Chris Paul-"I got to see where I'm going first"

[ATLHawksfan21]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... 3b-TpzOts#!

I know he just sees this as an annoying interaction with a paparrazi but it sounds to me like he can be had.

[tcorbin]

I don't really care if it happens or not, i just want to finally see a Hawks GM do their job competently and at least TRY to make an effort and build a championship team. instead of doing what Knight, Sund, Babcock, and other fools on this board and just drafting and signing pretender players and building a pertender team.

[RussellandFlow]

I really do not see Paul leaving 27-30 million dollars on the table. The Hawks need to focus on getting a legit center so that Al can move over to the 4 where he belongs.

[Jamaaliver]

I really do not see Paul leaving 27-30 million dollars on the table. The Hawks need to focus on getting a legit center so that Al can move over to the 4 where he belongs.

Agreed. It's worth mentioning that on a stacked Clippers team, with depth, experience and stars...CP3 won a total of 0 2nd round playoff games.

so magically adding him to our roster still doesn't make us a contender. Especially with MIA in our division.

[ATLHawksfan21]

I really do not see Paul leaving 27-30 million dollars on the table. The Hawks need to focus on getting a legit center so that Al can move over to the 4 where he belongs.

Agreed. It's worth mentioning that on a stacked Clippers team, with depth, experience and stars...CP3 won a total of 0 2nd round playoff games.

so magically adding him to our roster still doesn't make us a contender. Especially with MIA in our division.

This couldn't be farther from the truth. Please inform me on how this team is stacked. All I see are two of the most overpaid big men in the league who haven't improved since their rookie season along with a long list of past their prime players. Griffin and Jordan provide nothing on offense unless Paul creates an easy look for them. The rest of the team, outside of Bledsoe who is Paul's backup consists of: Odom, Butler, Hill, Crawford, Green, Turiaf, Barnes.

Sure the team looks good on paper because the media likes to overhype Griffin and Jordan and the older players are still living off of achievements from prior years, but this is a team slap full of weaknesses.

In the last 2 games of the Memphis series, with Blake hobbled with a bad ankle, Paul scored 35 and 28 points on over 50% FG. He had no one to help him on offense and Memphis is regarded as one of the best team defenses in the league if not the best overall.

If Paul wants to win he has to leave the Clippers. Blake and Jordan will combine for $29 million of their cap next year. They also have Butler on the books for 8 million. Resigning Paul would put them at around 55 million with just 4 players so they aren't going to have room to bring in a big name. Their only trade asset is Bledsoe and hes not going to bring in a big name. They have a late pick in what is widely thought of as one of the weakest drafts ever.

[Jamaaliver]

^I'm gonna respectfully disagree.

I consider the 82 game regular season a more accurate measuring stick than their 6 game playoff series.

The divisionn title. The 56 wins. The 17 game winning streak. The Clips were really good this year. remember, they blew out Memphis in Game One and took a 2-0 series lead to Memphis before it all fell apart.

My point was that injuries, bad coaching, foul trouble prevented his team from winning much in postseason play.

Bringing him here doesn't override those same problems here in ATLANTA. We sign CP3, we still need depth, a center, veteran backups, scoring wings, defensive wings.

CP3 has been in the league for 7 years and never made it past the 2nd round. His presence doesn't magically fix all problems everywhere.

I like the model put forth by Indy and Memphis. (Size, smart drafting, strong defense, good coaching.)
I like the model put forth by SAS. (Smart drafting, savvy trades. limited Free Agent signings.)

CP3 can't do everything all by himself.

[ATLHawksfan21]

^I'm gonna respectfully disagree.

I consider the 82 game regular season a more accurate measuring stick than their 6 game playoff series.

The divisionn title. The 56 wins. The 17 game winning streak. The Clips were really good this year. remember, they blew out Memphis in Game One and took a 2-0 series lead to Memphis before it all fell apart.

My point was that injuries, bad coaching, foul trouble prevented his team from winning much in postseason play.

Bringing him here doesn't override those same problems here in ATLANTA. We sign CP3, we still need depth, a center, veteran backups, scoring wings, defensive wings.

CP3 has been in the league for 7 years and never made it past the 2nd round. His presence doesn't magically fix all problems everywhere.

I like the model put forth by Indy and Memphis. (Size, smart drafting, strong defense, good coaching.)
I like the model put forth by SAS. (Smart drafting, savvy trades. limited Free Agent signings.)

CP3 can't do everything all by himself.

CP3 would only be coming here if Dwight was coming also. So there is the answer to everything you listed outside of the wings. Barnes would likely follow CP3 here for cheap. We wouldn't need elite wings to be a dominant unit with CP3/Horford/Howard. We would just need a bunch of shooters and a guy that can play solid D on the wing. Korver, Jenkins, Barnes and a 1st round draft pick would get the job done. Or possibly another wing decides to come here for cheap for a chance at a ring.


And since when is a regular season record more important that a playoff record. The goal is to win a championship, not win a division title. Postseason record and performance trumps regular season stats by a mile. We all know that NBA players take it easy at times during the regular season but give their all during the postseason. This Clippers team is built to be a regular season team, like Denver, and will never be successful in the postseason as currently built and it's not because of Paul. That $30 million frontcourt is to blame for that.

[Jamaaliver]

^Again, I respectfully disagree.

Throwing a few really good players together doesn't always result in a title.

Particularly when we share a division with LeBron and the Boys.

I'll just say that I prefer Ferry's stated plan of a smart, deep team built through the draft and smart free agent signings.

CP3 and Dwight would be nice (if unrealistic), but wouldn't necessarily beat LeBron and the boys. Or the Pacers. Or the Grizzlies. Or a healthy OKC team. Or the Spurs.

[ATLHawksfan21]

^Again, I respectfully disagree.

Throwing a few really good players together doesn't always result in a title.

Particularly when we share a division with LeBron and the Boys.

I'll just say that I prefer Ferry's stated plan of a smart, deep team built through the draft and smart free agent signings.

CP3 and Dwight would be nice (if unrealistic), but wouldn't necessarily beat LeBron and the boys. Or the Pacers. Or the Grizzlies. Or a healthy OKC team. Or the Spurs.

You must have atleast one superstar to win a title in the NBA and it helps to have another superstar or a couple of allstars with that superstar. Indy will never win a title unless Paul George progresses far enough to become a legit superstar. The only team that has won a title since 2000 without a superstar was Detroit. That's 1 year out of 13.

CP3/Dwight/Horford would definitely beat the Pacers. The only team in the East that would threaten that team would be the Heat. The only reason Indy is doing well right now is because Hibbert has a major size advantage. Dwight would own Hibbert. Dwight and Horford would control the paint and the Pacers would be forced to rely on outside shooting which would be their downfall.

Trust me, Ferry would be doing cartwheels if he gets a call from CP3 saying him and Dwight want to team up in ATL. Ferry's backup plan is to build through the draft. His first priority is landing Dwight with CP3 possibly being an added bonus.

[parson]

I really do not see Paul leaving 27-30 million dollars on the table.

He leaves 27-30 million on the table only if he plays 4 more seasons and stops. Wherever he goes for his 5th season, he'll be offered whatever 35% of the cap is at that time.

[MaceCase]

I really do not see Paul leaving 27-30 million dollars on the table.

He leaves 27-30 million on the table only if he plays 4 more seasons and stops. Wherever he goes for his 5th season, he'll be offered whatever 35% of the cap is at that time.

The 105% of previous salary rule can override the 25%, 30% and 35% of the cap rules. Ever wonder why you keep reading that Dwight's max this summer is 20.5 million whereas Paul's is "only" 18.7 when both are 7-9 year vets that should fall underneath the 30% rule? Because Dwight's current salary is 19.5 to Paul's 17.8 and thus the 105% rule.

Now, what is larger. 105% of a deal 4/5 years with 7.5% raises or 105% of a 4 year deal with 4.5% raises? No matter how you try to slice it the money adds up and we've seen with increasing precedent that if stars aren't content with their current situations then they still take the money and demand a trade to their desired destinations later so as to always keep their Bird rights intact.

[parson]

Thanks for the info about the 105% rule. I did not know that.

Still, when we say "27-30 million" we're comparing 5 years with LA to 4 years with us. Looking at it, it appears to me that the difference is closer to 4-7 million over the 5-year period. And, as I've said before, since you're assuming a 5-year deal with LA, that Howard* would enter the 35% stage a year earlier with us - and thus make more with us each subsequent year.

*Sorry, got him on the brain. Meant "Paul."