spotatl

Glad it got done- I thought the Hawks would try and play hardball like they did with Smith and Childress.

The decertification of the union is the big topic that I haven't seen discussed many places. The NFL players are already voting on authorization to decertify the union because they think it puts them in such a strong position. And in this situation the owners are basically trying to get the players to agree to a system to prevent owners from making dumb decisions- but I don't see why players would sign an overly restrictive CBA instead of just decertifying. If the union were to decertify then things like a salary cap and restricted free agency would probably not be allowed.

sultan- Shaq was drafted in 1992- it was the 1995 CBA referenced in the article that made him an unrestricted free agent when under the previous system he was supposed to be a restricted free agent. (Shaq went to the lakers in 96) in 1995 there was an offseason lockout and the players took steps to decertify the union. And once again this offseason there is likely to be a lockout and the players will take steps to decertify the union so no one has any idea what the new agreement will be.

I'll just point out once again that there are no guarantees that Horford will be a RFA when he becomes a Free Agent under the new CBA. Thats how Orlando lost Shaq- he was supposed to be a RFA when he signed his contract but with a new CBA he was made unrestricted. No one expects RFA to disappear but if the league is gearing up for a big fight then no one has any idea what to expect from the new agreement. And if the union decertifies then restricted free agency would likely be eliminated. Also remember that if Horford doesn't sign a contract then he would be free to sign overseas. This would likely keep him off of the Hawks roster for a year and unless the rules change he would still count as a max contract against the cap. Personally I don't think the ASG will give him a contract extension. They have shown an inclination to play hardball with players in his situation and I think Horford has enough nice options that he will choose to keep his options open.

When you say respect you mean as a championship contender? Boston gets respect because they have won it. Cleveland and Miami got whatever respect they had because of Lebron and Wade and virtually every team that has ever won the championship has had a top 5 player on the roster. The Hawks don't have a superstar- for them to get respect it would take then winning in the second round of the playoffs. Respect is when teams don't want to face you in the playoffs. Right now the Hawks are a team that others want to face in the second round and thats not going to change until they take someone down.

Seriously? Last season the Hawks beat Memphis on the road by 14 and that was a game where Gasol and Randolph both played 38 minutes.

I still don't get why people consider Marvin to be a bust. Busts are guys who come in and are total disasters where there is no justification for them being taken anywhere close to where they were selected. Guys who have their 4th year team option declined or who aren't even given a qualifying offer when they hit FA. Marvin signed for another 40 million dollars after he hit FA- thats not a wasted draftpick.

Preseason and the first few games are absolutely spectacular to witness confirmation bias in action.

The grizzlies are favored by 3 points. For the people so confident in a Hawks win they really should go to their favorite onliine sportsbook and make some cash!

I've got Marvin Williams on this. He regressed last season for no apparent reason. I think the Drew is creative enough to give him some burn at PF in small lineups which would help his numbers a lot. And I do think that Drew is going to need his floor spacing ability.

The Lowest paid coach in the league with a 2 year contract is not really in position to bench one of his best players to piss him off. If the players don't like Drew then he is gone.

A playoff team that only had Jeff Teague as the other alternative would.

frogsgrim. The thing is that its highly likely that a team like phoenix would offer horford the max just to see if the Hawks would match it. Its a situation where you have to pay more than market value in order for a team not to match. But I'll also say that I was convinced that Philly would do the same for Josh Smith when he it free agency and instead they went after Elton Brand. Of course in restrospect they would have been far better off throwing the money at Josh Smith but I'll just say that I have been wrong about this before.

You can't be serious. If the Hornets are losing Chris Paul then they wouldn't give up Peja for Joe Johnson. Have you really missed the point that to most of the league Joe Johnson is a bad contract?

Chickenstanley- if you are so delusional that you are incapable of seeing that the Heat are a better team than the Hawks then I don't really see the point of trying to explain it to you.

Once again. Orlando lost Shaq because he was supposed to be a restricted free agent. But the new CBA at the time made him unrestricted and he was free to go to the Lakers. For the people who want to see Horford play out the season are they really willing to take the risk that Horford leaves as an unrestricted free agent? The rules of restricted free agency are decided completely based on the CBA- and no one knows what the CBA will say. I don't expect that the new CBA will get rid of RFA but the point is that we don't know what its going to say. We also have no idea what would happen if the union decertified (like the NFL union looks likely to do). I just think that people are assuming that Horford would be a restricted free agent and teams have gotten burned badly by that in the past.

Jamal Crawford has more trade value than Joe Johnson does right now. Would people prefer Chris Paul/Joe to Jamal/Joe?

The real issue for the Hawks has always been that even if they get a step on the perimeter that the players are too content to settle for long jumpers. When Joe has the advantage he needs to take it inside and draw a big and either initiate contact or dish it to one of the bigs. To me this isn't a coaching issue- this is a player deciding he wants contact instead of settling for long jumpers issue. To me the hawks have no real post threat and just 1 guy who can consistently draw a double then find the open guy. That greatly limits the options they have for attacking a defense.

Chickenstanley- The Heat are a better team than the Hawks. The Magic are a better team than the Hawks. That makes the Hawks the third best team in the division. If you want to present an argument that the Hawks are better than either of those teams I'd love to hear it.

BTW- I love the creativity of people who are still finding a way blame Woodson for the Hawks offense even after they fired him.

Jamal's contract only has real value if you are willing to take back a longer contract in return. But the Hawks aren't likely to do that unless its for a true star. If the Hawks insist on only taking back expiring contracts (so they can afford Horford) then Jamal's trade value isn't that high. I am still holding out hope that after the Nuggets trade Carmelo that there is a Crawford/Billups trade possibility. That the Nuggets want to turn the reigns over to Lawson and that Billups might be the kind of guard that the ASG would be willing to pay some tax for.

I do think that if the Hawks had the opportunity to acquire a Star that that could put them into contention that they woudl pay the luxury tax. If Carmelo Anthony were willing to sign an extension with the Hawks then I don't think it would be luxury tax concerns that would scuttle the deal. But this team is more likely to miss the playoffs than to advance past the second round- I wouldn't be willing to pay the luxury tax for that either.

For those wondering how much preseason success tends to translate into regular season success I thought you might enjoy this article. http://www.48minutesofhell.com/2010/10/11/spurs-stats-nba-preseason-predict-regular-season.

The ASG are not going to pay the luxury tax for the third best team in the division.

I would be willing to include Crawford in the trade to get Chris Paul if thats what it took and he was willing to sign an extension. The question you are asking isn't whether we would prefer Jamal to Joe- its whether we would prefer Chris Paul to Joe Johnson which has sort of an obvious answer.