If we don't make a move we're giving up on this season.

[MVP23]

Yeah, I said it. There is no way, I repeat, no way this team is going to the finals, hell, going to the 3rd round with the current team. I know nobody here will agree, but lets be real. Right now we aren't better than Cleveland, or Orlando. We're better than the Celtics NOW but you think they are holding back for the playoffs, like the Spurs do every year? We struggle against anybody that has a half decent PG, and/or a dominant Big Men, so basically, everybody in the east except the Bucks and Nets.

I know nobody here will accept this as truth, but it is.

Mr.Sund...its on you.

[JJFAN4LF]

I don't think the main goal of this team is to go all the way to the Finals. Ideally, Hawks will want to go as far as possible. Realistically, this team is just trying to go as far as they can and improve from last season's showing. I'm honestly fine if Sund doesn't make a move before the trade deadline. I love the makeup of the team for the most part, and I don't think that any big sudden moves should be made.

I think some Hawks fans are becoming impatient with the long-term plan the Hawks had, which is to draft young and talented players and develop them and build a championship team. Right now, the Hawks are doing a pretty good job as our team is made up of young players that have been developing in a good rate with a mix of solid veterans.

[MVP23]

Improving from last year would be going to the ECF, which is almost impossible, meaning, either way, he need to make a move.

[pimp]

Yeah, I said it. There is no way, I repeat, no way this team is going to the finals, hell, going to the 3rd round with the current team. I know nobody here will agree, but lets be real. Right now we aren't better than Cleveland, or Orlando. We're better than the Celtics NOW but you think they are holding back for the playoffs, like the Spurs do every year? We struggle against anybody that has a half decent PG, and/or a dominant Big Men, so basically, everybody in the east except the Bucks and Nets.

I know nobody here will accept this as truth, but it is.

Mr.Sund...its on you.

I think most people here know that there is noway we can beat OrlANDO or Cleveland as is,

Orlando has beaten us 6 straight times with 5 blowouts. And Cleveland has beaten us 6 straight times if you count the playoffs.

We really are not much better than we were last year,

Jamal is better than Flip, and Joe , Josh, and Al are playing better than last year.But Bibby and Marvin , and our weak bench are holding us back.

2009 Bibby ----> 2010 Bibby

2009 Marvin ----> 2010 Marvin

Too bad, they don't have expiring contracts :brick wall:

[niremetal]

Yeah, I said it. There is no way, I repeat, no way this team is going to the finals, hell, going to the 3rd round with the current team. I know nobody here will agree, but lets be real. Right now we aren't better than Cleveland, or Orlando. We're better than the Celtics NOW but you think they are holding back for the playoffs, like the Spurs do every year? We struggle against anybody that has a half decent PG, and/or a dominant Big Men, so basically, everybody in the east except the Bucks and Nets.

I know nobody here will accept this as truth, but it is.

Mr.Sund...its on you.

Please name a feasible trade that will do more than upgrade the end of our bench. Other than Josh-for-Bosh (a risky trade that won't happen anyway), I haven't seen a single proposal that will do jack, unless you completely ignore salary cap rules. We don't have any non-minimum expiring contracts besides JJ's. So the "it's on you Sund" doesn't jive with reality. It's also why you don't hear any rumblings involving Orlando, Denver, or New Orleans looking to make a move (except to dump salary, which would make the teams less competitive).

Edited February 15, 2010 by niremetal

[coachx]

Please name a feasible trade that will do more than upgrade the end of our bench. Other than Josh-for-Bosh (a risky trade that won't happen anyway), I haven't seen a single proposal that will do jack, unless you completely ignore salary cap rules. We don't have any non-minimum expiring contracts besides JJ's. So the "it's on you Sund" doesn't jive with reality. It's also why you don't hear any rumblings involving Orlando, Denver, or New Orleans looking to make a move (except to dump salary, which would make the teams less competitive).

Thank you !

:thumbsupsmileyanim: .

[Plainview1981]

That's it pretty much. They can't really go any further than they did. Maybe they take one game away from Cleveland, but this team doesn't hit the boards well enough and they got no depth or consistency

[Diesel]

I don't think the main goal of this team is to go all the way to the Finals. Ideally, Hawks will want to go as far as possible. Realistically, this team is just trying to go as far as they can and improve from last season's showing. I'm honestly fine if Sund doesn't make a move before the trade deadline. I love the makeup of the team for the most part, and I don't think that any big sudden moves should be made.

I think some Hawks fans are becoming impatient with the long-term plan the Hawks had, which is to draft young and talented players and develop them and build a championship team. Right now, the Hawks are doing a pretty good job as our team is made up of young players that have been developing in a good rate with a mix of solid veterans.

There are two things to discuss here.

First. Every team shoots to be in the finals. unless they are in rebuilding mode.

2nd. Hawks fans are not impatient. Hawks fans realize (from history) that long term planning does not work in the NBA. Right now, we have to question if we have ever been this good before. Have we ever had this much talent before. The answer is no. Therefore, we have to consider what can we do to get to the finals right now?

[spotatl]

The Hawks already made their "deadline trade" when they gave up all their expiring contracts for Jamal Crawford. They don't have any bullets left. The only expiring contracts are Joe and minimum salary players. MAYBE the Hawks could flip Evans for an expiring contract but even thats in doubt. If you want to trade Teague then maybe you can find something useful. Otherwise the Hawks will pretty much have to improve by signing guys who are bought out by other teams- since the Hawks didn't spend any of their MLE they can offer more $$ than Orlando, Cleveland, Boston, and LA.

[NineOhTheRino]

enjoy what you got. Only 1 fanbase is happy in the end anyway.

Edited February 15, 2010 by NineOhTheRino

[Sothron]

We don't have any real expiring contracts except for Evans (and I think he has a player's choice left after this year) so we don't have the tools to go out and bring in some big name or even a little name to help us out. We have to sink or swim with this team.

[mrhonline]

There are "little name" trades out there. Those could be done with some creativity.

I don't see it so much as "giving up" on this season, as I see it as "focusing on the future." The problem for fans is that we've been waiting for the future for some time...plus, you cannot predict which teams are going to be massively improved next year in the EC. And then there's the lockout looming in 2011.

I have this intuition that Sund is limited to a budget and that he's there already...hence the "no D-Leaguers" announcement.

Edited February 16, 2010 by mrhonline

[Wurider05]

SO we make a move just for the hell of it!!!! Outside of Orlando I there is no team in the league that I don't honestly think we can beat. That is coming from a basketball fan's perspective. Right now its a coaching thing that is our biggest hurdle. When we move the ball we are nearly unbeatable again iso destroys ball movement.

I think that the other teams in the east are making moves because they fear us in the playoffs. Cleveland is just trying to keep Lebron and the celtics need some fresh legs. Don't hear anything about Orlando. You guys as usual are overreacting.

I don't think that Woody is using the talent we have to the best of our ability hence no contract extension. Morris, Collins, Zaza are sufficient enough big men if used properly. Its not like we would be running our offense through them or something. Teague has the speed to make the quicker pgs that blow past Bibby work for their points. He is still raw but you can't teach speed and quickness. Woody is the problem.

Sund probably thinks that Woody maybe the problem and that is why he isn't making any moves.

[JackB1]

You don't make a move just for the sake of making a move. So far Sund has made all the right moves and I trust that if there is something out there will will upgrade our team, he will do it.

Our core continues to improve because they are left intact to improve as a group.

[BusBoyIsBack]

SO we make a move just for the hell of it!!!! Outside of Orlando I there is no team in the league that I don't honestly think we can beat. That is coming from a basketball fan's perspective. Right now its a coaching thing that is our biggest hurdle. When we move the ball we are nearly unbeatable again iso destroys ball movement.

I think that the other teams in the east are making moves because they fear us in the playoffs. Cleveland is just trying to keep Lebron and the celtics need some fresh legs. Don't hear anything about Orlando. You guys as usual are overreacting.

I don't think that Woody is using the talent we have to the best of our ability hence no contract extension. Morris, Collins, Zaza are sufficient enough big men if used properly. Its not like we would be running our offense through them or something. Teague has the speed to make the quicker pgs that blow past Bibby work for their points. He is still raw but you can't teach speed and quickness. Woody is the problem.

Sund probably thinks that Woody maybe the problem and that is why he isn't making any moves.

Exactly. It's absurdly short sighted. And Im glad most see it that way.

We are one of the youngest contenders in the league. Why would you break that up just to contend this year when we could be contending for years and years from now?

Al Horford can still get better, Josh Smith can still get better, Jeff Teague out of all people has nowhere to go but up.

Because we aren't championship contenders right now that's not good enough?

[Sothron]

We're not going to get what we need to win a title, namely a superstar player. The NBA is the one league where you need at least two superstars to win a title and the few exceptions of that rule only prove the rule. If we had a dynamic scoring SF instead of Marvin or an elite PG I would feel this team as is would be a championship contender. But we don't have that.

[Johnnybravo4]

All I know is that championship GM's know how to make moves despite salary cap limitations. This is why they get paid what they do and we don't. The Lakers were a championship caliber team and they trade for Pau. The Cavs are a championship caliber team and they are looking to improve. They aren't worried about "messing up chemistry." I'd once would like us to be rumored for a blockbuster. The ASG has never realized that sometimes you have to do stuff just to energize your fan base. If you rumored a trade of Marvin and Zaza for Chris Bosh, even if it gets shot down as ridiculous by the media, you will get a good week of barbershop talk. It is this talk that makes the fanbase believe you are serious and they show up for games. I don't care if we end up winning 55 games. If the fan base doesn't believe you can win, you won't even sell out playoff games....especially not 1st round ones. The ASG need people on their staff who know about guerilla marketing tactics. They also need a GM who isn't scared to take chances on chemistry.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

All I know is that championship GM's know how to make moves despite salary cap limitations. This is why they get paid what they do and we don't. The Lakers were a championship caliber team and they trade for Pau. The Cavs are a championship caliber team and they are looking to improve. They aren't worried about "messing up chemistry." I'd once would like us to be rumored for a blockbuster. The ASG has never realized that sometimes you have to do stuff just to energize your fan base. If you rumored a trade of Marvin and Zaza for Chris Bosh, even if it gets shot down as ridiculous by the media, you will get a good week of barbershop talk. It is this talk that makes the fanbase believe you are serious and they show up for games. I don't care if we end up winning 55 games. If the fan base doesn't believe you can win, you won't even sell out playoff games....especially not 1st round ones. The ASG need people on their staff who know about guerilla marketing tactics. They also need a GM who isn't scared to take chances on chemistry.

LOL @ MVP . . . aren't you the same guy who just a few days ago created that Knee Jerk Reaction Post thread? Even if we made a move, it may not put us any closer to a title. What we DO have going for us though, is that we have 2 of the most explosive scorers in the league . . on the same squad. JJ and Jamal will have to play at least at a 3rd team All-NBA level for us to make major noise in the playoffs. They're the two players who combined, can give us "superstar" like production. If everyone else plays CONSISTENT, we have a shot.

As for you Johnny, the Lakers were in complete disarray 3 months before that Gasol trade. You had Kobe talking all summer about how disapppointed he was, and how he may opt out of his deal and go somewhere else. But what happened during that season, is that Bynum FINALLY started to show signs of development. That elevated the Lakers to near the top of the West. And because they have a fan base that is willing to pay top dollar to see them, making a big time financial move was NOTHING for them. Basically, Memphis accepted expiring contracts and draft picks to get rid of Gasol. It was a GIFT.

Same with Boston. They trade away expiring contracts and most of their young talent, to get Garnett and Allen.

Those teams can do those things to win a title, because they have the revenue to do it. We don't.

ASG goes out and gets Bibby, which improves us . . the fans show up a little more

ASG goes out and gets Crawford, which improves us . . the fans show up just a little more.

The Hawks are a ridiculous 52 - 16 at home in the past 1.5 seasons . . . and the fans STILL don't show up like they should.

The problem isn't management not committing to win a title. The problem is the city of Atlanta committing to the HAWKS!!

[niremetal]

The problem isn't management not committing to win a title. The problem is the city of Atlanta committing to the HAWKS!!

Sad but true. The Hawks have the 5th best record in the NBA but are 20th in average attendance. That's by far the biggest gap in the NBA. And the Hawks' attendance has ALWAYS lagged well behind the team's record. The only time in the past 25 years (yes, 25 years) that the Hawks' rank in attendance was better than their position standings was 2004-2005, when the Hawks had the NBA's worst record and finished 28th in attendance (a full 25 fans per game better than 29th-place Charlotte and 236 fans per game better than last-place New Orleans - ie the two cities involved in the Hornets relocation fiasco that had gone down a few months before).

Atlanta is not a pro basketball town and, even more importantly, is a city where most of the adult population was born and raised elsewhere. There simply isn't deep loyalty to any Atlanta sports team, and most of the people who are Atlanta-bred prefer football (both college and pro and probably even high school) and baseball to basketball (though even the Braves have always had worse attendance than their record warranted).

Hopefully the situation will be better in 10 years. Then again, I'm not moving back to Atlanta unless they build a public transit system that's worth a damn, so maybe not...

Edited February 15, 2010 by niremetal

[MVP23]

I just don't get it. We're so close. all we need is ONE piece, and we're legit Finals contenders. Why sit on our hands and knees, let Joe walk (Joe is walking after this year btw) and be back at square one?? Are you people that brainwashed that you think its ok to continue to "build" even if we are a player away??