Joe Johnson? Gone. Marvin? Gone. Danny Ferry? A keeper

FIRST!!

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Would have been nice to get Marshawn Brooks in the deal, but this was not a trade that you screw up by holding out for exactly what you want. My guess is Smith will be the next to go.

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One of the best days in a long time for this franchise. I finally have hope for the future, instead of just looking forward to an early playoff exit.

Maybe resign Kirk, find someone serviceable in free agency to play the 3, and look forward to next year and try to pair Josh, Al and Dwight

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Dwight Howard time.

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WOW MY 1ST “FIRST” @ Mark im hoping Horford for iggy is a possibility and devin harris for a real center. wiahful thinking ?? maybe but how likely are we to keep devin harris this season??

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Don’t get your hopes up for Howard guys. It’s pretty well known he doesn’t want to come here.

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First Dimitrof now Ferry… Has our curse been lifted???

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FIRE DANNY FERRY -
In one week, what he has accomplished – no way he EVER has a better week. Push him out the door before the Hawks malaise takes affect.

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Enter your comments here

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Huzzah!!!

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Mark,

Are the Hawks looking at keeping Harris or trading him before the season?? Same question for any of the 4 expiring contracts coming from NJ. Thanks

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What is there to get excited about? this team took a step back several years.

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Hawks can trade for Dwight Howard. Orlando will lose Howard either way, why not trade him and get something in return?

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Smith can convince Howard to come to Atlanta!

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Hawks should extend Josh Smith and wait until free agency next season and push for Dwight. They have a decent PG, so instead of trying to get and overpaying for CP3, extend Teague and try to get a good wing player like Monta Ellis. AND Horford would be back in his original position.

PG – Jeff Teague
SG – Monta Ellis
SF – Josh Smith
PF – Al Horford
C – Dwight Howard

That’s a nice starting 5 right there.

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Can you imagine the excitement in this city with a chris paul, josh smith and dwight howard line up!? wow there is so much hope and excitement pumped into this franchise …Thank you Ferry!!!

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i wonder if ferry just read the archived comments from hawks’ ajc articles for the last 3 years and acted on what he read. hopefully he will continue to do a good job of getting the right pieces.

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i hope we don’t trade josh or al. if we want dwight, why not just wait 1 year and get him as a free agent? good luck scoring in the paint against those guys.

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The rumor is Horford + Teague + Nets first round draft pick for Howard and then use cap space to sign Paul next year.

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Looks like we have
3 PGs – Teague, Farmar, D. Harris
3 SGs – John Jenkins, A. Morrow, D. Stevenson
0 SF – (pending moving J-Smoove down in postionor a tall SG to this spot in a small lineup)
3 PFs – J-Smoove, Jordan Williams, Ivan Johnson (potentially)
2 Cs – Zaza, Horford, J. Petro

I don’t think Danny is done … we need SFs, even if just to get through 2012-2013.
He must have picked up some Vulcan mind tricks in S.A. …. dude was probably a terror at the poker table and the nightclubs ….

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blog monster?

recap: Glut of SGs, PGs, PFs (3 each) no SF to speak of, unless Smoove drops to the ‘3′. Zaza and Petro would be the options at Center.
If Ivan signs (included in above count of PFs), no more trades of existing Hawks, and all of todays’ trades remain as-is, we have 2 spots to fill to meet min. roster count.

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Now if only we could trade Gearon and Levenson for new owners

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Ferry is at least trying to do something to make a change in this pathetic core of a team. I support the continued exploding of a failing roster….and to rebuilding it the right way…in the lottery again and this time with some luck and better decisions.

I trust DF more than any Hawks GM I’ve ever seen in my life (over 40 years)…and this is after only one week.

Keep up with the dynamite; trade the overrated Al Horford before it’s too late. Trade them all so we can rebuild the right way.

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@Mark..Rumors are circulating now that the Hawks are going after Howard and the piece they are allegedly dangling is Dwight Howard.

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The people on this blog don’t seem to understand cap room means nothing if you can’t sign free agents remember the summer of Lebron Knicks had tons of cap room and could only get Stoudamire Bulls could only get Boozer to go with Derrick Rose. Forget about dwight Howard he has said he hates the hawks but we can hope and pray that we get lucky in the lottery but if we do that pick will probably leave like most stars do ie Chris Paul Deron Williams Lebron James

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do you have a like for that rumor Brilliant?

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Did this all just happen or do I have heat stroke?

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I’m loving this! Ferry is the MAN!!!

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while atl is getting rid of baggage. trade mark bradley & steak shapiro for a journalist to be named later.

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I imagine Marvin Williams is as glad to leave Atlanta as Bradley and others are to see him go. When Joe Johnson arrived, Williams opportunitites decreased as the Hawks increasingly favored perimeter shots. Factor in Josh Smith and the Hawks inability to field a strong point guard and it is no wonder that Willams’ minutes and stats diminished. In retrospect, it would be nice to have taken Chris Paul instead of Williams, but at the time Williams did not seem such a bad selection. I believe playing for the Hawks has been a significant factor in his lack of success. Let’s see how he does in Utah. I’m willing to bet he will more successful there than here.

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@tyger: “Arena half empty with” a *regular season* “winner” (with no superstar) destined for an early playoff exit…

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@jlewis: Oh well, I guess all hope’s lost. Sounds like you need to find a new team to root for.

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Next step, convincing the Spirit group to sell out to a Saudi Millionaire.

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I believe Ferry and the Hawks are trying to put themselves in position to counter the BIG THREE in Miami. IF and it’s is a big if, but if they can work a deal for Howard that would be very appealing to Chris Paul who would then have a big three of Paul, Howard, and Smith. Might not be Lebron and company but it’s close. Even if it doesn’t work out quite so well I suspect the Hawks a year from now will be much better than they were a month ago. Thank You Danny Ferry!

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baseball, I cant leave now, this is a train wreck I have to watch. The hawks are not making the playoffs, the problem on this team is Josh Smith, if Ferry builds around him and Al, it will be to much fun to watch, lol.

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…and they’d hand Johnson a new $120 million deal at the time they planned to de-emphasize his Iso-Joes.

This is exactly what I thought at the time Joe signed that contract. What kind of Mickey Mouse operation would do something like that? How inept can an ownership be?

What did Danny Ferry do to these guys to make them see the error of their ways? We should all be so lucky to learn such wondrous Jedi mind-tricks.

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Got to tip your cap to Ferry! Excellent moves getting rid of JJ and Muffin Williams. JJ did all he could and he will be missed but we needed to free the team from his salary. Marvin was a disappointment , but cannot be blamed for our inability to progress. If our goal is to win a championship then these moves allowed a possibility for that in the future. The shortest distance between two points is a straight line and these moves allow for a shorter distance. We are a long way off from a contender, but a good start.

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No more Iso-Joes.
No more Marvin Williams the man always remember for being drafted ahead of CP3 and Deron Williams. Missed on Andrew Bynum but at least a couple other teams made the same mistake.
Can Ferry get Josh to stop shooting those jumpers that makes everyone slap their forehead with their palm?
Even if the Hawks stink this year who cares? There is finally a light at the end of the tunnel.

Beats the chronic paper bag over the head strategy the Hawks have been using for years.

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You called it last week…and I dissed you and the new GM…I might be wrong…long time between now and when the deal can be done (7-11-2012)…Let’s see if it really happens…

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Best. Day. Ever.

Some of these posters would complain if it rained 24 carat gold flakes tomorrow morning. DF just rescued the Hawks’ sinking ship in one week on the job. I couldn’t be happier with him.

Any chance NBA GM’s oversee broadcast booth moves? If so, Nique’s days are nimbered.

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Fantastic move by Ferry. We’d seen what this team could do–good, but not going anywhere. And there was nowhere to turn with that JJ contract. To pull of a trade of JJ, as opposed to building flexibility with trading Josh or Horford– wow. Big time wow. Now the Hawks can get some other pieces if they want. This could end up being two-for-one– two players close to JJ’s caliber (ultimately), or one-for-one– a real superstar player for JJ. Nothing against JJ; not his fault that he was overpaid; who would say “no?”; but this gives the Hawks a huge opportunity to get better, and they STILL have their two best players over the last 2 years on the roster.

Can you tell I’m impressed?

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On paper, this makes the Hawks much worse next year, albeit with a lot of room to grow. I just hope the fans don’t get impatient. I fully expect the Hawks to be bad next year, as Ferry’s officially decided to blow things up and rebuild. That’s gonna take some time.

That said, he got rid of the two players he needed to offload, and it’s great news that it only took him a couple of weeks to see what Sund never could, i.e. that this team’s ceiling would never be higher than the second round of the playoffs.

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Incidentally, I’m less impressed by the Williams trade, though I do like Devin Harris– except that the Hawks have Jeff Teague, who has performed well the last year and a half. I have a sneaking suspicion that Williams could have a breakout season next year– for the Jazz. Oh well.

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Don’t go overboard. I’m happy about what he’s done so far but let’s see what type of team he puts together.

I’d love to be a fly on the wall for Ferry’s meeting with Josh. I have a feeling Ferry’s going to be very frank with Josh and tell him some things he probably doesn’t want to hear. It’s going to be necessary for Josh to change his ways if he wants to remain with the franchise.

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I don’t see why everyone is assuming the Hawks will be worse off basketball-wise next season. Marvin was pretty much irrelevant, and JJ was so inconsistent you never knew what you were gonna get. I hated watching all those Iso-Joes that ended with a bad shot clanging off the iron. Let Josh Smith get more touches, and with a healthy Al Horford, I don’t see why we can’t win MORE games next season than this one.

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Realize this y’all: Ferry ain’t done. He may not be able to pull off another trade, but he’ll damn sho try… which is about all I can ask.

As for grading what he’s done thus far, I’ll just say it’s exactly what I would’ve done (more or less). Nicely done, Danny-Boy

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In 2 years, when the blown up team don’t make the playoffs and attendance is WAY down, we gonna wish for the good ole days….

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Did Danny Ferry win a championship? You know he didn’t so why the fuss?

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The Hawks finally have something they haven’t had in decades. HOPE. It doesn’t matter if we lose 82 games next year. There is still HOPE that in a couple years we can have a title contender. With that over payed chump Joe Johnson and big booty Marvin there was a never any HOPE to be a title contender. Thank you Danny. For the first time in decades I’m excited about my home basketball team!!!!

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Bruce:

Here’s why the fuss: He’s been an executive for probably the most consistently-great team of the past 13 or so years, so he completely understands the blueprint for success. His moves thus far have demonstrated that he gets it in a way that the previous GMs never did.

Of course, tearing something down is much easier than re-building it (of course, trading Joe Johnson so quickly is certainly a feat in and of itself), so we still have to wait to see whether this will all work out in the end. So far, though, he’s done exactly as needed and I can’t see any reason for anyone to complain about that.

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If the Hawks are worse this year its because philly and indiana step up NOT that weve steped back. No Joe means a solid 20 a game from both al and josh and more freedom and room for teagues blazing speed. WE DO NOT NEED DWIGHT AND CP3!! 1 will do (howard) and use the rest of the cap to make a complete TEAM

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complete teams rarely win championships in bball. you need 2-3 elites. prefer ferry to go for broke after this season in free agency rather than attempt the hit-or-miss “detroit model” again.

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What if we can’t get any free agents

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What if we don’t make the playoffs for 8 seasons again will you still be excited?

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rather that than watch Iso-Joe and the duck for the next few seasons on a team that couldn’t even take advantage of the gift given to them by Derrick Rose’s injury.

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Mark Bradley, in the interest of full disclosure you might have reminded everybody that you advocated the Hawks signing Joe Johnson to that ridiculous max contract for 6 years. They had to do something to show fans they were serious, I think that was your “reasoning”.

Kudos to Danny Ferry for unloading the cancer Joe Johnson. We can now see if Jeff Teague can play point guard now that the cancer isn’t monopolizing the ball. I think we’ll see more out of Josh Smith and Al Horford if neither is traded now that the cancer isn’t monopolizing the ball. If they flash to the basket, they might see the ball. What a concept! And as a bonus Ferry also unloads one of the worst #2 draft picks in NBA history, Marvin Williams. I haven’t even looked to see exactly what Ferry got for the cancer and Williams, don’t care if it was nothing but salary cap relief. Addition by subtraction.

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Bravo. So far, so good. Now let’s finish the job!

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Blow it up! Joe Johnson is one sad sack who will make $50M more than he should have due to the incompetence of the ASG. He is a piece of garbage and will deservedly receive a chorus of boos every time he comes back to ATL. Marvin Williams is a nice guy and an overpaid bench player. I hope he saved some of that money because his next contract will be cut in half if not more. These guys are just two examples of the rabid incompetence we’ve experienced with ASG, Billy Knight, and Rick Sund. I hope today’s moves demonstrate that ASG is willing to hand the reigns over to Ferry to make intelligent basketball decisions. Something that’s been missing here for almost a decade.

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Dwight Howard don’t want to come to the Hawks why would he want to come to the Hawks when Josh Smith has already said he would rather not be in Atlanta cause of the temptation factors of the city. Josh and Dwight need to team up together in Orlando.

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“All this talk of Dwight coming to Atlanta please someone tell me why he would come here when he says he hates the Hawks”

1. He’s great friends with Josh Smith and Anthony Morrow

2. The Hawks are one of the few teams with the resources needed to acquire Dwight

3. The Hawks have a new GM who has clearly shown he’s dedicated to building a winner

4. The Hawks can entice him with the possibility of teaming him with Chris Paul, who the Hawks could also afford to give a max deal to

Notice I didn’t include that Atlanta is hometown. I’ve always thought that was an overrated draw for athletes. However, there are plenty of other compelling reasons for Dwight to consider the Hawks, and many of those reasons did not exist until today.

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I actually teared up when I heard the news. Good riddance. Ferry for mayor.

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dwight’s heading to NY or LA—book it. He want nothing to do with the mediocre hawks and lame club scene in atlanta. In nY or LA, he can make millions more in endorsement deals, party 24/7 at the top clubs with hot chicks all over him and have the top movie / music superstars at court side every night with invite only parties post-game.

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Dwight is either going to the Mavs or Lakers he would have the two best shots at winning a title going to one of those teams. Dwight really wants to be in a big market Atlanta is not big of a market than New York is he really wants to be in the Big Apple with either the Knicks or Nets.

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Ferry will have to sell him on Atlanta. Atlanta is about as untapped a market as you will ever find in the NBA, or in pro sports period. A championship team in Atlanta with a top 5 superstar would give Howard all the exposure he would ever want. Why go to NY (third banana to Yankees and Timmy Tim Tebow), LA (Kobe!), or Dallas (NBA is just to pass time waiting for Cowboys news)? If Atlanta could be the team to knock off LeBron, Howard could write his own ticket and he would become LEGENDARY in Atlanta.

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Now we can start respecting the Hawks…

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It is about time that some big moves are being made for the Hawks. Keep going, maybe we can get some great talent. Great moves by Danny Ferry. How about getting Dwight Howard, he might not want to come here but he would do a good job.

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Introducing 2013-2014 NBA Champion Atlanta Hawks,
PG: Chris Paul
SG: Someone with Two Legs
SF: Josh Smith
PF: Al Horford
C: Dwight Howard

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It really lines up. Ferry has played it just right. Even if Howard gets traded to say, Dallas or Houston, he’s going after him next year with boatloads of money to throw at him. Keep Smith and Horford, actually play them at SF and PF. Let Jenkins get a no-pressure season under him, Keep Morrow as a six man long range threat, and get Chris Paul. Remember how crazy Philips was in the Boston 2008 series? Imagine that 10x greater with that lineup. It will be a madhouse the likes of which we have not seen since Vick in 2004. Atlanta will support a team, we’re just not like other cities that blindly support a team. We can see through a BS team and will not support it.

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Yes DannyThemanFerry – let’s blow up the Braves!

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He’s the best GM in the state. Maybe Michael Adams can sign him to replace Reverend Richt???

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The NBA is horrible, but these are fantastic moves for our home team.

When does football start?

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GM of the year.. Inspired hope in a hopeless fan base ! Go DF you the man

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I love how much room to manuver the hawks have now but while many are hopeful of a Paul/Howard combo it’s unlikely Paul really wants to be in NY. As for Howard, he got a crude wake up call today I say hawks will attemp to ship horford and some picks and one or two of those new Brooklyn contracts for Howard if it falls through hawks will gladly wait till next summer. If Howard happens now then I see a Teague resigning as well as Smith and even Morrow. That gives the hawks three happy Atlanta natives(check me on morrow I know he went to GT not sure if he’s a Georgian) then use whatever cap space left to sign a SG Ellis would be cool but im sure there will be nice secondary options if Monta is too expensive. That would create a great starting five Teague,Ellis or other fa SG,SF or PF (maybe a three team trade for Howard and we grab scola),Smith,Howard that’s a contender

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Yes, Danny Ferry has made it clear he is the undisputed Executive of the Year before the season even begins. Just don’t stop NOW…….

Go all in and give up Horford, Teague, and the 1st round pick we just got….maybe another expiring contract if you have to, but go get DWIGHT!!

Al Horford is the player that must go….and I LOVE AL HORFORD!!! But in this game of NBA Poker this off season Danny Ferry is killing the field. Anyone that plays Poker knows that the Man with the BIG STACK is the unheralded Bully of the table. With Orlando out of the picture and Dwight publicly disgruntled, NO WAY Orlando passes on a starting PG (Teague) AND an All-Star (Horford). Add to that the fact that Josh Smith Starting PF and Anthony Morrow potential mainstay SG either starting or backing up John Jenkins.

Any Hoo…No Way Dwight leaves his 2 best buds AND his hometown in the winds…..same goes for Smoove. Make the trade, Danny, then sit Josh and Dwight down and tell em….this is YA’LL CITY and when I’m done Wheelin and Dealin YA’LL will have the opportunity to bring a Ring to your Hometown!! NO WAY they don’t buy in!!!

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Dwight wants to go to tbe traded to the Nets. Do nto know how that will work with the trade going down. Hope it doesnt stop the trade….

Maybe with Ferry running things, Dwight and Josh can get together and talk about playing together in ATL. Its a new era and with both being local and the Hawks having money and flexibility, well, stranger things have happened.

Regardless, no matter what happens, everything is going to be OK with Ferry pulling strings, good draft picks coming in via trade (if its held onto) and after sucking this year, instead of being stuck in limbo…..

A new and VERY good coach could also be in the works with the extra cash saved in 2012…..

The deal is NOT final yet. Lets believe it will be!

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I don’t get it. You can not build around a coward punk like Josh Smith. You can not let that fool run the team telling you who he wants here in his buddy Dwight. We gave Joe away. That was not a trade that was a giveaway we got nothing of value back for Joe. We are not getting Howard people. Brooks, Lopez, Wallace, and how many ever 1st round picks it takes are going to the Magic for Howard and some bad contracts from the Magic.

Our end game is not going to be pretty for a while and this is not a city that will sit through a total rebuild. Josh has to go, but Ferry can not keep giving away assets.

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Best thing to ever happen to the Hawks franchise. EVER

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For all you naysayers, Dwight Howard might want to come to Atlanta if the franchise were run completely differently. I am sure Josh Smith is reconsidering his desire to leave too. Atlanta is the 7th biggest market and had the 4th or 5th highest TV ratings for the NBA finals. Chris Paul wanted to be drafted by the Hawks originally. Atlanta will support an NBA franchise that shows it’s serious about winning by getting the stars needed to do so.

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Here is the latest…We will possibly send Horford and teague along with a couple of other players for howard and send harris and some other guys out to la for paul. If that happens then WOW.

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That’s it! When does season tickets go on sale? I’m buying!

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I’ve seen this B-MOVIE before.

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Enter your comments here

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Great move by Danny Ferry. No doubt about it.

I do want to thank Joe for his efforts here. The guy gave it his all and often was all we had. I remember him scoring 30 being triple teamed. Maybe not a superstar but he should be remembered fondly here. Don’t hate a man cause he’s overpaid. Wish I was overpaid

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http://www.foxsportssouth.com/07/02/12/Reports-Hawks-trade-Johnson-Williams/msn_landing.html?blockID=755446&feedID=3981

Says it all…

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The Hawks have had four teams in 48 years on par with this one. The best was the one we inherited from St. Louis, the Doc and Dominique teams were a close second, last season’s team and perhaps the Mutombo, Smith teams just behind. The nail in the coffin for the St Louis team was the failed Pete Maravich experiment, netting Dean Meminger, we brought in Reggie to put the D &D team over the top. He did have a nice perm, i must say. The Mutumbo team was dissolved for the Pau Gasol draft and trade, which we squandered for another over-rated homeboy. Hawks History tells us that when we dismantle a good team for something better, it’s a long process back to the level we weren’t satisfied with to begin with. At least there are some good blue prints on the rack for how not to go about it. Hopefully Mr. Ferry took a look at those first.

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[...] of the Brooklyn NetsYahoo! Sports (blog)Notes: Hawks deal Joe Johnson to the NetsBoston.comAtlanta Journal Constitution (blog) -San Jose Mercury Newsall 561 news [...]

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Enter your comments here

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Welcome to the “Thrash Compactor”.

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Think about it… if they hadn’t picked up Joe Johnson, Belkin wouldn’t have gone lawsuit crazy, and we’d still have the Thrashers. The so-called “atlanta spirit” group are a bunch of jerks. I hope the Hawks leave town too, and I hope Philips Arena falls down with their grandmothers standing in the middle of it.

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Devin Harris is a keeper.

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So does Josh stay now?

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So for all the DF lover’s save this blog & replay it this time next year when he comes up with zeros & the talks of the team moving to Seattle start.

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Try to trade Josh for a 1st rnd pick in 2013 and a 15ppg pforward.

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Kudos to the owners-they give Ferry a 6 year contract & within a week watch him/allow him to deal their their franchise player for scraps & trade away Marvin. Dont think selling the owners on the idea of trading Marvin would have been difficult-but Johnson…Larry Drew has got to be out of there soon too btw.

Owners/Mgmt-nice work-rebrand the Hawks-get rid of the silly logo & make Hotlanta be the destination. C’mon baby!

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People calm down on the lotto team idea. Blowing the team completly up is a Terrible idea, if it was that easy, the Clippers wouldnt of been terrible for 20+ straight years. With Smith/ Horford, plus the shooting of Morrow/ Jenkins and driving ability of Teague, the Hawks will again be a top 5 team in the East next year!
Who will be better? Not Indiana after loosing Hibbert. Not Orlando after loosing Howard.

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I think we’re going to see L Drew replaced by the midway point of the season-Ferry is making bold moves-who’s on short list? Sloan is an obvious name, but think they will go w/someone younger-who’s the #2 guy at San Antonio? My guess is Ferry will hire a younger coach-someone more in the mode of Scott Brooks/Spoelstra…

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And people can forget about Howard. Whoever he is traded to he will sign a long term contract with. And CP3 isnt leaving Blake Griffin/ or LA. The player Ferry should be going after, is Roy Hibbert. But after the Blazers offered him a max deal, i doubt its worth offering that much $.

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I dont think Ferry was hired to gut the team-they could have had a “fall” guy gut the team. The team will make money from selling out the arena, merchandise, etc.

As for league respect, Ferry is quite respected in the league. Joe Johnson I believe was set to be the highest paid player in the league in 2012. Can anyone honestly his salary was commensurate w/his productivity?

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Josh, Horford and Teague are not scrubs. Zaza is a respectable big. We’ve got pieces, now Ferry can add pieces around them. It’s a good day to be a Hawks fan.

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Josh Smith is the problem with the Hawks, his immaturity has been the problem with the Hawks from Day-1 since he was drafted.

The guys that got moved were traded because of the money/contracts, but Josh causes crappy play on the court and hurts the team more than the 2 guys that got traded.

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Looking at this very simply, the Hawks have 2 players under contract beyond next season – Horford (3 more yrs, 12 million per yr) and Teague (1 yr, 3.5 million – qualifying offer…whatever that means). This gives Ferry incredible flexibility to shape this team however he wants.

My estimation is that he doesn’t want Josh unless Josh changes the type of player he is (fewer long range jump shots, no more pretending to be a point forward, less time spent complaining on the court, less time spent complaining off the court, etc). And I’d be willing to bet a good bit of cash that he has absolutely no interest in Dwight Howard and all his baggage.

I think he’s going to try to fill the team with team oriented players. And it may take some time. So be patient.

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first on page 5?

Good for Danny. Nice to see he learned some basketball stuff while at Duke!

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Anyone who thinks we just “blew up the team” by getting rid of a ballhog and a balldog and replacing them with half a dozen moving parts and a 1st round draft pick and a crapload of capspace is out of their freaking mind.

This is called addition by subtraction. We have the talent to spread out Joe’s production among the players left on the court. Grow a set, will you?

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I will hold off on my flex package for now. Let’s see where this goes first.

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Been a Hawks fan for awhile. Hoping for FAs is not a good plan.

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WHEN WILL THE STATUE OF DANNY FERRY BE ERECTED IN FRONT OF PHILLIPS ARENA!???

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If Hawks can keep two of the players they got from Nets as reserves it was still great to trade a number 40 talent player making top 5 money and get a 2013 1st rnd pick! Its ok to struggle this year to make your team good for next 10 years.

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I like Horford at PF. Ferry will get Hawks a big center finally. The Nets fans are gonna get to see JJ score 35 then 8 points and know our frustration with him…

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now lets get a superstar

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Congrats to the Hawks for starting their new future today with an eye on championships. Ferry has set his own bar pretty high now. On the other end, Schuerputz stated Braves’ goal for 15 years was ‘division’ titles. He should have blown up team in the early 2000’s and saved us from 9 pathetic first round exits.

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Great moves by Ferry! The Hawks maxed out on the core four three years ago. If Sund had any guts he wouldn’t have resigned Johnson two years ago (wasted money). Marvin has been a bust from day one. The next one to move is Josh Smith. His game is too erratic. The Lakers want him….send him out there for Gasol. The Hawks will probably be the 7th or 8th seed this coming year in the playoffs with all these moves. But the will be in prime position to pick off some key free agents next year that could have them competing for a top spot in the east. Great moves!!!

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Ironic that the Basketball player that started the chain of events that led to the Thrashers relocation is now leaving town himself….

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The hawks are not going to go after any free agents any time soon. This was just a way for the Hawks to Free up pay roll in order to sell the team. In a couple of years the Hawks will have a once again depleted fan base and will move out of Atlanta just like what this ownership did to the Thrashers.

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The JJ move, albeit celebrated by many, leaves the team with nothing for next season (except hopes for the 2013 season). I didn’t like the JJ contract, but you had to do it at the time to keep the 2nd round playoff team intact. Now, it will be interesting to see how patient we all are when we begin to miss the 20pts / game and double teams that JJ caused which left open shots for others. Without the double teams on JJ or a JJ calibre player, the hawks are not a playoff team – especially with Charlotte and the Nets improving their rosters. Always be careful what you strongly wish for….DHoward would be great back in Atlanta, but with JJ gone and the strong possibility that you will have to include Teague and Horford in the package, that leaves DHoward and Josh….meaning Josh will be 3/4 and forced to the outside (where everyone cringes) as to not clog up the middle for superman.

Overall, the trades are a strategic move by the GM in the first 30 days and a no lose situation for him, but patience will be needed myself and other season tix holders and generic Atl fans. I remember the stretches of no playoff games and was not happy then, but relatively “happier” when we were on national television and a consistent 1st / 2nd round playoff team.

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One more thing, the Nets will be competing for the eastern conference ship next season if DWill signs – even without DHoward…not getting legit NBA players (healthy) for an undisputed all star is not good for the fans….good for the GM because he is here long-term (5+ years). It’s years 1-4 that the fans will suffer and be calling for Ferry’s head after year 2….unless LBJ wants to reunite with him.

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Hawks won’t sniff the post season for a good 5 yrs! RIP

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Dwight Howard is quoted on ESPN that he is interested in exactly 1 team, and that is the Nets.

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I’m excited about the Hawks future. Below is a good read – expands on Marks good points a little. It says the Hawks will have the cap space be in the running for BOTH Howard and Paul.

Just think about that, Hawks fans. BOTH.

At any rate, Mark, I’d like to see that poll again of which ATL pro sports team is the closest to a Title.

I think with Ferry in charge, it has to be the Hawks now.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-dont-lie/danny-ferry-deals-marvin-williams-utah-continuing-much-003619290–nba.html;_ylt=AhNF_WGGM3tLGtj5pp3agik5nYcB

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Keep in mind Howard is coming off the back injury and won’t be ready at the start of the season. We need shooters if we are going to compete against the defenses of Chicago, Miami, and Boston. Smith at 3 scares me a little because of this. Morrow and Jenkins need to stay. Even if we don’t get Howard or CP3, we have flexibility to get better with other FA’s. We’re still a 40 win team this year if Al can stay healthy with Teague getting better and Smith at peak of skills.

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Great Moves
If we get Howard and/or Paul, to sign next year. The city of Atlanta could compete, with that crew, in South Beach!

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With Danny Ferry bold enough to make moves that will allow the Hawks to be better soon, I wonder if Josh’s trade demand might ease a bit?

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Wow. Lots of Debbie Downers and straight up haters on the AJC. Fairweather, fake Atlantans, maybe? So butthurt and still living in the past. Ease back on the negative commentary and give this a chance to play itself out. None of you haters have any insight as to what’s going to happen. I mean, if you’re not even a Hawks fan, why ever come here to comment? Just to dump on our high hopes?

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Easy to subtract. Much harder to add

The Hawks don’t sign free agents because nobody with a choice wants to play for them.

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Hawks played pretty well last year when both Horford and JJ were injured. Don’t see why everyone thinks they will blow next year…I am sure Ferry has a few more moves in mind before the start of the season.

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Danny — keep up the great work, but hurry up, Gearon will be back from vacation soon!

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Can you win Executive of the Year before the first tipoff?

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Hey Mark, do you want to hear a whopper?

Its seems like the reason why the Hawks is making these trades is because Peter freakin Vescey was saying that the reason why Atlanta was making these trades because his “sources” was saying that Hawks was goign to relocated to St. Louis and talks was underway.

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haha… I didn’t make it past the 8th grade so you got me beat.

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love the moves howard is not going to come here he has back problems and hes a tool but i do like the fact that we could be building around josh and al i love that

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If Howard goes to the Nets, do you package an offer to the Lakers for Bynum?

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Hawks are not going into lottery territory. This team is not being torn down. Marvin was a non-presence. Joe was good and someone asked earlier who would replace his 18-4-4. That was a huge problem … for the second highest salary in the league, you HAVE to get much more production than that.

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All hail Danny Ferry

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Why did we have to hire this guy to do the obvious ?

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I would trade the rest of the team for Chris Paul or Rondo. Then get 8 or 9 picks from this years college draft and enjoy myself.

Williams has made us all forget about Jon Koncak.

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Now get something good for Josh Smith… Then we can accept that we will suck next yr since we have hope now…and gear up for a run at some quality free agents next summer. Way to go ,Ferry!

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Peter Vesey is reporting that the Hawks are dumping salary as a prelude to selling the team to an ownership group in St. Louis. Hopefully this is BS – but from the spirit group anything is possible.

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Rumor has it the Hawks are moving to St.Louis.

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We need to get a top flight coach now to work with the new hawks roster. LD is not an elite coach. The team will not rise above the quality of the coach regardless of what players you have on the roster.

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The Hawks should have drafted CP3, before Marvin Williams and that was a stupid draft….
Ok, what have Danny accomplish in his history of being a MG ! Danny only accomplishment is drafting Lebon James and he couldn’t keep him in Cleveland.

Really, do you folks think Howard or CP3 will Play for the Hawks, NOPE IT WON’T HAPPEN ! The Hawks is NOT a championship team and never will be on that Level. The Hawks is the Cubs of the NBA………..
Atlanta is a big Market city, with avry inconsisted Teams.

Falcon 0-3 in the playoff
Braves can’t make the post season
Hawks-Never could play under pressure (Ask the Celtics)

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Couldn’t have come at a better time with the way the Braves have been so depressing. Welcome Danny and we are so happy to have you! I am looking forward to the Hawks future.

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I see that Bruce Levisnon in the background. Makes me want to punch his face.

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Two out of three are gone. Maybe those mild-mannered Brooklyn fans will appreciate “Iso” Joe’s ballhogging style of play.

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rumors about a move to st. louis are BS.

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I want this team moved, sold or dissolved, I could care less about nba and the thugs in it and the lying owners who own this horrible franchise. I have never been to a nba game and never will,
why so many give a damn is amazing, it is such a nothing sport from start to finish, and will lying loser owners, like drunk levenson, why should anyone give a damn. Moving is the only move left for this bunch, nobody should care one bit !

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For everyone saying that Ferry failed in Clev in acquiring talent around LBJ, maybe it had nothing to do with Ferry but rather nobody wanting to play in Cleveland. I mean who wouldn’t want to live and play in the metropolis of Cleveland. When LBJ, Wade, and Bosh we’re talking about where to play, why do you think they decided on South Beach and not Cleveland?

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by the way, the headline in new york…’Crooklyn, Nets steal Johnson from Hawks.’ didn’t know you could steal something that you are paying $90 million for. how do the nets have money to get howard? they will be around $60 million with 4 players.

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Bottom line: Hawks write off 2012-13 season, and unless they can resign Josh Smith (who will not be happy playing for a worse team this year) will have plenty of cap space but no players saince we’ll have two replace two all star caliber players. Johnson and Smith. I’d have much rather gone for everything in 2012 and worry about 2013 then. I hope I have to eat these words, but unless there is already an agreement in place to resign Smith, this is a poor deal that will doom us for the forseeable future. Bring back Billy Knight who managed to parlay four first round draft picks in one season to a decade of mediocity, only to be rescued by Joe Johnson and a maturing Josh Smith.

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do not trade horford for howard….howard as a free agent sounds better to me and if not, the hawks can win with horford and josh and teague…not interested in trading teague unless dwill is cp3 is coming to town how it shoulda been anyway…devin harris is interesting as a back up but is a great trade chip….put deshawn way down on the other end of the bench for emergency use only….hey… devin and deshawn for metta world peace?

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No doubt Joe Johnson did nothing wrong signing the ridiculous contract. His problem is he never did anything off the court to help the franchise. He actively disliked Atlanta fans and never tried to win them over. If you are going to spend money on someone, it has to be someone who helps sell tickets. 40 wins from an excruciatingly boring group of basketball players is not going to make ATL excited.

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I really hope everyone remembers this Danny Ferry love fest in 3-4 years when the Hawks are struggling to win 20 games. I hate to say it, but this city really doesn’t deserve a winner. Atlanta wouldn’t know what to do with one if we had one!

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No-one is against what this move will do for the cap next summer but we should all be against what it will do for the team right now and that effects next summer. Josh Smith needs to be moved to SF and Al to PF. You have to evaluate this players at these positions in order to see where to go next. Zaza is not a starting level C. I don’t want to watch him costing us games by not being able to finish and not being able to protect the rim again this year. Go get a starting C so you can move Josh to SF and Al to PF and evaluate your two best players before moving on with your remake or risk overpaying players that can not even play the position they are needed to play effectively.

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Ferry! Ferry! Ferry!

This guy traded Marvin for Devin Harris a point guard desperately needed, he managed to unload Joe Johnson’s bloated unyielding contract, and he’s in talks to get Howard.

He should keep Teague and Horford, and try to trade a disgruntled Josh Smith for a good swingman, (Deng anyone?), or keep Smith and sign a good swingman through free agency, and do everything to convince Howard to come to ATL.

I like the new look Hawks already!

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