Greatest Hawks disappointment.

Wretch · July 3, 2008

I just can't vote against that. A close second though is the rehire of Mike Woodson. I really don't like Woodson's coaching ability (at least offensively) and I really think they dropped the ball on bringing him back.

Sasha_Volkov · July 3, 2008

Quote:

Manning on the team made us more team like, but we were built to rely on somebody. That's why when the playoffs came and we played the Pacers, the pressure was on, Manning didn't take to the pressure well.

It was T-rex Kevin Willis who tanked against the Pacers, particularly in the last 3 games.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/NBA_1994.html

Manning actually played well other than game 3. In game 4 he had 35. The Pacers were simply a better, deeper team.

The only thing Manning really did wrong as a Hawk was not re-signing. Dominique was having his worst year in '94 and as subsequent seasons showed he was in a pretty steep decline. People don't realize he was a 43%/30% 3pt shooter that season who continued to chuck over 20 times a game. He was washing up yet played selfishly as if he was still the '87 Nique. "Nique" was already gone trade or not.

Sasha_Volkov · July 3, 2008

No option for Cliff Levingston's wild running hook attempt to end game 6 in 1988?

jaywalker72 · July 4, 2008

Expectations were high for a young Hawks team until September 13, 2002.

That's the morning that DerMarr Johnson drove his Mercedes into a tree in the early morning hours, and if not for the courage of witnesses who pulled Johnson out just seconds before his car exploded, he would have died that night.

We can look back and say, at this point, that those players never would have amounted to anything, but at the time there were clearly defined roles and Slim was improving every season.

I know I was very excited to see what that team could have done and, in a literal flash, that excitement was snuffed.

Watchman · July 4, 2008

The Maravich trade to New Orleans. We got crappy players back but the draft picks were supposed to be the reasoning. We were going to draft David Thompson and Marvin Webster, and both signed with the ABA.

sturt · July 4, 2008

Quote:

The Maravich trade to New Orleans. We got crappy players back but the draft picks were supposed to be the reasoning. We were going to draft David Thompson and Marvin Webster, and both signed with the ABA.

OHHHHH, mannnnnnn....

May I amend my earlier treatise on the JR Rider silliiness? The Rider incident was the greatest disappointment where the blame laid squarely on the GM's shoulders, okay?

The failure to sign Thompson and Webster that off-season was the greatest disappointment AT THAT TIME... so much expectation built up, and then... not one but BOTH tell the Hawks to go jump in the proverbial lake.

BUT....

The "Greatest Hawks Disappointment"... ever... in terms of the product put on the floor, and in terms of the disappointment's consequences to Hawks history... was:

Julius Erving suited up, intending to play for the Hawks, but was denied the opportunity by the NBA... I've never studied the situation, but probably rightfully so, and certainly at the time, it would have been considered significant, but not monumental. Now... knowing what we know about the Hall of Famer and all that he would go on to accomplish... I think it's safe to say that that was the pinnacle disappointment of Hawks history.

Diesel · July 4, 2008

I don't think we had too much hope tied up into DeMarr. I felt that he was the player to draft however, he just never did pan out. That whole draft class was weak with the exception of Mike Miller... who we never had a shot at.

Buzzard · July 4, 2008

I was disappointed most with the loss to the Celtics in seven; back when we had a real contender. I honestly think we were the 2nd best team in the league for several years; but unfortunately one of the best teams in history just happened to be in our conference.

DrReality · July 4, 2008

Quote:

The Maravich trade to New Orleans. We got crappy players back but the draft picks were supposed to be the reasoning. We were going to draft David Thompson and Marvin Webster, and both signed with the ABA.

i was thinking the same thing. He was a legend . . . . and got traded.

but there are so many, it has been the plight of the franchise, that it's hard to choose just one.

DrReality · July 4, 2008

I was thinking the most bisarre moment was when Sheed dressed for one game.

Dsinner · July 6, 2008

Quote:

No, for me, the Babcock decision to trade Steve Smith for J.R. Rider was the most incredibly outrageously idiotic trade I think I've ever seen.

Sturt, I tend to disagree with a lot of your opinions on the Hawks but I couldn't agree more with one of the most important ones. This is easily the worst decision our franchise has ever made. I remember after the trade was announced I made a post (I was on the Hawkee board on AOL at the time, don't laugh) about how it wasn't going to work.

Why "rebuild" a yearly playoff team. I knew trades needed to be made as we were getting older but why make that trade the year Jordan retires? We finally had a shot at the east and we trade away our core for a cancer.?.?

That forum got pretty heated around that time and I remember posting that a lot of our fans had become spoiled with our playoff runs every year and tried to remind them just how hard it really is to get there. Longest playoff draught in the NBA later I was wishing I still had AOL just so I could ask how they like their crow.

I also saw JR at Lennox during that year (after several missed practices) and proceeded to ask what he was doing there. "Wow, JR Rider at the mall. Are you here steeling something or just skipping practice?" Needless to say we got into a bit of a low-level shouting match. What an *ss. Something I'll always remember.

EazyRoc · July 6, 2008

Quote:

No, for me, the Babcock decision to trade Steve Smith for J.R. Rider was the most incredibly outrageously idiotic trade I think I've ever seen.

Sturt, I tend to disagree with a lot of your opinions on the Hawks but I couldn't agree more with one of the most important ones. This is easily the worst decision our franchise has ever made. I remember after the trade was announced I made a post (I was on the Hawkee board on AOL at the time, don't laugh) about how it wasn't going to work.

Why "rebuild" a yearly playoff team. I knew trades needed to be made as we were getting older but why make that trade the year Jordan retires? We finally had a shot at the east and we trade away our core for a cancer.?.?

That forum got pretty heated around that time and I remember posting that a lot of our fans had become spoiled with our playoff runs every year and tried to remind them just how hard it really is to get there. Longest playoff draught in the NBA later I was wishing I still had AOL just so I could ask how they like their crow.

I also saw JR at Lennox during that year (after several missed practices) and proceeded to ask what he was doing there. "Wow, JR Rider at the mall. Are you here steeling something or just skipping practice?" Needless to say we got into a bit of a low-level shouting match. What an *ss. Something I'll always remember.

That's actually a very rude thing to come up to a grown man, and say. He didn't deserve to be approached like that no matter how much of a cancer he was.

Traceman · July 7, 2008

I always loved DJ and I felt like he was about to have a breakout season. We will never know how good DJ or the Hawks would have been had that accident never happened but I can't ever remember going from being so excited about an upcoming season to being so depressed.

BusBoyIsBack · July 7, 2008

Well right now it's not re-signing Josh Smith.

And if we don't do it, it will be by far the biggest dissapontment in the franchises history

Dsinner · July 9, 2008

Quote:

No, for me, the Babcock decision to trade Steve Smith for J.R. Rider was the most incredibly outrageously idiotic trade I think I've ever seen.

Sturt, I tend to disagree with a lot of your opinions on the Hawks but I couldn't agree more with one of the most important ones. This is easily the worst decision our franchise has ever made. I remember after the trade was announced I made a post (I was on the Hawkee board on AOL at the time, don't laugh) about how it wasn't going to work.

Why "rebuild" a yearly playoff team. I knew trades needed to be made as we were getting older but why make that trade the year Jordan retires? We finally had a shot at the east and we trade away our core for a cancer.?.?

That forum got pretty heated around that time and I remember posting that a lot of our fans had become spoiled with our playoff runs every year and tried to remind them just how hard it really is to get there. Longest playoff draught in the NBA later I was wishing I still had AOL just so I could ask how they like their crow.

I also saw JR at Lennox during that year (after several missed practices) and proceeded to ask what he was doing there. "Wow, JR Rider at the mall. Are you here steeling something or just skipping practice?" Needless to say we got into a bit of a low-level shouting match. What an *ss. Something I'll always remember.

That's actually a very rude thing to come up to a grown man, and say. He didn't deserve to be approached like that no matter how much of a cancer he was.

Really?.?. A "grown man" (skipping practices, showing up late for games, selling stolen cell-phones etc. etc. etc.) doesn't deserve to be called out on it? I had season tickets during that year so I feel pretty comfortable in what I said. The man was essentially robbing me and those of you that spent any money on Hawks tickets or merchandise while he was here. If a "grown man" can't take someone calling him out for being a loser then he's in the wrong business. Oh wait, I guess he couldn't.

That's the problem with today's society...no accountability. Thanks for participating.

EazyRoc · July 10, 2008