Sir Charles says "Do not give JJ max money"

[AHF]

The Truth = Wade without Shaq = First round playoff Exit AT BEST.

The point is that we are making assumption of what our owners will do. I think when you consider that we have a championship quality player (not that he singlehandedly can win one) but that he is good enough to get us into the championship picture (with help)...You don't just give that up for Hope and pieces.

The biggest difference I see between Atlanta and Miami's financial positions is that Miami has positioned itself to add a max FA this offseason in addition to resigning JJ while the Hawks are positioned to exceed the cap in the near future if they simply resign JJ.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

For me, it's quite simple.

1. This team as constructed is not skilled enough to win an NBA championship.

2. The AS will not pay the luxury tax.

3. Re-signing JJ to max money will financially limit this team's options moving forward.

4. The Hawks have only three assets that could be moved to dramatically change the direction of the franchise: Joe Johnson, Al Horford, Josh Smith

My solution? Sign-and-trade Joe Johnson for some combination of the following:

1. A scorer on the wing (e.g., Caron Butler).

2. Draft picks

3. Young players

4. Financial flexibility (e.g., Erick Dampier's contract)

5. Salary dump of either Bibby or Marvin

For me, if "competitive" is all that the Hawks can muster for the next 3-4 years, I'd prefer to do that with Horford/Smith/Crawford + assets acquired in a S&T than with the current roster.

So in other words, trade the guy we can potentially get the most for, but keep the guy that will still keep our lineup out of balance, no matter who we acquire?

Because the problem will be still that Horford is an undersized ( but good 5 ) in this league . . . and Smoove is a hybrid PF.

1) Trade for a Caron Butler type:

Lineup: Bibby/Teague - Crawford - Butler - Smoove - Horford . . . . Marvin 6th man

2) Draft picks .. . ( say we trade JJ for the rights of a true center, Demarcus Cousins and a few other picks? )

Lineup: Bibby/Teague - Crawford - Smoove ( at SF ) - Horford - Cousins

3) Young players . . ( shrugging shoulders . . . JJ wouldn't agree to it unless truly desperate, but a sign and trade to Minnesota, for Al Jefferson and Johnny Flynn? )

Lineup: Flynn - Crawford - Smoove ( at SF ) - Jefferson ( since he's most comfortable at the 4 ) - Horford

4) Financial flexibility . . ( dampier's contract )

Lineup: Bibby/Teague - Crawford - Marvin - Smoove - Horford . . . Dampier 3rd C on depth chart )

5) salary dump . . ( trade Marvin and Bibby for expiring contracts )

Lineup: Teague - Crawford - Smoove ( at SF ) - Horford - Zaza

If this is what the near future will look like . . . please re-sign JJ.

[dlpin]

I think that the best hope for the Hawks is to sign and trade joe johnson for some good value.

He might be worth the max next year. And even after that. But a max 6 year deal takes him till the age of 35. Do you really want to be paying 20 mill plus to a 34, 35 year old sg?

[niremetal]

I think that the best hope for the Hawks is to sign and trade joe johnson for some good value.

He might be worth the max next year. And even after that. But a max 6 year deal takes him till the age of 35. Do you really want to be paying 20 mill plus to a 34, 35 year old sg?

I could ask the same question about Ray Allen. If, as with Ray, it wins us a title by he's 33, I can deal with paying too much at 34.

Edited April 29, 2010 by niremetal

[dlpin]

I could ask the same question about Ray Allen. If, as with Ray, it wins us a title by he's 33, I can deal with paying too much at 34.

Ray was the 3rd best player on that team and was already overpaid at that point, and his role really was just convincing KG that the celtics were determined to spend as much as needed to get a championship.

Is the hawks ownership willing to pay the same amount of money that significantly overpaying a player for the last 3 years of his contract don't matter?

That is the question, really. If they resign JJ, will the ownership be aggressive and bring other players over, spending as much as needed? Or is their plan to resign JJ and really, really hope that either Horford or Smith become as good as KG was?

You see, overpaying a player is only problematic when ownership has a set budget. The celtics didn't have one, will the hawks?

[bumpyphish1]

Maybe he should check the stats again ? Monday loss was 111 to 104. That is 7 points Chuck, not 17 !

The Hawks are very capable of winning the next 2 games and giving the Magic a run for their money in Round 2. Lets allow this thing to play out.

Of course we are capable. That's not the point. We shouldn't even be in this position.