Hawks Off-season needs

[NBASupes]

Needs: 

 

1.  A legit Center. This has been a need for us for years. We have a finesse movement PF in Horford who has no business playing center. It’s fine in the regular season when refs are really nice with the whistle and teams don’t’ hone into your weaknesses as much but more so their strengths. In the playoffs, size rules everything around me. We can’t just get a Robin Lopez or Splitter but we can’t lose a big who is a 15-20 PPG scorer with our current personnel but we have to get Greg Monroe, Brook Lopez or Al Jefferson who I am not sold on to play Center for us.  Millsap played very well for us but starting two PF’s don’t really work when you have Lebron James who’s bigger than both of them is the 3^rd biggest player on the court.

 

2.  We need a potential star at SG. Korver is fine in the regular season and what he means to the team and the system is a lot more than any other player on this roster outside of Horford. We need someone who can score 20-25 PPG at that position and they can shoot as well as play decent defense. Klay Thompson would be perfect.  We need to find someone in the draft or trade for someone to do this. Wes Matthews is not a potential star. He’s a role player much like Korver but is more talented but not the shooter Kyle is. Like Kyle, he’s not a good scorer either. Just a solid scorer. Jimmy Butler would be excellent but he’s not leaving the Chi. I liked what I seen all year from Bazemore and he’s shown he could give you a good 10 MPG off the bench on a championship level team. He is extremely limited on offense and having expectations of him to become more than a 9^th or 10^th man is wishful thinking. My suggestions: Nik Stuakas, Ben McLemore, Jeremy Lamb, R.J. Hunter, etc.

 

3.  We need better talent off of our bench from the frontcourt. Getting Tavares is critical but we might need a bit more. It all depends on Mike Scott; we need him to perform at his pre back injury level. We need him to be a 35% 3pt shooter. We need more out of him.

 

4. We need the same improvement from Yr 1 to Yr 2 from Dennis in Yr 3. I want to see a good NBA PG. He was average at best but showed potential to be a top 5 PG in the future but we need more than flashes. He has the talent; it’s putting it all together into one player.

 

5. Just getting better at coaching in the playoffs for Bud. When the system isn’t working, he has to make smart decisions. He is still young to HC in the NBA. He will improve. Woody took a massive step up from Yr 2 to Yr 3 as a HC. I expect the same from the reigning Coach of the Year.

 

Jeff and Horford should get better. As should most of the team coming back next year. Great season but expectations are much higher for next year and the right moves have to made. DMC must be resigned. We must make a decision at center. We must decide to keep Teague or trade him for multiple quality assets. We must decide if we want to resign Sap or not. This is a critical off-season. We must address it well or we might be behind the 8th ball. 

Edited May 27, 2015 by nbasupes40retired

[Randy]

I have a much simpler idea.  We just need to do something like college teams do, such as pay players too much, tamper with another teams players, or whatever so we can get banned from post season play.  When you are Atlanta all playoff stories have an unhappy ending.  Its what you do.....

 

But if that doesn't work, you've got some good ideas there.

Edited May 27, 2015 by Randy

[Guest]

My suggestions: Nik Stuakas, Ben McLemore, Jeremy Lamb, R.J. Hunter, etc.

 

Supes, you are one of my favorite posters but it just boggles my mind whenever you throw these SG names out there.  Lamb is an unmitigated bust.  I never saw what everyone thought they saw in him and I'm as tired of hearing about what he could be as I was with hearing about what David Anderson was going to be.

 

Stauskas and McLemore are projects at best.  DMC is McLemore's ceiling in my admittedly under-educated opinion (IMAUEO?).  Who knows what Stauskas can be but he appears to be years away from it.  We need a legit starter now, we can't wait for Nik to develop.

 

Hunter is the only one there that I can't shoot totally down and that's just because he's an unknown at this point.

 

Anyway, fodder for discussion I guess.  We have a long offseason ahead of us.

[NBASupes]

Here is a post from realgm from a respected poster named tsherkin

 

 

Tyson Chandler.... he's probably available, but I don't know that he's really a solution to their problems. Atlanta's issues centered not just around defense (keep in mind that over 3 games, Cleveland was actually -2 compared to their RS ORTG in this series...), but being incompetent on offense. 

 

Yes, having someone like Chandler might help their offensive rebounding issues, but he wouldn't do anything to aid JEff Teague, or Korver becoming mortal, or no one else on the team scoring more than 14 ppg besides Teague. 

 

Leaping ability is not the major issue here; I noticed that was a point you raised regarding Tristan Thompson, but that's really not what's happening, he's not out-jumping everyone. Their offense has blown largely because Teague has been awful, Carroll's injury has limited him and Korver has been entirely mortal, plus they don't have any particularly good individual scorers to begin with. When Cleveland is able to disrupt their point of attack, it's all over. Once that well-orchestrated system breaks down and Kyle Korver isn't going bananas, they're a fairly mortal team. With Cleveland actually defending very well in the postseason, this series really wasn't a hot matchup for the Hawks. 

 

The style difference alone is enough to cause troubles; the Hawks were an average-pace team in the RS (15th, actually) and the Cavs very slow (25th). At 89.4 possessions per game over the first 3, this was clearly a series where Cleveland set the tempo, particularly by continuously keeping possessions alive with offensive boards. That played directly into their favor, taking transition offense out of it for the Hawks. Atlanta was above average at fastbreak points and below average in points in the paint, and they were 4th in the league in the proportion of their points scored from 3. Houston was 1st, Golden State 2nd... and Cleveland 3rd. 

 

Through 3, the Hawks shot 26.6% from 3. In tonight's game, they shot 5/32, or 15.6%. 

 

So their major scoring weapons were taken away from them, and their offense collapsed. How surprising, right? Tyson Chandler wouldn't fix any of that, because he's not a dangerous post scorer, he's not a VOLUME scorer at all, and he can't hit 3s (plus, it isn't like Mozgov's out there being staggeringly mobile above/around the arc such that they could exploit with hi-lo action a lot). 

 

TL;DR, Atlanta got exposed a bit against a better defense, and got burned by Carroll's knee, which was unfortunate (but not the root cause). Also, 30.3 ppg, 11 rpg and 9.3 apg from Lebron really didn't help their chances either. Even before tonight, with his TS% at 50.4% on the series, he was still a 111 ORTG player because he was hitting the o-boards well for a wing, TORCHING Atlanta as a playmaker and not turning it over a lot per possession. At 54.3% AST, that's Stockton-ish team assist proportion, which is insane given 41% USG. Also, 41% USG. That's EPIC single-player reliance. His guys came through, but he was handling a massive load. That's Jordan-in-the-NBA Finals (although in this case, the AST% and USG% are through the first 3 games, I don't have them including tonight's game.... where he took 20 shots in 29 minutes, had 7 assists and 1 turnover) kind of reliance. 

 

Anyway, again, what we're seeing is that Atlanta lacks individual punch, and without Korver being otherworldly from 3, they're not really that impressive a team, most especially against a grinder squad like Cleveland. Their passing is great, and Teague is better than he looked in this series, and they'd have looked better if DCarroll was healthier and what-not, but again, we're looking at a team that made its bones with 3pt shooting and a touch higher-than-average transition offense.... and doesn't have an epic half-court scorer. That's kind of a recipe for getting owned by a defensive team over the length of a series as opposed to isolated matchups in the RS. Some of that is hindsight, of course, I'll be honest (didn't really dive into them too much in the RS beyond looking at Korver), but this topic does raise the need to look at their performance in the RS vs the PS. 

 

Chandler isn't going to solve that angle of the issue. He might help some with the D, he might help as an offensive rebounder, he's a nice finishing option rolling to the rim or running out on the break as the trailer, but they need more aggressive halfcourt weaponry and they don't have it.

Edited May 27, 2015 by nbasupes40retired

[OldTimeHawk]

we need another shooter to pair with Korver to help spread the floor and a rime protector, but honestly team ball doesnt sell well in the NBA unless you have a superstar that can duel another superstar in crunch time - thats what the NBA wants .

[NBASupes]

Supes, you are one of my favorite posters but it just boggles my mind whenever you throw these SG names out there.  Lamb is an unmitigated bust.  I never saw what everyone thought they saw in him and I'm as tired of hearing about what he could be as I was with hearing about what David Anderson was going to be.

 

Stauskas and McLemore are projects at best.  DMC is McLemore's ceiling in my admittedly under-educated opinion (IMAUEO?).  Who knows what Stauskas can be but he appears to be years away from it.  We need a legit starter now, we can't wait for Nik to develop.

 

Hunter is the only one there that I can't shoot totally down and that's just because he's an unknown at this point.

 

Anyway, fodder for discussion I guess.  We have a long offseason ahead of us.

We have to develop them. No one is giving us a star SG that fits. It's a position full of role players and the stars cost a lot more than anyone on our team. Korver is fine for now but we need to develop someone who could be better. 

Edited May 27, 2015 by nbasupes40retired

[Guest]

We have to develop them. No one is giving us a star SG that fits. It's a position full of role players and the stars cost a lot more than anyone on our team. Korver is fine for now but we need to develop someone who could be better. 

 

I hear you.  Maybe that's why I'm more ok with drafting Hunter than taking on someone else's under-developed guy.  Easier to bake a cake from scratch than it is to finish a half-baked one.

[NBASupes]

I hear you.  Maybe that's why I'm more ok with drafting Hunter than taking on someone else's under-developed guy.  Easier to bake a cake from scratch than it is to finish a half-baked one.

lol, hilarious analogy 

[Guest]

lol, hilarious analogy 

 

My wife was making brownies and I pulled them outta the oven early.  She was pissed because, apparently, you can't just put them back in later.  They don't come out the same or w/e.  Thus, my off-brand analogy was born.

[Peoriabird]

Agree wholeheartedly with the center to pair with Horford!!!  We cannot get murdered on the boards and expect our offensive efficiency to cover for our rebounding deficiencies on a nightly basis especially in the playoffs.  Any of the centers mention would be acceptable.  Certainly Mark Gasol would be a God send.

 

Agree again that we need a defensive wing player that can put the the ball on the floor and get to the basket as well as shoot 3's.  Hopefully that player can be found in the draft.

 

Development of the bench is critical!  No more guys like Pero Antics and Mack coming off our bench...Sign a guy like Kevin Seraphin to shore up our front court.

 

Bud's coaching could use some help from Analytics at time because he tends to select a rotation and sticks with it despite what the result are.

 

Without question all of the core guys need to improve.

 

Lastly, we have to wave good bye to Paul Millsap.  The flaws in that Horford-Millsap lineup were exposed in the playoffs so it is time to move in a different direction.

[RamblinCharger]

I would personally like to see us save a little money and sign Thaddeus Young over Milsap, who I think can be a similar player to Milsap. And I would like to see us sign a Center that has the ability to rebound and maybe have a slight jump shot. Someone like Larry Sanders (if he wants to play basketball), or possibly Brandan Wright. I don't see us getting one of the big time Centers. Monroe would be nice, but I don't know that we're going to give anyone max money this offseason. We also need someone that can create their own shot. I don't know where we will get that, but if we could find a player similar to JR Smith, that would be ideal. I read recently that a few teams were probably going to offer DMC up to 15 million per year. I personally don't think he's worth that. I think he's a product of the system. He's a good defender, but he can't create his own shot, or he's at least not great at it. I would love to keep him, but I don't know that we can or should try to afford him if he is going to cost a lot.

If we can get Danny Green, Shumpert, Middleton, or Matthews, or someone on that level (a B to B+ SG) I think we can put together a better version of what we had this year.

My preferred realistic Roster for next year:

PG: Teague, Schröder, Mack

SG: Green/Middleton/etc., Korver, draft pick?

SF: Carrol, Sefalosha, draft pick?

PF: Young, Muscala, Scott

C: Horford, Sanders/Wright, Tavares

Edited May 27, 2015 by RamblinCharger

[Vol4ever]

Ray Allen would have helped in the playoffs. 

[Peoriabird]

Horford cannot be our starting center next year!

[Guest]

Ray Allen would have helped in the playoffs.

Ray would have caught what ever bug this team caught and wouldn't be able to hit a shot.

[Guest]

I would personally like to see us save a little money and sign Thaddeus Young over Milsap, who I think can be a similar player to Milsap. And I would like to see us sign a Center that has the ability to rebound and maybe have a slight jump shot. Someone like Larry Sanders (if he wants to play basketball), or possibly Brandan Wright. I don't see us getting one of the big time Centers. Monroe would be nice, but I don't know that we're going to give anyone max money this offseason. We also need someone that can create their own shot. I don't know where we will get that, but if we could find a player similar to JR Smith, that would be ideal. I read recently that a few teams were probably going to offer DMC up to 15 million per year. I personally don't think he's worth that. I think he's a product of the system. He's a good defender, but he can't create his own shot, or he's at least not great at it. I would love to keep him, but I don't know that we can or should try to afford him if he is going to cost a lot.

If we can get Danny Green, Shumpert, Middleton, or Matthews, or someone on that level (a B to B+ SG) I think we can put together a better version of what we had this year.

My preferred realistic Roster for next year:

PG: Teague, Schröder, Mack

SG: Green/Middleton/etc., Korver, draft pick?

SF: Carrol, Sefalosha, draft pick?

PF: Young, Muscala, Scott

C: Horford, Sanders/Wright, Tavares

 

Sanders would rather smoke than play basketball.

 

I do like your Middleton suggestion.  Unlike Tobias Harris, he's a guy who's actually produced, has potential and is in line for a payday.  I'm not sure we'll get away with not paying near-max for a starting SF.  Not sure we can pry Middleton from MIL but he'd be a nice upgrade.

 

I also like the Wright suggestion.  He's a guy I wanted us to trade for in-season.  He's a rich man's Muscala.  Not saying he's great, but is a clear upgrade over what we have.  Especially considering I don't think we'll find legit upgrades at the 5 via FA.  I'd rather add a cheap-ish big like Wright who's a definite upgrade.

 

Re-sign Millsap, add Middleton, Wright and the draft pick would be a nice offseason.

[Dexmethylphenidate]

Put Tarvares at center and convince millsap to be an allstar 6th man. Although I would like to see us with healthy Thabo to see our real strength first.

Edited May 27, 2015 by Dexmethylphenidate

[NBASupes]

Danny Green is not a good SG. He's worse than Korver. 

[AHF]

My wife was making brownies and I pulled them outta the oven early.  She was pissed because, apparently, you can't just put them back in later.  They don't come out the same or w/e.  Thus, my off-brand analogy was born.

 

au contraire my friend, @kg01.  They are even better!

 

http://www.epicurious.com/archive/blogs/editor/2014/02/how-to-make-a-better-brownie-recipe-and-tips.html

Edited May 27, 2015 by AHF

[Guest]

au contraire my friend, @kg01.  They are even better!

 

http://www.epicurious.com/archive/blogs/editor/2014/02/how-to-make-a-better-brownie-recipe-and-tips.html

 

Lol, send that to my wife.  (Actually, maybe I should send it to my wife.)

[bird_dirt]

All this talk of players, and not a single peep on the front office. I am anxious to see what happens to Ferry (expecting something shortly), and I'm REALLY interested in finding out more about the new owner(s) and how much they're committed to spending in this team. They've stayed pretty quiet, they certainly haven't exactly been Steve Ballmer-like since the sale.