2023-24 Insider Information Thread

[macdaddy]

5 minutes ago, JeffS17 said:

Heard from a guy that works with the team Trae went in and met with the front office yesterday to discuss the future.  Will be interesting to see what comes out in the coming weeks.

Can't wait to hear more about that.  Whether folks want him gone or not, he is the face of the franchise.  It will be a major change to trade.  

[terrell]

Hawks lottery picks history:

Okongwu

Deandre Hunter(trade)

Cam Reddish

Luka Doncic-traded(good call!)

Al Horford(your ONE good pick/decision)

Shelden Williams

Marvin Williams

Josh Childress

TJ Ford

Chris Wilcox

Pau Gasol-traded(another good call!)

Dermarr Johnson

Adam Keefe

Tyrone HIll-traded for Rumeal Robinson-you cant make this stuff up!

Jon Koncak-also known as Jon Contract because you actually paid him more than Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, and MICHAEL JORDAN

Hawks should just DO THE COMPLETE OPPOSITE of what theyve don't for the last 25 years.....

Cant believe our GM's actually got paid ALOT of $ for this crap......

Don't fk this shit up LF.....

That's my "Insider information" for today..............................

[Jody23]

5 minutes ago, JeffS17 said:

Heard from a guy that works with the team Trae went in and met with the front office yesterday to discuss the future.  Will be interesting to see what comes out in the coming weeks.

Interesting.  I believe Shams alluded to this taking place also.  Anybody think Trae will ask them to trade the pick for veteran help?

[Dragitoff]

13 minutes ago, bleachkit said:

We don't know what deals are out there. But I reject the notion trading Trae means full on rebuild, whereas trading DJ is the sensible move. They aren't a cohesive fit, and one should probably go. And which one largely depends on the deals available. Running it back is an option too, but it's just hard to see how QS can make it work. 

Reality-Team led by Trae made the ECF.  Team led by DJ was a lottery team.  Those were the ceilings so far for each player.  Your rationale of "the team played better without Trae" is skewed vs. the larger sample size.  I think the ECF run could've been a fluke and the worst thing that happened to this team over the long-term, but DJ's best statistical seasons were playing alongside Trae.  Trae's numbers have been elite regardless of who he has played with.  DJ is a really good player.  He's not a player to build around.  I disagree with your opinion and believe Trae is a player to build around.  A flawed player, but a cornerstone piece.  As bad of a defender as Trae is accused of being, DJ was brought in to be our perimeter stopper.  Despite that reputation, our defense has actually been as bad or even worse with him here.  He's not the answer. 

[kg01]

15 minutes ago, JeffS17 said:

Heard from a guy that works with the team Trae went in and met with the front office yesterday to discuss the future.  Will be interesting to see what comes out in the coming weeks.

Thanks, Tony.

 

[JeffS17]

Just now, Dragitoff said:

Reality-Team led by Trae made the ECF.  Team led by DJ was a lottery team.  Those were the ceilings so far for each player.  Your rationale of "the team played better without Trae" is skewed vs. the larger sample size.  I think the ECF run could've been a fluke and the worst thing that happened to this team over the long-term, but DJ's best statistical seasons were playing alongside Trae.  Trae's numbers have been elite regardless of who he has played with.  DJ is a really good player.  He's not a player to build around.  I disagree with your opinion and believe Trae is a player to build around.  A flawed player, but a cornerstone piece.  As bad of a defender as Trae is accused of being, DJ was brought in to be our perimeter stopper.  Despite that reputation, our defense has actually been as bad or even worse with him here.  He's not the answer. 

The reality is Trae hasn't done anything at all once his max deal kicked in and we had less space for roster depth.  It's easy to overperform when you're on your rookie scale deal-- look at the Grizz when Ja was on his rookie deal, look at the Magic right now with Paulo on his rookie deal, look at what OKC is doing right now with half their roster on rookie scale contracts.  The rubber doesn't meet the road until, at a minimum, your star player is being paid that max money.  Then it becomes significantly harder to outplay your contract and be a highly positive asset. 

We had Trae, JC, Kev, Hunter, Cam, and OO all on rookie deals for that magical run that poisoned our fanbases sense of reality and value for most of our players.  Our bench was being paid more than our starters.  The idea of trading Trae isn't to build around DJ, so I'm not sure why that gets repeated so much.  The idea is for DJ to be a veteran leader on the court and in the locker room for us to develop a new cohort of solid to star level players.  And DJs contract is team friendly, which allows us the space and flexibility to do that, if we decide to go in that direction.  Both of them will be significantly better, and our team will be significantly better, with the other off the roster because they are so redundant on offense and defense.

[Dragitoff]

3 minutes ago, JeffS17 said:

The reality is Trae hasn't done anything at all once his max deal kicked in and we had less space for roster depth.  It's easy to overperform when you're on your rookie scale deal-- look at the Grizz when Ja was on his rookie deal, look at the Magic right now with Paulo on his rookie deal, look at what OKC is doing right now with half their roster on rookie scale contracts.  The rubber doesn't meet the road until, at a minimum, your star player is being paid that max money.  Then it becomes significantly harder to outplay your contract and be a highly positive asset. 

We had Trae, JC, Kev, Hunter, Cam, and OO all on rookie deals for that magical run that poisoned our fanbases sense of reality and value for most of our players.  Our bench was being paid more than our starters.  The idea of trading Trae isn't to build around DJ, so I'm not sure why that gets repeated so much.  The idea is for DJ to be a veteran leader on the court and in the locker room for us to develop a new cohort of solid to star level players.  And DJs contract is team friendly, which allows us the space and flexibility to do that, if we decide to go in that direction.  Both of them will be significantly better, and our team will be significantly better, with the other off the roster because they are so redundant on offense and defense.

My response was directly to a poster who continuously states their record was the same without Trae when discussions come up about trading DJ vs. Trae.  I understand how any business works.  Lower salaries with your highest paid employees generally means you have more finances for greater depth at the medium and entry positions.  It definitely gets more difficult to maintain that continuity and success without a doubt, but that's what teams scouting, GM's and other decisions makers are paid to do.  You have to supplement talent with complimentary talent that fits within your budgetary constraints.  As the COO of a large company, what I wouldn't do is get rid of a critical cog in our company who makes those around them better for a guy fresh out of school who might be cheap, but lacks the skills and experience to make a difference for the hope that he eventually pans out to be the guy I replaced him with.  In the rare chance he does become that guy, by the time he does, it's time to pay him and the cycle repeats itself. 

[Sothron]

I have heard that Trae has already told the FO to either make the team a contender now or trade him and he wants to go to the Spurs. I was told the Spurs are offering 4, 8 and all our picks back for Trae. I was told this is the  most likely scenario because Tony Ressler doesn't want to give up our first ever #1 pick and wants to use it.

Trae hasn't talked about the #1 pick because he wants it used to get a superstar player, I've heard a name twice once from my source and once from @NBASupes but I don't want to repeat it out loud just yet until my source is cool with it.  It would cost us the #1 pick, Jalen and two additional firsts and I think Capela to make it work.

IMO that's too rich. I'd rather blow this up and start over than depend on two or three guys carrying a roster. Look at the Suns or Nets and how well that turned out for them.

[AHF]

44 minutes ago, kg01 said:

That pic on the right is @AHF walkin' into the squawks annual masquerade ball for charity. 

We said wear a suit and a mask.  It was a black tie affair, so he clearly got the wrong idea. 

When you look that good, you don't need a tie.

[Dragitoff]

7 minutes ago, Sothron said:

I have heard that Trae has already told the FO to either make the team a contender now or trade him and he wants to go to the Spurs. I was told the Spurs are offering 4, 8 and all our picks back for Trae. I was told this is the  most likely scenario because Tony Ressler doesn't want to give up our first ever #1 pick and wants to use it.

Trae hasn't talked about the #1 pick because he wants it used to get a superstar player, I've heard a name twice once from my source and once from @NBASupes but I don't want to repeat it out loud just yet until my source is cool with it.  It would cost us the #1 pick, Jalen and two additional firsts and I think Capela to make it work.

IMO that's too rich. I'd rather blow this up and start over than depend on two or three guys carrying a roster. Look at the Suns or Nets and how well that turned out for them.

That's way too much for a 35 y/o Durant. 

[bleachkit]

5 minutes ago, Sothron said:

I have heard that Trae has already told the FO to either make the team a contender now or trade him and he wants to go to the Spurs. I was told the Spurs are offering 4, 8 and all our picks back for Trae. I was told this is the  most likely scenario because Tony Ressler doesn't want to give up our first ever #1 pick and wants to use it.

Trae hasn't talked about the #1 pick because he wants it used to get a superstar player, I've heard a name twice once from my source and once from @NBASupes but I don't want to repeat it out loud just yet until my source is cool with it.  It would cost us the #1 pick, Jalen and two additional firsts and I think Capela to make it work.

IMO that's too rich. I'd rather blow this up and start over than depend on two or three guys carrying a roster. Look at the Suns or Nets and how well that turned out for them.

#1 pick, Jalen and two additional firsts for Bradley Beal? I don't know about that. Honestly , I question the fit.

[AHF]

Just now, Dragitoff said:

That's way too much for a 35 y/o Durant. 

Yes.  Yes it is.  Which makes me wonder who they are talking about if not him.

The Suns made a disaster of a deal trading for Durant.  Huge overpay.  Not sure what path forward they really have at this point other than seeing if they can make it work.  They have a lot of talent but couldn't connect it last year.  Now Bud is there and I'd assume is charged with maximizing the talent.  If they bail on Durant, they won't get close to the same value that they gave up for KD (and if they do then the team trading with them is repeating their mistake).  

[akay]

6 minutes ago, Sothron said:

4, 8 and all our picks back for

All these picks back just to be in a situation worse than we're currently in, with no guarantee of being in a better spot.

How many more drafts are we going to go through hoping to find a star? 

Our next conversations immediately will turn into how do we consolidate picks/players to get a player of Trae's caliber onto this team, it makes 0 sense to me.

Trading Trae gets us in a position where we're worse than mediocre, and we try our best to get back on the .500 treadmill, I just don't get it.

I wanna see the Hawks WIN and ownership making moves to achieve anything else is gross.

[AHF]

7 minutes ago, bleachkit said:

#1 pick, Jalen and two additional firsts for Bradley Beal? I don't know about that. Honestly , I question the fit.

Hmmm...I think it is more of a question of how much you'd have to pay me to take on Beal's contract.  5 straight years of failing to play more than 60 games and diminishing returns as he continues deeper into his 30's.  A no trade clause and you are committing this much salary for your roughly 20 ppg with no defense?

Woof.  It is kind of funny that Brookly got KD and then made a mistake taking on big names rather than building a roster that made sense around him and now Phoenix did the same thing.  Booker + Beal should have been all the offensive perimeter power you needed or could hope to optimize.

[BangHolman]

That package can only be for like 3 players.

[Jody23]

11 minutes ago, Sothron said:

I have heard that Trae has already told the FO to either make the team a contender now or trade him and he wants to go to the Spurs. I was told the Spurs are offering 4, 8 and all our picks back for Trae. I was told this is the  most likely scenario because Tony Ressler doesn't want to give up our first ever #1 pick and wants to use it.

Trae hasn't talked about the #1 pick because he wants it used to get a superstar player, I've heard a name twice once from my source and once from @NBASupes but I don't want to repeat it out loud just yet until my source is cool with it.  It would cost us the #1 pick, Jalen and two additional firsts and I think Capela to make it work.

IMO that's too rich. I'd rather blow this up and start over than depend on two or three guys carrying a roster. Look at the Suns or Nets and how well that turned out for them.

I won't ask who, but if true, I would guess Giannis.  At any rate, I don't see any team who has an established star trading them, especially if they aren't asking out.  Lol, this whole thing seems kinda convenient for the Spurs, huh?

[warcore]

13 minutes ago, Sothron said:

It would cost us the #1 pick, Jalen and two additional firsts

only the likes of Giannis, Embiid, Kawhi are worth that conversation. And even then, not sure if they're worth that at this point. Giannis is at least considerable for it. 

Maybe Jalen Brown, but he ain't worth all that. 

I'm not stressing either way.... it's Laundry's problem. 

[Sothron]

1 minute ago, BangHolman said:

That package can only be for like 3 players.

I was asked to not repeat it. I don't know if @NBASupes wants to share the name or hold onto it because his sources asked for the same privacy.

[REHawksFan]

12 minutes ago, Sothron said:

I have heard that Trae has already told the FO to either make the team a contender now or trade him and he wants to go to the Spurs. I was told the Spurs are offering 4, 8 and all our picks back for Trae. I was told this is the  most likely scenario because Tony Ressler doesn't want to give up our first ever #1 pick and wants to use it.

Trae hasn't talked about the #1 pick because he wants it used to get a superstar player, I've heard a name twice once from my source and once from @NBASupes but I don't want to repeat it out loud just yet until my source is cool with it.  It would cost us the #1 pick, Jalen and two additional firsts and I think Capela to make it work.

IMO that's too rich. I'd rather blow this up and start over than depend on two or three guys carrying a roster. Look at the Suns or Nets and how well that turned out for them.

Well that sucks on the surface.  But it's also better than just flat out saying he wants to be traded.  It's up to the Hawks to make themselves a contender.  

Also, a trade with the Spurs requires us taking salary back and they have a bunch of low salary players other than Vassell and Johnson.  So what would that look like?

Spurs get:  Trae 

Hawks get:  Keldon Johnson, Devon Vassell, 4, 8, plus 2025 1st

 

Would SAS actually do that?  

[Dragitoff]

6 minutes ago, Jody23 said:

I won't ask who, but if true, I would guess Giannis.  At any rate, I don't see any team who has an established star trading them, especially if they aren't asking out.  Lol, this whole thing seems kinda convenient for the Spurs, huh?

yeah that might be worth it.  We'd need hella shooters everywhere else, but it would certainly make up for our lack of defense.  I'm drooling over the potential lineup of Giannis and Sarr manning the paint.  Good luck scoring there. Oh wait.  Nevermind.  #1 pick would be involved in this potential dream trade.  lol.

Edited May 14 by Dragitoff