Rebuild reality and doin it right

[Jamaaliver]

NBA Daily: First Quarter Grades: Southeast Division

Ben Nadeau finishes Basketball Insiders’ “First Quarter Grades” series with a look at the Southeast Division


Atlanta Hawks — A

The Hawks, in no uncertain terms, were destined to lose this year. Fated, almost. With an incredibly young roster and a great opportunity to add another highly-touted prospect, they never had a reason to effectively compete in 2018-19. And, through 20-plus games: so far, so good. The Hawks’ 5-18 record trails just Cleveland and Phoenix for the league’s worst record and, honestly, they’re right where they want to be.

Over the last week, the Hawks moved Kevin Huerter into the starting lineup along with Trae Young, John Collins, Taurean Prince and Dewayne Dedmon. Once you toss in DeAndre Bembry and Omari Spellman off the bench, Atlanta has collected a promising core to build their next era around. However, drafting one of the Duke Blue Devils’ cavalcade of rim-rattling, bucket-getting prospects — Zion Williamson, R.J. Barrett or Cam Reddish — would be a game-changer for Atlanta.

Grading teams like the Hawks can be difficult as their letter could easily be in the D or F range if the narrative was just simply re-written. The Hawks rank dead last in both turnovers and offensive rating, while their shooting percentages remain well-below par for competitive franchises. They’re barely playing veterans like Jeremy Lin and Vince Carter, but also look unlikely to move Kent Bazemore’s contract that will cost the Hawks $19.2 million in 2019-20.

And yet, none of that really matters. The Hawks get to develop their promising talent while also preparing for greener pastures next year and beyond — that alone is worth an A in the modern win-or-tank landscape.

Basketball Insiders

[Atlanta Hawk Fan]

Lin. TS's disaster. I'll leave it at that. Coulda been a 2019 FRP

IF LIN IS A DISASTER, I'LL TAKE SOME MORE!

Yeah OK, Lin and TS seem to be making me look bad on this ....BUT Lin only reprenents 14M in cap space that could of gotten a FRP to me. As long as he doesn't contribute to Hawks slidding out of a top pick and TS can swing him for a ....FRP I'll be all good

I don't think you can look very bad on this unless Lin is a long-term piece. Him playing fine off the bench this season (and he has been quite good recently even if his shooting is not sustainable) at the cost of a first round pick doesn't add up for me. There were lots of serviceable vet backups to be had much cheaper. I think of it this way. If I had to drop Spellman (a second round pick not a first rounder) or Lin, I would drop Lin and not think twice. That tells me how much value he has long-term for the team.

[tbhawksfan1]

Bball is unique because there are only 5 players on the court and rosters are at 15. Top talent wins in the NBA. TS traded down and out of last years stacked draft. fron Doncic at #3 to Trae at 5. Then moved #34 for two fure seconds. He chose to trade down and out of a stacked draft at the beginning of a rebuild.

Did he get too cute? Trade back a couple and get a top 10 next year...? It looks good on paper, but you can't pass on the clear best player.

I don't know if Trae and DAL FRP will be better than Doncic,but in a completely top heavy NBA, I'm not sure that trading quantity for quality is the best route. Get the best pick and get the best player.

[macd-gm]

Bball is unique because there are only 5 players on the court and rosters are at 15. Top talent wins in the NBA. TS traded down and out of last years stacked draft. fron Doncic at #3 to Trae at 5. Then moved #34 for two fure seconds. He chose to trade down and out of a stacked draft at the beginning of a rebuild.

Did he get too cute? Trade back a couple and get a top 10 next year...? It looks good on paper, but you can't pass on the clear best player.

I don't know if Trae and DAL FRP will be better than Doncic,but in a completely top heavy NBA, I'm not sure that trading quantity for quality is the best route. Get the best pick and get the best player.

There really wasn't the consensus that Doncic was the clear best player. You don't think Sac is wishing they had gotten him now?

[Atlanta Hawk Fan]

Bball is unique because there are only 5 players on the court and rosters are at 15. Top talent wins in the NBA. TS traded down and out of last years stacked draft. fron Doncic at #3 to Trae at 5. Then moved #34 for two fure seconds. He chose to trade down and out of a stacked draft at the beginning of a rebuild.

Did he get too cute? Trade back a couple and get a top 10 next year...? It looks good on paper, but you can't pass on the clear best player.

I don't know if Trae and DAL FRP will be better than Doncic,but in a completely top heavy NBA, I'm not sure that trading quantity for quality is the best route. Get the best pick and get the best player.

That is why I hated the trade on draft day.

Trying to take the attitude that it is water under the bridge now. Doncic was the obvious pick to me and I wasn't excited about Trae given his physical limitations and my concerns that he would be a chucker. (His passing instincts have helped reduce my concern on that last point).

[MaceCase]

Bball is unique because there are only 5 players on the court and rosters are at 15. Top talent wins in the NBA. TS traded down and out of last years stacked draft. fron Doncic at #3 to Trae at 5. Then moved #34 for two fure seconds. He chose to trade down and out of a stacked draft at the beginning of a rebuild.

Did he get too cute? Trade back a couple and get a top 10 next year...? It looks good on paper, but you can't pass on the clear best player.

I don't know if Trae and DAL FRP will be better than Doncic,but in a completely top heavy NBA, I'm not sure that trading quantity for quality is the best route. Get the best pick and get the best player.

There really wasn't the consensus that Doncic was the clear best player. You don't think Sac is wishing they had gotten him now?

We all knew Sacramento would blow their pick, it was as inevitable as the sun rising. What we hoped is that the Hawks wouldn't find a way to fall into their own old ways but that proved inevitable too.

[Atlanta Hawk Fan]

Bball is unique because there are only 5 players on the court and rosters are at 15. Top talent wins in the NBA. TS traded down and out of last years stacked draft. fron Doncic at #3 to Trae at 5. Then moved #34 for two fure seconds. He chose to trade down and out of a stacked draft at the beginning of a rebuild.

Did he get too cute? Trade back a couple and get a top 10 next year...? It looks good on paper, but you can't pass on the clear best player.

I don't know if Trae and DAL FRP will be better than Doncic,but in a completely top heavy NBA, I'm not sure that trading quantity for quality is the best route. Get the best pick and get the best player.

There really wasn't the consensus that Doncic was the clear best player. You don't think Sac is wishing they had gotten him now?

We all knew Sacramento would blow their pick, it was as inevitable as the sun rising. What we hoped is that the Hawks wouldn't find a way to fall into their own old ways but that proved inevitable too.

You know I was outraged on draft night but let's give it time and see how it plays out. Who knows? We might use that pick to take the next Karl Malone (13th overall) or Paul Pierce (10th) or Clyde Drexler (14th) and suddenly adding that player to Trae flips the script even if Doncic remains the better of the two 2018 picks. I'd love it if both Doncic and Trae became All-Stars and then the best player in the deal was the one we added in the future pick.

[tbhawksfan1]

If Doncic carries DAL to a near playoff seed in the absurd West, Hawks will get say #14. Maybe we LUCK into a "next Karl Malone (13th overall) or Paul Pierce (10th) or Clyde Drexler (14th)" but the odds are against it.

The way I look at the Trae / Doncic swap from the beginning is; Trae needs to be about as good as Doncic and the pick is us fleecing DAL. I would rather look for my star at #3 than #14.

I had Doncic and Ayton at 1 and 2 and Doncic fell to us at 3. No brainer. TS made a career defining move right off the bat.

[tbhawksfan1]

I hope that all the Hawk fans that want to win a championship realize that the drafting from lastear to the next two drats will be the major factor. We need a top 10 player and a strong supporting cast at least. Is Trae going to develop that far? I'm scheptical. Above avg starter maybe. Top 50... we'll see. more than that, looking unlikely.

TS traded Doncic. Is he a top 10 future player? He looks much more the part than the guy that TS took over him.

I'm not sure that I like the rookie GM playing the I'm so smart I can trade back and get the BEST player game.

So far from the rebuild we have one #3 pick. How many top picks are we going to get during the rebuild? Top talent tends to be... at the top, don't trade out of friggin top 3 picks...

[Sultanofatl]

Bball is unique because there are only 5 players on the court and rosters are at 15. Top talent wins in the NBA. TS traded down and out of last years stacked draft. fron Doncic at #3 to Trae at 5. Then moved #34 for two fure seconds. He chose to trade down and out of a stacked draft at the beginning of a rebuild.

Did he get too cute? Trade back a couple and get a top 10 next year...? It looks good on paper, but you can't pass on the clear best player.

I don't know if Trae and DAL FRP will be better than Doncic,but in a completely top heavy NBA, I'm not sure that trading quantity for quality is the best route. Get the best pick and get the best player.

Do you honestly believe Luka will be the best player on a championship team during his career?

[Atlanta Hawk Fan]

If Doncic carries DAL to a near playoff seed in the absurd West, Hawks will get say #14. Maybe we LUCK into a "next Karl Malone (13th overall) or Paul Pierce (10th) or Clyde Drexler (14th)" but the odds are against it.

The way I look at the Trae / Doncic swap from the beginning is; Trae needs to be about as good as Doncic and the pick is us fleecing DAL. I would rather look for my star at #3 than #14.

I had Doncic and Ayton at 1 and 2 and Doncic fell to us at 3. No brainer. TS made a career defining move right off the bat.

I had Luka #1 and Trae was not in my top 5 so I wasn't happy on draft day but that is done now. Spilled milk and all that.

That pick could still end up being very good. It may take some luck but the draft is part science and part luck (with your draft pick slot, the draft class, and who ends up on the board when you pick).

That trade working out is still very in the realm of possibility. Have to hope for the best that it works out between what we get from the Dallas pick and who is on the board for us this year in the draft (if we had Doncic our record would definitely be better and our pick very likely worse this season).

[tbhawksfan1]

Bball is unique because there are only 5 players on the court and rosters are at 15. Top talent wins in the NBA. TS traded down and out of last years stacked draft. fron Doncic at #3 to Trae at 5. Then moved #34 for two fure seconds. He chose to trade down and out of a stacked draft at the beginning of a rebuild.

Did he get too cute? Trade back a couple and get a top 10 next year...? It looks good on paper, but you can't pass on the clear best player.

I don't know if Trae and DAL FRP will be better than Doncic,but in a completely top heavy NBA, I'm not sure that trading quantity for quality is the best route. Get the best pick and get the best player.

Do you honestly believe Luka will be the best player on a championship team during his career?

He only has to be better than Young or the other players that could have been had with #3. My beef is with TS.

What is Doncic ceiling imho... no idea, but he's carrying a week DAL team out of the gate in the brutal west

[tbhawksfan1]

If Doncic carries DAL to a near playoff seed in the absurd West, Hawks will get say #14. Maybe we LUCK into a "next Karl Malone (13th overall) or Paul Pierce (10th) or Clyde Drexler (14th)" but the odds are against it.

The way I look at the Trae / Doncic swap from the beginning is; Trae needs to be about as good as Doncic and the pick is us fleecing DAL. I would rather look for my star at #3 than #14.

I had Doncic and Ayton at 1 and 2 and Doncic fell to us at 3. No brainer. TS made a career defining move right off the bat.

I had Luka #1 and Trae was not in my top 5 so I wasn't happy on draft day but that is done now. Spilled milk and all that.

That pick could still end up being very good. It may take some luck but the draft is part science and part luck (with your draft pick slot, the draft class, and who ends up on the board when you pick).

That trade working out is still very in the realm of possibility. Have to hope for the best that it works out between what we get from the Dallas pick and who is on the board for us this year in the draft (if we had Doncic our record would definitely be better and our pick very likely worse this season).

It's over for us helpless Hawkfans, but it isn't over for TS. He's lying in his bed and it's already wet

[tbhawksfan1]

Was a rook GM the best guy to oversee three four years of top of the draft drafting...

[Atlanta Hawk Fan]

It's over for us helpless Hawkfans, but it isn't over for TS. He's lying in his bed and it's already wet

How do you figure that? Philly passed on Porzingas for Okafor but were back at the top of the draft the next year to grab Ben Simmons which worked out just fine. There are lots of players who didn't approach their mature selves 30 games into their careers. Time is a necessary component of evaluating a move like this. We can't know how this will look 3-4 years from now based on where we sit today.

[tbhawksfan1]

Why are you talking about Filly? I'm talking about TS trading Doncic

[Vol4ever]

TS history will be a bust.

[marco102]

Why are you talking about Filly? I'm talking about TS trading Doncic

See let me drop a few facts for you. If the Hawks had Luka, he wouldn't be playing as well because he wouldn't have the same supporting cast. The Hawks may have two more wins maximum because Luka's scoring doesn't make up for Trae's assists.

And stop following the damn hype. I'm sick and tired of hearing about how Luka is some damn top 10 player. This could be what Luka turns into. If you look at his last 7 or so games, you'll see his efficiency and scoring are dropping. He may be hitting his rookie wall. What if he stays at 14 pts a game the rest of the season,on 34% overall shooting and 33% from three, with 4 assists and 5 rebounds. Those are his averages over his past 7 or so games. Great rookie season. What if Trae averages 19 pts and 10 assists with 3 turnovers on 44% shooting and 40% from three the rest of the season.

There's a lot of whatifs in there because no one knows how these rookies will turn out. Give everyone time.

I'm a Luka fan btw, but I get sick and tired of everyone acting like he's the next Lebron. The kid is great, let his greatness develop and stop crowning him before he's done what the other greats have done.

[tbhawksfan1]

Why are you talking about Filly? I'm talking about TS trading Doncic

See let me drop a few facts for you. If the Hawks had Luka, he wouldn't be playing as well because he wouldn't have the same supporting cast. The Hawks may have two more wins maximum because Luka's scoring doesn't make up for Trae's assists.

And stop following the damn hype. I'm sick and tired of hearing about how Luka is some damn top 10 player. This could be what Luka turns into. If you look at his last 7 or so games, you'll see his efficiency and scoring are dropping. He may be hitting his rookie wall. What if he stays at 14 pts a game the rest of the season,on 34% overall shooting and 33% from three, with 4 assists and 5 rebounds. Those are his averages over his past 7 or so games. Great rookie season. What if Trae averages 19 pts and 10 assists with 3 turnovers on 44% shooting and 40% from three the rest of the season.

There's a lot of whatifs in there because no one knows how these rookies will turn out. Give everyone time.

I'm a Luka fan btw, but I get sick and tired of everyone acting like he's the next Lebron. The kid is great, let his greatness develop and stop crowning him before he's done what the other greats have done.

You might want to pick your facts up and take another look. They're not facts.

Do you like telling people what to do?

[marco102]

Nope. My facts werent the opinion in the beginning. It was the stats.

My bad for telling you what to do. Should have left that out. It seems your agenda is to make luka seem like the next Lebron and Trae the next Jimmer Ferdette.

Just saying they are both rookies and either is some franchise savings talent as of yet.