How much moving are we WILLING to do...

[Diesel]

Looking at the good guys... we have a team full of complimentary players.   The call is to move Trae or move Dj.   Our two best players.  I have examined the reason for that call.  The reason for that call is that we have created Sacred Cows in Atlanta.   Let me talk...

1.  JJ is a Sacred Cow in Atlanta.  There is no doubt that a lot of the fanbase wants to keep JJ as our PF. I know he's a sacred cow because I watch how we ignore everything that he does bad.   JJ gets Scorched on defense.  You never hear about on a fan forum.  Guys like Kuminga, Miles Bridges, Tobias Harris, and Cam Johnson have took JJ's lunch and ate it in front of him... and Hawks fans point the finger at Trae being too small.  Trae wasn't even on the floor and getting blamed for the horrid defense we played against Brooklyn.   Why?  Because we refused to blame JJ. 

2.  OO is a Sacred Cow in Atlanta.  He falls under the category of we drafted him so he must be great.   OO similar to JJ gets the preferential treatment from Hawks fans and he stands uncondemiable. I have watched Hawks fans make the claim that OO's defense is much better than CC's.   The problem is that I watch the games.   OO may play better against smaller guards because he follows them to the perimeter and stick with them. But he usually stays out too long and is out of position.  The other day I said "watch out for Bruno".   Not to say that Bruno is in the same league as OO.   No.  But as we're seeing Bruno is a decent cheap option at Center.. something that OO will cease to be soon. 

3.  Hunter is a Sacred Cow in Atlanta.  Especially for some.   But the idea of the Big win is Hunter's calling card.  As a big wing, he's the most unimpactful big wing defender in the game.   But he stays in front of his man.  His chronic knee injury puts him in a category of untradable so more than a sacred cow, he's probably ours until his contract year.   More likely as a BU though. 

 

So when you look at our depth chart potential:

Trae, DJ, X, JJ, and OO as our starting 5 with Hunter off the bench. 

That means that if we make a move, we should look for a starting quality 3.  But the problem still remains that OO is an undersized Center.. and JJ is not a strong defender.  Instead of changing those guys out, we propose moving DJ and Trae all day.. the guys who should be sacred cows.

 

 

 

[RedDawg#8]

We are 4 years late, but we need to put an elite big man next to Trae. Whatever the cost. Build out the rest of the roster from there with shooters, defenders and high bball IQ.

Trae is flawed, but he is the only sacred cow we should have. JJ is very close to being sacred, but I would move him for an established All Star big man. 

[NBASupes]

At the end of the day. A 5 that fits Trae style and can offensively produce is our biggest need. OO does some nice things defensively that even Clint at his peak couldn't do but we need to improve offensively the most and we do feel the lost of JC to a degree as he was a metrics guy with Trae till the finger issue but even then, he's not a true center. Capela offensive value in the ECF year was massive to us. I believe for Trae sake, that should be our priority

[NBASupes]

5 hours ago, Diesel said:

Looking at the good guys... we have a team full of complimentary players.   The call is to move Trae or move Dj.   Our two best players.  I have examined the reason for that call.  The reason for that call is that we have created Sacred Cows in Atlanta.   Let me talk...

1.  JJ is a Sacred Cow in Atlanta.  There is no doubt that a lot of the fanbase wants to keep JJ as our PF. I know he's a sacred cow because I watch how we ignore everything that he does bad.   JJ gets Scorched on defense.  You never hear about on a fan forum.  Guys like Kuminga, Miles Bridges, Tobias Harris, and Cam Johnson have took JJ's lunch and ate it in front of him... and Hawks fans point the finger at Trae being too small.  Trae wasn't even on the floor and getting blamed for the horrid defense we played against Brooklyn.   Why?  Because we refused to blame JJ. 

2.  OO is a Sacred Cow in Atlanta.  He falls under the category of we drafted him so he must be great.   OO similar to JJ gets the preferential treatment from Hawks fans and he stands uncondemiable. I have watched Hawks fans make the claim that OO's defense is much better than CC's.   The problem is that I watch the games.   OO may play better against smaller guards because he follows them to the perimeter and stick with them. But he usually stays out too long and is out of position.  The other day I said "watch out for Bruno".   Not to say that Bruno is in the same league as OO.   No.  But as we're seeing Bruno is a decent cheap option at Center.. something that OO will cease to be soon. 

3.  Hunter is a Sacred Cow in Atlanta.  Especially for some.   But the idea of the Big win is Hunter's calling card.  As a big wing, he's the most unimpactful big wing defender in the game.   But he stays in front of his man.  His chronic knee injury puts him in a category of untradable so more than a sacred cow, he's probably ours until his contract year.   More likely as a BU though. 

 

So when you look at our depth chart potential:

Trae, DJ, X, JJ, and OO as our starting 5 with Hunter off the bench. 

That means that if we make a move, we should look for a starting quality 3.  But the problem still remains that OO is an undersized Center.. and JJ is not a strong defender.  Instead of changing those guys out, we propose moving DJ and Trae all day.. the guys who should be sacred cows.

 

 

 

JJ just won't get us much back. Neither will OO and Hunter considering their current value. They are more valuable to us than otherwise. 

[Diesel]

55 minutes ago, RedDawg#8 said:

We are 4 years late, but we need to put an elite big man next to Trae. Whatever the cost. Build out the rest of the roster from there with shooters, defenders and high bball IQ.

I agree.   People want to give up on Trae and we've never built around Trae the correct way.   Go Get an allstar big and let's talk.

 

[bird_dirt]

I think Trae and JJ are the only two close to being sacred cows. 
Hunter is for only one person here. OO has fans, but I doubt there’s anyone who wouldn’t trade him for the right return. 
 

On 3/2/2024 at 6:33 PM, NBASupes said:

JJ just won't get us much back. Neither will OO and Hunter considering their current value. They are more valuable to us than otherwise. 

JJ could get us more per dollar than anyone, only problem is his contract is so little that we could never get enough value back unless he is included in a bigger package. 
I bet OO would get a fair return. He’s a pretty good player on a decent contract and still young enough to improve. Not great, not bad. 

Hunter is more valuable to us than others, but that’s largely due to how poor our SF depth is. If we don’t have him we don’t have much, and we don’t have him often. That’s a big problem for us and anyone else considering trading for him. No one is going to give up value for his contract + injury history. His contract wouldn’t be bad if he didn’t miss so much time.

What we need a legit starting SF and leave Hunter coming off the bench making a bigger impact in fewer minutes hoping that prevents more injuries. But then again, that’s a big contract to pay someone coming off the bench. 

Maybe if we could get BI then between the two of them we could have one healthy, impactful SF starting all season Wishful thinking. 

[Diesel]

@bird_dirt  I really think it comes down to who we get in return. 

Centers:

1. Jokic
2. Embiid
3. Davis
4. Adebayo
5. Sabonis
6. Porzingis
7. B. Lopez
8. Gobert
9. J. Allen
10. M. Turner
11. N. Claxton
12. D. Ayton 
13. Looney
14. Poetle
15. Vucevic

This is the top 15 as of right now by SN.  I have placed in Blue those Centers who may be Available and Nic Claxton is in Red because he's a Free Agent.   The ones in Black are probably going nowhere. 

Power Fowards

1.  Giannis 
2. Durant
3. Siakam
4. JJJ
5. Zion
6. Draymond 
7. KAT
8. Mobley
9. Banchero
10. Gordon
11. Randle
12. Wimby
13. Horf
14. Bogi2
15. Grant 

If I had my druthers, I would love to see us with JJJ.  With a strong lottery pick, I don't know if there is anybody in the Draft that would make Memphis think,we can go after some other talent with JJJ.   But a guy like Nic Claxton is very intriguing.   

The real question is for the top guys... if they asked to be traded to the Hawks... are we willing to give up a package of  DJ/JJ/ and OO?  Let's say Giannis really wanted to play with Trae.  Would you give up DJ, JJ, and OO?

 

 

[JayBirdHawk]

28 minutes ago, Diesel said:

...if they asked to be traded to the Hawks...

This gave me a chuckle.  Good way to start the week. 

[Diesel]

4 hours ago, JayBirdHawk said:

This gave me a chuckle.  Good way to start the week. 

I think that there may be some big who really wants to play with Trae.   Trae could make Plumlee look good. He may be a big man whisperer.   This is the time that Trae has to start using his allstar coin to get other FAs interested in COMING HERE and playing with him.