Horford won't sign a Contract Extension before next summer

[MaceCase]

DeMarre got more than that in a lower cap for the same production. 12 million seems to be optimistic.

Plus Bazemore is younger than DeMarre.

Perhaps very optimistic then.

[PandaKidd]

BAZE, if he keeps this up, IS GETTING PAID.

So either we vastly over pay him, or he stays and woop woop we have the same team next year we have this year! YEET! PROGRESS!

[ATL Boy]

I feel like we don't have to overpay Baze if we don't want to. That in Bud's system we can make any 3&D player into an excellent starter and contributor.


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[Jamaaliver]

I feel like we don't have to overpay Baze if we don't want to. That in Bud's system we can make any 3&D player into an excellent starter and contributor.

100% agreed.

I'd almost like to see the Hawks take a note from the Braves and start acquiring young wings, coach em up in our development program and then move them for value.

Braves are best suited to develop pitching and then use those excess young arms as currency to fill holes through trade.

Why can't we do the same with young SFs and SGs?

[PandaKidd]

I feel like we don't have to overpay Baze if we don't want to. That in Bud's system we can make any 3&D player into an excellent starter and contributor.


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the problem with that, no continuity, no chemistry, always having to recycle players.

[jayu70]

Isn't Bazemore still a young Wing? THJr? Patterson. Or do you mean a 19/20 year old Rookie?

[PandaKidd]

Isn't Bazemore still a young Wing? THJr? Patterson. Or do you mean a 19/20 year old Rookie?

Bazemore gets paid this offseason

You dont own THJ

Patterson isnt a starter.

YES, i would rather have taken a young 19/20 year old rookie at 15 this past season and let him develop. Think about it, you OWN THAT PLAYER for 5 years or more. Instead we seem to favor these short contracts and once that player peaks we end up having to pay for them and they move on.

[Jamaaliver]

Basketball Insiders wonders if we have enough to prevent Horford from pursuing other opportunities in Free Agency:

Horford is in the final season of his current deal and is set to become an unrestricted free agent at season’s end.

What are Horford’s priorities (and what is his thought process) as he approaches free agency?
...is Horford in it for the long haul?

Players want to win and compete at a high level. The Hawks have never missed the playoffs since Horford arrived to town.

Players want a solid front office structure and coaching staff to work under. The Hawks have one of the strongest infrastructures in the league.

Players want to team up with other talented guys in a system that highlights their individual strengths. The Hawks have All-Star talent around Horford and Budenholzer’s system has helped expand the center’s game.


Head Coach Mike Budenholzer consistently stated the importance of Horford’s presence in the team’s long-term plan.

...are there any teams out there that could realistically compete with the Hawks to land Horford’s services?

Yes.

With the salary cap increasing significantly this summer, more than 15 franchises (not factoring in cap holds) could have upwards of $20 million in cap space to target marquee free agents.

From lottery-bound teams looking to make a splashy move to squads that feel they are just one or two veteran pieces away from contending, the market will be crowded with suitors possessing significant bankroll.

Here


Lots of teams seem likely to pursue Horford's services this summer.

[ATL Boy]

Basketball Insiders wonders if we have enough to prevent Horford from pursuing other opportunities in Free Agency:

Horford is in the final season of his current deal and is set to become an unrestricted free agent at season’s end.

What are Horford’s priorities (and what is his thought process) as he approaches free agency?
...is Horford in it for the long haul?

Players want to win and compete at a high level. The Hawks have never missed the playoffs since Horford arrived to town.

Players want a solid front office structure and coaching staff to work under. The Hawks have one of the strongest infrastructures in the league.

Players want to team up with other talented guys in a system that highlights their individual strengths. The Hawks have All-Star talent around Horford and Budenholzer’s system has helped expand the center’s game.


Head Coach Mike Budenholzer consistently stated the importance of Horford’s presence in the team’s long-term plan.

...are there any teams out there that could realistically compete with the Hawks to land Horford’s services?

Yes.

With the salary cap increasing significantly this summer, more than 15 franchises (not factoring in cap holds) could have upwards of $20 million in cap space to target marquee free agents.

From lottery-bound teams looking to make a splashy move to squads that feel they are just one or two veteran pieces away from contending, the market will be crowded with suitors possessing significant bankroll.

Here


Lots of teams seem likely to pursue Horford's services this summer.

80% of the time in this situation, where a player has a close decision to make between re-signing with his current team and leaving town for a new team, the tiebreaker is money. We'll re-sign Horford because have the ability to give him more money than anyone else can.

[Jamaaliver]

[b]Players want to team up
80% of the time in this situation, where a player has a close decision to make between re-signing with his current team and leaving town for a new team, the tiebreaker is money. We'll re-sign Horford because have the ability to give him more money than anyone else can.

In your opinion, is it in the best interest of the team to pay a guy $25 - $30 million per year to avg 16 ppg and 7 rpg?

You don't think that $30 million could be better spent on the bench or wings?

[ATL Boy]

[b]Players want to team up
80% of the time in this situation, where a player has a close decision to make between re-signing with his current team and leaving town for a new team, the tiebreaker is money. We'll re-sign Horford because have the ability to give him more money than anyone else can.

In your opinion, is it in the best interest of the team to pay a guy $25 - $30 million per year to avg 16 ppg and 7 rpg?

You don't think that $30 million could be better spent on the bench or wings?

I don't think Al really deserves a max, but due to the nature of the market he'll get it, whether it's from us or from somebody else. If we don't re-sign him then this team probably has to hit the reset button because we end up being maybe a low playoff seed with aging veterans as a result. In the end, however, I don't think that new ownership wants to start over after the strides which were made resulting from the 60 win season.

[Jamaaliver]

I don't think Al really deserves a max, but due to the nature of the market he'll get it, whether it's from us or from somebody else. If we don't re-sign him then this team probably has to hit the reset button because we end up being maybe a low playoff seed with aging veterans as a result. In the end, however, I don't think that new ownership wants to start over after the strides which were made resulting from the 60 win season.

Fair enough.

But you don't think that $30 million could used in any other fashion to help maintain or improve the team?

No faith in Tiago to step in and start effectively at Center?

For years we feared losing Josh and/or Joe Johnson would leave the franchise in ruins...

and we recovered okay. There are other fish in the sea.

[ATL Boy]

I don't think Al really deserves a max, but due to the nature of the market he'll get it, whether it's from us or from somebody else. If we don't re-sign him then this team probably has to hit the reset button because we end up being maybe a low playoff seed with aging veterans as a result. In the end, however, I don't think that new ownership wants to start over after the strides which were made resulting from the 60 win season.

Fair enough.

But you don't think that $30 million could used in any other fashion to help maintain or improve the team?

No faith in Tiago to step in and start effectively at Center?

For years we feared losing Josh and/or Joe Johnson would leave the franchise in ruins...

and we recovered okay. There are other fish in the sea.

The problem is who would we be able to realistically persuade to come here, that will be worth losing Al over? Durant isn't happening, neither is Derzon. There's Bradley Beal and Harrison Barnes who are restricted and will likely have a contract matched. D-Wade is on the market but he's old and an injury risk at all times (I know he's having a healthy year but still).

The best wings that could be available to us are Chandler Parsons and Nic Batum, but do either of them pull us out of the doldrums? Maybe if you add one of them to a this team now with Horford. Other options include Arron Afflalo (I'd actually really like to get him, great 3 and D player), Jamal Crawford (no defense), JR Smith (he reminds me a lot of another J. Smith we're familiar with). Evan Fournier will be there but he's restricted.

I don't see us as contenders by losing Al and adding one of these wings, while adding Splitter into the starting lineup (he has not looked good this year btw). One FA I really want us to look at is Zaza, he's been extremely effective this year (averages a double double), looks like what we thought Splitter was gonna be for us. He'd be an excellent first big off the bench, but idk if we'll go after him with Edy waiting in the wings and Splitter already signed for another year.

[PandaKidd]

I think Jamaal and I are asking that very question, there arent a ton of other options, so locking yourself into Al Horford at 25 million just because "theres no one else" doesnt seem really smart?

Maybe we punt on FA this year, save the money, improve the bench, look for people to replace Korver and Thabo, get a decent draft pick while still being a playoff team, and look 2-3 years down the road.

I think this whole KEEP THE BAND TOGETHER becuase they had 1 REALLY insane season, just for the sake of doing it, is the EXACT recipe that created the JJ,Smoov teams.

[Jamaaliver]

The problem is who would we be able to realistically persuade to come here, that will be worth losing Al over?

Good question. Keep in mind that Free Agency isn't the only way to acquire players or utilize cap space.

Our biggest acquisition last summer was a trade where we helped a good team conduct a salary dump.

We need to be doing that more often. I'd gladly take Marcin Gortat at $12 million, Kevin Martin @ $7 million.

Those types of deals signed under the old CBA amounts are complete steals in this new age.

[Jamaaliver]

I think this whole KEEP THE BAND TOGETHER becuase they had 1 REALLY insane season, just for the sake of doing it, is the EXACT recipe that created the JJ,Smoov teams.

Bingo!

Guys are suddenly placing Jeff Teague, Millsap, Horford on the DO NOT Trade list as if they are untouchable, Hall of Fame caliber talents.

We're closer today to the 9th seed than the 1st seed, but have the mindset that any changes or any loss of players is too unbearable to consider.

The rest of the conference was always reloading this past summer. We ignored this, stayed the course despite the subpar post-season play. And are now stuck in the middle of the pack again as a result.

[MaceCase]

When you recognize that there's not a single contract on the Hawks guaranteed past 2016/17 with the cap also rising astronomically, perhaps the hyperbole on the Hawks being "locked in" or "SET" should be toned down...by like a thousand notches. It isn't exactly crazy for a team to say "maybe I should see what I can do 1-2 years after my most successful season ever" but apparently there's a real anxiousness to start a "rebootooling" tank, which just so happen to last more than 1-2 years.

[jayu70]

When you recognize that there's not a single contract on the Hawks guaranteed past 2016/17 with the cap also rising astronomically, perhaps the hyperbole on the Hawks being "locked in" or "SET" should be toned down...by like a thousand notches. It isn't exactly crazy for a team to say "maybe I should see what I can do 1-2 years after my most successful season ever" but apparently there's a real anxiousness to start a "rebootooling" tank, which just so happen to last more than 1-2 years.

RE-BOOT-TOO-LING

[PandaKidd]

Theres Mace with his thinly veiled "let me pick out 2 words of a paragraph , ignore the overall problem, point and make fun of someone to make me feel better" comments.

Nelson must be your favorite Simpsons character.

I get it, theres a faction here that BELIEVES this team will return to January 2015. That is not me. There is a faction here who thinks this group is good enough to see what happens and maybe win a title. That is not me.

Ive seen the ceilings of Al Horford and Jeff Teague. Teague I think is not going to be here , but AH i have serious reservations about signing him to a max deal and going forward with the VERY GOOD combo of him and PM, but not good enough to win championships.

Same with Bazemore at the wing. Great player love his energy, but hes a role player, hes a piece, not THE PIECE. With little to no talent in the pipeline thanks to squandered draft picks, id like to take a little more risk.

Hey, MAYBE THJ turns into the next big thing. Maybe Justin Holliday is our replacement for Bazemore. Maybe. Thats a ton of MAYBE.

they won 60 games last year because they played an injury decimated East without (DROSE, Paul George, Chris Bosh, D WAde) and then barely beat a NETs team, struggled with a John Wall less Wizards, and got swept by a LBJ team that had no one but scrubs on their team. Call it what it is, a GREAT run against far less than average opponents and they shot OUT OF THEIR MIND for about 35 games.

OKC did that to the Spurs 3 years ago. They were down 2-0 then proceeded to shoot like 40% from 3 point range for 4 straight games or SAS would prob have had another title and LBJ wouldnt have won his 1st. Difference is that OKC team had 2 MVP candidates on their team and has duplicated that success. This team has not, in like , 60 games.

[Jamaaliver]

When you recognize that there's not a single contract on the Hawks guaranteed past 2016/17 with the cap also rising astronomically, perhaps the hyperbole on the Hawks being "locked in" or "SET" should be toned down....

But the thing is...Cap Space hasn't particularly served us well in the last decade plus.

So letting top talents like Horford and Teague reach Free Agency becomes extraordinarily risky when we may not be able to utilize that cap space in the optimum manner.

Whereas moving a contract/player like Jeff Teague won't constitute a reboot because we currently have the vets on this team capable of keeping us competitive.

Adding a young player entering their prime that might not be attainable in Free Agency doesn't seem like a complete disaster of an idea.

The best examples I can come up with are Khris Middleton, Tobias Harris and Jae Crowder. Young wings who just re-upped in Restricted Free Agency...after being traded. Their current teams would not have had a legit shot at getting them in Free Agency. But via trade, they were able to secure top young talent on (somewhat) reasonable contract terms.

Waiting two years just delays the inevitable roster adjustments this franchise will have to make.