sturt

*sigh* Again. The difference in opinion is not whether something happened to change his mind. We agree (as far as one can tell) what his state of mind was, even if you decide to bold italicize "might." That's still what he said. That's still clear indication of what his thinking was (big), and as importantly to this discussion, that it wasn't, say, a wing. The difference in opinion is whether there is any other plausible reason for picking a wing off the scrapheap but that the something that happened to change his mind was Hunter's knee and the corresponding perceived need for some insurance unless/until that knee gets to 100%. You've given it the ol college try. Kudos. But no. None hold water. The swelling knee (pun obviously intended) is the pivotal issue, and TLC is the beneficiary. And as-if there were any doubt, go back to Schlenk's pre-training camp Zoom presser, and one of the first questions he answers is from Sarah about Dre, and his words were "we anticipate him to be full go at the start of the season." So is it some pet cat status? Or did I just irritate the living daylights out of you with all my posts about the last roster spot these last several weeks? I could see either being the case. No reason not to be honest.

Nah. I keep referencing Schlenk's comments as-if it was his stated intention, and, that he pretty much does what he says he's going to do unless there's some new unanticipated development. Most of those are my exact words at one point or another. And they're not wrong. And that's what's happened... an unanticipated development. The proposition that it's not all about Hunter is the actual dispute here, as far as I can decipher. And yet, given the process of deduction, there is no other plausible option. One gets the sense that, for whatever reason, TLC is a pet cat of yours, that you think he won the job because he's shown so much. It happens. It's okay. I just would be one to just admit that, me. If not that, I have no clue why this is so important to you to dispute.

Now c'mon. (1) Even assuming Big2O is back in a month, whoever is the 15th man on a min non-guaranteed contract would have no bearing on the situation on October 18th, many games before that. (You know that. Why am I having to say it?) (2a) Schlenk didn't specify a C. He said a big. (Again... you know that.) And there's good reason to think the smarter play would be a PF anyhow, but regardless... (2b) Whatever "scraps" were on the market among the bigs, who's saying TLC is so outstanding a wing as to distinguish himself from "scraps" status? (3) Of the three ideas, this one is far and away the best grounded now that Gallo's opening night health has become an issue.... ...and yet... but... then... that only should lead to the conclusion... again... that you still need another player who can be the 5th big. Johnson needs minutes. And he's not getting them as the 5th big in SFA. That didn't seem lost on Schlenk when he made his comment a month ago, and it's difficult to make a case why that would have changed now. No. You're grasping at straws, my friend. No other reasonable way to interpret the roster move. So noted. Game threads just aren't usually my thing. Preseason game threads really aren't usually my thing.... hehe.

@JayBirdHawk I did see you make that point, and it is valid (except for one mostly insignificant detail). But I'm just going on what the GM himself said... and I'm pretty sure you know I'm not making it up. Schlenk distinctly said in that most recent Zoom presser that he thought it was obvious that the roster as it stood then was skewed heavy on guards, and that he would probably be inclined to add another big. It's not wrong, in my opinion, to think Schlenk doesn't change his mind without something prompting it. What prompted it? Well, it's not as-if TLC's preseason performance blew everyone away. (Am I wrong?) And it is as-if we've known all along that there remain some health concerns/questions due to Hunter's knee swelling after games. So here we are, not where Schlenk thought we'd be. Perhaps. I don't read every thread like some people appear to do... sue me ... but my sense is it hasn't been mentioned in the context of starting the damn season with the problem, or at least, not bad enough that a roster slot would need to be dedicated to insurance. _________________________________________________ That (truly) insignificant detail? It's that Schlenk's math appears to always count two-ways. The only way you could look at our roster of 14--with 5 guys who ever play SG with any regularity--and say it skews heavier toward guards is to count Cooper and Mays. Otherwise, it's a dead even 5 guards, 6 bigs (1 injured) and 3 whose best assignment is SF. So, Knight would be counted in that math, and that puts the big count at dead-even year over year.

While I was kinda-to-somewhat serious in that post, I wasn't nearly so serious as all of this seems to indicate you'd thought. So, soberly, make no mistake, I believe you when you say you're "not content with any of our players being a continuing injury concern." Truly. Seriously. I do. MY implicit issue (I thought obviously) is that no one (media or here, other than me it seems) is talking about the implication of the roster decision... and that (yet again) we have to figure it out for ourselves that there is a health issue still bothering a player we're counting on in a big way. Your post... and I hasten to say I apologize for using your words as I did... was merely a platform to call attention to what a major "announcement" it was when the 15th player's identity was made public... though in actions not so much words, since the words "Dre is still having trouble, and we need some insurance" hasn't yet come out of anyone's mouth from inside the Hawks deep state. Nothing anyone can do about that, of course, but whine and kick dirt. But whine and kick dirt, we should... at least those of us who believe Dre's absence is a primary reason we didn't get to the Finals last time, and I'm one.

Honestly, I was anticipating nothing less than $19m aav would get it done, and still can't believe both sides didn't figure it best to just do the John Collins dance next off-season.

Thinking back to the IND fans on RealGM who scoffed at the idea of a one-for-one trade in the lead-up to the 2020 draft... just-back-from-injury Oladipo for promising young Huerter. Who's stupider, them or me? Don't answer that.

Yep. *deep sigh*

So, I think I hear you saying, you're content with Dre continuing to be an injury concern. But that cannot be true, can it?

Cooper, Mays and Johnson should play in College Park for the most part, of course, but only if injuries don't open up some minutes for them in SFA. And Solo almost has to be your 5th big... worse, he's your 4th if Gallo's out. TLC fits behind Reddish... and if Dre's knee is still a problem, that makes him your 4th wing.

Biggest news of the day isn't that Huerter signed an extension. It's that there's some reason Schlenk signed a wing to that 15th roster slot, and that we know they spent the preseason monitoring swelling of Dre's knee after games.

Imo, Huerter's worth $16m/yr today. But had he bet on himself, I think it's reasonable to think he could have gotten $90m over 4 years next off-season.

Count me as stunned.

Yikes. Double negative alert... Schlenk practically never doesn't do what he telegraphs he's going to do. Most reasonable conclusion is that Dre's knee apparently continues to swell after games.

You're not going to get a better minimum contract vet who fits a role (ie, given Big2O's injury absence, and JJ's predestination for minutes in College Park) for that 15th seat. Aminu was just getting back from his injury in ORL, and getting significant minutes last season, when the trade deadline came around and he got dealt to CHI--where Donovan didn't want to play him in lieu of others he was wanting to develop. Aminu has just turned 31, a few months older than Solo, and truth be told, an appreciably higher upside at both ends of the floor, particularly at PF where we have an opportunity for the 15th player to get some minutes. Other side of the ledger, though, Solo's been appreciably more dependable and durable. Given how much down time Aminu's had, though, it doesn't seem likely that that should be any concern at this point. Whatever wear was off his tire when he came back to start some games in ORL is pretty much still the same.

Yep. Magic would come along in a few years, and would say none of his ball-handling and passing was original with him. Don't recall he specified Pistol, but I'm not sure who else he may have been referring to.

Okay, I can't resist... I'd just bought my first one of these... well, no, actually, my mom had just bought it for me... pre-internet, we had these things called sports magazines and annual yearbooks... ordinarily, I would spend forever reading in front of these things we called magazine racks, because I hadn't yet joined the ranks of the employed .... and had begun collecting basketball cards when I happened to pick this one player as my fav, and naturally adopted his team as my fav as well.

Pounce, General.

So, we're at the 23rd hour, practically literally. Who will it be? TLC? Hope not, nothing against the kid, but signing him implies there's reason for concern behind closed doors that someone's not as healthy as we'd like to think. Some interesting names have dropped, as anticipated, but most of which were FAs who, if Schlenk were that enamored with any of them, he already took a pass on. San Antonio remains as the most curious team yet to make their final cut. Some speculation has it that they're entertaining trade offers on Thad Young--which potentially could make it unnecessary to cut anyone at all. And while Young coming home to ATL after all these years would be pretty cool, and he would seem to be an exceptional addition, truth is he makes too much money, so Schlenk's almost certainly not in those conversations. Having said that, and again given that Schlenk already took a pass on most of the FAs available, logic suggests whoever is on Schlenk's radar almost certainly is a big who, as I write this, isn't yet available, ie someone who Schlenk is waiting on and for whom he likely will have some competition. Deduction points to Aminu, who I've tagged for awhile now, or if not, to Drew Eubanks.

Put down your drink, prevent the spit take, as you prepare to read yet another doozy... https://fadeawayworld.net/nba-trade-rumors/nba-rumors-atlanta-hawks-could-acquire-pascal-siakam-for-5-players-and-two-picks

This is why I thought pre-Okafor that Schlenk surely has a vet PF in-mind. Remember, he showed his hand last off-season when he remarked that the 2020 Heat had shown conclusively the wisdom in leaning toward smaller 5s in roster construction... so a traditional 3rd big big when you have Collins doesn't fit with that philosophy. Granted, TLC has dibs on the 15th seat if there's any lingering injury concerns for one of our wings. But if all looks good on that front, I remain (as I have all off-season, for the most part) inclined to think this is Schlenk's target...

As TLC prays for the opposite.

I'm watching San Antonio and Sacramento, both of which have some "big" (see what I did there) roster decisions to make. Of course, something could come out of left field, and especially so if there's some sudden new chapter in the Simmons saga.

Count me as surprised both when Schlenk signed Okafor... and now, as he's given him his walking papers. I didn't see anything in the MEM game that would have led me to think he should be let go just yet--seemed to pretty much be what one would have expected, and even made a couple of defensive plays. Hard to read Schlenk on this 15th seat since TLC seemingly hasn't distinguished himself either. But then again, even as Okafor was signed, the working theory remained that Schlenk was just getting a free look and/but he would be actively watching for last-minute cuts from other teams right before the season's start.