RedDawg#8

It wont happen either way, but, if there is a path to acquire an All NBA talent, you take it. You don’t turn it down solely because of a promising player. Im am sure the Suns would have loved to keep Bridges, and he is a more valuable piece than a JJ at the moment, but there is a clear difference between him and KD. The Suns still have finals hopes, the Nets are lottery bound. I am not saying give JJ away. But if his value is high enough that you can get a KAT, then guess what, you can replace JJ. It’s not a hard decision. Stack the big pieces and fill the holes later. As much as I love JJ, an OO fits seamlessly next to KAT too and can be interchangeable on each end of the court. Life doesn’t end at JJ.

Has anyone ever watched a Trae Young interview in their lifetime? I know on the court he looks like a huge asshole, but anytime he speaks off the court he is as soft as cotton. Do yal really think that kid is up in anyone’s face strong arming leadership to make decisions? Or is it more likely that the FO solicits his opinion on certain decisions in order to check the temperature of their biggest investment? Trae is a hooper. The kid just wants to ball. If someone asks his opinion Im sure he gives it. If his dad wants to stick up for him and put things out on twitter, I am sure there is truth to it. If he asked about the possibility of keeping JC or acquiring DJ, I am sure they took his request in to account. But I do not see a scenario where he is telling anyone what to do. I do not see him threatening to leave because he didn’t like Nate or LP. I think we are looking at the influence of a Lebron and other stars and giving Trae wayyyy too much credit in terms of getting his bosses to do anything he wants. If fits the narrative against him but it doesn’t fit his actual personality, demeanor, or the info he has put out to the media. Just my two cents.

Agreed We are more likely to move Trae to San Antonio than we are to get KAT this offseason. Folks will still be banging on the table next trade deadline hoping to get him to Atlanta. We aren’t making big boy moves until proven otherwise.

To fix the game, fans in attendance should boo. Boo until the guys on the court get the message that the fans are ones being punished by their lack of effort. Stop rewarding these guys with praise when they don’t deserve it.

Silver should change the rules that only All Stars can compete in the contest. Add to that, the fans can vote on which at large players they want to see participate. No more of the league selecting 4 randoms. The price of entry in to the competition has to have some level of exclusivity to it.

The media are idiots. One reporter asked Trae in this same interview if his nutmeg on KD was a tribute to Wemby because he saw him do it earlier this season. Let’s let that one sink in… They are reaching hard to make that Spurs rumor real life. Trae rightfully responded no, and that the nutmeg has been his move.

It was Team Giannis (2020)and Team Durant (2022), but yes. He had 10 dimes in both previous games which was a game high for all players. This year coming off the bench in 14 mins (fewest on team) he still managed to lead his team. Given more run he would have had a game high again Im sure.

Another cool fact. This is Trae’s first All Star Game as a father. Tydus wasn’t born yet during his last AS appearance in 2022. Our boy has grown up quite a bit in 2 years.

Trae lead the East in assists. He has always led his team in assists at the All Star Game.

We still on this topic? Cool, nepotism exists. Shit got messed up. Now what are we going to do about it moving forward? As far as I am concerned Nicky Ressler hasn’t been brought up as a negative impact since we added Quin to the fold. I think this information is very old, even if the point is to place the today’s struggles on what took place (2) offseasons ago. Either way, here we are in 2024. The biggest issues on this roster involve having too many good but not great players occupying rotation spots and salary cap. Most of these players were brought in by Schlenk. Most of them were re-signed by Schlenk. And as far as I know, Schlenk had not acquired a star to put next to Trae either. The dysfunction is annoying as a fan, but the results are not drastically different. We have underachieved since the season we overachieved. We have Trae which is everything. We have DJ, JJ and Quin which is something. Im not wasting anymore time crying about Nick Ressler. LF has said he runs the show. Quin has been reported to have input in what he wants to build this roster. That’s where we are. Lets get it done.

Reddish is so natural at all things basketball related. He makes everything look effortless. Problem is, lack of effort started to actually be a thing and why he basically started to stagnate starting at Duke.

One thing that really stood out to me regarding Kobe was his defensive posture/stance/base. He has textbook form in that regard. His fluidity and willingness to slide his feet remind me of Cam Reddish. It’s a very natural and confident body motion. I am liking what I am seeing from him so far.

I think Bogi pulling is overall better for the team though. One of my biggest gripes with this Hawks team is that Bogi should get more plays ran for him than anyone. If we used his gravity the same way the Bud Hawks used Korver, everyone’s life would be easier. Make or miss, he has the ability to knock down threes off the catch better than anyone. Imagine swapping Bogi and Korver on that team. Bogi can make every shot PLUS put the ball on the floor and attack the lane AND pass. This isn’t to say Bogi needs to have some historic run like Korver, but that he has tangible spacing and basketball skills that translate to Quin’s offense and could open up things for Trae/DJ/Dre to attack vs a scrambled defense. Gives teams another player to gameplan against than Trae. And it stresses another perimeter defender who has less gas to kill us on offense. Regarding Dre, I think he can legitimately kill any backup forward 1 on 1. Perhaps we use a three man package with him and Bogi plus whichever PG where Dre is working off ball to free up Bogi and if the defense over extends out on the guards, Dre has an open look to shoot or get downhill to the rim.

From now until Feb 27th (6 games) we only have one road game, and that’s just up the road to Charlotte. After that we spend basically a full week in NY with b2bs against the Nets and then playing the Knicks. That’s (2) travel trips in the next 3 1/2 weeks. The Magic are the only winning team we will face before that Knicks game. 7-1 is a realistic possibility if, and only if, we can play with focus, urgency, and good injury luck. That would be 30-30 staring at the stretch run.

Agreed. You have to be thankful and take the good with the bad. The kid defies all odds, especially at his size. There is no player as good or better than him that accomplished anything without the help of another star player. We need the FO to wake up and execute a plan.

The fact that OO has FG% over 60% while shooting 3’s and generally just shooting from further away from the basket than CC is very telling when CC only shoots at the rim and is at .575% I think CC is still very good and we will need all of his strength and size against bigger matchups. Im not the guy pushing him out the door. I just need this team to function better on the court for longer stretches. I don’t trust OO to stay out of foul trouble either. We need them both around. If we truly aren’t ducking the tax then keep them and start OO. Preserve CC’s bad achilles. Some of this stuff makes too much sense.

I see it like this, even though technically Bey, Dre, and JJ have each platooned minutes at the 3/4 spots, the team is playing much with Bey at 3, JJ at 4. Forget reputations, just going off results. I like Dre as our combo forward (notice I said “our”) off the bench. I like running more plays for him in lineups that he doesn’t have to compete for touches. I also like playing him fewer minutes since he has not shown durability to survive a full season as a starter.

I’m interested to know if it wasn’t for CC rebounding his own misses just how big that rebounding gap is. He gets no less than (2) free rebounds a game by blowing bunnies at the rim. Side note. I agree with everyone regarding lineups. Forget contracts, experience, and whatever X player is SUPPOSED to bring to the table based on reputation. OO + JJ is an elite and effective basketball pairing dating back to last season. CC is the backup center that every contender wants/needs. That is his role to finish his career. The Drummonds, Howards, McGees of the world all agree. Dre since returning is EXPLOSIVE off of the bench. Let him feature in that role. Take draft position and contract away and just look at him on THIS roster. He is our best PF option after JJ. He is too small to play it full time but against backups he can eat against a lot of reserve frontcourt matchups. He has never had great splits with our better lineups, which is more likely due to him being the 5th option on those units than him lacking ability. Someone has to sacrifice and it may be him. He could be an X factor of the bench. It may also help preserve his long term health. Capela and Dre could still play starters minutes based on matchups and production, but at least for now we need to try getting the most minutes out of our best lineups, not just our best 5 players if that makes sense. Beat me again

My boy in Boston really tried to compare Trae to Isaiah Thomas (Celtics). Im like dude, not even close. I.T had one season his entire career that was even in Trae’s ballpark. I know this kid would get his due elsewhere. Even Nique never got his respect until he was long retired.

You mean Lundy? We let Martin go i. The offseason. I agree though. The young guys at least give you energy and hustle that some vets can’t provide anymore. Beat me

It’s not about Herb Jones. Dre is a better player overall. Not the point that was being made. We lack a defensive star/playmaker and that should have been both Dre and Cam (Wingstop, remember?) Remember the Mikal Bridges debate? Same thing. He mastered a role that was needed. We drafted long wings to flank Trae and yet here we are, clamoring for more size and defense. Dre could be a defensive superstar. He could have that kind of impact. But he is not, and he does not. He is good. He could be great.

Agreed. Both had enormous defensive upside and looked great. Problem is, both thought they were the next star and deserved the ball as opposed to say, a Herb Jones and Murphy type of teammates who are young but embrace being role players.

I think that was legit and we are just following through with the ruse in order to avoid the NBA’s load management police. I bet he plays

We are flawed. We don’t know the full details of any deal that was on the table that we turned down. What we know based on rumors is that several deals were one sided not in favor of the Hawks. We may have liked a name connected to us, but at what cost? We also do not know what moves we were willing to do that other teams turned down. This is why we can’t rely on gossip and rumors to get you excited. When you take a step back from the hot takes, you realize that not much makes sense in practice or on paper. We are not going to find out that the Hawks had deals in place that were clearly going to make us better and we decided, nah, this team is fine as is.

I’m really sorry for the hurt many of you are feeling.