djjob23

Thanks so much Supes for the update! Glad to hear ATL isn’t looking for anymore 70% value deals. We are so locked in right now and I think the players are fighting to keep this core together. Don’t trade just to trade!

Not sure if Hart has attitude problems, but @gurpilo may be referring to my post on page 131 where I highlight videos of his play and his on/off court mindset. Here's that post quoted here: With how much Willie Green has helped him this season, these reactions to his free agency experience, and some on court situations seem like red flags to me. He's playing emotionally this year and I worry he's more focused on his own success over his team. Hart's stats look good, but they seem more situational as he plays 33.4mpg on a bad team (somebody's gotta produce). Hart looks to mainly play SF and PF for New Orleans this year (they play a lot of small ball) and was mainly their backup SF last year. I think his rebounding stats could be inflated due to playing mainly with sup-par rebounders (Ingram & Jones). To help, here's a link to their most used lineups so far this year: https://www.nba.com/stats/team/1610612740/lineups-advanced/?sort=MIN&dir=1&Season=2021-22&SeasonType=Regular Season Would Hart be as productive as K'Von or Bogi playing fewer minutes (can he handle it emotionally)? Could he be more of a stat padder than a team player? If so, I don't think he's a good fit for our chemistry.

Makes sense, but moving either Bogi or K'Von for Hart seems like more of a financially motivated move. To me, he seems to be a good player on a bad team and a little bit of a head case. Willie Green has been great for his play this year, but take NOP away and I'm not sure if he can embrace our team-first mentality with likely less time on the court (currently gets 33.4mpg). We already know K'Von and Bogi both are team first and care about winning. However, I do like his style of play. TS has gained my trust and I'm sure he'll take team chemistry into account. In case anyone's interested, here's some video showing his play and on/off court mindset: Hart's 2020-21 Highlights: A good listen about how mad he got about his new contract last offseason: Upset Hart (not sure why) rips his his jersey just a couple weeks ago: Hart deliberately hands Jaxson Hayes the ball to avoid recording a shot clock violation turnover:

*Ring Ring Griffin: Hey Travis! Schlenk: Hey David! We're interested in Josh Hart. What's the price? Griffin: Kevin Huert... *click*... You still there... Hello... Damn. https://www.sportstalkatl.com/hawks-and-pelicans-have-discussed-deal-surrounding-kevin-huerter-and-josh-hart/

Feb 2 practice roundup: https://www.si.com/nba/hawks/news/atlanta-hawks-news-roundup-practice-injuries-interviews Cliff Notes: Nate talking with Trae while rebounding his FTs. Speculation of JC and/or Gallo being moved in the next few days. JC wearing a wristwatch during practice. Trae states shoulder is still sore (but improving) and that it's too early to say whether or not he'll play against Suns. Just thinking out loud here, but... If Trae doesn't play against the Suns, the silver lining is it could help TS better determine if any moves need to be made (such as another playmaker) before the trade deadline. Wonder what Trae and Nate were discussing, considering there could potentially be major roster changes soon. Is JC wearing a wristwatch or a smartwatch? If a smartwatch, does he always wear that during practice? If not, could it be deadline related so he gets alerted if/when something happens?

Awesome writeup @lethalweapon3! Boston VERY vocal at shootaround about being locked in tonight. Remember they gave the Kings their 53 point loss a few days ago. WE'VE GOT TO BE READY! A lot of disrespect being thrown around right now after the NBA All Star starters announcement. The NBA even forgetting this is Trae's SECOND career start (pointed out by @RedDawg#8). Look at the title: Big game tonight as we fight for the playoffs! Expect some ICE in the forecast! LET'S GO HAWWWWWKS!!!

It's fair to say that Cam being a "locker room cancer" is overblown as I don't think his locker room character was the issue. However, the locker room seemingly became unhealthy when other players became aware of his trade request causing awkwardness inside the locker room (mentioned per an article from The Athletic): https://theathletic.com/3069571/2022/01/13/cam-reddish-traded-how-hell-fit-with-knicks-why-the-hawks-gave-up-on-him-right-now-and-more/ After an ECF run with momentum towards Championship contention for a promising young core (Cam included), hearing that Cam wanted out of that situation can negatively affect a locker room and have players start to question the future of the team. On top of this, Cam's inconsistent on-court effort could only add to the awkwardness. Not to say all of our problems this year were due to Cam (we won't know the truth for a while), but this drama could explain why some of our effort pre and post trade has been so positive. Having said this, I think the Hawks have handled this situation very professionally and the rest of the league should be shaking in their boots when we are clicking as we are now. This team is playing like they want to be here and that's a good thing! I wish Cam the best and hope he gets what he wants. The Hawks future is strong with this core and hopefully we can all turn the page with them. TITS!

To add, Cam only played 118 games for us over 3 seasons. Granted some games he missed were related to development, but that should still say something about how much work he still has to go to get to where he believes he already is. He is a special talent and I wish him the best wherever he finds home, but the value we received in this trade was a win from a financial perspective at the very least.

CONGRATS TRAE!!! Well deserved, especially after last year's snub. HAHA Trae's comment to Charles is great...

Money could be a factor for Cam leaving, but most of all TS understands chemistry and he's not going to pay someone who was unhappy with their role and doesn't want to be on the team. When you have a deep team with championship aspirations, the last thing you need is a cancer in the locker room not putting the team first. It's possible that since JJ left Duke early, he is looking to build back his reputation and thus could be buying into our development process better than Cam did. If so and JJ is patient with his development, his potential could definitely make the decision to trade Cam easier. JJ needs a lot of development time before he becomes impactful at this level, but if he continues to work hard on both sides, his skill sets could bring another dynamic to our core.

Bogi was magnificent tonight! Was it because he was playing his former employer... who knows. All I know is I want him to stay healthy and to see him do it again!

AWESOME WIN!!! I want players that do things like this on my team... so invaluable to winning!

I sadly agree! There are possible minutes up for grabs with Hunter and TLC currently questionable, but the sailing between 2 ships has really hurts their development. Especially Cooper: https://soaringdownsouth.com/2022/01/25/atlanta-hawks-sharife-cooper-problem/ Here's to a blowout and some valuable playing time for these 2 tonight! GO HAWKS!!!

Kings are definitely gonna be hungry after their 53-point loss and will be looking to take it out on us (even if Fox is still held out). Hawks have not fared well this season after 2 days of rest so we've gotta wake up and take control early! Hope Bogi's probable status gets upgraded so he gets to play and light up his former employer! GO HAWKS!!!

Rare company as this comeback only joins T-Mac's god mode night over the last 20 seasons...

This angle is just magnificent! Trae's handles are lightning quick! Watch out for that ice...

Just putting this here. Article from Marc Stein mentions how rival teams believed Grayson Allen's penalty for his flagrant 2 was too light. Couldn't agree more. https://marcstein.substack.com/p/yes-grayson-allen-got-off-light

To be fair, at the time of this quote, both Simmons and LeBron were both playing the point guard position for their teams. However, I'd consider their skill sets to be best utilized as playmaking point forwards. JJ was likely referring more to their passing abilities and skill sets at their size. JJ does have some of these similarities, just needs more time to develop them. Draft Combine Interview (@5:40 & 8:15): https://www.si.com/nba/thunder/video/watch-talented-duke-forward-jalen-johnsons-draft-combine-interview?jwsource=cl I agree it does matter how JJ is developed by the staff and that should be a concern. However, if the Hawks are trying to trade for Ben Simmons, why not develop JJ who may naturally provide similar skill sets (plus a jumper), be a cheaper option, and not gut the team/mess with chemistry. Although JJ's shown flashes of these similar skill sets, he'll likely need way more time and work on both sides before he's able to play that similar style at an impactful level. Regardless, having both JJ and Coop developing in GLeague is quite a luxury.

HAHA! Thanks y'all for the welcome wagon. Happy to be here and talk Hawks!

Watching JJ in GLeague is definitely refreshing! With the Hawks playing so well and having both Coop and JJ in the farm system does make standing pat more favorable. As much as I'd enjoy watching Simmons play with Trae (they compliment each other really well), there seems to be too many cons IMO (Simmons' mentality/buy in/delay, Harris' contract, losing future picks, offensive spacing of JC, Gallo & Bogi, possibly needing to trade Capela, etc.). Maybe some smaller trades if need be, but I think the goal should be to not mess with the current chemistry if they continue to play like this. Besides, if JJ mentioned he's modeled his game after Simmons and Lebron, then we may have a cheaper option to Simmons already in the farm. If he continues to work hard (on both sides), he could become that playmaking point forward for the Hawks once the game slows down for him. He looks to have the talent. Just add water.

So glad to hear Hunter is optimistic! He's been arguably our 2nd best player so this news is very encouraging, but should still be a wake up call for the NBA. I don't trust the refs to do this fairly, but the NBA should be doing a better job with flagrant 2's. With Grayson Allen only getting a one game suspension for his flagrant 2 on Caruso, the NBA is sending a message that these types of plays are a part of basketball and will be penalized as such. Flagrant 2's are not basketball plays and should not be okay, period. If a player like Grayson (already has a dirty reputation) only gets a one game suspension, it opens the door to actions like Oubre and Washington's, where the penalty will not outweigh their actions. NBA players are not gods, they do bleed. When a player gets injured, it takes time to heal both mentally and physically. Even then, they're lucky to bounce back from an injury 100%. Because of Grayson's malicious actions, Caruso is now out 6-8 weeks. There are ways to help avoid these types of injuries. For refs, yes there is a middle ground between calling every ticky-tack foul and getting players injured (how about just calling games evenly?). For the NBA, if they care about the game and its growth, their players should feel better protected from malicious actions on the court (there is no excuse). I propose the framework that all flagrants (and other potentially missed malicious actions) be reviewed by the NBA for malicious intent, actions, and reactions (including before, during, and after the action). If confirmed a flagrant 2, the player should have it on their file (penalties multiplied based on the amount on file). Player is fined/suspended based on the severity of the flagrant 2. If the involved player(s) are injured/harmed due to the flagrant 2, the player is suspended indefinitely until the involved player(s) has returned from the injury (up to 25 games).

Hey Squawkers! This is my first post on Squawk (been trying to join for a while). Although I haven't posted a lot, I've enjoyed the discussions on this board and am excited to be here. Now let's talk Simmons! I can see him working really well here. Just for fun, here's an ATL/PHI framework trade I came up with including IND/HOU (wasn't sure where picks should go): ATL Out: Gallo / Huerter / Wright / 3 2022 1sts ATL In: Simmons PHI Out: Simmons / Harris PHI In: Sabonis / Wall / Warren / 2022 ATL 1st (unprotected) IND Out: Sabonis / Warren IND In: Gallo / Huerter / 2022 ATL 1st (via CHA) HOU Out: Wall HOU In: Harris / Wright / 2022 ATL 1st (via OKC) Why ATL: Hawks fund this entire trade with valuable draft stock. Although Simmons will be out for weeks (how much did we break him?), he should be a welcome sight for our defense. This also makes Trae happy and could help relieve a lot of pressure. Offensively, Trae's PnR game favors our bigs, where Ben's probing game could make the game easier for our wings. They compliment each others weaknesses very well. High risk, but an even higher reward. Why PHI: Simmon's drama now over. Doesn't waste a healthy year with Embiid. They get their star(s) in Sabonis (can't believe he's only 25yo) and Wall (last game he played had 27pts, 13ast, 3rbs, 2blk, and 1stl). Gets rid of Simmon's 4 year max contract, shortens Harris' 3 year bad contract into Wall's 2 year bad contract. Harden isn't leaving Brooklyn, but Wall does have a player option should you convince him and Harden to play for a championship in Philly next year. Let's not forget about T.J. Warren (foot), who has been cleared to increase activities after recent scan (is running on the floor now) and is apparently just weeks away from returning. Oh, let's not forget about the 2022 1st cherry. Why IND: If Indy is blowing it up, then this package helps them start that goal with valuable pieces. Huerter is a special young wing who is already a team first professional with a strong foundation. Gallo (filler) is on a team friendly contract. The 2022 1st is the cherry. Why HOU: In rebuild mode. Harris' contract is smaller than Wall's annually, but it's 1 year longer. They are compensated with draft capital. Hawks Roster: Simmons / Lou / Cooper Trae / Bogi / Mays Hunter / Knox / TLC Collins / JJ Capela / Okongwu / Dieng Sixers Roster: Wall / Maxey / Powell Curry / Green / Korkmaz / Joe Thybulle / Warren / Key Sabonis / Niang / Reed Embiid / Drummond / Bassey Thoughts?