Packfill

To be devil's advocate, you could take the position that (a) Trae has not been on a competitive team for 3 years now and (b) given the expanded playoff format, just being a playoff team in and of itself is not a significant accomplishment, particularly in the East for the past few years. To me the real question is whether the current roster has the right talent and composition to be a contender. My answer would be no, in large measure due to the defensive shortcoming, lack of size or perennial injury risks of a handful of rotation players (chiefly Hunter, OO, Bogi and JJ). Others can feel free to disagree but I do not see how the team can solve its defensive/size issues without trading DJM (I don't think they would trade Trae). Such a trade may involve a step back in order to take two steps forward.

Not sure I buy what you are selling (and to be clear, this is my personal view and I am not intending to invalidate your position). OO played 80 games last season and had a full off-season for the first time to work on his game and yet he did not get better. Without question last season with the experience he received and the health he had coupled with the new better coaching should have been his springboard to a new level and he just did not make that leap. That to me is very worrisome for his long term outlook. Happy to be proven wrong.

I don't think it is an insult to OO to say he is not as good as Al. That is just a fact. I wish OO could be as good as Al or Bam but I just don't see it. For one thing he does not have, or at least has not to date evidenced that he has, the court vision or passing acumen those guys have.

I don't see how anyone could support having OO as the starter given his track record of getting hurt. He is almost guaranteed to miss 20+ games a year. The Hawks would absolutely need to have a guy behind him who is just as good, because otherwise you are setting the team up to be massively shorthanded during the prolonged periods OO is unavailable. Just think about going forward with a frontline of OO, JJ and Hunter. Realistically, how many games per season do you envision those three all being available? 40 games where all three are healthy at the same time? Would you take the over or the under? I would 100% support moving OO if the team could get a good return due to the fact that he has so far not been able to force the issue and take CC's job and the fact that he has a real availability problem.

If I were running the Hawks I would continue to view Gueye as a developmental prospect and thus would have no expectation he takes over a rotation spot next season. If he forces his way in great but I am constructing my team with the understanding he may give me nothing next season - he did not look ready in his limited minutes this season.

In addition, OO goes up to $14 next year I believe.

To be clear, Hollinger himself is not saying to trade Trae, he is passing along what he has "heard". Whether what he has heard is credible is obviously open for debate. Personally, I find it is unlikely they trade Trae. Given that, I hope they move Murray because to me running it back makes no sense at all unless the goal is to be mediocre.

Caption of that video is misleading since it shows highlights from multiple seasons (Ivey is in some of those highlights).

Big difference playing against a team that plays defense versus whatever it is the Hawks do. Hawks have an uncanny ability to allow average players have career days.

Guys like OO and Hunter are very difficult to rely on because they get injured so often. JJ concerns me in that regard as well. And in OO’s case he isn’t even playing a starter workload. How can you rely on him to play 30 minutes a night. I would be totally fine with packaging OO with DJM to get a better return and fit around Trae. CC I see as having low trade value so hard to move him in a deal that impacts winning.

Coby White sure seemed to forget that. He had no fear shooting from distance or going right to the cup.

In my opinion they are both first rounders in this weak draft.

I agree. Quinn has had 100+ games to see this backcourt won’t work. Time to be proactive and fix this.

Ware and Missi are talented but need substantial development. I doubt either will crack an NBA rotation for at least a year and a half, and more likely two years, after being drafted.

Hawks need to make some major moves this off season. Rolling it back plus some draft picks will not change the results. The fact that Bufkin.and Mo can’t get run over third stringers is not a ringing endorsement. Call me a hater but I do not see the upside in this roster.

For some reason I was thinking Jalen Hardy (g-league alum and now on Mavs) versus Jaden Ivey. My bad.

Chet peaked in college? His rookie year says otherwise from my perspective. Unless I am wrong Zach and Edey are the only two of those guys who suited up for a U.S. college program.

My focus is on defense. Ideally I want a big and a big wing, at least one of which is ready to play as a rookie. Clingan is definitely a target but unfortunately I am expecting him to be gone before I get to make a pick. That said, I would be looking to move Murray in the off-season so the return on that trade may change what I do in the draft.

C+ for Quinn from me. Injuries is the only excuse. Outside of JJ I am not seeing the player development - all the other recent draftees have either been injured or otherwise have not evidenced definitively that they can be reliable rotation pieces going forward. Bruno, Vit and the Mathews will go back to being third stringers once everyone else is healthy.

I understand where you are coming from Quinn . . .

To me that is a draft high on upside and low on on court contributions for at least a year or two. If I was the Hawks GM I want one of those first rounders able to play from day one. Maybe that is asking too much from this draft.

So Hansbrough was not a better college player than 5th year senior Cam Johnson in your estimation? Hansbrough was player of the year and won a title for a reason. Also of note, that of the 4 UNC players drafted in Hansbrough's draft that year he had the shortest career of the bunch. And let us remember what Cam Johnson is - a decent rotation player with a nice outside shot and just enough defense. The Hawks could use him as an upgrade over Bey.

Plenty of collegiate all-americans and players of the year that have done nadda in the NBA. Two recent Wooden Award winners are Oscar Tschiebwe and Luke Garza. Or look back a few years at Frank Mason, Tyler Hansbrough and Jimmer Fredette. Looking at the list of winners - Kevin Durant's freshman year was nuts!

While I think this is a great win I do not view any individual game as evidence of any specific long-term trend. In saying that, I note that with or without Trae this team is mid - and has been for a few seasons now (basically since they lost in the ECF finals). I am hoping DJM's opportunity to play point in Trae's absence and the spike in his numbers help inflate his trade value so the team can move him in the off-season for a better long term fit next to Trae. I still think that trade has to happen to move this team to the next level. I wish I felt differently.

Great win.