Seano

I have no idea about affordability nor income rankings by city, but yeah, you are correct about the comparatively low tax burden in Houston, and I was wrong, wrong, wrong, as according to the property tax rate provided by CFO.DC, Houston has one of the lower rates amongst all major American cities. I guess I just threw out the baby with the bathwater, as overall the state of Texas ranks within the top five so far as property tax rates go, almost punitively high, but perhaps those rates are skewed by the Austin and DFW metro areas? I have no idea, and not much inclination to find out, but in this instance I was clearly talking out me arse, and I certainly didn't mean to diss your hometown. I dunno how long you've been living there, but I remember how it always used to be such a boom and bust type town, entirely tied into the whims of the oil market, and how back in the late 80s- early 90s when the cycle had gone through its latest low-point, the vacancy rate on office space in downtown Houston was approaching 60%, and there were all these beautiful skyscrapers sitting virtually empty. I minored in Social Planning and Economics way back in the day, so it's just interesting to me, all these vastly differing American cities and the economic engines which drive them, and how they become ascendant or descendant in cycles, over, and over, and over again. Anyhow, wow, way off-topic. Sorry, and let's go Hawks!

Disappointing for sure. I really liked his fiery nature as well as his work on the boards.

Well there is no state income tax in Texas, but that's made up for in other ways, such as higher property taxes, sales taxes, etc etc. I don't know exactly, but in the end the tax angle might all be fairly close to a wash.

Boston, Houston, and???

I'm just really happy we've got so many options and alternatives from which to choose, as there is great opportunity with that. That's all on Danny Ferry too, for giving us the luxury of such voluminous cap-space. Man, think if we were still burdened down by the contracts of Marvin and especially Joe. We would be some pretty sad cowboys around here if that were the case, so kudos again to DF and can't wait to see what happens.

Beyond the health issues (four knee surgeries in 8 seasons), you just really have to kind of wonder where his head is at, and whether it's even in the game of basketball at all. He took a ton of heat for his escapades in Spain back in May, flamenco dancing in Barcelona while not logging a single minute on the court for the 76ers this past season. His knees looked awesome while dancing, which sort of begs the question..."Dude, if you can perform that physically strenuous form of dancing so well, then what the hell about playing basketball....?"

I've no idea I've no idea, as I've been a bit busy lately, but that was just a d*ck-headed and entirely uncalled for remark. We are all fans of the same team., and all of us wanting the best, and so there is no need for insults no matter the rest

No, don't particularly care for that type of name-calling, as it is unnecessary as well as unduly harsh. Not everyone is so 'aware' as you presume yourself to be, and big deal, so what of it, and perhaps yourself might be such 'idiot', as seen through eyes other than your own, and just remember, 'idiot' is as idiot does.

That's possible. You know what they say- you don't know what you've got until it's gone. That said though, you have to understand why so many Hawks fans feel so frustrated with Josh, as if there is any player who can make you feel like beating your head against a wall in maddening frustration, that would be Smoove.

Not to blame anybody or anything, but I thought if anyone buggered up that game for the Spurs last night it was Ginobili, as his turnovers were just killer. I think he's a heck of a player, but sometimes he is so damn reckless with the ball and plays so frenetically and crazily he is about borderline out of control out there, and all I can think is "Dang, dude! Slow it up a little bit, and take a fricken breath!' Last night he was *really* careless with the ball. Hopefully he can redeem himself on Thursday.

I'm assuming that's Michael Wilbon reported it, and if so, then it's probably legit. Interesting nonetheless. I don't know much about either of those two players, but it seems pretty clear we're interested in bigs with at least one of our first round picks.

Well I would hardly consider myself a Dwight 'naysayer', as the man did once use to absolute beast, but I dunno that iteration of Dwight will ever be back, and so I would not choose to hitch my wagon (and max $$$) to that particular star. Anyhow, it's fine you disagree with that, as your opinion is just as equally valid as mine, and such is adult and respectful discourse made. We are all fans of the same team.

Well, the only personal insults I've seen in this thread have come from Leadership and JETSET, IE calling people with different opinions 'ignorant'. Personally, I'd put an immediate stop to that type of behavior, but at any rate, it seems like the vast majority of people (including the OP) are being respectful of each other and simply wish to talk about the issue. And for those getting so emotionally heated such they feel the insult others, wow. If it's truly gotten to that point of emotionalism, then why not just do everyone a favor and step away from the keyboard until you're better able to maintain composure.

I completely agree, and would add that Dwight since his back surgery is not nearly the same player he once was . He has noticeably regressed, and the question is, can he ever be the same again? Big men with bad backs equate to a serious red flag, and as Bill Simmons noted, despite his regression as a player, some team is going to shoot for the moon and blow their wad in landing Dwight this summer, and I just pray that team ain't us. It's a gamblers bet, and a bad one.

Nice hire. I'd imagine his experience coaching in Moscow might give him some first-hand and unique insights into some of these European players this team has traditionally seemed to know (or maybe care?) so little about. I'm all for it. Welcome to the Hawks, Quin!

I could see Dwight going to Houston. If it's money he's primarily after, the lack of a state income tax in Texas could be a significant draw, as in if he could get 18 million there vs. 18 million here, he'd be walking away with a heck of a lot more money in Texas just due to tax reasons.

No idea, and your guess is just as good as mine. I'm just happy to see that Dieselputer cranking up again, and no more 'Welfare Mentality'!

Heh. :)

Gay is shooting 40% from the field, and 31% from 3 point range, so Josh is currently handily outshooting him at least from 2 point range, and that combined with the $$$$ he's owed over the next two seasons = please God, no Gay in Atlanta. I'm not opposed to trading Josh if necessary, but not for that.

Heh. Well sheesh, no wonder I haven't been able to get the damn grass cut! I've tried the Electrolux, the Hoover, the Kirby, nothing was working! It would have been a lot more helpful if you'd told me about this several months ago!

Kudos, ditto, good post, and I agree. I think the Dwight to the Lakers deal has just ramped up the sky is falling crowd to entirely new heights of melodrama and angst around here, despite every indication to the contrary leading to the inescapable conclusion that if there was anywhere Dwight was *not* going to end up, that would be here. Nonetheless, people are freaking...I dunno. As much as I appreciated (for the most part) Joe Johnson's tenure here, I was greatly relieved to find us rid of that millstone of a contract which would only weigh further as he ages and becomes less effective, but yet the dollar amount keeps going up just the same. That contract was burdensome enough as signed and to begin with, as it basically made us married to Joe as well as totally hindered our flexibility and ability to make other moves, and with the dollar amounts going up and Joe getting even older, then for me that leads to..."Sayonara, Joe! See ya! Thanks for the memories, and good luck in Brooklyn."I'm just happy to be rid of it.As for the Chicken Little's clucking chaotically and the Negative Nelly's pissing in everyone's cornflakes around here, well let them do their thing. There's no point in doing otherwise, because they're going to do what they do anyway. They'll moan about how Ferry's an idiot, how he's got no clue, yadda yadda yadda and blah blah blah, because that is their mentality and that's the role.Doesn't amount to a hill of beans to me, as I don't stress it anyway. I'm just enjoying my summer, looking forward to the resumption of NBA basketball, and seeing what the future might bring.

So Orlando was all about the picks, eh? Have you taken a look at the dubious, tenuous, totally uncertain and highly restricted as well as conditional aspect of those picks they did receive? This courtesy of the Orlando Sentinel 8/11/2012: "{The Orlando Magic acquired a total of five draft picks in the blockbuster trade that sent Dwight Howard to theLos Angeles Lakers. Three of those picks are conditional first-round picks. Two are second-round picks (one of them protected and conditional). Here is a breakdown of each of those picks, specifically explaining the conditions that apply to each one: 2014 first-round pick from the Denver Nuggets The Nuggets have two first-round picks in 2014: their own pick and a pick from the New York Knicks. The Magic will receive the less favorable of the two picks. One future first-round pick from the Philadelphia 76ers This pick is tied to a previous trade between the Sixers and the Miami Heat, and the Magic cannot receive the pick from the Sixers from the Howard deal until the Sixers satisfy their prior commitment to the Heat. Here’s the CliffsNotes version: • If the Sixers make the playoffs in 2012-13, the Magic will receive a protected Sixers first-round pick in 2015. • If the Sixers don’t make the playoffs until 2013-14, the Magic will receive a protected Sixers first-round pick in 2016. • Even if the Sixers still haven’t made the playoffs by 2014-15, the Magic will receive a protected Sixers first-round pick in 2017. Now, remember that the pick the Magic are getting will be protected. Here are the terms of that protection: • 2015 draft: The Magic will receive the pick if it falls from 15th overall to 30th overall. If the pick falls from first overall to 14th overall, Philly will keep the pick and Orlando instead will receive a protected first-round pick in 2016. • 2016 draft: The Magic will receive the pick if it falls from 15th overall to 30th overall. If the pick falls from first overall to 14th overall, Philly will keep the pick and Orlando instead will receive a protected first-round pick in 2017. • 2017 draft: The Magic will receive the pick if it falls from 12th overall to 30th overall. If the pick falls from first overall to 11th overall, Philly will keep the pick and Orlando instead will receive a protected first-round pick in 2018. • 2018 draft: The Magic will keep the pick if it falls from ninth overall to 30th overall. If the pick falls from first overall to eighth overall, Philly will keep the pick and Orlando instead will receive a second-round pick in 2018 and a second-round pick in 2019. (Why would the Magic forfeit a first-round pick? Because the new CBA prohibits teams from trading a first-round pick seven years out.) One future first-round pick from the Lakers This pick is tied to the Lakers’ sign-and-trade deal with the Phoenix Suns for Steve Nash, and the Magic cannot receive the Lakers’ first-round pick until the Lakers satisfy their obligation to the Suns. That said, the only way the Magic don’t get a protected pick from the Lakers for the 2017 draft is if the Lakers are terrible in 2012-13 and fail to make the playoffs. That’s not going to happen. But if the Lakers don’t make the playoffs until 2013-14, the Magic would get a Lakers’ protected first-round pick in 2018. If by some miracle the Lakers don’t make the playoffs in any of the next three seasons, the Magic would not get a first-round pick from the Lakers and instead would get the Lakers’ second-round pick in 2017 and the Lakers’ second-round pick in 2018 because of the CBA rule that prevents a team from trading a first-round pick seven years out. Here are the protection terms: • 2017 draft: The Magic will receive the pick if it falls from sixth overall to 30th overall. If the pick falls from first overall to fifth overall, L.A. will keep the pick and Orlando instead will receive a protected first-round pick in 2018. • 2018 draft: The Magic will receive the pick if it falls from sixth overall to 30th overall. If the pick falls from first overall to fifth overall, L.A. will keep the pick and Orlando instead will receive a first-round pick in 2019. • 2019 draft: Unprotected. The Magic will receive the pick no matter what it falls. 2013 second-round pick from the Nuggets This pick originally belonged to the Golden State Warriors, so the picks place in the second round will be determined by how the Warriors finish during the 2012-13 season. 2015 second-round pick from the Lakers The Lakers will keep the pick if it falls from 31st overall to 40th overall. If that occurs, the pick disappears and the Magic won’t receive a second-round pick from the Lakers." If that represents a quality haul of picks for you, then I don't even know what to say in response to that. And you're welcomed and entitled to your opinion, but I'm equally entitled to mine, so I will continue to insist that in light of what the Magic ultimately received for Horward, your suggestion that it would have been a good idea for us to trade Smoove PLUS Horf for him is just absolute freaking lunacy.

Wow.....are you fricken kidding me? Look at the platter of poop the Magic ended up getting for Deewhight....yet you're proposing we should have emptied the cupboard for the rental of him (plus making Orlando better than us in the process), AND taken one of their crap contracts....and this would make us better exactly how??? Sorry fella, just not getting where you're coming from with that.

All the summer league info including box scores are on NBA.com. I believe that our portion of the fun is over, as the Las Vegas Summer League has wrapped up already, but what I took out of this summer session was that Keith Benson played relatively well, Mike Scott is a physical specimen who can man the boards with the best of them but whose shot needs some work, and that hell to the yes, John Jenkins can certainly shoot (.508 from the field, .444 from three, 15.6 PPG in 28.6 minutes played.).It'd be such a bonus for us if we could develop Keith Benson into an actual player, as in my opinion he's got all the physical attributes you could want from an athletic big. He's still very much a work in progress but did undeniably look good this summer (especially early, in the first three games), so hopefully he can keep that level of progression up. We've had so many busts in the draft, it'd just be an absolute joy to find a diamond in the rough like that.