Seano

Drew Gordon signed with Dallas, darn it.

And if there is a new owner so clearly in sight that he'd be in position to approve of this, then wow are they keeping it quiet.

Point #1 is one I hadn't actually considered, but I think it presents at least a valid possibility. Certainly something to make a guy go 'Hmmm'.One question I have is what reasons could the ASG have for pulling the team off the market when it seemed not too long ago like they were so dead-set on selling?Interesting times ahead, I think.

Speaking of the 3-way trade, I'm wondering when the last time was that we were involved in one of those? I honestly cannot recall.

I noticed that too, the 3-ways. Those kind of trades require a little creativity, a little flexibility, and somewhat of a capacity for 'thinking outside the box', all of which I would consider to be positive things.It certainly looks like he was an active GM, not exactly the type to be sitting around on his hands.I am cautiously optimistic, and agree it's probably a good sign for his own autonomy in running the show that not only was he given the 6 year deal as GM, but also named President of Basketball Operations. I don't believe the ASG would have done that had they been planning on him simply being another figurehead.

Heh. Classic.

Yeah, I think very possibly we did, and that's what makes this latest failure so painful. With Dwight out, Rose out, Bosh out, a gimpy and old Celtics team, and our own team finally getting healthy, the Eastern Conference might never have been so vulnerable for the taking as it is right now, I mean it is WIDE open for any team that wishes to take it, but here are the Atlanta Hawks sitting at home once again, and that's just fricken horribly and terribly disappointing.I think back on all those good to great Hawks teams simply unable to break through the ceiling over the years, because their downfall was always to epic and legendary teams like Bird's Celtics or Jordan's Bulls, and frustrating and wrenching as all those disappointments were, there was never any shame in losing to iconic teams like that. But to kick away such a golden opportunity as we had this year, I mean what can you say? There really are no words to express such a feeling of disappointment as that.A postseason like this makes me honestly wonder if I'll ever see a Hawks championship in my lifetime, or an NBA Finals appearance for that matter, or for god's sake and throw me a damn bone already, even a conference finals. Is that too much to ask, or will I go to the grave having never seen the Atlanta Hawks do diddly-crap? I don't ask that lightly either, because I really do wonder, as the frustration has a corrosive effect, and really begins to weigh on a person after awhile.The way this postseason is unfolding, we had a hell of a shot in my opinion, and somehow we just managed to kick that away. That's exceptionally painfully to a damnably frustrated fan, and like Whittier once said, "For all the sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these: "What might have been".

The relevent question is not whether we've quit, as we are just fans on a message board whose opinions don't mean diddly-squat in the grand scheme of things and especially as pertaining to the fortunes of the Atlanta Hawks. The much more salient question to ask is whether they've quit, whether they have the pride, the courage, the stomach and the balls to fight back from a series that has taken a seriously embarrassing turn. It's not a question of talent any longer, because talent-wise, we're right up there if not far beyond the ancient Celtics. Physically and athletically speaking, we should be able to run them right out of the gym, and it's no longer a question of lack of experience, as this team has PLENTY of playoff experience under its belt at this point. So to me it's much more a question of desire and heart than anything else. They can either choose to fight their asses off in order to at least make themselves look respectable in this series, or they can choose to fold up the tent and get an early start on offseason relaxation. And as to what they'll choose to do, your guess is as good as mine.

Excellent post, Colin. I really couldn't agree more. It ain't easy being a Hawks fan, as the frustration just gets to be an epic drag at times. And I'd have loved for these guys to step up for once and forcefully shut the mouths of the nitiwits and mediots downgrading them everywhere, but no, they just further reinforce the negative imagery TNT and the others are espousing.It's highly discouraging. The Celtics are an old-ass team, and they were ripe for the taking, but we're clearly not there yet and might very realistically never get 'there' with this current group of Hawks.

We just need the right situation and the right billionaire to come along, ala Tom Benson with the Hornets. The heck with this group ownership or corporate ownership, because that never seems to work out.

I'd be curious to read Neil Paine's article as to why the Hawks and 76ers have no hope in the playoffs. Probably more of the same old same old stuff, but still, I'd be curious to hear his reasoning as to why we supposedly have no hope.

I wouldn't do anything with Horford until we know what Smoove's status is going forward. If Josh can't or won't be re-signed, then I'd like to keep Horford as one of the pieces we can build (or rebuild) around. But if we can sign Smoove to an extension, then yeah, at that point why not investigate all possibilities, including trading Al if we get a killer offer?

Pride is measured not in losses, because everyone loses, but rather in how one responds to that. You take one on the chin as we did last night, hey, it happens, inexplicable and unacceptable or not.I've accepted that loss, and am now far more interested in seeing how they respond to that, and feel lucky as hell to see that happen the very next day. Their response to that is wherein lies the pride, the heart, and the balls. I wouldn't be surprised to see these Hawks come out and roll the Raps by 20 points on the road tonight, and they should. Hopefully the fire of their embarrassment and humiliation at the hands of that same team will be enough to inspire them. If not, then I don't even know what to say.

"This teams 19-10 home record is hardly impressive. So losing at home isn't a surprise for these people. But damn... This team has ZERO pride. If they did, they wouldn't have lost this game tonight."Well, every single team in the NBA will have unexplainable and unfathomable losses like this over the course of a season, and that's just simply how it is. So that much is a given, but it's the maddeningly frustrating details that will drive you crazy, such as the facts that we were at home, and rested, and yet still somehow managed to get ourselves blown right out the home building by a team that's even worse than shitty, has clearly given up and is now merely carefully tanking so as not to be too obvious about it, in preparation for draft seeding in 2012 NBA draft.. Now *that's* frustration, the fact we could, would and did lose to a team like that (and not only lost, but got fricken rolled), and so it is to be a fan of the Atlanta Hawks. It seems the frustration never ends and never stops.The positive if any, we've got a chance to go to their house and return the exact same favor to them tomorrow night (tonight), so let's see how this bunch responds to having their collective nose' rubbed right in it.

We certainly don't want to meet Toronto in the playoffs! Oh, wait.....

So far as drafting a center goes, I'd be really intrigued with Meyers Leonard out of Illinois. He is very young (honestly, the kid looks like he's about 12 years old), but he has got legit NBA size (7'1, 245) and an NBA skill-set that was obvious from the moment he first set foot on the court in Champaign, and at 20 years old, I would say he's just got a world of potential ahead of himself. He is already wicked athletic and fluid for a big man and is an excellent passer for someone so young. He could move up into the lottery, but if not, he'll most likely go around the middle of round 1, which to me at least would make him someone who might be obtainable for us.

Yeah, I caught that little cheap shot from Heinsohn too. Tell ya what, he is about un-listenable too at this point, as he absolutely does give an entirely new definition to the term 'homer'. Every single foul called against the Celtics is just a travesty before God himself, while he never mentions any of the questionable fouls which might be called against their opponents. He is so one-sided it's just ridiculous, he is borderline senile at this point, and the guy just needs put out to pasture.What's shocking to me is that you'd think a team like the Celtics would demand something better from their announcer than that, but Heinsohn is just an embarrassment anymore, and they allow that.

Thanks AHF. I appreciate that. My head is so out of it with this damn tooth abcess that I can't even think straight. :bad: Anyhow, here I will pick Arron Afflalo. He's a young (25 y.o.) SG who really blossomed this season in Denver's high octane offense. I think he'd be an awesome guy to add scoring off my bench, as he is an excellent shooter, ranking 2nd amongst all SG's in FG% at .498 and 2nd amongst SG's and 8th in the NBA in 3PT% at .423. He's also deadly from the FT line, so he'd be a nice little player to give 20--25 minutes per game to. And 01d0rd3r is on the clock and has been notified.

Sorry about that, fellas. Been sicker than a dog here dealing with an abcessed tooth. AHF, is there any possibility I could get an updated draft recap, por favor?

Or practice a bit of self-reliance and learn how to handle that yourself. It's not that hard to learn how to handle money, all it requires is discipline and due diligence. To me it's much better to rely on ones own self regarding money, as there is no adviser out there who's going to care as much about your money as you do, so therefore it's on you to take care of your own business. Cripes, I've made a fricken small fortune by investing in the stock market, to the tune where my annualized net worth is growing by anywhere between 8-16 percent per year counting dividends, and that's all due to my own efforts in reading and reading and learning and learning as much as I possibly can about investing. And that's not to brag about it either, as I'm just an average guy who has whiffed and whiffed hard in the stock market plenty of times. I've gotten absolutely hammered on my Chinese investments due to rumored fraud and the near total lack of opacity in Chinese companies and markets, but it's all a learning process, gains and losses both, and it's all on me no matter what, and I like that and that's exactly how it should be. It requires work, but it's totally rewarding both financially and in knowledge gained. Relying on advisers while remaining completely uneducated on finances leaves yourself totally open to getting screwed over, and that happens to athletes far too often. Just watched that HBO special on Marcus Dupree, and how all those so dearly earned millions he made disappeared into the hands of his trusted 'adviser', never to be seen again, and how he ended up flat broke and working on the loading dock of a trucking company. Lesson being, you need to take care of yourself and watch your own stuff, and the more educated you become on your own finances, the better.

Love the front court, AHF. I like mine too, a lot, but yours looks damned good.

Wow, some of the big names are heading over too. Just saw where Deron Williams is expected to sign within the next 24 hours with the same Turkish club that signed Zaza, and apparently they're also going to contact Kobe Bryant amongst others to gauge their interest in playing in Turkey. If I were a player, I'd do it. It would be one hell of an experience.

Ok. I'd better pick a coach here, so I'll go with Eric Spoelstra. He took a lot of heat this season (no pun intended), but I was just incredibly impressed with the way he handled it all under extremely challenging circumstances. The constant storm of media surrounding that squad, the endless criticisms, the early season blowups and controversies, everybody and their dog rooting hard for them to fail, and the way he was able to handle all that and keep himself and his team centered and with eyes on the prize rather than being distracted by all the white noise surrounding them. They underperformed by anyone's measure during the regular season and I honestly did not expect them to get by the Bulls in the playoffs, but they stayed focused and came together and came just that close to winning it all. Just on the basis of managing all those massive egos and fitting them all together into a cohesive unit, keeping them calm, focused, on the same page and all together as one, I just think he did a hell of a job in what could easily have been a massive fail for the Miami Heat. He's sharp as hell, got a encyclopedic knowledge of the game of basketball, and is a really promising young coach in my opinion. These are the reasons why Pat Riley took him on as his protege. And I believe Supporter is up? I dunno, but I think Nicholas has dropped out of the draft.

Danke schein, AHF.

Yep, God bless America and happy 4th to all.