Vol4ever

Reef needs to learn the art of defense. I believe Portland wanted Ratliff more then Reef for his D

if the HGawks go after AI. What have the Sixers done with him as their marguee star. The are just wanting to get his punkass out of town. Stupid deal for the Hawks

and I hope I have been. I have been very critical of what Billy Knight has done in the past few weeks and after Sunday night I was really upset. But after watching last night's game, which was a breath of fresh air, and hearing about the Houston game I was surprised to say the least. I understand this team could not compete for a championship but is refreshing to see the team finally play some defense. It looked like on TV that there were more people in the stands than in the past, maybe just wishful thinking. I hope the team continues the play of the last two games for the final games we have left in the season. I definitely am now convinced there are some players on the roster that should be there. If I was wriong I will be more than happy to admit it!

I agree with Hotlanta, he spelled out the truth about our city. Fact is the Hawks have not gotten the FA they wanted. Rick Fox is a mid to low guy that would not sign with the Hawks. I remember when the Hawks tried to get Maurice Lucas and Moses Malone in the ABA dispersal draft and we did not get either of them. I remember when the Hawks traded the rights of Mauraice Lucas to Portland for Geoff Petrie who ended up playing maybe 20 games. I remember when then Hawks traded the No#1 pick in the draft to Houston for "Joe C. Meriweather". I remember when the Hawks drafted Marvin Webster and lost him to the ABA. How about losing Julius Erving to the ABA? I remember when the Hawks traded Nique for Danny Manning. How about Pete Maravich? How about JR Rider and now Rasheed Wallace? Should I continue? Yep we've got everyone we went after. Diesel, study your history before you start spewing out garbage to those you think less knowledgeable about the Hawks than yourself. Maybe your not old enough be old enough to remember these debacles in the past. Maybe the future will change things..........

You have a point with Isaih. If this thing deosn't work he has put them in dire straits big time. Although he does have an advantage being in New York. Weed has said he will sign for the mid-level although if things go well in Detroit he will be there is my guess. This whole process is a two-edged sword. Problem with the Hawks is that the loosing has been there way too long. It will be tough to get fan support, of course they don't have it now, without geting a major draw and that is not gonna happen. Last name player we had was Nique and it has been downhill ever since. BTW: Why is the sale not yet sonsumated with league approval. There is something not right there.

I agree 100% with you.

The bottom line is the Hawks traded very good players in Reef, Theo, and Wallace for what? Cap Room? There was no lottery picks in those trades. Execs around the league are sickering about this screwed up franchise. The Hawks should have required Portland to give up Randolph in the trade because he and Reef play the same position. Let's see who or what pciks Portland recieves in the deal when they trade either Randolph or Reef? You guys can forgoet Kobe Bryant coming to the Hawks. It isn't going to happen.

Billt a genius to some on this board. Most of the NBA execs are snickering at the moves that were made. We will see over the next five years if the team doesn;t get moved out of this city.

I believe that Billy Knight should have had Zach Randolph come back in the trade. We actually traded Shareef Abdul Rahim, Theo Ratlif, and Rasheed Wallace for cap room and cash. There are about 8 decent centers in this league. Being a Hawk fan of over 25 years how long did it take this franchise to acquire a decent center? We had Tree Rollins, Steve Hawes, Moses for a short period, Koncak, Mutumbo and Ratliff. Teams need a ligit center to compete for the championship. Did you watch Portland with Ratliff the other night? He turned the game around when Portland was down with his shotblocking and defense. The problem in Atlanta was no PG (which if we had signed Darrell Armstrong would be different) and Reef absolutely is the worst defendent in the league, that along with no outside shooter killed the Hawks. Had we moved Reef for Randolph things could have been different. We are looking at a 5 year process if the Hawks get "lucky" as you say. I wasn't interested in a 5 year rebuild. This organization has shown the ability to screw things up. Now that the moves have been consumated we have no other alternative but to accept the rebuilding process. There will be no major Free Agents come to the Hawks. Of course all of this is opinion and each of us have a right to express that opinion. On a scale of 1-10 I rate the last two weeks a 4.

who obviously knows notrhing about the league. Go out get your No#1 pick and a bunch of stiffs and win maybe 15 games next year. No, the dismantling should have included young players and more draft picks cause Kobe or nobody else is coming to Atlanta.

The problem is we dumped the entire roster. We are putting all of our eggs in the free agent basket. Top Tier free agent players want to win and the way theis franchise has been raped will not attract anyone to Atlanta. Atlanta already has a bad reputation around the NBA as a team plyers do not want to play for and these transactions are getting a laugh around the entire league. Wjho are you going to get as a coach? I've heard the Doc Rivers thing but who knows now, the new ownership cannot get league approval. We are a team in desparation now.

You mean to say you have no problem trading Shareef, Theo Ratliff, and Rasheed Wallace for a mid first rounder?? Your on weed, I would'nt trade all of those players for the first pick in the draft!

These moves were not made with improving the basketball team in mind. They were maed to get the sale approved by the NBA!

Guess you have to have the entire roster traded for stiffs and no decent draft picks to get the NBA to approve the sale. These are aboslutely the worst trades ever made ny a NBA team in history. Clearing cap space to rebuild, if you believe that I have a bridge to sell. I cannot fathom the moves that have been made in the past two weeks by the Hawks. This is s nightmare. Surely this is a bad joke.................

My understanding his contract is on the books until the end of the season anyway. What would be the reasoning behind that even if a deal was on the table?

I think the deal was actually Barry, Rad, and a scrub for Shareef

We could have drafted him in the first place

I'm not saying AI doens't have crownd appeal, he does BIG time. But as seen recently he has to have the support players around him. Yes, maybe if he could lure a couple of top tier free agents it would work. I just think he have give up too much for cap space. I do understand we were stuck, but we should have gotten back some young players in trade for Reef/Theo Time tells all

at this point becuase there is no one on the roster left to deal for a decent player if Sheed is moved. I don't want Iverson, he has taken a beating over the past few years. He is also a thug!!! If Sheed is traded for nobody then Phillips will have about 50 fans per game! As I said before all the cash and cap room in the world does no good if the players won't come to Atlanta and Kobe ain't coming!

Good Article..................this is the same thing I've been preaching. The Hawks are in worst shape now than I can remember in the past 25 years. Anybody with a neuron firing knows that Kobe is not coming to the Hawks. See posting of "Will Kobe come????"

I'd have to say it's highly unlikely......... Why???????? He has been with the Lakers who play for the title almost every year, the bright lights and endorsements of Los Angeles. Why would he come to a team that is going to be pathetic, no decent coach or players? No fan base. Yeah why would Kobe play in an empty arena? No decent player will. I understand the philophsy of moving contracts to clear cap space, but at least draft picks or younger talented players coming back in return would have been better. Now all the Hawks future has been put into CASH and the free agent market. LOOK what happened when Chicago took this road to recovery, they're still Terrible with all the picks and free agents they have. A team cannot be reconstructed totally on free agency, you have to spend too much for the stars and the mid-level players. You have to build through the draft and make smart trades that inprove your team and then maybe look at a free agent. How many legit Centers are in this league? I'd say maybe eight and we had one of them. No, his numbers were not great but watch how he improves Portlands interior defense. What will the Hawks do at Center now? Priz and Doleac? If they do get a decent center it will be at a high cost. The Hawks do not plan to acquire a decent center though, they will try to get by with a stiff (remember Jon Koncak?) and get a good PF. Furthermore, look at the expansion teams, which is basically what the Hawks are now. Why didn't the BIG free agents go to them? They had all the cap space in the world. Big Free Agents want to play for a winner! There will not be a winner in Phillips anytime in the next few years unless it is a visiting team. Save this message and If I'm wrong I will be the first to apologize. I don't think I will be offering any apologies in the next 3 - 4 years.

The was a large deal for the laxury tax swamped Hawks to get out of debt. Kinda like renting a car for a couple of months instead of getting a 5 year loan. The Hawks did one of two things: 1. They unloaded around 50M in contracts for seasons end with all of the players in the deal for the new ownership group to owe less money to get the deal to go throught with the NBA or 2. They unloaded for the future building of the franchise for the new ownership group. I think/hope this is the reason. I have stated in the past that no free agents will be headed to Atlanta anytime soon, unless this franchise can convince them they are committed to winning. Time wil tell, but look for more and more losses over the next few seasons.

If you go to a entertainment event i.e. the Hawks and drop $100-$150 you expect to see at the team compete and hussle. The difference between Atlantans and say the TrailBlazer fans, they will turn the city updside. In Atlanta, very few either care or voice their opinion. In Atlanta there are core Hawk fans that are usually visting this site (which is the best site out there), the rest are passive fans. sad situation. I remmeber when the Hawks were contenders and it was a joke in the media that the Hawks couldn't sell out at home. Just the facts!

Heck the Hawks franchise stinks, they're a joke, I have been an avid fan since 1978, more years than some are old on this forum. 1. Ownership has sucked for the past 5 - 7 years 2. Can't get their act together for NBA approval 3. Team only plays hard on occasion 4. Atlanta is a bad sports town period, I know we hate to admit it, butit is fact and there are a lot of shallow fans in this city I understand the frustration and this is going to be a difficult time period to work through. I get a kick out of people wanting to trade players for picks and to dump salaries to go after free agents. No good Free agent who wants to win would come to the Hawks in our current situation and you can't blame them. Our biggest problem with personnel is the backcourt. Reef, Jax, and Ratliff are not a bad front line, the backcourt is terrible, their defense is unforgivable. Yes, the Hawks had a great game last night, but don't get upset for greg antony or whoever is making fun of the Hawks. I remember many nights in the past when the media has laughed at and bashed the Clipps, the Cadavers, and etc. Until this organization and team gets their act together, they deserve the citicism!