The Mega Super Rumor Thread (Part 2)

[bird_dirt]

You heard it here first. 

[marco102]

Lord, please don't let it be Bradley Beal. 

Edited June 22, 2022 by marco102

[Final_quest]

So we finally get to hear there is a big rumor that something big is coming, but we don’t know what.  Got it.  

[thecampster]

Just now, Final_quest said:

So we finally get to hear there is a big rumor that something big is coming, but we don’t know what.  Got it.  

If I knew more, I'd tell you.

[Hawkmoor]

4 minutes ago, bird_dirt said:

You heard it here first. 

[GameTime]

Irving with Earvin?

 

Edited June 22, 2022 by GameTime

[Diesel]

10 minutes ago, Spud2nique said:

I was kidding about us landing him but who the hell knows now  

Leggggooooo aaaaaaa spuuuudddd

Let's put the jokes to the side for a minute....

Why wouldn't we shoot our Shot at Bobby Portis?

 

6'10... 250 lb.  Can be a certified Goon...

14.6 ppg, 9.6 rpg... shot 39% from 3...

 

IF we cleared Salary space by trading Collins for a pick..

We could make a real offer to Portis and guarantee him the Starting PF spot...

[marco102]

2 minutes ago, GameTime said:

Irving with Earvin?

 

The Lakers aren't a threat to anything, because Brooklyn would have to agree to a sign and trade.  

What assets do the Lakers have to return to Brooklyn? 

KD and Westbrook round 2?  I don't think that'll happen with Ben Simmons on the Nets roster. 

[TheNorthCydeRises]

59 minutes ago, thecampster said:

Breaking some radio silence on something you've heard some of us talking about.

 

On June 9th I bounced the following off the other insiders in the insider thread. I was on a strict don't talk about this publicly until the draft but I don't see the point in holding it any further.  My post to the other guys on June 9th, slightly truncated.

"

Just had a very interesting conversation that I thought I'd bounce off of you guys. It is quite possible that anything we've heard, anything you are hearing in the media is false right now.

I talked with the old source who is still being fed info even though he's out of his old job but that info is now 2nd/3rd hand.  He states the Hawks are engaged in a major obfuscation campaign right now in order to hide their actual offseason activities. Per my guy, the org has been more active than in any other year past in spreading false information. Per the source, they do have a major fish lined up and they don't want anything to ruin it. So they and their partners are actively pushing false narratives out through their media leak partners and even unaware journalists. Even he isn't aware who the big fish is.  Says its being kept very hush hush. Closed door phone calls only. 

My guy says it could drop around draft night and would involve 16 and future assets. I spoke with my only remaining full time source by chat who said, no...nuh uh...oh man that would make some sense and asked if he could get back to me. That was a while ago, no word. He went from "no way" to "holy crap" in about 8 prolonged seconds..... There might be something secret brewing."

 

This was back on June 9th and discussions were had. I won't speak for the other guys.  I tried checking in with whoever I could talk to over the ensuring days, every few days and kept getting a "we don't talk about fight club" answer.  Up until June 9th, the only "big fish" we'd heard about were either Gobert or Ayton and something that had legs for a day or two about Simmons.  The Hawks had continued to push the idea they were looking for a trade partner for Gallo so they didn't have to waive him. There was no other noise coming out of the org, just the constant dribble of rumors about swapping Clint for another big man.

A week+ in to this, Travis went on the radio and stated we weren't making wholesale changes, everything was overblown. There was really no reason to say this publicly and immediately there after, the rumors about JC began to surface.  My guy (guys) stopped returning calls until the primary guy today (not the guy feeding me this) when he said, something will drop tonight, I don't have details (stated earlier today). Since June 9th, he's confirmed something is up but hasn't brought forward anything new.

 

In my years of being on the board and for many years hoarding info only for myself, I've never been shut out of info like this or been told something secret squirrel is going on for this long without details.

 

One thing I gleaned, the desire to move on from JC is mutual but not combative or beyond repair.  JC's fit with Clint is easily questioned but the proposed trades are mostly centered around John's desire to be in a more mature situation and the Hawks regretting all of the spending last year. The team was in a rebuilding phase since John arrived. Its been more unstable than he's comfortable with. The Hawks feel hamstrung. John is the 2nd highest paid player on the team, holds the most trade value and is arguably the easiest to replace with a free agent (like Portis), a year more of Gallo or a move to JJ. Neither party is happy with the potential split but both feel it may be the easiest path to their goals.  Both would be happy if he doesn't move on by Thursday. It would be the least happy divorce in history. John loves Atlanta, Atlanta loves John. Its a matter of fit from both perspectives. It isn't a sure thing he's moved. They've shopped him aggressively to gauge his value against what they've already been offered for him.

 

The original thinking was the best way to keep John was to pair him with a different center. That is no longer the only path forward.

 

One thing driving the Hawks thinking is the Miami series. Its not that they lost but a number of things that happened in that series outlined below.

1. Trae being grabbed, manhandled by Butler.  Nobody got in Butler's face. Hunter stepped in and separated them, pushed them both back but went straight at Trae talking to him.  Bogi and Gallo meandered about but nobody got in Butler's face. What I'm being told is team executives, ownership watched that over and over and that no one took the tech to give Butler a shove, take the heat from the Heat bothered them and questioned their team psychological makeup. Mentioned was the shoulder chuck given by Solo the previous year to Taj. We lacked that moment.

2. The dirty play of the Heat targeting Young and Hunter repeatedly in the series was a further focus of the lack of an enforcer on the floor. Remembering that Clint was out the first 3 games and JC was hurt throughout the series. The lack of both a star who could bait a call and a goon to give a hard foul. Leadership has talked about the psychology of winning a championship and the effect the goon tactics of Draymond Green had for GS. They're aware.

3. That the Hawks 3 point shooters clenched during the Miami series was on notice. Leadership noticed the lack of clutch.

 

The general feeling is the team played soft, played scared. That is the driving force behind their offseason plan. To get tougher.

 

The person who gave the hardest foul on the Heat in that series ..... was TRAE ..... when that idiot ran into him while Trae was streaking toward the basket before halftime. 

Interesting that ownership now think that our softness is one of our biggest problems.

[Final_quest]

8 minutes ago, thecampster said:

If I knew more, I'd tell you.

It’s fine.  Just found it funny.  
 

I can’t tell you THE BIG NEWS.  

[marco102]

Y'all I'm thinking it's Bradley Beal now that he turned down his team option. 

I'm bracing myself for this one.  If he's the Bradley Beal with John wall who played tough defense, then I'll be all for it, but the last two seasons Bradley Beal, I can't. 

[TheNorthCydeRises]

20 minutes ago, bird_dirt said:

You heard it here first. 

Definitely worth the gamble if it were possible.

[marco102]

8 minutes ago, TheNorthCydeRises said:

The person who gave the hardest foul on the Heat in that series ..... was TRAE ..... when that idiot ran into him while Trae was streaking toward the basket before halftime. 

Interesting that ownership now think that our softness is one of our biggest problems.

The Hawks seemed to have lost their swag from the 20/21 playoffs.  Injuries had a lot to do with that, if you ask me.

[sturt]

2 minutes ago, TheNorthCydeRises said:

The person who gave the hardest foul on the Heat in that series ..... was TRAE ..... when that idiot ran into him while Trae was streaking toward the basket before halftime. 

Interesting that ownership now think that our softness is one of our biggest problems.

I follow... but I'm going to say this, tho...

The Knicks did the same crap, no? The Sixers? the Bucks? Much of what we discussed last post-season was that we should try to get tougher, yes, but somehow it didn't derail our winning in the playoffs... what ultimately derailed it was Trae being sidelined by a ref's foot.

It's a thing to be addressed.

I choke on the idea that it would be the thing to be addressed.

What happened w/ MIA 2022 is tired legs on the wings and severe handicap in the post such that it all relied on Trae, and almost no player has ever been able to lift that heavy a load.

(Aside but related: We've discussed LeBron today, and we've discussed Durant today... those guys went the ringbrat route for that very reason... they perceived themselves as great player who were destined to go the way of Bob Lanier and Charles Barkley... players who were great in their time on their teams, but who failed to get to the upper tier of NBA legends for lack of a ring. It's no insult to Trae to say he wasn't up to that task.)

The highest priority cannot help but be ratcheting up the defense w/o sacrificing much offense, if any. And to the degree you can gain grittiness and attitude, all the better.

 

[LucastheThird]

So Beal is now an unrestricted free agent - Not a rumor

 

Kyrie could be working on a reunion with LeBron - Rumor

 

JC will be traded tonight - Rumor

 

 

Out of all the rumor, I want the Kyrie rumor to be true. That brings my Trae and KD dream pairing to a 35% chance of happening lol

 

I have no clue what's going on, 5 years ago I would have loved this. But now I'm just worried we are going to take a step back into a young team focused on drafting. 

[TheNorthCydeRises]

18 minutes ago, marco102 said:

Lord, please don't let it be Bradley Beal. 

Adding Beal possibly puts us in the top 3 in the East, and gives us the best scoring backcourt in the league.

 

[Hawkmoor]

7 minutes ago, TheNorthCydeRises said:

Definitely worth the gamble if it were possible.

 

 

Edited June 22, 2022 by Hawkmoor

[phoostal]

Just now, Hawkmoor said:

That's hilarious 

[Diesel]

Coming to a Hawks team near You... The following:

 

 

 

Eric Bledsoe + Bobby Portis + Solomon Hill = Goon Squad..

 

[sturt]

1 minute ago, TheNorthCydeRises said:

Adding Beal possibly puts us in the top 3 in the East, and gives us the best scoring backcourt in the league.

 

 

Um. But.

 

If @thecampster 's inclination is accurate... there's no deal that can be made today that would land Beal in ATL... or any other FA, of course.

 

Don't think it's that.