Now that the Hawks have an offensive identity, it is a lot easier to see what we need

[NBASupes]

From what I see is Jeff Teague is fine. He isn't great or even an all star level PG but he's solid and he is a good Basketball player who can play decent defense.

Mack is a bull. His mass protects the ball for him since he doesn't have the handles or quickness, he is smart on the ball even if he can have iffy decision making. He has when from a fringe NBA player to a legit NBA backup PG worth 3-3.5 mil on the open market.

Dennis the Menace proved in SL, pre-season and in the D-League that he has as much talent as any NBA PG. Although he is compared to Rondo, I really don't see it. Dennis has much better scoring and shooting potential than Rondo but Rondo is like a mad genius BBIQ wise while Dennis is smart, he doesn't have a good feel for the game yet and his decision making is iffy. I liken Dennis to a young Gary Payton. Gary as a rookie is further along than rookie Dennis but Dennis does have the fundamentals you look for from a PG. Giannis and Dennis are the two biggest boom or bust players in their class and so far I can see why but Giannis looks likely to reach his potential in three to four years. Dennis, I am not as sure but Atlanta is developing him and I see improvement.

PG position is straight for now and potential great for the future.

Korver is a legit shooter and off the ball offensive and defensive player. Very good BBIQ and understands how to get open. His lack of tools and athletic ability really make him just a shooter but his BBIQ and effort makes it possible to play the minutes he plays in the NBA. Impressed with Kyle.

Lou has been hurt a lot and when he hasn't, he really hasn't fit either. A lot of this is due to him only being able to guard the PG position but is a liability if he has to play PG on offense. The Hawks just are not a great fit for him. If he finds the right fit, I have no question he can be a 6th man of the year player.

Jenkins has been having back injuries all year and it's killed his shooting ability. His shot has been off and as a result, he hasn't been good at all, in fact he's been bad. Incomplete till his injuries heal.

SG could use an upgrade. Korver is a solid role player but nothing more and our backups are underwhelming.

DMC is a junkyard dog who plays hard and can shoot the three at times. His defense is very good not great. He is a smart Basketball player. He has a limited skill-set and his tools aren't anything at this level. Just average at best. Probably would be better as a 8th to 9th man but has overachieved with us.

Martin is a very good spot up 3pt shooter. Likes to shoot and defensively is below average. Fringe NBA player.

SF is a major weakness for us. Upgrade needed.

Horford is one of the best PF's in the NBA. Plays C due to the Hawks lack of a center. Can shoot, PnR, PnP, plays very good fundamentally sound defense, good passer, elite movement, can be robotic in the post, lack the ball handling to take on his man, predictable offense, more of a complementary player than offensive beast. All Star level player and versatile.

Milsap is an all around offensive player who play fundamentally sound defense. Undersized. A good shooter. An asset in our offense. Worth his money and more.

Scott is a David West lite type player. Can shoot, can post up a little bit, has good movement, smart, plays fundamentally sound D. Great pick by Ferry. Could become a potentially NBA starter in a year or two.

Antić is a great PnP shooter who plays tough man defense and gives good outlet passes. Struggles at most parts of the NBA game. Fringe NBA player.

PF is clearly the stronger part of the team. We have three legit PF's and one stud, one good player who excels in our offense, and a potential starter in Scott. Great at PF.

Brand is good at protecting the rim and playing smart and hard. Old, not athletic at all, can only play 10 mins a game and nearly finished.

Ayón is a good hustle man. Doesn't have any real skills at this level. Lacks the tools. Fringe NBA player.

Center is an issue. We have two in Europe who are the future of the position for us but they are two to three years away from making an impact right now. This position can clearly use an upgrade in talent.

The issues I see compared to the East mainly Indy and Miami is size, an elite talent, and better starting talent. DMC needs to stay as a backup. Sap and Horf works in the regular season for now but will fail greatly in the playoffs. The depth at center is horrible. The depth at SG is underwhelming right now. Dennis is this team's best hope in terms of potential elite talent.

Draft needs:

Elite talent wing or center. (While we probably can't get an elite wing or center in FA, in the talent we might can draft someone with the potential with Brooklyn's pick.)

A backup center(They answered this in last year's draft but they need it actually here on the roster)

A decent SF with potential to replace DMC.

Another shooter at SG if Jenkins can't recover. *IF*

Summary:

That's what I think the Hawks have and need to work on. Overall, we further this year from Indy and Miami than we were from Cleveland and Boston when we had Joe, Jamal, Josh, Al, and Bibby... BUT....

I think we the right moves we can close the gap even if those teams are still further alone than us since Indy has to deal with the cap as does Miami and our cap situation is solid. We are on the right track. A lot of our future success depends on Dennis, Bebe's, Jenkins, Scott, and Mike development. I think Korver, Jeff, Horf, DMC, Sap, and Mack is what they is.

[Vol4ever]

I think your pretty close IMO. I hope Im wrong about Bebe and Muscala, but I just don't see them being any kind of contributor. We need a major talent. I watched last night as Harden took over the game in Houston, we have no one near that level. Now, how we acquire that major piece is a mistery to most.

Edited December 26, 2013 by Vol4ever

[NBASupes]

I think your pretty close IMO. I hope Im wrong about Bebe and Muscala, but I just don't see them being any kind of contributor. We need a major talent. I watched last night as Harden took over the game in Houston, we have no one near that level. Now, how we acquire that major piece is a mistery to most.

I love both Bebe and Mike. I said as much in SL. Bebe has a good skill-set. Great runner, good at protecting the basket, good finisher, good passer. His offensive skills are terrible and his feel for the game like Dennis needs some work. He also needs to gain 10 to 15 more pounds to play at this level for more than 5-8 mins a game. Mike is a player I loved from SL. He needed to get some serious work but I liken him to Brad Miller. I even said as much as one good year in Spain and he should be ready to play in the NBA as a reserve. He has starting potential and while his defense will never be much, offensively, he can really help a NBA team in the future. I love him and Mike.

I wasn't hyped with Ferry first class, I felt it was conservative and I like the Mike Scott pick but didn't like Jenkins. After watching their rookie year, I like the Jenkins pick a lot more but now I am back to hating it. I see what Atlanta liked but his lack of defense and he isn't shooting that rock as good as Mike Scott much less a shooting specialist which we taught he was going to be. This could be an Acie Law type of mistake if Jenkins can't get it together and Law was a better player than Jenkins is right now.

[benhillboy]

Can't knock the synopsis. Korver was supposed to be grooming Jenkins to be our next game-changing sniper, but his regression is very dissapointing. Hell, Milsap, DeMarre, and Cartier are taking Kyle's tutelge and running with it from the arc moreso than JJ. I also saw ready-made skills in the Summer League from Muscala (I'm a fool for good obscure comparisons, Brad Miller was spot on) and Bebe, just like I saw in Dennis, who I was sure would be an asset for us by now instead of a liability. The poor strength level of all three is the biggest barrier to making it. I have absolute trust in Dan The Man. I'm confident the young two-way wing stud and All-Star-considerable C we've needed for so long will be ours by my July 9 birthday. They come in, totally adopt what Bud is selling, work like Alaskan herding dogs, follow Al and Kyle's verbal leadership and feed off Attacking Teague and we on our way. A "defensive coordinator" wouldn't hurt either to minimize the three point parties.

Edited December 26, 2013 by benhillboy

[NBASupes]

Can't knock the synopsis. Korver was supposed to be grooming Jenkins to be our next game-changing sniper, but his regression is very dissapointing. Hell, Milsap, DeMarre, and Cartier are taking Kyle's tutelge and running with it from the arc moreso than JJ. I also saw ready-made skills in the Summer League from Muscala (I'm a fool for good obscure comparisons, Brad Miller was spot on) and Bebe, just like I saw in Dennis, who I was sure would be an asset for us by now instead of a liability. The poor strength level of all three is the biggest barrier to making it.I have absolute trust in Dan The Man. I'm confident the young two-way wing stud and All-Star-considerable C we've needed for so long will be ours by my July 9 birthday. They come in, totally adopt what Bud is selling, work like Alaskan herding dogs, follow Al and Kyle's verbal leadership and feed off Attacking Teague and we on our way. A "defensive coordinator" wouldn't hurt either to minimize the three point parties.

Our defensive plans are pretty good, the issue is more based on talent than the coaching itself.

I agree, strength is a major issue for Mike, Bebe, and Dennis. Dennis seems to get out-muscled in the D-League at first till he finally got a into a groove.

[Diesel]

Can't knock the synopsis. Korver was supposed to be grooming Jenkins to be our next game-changing sniper, but his regression is very dissapointing. Hell, Milsap, DeMarre, and Cartier are taking Kyle's tutelge and running with it from the arc moreso than JJ. I also saw ready-made skills in the Summer League from Muscala (I'm a fool for good obscure comparisons, Brad Miller was spot on) and Bebe, just like I saw in Dennis, who I was sure would be an asset for us by now instead of a liability. The poor strength level of all three is the biggest barrier to making it.I have absolute trust in Dan The Man. I'm confident the young two-way wing stud and All-Star-considerable C we've needed for so long will be ours by my July 9 birthday. They come in, totally adopt what Bud is selling, work like Alaskan herding dogs, follow Al and Kyle's verbal leadership and feed off Attacking Teague and we on our way. A "defensive coordinator" wouldn't hurt either to minimize the three point parties.

For this to happen, either we put in a max order for Greg Monroe... or we put in a medium order for the Polish hammer.

If we do so, then we must find our killer swingman in the draft. Parker is a given but if we don't get him, Hood is the guy we should prolly target.

[Plainview1981]

Jenkins... He was never going to be anything more than a role player.

The biggest problem is Korver/DMC both starting. You're not going to beat the big boys with both of these guys starting unless you have superstars at some of the other spots. The thing is that one provides what the other does not. Both play hard, but Korver is a better shooter and passer while Carroll is the better athlete, defender, and rebounder. If you remove one, I think they both look like lesser players. Carroll's lack of shooting ability would stand out if Korver wasn't next to him... And Korver would look worse without Carroll's defense in the starting line up.

Edited December 26, 2013 by Hotlanta1981

[NBASupes]

Jenkins... He was never going to be anything more than a role player.

The biggest problem is Korver/DMC both starting. You're not going to beat the big boys with both of these guys starting unless you have superstars at some of the other spots. The thing is that one provides what the other does not. Both play hard, but Korver is a better shooter and passer while Carroll is the better athlete, defender, and rebounder. If you remove one, I think they both look like lesser players. Carroll's lack of shooting ability would stand out if Korver wasn't next to him... And Korver would look worse without Carroll's defense in the starting line up.

Korver can start. He's no different than valuable role players of the past, but DMC is not a valuable role player. He's a bench player. But I agree, DMC defense is a part of way Korver isn't exposed as much but I think a rim protector would help.

Jenkins ain't even playing like a role player right now, he is playing like a scrub. His skill-set basically shows that he could be another Dell Curry, he's not even close to Matt Carroll right now. Frustrating to say the least.

[GameTime]

For this to happen, either we put in a max order for Greg Monroe... or we put in a medium order for the Polish hammer.

If we do so, then we must find our killer swingman in the draft. Parker is a given but if we don't get him, Hood is the guy we should prolly target.

Greg Monroe (who is a PF) and Gortat (Who is not a great defender) don't fix our "big problems". We need a great defending big and if we play Horford at the 4 we need a great offensive and defensive big.

[NBASupes]

For this to happen, either we put in a max order for Greg Monroe... or we put in a medium order for the Polish hammer.

If we do so, then we must find our killer swingman in the draft. Parker is a given but if we don't get him, Hood is the guy we should prolly target.

Greg Monroe really wouldn't help this team much though?

I am not sure Washington wants to get rid of the Polish Hammer, he fits and they like him. Their issue is the play at PF, the play on the bench and their guards being more consistent and healthy.

[NBASupes]

Greg Monroe (who is a PF) and Gortat (Who is not a great defender) don't fix our "big problems". We need a great defending big and if we play Horford at the 4 we need a great offensive and defensive big.

I don't think we need a great offensive and defensive big next to Al at the 5 if we have someone at SF who is very good at both or exceptional at offense. It's clear, if we move Milsap out of the starting lineup for a defensive 5, we would have scoring issues. I am not sure how Diesel in love with Monroe. I guess it's similar to my O.J. Mayo craze a couple years ago.

[GrimeyKidd]

Yeah lets blame Jenkins, how do you his injury status, he has back issues and a leg nerve issue. Hard for him, let him get healthy before you get all judgemental, theirs a reason were here ferrys there, he knows what Jenkins can do.

[Diesel]

Greg Monroe (who is a PF) and Gortat (Who is not a great defender) don't fix our "big problems". We need a great defending big and if we play Horford at the 4 we need a great offensive and defensive big.

When you have found that purple Unicorn let me know. In fact, getting that Unicorn will be easier than finding what you seek.

[Diesel]

I don't think we need a great offensive and defensive big next to Al at the 5 if we have someone at SF who is very good at both or exceptional at offense. It's clear, if we move Milsap out of the starting lineup for a defensive 5, we would have scoring issues. I am not sure how Diesel in love with Monroe. I guess it's similar to my O.J. Mayo craze a couple years ago.

Don't get it twisted, I would love for us to have Dwight or Hibbert or even lowly Noah but these are unlikely. What is likely is getting a guy like Monroe who is an offensive force, a little less of a defensive big but would fit with our running style. The guys who say we shouldn't get Asik or the same guys who say we shouldn't get Monroe. These are inertia guys. They really don't want to change anything because in their state of inertia, they have a problem seeing. Don't worry, the playoffs will clear up their vision so that they will clearly see why a big is important.

[frosgrim]

First, Supes, I think you are pretty spot on with your summation. I was definately in your camp of "No J. Teague". I'm pleased he's doing so well under Bud. Second, I really like the comparison of Moose to Brad Miller; if that plays out we're in good shape.

I agree with Diesel, we aren't going to find a two-way center right now. Asik or Monroe are good options. I would actually say Tyson Chandler might be a guy that becomes available soon as well. I'd rather go for Asik or Monroe, but Chandler could solve the at the rim defense and rebounding problems.

I just read in the paper that Jenkins has a serious nerve injury in his leg. This explains why he's looked so bad this year. If it is anything like what i've gone through with back/leg stuff he's about 5-8 months away from being healed.

Horford's injury should not change any of the Hawks plans to build going forward. DF needs to stick with his plan. All the Horford injury does is increase our chances of a lotto pick. If there is a good deal for Milsap than Ferry must still make it. This is an asset building year, and the Hawks should stay on that path.