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17 minutes ago, Spud2nique said:

Hold up.. Brad YouTube’s with his face on it now?  Oh boy  

For some reason, I imagine if we all put our faces on our profile picture, you and @kg01 would be creating groups beyond the outsiders. A ‘Squawk yearbook is kind of a funny concept. 

For the record, I’m an idiot who has not canceled my ESPN+ account. I’ve seen Risacher mocked first many times when they update it. Clinigan has also been mentioned as a good fit for us. 

Not that they are experts, but I’m just saying I’ve seen Sarr drop more than some others have.

Assuming we don’t trade down, what works with Trae? Important question to think about assuming that is the route we go. I think we have narrowed down the top three possibilities. 

7 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

All I know is we need more talent across the board, not less.

Kind of replying to both, but yeah 100%. There are certain variables we don’t know regarding both guards. I think we can all agree winning cures all, we haven’t been winning, and getting there isn’t a clear and direct path.

I’m also a little surprised with how bad we were this year after last year’s showing in the playoffs against Miami and Boston. It definitely surprised me, probably a lot of us, off guard a bit.

9 minutes ago, REHawksFan said:

The issue is trading superstar players rarely, if ever, returns similar caliber players.  And multiple lesser players does not aggregate to equal an elite player. Trades involving superstar players typically return some collection of role players that match salary plus picks.  In all likelihood, any Trae trade is going to return role players to pair with DJM, a role player in his own right. 

If you trade DJM, a really good role player, you'll get back some collection of role players.  You may not be able to find a 1 to 1 scenario that is exactly equal, but the chances of finding a similar player or two similar players that match the value of DJM is much greater. 

So it just doesn't make sense to even talk in terms of "do you trade Trae or trade DJM." The answer is obvious, or should be.  On the one hand you get DJM plus some collection of role players.  And on the other hand you get Trae plus some collection of role players.  Trae is a Top 15 player in the NBA.  DJM is a Top 60 player in the NBA.  Suggesting there's some magical way to trade Trae for equal value that can be the leader of the team is banking on the exception rather than the rule.  

I too have been a Hawks fan much longer than I've been a Trae fan.  And Trae is my favorite Hawk.  But that isn't the reason I've been so adamant about this.  The bottom line is a Trae trade is going to result in the Hawks having a bunch of role players without a star.  Trading DJM at least gives you the chance at finding a really good player or two that fit Trae better than DJM does.    

So the only thing that makes sense is trading DJM where you can at least feel comfortable that you are going to get players that are closer in value to DJM.  You can build with superstar Trae plus potential all-star JJ plus role players you get back for DJM.  The key is the fit.  

 

I definitely agree with this. I think the key thing is being open to scenarios that help our future, not just next season. I’m sure you have seen that pretty much all of us don’t want a world where Trae is traded.

What if we retool with a DJM trade, it doesn’t work out, and then Trae wants out? There are a lot of things going on that we don’t know about. You are right about the fit, which is also hard because we cannot predict the future of our own players improvement (including the number one pick) or players who may become available. What if JJ becomes a star and all of a sudden Trae’s playmaking ability isn’t as needed? There are a lot of variables, which makes this offseason so pivotal. I hope the front office nails it and ownership shows (for once) they are ready to invest in this team.

One aspect to think about is a lot of our minds are thinking next year. What happens in two years? I don’t see any possible scenario, as of today, we are sniffing the finals next season. Obviously tanking should not be an option, but with limited draft capital I do think we should be thinking about having as many assets (good players, contracts, whatever that is to you) for the future. To me, that is part of this discussion as well.

I think some folks don't understand what some people are suggesting when there are mentions of the "option" of trading Trae Young. Like pretty much everyone here, I was a Hawks fan before Trae, and ultimately I want what is best for the Hawks. I'll gladly admit that Trae is my favorite player, he's the only player I have a bought a Hawks jersey for since Horford. By all means I would much rather move on from DJM, keep Trae, and build a team that is successful around him. Heck, I wish the pairing of DJM and Trae DID work, because I like both players. Unfortunately, it didn't and that is where we are at. A lot of it is the pairing, but I keep in mind that we also let John Collins and Kevin Huerter go and still haven't really received any value from that other than Jalen Johnson getting more minutes. Even with that, he was hurt a good bit this year.

So rounding back to my first sentence, how do we get better? I honestly don't know, but I believe it definitely starts with listening to offers for both guards and see what return makes the team better. I have no idea what those offers would look like, and we can all assume what they might look like based on rumors of what the return *might* be, but again - these are rumors. We have other issues that need to be addressed, such as front court depth (and health), but until we figure out if our path forward is with Trae + what DJM brings back or DJM + what Trae brings back it is kind of hard to focus on how this team will be built. Personally, I hope it is with Trae + what DJM brings back, but I also hope they are doing their due diligence and exploring all options to improve this team.

I mean yeah, it isn’t the best draft ever but I’ll gladly take the first pick. At the very least we can now look forward to everyone debating every single player now lol. 

One important part of the OO discussion outside of his impact, is his availability. Seems like whenever he has a chance to show he should start, he does well and gets hurt.

Schrecklich!

Maybe we can pull a NC State men’s hoops team and change that.

7 hours ago, macdaddy said:

Knocking off Miami or Philly would be worth it to me.  

I can agree with this too. Which is why these games need to count as something (I’ve said so much before). The fact we went into Miami, won and got the 7th seed never gets talked about. Miami was even down heading to the 4th quarter against the Bulls after that, so their magical run almost never happened. 

7 hours ago, JeffS17 said:

Usually I'd prefer the playoffs but with JJ/Bey/OO all out and no Vit, I think we would get embarrassed by the Celtics if we made it in, and I don't want to watch us get swept.  We'd have too many guys in the rotation that shouldn't be touching hardwood in a playoff series: Matthews, Mathews, Bruno, Forrest... JJ/OO are the two players I'd want getting playoff experience the most and they won't be out there.

That is kind of where I’m at too, but I hear you too @REHawksFan. Normally I’m the one spreading positivity but this season has been one of those one step forward, ten steps backwards - especially thinking about injuries.

Will somebody please convince me that I want us to be the 8th seed, making me stay up late watching 8:30 playoff games against the Celtics. The other option of just calling this season what it is and moving on to draft/offseason mode just sounds, better?

Hope coach Bud is doing well on a personal level. I’ll always appreciate what he did here. His initial coaching staff was insanely talented.

1 hour ago, benhillboy said:

Luka just qualified for Basketball Reference’s HOF probability tracker.  He’s at 36.8%. Trae is at 9.4.

The Mavs have an all time winning percentage of .567 when Luka starts, .424 when he’s out.  The Hawks are .451 and .450 with Trae, respectively.

 

You know I respect your takes about our best players, going back to Joe Johnson. But the best part of this is finding a poster who hasn’t been here in years and seeing the 5 years later…..

I hope there is some humor in this lol.

This team has been extremely disappointing at times, but a good part of it has been injuries. So annoying.

7 hours ago, RedDawg#8 said:

Bulls have Knicks, @Magic, Knicks, @Pistons, @Wizards, @Knicks to finish.

We have @Dallas, @Denver, Miami, Charlotte, @Minny, @Indy

Objectively speaking, we have the tougher final 6. The top 2 teams in the West, both trying to win and clinch #1. Dallas still jockeying for homecourt advantage. Then Miami and Indy still playing to win and avoid the play in.

If we pass Chicago, it will be because we truly earned it. It won’t be easy.

Knicks are really banged up too, so that makes those games a lot less difficult for Chicago. 

I know they don't count these as playoff games, but I feel like there should be something that tracks these games. The Hawks have had some pretty good success here. Beating Miami on the road last year to get the 7th seed, and then winning at home against Charlotte and on the road against Cleveland to get the 8th seed the previous year. Obviously we'd rather not be in the situation, but so far we have done well in it. 

1 minute ago, KB21 said:

We would be absolutely atrocious defensively and very limited offensively.  We would at least have that 7-footer even though he doesn’t fit the modern game.  

Opinion, like everyone else. Once we see where we are picking I’d love to see your assessment of other guys (honestly). But like I said, this is an Edey thread and I agree that he’d be good for this team.

I think one thing getting lost in this is that some people think he would be a good fit. Once we get closer to draft day we will learn more. It’s not like we are picking first in the draft. I like him for this team, not saying there aren’t other options. This thread is about him, and I agree that he’d succeed with our team.

1 minute ago, KB21 said:

Why is it a position of need?   Oh.  I forgot the typical Hawks fan myth that you aren’t a center unless you are 7-foot tall.  We have OO and Bruno at center.  We have one small forward on the team.  

It isn’t a myth that 7’ makes you a center, but you can’t teach size. There is one person that rants about that each year, it isn’t this entire fan base. Bruno is a good bench piece and OO has also had a lot of health issues. I wish we could have seen him get more time when CC went down. I don’t think Edey would be a day one starter, but I think we have the personnel to tap into his NBA success.

I’m by no means a scout like some of yall, but I can definitely see him working with a guy like Trae. If we didn’t have Trae I’d be more skeptical. We also have guys like JJ and DJM who can make plays.

Plus, I think it’s a huge position of need for us. 

I think the good thing is we do have options, but we have to get it right. The emergence of JJ has made our future much brighter.

That said, you do have to consider what you could get for Trae, but I honestly have no interest in that. I’ve said before, what is better for us? DJM plus what we get in a trade for Trae, or Trae plus what we get in a trade for DJM. I’d much rather keep Trae, but I get the whole due diligence thing.

I still think they can coexist, just need to get what is around them right. We need to figure out our center rotation and I think we have a much better team. Health is a big factor too, I would have loved to see what OO could have given us with extended minutes.