Danny Ferry: Hawks Would Have Gotten Worse, Quickly

Fresh from AJC's Jeff Schultz's power breakfast with Hawks GM Danny Ferry comes yet another joy pellet in the mouth of ardent Bird Watchers who regularly wrung hands worrying about the pending doom that Joe Johnson's aging self and large contract, along with the rest of the capped-out team, both in dollars and talent.

In a story billed as a Josh-Smith-not-going-anywhere-no-sir piece from Jeff, came this nugget at the end:

"It would've been very difficult for them to get better - as a matter of fact, it would start to turn in the other direction very quickly," he said. "They had very little [payroll] flexibility, and to maintain status quo would've meant being a high-tax team, for a team that wasn't going to be good enough."

Not going to argue here, it was an argument Peachtree Hoops made during the season before Joe Johnson became a free agent. Double down for status quo, pay an awful tax later, a tax Ferry says he avoided by paring Johnson from the roster.

The entire piece is a tasty morsel for Hawks fans, in that it speaks to Josh, an up-tempo look on offense next year and a possible contradiction when Ferry mentions Harris and Teague getting the ball in their hands when compared to his words to Lang Greene at Las Vegas.

So go check it out already and come back here to comment!