Packfill

Jokic is a much better player than Trae. Maybe Trae levels up to that MVP level but until that happens history shows the Hawks have little chance to win a championship. And Jokic is a good example of a player that leveled up- he went from all star to MVP.

I am a little surprised that Bufkin and Miller are so high. Miller intrigues me.

27/10 is irrelevant. Trae needs to raise his level of play to give the Hawks a chance. Jokic raised his game from all-star to MVP after the Nuggets lost in the playoffs in 2019. Can Trae make the same jump? The best player on the last few championship teams: 2023: Jokic; 2022: Cury; 2021: Giannis; 2020: Lebron; 2019: Kawhi (before 2019 there is a lot of Lebron and Curry over the prior decade, with some Kawhi and Dirk thrown in the mix). Lebron, Curry, Giannis and Jokic are all going to go down as all time greats. If the Hawks are going to win a championship history shows we need an all-time great or a truly great ensemble roster (think Detroit Bad Boys).

Unless the Hawks are going for a rebuild, who they draft should not have a big impact on trades because most of the available talent is a couple years away from helping in a meaningful way.

I don't think this trade proposal is good for any of the teams involved. Hawks need a big with a more well rounded game and this trade just delivers two backups Wiz will be walking into a disaster pairing two big guys with no switchability Philly only does this out of desperation Suns maybe like this trade as it gives them a third offensive cog but it does not solve the fact they need a . . .Mikal Bridges

Hawkins is a very intriguing player due to his offensive game but a defensive pairing with Trae would be a disaster for the Hawks. At this point I think I would prefer Kobe Bufkin if I were to go with a shooting guard at 15, with the hope he turns into versatile third guard. Really though, Cam Whitmore would be my guy for the the Hawks in this draft but I think he is gone long before 15. I think it is more likely, however, the Hawks go for length and take a flier on Leonard Miller or Noah Clowney.

I do not consider myself a Trae hater but I would trade him in a nanosecond for Tatum (I think every GM in the league would as well). I do not think you can say they have won in spite of him on any objective or subjective basis. Tatum does impact the game at so many levels. He did pull a Trae last night by busting out in the 4th Q.

Steph "is not in the top 20 in PPG" is misleading as he averaged over 29 points per game during the regular season. That is of course more than Trae. Also not really fair to just look at points and assists for Jokic and Embiid. I also think most NBA general managers would, based on the information they have today, trade Trae for SGA if given the opportunity (and if they had SGA, would not trade him for Trae). That is my opinion. To me OKC was surprisingly good given that they had no bigs and are so young/inexperienced as a team.

I generally agree with your sentiment. Trae needs to take the shots because the team has not evidenced an ability to win consistently without him being the guy - and for him part of being the guy is the gravity that volume creates. To me Trae's inefficiency and ability to win in the playoffs is a product of the teams roster construction (combination of shot-creation, spacing and defense) and how other teams play defense against the Hawks and Trae. Teams with strong defenses seem willing on most nights to trade shots with the Hawks with the idea being they will out efficiency the Hawks (in part because the Hawks defense is not the effective). They also dare anyone other than Trae to beat them. That strategy, as we have seen, does not work when the Hawks are dropping shots but in a 7 game series teams are expecting this to work more often then not. The Hawks need to solve those issues if they want to advance in the playoffs.

Trae’s counting stats were great in the playoffs this year but his efficiency was not. It doesn’t matter though if you win. There have been some really incredible statistical performances in this year’s playoffs.

I am still not sure about JJ. I do think next season will be very important for him to establish himself as a regular contributor. He should be doing a lot of shooting work in the off-season.

I agree. I also think that if they like any of the young players (OO, JJ, AJ, etc.) and believe in their development, then trading a vet to help shore up another roster hole and allowing the young guy a bigger role is an efficient use of cap, player development and assets. They may also prefer trading a young guy or picks to bring in a contributor or two. I don't think the Quinn system and player development alone will get the Hawks to contender status.

This move would only make sense as part of a larger roster restructuring where the extra annual cap savings was needed.

Just looking at the remaining Eastern Conference playoff teams has me thinking the Hawks missed a real opportunity. Is there a team remaining in the east that scares you? No. A flawed team like the Knicks or the Heat could conceivably make it to the finals. If the Hawks could have advanced past the Celtics there was an opportunity there. A shame the Hawks did not come to play in the first couple games of the Celtics series. They definitely ran out of gas last night.

I think it is really hard to make the move from a middle of the pack team to a true contender. Moving on from Nate was the single biggest move in the right direction the team made this season. Other than the coaching upgrade (and I expect that to be more pronounced next season when Quinn can fully implement his packages) the season was a mix of regression (Collins in particular, but also first half Trae), modest player development (OO, AJ, JJ) and some stagnation (Clint, Hunter, etc.). In my opinion, the Front office has some work to do to take this team to the next level. It is hard for me to believe the roster as currently constructed is a championship caliber team and so some moves - including trades, are needed (I am not saying a rebuild). Would be happy to be proven wrong. I do expect there will be a fair amount of pressure on the front office and coaching staff to win next season - 45+ wins and at least making it to the second round of the playoffs.

If I had to pick a current NBA star to pair with Trae for the next 4 years I would pick Tatum. He can do a little bit of everything and his ability to do multiple things (from scoring, shooting/spacing, facilitating, defending multiple positions and providing some size) would give the team flexibility to build the roster around those two guys. Plus Tatum has proven to be fairly durable and the two match-up well from an age perspective so both would be in their prime during the same window. Embiid would be my second choice. I know getting him is not possible, but the question was who is the best partner for Trae - I did not take that to mean the guy had to be available.

I don't think Houston would want JC. They are going to be all in on Jabari Smith at power forward - not to mention Wemby if they get the first pick. Houston needs a vet point guard and another vet culture/locker room guy and then hope and pray some of the young guys take a leap.

I think he will be viewed as a reclamation project by someone. Maybe the Hawks get someone back who is also in need of a change of scenery.

Don't go down by 20 in the first half! Please!

Philly has actually had major turnover from that post season - basically only Embiid, Harris and Maxey are left from their top 9.

I am fully on board with trading CC and JC but I think both are substantially devalued as trade assets at this point so I am not sure what meaningful asset they could return in a trade without the Hawks including a sweetener (pick or young prospect).

Okay, you lost me on the legacy piece then. No doubt the Mavs can't afford any more losses. We are all hoping for a Hawks win today.

I am looking at the standings and both teams have losing records as of right now. If both teams run the table from now until the end of the season both are still mid. Absent Trae and the Hawks surprising during the playoffs neither one of them is building a legacy off of this season. I also think for as flawed as the Hawks are they have a much better supporting cast than Luka has. I am 100% confident that every GM and assistant GM in the NBA would trade the non-Trae Hawks for the non-Luka Mavs without hesitation. The good news from the above is that the Hawks front office is not quite as inept as the Mavs front office. I get that we are all frustrated with how the season has played out for the Hawks but trying to push a non-existent narrative that this is a statement game is pointless.

I would have thought he would have been pegged for a bigger role next season too but then they extended Bogi and makes me think that may not happen, at least not in ATL.

Both teams are mid so I do not see this as a statement game no matter the result.