Packfill

The Hawks need to make a trade to fix this roster. Trade deadline was an opportunity to do that. Now they need to get something done this summer. I am very skeptical as to whether there is a real plan in place or not to turn this team into a winner.

I appreciate the optimism but I personally don't think the path is that easy. This team is so dreadful defensively that it is hard to envision progressing without meaningful changes on the roster - and the team has limited resources to make those meaningful changes. CC is on the decline already, Bogi is getting to that age where he could decline at any time (not to mention his injury history). Hunter's injury history is what it is and I can't see it getting better as he ages. The fact that AJ and Kobe can't get any burn on this team is not a good sign. Plus the whole point of signing Quinn last year was to jump start things this season. That has not worked out. I hope I am wrong.

I am getting less optimistic about this "core." This team had that one nice run when Nate took over but has otherwise been mediocre at best since.. They pushed a lot of chips onto the table with the DJM trade and don't have much to show for that - and they have already tried a coaching change. I am of the view currently that they need to shake things up. I hope to be proven wrong on that but the results speak for themselves.

I think OKC has a clear need mor front court depth. CC may not be the right fit for them but if I am the Hawks I would definitely explore something.

I think Daniels is someone to target too - not as the sole piece for DJM obviously but a young player with good defensive and playmaking potential. If he can get his shot figured out he could really be something.

This Hawks team has a bad habit of playing down to its competition. That said, these are exactly the type of games the team should be winning to help create some momentum - if not for this season then optimism for next season.

Itis for sure but if you are a team like the Hawks without an obvious path to championship contention sometimes you need to take some risks to get to that next level. Zion would be a huge risk to be sure.

Maybe this is a precursor to Detroit trading Bojan.

Pretty poor return for the Jazz.

Also, I don't see Cleveland trading Okoro now without getting value back even if he is too expensive to resign - he is averaging 24+ minutes a night on a team that has only lost twice this year!

If the Hawks are committed to a Trae/DJM backcourt going forward I still think they need an overhaul of the frontcourt if they want to move beyond being a "mid" team. I would not make any moves for short term fixes. Any moves the team makes should be with next season and beyond in mind in my opinion.

Maybe sign Snell?

While I 100% agree that acquiring Lavine is a bad move for the Hawks I cannot see any reason why Chicago would want to swap Caruso and Williams for Bogi and Bey since that trade does not solve any needs for them. Just being devils advocate.

Those options exist for sure, but obviously trading Bogi, Bey or any other rotation player means also needing to replace their minutes. So if you trade Bogi for a center that is great for the center rotation but means someone needs to step into those minutes at guard (though you would hope the two recent first round picks the Hawks have on their roster would be able to do that).

A general lack of effort and team work on defense.

Only 11 games so the sample size is very small - though the volume over those 11 games is quite high - but 30.6% on 3pt attempts for Kobe seems low. Maybe they are force feeding him being a volume scorer and primary ball handler so that is impacting efficiency, and in a more limited role he could be a more efficient scorer.

If that is true of Luka it is true of Trae as well. Both have had one run to the conference championship and not a lot else. Both need some more playoff success to validate their stats in my opinion.

You would think with Kylie out it would be easy to tilt the entire defense to stop Luka. Mavs as a team shot over 60% from the field. Evan bad defenders that play with effort could stop that from happening - the Hawks aren’t putting a team of rookies on the floor.

Hawks don’t have anything to blow up. They have already imploded. Mavs shot over 60% from the field tonight. That should not happen in the NBA unless you are tanking.

Yuck. Trae surrounded by role players that lack upside is a good way to lock this squad into a play-in team for the next couple years.

Nola might want DJ but they don't need him, particularly if doing so destroys their wing depth.

They won because they have one of the three best basketball players currently on the planet and a guy who plays like prime Steph Curry in the playoffs. That is their starting point, which is not bad!

In some respects it does seem like a terrible pairing with Trae. Hawks need a culture setter.

I don't understand what is going on with AJ that he can't get 15 minutes in a game like this. No Trae, no Hunter, down early so seems like a good time to get him 15 minutes of run.

I am less optimistic than you but am 100% behind being opportunistic. I do think the team needs to make some moves if it wants to progress past play-in hopeful.