TheNorthCydeRises

Welcome Home Dol . . Welcome Home. Now do you see why I was so upset about Joe Johnson being traded for "cap space" and dead flies? If the team isn't going to do anything significant with the space, nor spend the time to actually try to develop their 1st round picks, what are we REALLY doing as a franchise? People ( and possibly the GM and Bud ) are so in love with a guy like Pero, that they'll sacrifice a young prospect like Bebe to keep a bum like Pero on the team.

Aren't you doing the same thing with Tavares right now? Thinking that he has a shot to make it in the NBA? Bebe was a top 15 prospect all year in the 2013 draft. Tavares was almost always a 2nd round pick that may not have been chosen at all.

Just like Pero and Dennis didn't start overseas either. How about Muscala? Did he start?

Like I and some others have been telling you . . . until the GM does something significant with the cap space, it means nothing. And with the cap holds, it's probably closer to 14 - 15 million in space. Still enough to do something real big in free agency. But we need the right guy(s). My guess is that the GM will use it NOT to make a big splash on one guy, but to make mini splashes on 4 million dollar type players.

That's our shtick? I thought our shtick was "Spurs East" or "don't let the ball stick"? I didn't know it was "get rid of all former Hawks that reminded us of the oh so horrible years of the Billy Knight/Joe Johnson era." Well dang. That means Jeff Teague and Al Horford will soon be gone. Forget that Marvin might just be the ideal cheap SF that our beloved GM is looking for. Can't bring him back because he's simply a reminder of all of those underachieving iso playing Hawks playoff squads that lost to better teams in the playoffs.

PR hit? Like people are going to stop going to games if we bring Marvin back?? We were 28th in attendance last season. And the expectation of him living up to be a great player because he's a former #2 pick, is long gone. Maybe that's the GMs plan though. Bring in a bunch of players that the fan base has no great expectations for, so if they play decent, the fan base will love them.

The problem is that people want Jeff Teague to be an All-Star caliber PG like a Tony Parker . . instead of realizing that Teague is BY FAR the best PG the Hawks have had since Mookie Blaylock. Teague right now, is a little above what Jason Terry was when he was a Hawk. And he was spat on and ridiculed too by the fan base. Terry, once he became the full time starter after his rookie year, averaged 18 ppg - 6 asst - almost 4 rebounds - 1.5 steals - shot 85% FT - 43% FG and 37% 3FG . . and was absolutely killed by Hawk fans because he couldn't do more. Some guys are simply just good enough to be solid players, but aren't good enough to be All-Stars. Maybe people just need to understand that like how Korver can never be a high teens or 20 ppg scorer because he can't create his own shot, Teague may not be an All-Star caliber PG that plays at a high level every night. Teague. other than Paul Millsap, "brought it" every night. People may just have to accept that Teague is a good, but not great PG.

Right. Branding Marvin as the "symbol of mediocrity" is ignoring the 40+ years the Hawks have been in Atlanta. Even when we had real good teams here, we were only good enough to seriously challenge an elite team in the playoffs just one time. This is actually the symbol of mediocrity https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfLjD5ft6o4 This is the highlight of our franchise folks . . . a great battle between 2 Hall of Fames in the 2nd round of the playoffs. That's our ONLY claim to glory with the Hawks in Atlanta. A LOSS in the 2nd round to the great Celtics. And until our GM does something to enable us to get to the EC Finals, that will STILL be the high water mark of the Hawks in Atlanta. That . . folks . . is mediocrity.

If you want guys who bring it every night, you'd have to cut the entire team outside of Millsap and Horford. Teague "brought it" much more than Carroll and Korver did . . . but fans won't see it like that. Teague had 13 double-doubles 24 games in which he scored 20 or more points 62 games in which he had 5 or more assists 32 games in which he shot 50% or higher . . . but 36 games in which he shot 40% or lower As good as the great Kyle Korver is, he only had 7 games this season in which he broke the 20 point barrier. As efficient as Kyle is, that's his kryptonite. He just can't elevate his game enough to give you more monster type scoring games. 7 games in which Kyle scored 20 or more points . . . but a whopping 29 games in which Kyle scored less than 10 points in a game. The same goes for DeMarre. 4 games in which he scored 20 or more points . . . but 29 games in which he scored less than 10 points in a game. Yet, people point the finger at Teague for being inconsistent? We only won 38 games last year. Most of the team was inconsistent.

I mean, how different would the Joe Johnson mega deal have looked, if he had a player option going into years 5 and 6? He's owed almost 48 million dollars over these next 2 years, with no optoins. But if he had a player option, the team could possibly convince him to opt out, and re-sign him to a longer deal of maybe 4 years - 64 million. That's still a lot of money for him, but it would guarantee that he'd make his 48 million, plus another 16 million. If he made a flat 16 million on a 4/64 deal, he'd make that 48 million in 3 years instead of 2, plus pay him an extra 16 million at age 36. That would essentially turn his 6 yr - 123 million deal into an 8 year - 155 million deal. Insane, yes. But much more cap friendly for his team.

Millsap is GROSSLY UNDERPAID at 9 million a year. No way he takes even less money, if he's still playing at the level he's playing at. If he's still an All-Star in the eyes of the coaches, his next contract will be for 10+ million a year. A guy like Mark Cuban ( who needs another star player as Dirk nears retirement ) will come right after Sap with a 4 year - 50 million dollar deal. No way is Sap turning that down, if the Hawks come at him with a 5 year - 40 million deal. Sap is putting himself in position next year to make a lot of money with his next contract. Why he took that smallish deal ( in years ) from us, I have no idea. But its about to pay off for him in a longer term, big money contract.

Not even close. Because most teams aren't even close to winning a title and will get into bidding wars with other teams to get their best player. Is Kevin Love going to take less to stay in Minnesota, if he hits free agency next year? How about Kyrie Irving? You see what Portland is about to do with LaMarcus Aldridge. They're already promising him a max deal. The guys who are taking less are the guys who have already made their big money contracts. And plus, the NBA Players Union is not going to allow their best players ( especially the young ones to all of a sudden start taking tens of millions of dollars less money on contracts. That would defeat the purpose of them having a players' union in the first place. The agents would have a fit as well. This is how I think the Heat contracts will go: Lebron: 5 years - 115 million ( ascending contract ) . . . player options in Years 3 - 4 and 5 . . . This not only sees him making his 20+ million a year ( and rightfully so ),but also gives Lebron the freedom to hit free agency once again. It's probably the only way they can convince him to stay with the Heat. Bosh: 5 years - 80 million ( ascending contract ) . . . player options in Years 4 and 5 . . Bosh could probably hit free agency right now, and secure at least a 4 year - 70 million deal from somebody like the Lakers. But he's the one guy that wants to stay in Miami, and will do it for less money. Give him the option to get out of town, in case he gets tired of being the 2nd or 3rd wheel. Wade: 4 years - 50 million ( descending contract ) . . player option in Year 4. You basically tell Wade that he is going to make the 40 million due to him, but just not in 2 years. He'll make that 40 million in 3 years, with an extra "thank you for your service" 10 - 12 million in that final year. But if Wade thinks the Heat's run is over, and if he can secure another tens of millions of dollar contract at age 36, then he'll have the leeway to opt out in Year 4, and get that last sizeable pay day. But that is unlikely. That's why it is really on Wade to take significantly less money, and defer that 40 million he'll make by another year. So instead of those 3 all making 61 million together next season, you may see something like this for them: Lebron - 21 million Bosh - 14 million Wade - 14 million Total . . 49 million If the cap goes up to 63 million ( as projected ), you now see the Heat with just a little cap space to work with, to possibly bring on a few quality but low cost guys to the squad. One of the names that was thrown out last night on ESPN, was this man: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zn-ham_zpE I could see the Heat going after him with a 3 year - 12 million a year deal. His value is low these days and he's essentially a role player that does have the ability to be a starter of DeMarre Carroll's caliber. The other name was this guy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lq5RQd6HXxA He's the type of veteran who would sign for the league minimum to chase a championship. If you want to surround Lebron with shooters, he's the type of player you want on the team. How about one more https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDZvW_ToxN8 I think NBA teams are foolish as hell for not bringing this guy to their team. Especially if you're a team like the Heat, who could use a high energy bad azz on the frontline to bring off the bench. Imagine him and Birdman coming off the bench, for teams to deal with. Attitude problems or not, he should be in the league simply off of his talent. As for the other guys signed to Miami, Norris Cole will make his 2 million for one more year. Udonis Haslem could do a 2 or even 3 year deal for 5 million, which would defer the 4.6 million he was due to make this year, for a few years. Then you have Napier coming in as the young talent. Riley has said that he wants to get younger and more athletic, so he'll add a few more of those guys with unguaranteed contracts after summer league. The Heat will be just fine, as long as their Big 3 re-sign and adjust their contract. Instead of a reduction of money for big contracts, you may see an increase in player options near the middle and end of these big money contracts. And that could be good or bad for a team. Look at Al Jefferson. Had Charlotte signed him to a 4 year - 54 million deal with no options, they could have him at 13.5 mill a year throughout that contract. But because he has a player option after next season, he can now command an even bigger deal from them, or from someone else, if he has another monster year. Charlotte may end up having to pay Big Al an extra 3 - 4 million in Year 3 + plus another 30 - 50 million throughout his next contract, just to keep him around. Because if he keeps them at playoff level or puts them in the top 4 of the East, he's going to command a lot of money. So the Player Option will have it good and bad aspects to it. I think that's where the league is eventually going, not the elimination of big money contracts. Let's see what LaMarcus Aldridge's contract looks like, when he signs his big money deal. He may get the max, but have player options at the end of his deal, to possibly give his team the flexibility to renegotiate a more cap friendly deal, while still paying him his money.

And that's why we'll continue to be the Mediocre Hawks.

Lance Stephenson should be the target. 4 yrs - 40 million.

LOL ... like Sam Mitchell says on NBA Radio ... it's not good when the best players in the league start taking pay cuts.

So Charlotte sees Vonleh fall right into their laps at #9 . . and get PJ Hariston later in the round, a guy that had he not been an idiot in college, would've been a lottery pick when he decided to come out. But we are miles ahead of them? The difference between us and Charlotte, is that the Cats Hornets are acquiring players that can help them right now, while we're acquiring a bunch of projects who might not even crack our rotation after 3 years of being drafted. At some point, the honeymoon with this GM will be over for most of the fan base. I'm just wondering when?

We're not clearly ahead of them either. Charlotte is the team to watch. They can add 2 first round picks AND have the cap space to add a significant player.

Lance Stephenson Just remember that name folks, when that kid really blossoms into a borderline All-Star caliber player. But knowing Hawks fans, they'll rationalize that he could've never done that here . . . like they rationalized with Al Jefferson's success in Charlotte.

Westbrook plays, and the Thunder have gone to 2 WC Finals and a NBA Finals. Westbrook doesn't play, and they get bounced in the 1st round. The problem with OKC isn't Westbrook. The problems are their overrated coach and the fact that their ownership blinked when they had the chance to secure Harden and create a dynasty .. but pay some luxury tax to do so. Westbrook is and always HAS BEEN the Alpha Dog on OKC. Durant is a great player. But he's no killer on the court. He needs Westbrook because he can't handle the pressure by himself. As for Teague being a better team fit than Westbrook ... no way in hell. Westbrook is very capable of creating for others and playing within a team concept. But because he's an elite athlete, it would be silly not to let him take over a game at times. Should he yield to Durant? At times, yes ... but not all the time.

His contract

Right. People don't want to mention Marvin around here, but here were his stats in his final season here 10.2 ppg 5.2 rebs 1.2 asst 43% FG 39% 3FG 54% TS 113 Off Rtg 101 Def Rtg If we're simply looking for a cheap role player, we may as well get one who can offensively play and defend the 3 and the 4. Can't deny that he'd fit Bud's system, seeing that he's always been a team first type of guy anyway. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bS5emrauoU

I agree. What we really need, is for our draft picks to be the type of role players that the ones suggested here are. If Schröder, Jenkins, Bebe, and the 2014 1st round draft pick can step up and crack the rotation . . or at least give us quality spot minutes at times . . that will eliminate the need to bring in cheap, role playing free agents, and have us concentrate on bringing in a free agent who can crack the starting lineup. If the current rotation is . . . PG - Teague G - Korver F - Carroll PF - Millsap C - Horford 6th - Lou . . . then having Dennis and JJ take the place of Mack, and Bebe take the place of Scott, and the 1st round pick cracking the rotation, it means that we probably need a significant player added to the team, so that either Korver and/or Carroll can go to the bench. One of those cheap free agents will probably have to be added though. But at some point, we need to see if these young draft picks can play, or if we need to cut our losses and move on.

I agree on 92.9. They are easily the most Hawk friendly radio outlet in Atlanta. At least that station will talk about us objectively, instead of just clowning us.

Nothing wrong with the NBA All-Star game. You get props for all of the thought you put into this though.

He shot 24% from 3 point range this season. Synergy does show him to be a good spot up and off the screen 3 point shooter ( 44% in both categories ). His biggest issue right now is running the pick and roll. He's very turnover prone and is a poor scorer out of this play type.