Dragitoff

What are your thoughts on Luol Deng?

I see this having about 0.001% of happening, but if it did, could we package Dennis and Baze along with some picks for Butler or George? Maybe a lineup of Paul, Paul, Paul and Dwight. Better yet trade Dwight to San Antonio and get back Pau. lol We could call it the lineup of Paul's an say we left one L off since all we do is win!

It's that pump fake 3, take 1 step forward and then jump back for a fadeaway 3 that gets me. First couple of times he did it I thought it was just coincidence. Now he does it every game.

Saturday, I wish Bud would open the game with Prince guarding Wall. He's going to make some mistakes and get burned, but so is everyone else guarding Wall. At least Prince has the size and some speed to make Wall work on most possessions. Put Dennis on Beal and THJ on Porter. Let Thabo and Baze play together off the bench ALONG with Calderon. Stop this Baze @ PG crap. It worked a few times during the regular season but it isn't working against the Wiz. Calderon is a liability on defense but he's not hurting you on offense. I wouldn't even mind Bembry being in uniform and getting an opportunity to D up Wall. He did a great job earlier in the year on Harden. We HAVE to wear Wall down. As he goes, so do the Wiz. I can't stand seeing him acting like he's the greatest player in the world every time he makes a shot.

The more I watch Bazemore and his defensive rotation and his handles, the more frustrating he is. I love his enthusiasm and athleticism but he tries to do too much on offense and then tries to cheat too much on defense and gets burned soooooo many times. It seems like last year he played more closely to his man and now it's like he's trying to pad his steal stats by helping on double teams or baiting the post player into kicking out so he can maybe get a steal. Problem is he's cheating too much and leaving a man WIDE OPEN! Thabo must still be hurt. He's barely getting any burn out there. He infuriates me with him behind the back dribbling and lack of consistency whatsoever with a shot, but at least he's going to play tough D no matter who he's guarding.

The key to last night's game was 100% Rajon Rondo. He played like 2012 Rondo. He pushed the tempo and wreaked havoc in the passing lanes. If he keeps playing like that, he makes everyone around him better. Chicago has enough vet experience blended with young talent that makes them dangerous if they're clicking. I hope Atlanta gets a chance to bring them back down to earth in the 2nd round.

Defensively I like Baze and Thabo coming off the bench anyway. Now that we've got Calderon to run the offense for the 2nd unit and Ersan and a rejuvenated Moose, we can score enough. I just like having those 2 guys to stop the other team's 2nd unit from scoring. That 2nd unit will rely on ball movement to score and I think they've got the right personnel to do it.

Re-examining my proposal, I agree they shouldn't have to throw in their pick, but I think that's the kind of 3 way deal that makes the most sense for all 3 teams involved. Builds around strength for Denver (wings) and improves their weakness (PG)

I think Denver is a PG away from being a pesky team out west. Would a deal like... Atlanta in: Wilson Chandler Denver in: Deron Williams and Andrew Bogut Dallas in: Tiago Splitter, Atlanta 1st, Jusuf Nurkic, Denver pick ...be enough to get everyone involved and happy? Deron doesn't seem to want to leave Dallas, but they're going nowhere this year and he's a FA at the end of the season. Atlanta improves their perimeter defense, size and scoring without sacrificing any rotational or future pieces (except for the draft pick)

What are the rules for trading players that opt into player options? Can it happen? Realistically, I could see ways of getting both Howard and Parsons IF that's legal. Millsap/Teague for Howard/Beverly/pick Re-signed Bazemore/Splitter for Parsons/filler (would technically have to be 2 separate deals for S&T) or something along those lines. If each player does that, it gives them a chance to re-establish value and cash in next year, but with both being health risks, also carries significant risk for them.

Fredi's lineup construction, pitcher usage, and overall managerial decisions have hurt this team for years. Did he have a team the past 2 years built to win? No, but he made poor use of what he did have. He should've been shown the door the same time Frank Wren was.

I think part of Durant knows in OKC, he'll always be part of a winner, but they just can't get over that hump. Golden State and San Antonio are superstar led teams that play team basketball. OKC is more about Westbrook taking a ton of shots. His assists will come off dribble drive kickouts or dump offs. I love Westbrook's gamer mentality, but he takes so many contested shots (and hits lots of them), I could see that frustrating others. Teams like Boston and Atlanta play team oriented basketball also. They're just missing the superstar to put them in the San Antonio/Golden State level. Durant strikes me as a guy that would not only thrive in that type of system, but would love to be a part of it. Maybe it's just wishful thinking that there's a chance he'd come to ATL, but I'd love to see it happen!

My thoughts were IF we were serious about Dwight, would he be willing to pick up that option year and you could trade for him on the $23 million $ salary. If you moved Millsap, Teague, Splitter and renounced all FA's like Scott, Muscala, Bazemore, Humphries, etc...would you have enough to re-sign Horf, trade for Dwight AND get a legit SF?

I never said either of those guys for him straight up. If you read my post, I said him plus other talent/picks. There's a big difference. I definitely agree he's not worth it straight up and I agree you have to look at value for value. Unless we're signing a big name free agent, we don't need to make deals just to clear cap space, but a guy like him on a cheap deal COULD pay off for us. It could be a complete bust, but he's not the centerpiece of a deal if you get him, unless it's for a 2nd rounder or the like.

That's pretty short-sighted thinking. Sure, there may be a learning curve to get guys into understanding "team" basketball rather than "me" basketball, but I also think coming out of that situation, players might want to be on a good team and win for a change. They may also be better influenced by guys who've won before rather than guys who have done nothing but lose since turning pro. Take THJ as an example. While the Knicks haven't been as bad as the Sixers, they haven't been much better. He played with guys like Melo where it was always about "me" basketball. It took a little time but he became a valuable contributor off the bench for the Hawks down the stretch. I see Covington as a similar type player. He's got the tools to be a good player. He just needs to be in the right situation.

I brought his name up back when the Teague or Schröder to Sixers rumors were floating around. I agree with the good numbers on a bad team statement, however he has size enough and has shown times where he plays solid D so he could potentially be that big body 3 to guard guys like LeBron, George, etc. He can play the 3 or 4, can shoot and can board. Not a bad guy to get along with other talent/picks IF the Sixers come looking for a PG again.

To me one of the most impressive moments of the night from Dennis was when he stepped in front of Sap and tried to calm him down after a hard foul. Considering Dennis was the cause of some ill advised fouls, techs and even a flagrant in round 1, I was glad to see him maintaining his composure and helping his teammates do the same. Very mature actions from a player who hasn't shown the greatest maturity over the past few seasons (of course, he's still very young himself too!)

I guess I did miss that because it seemed like Kris was giving the Hawks the rebounding and toughness they were lacking and since he had expanded his shooting range this season, he also continued with the concept of stretching the floor. It's no knock on Moose, but I felt Kris was a better rebounder and defender, even if smaller than him.

Sorry if this has been addressed already, but what happened to Kris Humphries in game 1? He'd been a key part of the rotation down the stretch and I don't believe he saw the court Saturday. Did I miss something on him? I thought his buyout and signing took place in time for him to make the roster or was there a health or CD that caused him to not play?

The way the Hawks are playing right now, I think they just need to focus on taking care of business and another division banner goes up in Phillips.

Sadly, I don't go anywhere except Homecourt.

Sorry! I honestly didn't see it. I've been out of town for a few days and haven't visited the site for about a week.

I'm not saying he should be the focus of our offseason. lol. I just think he's a good big that could be a steal for us as a backup and help fill a gap for us. Honestly, I'd love to see Humphries re-signed. He's done well for us. Our improved play really started once he was signed.

Embid has yet to play an NBA game in 2 seasons. I wouldn't build my franchise around him ever being a difference maker if I'm Philly. Greg Oden 2.0 is what he's looking like so far in his "career"

What does everyone think Joakim Noah will get this offseason? His offense is so weak and he's become a shell of his former self, but I wonder if he'd take a low-ball deal to play with Al again and rebuild his value. Seems like his skilset would greatly benefit this team on the glass and defensively. That's assuming we move Splitter.