Ferry: “We felt with the team that we had, we were probably going to maintain the status quo and not be able to reach a championship level."

[GameTime]

http://www.nba.com/h...pe-hawks-future

“The Hawks want to thank Joe Johnson and Marvin Williams for their contributions on the court and in the community,” said Ferry. “We felt with the team that we had, we were probably going to maintain the status quo and not be able to reach a championship level. We now have the opportunity to work within the new CBA in a better way that will allow us to move forward and be opportunistic in the future as we work to build a sustainable championship level team.”

Can someone decipher these quotes

[Hart]

The Hawks were going to keep getting bounced out of the playoffs with Joe Johnson "leading" the way. Now that the two horrible contracts are gone, it allows the Hawks to stay within the rules of the new CBA money wise, and pursue players in the future that will increase our chances of putting a championship caliber team on the court.

[AHF]

Quote - Translation:

The Hawks want to thank Joe Johnson and Marvin Williams for their contributions on the court and in the community - We want to be classy on the way out. Good luck, guys!

We felt with the team that we had, we were probably going to maintain the status quo and not be able to reach a championship level. -This team was capped out as a first or second round exit in the playoffs and didn't have the financial flexibility to add a desirable piece that could take us any further. We had to dump these guys.

We now have the opportunity to work within the new CBA in a better way that will allow us to move forward and be opportunistic in the future as we work to build a sustainable championship level team. -Now that we dumped JJ and Marvin, we can sign as many as two max free agents and thus now have the chance to get the superstar(s) we need to be a championship level team.

[CWebb]

Nobody wants to play for a team whose fanbase shows no respect for one of the best players of its history. You can choose to be optimistic if you want, but have the Hawks ever attracted a superstar in free agency ? Why do you think it could change ?

Edited July 11, 2012 by CWebb

[AHF]

Nobody wants to play for a team whose fanbase shows no respect for one of the best players of its history. You can choose to be optimistic if you want, but have the Hawks ever attracted a superstar in free agency ? Why do you think it could change ?

Who was the first superstar that Miami attracted in free agency?

[drzachary]

Nobody wants to play for a team whose fanbase shows no respect for one of the best players of its history. You can choose to be optimistic if you want, but have the Hawks ever attracted a superstar in free agency ? Why do you think it could change ?

WHo was showing disrespect to whom? I'm confused, honestly.

[phoostal]

Nobody wants to play for a team whose fanbase shows no respect for one of the best players of its history. You can choose to be optimistic if you want, but have the Hawks ever attracted a superstar in free agency ? Why do you think it could change ?

Well with that thought process I guess the Hawks should never attempt to go after any high profile free agents. If you want things to change you have to dare to be great. Yes, you may fail but at least you try. So far Danny Ferry has come in and broken up the status quo. Even if the Hawks don't get Howard at least they are willing to shake things up and I feel brighter days are ahead.

[KB21]

Well with that thought process I guess the Hawks should never attempt to go after any high profile free agents. If you want things to change you have to dare to be great. Yes, you may fail but at least you try. So far Danny Ferry has come in and broken up the status quo. Even if the Hawks don't get Howard at least they are willing to shake things up and I feel brighter days are ahead.

Not only that, but he broke up the status quo and kept the two best players of that group. Danny Ferry basically came in and did what they should have done two years ago. They let Joe go and are looking to build around Al and Josh.

[Plainview1981]

Not only that, but he broke up the status quo and kept the two best players of that group. Danny Ferry basically came in and did what they should have done two years ago. They let Joe go and are looking to build around Al and Josh.

Unless we land Howard it appears that Ferry thinks 2nd rate stars/Al/Josh Smith will get it done. If he expects championships or the finals he will be wrong.

[phoostal]

Unless we land Howard it appears that Ferry thinks 2nd rate stars/Al/Josh Smith will get it done. If he expects championships or the finals he will be wrong.

The only thing I can say to that is why don't we wait to see what happens before we jump to conclusions. No one knows if he is going to overpay 2nd rate free agents or just focus on Horford or Smith. As I keep saying let us see how this plays out before we jump to conclusions.

[KB21]

If josh and al are 2nd rate, then joe is 3rd rate.

[Plainview1981]

The only thing I can say to that is why don't we wait to see what happens before we jump to conclusions. No one knows if he is going to overpay 2nd rate free agents or just focus on Horford or Smith. As I keep saying let us see how this plays out before we jump to conclusions.

These boards are for speculation. You're not building a championship team around Smith/Horford. It appears to be Ferry's goal to get to that level. But with no top draft picks or superstars I don't see how he expects to pull that off.

[Plainview1981]

If josh and al are 2nd rate, then joe is 3rd rate.

Josh Smith has never been the go-to guy for a full season and he isn't capable of being one. He struggles to shoot in the mid 40's now. He might struggle to shoot 42-43% next year.

[drzachary]

If josh and al are 2nd rate, then joe is 3rd rate.

And if you can ever get rid of a 3rd rate guy making max money, you do it without hesitation. If I was GM, I would have made that Joe deal even if the pick was going the other way!!

[Guest]

I will speculate that getting this team to championship level will not happen overnite - we have players with expiring contracts, we have tradeable assests and we have draft picks.

[Plainview1981]

Don't get me wrong, I hope Josh chunks the Hawks into the lotto this year.

[BusBoyIsBack]

That quote by Ferry should give you MORE confidence that we really have a deal on the table for Dwight HowardOtherwise, Ferry's comments are beyond ironic. Because we aren't going to get past the status quo with Josh or Al as our best player on the team, and I love those guysDwight Howard is the best chance this team will ever have at getting a superstar. And we have to get him right now.

[Plainview1981]

That quote by Ferry should give you MORE confidence that we really have a deal on the table for Dwight Howard Otherwise, Ferry's comments are beyond ironic. Because we aren't going to get past the status quo with Josh or Al as our best player on the team, and I love those guys Dwight Howard is the best chance this team will ever have at getting a superstar. And we have to get him right now.

Yep. And if that fails, we better hope that were bad enough to be a position to draft one.

[Watchman]

Yep. And if that fails, we better hope that were bad enough to be a position to draft one.

So you really think Josh, Dwight and table scraps is good enough to beat Miami?

[BusBoyIsBack]

So you really think Josh, Dwight and table scraps is good enough to beat Miami?

How much do you think we're giving up? We could still have Harris, Josh, and a much deeper bench than Miami Miami's bench is a joke. And even though LeBron will always be the best player on the floor, Howard and Smoove could absolutely dominate Miami's frontline. Plus all the 3 point shooters on the floor to compliment Howard, this would be a significantly better team than Howard's team that made the Finals. And the "unbeatable" Heat almost lost last year to the Celtics team that barely beat us last year. Just saying