The Atlanta HAWKS thread- Defund Tony Ressler

Discussion in 'The Mainboard' started by Gaknight, Apr 8, 2015.

  1. Gaknight

    Gaknight Well-Known Member
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    Pointed out on Twitter that Pierce had Turner in Philly and will be back up PG
     
  2. Boom TittyMilk

    Boom TittyMilk User Formerly known as Big R
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    Still can’t believe the draft that we had
     
  3. Fran Tarkenton

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    Zach Lowe draft recap podcast cliffs:

    Lots of excitement in/around league about Hawks. Player Agents are taking notice, building curiosity, about whats happening in Atlanta. Its a sleeping giant, players live there etc. Trae's passing is attractive. 7 rookie contracts, the rest expiring; so books are in order to be FA players swoon.
     
  4. dahldennsull

    dahldennsull Living in the best state
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    aka, everything the Thunder aren't... i've been enjoying my bandwagon fandom since Trae got drafted
     
  5. Jake Scott

    Jake Scott Well-Known Member
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    Before the Hawks traded picks 8, 17 and 35 and the top-10 protected 2020 Cleveland pick to move up to No. 4 to draft De’Andre Hunter, the plan was to draft Cam Reddish with the eighth pick.

    In the days leading up to the NBA Draft, the conversations general manager Travis Schlenk and his staff had with teams inside the top 10 and agents of the projected top picks led the Hawks to believe Zion Williamson, Ja Morant, R.J. Barrett, De’Andre Hunter, Jarrett Culver, Darius Garland and Coby White were going to be the first seven picks Thursday.

    When Atlanta traded with New Orleans, it left some uncertainty at No. 8 because the Hawks didn’t know who the Pelicans were going to get with their pick. The Pelicans drafted Texas center Jaxson Hayes. Minnesota also caused panic inside the Hawks’ war room when it traded up to No. 6 to acquire Phoenix’s pick. Schlenk didn’t expect Minnesota to move up in the draft and had no idea who it was moving up to get. But the Timberwolves ended up acquiring Culver, who the Hawks expected to be gone before No. 8.

    Washington held the ninth pick, but once New Orleans didn’t select Reddish at 8, Atlanta knew he was going to be its pick. It was a calculated risk that worked out.

    “We felt pretty strongly that 9 wasn’t where he wasn’t going to go,” Schlenk said. “We thought he was going to be there at 8 and knew he wasn’t going 9, so we thought it was possible to get him at 10. We didn’t anticipate Minnesota trading up, so we had no idea what they were going to do or who they even liked. I was texting back and forth with his agent trying to figure out what they were doing. At the eighth pick, when we didn’t have it anymore, we were trying to figure out what (New Orleans) was going to do. We felt like (Reddish falling to 10) it was going to happen, but you never know with the draft.”

    When he did fall to 10, the Hawks wasted no time in making the pick official. There was a sense of bewilderment from head coach Lloyd Pierce on Thursday night because he couldn’t believe that Reddish was still on the board at 10. Pierce had zeroed in on Reddish for a few months now and immediately saw him as a player who has the versatility teams covet.

    “I think when you look at every NBA team and you look at the further you advance — and I’ll use Toronto as the example — they finished the year just skilled at every position,” Pierce said. “They were tough defensively at every position. People forget that they have two Defensive Player of the Year players on that roster. They’ve got a former MVP of the Finals on the roster. They had two point guards together on the floor at the same time in Game 6 of the Finals on the road. So, you’re looking at just skill and the versatility you can have on the floor. Cam has that. He can shoot. He can handle the basketball. He can pass. He can defend. He has played high-level basketball in all of his years. You can hope to grow other guys into that, and that is his starting point. We’re going to grow and develop him as best as we can. When you start there, you’re already at a positive.”

    Prior to the draft, the Hawks talked about how their draft strategy was to select the best player available. It turns out the players they had best on their board were complements to the core of Trae Young, Kevin Huerter and John Collins. The Hawks specifically identified Hunter and Reddish because of what they bring that the current trio lacks right now — a defensive mentality.

    Schlenk made it a point to mention how Reddish’s defensive skill is sometimes overlooked, but Schlenk and Pierce view Reddish as someone who is already “a very good defensive player.” A lot was made after the season when Pierce admitted how he hadn’t implemented his defensive system from his time as an assistant coach with Philadelphia. But even with two solid defenders now on the roster, don’t expect the Hawks to turn into a menacing force on the defensive side of the floor overnight.

    “If you give me a rookie who has never played an NBA game, he’s going to get torched,” Pierce said. “How do I help him survive is where we start. It’s not about how do we advance. He can’t advance without knowing how to play the position in the NBA. In college, you can just stand behind the 3-point line or stand in the paint the entire possession. You can’t do that in the NBA. You have to learn that here. We’ve gotten better because we drafted someone who has the tools to be a good defensive player. But we have to take a step back a little bit because we have to teach them how to defend on the NBA level. But he will get torched. Any of these All-NBA guys will give him 30. These guys give All-NBA defenders 30, you don’t think he’s going to give our rookie 30?”

    Reddish is a polarizing prospect. If he had the opportunity to get drafted out of high school, he likely would have been selected inside the top five purely based on his potential. In his one year at Duke, he struggled and was overshadowed by Williamson and Barrett. Reddish shot 33 percent from 3-point range and was wildly inefficient at the rim, making fewer than 40 percent of his attempts.

    So, why were the Hawks locked in on someone with those numbers?

    In his first season in Atlanta, Pierce developed the Hawks’ offensive identity to be to shoot as many 3s as possible and have as many clean looks at the rim if they weren’t shooting 3s. The stat Pierce liked the most from Reddish is how he attempted more than seven 3s per game.

    “That’s a skill in itself to shoot 7.5 3s,” Pierce said. “Trae shot 11 3s a game and shot 36 percent. They aren’t blowing you away with the percentages, but the ability to get those shots up is why you get intrigued. You look at the percentages and ask why. I look at the film. I want to see the story. I look at the film and see he can beat guys off the dribble. He can be used in pick and rolls. What’s different in the NBA is he’ll have a shooter in the corner. That defender has to figure out where he needs to be. In the college game, there isn’t that shooter.

    “A lot of the times when he was driving, there’s a defender in the paint, and he was inefficient. Our spacing allows that crowd to disappear. He’s gonna learn that our guys are going to help him. Alex Len shot 36 percent from 3. John Collins is shooting 36 to 37 percent from 3. He’s not going to be running into defenders, and if he is, he has shooters who can help him. Forget the percentages. The film tells his story.”

    There was no secret that the Hawks had Reddish high on their wish list throughout the pre-draft process. As reported numerous times on The Athletic, Reddish was the first name I heard mentioned (outside of Williamson) as someone they wanted on this roster. It was Schlenk’s job to figure out if another team liked him as much as the Hawks did.

    Once the lottery was set, Schlenk immediately started calling teams to figure out who they liked. It’s a complicated game to figure out because, as he says, teams don’t tell the truth during these conversations. The agents are the ones who will give teams the most complete information. Agents call teams around the league throughout the year and know roster needs and preferences better than almost everyone.

    Depending on if anyone has a personal relationship with people from another organization, that person will be tasked with getting as much info as possible and reporting back to Schlenk. That’s how he knew the first seven players who were going to get selected.

    “We went into it with a game plan, but you never really know if it’s possible,” Schlenk said.

    The Hawks’ focus for the past several months has almost solely been on the draft. There are some teams that free agency is their primary focus, and they’re not too worried about what happens in the draft, but that wasn’t the case for the Hawks. The team met this past weekend to discuss free agency and figure out other roster moves that needed to be made.

    One of those moves benefits Reddish. Atlanta traded Kent Bazemore to Portland for Evan Turner in a pure player-for-player trade. Frankly, Turner is not as good as Bazemore and the tangible on-court benefit for the Hawks just isn’t there on paper. But moving Bazemore frees up one more spot on the wing for the Hawks and allows Reddish to get as many minutes as he’s ready for immediately. The reason for the trade was for roster balance and to prioritize minutes for Reddish, Hunter and Huerter. Atlanta sees Turner filling in as the team’s primary back-up point guard.

    It’s not clear where Reddish will play immediately, but both Schlenk and Pierce believe he can play the 2 or the 3, and more importantly, he should be able to guard both positions well. Schlenk also sees Reddish filling in on a part-time basis as the team’s primary creator on offense, which is where those who coached him throughout high school feel like his best role is.

    There likely will come points throughout the season when the Hawks’ lineup on the floor will be Collins at the 5, Hunter at the 4, Reddish at the 3, Huerter at the 2 and Young running point. All five of those players are 21 or younger.

    The Hawks feel like their core is now set.

    “You asked me a lot throughout the year about the comparable situation I had in Philadelphia,” Pierce said. “One thing I said is the guys we had there in the first three years didn’t pan out. They weren’t a part of what we did in the last two years. Because we never had a core, we had to reshuffle guys, and then we get Joel (Embiid), and there’s your core. Then we got Ben (Simmons), and there’s your core. That’s when we felt we were on to something, and then it was about how we built something around them.

    “That’s what is special here. We have our core. We’re going to develop our core. They are going to be with us throughout the ups and downs and be with us throughout this entire process. We’re not going to come here next year and say, ‘We don’t know what our core looks like.’ We know what it is now.”
     
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  6. BudKilmer

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    I love that Lloyd Pierce took Huerter to an elimination playoff game. I hope we can fight for the 8th seed next year. We will lose in 4 likely but playoff basketball will benefit these guys
     
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  7. Pharm

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    Was hoping kabengele would fall to the Hawks in early second round as he is a draymond green type. Leaves it all in the court.
     
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  8. It'sAlwaysSunnyInAthens

    It'sAlwaysSunnyInAthens Well-Known Member
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    This is probably a hot take.. But a hot shooting team could absolutely make some noise in the east.
     
  9. BudKilmer

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    Too early to tell. Kawhi/Boston/Philly/Brooklyn all in roster flux until next week.

    If we got the 8th seed and got hot we could win a game or two. Rookie wings and a second year point guard don’t usually make deep runs
     
  10. Fargin' Icehole

    Fargin' Icehole 50% soulless
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    We'll be nice to actually pull for wins instead of losses. Been awhile since I've done that with this team.
     
  11. ThatcherSkye

    ThatcherSkye Well-Known Member
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    If the Hawks are in the mix for the 8th seed, they'll be in the mix for the 5th-6th seed.

    The last two years only one game separated 8 from 6 and three years ago only two games separated 9 from 5. Incremental growth in and few areas could result in significant growth in the aggregate.

    Personally, I'm hoping for one more solid lottery pick. Need a young defensive big - someone like a Mitchell Robinson.
     
  12. Fran Tarkenton

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    I like this. Our core has a ton of lineup versatility.

    And that versatility makes future drafts all the more interesting in which direction we can go.
     
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  13. BudKilmer

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    My fever dream is Giannis gets sick of Eric Bledsoe being his running mate and we nab him in 2021 :yousoright:
     
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  14. allothersnsused

    allothersnsused Wow that’s crazy
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    Would be cool if the NBA didn't have ridiculous rules and the team could actually talk about Hunter too.
     
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  15. Gaknight

    Gaknight Well-Known Member
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    Don’t forget Bruno. Defensive big, athletic as absolute hell, and has a stroke on his shot. Teach him how to dribble and not turn the ball over and he’s a steal.
     
  16. Gaknight

    Gaknight Well-Known Member
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    Ideally I’d like to get back Dedmon for another year and run him and Len back and let Bruno spend a year focusing on developing his offensive game even more.
     
  17. Gaknight

    Gaknight Well-Known Member
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    Woo baby
     
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  18. Fran Tarkenton

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    these in the 2nd tweet are nice
     
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  19. Gaknight

    Gaknight Well-Known Member
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    I have thought about it and I will be very angry if we dont resign Dedmon
     
  20. BudKilmer

    BudKilmer Well-Known Member
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    How much cap room do we have after the Crabbe contract?
     
  21. It'sAlwaysSunnyInAthens

    It'sAlwaysSunnyInAthens Well-Known Member
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    I've read low to mid teens.
     
  22. Fran Tarkenton

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    could have as much as $14.9m (that would be 3 open roster spots Dedmon + Vince + Justin Anderson)
     
  23. Gaknight

    Gaknight Well-Known Member
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    Dedmon and we coast to a playoff birth in a bad Eastern Conference. I want VC too seeing how much Huerter and Trae loved playing with him, but if he wants to ring chase in his last season I get it.
     
  24. Jake Scott

    Jake Scott Well-Known Member
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  25. allothersnsused

    allothersnsused Wow that’s crazy
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    Doesn't really matter, but why the fuck are we taking on that contract
     
  26. Fran Tarkenton

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    salaries are a wash, opens up a roster spot.
     
  27. Fran Tarkenton

    Fran Tarkenton Hilton Honors VIP
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    https://earlybirdrights.com/salary-cap/atl/

    at 12 contracts right now, depending on what they do with Bruno. Justin Anderson + Vince Carter still tbd.

    Could be a signal they've ID'd someone in free agency or they want to fit in the pieces above. Sure they also want flexibility to be a 3rd team in a trade to take on an expiring for future 1st.
     
  28. allothersnsused

    allothersnsused Wow that’s crazy
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    Interesting that it leaves just Len and Fernando (who I have seen technically listed as a PF) for the C spot.
     
  29. It'sAlwaysSunnyInAthens

    It'sAlwaysSunnyInAthens Well-Known Member
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    Give me Boogie
     
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  30. Gaknight

    Gaknight Well-Known Member
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    More playing time for guys that matter
     
  31. SuperCam

    SuperCam Well-Known Member
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    Looking forward to the next twerk party

     
  32. allothersnsused

    allothersnsused Wow that’s crazy
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    I want Boban because Boban. But we will probably sign a cheap body as insurance and roll with Len/Fernando for most MPG.
     
  33. Jake Scott

    Jake Scott Well-Known Member
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    Boogie probably not the best person to throw into a young locker room :idk:
     
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  34. It'sAlwaysSunnyInAthens

    It'sAlwaysSunnyInAthens Well-Known Member
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    Any locker room
     
  35. Gaknight

    Gaknight Well-Known Member
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    Give me Boogie but also give me Vince back to keep his ass in line.
     
  36. BudKilmer

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    Hard no on boogie. All the minutes to Len/Fernando, let our backcourt learn to play together
     
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  37. allothersnsused

    allothersnsused Wow that’s crazy
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    Boban is signing with the Mavs and is now a sworn enemy
     
  38. Gaknight

    Gaknight Well-Known Member
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    Mags trying to become the all white Euro team in the next year or 2.
     
  39. allothersnsused

    allothersnsused Wow that’s crazy
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  40. allothersnsused

    allothersnsused Wow that’s crazy
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    The Jabari signing doesn't really make a ton of sense, but it seems like the thinking now is to use cap space to take shots on a handful of high-upside guys on the off chance they pan out or we can develop them. I guess I'm good with that given where the rest of the team is at.
     
  41. Gaknight

    Gaknight Well-Known Member
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    Down for taking a risk on Jabari Parker. At worst he will get some buckets on the 2nd unit.
     
  42. It'sAlwaysSunnyInAthens

    It'sAlwaysSunnyInAthens Well-Known Member
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    He averaged 15 and 8 last year. That's not bad.
     
  43. Boom TittyMilk

    Boom TittyMilk User Formerly known as Big R
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    Only 24 years old as well
     
  44. allothersnsused

    allothersnsused Wow that’s crazy
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    Schlenk really does just play like its 2K. No one is safe.
     
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  45. Gaknight

    Gaknight Well-Known Member
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    In the same bar as Scott Van Pelt and a LIT #Maryland Terrapins basketball coach. I should get the inside scoop on Bruno.
     
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  46. allothersnsused

    allothersnsused Wow that’s crazy
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    Very pleased with, and frankly surprised by, this.
     
  47. Boom TittyMilk

    Boom TittyMilk User Formerly known as Big R
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    Good presence for the younger guys
     
  48. Gaknight

    Gaknight Well-Known Member
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    Hopefully they have an agreement to make him a coach after the season.