Free Agency Grades / Winners & Losers Media Analysis

[JayBirdHawk]

1 hour ago, AHF said:

A bunch of them make a passing reference to them but don't actually list the Celtics.  Here is an example from that Ringer article:

 

That's what you call...a gloss over, lol.

[marco102]

https://theathletic.com/2218830/2020/11/24/hollingers-nba-free-agency-awards-the-best-worst-and-weirdest-of-a-wild-weekend/

Hollinger’s NBA free agency awards: The best, worst and weirdest of a wild weekend

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Captain Obvious Best Upgrade Award: Atlanta Hawks

I’m still not sure exactly how all these pieces fit on the court, and we still don’t know if Bogdanovic will be a part of it. Regardless, it’s hard not to be excited about Atlanta’s chances this year after adding Danilo Gallinari, Rajon Rondo, Kris Dunn and possibly Bogdanovic as free agents. Remember, Atlanta also added Clint Capela at the 2020 trade deadline and he’s yet to play a game for them, and the Hawks tabbed USC big man Onyeka Okongwu with the sixth pick in the draft.

For a Hawks team whose depth pieces were a crushing disappointment last season, this has a chance to be a phenomenal upgrade. The defense was a massive issue for Atlanta last season, but Dunn is one of the best defensive players in the league and gives them a legit stopper to put on top wing players. The center position killed them a year ago but now they have Capela and Okongwu.

Backup point guard, another tire fire from 2019-20, is now manned by Rondo. That two-year, $15 million deal was an overpay, but the Hawks did wisely include a $750,000 playoff bonus that hopefully will induce Playoff Rondo to show up for some of the regular season games too.

Atlanta’s wings were another huge issue after rookie lottery picks De’Andre Hunter and Cam Reddish both struggled in 2019-20, and that’s where Bogdanovic and Gallinari come in. With their ability to shoot off the catch and attack off the dribble, opponents will have a conundrum defending Trae Young’s pick-and-roll game.

The one question here is whether Atlanta is done. Gallinari is much, much better at the 4 than at the 3, particularly on defense where he is toast against quickness. The Hawks currently have highly-productive fourth-year player John Collins at power forward, but he’s up for an extension and could be a valuable trade chip. One can fairly wonder if the Hawks will put him in play to trade for a true 3, and slide Gallinari up to his more natural 4 spot.

Either way, the Hawks will light up the scoreboard with this group — enough to make the playoffs a real possibility — and Dunn, Capela and Okongwu give them a chance to get a stop once in a while.

(More on the Hawks’ moves from Chris Kirschner: Long live the Hawks’ rebuilding process; Atlanta is ready to win)

Best Contract Award: Kris Dunn, Hawks

 

[marco102]

https://theathletic.com/2219637/2020/11/30/nba-preview-aldridge-nba-rankings-of-nba-offseason-accomplishments/?redirected=1

Aldridge: My 1-30 rankings for your team’s offseason after a (very brief) NBA break

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3. Atlanta Hawks

2019-20 record: 20-47; did not make playoffs

Added: G Bogdan Bogdanovic (four years, $72M); G Rajon Rondo (two years, $15M); G Kris Dunn (two years, $10M); F Danilo Gallinari (acquired from Oklahoma City);  F Solomon Hill (one year, $2.1 million); F Tony Snell (acquired from Detroit); G Khyri Thomas (acquired from Detroit); C/F Onyeka Okongwu (first round, sixth pick); G Skylar Mays (second round, 50th pick)

Lost: G Jeff Teague (signed with Boston); C Alex Len (signed with Toronto); F DeAndre Bembry (signed with Toronto); G Vince Carter (retired)

Retained: None

The Skinny: The Hawks had a desire to become a playoff team after two years of a rebuild under GM Travis Schlenk and coach Lloyd Pierce. They’re certainly closer now after a slew of moves, bringing Gallinari, Bogdanovic and Snell to a group that finished DFL in the league in 3-point percentage (.333) last season. Atlanta will be better and more diverse offensively surrounding Trae Young, but I can’t automatically say the Hawks are postseason-bound. Dunn might be as impactful a pickup as anyone; he and Rondo and Clint Capela, who didn’t play a second for Atlanta after being acquired from Houston at the trade deadline in February, all should help improve the Hawks’ atrocious D from a season ago, and also allow Kevin Huerter and De’Andre Hunter to slide into more effective roles. But Capela, John Collins and Okongwu can’t all get center minutes. Something, or someone, is going to have to give there.

 

[macdaddy]

So strange to me that all the pundits are so worried about how we are going to find minutes for everybody.  Since when is that some huge problem.  

[kg01]

41 minutes ago, macdaddy said:

So strange to me that all the pundits are so worried about how we are going to find minutes for everybody.  Since when is that some huge problem.  

Not only pundits.  Like everybody, some of us included, feel it's automatic that we're trading multiple dudes.

Like, the next time Gallinari makes it through a season uninjured will be the first time.  He's gonna miss time.  He always does. 

All the trade-John people, when Gallinari misses time, tell me what does that pf rotation look like if Collins is gone?

Rondo is gonna be load-managed.  Is Dunn still expendable and is Heurter still being "squeezed out"?

There will be minutes for everyone, for the most part.  Will everyone be happy all the time?  Probably not but welcome to the NBA.

[macdaddy]

57 minutes ago, kg01 said:

Not only pundits.  Like everybody, some of us included, feel it's automatic that we're trading multiple dudes.

Like, the next time Gallinari makes it through a season uninjured will be the first time.  He's gonna miss time.  He always does. 

All the trade-John people, when Gallinari misses time, tell me what does that pf rotation look like if Collins is gone?

Rondo is gonna be load-managed.  Is Dunn still expendable and is Heurter still being "squeezed out"?

There will be minutes for everyone, for the most part.  Will everyone be happy all the time?  Probably not but welcome to the NBA.

Exactly.  Who cares.   In the list of roster problems having too much talent is about 47th.  

[Peoriabird]

 

[GameTime]

12 minutes ago, Peoriabird said:

 

Just awful takes all around. Trade John Collins for Marcus Smart?

[JayBirdHawk]

27 minutes ago, Peoriabird said:

 

Made my ears bleed.

[Atlantaholic]

On 11/23/2020 at 11:10 AM, NBASupes said:

John Hollinger words will forever live with me when in comes to non-Hawks fans and the 2019-2020 season: 

 

 

As someone who watched every game. Many multiple times. It was one of the worst seasons I've watched in Hawks Basketball in regards to my personal expectations. 

 

 

It was one of the worst teams of all time outside of Trae. Even with Trae it was the worst team I've watched since the Antoine Walker year. 

[hawkzlova123]

Let's hope Rondo doesn't have a plan for getting injured for 65 games

 

Well even then he's valuable to us

[AHF]

Sacramento Offseason Review:

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Losing Bogdan Bogdanovic to the Hawks in restricted free agency stings. If they weren’t going to match a perfectly reasonable and predictable four-year, $72 million offer sheet, the Kings should have traded him last year. Of course, Divac probably would have matched. In an overall front-office upgrade, this was a transition cost.

Donte DiVincenzo would have been a nice, easy return for Bogdanovic. But the sign-and-trade with the Bucks fell apart, leaving Sacramento with a difficult choice.

Bogdanovic might retain positive value throughout this contract. Might. But matching definitely would’ve been costly to the Kings – in money owed to Bogdanovic, in further depleting Buddy Hield‘s value and in making the team too good next season.

Sans Bogdanovic, Sacramento looks even more likely to finish near the bottom of a stacked Western Conference. That’s not so bad, considering the top of the 2021 draft looks loaded and the Kings likely would’ve failed even if they tried to make the playoffs. I don’t know how long owner Vivek Ranadive will remain patient with a rebuild, but the timing is right for a step back this year.

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/front-office-change-tyrese-haliburton-211718941.html

[JayBirdHawk]

We were the Bell of the Ball after our FA acquisitions in the off season.  Where do we stand now:

The Athletic gives the grades, as well as all the other Hawks Players:

 

 

Tony Snell

Grade: B+

I’m not sure if anyone could have foreseen Snell being a big piece of the rotation before the season began because of how deep this team was on paper.......Snell has taken advantage of his minutes and has earned a solidified role even when everyone does return. He’s shooting 56.5 percent (!) from 3 on nearly three attempts per game. 

 

Bogdan Bogdanovic

Grade: C

Bogdanovic hasn’t played enough to get a good grasp for what he might offer this team moving forward. The initial hope when the Hawks signed him to a four-year, $72 million contract was for him to alleviate the pressure Young receives on the offensive side of the floor. Through 36 games, they’ve only shared the floor for 140 minutes...

Solomon Hill

Grade: C- 

Like Snell, no one expected Hill to be a permanent fixture in the rotation. He’s the only free agent the Hawks signed this offseason who has played in each game this season.

Danilo Gallinari

Grade: D

Before the season began, I was one of two people on staff who predicted Gallinari was going to win the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award.......He’s shooting nearly 39 percent from 3, which seems good if you haven’t watched one second of this team this season and just solely looked at the box score numbers. Outside of that game (Celtics), Gallinari hasn’t had many performances where he’s been a noticeable positive.

 

Rajon Rondo

Grade: F

From the moment the Hawks were linked to Rondo this past offseason, I could not understand it. I understand the appeal for the Hawks in wanting someone like him to mentor Young and the other young players; he’s done that. These grades are strictly based on on-court performance, and the Hawks have one of the worst backup point guards in the NBA.

Kris Dunn

Grade: Incomplete

Dunn hasn’t suited up for the Hawks since signing a two-year deal this past offseason. 

 

 

The rest:

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De’Andre Hunter

Grade: A+

The second-year player got better in every important facet of the game: shot creation, playmaking and defense. 

 

Trae Young

Grade: A 

Young’s efficiency numbers aren’t what you’d like them to be. He turns the ball over more often than you’d want, and he’s still a liability defensively, but he’s undoubtedly one of the best players across the league.

John Collins

Grade: A 

I understand the franchise’s hesitancy in paying Collins the contract he’s likely going to get when he hits free agency......... but he’s such a good player that should be worth keeping and figuring out the rest later. 

Clint Capela

Grade: A- 

Capela has been a monster defensively for the Hawks; they are 12.8 points better with him on the floor, ranking him in the 99th percentile, The Hawks have been putrid defensively with any of their other options they could use at the five

Skylar Mays

Grade: B

Mays has already surpassed Brandon Goodwin in the rotation and become the team’s third point guard. 

Kevin Huerter

Grade: B-

The one thing Huerter struggles with is his consistency, particularly 3-point shooting. He’s shooting 36.5 percent from 3, which isn’t destructive by any means, but he has the ability to shoot around 40 percent. 

Nathan Knight

Grade: C

Knight exploded onto the scene in the Hawks’ second game of the season in a win over Memphis. 

Cam Reddish

Grade: C- 

Reddish hasn’t progressed how many Hawks fans likely expected him to after how he performed post-All-Star break in his rookie season. I’d imagine most expected the kind of growth Hunter has shown this year in Reddish.

Onyeka Okongwu

Grade: C-

There were several factors working against Okongwu from the moment he was drafted by the Hawks: The team already had a veteran center in Capela and had publicly said they were committed to playing Collins as a small-ball five, there were expectations on this team to win and Okongwu came into the league with a foot injury. 

Brandon Goodwin

Grade: D

Goodwin has been passed in the rotation by Mays, and unless there’s an injury to Mays, Rondo or Young, it’s hard seeing him get consistent minutes for this team. 

Bruno Fernando

Grade: D-

Fernando doesn’t have an NBA skill right now. He needs a lot of work in order to become a trusted player who should see the floor in important minutes.

 

[macdaddy]

I was going to take issue with some of it until i saw Rajon with an F.   And then i thought

[REHawksFan]

Starting to see a pattern with the dude who made that video.  His preseason predictions were trash and his opinion of Trae is trash.  It's painfully obvious he either doesn't know what he's talking about or has a grudge against the Hawks.  Or both.