The ASG (owners) more than likely wont have a legitimate excuse for the Hawks after this years playoffs and will HAVE to make moves!

[JTB]

Well as you know the post season is mighty close only 18 or 21 games left in this short season and our hawks will enter their 5th year of making the playoffs!..Give em a hand for that squawkers!

Moving on this may be the off-season including over the next regular season that we see some BIG time moves happening! I know we as fans always feel we will make a move and 85% of the time we dont and 15% of the time we do but if you look over the years the ASG or whatever their name is now has made some pretty good excuses or lets say reasonable excuses for their Hawks team but depending on matchups this year and smiths contract excuses wont be as easy if we fail in the 2nd round this year.

What your owners say every year after we are put out of the playoffs:

With this unit the........

-1st year we made the playoffs ASG said we were too young as a team.

..........I can deal with that one, that was true we were a young team and the playoffs was a new thing for alot of our players at that time

-2nd year we made the playoffs we got to round 2 and got handled by the cavs and ASG said we were too injured in the playoffs and they felt if we had our players healthy we could have made something happen. so they decided to keep our core of players because again we did not have a healthy team.

..............hmmmm ok I can understand this, we did have alot of injuries with our team that season and if I remember correctly johnson was injured in that series but was still playing and I think smith was as well. so why not give them another shot

-3rd year we made it to the playoffs the ASG says that we just had a bad year and orlando just had our number. Plus I remember co-owner Gearon saying that him and the owners dont see a reason to change the roster because if you look at it the Hawks along with the Lakers, Celtics, and another team were the only who has CONSISTENTLY made it to the 2nd round of the playoffs for the last 2 years.

.........ok ASG you got something here, besides not every team get out of round 1 and the hawks are ATLEAST getting out of round one.

-4th year the hawks make it, we put up a better effort in round 2 vs the bulls and actually gave them a great scare. An what do our owners say...similar thing they said the last playoff exit "the hawks are among the only teams that consistently make it to the 2nd round"

......so here we go again another excuse and its year number 4! I understand that they may be one of the only teams getting to round 2 but isnt the goal to get to the final round and win a championship!

No more excuses...not just because we as fans dont want to hear them but for the simple fact that it will be pretty hard to make one up this time around! here's why.....

1. We as in this Hawks team is NO LONGER a YOUNG PLAYOFF TEAM!!! We have vet bench and our players have been making it the playoffs going on 5 straight years now! This is no longer an excuse for our team and that even includes young Teague, he has enough vets around him to make up his lack of playoff experience...hell he played better than any hawk damn near! last season we he had to start anyhow.lol

2.We have to deal with injuries period. Many on this board know how I feel, I believe that some of our players (not naming who....<cough> smith) are better when we dont have our best unit on the court anyways. but every team goes through injuries and if its just one person we have to make up for that loss...hopefully horford comes back cause I dont want to hear the "we didnt have our all-star center excuse"......its a bad excuse just to let you know in case you plan to use it. Why? because we been playing without him this long they should be use to it working around his non-pressence

3. To the ASG yes we made it to the 2nd round for 3 years now but when we gon make it to the 3rd or 4th round. this isnt a good excuse to keep this team as it is if we fail this year.

Why I feel stronger than ever the ASG will make changes! 2 reasons!

-1st reason Smith contract is up and I know for a fact that this kid is going to skip town unless we make some type of huge change before we are forced to trade him and the likes of us doing something to keep him here is very rare and low at this point.

-2nd reason the ASG's favorite excuse is the fact that we always make it to the 2nd round and I appluad the team for that and the ASG...they built a team that can get out the 1st round good job..but lets be real the EAST is stronger now and we dont have to play the heat or bulls to lose in round 1! philly is on a mission and they can beat us as well as the pacers! It wont be easy to get out of the 1st round and we will actually be more equal to our 1st round opponents this year than we ever have.

...oh and lets add number 3

-3rd reason..if you look at the situation especially dealing with smith's contract knowing how badly he wants to win, the ASG our owners are damn near forced to make a trade or get some help if they want to keep this kid around! so for fans his contract being up is a good thing.

Conclusion:

ASG dont have excuse, we may lose 1 round and if they love smith as much as they say cause they say that they do love this kid they will do whatever to keep him but this is the ASG who does spend money but not in acquiring more help but giving that money to their own players. Smith is young but i dont think hes money hungry anymore this kid will leave at the trade deadline if we dont get a player like nash or we fail in this years playoffs.

~The only way that this roster stays the same is if we make impact in the playoffs and I mean some serious impact and the ASG knows this. Excuses werent taken well then but they really wont be taken well if its year number 5 and 3rd exit in round 2 once again!

[Dejay]

Okay, I'll play.Even if they make the ECFs, which is unlikely since they would have to get by Chicago or Team Voltron in Round 2 (who do you think Stern and the ESPN/ABC gang would rather see there?), changes will have to be made. Smith will be in his last year under contract so to keep him from wanting to skip town on the first thing smoking, they have to at least give the appearance that they want to contend. I agree, signing guys from the NBA recycle bin won't keep Smith happy, especially if they fail to advance beyond the second round. How they manage to do that with JJ, Horford, and Marvin's contracts remains to be seen...

[thecampster]

Possibility 1. Kirk will be resigned for about half of his current salary. That will free up a few million.Possibility 2. Kirk will be signed and traded bringing back a player.Possibility 3. Marvin is traded freeing up money or bringing back a working piece.Possibility 4. One of the major 4 pieces is traded. a. Joe is traded - this will bring back the most salary, the lowest talented player/group of players. b. Josh is traded - this will bring back the second most salary, a more talented player/group of players. c. Al is traded - this brings back the least amount of salary but could bring back the most talent (Al is viewed that well around the league) d. Teague and or Zaza is paired with any of the above listed 5 players in a wholesale roster shakeup. I have my opinions, ideas see below.Now for the reality check. There is a deal or two out there but Joe is by far the hardest to move due to his contract and age. You need to take back someone elses problem to move Joe. Josh has a few suitors but not as many willing to put up with what is seen as his flaws. Al is highly marketable and is seen as a commodity in the league (ie if injury prone Andrew Bogut gets you Monta Ellis, what does Al get you?).In a perfect world, I package JJ, Zaza + for a legit Center and play Al at the 4, Josh at the 3 but I just don't see other teams doing that. So the alternative roster major overall is either Al or Josh + Teague for a true center + and the remaining Hawk is the Power Forward. I just don't see it happening.Why the center? Rebounding and defense win championships, we get killed on the glass night in night out.

Edited March 23, 2012 by thecampster

[Jody23]

Re-signing Kirk to even half of what he currently makes would be yet again a terrible contract signing. I fear the ASG will let Josh walk as a free agent the same way they let Jamal walk and it's a shame.

[frosgrim]

Possibility 1. Kirk will be resigned for about half of his current salary. That will free up a few million.

Possibility 2. Kirk will be signed and traded bringing back a player.

Possibility 3. Marvin is traded freeing up money or bringing back a working piece.

Possibility 4. One of the major 4 pieces is traded.

a. Joe is traded - this will bring back the most salary, the lowest talented player/group of players.

b. Josh is traded - this will bring back the second most salary, a more talented player/group of players.

c. Al is traded - this brings back the least amount of salary but could bring back the most talent (Al is viewed that well around the league)

d. Teague and or Zaza is paired with any of the above listed 5 players in a wholesale roster shakeup. I have my opinions, ideas see below.

Now for the reality check. There is a deal or two out there but Joe is by far the hardest to move due to his contract and age. You need to take back someone elses problem to move Joe. Josh has a few suitors but not as many willing to put up with what is seen as his flaws. Al is highly marketable and is seen as a commodity in the league (ie if injury prone Andrew Bogut gets you Monta Ellis, what does Al get you?).

In a perfect world, I package JJ, Zaza + for a legit Center and play Al at the 4, Josh at the 3 but I just don't see other teams doing that. So the alternative roster major overall is either Al or Josh + Teague for a true center + and the remaining Hawk is the Power Forward. I just don't see it happening.

Why the center? Rebounding and defense win championships, we get killed on the glass night in night out.

The only problem with your scenario is who is the center to acquire? There are only a few in the league worth either Smith or Horford. I'm thinking about:

Hibbert (who is good, but not equivalent talent),

Nene,

Bynum (but he's probably going to Orlando, and he'll cost more than Smith or Horford)

The next tier down:

Al Jefferson-he might be worth kicking the tires on

Emeka Okafor- injury issues and not much on offense. The guy can rebound, but is he a net gain if we move Smith or Horford? Now if we could do a JJ for Okafor, then a second move to get a wing out Smith or Horford that might make some sense

Ah, we could go on, but the point is there just aren't many centers out there. I would love to get a guy who can protect the rim and rebound (Okafor), the big issue is going to be getting salaries and talent to match up.

[Randy]

So why don't they just do what they pretty much always do - nothing? Let Jamal Walk for nothing. Probably will end up letting Kirk walk awat for nothing. Why doesn't the same thing happens with Josh? (Not sure they can keep him anyway, as it would likely take a max deal like Joe's and is there room for two max deals on one team? I don't know the answer to that, but probably someone around here does.) Anyway, the Josh departure is a year away from the end of this season.Also, note that several teams made trades at the trade deadline to improve - not the Hawks. And several teams have picked up guys who have been waived in the last week or so. Not the Hawks.

[hawkrule152]

they will just say.. Look how great we did without Al. And we will continue to keep the same core cause they will think we can do better with him back (which is a definite possibility).I see minor moves being made.. Not one of our big 3 being dealt.

[coachx]

Why the center? Rebounding and defense win championships, we get killed on the glass night in night out.

There are not many centers out there.I think the Hawks will have to reach in the draft for a center. Except this year its not as much of a reach as usual due to the depth of this draft. There are some bigs projected to be around in the late teens and 20's who could really help us.

[Diesel]

Well, they missed out on an opportunity this year.Marvin/Kirk for Kaman.That's a cap clearing move and we could have resigned Kaman at a cheaper rate.BTW...Last night. In their win over the Clipps. Kaman = 20/10 with 4 blocks.We really could have used that!!!

[Swatguy]

We really surprised a lot of people last spring dominating Orlando and sparing well against Chicago. With these many injuries we have shown some veteran grit when in past we would have folded(in several games) instead. Since we did not make a move at the trade deadline the thinking must be get healthy and run with what we have.Health is the x factor. If healthy we can make a run at the ECF. A good showing for the team ma mean good showings for individuals, means more trade possibilities over the summer.

[Guest Walter]

ASG dont have excuse,...

Do not underestimate the ASG's willingness to make excuses or how short-term their thinking is.This ownership wants out. They don't care about whether JS resigns or not anywhere near as much as whether they get a buyer. Keeping JS may help that, but they aren't going to go out of their way for it to happen. They will continue to skimp on front office, management, and coaching salaries. They will continue to sell picks. They will continue to make excuses such as "Even without Horford for the majority of the season" reporting partial truths but entirely overlooking the teams many flaws. W

[niremetal]

I wasn't aware the front office had valid excuses before. I think roster shake-ups were necessary in 2009 and especially in 2010.

Edited March 24, 2012 by niremetal

[RebuildtheHawks]

The Hawks will be trounced in the first round no matter who they play. They might win 1 game max.

[KB21]

I think it is unlikely that there will be very much "shaking up" the roster this offseason. The ASG will likely use Larry Drew and Rick Sund as their sacraficial lambs in the offseason, but whoever they bring in will be handcuffed by a flawed team with an ownership group that does not have the ability nor the desire to spend what it takes to get efficient players around the innefficient ones they are paying a lot of money to.

[KB21]

Here is the big problem the Hawks have. They have 6 players under contract going into the 2012-2013 season. Those 6 players take up a little more than $60 million in salary. With the luxury tax being $70 million this year, it is quite possible that Atlanta will have to acquire 7 more players for around $9 million to stay under that threshold. Atlanta will likely be picking anywhere from 15-21 in the first round of the draft, so that means $1.1 to $1.5 million could be taken up by a rookie at that slot. So, that gives the Hawks about $7.9 million to work with to stay under the tax, give or take a few hundred thousand.