noble

Oden has pretty much said New Orleans and the Heat are his top 2 places he wants to be. One article I read (forget which one) said he has pretty much excluded the Hawks...why can't we even get a guy who has been out of the league for a year or 2 to consider us...WHY!?!?!?!?!?!

Not just no, but NO NO NO! This offseason has only sold how terrible of a location ATL is for players. We are stockpiling PGs and PFs. This team is a joke as SG, C, and SF ( I don't consider Horford a real C as he hates it and wants to play PF). We can't even get a guy who has been out of basketball (Oden) to consider us. This team needs to lose a ton of games and get a game changer in the draft. I like Schröder, I like the POTENTIAL of Bebe. I am not crazy about anything else really. The scoring is lacking, the depth is marginal, and we have no real play maker on the team at all. I do think we will be moving in the right direction in the next few years, but as the team stands now the direction is stale. I have no idea why we signed some of the people we did and refused to seriously pursue a real C, SF, and SG. I am just so confused how this team is built this year. The sad fact is, Atlanta is not a place top tier talent wants to be, I don't know what they can do to fix that, but it needs to be fixed.

So I am looking at my teams news on CNNSI this morning and came across this. The writer feels we are getting rid of Horford in the next year or 2...what? http://sircharlesincharge.com/2013/07/24/nba-free-agency-odens-options/

Yea heard this morning the hawks did not go to his workout

I know it is a little unorthodox but could Mike Scott switch over and play some SF? Or maybe we could go international and get Sonny Weems to come back to the NBA or the Turkish kid Emir Preldzic. We need a SF and since there aren't much left in FA we might have to think outside the box.

That was the last one I saw, I haven't updated it, but the point being this roster is far from being full and far from having what it needs.

If you look I posted our current roster and depth chart above.

I want to say around 40, but I am struggling right now to see where the scoring is coming from on a consistent basis. I will say IF we get another 15-20 pt a night guy around 40 + or - 3. If not I see us going for the tank, then it is anyone's guess.

I hope so this roster is looking a bit weak to say the least PG 1. Jeff Teague 2. Dennis Schröder 3. Shelvin Mack SG 1. Lou Williams 2. John Jenkins 3. Dahntay Jones 4. Jared Cunningham SF 1. Kyle Korver 2. DeMarre Carroll 3. DeShawn Stevenson PF 1. Paul Millsap 2. Anthony Tolliver 3. Mike Scott 4. Ivan Johnson C 1. Al Horford 2. Elton Brand 3. Lucas Nogueira 4. Johan Petro 5. Mike Muscala

And that is supposed to make us feel better?

Use him as a trade bait.

I'm all for letting Schröder develop while starting this year.

Ok so I added up the PPG. If you look at that just add them up the Spurs are at 257, the Hawks? Even with me plugging in a 20PPG person? 229. Scoring is iffy here.

Sure he will be a pro, but you know he will be behind the scenes trying to get a trade. I don't think he lasts his whole contract.

I like Teague, but the one thing people seem to forget is he is NOT happy about coming back here. In fact he asked the Hawks NOT to match the offer as he didn't want to be in Atlanta anymore. I am sure he will be a professional about it in the public, but you all know he will be doing his best to get traded. I like that we have a PG, and one that seems to be getting better, but I worry he may not perform since he has ZERO desire to be here.

Yea I see that too, my guess would be the agent is trying to squeeze a little more money out of MN if he can. They need him a lot more than he needs them. Why not try to get a few extra mil? I would.

I will still watch like I always do. I am saying at this point it looks like there is no direction. I want to cheer but for what? If we tank then I cheer for tanking. If we are really going to try to win it all this year, then I will cheer for that. I am sick of this ownership leaving fans out to dry and expect us to be okay with the status quo and the treadmill. After a while it becomes where you can almost call the season before it starts. I just want SOMETHING to cheer for beyond making it to the first or second round. Something different for a change. Heck at least if we go the tank route I can cheer us as the underdogs that no one expects to lose to.

Problem here is this team has ZERO direction for this next season. It looks like it could be a tank, and it looks like another middle of the pack. If we go tank, I say go all in on it though. Don't sign anyone over the league minimum and use what pieces you do have as trade bait for the draft. Next season start over with all new players (I would love to keep Horford, but the dude is just angry at this team for not getting a C), use whatever picks you have to move up as much as you can in the draft. That being said, if we are going to at least try for a season or 2 I am not sure there is anyone of value left. AK47 is gone, Nikola Pekovic is working on a 4 year 50 mil contract with the timberwolves as of yesterday. So we are stuck with an unhappy Horford at C. The PG pool is weak now as well. We either get a few chuckers and ballhogs, or we get some backup or old guy. Just not sure what is left that will actually help this team.

Wait I am confused. Winning? What has this team won? Did I miss something? Look the fact is Atlanta lacks a Super Star. Yes, Nique was as close as this town has gotten. But look at the Falcons, not until Deon signed did anyone care. The Braves? After Hank Aaron it wasn't until the Glavine et al pitching staff. While Atlanta isn't exactly a haven, it isn't the dregs either. Fixing the fanbase needs to be a priority.

Honestly? I am not sure who I expected, but I thought we might actually get a real Center, a SF, or a difference maker. I don't think we got that in the draft, D12 and CP3 were of course a dream but not expected when other teams were going after them and the Doc Rivers signing, and most of the difference makers are gone at this point in FA. So unless we get Bynum on the cheap (I dont trust his knee) or do a SnT, I am not crazy about the moves this year at all.

Yea, I would love to trust DF, but remember who OWNS the team. They are who I don't trust.

That is my point. Building a winning team can and will fix a lot of things, but right now things sure do seem bleak. I would love to at least know we are definitely rebuilding or really trying to build a winner. This way I don't have to speculate over the crazy signings we have and have not made this offseason.

One can only hope...but how mad would everyone be if this turns out to be true? LOL!

Dallas can offer a no state tax, one last push with Dirk for a ring, and an owner willing to spend money and make a splash to get a good team together...the Hawks can at least say Bynum will be THE guy.

I think there are actually 2 problems here that people keep putting into 1 large one. There is no one on this team that the fans are drawn to as THE guy. People like Al, but he is not that one guy. Second, fans are sick of being middle of the pack. If I were to say I predict we make the playoffs this year and lose in the first round or win the first round only to be crushed in the 2nd not a soul on this board would bat an eye as a crazy prediction. We have gotten used to mediocrity. There isn't much to cheer for over the years. When this team had 'Nique, there was always a chance, that hope his ability could push this team over the hump. It was amazing to watch him play and that playoff game against Bird is one I will never forget. Will vs will....this team hasn't seen anything close to that since he left. So the problem is two fold. One we have no player on this team the fans gravitate toward as wanting to watch. Which could be solved by answering problem 2...not being in contention for anything more than a middle of the pack season. Remember winning cures a lot of things.