I still believe the Hawks/Ferry aren't serious about obtaining Dwight

[TheNorthCydeRises]

Because if you ARE serious, you'd make whatever inquiry you presented to the Lakers public. Tell us what you offered to them.

If the Lakers are even remotely thinking about trading Dwight, public pressure on them may make them do it. So put an offer out there that would make the entire sports world talk about if our deal would be worth the Lakers taking

- Al Horford

- Jeff Teague

- Kyle Korver

- 1st round pick ( from Houston )

for Dwight

Put it out there, and put pressure on ALL PARTIES to get a deal done.

If you REALLY want Dwight, give the Lakers a package that they'd definitely have to think twice to turn down. That package would represent just about everything they need right now. A shooter. A backup PG ( who could be a starter ). And a high quality big man that would fit D'Antoni's system perfectly.

Matte of fact, all 3 would thrive in D'Antoni's system.

If Hawk fans are so sure that Dwight will eventually choose Atlanta, why not trade for him right now? We'd lose Teague, so re-sign Harris. We'd lose Korver, but John Jenkins is the heir to his spot as the long range spot up shooter anyway. We'd lose Horford, but Ivan could at least replace 65% of what Al brought to the table, with Zaza replacing the rest ( if we chose to re-sign him ).

Guaranteed Salary and Cap Holds going into the summer of 2013, if we made this type of trade

SALARIES

Lou Williams - 5.23 mill

John Jenkins - 1.26 mill

1st round pick - 1.1 mill ( approximately )

Total: 7.6 mill ( approx )

CAP HOLDS

Dwight Howard: 20.51 mill

Josh Smith: 16.4 mill

Devin Harris: 12.75 mill

Zaza Pachulia: 7.87 mill

Anthony Morrow: 7.6 mill

Ivan Johnson: 1.25 mill

Total: 66.4 mill ( approx )

GRAND TOTAL: 72 mill ( approx ) . . . amongst 9 players

At this point, the Hawks would have multiple options here. They could renounce everyone except Howard and Smith, sign them, and still have room under the salary cap to add another decent starting caliber player plus other role players

They could sign Howard and Smith, plus retain guys like Devin ( with a lesser contract ), Zaza ( for about the same money, but maybe less years ) and Ivan ( who may see an increase to 3 mill per year ) . . . and still have enough room under the Luxury Tax to add a MLE caliber player and some decent vet minimum contracts to fill out the team

************************

New Hawks team

PG: Harris - vet minimum FA

G: Jenkins - Williams ( 6th man )

F: MLE level FA - 1st round pick/vet minimum FA

PF: Smith - Ivan

C: Horford - Zaza ( or a center in that price range )

The Hawks are going to play this game of "chicken" with LA, Dallas, and Howard in the offseason . . . and LOSE.

So why not try to tip our chances in our favor right now? Make his immature azz turn down that extra 25 million from US, and justify why he'd want to play in Dallas for less money.

[wolvetigers]

Man please...Ferry is definitely serious about bringing in Dwight - and the best way to handle this trade is at the GM level. Lakers are a prideful, winning organization, this isnt Orlando, Charlotte - where the public sway rules..and no way the Hawks put Teague in that offer ...If the lakers go say 4-9 over the 13 games then Howard will be traded - if not the bidding war opens up in the summer and Dallas and Atlanta will fight for Howard....

If that is Ferry's plan then he will definitely use the draft to grab another PG and backup C as we would be force to let go of Zaza...

[IheartVolt]

Al , Teague and Korver? And you are okay with this trade? That is a heavy price to pay friend and would never wanna see that trade offered. Al and Teague I would be okay with or even Al and Korver ( I really wanna see Korver stick around awhile ) but the three and a pick? I really do not mean to offend anyone and if I do I apologize , but some of you are just goofy when comes to Howard being in a Hawks uni. Sure he is the best center in the game today but the centers in todays game are not that good! D12 would be a good piece to have for defence alone but some of you talk like the guy is Shaq! lol Well I hate to be the realist here but he is no where near Shaqs level and never will be. Wish we could ship Smoove there instead of Big Al ,cause Al and D12 would compliment each other and Al knows his game and plays within them.. Smoove and D12 would be a travesty on an epic scale

[Ruckus]

- Al Horford- Jeff Teague- Kyle Korver- 1st round pick ( from Houston )

Funk that. Sorry that is crazy. What did the Lakers give up for him again?

[TheNorthCydeRises]

Man please...Ferry is definitely serious about bringing in Dwight - and the best way to handle this trade is at the GM level. Lakers are a prideful, winning organization, this isnt Orlando, Charlotte - where the public sway rules..and no way the Hawks put Teague in that offer ...If the lakers go say 4-9 over the 13 games then Howard will be traded - if not the bidding war opens up in the summer and Dallas and Atlanta will fight for Howard....

If that is Ferry's plan then he will definitely use the draft to grab another PG and backup C as we would be force to let go of Zaza...

Teague is a restricted free agent this summer. That means that Ferry is going to have to deal with some sort of a Teague situation regardless. A team desperate for a PG or PG depth, is going to come after Teague and give him an offer sheet. Maybe a big one like with Houston did with Lin.

All I'm saying is that we can potentially end all of this RIGHT NOW, with a significant deal to the Lakers. D'Antoni may love to have those 3 players to work with, even if it meant giving up Howard. And the national media would talk up that 3 player deal as something that both teams could benefit from.

[Brotha2ThaNite]

Funk that. Sorry that is crazy. What did the Lakers give up for him again?

Lol. .. as much as I want D12. even I stopped reading after I saw Al, Jeff and Kyle. :-) Edited January 25, 2013 by Brotha2ThaNite

[TheNorthCydeRises]

I guess this is me thinking like Wretch.

You guys say that is "too much" to give up for Dwight. My question is this . . . if we're not going anywhere ANYWAY, what is really "too much"?

Korver is likely to not be here next year, because he's unrestricted in the summer. Teague is a restricted free agent in the summer ( and the Hawks didn't even offer an extension to him ), so people are going to come after him too. And Houston's pick is going to be a mid to low 1st round pic. It's not like that's a lottery pick. Only Horford has a guaranteed contract for next year.

So what is there to lose? Unless Dwight STILL wouldn't sign with the Hawks.

And if that's the case, stop with the Dwight Howard talk and rumors altogether. If he wouldn't re-sign with the Hawks after we obtained his rights, and with his buddy Josh Smith here, and with us having the ability to pay him as much as we want . . . we need to kill any rumor that we have interest in the guy.

Ferry could end this right now if he wanted. He's not serious though, so he won't. He'll simply let fans believe that we have a "shot" at Dwight, without publically saying that he wants Dwight and that Dwight wants to come here.

[Guest]

No GM will make public what they offered in trades, that is just stupid. Why would you give other teams any knowledge about what you would give up? Additionally, when trades don't materialize what do you tell your players? Plausible deniability.

[IheartVolt]

No GM will make public what they offered in trades, that is just stupid. Why would you give other teams any knowledge about what you would give up? Additionally, when trades don't materialize what do you tell your players? Plausible deniability.

Yea plus the said trade pieces would be less then pleased if it does not work out.. What then?

[TheNorthCydeRises]

Lol. .. as much as I want D12. even I stopped reading after I saw Al, Jeff and Kyle. :-)

Why?

We're 24 - 18 with Al, Jeff, and Kyle

It's not like we're about to win an NBA title with those 3. There's no superstar in ATL.

So instead of trying to gain a better advantage of getting Howard to ATL, you'd rather reduce your chances by letting that dude even think about hitting the FA market and choose some other team?

If I had his rights, I'd MAKE that dude turn down a max contract. And if he doesn't want to come here, I'm ending ALL rumors about pursuing him. To me, it's rapidly becoming "put up or shut up" time for the Hawks.

[IheartVolt]

Why? We're 24 - 18 with Al, Jeff, and Kyle It's not like we're about to win an NBA title with those 3. There's no superstar in ATL. So instead of trying to gain a better advantage of getting Howard to ATL, you'd rather reduce your chances by letting that dude even think about hitting the FA market and choose some other team? If I had his rights, I'd MAKE that dude turn down a max contract. And if he doesn't want to come here, I'm ending ALL rumors about pursuing him. To me, it's rapidly becoming "put up or shut up" time for the Hawks.

That makes a difference how? Plus all I have heard is the Lakers are not trading Howard , but everyone seems to forget an important part in all this ( The Lakers )

[Admin]

Why?

We're 24 - 18 with Al, Jeff, and Kyle

It's not like we're about to win an NBA title with those 3. There's no superstar in ATL.

So instead of trying to gain a better advantage of getting Howard to ATL, you'd rather reduce your chances by letting that dude even think about hitting the FA market and choose some other team?

If I had his rights, I'd MAKE that dude turn down a max contract. And if he doesn't want to come here, I'm ending ALL rumors about pursuing him. To me, it's rapidly becoming "put up or shut up" time for the Hawks.

How are you supposed to know BEFORE trading or making an offer whether or not Dwight is going to re-sign here in the off-season So now you've traded away 2 of our 3 best players and our remaining best player is supposed to want to stick around when Dwight probably leaves in the off-season I'm with the others, no way I'm giving up those players. I'm waiting until the off-season and taking my chances signing Dwight or Paul to ADD to what we have. No sense in rushing things now, let's wait for the off-season.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

Ferry doesn't have to say it himself. All he has to do is put out a "strong rumor" of this type of deal going down. NBA franchises do this all the time, to test the waters of a trade, without specifically saying it themselves ( although it would have more weight if they did publically say it ).

This is how the game is played. How the Rockets acquired James Harden

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nba--inside-look-at-james-harden-s-trade-to-rockets-28301609.html

Before sitting down a final time with Pelinka, Presti became more serious in his discussions with Morey. Houston wanted Harden badly, believed he would evolve into a transcendent franchise star for a championship-caliber team and planned to award him a five-year maximum contract worth nearly $80 million. So, Presti laid out what he wanted for Harden and the original price was steep: Kevin Martin, Chandler Parsons, Jeremy Lamb and three first-round picks, including Houston's own in 2013.

Across 72 hours and culminating on Friday night, the deal became this: Martin, Lamb and two first-round picks, including a guaranteed plumb lottery pick via Toronto. Before Presti sat down with Pelinka on Saturday morning to make his final offer of $54 million over four years, the Rockets were made to understand: If Harden turns it down, your long-awaited star is on his way to Texas.

***************

And THAT'S how you get a superstar player. You give up a lot, for a player who you envision being a franchise changing player.

At the very least, Ferry needs to be willing and able to do something like this behind the scenes, if not put rumors of it out there publically, to drum up interest in a trade like this going down.

Contrary to popular belief, we do NOT hold the advantage, if we let this thing go to the summer. We need to make our move NOW, if he's serious about even making a move.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

How are you supposed to know BEFORE trading or making an offer whether or not Dwight is going to re-sign here in the off-season So now you've traded away 2 of our 3 best players and our remaining best player is supposed to want to stick around when Dwight probably leaves in the off-season I'm with the others, no way I'm giving up those players. I'm waiting until the off-season and taking my chances signing Dwight or Paul to ADD to what we have. No sense in rushing things now, let's wait for the off-season.

Dol . . we don't even know if Josh Smith is going to stay here at season's end. It's not like he's said that he wanted to re-sign at the end of the year either. He's going to weigh his options as well.

The fact is that 2 of our best 3 players are NOT ENOUGH to get us out of the 1st ( possibly the 2nd ) round of the playoffs. So if you have to get rid of them, just to have an advantage of obtaining a guy who is a top 20 player in the league, then so be it.

LOL . . as bad as Teague was playing 2 weeks ago, people were ready to trade him. Now he's a vital part of the franchise? And we survived all year without Horford.

If we sincerely want Dwight, we need to go after him . . . HARD. If we let this go to the summer, we're going to not only lose him, but also be forced to sign Josh Smith to a near max, long term contract.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

That's why I think all of this talk about Howard isn't serious. Even the fans aren't willing to give up the farm, in order to get him.

May as well kill the talk then. Because we're not getting that guy for free. We're not trading Petro, Morrow, Harris, and Lou Williams for Dwight.

Edited January 25, 2013 by northcyde

[Ruckus]

I'm so tired of the word "superstar". Do people not realize this is just a word that doesn't in itself bring a championship to Atlanta. Dwight is not LeBron. Lets keep that in mind. To gut the team for him leaves us with a team no better than it is right now, possibly a lot worse. Dwight is a good player, but not a go-to player like other stars in the league. He does add relevance to Atlanta though but is that all being a "superstar" entails?

[GameTime]

northcyde why should Ferry show all his cards to the public? That makes absolutely no sense. I wouldn't mind trading Horf and Teague (1st is a bit much) for Howard early if we had to because Josh and Dwight could convince CP3 to come here easier if they are already here. But there is no reason to play all his cards to the public.

Edited January 25, 2013 by GameTime

[HawkItus]

Horf Zaza and Harris works.....for D12 and their backup PG(years)

[yungsta]

Bringing dwight isnt just for basketball reasons its for business reasons too. If you didnt see the forbes thread we are 28th in franchise value. This franchise is in a bad state and is losing money fast. WE desperately need a recognizable face so we can bring in more revenue.

There are very few stars in the nba and if you want a star like howard you give up valuable assets. If you dont want to trade AL, Korver, and teague for howard that is a bad business move. Neither of them are stars, neither of them have culture changing potential like howard,

It is pretty obvious D12 isnt a go to guy he wont lead a team to a championship but bringing howard can have a domino effect that can lead us to building a team to that is a title threat. He can make this a more attractive free agent destination. That will have more stars considering to come here, have guys willing to come here for less money, have us get more favorable ref treatment etc......

Just look at blake griffin. Everyone and there mama knows he isnt a go to guy and isnt even a top 10 player but its pretty obvious he was the start of that clippers culture change.

[Wretch]

I'm so tired of the word "superstar". Do people not realize this is just a word that doesn't in itself bring a championship to Atlanta. Dwight is not LeBron. Lets keep that in mind. To gut the team for him leaves us with a team no better than it is right now, possibly a lot worse. Dwight is a good player, but not a go-to player like other stars in the league. He does add relevance to Atlanta though but is that all being a "superstar" entails?

A lot of times, I think people get caught up in the word "superstar"...what gets under my skin though is how people undersell it's importance. You can call that player a superstar, you can call him a high PER player, you can say he's a closer, franchise talent...

The bottom line is that your franchise player is your ENGINE. You are only going as far as your engine will take you. The teams that get out of the 2nd round and into the conference finals have stock car engines. You're not going to beat them in a Honda Civic.

We can whine about until the cows come home or we can DO something about it. And no amount of moral victories and 2nd round appearances is going to change that. My preference though, if we were going to nuke this squad, would be to obtain something to build with. As it were, I think we let the window close on us. This should have went down a few years ago with a ballsy offer...when D12 and Paul were both out there for the taking.

Edited January 25, 2013 by Wretch