) from the 2 guard position. He can also defend the 1, the 2, and the 3 positions. The Pacers should not be the model for how to run a franchise. They maxed out Hibbert just because he had one good playoff series and was seen as a "defensive force", despite not being able to rebound at a high rate. They paid George Hill 8 million a year. They get a bargain in Chris Copeland at 3.3 mill a year . . but don't even play him, despite desperately needing outside shooting at times. And their coach, compared to ours, is flat out HORRIBLE. Honestly, they got LUCKY that Granger went down with those injuries, which allowed Paul George to take on a bigger role and really blossom into an offensive force. The ONLY reason why Lance fell to the 2nd round when he was drafted, was because of his character issues in high school. The Pacers got him on the cheap, and he blossomed into one of the better all-around players in the league in just 4 seasons. Somebody is about to get a very good player in Lance. And if the coach and their locker room is strong enough to handle some of his quirkiness, they're about to get a steal of a player who may become an All-Star talent. I'd be SHOCKED if our GM even has him on his radar, just like he didn't have Al Jefferson on his radar last season.

This is why that owners lockout a few years ago meant absolutely nothing. They focused so much on these top level contracts, that they don't even realize that it's actually the mid-level contracts that actually kill teams. Those are the guys that can quickly decline in a blink of an eye, and almost make their contracts untradeable. Bradley is a good player . . . but 8 million a year good? When you also have Marcus Smart on the team, who should probably be the starter at the 1 or the 2, from Day 1? ( depending on what they do with Rondo )

He also helped them win an NBA title.

Wow . . . if Bradley gets 4/32 . . . there you go. No way can Lance or his agent accept a deal anywhere near that, unless teams just flat out don't want him. I'm afraid the Lakers may make a play for the kid, after they lose in the Carmelo Anthony chase. Once Melo signs, the dominoes will fall for some of these other top level free agents. Parsons, Deng, Hayward, and Stephenson will all be quickly signed once Melo decides where he wants to go.

The Pacers aren't dumb? This is the same franchise that was flat out cruising in mid-January with the best record in the league, but decided to completely break up the chemistry of the team with the Danny Granger trade for Evan Turner . . which was a complete disaster. Then they brought in Bynum, which caused the initial decline in Hibbert. Those two moves turned the Pacers from the best team in the East, to a team that was barely over .500 after the All-Star break. Had they had simply kept Granger, they may have taken out the Heat. But they got too smart for themselves, and messed their entire team up. And I hope they do it again by lowballing Lance, They lose Lance, and that team falls out of the top 3 in the East. And if we get Lance, we may catapult into the top 3 behind Miami and Chicago.

Kent Bazemore? Really? Might as well bring back Jordan Crawford.

Straight lunacy here. He's a 4x NBA MVP and a 2X NBA Finals MVP He's easily the best player in the leauge. You spend 1/2 of your cap space ( if it were possible ), if we could bring Lebron to ATL.

Gotta throw all of that cap space money at him then. ALL of it.

So hold up. Kevin Love would sign a long term contract here, if he were traded for? Doesn't he have his list of teams that he'd rather play for, just like some of the other big names in this free agency period?

Hmmm . . . let's see. The best part of the Joe trade so far, is that we got a trade exception from it . . which we used on Kyle Korver. But look at the other aspects of the trade - We don't have a single guy on the team that we acquired for JJ - The 1st round pick that we got from Brooklyn . . was Bebe . . and now he's gone - But we did get the 20 million or so in space that we can . . . . . with - Oh . . and we do still have the ability to swap picks with Brooklyn, which is the only thing we have going for us out of that trade . . other than cap space. And as of this point, we're still looking for upgrades at the wing positions . . the position that our 123 million dollar man was playing. Let's see if the GM can get us some help . . significant help . . with the cap space. I suspect though that it'll just be marginal help from about 2 or 3 players. No major free agent signings. And people will applaud that, because it keeps us "flexible".

He was not convicted of it. He was initially arrested but the charges were dropped.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GogqSm6828U