2023-24 Insider Information Thread

[terrell]

21 minutes ago, warcore said:

Unfortunately Gafford was never an option for us because there are burned bridges with Travis. He was the one of the most impactful acquisitions in the entire NBA and cost very little to obtain. Our FO sucks in a lot of ways... bad relationships is just another neg to add to their resume. 

Gafford actually wanted us to draft him.. We opted for Bruno instead.. smdh

Edited June 21 by terrell

[cam1218]

17 minutes ago, sturt said:

Okay. I don't have anything specific I was referring to, just a vague memory of you speaking as-if you had some insight. All good.

 

Out of respect to @JeffS17, who has kind enough to share his tickets with me once, I think being at all of the games and seeing the players interact does add a lot of context to our roster. There is a lot we don’t see on TV. This is probably where you got that thought from @sturt.

[JeffS17]

15 minutes ago, sturt said:

Okay. I don't have anything specific I was referring to, just a vague memory of you speaking as-if you had some insight. All good.

 

Okay, but that seems to totally, or at least largely, sidestep the question... sure, you're welcome to your conclusions, but in light of what just happened and the odds against that, your confidence level in those conclusions should accommodate better the possibility that adding to rather than subtracting from the talent inventory on the 23-24 roster last off-season legitimately could have just as well rendered the 23-24 season to be, rather than a lost season, a season that proved the team's 2023 showing against the EC champs to be a harbinger of what was to come, with the team building on that foundation and reclaiming a place in the conversation of teams on the cusp of getting to the upper tier of the conference.

 

Its not about adding or subtracting talent.  Its about concentrated talent in the starting lineup that I want us to focus on right now.  Hawks could have 25 quality bench pieces and we still wouldnt be contenders because we cant field enough talent on the court at one time. 

[BrazilianHawk]

2 hours ago, NBASupes said:

This Hawk team isn't that far. 

This Hawks team isn't GOING that far? 

[sturt]

7 minutes ago, cam1218 said:

Out of respect to @JeffS17, who has kind enough to share his tickets with me once, I think being at all of the games and seeing the players interact does add a lot of context to our roster. There is a lot we don’t see on TV. This is probably where you got that thought from @sturt.

That's absolutely fair. Good point, and good post.

[sturt]

19 minutes ago, JeffS17 said:

Its not about adding or subtracting talent.  Its about concentrated talent in the starting lineup that I want us to focus on right now.  Hawks could have 25 quality bench pieces and we still wouldnt be contenders because we cant field enough talent on the court at one time. 

I'd dispute that it's just about that... a season is too long, and there's too many injuries to deal with to just say, "It's just about the starters." Sometimes, it's as much about being able to plug in a player when a high VORP guy is down, who can be a 0.5 VORP instead of the player you're left with who's going to produce at a -0.5 VORP... literally can matter a few to several games over the course of a season. About the rotation, okay, yeah, I can walk with you on that. About just the starters, not really.

And mind you, "contender" is what we seemed to be going into the 2021-22 season, after the eventual champ, MIL, sent us home (and only after the basketball gods placed a referee's foot on the wrong spot on the floor)... it's from that camp at that elevation on Everest that you're then able to think seriously about the route to the top. The way we ended 2023, I was proud of what I saw those guys do, and I wanted to see more b/c I saw some grit like I wasn't sure I'd seen since the days of Sap, Pero, DMC, and Thabo. The point being, there would have been nothing necessarily "desperate" if there had been a more intensive effort to make the 23-24 season another step up the ladder rather than acquiescing to letting it be a step down.

[JeffS17]

9 minutes ago, sturt said:

I'd dispute that it's just about that... a season is too long, and there's too many injuries to deal with to just say, "It's just about the starters." Sometimes, it's as much about being able to plug in a player when a high VORP guy is down, who can be a 0.5 VORP instead of the player you're left with who's going to produce at a -0.5 VORP... literally can matter a few to several games over the course of a season. About the rotation, okay, yeah, I can walk with you on that. About just the starters, not really.

And mind you, "contender" is what we seemed to be going into the 2021-22 season, after the eventual champ, MIL, sent us home (and only after the basketball gods placed a referee's foot on the wrong spot on the floor)... it's from that camp at that elevation on Everest that you're then able to think seriously about the route to the top. The way we ended 2023, I was proud of what I saw those guys do, and I wanted to see more b/c I saw some grit like I wasn't sure I'd seen since the days of Sap, Pero, DMC, and Thabo. The point being, there would have been nothing necessarily "desperate" if there had been a more intensive effort to make the 23-24 season another step up the ladder rather than acquiescing to letting it be a step down.

Agree with you on the regular season piece in the first paragraph.  As for the second paragraph, we thought we were at Everest base camp when we actually summitted a lesser mountaim in 2021.  No way to the top of Everest without coming down from that local max.  I think we recognized that after our run it back season and started adjusting accordingly.  I feel good about our opportunities this offseason— TBD if capitalize. 

[terrell]

6 hours ago, Afro said:

Hmmmmmmm

AJ Griffin for Walker Kessler works for me....

Edited June 21 by terrell

[theheroatl]

2 minutes ago, terrell said:

AJ Griffin for Walker Kessler works for me....

That would work if it was trading with Chicago but it’s Danny “Ain’t”ge

Edited June 21 by theheroatl

[TwolvesFan77]

What’s the latest with KAT to ATL?  I know there has been whispers in the past about it. @Sothron

[bleachkit]

11 minutes ago, TwolvesFan77 said:

What’s the latest with KAT to ATL?  I know there has been whispers in the past about it. @Sothron

Done deal. The announcement should come any moment now. 

[theheroatl]

9 minutes ago, bleachkit said:

Done deal. The announcement should come any moment now. 

LOL

[HawksNWaffles]

13 minutes ago, bleachkit said:

Done deal. The announcement should come any moment now. 

Should be announced around 9 in the afternoon tomorrow 

 

 

 

Edited June 21 by HawksNWaffles

[kg01]

14 minutes ago, bleachkit said:

Done deal. The announcement should come any moment now. 

Party foul.  Make the visitor pay the fee before giving up the goods.  I mean you almost told him Naz Reid was included in the deal as sweetener.  Sheesh, bleachk. 

[Hawkish]

45 minutes ago, bleachkit said:

Done deal. The announcement should come any moment now. 

Remember when JJ’s name was even included?  Blasphemy 

[capstone21]

I hate that I am constantly checking this threadand hoping for even a tidbit of news

[Packfill]

3 hours ago, KB21 said:

Who?  Who got moved that would have made this team better this past year that was a legitimate option for the Hawks?

Annouby. Would have been a great fit on the Hawks. 

[Sothron]

1 hour ago, TwolvesFan77 said:

What’s the latest with KAT to ATL?  I know there has been whispers in the past about it. @Sothron

It has probably been buried in this mega thread but once the A-rod sale died there was no way Taylor was breaking up the TWolves. He's waited twenty years since the first time the TWolves went to the WCF to have a team go back there. He's not breaking that team up.

[kg01]

1 hour ago, capstone21 said:

I hate that I am constantly checking this threadand hoping for even a tidbit of news

Come to the darkside, capst.  Outsiders 'R Us. 

Edited June 22 by kg01

[GameTime]

2 hours ago, TwolvesFan77 said:

What’s the latest with KAT to ATL?  I know there has been whispers in the past about it. @Sothron