I like Ferry's professional approach to recruiting players BUT

[NBASupes]

He will have to woo these players as well. I see Dallas, Houston, and numerous others wooing players while Ferry gives them his spill about the process, the building something special, being part of a great system and what not. That's good and well but these are 250 of best players in the world and some of them that we want at 50 of the best players in the world. These guys are masters and they do deserve some flattery and maybe a trip to Magic City to bring them into Atlanta. Say what you want about Arthur Blank, players who are FA's come here and say this was their best recruiting visit. The Hawks? Nope.

I understand Ferry wants to do it the Spurs and Duke Blue Devil way but those teams have winning traditions. We don't. We need to get talent here so we can create a winning tradition.

[Diesel]

He will have to woo these players as well. I see Dallas, Houston, and numerous others wooing players while Ferry gives them his spill about the process, the building something special, being part of a great system and what not. That's good and well but these are 250 of best players in the world and some of them that we want at 50 of the best players in the world. These guys are masters and they do deserve some flattery and maybe a trip to Magic City to bring them into Atlanta. Say what you want about Arthur Blank, players who are FA's come here and say this was their best recruiting visit. The Hawks? Nope.

I understand Ferry wants to do it the Spurs and Duke Blue Devil way but those teams have winning traditions. We don't. We need to get talent here so we can create a winning tradition.

This is one of the problems that will be to his detriment. We don't have Tim Duncan and 4 championships to back up our recruiting. Back in his father's day, his father could lay out the opportunity and players would come for the money. Well, his father's day is gone and we're not the Spurs. We have a history of mistreating our own stars, a sometimy fan base, and no championships in the cupboard. Just saying we have money to give will not entice the superstars who want to win a championship.

[theheroatl]

When have the Spurs ever wooed free agents? I've known that franchise as built from the ground up like a solid rock.

How did they get TWO number one picks? in the 80's/90's?

[AHF]

How did they get TWO number one picks? in the 80's/90's?

They lost a ton of games and got lucky in the lottery.

[Diesel]

When have the Spurs ever wooed free agents? I've known that franchise as built from the ground up like a solid rock.

How did they get TWO number one picks? in the 80's/90's?

The draft is fixed.

Stern didn't want Duncan in Boston.

[theheroatl]

Well, face the facts. You got to build a winning tradition before getting free agents.

Do you know what free agents do when they come here? Do free agents ever come here or do they meet Ferry in LA or talk on the phone. I feel as if you aren't getting the whole picture here.

[Diesel]

The draft is fixed.

Stern didn't want Duncan in Boston.

[Dragitoff]

He will have to woo these players as well. I see Dallas, Houston, and numerous others wooing players while Ferry gives them his spill about the process, the building something special, being part of a great system and what not. That's good and well but these are 250 of best players in the world and some of them that we want at 50 of the best players in the world. These guys are masters and they do deserve some flattery and maybe a trip to Magic City to bring them into Atlanta. Say what you want about Arthur Blank, players who are FA's come here and say this was their best recruiting visit. The Hawks? Nope.

I understand Ferry wants to do it the Spurs and Duke Blue Devil way but those teams have winning traditions. We don't. We need to get talent here so we can create a winning tradition.

Everyone keeps giving Ferry crap about us not getting any of the marquee guys, but who exactly has the mighty Mark Cuban recruited the past 2 years with all his capspace? Chris Kaman? Elton Brand from amnesty waivers? OJ Mayo? Jose Calderon? Devin Harris?

He's signed the same kind of guys or worse than Ferry has and still didn't make the playoffs last season and supposedly everyone wants to play for a dedicated owner like Cuban. I call bull on this. Players want to go to teams that are close to being a contender. Yeah, you'll sometimes get guys merely chasing dollars, but a lot of these guys would leave a little money on the table for a better situation if they had a choice. They aren't picking Atlanta or Dallas now because they don't see them as being close to a title. Brooklyn, Clippers, Rockets, Heat....those are the teams that are getting quality role guys for pennies on the dollar. Teams like the Hawks and Mavs will have to overpay or settle for the second level guys until they are considered a near contention team. That's why I personally like what Ferry is doing. Bringing in hard-working, blue-collar guys that will work their butts off and you won't have to worry about them taking the night off.

[ATLSmith]

I think that is part of what he is trying to build. I mean, if you have the program in place then you have something to show players during recruitment. The new training gym they have proposed building comes to mind. Just showing that alone will go a long way to demonstrate how the organization values the players health and want them to improve.

I agree that the Falcons are a great recruiting model to follow. I always find it interesting that the players they call on draft night seem to be almost in tears as they listen to whatever's being said to them on the other end of the line. I think it is important to keep in mind that Dimitroff took over in 2008 and Blank has been the owner since 2002. They certainly didn't have this great recruiting process that early on. It's a good model to aim for though and I hope Danny can get the franchise there.

[txsting]

Everyone keeps giving Ferry crap about us not getting any of the marquee guys, but who exactly has the mighty Mark Cuban recruited the past 2 years with all his capspace? Chris Kaman? Elton Brand from amnesty waivers? OJ Mayo? Jose Calderon? Devin Harris?

He's signed the same kind of guys or worse than Ferry has and still didn't make the playoffs last season and supposedly everyone wants to play for a dedicated owner like Cuban. I call bull on this. Players want to go to teams that are close to being a contender. Yeah, you'll sometimes get guys merely chasing dollars, but a lot of these guys would leave a little money on the table for a better situation if they had a choice. They aren't picking Atlanta or Dallas now because they don't see them as being close to a title. Brooklyn, Clippers, Rockets, Heat....those are the teams that are getting quality role guys for pennies on the dollar. Teams like the Hawks and Mavs will have to overpay or settle for the second level guys until they are considered a near contention team. That's why I personally like what Ferry is doing. Bringing in hard-working, blue-collar guys that will work their butts off and you won't have to worry about them taking the night off.

Dallas is a perfect analogy to our situation. They played the cap space game (in lieu of resigning the core of their 2011 championship team). They put all their chips on Deron and lost. Signed a bunch of one year deals and went after Dwight....and lost. Sound familiar?

Dallas has every advantage over us - ownership, recent winning history, proven organization. Even they have not been able to attract their main targets.

It will very interesting to see how we fare in comparison. So far, I think we are ahead. They trade down to draft Shane Larkin and then pin him behind Calderon. Who do you think Carlisle is going to play? They are in bad, bad shape. Yet it doesn't look like they are going to tank - they respect Dirk too much. They really ought to trade him and blow it up, but too prideful to admit they screwed up the 2011 offseason. A serious mess.

[Afro]

Dallas is a perfect analogy to our situation. They played the cap space game (in lieu of resigning the core of their 2011 championship team). They put all their chips on Deron and lost. Signed a bunch of one year deals and went after Dwight....and lost. Sound familiar? Dallas has every advantage over us - ownership, recent winning history, proven organization. Even they have not been able to attract their main targets. It will very interesting to see how we fare in comparison. So far, I think we are ahead. They trade down to draft Shane Larkin and then pin him behind Calderon. Who do you think Carlisle is going to play? They are in bad, bad shape. Yet it doesn't look like they are going to tank - they respect Dirk too much. They really ought to trade him and blow it up, but too prideful to admit they screwed up the 2011 offseason. A serious mess.

Not to mention the whole state tax advantage

[Bahamut]

The problem is players aren't as mature as Duncan is, so Ferry will have to woo them like the kids they are. Otherwise, we'll only have mature (old) FA's and young internationals here.

[NBASupes]

Everyone keeps giving Ferry crap about us not getting any of the marquee guys, but who exactly has the mighty Mark Cuban recruited the past 2 years with all his capspace? Chris Kaman? Elton Brand from amnesty waivers? OJ Mayo? Jose Calderon? Devin Harris?

He's signed the same kind of guys or worse than Ferry has and still didn't make the playoffs last season and supposedly everyone wants to play for a dedicated owner like Cuban. I call bull on this. Players want to go to teams that are close to being a contender. Yeah, you'll sometimes get guys merely chasing dollars, but a lot of these guys would leave a little money on the table for a better situation if they had a choice. They aren't picking Atlanta or Dallas now because they don't see them as being close to a title. Brooklyn, Clippers, Rockets, Heat....those are the teams that are getting quality role guys for pennies on the dollar. Teams like the Hawks and Mavs will have to overpay or settle for the second level guys until they are considered a near contention team. That's why I personally like what Ferry is doing. Bringing in hard-working, blue-collar guys that will work their butts off and you won't have to worry about them taking the night off.

Cuban had a championship roster where they spend over 90 million dollars compared to Miami's 60 million dollar roster. He had to blow it up because it was so expensive. You can't build a roster like that anymore unless you are Brooklyn, LAL, and NYK.

[Dragitoff]

Cuban had a championship roster where they spend over 90 million dollars compared to Miami's 60 million dollar roster. He had to blow it up because it was so expensive. You can't build a roster like that anymore unless you are Brooklyn, LAL, and NYK.

True but my point was what has a big name owner with a superstar (albeit aging one), a recent title winner, with a ton of cap space done?

[Diesel]

Everyone keeps giving Ferry crap about us not getting any of the marquee guys, but who exactly has the mighty Mark Cuban recruited the past 2 years with all his capspace? Chris Kaman? Elton Brand from amnesty waivers? OJ Mayo? Jose Calderon? Devin Harris?

He's signed the same kind of guys or worse than Ferry has and still didn't make the playoffs last season and supposedly everyone wants to play for a dedicated owner like Cuban. I call bull on this. Players want to go to teams that are close to being a contender. Yeah, you'll sometimes get guys merely chasing dollars, but a lot of these guys would leave a little money on the table for a better situation if they had a choice. They aren't picking Atlanta or Dallas now because they don't see them as being close to a title. Brooklyn, Clippers, Rockets, Heat....those are the teams that are getting quality role guys for pennies on the dollar. Teams like the Hawks and Mavs will have to overpay or settle for the second level guys until they are considered a near contention team. That's why I personally like what Ferry is doing. Bringing in hard-working, blue-collar guys that will work their butts off and you won't have to worry about them taking the night off.

The crap that He's getting is not about him missing out on Marquee guys. The crap that he's getting is about:

1. Him not having a Plan B.

2. Him not building a team that makes any sense. (duplication of position, signing players like we're in a championship run)

3. His Flippant attitude towards our players and according to him... other free agents.

[NBASupes]

If Ferry wants to build a contender with the Hawks

His PG needs to be a star and a top 5 PG in those seasons.

Horford has to be used to his strengths with players who play to his strengths.

We need a scorer at SG. He can be a shooter like Hornecek or an attacker like Waiters, he needs to be a scorer.

We need a defensive minded SF who can defend his position at a plus rate and he can hit a spot up three.

We need a true center, doesn't have to be a space eater who can protect the rim and help Al on the boards.

We need a very good bench. Two starting level players at the least.

We that, we can build a contender.

[Dragitoff]

The crap that He's getting is not about him missing out on Marquee guys. The crap that he's getting is about:

1. Him not having a Plan B.

2. Him not building a team that makes any sense. (duplication of position, signing players like we're in a championship run)

3. His Flippant attitude towards our players and according to him... other free agents.

Diesel,

1. How do you know he didn't have a plan B? How do you know his Plan B isn't coming to pass? None of us have any clue what Ferry is thinking or doing. We're not privy to those types of things. He missed out on Howard/CP3. He didn't want a no defense guy like Jefferson apparently. He can't force Houston to trade Asik when Houston has to realize trading a player because they're "forced" to trade him weakens their position. He didn't feel comfortable giving Bynum a deal because of the doctor's reports. Is he supposed to create some magical player out of thin air that isn't available? God forbid he goes out and overpays for someone just to satisfy the masses. Then people would be calling for his head for other reasons. Be logical man. We don't know where this roster will end up, nor do we have any clue what his intentions are/where

2. Whether we want to face the facts or not, Al can play Center and play it quite well. Is he a true 7 footer? No. Is he a true banger? No. Can he play the position well against the majority of the league at a high level? Yes. Getting Millsap was not a redundant move in my opinion. He is undersized, but my goodness, he plays like a bigger guy. He's got post skills. He can shoot a little too. He gives us what Josh should have been all these years minus a little of the athleticism. If your comment was referring to guys like Jenkins, Lou, etc.... then you have to look at what each player represents. Lou is a 6th man. Plain and simple. He can spot you at the 1 or 2, but he's on the team to give you scoring off the bench. He's undersized for the 2 yes, but people griped and complained last season when he played the 1 so pick your gripe with him. Jenkins is a 3pt. shooter. He may develop into more, but right now, he's Kyle Korver less the experience and 4". As for the second part of that, he's bringing in guys with a winning attitude. Guys that will work hard and not expect things to just be handed to them. Does anyone work harder on the floor that Kyle Korver? Dude is running all over the place off of screens. He's directing guys on defense and giving everything he's got. Keeping his bangs out of his eyes is hard work too! That's the kind of guys I want on my team. Not guys like Josh that gripe and complain with every call or guys who expect the opponents to roll over just because of who you are. I want guys that will get after it every single night and when teams come into Atlanta, they know they'll have to work for a W against the Hawks. That will get noticed around the league and will start changing the culture we so desperately want to see changed.

3. What inside knowledge do you have about how he has really treated players or are you going off statements from guys like Teague saying he really hadn't talked to anyone and he felt left out? We all know it's a business. It's bad business to go out and make a guy an offer before the market establishes for him. You risk offering him to low and offending him or offering too high and hurting your team. That's the business side of it. Jeff should put his big boy pants on and not get his feelings hurt so easily. If he was half as concerned about his game and took charge of that, then the Hawks would have not even blinked about matching "Blink's" offer sheet.

[ATL_BALLER]

3. His Flippant attitude towards our players and according to him... other free agents.

I'll concede your earlier point about the way Jeff has been handled. It is a little disconcerting, from a player respect perspective, to see his initial excitement to play for Coach Bud to now wanting completely out due to any kind of communication (at least according to Jeff). Whatever Danny's plans - and especially if he knew wasn't intending to match Jeff - extend him the courtesy of a conversation (aside from the QO offer).

For the most part, though, I'm willing to give Danny the benefit of the doubt. I thought he handled the Drew situation well, and it's been confirmed that he had a sitdown with Josh where they decided to go separate ways.

Side note: Again, I'll ask: how does anyone know what Danny's pitch style is? Sure, we can assume by his understated demeanor, but we don't know what his sales process looks or sounds like. Regardless, he's missed on one (unrealistic) player thus far, and has gotten all other guys he's pursued.

[ATL_BALLER]

Diesel,

1. How do you know he didn't have a plan B? How do you know his Plan B isn't coming to pass? None of us have any clue what Ferry is thinking or doing. We're not privy to those types of things. He missed out on Howard/CP3. He didn't want a no defense guy like Jefferson apparently. He can't force Houston to trade Asik when Houston has to realize trading a player because they're "forced" to trade him weakens their position. He didn't feel comfortable giving Bynum a deal because of the doctor's reports. Is he supposed to create some magical player out of thin air that isn't available? God forbid he goes out and overpays for someone just to satisfy the masses. Then people would be calling for his head for other reasons. Be logical man. We don't know where this roster will end up, nor do we have any clue what his intentions are/where

This is what I've been saying to Big D all along, yet he somehow KNOWS the real truth.

[RonMexico]

I agree, Ferry isn't doing everything in his power to woo these guys.

Take any one of these guys to the Clermont Lounge and they'll be ATLiens for life