Travis Schlenk: "The goal is to find another Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green"

[Thomas]

8 hours ago, NBASupes said:

I only liked O.J. at that time period for that particular squad. 

I say the same thing about Oscar Robertson all the time. But then again I try not to redraw lines in the sand on a daily basis. 

[Guest]

3 hours ago, Thomas said:

With all that consistent improvement and the poor guy ends up a marionette for the "Phil" Jackson. Life is not always fair.

Lol...ya I feel for Horny. I think he's a pretty good coach but whomever gets involved with the Knicks...their image is just tainted.

[Guest]

3 hours ago, Wretch said:

I don't think anybody is glossing over the real issue surrounding our franchise, but ...everyone has a preference as to how to resolve it.  That preference, IMO is sort of overshadowing what the actual issue is.  When I look at the statements made by our new GM, one thing stands out to me: this guy knows that top tier talent (the real issue) is needed to contend.  He also understands that we don't currently have it and haven't' had it for quite some time.

How do we get the next step?

The question is as much a question as it is a statement.  We need top tier talent to get to that next step.  Putting free agency and trades aside for a moment, you have to understand that this man knows how the draft works.  For that I have to pause for a second and address the merry-go-round.  There is talent to be found in from 15 all the way to 60 - you can name PLENTY of them.  However, what you also have to do is put the filler around them.  And this is where I have a problem...

How can we say that finding a Curry, Lebron, or Duncan between 1 and 14 is such a terrible strategy...and then say it's just as feasible to find that same caliber player in a much larger pool of players from 15 to 60 but at a significantly lower yield rate?

The merits of competing while also adding talent from the later pool could be debatable, but the viability/value of lottery picks vs. every other pick really isn't.  It's simply a preference to making the playoffs at ANY seed vs watching our team struggle.  Which I get.

Consequently, IF we (Hawks management) understand the nature of the draft and are not really putting our eggs in the draft basket (and I don't really see how we can be doing that with late picks), we need to add more context Schlenk's question: How do we get the next step [primarily through trades and free agency]?  Well, if the goal is "to find another Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green" then...  Are we saying that this team has the assets to trade for or will be able to lure via free agency All NBA quality talent?

I'm not into making predictions, but I do like reading between the lines and finding correlations.  I am a Cyberthreat Analyst by trade afterall...  Getting to the root of problems/situations and analyzing copious amounts of data is what I've done for the past 20+ years.  I'm not going to make any bets (looking at you Jaybird...lol), but our options are kind of spelled out for us and I think this guy gets it.

Why do you hide all this talent from us @Wretch?  :-) Agreed on all accounts.

[Guest]

2 hours ago, JayBirdHawk said:

JTBHeeey, don't lump me in with the crazies. I

 

[AHF]

8 hours ago, Spud2Nique said:

Some people just believe whatever they want to believe...which is completely fine but somewhat annoying. @hazer ur obviously right in feeding into it and I rarely do but this needed to be exposed. 

But he is white, Spud!  I was very clear that I was only talking about:

• shooting guards
• from Michigan
• who weren't picked in the lottery
• who no media projected to be a possible lottery pick at some point regardless of where NBA GMs drafted them
• who had a rough season early in their career
• who eventually improved to near or actual All-Star level
• whose fathers were famous NBA All-Stars
• who didn't become NBA coaches
• who are black (the 1/64th cherokee also disqualifies Michael Redd)

Stop trying to create a false narrative.

[Guest]

1 minute ago, AHF said:

But he is white, Spud!  I was very clear that I was only talking about:

• shooting guards
• from Michigan
• who weren't picked in the lottery
• who no media projected to be a possible lottery pick
• who had a rough season early in their career
• who eventually improved near or actual All-Star level
• whose fathers were famous NBA All-Stars
• who are black (the 1/64th cherokee also disqualifies Michael Redd)

Stop trying to create a false narrative.

Lmao...Quick...to the archieves....:-|

[Guest]

56 minutes ago, Thomas said:

Yeah but do believe Bud will find a way to keep Moose on the roster, the teacher's pet thing. Maybe Schlenk already realizes that he is in essence a third string PF. Think its likely he'll be here and just hope the minutes aren't big and none are at center.

I don't mind Moose as 'the break glass in case of emergency' guy.

[BigDog90]

On 5/25/2017 at 3:54 PM, NBASupes said:

That's why trades like D. Carroll , C. Joseph +#23 for Dwight is legit for us. 

That's why even trades where all we get is a backup shooter like Moore for Bazemore is good. We need to only invest in good contracts till you get your guys and even then, good contracts. 

 

I  like this guy already. He is saying the right thing, just hope he does the right thing. 

Toronto is going to resign Ibaka. He's their guy at C. 

[BigDog90]

On 5/25/2017 at 4:47 PM, KB21 said:

Just looking at Draft Express's 2018 mock draft, these are the top 14 picks at this time:

1.  Luka Doncic, SG, Real Madrid

2.  Michael Porter, SF/PF, HS Senior

3.  DeAndre Ayton, C, HS Senior

4.  Mohamed Bamba, PF, HS Senior

5.  Robert Williams, PF, Texas A&M, sophomore

6.  Miles Bridges, SF/PF, Michigan State, sophomore

7.  Wendell Carter, PF, HS Senior

8.  Collin Sexton, PG, HS Senior

9.  Jaren Jackson, PF/C, HS Senior

10.  Isaac Bonga, SF, Frankfurt (International)

11.  Trevon Duval, PG, HS Senior

12.  Lonnie Walker, SG, HS Senior

13.  Mitchell Robinson, C, HS Senior

14.  Troy Brown, SG, HS Senior

So, who is the sure fire, can't miss star prospect in this group?  Who is the next Stephen Curry from this group?  Hell, we don't even know if most of these guys can even play at the college level yet, but we want to tank out to get them.  It just goes against all logic to even desire this.

Doncic is getting a lot of hype. 

[Wretch]

1 hour ago, Spud2Nique said:

Why do you hide all this talent from us @Wretch?  :-) Agreed on all accounts.

I appreciate the compliment....but I much prefer lurker status . I don't like attention or stirring the pot...and I'm very much an "on the fence" person.  Life has just trained me to wait, watch, and see.  All that and I tend to get carried away if I talk to much.  I used to REALLY run my mouth on the old AJC boards, Real GM, and around '04-'05 here on the Squawk...which all came to a head when I got into some huffy roundabouts with Walter and MrH over Big Dog and subsequently CP3.

At the end of the day after all of my research, opinion, and facts...Big Dog was exactly what folks said he was and we didn't draft the PG I wanted.  However, I had burned WEEKS of my life over books of back and forth banter.  That's when I was like NO MAS!  lol  Ultimately, there are much more intrepid souls with far more insight into and inclination for things (such as capology and stats) that I'm admittedly too lazy to dig into.  

So I just lurk and read.  This is where I get my Hawks news and commentary from.

[AHF]

Lurker status now means stirring the pot, Wretch!

[JTB]

6 hours ago, JayBirdHawk said:

@JTBHeeey, don't lump me in with the crazies. I don't hate Muscala, just don't think he's progressed enough to warrant any long drawn out discussion. I would like to upgrade his spot.

Lol

[Thomas]

5 hours ago, Wretch said:

but I much prefer lurker status

Glad there is not a capitol L in there somewhere. 

[Thomas]

6 hours ago, Spud2Nique said:

 

LaVar Ball much? At least this guy isn't squeezing his son's value or future.

[Admin]

Damn so @Wretch is a cyber terrorist and creepy lurker? I always knew there was something "off" about him. 

[Thomas]

5 minutes ago, Dolfan23 said:

Damn so @Wretch is a cyber terrorist and creepy lurker? I always knew there was something "off" about him. 

Go figure, always thought that would be Supes.  

[TheNorthCydeRises]

On 5/26/2017 at 11:57 PM, JTB said:

Boom! Thank you & hopefully that ends this whole THJ talk.

Everyone has an opinion and are entitled to how they feel, like it should be on the squawk.

@Diesel hates Marvin williams and referred to him as duck butt for years if I recall that right

@NBASupes said al Horford is better than Karl Malone and once had high praise for OJ Mayo maybe still does.

@JayBirdHawk hates musucala (probably spelled his name wrong but who cares) and believes he's just awful and very weak physically 

@Lurker hates THJ & believes he's done growing

I personally hated josh bone head smith but thought he could have still been a star level player If he played with a higher bbiq and also thought Teague could have been all star player for consecutive years if he wasn't such a p*ssy.

 

.....ALL of us have strong opinions about specific players but none of our opinions are facts cause none of us know what's going to happen in the future.

Jaybird is right though.