Coach Bud talks deadline Moves.

[Guest]

To the expanding list of ways we have measured growth and success in the Hawks’ organization this season, add this: CNN International sent a crew to Philips Arena for a game the other night.

So there you go: They have gone global. They are selling out games. It wasn’t long ago when their aura didn’t even stretch to Cobb or Gwinnett, let alone eastern Europe, leading one bubbleheaded owner to think it must be because white people didn’t like blackish arena music or were too scared to drive downtown. As it turns out, a great and likeable product will lead to ticket sales and universal adoration. Who knew?

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The question with the Hawks now is: Do they dare try to make themselves even better?

They have the best record in the NBA (42-9). They just defeated the previous team with the best record (Golden State), scoring 72 points in the second half. They’re 16-4 against the league’s other top 11 teams. There’s a bunch of other numbers that illustrate success, but you get the point. What nobody knows is whether this wonder can carry over to the playoffs, when opposing coaches make adjustments during a series, devising ways to take away what a team likes to do.

“We haven’t won a playoff series yet,” Kyle Korver said, providing needed balance amid the euphoria.

+ALLEN EYESTONE

Miami Heat guard Ray Allen (34) sinks a 3-point shot late in the fourth quarter against the Nets at AmericanAirlines Arena ... Read More

The Hawks are good. But they can get better. With the Feb. 19 trade deadline nearing, some worry that adding a player — free agent shooter Ray Allen or a big body for the bench for a potential physical playoff opponent — could mess with this team’s wonderful chemistry.

It’s an understandable concern. But in this case, it’s overstated.

No player is going to wreck the Hawks’ chemistry this season. They’re too close, too unselfish, too ego-free to let that happen.

“I was talking to (Dallas owner) Mark Cuban once and he said, ‘I can have one knucklehead, I just can’t give him a buddy,” Korver said. “If you’ve only got one, and the group is strong and the culture is strong, usually one can buy in. But you can’t give him a buddy. I don’t think we have any right now.”

Making a change at the deadline can be a tough call for any general manager, let alone an interim one. Coach Mike Budenholzer is acting GM, with the assistance of Wes Wilcox, while Danny Ferry remains in diversity purgatory. (That’s not likely to change before the team is sold, and there’s no indication that will be any time soon.)

Golden State coach Steve Kerr was a general manager for three years in Phoenix. “I didn’t like it,” he said. “You’re trying to figure out (whether to make a move), especially when you have a good team, but you don’t know how good you are. It’s a tricky dynamic. Inevitably you’re guessing.”

The absence of Ferry and a full-time big-picture guy has put more on Budenholzer’s plate. But neither he nor Wilcox has felt overwhelmed, nor do they feel at some disadvantage going into the deadline. They might be right. But it’s also fair to suggest the Hawks’ success and relative good healthy this season hasn’t mandated major changes, so the front office structure hasn’t really been tested.

“I don’t know that it’s been a burden,” Budenholzer said. “But there’s probably been more demands at certain times of the year.”

He said he’s “protective of our group” in discussions of roster changes.” He characterized the debate of making a move, as, “The beauty and the beast of sports.”

“There’s a strong argument for standing where we are, but we have to be open and at least listen,” he said.

Budenholzer laughed when told of Korver’s conversation with Cuban, but he agreed.

“I think the maturity of our locker room and the way our players — not just get along, it’s more than that. They have real high standards and expectations,” he said. “They do it in such a way that’s professional and classy. It’s the kind of group that no matter what happens, they can take somebody in and make him feel at home and also make him understand what’s important to us, no matter what the personality is.”

Allen would make this team only better. He has played on two NBA champions (Boston and Miami) and would give the Hawks a dangerous outscore scorer when defenses double Korver in crucial situations. But he hasn’t finalized whether he will come out of his unofficial, half-year retirement, and if he does whether he will sign with Cleveland (to re-join LeBron James) the Hawks, Washington or elsewhere.

The Hawks seemingly also could benefit from acquiring another power forward or center. Their playoff series upset of Orlando four years ago was keyed in part by Jason Collins’ physical play against Dwight Howard inside. But Budenholzer doesn’t think his team needs more size.

“I can’t find a way to play all of our bigs now,” he said. “I know some perceive we don’t have rim protection or a 7-footer. I’m either naive or stubborn or both, but I’ll go to war with these guys.”

Ultimately, that might be the Hawks’ greatest strength of all: They don’t have a crying need. They certainly don’t have a knucklehead. If they choose to add a player, he can’t wreck what’s going on.

 

http://www.myajc.com/news/sports/basketball/hawks-deadline-move-wouldnt-hurt-chemistry/nj6cX/?icmp=ajc_internallink_invitationbox_apr2013_ajcstubtomyajcpremium#75ce3757.257107.735638

 

[macdaddy]

Exactly!   You bring in a 'rim protector' and he plays when?   Every team sacrifices something in favor of something else.   We are sacrificing size and rebounding in favor of ball movement and bigs that can shoot and run the floor.   It's hard to argue with the results.  Frankly I"m ecstatic we finally have a coach that know how to exploit other teams and make them adjust to us rather than the other way around.   

[atljonesbro]

We need to play Brand more and Pero less. Pero is a liability out there offensively and not as good a rebounder as Brand.

[bird_dirt]

The most interesting thing I read in that article was when it said coach Bud laughed at something. That means he more than likely smiled too, which I think is definitely news for anyone who's been following the Hawks.

[Guest]

Exactly! You bring in a 'rim protector' and he plays when? Every team sacrifices something in favor of something else. We are sacrificing size and rebounding in favor of ball movement and bigs that can shoot and run the floor. It's hard to argue with the results. Frankly I"m ecstatic we finally have a coach that know how to exploit other teams and make them adjust to us rather than the other way around.

We can't have everything. We are on year 2 of the 'culture' change and if you can't feel it, sucks for you. All this talk about playoffs - cant do shit until they start. Just like all the predictions before the season started, didn't mean a thing - games gotta be played.

[MaceCase]

Bud with the head shot to the domes of a good many dissenters.

[sturt]

I just assumed he wasn't playing Moose or Payne because he didn't deem either of them ready for prime time. But then, I just went back and reviewed, and every other player we had last season that stands 6-8 or taller is actually averaging fewer minutes this season or the same (Millsap only).

 

That's even more astounding as I think about how few of our games have been total blowouts to either opponents side of the scoreboard.

 

Mathematically, I'm not even sure how that makes sense unless we've been giving DMC and Thabo some minutes at PF that I didn't realize (?).

[capstone21]

For a replacement big I would sacrifice Moose for Garnet if he wanted to play here (after being released)....he would improve our bench

 

He has a very consistent mid range jumper, very smart BBIQ, excellent rebounder,  loves to win, experienced .... excellent defender and can spell Horford or Sap for short term minutes

 

I think he is an ahole but he would contribute and take Pero's minutes.   That being said I think we could also stand pat.

 

I would miss the Moose goggles but will he ever be anything more then an end of the bench guy in this league?  Especially for a win now team do we need him?  

 

The same goes for JJ who I would send out for a second if Ray Allen wanted to sign here.

Edited February 9, 2015 by capstone21

[macdaddy]

I just can't stomach KG on this team.  I think he'd be a major distraction.

[capstone21]

I just can't stomach KG on this team.  I think he'd be a major distraction.

Thats the weird thing ... I think he would do what he needed to fit in and help win.  This is probably his last season and last chance at a championship and he wants that feeling of winning it again.  I don't like the guy but he is a quality big man that could be available soon.

[Guest]

Ah! Formatting!!

But that Bud quote at the end is gold. Reminds me of a really awful article from BBallBreakdown.com about the Hawks defense in December: http://bballbreakdown.com/2014/12/30/legitimate-atlanta-hawks-defense/

Since that article about how the Hawks lack a "rim-protector" came out, the ranking and efficiency numbers for the Hawks have only increased. That site has really been pretty bad since they revamped their staff to try to cover more NBA related things.

[PSSSHHHRRR87]

That was one of my fears of having Bud as acting-GM. He's too close to these guys to pull the trigger on a deal to make us better. Even Jenkins will be too hard for him to cut in favor of Allen.

[benhillboy]

I would be shocked if Ferry wasn't still at the controls and fielding calls all day everyday about Paul. If and when there's a deal too sweet to pass up he'll strike.

[Admin]

As much as I'd hate to lose him, could you imagine if we could pull off a Kanter / pick for Sap trade? Kanter would allow us to maintain our same style of offense plus he'd help fix a lot of our rebounding problems. We'd also clear a nice chunk of cap room and be almost 7 million under the cap. 

[Guest]

As much as I'd hate to lose him, could you imagine if we could pull off a Kanter / pick for Sap trade? Kanter would allow us to maintain our same style of offense plus he'd help fix a lot of our rebounding problems. We'd also clear a nice chunk of cap room and be almost 7 million under the cap.

Isn't Kanter due for RFAcg this offseason?

[JETSET]

As much as I'd hate to lose him, could you imagine if we could pull off a Kanter / pick for Sap trade? Kanter would allow us to maintain our same style of offense plus he'd help fix a lot of our rebounding problems. We'd also clear a nice chunk of cap room and be almost 7 million under the cap. 

Since when do Kanter and Millsap have similar styles?  All I ever hear from Jazz fans is how absolutely useless Kanter is on defense.

[JRid]

That article sounded like the Assistant GM has definitely been suggesting some player trades to Bud. I really wonder which guys were mentioned.

 

What the heck, lets bring in Garnette and Ray Allen, lol. Do those guys still get along? Seems like they had a fallen out, but not sure how true that is. Of course, I don't want to trade any of our players either and I definitely don't want to trade the 1st round pick since that pick could end up being really good. John Jenkins is the only player I want to lose.

[Admin]

Isn't Kanter due for RFAcg this offseason?

 

Yeah he might be. I'm sure one of the capholes will chime in and say I forgot about some rule regarding pending RFA's. 

[sturt]

Dang. Do I detect a change of heart? ... hehe...

 

http://hawksquawk.net/community/topic/395458-reactions-to-this-one-enes-kanter-for-paul-millsap-straight-up

 

Having said that... so have I... Millsap has so elevated his defense and his range this season, and the personality he contributes to the overall chemistry is just too fundamental to our success... I don't dare mess with that if I get to make the call.

[Admin]

Dang. Do I detect a change of heart? ... hehe...

 

http://hawksquawk.net/community/topic/395458-reactions-to-this-one-enes-kanter-for-paul-millsap-straight-up

 

Having said that... so have I... Millsap has so elevated his defense and his range this season, and the personality he contributes to the overall chemistry is just too fundamental to our success... I don't dare mess with that if I get to make the call.

 

I would HATE to lose Millsap and the only reasons I'd do this trade would be if we knew that he would be out of our price range in the offseason and if we got a pick to go with Kanter. 

 

As to the player and not just the transaction, Kanter has come a long way this year and with his ability to shoot from range and rebound he could fit in well here plus he knows the system. I thought he was a decent shot blocker but I was astounded to see how poor of a shot blocker he actually is.