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When taking questions from the media Monday, Schlenk also gave his thoughts on:

Free agency: “There’s good players out there. We’ll go and try to get guys we think are going to fit well with our guys, for sure. If we can find a guy that fits from an age perspective, we won’t be scared to give out maybe a longer contract than we have in the past. But if it’s an older guy, maybe we’ll look to do a shorter contract. But we will have cap space and we’ll look to use it this year, as well.”

HMFFL wrote:Any interest in Kris Dunn?


For the first time since March, the Bulls are eligible to conduct group workouts this week. But Kris Dunn won’t be a part of them. The pending free agent, who finished second in the NBA in steals per game, isn’t participating in the three-week voluntary program, sources said.



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Dark-Horse Destinations for Top 2020 NBA Free Agents

Joe Harris: Atlanta Hawks



Landing Joe Harris wouldn't help the Atlanta Hawks move Trae Young off the ball much more frequently, if at all. He has some semblance of a floor game—he shot better than 50 percent on drives during the regular season and can pass his way out of collapsing defenses—but isn't a from-scratch creator.

The Hawks can live with that. They still need what he predominantly brings: a crap-ton of shooting. Atlanta finished last in three-point efficiency this year, and Harris' 43.9 percent clip from long distance over the past three seasons comes on a nice blend of spot-ups, quick-fire looks coming around screens and the semi-occasional pull-up jumper.

Putting him beside Young will ensure the offense hums. The spacing he guarantees should also help the Hawks navigate some of the minutes they log without their star. What Harris does best is universally translatable—a for fit for every team, regardless of timeline.

Prying him away from the Brooklyn Nets won't be as seamless, assuming it's even possible. He is mission-critical to the full-strength version of a roster with so many ball-handlers. Brooklyn should—it must—be willing to back up the Brinks trucks.

But the Hawks have the spending power to come over the top...and then back again. They can eke out more than $40 million in space even if, as expected, the cap holds serve.

Offering Harris an ultra-lavish two- or three-year deal that exceeds anything the Nets were expecting—say, $17 million annually?—could do the trick. Brooklyn might think twice about going so high when it already forecasts as a taxpayer, and while Atlanta would be overpaying, it has the flexibility necessary to bankroll an overaggressive short-term pact.

Boom-or-Bust 2020 NBA Free Agents

Malik Beasley, Minnesota Timberwolves (Restricted)



Godspeed to the decision-makers forced to flesh out the substance from Malik Beasley's track record.

He was barely a blip on the NBA radar in his first two seasons with the Denver Nuggets and then had a modest breakout—11.3 points per game on 47.4/40.2/84.8 shooting—in his third go-round. Up next, he played 41 frustrating games with Denver this season (38.9 percent shooting, minus-2.9 net differential), got moved to the Minnesota Timberwolves at the deadline and immediately flashed a higher gear than ever (20.7 points on 47.2/42.6/75.0 shooting).

The problem is his Wolves' run spanned all of 14 games. Oh, and Minnesota fared a whopping 9.3 points worse per 100 possessions with him than without.

So, what exactly happened during that stretch run? Did Beasley race around the corner and dramatically increase the incline of his career trajectory? Did he simply time a hot streak perfectly right? Was this the harbinger of difference-making stats to come, or were these just empty numbers on a bad team?

Minnesota is basically pot committed to finding those answers. The trade alone signaled a willingness to re-sign him, and President of Basketball Operations Gersson Rosas is on record that the Wolves are "big fans of Malik."

Beasley's shooting should hold up (career 38.8 percent from distance), but unless he's paid as a specialist, the Wolves would need more from him. That's where his next contract could go awry, as he has never been confused for a ball-mover or a defensive stopper.

Jamaaliver wrote:

Boom-or-Bust 2020 NBA Free Agents

Malik Beasley, Minnesota Timberwolves (Restricted)



Godspeed to the decision-makers forced to flesh out the substance from Malik Beasley's track record.

He was barely a blip on the NBA radar in his first two seasons with the Denver Nuggets and then had a modest breakout—11.3 points per game on 47.4/40.2/84.8 shooting—in his third go-round. Up next, he played 41 frustrating games with Denver this season (38.9 percent shooting, minus-2.9 net differential), got moved to the Minnesota Timberwolves at the deadline and immediately flashed a higher gear than ever (20.7 points on 47.2/42.6/75.0 shooting).

The problem is his Wolves' run spanned all of 14 games. Oh, and Minnesota fared a whopping 9.3 points worse per 100 possessions with him than without.

So, what exactly happened during that stretch run? Did Beasley race around the corner and dramatically increase the incline of his career trajectory? Did he simply time a hot streak perfectly right? Was this the harbinger of difference-making stats to come, or were these just empty numbers on a bad team?

Minnesota is basically pot committed to finding those answers. The trade alone signaled a willingness to re-sign him, and President of Basketball Operations Gersson Rosas is on record that the Wolves are "big fans of Malik."

Beasley's shooting should hold up (career 38.8 percent from distance), but unless he's paid as a specialist, the Wolves would need more from him. That's where his next contract could go awry, as he has never been confused for a ball-mover or a defensive stopper.

Bleacher Report

He also mentioned the value of having players who will be in Atlanta for seasons to come.

“I know just from watching these playoffs and seeing the different lineups that work, I think as a team we have a lot of versatility," Huerter said. “And I think for a lot of times, the last two years, different guys we brought in have definitely been, I would imagine, guys we knew wouldn’t be here very long. So I think we’ve got a core group of guys that we know works, and have put together really good minutes for us at times and have been really competitive.

NBA's Best Bargains in 2020 NBA Free Agency

[S]tar power is normally not enough to make a deep postseason run or win an NBA championship. You need to find undervalued role players and bet on them to outperform their contracts in order to build the best possible playoff-oriented roster.

Maurice Harkless, F

At 6'7" with a 7'2" wingspan, Harkless can be as versatile on the defensive end as virtually anybody short of Anthony Davis or Ben Simmons. His list of most defended players this year included everyone from Jrue Holiday and Chris Paul to Pascal Siakam and Danilo Gallinari, and the St. John's alum effectively harassed high-level scorers like Bradley Beal and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander over multiple matchups.
He could stand to show more consistent effort and pack on a bit more muscle, but generally, Harkless is one of the more underrated stoppers around the league.
There's a reason Harkless isn't mentioned alongside Covington and the other top three-and-D options, though. He's a wildly inconsistent shooter, making 41.5, 27.5 and 34.7 percent of his three-pointers over the past three seasons.

Gary Payton II, G

Though 432 minutes isn't the largest sample size, Payton managed to put his dynamic defensive capabilities on display despite playing for a team that seemed almost hostile to the idea of point prevention. The 27-year-old averaged 2.7 steals per 36 minutes and 2.4 deflections per game while guarding some of the league's best scorers.

It [would] be exciting to see the guard become a fan favorite for a team that will put his bulldog defense and competitiveness to good use in a deep playoff run.

Chris Kirchner wrote:
If the Hawks were to sign Jerami Grant in free agency, he makes Atlanta a better team right away. He’s one of the best options for the Hawks to consider this offseason with the cap space they have, and he’s still young enough (turning 27 in March) to grow with the team.

The versatility J Grant would present should intrigue Travis Schlenk; Grant can play the three or four — although I think his best position and the one he should play the most is the four. He’s a solid defender and has turned himself into a trusted 3-point shooter. He’s likely going to cost around $15 million per year — and the Hawks might have to pay a higher average annual value. Denver should be doing what it can to re-sign him because the Nuggets don’t have the salary-cap room to be able to fill his spot with someone of his quality.

As far as starting, I don’t know. If the Hawks are paying someone around $15 million per year for multiple seasons, my guess would be he would have a large role on the team regardless if he starts or comes off the bench. I know it’s easy to get caught up with who starts and who comes off the bench, but it doesn’t matter. What’s more important is who closes in clutch time. Grant is good enough to be one of the five in clutch time.

Signing Grant would not impact Collins in any way. They can play together, or Grant could be Collins’ primary backup. The Hawks need another three-four hybrid on the roster.

According to Mike Singer of Denver Post, [Jerami] Grant is expected to have interest from the Atlanta Hawks, Detroit Pistons, and Phoenix Suns in free agency.

Code: Select all

At least three other teams are expected to have interest in luring Grant from the Nuggets, according to two league sources.

Those three teams are the Atlanta Hawks, the Phoenix Suns and the Detroit Pistons. Only a handful of teams will have cap space, including those three. It’s always possible a team like Orlando makes a trade and create the requisite space to go after Grant.

It doesn’t seem to make much sense for the Hawks when considering they already have to pay John Collins soon and recently acquired Clint Capela in a trade. Unless, of course, Atlanta would rather sign Grant at a lower cost and find a trade suitor for Grant.

As for the Nuggets, they will need to decide what they want to do with their power forward situation— like Jerami Grant, Paul Millsap is also set to be a free agent this offseason. Favoring the much younger option in Grant would be ideal, but will Denver be willing to compete with other team’s offers?

Bold NBA offseason predictions for all 30 teams

Atlanta Hawks sign no more than one multi-year deal

It doesn't take long to create a free-agent destination. The Brooklyn Nets went from the lottery to Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in a single season. Atlanta has similar potential. Trae Young's combination of passing and shooting makes him an ideal teammate for 2021's best free agents, the Hawks know that. Their goal this season is to reach the point Brooklyn did during the 2018-19 campaign. That means sneaking into the playoffs, an entirely attainable goal without committing long-term money to veterans. The Hawks will sign a couple of hefty one-year deals, tell John Collins to wait on an extension, and spend next season attempting to prove their worth to 2021's stars.

Jamaaliver wrote:

Bold NBA offseason predictions for all 30 teams

Atlanta Hawks sign no more than one multi-year deal

It doesn't take long to create a free-agent destination. The Brooklyn Nets went from the lottery to Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in a single season. Atlanta has similar potential. Trae Young's combination of passing and shooting makes him an ideal teammate for 2021's best free agents, the Hawks know that. Their goal this season is to reach the point Brooklyn did during the 2018-19 campaign. That means sneaking into the playoffs, an entirely attainable goal without committing long-term money to veterans. The Hawks will sign a couple of hefty one-year deals, tell John Collins to wait on an extension, and spend next season attempting to prove their worth to 2021's stars.

CBS Sports

Radioblacktive1 wrote:We’re apparently linked KCP and Derrick Jones Jr. this offseason. Thoughts?