2023-24 Insider Information Thread

[Dragitoff]

5 minutes ago, Afro said:

I will say....Im getting close to wanting the Hawks to put Duffy on the "go f yourself" list lol. Like the Braves do with Boras. 

I think all pro sports are getting to a place where some of these agents get blackballed and it forces them to either adapt or get out. 

[Afro]

3 minutes ago, Dragitoff said:

I think all pro sports are getting to a place where some of these agents get blackballed and it forces them to either adapt or get out. 

Definitely agree. As we saw with Lilliard last year, we're getting dangerously close to the kind of actions that could crater the tenets that a league needs to actually function competitively. 

[KB21]

My prediction: It's Donovan Clingan at either 1 or with a trade down.  I think it will ultimately be at 1 for two reasons.  First, they aren't going to be able to drop down but a couple of spots and still get him because he's the guy everyone wants to trade up to get because there isn't another starting caliber center available in this draft.  Second, Landry likely isn't going to make a deal unless he feels like he's getting a win in the deal.  

[JayBirdHawk]

2 hours ago, Afro said:

Luckily we still have Boykin 

This will never get old 

[JayBirdHawk]

2 hours ago, JeffS17 said:

Great post.  There will be a lot of emotions Wednesday night, but none of them, positive or negative, will be completely justified until we see how these prospects pan out.

 

2 hours ago, Final_quest said:

Time to enjoy the ride.  Gonna be a huge shift on the roster.  Landry is in the spot light, let’s give him a chance before believing the worst.

 

2 hours ago, txsting said:

I will try not to be too disappointed with whatever goes down, because the truth won't be known for several years.  More fun to talk yourself into belief than to smother yourself in doubt.

My biggest disappointment would be if we traded #1 AND DJ to Spurs and the best player we get back is freaking Keldon Johnson...yes even with picks back.

As I've said since the season ended, the retooling of the existing players on the roster and how willing or not the owner is willing to spend or not looms larger for me than the individual draft pick.

[swanlee]

I'm not going to blame or complain about Landry when its Sarr side being difficult. I'm glad Landry was transparent about it. If we don't pick Sarr you will know why and if we do pick him it's either for a trade or they will strong arm him to play.

I would prefer that this franchises first #1 lottery pick be a player that actually wants to be here so I'm not going to blame Landry for trading or picking someone else.

[Plainview1981]

It seems like when the Hawks are near the top of the drafting board tge key draftee doesn't want to be here. Honestly, I'm sick to death of athletes. I wish as a society we would stop idolizing these people.

[JayBirdHawk]

2 hours ago, JeffS17 said:

I think people here have this idea that being an effective GM is being some realpolitik master manipulator when there is actually a major component of being candid, honest, and forthcoming that develops the positive relationships with colleagues to get the job done -- just like in business anywhere.  Sure, there's some soft gray lines in there where you don't show your hand too hard and massage the messaging, but this interview was a massive non-event, just like all of his interviews.

Other front offices probably do not even listen to GMs public facing interviews.  They get all of the information they need by talking to Landry and other GMs, who are going to share who we are shopping, what we want, what players we're interested in, etc.  Other front offices have immensely more information than we have in the public, including any noise shared by our insiders.  Just a bunch of negative energy for no reason, which is par for the course on this board when it comes to anything front office related.

The biggest issue is the instability and turnover in the Front Office, coupled with the owner's son in a decision making role that's undeserved......it leaves more questions than answers....so there is a lack of confidence in the group as a whole.

Instead if using buzz words like Hawks DNA - talk about WINNING and what that looks like.

[deester11]

To me is it this simple?  Sarr wants to go number one. The Hawks grant that... and select him.  Washington....got to play to win. Ante up a draft pick. Hawks choose Clingan at 2. 

[MarylandHawk]

15 hours ago, JTB said:

Yeah so let’s say we traded for Butler or PG, drafted Sarr or Risa, and we keep Trae & Jalen.

if this is the combination we can play with , I don’t think it matters who is 2-4…now obviously certain players can’t dribble as well as others within this group so likely PG or Butler would be Traes backcourt mate but defensively we’d have full switching ability from 2-4….and that’s very Celtics like defensively to lesser extent.

Not worried about his defense. Man you see manu in this kid?…manu wasn’t a lights out dribbler but he was unique with it. I don’t see any dribble ability in this kid at all BUT maintaining is more important than knowing how to dribble. Luka in my opinion is a maintaining dribbler and so was ISO Joe. Neither have lights out handles (add Lebron to this list)…but I need to risacher have that ability to beat his man off the dribble and I just don’t see it . Now if we get a star vet wing to go with him it may not matter as much right now and perhaps his ball handling can be hidden.

True, but like any of these prospects they will have to develop parts of their game. ISO basketball will be his. Lucky for us though we don’t need that right away from him. 

[sturt]

3 hours ago, JeffS17 said:

The essence of what you're saying here is a major reason why I defend our current front office regime.  Having a very negative disposition just means you're spending most of your time in those negative feelings, even if you're proven wrong by the time there's enough evidence to draw a conclusion.

So, if we take your logic on-balance... having a predisposition to defend our current front office regime is... merited?

Wait. Let's give you some benefit of a doubt...

What do you mean by "current front office regime?" Because if by that you're only referring to the GM and his staff, we're good... I've said as much.

And. But. Too... what do you mean by "conclusion" in this context? Because if by that you're only referring to this team's getting better and empirically getting better and threatening to contend, we're good. That conclusion is altogether plausible.

Or even if you're suggesting that it's conceivable that the team could end up summitting Everest, yes, in spite of all of the natural elevation, and yes, in spite of any degree of financier-imposed headwinds we may agree is present... I'm on record as agreeing... recalling that my hopes in 2016 for my Cowboys (following Romo's back being crushed and contorted in preseason) were as low as they'd ever been--and yet, an out-of-nowhere 4th round QB pick confounded everyone's wisdom and arguably that team was among the most legit SB contenders wearing a star in years now.

It's part of the beauty of the drama of sports, of course, that the most reason-based conclusion can be turned on its head by a recipe of totally unexpected ingredients that result in a very different conclusion--just as reason based, but/and impossible short of having some Divine insight to have ever anticipated.

 

 

That's one side of the coin.

Let's look at the other side, which I'm inclined to believe is more like what was intended by those words in that post, shall we?

Already just addressed, really, the full spectrum of what could be intended by "conclusion," so just going to focus on the first part...

 

So. If by "current front office regime," you are primarily referring to the guy holding the leash, having ultimate navigation authority and allowing his pet to wander around within the boundaries of what is acceptable to him as the leash-holder, and by the same token, pulling back, hard if necessary, at those moments when a boundary is threatened... ??? ...

The necessary inference, in that case, that any conclusion about the leash-holder is premature???

Surely. Surely. Surely. My inclination about what you'd intended by "current front office regime" is way off base, and thus, terribly insulting to you, and thus I owe you an apology for holding that inclination. Surely.

Because. Well.

8 years. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7... 8. We have accumulated 8 years... nearly 3000 days... now of behaviors and decisions and words. None of us are speculating at this point. We know pretty darn well exactly what Antony Peter Ressler is like, what his tendencies are, what his guiding principles are. And if we had any doubt, of course, 12 months ago almost to the day now, he set aside any doubts about whether it is success on the court or on the spreadsheet that is his paramount priority.

Conclusions about APR... specifically him... are not just a matter of perspective. There is not merely evidence. There is substantial evidence.

The financier of this Everest trek already had caused a strong headwind to challenge the capacity of the group to reach the summit, by virtue of megalomania, which in turn, has resulted in episode after episode that has exposed dysfunctional management paradigms; but most recently, that weather turned into blizzard-like conditions, with the revelation that only once Camp IV is reached... no, check that... only once he personally perceives that Camp IV has been reached, which may be a different thing now that he feels he's been fooled once (or twice?)... only then will the financier provide any significant supplemental resources to help summit Everest.

(And mind you, some cynics even still wonder whether that, also, is a lie... that there will never be significant supplemental resources provided... I'm not one of those, but it's unfortunately it's valid to wonder.)

That's just the reality, having nothing to do with anyone's negative feelings. And, importantly, that's coming from someone who spent a lot of time pushing the positive narratives about the financier for 6.5 years of his being leash-holder to the franchise.

So hey, give me a break please.

It's not my fault he gave Schultz that February 2023 interview, and unexpectedly to me, confirmed a lot of what I viewed at the time as persistently passive aggressive, cynical inferences... essentially, short-arm boxer jabs to Ressler's face... by @JayBirdHawk.

I didn't put words in APR's mouth. Those were his words. My only "sin" was reading what was there, and believing he meant what he said. He decided that a version of transparency was important to try to tamp down this wildfire about his 27 year-old son's role, and to his credit I suppose, he opened up some, confessing that the idea of a mutually-agreed-upon Schlenk exit was just a ruse motivated by concerns about what damage could be caused to his own image, ie, had APR been transparent at the time. He went on to try to put himself in the better light than Schlenk by suggesting that Schlenk had become something of an authoritarian ogre, not sufficiently interested in the opinions of his staff... and he went on to try to put Nicky in better light by suggesting that all you have to do is ask anyone who works with the owner's son... the owner's son... *ahem*... the owner's son... and they will surely confirm what the owner is telling you, Jeff Schultz and readers... everyone thinks Nick Ressler is a joy to work beside.

Suddenly, with that, there emerged a third concern... beyond the management dysfunction headwind, beyond the highest priority being adding to his pile of gold... now, there was reason to wonder about the man's capacity for discernment. Sure, he's rich, he's made a lot of apparently good decisions over time, but he wouldn't be the first wealthy person to evolve to eventually show cognitive wear and tear in a variety of ways, and causing reasonable people to wonder about his capacity to consistently reason well now, at a later stage of the timeline.

Consequently, circling back to the premise that began the discussion... yes, something good could happen, but if it does, it will be in spite of the conditions/challenges that APR presents. Landry will need to be a great general manager... the NBA equivalent of a young Mozart... that, or Lady Luck will need to be exceptionally kind and deliver to the team some resources that couldn't have been anticipated normally.

That's a much more significant challenge than most NBA teams face. Of course.

 

Can he change?

Sure he can. Well, at least I believe people can change, some might not.

But the mature approach is to withhold the benefit of a doubt that a person is re-orienting him/herself unless/until s/he presents some considerable reason to believe that's in progress. Dr. Phil-ism alert...

 

 

[Wretch]

6 hours ago, bleachkit said:

Just nothing pops about Risacher. But you know half the NBA is comprised of tall guys that can shoot. He's tall, he can shoot. So that's the pick. 

Weirdly, this almost completely sums up my feelings about him as well.

[MarylandHawk]

11 hours ago, Sothron said:

I didn't say he wasn't a good prospect. Just not taking him at #1. 

Yeah like most people are saying he would not be a typical number 1 but he could easily end up being the best player in this class. 

[Final_quest]

4 minutes ago, deester11 said:

To me is it this simple?  Sarr wants to go number one. The Hawks grant that... and select him.  Washington....got to play to win. Ante up a draft pick. Hawks choose Clingan at 2. 

Yes, it could be that simple. 

If there is a bidding war, it's not as simple.  Spurs may also be making an offer for the pick or other teams we haven't heard about.  

[JustSomeGuy]

The franchise deserves its smoke. But sans Cam Reddish, I’ve been pretty happy with the last several drafts, our ability to identify talent and (for the most part) development of those picks. 

Fingers crossed we get this one right. But if not blow it up for Cooper Flagg lol

[Hawkmoor]

1 hour ago, akay said:

Fr, and the 26th pick in this draft is not some huge boon either unless they have plans to package it for something, which I assume they would cause of contingencies and what not  

What would an acceptable trade with Washington look like?

Washington has their own 1st in 2026.  Would you gamble on that pick in 2026 or take the 2nd and 26 this season and throw Kyle Kuzma in there?

[JustSomeGuy]

46 minutes ago, KB21 said:

My prediction: It's Donovan Clingan at either 1 or with a trade down.  I think it will ultimately be at 1 for two reasons.  First, they aren't going to be able to drop down but a couple of spots and still get him because he's the guy everyone wants to trade up to get because there isn't another starting caliber center available in this draft.  Second, Landry likely isn't going to make a deal unless he feels like he's getting a win in the deal.  

Agreed. I think trying to hold Sarr hostage or trying to trade down for your guy, if you identify him as your guy. If a huge gamble. Just take the player you want if he’s there and force the rest of the board to adapt. Either way it should be an exciting draft. 

[Dragitoff]

7 minutes ago, Hawkmoor said:

Washington has their own 1st in 2026.  Would you gamble on that pick in 2026 or take the 2nd and 26 this season and throw Kyle Kuzma in there?

Who do we send to them to match salary?  Kuz is a decent complimentary piece, but I wouldn't be thrilled for him honestly. 

[Hawkish]

3 minutes ago, Hawkmoor said:

Washington has their own 1st in 2026.  Would you gamble on that pick in 2026 or take the 2nd and 26 this season and throw Kyle Kuzma in there?

2026 if unprotected easy

[Hawkmoor]

50 minutes ago, KB21 said:

My prediction: It's Donovan Clingan at either 1 or with a trade down.  I think it will ultimately be at 1 for two reasons.  First, they aren't going to be able to drop down but a couple of spots and still get him because he's the guy everyone wants to trade up to get because there isn't another starting caliber center available in this draft.  Second, Landry likely isn't going to make a deal unless he feels like he's getting a win in the deal.  

deleted post.