Not a good feeling

[Vol4ever]

First of all, I have confidence in the abilities of Danny Ferry. The new coach and GM come from a good organization.

That being said there are issues with our city and organization:

1. Terrible reputation as a city supporting the local NBA team. Knicks, Lakers, Celtics, etc draw more fans than the Hawks.

2. Ownership reputation over the years after Ted Turner.

3. Im not sure we could draw the top free agent star players to Atlanta if we had Phil Jackson, this organization is bruised from the lack of organiztion from top to bottom.

4. It appears non of the top free agents are insterested in coming to Atlanta. Stars want to win.

I just dont have a good feeling about this offseason (i pray DF proves me 100% wrong). I dont see us doing anything with CP3 or D12. I dont think you win in this league without a true star, of course the Knicks through all kinds of dents into that theory with Carmelo and Stoudemire, and Memphis has a good team without a superstar player.

Guess as a old time Hawk fan Im just a little uneasy about things at this point.

[Buzzard]

First of all, I have confidence in the abilities of Danny Ferry. The new coach and GM come from a good organization.

That being said there are issues with our city and organization:

1. Terrible reputation as a city supporting the local NBA team. Knicks, Lakers, Celtics, etc draw more fans than the Hawks.

2. Ownership reputation over the years after Ted Turner.

3. Im not sure we could draw the top free agent star players to Atlanta if we had Phil Jackson, this organization is bruised from the lack of organiztion from top to bottom.

4. It appears non of the top free agents are insterested in coming to Atlanta. Stars want to win.

I just dont have a good feeling about this offseason (i pray DF proves me 100% wrong). I dont see us doing anything with CP3 or D12. I dont think you win in this league without a true star, of course the Knicks through all kinds of dents into that theory with Carmelo and Stoudemire, and Memphis has a good team without a superstar player.

Guess as a old time Hawk fan Im just a little uneasy about things at this point.

I am feeling the complete opposite. Everyone knows our owners do not or cannot afford to make us a luxury tax team. I do not see that as a no win situation. Memphis, OKC, and the Spurs ownership are the same way.

The trick is knowing value and who you have to pay to stay competitive. Tough decisions have to be made. Hardin, Gay, and for us probably Josh. I think Ferry has what it takes to get us there.

[macdaddy]

The one thing giving me hope is the new rules. As a lot of articles point out, some of these guys are interested in going here or there but in a lot of cases it is almost impossible for it to happen sometimes. Much more so now than in previous years. I think there are guys who are going to find real quick that they are choosing between a very small number of teams and options.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

We were never the frontrunner to get Dwight or Chris in the first place.

What Hawks fans need to do, is just chill and let everything play itself out. All of our talk should be about the draft anyway, not things concerning Dwight and Chris.

The other thing is there are still plenty of very good players out on the market outside of the top 2 guys. Don't let people convince you that we'd be better off if we just go to the bottom of the league and blow everything up. We arguably have a top 20 player in Al Horford right now, so if we don't land the big stars, everything we should be doing right now should be to maximize HIS star potential.

The thing that others on this forum aren't telling you, is that a guy like Lebron James is in his prime. As long as he's in this conference, he's going to be the guy that the Hawks will have to go through. So what do we do? Wait 5, 6, 7 years for his decline, and then hope to beat the Heat, or whatever team he's on? Or do we construct the best team possible to battle him while a guy like Al Horford is in his prime?

At the very least, the Hawks can construct a team RIGHT NOW that can challenge for the 2nd seed in the East, and only be a sprained ankle or a muscle pull away from beating Miami in the coming seasons.

This "doom and gloom" that is around some of these fans, is ridiculous. We have potentially 35 million in cap space, two 1st round draft picks, a top 20 player in the league to build around, and probably the best assistant coach in the entire league to work with next year. If the Hawks can't construct at least a top 3 team NEXT YEAR with these assets, it's never going to happen anyway.

[NekiEcko]

It is all about finding talent in all of the right place and right time. For the longest time, the Hawks never have a opportunity to develop the players they want, I dont even remember they even doing this. I know its going to suck and we might get lucky but I believe the only way we will get stars if we develop them into one. That why Braves has one of the best farm systems in baseball because they just contiune to develop talent over and over.

[Buzzard]

The one thing giving me hope is the new rules. As a lot of articles point out, some of these guys are interested in going here or there but in a lot of cases it is almost impossible for it to happen sometimes. Much more so now than in previous years. I think there are guys who are going to find real quick that they are choosing between a very small number of teams and options.

Quite a few teams got under the cap for this season but we are the only one that can make two big moves; or more with trades. Its going to be a crazy draft and off season.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

These other teams aren't going anywhere, anytime soon . . but they all have flaws.

- Chicago gets Derrick Rose back, who may or may not get back to where he was.

- Indiana has a young nucleus of players and will get Granger back, but they have no bench.

- New York still has Carmelo, who may or may not change his style of play for the better

- And Brooklyn has their "Medium 3", who still have to find their identity as a team

But only one of these teams won over 50 games, the Knicks ( 54 ).

So like I said, we may never construct a team that can overtake Miami in the near future, but we can definitely construct a team that can leapfrog those 4 teams, and put us in position to battle Miami in a conference final. Once we get there, let the chips fall where they may.

[macdaddy]

Quite a few teams got under the cap for this season but we are the only one that can make two big moves; or more with trades. Its going to be a crazy draft and off season.

But how many can even make one big signing? and how many, like the lakers, are pretty well stuck unless someone really helps them out? I don't know really but you have to like our position.

[Buzzard]

But how many can even make one big signing? and how many, like the lakers, are pretty well stuck unless someone really helps them out? I don't know really but you have to like our position.

I do like our position. I have since making the cap space when we moved Marvin and JJ.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

It is all about finding talent in all of the right place and right time. For the longest time, the Hawks never have a opportunity to develop the players they want, I dont even remember they even doing this. I know its going to suck and we might get lucky but I believe the only way we will get stars if we develop them into one. That why Braves has one of the best farm systems in baseball because they just contiune to develop talent over and over.

That's not true either. People (( bleep )) on the guys in the Joe Johnson era, but that was really a good nucleus of guys that needed either a true leader at PG, or a good enough center to take the pressure off of Horford or Smith.

We developed JJ into a player that was at least the 3rd or 4th best SG in the league for about a 4 year stretch.

We developed Smith into one of the most versatile PFs in the league, we just couldn't reign him in after Woody left.

We developed Horford into a top 5 center, even though he was playing out of position.

And before he melted down in the playoffs, people in this forum SWORE that Jeff Teague was trending to be the next Tony Parker.

Where we failed at, is bringing in the right type of supporting players to help those guys.

We were too scared to trade one of our top 3 players for a player who could be a better fit chemistry wise.

We accumulated other young talent, but opted to play marginal vets who weren't going to get any better.

And we had an ownership who, when we did construct a team that was a top 3 team in the East, never went all out to make us even better.

So if you want to develop a player, develop Al Horford. Let's see what he can do in the next two years, to see just how good he can be. He showed flashes of being a very good player last year. Let's give him more responsibility and see if he can be a true go-to guy and a true leader. Smith doesn't have the offensive skills to do it on an efficient level. Horford does.

So if we fail at getting Paul and/or Howard, let's build this thing around Horford.

[AHF]

I won't doom and gloom too much but I will say that I want us to land a star whether through trade, free agency or the draft.

I love our cap position because we can offer something other teams can't - not just max money but the chance to join forces with another star. That is a FA draw that we will destroy if we sign Jefferson/Tyreke etc. I am, however, skeptical of our ability to leapfrog Chicago, Indiana, etc. by going with the Teague/Jefferson/Tyreke road but that is a doom and gloom post for another day.

[PSSSHHHRRR87]

Nothing pre-Ferry matters. When Danny sits these stars down and sells them on what he has done, is doing, and will do, stars will gravitate towards that. He will sell that he is following a championship model, is investing loads of money into improving facilities and the area around the Philips, and show that players now have the full-backing of the coaching staff, GM, and ownership. How the team was ran has no bearing on how it will be ran. Players want two things: winning and money. We have the most cap space and with Horford, Lou, Jenkins, the coaching staff, and whoever we draft, we have players that are winners.

Edited June 19, 2013 by PSSSHHHRRR87

[GameTime]

I am feeling the complete opposite. Everyone knows our owners do not or cannot afford to make us a luxury tax team. I do not see that as a no win situation. Memphis, OKC, and the Spurs ownership are the same way.

The trick is knowing value and who you have to pay to stay competitive. Tough decisions have to be made. Hardin, Gay, and for us probably Josh. I think Ferry has what it takes to get us there.

"If somebody came to us tomorrow and said you can have LeBron for max money and it puts you in the luxury tax, I'd do it in a heartbeat," Gearon told the newspaper on May 19

Time for Gearon to prove it.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

I won't doom and gloom too much but I will say that I want us to land a star whether through trade, free agency or the draft.

I love our cap position because we can offer something other teams can't - not just max money but the chance to join forces with another star. That is a FA draw that we will destroy if we sign Jefferson/Tyreke etc. I am, however, skeptical of our ability to leapfrog Chicago, Indiana, etc. by going with the Teague/Jefferson/Tyreke road but that is a doom and gloom post for another day.

The funny thing is, Tyreke . . . well, Tyreke's draft position ( 4th ) . . is exactly what people would love to tank for.

[GameTime]

Nothing pre-Ferry matters. When Danny sits these stars down and sells them on what he has done, is doing, and will do, stars will gravitate towards that. He will sell that he is following a championship model, is investing loads of money into improving facilities and the area around the Philips, and show that players now have the full-backing of the coaching staff, GM, and ownership. How the team was ran has no bearing on how it will be ran. Players want two things: winning and money. We have the most cap space and with Horford, Lou, Jenkins, the coaching staff, and whoever we draft, we have players that are winners.

Fantastic post.

This Finals going to 7 couldn't be any better for us.

Bud: "Imagine a Big 3 under the Spurs system"

Wow. Goosebumps.

[Buzzard]

The funny thing is, Tyreke . . . well, Tyreke's draft position ( 4th ) . . is exactly what people would love to tank for.

No shit or we could get end up with a complete bust. Playing the lottery, there is a reason the NBA calls it the lottery. You have to be lucky. First with how the balls go and then with the player you take.

[Wretch]

I won't doom and gloom too much but I will say that I want us to land a star whether through trade, free agency or the draft.

I love our cap position because we can offer something other teams can't - not just max money but the chance to join forces with another star. That is a FA draw that we will destroy if we sign Jefferson/Tyreke etc. I am, however, skeptical of our ability to leapfrog Chicago, Indiana, etc. by going with the Teague/Jefferson/Tyreke road but that is a doom and gloom post for another day.

Why can't people see this...and how can you just say it with like 3 sentences where it takes me a whole damn book. :D I'm still all about the CP3/Howard chase. But if that fails, I'm going to say one thing for the record...then I'm going back into my hole.

Write it down...

We will be in this EXACT same position in like 3-5 years if we go the "Plan B" route and start throwing money (and overpaying) for tier 3 and 4 players. We will make the playoffs, peak at 6 games in the 2nd round, and we will be wondering why we are not the preferred destination for Blake Griffin or Derrick Rose or whoever is the top tier of free agents in 5 or so years.

...and I'll say, we should have rebuilt it, and we'll watch Charlotte, New Orleans, and Washington leapfrog us. K...back to waiting on CP3/Howard now. :D

[GameTime]

The funny thing is, Tyreke . . . well, Tyreke's draft position ( 4th ) . . is exactly what people would love to tank for.

So is Marvin Williams draft postion.

That is where proper scouting comes in. Spurs are the best at it.

[Buzzard]

Time for Gearon to prove it.

I don't think Bron is a free agent this season. There is really nothing to prove. We will court CP3 and D12, that does not mean they will sign with us.

[Wretch]

The funny thing is, Tyreke . . . well, Tyreke's draft position ( 4th ) . . is exactly what people would love to tank for.

He's still an asset. That's the part you guys don't get. He doesn't cost you 8-10 million as a free agent and he's an asset that you can use to move up in the draft, trade for another rising talent, or trade for a proven veteran like Boston did for Garnett/Jesus Shuttlesworth.

...and it's all fun and games until Sacramento or Charlotte or New Orleans drafts that guy that ISN'T Tyreke......