Atlanta Spirit Group prove they cannot afford team, sell best pick in 2nd round

[Buzzard]

and the average citizen can apply for govt. asst. or unemployment.

Cheap?????

3 million dollars is nothing to a billionaire. But 3 million dollars goes a long way when you're a millionaire losing millions monthly

You do not fully understand the big picture. They are going to spend that 3 million. We carried five players who made under 1.5 mill a year and a total of six who made under 2.5. None were starters and Teague may be this year hopefully. Use the pick and salary on another potential Teague not on a Mario Williams, Joe Smith, Randolph Morris or Jason Collins.

If all they wanted was truly BPA and to make us deeper and better, this was not the way to go by a long shot. The ASG proved their metal as far as I am concerned and it is lacking. Next move is to lose JJ and save more money. I would bet on it.

Edited June 25, 2010 by Buzzard

[AHF]

I'm not 100% sure that that was about money. I mean, skipping to 27 and getting the guy you wanted and using the money from the 31st pick is brilliant.

BUT you also have to consider what was available at 31 and would he have even made the roster?

We're not talking about the 20th pick in the draft being sold, we're talking about the 31st pick in a draft that is no so deep. We cry about Alabi and Whitesides but honestly would those guys have even made our rotation? At that point, it becomes a guessing game that we're paying to find the answer to. Maybe nobody was excited about the guys available at 31. What then? Do we just grab a guy because we have the pick?

If Sacramento thinks Whiteside is worth taking with the next pick with Dalembert and Cousins already, I think we could have found a way to get him a few minutes with Jason Collins and Randolph Morris among the incumbent competition.

[NineOhTheRino]

You do not fully understand the big picture. They are going to spend that 3 million. We carried five players who made under 1.5 mill a year and a total of six who made under 2.5. None were starters and Teague may be this year hopefully. Use the pick and salary on another potential Teague not on a Mario Williams, Joe Smith, Randolph Morris or Jason Collins.

If all they wanted was truly BPA and to make us deeper and better, this was not the way to go by a long shot. The ASG proved their metal as far as I am concerned and it is lacking. Next move is to lose JJ and save more money. I would bet on it.

we don't know. Assuming the Hawks have a MLE couldn't they use that money to sign a decent player?

[Buzzard]

we don't know. Assuming the Hawks have a MLE couldn't they use that money to sign a decent player?

Sure that could happen. But there is no guarantee we can get a adequate player.

#1: There are 29 other teams to compete with.

#2: The ASG has no history of using the MLE.

#3 The pick is a no brainer: he plays for us.

#4 If we lose JJ why not do both? They will still save a ton of money vs JJs 12 mill he made last year and potential 15 mill plus he will make next year.

It is pretty cut and dried man. This was a cost saving move that was not based on making us better. The only good thing I can see happening is maybe they really are cutting cost to make us easier for another owner(s) to come in and buy us. I hope so.

[jhay610]

we don't know. Assuming the Hawks have a MLE couldn't they use that money to sign a decent player?

The Hawks don't use the MLE or carry a full roster for that matter. I have defended the Spirit in the past because in my mind they have spent the money on the Hawks when it was time to, regardless of the off-court schenanigans. They have been an absolute abomination with the Thrashers, but I don't care too much about the Thrashers so I can let that pass but I bear it mind.

The selling of the pick is a horrible PR move. It sends the message to me that we are not serious about this and all the criticisms about the ownership group are suddenly justified. Things could get ugly...again. (sigh)

[Diesel]

If Sacramento thinks Whiteside is worth taking with the next pick with Dalembert and Cousins already, I think we could have found a way to get him a few minutes with Jason Collins and Randolph Morris among the incumbent competition.

The thing is that Sacramento is being blasted for that pick.. and if Sund would have done that (like he did in Seattle) he would have been blasted too. Thing is that it's really hard to get a staple piece in the 2nd round. Maybe after all the workouts we gave, there was nobody in the field that our GM and ownership felt was worthy of 600k? The opportunity to make 500k instead of spend 600k might have been an easy 1.1 Million dollar decision (in the first year). That 500k goes to pay for Crawford who they did like.

I see it as... we spent no money and we got the player we wanted. Tha'ts good.

I can't speak for the players we didn't select.

Maybe we just didn't like any of them?

[Sothron]

The thing is that Sacramento is being blasted for that pick.. and if Sund would have done that (like he did in Seattle) he would have been blasted too. Thing is that it's really hard to get a staple piece in the 2nd round. Maybe after all the workouts we gave, there was nobody in the field that our GM and ownership felt was worthy of 600k? The opportunity to make 500k instead of spend 600k might have been an easy 1.1 Million dollar decision (in the first year). That 500k goes to pay for Crawford who they did like.

I see it as... we spent no money and we got the player we wanted. Tha'ts good.

I can't speak for the players we didn't select.

Maybe we just didn't like any of them?

Then you trade the pick for a future first rounder not just sell it.

[Buzzard]

The thing is that Sacramento is being blasted for that pick.. and if Sund would have done that (like he did in Seattle) he would have been blasted too. Thing is that it's really hard to get a staple piece in the 2nd round. Maybe after all the workouts we gave, there was nobody in the field that our GM and ownership felt was worthy of 600k? The opportunity to make 500k instead of spend 600k might have been an easy 1.1 Million dollar decision (in the first year). That 500k goes to pay for Crawford who they did like.

I see it as... we spent no money and we got the player we wanted. Tha'ts good.

I can't speak for the players we didn't select.

Maybe we just didn't like any of them?

If thats the case we did a poor job of scouting because the smart money says we passed on at least three by not trying. I just cannot wait till the season begins and three to five of these guys we looked at start getting 15 to 25 minutes a game with other teams. Then all these who think the 3 million was the smart move will see it for what it really is: A cheap downgrade to our team when comparing what we could have had to what is sitting on the end of our bench for the same or even more money...

Edited June 25, 2010 by Buzzard

[AHF]

The thing is that Sacramento is being blasted for that pick.. and if Sund would have done that (like he did in Seattle) he would have been blasted too. Thing is that it's really hard to get a staple piece in the 2nd round. Maybe after all the workouts we gave, there was nobody in the field that our GM and ownership felt was worthy of 600k? The opportunity to make 500k instead of spend 600k might have been an easy 1.1 Million dollar decision (in the first year). That 500k goes to pay for Crawford who they did like.

I see it as... we spent no money and we got the player we wanted. Tha'ts good.

I can't speak for the players we didn't select.

Maybe we just didn't like any of them?

I loved Sacramento's draft. They had a fantastic night and you can never use too much size.

If you want another example, look at Orlando. With *#$&ing Dwight Howard and Gortat, they still drafted Daniel Orton at the end of the first round. If Orton is a valuable asset to a team with the best center in the entire league and an outstanding backup center, how can we not have used a project big like that?

Then you trade the pick for a future first rounder not just sell it.

Yep.

[AHawks89]

I found this on RealGM: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xcfgyj_resume-stb-le-havre-poitiers_sport

He's number 10. He makes an assist, then right after shoots a 3. And later in the video he dunks.

[jerrywest]

I can't speak for the players we didn't select.

Wow! You had 20,000 posts moaning about players we didn't select.