Hawks’ core possibly facing final chance to show something
Can this Hawks' core battling odds to make it past second round. (Curtis Compton/AJC)
After an offseason that saw the Hawks lose their starting point guard (Kirk Hinrich) to an injury, their only bench scorer (Jamal Crawford) to budget constraints and a would-be new owner (Alex Meruelo) because the NBA didn’t trust his financial house of cards –you know, as opposed to the model of stability that currently exists in the front office – here comes the new NBA season.
Ready? Or not?
Maybe the Jeff Teague we saw in the postseason wasn’t an aberration. Maybe the new slimmed-down Josh Smith really is as motivated as he seems. Maybe Tracy McGrady (year 15) and Jerry Stackhouse (year 17) and other remnants of players on the bench can make up for the loss of Crawford’s scoring. But that’s a lot of maybes to count on.
Hopefully, you like mysteries. Two-game preseasons don’t offer much in the way of preview.
This much, we can be fairly certain of: Whatever the Hawks – and this core in particular — are capable of, this is the season they need to show it. Smith has only two years left on his contract. The means the organization will need to make a decision on whether to extend him or trade him after this season. So this could be the final roundup for the core of this team, particularly with ownership still in flux.
“This is a very important year for us to see what we can do,” Al Horford said. “ We can’t just take it for granted [that the team will be kept together]. We know we have to do something.”
Let’s define “something” as getting past the second round and into the Eastern Conference finals. It’s something this franchise never has done since moving to Atlanta in 1968.
Owner Michael Gearon, fighting a credibility battle, can cling to silly statistics like the fact the Hawks, Boston and Los Angeles Lakers are the only three teams to advance past the first round in the last three years. But what does that mean exactly?
In the real world, the only thing that matters is having a sense a team can compete for a championship. The Hawks made progress in the playoffs last season, but it’s going to be difficult to make a case that they’ve gotten better since their last game, and they probably have gotten worse.
They just lost a guy, Crawford, who was the league’s seventh-leading bench scorer last season at 14.2 points per game (and scored 20 or more 18 times). Ownership’s decision to not spend over the salary cap basically forced general manager Rick Sund to search the table of markdowns and slightly irregulars to fill out his bench.
There are some positive signs. Players responded to coach Larry Drew last season far more than they did at the end for Mike Woodson. They eliminated Orlando, which now appears on the slide. They took Chicago to six games. Those things are not without significance.
“There comes a time when people tell you, ‘You have potential, you guys can be so good,’ but sometimes the guys in the locker room don’t really believe that,” Horford said. “I think last year in the playoffs we finally started to believe that.”
Sund added, “The [previous] two years, we made the playoffs but didn’t compete at the level we needed to compete at in the second round. This is their best opportunity to see if they can take the next step now.”
An improbable long playoff run depends on several things. With Hinrich (shoulder) sidelined for at least another month, Teague has to take charge and play like he did in the playoffs. Smith needs to hit mid-range jumpers (limiting the three-point attempts) when he plays small forward and dominate the paint when he’s at the power spot. Horford needs to be better and more consistent offensively. The bench, probably led by McGrady, Vladimir Radmanovic and Willie Green need to score better than you would expect a bench of McGrady, Radmanovic and Green to score.
Drew admits the Hawks will “limp into the season.” That’s a problem when you play nine games in 12 days.
But he said he learned something about his team last year: “We’ve gotten to the point where we’ve handled adversity pretty well.”
They’ll need to continue that — especially given the backdrop of the past few months.
By Jeff Schultz
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85 comments Add your comment
Free....
December 23rd, 2011
3:32 pm
Jeff Teague!!!!
Hmmm
December 23rd, 2011
3:34 pm
Get it done or I want everyone except Teague gone by next season.
FreshmakerGT
December 23rd, 2011
3:45 pm
Can’t wait for the season to start! I’m pretty high on the Hawks this year. I think we’ll get the #4 seed and finish ahead of the Magic. If JT0 can be as dynamic as he was in the playoffs, then the sky’s the limit.
TS
December 23rd, 2011
3:56 pm
Yeah, it would be better if they had gone ahead and gotten CP3 and Dwight Howard in the offseason.
Harry Hawk
December 23rd, 2011
3:59 pm
Let’s just hope the Hawks’ belief in themselves isn’t as misplaced as ASG’s belief that they had sold the franchise.
Sage of Bluesland
December 23rd, 2011
4:04 pm
Laughing at anyone who actually believes this forlorn and woebegone franchise and its “core” players can do anything but reach mediocrity.
It all starts at the top–and it’s rotten.
Not another dime for incompetence. I haven’t–nor will I ever–step into Phillips Arena for any reason as long as these incompetent owners are involved.
Stop the subsidization, folks. That will force them out. They don’t deserve another dollar of your hard-earned money.
Sly Boarders
December 23rd, 2011
4:09 pm
Who cares.
Hot sauce
December 23rd, 2011
4:14 pm
Didn’t hawks reach the ECF in 88 against the celts?
Grandmaster JeJe
December 23rd, 2011
4:15 pm
Ownership’s decision to not spend over the salary cap basically forced general manager Rick Sund to search the table of markdowns and slightly irregulars
*****
THE TEAM IS 10 MILLION over the salary cap… Good Lord… Do you even know what a salary cap is? Or maybe you are thinking of the LUXURY TAX
Mike
December 23rd, 2011
4:19 pm
Like Michael Gearon say on his interview with MC that this is a “Make or Break it” year and if the Hawks cant get passed the second round then Core goes bye-bye.
Mike
December 23rd, 2011
4:25 pm
or actually it will be Coach, GM and Core goes away.
"Chef" Tim Dix
December 23rd, 2011
4:28 pm
I think this team goes as far as Jeff T. takes them.
And, he will.
Matt from MN
December 23rd, 2011
4:32 pm
I’m rooting for a LAST place finish, an empty arena and ASG in bankruptcy.
Trainwreck
December 23rd, 2011
4:32 pm
Trouble ahead for the Hawks… not going to even be top 4 in the East next year so… probably not even going to win in the first round of the playoffs…
MattP
December 23rd, 2011
4:37 pm
I am actually kind of hoping for a bad season here that way we get a new GM and Coach.
dream on
December 23rd, 2011
4:45 pm
ESPN has the Hawks ranked 18th in their pre season rankings out of 30 teams and I think that’s about right. So whats that mean….getting out of the 2nd round…please…this team will be lucky if they make the playoffs.
http://espn.go.com/nba/powerrankings/_/season/2012/week/0
teedub
December 23rd, 2011
4:49 pm
Go Hawks!!!! May the naysayers be silenced.
moorman
December 23rd, 2011
4:54 pm
STOP blaming hawks ownership. the nba is like pro wrestling, there is a HUGE element of fakery going on. david sterns SHOWED how the nba operates when they nixed that chris paul trade. its all about every market having certain superstars. you cant tell me that billy knight was that dumb to make all those bad decisions he did…..NO WAY. in other words, no superstars come to atlanta because the league has given the hawks what they want the hawks to have…….
Grandmaster JeJe
December 23rd, 2011
4:57 pm
Jeff Schultz thinks the salary cap is the same thing as the Luxury Tax.
SMH
dream on
December 23rd, 2011
4:57 pm
I wonder what % of basketball fans in metro Atlanta really give a damn about the Hawks…you think it’s more than 10%….ask that same question in Boston about the Celtics and I bet it’s close to 95%. Just wondering. And by saying this I don’t blame ATL basketball fans….the Hawks and their organization just suck and that’s why no one cares including sports fans posting on this blog? On second thought I bet it’s not 5%.
Chris
December 23rd, 2011
5:03 pm
Until the get rid of the overrated Joe Johnson and his albatross of a contract, the Hawks will be a middle of the pack team. Can’t understand why the gave him a max contract because he is simply not a player that will take you on a Championship run.
Frank the Tank
December 23rd, 2011
5:52 pm
I am loyal to this team, that being said it has been the most mismanaged franchise in the last 22 years. No matter who the owners are, it seems they only want to stay with mediocrity. Great moves like trading nigue(the player who was beloved by everyone), picking up moses malone i believe on his 78th birthday, and paying Joe Johnson max money only make me lose hair.
wcj
December 23rd, 2011
5:52 pm
The will not trade Joe Johnson because the owners Like Joe Johnson. I am sure the hawks have had deals for Joe Johnson. Joe Johnson will remain a hawk until new owners are found, and that may never happen. This team needs to be sold in order for the hawks to change. Does anyone had about 600-800 million dollars they not need?
DeaconBlues
December 23rd, 2011
6:20 pm
If Teague can effectively pilot this team, good things will happen. There’s a lot of talent on this team; they just need to be on the same page. Not as easy as it sounds, but a Deacon not named Paul could lead them.
Simpson's Homer
December 23rd, 2011
6:26 pm
I hope not, but this kinda has the feel of the upcoming Braves season —- fairly good, but not much improvement, and hard to get overly enthused…….. I hope to be wrong!!
Dap01
December 23rd, 2011
7:10 pm
The Hawks have the most inept management in the history of sports. The core never had a chance with bone headed move after bone headed move.
None of them have a clue.
Sam from the Swats
December 23rd, 2011
7:16 pm
If Joe was not resigned, the Hawks would have been battling for the 8th seed.
JSS
December 23rd, 2011
7:29 pm
Today’s cuts were strange to say the least… This was more like a fire sale at a house where the mortgage was upside down… Sale and give away any asset except for the one thing that will get you back to liquidity. Why can a team like the Hornets get pieces and the Hawks get nothing?
Roy
December 23rd, 2011
7:36 pm
It piss me off that,the hawks are infatuated with fuys,that they should have pursued years ago. I would not be suprised if benson turned out to be a,good player. It seems Drew is veteran bias and not in a good way. The bulls and heat will destroy this team and sadly it is there own doing.
FreshFromATL
December 23rd, 2011
7:44 pm
@ Grandmaster JeJe,
I co-sign your posts 100%.
My God, outside of Michael Cunningham, AJC’s coverage on the Hawks is piss-poor…
ATLien
December 23rd, 2011
7:47 pm
I’m with you TS. I think the Hawks have failed this city by not getting not only Dwight Howard and CP3, but they really should have gotten Kobe and LeBron as well. I mean really, what was management thinking…lol.
Now back in reality. I like how this team is coming together. Both Josh AND Al (yes people, i said AL) need to step it up this year. Atleast Josh appears to be truly motivated. I’m concerned that Al to content being a soft PF playing out of position at center. But if he’ll actually become the guy he should be, a legitimate low post threat, then the Hawks will be in great shape. Teague will be stud and is the exact type of PG this team has needed for years. One that doesn’t always walk the ball up, one that can penetrate and either finish or dish, one that uses his speed to get easy buckets for our athletic bigs.
Dennis Green
December 23rd, 2011
7:51 pm
“The Hawks are who we thought they were.” The Hawks are who we thought they were”
“If you want to crown them, then crown them.”
Biff Pocaroba Fan Club
December 23rd, 2011
7:59 pm
This team needs to move to St. Louis. Atlanta has seen enough.
Sage of Bluesland
December 23rd, 2011
8:00 pm
Al Horford? Please.
The most overrated professional in this town since Keith “Hometown Hero” Brooking.
Please.
MEH.........
December 23rd, 2011
8:05 pm
WHO CARES??!!
Atlien
December 23rd, 2011
8:08 pm
Jeff and many so called experts keep harping on the hawks not resigning crawford, I’m telling he is not going to be missed as much as people think. When he was not scoring and at a high level, he is a detriment on the floor. He defense and limited/unwilling passing ability hurt the team. Not to mention the minutes he demanded, stunted the development of Teague. When he was off, which was alot last year, his jacking up shots was awful to watch and he didn’t help in any other way.
Nate D
December 23rd, 2011
8:11 pm
LD is a idiot to make Sy play the point and he lost his job now Sy would of made a great 2, I do like the pickup of Willie Green even though i would of prefer Deshawn Stevenson a guy who has great D and Was on the championship mavs and played a great roll. Not only is this Smith last chance it should be Marvin’s too.
Finkle is Einhorn
December 23rd, 2011
8:36 pm
All I can say is I had tickets IN FRONT OF UNC coach Roy Williams when we got donkey stomped by Orlando two years ago. I overheard him saying that the Hawks coaches should be playing Teague due to his creative ability and court speed. Here we go.
Yeah Hawks
December 23rd, 2011
8:39 pm
I am really excited and can’t wait for Tuesday. Come on people! Give the Hawks some love! Let’s get behind our team and cheer them on! Anybody? Anybody?
Jesse
December 23rd, 2011
8:58 pm
I think they’ll be okay. With no preseason these guys have an advantage, like the Celts. They’ve played together long enough that they don’t need to worry about chemistry. They’ll surprise people and be the 3rd or 4th seed.
cpsman_atlanta
December 23rd, 2011
9:18 pm
BOYCOTT ATLANTA SPIRIT GROUP!!!! BOYCOTT PHILIPS ARENA UNTIL NEW OWNERS ARE IN PLACE!!!!
Grandmaster JeJe
December 23rd, 2011
9:21 pm
Schultz,
You write great blogs about ASG and how awful they are. Stick to that because claiming that ownership does not want us to go over the CAP is not very impressive. That shows a complete absence of knowledge regarding Salary Cap vs. Luxury Tax.
We are at 68M+ right now. The salary cap is around 58M and the LT is around 70M
Wayne stuck in AL
December 23rd, 2011
9:23 pm
JEFF:
Do Gearon and Levenson even have a clue how much they’re hated in these parts?
wcj
December 23rd, 2011
9:42 pm
The Falcons are turning it around. Lets give the hawks another 10 years or so, and see what happens.
ASG
December 23rd, 2011
10:11 pm
OK all you basketball morons, quit your whining about our finances and trade deals. Just go to the games and buy lots of beer, hot dogs and leftover Crawford jerseys!!
cadi_atl
December 23rd, 2011
10:24 pm
DAMNNN Y’ALL NEED TO CHILL IF Y’ALL KEEP SAYING ALL THESE BAD THINGS FOR THE HAWKS THEY ALWAYS GONNA SUCK GIME THEM SOME LOVE AND SAY POSITIVE THINGS ABOUT THE TEAM WHEN YOU LOVE A TEAM IT DONT MATTER WHAT THEY DO IS YOUR TEAM AND LOVE THEM AND THEY DONT SUCK MAYBE THEY NOT AS GOOD AS THEY SHOULD BE BUT THEY AINT TOO BAD U SEE TEAMS THAT WON 10 GAMES LAST SEASON AND THEY STILL LOVE THEIR TEAM AT LEAST THE HAWKS GETTING BETTER EVERY YEAR IF WE SUPPORT OUR TEAM AND BELIEVE AND GO AND WATCH THEM WHEN WE CAN THEY PROBABLY GONNA BE BETTER THEY WILL HAVE MORE MONEY TO SPEND ON PLAYERS AND ALL THAT SO PLEASE MAN LOVEEEEE HAPPY NEY YEAR EVERYONE
ATLien
December 23rd, 2011
11:08 pm
Mark it down – Josh Smith Beast Mode this year. He’ll finish top 5 overall fantasy player. Which will be very very good for our Hawks.
gcs
December 23rd, 2011
11:18 pm
too bad they have a coach who wouldn’t be good enough to coach the WNBA.
hawks21
December 23rd, 2011
11:36 pm
I don’t believe people. They can’t have it both ways, we have a YOUNG team. JJ, Smooth, Al,Teague that is the CORE. We just need to build with them. I remember when we won ONLY 13 games a few years ago. We will finish 3rd seed this season. Behind Miami, Chicago, Atlanta, Knicks, Boston, Nets, Orlando, Bobcats, 76ers.
Biff Pocoroba
December 24th, 2011
12:07 am
UGA, Ga Tech, and the Hawks will combine to win about 30 games this year. The Braves and Hawks only got rid of players and didn’t add anyone to improve the team so this will just be another long year in Loserville, USA.
superiorblogman
December 24th, 2011
12:22 am
Management should give the employees the tools to do the job unless it is written in the contract that they are required to bring there own tools to work. That is not written into the contract and management has not provided it. This is a management fail until they get a legit starting Center.
PG Teague
SG Johnson
SF Smith
PF Horford
C Oh Where Art Thou?
JSS
December 24th, 2011
12:26 am
Sorry Hawks21… That was SEVEN years ago! That is that Falcons-like rationalizing… Yeah it could be worse record wise, but that kind of thinking is for people willing to settle… Go ask the fans in Portland and Utah where that gets you? You have to demand and more importantly prepare yourself to win it all!!!
Joe.Jeff.Smith.Leuer.Bogut
December 24th, 2011
12:28 am
Horford and Smith are too flawed and redundant.
You need to go from
Smith + (small underskilled perimeter): Marvin + Horford
Smith + Horford + (big skilled perimeter) ie: Smith + Horf + Okur
You can’t just add a center or Smith will be forced to operate on the perimeter.
I’m of the mindset Horford + pick (s) for 7 footers Andrew Bogut and Jon Leuer and then move Marvin to bench and reduce his minutes.
Jeff- 36mpg, 15ppg — McGrady- 12mpg, 4ppg
Joe- 36mpg, 18ppg — SG- 12mpg, 4.5ppg
Josh- 36mpg, 16ppg — Marvin Gaye- 12mpg, 4.5ppg
Leuer- 36mpg, 15ppg — PF- 12mpg, 4.5ppg
Bogut- 30mpg, 10ppg — Zaza- 18mpg, 6ppg
starters: 74ppg
bench: 23.5ppg
That’s 97.5ppg for a lowball on a spread offense with Twin Towers. Sigh the bench is terrible. Too many unathletic guards.
painter
December 24th, 2011
2:16 am
Just win baby.
Buzzer
December 24th, 2011
7:29 am
I hate the Atlanta Spirit
THEFIRSTANDLASTHAWK
December 24th, 2011
8:03 am
Be real ATL fans, maybe 11 to 15 percent of you guys have the basketball knnowledge to actually make true judgement on OUR TEAM. The Hawks need to continue to be drama free, while bringing a blue collar effort everynight, then maybe you guys can ATL TRUE AIR FORCE.
THEFIRSTANDLASTHAWK
December 24th, 2011
8:05 am
Be real ATL fans, maybe 11 to 15 percent of you guys have the basketball knowledge to actually make a true judgement on OUR TEAM. The Hawks need to continue to be drama free, while bringing a blue collar effort everynight, then maybe you guys can see ATL’s TRUE AIR FORCE.
RA
December 24th, 2011
8:35 am
Here’s the thing. If Drew can get the Hawks to really buy in to the idea of defending every night like their lives depended on it, then they could make some noise. Personally, I would take a disciplined and committed group of professionals over a team of blue chippers any day. And the one thing that the beat writers of the AJC simply refuse to remember about Jamal Crawford is that while he helped get Atlanta into the postseason, he all too often disapeared shortly thereafter. We’ll take what we have, time alone will tell whether it’s enough.
Boyz From North Ave
December 24th, 2011
8:48 am
Defintion of weird…….The fans of Atlanta following the Falcons more so than the hawks, when the Hakws have made MUCH MORE noise in the playfofs than the Falcons. (I’m guilty as charged)
AtlantaDude
December 24th, 2011
8:59 am
@ATLien – it may be “ridiculous” to think we can get Dwight Howard now, but that demonstrates that only now do we see the downside of re-signing JJ.
If we had let JJ go, whispered to the press that it was to make room for an eventual Dwight signing, and then played near-500 ball with Crawford and a more experieced Teague in the backcourt, we might be sitting here with a pretty good chance to bring Dwight home with all that cap space.
Jeff...Hawks Played Celts in 1988 Eastern Conference Finals
December 24th, 2011
10:16 am
Jeff…you might have overlooked the Hawks playing Boston for ECF in 1988. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1988_NBA_Playoffs.
Proud-Dawg
December 24th, 2011
10:41 am
Until ASG sells this team we should be content with hanging 2nd round banners at Philips. They are running this franchise in the ground a la the Thrashers. I’m a Hawks fan regardless, but I didn’t renew my season tickets and won’t be lining up at the gate to buy single game tickets. Call me a bad fan, but I’m being realistic. Ownership, outside of Arthur Blank, in Atlanta is terrible. Growing up in New York, I was spoiled by the win at any cost Steinbrenner implemented. I feel sorry for the core Atlanta fans, but hey at least you guys have the Falcons.
STRETCH
December 24th, 2011
10:53 am
Sund added, “The [previous] two years, we made the playoffs but didn’t compete at the level we needed to compete at in the second round. This is their best opportunity to see if they can take the next step now.”
I know that Sunds hands are tied, but a statement like that says nothing when most of the teams in your division got better.
Pietrus and Bonzi Wells are out there. But it seems they have already made moves they want.
And most of all, there were several credible big men out there and they did NOTHING to grab one. So like the guys on NBA.tv said, they dont dont know why Atlanta never tries to get a big man??
This is the final year of “The Core”
6th seed at best.
Nugent, Ted Nugent
December 24th, 2011
10:53 am
Mark downs and irregulars?
All I could picture was a store with jeans one leg longer
than the other (haaaaa)
STRETCH
December 24th, 2011
10:56 am
Sam Amick: Source says OKC Thunder expected to complete a buyout of guard Nate Robinson’s contract by tomorrow morning and he will become a free agent. Twitter
Nugent, Ted Nugent
December 24th, 2011
11:09 am
What is this our “Team” BS????
Your “Team” because you have a “404″ area code???
Remember the Thrashers
December 24th, 2011
11:21 am
That great Yall run and support the Owners who sold out NHL here and let them go to winnipeg Now….Try to remember wear you atlanta thrashers jerseys under somethin if was seen The 4 Marx’s Brothers would have u remove them and hand to Ushers…Enjoy 25-41 season folks NBA u love it…and for u pick for NBA title Miami vs Dallas again for NBA championship Miami will beat chicago in seven games in Eastern conf. title and Dallas will beat the suprisin Los Angeles clippers for Western conf.finals..Laugh all u want at that now hey shultz if u see my comment be sure to remember that at end…Ps I did best can in typin folks please do not make fun…and Merry christmas to all!
atl domonique
December 24th, 2011
12:17 pm
To all you Joe Johnson haters without him we will be a lottery team he came to Atlanta when we were nothing and no other super star would give us the the time of day now you want to trade him im a true hawks fan good or bad so if he is traded and the hawks whole organization go to hell i will be fine i dont no about the rest of you ungratefull sob
chris
December 24th, 2011
1:02 pm
The Hawks still play basketball??? WHO CARES, the NFL Playoffs are almost here. The Hawks will make the playoffs but they can’t beat Miami, Oklahoma City, LA Clippers, Mavericks, Bulls, and that was WHEN THEY HAD CRAWFORD, now they don’t.
They aren’t even worth wasting breath over because we don’t have an ownership that is committed to building a championship. They just want to talk about making it to the 2nd round and being a playoff team which means nothing when seasons end.
Paddy
December 24th, 2011
1:33 pm
Matt from mn…….Don’t believe the Hawks will be in last place. You don’t have to have much imagination to see all the empty seats that will be disguised as fans. Lame duck ASG is in for a very long year.
5150 UOAD
December 24th, 2011
2:57 pm
70 post on an NBA article. NOBODY cares about the Nothing But African league.
Spirit is a Joke
December 25th, 2011
12:21 am
Joe Johnson flicks off fans and receives MAX contract as punishment. Billy Knight has been unemployed since leaving the Hawks three years ago. Mike Woodson saw no interest for two years until just recently getting a one year assistant deal with NY. These are the stupid picks of the Spirit group. Hawks will NEVER succeed under this group of bafoons!
m man
December 25th, 2011
1:22 am
Biff, People like you, as well as others who are also pathologically negative, are obviously from “Loserville,”where, as you say, the years always seem long, however most of them have the brains not to brag about it.
tjhook
December 25th, 2011
4:01 am
Well, how long do you think the ownership will allow the team to exist as constructed if they get off to a mediocre or bad start? I think they should create a trade plan to be enacted after 30 games so the following trade can be floated: Josh Smith/Al Horford, Marvin Williams, Zaza Pachulia and Jeff Teague to San Antonio for Tony Parker, Richard Jefferson and a big man (Splitter?) I think we need another big time player and Tony P would be a great compliment to Joe Johnson. Horford’s offense would not be as necessary as his aggressiveness just in case Smith is preferred. I personally think the Spurs would ask for Horford because of his ability to play alongside Duncan.
Paddy
December 25th, 2011
8:36 am
tjhook…..ASG is not going to add one dime to this payroll. Your team can’t get better without spending the $. You are at the cap (luxury) with this bunch and playoffs may be difficult to achieve.
DeepDiver
December 25th, 2011
11:54 am
JeJe,
Neither Jeff or Mark know much of anything about the cap or luxury tax and they can’t be bothered to ask MC. Doesn’t matter cuz NBA doesn’t move the meter.
These two were exposed back when they were blogging that the Hawks should make a run at LBJ — completely ignoring the fact that they were capped out, neck-deep in committed salaries and were in no shape form or fashion able to offer anything but the MLE to free agents.
Ueeediot!
December 25th, 2011
12:15 pm
5150 toad is short in many ways. He’s probably related to Charlie.
Hawks in 7!
Slimjr
December 25th, 2011
12:20 pm
DeepDiver you’ll find out that MC’s Blog has some of the most educated, sophisticated bloggers on the AJC site and that’s a fact..I hope he hangs around a while… These other blogs would not be missed..
Gotta feel for this Country. Ignorance is rampant though out for decades!
Big Ray
December 25th, 2011
1:34 pm
I have a hard time believing that ownership is willing to break up the core once they show for the third time that they have hit their ceiling.
I have an even harder time with the idea that ownership would know how to make a positive move while breaking up the core.
Yep…we’re trapped…
BravesFanSince1966
December 26th, 2011
12:02 pm
I saw in a related article that the owners of the Hawks want to “change their image”. The image of the Hawks owners ia that they are total losers so they definitely need am image change. Of course, I’m meking the totally false assumption that they were referring to themselves (as opposed to the team) regarding the need for image change. How is it that 2 of the 3 Atlanta teams are tied to losers for owners and the only one that isn’t is the Falcons who (of late) have occasionally been making us proud.
I see Stars
December 26th, 2011
1:48 pm
“For those of you who are barred from Magic City but like to see a nice touch every now and then here’s a picture of Al Horford’s New wife.”
http://www.videobash.com/photo_show/amelia-vega-6163
Remember the Thrashers
December 27th, 2011
1:48 pm
You kiddin the Main Job was to Make thrashers so bad under ASG owners and Don waddell is why they in winnipeg and if u butt kisser’s never hammer that in there heads AJC staff writers u all stink and i never set foot in Phillps arena for hawks now for Dream if could go i would….Just say it three stooges and Marx brothers of atlanra….I hope all fans Boo them every game and wear thrashers gear to Home opener and all season,….Oh and we be 30-36 this year no playoffs Period and then after they have Team on Market to sale again..Folks you wait and see from atlanta sprit group LLS!
J
December 28th, 2011
1:33 pm
Sage, STFU … nobody cares about your whining
J
December 28th, 2011
1:34 pm
and LMAO at Remember the Thrashers … this is a HAWKS blog, not Thrashers … you can STFU too
J
December 28th, 2011
1:35 pm
Spirit is a joke – Joe Johnson never flicked off the fans, maybe you got your history wrong and was thinking of Vick … idiots abound here