thefloydian

Insane that we aren't offering Horford. The ONLY way we get Howard in a trade plus have him resign is to pair him up with Josh and Horford is the only piece we have to get him.

I don't know how many times this exact conversation has happened in the last few days, but why do any of you think the Hawks are going to trade the whole team for a rental?

We are definitely headed back to the Lottery..

At least with the lottery there is some hope.

It is an interesting situation, though. If Howard really wants every last dollar, then it's going to be hard for him to demand a trade. But I really don't see him playing out the season with the Magic. Are the Rockets still in it? They're the only ones I've heard say they don't care about him signing a deal.

Who says Dwight Howard would sign with us?

They have a very good shot at pulling it off. Nothing is a sure thing... As we saw last year with Dallas taking out Miami. And old ass Boston almost making the finals, but they have a good shot. I'd rather LA get him than Brooklyn. I don't like The Nets, Knicks or New York for that matter.

The Mavericks only won that title because Lebron hadn't figured out how to play yet. If you took this year's Lebron and put him on that team I think it would have been a slaughter. I'm not saying it's impossible or anything, but I would be surprised if New Jersey wins a title.

Really? They are the best team in the East, Best Center and best backcourt...not to mention Crash at SF

We'll see. I think it's a bunch of hype. I'd still take the Heat. But then again, I have 0 faith in Joe Johnson and Gerald Wallace.

Is there even any legit intel that says the Hawks are offering anything? I would be surprised if Ferry was willing to trade for Howard with no signature.

Well, we did it again. We built another championship squad. Thanks to overpaying JJ in the first place. It stinks that we had to help build another championship squad in order to get out of a bad contract. But that's what we have done.

I don't see the Nets winning any titles with or without Howard.

Al Jefferson is worse than what we have now.

Are you serious about the 25 ppg Horford thing? I'd be amazed if he ever averaged 18 for a season.

Al Jefferson is worse than what we have now.

Yep. If we go after Al Jefferson we might as well have kept Joe.

Floyd, I can go with you there. Being middle sucks... especially if you don't know how to draft in the mid and late rounds... BUT Ferry is supposed to be the guy who uses advanced analytics and find these jewels in the late and middle rounds that can start for us and be the man. I can't imagine any team giving up their arguably best player for a bunch of 1 year deals and expect to be in the finals. It hasn't happened yet. Instead, what we see is that if you have a star, surround your star with more stars. Joe may have been overpaid, but he was still a star player who was in need of somebody who he could play beside that would provide good offense. As a team, we have seen how going to the basement to get lottery picks work out. None of our lottery picks have elevated themselves to star level. Think about that. All is an allstar but he's not the kind of guy who you would reach for if you were pulling the best guys in basketball. Coaches don't look up and say.. we got to find a way to stop Horford. Then of course, you have: Chillz, Marvin, Acie, Shelden.... It's enough to cause a man to drink. Think about it... 5 shots at the lottery.. 1 starter. I just don't want to be praying for the middle 3 and 4 yrs from now.

That's irrelevant as far as I'm concerned. We have had terrible drafts in the past, but that doesn't change the fact that outside of some miracle where we sign Howard and Paul, the only way this team is going to the finals is on the back of a lottery pick.

At some point, the Hawks will have to make a decision between Smith and Horford. I don't see Josh being the guy the Hawks build around, but possibly a player you build with.

Neither of those guys are a player to build a contender around. At best they are the third best player on a championship team. Smith is a better player right now, but I think Al will be the better player when they both diminish athletically.

Dwight Howard is the biggest star, but none of those guys would guarantee a finals appearance.I think right Dwight Howard would probably give the team the biggest boost, but I think Chris Paul will be the most valuable in the long run. Howard won't be nearly as good a player when he starts to decline athletically. He has no real offensive game other than physical domination.

I like Lin and I hope he can escape the black hole that is Carmello Anthony.

For the last time - Smith is not and never will be a small forward.

Like I have said before, it all depends on what you want out of the Hawks. If you like watching a team that is pretty good, but gets bounced in the 1st or 2nd round and has no chance at contending, then do what the Nets are doing. I'm not one of the people who thinks we will have Paul and Howard on our roster in a year, but I still think what Ferry did was smart. Being a middling playoff team is the worst possible position to be in in the NBA. I would much rather hit rock bottom and at least have a shot at landing an elite player in the draft because that is the only way this team is going to sniff the finals.

Everyone who thinks the lottery is rigged and that Stern is cheating to get players to certain teams is crazy. I agree that the Chris Paul thing was fishy, but those were special circumstances, and there wasn't anything illegal about what happened. Rigging the lottery or changing the salary cap rules to allow teams to sign more players is a completely different story. Do you really think Stern would risk the future of the NBA to allow Dwight Howard to play for the Nets or to allow the Hornets to draft Anthony Davis? It would be beyond stupid. I'm pretty sure he could go to jail for something like that.

I'm glad Ferry got rid of Marvin and Joe, but I'm afraid he's just going to blow all the cap space on players who aren't going to improve the results at all. As much as it sucks, you have to hit rock bottom to become a contender. Playing the "Let's sign Iggy and James Harden" game isn't going to get the team anywhere.

There is no way Paul is signing with the Hawks if Howard isn't on the team.

To me, Free Agency is something you use to put the finishing touches on an already good team. You can't build a contender through free agency (most of the time, anyway. i guess there is a slight chance we could get Howard and CP3) unless you're in a major media market. If we don't get those two guys, the only good option is tanking and trying to get the Shabazz kid.

It depends on what you want out of the Hawks. If you want to continue the string of 1st/2nd round exits then you could sign some of those guys. Of that list, Bynum is the only player that's capable of being the second best player on a contender.

Anyone who thinks Nash won't help the Lakers is crazy. He is one of the best shooters in the league and probably the best passer too. He won't be able to defend Westbrook, but there aren't many point guards who can.

All of these people saying they don't want Howard are living in some kind of fantasy land. I'm not saying I think he will be a Hawk, but anyone who thinks the Hawks shouldn't do whatever they can to sign him are crazy. The only other way the Hawks will ever get a plyer of his caliber is by lucking into it through the draft. There are three possible scenarios: 1.) Magically sign Howard, CP3 and Josh to deals and try to win a championship. 2.) Do what we've been doing for the last decade - Building around marginal all stars and barely making the playoffs. 3.) Tanking and trying to luck into an MVP talent in the draft.It seems like a lot of you guys are arguing for the second option, which is completely insane.

I'm not saying I would want Lopez/Humphries, but the reason Orlando needs picks is the same reason every team that isn't in a major media market wants picks. That's the only way to become a contender. No big time free agent is going to sign in Orlando, so they have to build through the draft.

I dont see the Hawks trading Horford. They will probably start making him the focal point of the team now.

If the Hawks can't get Dwight and CP3, they had better figure out a way to draft someone who's actually capable of being the focal point of a contender, because Al Horford is a complimentary piece at best.