RedDawg#8

Better question, if we get our picks back does that mean we can convince Travis to come back too? “Just kidding about that DJ trade, Travis, no harm no foul, right?”

Picks don’t win chips. BUT Picks can be used to acquire players who can help win chips. Rookies and the AJ Griffins of the world are not enough to go against the top teams with proven All-NBA players. Take the Spurs. They have a ton of draft picks and young players. They finally drafted a centerpiece and what’s the first thing you hear? They are willing to come off ALL of those picks they acquired to put a veteran talent around their young superstar. Drafting is a huge crap shoot and it takes YEARS for these kids to become viable players. A 2025 #16 overall pick is not what is going to keep Trae from leaving town.

You been carrying us for years lol

JC is not a bad player or person. I wish people could separate a bad contract (not terrible, just bad) from their opinion of him. You don’t have to root against the guy just to feel better about JJ or the Hawks for that matter. He helped us win a lot of games and since the ECF season our record with him healthy and in the lineup vs without him stands up against many other house favorites around here. In the same breath, there doesn’t have to be an ounce of regret just to say nice things about the guy. We moved on, but for some reason our side are the ones acting like the bitter exes in the breakup.

Kelden is Pop’s golden boy, that would be a major development if he not only trades him but includes the picks. Kelden is so beloved and overrated in SA that I am surprised Pop isn’t demanding a 1 for 1 swap. He is their “OG Anonouby” lol

If Trae becomes a defensive playmaker it’s game over. Next improvement will be turnovers.

I hear you, and appreciate you for making clear we are not rebuilding. But like you said, I have almost no faith that we will: a) acquire the kind of assets other teams will find attractive. (If teams were attracted to them, how would we out bid anyone to get them first?) b) successfully flip those assets for established “stars” that fit. (See DJM) c) get value back in any trade that helps us on the court (see every Hawks trade ever) I feel like we are in this position because we tried and failed to each of these things already. I feel like we should be collecting expirings and hope to be players in FA, not in trades or the draft. Trae needs vets around him not more youth. Experience wins in the NBA, not youth.

There is no such thing as a one man team. Every name that has done anything has had to do it with help, IF they were able to do it all. Lebron hasn’t won shit without another Max player. Giannis hasn’t won shit without (2) other All-Star, All Defense, level players Luka hasn’t won shit, full stop. Harden has played next to more max/elite talent than anyone and hasn’t won shit. Kawhi has had (1) season where he was healthy and elite, and carried a franchise to the promised land and you know what? Lowry, Vanvleet, Siakam, Gasol, Valunciunas, Anunouby, Ibaka, Norm Powell, Danny Green, and Delon Wright was one helluva supporting cast to have to “carry”. So yeah, one man team. If you want to make a point about Trae being too little or not good enough to do it alone, great, make that point. But keep EVERYTHING in perspective when trying to compare him to “real” superstars, especially ones twice his size that needed twice the amount of help to do great things.

No better way to start off the day/week than with an agenda! Thanks for the breakdown @benhillboy have a happy Monday!

They’ve been secretly wishing that was the case since he broke out as a young star. That’s more indicative of how they don’t respect the Hawks as an organization to keep a star player (especially one repped by Klutch)than it is about Trae personally.

I truly believe OO, and likely others, are struggling with whatever concepts Quinn wants to run. OO still makes eye popping plays but just not as often. He still has elite physical ability and defensive skillset, but he is often not in position to do anything with it. It’s like he is a rookie again where the game is moving too fast. I see this from a lot of our guys. We have some high level basketball players on this team that have been used to a coach/system that took advantage of their talent individually. Quinn is putting in a system that takes 5 guys on the same page on both sides and it may take you away from your strengths for the betterment of the whole. Clint and OO used to feast in drop PnR coverage protecting the paint, Quinn wants them up. He want wings to close in on the paint which is why open three’s are killing us and we have no physical resistance at the rim anymore because the rotation are small bodies. OO in theory should excel better in this scheme because he is more mobile than CC but he is also having to read a larger field of view with more defensive responsibilities. It’s going to take time for a lot of guys to figure out the nuances and their spots. It’s no longer about talent anymore. It takes IQ. I think that’s why Trae has excelled after such a rough start, because he is a brilliant basketball player. Same with JJ. He was actually more limited in the Nate scheme. He is showcasing all of his basketball tools in Quinn’s scheme because it calls for that versatility. I don’t know that effort is all that would help. Because doing too much in this scheme hangs your teammates out to dry. Just like we said in October with Trae, OO needs time to adjust and figure his new spots out.

Apparently tippy toe walking is a sign of autism, which would be dope if JJ turns out abnormally proficient at basketball as his high-level trait.

You beat me to it! I think this also speaks to the behind the scenes agreement Soth was referring to that he didn't want to reveal yet. Wondering if that is why OO signed his deal now too......

Travis was right. Travis knew he was right, and he had no desire to stick around and watch this team dissolve in to exactly what we are seeing on the court right now. He had a plan, but 2 or 3 people within this organization had their own plan. And the only people who suffered are the fans who have watched us piss away 2 seasons and key assets for nothing. Just to end up back at square but now worse than we were when this whole this started. Quinn was the silver lining from the drama last season and he is proving more and more that even he isn’t a savior. Resser has some splaining to do my friend.

I usually try to steer clear of drama, but… are you telling me that we are about to move DJ, when just this last year, we re-structured our entire front office on the fly due to Schlenks disapproval of us pursuing DJ in the first place? So anyone who was pro Schlenk dipped, Nate’s days were numbered, and we decided to publicly fully commit to this new direction under LF. And after a year. After letting all this dysfunction happen on his watch last season, Tony is finally regretting letting the young guys push out Schlenk, and we are moving DJ which is basically what started the clock on all this drama in the first place? And the cherry on top, the Spurs will have won the gamble by letting DJ leave for those assets because we are looking more and more lottery bound by the season.

Nothing you just said is wrong in logic, but it is ignoring ALL of the smoke that has been coming out. DJ wants to be traded, that is starting to leak with even the Shams of the world so it is true and we fans aren’t the only ones who know it. That removes the leverage that we have in controlling his value contract. Soth says a deal is as good as done that could go down the very moment he becomes trade eligible. Mikey leaked a destination, you can do math for yourself what assets are in that entire city. This is not about what we SHOULD do, this is dealing with the ongoing information of what we WILL do. Everything is pointing to the increasing possibility that we will get less than ideal value back in return for dealing Murray. And that is where the comparisons come from regarding Kev and JC trades. We can explain them away in hindsight but nobody was pleased at the time with basically giving those two away. We are headed there again based on how much you believe the inside intel. We are not winning any trades and you can add DJ to the list by the sounds of it. If you can’t get talent in return, the only thing left is picks and capspace. What have we shown we can do between those options?

Murray to the Knicks makes even less sense when you consider that his whole motivation for leaving us is to go back to playing his “natural” position. That would be complete hypocrisy. I pray it’s Brooklyn.

On God I am praying that it’s Brooklyn, but all the smoke has been coming from the Knicks so I doubt it.

Sellers means we are more interested in getting off of our own players and their contracts than we are in “winning” a trade. Think the early Schlenk trades to get back assets along with filler contracts. I do not think we are getting any young player(s) that will be needle movers in any deal. Look no further than the trades we have made in recent memory with Kev and JC. Those are the best examples of what is about to come if we truly are sellers right now. I’m not intending to be negative but you have to look at track record with this current front office. They have not proven the savvy or the gumption to execute winning trades with other teams. Doesn’t mean they haven’t tried, but the clear message in switching from buyers to sellers indicates they have thrown in the towel on improving via trade. It’s about clearing the books now.

The rest of us understood Kg, no worries. It was a good example.

Got the bag

Indiana keeps showing that great offense can be defense. You keep getting teams down double digits early in games and they start getting away from their own gameplan trying to keep up.

Bufkin’s emergence in College Park has to be a factor in our willingness to move on from DJM. He is on pace to either be Trae’s backup or like you said, start at SG sooner than later.

Pippen is an alcoholic who has lost half his mind. Can we use another comp for JJ? Smoove’s natural shot blocking prowess makes him a tough comp for me as well. I think JJ is a better ball handler as well. Very equal otherwise.

Per Rowland, trading Murray is of mutual interest between the Hawks and his camp.