Danny Ferry convinced the Nets that Joe Johnson was worth the insane amount of money that the Hawks were paying him. That alone makes Ferry tantamount to the Wizard in the eyes of Atlanta fans. and he did it so quickly! Man, folks hit the nightclubs after that deal!

And then he turned around and got rid of Williams and that bloated contract! Atlanta fans were screaming with joy!

And what did we get? We went to the playoffs and have a lot of money in the bank. Plus, we got an opportunity to audition Josh Smith and Jeff Teague and know what we got. We have the money to get not just one, but two big free agents and we can build a high caliber team quickly!

But here's what I'm thinking: I'm not 100% sure if the Hawks will go in the direction of either Howard or Paul. As a matter of fact, I think that if you get one, you must get the other. Why? Because with what you have now, you can run-and-gun. Jeff Teague loves to push it. Al Horford is probably one of the only center with really good handles. He likes to push it up too! But if you get CP3, your days of pushing it up fast are gone. And Howard can't flat out run like that. So this offseason will be the most exciting for the Hawks in a long time.

This adage about how he did a decent job with what he had is garbage! All you lost is Joe Johnson. Remember him, Brooklyn? Yeah, we had to lose the guy who's nickname should be 'Playoff Butta!' Why? Because that's when he always melts down and we had enough of that in Atlanta... especially for the dollars that we paid him!

But Drew still had a perennial All-Star Center in Al Horford. You had Josh Smith, if you can convince him that he's not at the 2. And you had a spark in Teague at Point. You should be able to run people outta gyms! But you couldn't coach em up! And that's why we're looking for a new coach.

However, if you like the coaching that the Knicks are having, go get Drew. But you better make sure that you have the TEAM the Knicks have.

What NBA are you guys looking at? The Hawks consistently make the playoffs and will again this season. They don't need to make a trade to make the playoffs. They just don't want to pay Josh Smith Max money.

Oh, and the Cavs have this kid that they can build around. Perhaps you heard of him: Kyrie Irving? And the Lakers are bad, but they aren't out of the playoff hunt. Plus, they are loaded. They just need a coach.

They can allow Josh Smith to walk away for nothing because when he does walk, The Hawks has more cap space to get as much as three max players! They really didn't need to trade to get something because they get something if and when Josh Smith walks away.

Let me be the first to say that the Atlanta Hawks is going to be a major player in the Dwight Howard trade talks for next season.

The Hawks may just let J. Smith go in July if they can't upgrade. Actually, the Bucks is the only team that the Hawks may want to build with because of the talent they have in the front-court. The Hawks are Guard-Rich, so the last thing they want to see is yet another guard.

But if they don't get what they want, they'll just ride with him, let Josh Smith audition for another team for the remainder of the season and part ways.

The Bucks have zero chance of signing J. Smith. Why? Because who are you going to package? Another point guard? The Hawks already have too many good guards.

I see Smith for a big man. And one with strong upside. And that's something that the Bucks don't have.

I'm a big Falcons fan, but I'm also realistic. Matt Ryan is doing very well, but before you are an MVP, you gotta win a playoff game. The last time we won a playoff game, Mike Vick was quarterback and I see success in postseason victories, not regular season victories.

But the Atlanta Falcons is a complete team. The team is loaded, especially on offense. Look at the running game pieces. Look at the quarterback. Look at the receivers. Look at the Offensive Line.

I tell you this: The person that should win an award is Thomas Dimitroff. He put a monster of a team together.

Wow! One bad game and it's the end of the world for Vick, huh? This overreaction is getting silly. Let him have two bad games first.

Rams will stay in St. Louis until St. Louis decides they leave. Go ask the Cards. The fans weren't happy with the product and the fans themselves rallied to ensure that they took the Cardinals out of St. Louis.

I remember that vividly. People were openly challenging folks as to why they would want to attend the games. It kind of made me sad, because I had friends on that team. But even before they left, St. Louis fans were speculating on their NEXT team.

But you can't deny that Josh Smith is playing better than both Luol Deng and Chris Bosh. Plus, Josh Smith has out-played Joe Johnson, too. And even though the Bulls and Heat may have better records, the Hawks' record is nothing to slouch about.

Josh Smith staying home is a snub and it does seem political. But they also shut out the Nuggets, who are second in the West.

This thread ends at 8. Wow.

Manning will be just fine if he's traded. I don't think he's married to Indy. The reason why people wanted to play for the Colts was because with Manning, they know that they'll make the playoffs.

I don't think the same could be said about Luck this early. If I was an O-lineman, receiver, running back, etc... I would want Manning to be my quarterback. It may be that way with Luck as early as his second year, but Manning's a proven commodity. I can stamp my ticket with him.

The Hawks didn't have Josh Smith on the block. Dwight Howard and Josh Smith played basketball together in their youth- when they both played for the Atlanta Celtics in AAU. Josh Smith was in enticement. Plus, Dwight Howard's from Atlanta, so that was another big enticement.

But the Hawks needs to be sold first. No real big-name player will come to Atlanta while the ownership is still up in the air.

I don't understand how you can't get this but let's keep this simple, OK?

Peyton Manning will have his arm after this. His neck will get better. His brain will still function and he will be able to step into throws. In short, Manning will be OK for a few more years. It's a neck injury, not an arm or brain injury.

But Andrew Luck? This kid isn't the best quarterback in the NCAA and his stock is slipping. The guy looks more and more like a bust. You don't trade away your franchise on an NCAA quarterback who's stock is slipping, can't win the Heisman because another quarterback won it instead, and who looks like he shouldn't play the first day of an NFL season.

Logic? The Indianapolis Colts is built on the work of Peyton Manning. Let Peyton suck for a year or let him snap his neck again before you start walking away from your franchise. And don't do it to pick up Andrew Luck. That's just too weird and crazy for words.

As a Falcons fan, I'll trade Matt Ryan and all my backups for Peyton Manning. All day long! If the Colts release Peyton Manning, I will like to drive to Indianapolis and take Polian's picture- right as he announces his decision. I will blow it up on my wall as the DUMBEST EXECUTIVE IN ANY BUSINESS ON THE HISTORY OF PLANET EARTH!!!

I mean, Windows 2012 is glitchy, so Microsoft should trade it away and start selling long-lasting electric car batteries. I mean, it's a sure thing that the person who creates a car battery that can drive 80 MPH for 5 hours straight and recharge in less than 10 minutes will be the richest person on Earth, right? But right now it's UNPROVEN!!!! (dummy)

Bobby V with the Red Sox is FANTASTIC for MLB. He will be the guy that the Yankees fans loves to hate. That only makes money for MLB.

So, I've read the entire article and didn't read any of the comments. Here are my thoughts:

THIS ARTICLE IS SO STUPID, IT SHOULD BE FAMOUS!

First of all, they assume that they will get Luck. Uh, Andrew Luck isn't questionably the best quarterback in the draft! And Luck, while being pretty good, will not get you a ring for years! Winning is the only thing that matters in the NFL. Ask Tebow!

Secondly, the Colts fanbase will not return to see Luck go through his growing pains. They will, however, go back to see the gel that is Peyton Manning. Paying Peyton isn't a bad financial deal because the upside is that he makes more money than his contract. He built everything that is the Indianapolis Colts. That's HIS team!

And lastly, you simply cannot release one of, if not THE best quarterbacks in the NFL RIGHT NOW- and a living, walking future Hall-of-Famer because of one injury... only to pick up an unproven kid from college that's looking more and more like a bust. You will be the laughingstock of all NFL history!

I tell you the truth- I'm a Steelers and Falcons fan. You can have any of their starting QBs AND RBs for Peyton in 2012.

In St. Louis, booing is that last straw before something far worse: Simply not showing up. As Bidwell of the Cardinals. St. Louis basically ran them out of town by actually boycotting the Cardinals.

Here's the problem with Matt Ryan in the nutshell...

He's the king of the check-down. This is his whole career: When he passes down-field, the Falcons win. When he doesn't, the Falcons lose. Matt Ryan plays like he doesn't want to make a mistake, and it makes the offense really predictable. There were literally times when I was begging him through the TV not to change the play into a running play, but he did. As predicted. And I did see some players open (according to NFL standards), but he would check it down for the sure thing.

But this game will be a good game for Ryan to realize that you got to trust that the WRs will snatch it out the air. He needs to trust his arm.

They aren't the worst, but they were surely in the primaries. I mean you take the Atlanta Hawks and Thrashers- both with some strong promise. They both had the potential of being a success.

But in the case of the Thrashers, they would trade every player that the Thrasher fans wanted to see! I mean, these guys would be almost household names, but you didn't have the resources to keep them in Atlanta. I mean, it was systematic.

And then, when the fans couldn't find anyone to root for, they moved the team to Winnipeg. Wow.

Next comes the Hawks. First up, didn't they go to court regarding the Joe Johnson trade? I would have traded for him too, but it tore that group apart.

Then they get some form of success by hiring Mike Woodson as head coach. And every year, Woodson's record would get better. But after some plateaus in the playoffs, the ASG decided that there needs to be a coaching change, so they let Woodson go.

OK, fine! We're going to get a big-name coach to take us to the next level. The Atlanta fans were all up on sports radio talking about perhaps getting someone like Avery Johnson. Some Atlanta fans were arguing to hold out until we can attract Doc Rivers. I mean, we were in a frenzy talking about who should or shouldn't coach the team. There was talk that Woodson would get tuned out, or that they just needed a different voice in the locker room.

Cool! You what the ASG went out and got? You guessed it: The Same old voice that been in there for years in Mike Woodson's old assistant- Larry Drew!

But that's not all! When Joe Johnson's a good player. I like him, but he melts down during playoff games. And at the end of his contract, he was looking for a big payday. So when he basically told the fans that they no longer had to go to the games, we fans thought that he was out the door. Wrong! The ASG backed the Brinks truck up and gave him one of the largest contracts in the NBA.

OK, Joe Johnson makes more money than Dwight Howard. He makes more than Dwayne Wade. Joe Johnson makes more money than Lebron James. Seriously. Joe Johnson make so much money that the Hawks are ranked #6 for the highest team payrolls! (Yep, more than the Heat and the World-Champion Mavericks)

And once they did that, they had no more money, so they sold the Thrashers to a bunch of whalers in Winnipeg and they sold the Hawks to a guy slanging pizzas. Great job!

Kimbo's definitely ok with it. I can remember when you could book a Kimbo fight in my driveway. Or I can remember seeing a Kimbo fight at a backyard barbeque. If the fight's indoors, it's a positive.