Yes structurually we are similar to the Hawks. We have a better PG, but they have a better defender in Josh Smith, so it's a wash pretty much. I would argue players like Josh Smith are harder to get with the new crop of decent point guards, so they are probably ahead, if you take into account the cap situations for both teams. Both Melo and Amare are on relatively new max deals.
To me the way out is to trade Melo actually, and try to get some assets back, get under the cap, and get some youth. This will give the team an opportunity to underpay for assets and develop a championship caliber team. Right now we don't have enough cap space or youth or assets to get there.. and as presently constructed we need too many pieces to get to a championship level while following NBA salary cap rules.
Regardless, we'll need to wait for the new CBA to be in place before we can think about major moves, but as of now we are pretty much stuck.
Rose is not the answer.
