We do the Gasol Deal, trade up Owners and get a sweet deal like N.O. Got?

[Diesel]

lol, Diesel, Stern didn't work no deal like that with Benson. They just happen to win the lottery. Stop this man.

Coincidentally N.O. lose Paul and get the #1 pick.Cleveland lose James and get the #1 pick.Did you notice that Benson had his whole family there at the draft lottery. NO other team had that type of representation.Did you notice last year than Dan Gilbert had his whole family there.back to the coincidences.Coincidentally, the year that Lebron comes out, Cleveland his homestate team moves up from 7 to get the #1 pick.When Pitino was with Boston and Boston had two lottery picks, 1 the 1st in the draft position, the Lottery put them back at 5 and 10?? Just a coincidence there.The draft is rigged Scout...!!!

[Nicholasp27]

It would be 2015 unless we trade gasolEven then we don't get lottery with horf joe Teague

[Nicholasp27]

You can make stories for any outcome Back in the day when we were in lotto you had about 4 different teams that could win lotto as a rigging...

[Guest]

The HAWKS will never get the #1 pick - not in my lifetime, and if they do they will end up picking the wrong guy. It will be one of those drafts where there isn't a concensus #1 top pick.

[Nicholasp27]

At least we didn't get #1 in 07 and get oden instead of horford...

[Admin]

I will only speak from my experience - my interest in the Hawks is just as high (watched evwery game on TV) but I only attended one game this season (free ticket) because I was out of work until 2 weeks ago for 2 years. The economy has a lot to do with attendance.

Certainly understandable and Congrats on the new job!

[Guest]

Certainly understandable and Congrats on the new job!

Thanks.

[Wretch]

Diesel...my brother, not only am I drinking that Konspiracy Kool-Aid...I mix it with vodka. Dude, there is zero doubt in my mind that the lottery is fixed. ZERO doubt. I felt that way for years, going all the way back to Shaq. There just ain't no way. lolBut I like the plan. Regardless of whether or not we get picks or a player, I'm FULLY behind taking back in order to get this team where it needs to be. I think if you can't get a Dwight, Paul, or Deron to sign or trade for a guy like that, then you have to try to fish some talent out of the top of the lottery or steal a young and unproven stud (it happens - look at our own Joe Johnson, thrown away by Boston).I've got absolutely no interst in running this same team for the next 2 to 3 years and losing Josh Smith for nothing would be worse than the mistake of not drafting a PG in '05.

[niremetal]

That's pretty sad! What's interesting as well is that our attendance has gone down steadily the past 4 years. Is that because our fans aren't interested enough or is it more to do with the economy?

Both, I'm sure. I think there was a brief "surge" (by Atlanta standards) in interest in '08-'09. Since then, the "novelty" of the Hawks making the playoffs wore off and Atlanta's economy got hit especially hard by the property bubble bursting. I heard on NPR the other day that Atlanta house prices are lower now than they were in 1999. That's insane.

I don't think the Ted Turner comparison if fair though. The difference between Atlanta now and Atlanta then is night and day. When Ted owned the team no suburbanites ever ventured past buckhead for anything but a sports event. There wasn't prime residential real estate and a thriving in town community in midtown, vahi, L5p, inman park etc. There wasn't centennial park, the aquarium. Downtown was a ghost town at night. Even though downtown still has problems there are plenty of intown areas that are thriving and thousands of young professionals living in the general midtown area who just weren't there 20 years ago.

That cuts both ways. The variety of alternatives means that people have a lot more sports/entertainment options than they did in the past. The "rebirth" of downtown/midtown might make season ticket holders more likely to stay aboard, but it also means that people looking to have a fun night downtown every once in awhile have lots of options besides going to a Hawks game.

Beyond that, even now, people in North Cobb, East Gwinnett, Cherokee, Forsyth, etc are unlikely to make the 2 hour (on a good day) round trip for a mid-week Hawks game. Atlanta's sprawl, congestion, and limited public transit system (what good is it to someone in Woodstock that there's a MARTA station right at Phillips when the nearest MARTA station to their own house is 40 minutes away?) make downtown trips a nightmare. Atlanta has the nation's longest average commute time. Maybe a city like LA - with a population 3 times bigger than ours - can sell out arenas in that environment. But Atlanta? Notsomuch.

Edited June 1, 2012 by niremetal

[Diesel]

Both, I'm sure. I think there was a brief "surge" (by Atlanta standards) in interest in '08-'09. Since then, the "novelty" of the Hawks making the playoffs wore off and Atlanta's economy got hit especially hard by the property bubble bursting. I heard on NPR the other day that Atlanta house prices are lower now than they were in 1999. That's insane.

That cuts both ways. The variety of alternatives means that people have a lot more sports/entertainment options than they did in the past. The "rebirth" of downtown/midtown might make season ticket holders more likely to stay aboard, but it also means that people looking to have a fun night downtown every once in awhile have lots of options besides going to a Hawks game.

Beyond that, even now, people in North Cobb, East Gwinnett, Cherokee, Forsyth, etc are unlikely to make the 2 hour (on a good day) round trip for a mid-week Hawks game. Atlanta's sprawl, congestion, and limited public transit system (what good is it to someone in Woodstock that there's a MARTA station right at Phillips when the nearest MARTA station to their own house is 40 minutes away?) make downtown trips a nightmare. Atlanta has the nation's longest average commute time. Maybe a city like LA - with a population 3 times bigger than ours - can sell out arenas in that environment. But Atlanta? Notsomuch.

The problem with the attendance is that there is nothing to make people stay for the game and never have been. City full of transients, no real star player, no reason to believe that we will vie for a championship. With the Braves and the Falcons going to the game is easier. Location of the stadium has always been good. Usually the dome games are on Sunday. However, even with that, the owners actually has a hold on the press. The teams have a chance. The Hawks have disappointed fans since trading Nique and then really messed up with the guarantee. That type of Gorilla marketing is not how you build a fanbase. ASG had all the chances in the world and just drafted wrong and traded wrong. ATLiens respond to stars like Deon Sanders and Mike vick and Chipper Jones and Jamal Anderson. Right now, there's no real personality with the Hawks.

[Wretch]

The problem with the attendance is that there is nothing to make people stay for the game and never have been. City full of transients, no real star player, no reason to believe that we will vie for a championship. With the Braves and the Falcons going to the game is easier. Location of the stadium has always been good. Usually the dome games are on Sunday. However, even with that, the owners actually has a hold on the press. The teams have a chance. The Hawks have disappointed fans since trading Nique and then really messed up with the guarantee. That type of Gorilla marketing is not how you build a fanbase. ASG had all the chances in the world and just drafted wrong and traded wrong. ATLiens respond to stars like Deon Sanders and Mike vick and Chipper Jones and Jamal Anderson. Right now, there's no real personality with the Hawks.

Atlanta would go apeshit if we had a real "Big 3". Imagine if Rose was our draft pick and we actually lured LeBron to Atlanta. Imagine if we had actually WON a championship. The right marketing, the right star, the right team, and the right owners would OWN Atl.

[niremetal]

Imagine if Rose was our draft pick and we actually lured LeBron to Atlanta.

Well, while we're playing "things that never had a chance of actually happening," imagine if I had been bitten by a radioactive spider and developed superpowers.Luring one of the top 2-3 players in the NBA is easier said than done, unless you stumble upon a #1 overall pick. And getting one of those is really dumb luck. And dumb luck is not a good selling point to use on smart businessmen. Edited June 1, 2012 by niremetal

[Sothron]

Honest truth is, I don't know why Atlanta Basketball is so irrelevant to the fans of Atlanta. It's not like they never watch them. They never treat the Falcons or Braves like this. Even the Thrashers had diehards like Sothron.

Thanks for the props. I don't understand the South or at least Georgia but I realized when I was a teenager (and this was twenty years ago) that I was a rare bird down here that rooted harder for the pro teams than the college teams. My dad taught me to cheer and root for all the teams in Georgia so I do. I wish more people would at least try the other sports and support their local teams.As for the Hawks, it is what it is. Atlanta is entrenched as a top 10 NBA viewing market in the country which is why we'll never lose the Hawks but contrary to that those same fans in Atlanta by and large don't support their own team. The transplant problem in Atlanta is more severe than any other city in the country. I honestly don't know how you change that outside of winning titles. Once you start winning titles then you give local NBA fans a valid excuse to finally stop cheering for their old teams or their parent's old teams and support the Hawks.

[Joker]

I really feel the transplant thing is overrated. I knew a lot of people who were fans of others teams that never lived a day outside of the state of GA. The transplant thing might be the reason why we have a lot of Knicks fans here but a lot of Bulls, Lakers, and Lebron fans never lived a day outside of GA.

[niremetal]

I really feel the transplant thing is overrated. I knew a lot of people who were fans of others teams that never lived a day outside of the state of GA. The transplant thing might be the reason why we have a lot of Knicks fans here but a lot of Bulls, Lakers, and Lebron fans never lived a day outside of GA.

I think the high number of transplants means there's less "peer pressure" to support the hometown teams, even for people who were born in ATL. Also, parents often pass their team loyalties onto children - one of my best friends never lived in Boston, but is a huge Celts fan because that was his dad's team growing up.

I think the problem will diminish in a decade or two. But for right now, a majority of metro Atlanta's population was born outside the metro area, and it's been that way for awhile - you need only see that the city's population went from 1.31 million in 1960 to 2.96 million in 1990 to 5.73 million in 2010 to figure that one out. The population growth is undoubtedly going to slow immensely during the next decade because the Atlanta economy was among the country's hardest-hit by the recession. The silver lining to that may be that a more settled population might lead to more loyalty to local sports teams.

Oh, and also don't forget that there's also a lot of people who emigrate from Atlanta - such as yours truly

Edited June 1, 2012 by niremetal

[AHF]

The population growth is undoubtedly going to slow immensely during the next decade because the Atlanta economy was among the country's hardest-hit by the recession. The silver lining to that may be that a more settled population might lead to more loyalty to local sports teams.

Hmmm....I see. So you are saying the ASG caused the recession and this is their master marketing plan?

I guess it is nice to know they actually have a plan and have actually executed on it. Kudos ASG.

[Admin]

Well, while we're playing "things that never had a chance of actually happening," imagine if I had been bitten by a radioactive spider and developed superpowers.

Luring one of the top 2-3 players in the NBA is easier said than done, unless you stumble upon a #1 overall pick. And getting one of those is really dumb luck. And dumb luck is not a good selling point to use on smart businessmen.

I'm not so sure that at some point you haven't been bitten by a radioactive spider

[Wretch]

Well, while we're playing "things that never had a chance of actually happening," imagine if I had been bitten by a radioactive spider and developed superpowers.

Luring one of the top 2-3 players in the NBA is easier said than done, unless you stumble upon a #1 overall pick. And getting one of those is really dumb luck. And dumb luck is not a good selling point to use on smart businessmen.

On what planet does it mean hang your entire multimillion dollar business strategy on blind f***ing luck? And do you think even the most simple minded, unknowledgeable, unrealistic fan thinks that we can secure our future by a) landing the top pick in the draft and securing Tim Duncan reincarnate and then b) luring the best player in the league to turn his back on his hometown and team to sign with us?

That’s not a bad selling point, that’s just f***ing retarded and shortsighted.

The point, is not so much this…”[Disney Goofy Accent] Eyuck, eyuck, eyuck…let’s just throwaway all our talent an tank ‘till we get us a SUPERSTAR! Eyuck! An’ then, we’ll a get us another superstar by askin’ the best basketball player in the whole universe to leave his team and join ours! GWARSH GOLLY! I reckon then we’ll be winners fer sure!!!!!!”

The point is if you build it they will come. The point is that there ARE NBA fans in and around Atlanta and they ARE interested in watching a REAL team play basketball. Is that so hard to understand? We set SPORTS RECORDS at the Georgia Dome. They come out in hordes to support Kobe, LeBron, and Wade. Even though they’ve never left the state of Georgia in their lives, they swear by the Boston Celtics. Hell, I’m 100 miles SOUTH of Atlanta…and I know truckloads motherfuckers, that plan trips to Atlanta, decked out in whatever bandwagon colors they can find, JUST to see Miami, Chicago, and Boston. If you put a team like that on the homecourt, and it actually has a chance to win, people will support the team.

THAT is the goddamned point.

As far as playing the lottery itself…

This is literally the reason behind my screen name. It’s such a wretched idea isn’t it? Trying to secure talent out of the draft? Oh it’s so much safer to try and win every year! Oh, we have a decent team that just needs a PG, a SF, or a Center! Oh, the lottery is just a crapshoot! Oh, most draft picks don’t even stay with their teams.

Oh…the list goes on and on. When you even mention the lottery to some people, it’s the equivalent of ramming a stick up their ass...“WHAT!?!? NO f***in' WAY!!! NOT THE LOTTERY!!! IT DOESN'T WORK!!!”

While we were busy drafting Priest Lauderdale, Ed Gray, Doug Edwards, and Alan Henderson…the rest of the NBA drafted Iverson, Kobe, Pierce, Dirk… Does that mean that we can just toss our line in there and pull out a prize bass?

People just miss the point. What it means is simple… Basketball is not Baseball or Football or even Hockey. It is really dependent upon the production of an elite few players. The lottery is not a given, but the elite talent in this league is found NOWHERE but at the top of the NBA Draft Lottery. You are also not likely to trade for elite talent, unless you give up all of your talent...in which case, you are going to end up in the lottery ANYWAY. Any strategy that revolves around building a team of role players and 2nd tier players is PURE FAIL. THAT my friend is the ridiculous business strategy. But THAT is what this team has done for the nearly 3 decades that I have watched it.

Here is the plan spelled out for the people that just don't get it:

Step 1) Do this in any order: [Draft the talent high - Develop the talent - Trade the talent]. Do this until...

Step 2) You find something that sticks. If you're stuck at the 2nd round or lower and you have cap room, go to step 3. If not, return to step one.

Step 3) Chase the IMPACT free agents and SIGN them.

Step 4) Do this in any order and really, whenever you can: [Promote the talent – SUPPORT the talent (role players, coaches, contracts)]

Profit - then recycle the plan

Bolded text is what this team has failed to do. We are stuck now with a middle of the pack team and no cap room to sign a player (f***in’ obivious? I know, right?). You got two options: maintain mediocrity or TRADE A PIECE OF THE CORE.

You trade, you go after a stud – you don’t trade the core that got you to the 2nd round for “solid.” That gets you back to the 2nd round. You go after a stud that’s waiting to explode on a young team or you take a flyer on the draft.

Sitting around on your hands (trotting the same bullshit out on the court) is pro sports suicide. I don’t understand why motherfuckers can’t get this…is it any wonder that we are one of only a handful of professional teams that has never made it to the final four?

That should clue some of you in right there.

[niremetal]

I'm not so sure that at some point you haven't been bitten by a radioactive spider

Well, I did drive by a nuclear power plant every time I went to visit my fiancee last year...

I guess it is nice to know they actually have a plan and have actually executed on it. Kudos ASG.

Which once again proves my theory - Germans love David Hasselhoff. Edited June 1, 2012 by niremetal

[TheNorthCydeRises]

My rants on fans and attendance are well documented on this site, so I won't go back into that.What I will cite is this.What I tend to look at now, more than the raw attendance numbers, are the http://espn.go.com/nba/attendance/_/sort/homePct Home attendance numbers by percentage.You had 9 teams draw 100% or more per gameFive other teams drew at least 90% per gameThe Hawks? We drew at 81%, putting us 24th in the league in home attendance %.Only one other playoff team drew at a less rate. Indiana.And from just looking back through the past 11 years, we've never drawn in the 90% attendance range. Even in 2009 - 10, when we had a 53 win team, and a squad that won a whopping 34 home games, our home attendance % was ranked 20th, at 88.3%(( shrugs ))It is what it is I guess. No more rants on the "reasons" why this is from me.