Wretch

Congratulations Trae!  If you make it out alive...

What could possibly go wrong? lol

2 hours ago, h4wkfan said:

If our only potential trade is AJ for Okoro - then I hope we stand pat.  even if Okoro is an upgrade for now - he will be signing a $10M+ contract next year. I’d rather bank on AJ bouncing back at a cost controlled level for another 2 years. 
 

Maybe we can swing mills + 2nd for Joe Ingles. He  at least knows quin and is an expiring contract so we can free up cap space in the off season and all go back to pretending that ressler will actually go into the LT until he doesn’t. 

If there is a keep AJ camp, then put me there.  I hate it that he's going through so much and I'm not ready to give up on him.  Even if he ultimately decides to just walk away from basketball, I'd rather gamble on him putting his life and his game back together.  He was too promising last year just to pawn him for peanuts.  Especially when we are a long way from contender status.

1 hour ago, JayBirdHawk said:

 

 

"Not a lot of difference makers on the market so...[Lakers fans need to be prepared to lose Austin Reaves and several token 1st rounders for Dejounte Murray]" 

Draft picks are important...when you are rebuilding.  If we were going that route, the best thing to do would be trade everyone but JJ for a boatload of HIGH draft picks and promising, young, LOTTERY PICK CALIBER players.  That's a complete reset...just to hope and pray that just one or two of those picks/players is as good as the two young, veteran, players that we just got rid of.  I wouldn't do that even if Trae asked for a trade.  I would try to swap him for another elite talent and keep it moving.

People don't understand that we have done the hardest part of building a contender.  You don't just find elite talent and it doesn't just walk in the door - unless your LA, NY, or you have elite talent and have expertly positioned your cap to entice someone.  We need to make the most of this and move forward, not take steps backwards.

Man, this is just all kinds of interesting. lol

1 hour ago, JeffS17 said:

To add to this, we have to prioritize finding the core for this team.  Trying to be aggressive filling out MLEs and the best possible vet mins is not something we have the luxury to do right now.  Once we get another core piece (was almost Siakam), then it's time to be aggressive with the MLE.  Last thing you want to do is hamstring yourself with some 6-8 rotation guy contracts and not be able to bring in a big fish or worse, end up in a position you have to salary dump to extend JJ.  Sure, argue that Ressler should just pay the tax, but he's never gonna do that for a team that's not even sniffing .500 ball

Dude, this is MY JAM right here.  Like...I felt this in my SOUL.  I don't know if I wholly agree with the urgency of adding quality rotational players, but the primary goal of any FO that is not in contention should be to establish an elite core of players.  Over the years, the Squawk has had a real tendency to overemphasize the importance of complimentary players.  To the point that we were actually debating whether or not we could contend with a team full of JUST complimentary players.

...which, strangely enough, we did and I looked very foolish in the wake of it.

28 minutes ago, JeffS17 said:

Agree -- here's what I posted earlier on Landry.  Would be curious where people disagree:

 

 

And this is why I maintain that I'm not going to put this all on Landry, Kyle, and Co.  There's a lot of mess that has spilled over from a previous direction we were going in and decisions made before they came in.

The unknown is what's troubling me.  I understand quite well the strategic clickbait articles and wild rumormongering.  I honestly just don't know how to gauge the influence that these agents/agencies have.

20 hours ago, theheroatl said:

The worst part of that supposed tweet is it's blatantly wrong... DJ isn't placed as a spot up shooter, he frequently has the ball in his hands. 

The worst part of it all is posters going buck wild about it. 

 

The team is losing, people want to blame things. The fact is, trades will happen because our frontcourt is abysmal. 

 

• Capela is declining fast, OO regressed, Bey sucks.
   
• Fans are flat out idiots sometimes,[hidden, though y'all can figure it out ~lw3] because they don't think about the reason for losing and the present issues, just what the media puts out there to cause stir and clicks.
  
   
• There are plenty of front-office sharks that want to snatch up the good parts of this team and leave us remaining with the problem issues.
   
• Good parts: Trae, DJ, JJ
   
• Bad Parts: OO, Capela, Bey
   
• You guys really think swapping guards is gonna get us somewhere? How about looking at the real issues instead of fake twitter.

I'm not sure why we are always so quick to polarize everything.  We have roster issues and we have chemistry issues.  Both things are true and legitimate concerns.  I don't think anyone believes bringing in one player is going to fix everything.  I know that I don't believe that.  There are some that think just improving the offense will turn it around and some who think we only need to tighten up the defense.  Regardless, I think EVERYONE knows that we have issues all over the court, especially the front court given that we've only been discussing it for 3 years.

This is derailing the thread though as a specific question was asked and people answered with their opinion.  Commentary of the accuracy of the message is wholly irrelevant.  The subject of the practice/in-game discrepancy made the comment, is a Hawks player, and also just happens to be the subject of the trade rumors.  In doing this, Dejounte has literally taken public shots at his own coach.  There's a reason why they don't let this stuff get out.  There is no universe where you can convince me that player rifts don't affect the game...especially when things are not going well.

No one is any more of an idiot for pointing out the obvious chemistry issues anymore than you would be for pointing out the obvious problems with our roster.

It's Quin. Like, I don't mean he's a bad coach or anything. It's just that if you're asking what the culprit is...then it's the shift in coaching schemes leading to chemistry issues.

It's not JUST one thing or player and it never is. However, adjustments to the offense are affecting things from top to bottom, on and off the court. 

13 minutes ago, Phunkabilly said:

I'm mainly addressing this to the Hawks' insiders, but what is happening in practice that isn't happening in the actual games?  From DJ's comments, it sounds like the team is working well together in practice.  What is being changed during the game, and why?  Is he saying that he's allowed to be more of a playmaker in practice, but not during the games?  Has Trae been playing off-ball more in practice?

Long before any of the trade stuff got out, I caught wind of some of this drama from Twitter.  Murray's dad was going in hard about his son playing out of position.  Trae's dad was offering support on some of those Tweets.  Thing about Trae's dad though is he's very careful with this words and it's clear he's taught his son the same thing.  These dudes know we hang on every word, so it struck me as odd but I didn't put much thought into it.

Everything is coming out in the wash though.

6 minutes ago, Sothron said:

Dj runs the 2nd team unit a lot or they switch things up. They practice more ball movement and guys coming off screens to get open shots (like Trae). It isn't really translating to being done in the actual games as much as the players want.

before someone asks the logical next question...I do not know why this is happening. I know Quin wants a major roster overhaul and the FO has come around to his way of thinking over the course of the season. I don't believe in coaches making statements to a FO through games or practices or how he handles players. I don't know if that is what this relates to but it makes me wonder.

Yeah...  Honestly Soth, I have enough to draw my own conclusions.  There's work to be done to shape this team up and Quin is putting in his opinion, as he should.  I am laughably out of my depth trying to understand what an NBA coach sees in a player and I wouldn't even dream of trying.  That said, all indications from the outside looking in though are that Dejounte isn't interested in Quin's vision/schemes and from a surface level glance, he isn't fitting in with it.

1 hour ago, TheNorthCydeRises said:

 

Let's keep it 100.

You know why DJ will NEVER get the benefit of the doubt over Trae?

 

Because DJ did this at the end of Game 4 vs Boston last season.

 

 

I like DJ. I like his passion.  But this is easily one of the most selfish, immature acts I've ever seen at the end of a basketball game.

Yes, the refs were screwing us left and right on calls.  But you go up to the ref after the game, bump him, and get yourself suspended for Game 5, KNOWING that it's an elimination game and that your team will be without you?.  And DJ was having a FANTASTIC playoff series.

But in that one moment, he gave up on his team and let his emotions get the best of him. Forget bumping one of the Boston players out of frustration during the game. He goes after the "soft target" and bumps the ref.

 

This entire fan base, outside of a few of us, even thought that the Hawks had a shot to even keep it competitive.

But you know who didn't give up?  This guy.

 

 

Say what you want about Trae's game, this guy has literally brought me more joy watching the Hawks, than any player in the last 30 years.  And that includes Joe Johnson, who I loved as a player.  The fact that one of the smallest players in the league was able to do this in Boston Garden, is what makes this dude special.

When we lose DJ, it's not going to be all doom and gloom around here, IF . . someone steps up and absorbs some of the scoring that we'll lose.  Maybe that someone is multiple players.

 

I think that DJ has figured out that as long as Trae Young is in Atlanta, he will NEVER be the guy.  And if he's not willing to be "Robin" to Trae's "Batman", then maybe it is time for him to go.

I still say that these two playing together is not the issue.  The issue is that our frontcourt just isn't up to NBA standards.

Perfectly said.

46 minutes ago, Sothron said:

That is legit tweet from dj 

I assumed as much, but I always leave room for a little doubt.  TBH, this explains the entire season to me.  It's a team game and the whole team is responsible, but what we're going through right now is a whole chemistry meltdown.

To be clear because the Squawk loves polarizing conversations: I DO NOT BELIEVE THAT DEJOUNTE IS A CANCER NOR AM I TRYING TO IMPLY THAT.

I think what's going on is simply bad chemistry between the coach and a player.  DJ is playing out of position and I don't disagree with him.  It sort of worked under Nate but it's not working under Quinn.  It is however, discouraging to see Murray going in with fans like that.  Way too many of us, and other NBA fans, like and respect that dude for him to be bothered by the noise AND let it be known publicly. 

That's some KD level "f#cks given" and is a horrible look for the team.  What happened to that whole code or whatever that players honored to keep the locker room stuff out of the public eye?  Y'know, the whole between brothers/family matters/"it's internal" mantra...  DJ basically just took a on that.  If it's tactical and put out there to pressure the FO, then I'm pretty much done with dude.  Regardless, now more than ever we have to draw a line in the sand.

Side note, for all the hate Trae gets...here again, we see an example of what kind of person/player he is and not getting credit for it.  Compare his drama to this craziness.  He ain't perfect, but at least Trae kept his dirt out of the public and refused to comment.

19 hours ago, warcore said:

It could also be something photoshopped coming out of klutch. 

Supes said this was DJ talking to a fan.... NBA players just communicate with fans like that? I wouldn't, but that's just me. 

A few local articles picked it up. They note that he had social interactions like that with fans in San Antonio and he's deactivated his Twitter(?) account. It would makes sense for DJM and the team to publicly address it with a denial and it is curious that it's out there still.

I can't say that I believe it's 100% genuine, but it does line up 100% with our performance, Dejounte's father posting things, and all the trade back chatter.

Lastly, the message was in response to an exchange between that user and DJ's dad who has since deleted his tweet. 

Lots of smoke there, if not a whole fire.

39 minutes ago, AHF said:

How could you not hold it against the FO if they execute a trade with a terrible return?   Their primary responsibility is to make the most of the assets they inherited.  They also need to chart a direction from where we were when they came in so if they pick a terrible direction I'm holding them accountable.

I don't blame them for mistakes made before they took the job but they own the choices they make going forward which includes the return on any trade and the direction any such deal sends us.

What @JayBirdHawk said.  

I won't put it all on Landry, Kyle & Co.  Certainly they can make things worse and by no means am I absolving them from that.  I'm just saying we're here because of decisions made prior to their arrival.  I want to believe what you believe - that we hold the cards with a young, very good player, not in his prime, and locked in on a team-friendly deal.  At the same time, I don't know what's going on behind the scenes with agents and the politics of GM/player negotiations...and we are consistently being cautioned by all of the insiders to temper our expectations on returns.

In short, I will be LIVID if all we get are some token 1st rounders and a "solid" rotational and/or expiring player...but the larger portion of blame I would place on ownership meddling.

I do want to say for the record AGAIN...that if we're disappointed with the returns or the direction the team is headed, that I personally am not holding it all against the current FO.  They walked into this and have their own challenges making it work.  I'll judge them exclusively on that.

6 minutes ago, Sothron said:

To back up with @thecampster and @NBASupes has said: these leaks about DJM to the Lakers are coming from Klutch and the Lakers. In reality there are several teams talking to the Hawks about DJM. It is not a foregone conclusion he is moved to the Lakers. 

I should probably disconnect from the Squawk over the weekend...maybe until the trade deadline passes. 
I am prone to overthinking and I have a RIDICULOUS imagination

4 minutes ago, JeffS17 said:

Based on the reactions here, the trade to the Lakers for trash and a first has already happened

See above! lol

6 hours ago, JayBirdHawk said:

@Wretch que Oprah. 

Sorry... She's in disbelief

On 1/14/2024 at 3:02 PM, Wretch said:

Too often, I think we forget the human side of the whole game. These aren't robots that have 100% predictable binary responses. They're not parts that you can just swap in and out. There is very much a mental aspect of this game that IMO affects things moreso than anything else. 

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/39383254/mavs-luka-doncic-asks-security-eject-heckling-fan-loss-suns