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Now think about this... I know since Turner sold to AOL we have definitely had ownership issues. However, is the problem we're having attracting Free Agents... The FANS FAULT?

When they were losing, I went to a Golden State Warrior game. The place was packed. The fans were rowdy.. and they were playing US with Joe and Chillz and Smoove. That's the background I would like to start with.

I also watch several other teams like OKC, SacTown, Denver, and see this same thing. However, when it comes to Atlanta... as a fan base, we suck. We don't attend games. Home playoff games are away games because the other team bring more fans than we do.. but here's the worst thing..

Since I have been a fan (over 30 years).. I can't recall 1 star or close to star that the fans didn't eventually turn on....

John Drew = Openly Booed.
Dominique = People stopped coming out unless he was playing Jordan.
Shareef = While pulling down 20/10 every night, fans never gave this guy any love.
Jet Terry = After the Utah Fiasco, he received chilly receptions.
Joe Johnson = after the contract, people hated Joe Jesus.
Chillz = Before he went to Greece, people hated him as our pick.
Smoove = Did anybody fan Smoove on facebook over the last 2 years?
Jeff Teague... There's a strong hateration for him now.

That's the observed fan track record...

Look at what D12 had to say:

D12 = http://blog.chron.com/ultimaterockets/2014/01/dwight-howard-loves-atlanta-hates-the-hawks/

He hates the hawks. I think that's a feeling that prevails with most FAs. Could it be because there's no strong fanbase?

Fan support is an aspect to helping FAs determine where they'll sign but it's just one aspect.

The List of what I think a player looks for during FA in this order is:
1) Money
2) The team's chances of winning a title
3) How large of a Market that city is (for commercials ect)
4a and 4b) How good the fans are and the quality of the Front Office

There are a few exceptions who don't follower with this list of course but for the most part this is what Free Agents look at. That being said: We're not missing out on the big Free Agents because we're weak as a fan base, we're missing out because we really don't have any attractive pieces that Free Agents want to play with.

Look at this past summer with Chris Paul and Dwight Howard for instance and the teams we were competing with: Chris Paul had the opportunity for more money ($30 million for because of Bird Rights) if he re-signed with the Clippers, Los Angeles is also the biggest market in the United States (along with NY) so we never really had a chance with him as he immediately re-signed after got Doc. Dwight went to Houston which had a Superstar in James Harden waiting there already, and there was also more of an opportunity for financial gain over there as well as Texas doesn't make you pay State Taxes.

In the end players aren't not signing here because of the fans, it's because we don't have the other pieces necessary to compete for a title.

It's ownership. Fanbase may play a part. But the Braves and Falcons have had the same issues with fan attendance for the last quarter century. Yet, they still pull big name free agents...occasionally.

Hawks ownership and management have been laughable for the last 20 years.

Look at what D12 had to say:

D12 = http://blog.chron.com/ultimaterockets/2014/01/dwight-howard-loves-atlanta-hates-the-hawks/

He hates the hawks. I think that's a feeling that prevails with most FAs. Could it be because there's no strong fanbase?

if you read the article, it says Duh-Wight hates PLAYING the Hawks
not quite the same really :p


Go Hawks!

ATL Boy wrote:Fan support is an aspect to helping FAs determine where they'll sign but it's just one aspect.

The List of what I think a player looks for during FA in this order is:
1) Money
2) The team's chances of winning a title
3) How large of a Market that city is (for commercials ect)
4a and 4b) How good the fans are and the quality of the Front Office

.

ATL Boy, I agree 100%. However, instead of unconnected aspects, I think these aspects are very much connected. Like I said, I have never seen us get a star FA that we didn't have to overpay. Now, to put this into context...

If the fan support isn't good, then the money will have to be better than normal.

Look at us. We have a potentially large Market. We have had money (lots of times). We have had teams that were 1 to 2 players away from being championship calibre yet... we can't draw free agents for diddley.

This past summer... We got caught tampering (but didn't get in trouble) and there was D-12 and CP3. If you mixed D-12, CP3, and Horf as had been the plan.... there was enough money. There was enough championship potential, and we would have been made into the Large Market that we have the potential to be. So why did both of them hit us with the meh... even after we got caught suggesting it? Had to be the fans.

f-town wrote:

Look at what D12 had to say:

D12 = http://blog.chron.com/ultimaterockets/2014/01/dwight-howard-loves-atlanta-hates-the-hawks/

He hates the hawks. I think that's a feeling that prevails with most FAs. Could it be because there's no strong fanbase?

if you read the article, it says Duh-Wight hates PLAYING the Hawks
not quite the same really :p


Go Hawks!

True, but there's others that have said that he is "not fond" of playing for Atlanta.

For Dwight I think it has more to do with the fact that he was a in division rival for so long.

That or he is scared of failing his hometown. It would have been a lot of pressure for him since he would have been the poster child for the city and the team. He would have been huge, which he couldn't handle (as is apparent in his Laker stint).

diesel50 wrote:We have had teams that were 1 to 2 players away from being championship calibre yet...

diesel50 wrote:

ATL Boy wrote: We have had teams that were 1 to 2 players away from being championship calibre yet... we can't draw free agents for diddley.

Youre talking about the HAWKS right? They may have been 1-2 players away from winning a WNBA Championship, not a NBA Title

If that 1 or 2 players were like LeBron and Wade maybe.

PandaKidd wrote:

diesel50 wrote:

ATL Boy wrote: We have had teams that were 1 to 2 players away from being championship calibre yet... we can't draw free agents for diddley.

Youre talking about the HAWKS right? They may have been 1-2 players away from winning a WNBA Championship, not a NBA Title

Maybe you're not old enough to remember but Ted Turner's Hawks were pretty talented. Late in that team's run (maybe too late), we tried the "1-2 player" approach, adding Moses Malone and Reggie Theus. I honestly think that, if we'd only added Malone and forgotten about Theus, we could have won it all. We needed the outside sniper that Theus was not and that we had before we sat him for Theus.

its not the fan's fault that the hawks never presented a situation that was attractive enough (basketball wise) to attract any major free agents.

If you noticed the trend all of the major stars went to teams that had either an up and coming star or an already established elite player.

D12 (James Harden)
Iggy ( Curry)
Cp3 (Blake Griffin)
Melo (Amare)
LBJ (Wade & Bosh)
Bosh (Wade)

uga_dawgs24 wrote:If that 1 or 2 players were like LeBron and Wade maybe.

When we beat Chicago in the first game of the second round, we were 1 or 2 players away from being championship quality. Imagine if we had a rotation of Horf, Smoove, and Tyson Chandler in the front court.... and Teague and Ty Lawson in the backcourt. That's two players... not even two great players... We would have blown the doors off of Chicago. Remember, Kirk Hinrich got hurt against Orlando. Every game was close. They beat us when Asik and Taj Gibson took advantage of our size. They had enough defense to stop Joe and Crawford... But Teague continued to eat Rose's lunch. Our frontcourt just disappeared.

So like I said, we were always just one or two players away from being championship calibre.

parson wrote:

PandaKidd wrote:

diesel50 wrote:

Youre talking about the HAWKS right? They may have been 1-2 players away from winning a WNBA Championship, not a NBA Title

Maybe you're not old enough to remember but Ted Turner's Hawks were pretty talented. Late in that team's run (maybe too late), we tried the "1-2 player" approach, adding Moses Malone and Reggie Theus. I honestly think that, if we'd only added Malone and forgotten about Theus, we could have won it all. We needed the outside sniper that Theus was not and that we had before we sat him for Theus.

Oh... I remember. We brought in a washed up finished Reggie Theus and Moses Malone. And we were good. However, it's a GM's job to know what exactly his team needs and to predict chemistry.