DatBoiKhaos

God bless Al...but I can't support or root for him. Sorry. I can't be revisionist. I never questioned his effort, but he had a few lackluster games in the playoffs, along with the biggest bucket ever scored in ATL history. My issue isn't that he wanted to leave the organization. That's between him and the front office. When Tito came out and said what he said about level of fandom in MY CITY...that did it for me. You can't possibly think they didn't have these discussions in private. Nevermind the fact his son and some of his teammates didn't always bring it. It's ATL all day for me. You can't ish on my city and I feel good about it. Athletes leave all the time. No thang to me. But I will continue to boo Tito's son. This is my city. Are we perfect? No. But it is red clay all day.

This entire situation captures the dilemma the Hawks brass found themselves in. Talent wins games. The best way to get a top flight talent has proven to be through the draft. However, a top flight coach may not want to wait around to see that come to fruition. As painful as it might be to see Bud walk, it feels like Schlenk/Ressler would rather get the talent, suffer through a few miserable years and then (as the talent flourishes) either find a coach that can take it to the next level or hope that a cheaper option has what it takes to do the same. I'd really hate to see Bud go. Over the past few days, I've been up and down around the notion of him leaving. I'm at the point where (as much as it pains me to say it)...let him walk. Schlenk obviously has a plan and most GMs want to bring in their own guys anyway. You can't find much better than Bud. That said, finding the next big thing won't happen in free agency. The draft is the way to go. Onward with the process.

Happy Friday 13th... only in the A baby!

If Bud goes to a team that TANKED and gets the 1st pick AFTER he did everything he could to win, “stay competitive” , and screw us out of the 1st pick, shame on Bud and Schlenk. Neither of them are “the good guy” in this. Either Bud should have left before the season or should have been let go. Just another day as an ATL fan...true to Atlanta

We lost both coin tosses... True to Atlanta

From reading this thread, I can see why Bud might want to leave and I can't say that I'd blame him. That said, if Bud stayed, in looking at the way he coached the talent on this team this year, I can see us threatening to make the 8th seed. We were in most games. If Prince continues to improve, Dennis keeps his head on straight (big if), Collins makes strides, guys like Dorsey and Dedmon (if he opts to take his players option) continue to play big, and we draft a stud rookie. All ifs... Bud knows how to maximize talent. I just don't know if he has it in him to wait around for guys to fully develop after his won for years here and in San Antonio.

True to the Atlanta sports fan, I'm concerned we'll slip in the draft. I've seen mocks that have us taking Jaren Jackson. I'm showing he only averaged 10 pts. Unlike Ayton, Bagley, Young, or Sexton, I didn't see the kid play. What is your take on his play? Are his numbers deceiving? I remember Marvin Williams (not comparing the two) had underwhelming numbers coming out of college due to his minutes on the floor. Experts said, "trust us, the kid has star potential." We know how that turned out. What's the story on Jackson?

My caveat from the beginning is that if Prince doesn't maintain the level of play he's been playing at, then he has cost us in the same fashion that Sura did. It's an if statement. That's a reason why I put the "?" in the subject line. In truth, none of us know if Prince will sustain his level of play. Teams have sat players for the past few weeks or played lackadaisical play against the Hawks. I'm not comparing Prince to Sura the player. But I think the comparison is fair if we miss out on a marketable talent AND Prince comes back down to earth, Prince's "Sura ball" during a year in which we needed a better talent will cost us big. 2004, we picked #6 and got Josh Childress. Say what we want about Dwight, but in his prime he was a stud. Emeka Okafor was injury prone but won Rookie of the year. Ben Gordon (at one point) was a prolific scorer. Livingston was hit by injuries, but he's still playing. Devin Harris was an all star. Josh Childress....well....

How is it a stupid comparison...if LONG TERM Prince doesn't improve, our lot doesn't change and LONG TERM he costs us a chance at an impact player...HOW IS THE LONG TERM IMPACT NOT THE SAME? Forget where Prince was drafted and Sura's FA status. The basis of the comparison is the long term impact this has on the Hawks. Hell, Prince can play 12 more years. But if those 12 years don't equate to us becoming a championship contender and he's bolted from the team...it's the same song all over again?

Prince will be similar if he doesn't translate into a viable long term solution for the Hawks. If Prince doesn't evolve into more than a serviceable player, what's the difference? The end result is the same. We miss out on a better talent because a marginal player that isn't in the Hawks longterm plans. Now if Prince evolves and we are able to draft an impact player, there is no comparison. But say he comes back next year and the next two seasons he averages 9-11 pts and Orlando gets Ayton and he holds it down in the middle. If the Suns get Doncic and he averages 18pts per. If we pick at the #6 spot and Bamba is just a tad bit better than Dedmon. All of these are ifs. But, IF this were to happen, then the only difference between Prince and Sura is he'll be around a few years longer. This thing has left a bad taste in my mouth. Hopefully, Schlenk can find diamonds in the rough like his prior organization did. If not, our ceiling will remain the 2nd round of the playoffs. Honestly, I've been through enough rebuilds.

Taurean has been lighting it up....albeit against marginal competition. If his big games don't translate into him evolving into an impactful player (18pts per is my barometer)...is he Bob Sura all over again? It feels like Deja vu. Sura hurt our draft position going for stats and being "competitive." Guys like Delaney and Baze have been talking about playing for their livelihoods on Twitter. While to some degree, I get where they are coming from; this is their jobs. That said, if (after a contract year) GSW, Cleveland, or Houston came knocking on the door, and the playing time and $ was comparable to what the Hawks were offering...they'd BOUNCE. They'd bounce and say, "this is a business." So excuse me for not having sympathy. Sura played for a job and jobbed us out of a higher draft pick. To this day, we have nothing to show it. If Schlenk allowed Bud to risk our draft position and we miss out on a "can't miss prospect," it's unforgiveable. Shame on the organization. I like Taurean. However, he's now on notice. He has to show up. And if he doesn't AND the ping pong balls don't fall our way, it's Sura all over again...True to ATL .