Fellow Hawks fans: What is the goal here?

[gsuteke]

This question is in response to some of the Anti-Woodson undercurrent that resides at the Squawk.

What is the goal here? Is it to make the playoffs or is it to be a good team?

We are sitting here trying to figure out how we can resign all our players when their contracts are coming up, yet their collective "talent" doesn't add up to a .500 ball club on the court.

While the team has gotten better over the past 3 years the Hawks still suck. Someone please try to make a counter argument to that statement.

The Hawks have some nice "pieces" that do not make up a very good team.

So what's the goal here? To back door into the playoffs or to do what's right to field a competive squad?

If the answer is the latter there will need to be some changes made in Atlanta. If you're going to fire Mike Woodson you need to hold Billy Knight to the same level of accountability.

[JJJJ]

Sure, get them both out of here. They both suck at their jobs.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

The goal is to make the playoffs. If you're a good team, you're going to make the playoffs. If you're a schizophrenic team, you can back-door your way in.

But the ultimate goal is to get in, no matter what.

Golden St. backed their way in last year.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

The coach almost always goes before the GM. Can't do em both at the same time. The GM does need to at least try to change up the mix a little, in order to help out the coach.

If ownership won't let him make a worthwhile move, there's nothing the GM can do. Then it's up to the coach to make the best with what he's got.

[TexasPete]

My goal is now to get rid of Woodson before he stays another 3 seasons and ruins any potential this team may have.

This is simply horrible offensive basketball lead by a coach who is routinely overmatched. Nate McMillan is another example of a coach who gets it all from his players.

McMillan is everything Woodson is not, and his in game coaching just kills Woodson.

If these jerk-off owners give Woody an extension we are all screwed as fans.

BK sucks as well. But lets get rid of one and then we will work on BK. BK still has no idea how to fix the PG mess. And he certainly is in no hurry to make any deals that may actually help this team.

[Diesel]

I think Boston has shown the world something. What they showed the world is that WINDOWS CLOSE....

I laugh everytime I see somebody talking about the Celtics and saying "In 3 years, they're going to regret making those moves".. I laugh because it shows me that people have forgotten that in basketball, once a year, there's only one champion. Minny's team with Boston's pieces are on the bottom of the Western Conference FLOOR. Sure.. In three years, Gerald Green MIGHT come around... and Jefferson will be a beast... however, we're in the time of 4 to 5 year contracts. You can't sign a guy for 7 anymore. That means that you have a very short window to do good works.

GSU, you've made a very good point. Our pieces as a whole are a little less than .500 (in the east). We're a good home team. We have talent and we have potential but the window is starting to close. I think that for many squawkers, they expect our younger players to play better over time. Acie will get better. Horf will get better. So we will move from a less than .500 team to possible a .535 team, 5th seed in the playoffs. The question is are we good enough to be championship quality?

Well, if every contract situation works ouit well... in 3 years, we probably say goodbye to JJ and we would have Acie, Chillz, Marvin, Smoove, Horf as our team. Has BK built a team that can win or has he just done what he always have done.. tinkered with no real plan other than building a team in the image of another mediocre team (Pacers, 90s).

One thing I have learned over time is that unless you're willing to coach to your players strengths, you are not going to win playing outside of classical lines. Translation: you can't have a team filled with Athletic wings, no Center and expect to play a halfcourt game (weather it be Motion or post up) and win. We lack certain skillsets. There are two logical answers to this problem:

1. Get the Skillsets to be more classical. This requires trade.

2. Change the playing style to fit the players skills. This requires firing Woody and hiring a true uptempo coach. Who teaches offensive discipline and not just mechanics.

[frosgrim]

Good points D.

You are so right about the Hawks having players that don't fit the coaching philosophy. Woodson is going to go with his philosophy regardless of what he has in front of him. This is a mark of a bad coach. Good coaches find the team's strength and mold the style to those strengths. Woodson can't or won't do that.

[TheDude]

What to do, what to do. It's a difficult decision honestly. We have acclimated some very good talent. Joe Johnson is our goto allstar, Josh Smith is an unbeleivable talent, Marvin Williams is growing into a good player, as is Childress. Then you have Horford the beast and Acie Law who is starting to show SIGNS.

Do we continue to let them gell together and improve or do we make a change?

I vote the first thing is letting Woody go. Got to have a new direction, one where X's and O's are a focus.

From there with the talent it gets difficult. You hate to break up the nucleus because that nucleus is very talented, not to mention are all good friends and young with a long career ahead of them.

So you'd have two options of doing it: 1) trade pieces (even valuable ones) to give yourself a more traditional-positioned team, even if it means getting rid of some of the young talented nucleus, or 2) trade for pieces that address our current weaknesses, such as shooting, but only trading nonnucleus players such as shelden williams.

Personally I go for option 2 because I dont see any reason to blow it up if we can addresss the areas of need. but before we do any of that, woody has to go i feel.

[Packfill]

The "goal" according to BK was to build this team the "right" way so that it would be a championship contender.

The question now is whether BK has assembled the pieces that could yield a championship.

Since BK has spent most of his lottery picks passing on players who are now their respective franchises best player, he has an uphill battle.