ryandauwalker

Josh's comment after Drew calls his team soft in the first half. Horford and Williams agreed and took responsibility. Josh pouts like a child.I know it's tough for us to decide what to do with Josh, but comments like that after he throws the all away on a crucial possession and screws up any chance at a hail mary. For those here who have played basketball in high school or college, you know that one cannot begin to quantify the negative effects that "bad apples" have in the locker room. Further evidence that Ferry needs to trade him while we can unless I'm taking this comment out of context.

2nd year in the league. Legit center. No more of Josh's nonsense. Also adding a true SF. It's worth discussing...Nevertheless, he's an expiring so it doesn't make sense to trade for him. However, it's nice to know that we can go somewhere else if Josh walks (or demands too much).

Thankfully, he is a FA next year. Resigning Josh and signing him would be HUGE

Definitely agree with this. Hard to watch this game and think otherwise.

I don't remember Josh getting this freedom earlier in the year... Maybe Drew is getting soft with all of our success.

Based on the concerns with Josh, it makes a lot of sense to pull the trigger now and get Rudy Gay to see how everybody plays together. Here are the possible results:1) Perfect fit; it's exactly what we need to get over the hump. Throughout the year, we compete for one of the top seeds in the East. Settle with Gay/Smith/Horford as our core in the future with a resigned Smith.2) Team not there yet, insurance for Josh; Smoove has less leverage and can be a S&T candidate without us needing to blow it up.3) Disaster; very unlikely but his contract isn't very long and we can sign complimentary pieces around him, Lou and Horford in the offseason. Still will have a lot of cash with Smoove gone. If needed, we could trade him fairly easily unless he is beyond horrible with us,

I think that is due to a lack of confidence in his speed and inexperience more than anything else... If he played 30 minutes a game, I bet you'd see a lot more of that. He uses his shot to get in a rhythm and build confidence. If he's only in for a few minutes at a time, that won't happen. As time goes on and he learns the NBA game more, you'll see him be more balanced.

Diesel, I don't think it's fair to compare this team to those of years past. You KNOW it's much different.While I never thought we were one player away then, I believe now we are one legit player away provided there are solid complimentary players around Josh, Teague, Lou, and Horford.

I'd say that if we land one person (in addition to resigning Josh and other core players) this offseason, we will lay the groundwork for a sustainable and impressive run for our franchise...Thaddeus Young.He's a SF that rebounds well, but fits in really well with our fast and athletic group. What would it take for us to get him here?

The article doesn't mention trading Josh. It mentions... Anthony Morrow and John Jenkins for Derrick Williams I say... absolutely!

Ferry reads the Squawk!

This is not a Josh-bashing thread. It is a simple statement that LD's system uses high BBIQ players, and I think throughout the season, we will over perform based on our talent level. Like Joe, I don't think he is a good fit based on that system. We are also getting murdered on the glass quite often and won't be relevant until we figure out a new 4/5 (+1 Dolfan).I am in the camp where I would trade Josh based on FIT even though I think he is a very good player. While the team will look different next year, frankly, I love watching us play as its quality basketball. It has nothing to do with last night and nothing to do about a mistake he made. Don't get dramatic and act like everybody who has an opinion similar to mine has a vendetta... It's simply not true.

This isn't about today's game. Josh had a very good game in many respects, and on the last play, boxing out when you're pinned under the basket is not easy.I'm certainly not a hater... The timing of the post does not mean that it's emotionally driven. We have to deal with Josh's situation and suggesting we trade him before he hits FA is far from illogical.

This is a really tough team to coach, and I think that Drew is handling it very well. His system has helped guys who were considered other teams' garbage be very good contributors both offensively and defensively. It is based around being fundamentally sound, defensively aware, and requires a high BBIQ.I don't want to get into bashing Josh because its not even about that. He has good games and bad games, but he simply does not fit within everybody else. Low BBIQ is so detrimental to a team and this system... Unless we get a LeBron or a Kobe, this is the way we can win: the Spurs way. I'm certainly not saying that Drew is Popavich, but now that Joe is gone, we can begin to construct a team that plays the game the right way.

I will agree Teague's treatment used to be a problem when Bibby and even when Hinrich was here. I will also agree that other people are being held to different standards. Nevertheless, that DOES NOT mean that Drew handled Teague wrong. In my opinion, it means that Josh needs to be held more accountable... Just because Smoove's handling is different does not mean Teague should be handled like Josh. Rather, Josh should be handled like Teague.

I didn't watch the game, but he had 5 turnovers in 19 minutes... Totally unacceptable. I'm sure he would have gotten back to him if Lou hadn't lit t up as well, but Teague is past the point of being coddled. Thankfully, he is also past the point where he is so fragile that he cannot endure criticism.The conspiracy theory stuff has to stop as Larry Drew knows his butt is on the line and will do whatever he can to win games. Also, no GM wants the value of their assets to be low because with our flexibility, we can get comparable value for everybody. Teague hasn't gotten this treatment in a long time, and I hope that it beings a good lesson for Teague: if you want to be great, you gotta take care of the ball. If you are content where you are, we've got guys who can fill your spot.

Look at Marvin Williams's and Joe Johnson's stats right now... Now ask yourself how can you be pissed AT ALL about anything as a Hawks fan??This GM has shown he is capable... He's probably already the best GM in Hawks history, and he's earned your trust. So relax!

It was obvious without seeing the team day-in and day-out that JJ needed to go. So he did that to perfection right from the beginning and got a slew of expirings and fillers. Yes we have flexibility, which is amazing considering the predicament we were in. But there is something that is less talked about...By trading JJ and Marvin for tons of expirings, he essentially said "I want to build this team from the ground up, and I'm using this season to evaluate our team." He knew he needed more time to study these players, coaches, and the organization as a whole.The absolute worst thing that could happen to the Hawks is if Josh played uncharacteristically well, and Ferry wouldn't see his tendency towards erratic play. But Ferry is seeing our team, studying our tendencies, and looking for solutions. You can GUARANTEE that. I'm glad Ferry is now getting armed with complete information as opposed to working off a hunch or seeing the players not as they truly are.Ferry is seeing the Hawks as they are, warts and all. It hurts now, but we are just taking our medicine.

I really like our team. Hope we tinker and don't blow it up. Great to see our team not be dominated by the ISO

I watched him during his entire career at UVa (and have met him), so I think I've got a good idea about what is kid can do.His game is all about the mid-range, but he is definitely not simply a set shooter. His turn-around jumper is nasty. Sound rebounder and high BBIQ, but won't make his living down low. Very crafty. In the NBA, he will not be able to guard at the 3 position on a consistent basis. Boozer is a bit too high with his ceiling; however, I wouldn't put it too much lower. He is a very efficient scorer and absolutely carried UVa and put up great PPG numbers in a system that gave an extremely low possession number. I'm very excited to see how his game will translate to the NBA.

Yawn.

Way too early to tell, I think. So many things can change between now and then.

Let's be real... The reason that Dwight doesn't want to come here Is because his buddy Josh has been unhappy. Now Josh is giddy, and hopefully we can extend him this offseason.Then, we trade Horford and fillers to Orlando for an extended Dwight... He is home with two of his best buddies with the promise that we'll throw the max at CP3 in 2013 but will have Devin Harris why you wait.Pipe dream?

Qualifying Offer

+1