curtisdj79

Looks like Im sitting next to you. Im in seat 1.

I plan on being there.

Not sure how anyone plans to meet. Any thoughts? Maybe outside the team store @ 7:15?

I'll probably be there with my Pac-Man Hawks shooting shirt. But I need to tape so I can hear Bilas eat crow over Smoove. Worst move ever... Taking draft off TNT.

Another reason we may draft May.... Woodson is his God-Father

See I think Stern ruined the league with his cult of personality marketing. He drank the Nike Kool-Aid and it came back to bite him. MJ as great as he was didnt save the league, he was the culmination of a league finally maturing. Jordan was the end result. The NBA back in the day was much like the WNBA now; sure each team has a 2-3 good players but you need to be able to be 6 deep competitavly league wide to get the intrest you need. The NBA is really only 4 generations old. The Golden Age (Couzy, West, Russle), Silver Age (Gervin, Roberston, Dr. J), Modern (Bird, Magic, Nique, MJ), and Current Era (KG,Vince,Kidd) Because MJ was able to bridge the last two and media outlets finally caught up to the popularity he was easy to make the face of the league. But before him it was the team concept that got the league there. You didnt mention Bird w/o McHale or Parrish, Magic w/o Worth or Abdul Jabar. The team concept is marketable if you make team play desirable. But when it comes to sponsers you only need one. Its the Air Jordan shoe not the Chicago Bulls Shoe. The leagues team concept was broken by its endorsement success. From there you get a vicious cycle. Kids dont want to be the next Magic or Bird with their passing and defence they want the shoe contract and the sports center high light. And that adds another component to the "fall" of the NBA. Before you only knew players on the floor. There was no Cribs or NBA Inside Stuff or Chad Ford, so we were less offended by the players personalities then than we are now. And when the NBA began to cater to its buying base (the hip-hop generation) and not its typical ticket buyer (mostly white sub-urbanites (shout out to Cobb Co.)) Ticket buyers dont want to hear about J. O'neals thoughts, or the latest Blazer to be arrested. Kobe's case made it even worse because he was embraced by everyone. You could make a case that Jordan was so well loved that everyone over looked his affairs and gambling problems. But Kobe isnt that liked by everyone. And getting back to the main point Nique's trade may have been the big thing that killed the Hawk's but the trade of Doc and Spud didnt help either. Communities get used to continuity. For Example: Keith Brooking is worth more to the Falcons than to any other team My point in all of this is that the team concept is viable. But like any team you need your leader but also you need the rest of the team or its just a one on one game. You want better play and better press, stress teamwork and de-emphasize the individual a bit. Not totally but emphasize team highlights and stats more.

By work I mean the behind the scenes stuff. Players working on defence and shooting, not just highlight plays. Teams spending wisely and actually investing in a winning team unlike the clippers. The NBA promoting what it has instead of what it wants. You cant always bail out NY unless they have a real plan to make that team good again. Support your small market teams like Milwuakee and Sacramento. Dont reward players that dog it like VC. Put him on the end of the bench and support those that do play well everynight. In other words promote the league and teams; not players. The NCAA needs to find a middle ground that at least encourages athletes to come to college for a 2 years.

Thats why I honestly see basketballs system as a hybrid of the football and baseball models. As with football 99 out of 100 kids will need the time to physically mature and finish growing. But that 1, the LBJs and Josh Smith's dont need it physically. And again as with baseball 99% will need it to refine skill sets but 1% (KG) wont. Everyone wants a complete game and its up to the NBA and NCAA to take complete stewardship over it. They need to dictate the way is played and the business is operated. But so far all they want is the reward with out the work. If everyone involved puts in the work they can all gain a ton or respect.

Jermaine is right but for the wrong reasons. He knows that of all the major collegiat sports that basketball makes the most money. And that while the coaches and schools make tons of money the players make none. For the most part as of right now most of the players that are going to these schools are going only to get recognition from the NBA. They go only until they feel they will get enough money (through draft position). If you look at the first few jumps it was due to the fact that the player couldnt get the scores to get into college and had the talent to get to the L (KG). Others still went JuCo then to NCAA then NBA. I'd say starting with Kobe we start to see guys with the test scores to get in to college opt to go straight to the NBA. But even then (Kobe as the exception) they weren't jumping over going to a major programs to go. At that time it was a big deal when William Avery and Elton Brand left Duke early. Now we see the Livingstons, Smiths, and Howards going straight to the League and doing really good. The NCAA is worried as is the NBA. The NCAA has a problem of its biggest money makers losing their supply of talent. The NBA already fighting a public relations problem of "young black millionaires gone wild" (hello NY and Portland) and here to the eyes of the casual veiwer come more that "cant play the game right" because Bill Walton said so. Then add in the "NBA Ready" Euros, who have been more miss than hit. What is happening is a backlash against these guys, who are mostly black, and the hiphop culture that the NBA has for the most part embraced. The mostly white attending fans now have nothing to embrace about the NBA. Magic, Jordan, Bird, Nique, Barkley and Isaiah are gone. There isnt a bevy of warm cuddly media savy players. And to make matters worse the ones they do have arent in major markets. David Stern would give his left hand to have Kobe in LA, Shaq in NY, LBJ in Chicago, and any superstar with media ability in Boston. The solution to many is the age limit. It gets the NCAA what it wants in a garuntee of having a constant pipeline of talent for at least 2 years. And in theory it gives the players two more years of instruction at a level at which they can fail and be okay. And to the NBA it gives them piece of mind that these guys are at least being exposed to culture, education, and rules and may enter the league better off. In reality all youre going to see is a TON of JuCo schools become REAL good REAL quick. The question is are Euro and Asian players also going to have the restriction since their education system is different? In France you start your major in high school, not college. You are also playing a more organized game at a younger age. The minute you let another Darko in @ 17 you'd be crucified. But the players cant sue either. Since the NBA doesnt have an anti-trust exemption like baseball, there are other leagues you could play in, or go to Europe. If you REALLY wanted to fix basketball in the US which is what this really an attempt at you have to stream line the system and give it a definate heirarchy. 1. Get rid of the USAA. Its a breeding ground for corruption and bad advice. Restore the stature of the highschool coach and dont give the bad apple a way around the checks and balances of grades and discipline that HS provides. 2. Allow the high school coaches to run off season programs for those that make the grades during the year. This further kills USAA. 3. Go forth with the 15 team minor league with each team having two parent teams contributing 7 players each. 4. Expand the draft to 4 rounds. Round 1 garunteed NBA roster spot. Round 2 can make team or go to NBDL. Rounds 3 and 4 go straight to NBDL. And as a bonus for any 3rd or 4th rounders that stayed in school, those that completed junior year (by credits) can get called up after allstar break. Seniors and grads can come up anytime after 30 days. 5. Players under 20 regardless of where they are from HAVE to go to NBDL for at least 1 year. 6. Rule that Vets (anyone with more than 2 years in the League) can only be sent down for rehab assignments after injury for a max of 5 games. 7. Hire former busts, Joe Forte anyone?, to go and talk to HS players top give them a better idea of what they are really in for. 8. Work with the NCAA to get college students better prepared by sponsering a curriculum that all students could take but is mandatory for student athletes including baseball and football. Include marketing, buisness, public speaking, the sports and the law, ethics ect. If this is what they are really preparing for then go all the way with it. Any league could also request transcripts from these classes during work outs. Thats my rant.

Long time lurker but I think I'll post to this one. I think Bogut is a bad idea for the draft at #1 for right now. Yes we need a big man but as Woodson knows from Det. not a MUST to win. And Yao also disproves that. What the Hawks need most from this draft is a PG. Unless Bogut goes crazy during the Tourney and workouts I say trade down. Or if NY would go for it offer them the Boston pick and a 2nd and keep 1st over all pick (not like they need more payroll). Take Bogut and Jack in the first round and Daniel Ewing in the second round. Jack and Ewing come from good programs that play big competition nightly and produce. They come from programs that take the smarter players nation wide. And both could have the killer instinct that the Hawks so sorely need. In a dream scenario we would end up with this roster going into FA: Jack/Ewing/Ivey Childress/Diaw Smoove/Diaw/Donta Harrington/Donta/Collier Bogut/Collier Then I'd add: Jaric (cheap but can run offence from 1 or 2) Swift (4 year deal) Kwame Brown (2 year with club option for 3rd) That leaves a line up of: Jaric/Jack/Ewing/Ivey Childress/Jaric/Diaw Harrington/Smoove/Donta/Diaw Swift/Harrington/Donta/Collier Bogut/Swift/Brown/Collier And any of them could be on IR as a reserve. Any Opinions?

everything JT was supposed to be.

I think (and hope) that Chills problem is just a learning curve. But once he picks up it will be exponetially. Whereas SMooth is a steady climber. Or to put it another way; Chill wants to learn all the rules and nuances before acting where Smooth throws everything out to see what sticks.

TO quote Lewis Black, I dont think there are any undecided voters, just those who want attention. But Im just a lefty so what do I know.

Thats my fault on misremembering that. But I still want him here. I want smart, high basketball IQ, fundamental players in Atlanta. Then add your highlight reel player.

Ive always wanted Battier here. I went to college in NC and watched him play every game @ Duke. I wanted him over DJ (but people here said number 6 was too high to take him). Id offer them anyone on the team except Reef, Diaw or Dickau. Dickau, Diaw and Battier would be an excellent 1-3 as far as defence, passing, and seeing the floor. Even if one is subbing in for JT. Imagine the transition game!