LeBron: ITT you respond and call me a crackhead

NWO4Life · Post #1 » by **NWO4Life** » Thu Jun 3, 2010 4:07 pm

Ok this is not "Penthouse Forum" but its my RealGM fantasy... I understand that nobody has even thought for a (serious) minute that LaBron James would be in a Hawks uniform next year but I want to tell you why the percentages are better than you might think.

#1- TEAM. As great a individual talent as Lebron is, TEAM is something that is most important to him. One player can not bring a championship home in the NBA. If you look at the rosters for the leading candidates according to the news outlets your list would look like Cavs, Bulls, Knicks, Miami and a few mentions of the Nets. None of these teams have the young talent that our Atlanta Hawks have.
The Hawks "current" talent level at all positions is on better than every team besides the Cavs and that ONLY because they have Lebron already. So if he wants a team that is a step away... Hawks are a better option than any of the others on the list.

#2- CITY. Atlanta has been called "Black Vegas" by some because so many athletes and hip hop / rap artists calling this town home it would be a fantastic fit for him with crossover marketing opportunities. Atlanta is also recognized internationally adding to the marketability. (Maybe we could reopen the Gold Club) A dose of Southern Hospitality goes a long way in making this city a perfect place to call home. Lest not forget Lebron is still a human being and where he decides to go will be important for his FAMILY too. SELL HIM ON THIS! Atlanta is great town to raise a family and the best city to do so on the list!

#3- COACHING. We can offer up just about any coach to him. Sure the Cavs and the Bulls can say this too but the Hawks are in the mix. 'NO D'Antoni is over rated and Kiki (who I am a big fan of) in Jersey just doesn't have the talent yet to get him there.

#4-FREE AGENTS (Other). He wants to play with Wade or Bosh. What about Joe? Well let's just point out the $25,000.00 Billboard Michael Gearin bought from David Stern when he stated on the radio that the Hawks ownership group had a willingness to pay a luxury tax to get him here. This was not a mistake. Michael knows what he is going to say before he says it. He always interviews well and this In my opinion was planned. Planting the seed. Chris Bosh having played his college ball at GT can be brought in here and should be Atlanta's #1 priority anyway to move AL Horford to Power Forward where he will dominate for years until he end up in the HOF. Horford will mature into the Hawks Karl Malone.

So lets work on getting Bosh here. Then sign and trade is the best way to get Labron. Joe Johnson plus... should get it done. Labron I believe would even feel a better about the Cavs
getting something in return to help ease the pain of his departure... Joe Johnson as compensation is not bad. The Cavs would still be relevant.

#5 BOTTOM LINE - ATLANTA should believe we are worthy and approach him as such. Christ that's what sales is all about. I make million dollar deals happen because I believe in providing million dollar value. The equation is just that simple. Arthur Blank understands this.

parson · Post #2 » by **parson** » Thu Jun 3, 2010 4:31 pm

One thing is for certain: contrary to those who scream, "Stop making LBJ trades!! They're impossible." we need to try if we're serious about ever winning it all. Think the Lakers didn't work to get Shaq, even though he wasn't theirs? Think they didn't encourage the young Kobe to say he'd never play for the Hornets but would only play for the Lakers?

If you want to win, you make a vigorous and creative attempt to get the great players - within the rules, of course.

And a SNT for James is CLE's best option, IF he says he's leaving.

To add to what you said above, we could offer CLE Smoove and Marvelous (as the highlighters to a bigger deal); we could add enough salary to also take Jamison or Mo Williams, who the Cavs would probably like to lose if James leaves. With an extreme trade, we could even take both bad contracts off their hands.

azuresou1 · Post #3 » by **azuresou1** » Thu Jun 3, 2010 5:27 pm

For LeBron, I would trade anyone on this team other than Horford AND Smoove (we'd need to keep one of them).

S&T Joe Johnson + Josh Smith + 2 firsts for S&T LeBron and Jamison?

evildallas · Post #4 » by **evildallas** » Thu Jun 3, 2010 5:51 pm

I've no problem with Atlanta ownership/front office making a pitch for Lebron come July. Bosh I'm less excited about, but if that's necessary to land Lebron, so be it. If they can put together a presentation that convinces him to come to Atlanta then any S&T necessary would be worth it to land such a star player. The move would make sense financially to ownership and be in the best interest of the team and city. It is all about sales as you say.

BTW, failure to land 1 real star player in spite of spending half a decade in the upper half of the draft lottery is another reason why Billy Knight should never be employed in basketball again, but that's an aside.

Now while that presentation would make sense for the ASG to do, pining over Lebron and coming up with dream trade scenarios doesn't seem to be a worthwhile endeavor for me. Why do I say this? Well first if I'm Danny Ferry, I don't S&T Lebron at all. If he wants to walk then I can't stop him, but if I trade him for any combination then I'll be losing my job. Nothing we get back is going to help get to a title any quicker than falling to the bottom and getting lucky in the lottery again. Sure we (the Cavs) could probably hang on to barely making the playoffs, but that's not enough. If he wants to leave I want him to leave money on the table to do it. As soon as I start thinking of cutting my losses, then he's lost (see Toronto and Bosh). As such Lebron's choices get limited to teams with cap room (Atlanta would be out) and Cleveland.

Second, it is like you said it's sales. There is no trade scenario that I can post here that will that will convince anyone. This is a presentation that only ownership can provide and they would have to dig deep. They would be selling themselves, the city, the situation, and everything. It better be one hell of a presentation because in the terms of real accomplishments our ownership group has little to hang its hat on.

Those our my feelings on the subject, but you dream on if that keeps you happy.

parson · Post #5 » by **parson** » Fri Jun 4, 2010 2:33 am

The Knicks have been moving Heaven and Earth (and salaries) for the past 3 years in preparation for LBJ. Owners are lining up to take league fines to get his attention. If you want to win, you forget "reasonable" and you work on it.

BTW, I like the argument that, if James wants to pair off with another FA (especially since he likes Joe), that we can more easily make that happen.

And we can send the Cavs YOUNG players and picks. They can lose for a couple of years, stock up on high picks and be loaded in less than 3 years.

jagstang76 · Post #6 » by **jagstang76** » Fri Jun 4, 2010 11:18 am

I agree that it's difficult to fathom how ASG could bring LBJ here, but I would be very put out should they not make an attempt. We are definitely a worthy option and have the means to make it happen should CLE be willing to S&T. The fact that it sounds like they are trying gives me hope. Heck, every team in the league ought to be trying if they actually want to win. I'm just glad we're into June and July 1 is fast approaching.

evildallas · Post #7 » by **evildallas** » Fri Jun 4, 2010 6:35 pm

A warning sign: Danny Ferry is stepping down as Cavs GM. I see that as tell-tale. Danny Ferry is a smart son of NBA front-office lifer (Bob Ferry). He knows that losing James for nothing or trading James for whatever he can get would be career suicide. He would be dogged by the moniker of "the guy who lost Lebron" forever. His quitting before the free agency period may not guarantee that James is on the move, but it tells me that Ferry lost confidence in resigning him.

NWO4Life · Post #8 » by **NWO4Life** » Fri Jun 4, 2010 8:15 pm

evildallas wrote:A warning sign: Danny Ferry is stepping down as Cavs GM. I see that as tell-tale. Danny Ferry is a smart son of NBA front-office lifer (Bob Ferry). He knows that losing James for nothing or trading James for whatever he can get would be career suicide. He would be dogged by the moniker of "the guy who lost Lebron" forever. His quitting before the free agency period may not guarantee that James is on the move, but it tells me that Ferry lost confidence in resigning him.

I was reading that when you were writing this. I do agree with you. It's about to be a **** in Cleveland when LaBron leaves.

From a strategic point of view for Hawks management this would indicate a more narrowed list of suitors. This is a benefit when attempting to separate yourself from the others...

THIS IS WAR!

All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near. Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and crush him. Lebron James Atlanta 2010!
- Sun Tzu, the Art of War

Post #9 » by **HMFFL** » Fri Jun 4, 2010 9:23 pm

evildallas wrote:A warning sign: Danny Ferry is stepping down as Cavs GM. I see that as tell-tale. Danny Ferry is a smart son of NBA front-office lifer (Bob Ferry). He knows that losing James for nothing or trading James for whatever he can get would be career suicide. He would be dogged by the moniker of "the guy who lost Lebron" forever. His quitting before the free agency period may not guarantee that James is on the move, but it tells me that Ferry lost confidence in resigning him.

Very interesting situation and overall and I believe Danny made the right decision.

OT: I blame all the parties involved for the Antawn Jamison trade at the deadline. I remember Lebron being involved and having a deciding factor (final say?). Not trading JJ Hickson to Phoenix for Amar'e Stoudamire wasn't a wise move at the time and it showed during the playoffs. They decided to be loyal to Zydrunas Ilgauskas and it cost them.

J-Smoove5 · Post #10 » by **J-Smoove5** » Fri Jun 4, 2010 9:42 pm

That would be unbelievable to get LBJ to the Atl and be a Hawk. I'm all for it but hope we could keep Smith and Horford. We need something unbelievable like this to happen to us it's been a long, long time. Let's start it!!

Come on LeBron and be an Atlanta Hawk and shock the world!!

Go Hawks

J-Smoove5 · Post #11 » by **J-Smoove5** » Fri Jun 4, 2010 9:45 pm

But on the real, what are our honest and realistic chances of landing LeBron James to Atlanta?

Go Hawks

evildallas · Post #12 » by **evildallas** » Fri Jun 4, 2010 9:57 pm

HMFFL wrote:
evildallas wrote:A warning sign: Danny Ferry is stepping down as Cavs GM. I see that as tell-tale. Danny Ferry is a smart son of NBA front-office lifer (Bob Ferry). He knows that losing James for nothing or trading James for whatever he can get would be career suicide. He would be dogged by the moniker of "the guy who lost Lebron" forever. His quitting before the free agency period may not guarantee that James is on the move, but it tells me that Ferry lost confidence in resigning him.

Very interesting situation and overall and I believe Danny made the right decision.

OT: I blame all the parties involved for the Antawn Jamison trade at the deadline. I remember Lebron being involved and having a deciding factor (final say?). Not trading JJ Hickson to Phoenix for Amar'e Stoudamire wasn't a wise move at the time and it showed during the playoffs. They decided to be loyal to Zydrunas Ilgauskas and it cost them.

I thought at the time that Jamison would be a good pick-up but he never seemed to fit in. Then Garnett abused him in the playoffs. I do agree that failure to trade Hickson for the real upgrade was a mistake. Keeping him was a long term decision when everything else they did was short term in focus. Amare on the roster would go a lot farther than Hickson and Jamison in convincing Lebron to stay.

The biggest single faux pas of Ferry I think was the previous year when they could have used Wally Szerbiak's expiring deal to improve the team and didn't. I thought they could have gotten Shaq at the 2009 deadline which would have matched up better against Orlando then. They acquired him 6 months too late, imo.

Harry10 · Post #13 » by **Harry10** » Fri Jun 4, 2010 9:58 pm

i'm with you, but should also look into Wade or Bosh to go along with Al, Smoove, and Crawford.

parson · Post #14 » by **parson** » Sat Jun 5, 2010 2:28 am

evildallas wrote:A warning sign: Danny Ferry is stepping down as Cavs GM. ... His quitting before the free agency period may not guarantee that James is on the move, but it tells me that Ferry lost confidence in resigning him.

I agree but it could also mean that LeBron wants to name his own GM....

... so he can effectively BE the GM.

Grime_Wizard · Post #15 » by **Grime_Wizard** » Sat Jun 5, 2010 7:19 am

Harry10 wrote:i'm with you, but should also look into Wade or Bosh to go along with Al, Smoove, and Crawford.

Dont think Wade is leaving Miami especially since either Booz/Amare/Bosh are guranteed to go there.

Harry10 · Post #16 » by **Harry10** » Sat Jun 5, 2010 9:12 am

question: if Hawks find a taker for Bibby for cap space, and Evans walks, and somebody takes Childress, but the Hawks keep the 24th pick, will the Hawks have enough cap space to offer max? i have been trying to figure it out, but some websites say that the Hawks are currently 10M under the cap, while other websites say the Hawks are currently 7M under the cap.

HoopsGuru25 · Post #17 » by **HoopsGuru25** » Sat Jun 5, 2010 9:34 am

The Hawks would have a little over 40 million invested in cap-room in your scenario.

The problem is that the teams with capspace have no use for Bibby outside of Miami & they are probably targeting a Wade/Bosh or Wade/Amare combo.

HoopsGuru25 · Post #18 » by **HoopsGuru25** » Sat Jun 5, 2010 9:41 am

The one trade I would be interezted in is Bibby+Mo for TJ Ford(assuming Mo opts in).

HoopsGuru25 · Post #19 » by **HoopsGuru25** » Sat Jun 5, 2010 10:04 am

Going back to the OP-I believe Lebron would pick Miami just going by your criteria. He'd get to play next do Dwyane Wade,get coached by Pat Riley,and get to part his ass off. I still think that it's going to be hard for an attention whore like LeBron to avoid New York or Chicago. Winning a ring there as "the man" would have more significance from a national perspective.

D21 · Post #20 » by **D21** » Sat Jun 5, 2010 4:19 pm

HoopsGuru25 wrote:The Hawks would have a little over 40 million invested in cap-room in your scenario.

The problem is that the teams with capspace have no use for Bibby outside of Miami & they are probably targeting a Wade/Bosh or Wade/Amare combo.

It need to be checked, but I think that MIA can offer Max to Wade and another one, and keep enough cap room to take Bibby's salary.
The problem in this case is to be sure that Joe leaves+MIA wants Bibby+you find a team for Childress.

It would make $40,285,447 + $963,600 = $41,249,047 for 7 players, add 5 x $473,604 and you have $43,617,067
With a projected salary cap of 56.1M, it leaves less than $12.5M for a first year offer.