Superstar players..........

[Vol4ever]

I was thinking about the superstar issue and how Hawk fans believe we need a superstar player. To put things in perspective I believe a true super star does it all. I believe 4 teams Lakers, Miami, Chicago, and OKC has at,least one superstar player. I think there are other teams in the league that have very good players, but they are not superstars.Miami - LeBron and WadeOKC - DurantChicago - RoseLakers - DHoward, KobeWade, Durant, Rose we're drafted, the others acquired by trade or free agency. Kobe was acquired in a draft day trade. Howard in a league pushed trade.So, where do we go from here? None of the above mentioned players are coming to the Hawks. Who is the next NBA star on the college level? I think the draft lottery is controlled by the league in who gets the number 1 pick.Where do we go from here? The only thing I see is to spend the bucks in free agency, but sadly I don't think the Hawks have or will spend the money. Atlanta is a tough sell in the NBA market.I think we have to make smart trades that brings a couple better upper level players to be competitive.But IMHO the Hawks will not have any superstar players in the foreseeable future.

[macdaddy]

You're not making any sense. Its so simple I just can't believe that all these nba gms can't get it right and want to settle for mediocrity. 1. Blow it up - trade all your talent for draft picks or cash2. Draft the next Lebron immediately - don't even wait for the draft to come around just go ahead and grab him3. Watch the championships and the money roll in !!!

[AnthonyI11]

You're not making any sense. Its so simple I just can't believe that all these nba gms can't get it right and want to settle for mediocrity. 1. Blow it up - trade all your talent for draft picks or cash 2. Draft the next Lebron immediately - don't even wait for the draft to come around just go ahead and grab him 3. Watch the championships and the money roll in !!!

Oh yeah it's that easy? Tell me how the Bobcats, Kings, Pistons, Hornets, etc are doing with your tanking method drafting "the next Lebron" I'll wait..

[Ruckus]

Pretty sure he was being sarcastic...

[MrMeltdown]

Worthless conversation.

[Wretch]

Can we get rid of labels for just a second? I think that's part of the problem. For simplicity's sake, let's ignore advanced stats and just break the players in this league down into Tiers.

Tier 1 - Superstar

Tier 2 - All Star

Tier 3 - Star

Tier 4 - Borderline Star

We can sit here and type up essays all day long about who is and who isn't a superstar and what is and isn't needed to win in this league. There is a bottom line that you can't get around the best players. No matter how much song and dance you do. There are better players in the league than others. And it's usually the best of those players that take a team beyond the 2nd round.

If you honestly question that...if seriously you have to ask why this is the case...then you probably don't understand the most basic premise about sports - some humans are better at doing it than others. It sounds SO simple, and yet the concept just...*whoosh*...completely gets over people's heads. You can't get around this. We're not talking about players making movies and Rap CD's or showing up in fashion magazines. We're talking about...very simply...some players that are better at playing the game than others.

Now...if we can admit that, then we go to the next step.

Players recognize who the better players are and they generally want to join them. You're not going to attract the best players if you don't have something to offer them. What does Atlanta have to offer? What is this franchise known for? It should tell you something when a guy is FROM Atlanta, knows what the city needs, has his best friend playing on the team already, HAS a REALLY GOOD team already...and wants no part of it.

I mean...we sit here and act like we haven't been watching this same thing happen to our franchise for years. It just...blows my mind man. How can you sit here and just NOT see this? I just...don't have the words to even begin that argument.

You need GREAT TALENT to attract GREAT TALENT. You need it to win. Anything else at this point is denial. Or could it be something else? Misunderstanding? Mislabeling?

Because see...you always have those special players that go beyond Tier 1. Yes. Call them "Tier 0." I think that's where you guys are like, "Oh...we'll never have that..."

Bird, Dr. J, Wilt, MJ, Kobe...these kinds of guys transcend the scale and they don't come around very often. It'd be nice to have a guy like that, but you're a fool to pin your hopes on the lottery in hopes of drafting one of them. There are plenty of Teir 1 and 2 players though. You just have to find them. The thing is, these are the guys that we can't beat. Why? Because their teams are built around them. These teams are built to BEAT you. (I know right?! DUR????)

...and I LOVE how people like to bring up the Pistons...like this was some kind of scrub team that proved everybody wrong.

The Pistons were built around 4 Tier 1.5 players...but their defense and commitment to winning and the team game was unparalleled. What's more, in terms of what he brought, Ben Wallace was a Tier 1 type of player. I'd KILL to have that beast on this team. Same with Dennis Rodman. It's not always about points. Moreover, the Pistons were the EXCEPTION to the rule, not the norm. Why?

Because...there are, again, certain players in this league that are just phenomenal at putting the ball in the basket and teams are desperately trying to build around it (even MJ...the greatest of all time is following the formula trying to build the Bobcats). When you build a team around these guys... Dude...WHY am I saying this again? Seriously, this...this is just how the NBA works.

...and still, "DURP!? WHy do we needz a superstar?"

You just DO.

How to get one?

That's the big question. But it's not so hard to figure out. See, while some want to limit the way to go about it, I have no reservations about any method (other than "win without losing")

It's not lottery.

It's not trades.

It's not free agents.

It's not fairy dust, unicorns, and it's not rocket science.

You do everything and you leave no stone unturned. YES...for the love of God, you probably need to fish the draft with a few draft picks. YES...you need to give the young players room to grow. YES...you take a chance on a trade. YES...you take a chance on the coach. YES...you leave cap space so you can make a pitch to a superstar or a Tier 1...or a Tier 2...or whatever top talent you have your eyes on.

You keep digging. At some point...you will find the guy. It's all downhill from there because he's going to attract talent. He's going to win games, draw fans, and get attention. Scrubs want to come. Starters want to be your 6th man. Stars want to be your sidekicks. Players like Dwight Howard don't ignore you when they demand a trade.

.....but y'know, hey! Let's just...keep Josh Smith and Al Horford, get us a "serviceable big man" and give it the old, Atlanta Hawks win without losing, guaranteed 50 win season, 2nd round playoff team try!

Sweet lord people.....

[Cwell]

like im gonna read all that lol

[Wretch]

Yeah...I'm the same way when I talk to people too. lol I have a hard time turning it off.TL:DR version:- Better players get better results. - The best teams are built around the best players. - The best players attract the best free agents.- The best of the best take their teams beyond the 2nd round. - You need to have a franchise talent at your core.- You spare no expense and rule out no option when looking for the player(s) to build around.