Sothron

What big is out there that we could have signed instead of Trent? Capela is back, Bruno is showing he's worth playing and when OO gets back we're back to a 3 center rotation if need be.

We need POA defense and backup PG minutes. Trent is both of those. I don't know why anyone would be against it. 

2 hours ago, Sothron said:

yes

this is a serious question btw.

8 minutes ago, Spud2nique said:

The dacta?  

yes

Is it safe to unblock the guy that spent two years telling us tanking was evil and derailed every single thread to talk about it?

34 minutes ago, JeffS17 said:

Im finally seeing glimpses why Landry was pumped about grabbing Kobe at 15

He wasn't the only one. Go back to the draft threads. I was very happy with that pick. He's a left handed version of DJM pre ACL tear. 

The way Kobe is a POA defender is how DJM played for the SAS when he got that All Defense team nod. 

Drop coverage should be our primary defense. 

With the team being DOA this season I've been watching more college bball.

This draft is not as weak as people think it is. It lacks the one or two WOW! prospects  you get in most drafts but there's real talent in this draft.

4 hours ago, bleachkit said:

Let's see how the teams plays without Trae. He will probably miss around 15 games, that's a decent sample size. Offense might take a step back, defense might take a step forward, but those outcomes aren't guaranteed. 

He's almost certain to be gone from the season. Past RCL surgery repairs saw guys return to basketball activity in 6-8 weeks. The season will be over before he could play again.

I agree and have said this for some time. This is another lost season thanks to Tony Ressler's refusal to pay the luxury tax. The buck starts and stops at the top. When the owner refuses to pay for a winning team you can't blame the front office, coach or players when the team performs exactly to its payroll. Ressler has gotten away for EVERY YEAR of his ownership of being a cheap af owner.

This season is toast. Play the young guys and tank the rest of the season. We need all the lottery balls we can get to try and get a high pick.

6 minutes ago, Spud2nique said:

Can we trade Ressler?  Or Fields? 

Getting an owner willing to pay the LT and not interfere in basketball operations is #1 on my wish list.

2 minutes ago, terrell said:

Trae best D of his life is still BAD..

It is average to below average. He's 6'1 and maybe 180 pounds without good wingspan. He's never going to be an All NBA defensive player. He is a better defender this season than several other starting point guards. You can't ask him to do something he simply isn't capable of doing.

1 hour ago, Threezus said:

What blows my mind the most about this is for the 1st time since we drafted him Trae is actually putting in crazy effort on defense.  He is actually making a difference during the game on that end at times now.  So how the hell does the rest of the team get worse when a guy considered woat a few years back becomes below avg to avg now.   This should in general make the entire defense better but somehow these fools collectively got worse when trae gets better.  It makes absolutely no sense to me because they should now not have to cover for him quite as much allowing them to put more effort on their own assignments.

I was just talking to my dad, the old ex coach himself, about this. He is even more upset with guys than I am. Trae as you said has been playing the best defense of his life this season and yet other than JJ and some of OO no one else seems to bother playing defense. It is mind boggling how bad this team's defense has been this season.

And peopled wondered why I simmed the rest of this season on NBA 2K for next season. 

I frankly hope they just tank the rest of this season. Play the young guys, lose on purpose and hope for a high lottery pick. Either keep that pick or use it to get a player.

It kills me to watch older Hawks games where the team actually played defense to what we've been since the ECF run. This team is just allergic to defense. Every random role player lights us up. I've never seen a NBA team literally incapable of defending back cuts. 

So @Spud2nique I meant to ask you earlier but quoting wasn't working for me:

Why do you have a problem with Bufkin? He's dominated the G league and the one time he got actual minutes he looked pretty good.

1 hour ago, kg01 said:

This is the point in 2K where I'd just sim the rest of the season to get to the offseason.  

that's exactly what I did in my modern 2k franchise. 

FWIW I've been told by my two Hawks sources that I should not worry about Trae demanding a trade this offseason. Apparently the plan is finally pay into the first apron LT and get better talent that fits Quin and Trae.

I am...dubious af at this but I'll admit I'm in my feels over how worthless our owner has been since buying the team.

3 hours ago, Spud2nique said:

Nah, I really don’t believe that it’s stuff you throw against the wall it didn’t stick it fell.

Its been mentioned in public our scouting department and the FO loved Kobe Bufkin and were surprised he was there for us to draft.

I know Bey tries but I hope they let him go. He doesn't play any defense and his only saving point is his three point shooting and he has been awful this year.

1 hour ago, sturt said:

So, Soth, what are you hearing about AFLAC's replacement for Saban, if any? Or will they just go all-in with Prime?

 

 

 

I haven't heard yet. They could still keep him because he's still a name guy but I'd like them to use a certain coach from UGA...

1 hour ago, REHawksFan said:

It's probably the most Atlanta Hawks thing ever to draft a seemingly generational talent, trade him for a "lesser" talented player, watch that player turn out to be a superstar in his own right, and then be so incompetent as an organization that you can't build anything around him for eight years and then watch as your superstar forces a trade to a prominent organization in the NBA just so he has a chance to win.    

It's going to be crushingly frustrating when that day comes (and I fully expect it to come at this point).  

I think Trae will be  moved in the summer. Not from my sources just my own putting things together and knowing how cheap Ressler is. If the choice is keeping Trae happy by adding salary and paying the LT or unloading Trae to rebuild and be even cheaper...we know which one Messy Ressy will pick.

2 hours ago, NBASupes said:

Yep, doesn't have Yao elite footwork either so i doubt he will ever be the post player Yao was. But he does have two skills that Yao doesn't that's better. His feel for the game is elite for movement. Similar to Duncan and Horford. He also is one of the best FTA drawers since Alonzo Mourning as a college prospect 

 

His wingspan is 7'10.5 

He got measured at the NBA combine 

whoa, really? Last I had heard it was at 7'7" but if that's the official measurement he's even longer than I thought. That's a definite positive.

1 hour ago, AHF said:

I haven't watched him so I have no opinion on him one way or another.  One question though is around the size thing.  There aren't many players who have been 7'4'' in NBA history.  Today's Sabonis is 6'10'' a size for which they are hundreds of successful players but his dad was a real outlier at 7'3'' and was a generational talent (who came to the US too late in his career) with his mobility, touch, and skill at that size.  Jokic is 6'11'' which is quite common.  Nurkic as a 7'0'' player becomes somewhat more scarce but still a good number of guys who have had long and successful NBA careers at that height.

I guess I just don't really think of guys who are 6'11'' or 7'0'' as being in the same category as guys like Bol who are significantly taller many of whom who seem to struggle more with their size.

7'4'' is really rare.  I can think of Rik Smits who made it work by being quite athletic for his size.  Yao Ming was even bigger and the only thing that really held him back was health as he was very coordinated and mobile for his size.  Arvydas was a unicorn as we discussed (nobody had reservations about him - just a matter of him being eligible and available to play).

There is no doubt in my mind that a guy like Edey (if he delivers like Supes and some others suggest he could) would bring something to the table that CC and OO cannot.  I would also guess if he had the tools of an Arvydas or Smits that he would be a no brainer lottery pick so that he probably doesn't have those gifts.  Who would you guys think are the comps for Edey just from a physical tool standpoint (mobility, strength, etc.)?  (And I'm not talking about 6'11'' or 7'0'' guys but the guys who are the true outliers at 7'3'' or higher.)

He is like Yao Ming before the injuries. He doesn't have elite passing but he's a good passer for his position.

He is not A. Sabonis who was a legit unicorn of unicorn in his younger playing days. Rik Smits...he has better touch around the rim and is a better rebounder than Smits but he's not the shot blocker Smits was. He still blocks shots well enough with a 7'7" wingspan. He does have the high basketball IQ that Smits had.

Yao Ming pre injuries is the best comparison but it isn't an exact match.