please read this danny ferry

[AHF]

There is no reason we can't land a superstar. We just need opportunity and to make the right call in the draft.

The only reason we won't get one eventually is if we stay mediocre (lack of opportunity) or can't nail the opportunities in the draft.

The Hawks historically have had one player who qualified as on that level, IMO: Bob Petit.

[nathan2331]

I'm going to take a different viewpoint and say we don't necessarily need a superstar to be able to contend. The reason being the East is really bad and probably won't get better in the next 2-3 years. As good as this upcoming draft can be, I don't see an impact player who can make their team a contender from day one. A few of then probably won't reach their potential anyways due to the situations they'll be walking into.Additionally, we can make moves such as signing Lance Stephenson to weaken the Pacers/strengthen ourselves. I'm sure they have every intention to resign him but they have to trade players like George Hill and Chris Copeland in order to avoid going over the luxury tax which they have said they want to do. He may even be willing to accept a below market deal (if anyone would do it it's him). If you look at our team currently, our best player is Millsap and we came close to beating them. You may consider that an aberration but I see it as proof that with our coaching we can make a series interesting.Miami doesn't scare me either despite them having the best player on earth. Wade's knees aren't getting any better and Bosh isn't a world-beater. Not to mention the possibility (albeit small) of him leaving after this season.All in all if we can land an impact player (not necessarily a superstar) in the near future, we can contend.P.S. I still think we can get a lottery pick from the Nets. It may not be this year but with their cap/draft situation they'll find it difficult to add much more talent once their expirings, well expire.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

I'm going to take a different viewpoint and say we don't necessarily need a superstar to be able to contend. The reason being the East is really bad and probably won't get better in the next 2-3 years. As good as this upcoming draft can be, I don't see an impact player who can make their team a contender from day one. A few of then probably won't reach their potential anyways due to the situations they'll be walking into.Additionally, we can make moves such as signing Lance Stephenson to weaken the Pacers/strengthen ourselves. I'm sure they have every intention to resign him but they have to trade players like George Hill and Chris Copeland in order to avoid going over the luxury tax which they have said they want to do. He may even be willing to accept a below market deal (if anyone would do it it's him). If you look at our team currently, our best player is Millsap and we came close to beating them. You may consider that an aberration but I see it as proof that with our coaching we can make a series interesting.Miami doesn't scare me either despite them having the best player on earth. Wade's knees aren't getting any better and Bosh isn't a world-beater. Not to mention the possibility (albeit small) of him leaving after this season.All in all if we can land an impact player (not necessarily a superstar) in the near future, we can contend.P.S. I still think we can get a lottery pick from the Nets. It may not be this year but with their cap/draft situation they'll find it difficult to add much more talent once their expirings, well expire.

NBA history speaks against everything you talk about here.

Look at your top 6 teams in the league right now ( as far as standings go )

INDIANA - A collection of good 2-way players that pride themselves on being the best defensive team in the league. They're as close to the 2003 - 04 "Detroit Model" as you're going to find. History may show them to be one of the top 10 best defensive teams of all time.

But the reason why they may win 60 - 65 games this year, has to do with Paul George possessing the ability to play like a superstar at times, and in critical moments He has made the jump to All-Star status, while knocking on the door to becoming a superstar. They're built to take out Miami, because both George and Stevenson can somewhat limit what Lebron and Wade can do on offense. The only things the Pacers need, is for guys like West, Hill, or Grainger to step up offensively . . . while Hibbert controls the paint. If Hibbert was a good rebounder, that team would be unstoppable.

OKLAHOMA CITY - Durant and Westbrook, when healthy, may be the best 1 - 2 combo in the league. Durant is a legit superstar in any era. Westbrook is an All-Star that has the ability to play even above Durant's level at times. The thing with him is that he can also shoot you right out of a game. His consistency on offense is key to OKC winning a title this year . . when he comes back.

They have the right collection of role players around those two. Sefalosha is the defensive stopper. Ibaka is the rim protector who can also score. Fisher is the steady and still clutch shooter off the bench. And young guys like Jeremy Lamb and Reggie Jackson have stepped up big time to contribute on offense. But these players need an "engine" to work around. Durant provides that engine, while Westbrook will drive the car.

MIAMI - What's to say about them that isn't already known. They're the 2 time World Champs and have been in the last 3 NBA Finals. They have the undisputed best player in the world in Lebron James. Dwyane Wade is still an All-Star caliber player who is highly efficient. They have the best 3rd guy in the league in Chris Bosh.. And they have solid role players across the board. The killer for them, may be the lack of a legit big man in the middle.

SAN ANTONIO - Duncan and Parker are still All-Star caliber players who can elevate their games to Superstar level at a drop of a hat. They get slept on because they don't produce the great raw numbers. But when it comes times to make "money plays" at the end of games, those two can almost always make them. The Spurs system purposely tries to get production out of as many guys as possible ( as we've seen here in Atlanta ). But make no mistake. The difference is that they have Duncan and Parker, and sometimes even Ginobli, who can make superstar plays to win games.

PORTLAND - The young guns. Aldridge has raised his game to a legit All-Star level, showing the ability to play like a superstar on most nights. Lilliard is already a top 7 PG in the league ( arguably top 5 ). The success of Portland will depend on if 1) if they can become a top 10 defensive team . . which they're not even close to being . . . and 2) if Wesley Matthews can continue to be a consistent 3rd scorer. They're the best offensive team in the league, but their defense will doom them come playoff time.

LA CLIPPERS - Blake Griffin is on the cusp of becoming a superstar on the floor. He's finally developed a decent midrange jumper, while doing major damage in the post. Chris Paul is the superstar that runs the show at all times. And they have enough scoring weapons in Jamal Crawford and JJ Redick to do serious damage to people. Doc Rivers has them playing at a top 10 level defensively, which will be key for them come playoff time. He's getting the maximum out of Deandre Jordan, who has gone from a weak rebounding big man, to the best rebounder in the league ( due to Doc's defensive system and by instructing Deandre to crash the offensive boards ). The only question with them, is if Paul or Griffin can make superstar plays at the end of games.

When you look at our Hawks, we need so many things to even be at the level of these teams, it isn't even funny. Millsap, while good, doesn't possess the ability to be the lead dog on a nightly basis. And you really can say the same about Horford. We're getting a lot out of our role players on offense, but we're a schizophrenic team on offense as well, because of all of the turnovers. We're currently 2nd in assists and 7th in FG% . . . but we're a woeful 29th in Offensive Rebounds and 17th in turnovers. That means we're not getting too many 2nd possessions, and turning the ball over a little too much.

So despite the great shooting and ball movement, we give away too many possessions and don't create enough extra possessions. Add that to being 26th in Free Throw Attempts, and you have the blueprint for a .500 team. We not only have to improve our top level talent, we need to improve our role players, to even be in smelling range of being a "contender".

That's why Ferry can't waste seasons on building this team. The rest of the league is not going to decline anytime soon.

[Peoriabird]

I'm not going to copy your post but I am a bit confused about a few things. 1st of all, you and other have talked about the necessity of having a Superstar to win championships or at least be in contention but in your post you listed a bunch of all stars? All star does not equal Superstar and certainly all star reserve does not equal Superstar. Over half the guys you mentioned as a key component to being in contention for a championship were all star reserves. Tony Parker, Tim Duncan, Russel Westbrook, Paul George, Lamarcus Aldridge were all all star reserves. Several guys that you mentioned weren't all stars at all like Damion Lilliard. Now let's take a look at the all star started which are basically perennial all stars and are closer to super stardom than an all star reserve and let us see what their teams did last year.

Kobe/Howard- 8th seed...swept in the playoffs

Paul/Griffin- 4th seed...Beaten by Memphis in the 1st round

Garnett/Rondo- 7th seed beaten in the 1st round by the Knicks

Wade / James- won championship

The other topic that your discussion fails to acknowledge is what other so called superstars/high draft pick are doing with their respective teams

Kevin Love/Ricky Rubio- No playoff appearances

John Wall- No playoff appearances

Kyrie Irving - No payoff appearances

Dirk Nowitzki 1 championship but otherwise on a consistent 7-8 seeded team

Derrick Rose- Often injured but when healthy the team has been to only 1 conference finals where they got destroyed

And we won't even talk about all of the perennial tankers like Charlotte, Cleveland, Washington, Sacramento, Minnesota, Utah etc that are awarded all of these yearly high draft choices but are yet to even sniff the playoff.

So maybe you do need a 'Superstar' player to win a championship most of the times but having one doesn't guarantee you that you will have a better record than the Hawks had over the past 6 years!

[nathan2331]

First of all, good post NorthCyde. I don't want to quote it since it's too long but I'm not sure if you saw my point.While both Indiana and Miami are better than us, there are no teams below us who I see joining them in elite status within the next two seasons. While Indiana is going to get better, if we or another team sign Stephenson I would see them as worse than us (I explained this thought in my original post). As far as I am concerned with Miami, they will get worse as Wade's knees aren't getting any better. Additionally, there is the possibility of Lebron leaving (for example a rumoured deal in which Lebron would go to the Clippers for Griffin in the summer in a sign and trade deal).While I'm sure Ferry isn't making moves in line with this thought process, I do believe this is the reality of our situation. While we don't have a championship caliber team, we may be able to sneak in within the next 2 years. Not ideal, but that's how I view ate situation.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

When you look at our Hawks, we need so many things to even be at the level of these teams, it isn't even funny. Millsap, while good, doesn't possess the ability to be the lead dog on a nightly basis. And you really can say the same about Horford. We're getting a lot out of our role players on offense, but we're a schizophrenic team on offense as well, because of all of the turnovers. We're currently 2nd in assists and 7th in FG% . . . but we're a woeful 29th in Offensive Rebounds and 17th in turnovers. That means we're not getting too many 2nd possessions, and turning the ball over a little too much.

So despite the great shooting and ball movement, we give away too many possessions and don't create enough extra possessions. Add that to being 26th in Free Throw Attempts, and you have the blueprint for a .500 team. We not only have to improve our top level talent, we need to improve our role players, to even be in smelling range of being a "contender".

That's why Ferry can't waste seasons on building this team. The rest of the league is not going to decline anytime soon.

And what killed us in the Memphis game . . . . . . . . ?

[turnermx]

 And what killed us in the Memphis game . . . . . . . . ?

Not enough defensive rebounding and turnovers, not getting enough offensive rebounds on our end.. Becoming a broken record in all these close losses. Smdh.Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Peoriabird]

And what killed us in the Memphis game . . . . . . . . ?

[turnermx]

The turnovers will happen when you press a Sg in a PG body into action as your PG for all the backup minutes. Wth is wrong with Jeff though? I never remember him shooting the ball so poorly and making such silly turnoversSent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Guest]

The turnovers will happen when you press a Sg in a PG body into action as your PG for all the backup minutes. Wth is wrong with Jeff though? I never remember him shooting the ball so poorly and making such silly turnoversSent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

This!Jeff is struggling adapting to the increased responsibility of running the team and creating for others and it's affected his shot.