Can we as Hawk's Fans take another lousy year?

[hotboyj]

I can't imagine how horrible it would be if the Hawks had another under-20 win season. It would just be devestating. I was flipping throught nba.com/draft2005 and they had video profiles of all the lottery teams. I decided to watch the Hawk's video and they were talking on how we had a good draft last year and how we needed a pg and a bigman. The first guy was like well you need to get big men first cuz you can get a pg in the 2nd, 3rd round. Yeah 3rd round. I really didn't pay much attention to him. The next guy who was a real analyst said that we should take Paul since he is the kind of player that can take the Hawks over the hump because of his desire to win. I was like finally a guy who realizes that Marvin isn't the man for us. I see us in the same boat as Detroit. Do you take the guy who can come in and help or the guy who has potential. Paul is the leader this team is lacking, while he may raise his voice, he has that competitive edge that is so contaigous. So for a final vote do we take the guy who may turn out to be the better player after it is all said and done or the guy who might be the missing piece to a struggling franchise.

[CBAreject]

Can we take another lousy year? My answer is 'Bogut'. I meant 'Marvin'...I was just coughing and it sounded like 'Bogut'. Wait! Neither one of those are acceptable answers to the question.

[Plainview1981]

Sorry to tell ya, but it's going to be a lousy year

(record wise) next year almost no matter who the

Hawks pick.

[Lascar78]

I'm with Hotlanta here, we're going to be losing no matter what next year. Certainly Paul (or Deron) is a better immediate fit, but even with him we're not winning 30 games unless a miracle happens this offseason in my opinion.

We cleared our roster a year ago, and drafted 2 young pieces. We had a horrible year as expected. This year we add 1 more young piece. We're going to be bad regardless of who it is. Next year we'll have 2 more 1st rounders and hopefully we can start winning some games that year.

I don't expect any results in terms of win-loss this year. I'm more concerned with building the right core for the future than the one that'll look best this year.

So again it all comes down to how good BK thinks Marvin will be. If he's not easily ahead of the PGs, then I want Paul or Deron. If he is, I want Marvin.

But of course, there's still the hope that we'll get Bogut, and I'm still hoping hard. He is the best player and a perfect fit. Which means that we'll probably miss out on him cause we're the hawks...

[DominiqueWilkins]

Expect another lousy year.

The bright side of things is the young talent we have and will have. Josh Smith will only be better, and hopefully the jumper will be ready to perform. Josh Childress will only be stronger, and hopefully his shot is more accurate.

I'm ready to cheer for this lousy team once again, and this time I'll have a bigger smile on my face. The future is going to be very good.

[emorystar]

It doesn't matter who we pick, Atlanta is going to be bad next year. So get that through your head. The good news is that next year's draft is going to have multi-franchise players. The end is near.

[cyman3]

dont u guys wanna save ur predictions til after FREE AGENCY?

what if (hypothetically), we landed Ray Allen + Earl Watson + Sam Dally.

as of right now, it sure looks like we're lottery bound (once again)- but ima wait. patiently. see our roster on opening night and make my predictions then.

[Yeti]

We have had lousy teams for many years. The only way to get out of it is to get another franchise player. Pick Bogut or Marvin. If we go for being "competitive" as soon as possible, we'll be right back into the mediocre trap - not good enough to win a championship, not bad enough to get good draft picks. (imho - our last great team was when 'Nique played Bird head-to-head. They never really recovered after that.)

The Nutcracker is more likely to be another Artest than a Jason Kidd. He cost his team a shot at the tournament championship by doing something stupid (and dirty). Lets keep the troublemakers out of Atlanta before they drag down the other young guys.

So we don't get Deron or Felton, maybe we can get Ukic. Or else I'd go for Nate Robinson at 31 - Deron refused to workout against him. and Head seems more of a shooter.

yeti

[Lascar78]

Quote:

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dont u guys wanna save ur predictions til after FREE AGENCY?

what if (hypothetically), we landed Ray Allen + Earl Watson + Sam Dally.

as of right now, it sure looks like we're lottery bound (once again)- but ima wait. patiently. see our roster on opening night and make my predictions then.

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well that's why I said "we're not winning 30 games unless a miracle happens this offseason in my opinion. "

It could happen theoretically, but I'm not holding my breath. My guess is we throw a max contract at someone who turns it down, and then we settle for an average free agent (Kwame?). I don't see us getting Allen, Dalembert, Hughes, Chandler, or anyone like that. I think those 4 are staying put. If Redd leaves Milwaukee, it's not to come here. So that leaves us with slim pickings in terms of getting big FA.

I don't think a draft pick and an average FA will take us from 13 wins to much more than twice than many wins at best.

I mean are we really going to sign someone that much better than Antoine Walker? I don't think so. I think that the only way that we win games this coming season is by trading Al for a pick (PG) and getting Bogut. Then things MIGHT be different, but we still won't make the playoffs in my mind.

But as I said, I'm fine with it for one more year. I just want to see the core taking shape.

[Buzzard]

Quote:

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well that's why I said "we're not winning 30 games unless a miracle happens this offseason in my opinion. "

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Yea and I am not counting on a miracle. We will have some solid draft picks next year and that is when the team will really start taking shape.

[Sage11]

This team is two seasons away from the playoffs in the best-case scenario imho.

[Diesel]

I have to disagree...

In the best case scenerio, we get Larry Hughes, Deron Williams, Randolph Morris, Kwame Brown, and Samuel Dalembert out of this offseason and we make it to the playoffs this upcoming year...

I think you can't account for how much Smoove and Chillz will grow as players over the offseason. If they gain confidence, they might be a very strong 1/2 punch..

With all the money we have, you can't deny us to be a major player in FAcy... I think players like Ray Allen will try to use us, but there are some other players who may want the money and may play for us!

[Sage11]

I doubt that team you just put together on paper ever materialize for the hawks.

"Larry Hughes, Deron Williams, Randolph Morris, Kwame Brown, and Samuel Dalembert, Ray Allen "

Maybe one or two of these guys but not all of them. Even if they did, they still have to learn to play together.

Like I said two years....

[Lascar78]

Quote:

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In the best case scenerio, we get Larry Hughes, Deron Williams, Randolph Morris, Kwame Brown, and Samuel Dalembert out of this offseason and we make it to the playoffs this upcoming year...

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Why not have Shaq opt out and come sign here while you're at it? You have Hughes, Dalembert and Kwame coming here? That's beyond impossible. That scenario is about as likely as luke Schenscher getting drafted in the top 5.

We're not going anywhere next year

[Diesel]

Why is it so IMPOSSIBLE...

We have the resources right??

Let's face it...

Washington will have problems signing Hughes... They can't muster enough to resign Steve Blake... So I know Hughes will be a problem. I think we may have to overpay to get both Hughes/Dalembert... But it's certainly not impossible...

Lascar you will debate ANYTHING.

As far as Kwame.

He's not happy in DC. Who's to say he wouldn't come to Atlanta to play? He may want to come to Atlanta to play?

None of these three players are MJ or Shaq... So why try to classify them in Shaq's place??

[Lascar78]

Yeah I think the both of us will debate anything but that's not what's happening here.

I find the notion of all 3 of them coming here this offseason just as improbably as Shaq coming here. Is it possible that we actually manage to convince one to come here? Maybe. But probably not 2 and definitely not 3

But I think that in the case of Dalembert and Hughes you have 2 guys who want to stay where they are and whose clubs like them. You say we'll overpay. BK has stated he won't overpay for players. I think DC didn't want to pay Blake because they know they're going to have to pay Arenas. I think Philly is ready to play for Dalembert. Their team isn't meant to peak in 5 years. They have an aging Webb and an aging AI, and now is their time to get whoever they can to try to make a run.

Kwame is a different story. He's clearly leaving town and he's got to go somewhere. So far he has crumbled under the pressure, but I could see us taking a chance on him. And I could see him wanting to come home. Even with him, we'll probably have to pay too much.

BK isn't going to spend every cent we have on FA's so that we can't re-sign the joshes or this year's pick when the time comes. I think we'll get one "decent" FA big man like Kwame or Curry (not Chandler, Dalembert), and some sort of PG help (Watson?).

Think of last year, people were saying we'd get Kobe, KMart, you name him and we *might* get him because we had the cash. The bottom line is that is still hard to get people to sign in Atlanta. Yes we have cash and 2 good young players, but what team out there doesn't have 2 good young players? I want FA's as bad as the next guy, I just think your expectations are way too high.

[Diesel]

The want doesn't coincide with the money.

CWebb/AI are making huge contracts... Not to mention, they still have McKie's salary to pay and a whole lot of other jokers who shouldn't be getting paid. And they are not winning. If we offer a deal that starts at 8, I think Dalembert could be ours...

Washington is in the same position. They have plenty of contracts that won't be over soon. Plus, Hughes is UFA. They don't get much of a choice in the matter. He may want to stay, but what's their 5 million MLE when we have an offer on 7 to 8 on the table?

As far as Kwame go... We can afford him too.

I say you have to look at our money. We didn't get this far under the cap to just watch FAs go by!

[Wretch]

The general opinion of the Hawks is in the toilet, if not completely non-existent due to apathy. Only those who have picked up on the Hawks in the past 6 or 7 years, who've never really followed the lottery, and understand the life cycle of the NBA, will be upset; and most of these cats don't completely comprehend the long-term effects of the sheer havoc that Babcock wreaked on us. Add to the normal life cycle and extra 2 seasons AT LEAST for Babcock's ill manner of handling our drafts. Fortuneately, he was FIRED (THANK GOD ALMIGHTY) and we brought in someone with a distinct plan and vision for the team.

Though, I honestly feel we are closer to being decent than most. We have an outstanding core of Al, Smoove, and Chill. Our rookies last season played tremendously. They're mature and level headed and you've got to think with a year of experience under their belts, some work in the off season, better familiarity with each other, and overall better chemistry that they'll come in and show some marked improvement.

If we come away from this draft with a star PG, you can expect their games to become even better. A player like Paul is going to open up the game considerably for our guys with his shooting, passing, and penetration. Deron will come in and will provide shooting and the same level of floor leadership...but he'll also be able to shore up our perimeter defense. I can just imaging Deron, Chill, and Smoove defensively under Woody.

Add to that the fact that we have a serious amount of money to spend this offseason... I know, money doesn't guarantee interest, but I've heard that we're gonna have to pay someone to reach that minimum salary requirement. So, if we don't get decent interest, someone will be getting overpaid.

Things don't look so glum to me. Playoffs isn't impossible with the right draft and the right offseason, but is still bit of a stretch. I expect us to be looking at the lottery again, but nowhere near the bottom of the heap.

[hotboyj]

What I meant was would you rather get a player who would make the team better and more competitive, or would you rather say, we're in no type of rush to win so we might as well select the BPA. I'm in the boat saying we've lost enough and were the worst team in the league. I for one think we don't need to waste any more picks on the verstale 6-8 sf. As of now we have 5 of them including Smoove, chillz, al, diaw, and donta. Do we really need another? Sure he has the potential, but when is enough enough? BK has said in the past, "yeah sure I would have like to pick a bigman or a point, but I didn't see any I liked." This year there is at least one pg he likes for sure in Deron, and more than likely Ukic. So please can everyone vote if they don't care when we get good as long as we draft the bpa click Marvin, and if you would rather us try to find all of the missing pieces and show signs of wanting to improve the team on the court select Paul. It is that simple.

And for everyone who thinks no matter what we will be sorry, how can you even call yourself a Hawks fan. That is the most pessimistic thing I've heard. I mean at least say I don't think there will be major improvements, or something the least bit decent. It happened for Chicago, and they had the Jordan curse. It is very possible that if we draft a pg, and sign some big men we can be a very competitive team next year. I need to change my sig back to what it used to be, cuz we have too many non-believers in this forum.

[Vol4ever]

Well I will say this as a business man. You can talk about all the rebuilding in the world and if the team continues to be the Montreal Expos of the NBA the ownership will not be happy.

I've been a avid Hawks fan since 1978. Rebuilding is fine, although I'm not a Knight fan (he has done 0 in Memphis and Atlanta) but if there is not butts in the seats for the next two years there will be ownership problems and Knight and Woodson will get fired. A business cannot keep loosing big money and even with the paltry (by NBA standards) Hawks payroll this team is losing big money.

Knight has put this team into a bad situation. Even though the Hawks have salary cap money there is no free agents that care about winning interested in Atlanta, as a matter of fact they are laughing at the franchise around the league.

I really hope I am wrong on this one!