gundysmullet wrote:_s_t_u_r_t_ wrote:gundysmullet wrote:I would not call the number 8 and number 10 draft picks in one of the worst drafts in a decade “major assets”. Plus how does a 26-year-old Bradley Beal put the Hawks on the treadmill? You’re acting like he’s 35, he’s 25 about to be 26. And he is a top-five shooting guard in the league.
I'm just not a big fan of Beal.
But I'm just a bigger non-fan of clogging up the spreadsheet before OS 2021.
And I'm an inordinately non-fan of doing that, but also giving up assets in the process.
Just out of curiosity why are you not a fan of Beal? I posted his numbers several time in this thread and they were literally outstanding. He’s only 25, about to be 26 and pairing him up with Trae young would create a top-five dynamic backcourt in the NBA and his game fits perfectly with Traes.
It's a legitimate question, especially if you knew that earlier in the OS, I was envisioning some reason to pursue Khris Middleton. I think they're similar players generally speaking except one is a normal-sized SF, and the other is, in today's NBA, a slightly-smaller SG... and Middleton's defense is fairly highly-regarded, while Beal's, insofar as I'm aware, is not especially well-regarded. Compensating for that somewhat is the fact that I think Beal is probably the more explosive guy, and able to put a game on his shoulders and win it largely on his own.
So, I personally was on-record willing to pay an almost-but-not-quite max for Middleton because I think he is capable of being a key secondary piece for us much like he is for MIL, stabilizing and reducing some uncertainty at that position given the flux of Prince's situation.
I backed off of wanting Middleton once I came to see the bigger picture, and given that I can't imagine Middleton will be interested in a 2 year contract from us given the other options he's likely to have.
So, I'd mostly say the same here... don't get me wrong, I respect Beal's game, but unlike you, I don't consider him one of the five best SGs in the league... I'd be happy to have him or Middelton if either would sign a 2-year deal... if both were UFAs and both wanted to come to ATL, it would be an interesting choice to try to make.
It's not a hard choice to make, short of that.
If you could somehow pull a lever and make Beal's defensive ability become more like Middleton's, then I'd likely be won over.
