News and Notes: Updated between Games

[JayBirdHawk]

 

 

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NEW YORK — The personalities in the Hawks’ locker room this season are vastly different than last year. Even when the team started 6-23 and things looked bleak, the mood never seemed off. It’s different this year.

 

One source told The Athletic’s Shams Charania that the mood inside the Hawks’ locker room is “depressing.” There are just too many soft-spoken players on the team this season to lighten the mood during an 8-32 start. Coach Lloyd Pierce has been trying to get the younger players to speak up with little success. After the team’s shootaround on Friday in Washington, Pierce had De’Andre Hunter break the huddle once practice was over. His breakdown was so quiet that the other players jokingly laughed that they couldn’t hear him.

“No matter if we were winning or losing, they would still be soft spoken,” Kevin Huerter said. “Last year, we had more dominant and louder personalities. Even when we were losing, there were still a lot of funny stories because of their personalities.

“You always need voices in the locker room. You need guys saying the right things. You don’t just want to bring in a loud guy just to bring in a loud guy. That’s been something that Lloyd has been trying to bring out in a lot of us, including myself, John (Collins) and Alex (Len) — guys who have been here. We just need to be louder, especially with the way things are going. We need to have those voices.”
 

Prince and Anderson are still close with several of the players on the Hawks. Prince said he still talks to Collins, DeAndre’ Bembry and Trae Young. Anderson said he keeps in touch with Young, Huerter and Len.
Prince said he doesn’t necessarily think that the Hawks have taken a step back because they drafted young wings in Hunter and Cam Reddish, which is what they wanted after trading him to Brooklyn.

What does Prince think of the job Pierce has done in his two seasons with Atlanta?

“I think the situation he was put in from the beginning was tough,” Prince said. “Credit to him though because I think he did a great job of continuing to have us play hard and he tried to put us in the best position to win under the circumstances he had. This is his first job. As a rookie, I didn’t know anything. It took me a while to figure it out. I’m sure he’s thinking the same thing of how he can progress every day.”

The veterans the Hawks have don’t have a future with the organization after this season. Crabbe, Evan Turner, Chandler Parsons and Vince Carter, their four eldest players, won’t be re-signed when their contracts expire at the end of the season.

The Hawks entered this season hoping Young was going to be their leader. On the court, Young is putting up All-Star numbers. Off the court, he’s a 21-year-old tasked with leading the worst team. There have been points when the message Young has voiced hasn’t been well-received because he didn’t articulate it as well as he could have. That should be expected because, again, he’s 21.

Prince saw that fiery side of Young last season and said he believes he can be that vocal presence the Hawks need.

“I don’t think it’s difficult at all for him because what matters is how real you are and how passionate you are about it is what makes guys either respect you or think of you different,” Prince said. “People respected Trae last year. He can be that vocal leader for them. I just think he’s still trying to figure out certain things about his game along with figuring out how to run a team of 15 guys trying to win games. It’s a lot of pressure on a point guard. Throughout my years, I’ve never told a point guard how to play basketball because of it. It’s up to him to figure it out, and I think they will be a good....

After last season, Young credited Anderson as one of the players who helped the most as he navigated his rookie campaign. The two have remained close friends since. Anderson believes Young should be an All-Star and should not be punished for what some people have called “empty stats.”

“Say what you want about Trae Young, but that kid is special,” Anderson said. “You have to compete to his level. That kid wants to win. He talks to me all of the time about how he can figure it out. I just think those guys have to come together, bond together and they have to come up with a common purpose.

Anderson’s presence was overlooked in the Hawks’ locker room because he didn’t play much, but he was a key voice that was widely respected by his teammates. When he was told about the lack of veteran presence in the locker room, he smirked and pointed up to his name on his locker and said Dedmon had that huge voice. Kent Bazemore had a huge voice. Jeremy Lin’s wasn’t a loud voice but his was respected when he spoke up.

“You need people who have faced some things and have faced adversity, whether it’s on the court or off the court,” Prince said. “Being able to put things in perspective where players haven’t been in different situations like this one goes a long way, man. Young teams, more than not, struggle with a lack of leadership — or a voice, I should say. Obviously, Trae is their leader. He’s still growing and is still a young player in this league. I’m sure he’s getting better every day, but they need to figure out this situation where they can have someone step up and have someone that is respectable that guys can listen to and lead. I think they’ll be a good team then.”

“At some point you have to say, ‘Well, what else is it?”

The Hawks weren’t constructed to win. Schlenk told The Athletic that the analytics department projected 30-31 wins before the season.

It’s no secret that the Hawks are going to continue to lose many more games with the goal of growing their youngest players. That’s why they’ve played a starting lineup of Young, Huerter, Reddish, Hunter and Collins lately.

But they also have to figure out how to keep a locker room from souring to the point of no return.

“Everybody has — I wouldn’t say an agenda — but everyone has things they want to accomplish,” Prince said. “I think when you have a bunch of guys who are trying to figure it out but also have their own personal success while you have a coach who is trying to get these guys to play together and do things that will lead to winning, which may be a conflict of interest. But at the same time, they have great players over there. Cam Reddish, I let him know after the game that they kind of win depending on how good he plays. He can be that X-factor. Him being aggressive, Trae being aggressive, (Bembry) bringing whatever it takes, De’Andre Hunter bringing what he does, the bigs doing what they do — I think they can be a great team.”

 

[Dnice]

Good insight. 

[High5]

Maybe Schlenk will look at someone like Jae Crowder in FA. He's one of those passionate, vocal players. He's also a local guy. Not my favorite player, but 2020 is slim pickings. 

[kg01]

54 minutes ago, High5 said:

Maybe Schlenk will look at someone like Jae Crowder in FA. He's one of those passionate, vocal players. He's also a local guy. Not my favorite player, but 2020 is slim pickings. 

Never thought I'd say it, but ... #BrangBakBaze2020

Brang 'im home, Schlank. 

[bleachkit]

We need alpha males, instead we got beta males. 

[kg01]

I'd be shocked if we don't see Deadman back in volt soon.

[AHF]

9 hours ago, kg01 said:

Never thought I'd say it, but ... #BrangBakBaze2020

Brang 'im home, Schlank. 

We actually can't trade for Baze if the article I posted a few minutes ago is correct.  Not that I am clamoring to do so.

[JayBirdHawk]

1 hour ago, kg01 said:

I'd be shocked if we don't see Deadman back in volt soon.

Kings are said to be looking for value for him. I'd bring him back if Hawks get value for doing so. I don't think we should help Sac fix their offseason mistake for free.

[kg01]

1 hour ago, AHF said:

We actually can't trade for Baze if the article I posted a few minutes ago is correct.  Not that I am clamoring to do so.

But can we just brang him bak on weekends to do a spades tournament or something?  Brang bak 'Sap for his slap-boxing/uno tourney.

Actually, I'd like to brang bak Sap too.  No, I'm not tryna 'run it bak', but his maturity would be a breath of fresh air.  We got too much halitosis goings on lately.

[hawkman]

8 minutes ago, kg01 said:

But can we just brang him bak on weekends to do a spades tournament or something?  Brang bak 'Sap for his slap-boxing/uno tourney.

Actually, I'd like to brang bak Sap too.  No, I'm not tryna 'run it bak', but his maturity would be a breath of fresh air.  We got too much halitosis goings on lately.

Yeah the team clearly needs functional (on court, sorry Vince!) veteran leadership. I still think Schlenk made a huge mistake letting Baze, Dedmon, and prince go in the same offseason and bringing in unknowns. I'm not saying he should've kept all three of them, but you can't let that much veteran leadership go at once and maintain any continuity from last season. 

[Buzzard]

22 minutes ago, hawkman said:

Yeah the team clearly needs functional (on court, sorry Vince!) veteran leadership. I still think Schlenk made a huge mistake letting Baze, Dedmon, and prince go in the same offseason and bringing in unknowns. I'm not saying he should've kept all three of them, but you can't let that much veteran leadership go at once and maintain any continuity from last season. 

Dedmon is the only one I question and it had to be because Dedmon wanted the extra years (s). I understand the strategy, Schlenk is looking for more impactful players and tying up cap could harm that.

I do think Crabbe gets along withe everyone;. I am just gathering that by the reactions of other players when he is playing. Turner has been a pure disappointment leadership wise. I really thought his multiple stints on playoff teams would bring something to the table. Parsons was a total waste.

Edited January 14, 2020 by Buzzard

[JayBirdHawk]

31 minutes ago, hawkman said:

Yeah the team clearly needs functional (on court, sorry Vince!) veteran leadership. I still think Schlenk made a huge mistake letting Baze, Dedmon, and prince go in the same offseason and bringing in unknowns. I'm not saying he should've kept all three of them, but you can't let that much veteran leadership go at once and maintain any continuity from last season. 

I said at the time of the trade 'I'd rather kerp the devil I know' in Baze that get punch face Turner. 

[Buzzard]

3 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

I said at the time of the trade 'I'd rather kerp the devil I know' in Baze that get punch face Turner. 

Its funny JAYBIRD but half the Portland board or more would like to have Turner back over Baze. Baze has been atrocious this year in Portland. He is averaging only 7.7 PTS with a .474 TS% in 25.6 Minutes.

[High5]

Baze asked to be traded. He said he was in a dark place and didn't care anymore. I can't be mad at Schlenk for trading him, especially since this supposedly reinvigorated Bazemore hasn't helped Portland at all. 

[AHF]

1 hour ago, Buzzard said:

Dedmon is the only one I question and it had to be because Dedmon wanted the extra years (s). I understand the strategy, Schlenk is looking for more impactful players and tying up cap could harm that.

I do think Crabbe gets along withe everyone;. I am just gathering that by the reactions of other players when he is playing. Turner has been a pure disappointment leadership wise. I really thought his multiple stints on playoff teams would bring something to the table. Parsons was a total waste.

I knew he would suck and be a bad fit but I did have legit  hopes he would bring veteran maturity to the team.  If  you recall, there were several articles posted about what a leader he was in the clubhouse and how he worked to help others develop.

The only articles we've seen on him in Atlanta are him fermenting discontent in the locker room and being asked to stay home.  Punch face should have at least brought a positive attitude as he steals $18.6M this season.

[JayBirdHawk]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Spud2nique]

Ok I don’t want Baze back because Turner sucks. 2 wrongs don’t make a right.

[macdaddy]

We dumped three vets last year for various reasons and all three are a disappointment on their new teams.  Despite the fact that the replacements we got are terrible it shows that we know how to evaluate talent.  The replacements were strickly salary cap filler not talent acquisitions so I don't worry about that. 

[JayBirdHawk]

31 minutes ago, macdaddy said:

We dumped three vets last year for various reasons and all three are a disappointment on their new teams.  Despite the fact that the replacements we got are terrible it shows that we know how to evaluate talent.  The replacements were strickly salary cap filler not talent acquisitions so I don't worry about that. 

Turner and Crabbe were expected to contribute though. They've been duds.

[macdaddy]

3 hours ago, JayBirdHawk said:

Turner and Crabbe were expected to contribute though. They've been duds.

Oh no doubt but it's not like we set out to acquire those guys specifically.  It's just who was available to us in the dump of baze and prince.  So i'm not going to knock travis too much as far as talent eval goes because of those guys.