In order for us to be a dynasty in future seasons...

[Joker]

We need Dwayne Wade in 2010. We can make some trades and work the market. Childress contract and another player like Bibby contract will get us D. Wade freedom in cash. Not to mention, Atlanta is an amazing city when your a superstar. Not that Miami isn't but Atlanta special... remember Michael Vick popularity.

Edited October 27, 2009 by nbasuperstar40

[jerrywest]

I propose Randolph Morris for Dwayne Wade.

[gsuteke]

I propose Randolph Morris for Dwayne Wade.

LOL

I honestly don't see it happening either.

Chillz contract doesn't net us any cap room unless we trade it to Miami and why in the world would they do that?

I wish everyone would read the latest cap info that has been posted on the site.

[hawksrule9]

I would rather build upon the current team. Just further develop Joe, Smith, Marv, Al, Teague, and Zaza talents. Would much rather keep Joe.

[Buzzard]

LOL

I honestly don't see it happening either.

Chillz contract doesn't net us any cap room unless we trade it to Miami and why in the world would they do that?

I wish everyone would read the latest cap info that has been posted on the site.

Yes

Yes

Yes

The only way it could happen is move two major contracts for one of DWade; then we end up weaker than the Miami team he may be leaving. And I say may, cause if Riley works some magic and gets Boozer...Wade is probably going to want to stay; and we have one more dominant big to have to deal with in the regular season and playoffs.

Edited October 27, 2009 by Buzzard

[coachx]

JJ will age into his 30's better then "Crash" / Wade.

JJ will age like Steve Smith and Wade will age more like Iverson has.

I'll take a HUGE guard who's game is based on solid fundamentals over a small guard who's game is based on athletic ability and crashing into things to get foul calls. How many more crashes can "Crash's" body take ?

Wade is only 7 months younger then JJ and is one of the few players, of a similar age, with more tread on the tires then what JJ has.

I would rather dream over Bosh then Wade.

Edited October 27, 2009 by coachx

[Admin]

We need Dwayne Wade in 2010. We can make some trades and work the market. Childress contract and another player like Bibby contract will get us D. Wade freedom in cash. Not to mention, Atlanta is an amazing city when your a superstar. Not that Miami isn't but Atlanta special... remember Michael Vick popularity.

We'd have to trade a lot more than Bibby's contract to get far enough under the cap to sign Wade. We'd have to trade multiple of our core young players for expiring contracts to do this and that would just be in HOPES that Wade would sign with us and that's not something I'd risk. I like Wade but there's no chance in hell he will be a Hawk in 2010.

[DrReality]

Teague could be the X factor in the equation. Maybe expecting toooo much, but he seems to have a lot of upside and could pick us up.

I agree though . . . . . need a few tweaks not major deal unless we move JJ.

[Atlantaholic]

JJ will age into his 30's better then "Crash" / Wade.

JJ will age like Steve Smith and Wade will age more like Iverson has.

I'll take a HUGE guard who's game is based on solid fundamentals over a small guard who's game is based on athletic ability and crashing into things to get foul calls. How many more crashes can "Crash's" body take ?

Wade is only 7 months younger then JJ and is one of the few players, of a similar age, with more tread on the tires then what JJ has.

I would rather dream over Bosh then Wade.

How did Steve Smith age better than Iverson? By his 29th birthday Steve Smith had already started a steep decline (18ppg 40% fg) and by the time he was 33 he was completely done, averaging 6 points per game off the bench. Iverson had the best statistical season of his career at 30 (33ppg 7apg 44%fg) and averaged 26 ppg on 45% fg at 31 and 32. Last year at 33 was the first year in his career were it looked like he finally got old. Steve Smith's MPG after 30 = 31, 29, 20. Iverson's: 43, 42, 37

[coachx]

How did Steve Smith age better than Iverson? By his 29th birthday Steve Smith had already started a steep decline (18ppg 40% fg) and by the time he was 33 he was completely done, averaging 6 points per game off the bench. Iverson had the best statistical season of his career at 30 (33ppg 7apg 44%fg) and averaged 26 ppg on 45% fg at 31 and 32. Last year at 33 was the first year in his career were it looked like he finally got old. Steve Smith's MPG after 30 = 31, 29, 20. Iverson's: 43, 42, 37

Steve Smith remained a solid team player for the Trailblazers (hopefully JJ will not share his knee problems in common).Smitty was no longer asked to play heavy minutes or be the #1 option since they had Rasheed Wallace, Sabonis, Scottie Pippen, and a young Doman Stoudemire to score the rock. They needed a steady and savy veteran to replace the erratric and immature Rider / Jackson combo. Smitty could still be effective without having to be a #1 or #2 scoring option.............but A.I. has not proven that he can do the same thing.

All A.I. can do is chuck up shots and hope for cheap foul calls to bail him out and pad his ppg. Smith knew how to be a team player and facilate for others without being a ball hog..........JJ can too under a different coach.

[MaceCase]

How did Steve Smith age better than Iverson? By his 29th birthday Steve Smith had already started a steep decline (18ppg 40% fg) and by the time he was 33 he was completely done, averaging 6 points per game off the bench. Iverson had the best statistical season of his career at 30 (33ppg 7apg 44%fg) and averaged 26 ppg on 45% fg at 31 and 32. Last year at 33 was the first year in his career were it looked like he finally got old. Steve Smith's MPG after 30 = 31, 29, 20. Iverson's: 43, 42, 37

Perhaps Stephon Marbury vs. Reggie Miller is a better comparison.

[AHF]

Perhaps Stephon Marbury vs. Reggie Miller is a better comparison.

Dwayne Wade = Stephon Marbury?

[MaceCase]

Dwayne Wade = Stephon Marbury?

Skills wise Stephon was one hell of a player with awesome explosiveness and a much bigger body to Iverson's, more similar to Wade. Once his ankle went out in his 30s all that weight/strength deterred his explosiveness thus the timid player you saw in Boston. I could see Wade follow a much similar decline considering his reliance on athleticism and having to carry that frame.

[AHF]

Skills wise Stephon was one hell of a player with awesome explosiveness and a much bigger body to Iverson's, more similar to Wade. Once his ankle went out in his 30s all that weight/strength deterred his explosiveness thus the timid player you saw in Boston. I could see Wade follow a much similar decline considering his reliance on athleticism and having to carry that frame.

Marbury was a glorified ball hog who never accomplished anything of significance in the NBA. The guy was a cancer who made every team he joined worse. I just can't compare them even if they have some similarity in body type. It would be like comparing Vin Baker and Tim Duncan.

[MaceCase]

Marbury was a glorified ball hog who never accomplished anything of significance in the NBA. The guy was a cancer who made every team he joined worse. I just can't compare them even if they have some similarity in body type. It would be like comparing Vin Baker and Tim Duncan.

We are all well aware of Stephon but like I said skill and body type is why I drew up that comparison. Joe's comparison to Reggie is also questionable for the same reasons but considering that Joe hasn't been hyper-athletic throughout most his career, carrying all that weight may not affect his game that badly. Perhaps Wally Z would be a better comparison?

[Atlantaholic]

Perhaps Stephon Marbury vs. Reggie Miller is a better comparison.

Not really, Stephon Marbury's decline was most definitely not physical (dude is crazy), and he really wasn't the type of player Dwyane Wade or Iverson was anyway, more of a jumpshooting PG and a Pick and Roll guy than a slasher.

Tmac and Ginobili are the two best examples of aggressive above the rim guys with injury problems. Though the more I think about it, the more I'm willing to dispute the notion that aggressive players are more injury prone. It's definitely something that is hard to prove (you can probably find many examples of jumpshooters who had their careers derailed by injuries), and there are plenty of examples of players who played with that style and had successful careers into their 30s. (MJ, Drexler, Iverson, Carter... just off the top of my head)

[Atlantaholic]

Steve Smith remained a solid team player for the Trailblazers (hopefully JJ will not share his knee problems in common).Smitty was no longer asked to play heavy minutes or be the #1 option since they had Rasheed Wallace, Sabonis, Scottie Pippen, and a young Doman Stoudemire to score the rock. They needed a steady and savy veteran to replace the erratric and immature Rider / Jackson combo. Smitty could still be effective without having to be a #1 or #2 scoring option.............but A.I. has not proven that he can do the same thing.

All A.I. can do is chuck up shots and hope for cheap foul calls to bail him out and pad his ppg. Smith knew how to be a team player and facilate for others without being a ball hog..........JJ can too under a different coach.

I don't see what Steve Smith's ability to defer and AI's selfishness has anything to do with what we were talking about. The post was not about who was the better/more valuable player, it was about how turning 30 affected both of their respective careers. It is a fact that when Steve Smith hit 29, he was struggling to be the number 1 guy and shot a career low from the field and the three point line. Steve Smith was the ultimate team player and embraced his new role as a number 3 option perfectly, but not all of it was just out of sheer sacrifice. At 30 Steve Smith could not have been a number 1 option for any team with championship aspirations. I was probably Steve Smith's biggest fan but he ALWAYS had knee issues and when he hit 30 he was not even close to the same player he was at 28. Iverson is a first ballot hall of famer and at 32 was playing better than he had at 28. Those aren't just opinions the stats back it up emphatically. Steve Smith at 32 was absolutely done, all he could do was spot up and shoot. That is the whole point of the post, not about who was the better teammate and/or player.

[Joker]

We'd have to trade a lot more than Bibby's contract to get far enough under the cap to sign Wade. We'd have to trade multiple of our core young players for expiring contracts to do this and that would just be in HOPES that Wade would sign with us and that's not something I'd risk. I like Wade but there's no chance in hell he will be a Hawk in 2010.

Thanks guys, just watching this team and coming to the realization that we are one player away from a dynasty. Not just being championship hopefuls like Dallas. We would have to part with J. Craw and/or Smith or Marvin Williams. Still possible, just not likely. Wade is more MJ than AI. The two(AI and Wade) are not comparable. MJ used to take a lot of abuse as well in his early stages as well. Wade actually calmed down a lot in terms of playing wild and with reckless abandonment. He carried the Heat to a title a few years back, I have never seen A.I. do that. Not to mention, Wade was the only player outside of Bron that was a MVP contender rightfully last season. Comparing Wade to AI is on Q with the JJ is better than Wade comments a few years back on this site.

[coachx]

Wade is more MJ than AI. The two(AI and Wade) are not comparable. MJ used to take a lot of abuse as well in his early stages as well. Wade actually calmed down a lot in terms of playing wild and with reckless abandonment. He carried the Heat to a title a few years back, I have never seen A.I. do that. Not to mention, Wade was the only player outside of Bron that was a MVP contender rightfully last season. Comparing Wade to AI is on Q with the JJ is better than Wade comments a few years back on this site.

Correction: Wade and Shaq carried the Heat to a Title.

Put Shaq on A.I.'s 76ers teams and put Mutumbo on Wade's Heat team.

Wade would have no ring with Mutumbo but A.I. would have had a ring with Shaq.

You cannot compare Wade to Jordan until Wade wins a title without a hall of fame center.

Put Wade on those Bulls teams and they would be lucky to get out of the 2nd round of the playoffs.

[Joker]

Correction: Wade and Shaq carried the Heat to a Title.

Put Shaq on A.I.'s 76ers teams and put Mutumbo on Wade's Heat team.

Wade would have no ring with Mutumbo but A.I. would have had a ring with Shaq.

You cannot compare Wade to Jordan until Wade wins a title without a hall of fame center.

Put Wade on those Bulls teams and they would be lucky to get out of the 2nd round of the playoffs.

Shaq and A.I. wouldn't work. Their games contradict too much. Personalities as well along with coaching. That Sixers team was not winning a title, they were lucky to get passed Milwaukee that year. George Karl coaching failed him that season. Smh at that Bucks team not winning the East in a super weak East that season with all that talent.

What??? So Pippen was not one of the best all around players ever??? I would say Shaq is better than Pippen(Chi era) but the year Miami won the title, Shaq was not the player he once was. Erica Dampier was guarding him man to man in the Finals. If it was not for the Refs and Wade's domination, that team wouldn't have won the title that season.

I will say this, no one can win a title by himself, only Moses Malone came close to that feat in 1980.

That Bulls team went 55-27 without his Airness and was a Pippen blowup in Game 6 which hurt them in Game 7 from making it the 2nd Round. That Bulls team the season before went 65-17 with MJ. Whoa! Wait? That's a winning record without the greatest player in the NBA at that time. I am sorry, I cannot agree with you on that point. I will also state that we cannot put Wade on those Bulls teams and vice versa with Jordan to the Heat.

Edited October 27, 2009 by nbasuperstar40