Lauren Williams AJC Beatwriter talks state of the Hawks

[macdaddy]

25 minutes ago, REHawksFan said:

I gave up being a diehard Falcons fan a few years ago due to the flawed ownership (Uncle Arthur is a terrible owner imo that meddles in too many team affairs).  So in that regard, we are alike in our rooting interest.  

Here's what I'll say about the Cousins deal.  1. He's lightyears ahead of what they had in Ridder; 2. They have a decent offense full of young, talented pieces other than QB, so in theory, a competent QB is really all they need; and 3. the deal is really just a 2-year deal for $45M per year with $10M of dead money if they cut him after year 2. 

Yes, that's a lot.  But the alternatives were worse and likely required a more long term commitment.  Trading for Fields was going to cost you something to get him and there's no guarantee Fields is any better than Cousins.  Plus you'd have to commit to him long term. Trading up in the draft would require a lot of draft capital and would also not be any guarantee of success or that you'd even get the guy you wanted.

Kick the rock down the road and see what happens with Cousins over the next two years.  You try to draft his replacement with one of your picks either this year or next. If it completely doesn't work due to his age or injuries or him just sucking, then you get a high pick next year to use on a QB.  If it does work, you're likely winning the bad NFC South and seeing what happens in the playoffs.  Then you figure out the QB next year.  

I just don't see the downside here given the options they had (or didn't have).     

Arthur is at least smart enough to not be wasting time anymore.  It may backfire but as you said we have a lot of talent at key positions.  Have to go out and get the best QB available to win now.  

[AHF]

1 hour ago, REHawksFan said:

I gave up being a diehard Falcons fan a few years ago due to the flawed ownership (Uncle Arthur is a terrible owner imo that meddles in too many team affairs).  So in that regard, we are alike in our rooting interest.  

Here's what I'll say about the Cousins deal.  1. He's lightyears ahead of what they had in Ridder; 2. They have a decent offense full of young, talented pieces other than QB, so in theory, a competent QB is really all they need; and 3. the deal is really just a 2-year deal for $45M per year with $10M of dead money if they cut him after year 2. 

Yes, that's a lot.  But the alternatives were worse and likely required a more long term commitment.  Trading for Fields was going to cost you something to get him and there's no guarantee Fields is any better than Cousins.  Plus you'd have to commit to him long term. Trading up in the draft would require a lot of draft capital and would also not be any guarantee of success or that you'd even get the guy you wanted.

Kick the rock down the road and see what happens with Cousins over the next two years.  You try to draft his replacement with one of your picks either this year or next. If it completely doesn't work due to his age or injuries or him just sucking, then you get a high pick next year to use on a QB.  If it does work, you're likely winning the bad NFC South and seeing what happens in the playoffs.  Then you figure out the QB next year.  

I just don't see the downside here given the options they had (or didn't have).     

I hope that is the way it works out.  I've not argued anything other than this should be a significant improvement over what we had last year.  It is the lack of other options that leads us to overpay a 36 year old injured free agent (and the lack of alternatives that makes us desperate enough to do this).

[Vol4ever]

On 3/13/2024 at 6:29 AM, bleachkit said:

Who are we going to get this summer? NBA is tough, quality free agents just hard to come by and are expensive. Seems like we might need to luck out in the draft. 

My opinion is the ownership and front office have to work together.  It's obvious the needs of this team but we as a organization can't or won't do it.  

[JayBirdHawk]

1 hour ago, Vol4ever said:

My opinion is the ownership and front office have to work together.  It's obvious the needs of this team but we as a organization can't or won't do it.  

Actually, all I need is for the owner to loosen the purse strings and get out the way.  Let Landry, Kyle, and Quin make the basketball personnel decisions and see where we end up.

[AHF]

3 hours ago, JayBirdHawk said:

Actually, all I need is for the owner to loosen the purse strings and get out the way.  Let Landry, Kyle, and Quin make the basketball personnel decisions and see where we end up.

If I have to pick between loosening the purse strings and getting out of the way, I'm picking for Ressler to get out of the way.  At least the GM can intelligently plan around a given budget and work towards a long-term goal for the team that way.  When the owner is meddling, it really ties your hands regardless of how much money he is willing to spend.