Lloyd Pierce has been Dismissed

[sturt]

Kirschner is such an immature little brat, while at the same time, one of the better beat writers ATL has had in the corps.

You had to know, given how LP dissed a question of his recently, he'd be quick out of the gate with some shade to throw LP's way.

Saw this quote just now in my twitter feed...

 

 

[TheNorthCydeRises]

36 minutes ago, KB21 said:

No.  You can't make major decisions based on small sample sizes.  You have to let Nate finish the season and evaluate what he has done with the roster from this point on.  This team is going to ebb and flow naturally.  

The fact that you are the voice of reason lately, is one of the big surprises of 2021.

Especially considering that you have been right on the money with about 90% of the things you got blasted forl

[bleachkit]

Just now, TheNorthCydeRises said:

The fact that you are the voice of reason lately, is one of the big surprises of 2021.

Especially considering that you have been right on the money with about 90% of the things you got blasted forl

He was wrong about this draft bring trash. Quite a few good players. Ball might even be a superstar.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

7 minutes ago, bleachkit said:

He was wrong about this draft bring trash. Quite a few good players. Ball might even be a superstar.

I did say 90%.  Even you have to admit that the guy got a lot of things right.

[bleachkit]

1 minute ago, TheNorthCydeRises said:

I did say 90%.  Even you have to admit that the guy got a lot of things right.

Predicting CLP's demise? That would be @Bonkers and @Peoriabird and a few others. I personally thought they would wait until the end of the year to avoid the optics of a mid season firing. 

[GameTime]

Quote

Pierce made a public comment two seasons ago about not running plays for Collins, and it rubbed the Hawks big man the wrong way. Collins went to Pierce about his issue with the statement, but Pierce, sources say, turned around and called Collins’ approach selfish in wanting to have a more defined role on the team. Over time, the residue from these types of situations remained.

[benhillboy]

16 minutes ago, bleachkit said:

He was wrong about this draft bring trash. Quite a few good players. Ball might even be a superstar.

He played pretty well by his standards last night, filled up the stat sheet with a -18.  Just the new NBA where if a team goes ballistic from 3 there’s no hope really, all other stats be damned.  Robert f&@kin Covington has more monster three point shooting games than any career .355 shooter I’ve ever seen.  I’m still pissed I had money down lol.  Betting with them on a road B2B without Zeller and Hayward was stupid granted I just love me some Melo.

Edited March 2, 2021 by benhillboy

[KB21]

15 minutes ago, TheNorthCydeRises said:

I did say 90%.  Even you have to admit that the guy got a lot of things right.

[AHF]

30 minutes ago, TheNorthCydeRises said:

I did say 90%.  Even you have to admit that the guy got a lot of things right.

I think all of us predicted big losing would come during the first two seasons of rebuilding so that doesn't buy me much.  He did correctly predict LP's demise - that is one I score for him for sure. 

It is what happens on the other side of building that is the big point of contention.  He said Philly would not make the playoffs, would get swept by Miami and wouldn't win a playoff series, etc. and was wrong like 3 consecutive times predicting doom and gloom based on tanking for them.  He said this team would be doomed for tanking and will be among the 5 worst teams in the league this season.  He and I have a bet riding on whether he is right on that one.

One of us will be eating it depending on how Nate takes this team forward.

[REHawksFan]

1 minute ago, AHF said:

I think all of us predicted big losing would come during the first two seasons of rebuilding so that doesn't buy me much.  He did correctly predict LP's demise - that is one I score for him for sure. 

It is what happens on the other side of building that is the big point of contention.  He said Philly would not make the playoffs, would get swept by Miami and wouldn't win a playoff series, etc. and was wrong like 3 consecutive times predicting doom and gloom based on tanking for them.  He said this team would be doomed for tanking and will be among the 5 worst teams in the league this season.  He and I have a bet riding on whether he is right on that one.

One of us will be eating it depending on how Nate takes this team forward.

Yeah.  All the stuff that has happened to this point has been pretty dang easy to predict.  The timing of the firing of LP was a little up in the air but otherwise, it's been pretty expected heading into this season. The real question is how quickly they improve from here which is much more difficult to gauge.  

I will say regarding the LP firing that I found it interesting that the Hawks had apparently intended to fire him after last season until Covid and Social Justice issues happened.  So by the Hawks timeline, the firing was actually 2 months too late.  

[NBASupes]

43 minutes ago, bleachkit said:

Predicting CLP's demise? That would be @Bonkers and @Peoriabird and a few others. I personally thought they would wait until the end of the year to avoid the optics of a mid season firing. 

Hots too. Hots was really the one that nailed it and he stayed out of draft talk so he couldn't fail there.

[sturt]

Define "losing the locker room."

It's become too cliche' to just accept the conclusion, and again, especially from a reporter who the coach fairly recently sorta kinda embarrassed (... remember the long tirade of defense emphases that LP spouted out... as I understood, that was in response to a Kirschner question).

[parfait]

22 hours ago, sturt said:

Mixed feelings.

It likely was coming at some point.

I just find it difficult to say we'd be in this situation if some KEY pieces had been mostly healthy all season... and THAT, my friends, is really no one's fault... but if it is someone's, it's the GENERAL MANAGER who actually deserves the chopping block ahead of the head coach.

As always, I'm not going to comment further out of principle, but I will welcome reading others' perspectives on that.

I have to disagree.

Schlenk has succeed in the majority of his task list:

1) Hit on vast majority of 1st round picks (this is downright rare)

2) Avoid any bad/unmoveable contracts.

3) Spent cap space in 2020 offseason rather than wait for the 2021 offseason that is now largely void of talent.

FAILINGS:

1) Hiring of LP. Clearly his biggest mistake.

2) Failed to fill out the bench in 2019-2020. A lower level failing, since this was still a rebuilding/tank year anyway.

The jury is still out on the actual talent acquired in the 2020 season, but the contracts are all very moveable.

In contrast, LP, as much as I like and respect him, failed in just about every facet of his job.

Thus, I don't think TS and LP are even remotely comparable in their culpability to date.

[NBASupes]

8 minutes ago, parfait said:

I have to disagree.

Schlenk has succeed in the majority of his task list:

1) Hit on vast majority of 1st round picks (this is downright rare)

2) Avoid any bad/unmoveable contracts.

3) Spent cap space in 2020 offseason rather than wait for the 2021 offseason that is now largely void of talent.

FAILINGS:

1) Hiring of LP. Clearly his biggest mistake.

2) Failed to fill out the bench in 2019-2020. A lower level failing, since this was still a rebuilding/tank year anyway.

The jury is still out on the actual talent acquired in the 2020 season, but the contracts are all very moveable.

In contrast, LP, as much as I like and respect him, failed in just about every facet of his job.

Thus, I don't think TS and LP are even remotely comparable in their culpability to date.

This. 

Travis nailed every pick 1st round pick. He might have failed on one of the trades, but he nailed all of his picks but Spellman. 

Collins

Trae at 5 was the best pick with SGA at 11 considering Luka went 3rd.

Hunter trade and pick is looking outstanding. 

Reddish at 10 still is a tremendous value. You can say he's rotational, sucks, whatever but within that range, most of the guys are just that and Cam has potential to be a lot better but he might not get there. 

Okongwu translates defensively. The season being how it is screwed up all of the bigs who were in the 2020 draft. 

1. I don't see LP as a fail. He helped but he reached his closing point.

2. This was massive. TS failed to fill the roster in 2020. This year just been tough break after tough break.

Edited March 2, 2021 by NBASupes

[kg01]

Gotta say all this Kirschner stuff feels like a personal hit piece by him.

[hawkzlova123]

1 hour ago, benhillboy said:

We need to watch a game together so I can realize what you’re seeing.  Positionally I guess he can be decent.  But there isn’t a starting PG going that puts less pressure on dribbles, whose arms effect passing lanes less, or challenges shots that lead to defensive rebounds less.  I haven’t seen him dive on the floor once this season and he’s driven past with amazing ease by most BUs, doesn’t even try to wall them off.  Communication is iffy; he isn’t loud, demonstrative, or talkative.  Arguably the least effective transition defender in the league.  There’s no one in the league he can box out as he has no shoulder mass to speak of and barley jumps off the floor to do anything.
 

I usually don’t attribute someone’s advanced metrics to other players but in this case it’s evident his improvement there is very dependent upon Clint and Dre as the team defensive rating has driven off a cliff going 100 mph since Dre went down.  I never see him in a crouched stance, which doesn’t really matter because like you said he takes choppy steps and never swipes at the ball.  He acts as if he’s disqualified if he fouls more than twice when he should be using about 4 of them situationally.  His size naturally makes him a compromised rotator.  He’s just too limited physically to be known as a mediocre effort guy.  Show me some film of him assisting a successful double team or getting a steal from the blind side of a Big on a dig: I’ve never seen it.  His steal and deflection numbers have always been dreadful for a 30 minute guy and taking a charge once every 3 games isn’t notable.  He’s like the compete anti-Kyle Lowry, who does ALL of these things ALL of the time.
 

He simply doesn’t lock in.  I knew the few flashes of fighting over screens and pushing his man after a pass early on in the season were fleeting.  Very simply he needs a coach who will demand these things until he hates him, then loves him again after seeing the impact.  The days of a Larry Brown type brow-beating Iverson into becoming a better player are long gone though.

We all need to do a meet up and watch a game (not for entertainment but critically) 

 

Whos down

[gHost83]

2 minutes ago, kg01 said:

Gotta say all this Kirschner stuff feels like a personal hit piece by him.

He's just speaking FACTS

[kg01]

1 hour ago, bleachkit said:

Predicting CLP's demise? That would be @Bonkers and @Peoriabird and a few others. I personally thought they would wait until the end of the year to avoid the optics of a mid season firing. 

Coaches are hired to be fired with very few exceptions.

I'm gonna put out a bunch of posts calling for the next guy's firing.  If it happens, did I "predict" anything or did the calendar just proceed from one day to the next?

[REHawksFan]

1 minute ago, kg01 said:

Gotta say all this Kirschner stuff feels like a personal hit piece by him.

Except it wasn't written just by Kirschner.  It was a collaboration between him, Sam Amick, David Aldridge, and Shams Charnaria.  I've never been a huge fan of Chris's but the other guys are solid.  I have a hard time thinking any of them would contribute to a hit piece.  Their involvement in the piece is actually why I give it more credence than most other commentaries.  

[kg01]

Just now, gHost83 said:

He's just speaking FACTS

Smells more like a guy going to jilted young players for negative opinions to report.