Do you think Howard wanted to be in Atlanta?

[Diesel]

I remember him being mentioned with Dallas and Brooklyn. Was Atlanta in his list? LAL was the place he settled for and now it seems that he doesn't want to be there.

1. Does he want to be in Atlanta?

2. Do we want him here?

[Jody23]

I remember him being mentioned with Dallas and Brooklyn. Was Atlanta in his list? LAL was the place he settled for and now it seems that he doesn't want to be there. 1. Does he want to be in Atlanta?2. Do we want him here?

1. Before the L.A. trade, I listened to a podcast with J. Rudolph, a realgm writer who claims to be close to Dwight. When asked about Atlanta, he said the situation was "intriguing". Mind you, this was after Ferry cleared substantial cap space, signed Lou and Josh had done a complete turnaround on his previous trade requests. At the time, those things didn't matter because Orlando refused to deal with the Hawks. So I would say the door is open.2. If Ferry's activity this summer is any indication, the answer is yes.

[Admin]

And now Kobe reportedly called Dwight soft during a heated exchange. I would say that things are lining up quite nicely for Howard to refuse to stay in LA after this year, providing that Kobe is back next year anyway.

I'm on the fence about Dwight as his back really worries me.

[bird_dirt]

i was reading an article on mark cuban and the mavs today on espn (sorry i can't look it up right now to provide a link), and one sentence stood out to me in it. a western conf. gm was quoted in it as saying that he saw the most likely teams that d12 will be playing for next year were with the lakers, dallas or atlanta.

i believe that was the first time i've ever heard atlanta seriously mentioned in the press (and not realgm or some other blog spot), and to be mentioned by someone as connected as a gm. i'd say our chances have gone up from 0% up to at least a 15% chance of him coming here now.

[Jody23]

For those of you who are not blind Josh Smith loyalists, don't you find it at least a little odd that Ferry has reportedly not even been remotely interested in even entertaining the idea of trading Smith? And Smith has even said out of his own mouth that he no longer wants to be traded. And this is taking place this early in the season? I don't want to make the assumption that this may all be tied to you know who, but seriously, what gives? I mean Ferry just traded away a six-time all star for cap space because he didn't feel he was worth the max contract he was being paid and I seriously doubt he pays Josh the max. I don't know, but I just hope whoever Ferry has in mind and whatever has Josh now wanting to stay is worth it.

Edited January 7, 2013 by Jody23

[wolvetigers]

I think it's a 20% chance he ends up in Atlanta- Now dont get me wrong I would love to have Howard on the team as he would allow Horford to move to PF and our Front court would be insane, However, the Hawks still need a Leader - and Howard is definitely not that...

[PSSSHHHRRR87]

This thread is just repeating what I have been saying since I signed up on the boards in May. The stars are aligning for Dwight to come here. He had Brooklyn as the only place he would sign long term because at that time Joe's overpaid self was still here which made it impossible for Dwight to sign in Atlanta. He was going through the Dwightmare at the time and picked up his option out of guilt during the spring. If Dwight would have just stayed the course and went in to FAncy, he would have signed with Brooklyn this past offseason before Danny could have traded Joe there. We would still be stuck with Joe right now, but now that Joe is eating up Brooklyn's cap space instead of ours, we now have the space to bring Dwight home. Smith hasn't been traded or even put on the block because he is one of the guys Dwight is going to want to be here with. Why do you think Magic Johnson wanted the Smith/Pau trade to happen so badly? It's because he knows Smith is one of the keys to keeping Dwight. Smith and Ferry both claim that they have an understanding as to what the future holds and what the offseason will look like. Ironically, the day that story came out, Dwight made the statement that he knows who he is going to sign with during the offseason and where he'll be playing next year. When in Orlando, Dwight's biggest gripe was that he had no help getting rebounds or playing defense and that he never had a great PF next to him. Here he would have Horford and Smith. He is having a bad time in LA with Kobe and crew. Every Adidas commercial that Dwight has ever done has been based in College Park and Dwight has been quoted at Dream games as to saying that the Philips should be his house. Everything is shaping up for it to be:

C - Dwight Howard

PF - Al Horford

SF - Josh Smith

SG - Lou Williams/Kyle Korver or other 2013 FA

PG - Jeff Teague

next season. That IS a winner and a contender for the next 5 seasons at least. Go ahead and get your DH12 jerseys pre-ordered fellas...

[MaceCase]

And now Kobe reportedly called Dwight soft during a heated exchange. I would say that things are lining up quite nicely for Howard to refuse to stay in LA after this year, providing that Kobe is back next year anyway.

I'm on the fence about Dwight as his back really worries me.

Kobe has 30 million reasons to be back next year and a no trade clause. Considering his near career high in individual production this season, I'm sure Dwight is sweating that he just might play longer than Kareem.

[MaceCase]

Oh damn, Dol. Add torn labrum to the back injury.

[BrazilianHawk]

C - Dwight Howard

PF - Al Horford

SF - Josh Smith

SG - Lou Williams/Kyle Korver or other 2013 FA

PG - Jeff Teague

This lineup would be really sick. I would be willing to bet not even "Player S" could spoil Hawks' success with a roster like that,

With a second unit of Zaza, IVAN, Korver and Jenkins, we would be lacking just a Jerry Sloan and a seasoned PG (Calderon?) to backup Teague.

I still doubt it tho. Until Dwight himself says he considers the Hawks, I just rather think it isn't happening.

Edited January 7, 2013 by BrazilianHawk

[capstone21]

I don't see a lineup of Josh / Al / Dwight working....either Josh or Al have to go...their types of games won't meshAs the Lakers have shown it is not just talent but chemistry and roles.A lineup of Al/Dwight/Korver would probably be more successful

[macdaddy]

I don't see a lineup of Josh / Al / Dwight working....either Josh or Al have to go...their types of games won't meshAs the Lakers have shown it is not just talent but chemistry and roles.A lineup of Al/Dwight/Korver would probably be more successful

I don't see how Josh/Al/Dwight doesn't work. Pau and Dwight both want the ball on the block. Al and Josh don't. They are both pretty bad in the low post. All 3 of these guys can rebound, all can get out and run (when healthy), all can defend their positions really well.

[MaceCase]

Spacing. It's why Jodie Meeks was inserted into the starting lineup and why you see Pau taking 3's.

[gurpilo]

Dwight does not want to play here and will not sign here, period. Atlanta is not enough marketable team for a superstar.

[Diesel]

I'm sure that somewhere where he dreams, Dwight wants to join Josh and allow the city to rise up. Hell, Ferry may be have fed him that dream after he went to LAL. The question is does Howard want to come here. I can imagine that the Lakers will push hard for a Howard for Lopez deal.

It's interesting.

[TheFuzz]

Of course Ferry wants him. He'd be the first superstar here in ages at the most difficult position to fill.

Having said that, I'm not super hot on having him here between injuries and a complete lack of spacing and free-throw shooting between him and Josh. We'd have to load up on shooters and probably trade either Josh or Horford. We'd also still need a leader and go-to guy.

Teague

Korver

Josh

Horf

Howard

could use a go-to guard upgrade and honestly a Josh trade, at least on offense. A really good coach would be nice, too. I will admit Josh/Horf/Howard would be ridiculous defensively.

[Wretch]

We'd average 10 blocked shots a night.

We'd grab more rebounds that points.

Get Smoove to PUT THE BALL DOWN and focus on defense and rebounds.

Turn Teague LOOSE.

Let Al shoot as many 15 shots as he wants.

"And the Atlanta Hawks have made it to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since moving to Atlanta back during the Civil War."

...and the Squawk goes crazy.

Hotlanta is made a mod and bans a record number of users for trolling.

Diesel starts a new blog about how much he misses Marvin.

Gray Mule is spotted on the sidelines of the ECF's doing Gangnam Style.

Not a single arguement on the Squawk for 3 years........

My.....God..................................!!!

*wakes up from the dream and answers Diesel's question*

No. :(

Edited January 7, 2013 by Wretch