Wretch

On 4/29/2024 at 12:40 AM, JTB said:

Maybe booker.

i can’t see them trading KD and I can’t see any team wanting Beal with that ridiculous contract. Beals output just isn’t good enough for what he gets paid. He may be the new Tobias Harris and I mean that respectfully.

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

12 minutes ago, NBASupes said:

That's only if the defense is super trash like the 80s Nuggets. Generally speaking, if you have an elite offense, your defense even with no defensive players should be below average at worst. 

https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/SAC/2023.html

 

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.

19 minutes ago, NBASupes said:

Elite offense helps defense.

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

On 4/6/2024 at 11:42 AM, TheNorthCydeRises said:

 

The greatest player prediction post of all time on Hawksquawk.  And said this before he played an official pre-season game.  Summer League sold me.

The second greatest player prediction, getting his opinion in for future reference:

On 8/17/2021 at 9:02 PM, Wretch said:

I'm glad this post is here...  One, so I can get my opinion recorded for future reference and two, because it validates how I felt watching him in Summer League.  And let me just say...holy sheeet.

Yes, it's summer league. 

Yes, he's young. 

Yes, we have a small sample size. 

I hear you guys and I respect the calls to temper our expectations...but the ol' eyeball test on JJ was something else. 

For a 19 year old, 6'9" 220lb wing/forward...with only 2tsp's of college ball on his resume...I didn't see a whole lot of flaws.  What I did see was a damn swiss army knife.  That kid can handle the ball.  He can pass the ball.  He can shoot the ball.  He can post up.  He can face up.  He's got dribble penetration.  He's athletic.  He's a rim runner.  He has tremendous energy and hustle.  He moves down the floor with a purpose and looks like he can effectively defend all 5 positions. 

It's hard trying to keep my enthusiasm in check because he just did everything well, every time he stepped on the court.  He consistently looked like the most talented player out there.  Not necessarily the best shooter or passer or even best scorer...but he looked like the guy with the most facets to his game and everything he did looked smooth and effortless and FAST.

Which is another thing: there was zero hesitation about any of it.  Just...ball got in his hands, he instantly went to work.  Ball went up...he was on the glass.  Ball came down, he was the first one down the court...or if he grabbed the rebound, he was pushing the break.  Or if he grabbed the rebound and there was a guard there, he'd take half a second to assess the defense and then the ball would be in the facilitator's hands.

I'm not going to call him the 2nd or 3rd most talented Hawk or the guy with the most potential, but if this skill translates and he improves...he's coming for somebody's minutes.  Which, honestly...  He's looking like a 3/4.  His frame looks like he'll put on some muscle and he's a mirror of JC's pre-draft measurements.  6'9" height...  6'11" wingspan...  220-ish lbs. (though I've seen him listed 220 in some places and 206 in others).

...and I'll get my own dang flowers...!  

2 hours ago, JayBirdHawk said:

Still wrong .....you're just throwing stuff on the wall to see what sticks, huh? ..

@Wretch. Come save your boy from himself please. 

18 hours ago, AHF said:

I think there would actually be more problems with a tournament approach to the lottery.  I can only imagine how the game would be called in a NY vs Atlanta matchup but if past is predicate we know Atlanta will get the short end of the stick.  (I'm not envisioning the league ordering a Sacramento / Lakers style debacle but more that certain teams, players, and cities are favored over others on a routine basis.)  

But I'm also someone who doesn't buy the idea that lottery is rigged.

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

4 hours ago, JayBirdHawk said:

I love it. Teams playing hard to make top 6 and avoid falling into 7.

7 fighting to get to 6.

8 to 10 fighting for positioning.

Teams like the Rockets and Nets trying to make the 10 spot. 

Makes for more interesting competitive games IMHO.

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:

5 minutes ago, AHF said:

There are people who are invested in the success or failure of certain players.  I don't think discussion around whether Hunter is better served coming off the bench is necessarily linked to that, though.  The numbers are better as a reserve in a similar number of games.  I personally have him mentally penciled in back as our starting SF next season but I can at least see why some people feel he has flourished off the bench and should remain in that role.

...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.  

1 hour ago, AHF said:

If I'm the Hawks GM, while I'd listen to trade offers for anyone on the team I would be somewhat skeptical about Hunter offers given the complete lack of wing defense behind him.  Seems like any team that would trade for him would be doing it because they needed help there not because they had some good big wing defender they were looking to trade.  That might work fine if we dealt DJM or someone else for his replacement but I can't envision too many trades of Hunter that don't create big roster issues for us.  We sure can't be resorting to Garrison Mathews next year like we were when he was injured this season.

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.

6 hours ago, Final_quest said:

Don't think the draft is our main problem.  Signing mediocre draft picks to bad contracts instead of trading them or letting them walk is the problem. 

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.

11 hours ago, TheBigETrain said:

How much more time to we give Quin? We have gone backwards since Nate was fired.

More than half of a season seems fair.

44 minutes ago, RedDawg#8 said:

Trae is also bionic, mind you. He has returned early from injury/Covid every single time.

Dude loves to play, and that doesn’t get praised enough.

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

3 hours ago, JayBirdHawk said:

Late to the party, huh...oh wretched one! 

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.

On 2/21/2024 at 10:35 AM, JayBirdHawk said:

Some Additional questions:

1. Does OO continue to start?

2. Does Kobe consistently crack to rotation?  How many minutes for Kobe?

3. How many games does AJ play in the GL? They have 14 games left.

4. Does AJ get back into the NBA rotation after his GL stint?

5. Will we release any of the vets to create a roster spot?

6. What will the Hawks do with Trent Forrest? he has used his alloted 50 games.

 

All of these questions have been answered or are easy answers I think...