Here's my question for the Day.

[Diesel]

Could Chris Paul sell tickets and sponsorships?

How successful could:

Paul, Johnson, Smoove, Okafor be as a core?

If Paul spent this year in Atlanta, would he still want to leave to go to NY and be with his friends?

[Guest Walter]

I don't think Paul would want to leave ATL if we were worth a d@mn and to be good we couldn't give up much in return for them. I'd love to get Paul and Okafor but we couldn't trade more than Horford/MW/Hinrich (expiring) for them.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

Leave Okafor in New Orleans, and just give us Paul. Smith or Horford + Teague gets us Paul.

And yes . . . Chris Paul is a visible and good enough player that he could definitely sell tickets in Atlanta. We can't give up the farm to get Paul and expect him to stay in ATL. Either Smith or Horford would have to stay, along with JJ, to entice Paul to sign with us long term.

The female fans in ATL would instantly love that dude. We, since the days of Dominique, would have a true "face of the franchise", that people would instantly recognize and come out to see.

[lethalweapon3]

I rambled on about my reservations in another CP3 thread yesterday. I don't see the tickets/sponsorships/revenue making a blip unless it's Season 2, after a test run in the Conference Finals (and a couple wins while we're in them). And we'd still be heavily dependent on Smoove to bring highlights to the factory.

ATL vs. NY (if those were the sole competitors, and if the Knicks haven't won the title in Season 1) would come down to who has more capspace to accommodate him and improve the roster. It might make it imperative to do something with Joe's contract, ahead of the free agency green light, to gain some kind of edge.

~lw3

[TheNorthCydeRises]

Josh Smith may bring highlights, but he is not a box office draw. We don't have a single box office draw on this team. If we were to trade any of our top talent, no one in that city is going to have a heart attack ( other than die hard fans of that player ). When Nique got traded, it was like an atomic bomb dropped on ATL, despite us being a 1st place team in the East. People were genuinely pizzed that dude got traded like that.

You won't see a reaction like that if Josh or JJ or Al got traded. There WILL be a reaction, but not one that would be long lasting.

Bring in a legit top 10 player like Chris Paul though, and you'll see an immediate uptick in the visibility of the Hawks. Put it like this . . if we were to add Chris Paul via trade before the season started, I'd guarantee you that the Hawks would instantly pick up about 4 - 6 more national TV games.

[Diesel]

I don't think Paul would want to leave ATL if we were worth a d@mn and to be good we couldn't give up much in return for them. I'd love to get Paul and Okafor but we couldn't trade more than Horford/MW/Hinrich (expiring) for them.

Well, the trade would be just that: Horf/MW/Hinrich/Teague for Paul/Okafor.

I rambled on about my reservations in another CP3 thread yesterday. I don't see the tickets/sponsorships/revenue making a blip unless it's Season 2, after a test run in the Conference Finals (and a couple wins while we're in them). And we'd still be heavily dependent on Smoove to bring highlights to the factory.

ATL vs. NY (if those were the sole competitors, and if the Knicks haven't won the title in Season 1) would come down to who has more capspace to accommodate him and improve the roster. It might make it imperative to do something with Joe's contract, ahead of the free agency green light, to gain some kind of edge.

~lw3

Let's be honest, getting Paul would signal that the ownership is serious about winning, but ownership wouldn't bring him in knowing that he would need a big contract to stay UNLESS.. we're getting more and better sponsorship or that they have a deal in place to sell the team.

There is this one thing that is for sure... If we are serious about winning, we have to put something out and get something in return. I'd rather trade Horf than Smoove. I'd rather get Howard than CP3... but if we think we can win with CP3 and get sponsorship, I say do that.

I rambled on about my reservations in another CP3 thread yesterday. I don't see the tickets/sponsorships/revenue making a blip unless it's Season 2, after a test run in the Conference Finals (and a couple wins while we're in them). And we'd still be heavily dependent on Smoove to bring highlights to the factory.

ATL vs. NY (if those were the sole competitors, and if the Knicks haven't won the title in Season 1) would come down to who has more capspace to accommodate him and improve the roster. It might make it imperative to do something with Joe's contract, ahead of the free agency green light, to gain some kind of edge.

~lw3

Knicks have no money to give and neither do we but if we sign him, we can go over the cap to resign him. Same for the Knicks. The only problem is that we have far more better pieces than the Knicks do in trade right now.

[Joker]

Naw, I rather give ourselves the best chance to resign CP3. That's with CP3, Horford, Okafor, Marvin, and Joe.

He would leave if he had to play with Smith. I know some here don't see it that way but I do.

Josh Smith may bring highlights, but he is not a box office draw. We don't have a single box office draw on this team. If we were to trade any of our top talent, no one in that city is going to have a heart attack ( other than die hard fans of that player ). When Nique got traded, it was like an atomic bomb dropped on ATL, despite us being a 1st place team in the East. People were genuinely pizzed that dude got traded like that.

You won't see a reaction like that if Josh or JJ or Al got traded. There WILL be a reaction, but not one that would be long lasting.

Bring in a legit top 10 player like Chris Paul though, and you'll see an immediate uptick in the visibility of the Hawks. Put it like this . . if we were to add Chris Paul via trade before the season started, I'd guarantee you that the Hawks would instantly pick up about 4 - 6 more national TV games.

Agreed, Atlanta is a sucker for hype and elite talent. The minute Vick signed with the Eagles, the tickets soldout in 4 hours for the home game of Eagles-Falcons.

You can't trick Atlanta fans. They won't show up if you market Joe as a superstar.