RedDawg#8

You mean like Zach Lavine last year?

Trae aint even in Atlanta right now if Im not mistaken. He looked like he was on vacation on his IG.

Yes, Cam apparently was stuck, meanwhile Dre and Trae were finding places to put in work. Why didn't he tag along with them? He apparently got some burn when he worked out with Steph and scrimmaged against KD. The shot ready thing pisses me off. It's a small thing that once someone makes you aware of, should stick in your mind. Especially when you saw positive results. "Stay shot ready, stay shot ready " over and over, repeating to yourself. Footwork needs to be drilled, but not the mental concept itself.

Seriously. And everyone is a cynical expert over there.

Facts. Maybe he should be limited to backdoor cuts only and just meet the ball at the restricted area lol

Facebook was not trying to let me go. That was the most difficult platform to delete. Not because I didnt have will power, but because they literally make it next to impossible to delete. It's like trying to get out of a timeshare haha

I've deleted a lot of my social media. I only have instagram and Hawksquawk as my outlets. I don't even post on the Falcons board anymore, its a really weird vibe. Thats why I have so much time to post on here now. That and my girl goes to sleep at like 9 and leaves me to my own devices lol

Right. I agree with those who say he needs a minimized and defined role. I, however, don't think it should be sticking him in a corner to knock down shots. He simply is too unreliable. I would make him a slasher only and say drive to the rim. If they leave you open, eat that space up and shoot midrange. His priority needs to be getting to the foul line so he can see shots go in on a regular basis lol

Facts

I bet him and Rondo would get in to a fist fight on the team plane lol

Im willing to see how he does under Nate, especially since reports were he was one if the guys against LP. If the story is true it does worry me about him being fragile mentally. Trae and JC were mentioned as not liking LP, but it didnt stop their games from producing on the court. I know this wasn't the angle you were taking, but it's something that has crossed my mind. Like, what if Cam was dogging it because he wasnt happy with the coach. Time will tell.

Is that code for STFU? lol

Sounds nice. Makes sense. Cam still has to put it together. Im having doubts. Can't hit on every pick. Travis hit on JC, Trae, and Dre. Kev for where he was picked was also a hit if you ask me. There is a reason we were able to get Cam at 10. There was much more doubt surrounding than there were believers. He is OUR project so of course we want to see it through. Im not mad. You were very early to the party on LP, doesnt mean you weren't still right in the end. I'll wait to see how he grows, but Im starting to form a picture of how this may play out, especially when its contract time for him and Dre

I'm with it. He is a lot of talk, but maybe some edge could rub off on our youngins. He'd be the type of coach to pull a guy to the side, look him eye to eye and say with a straight face "You playing like a b*tch right now. Grow a pair and man the F up!" Lol Our locker room definitely would upgrade from a PG rating to a hard R-rating overnight lol

I agree with that, and admittedly Im being combative, but I'd also take Hunter's O over Huerter's O

Playmaking from the bigs wouldn't be a big deal if our wings were able to make plays. That's the real issue if you ask me. Most teams have wings that can create some offense. We may be the only team that relies solely on one player for offense.

I hadn't seen the YouTubers, the clip of Stephen A had a lot of replies going against the race narrative. Fortunately I dont think it has any legs. Our organization as a whole is completely bought in to social justice initiatives from ownership down. LP did a lot of work, but he did it with the FULL support of the Atlanta Hawks organization. His voice alone didnt make State Farm a voting precinct. He needed upper powers to agree and push it too. Stephen A has been pretty consistent in bringing up lack of minority front office representation in the NFL and NBA. He has done a lot of reaching lately just to make sure it stays on peoples minds. This was just another example, albeit a weak one.

At the end of the day, Trae draws a lot of contact, he baits a lot of guys, but he isn't a flopper. That to me is much worse. I've heard a lot of casuals repeating these criticisms about Trae calling him a flopper and Im like no dude, that's so far from the case. Star players have been drawing contact for years. We have been burned over and over by them. It's always been apart of the game, and superstars have always had a quick whistle in their favor. In the end, this isnt about protecting the purity of the game. A ton of people just genuinely do not like Trae Young. If he stopped drawing fouls they would just find something else to criticize. Notice they dont say he cant win or only has empty stats. That was last year's narrative. This year its the fouls. Next year it'll his leadership. Just wait.

I say Hunter qualifies as a two way player, not just a defender. He was our 2nd leading scorer before going down, He is way too efficient and versatile on offense to be dismissed as defense only. Yes, we have 4 starters locked in place. SG remains unsettled due to up and down play/injuries. However, Im comfortable letting Snell be the starter at SG since he is reliable night in and out.

Yes for sure. We should have a strong finish after the road trip.

If Cam was merely playing possum and rebelling because he hated LP, I will gladly eat crow if he turns it around under Nate. I do see his talent. I do see his potential. I do want him to succeed.

Cam has fallen from grace. I was his biggest supporter and even pushed for him to start this year. If he ever reaches his true potential it may take 5 to 7 seasons versus the 3 that you pushed. I don't even agree that he should focus on only shooting open shots anymore. He just isnt good enough to be given that role. Trae may be well out of dodge by the time Cam comes around. I don't doubt his talent and potential, but he very well could end up being the Harrison Barnes of this rebuild. I dont see Snell as a better talent. But a wing with size that can consistently knockdown shots is a commodity. One that teams are constantly trying to get their hands on. Players like Matt Barnes, Ariza, Wes Matthews, all changed multiple teams, but were always valuable wherever they went. Heck, the only reason we have Capela on our team is because Houston would do whatever they could just to get their hands on Covington, who despite being THEE premier 3-D wing in the NBA today is on his 4th team in the last 4 years. I don't think Snell changing teams is an indictment on him as much as it is the nature of this league if you find a niche as a role player. Somebody else is always willing to pay you for the thing you do well. I think our fanbase sometimes has false expectations that our guys will stay put forever. In today's NBA, that is extremely rare. If Trae retire's in Atlanta, that would be a shock. There is a window of opportunity that exists and some of these guys will be casualties along the way. Timing is everything. For an All Star level type player I would gladly give up assets from our overcrowded and underachieving wing rotation. I say Kev because of his defensive fit with Trae (which I believe has improved actually) and his absolute inability and unwillingness to attack the rim, force contact and get to the line. That hurts our offense more than people admit. Cam merely because if we sell high we can net back something big and let another team focus on his long term development. He truly may not have the "it" factor he needs to fulfill his physical potential. From Duke days to now, he has lacked consistency in every facet of his game. Even his elite defense comes and goes. Collins is the first domino. If he gets a contract from us, then you have to cut ties with at least one of the wings inevitably. Hunter is the keeper. Bogi has the contract. Im not paying to wait for both Kev AND Cam.

In a metta sense, aren't all metric based accomplishments innately arbitrary?

The schedules after the break really favor Toronto and Miami right now, they should continue to climb up the standings. Boston, NY and CHA could easily maintain around .500 basketball after the break and hold serve on their spots. Indy has the toughest schedule and still no Caris yet. If anything we should over take them before our west coast trip. Chicago may slip just a little as well, but could easily right under .500 too. Beating Toronto right of the gates would be for us.

If both regressed to their career averages as the season went along, Snell would still shoot better from 3 than Gallo. Matter of fact, Snell would still have the highest 3pt% on the team. Snell is a career .392 shooter. Gallo is .382 Fun fact; Gallo is actually shooting above his career average right now too at .388, so he would actually get worse as the season goes along. Yes, Gallo shoots more volume from 3, but even their current and career eFG% favors Snell heavily over Gallo. Snell is very underrated and is an extremely efficient offensive piece for us. On a roster where most of our wings can't even scratch from deep, I would not get rid of the most consistent shooter we have for a backup center. The volatility and health of our wing rotation has been a much bigger contributor to our poor play. How many wide open shots are guys missing every night? Snell has been the first guy to actually punish teams for leaving him. That's the whole idea behind building around Trae. Im serious about rewarding Snell with a contract. I'd rather trade inconsistent players like Kev and Cam before reliable and steady ones like Snell. Speaking of Cam, his trade value may never again be as high as it was this past offseason if he doesn't turn it around in a big way. We shot down every offer to keep this kid around, I hope it pays off.