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Rebuild reality and doin it right

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Re: Rebuild reality and doin it right 

Post#401 » by Jamaaliver » Wed Nov 6, 2019 4:07 pm

steady wrote:Trae Young and the Hawks continue to look way ahead of schedule

Some nice comments on how well the Hawks youngsters are playing


:nod:

Code: Select all

Young is quickly becoming must-watch television. He's tracking for an All-Star bid...but he's not alone. Team president and general manager Travis Schlenk has put together an exciting, versatile roster with multiple playmakers and the ingredients for a much-improved defense.

Rookie DeAndre Hunter, who finished with 16 points and eight boards on Tuesday, continues to look terrific. Fellow rookie Cam Reddish, who represents the additional draft pick Atlanta acquired in the Luka Doncic trade that also netted them Trae Young, has struggled mightily to shoot in the early going, but he had a nice night on Tuesday with 12 points on 3-for-3 shooting from deep.

Jabari Parker -- 19 points and eight boards on Wednesday -- is playing really well in something of a resurgent season. Kevin Heurter is another playmaker who finished with seven points and six boards for a plus-nine off the bench on Wednesday.

This is a solid team, and with upward of $70 million in cap space opening up next summer, we knew the Hawks were on a path to get back to the playoffs sooner rather than later. But what we're seeing from them so far, and Young in particular, is way ahead of schedule. Again, it'll be tough to tread water with Collins out, but if the Hawks can do it, a playoff berth as soon as this season, for a team that won just 29 games last year, remains a distinct possibility.
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Re: Rebuild reality and doin it right 

Post#402 » by tbhawksfan1 » Wed Nov 6, 2019 7:41 pm

Jamaaliver wrote:
steady wrote:Trae Young and the Hawks continue to look way ahead of schedule

Some nice comments on how well the Hawks youngsters are playing


:nod:

Code: Select all

Young is quickly becoming must-watch television. He's tracking for an All-Star bid...but he's not alone. Team president and general manager Travis Schlenk has put together an exciting, versatile roster with multiple playmakers and the ingredients for a much-improved defense.

Rookie DeAndre Hunter, who finished with 16 points and eight boards on Tuesday, continues to look terrific. Fellow rookie Cam Reddish, who represents the additional draft pick Atlanta acquired in the Luka Doncic trade that also netted them Trae Young, has struggled mightily to shoot in the early going, but he had a nice night on Tuesday with 12 points on 3-for-3 shooting from deep.

Jabari Parker -- 19 points and eight boards on Wednesday -- is playing really well in something of a resurgent season. Kevin Heurter is another playmaker who finished with seven points and six boards for a plus-nine off the bench on Wednesday.

This is a solid team, and with upward of $70 million in cap space opening up next summer, we knew the Hawks were on a path to get back to the playoffs sooner rather than later. But what we're seeing from them so far, and Young in particular, is way ahead of schedule. Again, it'll be tough to tread water with Collins out, but if the Hawks can do it, a playoff berth as soon as this season, for a team that won just 29 games last year, remains a distinct possibility.
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Re: Rebuild reality and doin it right 

Post#403 » by Jamaaliver » Tue Nov 12, 2019 8:06 pm

This old narrative is still floating around the NBA -- for better or worse.

How the Atlanta Hawks are Trying to Rebuild in the Image of the Warriors

With the Warriors reeling for the first time in a long time, one of the NBA’s cellar-dwellers has quietly rebuilt with the Golden State blueprint in mind.

No rebuilding team has embraced the Golden State blueprint for success quite like the Atlanta Hawks.I am NOT trying to make the point that the Atlanta Hawks are the Warriors; it’s no stretch to say the ceiling on their current core is likely lower than that of the generational teams that ran the league for the last five years.

That said, the Hawks have assembled a young nucleus of players in their first, second or third season whose skill sets and roles bear a striking resemblance to the guys who brought Golden State so much success. It’s too early to tell with any conviction if they will blossom into players of the caliber or skill of those who played for those Warriors teams, but Atlanta drafted in such a way that the Golden State influence is impossible to ignore.

Spoiler:
It all starts with Trae Young in the Steph Curry role. The Lilliputian floor general recovered from a shaky start to his first season to finish second in Rookie of the Year voting, just as Curry did in 2009-10. Comparing their rookie year stats uncovers some unsurprising trends; Curry shot better from three and had a higher effective field goal percentage while ranking higher in rebounding and most defensive metrics. Young scored more points, had a higher usage percentage and logged more assists while getting to the free throw line more often than rookie Steph. However, the pair were within 10 percentage points of each other in most statistical categories and turned in surprisingly similar rookie campaigns on teams that won fewer than 30 games.

It’s not about Young becoming the next Curry; the two are stylistically different. A peek at NBA.com advanced statistics reveals Curry took considerably more midrange shots and assisted jumpers as a rookie while Young got into the lane more often and tended to create his own shot off the dribble. That said, Young and Curry fill similar roles; confident, elite spot-up shooters (Curry was in the 93.5 percentile in that category last year while Young ranked in the 89) you want taking the last shot and can trust to play the floor general role running an offense.

For Young, the keys to filling the Curry mold more effectively are two-fold. He must find more consistency as a shooter; Young only made 10 fewer threes than Curry did as a rookie, but on 102 more attempts. More importantly, he must improve defensively. Curry is no Pat Beverly, but Young was one of the league’s worst defenders last season. He has the quickness to be serviceable but lacks the technique and adding some muscle to his wiry frame would also help. That said, Young hit plenty of clutch shots, broke off some mind-bending dribble combinations and demonstrated enough in-season growth that it’s hard not to be excited about his potential as a point guard in the modern NBA.

For the Klay Thompson role, the Hawks have Kevin Huerter. This may be the biggest stretch of the bunch, but generational shooters who also play all-NBA defense don’t grow on trees. However, Huerter and Thompson also posted comparable rookie year stat lines while playing similar minutes on bad teams. Thompson edged the Maryland product in most areas, but Huerter shot a better effective field goal percentage and logged more rebounds and assists. He also shot and made more threes, but Thompson’s percentage was better.

There’s no perfect fit for the Draymond Green role, but John Collins appears best equipped to try. Collins, an offense-first power forward, and Green, a defensive-minded junkyard dog in the frontcourt, predictably outperformed each other in their areas of expertise; Collins dominated the offensive metrics in 2018-19 while Green was the superior defender. Green also distributed at a much, much higher rate, but Collins pulled down more offensive and total rebounds.

Green is the perfect unsung player for the Golden State offense and an underrated distributor of the ball, but Collins can shoot the three better (35% last season) and has nightly double-double potential. Of course, he must improve his passing and make large strides as a defender to even garner consideration as a player in the mold of Green.

Collins has the athleticism to become a solid defender if he works on his technique and recognition skills, but he has plenty of time to take those steps. Though the Green comparisons aren’t a perfect fit in 2019, Collins has the tools and the mindset to continue the conversation as he matures.

Of course, the Hawks are a few years away from being a finished product, and there are two more factors to consider. One is head coaching; Steve Kerr often gets overlooked because of the talent at his disposal, but he designed a system that kept the ball moving and everyone (mostly) happy for five years. Lloyd Pierce changed his stripes a bit in his first year in Atlanta, shifting his focus from defensive savant to a coach trying to instill confidence in a young team by allowing them to solidify their strengths rather than get bogged down in schematics.

In any case, the Hawks rebuild is nearing completion. It’s been a tough few seasons in the A, but fans should be excited about the young core assembled by a front office unafraid to bite the bullet, rack up lottery picks and play terrible basketball for a few years. It’s a bit of a fool’s errand to gaze years ahead in a league that underwent a huge facelift this past offseason, but the early returns on the Hawks’ impressive stable of young talent are positive. And when they make their long-awaited return to the postseason, it will be with a roster constructed with the Warriors dynasty in mind.
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Re: Rebuild reality and doin it right 

Post#404 » by jayu70 » Tue Nov 12, 2019 10:06 pm

To me a rebuild is nearing completion when your draft picks show they can win games and get the team to the playoffs
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Re: Rebuild reality and doin it right 

Post#405 » by tbhawksfan1 » Mon Nov 25, 2019 6:56 pm

jayu70 wrote:To me a rebuild is nearing completion when your draft picks show they can win games and get the team to the playoffs


The way things are, I'd rather set PO expectations back one more year. Team isn't ready yet. Everything that TS has said and done makes me think he's looking for one more draft.
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Re: Rebuild reality and doin it right 

Post#406 » by jayu70 » Mon Nov 25, 2019 7:06 pm

tbhawksfan1 wrote:
jayu70 wrote:To me a rebuild is nearing completion when your draft picks show they can win games and get the team to the playoffs


The way things are, I'd rather set PO expectations back one more year. Team isn't ready yet. Everything that TS has said and done makes me think he's looking for one more draft.

I predicted 37 wins this season, out of the playoffs. So I'm good.
The start of the season with JC being a bonehead, Huerter injured, all our vets injured, our brutal strength of schedule set that back even further.
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Re: Rebuild reality and doin it right 

Post#407 » by Jamaaliver » Wed Nov 27, 2019 12:47 pm

Read on Twitter


In a lot of ways, Young’s rapid improvement contrasts with where the Hawks are as a franchise; while the rest of the basketball world has caught on to how good Young is already, Atlanta is 4-13 and going through the growing pains of a young team. But both the Hawks’ coaching staff and their front office have the same long-term goal—to build a contender around Young. Even if it requires time, there is no greater value in the NBA than having both a plan and a star. The Hawks continue to look like they have both.
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Re: Rebuild reality and doin it right 

Post#408 » by Jamaaliver » Wed Nov 27, 2019 8:15 pm

Trae Young will be a superstar, but can the Hawks build a winner around him?

Even if his next decade is consumed by doubt and yeah, but... caveats, Trae Young has officially established himself as a skeptic’s worst nightmare. After a rookie season that teetered between disappointment, fascination, and brilliance, the 21-year-old face of Atlanta Hawks basketball is already a top-five point guard, and the list of players who his general manager, Travis Schlenk, would trade him for can only be counted on one hand.

Young ranks seventh in scoring (26.6 points) and third in assists (8.7). We’re watching a superstar in bloom.

But also, the Hawks are bad, and regardless of what Young does on a game-by-game basis, he can’t eclipse Doncic’s startling MVP campaign or replicate Steph Curry’s paradigm-shifting innovation. Atlanta’s offense hovers around league average when he plays and crumbles when he sits. The process of scoring the ball gets 15 percent more arduous for teammates who are suddenly thrust into broader roles they aren’t ready for. Young drags them all into a different dimension.

Pound for pound, Young’s offensive output is as thrilling and impressive as anyone in the entire league. But his ceiling as a franchise centerpiece is unknown thanks to the fact that he’s always the smallest person on a court that’s occupied by the largest human beings in the world. The Hawks allow 15.8 more points per 100 possessions with Young on the court, and while that stat comes with plenty of noise it also validates those who believe his wingspan, weight, and height are permanent self-inflicted wounds on 50 percent of his possessions.

A top-five offense is possible with Young at its core, but it’s here where Atlanta is right to be concerned. Every front office decision must answer one question: “How does this make Trae’s life easier?” They telegraphed their plan in this year’s draft by swapping two first-round picks for De’Andre Hunter, and then selecting Cam Reddish with the pick Dallas sent them in the Doncic trade. Two versatile wings whose primary value will eventually come on defense, when Atlanta needs to hide Young in a playoff series.

...winning at the highest level isn’t easy, and building a team that can get there is even more difficult when your best player’s warts must be covered up on every other possession. One day Young will be the best point guard in the world, and Atlanta’s front office has no choice but to try and prop him up with the right pieces. If it works, they may have a perennial contender. If not, it’s a novelty act on quicksand. Either way, Trae Young is going to be Trae Young.
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Re: Rebuild reality and doin it right 

Post#409 » by tbhawksfan1 » Sat Nov 30, 2019 12:03 pm

Jamaaliver wrote:
Trae Young will be a superstar, but can the Hawks build a winner around him?

Even if his next decade is consumed by doubt and yeah, but... caveats, Trae Young has officially established himself as a skeptic’s worst nightmare. After a rookie season that teetered between disappointment, fascination, and brilliance, the 21-year-old face of Atlanta Hawks basketball is already a top-five point guard, and the list of players who his general manager, Travis Schlenk, would trade him for can only be counted on one hand.

Young ranks seventh in scoring (26.6 points) and third in assists (8.7). We’re watching a superstar in bloom.

But also, the Hawks are bad, and regardless of what Young does on a game-by-game basis, he can’t eclipse Doncic’s startling MVP campaign or replicate Steph Curry’s paradigm-shifting innovation. Atlanta’s offense hovers around league average when he plays and crumbles when he sits. The process of scoring the ball gets 15 percent more arduous for teammates who are suddenly thrust into broader roles they aren’t ready for. Young drags them all into a different dimension.

Pound for pound, Young’s offensive output is as thrilling and impressive as anyone in the entire league. But his ceiling as a franchise centerpiece is unknown thanks to the fact that he’s always the smallest person on a court that’s occupied by the largest human beings in the world. The Hawks allow 15.8 more points per 100 possessions with Young on the court, and while that stat comes with plenty of noise it also validates those who believe his wingspan, weight, and height are permanent self-inflicted wounds on 50 percent of his possessions.

A top-five offense is possible with Young at its core, but it’s here where Atlanta is right to be concerned. Every front office decision must answer one question: “How does this make Trae’s life easier?” They telegraphed their plan in this year’s draft by swapping two first-round picks for De’Andre Hunter, and then selecting Cam Reddish with the pick Dallas sent them in the Doncic trade. Two versatile wings whose primary value will eventually come on defense, when Atlanta needs to hide Young in a playoff series.

...winning at the highest level isn’t easy, and building a team that can get there is even more difficult when your best player’s warts must be covered up on every other possession. One day Young will be the best point guard in the world, and Atlanta’s front office has no choice but to try and prop him up with the right pieces. If it works, they may have a perennial contender. If not, it’s a novelty act on quicksand. Either way, Trae Young is going to be Trae Young.
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A novelty act on quicksand…? Seems like the author doesn't Believe in the Hawks rebuild. Bills Trae as a soon to be #1 PG but talks abouts warts covered up on 50% of posestions…. Trae is currently #17 in steals. His trajectory is easy top 20 player for years. The Hawks have a collection of lotto picks, and JC and Heurt and are going to add another nice rookie or two this offseason. They have the best cap situation in the NBA. Ownership, GM and coach are all on board.

The Hawks are going to be a force in the not very far future
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Re: Rebuild reality and doin it right 

Post#410 » by tbhawksfan1 » Tue Dec 10, 2019 5:53 pm

TS is so set up to continue the rebuild. What's next? Trade deadline. A lot of people want to look for upgrades to take some heat off the young team. I get it, but propose a different path;

Convince ORL to trade Bamba. They might be closer to doing it and the Hawks could make a nice offer. Parker and Nets pick seems close in value. I'd add a little more if needed. If ORL doesn't want Parker, third team easy to find with his contract and production.

Hawks continue tank season, based on youth, and secure a top pick. Draft Avdija maybe. he looks like a well rounded off SF/PF, Luka light.

Sign K Olynyk and Tyler Johnson to short reasonable deals

Re-sign Jones or Len

Bamba / Len / Bruno
JC / Olynyk
Hunter / Avidija
Huerter / Cam
Trae / T Johnson
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Re: Rebuild reality and doin it right 

Post#411 » by Jamaaliver » Mon Dec 23, 2019 8:57 pm

John Collins' return won't save the Hawks this season -- because they don't need saving

Atlanta is way too early in its rebuilding cycle to warrant the criticism it has received

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Calling John Collins the savior of the 2018-19 Atlanta Hawks would be an overreaction. Teams that win 29 games were never saved, but statistically speaking, he was at least their pathway to competence. They started 3-15 without him last season and finished 24-34 after his return from an ankle injury...Last season's Hawks were rarely good, but Collins was the difference between mediocre and bad.

Even when a top draft pick goes exactly as planned -- as the Young selection has -- full-scale rebuilds of the sort Atlanta has undertaken take time. That is what makes the atmosphere surrounding the Hawks recently so discouraging. They are acting like the sort of jaded, veteran organization that they haven't had time to become.

When was the last time news of a second-year player's dissatisfaction with his roster became public? Typically, these are the sort of stories that come as a superstar nears free agency. Young isn't even halfway through his rookie contract.

Pierce is in a similar boat. He may or may not be Atlanta's coach of the future, but the answer probably isn't coming in the near future. Even with Collins back in the fold, the Hawks still lack any semblance of perimeter defense. They don't have a backup point guard. Virtually all of their spacing comes from two players.

These design flaws were at least in part intentional. This Atlanta roster wasn't built to compete now. It was built to create growth opportunities for the young players who, ideally, will help the Hawks compete later. And if doing so granted them another high draft pick? Then all the better.
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Re: Rebuild reality and doin it right 

Post#412 » by Jamaaliver » Thu Dec 26, 2019 8:24 pm

The Evan Turner trade has been a disaster

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Travis Schlenk has made some fantastic draft selections, along with some under the radar quality signings, since being named GM of the Hawks. Schlenk will put a lot of the blame regarding this year’s failures on himself and his approach this past offseason, which included several odd moves – none more so than trading for Evan Turner to be the team’s backup point guard.

When Kent Bazemore was shipped off to Portland, Hawks nation was relieved to have his massive contract off of the cap sheet. Baze hadn’t been himself in a long time, and it was time for both sides to move on. However, I still thought they could do better than Evan Turner in return, who is on a similarly abysmal contract, and it’s painfully obvious that this is true now.

Bazemore for Evan Turner straight up made a bit of sense at the time. The Hawks needed a ball-handler to lead the bench, and Turner was the 2nd overall pick back in 2010. Maybe there was some untapped potential in there, but at the very least, he should bring a veteran presence that can keep the second unit under control. Unfortunately, he’s provided neither, which has left the Hawks with a gaping hole on their roster.

Turner has fallen out of favor with the coaching staff, and as bad as this team is, it’s crazy he can’t even crack the rotation. He’s averaging 3.8 ppg and 2.1 apg in 13.5 minutes and has been a DNP seven out of the past ten games – and in the three games he did play, he was god awful.

Turner has been a miserable fit on the Hawks. And without him producing, Lloyd Pierce is left using Cam Reddish, DeAndre’ Bembry, and Kevin Huerter at the point when Trae Young heads to the bench, which has been a terrible experiment as well. Schlenk made several peculiar moves this offseason to fill out the roster, but this one didn’t make much sense at the time and has only looked worse as the season has waned. Whenever the Hawks want to get serious about winning, they will address their backup point guard situation.
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Re: Rebuild reality and doin it right 

Post#413 » by Jamaaliver » Wed Jan 15, 2020 2:50 am

Will the Hawks Trust Their Own Twist on the Process?

While Sam Hinkie put talent above all else, Atlanta GM Travis Schlenk has prioritized fit as he tries to build a contender from the ground up. So far, the results have been grim. Will the franchise see out the bold rebuild? Or will it seek a shortcut at the trade deadline?

Image

The Hawks have a franchise player and not much else. Trae Young, who currently leads All-Star fan voting among East guards, has become a star in his second season in the NBA. But his team has not kept pace. Atlanta has the worst record (8-32) and net rating (minus-9.6) in the league.

General manager Travis Schlenk is in the third season of his own version of the Process. He blew up the team that he inherited and stripped it down for parts, putting together an interesting young core with no long-term financial commitments—and little ability to compete on some nights.

Spoiler:
But there is one key difference between Schlenk and Sam Hinkie: Hinkie drafted as if the odds were against him; he was looking for stars and worrying about fit later. Schlenk, who comes from a more traditional scouting background with the Warriors, has taken the opposite approach. He drafts like someone who believes he can beat the odds, selecting prospects based on how their skill sets complement each other instead of their theoretical upside. His goal has been to assemble a cohesive group better than the sum of its parts, even if it means passing on players with more talent in a vacuum. The question is how much longer he will get to execute his plan if it doesn’t start to show progress.

Young has not been the issue for the Hawks. He’s averaging historic numbers (28.9 points on 44.3 percent shooting and 8.4 assists per game) for a player of any age, much less a 21-year-old. But Young, like the vast majority of players his age, can’t carry a team by himself. He needs to be in the right context to succeed. He’s one of the smallest (6-foot-1 and 180 pounds) and least athletic players in the NBA, and he’s terrible defensively. Schlenk has been laser-focused on finding other young players who can complement him on both ends of the floor. The hope is not that Young will be better than Doncic. It’s that growing a young team around him instead of adding veterans like the Mavs have done will put the Hawks in a better situation when both players are near their prime.

The plan has worked in the rare times this season when all five members of Atlanta’s young core have been available. They have a net rating of plus-25.1 in 37 minutes together this season.

The downside of building such an interconnected team is that removing one piece causes the whole thing to fall apart. Schlenk’s long-term plan could still work. For as bad as the Hawks have been this season, there’s still plenty of reason for hope. Collins and Hunter are 22. Young and Huerter are 21. And Reddish is only 20.

Schlenk has to upgrade the roster, either at the trade deadline or during the offseason. The question is whether he will keep making long-term decisions or whether he will feel the pressure to make win-now moves, even if it comes at the expense of the team’s ultimate ceiling.
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Re: Rebuild reality and doin it right 

Post#414 » by tbhawksfan1 » Wed Jan 15, 2020 6:44 pm

Jamaaliver wrote:
Will the Hawks Trust Their Own Twist on the Process?

While Sam Hinkie put talent above all else, Atlanta GM Travis Schlenk has prioritized fit as he tries to build a contender from the ground up. So far, the results have been grim. Will the franchise see out the bold rebuild? Or will it seek a shortcut at the trade deadline?

Image

The Hawks have a franchise player and not much else. Trae Young, who currently leads All-Star fan voting among East guards, has become a star in his second season in the NBA. But his team has not kept pace. Atlanta has the worst record (8-32) and net rating (minus-9.6) in the league.

General manager Travis Schlenk is in the third season of his own version of the Process. He blew up the team that he inherited and stripped it down for parts, putting together an interesting young core with no long-term financial commitments—and little ability to compete on some nights.

Spoiler:
But there is one key difference between Schlenk and Sam Hinkie: Hinkie drafted as if the odds were against him; he was looking for stars and worrying about fit later. Schlenk, who comes from a more traditional scouting background with the Warriors, has taken the opposite approach. He drafts like someone who believes he can beat the odds, selecting prospects based on how their skill sets complement each other instead of their theoretical upside. His goal has been to assemble a cohesive group better than the sum of its parts, even if it means passing on players with more talent in a vacuum. The question is how much longer he will get to execute his plan if it doesn’t start to show progress.

Young has not been the issue for the Hawks. He’s averaging historic numbers (28.9 points on 44.3 percent shooting and 8.4 assists per game) for a player of any age, much less a 21-year-old. But Young, like the vast majority of players his age, can’t carry a team by himself. He needs to be in the right context to succeed. He’s one of the smallest (6-foot-1 and 180 pounds) and least athletic players in the NBA, and he’s terrible defensively. Schlenk has been laser-focused on finding other young players who can complement him on both ends of the floor. The hope is not that Young will be better than Doncic. It’s that growing a young team around him instead of adding veterans like the Mavs have done will put the Hawks in a better situation when both players are near their prime.

The plan has worked in the rare times this season when all five members of Atlanta’s young core have been available. They have a net rating of plus-25.1 in 37 minutes together this season.

The downside of building such an interconnected team is that removing one piece causes the whole thing to fall apart. Schlenk’s long-term plan could still work. For as bad as the Hawks have been this season, there’s still plenty of reason for hope. Collins and Hunter are 22. Young and Huerter are 21. And Reddish is only 20.

Schlenk has to upgrade the roster, either at the trade deadline or during the offseason. The question is whether he will keep making long-term decisions or whether he will feel the pressure to make win-now moves, even if it comes at the expense of the team’s ultimate ceiling.
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Very negative take. the only part I care about is the RED part. That prime is going to last for years, for Trae and the rest of the assembled core. The time is not now. the only question that I care about is; are the Hawks going to rise to the top of the league and have a sustainable run as a legit contender? Anyone judging the rebuild on the now really doesn't get it
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Re: Rebuild reality and doin it right 

Post#415 » by Jamaaliver » Sun Feb 2, 2020 10:12 pm

Hawks-Mavericks shows just how far apart the two linked franchises are and why Atlanta needs to change that

Image

The Dallas Mavericks were without their best two players, but it didn’t matter. Dallas’ depth and quality veterans were just much better than what Atlanta currently has to work with. If we go back and look at the names the Hawks had to rely on to finish the game, it’s possible half of those players won’t be in the league next season.

Because of Travis Schlenk’s decision to trade Doncic on draft night for Young, these two franchises — and players — undoubtedly will be linked for the rest of both of those players’ careers. The teams are in different spots for where they are in terms of contending for the playoffs and just team building in general. The Mavericks are 30-19; the Hawks are 13-37. When Doncic is on the floor, the Mavericks are only 1.5 points better. When Young is on the floor, the Hawks are 10 points better, according to Cleaning The Glass.

Outside of rebounding, their numbers are comparable across the board...but Doncic, plainly, has better talent surrounding him than Young does on a nightly basis. What doesn’t make this a dire situation just yet is the young core Atlanta wants to build around isn’t the problem. The pieces the Hawks have been surrounded with are the issue, and it’s fixable. The Hawks have all of their draft capital and will have the most cap space to spend this summer. There aren’t any max-level talents available this summer, but Schlenk has to surround this young core with much better veterans.
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Re: Rebuild reality and doin it right 

Post#416 » by Ball4life32 » Mon Feb 3, 2020 9:07 pm

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Re: Rebuild reality and doin it right 

Post#417 » by Jamaaliver » Wed Feb 5, 2020 3:58 am

Jeff Schultz wrote:The Hawks have some good things going for them: a talented young core, draft picks, cap space and ownership that’s willing to spend money to win. But they don’t have a clear direction. They’ve teased everybody with a few players, but they’ve provided no real evidence of their potential because the core has seldom played together this season, slowing development and chemistry.

This wasn’t the plan in Year 2. The Hawks need a lot of things, but it starts with a rim defender, a center.

Pierce said he’s not focused on what might have been this season.

“There’s nothing I can do about it,” he said.
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Re: Rebuild reality and doin it right 

Post#418 » by tbhawksfan1 » Wed Feb 5, 2020 10:49 am

Jamaaliver wrote:
Jeff Schultz wrote:The Hawks have some good things going for them: a talented young core, draft picks, cap space and ownership that’s willing to spend money to win. But they don’t have a clear direction. They’ve teased everybody with a few players, but they’ve provided no real evidence of their potential because the core has seldom played together this season, slowing development and chemistry.

This wasn’t the plan in Year 2. The Hawks need a lot of things, but it starts with a rim defender, a center.

Pierce said he’s not focused on what might have been this season.

“There’s nothing I can do about it,” he said.
The Athletic


And TS checks a big box. Hawks Young core is now 6-7 deep and has a starter at every position. Extra benefit is that it totally frees up 2020 FRP. No more position need. Total flexibility. Excellent :D
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Re: Rebuild reality and doin it right 

Post#419 » by hawks_fan25 » Wed Feb 5, 2020 6:30 pm

What do the Hawks do this summer? Looks like we will have a solid lottery pick and hopefully a couple of SRPs if we can move some players in the next couple of days. Has Parker played his last game with us? Will he take the player option for next year? I'd actually like to see us sign Teague for a similar contract as Parker signed this year. I also think Goodwin has done enough to warrant a 2yr league minimum offer from us.

That would put us at:
Young, Teague, Goodwin
Huerter, Reddish
Hunter
Collins, Parker
Capela, Fernando

Our FRP could play a role and I also wouldn't mind offering Len another 2yr deal in the $4mil per range. He's a solid backup center. That would still leave us with $50m to spend and we could go after someone like Ingram and take looks at bringing KCP back to Georgia or a role player like Hollis-Jefferson.
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Re: Rebuild reality and doin it right 

Post#420 » by jayu70 » Wed Feb 5, 2020 6:35 pm

hawks_fan25 wrote:What do the Hawks do this summer? Looks like we will have a solid lottery pick and hopefully a couple of SRPs if we can move some players in the next couple of days. Has Parker played his last game with us? Will he take the player option for next year? I'd actually like to see us sign Teague for a similar contract as Parker signed this year. I also think Goodwin has done enough to warrant a 2yr league minimum offer from us.

That would put us at:
Young, Teague, Goodwin
Huerter, Reddish
Hunter
Collins, Parker
Capela, Fernando

Our FRP could play a role and I also wouldn't mind offering Len another 2yr deal in the $4mil per range. He's a solid backup center. That would still leave us with $50m to spend and we could go after someone like Ingram and take looks at bringing KCP back to Georgia or a role player like Hollis-Jefferson.

We need shooters. Bertans, Joe Harris.

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