djjob23

14 minutes ago, bleachkit said:

Cavs getting Lavert.

Pretty good haul for Indiana! Let the blowup commence! This is a good trade for both sides.

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!

4 hours ago, SerbianHawk said:

What attittude problems?

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: 

10 hours ago, djjob23 said:

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:

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.

2 hours ago, Sothron said:

Hart's quirky deal and better defense/rebounding and playmaking is something they are interested in. I think we would be more likely to send them Bogi. Just my speculation. 

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:

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?

1 hour ago, bleachkit said:

I think suggestions that Cam being was a "locker room cancer" are overblown. He and Dre were good buddies, and he was well liked. His desire to leave was not because he didnt like his teammates. He wanted a bigger role to earn a big second contract, and we have a lot of depth here. Even if it doesn't work out in New York he will have a plenty of one year prove it deals available. If it's all about money, go to the worst team you can find, where plenty of minutes and touches are available. 

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/

Quote

Reddish didn’t want to be with the team anymore. He requested out several months ago, sources say, and most players knew he didn’t want to be there, which led to awkwardness inside the locker room.

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!

16 minutes ago, thecampster said:

 

I distinctly remember you criticizing me because I did not! 

Take the player's names out of it.

 

#9 2018

#20 2022

for

#10 2019.

 

That's the trade by the numbers. Take the players' names and Thibbs terrible use of Knox out of the equation and it looks like a win for the Hawks. I am not making that up. I honestly think we might have won this trade going forward.

You kind of can't look at it like Cam potential > Knox potential.  Knox was terribly utilized in New York that has been evident in the limited playing sample we've seen here. Not worthy of #9, sure but also not worthy of no playing time and little use.  Cam was greatly underutilized here because of who was in front of him and Cam failed to do what was necessary to earn the time / utilization.  So in their previous circumstances, neither was really worth that #20 pick to keep or get rid of. Knox bad fit NY, Cam playing behind others in Atlanta. When you consider there wasn't going to be another $15 million for Cam once the Hawks got done paying Hunter, he was probably gone anyway.  So....we got a #20 pick for $2.5 per year for 4 years vs Cam at $60 million for 4 years or bupkis. 

Facts are we took each others bad fit and we got a pick in the process.  Short term, I actually believe we won the trade. Long term, I believe Cam's natural physical maturity wins out so win/lose actually depends on if Knox develops and what the 20 pick turns in to. If Cam fills out those shoulders and turns into a very solid starting SF he could be very good.  IMHO and barring a break out in New York, they are going to flip him again as part of a package in the summer. I'd wager its 75/25 Cam isn't in New York next year, so we really can't see what this deal was (New York win/lose) until we see what Cam is flipped for next year (my assumptions being true that is).

 

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.

2 hours ago, Sothron said:

Clearly we need Bogi to start. That was amazing to see tonight. Not just the shooting but his passing, ability to attack the basket, create off the dribble and oh yeah he was PLAYING DEFENSE as well.

Night and day watching him this game versus his last game before he was rested to heal his knee.

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! 

12 minutes ago, terrell said:

I don't understand why we keep recalling Sharife and JJ. They know they ain't playing. We know they ain't playing, the other team knows they ain't playing. Lol

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!!!

1 hour ago, lethalweapon3 said:

...

They then let Fox’s former backup, Cory Joseph, carve them up with nine assists to close out the homestand last Wednesday with a loss to Detroit, blowing an 11 point lead with under six minutes remaining (don’t laugh, Washington). Now the Kings (18-31, 3-6 on back ends of back-to-backs), in a sour mood, are seeking to scratch out their first road win since December 1.

Oddly, until last night’s 128-75 washout loss in Boston (Fox was withheld from the game, Gentry saving up his lead scorer’s sore ankle for today), the Kings have played more competitively in defeat under Gentry. From the start of their November funk through the end of December, Sacramento suffered through 14 double-digit defeats in 23 games. Last night’s Beantown beatdown was just their third loss by 10 or more points in this month (3-9 in January).

...

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!!!

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

25 minutes ago, macdaddy said:

oh i don't know.   He envisions himself a playmaking guard yet we seem to be developing him as a PF/C.   I'm concerned about that. 

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. 

3 hours ago, LongTimeFan said:

Welcome to the Squawk Mr. Hunter.  Enjoy the ride! 

2 hours ago, Diesel said:

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

On 1/22/2022 at 2:04 PM, Gray Mule said:

...

Jalen Johnson is in the G League where he's maturing.  Right now he's kinda good.  As he grows he's going to be great.  This covers last summer's draft.

...

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.

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?