Lurker

looooool Guess Delaney's ***intangibles*** outweigh his major weaknesses just like Pero.

I don't think I was clear enough on the Braves. The issues that caused a disappointing 2014 season, were not going to be fixed by simply adding just a few good players in FA. The depth in the farm system was so bad and the lineup was so flawed that it was not like the 2014 Rangers who stood pat and quickly rebounded (and also had a waaaayyyyy better farm system), if the Braves had stood pat they would have been just as mediocre or worse in 2015. They were done right then and there and were never going to return to their 2013 level. Really, the Juan Uribe HR in game 4 of the 2013 NLDS was the sound of the door slamming shut on the Braves window for a World Series for a while. The Medlen and Beachy second tommy john surgeries were putting four padlocks on that door. For the Braves to have rebounded, they would have needed at least 2 very good starting pitchers in free agency, a good center fielder, a good third baseman, and the ability to keep Heyward AND Justin Upton past 2015. I'm not sure even rich franchises like the Detroit Tigers would be able to pull off something like this. They can do a lot, but they can't do all of these! Their ability would have stopped at Heyward/JUpton and the starting pitchers, and it'd result in a mediocre team.

I hate to break it to y'all but the 2014 Braves was not like the Rangers that season in it was just one down season, they were DONE period then. DONE. Once they lost two pitchers to second tommy johns, they had ZERO depth in SP thanks to a farm system that was trash! They would have had to throw down the money for five starting pitchers (3 starters, 2 for depth) and there is no way that any team does that. The window slammed shut on the Heyward/Justin Upton core after one season and it was not reopening.

LOL dude. This team is the definition of average. Far from being legitimate contenders and right on a collision course of being stomped on worse than that Orlando series in the playoffs. The Braves 100% made the right decision. They were not going to contend EVER again with the core they had, EVER.

With the way this is going, I full expect George to be traded either today or in the summer. I don't think Atlanta gets him.

I mean it's crazy. Some people still give Mike scott and Shelvin mack tons of love OVER ONE GAME and even saw them as key impact players to the 60 win team (scott was a big bench piece but not absolutely vital but mack? lol). Yes, yes, it was a playoff game, but still, ONE game.

If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it must be a duck. This really smells like the 2014 Braves. And we all know how that ended. The team was hanging around above .500, but they looked and felt middling all season and by the final stretch of the season, it was completely miserable to watch them. It also involved a bad contract that I feel is 75% of the reason the very close to nuclear blowup happened. There's too many crossovers right now. It just feels like the team is not far from disaster and the bad games are miserable to watch. You also have a bad contract on this team.

Kind of similar to what I was hoping for. Has Langston Galloway been released by SAC? If he's going to (or if so), pick him up! At the very minimum, go get Shelvin Mack back (he's not playing). Delaney is a 11-15th man in the nba.

I don't know if Hardaway Jr can continue at the rate he has since the beginning of 2017 but if you actually watch his tape between this year and NYK, he's made subtle changes in how he has played. And it's in highlights that you can tell, I can't imagine how different it'd be with full tape. The transition game for him is there with both teams, but it's emphasized with Atlanta. Instead of just firing up shots with a hand in his face, he uses a screen to free himself up if he's going to take a mid range jumper. He attacks the basket more.

I guess I'll say the issue on Prince again. A lot of the reason for Baylor alumni failing to really make it in the NBA is the Baylor defensive zone scheme gets completely engrained into their muscle memory and honestly they play like they have zero BBIQ in what I have seen of them. It's not that they aren't talented, they often are, but their players often don't learn anything at Baylor and are just using their talent to win.

I'd consider Gallo if an extension could be worked out, and Bazemore could be salary dumped, heck no matter what else is done at the deadline or in the summer, Bazemore needs to get salary dumped.

Unless we see a massive change (one kind of happened last year), we're on a collision course to a more embarrassing series than the Orlando series that had 2 massive blowouts. At least both Cleveland series only had one that was massive, this one had 2 and had 2 other blowouts.

Whatever it takes, unless it takes a lot, the Hawks need to be walking away with a backup PG upgrade (even if Delaney stays), and a third big. Heck, I'd take Mack back, but I'd prefer Collison or Galloway. I'd offer a second for Terrence Jones.

So if George isn't resigning with Indiana, what's most likely to be true here is my theory, a trade during the summer.

The Lakers this season are kind of a worse version of what the Raptors were in 14-16 so it isn't surprising. Lots of guards that can put the ball down and dribble drive effectively, athletic bigs that can simply out athletic you, and a younger team with younger legs. The Hawks simply can not guard teams that have a lot of guards that are excellent dribble drivers.

what on earth is sacramento doing? Hield at best, is going to be a Redick in a couple of years but it's more likely he ends up being Jimmer.

I suspect it wouldn't take much more to get Terrence Jones other than Mike Scott and a 2nd.

Let's expand this and have this trade be Tiago Splitter, Mike Scott, a 2nd, and Malcolm Delaney for Terrence Jones and Tim Frazier hahahaha I can't. Kill two birds with one stone, but Delaney has no value.

I don't buy this but if there is some truth to the tape, it doesn't matter who goes between Bazemore and Hardaway Jr, although I'd prefer Bazemore go. It's more likely that Indiana continues to try to search for a young, very good player to pair with PG, but if they fail and PG says he won't resign, that Indiana trades him this summer.

I realized I was mixing up Cunningham and Babbit.

Uh, Cunningham is not with NOP this year.

Ehhhhhh, people aren't going to like hearing this but the Hawks are playing like most modern nba teams do, and its unlikely to morph into something that gets Howard much more involved no matter who is at that pg position. Even if Teague was here, about 60% of Howard's offense would be catching lobs, 15% would be tip ins, 15% would be normal catch and finishes on PNR/cuts, and finally, 10% would be a once in a while post up. Howard in the post is just not considered an offensive option by the coach, so if you hate that...you need to point your fingers straight at modern nba basketball and not the coach or pg. Not that Teague wouldn't help, but if he were here, Howard would be getting maybe one more lob per game, not any post ups or anything. And then we would maybe be pointing at modern nba basketball as the issue. Now back on the subject, something has to be done that isn't small. Without Sefolosha in the perimeter defense isn't functional, but at the same time, him and Bazemore together, combined with Howard no longer being a good offensive player without lots of help combines for an offense that isn't functional. Bud needs to swallow his pride and place Bazemore and his contract on the bench after the break but that's going to make for a bad offensive bench. Maybe LA buys out Lou Williams or we see the same with Phoenix and Brandon Knight.

The Rockets game is technically quoted in "Tim Hardaway Jr has flat saved the Hawks in at least two games". I was saying Spurs and Rockets with that quote.

Tim Hardaway Jr has flat saved the team in at least two games (in that if he wasn't there, the team was going to lose both games by at least 10), and there are a number of other games that can make you go "how the heck did the team win this". The 4 OT game vs the Knicks comes to mind, and finishing on a 12-0 run vs Portland in OT is another.

Even if Blair is just a bust I feel pretty good about this trade.