What has to happen to give you hope?

[evildallas]

The ASG's moves have depressed a lot of us. Is there anything that can restore faith and optimism? Lot of possible answers for this (some examples below):
Sign a name player
Sign a player for more than the minimum
Sign any player
Exceed the luxury tax threshold
See Jeff Teague excel in Summer League
Execute a trade
Execute a blockbuster trade
Announce they are selling the team
Nothing, I'm already excited.

Those are just examples, what's it going to take for you to get excited?

For me, selling the team would make me giddy with hope. To just have some optimism I'd like to see them exceed the luxury tax threshold. Minimum salary add-ons at this point won't help me. I would have said sign a player for more than the minimum, but the problem with that is it still could be a bad signing which would depress me further.

[azuresou1]

Announce they are selling the team would make me ecstatic, especially if it were to someone like Arthur Blank.

[draycon530]

Definitely selling the team would excite me the most. No matter what kind of signing or trade they make this offseason, it's become pretty clear that ASG has no idea how to run a basketball team.

[td00]

When I heard that rumor from the NY media, I was estatic that finally there was a chance we would get an owner who made it a personal agenda to change the hex that is over this team.
Perhaps when the Hawks traded Bill Russell is when the kiss of death started and continued with Maravich, David Thompson, Danny Manning, etc.
http://www.nba.com/history/players/russell_bio.html

I digress, but you have to wonder who is finally going to break the stagnation over this team. How so many continue to be fans of this team is amazing after all the heartbreaks.

While we all want to look for hope, this cap strapped ownership group will just continue to disappoint.
Right now, there won't be any great need to tune in or drive 25 miles Alpharetta to see these guys depend on Joe night in night out.

[FCNATL85]

This will give me hope!

Paul and Posey to ATL
Obvious for ATL

Mo Williams, Hickson and J Crawford + ATL 1st 12 to NO
Why? ATL offers quality contracts/ players/ pick in return of Paul+ taking Posey salary off, yet for a year (difference will go straight to Al's increase)

Bibby and Pachulia, rights to Akyol and ATL & PHO 2nd 11 to CLE
CLE starts thinking shedding salary (Bibby vs Mo) and add a cheap C while gaining 3 future 2nd

Feel free to tweak it and make it work...since NO would not take JJ to play with CP4, now that his contract is too big.

[parson]

I think the ASG has fallen in love with our players, an affection I share. If they believe that the players are still growing, if they believe that Woodson was limiting them offensively, then they'd just HAVE to believe that a different regime can boost the team.

Teague could be a quicksilver PG with scoring ability and defensive talent.
Joe could be Reggie Miller, especially in this new offense.
Marvelous has talent coming out his eyes. Was Woodson bottling him up? Will Drew light him up?
Smoove is a still-budding superstar: a Dominique Wilkins at the 4 with stat sheet-filling talents.
Horford could be a stronger (and better defensively) Dan Issel, with a pretty good midrange shot.

And Crawford's the 6th MotY.




Plus, a deep, young team with no holes is easier to sell....

[evildallas]

I think the ASG has fallen in love with our players, an affection I share. If they believe that the players are still growing, if they believe that Woodson was limiting them offensively, then they'd just HAVE to believe that a different regime can boost the team.

Teague could be a quicksilver PG with scoring ability and defensive talent.
Joe could be Reggie Miller, especially in this new offense.
Marvelous has talent coming out his eyes. Was Woodson bottling him up? Will Drew light him up?
Smoove is a still-budding superstar: a Dominique Wilkins at the 4 with stat sheet-filling talents.
Horford could be a stronger (and better defensively) Dan Issel, with a pretty good midrange shot.

And Crawford's the 6th MotY.

Plus, a deep, young team with no holes is easier to sell....

So you already have hope? Good for you.

[D21]

I have to admit that Parson gave me some hopes, because these are points I tend to forget these days.

Meanwhile, selling the team would make me happy.
It would have been great before the Joe signing, and I also think it will now be hard to sell with that.

If I had enough to buy it, and try to build with logical decision, and paying some tax if for the right players (something they say but that never comes), I would have bought it before Joe signed, but now, I feel that even as ATL fan, I would not buy it.
I know Joe could have left for nothing, but I just not believe it, like every other team got something (picks, TPE, players...) from their F.A., and more than that, I would have made anything I can to avoid this situation, by trying to trade before for a better player than Joe, and change the coach, and by this move shows everybody the real value of Joe, which is not more than 15M/yr, and maybe trade him last season, when it was a possibility.

I don't know if they tried to do things like that, but they never showed somehting that can make we fell it.
They looks more like guys that thinks it's cool to be businessman with an NBA team, looks cool to get some playoffs games, and while trying to make money with the team.
But they clearly don't think of the frustration they give to fans, or if they don't see it, they are blinded.

Nobody is asking them to spend like Cuban, just make moves that makes sense, and if possible, don't use this excuse of Tax every year, and pay one or two million of taxes if it bring a player that improve the team.

I am ready to see what happen for next season, maybe just Drew will change it, but I would have prefer Drew two years ago than now if he makes a difference, because it could have change somehting, like not giving 124M to Joe.

Actually, I am also very disappointed by Joe, I know he doesn't put a gun pointed on owners to get the money, but he could have take less, even after they offer him Max.
I still can't believe Arenas did it and Joe didn't, and I think it will never disappear unless he shows one day he's worth it, and worth that contract is just being a leader of a team that fight and at least makes one Finals, even loosing it.
A guy that never show that should not get a Max contract like that (I don't talk about the first Max you can get after the rookie contract, but Max after 7 years or more).

Actually, I want owners elling the team, and Joe traded because both, with Woodson are responsible of these frustration.
I like Joe at 90M, but not at 124M, I am sorry and I feel he will never deserve it and prove it.

[parson]

So you already have hope? Good for you.

Sarcasm? Pity?

If you think Woodson's iso offense was KILLING us in the 4th, if you think Joe will be better with a motion offense (and healthier), if you think Smoove and Horford are still improving, if you think Marvelous was stymied by Woodson ...

... COUPLED with the fact we finished in the 2nd round of the playoffs...

... why not have some hope?

On the negative side, I think Teague's 2 years away, I think Bibby's fading fast, I think Zaza has poor defensive presence and I think the rest of our bench is bereft of big men.

But we have a young team that finished in the top 4 of the East AND THEY'RE STILL GROWING UP.

[evildallas]

^^^ Actually neither. That was an honest reply. I am happy that you can see a bright side. I've lost that and it is one of the reasons that this might be my last season as a ticket holder. Unless my hope returns, I'm thinking I can stay at home and watch whatever games are available for me after that.

[parson]

evil, you're a better fan than I. I only make about 1 trip to ATL a year (sometimes more). I'm just a guy, but you season ticket holders keep the team going.

But tell me this, do you think our 53-29 team got worse over the offseason? I know we didn't acquire better players the way we all hoped we could but don't you agree we didn't go backwards?

Is there one position that will decline this next season?
Do you think Joe can't play better in a motion offense?
That Smoove has finished growing?
That Horford has peaked?
That Marvelous' play will suffer without Woodson?
That Drew's offense will be worse than Woodson's iso nightmare?

[evildallas]

Worse? No, but that 53 wins was with uncanny health and based on how poorly we exited the playoffs I think it showed that we weren't constructed properly for post-season success. Beyond that treading water doesn't seem to be a recipe for success given what's happening around the conference (Miami, Chicago, Milwaukee, Washington, and New York improving and Orlando and Boston staying somewhat strong).

My negativity stems primarily from the faith the ownership has put in Joe Johnson and their unwillingness to spend that extra little bit necessary to try reach higher. Last year I think we all saw the bad things about Joe and the ASG ignored those things and made him the highest paid player in basketball. When I say bad things I specifically mean an unwillingness to share the ball/trust his teammates, slow decision making, an inability to handle criticism, publicly criticizing teammates without self-awareness of his own faults, and shrinking on the big stage.

Maybe it was just because it was a contract year and now that he's set for life (assuming he already wasn't) he'll fit into the program and play better without the iso-heavy offense. I'll believe it when I see it though because based on what I saw from Joe last year he's not earned my trust or faith. The hope I see is that Larry Drew's offense improves the team and that Jeff Teague blossoms into a star. Strangely I'd feel more hopeful if Joe wasn't there to possibly (Please Use More Appropriate Word) Teague's development and possibly break the offense system by doing his own thing. I'd feel better about Marvin asserting himself if Joe wasn't around. I feel better that Horford would see the ball more if Joe wasn't around. I'd also feel better about Horford's future if we signed a backup C that could play 30 mpg and allow Horford to get half his minutes at PF to lessen the grind a little on him.

Josh is too hard to predict. I think he can one of the best in the league if he keeps his head on straight, works to his strengths, and doesn't whine so much. I don't really think Joe has much impact on Josh one way or the other. I was interested in whether the added responsibility of being the man (with Joe leaving) would add that needed focus to Josh or whether the pressure would be too much for him?

I should be happy that Woodson's gone and the ASG keep the team together, but as I've said elsewhere as much as I disliked Woodson I don't think he was solely to blame. As you can tell from this post that I thought Joe deserved a lot of blame as the de facto leader of the team. If Joe fits in and allows his teammates to step up and those teammates do actually step up then all will be well. If Joe fits in and the teammates don't step up then maybe we'll trade some pieces to fix the whole. If Joe doesn't fit in and is a problem, then I hope he can be traded to Dallas in the middle of the season and we can have a do over. We'll see.

[parson]

Joe was called a good guy in years past for us. At PHO and BOS, they all spoke well of him. However, I agree he seemed to be dismissive of his teammates last year.

But I cannot believe that Joe would be so stupid as to be the bad guy in our new motion offense. If he is, then you're right. I'm betting he isn't.

[NWO4Life]

...we don't have to worry about beating Cleveland this year! ;P