Call me crazy but....

[Mdizzle5]

I find myself kind of hoping that the team doesn't make the playoffs. I mean don't get me wrong, I'm not saying to tank as I'd like to at least have a team that tries but IDK... the thought of possibly two draft picks next year sounds good to me, as well as all the cap space next off season. Think about that...2 draft picks and no BK or Rick Sund, errr I mean Gearon, to screw it up.

Just a thought.

[bird_dirt]

you're crazy

[Mdizzle5]

Lol fair enough. But suppose we don't land a big name FA? A higher pick may end up being worth it in the long run. But I suppose its too early to really say at the moment.

Edited July 19, 2012 by Mdizzle5

[AHawks89]

[Mdizzle5]

http-~~-//www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLkCkpRfkXE

Not sure what just happened here... other than reawakening my hatred for the Heat. -_-

[hawkrule152]

Considering next years draft class is horrible. Tanking would be the worst thing to do imo..

[capstone21]

With the current roster I don't think we are a playoff team...so your wish might come true

[KB21]

I'm really curious to see how many wins you guys think Joe Johnson meant to this team, because a lot of you seem to think that he was so important that this team is going to miss the playoffs because of his absence alone. Let's ignore the fact that this team won 67% of the games he missed over the past two years, which far exceeds their winning percentage with him.I can tell you right now that at best, Joe Johnson means about 7 wins to the Atlanta Hawks. It's more than likely 5 wins as his game continues to decline rapidly, but I'll give you the best case scenario of 7 wins with him.I think those of you that believe the Hawks are suddenly going to miss the playoffs are the same ones that left them for dead when Al got injured, and Al contributes a lot more to winning than Joe does.IMO, the best way to get a good look on how many wins the team will have is to look at win shares, in particular WS48, but the latter takes a lot of math and a lot of guestimation on how the minutes will be dispersed.Just looking at WS48 and not taking into account the likely improvements that players like Jeff Teague and Josh Smith are going to make without Joe Johnson around to pound the air out of the ball, if Larry Drew maximizes the minutes of the right players, this Hawks team as is can win around 53 games this year. Contrary to popular belief, not only will this team make the playoffs, they will compete for a top 4 spot. The team that will likely not make the playoffs is New Jersey. The fact that they resigned Kris Humphries will help them, but at best, they squeek into the playoffs as a 7 or 8 seed.

[Nicholasp27]

We are def a playoff team but I think you underrate a healthy Brooklyn Deron/JJ/Wallace/Humph/Lopez is a top tier starting 5 in the leagueBench is TBD but has potential

[Mdizzle5]

All I'm saying is if we aren't going to compete for the EC finals then we might as well get a better pick. Lol. However if the draft class is THAT bad...All in all, if the team doesn't get someone like a Dwight or CP3 in the next offseason... aren't they kind of in the same position? Sure with a shitload more money which is always nice but if no one wants to come then what?As far as competing for a Top 4 spot... that's mighty bold there, KB21. I see the team as potentially scoring a lot but I don't imagine them stopping a lot. Some pretty apparent defensive holes on this roster. Not saying top 4 isn't possible, it definitely is... but my guess, at best, 6th seed.

[Nicholasp27]

Our backcourt will try to outscore their counterpartsOur front court should outscore theirs given it's 2 Allstars that produce offensively while being very good defensivelyOur bench should outscore their benchWe won't be good matchups against contenders in playoffs but in reg season against all teams we should win way more than we lose

[Buzzard]

Our backcourt will try to outscore their counterparts Our front court should outscore theirs given it's 2 Allstars that produce offensively while being very good defensively Our bench should outscore their bench We won't be good matchups against contenders in playoffs but in reg season against all teams we should win way more than we lose

I agree man. We will not play elite teams well but can handle the lottery teams just fine. Nothing has really changed on this front from last season; but what has changed is we our now a lot more flexible to make a big move or two should the opportunity come our way. Edited July 19, 2012 by Buzzard

[KB21]

We are def a playoff team but I think you underrate a healthy Brooklyn Deron/JJ/Wallace/Humph/Lopez is a top tier starting 5 in the league Bench is TBD but has potential

Deron is worth about 8 wins, Joe 5-6, Wallace about 6, Humphries about 8, and Lopez about 2-3. That is 31 wins. They will need 10 wins from their bench just to reach 0.500.

[ATLSmith]

Son, you've lost your mind.We certainly want to be a playoff team. It will have some allure to free agents knowing that we can still win after loosing our franchise player. Obviously that will be a small factor next to $$, but a factor non-the-less.We're not growing through the draft any time soon and there's little difference between pick 15 to 20-something in most cases, at least not anyone you're going to build around... well, maybe Smoove... :).

[Sothron]

The OP is the only one making sense in this thread. If we don't land Dwight it is time to trade Josh and Horford for multiple first rounders and rebuild through the lottery. No superstars are coming here to play with good but not great in Josh and Horford. That cap space means nothing if you can't use it and frankly I'd rather sit on it than watch Ferry in desperation toss max deals at other good but not great players in Al Jefferson or Paul Millsap.

[capstone21]

We are 35 win team. We have no quality sg or sf and our sixth man is a 6'1 shooting guard.Joe brought a lot more then scoring...he was our facilitator, he played underrated defense and he was constantly double teamed which opened up a lot of things for josh. we lost that.It will be interested to see who steps up but right now we do not have that go to guy.

[Sothron]

We are 35 win team. We have no quality sg or sf and our sixth man is a 6'1 shooting guard. Joe brought a lot more then scoring...he was our facilitator, he played underrated defense and he was constantly double teamed which opened up a lot of things for josh. we lost that. It will be interested to see who steps up but right now we do not have that go to guy.

I agree. People who overlooked Joe because of the contract or some childish belief in win shares are going to be in a rude shock when they watch teams close out on our three point guys and Josh and Al can't create their own shot. Defensively...oh man. Unless Ferry does more work on this roster we're going to be killed on defense this year.

[macdaddy]

I totally agree with KB. I can't see where this team has lost a whole lot and we've gained a lot of depth, shooting and frankly no longer depend on guys who are brittle and one step away from being out of the league. Joe, Hinrich, and Marvin are all pretty good defenders but Hinrich and Marvin weren't major contributors last year so we're worried about a .600 team falling out of the playoffs because we are losing Joe's defense? Teague, Smoove, and Horford are good defenders and we've added Stevenson. We can still stop people and think how much more we will be scoring when half of those jumpers we jack up are shot by guys who can shoot.

[hawkman]

The only reason to tank is to get Shabazz Muhammad. He is the ONLY prospect I can see exciting this fanbase.

[Final_quest]

I just say we go out and play to win. If we don't win, then we can trade our assets for picks and young players. If we are are a mid tier playoff team as is, then we can look at acquiring players via trade or free agency. The difference next offseason will be the flexibility to add to the roster that we haven't had for years. ....But if this team is lottery bound as is, sell everything off to the highest bidder.