tomac

I think the key to all of this is how ATL's front office views Kobe Bufkin. Size wise, the are the same. Kobe was also know for being a defensive guard in college. If he can score efficiently (as he has been doing in his recent G-League stint), then trading DJ makes a ton of sense. Use the draft capital to get another proven all-star somewhere down the line.

I disagree with Bud Ball not being compatible with Trae. Bud knows how to shape his offense around a star. He also knows how to integrate a true secondary star. Look at his work with Giannis and Middleton. People forget that Giannis was a ball dominant "Point Forward" before Bud showed up....

I do love the idea of Mark Jackson though.

Atkinson

We need "Bud Ball" back in the ATL.

2 hours ago, Diesel said:

I agree with you about the Miami series with this one exception.  Miami knew that we limped into the series.   It's easy to focus on one guy, the way that they did, when you know that the other guys who would attack the basket were not healthy.   For whatever reason, Kev wouldn't attack the basket.  Bogi couldn't really attack the basket.. and it took a few games but Hunter found great success when he realized that he could attack the basket. 

Their gameplan worked well.. Triple Trae and live with whatever three point shots the others could make. 

Every pundit wants to use that series as a referendum on how good Trae is as a player.  Really??  Others like Bleachkit, Terrell, and Bonkers want to hang their argument on the fact that Trae couldn't put up 27/10 against a triple team.  To wit I say.. they don't understand basketball if that's the case.  To me, that series was an outlier and I really can't say that Nate was outcoached.   I don't think you put any coach in that situation with a hyper defensive team who were given many allowances to be physical (another reason why I say that the League hates Trae) and you have us limping into the series after two physical games to get into the playoffs....  And you have a situation that is very hard to coach against. 

 

I fault McMillan for not pulling Trae off-ball in the offensive sets. There were others from Kev to Gallo who could have initiated the offense. It's as if Nate hadn't anticipated that this would happen. We saw teams aggressively trap Trae in last year's playoffs. Coaching should have had the team prepared.

None of the basic tenants of a motion offense were run with Trae as an off-screen option. 

It's Atlanta bias; not Trae bias.

As far as the Miami series is concerned, they made it a point to have someone other than Trae beat them. They concentrated their energy on one player, and the rest of the team (including the coaches) did not carry their weight. Spoelstra outcoached McMillan in every facet of that series.

I still have high hopes for him. Honestly, I'd like to have him back if the fit in the locker room worked out.

On 3/12/2022 at 6:08 PM, Spud2nique said:

So you’re the one. 

Were you the dude on realgm with the threads?

Nah. Haven't posted over there in forever. I'm typically around Hawksquawk every week, but mostly as a reader.

3 hours ago, Spud2nique said:

One thing we aren’t factoring in are the players that will want a “change of scenery” when they get booted out of the playoffs early on.

Players from the:

Jazz (Gobert or the Don)

Bulls (Lavine)

Wolves (KAT)

Lakers (Davis)

Pelicans (Zion, Ingram)

and others…

Stay tuned.

 

 

 

I've wanted Lavine in a Hawks uni for a very long time. He's the perfect 2 next to Trae.

If he works on his floater and his J, he's an allstar-level talent. He needs to be attached to Trae at the hip.

We will have the best second unit in the NBA.

The Utah trade for 'Nique was the best.

Definitely Mark Jackson

My target would be Zack Levine. I'd give up Huerter, Dedmon, and a second rounder to sweeten the deal. Draft Wiseman or Toppin.

I thought those who declined the invitation weren't eligible to be selected at all.

39 minutes ago, Peoriabird said:

Wins and Loses tell the story.  The goal is to win and the Hawks haven't done much of that this year. 

That's a little short-sighted. Development takes time. Vets can teach teammates a ton of things that may not have immediate dividends. These guys have to learn what work ethic, physical maintenance, and professionalism in the NBA look like. Some of those things simply may not translate into wins in just a few months.

I'll be interested to see how Houston holds up against length and athleticism. They'll catch hell with both the LA teams. It wouldn't surprise me if they struggled with teams who have good guard play as well (like Portland). The difference in those kinds of match-ups will be rebounding.

Put me in the minority that actually like Jabari's game. His defense was horrible, but he was a solid scorer. Ultimately his endless list of injuries may have cut his time short here.

I think three years is about right.  Here's what I predict:

1. Dennis opens eyes across the league this year and steps into stardom
2. Collins averages a at least 16/10 as a rookie, and everyone can see him as a viable replacement for Sap/Horford (All Star Caliber in two years)
3. We make a hard run at Klay
4. We draft a couple of guys next year that are game changers for us  (like Ayton,  Wendell Carter, or Bamba with our first pick). Solidify the front court for the future next to Collins
5. Our second pick next year turns into a guy like Diallo/ Troy Brown
6. Prince and Bembry turn into reliable starter-level talents
7. At least one of these Euro-stashes becomes a real player for us.

In two years we will look like the Celtics did this year. In Three years, we can run the east. Age and lack of salary cap flexibility will eventually get the better of some of these super teams. All of these thirty-somethings will not be playing at a high level in three years. Young players will need to step up.

I think that the comp is actually Millsap himself. When Sap started in Utah, he was just considered a rebounder. His offensive game was an afterthought. Collins comes in with rebounding prowess and a developed game on the block already. He needs to work on his perimeter J and defense.

I'd take him in a heartbeat (especially if the compensation is on the cheap end). He's not in Philly's long term plans, and he has tremendous upside. Frankly, Philly would be crazy to let him go at this point. Fultz, Reddick, Simmons, Okafor, Embiid, is a sick starting 5.

Livingston. He won't be the cheapest, though.

Bring back Danny Ferry. He's already working around the league again as a consultant to the Pelicans. He'll be accepted. He works well with Bud, and understands the basketball philosophy that the team utilizes. It's a natural fit.

I'm hoping that he and Schröder can run the pick and roll and turn the ATL in to Lob City 2.0

47 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

Minny will need a PG - who can we get from them for Teague.

It'll be: Rubio to NY, Teague to Minny,  Dieng and Lavine to the Hawks.

That's what I proposed a few weeks ago. I'd do that in a heartbeat

For free.

http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/blockbuster-trades-hawks-make/story?id=36818582

2 hours ago, JayBirdHawk said:

This deal works:

Teague and Holiday for Dieng, Lavine and Martin.  I'm not a fan of Martin, maybe we can re-route him to another team like Memphis who is always in need of a shooter.

 

I would do this in a heartbeat, but I'm not sure that they would. We'd be getting the best out of this deal, as Martin could actually help in a playoff push. He's an MLE guy, so it's not like his contract would kill you in the short term. Next year, he'd be an expiring contract, so that makes him valuable in the trade market.