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."

[Plainview1981]

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

Getting Dwight will change the culture of this franchise. I think we can work something from there on out. We need to land the superstar and then build the team around that. If we don't get Howard, a superstar to the draft, this team will end up in the same place it was before. I don't expect a title run or finals appearance this year. But we need to work on getting a star player. Getting 8th seed and picking in the mid to late 1st round isn't going to get it done.

[Watchman]

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

LeBron wipes his butt on josh every time they play. Josh aint in his league. I despise LeBron, but you have to be realistic. Edited July 12, 2012 by Watchman

[Guest]

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.

The status quo was about about going nowhere without any financial flexibility.

[CWebb]

The disrespect you're showing about Joe is what I was talking about. Is Joe 3rd rate ? Think about it. I spent the last hour making that list: it shows all the players in nba/aba history with 15000 points, 3500 rebounds, and 3500 assists. Here it goes:Abdul Jabbar, Jordan, Malone, Chamberlain,Dennis Johnson , Robertson, West, Garnett,Hornacek , EnglishMiller, Barkley, Baylor, Ray Allen, Pierce, Duncan, Drexler, Payton,Sprewell , BirdStockton, Hal Greer, Carter, Pippen, Lebron James, Thomas, Barry, McGrady, Mullin, WilkensMagic, Webber, Kidd, Grant Hill, Cousy, Erving, Nash, Randy Smith, Schrempf, HavlicekPorter, Frazier, Bryant and...Joe JohnsonBut I get it. You have been disappointed by the man. But the lack of respect is annoying. This list means something you can't ignore. Joe Johnson is a better player he is given credit for...

[Plainview1981]

The disrespect you're showing about Joe is what I was talking about. Is Joe 3rd rate ? Think about it. I spent the last hour making that list: it shows all the players in nba/aba history with 15000 points, 3500 rebounds, and 3500 assists. Here it goes: Abdul Jabbar, Jordan, Malone, Chamberlain,Dennis Johnson , Robertson, West, Garnett,Hornacek , English Miller, Barkley, Baylor, Ray Allen, Pierce, Duncan, Drexler, Payton,Sprewell , Bird Stockton, Hal Greer, Carter, Pippen, Lebron James, Thomas, Barry, McGrady, Mullin, Wilkens Magic, Webber, Kidd, Grant Hill, Cousy, Erving, Nash, Randy Smith, Schrempf, Havlicek Porter, Frazier, Bryant and... Joe Johnson But I get it. You have been disappointed by the man. But the lack of respect is annoying. This list means something you can't ignore. Joe Johnson is a better player he is given credit for...

lol. I bashed Joe for years, and now I'm the one defending him... It's much easier to do without the burden of his large contract. Edited July 12, 2012 by Hotlanta1981

[phoostal]

I don't think JJ is being disrespected, I can't speak for everyone but for me I hate to see him go. But, he signed maybe one of the worst contracts ever for this team. Don't blame JJ for doing so, we all would have done the same. However, with that contract it hamstrung the Hawks from making any moves. It was best for the organization to move on. I hope JJ tears it up in Brooklyn. We needed to make changes. The team had gone as far as it could go. By removing JJ and Marvin's contracts that gives them the flexibility they are looking for in the future.

[DJlaysitup]

Ferry is a hired gun to bust the place up and make the franchise more sale-able.Simple as that.He got rid of JJ and Marvin....Smoove is next....Smoove is worth more than his contract (unlike the other guys) so Ferry will play the game more.

Edited July 12, 2012 by PetroBlast

[Gray Mule]

Can we use force to get that super star to come here? How do we do it?Apparently, Superman is the only super star out there that just mightbe available.If his team is willing to take whatever we have to offer for him AND he must bewilling to come here. Then, what if he walks after one season?How do we force him to come here? How do we force him to stay, once we get him?About Joe Johnson: Why do we disrespect him because we're glad he's gone?His contract was too much for what he was. He's one of the highest paid playersin the NBA today. We were able to get to the second round in the playoffs. Then,we could go no further. We couldn't obtain players we really needed to advancefurther because Joe Johnson was being paid all the money available.Very, very few Hawksquawk posters truly disliked Joe Johnson. He's one of thetop 2 guard, small foreward players in the NBA. Not the best because they getelected to the all star game and he never did. Maybe he will now that he's in a major market. He's very, very good. He's just not great. He's a big frog in a littlepond. He simply cost too much for what he brought.About Marvin: He was not and never would be CP3. That ruins him here in Atlanta.Because of where he was taken in the draft and who the Hawks passed on to get him,he didn't have a chance. He was good but never great while he was here. So muchfor getting that great all star thru the draft.As I feel that Joe Johnson was costing too much, I fear that, should we really tradefor Superman, we will all be singing that same tune: He cost too much.

[Plainview1981]

Can we use force to get that super star to come here? How do we do it? Apparently, Superman is the only super star out there that just might be available. If his team is willing to take whatever we have to offer for him AND he must be willing to come here. Then, what if he walks after one season? How do we force him to come here? How do we force him to stay, once we get him? About Joe Johnson: Why do we disrespect him because we're glad he's gone? His contract was too much for what he was. He's one of the highest paid players in the NBA today. We were able to get to the second round in the playoffs. Then, we could go no further. We couldn't obtain players we really needed to advance further because Joe Johnson was being paid all the money available. Very, very few Hawksquawk posters truly disliked Joe Johnson. He's one of the top 2 guard, small foreward players in the NBA. Not the best because they get elected to the all star game and he never did. Maybe he will now that he's in a major market. He's very, very good. He's just not great. He's a big frog in a little pond. He simply cost too much for what he brought. About Marvin: He was not and never would be CP3. That ruins him here in Atlanta. Because of where he was taken in the draft and who the Hawks passed on to get him, he didn't have a chance. He was good but never great while he was here. So much for getting that great all star thru the draft. As I feel that Joe Johnson was costing too much, I fear that, should we really trade for Superman, we will all be singing that same tune: He cost too much.

No, we can't force Dwight to stay here. But we can hope to draft one.

[drzachary]

The disrespect you're showing about Joe is what I was talking about. Is Joe 3rd rate ? Think about it. I spent the last hour making that list: it shows all the players in nba/aba history with 15000 points, 3500 rebounds, and 3500 assists. Here it goes: Abdul Jabbar, Jordan, Malone, Chamberlain,Dennis Johnson , Robertson, West, Garnett,Hornacek , English Miller, Barkley, Baylor, Ray Allen, Pierce, Duncan, Drexler, Payton,Sprewell , Bird Stockton, Hal Greer, Carter, Pippen, Lebron James, Thomas, Barry, McGrady, Mullin, Wilkens Magic, Webber, Kidd, Grant Hill, Cousy, Erving, Nash, Randy Smith, Schrempf, Havlicek Porter, Frazier, Bryant and... Joe Johnson But I get it. You have been disappointed by the man. But the lack of respect is annoying. This list means something you can't ignore. Joe Johnson is a better player he is given credit for...

What disrespect is being shown to Joe? I really don't get it. If anything, Joe was the classless, unprofessional, disrespectful side, given his comments about the fans -- not exactly the way to win fans OR respect.

[atlbraves93]

What disrespect is being shown to Joe? I really don't get it. If anything, Joe was the classless, unprofessional, disrespectful side, given his comments about the fans -- not exactly the way to win fans OR respect.

Yeah, I agree. Plus, I highly doubt potential free agents are going to be reading HawkSquawk. Even if they were, we have generally been pretty thankful of everything Joe did here. Edited July 12, 2012 by atlbraves93

[benhillboy]

The disrespect you're showing about Joe is what I was talking about. Is Joe 3rd rate ? Think about it. I spent the last hour making that list: it shows all the players in nba/aba history with 15000 points, 3500 rebounds, and 3500 assists. Here it goes: Abdul Jabbar, Jordan, Malone, Chamberlain,Dennis Johnson , Robertson, West, Garnett,Hornacek , English Miller, Barkley, Baylor, Ray Allen, Pierce, Duncan, Drexler, Payton,Sprewell , Bird Stockton, Hal Greer, Carter, Pippen, Lebron James, Thomas, Barry, McGrady, Mullin, Wilkens Magic, Webber, Kidd, Grant Hill, Cousy, Erving, Nash, Randy Smith, Schrempf, Havlicek Porter, Frazier, Bryant and... Joe Johnson But I get it. You have been disappointed by the man. But the lack of respect is annoying. This list means something you can't ignore. Joe Johnson is a better player he is given credit for...

That is an impressive list. I'd say he's about 5 or 6 away from the bottom on the offensive end, middle of the pack among some outstanding defenders (give or take 1 on both ends, as I admittedly have no idea who Randy Smith is). Even at those numbers, I just could never embrace his overall game as a main option, although I wouldn't discount his low-explosion style game being a function of ensuring the durability and endurance he showed. I was ecstatic he was dealt, and Brooklyn got a prototypical, albeit obscenely overpaid, auxiliary two-way player, foolishly at the expense of their Top Priority and centerpiece in Dwight. Evidently no one told the Russian your net wealth isn't at his disposal in this particular endeavor. We gave ourselves hope of a true contender, while making sure the Nets are no better than a 3rd seed, tough second round out under the highest expectations of staying healthy and playing well. Win all the way around for us. Edited July 12, 2012 by benhillboy

[Watchman]

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

I think you missed the point. If we get Dwight, we're going to end up taking some of their bad contracts off their hands. Hedo, JRich, et al. In effect we become Orlando 2. Orlando 1 couldn't win, what makes you think Orlando 2 could win?

[Nicholasp27]

If we don't get Dwight we will move smooveIf we get Dwight he will try to get Paul to sign here next summerWe don't win a title this year...we win one next yearIf don't get Dwight, trade smoove and sign Dwight and Paul this summer to form a big 3 with horford

[Watchman]

If we don't get Dwight we will move smoove If we get Dwight he will try to get Paul to sign here next summer We don't win a title this year...we win one next year If don't get Dwight, trade smoove and sign Dwight and Paul this summer to form a big 3 with horford

If we have to take on Hedo's contract and JRich's contract, do we still have cap room in 2013?

[AHF]

If we have to take on Hedo's contract and JRich's contract, do we still have cap room in 2013?

For Dwight, yes, but not for any big FA.

[Nicholasp27]

What if we don't resign smoove?

[Watchman]

What if we don't resign smoove?

If we traded Horford to get Dwight, and then didn't re-sign Smith, we would be a little thin up front wouldn't we? Would Howard want to re-sign if that happened? It might be best if we just wait for Howard to become a free agent next summer and try to sign him outright. Edited July 12, 2012 by Watchman

[NineOhTheRino]

JJ should not be part of a "big three" period. Good player but he does not have enough inside to be counted on when it matters most.

[Watchman]

It might be best if we just wait for Howard to become a free agent next summer and try to sign him outright. Horford, Howard, Smith, re-signed Harris, re-signed Morrow, Jenkins, Lou Will. Seems like an interesting "core" to me.