lynred

Yeah I'm with you on this kg. In a similar situation a few years ago, I think San Antonio took a lesser deal for Kawhi to keep him from forcing his way to L.A. Honestly if I'm Portland, I would pull him completely off the market if the deals were not to my liking. They are rebuilding anyway, so Dame can either hold out (without pay) or comply with a reasonable trade by opening up his list of preferred teams.

Seems to be a well rounded, skilled guy. I see a little De'Aaron Fox in his game.

I agree - it's clear to me that Trae (and possibly others) are ready to move on from Nate. In fact, I honestly believe that's one of the unstated reasons that Travis is gone - because he probably knows what's coming and didn't want the firing on his watch.

I made the same call after the Houston game. I'll be back when Nate is gone - because I don’t see any other realistic solution.

Hopefully that was a short conversation between Schlenk and Ainge. Leave it to DA - always trying to rip teams off.

I'm conflicted on Nate - part of me wants him fired and part of me thinks he deserves to come back. My gut tells me he will be back on a short leash - so if they bring in a high-profile assistant - that could be telling. I get the feeling that Nate would be too stubborn and resist that and it could turn into a very contentious play for the organization. At the end of the day, I guess I would probably be inclined to bring in a seasoned coach - if available - who is strong with game management/strategy and focused on player development - perhaps Kenny Atkinson or Dave Joerger. Or really almost anyone from the Pop tree - you can't go wrong there. Otherwise, just let it play out one more year and things will probably be more clearer. Gotta admit I'm jealous of Boston and the Pelicans with what they are doing with ROOKIE head coaches - who seem to know exactly what they are doing - and we are stuck with an unimaginative, rigid, stubborn coach like Nate. Maybe that's unfair, but it's how I feel right now. The optics of letting him go after one year are going to look bad, but his shortcomings - which have been well innumerated in previous posts - are VERY concerning - and may cap this teams ceiling. Many of which we heard from Pacer fans when he took over last year. I don't blame Travis for the contract - he almost had no choice, but I believe SOME consideration should be given to a coaching change this off-season.

We've got to upgrade Delon as a PG in the buyout market.

Absolutely correct. The Hawks squandered their Covid "gimme" against the Magic and the Knicks didn't (against the Hawks). And losing all these home games has eradicated their margin of error and now the price is being paid. Hopefully, we can get some pieces back and have a Braves like run in the second half, get back to the playoffs, and make another run there. One can only hope

I'm really starting to lose my patience with Adam Silver. At this point, it's not about how many replacement players you can sign because If teams can't be realistically competitive, why continue to play the games?

Normally I would agree with you Diesel, but that loss last night to a rag-tag, covid stricken Magic team was INEXCUSABLE - under any context. If we were fielding a JV squad, then they were starting what - a 5th grade unit? Maybe we just chalk it off to the "any-given night" principle, but that should've been a dub.

Truer words were never spoken.

That's because his handle is not good enough to consistently self create.

They’ve been saying that for a decade and they were right about being lined up to do it at one point. But Danny chose to keep his cards and passed on the big moves and so now those days have passed unless they want to trade star for star Actually, they did trade for a star - Kyrie - but unfortunately the outcome was not what they hoped for. But I agree, Ainge had a treasure trove of assets and overplayed his hand - trying to win every trade by a landslide. By the time he realized it, it was too late and all he had was mediocre picks and unproven young talent to dangle.

Honestly, if Cam Thomas or Bones Hyland are available @ 20, the Hawks should run to the podium. In addition to backup PG and a big center, if anything, this post season demonstrated that the Hawks could use a microwave scorer on the 2nd unit - especially someone who can iso and get to his spot to knock down shots in the half court when the offense bogs down late in the shot clock. I love Lou Will and maybe he returns for another season, but either Cam or Bones would be a young and cheap replacement to groom. I know defense is a problem right now for Cam (as it is for most rookies), however, I would imagine that the D would improve with experience and Nate's tutelage. What is obvious is that he has a very skilled offensive tool set consisting of hesi pull-ups and step-backs (albeit a little inefficient at the moment) and could potentially be an elite scorer off the bench.

Will Beal now being ruled out for team USA, is Trae now a possibility? Do we even want him there? Maybe they go with Morant or a combo/shooter? Interesting dilemma https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10007888-bradley-beal-wont-play-for-team-usa-in-olympics-after-entering-health-protocols