Wretch

I dunno man. I heard on Hawksquawk for years how he was the best compliment for Trae. Someone even said he was a DOG.

Seriously. Playing defense is great and all, but there are possessions where you can do everything right and still get your ass busted. You're not going to stop a contender from scoring. You must be able to respond on the other end. Sometimes, very often when facing the best teams, offense will be the only defense you have.

Let me +1 this and add... These things are not mutually exclusive and I don't know why we treat them as such - you can need to improve your offense while also needing to improve your defense. Too often, we act like it's one or the other. I agree 1000% with Supes and have held this opinion for a long time. We are going nowhere without the ability to score when it counts. If you can't do that, you're not a contender. Thing is, it's difficult to find offensive difference makers. For that reason alone, we have to prioritize building an offensive identity that works. We can absolutely trade DJ and tune up the defense with all manner of complimentary role players. At best, we would be what we have historically been - a hard working, "blue-collar", defensive team that wins around 45-50 games and getting bounced in the 1st or 2nd round. This is a star driven league and you have to find at least 2 that compliment each other if you want any hope of building a contender.

I honestly don't know how to vote on this. I'm so torn. I would not trade Trae, and I don't want to trade DJ. With a gun to my head, I suppose I would trade DJ...but the deal would have to be fantastic and I would still feel some kind of way. I'm super anxious to see how this summer plays out.

I've watched more games these last 5-6 years than I ever have, but my interest has tailed off a bit this season. Specifically near the end of the season when all the serious injuries hit. Trade deadline was frustrating and you didn't miss anything there. You didn't miss anything at the end of the season as things played out as expected with injuries and whatnot. I would say that the biggest thing you've missed is Jalen Johnson coming into his own, but if you're like anyone who has paid attention to him...you knew it was coming to some extent. Overall, I'm glad I tuned in and am ALWAYS grateful for the insight I get from the Squawk. Regardless of what the Hawks are doing, I'll never stop reading these threads. Good to see you popping in Sturt.

blah

The second greatest player prediction, getting his opinion in for future reference: ...and I'll get my own dang flowers...!

You're 1000% right of course, but when I consider the idea that the game is being tilted towards players/markets/betting odds...it makes me sick to my stomach. Consequently, I sort of suspend my disbelief in ref shenanigans. It's hard for me to enjoy the game otherwise. FWIW, I don't believe the whole of the lottery is rigged. Especially now with the odds changes, I have a bit more faith in the system. Fun fact: I tried to hide that word from you specifically and you zeroed in on it like a Hawk! lol

I love it too. It absolutely gives incentives to play hard. It's one game and ANYTHING can happen on any given night. Nobody wants to fool around with the play in and risk missing the playoffs. This combined with the league officially pushing back on "load management" is good for the game. Side note: I dislike the rigged lottery system. I think there should be a similar tournament for the lottery. Separated into tiers where borderline playoff teams aren't destroying absolute bottom feeders obviously with certain players being ineligible to play depending upon the number of regular season games they missed.

Considering that we're going into the "no pick zone," I'm not interested in the draft as much as I am in fielding the most competitive roster possible. I've also been lazier than usual scouting prospects, so I don't have any kind of list yet. Right now I'm taking notes on who everybody likes and waiting to see how the standings/play-in shake out. There are a few guys whose names keep popping up that I've taken a cursory look at, but I haven't studied anyone in depth to give a solid opinion.

I've been talking about Hunter for a long time and I think I've been clear on my opinion. I'm going to say this for the record again though... I like Hunter and I do not think he's is JUST a bench player. I think the construction of our team limits how effective he can be in the starting lineup. Unless he develops instincts for finding open guys and our system features him that way...then he will always be 3rd isolation option behind Trae and DJ - and further down the totem pole with Jalen Johnson starting. Coming off the bench, he's a primary and not surprisingly everything is definitively improved: ...along with his usage and he's doing this in FEWER minutes. It's not so much how good/bad he is. It's the fit with the starting unit. Unless he really separates from the pack, or we have major injuries or roster moves, I don't see where he's going back to starting.

I understand what you're saying, but I don't necessarily mean a 1:1 upgrade of Hunter...or even the wing position for that matter. I'm also ok with sacrificing depth. It's the least of my concerns while the core of the team has struggles to secure a play in. . *edit - I'm also taking into consideration that we don't own our own draft picks. So I'm in no way advocating gutting the team and rolling the dice with whatever we put on the court. I just don't believe that trading/packaging Hunter is going to break us as a team.

So my opinion on Hunter hasn't changed since we got Murray. Health issues aside, I think his biggest limitation has been playing in the shadow of Trae and DJ. It was more apparent in Nate's "take turns/no 3's" offense, but there's really not a situation where I'd want the ball in Hunter's hands when Trae, Murray, and now JJ are on the floor with him. I'm happy seeing him finding his groove off the bench. Offensively at least, he's more useful and has more freedom playing with the 2nd unit. It's also a win/win as we get to showcase him for potential upgrades.

This is a good great time to repeat some things that I say year in and year out and have people looking at me sideways lol Everything is negotiable© Potential has an expiration date© Sell high© I'm not blaming management for not making deals because I have no idea what was and wasn't discussed behind closed doors. I'm just saying that I hope they don't cling to sacred cows the way we do on the Squawk. I have my favorites like everyone else, but I take no issue with dangling them out there to see what we can catch.

More than half of a season seems fair.

I dunno man...getting hit by a tank is pretty serious. Don't know how quick he can bounce back from that.

Yup. It has been an....exciting weekend. Not in a good way and work is BUH-nannas. I finally got 2 seconds to breathe, catch up, and then...

Alrighty then....

I'm out to dinner with the wife and the game is on. I only logged in to tag @TheNorthCydeRises re: that Bruno dunk

I honestly don't know what to expect or what I want. On one hand, I believe in the core talent of this team. On the other hand, we've not shown that we can be consistently good. I don't want to give up and put my hopes in a rigged lottery, but I am also not interested in the play in. All signs point to a play in 2-step and at best, an entertaining 1st round. All of these questions have been answered or are easy answers I think...