Draft Grades and Overall Outlook

[sillent]

It's been awhile. I feel like I've been muffled with many of my attempted post last season not posting but hopefully this works.

 

#15 pick Kobe Bufkin PG/SG 6'5

I was not too familiar with the players in this draft but after watching a few clips he seems like everything we want or wanted Dejounte Murray to be for us and is a great insurance policy either way and leaves us flexible if we decide to make a trade.

Kobe's love for basketball is very apparent in the hustle grit and tenacity that he plays with and he's flexible enough to pair with any of our guards at the PG/SG position.

 

#46 Seth Lundy SG 6'6

It seems as if Fields still kept a page from Travis as Lundy is very much so in the mold of a Klay Thompson. He's another gritty player that can be molded into a formidable 3 & D player and seems like a great character guy who knows his role.

 

#39 Mouhamed Gueye  F/C 6'11

I believe this was a great under the radar pickup as it gives us a unicorn type big to mold and develop. Not a 7ft unicorn but a big that has handles and shoots threes frequently he may even be able to slide to positions typically made for smaller players like the small forward position. Besides Durant, Bol Bol, Jonathan Isaac and Jaden McDaniels and Wemby not too many can be that flexible but I believe with Gueye that is a great possibility. He is a great second leaper, has a faceup game and can play defense but is currently weak in the post. Still he can pair well with our bigs like Onyeka and Clint giving us size and a versatility we didn't have before.

 

Overall I love the insight we used and the thought process we're going with as far as building this team and the culture of it. Travis has been keen on getting guys dat can dribble, shoot, pass. Fields has took it a step further and added guys that can do that as well as defend and most importantly are quality guys that have a true love and passion for the game. This lights a fire in all of our players already currently here or gives us more flexibility to move on. With the culture we're trying to build gone will be the days when we are witnessing our players not giving it there all. 

We've taken a page out of the Heat's book where I players may not possess the biggest names but they are going to put it all out there every night regardless of the competition.

Our youth movement looks very strong with players that already have that winning mentality in OO, AJ and JJ and add Kobe and Seth to the mix as well as Gueye and we got something that might be very special brewing.

Add the fact that we still have a young core even with our starters and the fact that everyone of our players has a good reason to enter this season with a real chip on our shoulders we should see something very special for our team this following season. The league is definitely deep now so chip promises but I wouldn't be surprised if we atleast made it to the Eastern Conference Finals again even if we make no further changes.

Of course all the credit will go to coach Quinn but cool we have him for awhile and ultimately Hawks praise is Hawks praise!!

[JayBirdHawk]

Good stuff. 

I'll get more of a feel when I see them play.

[Spud2nique]

4 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

Good stuff. 

I'll get more of a feel when I see them play.

Same. Honestly I will say this, I don’t know ANYTHING about the latter two picks and not much about Kobe either. TBD.. later.

@sillent good to hear from you sir! 

[sillent]

Preciate it @Spud2nique good to be heard! For some reason this site has been acting up on me and wouldn't let me do much besides a simple like and with life being busy I had to fade from here a little bit but of course still a die hard fan.

[Dejay]

My sentiment is the same as most on this board. I haven't seen them play to make a sound judgment either way so I'll wait to see them on the court before doing so.

[AHF]

6 minutes ago, sillent said:

Preciate it @Spud2nique good to be heard! For some reason this site has been acting up on me and wouldn't let me do much besides a simple like and with life being busy I had to fade from here a little bit but of course still a die hard fan.

@sillent There is a thread posted on the issue but I just shared this on another thread:

 

14 minutes ago, AHF said:

@TheFuzz - That is clearly the issue then because those are the two big consequences of using the old theme that our provider broke with their updates.

Go to the bottom of the screen and click "Theme" (next to Language, Privacy Policy, etc.).  Then select the "Default" theme. 

It should go to a completely different color scheme and have a plainer look but should restore your ability to react to posts and quote them.

 

[HawkingAwesome]

Who? Is hardly ever a good reaction but i will maintain optimism for sure.

 

[Sothron]

Kobe Bufkin will be one of the favorite players on this team once he gets consistent playing time. I cannot speak highly enough about him. He checks a LOT of the boxes for this team's needs now and in the future. 

Defense? Check

Passing? Check

Shooting? Check

Size/length? Check

Ability to switch? Check

Basketball IQ? Check

Motor? Check

This "Hawks DNA" you hear Landry and others mention is real.  They want smart players with good attitudes and the dog in them to play defense. Pass it, drive it or shoot it on offense. No wasted time on the court. You will see this be a theme for as long as Landry is here. It is one of Quin's huge coaching points as well. It is the old Doug Moe motion offense principles in the modern NBA. 

[akay]

3 minutes ago, Sothron said:

No wasted time on the court

They really boutta ship Hunters a** outta here aren't they lol

[NBASupes]

B+ 

Bukfin was BPA if you discount Whitmore meds.

Gueye was an A for effort pick.

Lundy is likely our cheap replacement for Matthews

[AHF]

1 minute ago, NBASupes said:

B+ 

Bukfin was BPA if you discount Whitmore meds.

Gueye was an A for effort pick.

Lundy is likely our cheap replacement for Matthews

Matthews was so insignificant that I don't think there is the slightest need to "replace" him.  That is an open roster spot as far as I'm concerned.

[kg01]

2 minutes ago, AHF said:

Matthews was so insignificant that I don't think there is the slightest need to "replace" him.  That is an open roster spot as far as I'm concerned.

What did meth Bogi do to you, bro!? 

[Sothron]

7 minutes ago, akay said:

They really boutta ship Hunters a** outta here aren't they lol

I honestly hope they do. He has been a massive disappointment frankly. He still has value and is still a starter quality big wing but we need more in the front court. He ain't that guy.

And on the broader subject: Quin will be hammering the pass it, drive it or shoot it into these guys. There's a reason his offenses worked so well in Utah. They didn't waste a lot of time. Hunter is someone that does that. 

[kg01]

7 minutes ago, Sothron said:

I honestly hope they do. He has been a massive disappointment frankly. He still has value and is still a starter quality big wing but we need more in the front court. He ain't that guy.

And on the broader subject: Quin will be hammering the pass it, drive it or shoot it into these guys. There's a reason his offenses worked so well in Utah. They didn't waste a lot of time. Hunter is someone that does that. 

Yeah, yeah, yeah, but are yall gonna get me Naz Reid or not?  That's all I wanna know.

[Watchman]

I know a lot of folks vehemently disagree with me, so I don't post much anymore, but I saw an article about Wembanyama, and it had some videos and pictures of other extremely tall centers.  I have always thought that Boban Marjanovich was a funny guy on his commercials, and that he is an old fashioned low post center, and had good offensive skills around the basket.  I watched a highlight video on him, and surprisingly, he could run a fast break, catch the ball around the foul line, and still dribble down the lane and dunk it.  I saw several other instances of him dunking the ball flat footed or on tiptoes.  I haven't had much of an opportunity to watch him play, and he might be a little slow on defense, but he can score in the low post and rebound.  I don't know his contract status, but I wouldn't expect that he has a big dollar contract.  It would be nice to have a 7'4" center who wasn't as skinny as a rail.  They don't seem to play him much in Dallas.  Maybe we could trade some of our spare part cheap roster players and a bag of chips and get him here.  He advertises for State Farm, and he'd be playing in State Farm Arena.

Okay, I'm finished.  Let the insults begin.  (I do think he is worth taking a look at.)

 

[Packfill]

31 minutes ago, Sothron said:

Kobe Bufkin will be one of the favorite players on this team once he gets consistent playing time. I cannot speak highly enough about him. He checks a LOT of the boxes for this team's needs now and in the future. 

Defense? Check

Passing? Check

Shooting? Check

Size/length? Check

Ability to switch? Check

Basketball IQ? Check

Motor? Check

This "Hawks DNA" you hear Landry and others mention is real.  They want smart players with good attitudes and the dog in them to play defense. Pass it, drive it or shoot it on offense. No wasted time on the court. You will see this be a theme for as long as Landry is here. It is one of Quin's huge coaching points as well. It is the old Doug Moe motion offense principles in the modern NBA. 

Kobe was one of three combo guards I expected the Hawks to target (the other two being Wallace and Hawkins).  To me, Kobe splits the difference between those two - not the elite defender that Wallace is or elite shooter that Hawkins is but a decent combination of skills (so no one specific carrying tool, but no obvious hole either).  

I don't expect Kobe will play much this year outside of injuries and trades (that would be true of almost anyone they could have drafted at that spot, including Whitmore), but we will see.  

I am going to be very interested in how Whitmore turns out - could be a real missed opportunity.  I do think the Hawks could use an athlete of Whitmore's caliber who can bull his way to the hoop.

[Gray Mule]

Watching his video, Kobe seems to be able to get to the hoop quick like and score before his opponent can react.  If he can really do this in the NBA he will get plenty of playing time.

[AHF]

15 minutes ago, Gray Mule said:

Watching his video, Kobe seems to be able to get to the hoop quick like and score before his opponent can react.  If he can really do this in the NBA he will get plenty of playing time.

Agree.  His ability to get to the hole was one of the things that positively impressed me when watching some of those videos.  It is always tough, though, because nearly all of the footage is highlight reels and everyone looks good in those, lol.  I'd like to see his shot distribution to know how many of his shots were taken near the basket.  His FG% took a huge jump from a very rough freshman year to a nice looking 48%+ this season and I suspect his ability to attack the hoop was a significant part of that.  Probably accounted for a good % of his rebounds as well.

Thought this was an interesting comparison among sophomore seasons with past and future Hawks:

[LarsV8]

Congrats on Bufkin Hawks Fans, he was on my short list for Houston at #20.

[JTB]

3 hours ago, Sothron said:

I honestly hope they do. He has been a massive disappointment frankly. He still has value and is still a starter quality big wing but we need more in the front court. He ain't that guy.

And on the broader subject: Quin will be hammering the pass it, drive it or shoot it into these guys. There's a reason his offenses worked so well in Utah. They didn't waste a lot of time. Hunter is someone that does that. 

So who’s Hunters replacement? Is he on this roster?