Jungle Jack

What the holy hell was that heave of Trae? As a heat check? Sure. Considering I think Spellman is the only Hawk to actually hit a 3 and there was tons of time on the shot clock, madness.

Your Atlanta Hawks! Kinda hope we continue this pace and lose by 80 as at least we will get some national press interest.

Man this is ugly. Following current form, our reserve unit will actually bring it closer. 24-7 is a heckuva hole and the game just started. Pistons are probably on track to score 195....

While I am still decidedly bummed both by us losing Bud and worse getting nothing for him and the protections on the Mavs pick, I cannot honestly believe in Trae and Smoove are remotely being compared. And I say this as a Smoove fan. Of all the things that concern me with Trae, shooting ain't remotely one of them. Ultimately, he needs to shoot less off the dribble and golly am I missing Collins who should really open up the pick and roll. Trae is a great shooter and the season is quite (sorry) young. His defense is what I always will remain concerned with and even in the best possible multiverse version of the Hawks, it well might be a disaster once we are in the playoffs. Come 2026 or whenevs.

Nah. That said, I do wonder what Bud could do with Young, Huerter, and Spellman. That said, I do kinda wonder it MB would allow Trae such a long leash as Pierce does.

I gotta give massive props to Trae. This game was especially impressive to me as Miami is a very well coached team with a solid defense. While I definitely did not like the Doncic-Young trade due to the draft protection, I was not opposed to us drafting Trae. Really and truly excited for Collins to come back as he will be a huge addition.

Mighty early to even contemplate the playoffs. That said, considering we are without Collins, I certainly cannot complain about us being 2-3. Our best chance for the Cavs pick conveying is if (when) Lue gets shown the door. Would not be surprised if we actually look better against Philly than we did against the Bulls. Thinking this will be one of those seasons where our record will be better against playoff contenders than fellow tank adjacent. Lin has looked like hot garbage, but hopefully he will reacclimatize to playing again after the myriad injuries.

Somewhat stunned that some seem to be taking Ressler's comments as not having a bias. Bud is a great HC, but it would be somewhat surprising to see him having front office duties again. I also agree it looks terrible to be airing this out to Schultz and that had the perception not cut so deep I doubt he would have felt the need to deny with expletives. We talked about Ressler making the decisions leading up to and during the draft and I took and still take the position that as he is the principal owner (forgive me) the buck stops with him. Would think this is not an uncommon thing around the league. That said, considering just how impactful Trae was last year, I will only say his popularity did not hurt considering how early into the tank we are. I reckon Doncic falling to 3 was the last thing Ressler/Schlenk wanted in terms of how highly rated Luka was leading up to the draft by much of the national media and blogotopia. While getting the player they wanted and in theory a 1st round pick seems perfect, but Luka will always be the one that got away should be excel and Trae struggle. Had Bagley been there at 3 would have been a far less polarizing decision. Especially with us having Collins.

While stoked for Trae, Huerter, and especially Spellman, in regards to thinking anyone who does not love the 3-5 swap was massively wrong feels premature. Even if Trae is ROY, still not loving the protections on the Mavs pick. Furthermore, Doncic did put up 26 against Minny and it is hard not to think they might be a bit stouter defense. This need not be a zero sum gain. In addition, regardless of whom we hoped for in the draft, seeing our 5th overall pick put up one of the finest rookie games in NBA history that more importantly led to a win is fantastic news.

The horror of horrors would be the Mavs ending up keeping their 1st. Quite vexing that we had to agree to protections on their first. And indeed Trae might have gone 6th. Again, I really think Trae can be a very good player. It is just I really struggled with the manner in which we acquired him considering just how lousy with draft picks we were and how the first two picks of the draft went. That said, Huerter really can be special and hopefully likewise Omari.

I remain optimistic about Trae. What I struggle with is that most likely we could have had both Doncic and Trae after Sac and PHX passed on Doncic. I really do not think Young would have gone until around 8 or 9 and with our 19th, 30th and 34th picks, I don't see how we could have not packaged them to do so. That said, I would have wanted Doncic and Sexson ideally.

Speaking of Trae, NBA.com just released the GM Survey and he did not get a single mention. Huerter and Spellman did. ROOKIES & INTERNATIONAL Luka Doncic is a popular choice among GMs to walk away with top rookie honors. Who will win the 2018-19 Rookie of the Year? 1. Luka Doncic, Dallas – 43% 2. Marvin Bagley III, Sacramento – 17% Wendell Carter Jr., Chicago – 17% 4. DeAndre Ayton, Phoenix – 13% Also receiving votes: Jaren Jackson Jr., Memphis; Kevin Knox, New York; Collin Sexton, Cleveland Last year: Lonzo Ball – 62% Which rookie will be the best player in five years? 1. DeAndre Ayton, Phoenix – 27% Jaren Jackson Jr., Memphis – 27% 3. Luka Doncic, Dallas – 17% 4. Marvin Bagley III, Sacramento – 13% Kevin Knox, New York – 13% 6. Wendell Carter Jr., Chicago – 3% Last year: Josh Jackson – 24% Which rookie was the biggest steal at where he was selected in the Draft? 1. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (11), LA Clippers – 27% 2. Svi Mykhailiuk (47), L.A. Lakers – 13% 2. Wendell Carter Jr. (7), Chicago – 10% Michael Porter Jr. (14), Denver – 10% Gary Trent Jr. (37), Portland – 10% 6. Luka Doncic (3), Dallas – 7% Kevin Knox (9), New York – 7% Also receiving votes: DeAndre Ayton (1), Phoenix; Kevin Huerter (19), Atlanta; Omari Spellman (30), Atlanta; Moritz Wagner (25), L.A. Lakers; Lonnie Walker IV (18), San Antonio Last year: Dennis Smith Jr. – 37%

In regards to tanking, one thing that I do think will make a difference is the number of teams likewise going down the "player development" path. Considering the number, I do think the turnaround will be quicker for some teams if for no other reason than the law of averages. I am personally hoping that this is our last year in the gutter. Tough to see us ranked 30th (out of of course 30) in ESPN's Power Rankings. More so that we are rated lower than that paragon of stability the Kings. We have a sporting chance of conveying the Cavs pick now that Love has been resigned and Sexson looks like a keeper thus far. Ditto for the Mavs pick. With this many picks, even if we are not in a position after the lottery to draft Barrett, we certainly should have the ammunition to get there. Should also mean that if we somehow are competitive there will be less impetus to not do everything possible to compete.

I genuinely both sympathize and agree with KB on the whole. Problem is we are already well down the road of tanking. Schlenk's reputation as a GM will primarily be made by whom he drafts. So far, Collins has been fantastic. While I very much wanted Sexson (to the point of starting my only thread here on draft day), I do think our rooks can be quite good. I do seriously wonder what happened in respect to Doncic and whether or not the choice to trade him and get Trae was passed down from up high (Ressler). Regardless, it has been stunning just how much national attention Trae has engendered. Hard not to think our current strategy of team construction is going to be addressed come the next CBA. Just not sure what the answer is considering the advantages of the large market franchises. Perhaps a start would be to withhold revenue sharing for the teams that blatantly tank.

The Eastern Conference really should be interesting this season beyond Boston, Toronto, Philadelphia, and Indy. As I am not a betting man, I am unsure what Vegas is forecasting for whomever is considered a 7th or 8th seed in regards to wins, but I would not be surprised to see it comfortably under 40 wins. To boot, I would reckon short of Trae playing at ROY level combined with Huerter playing lights out to get us to the 8th. In tandem with Collins continuing is upward trajectory and likewise Prince. While possible, not sure it is plausible. That said, I do think one of the lower ranked teams (Hawks were ranked 30th in yesterday's ESPN Power Rankings) will get in.