Hawks= Clippers

[ATLien_]

We will now be the absolute worst team in the league. I hope the hawks are the worst team for 20 more years because they deserve it. I've stuck with this team for a long time ,but I am really considering picking another team. I almost did the same with the Falcons until they got smart, hired a GM and fired Dan Reeves.

This is perhaps one of the worst trades I've ever seen in my life. We got absolutley nothing out of this trade. The guys we got I have to go look up on the internet to see who they are.

If you think this Howard kid is going to be the next Lebron, I got a beach front property to sell you in Alaska. Who's to say we will even get the 1st pick?

We won't be able to attract any free agents because there is nothing hear to attract them. How do you market Stots, JT and Scrubs to Kobe, or any other freeagent?

Maybe I'm and idiot and everything is fine, but I think this franchise is now doomed.

[phoostal]

Well I'm glad someelse can see the light on this site. I will still pull for this pathetic team. Knight has destroyed us with this trade. Thanks.

P

[capstone21]

SAR and Theo got us some really talented players

We will be the worst team in the league this year. I bet we will not win another game. Bring on the first pick in the draft.

[drzachary]

Well, you don't market JT/Scrubs to FAs. You market millions of dollars to FAs. Also, the Scrubs will pretty much all be off the roster at the end of the year.

It's a complete fresh start. I, for one, am hopeful!

[phoostal]

At least we got hope. But, I wouldn't hold my breath. Because they might not be any good to 3004. At least then maybe you can channel into the franchise for a look at what a good team may look like.

P

[Playmaker0017]

Dr. Z,

Sure, you have a tons of money, but we have to fill EVERY role ... including the coach.

That doesn't bode well for the next three seasons.

Play.

[AHF]

What is it that you guys aren't seeing.

Rasheed Wallace meant nothing more to the team than CAP SPACE.

He was never going to sign with the Hawks next season. When you start next year it doesn't matter at all whether the cap space came from Rasheed or if it came from Chris Mills, etc.

In the meantime, the Hawks need to lose games to improve their spot in the lottery. With Wallace, Atlanta wins some games but doesn't have enough to make the playoffs. With the Wallace trade, Atlanta guarantees a better spot in the draft (worst they will be is 4th compared to potentially 9th or so with Wallace).

Think about starting next season. Wallace is not a loss of talent because he wouldn't have been here. The Hawks are not the Clippers. The Hawks are the next Denver Nuggets. Check out their roster after they tore things up and you won't see a lot of big names spotting the roster.

[drzachary]

AHF:

It's tiring, having to repeat yourself, isn't it?

The people that wanted to keep Wallace simply don't have a concept of the future beyond the next game. It makes me wonder about their sense of history: do they remember what they had for breakfast?

[phoostal]

Yeah granola cereal with milk

But when you see this rebuilding process go in the S#!@, because we have the label of a losing franchise that can't or get star players as well as draft anybody worth a D@#$

Then you can repeat to me the scenarios again that I don't get

Don't get me wrong, I hope you guys are right. I just don't think you are though.

P

[drzachary]

Oh, don't get me wrong. The possibility of not ever getting a star via FA or in the draft is very strong. I just don't think it would have been any less strong had we kept Wallace for the rest of the season.

[Playmaker0017]

AHF,

I have never espoused the idea of keeping rasheed.

I said as much when the trade happened and last night.

That is what you don't get. I don't see ANY value in keeping rasheed...

but the fact is Detroit needed this trade MORE than the Hawks. The 28th pick is neither good or bad, it just is.

I think we could have gotten more, maybe just a little more ... maybe a second round... but it is something more. Not to mention, Knight got raped by PTL.

In the end, he got rid of contracts and has nothing. Plus, EVERY roster spot needs an overhaul when there are no FAs. A roster full of fresh draftees isn't exactly a confidence inspiring notion.

Fact is, I think this was done incorrectly.

The main problem was JT. Get an overhaul of JT and a strong SF.

So, at the end of the first year, we still stink and have a decent shot at a lotto pick. Maybe we get Howard. Then it makes sense, Howard can slowly be worked in. If it is later in the draft we go after Livingston or Sasha, this years stud PGs. Let them slowly come up.

We also look at moving JT for ANYTHING.

Then, the end of next year, we resign Reef for his true value of 7-9MM, and explain that in order for the team to advance he needs a cut. You'll probably sign him.

The other players can be evaluated.

Then you have solid players to work with.

Right now, the Hawks have NOTHING. They don't have have clay to mold. They have NOTHING.

[Playmaker0017]

Dr. Z,

I agree that losing wallace does nothing to affect FA signing one way or the other, unless we could have resigned him.

Play.

[AHF]

Quote:

---

AHF,

The 28th pick is neither good or bad, it just is.

---

We didn't get Detroit's pick, we got Milwaukees. If you think they will finish with one of the top 2 records in the NBA then I think we've got something else to disagree on.

[Playmaker0017]

AHF,

But the pick is protected. The difference between the 28th pick and the 16th pick is very slim.

Play.

[AHF]

Quote:

---

AHF,

But the pick is protected. The difference between the 28th pick and the 16th pick is very slim.

Play.

---

I strongly disagree that a pick as good as #14 is almost the same as #28.

The following players were picked from 1999-2002 at #14 or later:

Fred Jones

Jiri Welsch

Tayshaun Prince

Carlos Boozer

Ronald Murray

Troy Murphy

Zach Randolph

Jason Collins

Raul Lopez

Gerald Wallace

Samuel Dalembert

Jamaal Tinsley

Tony Parker

Gilbert Arenas

Mehmet Okur

Hido Turkoglu

Desmond Mason

Quentin Richardson

Jamaal Magloire

Speedy Claxton

Morris Peterson

Marko Jaric

Michael Redd

Ron Artest

James Posey

Kenny Thomas

Devean George

Andrei Kirilenko

Gordan Giricek

Emanuel Ginobili

The following players were picked #28 or later:

Carlos Boozer

Ronald Murray

Tony Parker

Gilbert Arenas

Mehmet Okur

Marko Jaric

Michael Redd

Gordan Giricek

Emmanuel Ginobili

[chillzatl]

Tell me that. I mean I see all these complaints. What EXACTLY did we lose?

WE DID NOT LOSE RASHEED. Rasheed was GONE ANYWAY. HE had zero intentions of staying here. So stop crying about "dooming the franchise" becuause we traded away a player who had NO INTENTION OF STAYING HERE.

Or what, Shareef maybe? Is anyone really upset that we traded away a guy that hasn't made our team better since he got here? Not to knock Shareef. But he wasn't the answer either.

Or maybe it was THeo? The offensively challenged Powerforward in Centers clothing who can't rebound. yah right.

All we did today was do Rasheed a favor and send him to a team that can compete this season. The same thing we did for Shareef and Theo. The same thing we did for Nazr. PRobably the same thing we would do for JT if he was even remotely tradable.

Our team is NO WORSE OFF than they were a month ago. the difference in wins and losses won't be noticable. The difference in fan support is actually better than it has been in 3 years.

If you want to bail out and "pick another team", go for it. But when we get a nice hyped draft pick and a few good free agents, don't be ashamed to come back around.

And Howard might not be the next Lebron. But from teh way you talk, you would have sworn that Lebron wasn't even the next Lebron.

[ATLien_]

I don't agree with trading away players for nothing. I don't care if Wallace would of stayed or not.We should of gotten market value for him or stayed pat. Either way we get our precious cap room.

Knight is a genious? Ha, If you were the pistons that trade was a no brainer for you. You give up a late round pick and bench scrubs for an allstar type pf. I dont praise knight for doing that. Babcock could of done that if he wanted to, but he probably didn't think it was logical like me.

Praise it all you want, but I dont want to be like the clippers. I can see it now we get good draft picks every year and lose them every 4 years because we suck. Hope we don't become a NBDL for the rest of the league too.

The only thing I have to hope for is free agency, because I have seen draft pics come and go. Even if we get a Pau Gasol is that enough to do anything? Unless you get a Kobe, TMaC, Shaq, Duncan or Garnett you will not win the championship anyway. Those type players don't come along very often, so why would this draft be any different?

[Plainview1981]

I see the Hawks roster as something like this:

JT

Diaw

Hansen

Rebraca

Hendu

Jackson

Chris Crawford

Person

Chris Mills

Is that about everbody? You know, I wonder if Stotts quits

if the Hawks can add his salary to the cap space? Then

Billy Knight could be the coach and GM. It would cut

back some more.

[phoostal]

That's great Hot! I agree exactly Knight cuts Stotts and becomes coach. Get ready for some long seasons/decades/centuries with this squad.

P

[Watchman]

You obviously can't remember how much "good" it is to have all the cap space in the world and have an undesireable team image. Check with Utah. Check with Chicago. All that cap room did them no good. Utah had to take on bad contracts (Keon Clark) just to meet the NBA minimum salary requirements. No one (except for our own "all-stupid team" member JT wanted to sign with them. Certainly now, our "crowds" of 5,000 per night will probably realistically drop to 500 to 2,000 per night. Free agents just love to play in front of "crowds" like that! Oh well, we now lead the league in 6'5" to 6'8" mediocre-to-less-than-mediocre swingmen. Knight must be so proud. We don't even have a power forward on our entire team. (Unless you count "DNP" Henderson.) This is so embarrassing.

At one time having the first pick in the draft was a good thing. Not anymore. I'd bet Howard is closer to Kwame Brown than he is to LeBron James. Kwame Brown may excite you, but he does absolutely nothing for me.