ATL_BALLER

Agreed. I really wish we could've gotten in on Bledsoe.

Too bad Larry 'We didn't bring the energy and effort" Drew isn't around to see this. Culturally, we've made a significant shift; no chance we're gonna see these guys mail it in, like the past regime. Whether all the pieces seems to fit together at the moment or not, that in itself is something to celebrate. Talent wise, we've got a long way to go. But we are accumulating assets, and hopefully will be poised to pounce when the opportunity comes along.

Side note: It's fine to want Josh gone for all the obvious reasons, but unlike Dwight, you can't deny that he proudly repped his hometown. I'll never forget the chills I got when he rocked the Nique jersey at the dunk contest. Again, I understand from a basketball point of view why some want him gone, but why is there so much HATE, for a native son no less?

More annoying (by far) than Dwight's perceived indecisiveness is Broussard and his d@mn sources, and ESPN in general. I honestly 100% blame them for jumping to conclusions for the sake of a headline anything Dwight has done.

Dr. Z - I was just going to post the exact same thing. It was media driven, and to your point, Morey said he hadn't received confirmation. Let's not crucify the guy just yet.

That's not the whole story. They have to give us incentive to make that deal. If we are out on Dwight (honestly, we were never in it), this could be a win if we can score Klay or Harrison and another 1st in the '14 draft. Plus, all three of those contracts are expiring - they are assets onto themselves.

And what do you know - it's the perfect year to be in it.

I like and agree with all of your selling points, PSSSHHHRRR87, save for one: I'm not sure he'd be coddled and shown unconditional love. If anything, he might be held to a different standard - Josh is testament to that (though you could argue that even if he wasn't a hometown kid, he still would've been crucified for his shot selection, et all). One additional factor working against us (as if we need another one): Dwight is notorious for caring how people percieve him. Do you think forsaking what at least appears to be a prime situation in Houston for the irrelevant Hawks will be perceived as running away from expectations? As hiding out at home? Some might call it courageous - that he's putting a franchise on his back to raise them where they've never gone - but there's no doubt that the media and fans would see it another way. Dwight Coward, they might say.

That's what I'm talking about, Coach!

Sorry - here it is: With all the begging and arrogance and pomp and circumstance, Danny is all confidence and calm, staying the course to build a winning and sustainable 'program', as he always call it. Refreshing, if you ask me. p.s. It's quite possible I'm just jealous and trying to make myself feel better.

Back to the Future, when Marty looks at his family pic and they start to disappear. Chris should actually be gone by now, while the opacity on Dwight seems to be getting more pronounced by the second.

With all the begging and arrogance and pomp and circumstance, Danny is all confidence and calm, staying the course to build a winning and sustainable 'program', as he always call it. Refreshing, if you ask me. p.s. It's quite possible I'm just jealous and trying to make myself feel better.

So what it comes down to is the especially cruel and conspiring basketball gods vs. a flesh-and-blood Ferry in an epic battle for Dwight's soul. Then again, Danny did manage to move Joe's contract...

Link Oh, the betrayal! And ironically, from the only big fish (and center, no less) we netted via free agency in franchise history.

Let them raid. Sans D12, none of these guys fit our long-term plans.

I like K2, but the only appeal I see of retaining him is if the Dwight miracle occurs. Why else, Lead, would he make sense to you?

Fascinating that people keep pushing for Josh as part of the Hawks pitch crew, when as of midnight he lost any affiliation with our team.

Josh, for the first time in his career, is not a member of the Hawks, at the least for the time being and probably permanently. Love or dislike him, it's surreal to realize that.

JTB - you never fail to crack me up (I mean in an endearing way, not condescending). The fact that you threw Iggy on to the pitch team literally made me spit up my tea. Seriously, YOU might be the one guy able to will this crazy dream into fruition. Danny, if you read this board, get this fella a first-class ticket to LAX stat!

Maybe hubris will do them in, and Danny and Bud can play against it with a more understated-but-serious-minded approach. Honestly, we need anything to grab onto this point. It's going to take a miracle.

D - you see my thread, 'What's our pitch to Dwight?' I'm absolutely fascinated to hear yours - a realistic and compelling pitch. Knowing your penchant for script writing, you can even take inside the room to see how it would/should play out. Whaddya say?

-Buddy angle: I can't see Josh being retained, and a Josh/Al/D12 frontcourt, while formidable defensively, is disastrous on the offensive end -Talent angle: Harden (alone or + Parsons) trumps Al and remaining cap space -Home angle: brings plenty of drama, not to mention added pressure, which I'm not sure Dwight is equipped to handle; we didn't exactly treat Josh like royalty -Rabid fanbase angle: aside from our impassioned Hawksquawk community (almost single-handedly powered by JTB), the city just doesn't care (though with a superstar addition, they might) *Committed, whatever-it-takes ownership angle: Despite the muzzling of Gearon and Danny's hiring, I'd imagine it's still going to take years to undo the real-and-perceived dysfunction and dishonesty -Face-of-franchise angle: strongest argument, as it does seem a high priority -Savior angle: it takes a special person and competitor to want and lead that challenge; CP3 embraced it in Clipperland; not sure Dwight wants or can bear that burden (also see Home angle) -Spurs-of-the-East angle: there's no doubt that Danny and Bud bring a degree of clout, credibility and vision Overall, sound enticing?

Exactly - that's what I said above. If they're poised to pounce on that elite talent, why can't we can be, too, while still having a productive year in terms of developing our new assets? Again, we're in Charlotte or Washington's position - we have a recent pedigree of playoff basketball that we can deviate from in the right year - the PERFECT year - without doing permanent damage to the product.

Call it whatever you want. The REALITY of this league, as has been noted here ad-nauseam - is you have to have (at least one) superstar to win. You're right - there's no guarantee of success with any of these prospects. But can we, at least for ONE year, try something different than running out a treadmill team. And again, I'm not talking about a lost year - I'm talking about moving the plan forward by developing our players now vs. stashing. Tell me, Cwell, what does your competitive plan for this year entail? You'll have a year of developing our new assets under our belts, another nice asset in an extremely deep draft and cap flexibility. We can stay the development course or package some of those young assets in a Harden-esque trade scenario, should it arise. And if we do get in those top 2 spots, we're in serious business.

I hate wasting a year of Horford, too - but you could argue we were wasting his time anyway mired in mediocrity. As a competitor, and the face of the franchise, and knowing we have actual leadership and vision in place, I think Al will be onboard, and actually a valuable piece of the development effort. Again, all of this could be moot if we sign the Evans', Ellis' and Jeffersons' and end up with a competitive (but uninspiring) product. I hope that's not the case. Despite all of the evidence against 'tanking', per say, that has been belabored here, I think we HAVE to get in the mix for the elite '14 talent; that doesn't mean this year can't be meaningful, though.