TheNorthCydeRises

LOL . . come on now. While you've been right on the money about mostly HAWKS related stuff, you've pretty much taken every chance possible to interject your opposing opinion about the direction of the Hawks. Unlike the others, I can at least admit that you've been right a lot, especially recently. You're also the runaway favorite to win Hawksquawk Antagonist of the Year.

If this is the case, I'm going to be pissed if they trade off people if we're fighting for an 8th seed near mid-season.

For you younger people, the above clip was from 1990 - 91. That Denver Nuggets team averaged a whopping 120 ppg. The problem was that they gave up 130 ppg. Adams would average 26.5 ppg and 10.5 assists, but only shoot 39% FG and 29% 3FG on an unheard of 8.5 three attempts per game. Needless to say, this is NOT what we need from Young Trae. Understand this though. If Dennis gets traded, it does open up the potential for Trae to become a volume shooter next season ( just like how Dennis did last season ), due to the lack of quality shot creators on the team. So for all of you who want Dennis gone now, don't flip out if you see Trae having the green light to do whatever he wants.

I think the difference is in their ceilings. If Doncic reaches his ceiling as a high volume scorer/playmaker/and rebounder . . . let's say a 20 pt - 7 rebs - 7 asst player . . . that puts him on the level of a Grant Hill. If he raises his scoring average to 25+ a game, with 7 rebs and 7 asst, you're now talking about a Larry Bird / Lebron James type. By the way, here are the players in the history of the NBA who averaged 20 points - 7 rebounds - 7 assists in a single season, and how many times they've done it: Lebron James ( 8 ) Oscar Robertson ( 6 ) Russell Westbrook ( 4 ) Larry Bird ( 2 ) Wilt Chamberlain ( 2 ) John Havlicek ( 2 ) Magic Johnson ( 2 ) James Harden ( 1 ) Grant Hill ( 1 ) Michael Jordan ( 1 ) All of these guys are Hall of Famers. Doncic fits that big guard/forward playmaker who has the capability to do this, if he becomes a lethal scorer. Even if you drop the ppg down to 16, with 7 rebs and 7 assist, the ONLY name that will be added to this list, is Fat Lever . . and Ben Simmons ( who was 15.8 ppg - 8.1 rebs - 8.2 asst last season ). So maybe that's the comparison. Do people see Doncic being a similar type player ( in production ) to Ben Simmons? As for Trae, his ceiling is that of a high volume scorer AND assist man. So let's say that Trae's ceiling is to be a 21 ppg - 9 assist guy. You still have the usual suspects from the above list on this one as well, but a few you wouldn't suspect. Oscar Robertson ( 9 ) . . . which is ridiculous Tim Hardaway ( 3 ) . . . He should definitely be in the Hall of Fame Russell Westbrook ( 3 ) Magic Johnson ( 3 ) Chris Paul ( 2 ) Jerry West ( 2 ) Isiah Thomas ( 2 ) Tiny Archibald ( 2 ) John Wall ( 1 ) Michael Adams ( 1 ) . . . who I believe is the "worst" best case scenario for Trae ( a high volume, high assist, but inefficient scorer for a bad team ) So which is more likely? Doncic becoming an efficient 20 pt - 7 rebs - 7 asst guy? Or Trae becoming an efficient 21 pt - 9 assist guy? If neither goal is likely, that's how a GM can have them on the same level.

nbadraft.net says Fred Hoiberg . . . but The Mayor was only 6-4

You said Dedmon or Baze.

I think he would play along and try to make himself as attractive a player as possible. Dennis playing well could land him on a playoff contender that needs guard help. As of right now, I would say that Dennis is a better NBA player than Trae is right now. Trae will have to learn the pace of the NBA and how to play effectively in this league. That may take a few months. In the meantime, Dennis will probably start and still play 30 minutes a game, while Trae gets his minutes off the bench to be the spark plug for the 2nd unit. Dennis may play selfishly at times on the court, but I don't view him as a bad teammate. And he's not going to sulk or back down just because the so-called future PG of the team is here. Remember, Schlenk was in Golden State when these 2 were playing alongside each other.

I definitely agree with this.

Payroll. Remember, these are still the Hawks. And ownership isn't going to spend a lot of money if we're not trying to make the playoffs at this time. Plus, they still want to be a player next summer, for possibly Draymond Green.

Here you go, boss. Scan the list and you tell me what draft picks had potential to be 20 - 25 ppg scorers. And most of us "old heads" can name most of the major free agents or trades of the last 30 years Moses Malone . . Dikembe . . Smitty . . Shareef . . Big Dog . . JJ . . Jamal . . Millsap https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/ATL/draft.html

With Doncic not playing in Summer League ( so that he can rest after a long Euroleague season ), the Hawks may have dodged a bullet. Dallas may want to work him vs legit American athletes to judge exactly where he is as a player. If he's not ready, no sense in getting him embarrassed or diminished in Summer League.

Spellman is more like this guy

So from a national TV perspective, the addition of Trae Young has the potential to have us on TNT/ESPN at least 3 times next season. If he balls out in Summer League, that may increase to 5 - 7 times.

Excellent post.

The fact that "the poster formerly known as Hotlanta" is somewhat supportive of this draft, makes me feel at ease. Like he said, we haven't drafted anyone with superstar "scoring" potential of this caliber in 25 - 30 years ( really 35 years ) . . . basically back to trading for Dominique. Summer League will shape a lot of the narrative about Trae going into the season . . . good or bad.

I can't create a poll, so I'll just give my grade. B While this squad probably couldn't even stop the Atlanta Dream, they did add 3 shooters who could be rotation players right away. Young, of course, has to be the HOME RUN pick. His talent needs to translate right away, even if he is the backup PG in his rookie year. I think the other two can give us solid minutes in these next 3 years. Current Roster PG - Dennis / Young / Taylor G - Bazemore / Bembry / Dorsey / Cleveland F - Prince / Huerter PF - Collins / Moose ( if he opts in ) / Spellman C - Dedmon / Plumlee

Too bad we shop at Save-A-Lot

LOL . . nevermind.

There goes your "Draymond".

Luka will either be playing the 2 or the 3 in Dallas, seeing that they already have Dennis Smith Jr.

It's because he's just not going to give away Dennis ( or shouldn't just give him away ). What if Trae IS a BUST? Would you still want Dennis gone, with no reliable PG on the team? The Hawks can afford to keep Dennis, even start him next season, to see what kind of positive value he can bring.

Yep. I forgot about Mo. With Grayson gone, he's my pick at #30. A shooting big who has a little toughness to him. He had a great NCAA tournament.