Hats off to Babs.

[jerrywest]

A couple of years ago we looked at Orlando and admired their amazing rebuilding program. And we looked at

the hawks and cursed Babs.

[PoppaFritz]

Absolutely, when you look around the league no one has done more than the Hawks to improve their team. It starts with management, then it's really up to the players to execute and play well together. Plus, it never hurts to have a little luck on your side. It's nice to look at the Hawks roster and not see any glaring weaknesses.

[Diesel]

In reply to:

---

Absolutely, when you look around the league no one has done more than the Hawks to improve their team.

---

It's tight but there are some teams that did some major construction. The Hawks are on the list but you have to credit the following maybe even Moreso.

1. Washington. When Jordan Bought the Wiz, he got rid of Strickland, Howard, and Rock. Now they have Jordan, Stackhouse, Brown, Jeffries, Hughes, Heywood, and White. All these guys are quality guys. IN exchange for Salary cap problems.

2. Indiana. A few yrs ago, with the retirement of Perkins, Smits, and McKey... Indiana was left with Reggie, Rose, and Davis as all they had. With a few solid moves, they now have: Oneal, Harrington, Tinsley, B. Miller, Artest, and Mercer. All these are quality guys who they can take into the future.

3. Los Angeles Clipps. Before it was M. Taylor, Odom, Piakwoski, and Khandi man. However, thanks to Babcock and Krause... Now they have: Richardson, A. Miller, Ely, Brand, Jarco.. Good Young talent. And the other PF.

4. New Jersey. Say what you want. The pickups of Kmart, Deke, and Jefferson were substantial gains.

[PoppaFritz]

I agree all of those teams have made great progress, but for the short time I have been following the Hawks (1 year), I have been very impressed with the urgency that they have showed to get back to the playoffs. Personally, I think those other teams, with the exception of maybe Washington, had much more to work with (players under contract and draft picks) than the Hawks. It will be interesting, because the Hawks now have a nucleous that can compete with most teams in the league. I don't think you could say that the last couple of years.

[chillzatl]

That have come from the lows that we did to get back to the brink of respectability. I don't consider Indiana in that group simply because they never fell has far as we did. They were still respectable. They've been on the edge of the playoffs the entire time.

The clippers I don't consider because they have always been bad and have yet to get good. The always seem to have good talent but it never turns into wins. They improved by getting Brand and Miller, no doubt. But are they going to pay the money to make it matter? I can't help but discount their improvement until I see that it's not a way of staying cheap.

Now I agree totally about the wiz. They've been the worst of the NBA for years. When MJ took over everyone said "he'll never be able to clear their cap problems". BAM! In no time he traded their aging, overpriced talent for cheap,young, quality players. They've really made strides to respectabilily. MJ is playing simply to increase the quality of his product, and it is working. A few big trades and the Wiz are expected to contend for a spot. He is one solid player away from being able to retire again and say "Don't bet against MJ suckers".

All of those teams did improve though. Until one of them makes the playoffs (apart from the pacers), it's hard to say improved the most. I think we'll have better chemistry than the Wizards or the clippers though.