The Athletic (Sam Amick): Nick Ressler runs the team now (The Resslers = Atlanta Spirit Group 2.0?) (OPEN THE FLOOD GATES Y'ALL)

[cam1218]

1 hour ago, NBASupes said:

Nick is a Hawksquawker/Reddit poster. Yeah, the Hawks are ruined. 

Is he at least a Premium poster or donates? Joking aside, this season and team is a mess. Trae is good/great, but I’m not wanting a guy who shows no sign of any leadership qualities having this much power. Between him and Nick, we are doomed unless something changes.

[JayBirdHawk]

Just now, cam1218 said:

Is he at least a Premium poster or donates?

probably not, he's too cheap.

[Vol4ever]

9 hours ago, Spud2nique said:

Why can’t an owner come along who’s as passionate about the Hawks winning as us fans? Ughhh .. 

 

This is just.. it’s not cool to do this to a fanbase. We’ve been through too much.

Hawks are a terrible franchise like the Falcons.  

[Hawkmoor]

Another major point has to be looked at now that its become public about the dynamics of the front office. I'm being objective here. Travis Schlenk was a new GM.  His first major move is a top 5 pick.  He has a choice between more of a proven professional player in Luka because played pro ball in the Euro League.  Trae Young was a unknown and there was serious doubt about whether his size and game would translate to the NBA. 

We have learned that Schlenk is conservative at building this roster and goes for the more proven solid player over taking chances with flashy players. We also learned that he was not willing to risk high draft picks.  DeAndre Hunter was a example of his conservative way of building the roster.  The way this has shaken out makes me feel that the Murray situation was a continuance of the Luka for Trae trade in terms of the dynamics of who has the final say on the roster. 

Trae is not a bust.  Thats not the issue.  Trae's problem has been unaccountability while demanding total control of everything around him.  From a basketball point of view, at the time it was made, the trade didn't make sense for a new GM.  The blue print was Golden State and that blueprint could've included EITHER Luka or Trae because of their style of play.   The trade now looks like what a lot of critics say it was, a marketing move that Travis most likely didn't agree with at the time.

[cam1218]

28 minutes ago, Hawkmoor said:

This is it, 100%. Trae avoids all tough questions and when he has to, answers them with vague cliches. We have folks on here complaining about his game, warranted. I don’t worry about that as much about his leadership qualities.

Until he can stand up for himself and the team without feeling “disrespected” for being asked a tough question, he will be what he is today. He is young tough, I hope he finds a way to grow up and lead our team. 

[hawkster911]

https://www.sportstalkatl.com/matt-olson-reveals-why-players-love-the-atlanta-braves/

 

MLB players have heard about the Atlanta Braves being a well run and respected organization.  
 

It’s a crying shame that the Atlanta Hawks are a stark contrast to the Atlanta Braves.  I personally thought Schlenk kicked ass when he came onboard and unglued the Joe Johnson cap situation, Taurean Prince trade, and drafted well.  If Ressler’s 27 year old son has the guts to relieve Schlenk, we are all watching his next move.  His name is broadcasted live in front of all Hawks fans, and he better deliver.  I don’t care about age but he better know what he’s doing or we’ll start requesting for the Ressler family to get out of ATL.  

[JTB]

7 hours ago, ShooterSays said:

Man...things are looking pretty bleak reading through this thread. Props to @Sothron for all the good info in here. Appreciate what you share.

I think this season is pretty much a waste at this point. Too much disfunction to go anywhere. I would fully embrace the tank and pray we get lucky in the lotto. You have this draft and next year to right the ship before having to pay up to SAS. What a disaster the DJM trade could turn out to be.

If I'm running this franchise like I do my 2K franchises, first thing I would do is trade JC and Capela and see what draft capital I can get to fully embrace the suck and increase those lottery odds. Probably not the best idea but the SCARY thing is this might actually be how the Hawks are being run right now.

Dark days ahead.

Funny you mentioned trade Capela as that also is my go to move but one thing you did that many posters do is that you didn’t consider Traes wants and unfortunately in this situation that’s a big deal. Soth told us that his source revealed that Trae stopped the Capela for Ayton trade so it’s hard for me to personally believe any trade with Capela involved unless it’s a big time player coming back to us. 
Capela appears to be heavily protected by Trae.

4 hours ago, Sothron said:

My source told me in mid Dec there was an actual talk between Nick Ressler and other FO people that actually started with Ressler telling them he made a trade happen in NBA 2k and he wanted to know how they could make it in happen IRL. Nick was quite serious.

Source was not joking. That was when I knew this franchise is doomed until we get new owners or somehow Ressler pulls his head out of his ass and gets real basketball people to run this franchise.

Can you tell us what trade it is?

4 hours ago, NBASupes said:

Nick is a Hawksquawker/Reddit poster. Yeah, the Hawks are ruined. You can't be one of us and run this team. Most of us are stupid and don't understand modern Basketball. Travis does. Man, how you let your barely grown son run the one public franchise where everyone can see which can ruin your brand. 

My guy told me Travis did not want that trade. I just didn't know who overruled him. Sothron been saying what's been going on behind the scenes to us in DMs for away but this lines up to all he said. 

I don’t recall ever stating you guys were wrong I think most of us were just hoping for the best but either way I give you two big props for keeping us updated before the news break nationally. 

Oh and I agree about the fact most of us can’t be GMs . Many fans feel that job is easy but I look at it as one of the most difficult jobs in professional sports being an NBA GM. 

Was that a joke or is Nick really a squawker here? 

2 hours ago, Sothron said:

Thank you. I know @Spud2nique apparently thinks I'm a liar but all the things I've said on here for months have been shown to be true. 

Btw supes you know that trade target I mentioned in the insiders private conversation? That's the one Ressler traded for in 2K and is trying to get. Couldn't happen until the offseason but that's the target.

Damn does this mean you can’t say what the trade was? …completely understandable just anxious to here some possible good news among this shit show.

 

2 hours ago, JayBirdHawk said:

Gotta be KAT since he can't be traded until the offseason.

Yup that’s who I thought too because both Soth and Supes has mentioned KAT and Embiid but to get one of them Murray would have to be involved in that trade so it goes back to how Trae feels since his opinion matter’s apparently. Is Trae really going to allow his boy Murray to get traded even if it means bringing in a top tier player?…

[Sothron]

2 minutes ago, JTB said:

Funny you mentioned trade Capela as that also is my go to move but one thing you did that many posters do is that you didn’t consider Traes wants and unfortunately in this situation that’s a big deal. Soth told us that his source revealed that Trae stopped the Capela for Ayton trade so it’s hard for me to personally believe any trade with Capela involved unless it’s a big time player coming back to us. 
Capela appears to be heavily protected by Trae.

Can you tell us what trade it is?

I don’t recall ever stating you guys were wrong I think most of us were just hoping for the best but either way I give you two big props for keeping us updated before the news break nationally. 

Oh and I agree about the fact most of us can’t be GMs . Many fans feel that job is easy but I look at it as one of the most difficult jobs in professional sports being an NBA GM. 

Was that a joke or is Nick really a squawker here? 

Damn does this mean you can’t say what the trade was? …completely understandable just anxious to here some possible good news among this shit show.

 

Yup that’s who I thought too because both Soth and Supes has mentioned KAT and Embiid but to get one of them Murray would have to be involved in that trade so it goes back to how Trae feels since his opinion matter’s apparently. Is Trae really going to allow his boy Murray to get traded even if it means bringing in a top tier player?…

Thank you for the kind words. 

I was asked not to repeat the trade but if it happened or some variation of it happened...I actually would love it. But I don't think it is realistic. My fear is if Nick Ressler thinks we can actually pull off that trade (this player is a superstar) and still keep Trae, DJM and new superstar then he'll turn down other realistic deals that could make this team  better.

Is it worth it hold what we have, make zero trades and hope in the offseason you can swing for the fences? I don't think so. We'll see what Ressler/Landry/Trae think.

[JTB]

2 minutes ago, Sothron said:

Thank you for the kind words. 

I was asked not to repeat the trade but if it happened or some variation of it happened...I actually would love it. But I don't think it is realistic. My fear is if Nick Ressler thinks we can actually pull off that trade (this player is a superstar) and still keep Trae, DJM and new superstar then he'll turn down other realistic deals that could make this team  better.

Is it worth it hold what we have, make zero trades and hope in the offseason you can swing for the fences? I don't think so. We'll see what Ressler/Landry/Trae think.

That’s interesting. Thanks!

Also this confirms that Murray is protected too just like Capela unless it’s a really big time move. That’s how feel about it anyways reading between the lines.

[MarylandHawk]

3 hours ago, JayBirdHawk said:

Koonin 92.9 the Game weekly interview today:

https://omny.fm/shows/dukes-bell/steve-koonin-addresses-article-on-front-office-tur

 

Synopsis on Front Office:

• Article is accurate.
• Somethings are true, somethings are not
• Is it ideal - No
• Tremendous confidence in Landry and who they are bringing in
• He noted he went off on the report about Nate potentially leaving since that was not true, but he cannot say the same about Amick's article - Lots of accuracy in the article
• Schlenk not involved in the day to day
• Trade deadline is coming up expect the Hawks to be active (brace yourself for lots of rumors), making a trade to improve the team to make it better to get into the playoffs.
• On players name in trade rumors - it's not helpful to chemistry.  On the DJ we paid too much for him - it can't make him feel good, but on the other hand they believe he is a high high quality player.
• We are marching with a different voice.  Travis' voice is different from Landry's.
• Landy is a very collaborative guy, we want to be more player centric, more collaborative to create that culture that leads to winning championships - we have a lot of work to do.

Wow. I love Koonin. Keep us sane while we go through this. 

[Spud2nique]

3 hours ago, sturt said:

 

[warcore]

Hawks FO meeting in December:

Nick: Guys, I did this really cool trade on NBA 2K that worked out for us. I want to make it happen in real life. 
Travis: LOL
Tony: That's not funny, Travis. You're fired. 

[sturt]

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeah.... Spud, like I said, Benny Hill humor just doesn't do anything for me. But you keep crackin up that audience, I'm sure they love it.

[sturt]

2 hours ago, Sothron said:

Is it worth it hold what we have, make zero trades and hope in the offseason you can swing for the fences?

Hinges on Clint's return as things stand right now.

If you tell me you're not getting him back for a month, it's devastating, and I think you have to seriously consider taking 2 steps backward this season to try to go 3 steps forward next... but then again, you can't just be making a deal to make a deal... the risk is that you try to take 2 steps forward this season, and find yourself 3 steps backward next.

 

I do wonder if, as some have been contending, the first and best next move isn't a player transaction at all, but now that it's come out that Nate's actually acknowledged some exhaustion, it may be more about inserting a different head coach into the recipe... one with a serious offensive game reputation pivoted on increasing ball movement. (It's almost cliche' to say at this point, but it is easy to imagine D'Antoni coming in and having big success. I just watched Danny, his older brother, coaching the Marshall game vs. Southern Miss last night... those D'Antonis just know how to coach ball movement, they really do.)

 

Glass half-full, and Clint gets back, it's easy for me to imagine this team putting together multiple 4 and 5 game winning streaks, gaining confidence, and spitting on everyone who didn't keep the faith... just like they did two years ago.

It's not tonight, but it could be a better roster overall going into the playoffs than two years ago, imo... and that hinges on the degree that 19 yr-old AJ and 21 yr-old JJ and 22 yr-old OO keep asserting themselves more and more.

I know a lot of people are down on DJ, but I'm not. Listen, you go back and read and you'll find I was the wet blanket after that trade went down... I was the one reminding people how DJ actually had only been to an ASG because of an injury and that you can't take one season and presume the player has absolutely turned the corner... but I don't think anyone was wrong back then to see DJ as a perfect puzzle piece fit for what the roster needed--an elite backcourt defender with some moxie on offense that could force opponents into some difficult decisions on how to contain both him and Trae. Anxious to see those two anchoring the team in a post-season series, after having a season to gel.

 

 

[sturt]

1 hour ago, Spud2nique said:

You really live in your own lil world don’t you Soth? Why do you pretend to be an insider? It’s a Fckin cry for help guy and I for one am not gonna continue to go along with this stuff that you fantasize about it your head and lead many posters who I think are smart to actually believe you. 
 

If you want to believe it and it gets you feelin good about yourself then by all means..

Not me anymore though. I respect the posts you make that it all you, not your evil twin Jimmy.. lol.

What a strange post. For his sake, I'd like to think Spud just forgot to use green font. But not really persuaded that's the case.

[Sothron]

2 hours ago, Spud2nique said:

You really live in your own lil world don’t you Soth? Why do you pretend to be an insider? It’s a Fckin cry for help guy and I for one am not gonna continue to go along with this stuff that you fantasize about it your head and lead many posters who I think are smart to actually believe you. 
 

If you want to believe it and it gets you feelin good about yourself then by all means..

Not me anymore though. I respect the posts you make that it all you, not your evil twin Jimmy.. lol.

I thought you were just clowning around earlier and picking fun but this isn't funny. I don't "pretend" to be anything. I don't appreciate being basically called a liar especially by someone I consider a friend on the Squawk.

[Spud2nique]

1 hour ago, Sothron said:

basically called a liar

Nope. Never called you a liar. You are a friend. I just don’t … 

 

you know what, do yo thing playa. My bad. 

[Carmine]

Yea... I'm out on this team.

[NBASupes]

A lot of our issues revolve around one player but a lot of our franchise value revolves around that same player. 

Unless we can maintain our value as a franchise but replace the issue, we aren't going anywhere, anytime soon. To be frank, just moving that issue, isn't a fix without a proper replacement. There is chances, high chances that we won't be able to replace that said issue. 

The player I feel for is Dejounte. He's the player getting the most national flak when I really don't believe he's made us worse at all. That price tag was expensive and that's what bothers me.

[sturt]

5 hours ago, Spud2nique said:

My bad. 

It really was.

Otoh, compliments to you Spud for being among the few on the board (or so it seems) equipped with the intellectual humility to potentially recognize an overstep on your own part. You may not have been drunk (?), but whatever the cause, some... um... sobriety... would have been a good thing. Soth's input has been and continues to be a huge asset around here. That was out of line, imo. Think you could even stand to go a little farther with the admission of guilt and an outright apology, me.