Free Agency 2019

[marco102]

2 hours ago, JayBirdHawk said:

 

if someone can post excerpts...much appreciated.

De’Andre Hunter’s representatives placed a call to Hawks general manager Travis Schlenk several weeks prior to the NBA Draft to let him know that Hunter wanted to be a part of Atlanta’s roster.

Hunter and his agents showed how much he wanted to be with the Hawks by choosing only to work out for one team throughout the pre-draft process — Atlanta.

There are four times throughout the year when Schlenk and his staff rate potential draft picks. Each of those four times included Hunter and Cam Reddish in the team’s top five on its big board. 

During Hunter’s private workout in Atlanta, head coach Lloyd Pierce said it was clear to him that Hunter should be the team’s pick because “he showed he was an unbelievable talent.”

The Hawks haven’t made any free-agency moves just yet. It’s the same plan Atlanta has executed since Schlenk has taken over. Two years ago, the Hawks let the market settle before signing Dewayne Dedmon. Last year, it was Alex Len whom the team acquired after most of the free-agency moves were completed. Schlenk is not going to mention names publicly, obviously, but he did say the Hawks are currently in negotiations with a few players. The players whom the Hawks are targeting were commanding hefty salaries when free agency opened but won’t be receiving them if they do choose Atlanta. 

Schlenk also said the team plans on adding another center. 

Atlanta is talking to Vince Carter about a possible return, although Carter has made it clear that he wants to get minutes.

Schlenk mentioned that he probably will keep a roster spot open to have the flexibility to work through trades. Atlanta also plans on going into the season with a good chunk of its $14 million in cap space still in place. The plan is to use that space at the trade deadline to collect some assets for future drafts to rebuild the war chest of picks the team has parted with this offseason.

This is not the full article.  Not sure if it meets the standards still.

Edited July 8, 2019 by marco102

[Spud2nique]

@marco102 has been on fire lately. I had no idea about Hunter’s reps calling the Hawks. Awesome. Adding a center that would have commanded a lot more but now sitting on wire we get him cheaper huh? Who is it? But we want to carry most of the $14 mill to the trade deadline? So we gonna pay this center with peanuts ?  

[REHawksFan]

10 minutes ago, Spud2nique said:

@marco102 has been on fire lately. I had no idea about Hunter’s reps calling the Hawks. Awesome. Adding a center that would have commanded a lot more but now sitting on wire we get him cheaper huh? Who is it? But we want to carry most of the $14 mill to the trade deadline? So we gonna pay this center with peanuts ?  

Ole Travis may not quite be at the Dollar General yet but he's damn sure strolling through Five Below to find his man. I think it's safe to assume - based on LPs comments and common sense - that the young guys on the current team will be the features. Looking for depth and locker room guys now imo. VC would be perfect if he's ok with the load being light.

 

[REHawksFan]

Is Zaza still available?

What about Amir Johnson or Pau Gasol? 

Just some ideas on old guys for depth purposes. I like Zaza. 

[sturt]

Hoping the C being referenced is, actually, going to be a two-way.... Justin Patton.

The "hefty salaries" term certainly indicates at least one player being discussed is probably a veteran whose career is on the down side.

The indication that Schlenk wants to preserve what salary cap room he has left suggests he's not going to be trying to outspend LAC for JaMychal as I'd hoped, and moreover and generally, he's not going to compete with teams' exceptions.

I'd be a little surprised to think we can guarantee VC something close to the same minutes he received last season. So, he might be out, assuming he can find a better minutes situation with another team.

[sturt]

3 hours ago, REHawksFan said:

Pau Gasol

Given the clues, this is the one I'd suspect could be a target.

Bogut would be another, and of course, there's a history there from Schlenk's time in GSW.

Not inclined to think Tyson Chandler would be our kind of guy, but who knows.

Also, wouldn't count out Luol Deng.

A few others on the downside of their careers would also make sense, except it seems the term "hefty," to me at least, should imply $20m+ numbers. Otherwise, I'd include Channing Frye in that.

[gurpilo]

I think we are after Khem Birch from Orlando. Tyson Chandler might be a possibility.

[sturt]

3 minutes ago, gurpilo said:

Khem Birch

Don't know much about him, but I know there was murmurings about him (on Hoops Rumors) earlier being pursued by about 3 or 4 teams, and ATL wasn't among those listed at the time. (This was maybe a week ago?)

[Peoriabird]

4 hours ago, sturt said:

Don't know much about him, but I know there was murmurings about him (on Hoops Rumors) earlier being pursued by about 3 or 4 teams, and ATL wasn't among those listed at the time. (This was maybe a week ago?)

If 3-4 teams are interested then forget about it as we all know that Atlanta will submit the lowest bid!

[Gray Mule]

"On the cheap" reminds me of a story that illustrates this:

Mom handed her young son two apples, one much smaller than the other.

"Take both of these to your little sister and give her her choice."

Daughter soon came by her mother, eating the small apple.  Her mom quickly ask her daughter, "I told your brother to give you a choice. What happened.

"Oh, he did, Mom.  He said I could have the little one or do without."

Hawks still have several players on their radar.  As players sign, the opportunity grows smaller for the remainder of the players and so the price goes down to a reasonable price.  Then our GM gets his man.  It's worked before.

All these free agents have been playing in the NBA and have NBA talent.  Our GM knows their background, what they are capable of and what to expect of them in the future.  I trust him and his judgement.

[NBASupes]

1 hour ago, gurpilo said:

I think we are after Khem Birch from Orlando. Tyson Chandler might be a possibility.

I been trying to get information on Khem Birch current info for the Hawks. I know we have interest but at what cost

[sturt]

59 minutes ago, Gray Mule said:

"On the cheap" reminds me of a story that illustrates this:

Mom handed her young son two apples, one much smaller than the other.

"Take both of these to your little sister and give her her choice."

Daughter soon came by her mother, eating the small apple.  Her mom quickly ask her daughter, "I told your brother to give you a choice. What happened.

"Oh, he did, Mom.  He said I could have the little one or do without."

Hawks still have several players on their radar.  As players sign, the opportunity grows smaller for the remainder of the players and so the price goes down to a reasonable price.  Then our GM gets his man.  It's worked before.

All these free agents have been playing in the NBA and have NBA talent.  Our GM knows their background, what they are capable of and what to expect of them in the future.  I trust him and his judgement.

Yeah, my best guess is that part of the idea of "not skipping steps" is that you have a year where you play your young-uns a lot to determine who's really going to be worth keeping... so you need some aging veterans who aren't particularly peeved if they sit for long stretches, and too, why spend money pointlessly, and especially when you're left as one of the very few teams with any cap room, and thus, in a position to have other teams come crawling to you to be a 3rd team in a trade.

I'm good with it.

Everyone likes winning more than losing, but unless you had high hopes for a playoff breakthrough year this year (and I'm sure Peor's not alone in that), it's a prudent strategy. And the weakness of the conference added to the potential growth of our young-uns still could equal a playoff berth regardless, actually.

 

 

 

[Peoriabird]

25 minutes ago, sturt said:

Everyone likes winning more than losing, but unless you had high hopes for a playoff breakthrough year this year (and I'm sure Peor's not alone in that), it's a prudent strategy. And the weakness of the conference added to the potential growth of our young-uns still could equal a playoff berth regardless, actually.

 

 

 

I'm definitely not the only on this one...we had some posters predicting 50 wins for this team. I hope they now realize that is not the plan.  I just want players to be developed where they have the chance of succeeding. So no Collins or Spellman at center or Hunter at power forward. Let them learn their primary position and develop good instincts and habits at those positions rather than confusing them with learning multiple positions.

[NBASupes]

The playoffs aren't that difficult to make especially when you have the key players we have. Depth ain't never been a defining law to the playoffs. 

[gurpilo]

hace 2 horas, NBASupes dijo:

I been trying to get information on Khem Birch current info for the Hawks. I know we have interest but at what cost

Advanced stats love him and Christian Wood for a reason, high profile big stats, I would love to get any of the 2, to get both would be perfect.

[REHawksFan]

With the way the East is shaping up, the playoffs are still obtainable, imo. The key is the development of the young core though.  How much growth will we see in the 2nd year players. Will Trae and Kev continue to improve? Will the combo of Trae and JC continue to improve? How ready are Hunter, Cam, and Bruno for major responsibility? Can they contribute early on? All those are reasonable questions that likely need to go in the Hawks favor to have any shot at the playoffs, imo.

Also, just looking at this with some comparisons in mind (these may not be perfect but how I sort them out in my mind):

Taurean Prince (13.5 pts / 3.6 reb / 2.1 ast) replaced by DeAndre Hunter

Dedmon (10.8 pts / 7.5 reb / 1.4 ast) replaced by Alex Len (11.1 pts / 5.5 reb / 1.1 ast)

Alex Len (11.1 pts / 5.5 reb / 1.1 ast) replaced by Bruno Fernando

Baze (11.6 pts / 3.9 reb / 2.3 ast) replaced by Allen Crabbe (9.6 pts / 3.4 reb / 1.1 ast) and Cam Reddish

Jeremy Lin (10.7 pts / 2.3 reb / 3.5 ast) replaced by Evan Turner (6.8 pts / 4.5 reb / 3.9 ast)

Vince Carter (7.4 pts / 2.4 reb / 1.1 ast) replaced by Chandler Parsons (7.5 pts / 2.8 reb / 1.7 ast)

 

So the question is can the young guys get better AND can Hunter replace the production of Prince, Bruno replace Len's production, and the combo of Crabbe / Reddish replace Baze?  

Personally, I'll feel better if they resign VC or someone more reliable than Parsons.  I'm also a bit wary of Bruno filling Len's shoes in year one. I'm bullish on his future, but not sure how much is reasonable to expect for a rookie.  

[Thomas]

Considering who our head coach is and his development skills think we could get to .500 with just including some kind of backup center that has been in the league for more than one year. Believe Bruno will be fine by mid season or sooner but for several reasons we really could use a another vet as one of our three designated centers. And then just in case replace Adams as well even though his spot will not affect the number of wins because of no minutes.

[Peoriabird]

14 minutes ago, REHawksFan said:

With the way the East is shaping up, the playoffs are still obtainable, imo. The key is the development of the young core though.  How much growth will we see in the 2nd year players. Will Trae and Kev continue to improve? Will the combo of Trae and JC continue to improve? How ready are Hunter, Cam, and Bruno for major responsibility? Can they contribute early on? All those are reasonable questions that likely need to go in the Hawks favor to have any shot at the playoffs, imo.

Also, just looking at this with some comparisons in mind (these may not be perfect but how I sort them out in my mind):

Taurean Prince (13.5 pts / 3.6 reb / 2.1 ast) replaced by DeAndre Hunter

Dedmon (10.8 pts / 7.5 reb / 1.4 ast) replaced by Alex Len (11.1 pts / 5.5 reb / 1.1 ast)

Alex Len (11.1 pts / 5.5 reb / 1.1 ast) replaced by Bruno Fernando

Baze (11.6 pts / 3.9 reb / 2.3 ast) replaced by Allen Crabbe (9.6 pts / 3.4 reb / 1.1 ast) and Cam Reddish

Jeremy Lin (10.7 pts / 2.3 reb / 3.5 ast) replaced by Evan Turner (6.8 pts / 4.5 reb / 3.9 ast)

Vince Carter (7.4 pts / 2.4 reb / 1.1 ast) replaced by Chandler Parsons (7.5 pts / 2.8 reb / 1.7 ast)

 

So the question is can the young guys get better AND can Hunter replace the production of Prince, Bruno replace Len's production, and the combo of Crabbe / Reddish replace Baze?  

Personally, I'll feel better if they resign VC or someone more reliable than Parsons.  I'm also a bit wary of Bruno filling Len's shoes in year one. I'm bullish on his future, but not sure how much is reasonable to expect for a rookie.  

1st of all, the teams you are comparing won 29 games!  Secondly, you are not factoring in the bench.  Last year's bench was much better with guys like Bazemore, Lin, Len and Carter.  Thirdly, we don't know what we will get out of our rookie players.  Hunter may not be ready to start right away so there are too many questions with this to assume they will be competitive. And fourthly, we are dangerously thin up front and 1 key injury would be devastating.

[thecampster]

17 minutes ago, REHawksFan said:

With the way the East is shaping up, the playoffs are still obtainable, imo. The key is the development of the young core though.  How much growth will we see in the 2nd year players. Will Trae and Kev continue to improve? Will the combo of Trae and JC continue to improve? How ready are Hunter, Cam, and Bruno for major responsibility? Can they contribute early on? All those are reasonable questions that likely need to go in the Hawks favor to have any shot at the playoffs, imo.

Also, just looking at this with some comparisons in mind (these may not be perfect but how I sort them out in my mind):

Taurean Prince (13.5 pts / 3.6 reb / 2.1 ast) replaced by DeAndre Hunter

Dedmon (10.8 pts / 7.5 reb / 1.4 ast) replaced by Alex Len (11.1 pts / 5.5 reb / 1.1 ast)

Alex Len (11.1 pts / 5.5 reb / 1.1 ast) replaced by Bruno Fernando

Baze (11.6 pts / 3.9 reb / 2.3 ast) replaced by Allen Crabbe (9.6 pts / 3.4 reb / 1.1 ast) and Cam Reddish

Jeremy Lin (10.7 pts / 2.3 reb / 3.5 ast) replaced by Evan Turner (6.8 pts / 4.5 reb / 3.9 ast)

Vince Carter (7.4 pts / 2.4 reb / 1.1 ast) replaced by Chandler Parsons (7.5 pts / 2.8 reb / 1.7 ast)

 

So the question is can the young guys get better AND can Hunter replace the production of Prince, Bruno replace Len's production, and the combo of Crabbe / Reddish replace Baze?  

Personally, I'll feel better if they resign VC or someone more reliable than Parsons.  I'm also a bit wary of Bruno filling Len's shoes in year one. I'm bullish on his future, but not sure how much is reasonable to expect for a rookie.  

This is a very good thought line you have going here.  I think maybe the one aspect you aren't looking at is that we got taller/longer.  We were a disaster defensively last year.  Had we given up 5 less points a game we would have been .500.  Len starting is a hair longer/taller than Dedmon....Hunter is slightly taller/longer than Prince...Cam is definitely taller/longer than Baze. Evan Turner is much bigger than Lin/Adams.  Remember that Lin wasn't even on the roster for our best stretch of the season.  Turner is replacing Adams for that stretch and regardless of your feelings on Turner, he is a mile better, bigger than Adams. Parsons and Crabbe are also bigger/longer than anyone else we had at those spots.

 

One of the reasons veteran teams beat younger teams more often than not is physical size, weight and use of energy. We blew so much energy because we were small last year.  We are so much bigger it will show on defense, even if our offense is a bit slower. 

[Peoriabird]

4 minutes ago, thecampster said:

One of the reasons veteran teams beat younger teams more often than not is physical size, weight and use of energy. We blew so much energy because we were small last year.  We are so much bigger it will show on defense, even if our offense is a bit slower. 

It is not just a matter of being long to play defense...Its a matter knowing how to play team defense or connected defense and that can take some time.  Same with the offense.