yardbird

Your opinion. I'll leave it at that. I hope the Hawks do well, which requires them to be smart.

Read what I said. Millsap will probably be gone at year end for nothing, unless we sign him long term at $35 million per year. We could have signed Al for another $5 million over 5 years, and at least traded him for other pieces down the road. Could have had Howard, Horford and Millsap this year, or traded Sap (who I really like) for other assets. I had season tickets since Al's rookie year, and have supported team management throughout, including the loss of DeMarre. Losing Horford over $5 million wasn't a good decision.

We held our ground. We made Boston better and the Hawks weaker. Because we wanted to save $5 million over 5 years. We'll face a choice next year of paying much more annually to an older Paul Millsap. When players are bringing in as much as they are these days, we will lose talent and games while standing on principle. That isn't smart business, IMO. Al has shortcomings, but also many strengths that we'll grudgingly appreciate more in the seasons to come. He is virtually the prototypical stretch 4/5 who can defend PnR AND lead a fastbreak off of a rebound. What the Spurs did in the last 2 decades was under different circumstances, when players either didn't have or didn't exercise the free agency freedom we've seen since the Miami SuperFriends, and especially the last two years with the new TV deal. Toronto didn't hesitate with DeRozan, Memphis didn't hesitate with Conley, why did Atlanta offer Horford less on an annual basis than Boston when he had all the leverage and we had none? To prove to him that he wasn't worth more? We would have been much better off paying him the additional dollars and having a happy player, who we could trade for assets next year if we chose. Even to Boston for developing players and Brooklyn picks in December. Instead, arguably our best player is gone, with nothing in return. Poor management decision. Talented players call the shots in the NBA once they become UFAs, not management. That's the reality today. Unless we adjust to the circumstances, we'll forever be behind.

I fault management. When you can outbid any other team in the league, why lose Horford over $5 million? Over 5 years? And the full MLE gone too. We'd have had an awesome team the next few years, now we'll also lose Millsap next year with no realistic replacement. Pennywise and pound foolish. You have to stroke players egos to be competitive in today's NBA. You don't play hardball over $5 to $17 million over 5 years.

Considering all of the consequences of Al leaving (Millsap's morale, Millsap's 2017 salary spike, the loss of the MLE for a backup PG, etc.), I have zero understanding of why our FO didn't avoid all of the risk by simply offering Al the full Max at the beginning. $17 million over 5 years isn't enough to risk being where the franchise is now (looking at a leadership void, Howard as our 2018 best player, with a strong chance no high profile FA wants to come here), let alone $5 million over 5 years. Even if we needed the extra money to facilitate the Millsap trade and get the players we wanted, those players (or one of them) couldn't have been worth seeing the whole thing blow up because Al wasn't offered the max. Now there's a chance that Al would have gone to Boston even if we'd offered the max, if he saw that as a better opportunity for a championship or didn't want to play with Dwight. But then no one could have any criticism for the Hawks FO, and future FAs would see Atlanta as a team trying to compete without penny pinching. Not so much now.

I don't know. PeachtreeHoops is reporting that he left because the Hawks wouldn't add another $6 million. Over 5 years. To lose Al to the dreaded Celtics over $1.2 million per season??? Makes me second guess my faith in our current management . . . .

My heartfelt condolences.

It's DMC's incoming skill level at about 3x his incoming salary. And, was hoping to not renounce everyone except possibly Baze, assuming the incoming player is an upgrade at the SF. Assuming we can bring in the SF plus the physical big first, then resign Horford leaving us over the cap but with a more competitive team. Probably losing guys like Muscala too.

Definitely Horford. If Bazemore is a casualty to an upgrade at the wing, we may lose him. Really saying we take a step back losing Al who, while not a superstar, brings unique talents to our team. He needs to be kept since we can't replace what he brings. We'd miss Baze, but not as much.

free agency, similar to what we did with DeMarrre, bazemore but a more developed player with higher potential and cost.

I'm no capologist, but shouldn't we be able to pick up a big to protect the rim and rebound (like Detroit did with Drummond), plus a wing who can score on his own in late clock/late game situations (if THJr. had Korver's nerve and shooting consistency, we'd have this), and bring back Horford all without going too deep into luxury territory? Then, we're competitive if Cleveland doesn't shoot lights out again, which I don't think they will. This won't give us an advantage over Cleveland, but will give us a fighting chance against them and the western teams. I agree with Jody23 about seeking a young vet, a draft pick or a free agent, but those are lesser odds of happening. I don't think we have tradable assets that would net an up and coming vet (Jeff or Dennis won't get you this, unlikely Millsap will and Al isn't under contract anymore), we're not luring a top free agent, and we can develop the late draft pick without becoming non-competitive (giving up Horford). Philips would be like a morgue if we go back into the lottery, and I think our crowds turn off free agents as it is.

So, what's the best way to improve? Essentially start over by letting Al go, or add components to our good team that let us compete with Cleveland if they come back to Earth? It can be argued that we are the 2nd best team in the east right now and we're not catching Cleveland unless we attract Durant (pipedream) or get terrible, win the lottery, draft the next LeBron and wait for him to mature. In the latter case, current LeBron is retired by then anyway. Isn't it smarter to add a physical big and a Jamal Crawford to what we have, while assuming Cleveland plays less than perfect basketball over the next few years? At least then, we are competitive. Rooting for a non-playoff team the next few years doesn't interest me.

I agree there's work to do, shown by my point about adding a physical big to address the defensive rebounding. I'm not suggesting we keep the same team, but don't think it wise to give up Horford, who will be coveted elsewhere. He's not a superstar, but he is a max player in this NBA and will thrive in an environment where he's a second or third option. The elements we are missing from the current roster are an athletic wing, rebounding/consistent rim protection and scoring off the dribble. Lose Al and we are also missing a second stretch big, a big with the foot speed to defend the perimeter and push the fast break (his foot speed is rare and underrated, IMO). I think adding the physical big and an athletic two way wing player is achievable, while adding a superstar is unrealistic. If we try to build a team to beat the Cleveland we faced in this year's playoffs, we fail. But, add some interior physicality and additional ability to create our own shot and we can compete with Cleveland so long as they don't shoot 51% from 3. They won't do that forever, perhaps not again. When the 4th perimeter option is able to hit consistently, it's just not your day. Don't blow up the team just because the stars lined up for Cleveland in one series.

Tired of the status quo, I discontinued my season tickets before these playoffs, which I had held since Horford was a rookie. Until recently, I was in favor of a significant roster remake. I am starting to rethink that. Cleveland is in the midst of an historic run. If they play like they did against us, I don't see either Golden State or OKC beating them in 7 games, much less Toronto. The key qualifier is "if they play like they did against us". I know it's stating the obvious, but Cleveland shot 51% from the 3 point line against us. That's 15 percentage points more than their season average of 36%. Do you realize that, holding everything else constant, if Cleveland shoots their season average of 36% against the Hawks, Atlanta sweeps Cleveland instead of the other way around (e.g., in the Game 2 blowout, they shot 56% from 3, making 25 of 45 shots. They make 16 shots and score 27 fewer points at 36%, while we lost by 26)? Even if they shoot 40% from 3, we would have split the 4 games. The Hawks finished the season ranked 6th in defending against the 3 pointer, at just under 34%. Our game plan was to pack the paint against penetration and rotate aggressively against the 3 point shot. Many of the long shots they made were off of the third or fourth pass, after effective close outs earlier. Our strategy was sound, we just couldn't account for unprecedented passing and shooting by the Cavs. So, don't overreact by blowing this thing up and spend the next 6 years becoming today's Boston Celtics. If Cleveland stays like this, we won't be the only ones chasing them until LeBron fades, everyone will because their Big 3 complements each other almost perfectly, especially when you add in the Others (JR, Frye, Shump, etc.) Regarding the roster, effective rim protection ala Andre Drummond to keep LeBron and Kyrie from total domination of the lane (a healthy Splitter and a more seasoned Tavares might have helped), plus doing a little better on close outs after multiple passes would go a long way. The other thing needed is scoring at key points, including down the stretch. We're not getting a superstar, and we can probably get by without one. Finding the next Jamal Crawford or Isaiah Thomas (millennium version) is a lot more doable. I'm now leaning towards bringing back Al and, unless we can upgrade the small forward spot significantly, Bazemore too. Tweaking the roster primarily with stronger wings and a physical big is better than starting from scratch.

Our crowd was solid and appeared to impact ITs game. Admittedly, I'm still a bit jealous of the passion the Boston fans brought against Schröder even though he was the victim. Wish we could create that kind of intimidation here to help our teams, but I guess having so many transplants (including me) with split loyalties diminishes our support. Great win last night, and glad we got the genie (IT) back in the bottle. Hope he's stuck there until next year.

kg01, the IT man ain't no star. He's Nate Robinson with a license to shoot. I expect the Cs will be good next year when they get the Brooklyn pick and add to the roster, and he will be the 6th man he should be now. Cs should have been swept, and the fact the series is tied says a lot more about the Hawks not playing to their talent level and, frankly, Stevens outcoaching Bud (so far) than it does about the Celts. First two games they looked like a lottery team, then they squeaked out two at home. I wouldn't put it past my Hawks to find a way to lose the series, but I'm certainly not impressed with what Boston has shown at all. Neither team has a prayer next round, unfortunately.

It was "interesting" to see Boston fans targeting Dennis as vociferously as they did in Game 4, when Thomas clearly instigated the Game 3 confrontation and should have been suspended. Having attended every playoff game since 2008 (and 90% of regular season games) until this year, when I canceled season tickets in protest over the lack of roster improvement to compete with Cleveland, I expect way too many Boston/Isaiah Thomas fans tonight, giving Boston a neutral court at best. At Philips tonight, will the crowd noise from Boston fans give Thomas a boost, whereas the boos from Boston fans clearly intimidated Dennis (and everyone else on the Hawks but Millsap) at TD Garden?

I agree most blame lies with Bud. It appeared to me that Jeff was told not to start the play until 3 seconds were left on the clock, leaving zero margin of error. If Boston gets the ball back with under 2 seconds left and scores against that kind of late game pressure, kudos to them. Another issue was how did Thomas tie the game so quickly with that driving layup, beating both on ball pressure and two defenders at the rim, if memory serves me? Are we that afraid of surrendering a 3 point play to a 5'8" scoring guard?

It might be a bad trade, one I questioned from the beginning, but I applaud Bud for making THJr earn playing time instead of compounding a possible mistake by playing someone who apparently doesn't complement the overall team as well as others, at least at this point. Still hope he develops into an asset, though.

Dolfan, Sorry about your Spirit airlines experience, but had big fun sitting next to you and your lady at the game! Tough loss for the Fish today, but they played hard and well (especially Tannehill), I see good things for them in the days to come.

Waaaaay too early to even think about him being a bust. He's only even touched a basketball in the last five years, and I bet Larry Bird would have traded Hibbert for him straight up (remember, two years ago Hibbert was touted as best center in the East hands down, arguably best in the league) this summer. If you're a Hawks fan, see how he progresses over the next two years, then opine on whether he's worth a roster spot. He'll definitely get abused early on by Demarcus Cousins, Mosgov and the newbie on the Heat, but some D-League and occasional NBA reps plus some tutoring from Deke can take him a long way in a short time. I think he's a rotation player in 16-17, and a possible starter in 17-18, if given a chance to grow. The jury's still out, but I hope you're wrong about Ressler (spell check converted this to Reseller, hope that's not Freudian!).

Honestly, I don't even have him at young Deke level yet, though I see the potential to be a little less than Dee defensively and more than Deke on offense. Less agile is a good call, and unless it results from lack of experience/having to think what to do vs. reacting naturally, Edy may never have the agility of Deke defensively though he can be very, very good. Definitely not Prime Deke now, but in time could be about as effective (fingers crossed). He might have a trajectory like Dennis: uncertain first year followed by quantum leap in second year. A lot of 2015-16 season in the D-League.

Edy actually reminds me more of a longer, less quick Dikembe with more offensive potential and a bit heavier (stronger legs though weight is about the same give or take 5 lbs. Anyone else see that?

JETSET, I have been in Section 117, Row Q for the last few years. Where do you sit? Which ECF games will you attend?

Pretty much agree with AUhawksfan. Writing was on the wall when they didn't pick up his option even though he shot lights out in preseason. He's a great shooter, but his all around game (i.e., defense) leaves him behind Thabo and Bazemore in the 2 guard rotation, not to mention Schröder and Mack in small lineups. He'll probably be a great role player with his next team, but no minutes for him here given our current defensive focus.