Championship or Bust - or good exciting team?

[DJlaysitup]

Yes, that's what we have to ask ourselves.

I'm sitting here watching LeBron and the Heat take apart OKC early at OKC and I'm thinking...there is no way we are going to beat a LeBron led team in the playoffs for the next few years...it's just not gonna happen. The guy is simply too good.

Sure Wade is fading but they will always be able to bring in quality veteran role players - every year like they did this year - to give enough support.

So the question is - do we want to be a nice solid winning team that makes the playoffs...or do we want to go for a Championship? (remember - that championship - or even the finals - is never assured).

If we keep Smoove and AL and Jeff we should be able to be a consistent winner (overall record-wise) for the next 5 years...easy. But we won't beat LeBron's team.

If we make deals - trade Smoove and maybe a few others - maybe we can get into the Lottery (the ONLY place this team - as it is now configured - will ever get a superstar). I dunno.

I think the odds are pretty long for us to think we are suddenly find the "Golden Ticket" in the draft. I also think that Smoove's comment about "being worth the Max" is primarily marketing - and I don't blame him or his agent for going for it...heck..we are the team that maxed JJ.

IMO we can re-sign Josh at below the max...make some moves to improve...and hope that LeBron gets hit by a meteorite.

Unless Ferry is a miracle team-builder I like our odds better WITH Smoove than without him...

....just my two cents.

[ATLscrubLove]

A team of Dwight, CP3, Horford, Mayo could compete with the Heat... ( wishful thinking )

[Ruckus]

A team of Dwight, CP3, Horford, Mayo could compete with the Heat... ( wishful thinking )

Damn that would be interesting to see.

[ATLscrubLove]

Damn that would be interesting to see.

"Could" happen too. Depending on how much $$$ Mayo will want when he opts out of his current deal. Would be a nice team.

[PSSSHHHRRR87]

The goal is always to build for a championship. Even teams like Milwaukee, Nawlins, Charlotte, Washington, and Sacramento are building towards a championship. Just winning games during the regular season is never a goal for a player in this league. You either are playing for a big paycheck or for a legacy. There isn't a man in the NBA right now that will tell you that all they want is to win games. Even MGK and Wall who are on losing squads. They all want rings and so do the fans.

[ATLscrubLove]

The goal is always to build for a championship. Even teams like Milwaukee, Nawlins, Charlotte, Washington, and Sacramento are building towards a championship. Just winning games during the regular season is never a goal for a player in this league. You either are playing for a big paycheck or for a legacy. There isn't a man in the NBA right now that will tell you that all they want is to win games. Even MGK and Wall who are on losing squads. They all want rings and so do the fans.

Sure players want to win titles but a lot of them just want the big bucks.

[DJlaysitup]

IMO we can re-sign Josh at below the max...make some moves to improve...and hope that LeBron gets hit by a meteorite.

Well...it looks like we missed our chance...the meteor hit Russia instead:

The Associated Press

MOSCOW —

A meteor streaked through the sky and exploded Friday over Russia's Ural Mountains with the power of an atomic bomb, its sonic blasts shattering countless windows and injuring more than 750 people. The spectacle deeply frightened thousands, with some elderly women declaring the world was coming to an end.

Edited February 15, 2013 by DJlaysitup

[buckeye242424]

I think we always have to try and build the best team possible, that's sports, and the goal is to be a champion. Sure it looks like LeBron and wherever he plays, will probably string a few together. However, he's one injury, ACL tear, away from opening that door for anyone. See D Rose, see Noel from kentucky...you just never know.

[Wretch]

*snip*[Twenty, long winded, passionate paragraphs detailing the same shit I've been saying for 16 years.]*snip*

^^Now that I've said all that...

WTF? Build a team that's just good enough to win some games during the regular season and have an entertaining 1st round and n embarrassing 2nd round? Have you guys NOT been paying attention to the past...I dunno...20 something years of Hawks basketball? The point is to win. Not build a team that ultimately lays down. Nobody wants to see that shit...

That's why marquee free agents don't look at us (despite being home to many of them). That's why the sports media ignores us. That's [a big reason] why the fans don't come out. That's why.....y'know what? Read my signature.

f*** losing and f*** halfway winning. I want a team that will whoop the Heat's ass and shut the bandwagon fans up. Not another 20 years of 2nd rate bullshit. Playing it safe gets you nowhere. We've got to take risks.

[Bahamut]

f*** losing and f*** halfway winning. I want a team that will whoop the Heat's ass and shut the bandwagon fans up. Not another 20 years of 2nd rate bullshit. Playing it safe gets you nowhere. We've got to take risks.

[benhillboy]

I love NBA basketball too much and know too much history to ever get caught up in championships. That's a casual fan's measuring stick. None of them are created equal. I'm appreciative my team plays quality team basketball with talented players partly due to getting rid of a player I despise. I'm easy to please. I could never pull my hair out because we aren't legit contenders at this second or let alone buy the stupid media notion that they don't matter. I get to watch LeBron at least twice a week. What else could a basketball fan ask for? Only one franchise can win a year. For 29 to feel like they've failed if they don't after all the work they put in is unrealistic, defeatist, and ungrateful.

Edited February 15, 2013 by benhillboy

[Wretch]

I love NBA basketball too much and know too much history to ever get caught up in championships. That's a casual fan's measuring stick. None of them are created equal. I'm appreciative my team plays quality team basketball with talented players partly due to getting rid of a player I despise. I'm easy to please. I could never pull my hair out because we aren't legit contenders at this second or let alone buy the stupid media notion that they don't matter. I get to watch LeBron at least twice a week. What else could a basketball fan ask for? Only one franchise can win a year. For 29 to feel like they've failed if they don't after all the work they put in is unrealistic, defeatist, and ungrateful.

No dude... Just no. Especially not the last line. Yes, let's be realistic...

It's not necessarily "championship or bust." That's the problem right there. A) Because Atlanta fans that don't know any better think it's an unrealistic goal and B) because there's more to the game than just "win the championship." We ALL understand that it's a process and that seasons are hit or miss. We all have followed other teams (not just basketball teams) and we know that teams rise and fall and miss the big one by inches.

The Falcons this year is a good example to illustrate my point...

On one hand, here's a team...came up short. Missed the big game by maybe a touchdown or a little defense. They may feel like failures because they missed their ticket to the biggest game of the year...possibly in all of pro sports. But we're not even talking about the championship. We're talking about just the semi's here...and there's no guarantee they'll get that chance again.

BUT...

The difference is...they're in the HUNT and THAT my friend is where the Hawks have NEVER been. Teams that are in the hunt attract the attention of the players and coaches (marquee free agents) that want to be in the hunt. They attract the fans that THINK they'll show up and see something. They're a threat to contend every post season that players stay productive and healthy.

You don't build a team for the elites to use as a stepping stone. You build a team for the championship HUNT. Yeah, there's going to be frustration if they never win it all or make the finals. But it will be a much more exciting ride to think, "Wow...man, we've really got a chance."

...and that's all you can ask for. Sorry, but no other argument is valid. It's called competition and the point is to WIN.

Edited February 16, 2013 by Wretch