Official Game Thread: Hawks at Warriors

[Sothron]

54 minutes ago, bleachkit said:

Can any team win a championship without paying the luxury tax? 

Honestly? No. You can't count on those third blue moons aligning with Saturn where you have one injured superstar leading to a bad season and you get ANOTHER superstar in the draft on a rookie scale contract. Those are so rare it just isn't a basis to build a team around.

Yes, you need to pay the LT not just for the starting five but in order to have a good bench. The 82 game season plus playoffs is a long grind. We've seen just here the last two seasons just how much injuries destroyed our win loss record. 

[bleachkit]

Ressler says he won't go into the luxury tax unless we are championship contender. But we are quickly reaching a point where you have to go into the luxury tax just to be competitive. Especially if want a bench that's half way decent. 

[NBASupes]

5 minutes ago, bleachkit said:

Ressler says he won't go into the luxury tax unless we are championship contender. But we are quickly reaching a point where you have to go into the luxury tax just to be competitive. Especially if want a bench that's half way decent. 

If he can't afford that, he's gonna have to make changes. It's that simple 

[JeffS17]

1 hour ago, terrell said:

Other Bogi in Detroit should be available

He's a bucket but he plays absolutely atrocious defense

[JeffS17]

5 minutes ago, bleachkit said:

Ressler says he won't go into the luxury tax unless we are championship contender. But we are quickly reaching a point where you have to go into the luxury tax just to be competitive. Especially if want a bench that's half way decent. 

Either Ressler himself thought '21 was a fluke run or he doesn't really mean this.  Trae's contract kicked in and he cut that $30M elsewhere after we went to the ECF.  That doesn't tell me he values winning.  The logic sucks anyways because you're not going to be a contender without spending in the first place.  Look at the top teams in the east right now, all of which are well into the tax...

• Celtics - 5th highest payroll
• Nets - 3rd highest payroll
• Bucks - 4th highest payroll

 

You aren't competing with those teams bringing the Holiday brothers off the bench and asking JJ and AJ, two very green rooks, to play heavy minutes.

[Spud2nique]

5 hours ago, AHF said:

As long as we have Nate insisting on iso ball (especially predictable iso ball in the 4th quarter) and making decisions like putting Bogi in for key defensive possessions, we are not going anywhere.  This team needs a different approach to end of game basketball.  Kobe Bryant wasn't efficient down the stretch playing iso ball.  Why would Nate think that Trae and DM would be given that neither of them are in Kobe's class as a "hero ball" player?  But he keeps going back to that well knowing that there won't be many turnovers if we do that and we keep suffering as a result.  The ball has to move some.  Plays need to be run.  We won't win anything playing hero ball down the stretch and that is clearly exactly what Nate wants to see.  Done with him.

I basically said the same thing 10 posts earlier and you said it politely and got 10 likes ….     
 

 

[JayBirdHawk]

43 minutes ago, bleachkit said:

Ressler says he won't go into the luxury tax unless we are championship contender. But we are quickly reaching a point where you have to go into the luxury tax just to be competitive. Especially if want a bench that's half way decent. 

Quote on the Tax: May 2022 (end of season).

We’re going to pay what we have to pay,” Ressler said. “Sometimes owners set a tone — and I’m trying to set a very clear tone — sometimes we say some things one season that may not pertain to the next. Going into the tax doesn’t scare us. Obviously, you want to spend money intelligently. Obviously, you want to run a good business. For whatever it’s worth, I do not look at going into the tax as only possible if we’re competing for a championship that season. Our job is to go into the tax when it’s good business, to position ourselves for greatness. We do not fear the tax. We do not fear spending money. We fully expect Atlanta to be a truly attractive marketplace for (whoever) considers playing here. Money is not going to be our obstacle.”

I then followed up with a very specific question: Has he given Schlenk clearance to enter the tax this season?

“Yes. It’s a one word answer,” Ressler said. “I don’t want to qualify hopefully the obvious. I also say let’s do it intelligently. I don’t think you want to go into the tax to prove the point that we can go into the tax. I don’t worry about those types of things. We can go into the tax for the right reasons at the right time, any time.”

My main takeaway is this: It’s still not 100 percent clear if the Hawks will or won’t be a tax-paying team this coming season. Ressler is essentially saying he won’t pay it just to pay it, and the moves Schlenk makes this offseason have to justify paying a penalty. If the Hawks build a roster on paper that looks as if it’s going to struggle once again to just make the Play-In Tournament, it makes zero sense to pay the tax. If the Hawks make splashy moves and add a second star, then there shouldn’t be any hesitation if the goal is to win a title.


Quote on the Tax:  August 2022 (after Huerter trade and FAcy
There is still one spot remaining on the roster but the Hawks aren’t rushing to fill that spot right now.

“We’re going to hold at 14 spots for a while just because we are so close to the (luxury tax), I think we’re $1.8 (million) underneath the tax,” Schlenk said. “We are a little light at the big spot obviously with (Okongwu) being out, so maybe we’ll look to address that on a non-guaranteed deal kind of like we did with Solomon (Hill) last year for that last spot, where it gives us some flexibility going into the trade deadline.”

The tax is going to become a focus for the franchise moving forward because of the team’s lack of salary cap space. Both Schlenk and Tony Ressler believe that paying the tax in a year where they might not believe they have a championship squad doesn’t make sense. But if they believe they’re in title contention, it won’t be an issue.

“We hope that we can be just as successful as we were last year, and then I think if you can get that deep two times in a row, you are a serious contender,” Schlenk said. “Certainly, Tony is willing to pay the tax if we are going to be a contender. I’m probably more conscious of it than Tony is, to be honest with you. It’s my job to manage his money. He’s got a lot more of it than I do, so I worry about it more than he does.”

[TheNorthCydeRises]

4 hours ago, NBASupes said:

Trae is box office so upper management and ownership will always run to the idea of landing Trae Young. But most GMs and coaches don't want to deal with Trae. 

 

So if Trae was available, no one would offer anything for him, and Trae would be out of the league in 2 years?

As the kids say . . . that's cap.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

@NBASupes you chime in on this too, since you always bring this up about Trae.

Can you name a starting PG that is good off the ball?  One that moves around within the offense and is able to get his points AND still facilitate to others?

It's obvious that Steph Curry does it.  But can you or someone else name 4 - 5 other PGs that can do this?

 

I want to see how you and others want Trae to play like, when he's off the ball.  

Please be specific, and not just say that "he doesn't move".  Who do you want him to move like, when he doesn't have the ball?

[TheNorthCydeRises]

4 hours ago, NBASupes said:

Ya'll gotta stop looking for a scapegoat.

 

But you make Trae the scapegoat, especially for the defense.

People love scapegoats.

 

[hawkman]

1 hour ago, JeffS17 said:

He's a bucket but he plays absolutely atrocious defense

He can be the perfect replacement for Gallo.

[JayBirdHawk]

6 minutes ago, TheNorthCydeRises said:

 

But you make Trae the scapegoat, especially for the defense.

People love scapegoats.

 

 I like it. 

[TheNorthCydeRises]

3 hours ago, marco102 said:

Yes, because if it was just Trae doing it, you may have a point.  Murray is doing the same thing.   It's obviously coaching.  Coaching is telling them to slow things down and run clock.  In years' past we had Gallo to bail us out. We don't have that anymore.

 

Bogi does it too, but people don't talk about that.

There have been plenty of times where AJ is wide open in the corner, and Bogi has his head down, looking for his own shot.

Even when Bogi gets the ball at the end of the game, he's about getting his shot up, not ball movement.

So yes, the entire team does it.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

3 hours ago, NBASupes said:

Gallo was critical for 4th quarters. That is true. Like I said. When you give these super contracts, it hurts depth especially vet depth. This was always going to happen

 

Almost everyone on this board either wanted Gallo gone, or expected him to be gone, due to his deficiencies on the defensive end.

Only one person was cool with Gallo staying here, and even flat out said that Nate was using him wrong by playing him at the 4.

And that person is . . 

 

 

I was begging Nate to play a "big lineup" all season, due to the success we had with it during the playoffs when all of our young wings were hurt.  That big lineup helped our rebounding too.

[yungsta]

22 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

Quote on the Tax: May 2022 (end of season).

We’re going to pay what we have to pay,” Ressler said. “Sometimes owners set a tone — and I’m trying to set a very clear tone — sometimes we say some things one season that may not pertain to the next. Going into the tax doesn’t scare us. Obviously, you want to spend money intelligently. Obviously, you want to run a good business. For whatever it’s worth, I do not look at going into the tax as only possible if we’re competing for a championship that season. Our job is to go into the tax when it’s good business, to position ourselves for greatness. We do not fear the tax. We do not fear spending money. We fully expect Atlanta to be a truly attractive marketplace for (whoever) considers playing here. Money is not going to be our obstacle.”

I then followed up with a very specific question: Has he given Schlenk clearance to enter the tax this season?

“Yes. It’s a one word answer,” Ressler said. “I don’t want to qualify hopefully the obvious. I also say let’s do it intelligently. I don’t think you want to go into the tax to prove the point that we can go into the tax. I don’t worry about those types of things. We can go into the tax for the right reasons at the right time, any time.”

My main takeaway is this: It’s still not 100 percent clear if the Hawks will or won’t be a tax-paying team this coming season. Ressler is essentially saying he won’t pay it just to pay it, and the moves Schlenk makes this offseason have to justify paying a penalty. If the Hawks build a roster on paper that looks as if it’s going to struggle once again to just make the Play-In Tournament, it makes zero sense to pay the tax. If the Hawks make splashy moves and add a second star, then there shouldn’t be any hesitation if the goal is to win a title.


Quote on the Tax:  August 2022 (after Huerter trade and FAcy
There is still one spot remaining on the roster but the Hawks aren’t rushing to fill that spot right now.

“We’re going to hold at 14 spots for a while just because we are so close to the (luxury tax), I think we’re $1.8 (million) underneath the tax,” Schlenk said. “We are a little light at the big spot obviously with (Okongwu) being out, so maybe we’ll look to address that on a non-guaranteed deal kind of like we did with Solomon (Hill) last year for that last spot, where it gives us some flexibility going into the trade deadline.”

The tax is going to become a focus for the franchise moving forward because of the team’s lack of salary cap space. Both Schlenk and Tony Ressler believe that paying the tax in a year where they might not believe they have a championship squad doesn’t make sense. But if they believe they’re in title contention, it won’t be an issue.

“We hope that we can be just as successful as we were last year, and then I think if you can get that deep two times in a row, you are a serious contender,” Schlenk said. “Certainly, Tony is willing to pay the tax if we are going to be a contender. I’m probably more conscious of it than Tony is, to be honest with you. It’s my job to manage his money. He’s got a lot more of it than I do, so I worry about it more than he does.”

Every cheap owner says they will pay the tax if they are a "contender" which is a cop-out answer.

In other words, I'm not paying the tax unless we have Giannis, Luka, Lebron, & Curry all on our roster at the same time.

Why did we even trade for Dejounte if he wasn't committed to going all in? What a complete waste. SMH

 

[TheNorthCydeRises]

3 hours ago, terrell said:

When NBA players decide to play AAU ball in an NBA game.... Foul hunting fom the 3 pt line in crunchtime?

 

 

That wasn't a foul hunt.  That was an obvious foul that wasn't call.  I guess the only thing to fault Trae on, was giving up his dribble and shooting it.   

It was such a bad no-call, that the refs had to give it right back to us when Bogi fouled Jordan Poole going back the other way.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

3 hours ago, NBASupes said:

He said he was open to resigning at the time. We never made an offer. His opinion now is based on his current experience 

 

Wright's numbers are terrible, by the way . . outside of his steal numbers, which are astronomical for a guy playing only 19 minutes per game.

Wizards are 8 - 1 with him in the lineup.  But that also means that he's missed a whopping 29 games already this season.  9 - 20 without him in the lineup.

[Diesel]

23 minutes ago, TheNorthCydeRises said:

Only one person was cool with Gallo staying here

I didn't say Nate was playing him the wrong way.. but I was a big advocate for keeping Gallo... and Delon...  Gallo was our post up threat.   Actually, JC can be that now... but we have to go to him.   Last night, for a while, we went to him.. but after the third, not so much. 

 

 

 

[TheNorthCydeRises]

2 hours ago, Packfill said:

I 100% agree with this.  I want to say Murray and Trae are a bad fit but I honestly can't be sure given how badly the offense is orchestrated.  Hawks are playing 4 on 5 most of the time which completely removes the advantage of having two facilitators on the floor at the same time.  

 

Murray and Trae are not a bad fit together.  Those two can obviously co-exist on the court and the numbers show that they're more of a positive together than a negative.  Both he and Trae are struggling when they play with the bench group.  Surprisingly, Murray and Trae have struggled big time playing with Bogi.

Those two simply have to be better with the ball during crunch time and make the correct play.

If I'm Nate, maybe I expand the rotation to 10 players, and give Aaron Holiday a little more of an opportunity to run the 2nd team, instead of letting Murray do it.  This would pair Murray and Trae together more, and maybe give a little more freedom for Bogi and AJ to contribute more as a bench unit.

Last year, it took us a while to figure out the rotation. But Nate eventually did it by having Wright play off the ball, instead of trying to be the PG.

 

Just tossing out there that maybe this coaching staff isn't looking at all of the analytics of this team, and see which grouping work the best.

[terrell]

47 minutes ago, TheNorthCydeRises said:

 

So if Trae was available, no one would offer anything for him, and Trae would be out of the league in 2 years?

As the kids say . . . that's cap.

OKC or Utah maybe for money reasons like Ressler...