parfait

Hmm, 5-10 years?! We actually have 5 quality young pieces currently: the 3 that you mentioned (Collins, Young, Spellman). But also Huerter. And Prince is clearly, at the very least, a high quality 6th man/combo forward (and in today's NBA combo-forwards are in short supply). Dedmon is also a quality center as you said, but he probably hold greater value in trade. Add 2-3 more young pieces from next year's draft, which is full of quality wings. And then we're on target to start FA shopping in the summer of 2020 (after everyone else will have spent their wad in 2019) That's a solid 3 year rebuilding timetable, especially in the paper-thin Eastern Conference. 5-10 years?...those numbers seem to have been pulled from the nether-regions of Proctology.

Schlenk's legacy may well be defined by Young vs. Doncic, but in your post-summer-league-game-#1 rant you also fumed that he took players that would not have been picked within 5-10 picks of where they were taken? If you want to make generalizations, then let's include all of Schlenk's picks: John Collins, #19, projected Top 14 by most sites. Tyler Dorsey, 2nd round, projected 2nd round. Trae Young, #3, ranked #3 by TheStepien.com, ranked #2 stats/#3 overall by Kevin Pelton ESPN (would have been taken #6 by Orlando) Kevin Huerter #19, ranked #13 by TheStepien, ranked #8 stats/#11 overall by Kevin Pelton. Omari Spellman, #30, ranked #44 by TheStepien, ranked #34 stats/#40 overall by Kevin Pelton. So, I guess you were right. One of Schlenk's 5 draft picks was taken 5-10 picks ahead of projections. Damnit, can we get a refund?! The receipts ARE less than 30 days old!

I was pretty down on the Spellman pick when it happened. But I went and listened to Yahoo's Draft Night coverage. Their analysts were calling for Spellman's name to be called from about the 25th pick in the first round. And it was mentioned more than once that if he waited and came out next year that he would have been a lottery pick. I also listened to Brad Rowland's Locked On Hawks podcast, where SI's Jeremy Woo described the Spellman pick as "inspired." The Bleacher Report scouting report for Spellman is also very favorable, and thorough, suggesting that he even has the potential to be an elite big man. And if you account for further improvement in his body/conditioning, I've definitely warmed up to this pick.

Unfortunately players like Bamba would not have gained admission into Bud University. He requires prior work experience (ie DeMarre Carroll). Pierce University specializes in younger player development. Go...PU!

I'm actually gonna take a deep breath and defend KB21 on this one. At the end of the day, The Stepien is indeed a bunch of draftniks with day jobs. But their analysis is very thoughtful. And their podcasts are downright NBA Draft TED Talks. They're definitely not perfect. And in many cases, they just don't get around to fully studying every prospect (which I think was the case with Collins last year). Keep in mind, regarding the 2017 Draft, that they were a lot higher on Donovan Mitchell than just about every other site. In the end it's all about entertainment and information, and as far as NBA Draft websites go, TheStepien.com is as entertaining and informative as any out there.

The team could have re-tooled on the fly, but GM Bud mishandled that situation... and now he's been relegated to Dahmer-Ville.

So a guy who is universally touted as being a Developmental Coach is being counted on to not "coach the players up enough to screw up the tank"?! Wouldn't they have been better off hiring a guy is NOT good at developing players, in order to not screw up the so-called tank? Your words are turning upon themselves, like an auto-immune disorder of logic.

Pfft! Orlando, the absolute WORST job out there, with a bad team AND a bad cap situation, hired an absolute RE-TREAD, and you want to give them kudos. Unbelievable!...yet believable.

Predicting the head coaching success of an assistant coach is always difficult. Even Bud was no sure thing 5 years ago. But Pierce was as qualified as any assistant on the market this off-season (Fizdale does not count as an assistant). Just because someone such as James Borrega is from the Spurs tree does not guarantee success. Borrega ended up taking the second worst job available in Charlotte (the worst being Orlando). Two bad teams with bad cap situations. Based on resume, Pierce has the qualifications to be both bridge coach and long-term coach. He is a suitable bridge coach because of his developmental background. And he can be the long term answer because of his league-wide connections.

Bud is the best candidate available, being considered for the two best openings. What's the narrative? You mean the narrative that Toronto is considering replacing their coach who couldn't beat LeBron, with a coach who was 0 and 8 against LeBron? That narrative?

I don't know, I guess I just don't see a big difference. Early on, he was uncomfortable as he was trying to outline his plans for the team. Lately, he's been uncomfortable while detailing the breakup of their marriage to Bud, without divulging too many details. Just two different versions of awkwardness.

Hmm, another bold statement based on ______?_____ facts. They will have an improving front court that has already put up numbers (Collins and Prince). A veteran backcourt with athleticism (Schröder and Bazemore). The addition of veterans added either on 1 year deals or as salary dumps. And a head coach who emphasizes defense, which is the easiest way to team improvement with lesser talent onboard. All of that points to a slight increase in wins, to the upper 20's/low 30's. Hardly a backslide to some sort of "historically bad" win total in the teens. Remember, the so-called "tank" is only a function of year one of a rebuild. That is now out of the way. The goal moving forward is squeezing as many wins, and as much development, as possible out of a young core, without adding any bad contracts. There is no further need to lose as part of the rebuild. That was the directive for Year 1 only. That's how a proper rebuild works. You don't need a high lottery pick every year (which is what Sam Hinkie got wrong). You just need multiple 1st-rounders, you need to hit on a majority of them, and then you develop them. And that's all the Schlenk has preached from the beginning.

Honestly, I disagree this assessment of Schlenk's demeanor. I honestly believe another poster who said that he is just plain dorky. Like another person pointed out, he's the same way on his softball radio show with Hugh Douglas and John Fricke. He's just socially awkward, and reportedly with a sarcastic sense of humor as well. I don't think his press conference persona is anything more than social awkwardness.

This delay in naming a coach seems odd, especially with the interviews reportedly having been completed. Could they be waiting for an out-of-the-box candidate to be free of his commitments, such as Brent Barry?

Wait! I finally figured it out! You're a Bot, working for the SEO/Internet Marketing team at the Squawk, to boost traffic. Damnit! I can't believe I fell for it all this time!

Well, it was written by Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN, who carries far less bias regarding the Hawks (zero) than naysayers such as yourself (infiniti).

He's not a no name just because you hadn't heard of him. Remember, he was mentioned to the media by the widest range of league personnel of all of the assistant coaches out there.

Good point, although Ham is in a slightly different situation, as he is in danger of being unemployed if someone else gets the head job and doesn't retain him.

Larranaga and Pierce intrigue me the most from this list, with Tibbets as third choice. Larranaga has a nice pedigree with his dad Jim, his experience working with Brad Stevens, and his player development background. Pierce also has extensive player development experience, has worked for two analytics-based organizations in Memphis (under John Hollinger) and Philly, and he's even gotten kudos from LeBron from his time as player development coach in Cleveland.

It has indeed been widely reported that Bud had a negative experience at his Phoenix interview and decided against pursuing the position. But, what are your sources for saying that Bud didn't pursue the Knicks job and pulled out of the running? I just didn't see this reported anywhere. If anything, there was Marc Berman's piece saying that Bud badly wanted the Knicks job.

Interesting that Udoka and Borrega of San Antonio were confirmed early on as planned interviewees, but they didn't end up getting interviewed. Could Bud have bad-mouthed the organization to his Spurs brethren?

Boston made a point of acquiring other teams' first round draft picks, thereby accumulating draft capital, and also removing the need to maximize their own draft picks by losing. They could simply develop a young team and motivate them to play to win, while still adding young talent to the roster. Philadelphia, on the other hand, was focused on achieving high lottery picks year after year, thereby requiring heavy losing on a yearly basis. This is why Sam Hinkie's "process" dragged on longer, before the league stepped in and ushered in Bryan Colangelo to accelerate the rebuild.

That's the beauty of having Cleveland's #1 next year, as well as any additional 2019 and 2020 #1's picked up in trade this summer and next summer, in exchange for salary dumps. We won't be a playoff team because of being flush with youngsters, but we won't have to intentionally lose either. We'll have draft capital without tanking. It's more the Celtics than the Sixers model. And it's now bearing fruit for Boston.

The more I see of Bamba, the more Unicorn I see in him. He's got far better lateral agility and handles than the average stiff his size. If he has the determination to match, watch out!

Oh no, you're drinking the "Schlenk is the source of all evil" Kool-Aid too?!