LP sees the big picture with Hawks young core

[Jamaaliver]

Which NBA Teams Have the Best Young Cores Right Now?

1. Boston Celtics

Spoiler:

Tatum and Brown are averaging a combined 52.7 points per game while shooting 41.6 percent from three and have emerged as arguably the best perimeter defensive tandem in the NBA. They're no longer the future Kawhi Leonard and Paul George—they're a direct rival to that pair right now.

2. Dallas Mavericks

Spoiler:

...placing the Mavericks this high is purely a bet on Doncic.

Although he won't turn 22 until the end of February, he's a walking triple-double threat and a legitimate MVP candidate. No matter his supporting cast, Doncic will be a fixture in All-Star Games for years to come.

3. Phoenix Suns

8. Atlanta Hawks



The Core: Trae Young (22), John Collins (23), De'Andre Hunter (23), Cam Reddish (21), Kevin Huerter (22), Onyeka Okongwu (20)

On paper, the Atlanta Hawks should be much higher in these rankings.

All six of these players were first-round picks, and four were picked in the top 10. This core has all of the requisite pieces—a shot creator, three-and-D wings and a rim protector.

However, John Collins recently "shared his unfiltered and unhappy views about the way franchise centerpiece Trae Young was running the offense," according to Chris Kirschner and Sam Amick of The Athletic. That dispute doesn't affect their ranking here, but Collins may not be long for Atlanta.

Although Collins has made clear strides as a shooter, he's more threatening as a lob-catcher and finisher around the basket. That makes him hard to play alongside non-shooters like Clint Capela and Onyeka Okongwu and crimps the team's otherwise idyllic spacing. In addition, when combined with Young, his defensive shortcomings make the Hawks almost fatally flawed on that end, even though DeAndre Hunter and Cam Reddish are both good stoppers with room for growth.

Given that the Hawks are still figuring themselves out, it's unclear who they're betting on long term and who they'd be willing to move. But considering the amount of young talent here, they'll be one of the NBA's most fascinating teams to watch in the coming months and years.

Bleacher Report

[Jamaaliver]

Top-10 NBA teams based on young star potential



The Athletic’s NBA Prospect Rankings are back, and we’re starting with the organizational rankings.

2. Atlanta Hawks

Previous ranking: 4

Spoiler:

Hawks Prospect Rankings

1. Trae Young
2. De'Andre Hunter
3. John Collins
4. Onyeka Okongwu
5. Cam Reddish
6. Kevin Huerter

The Hawks remain loaded with prospects, and those players are finally starting to turn the corner and make some of the strides they need to. The Hawks have more prospects in the top-50 rankings than anyone else with six. That starts with Young, one of the most dynamic young offensive players in league history. He’s one of the five best passers in the NBA because of his ability to create off the bounce and then make quick reads. He has a devastating floater as part of his midrange weapon and range from 30 feet. His defense is another story, but he might be so overwhelmingly good on offense that the Hawks can make up for it. This group from No. 2 through 6 is very closely knit.

Collins is one of the best offensive bigs in the NBA. He’s an elite-level roll man who doesn’t get appreciated enough for the space he creates for Young both as a pick-and-pop weapon and of course as a diving alley-oop option. Hunter’s leap this season pushes him into second. His combination of defense and offense will allow the Hawks to build around Young. Reddish still isn’t quite there as a shooter, even though his defense has been terrific for a young player. He has got to be more efficient. Huerter’s elite-level shooting is terrific. But his talents overlap with Bogdan Bogdanovic, so Huerter is the best potential trade chip on this roster. Okongwu was my No. 4 overall player in the 2020 NBA Draft, and he’s a terrific center who helps teams win in the playoffs due to his mobility as a defender, rim protection, ability to handle the ball and intelligence as a roller on offense.

I’m also a sneaky fan of Skylar Mays too. He’s a good combo guard with great intelligence and maturity and has the ability to run the offense or play off-ball and keep the offense flowing as a secondary creator. He might not be quite athletic enough to make an impact, but I loved this pick from Atlanta. Nathan Knight also has been an interesting addition. He was late to basketball after playing baseball early in his high school career, and he has tremendous upside due to his size and athleticism mixed with his dexterity and fluidity. If he shoots, he might stick as a backup. Bruno Fernando doesn’t have an NBA skill right now outside of rebounding.

The Athletic

[shakes0]

Okongwu was my No. 4 overall player in the 2020 NBA Draft, and he’s a terrific center who helps teams win in the playoffs due to his mobility as a defender, rim protection, ability to handle the ball and intelligence as a roller on offense.

When do we get to see ANY of that?

[HMFFL]

Okongwu was my No. 4 overall player in the 2020 NBA Draft, and he’s a terrific center who helps teams win in the playoffs due to his mobility as a defender, rim protection, ability to handle the ball and intelligence as a roller on offense.

When do we get to see ANY of that?

You must keep in mind that he's apparently so good that we're listening to offers for Collins...lol
Okongwu better be a double double machine once he plays consistent minutes.

Sent from my SM-N975U using RealGM mobile app

[Jamaaliver]

Okongwu was my No. 4 overall player in the 2020 NBA Draft, and he’s a terrific center who helps teams win in the playoffs due to his mobility as a defender, rim protection, ability to handle the ball and intelligence as a roller on offense.

When do we get to see ANY of that?

I know it feels like we've been waiting for him forever, but it's been two months.

In the big scheme of things, that's nothing. Considering the number of veterans added last Fall, it was always unlikely he'd play a huge role as a rookie. Especially when we factor in his injury.

He'll be a rotation piece starting next season, most likely. In the meantime, we're best served letting him get stronger, practice with the first teamers and learn in film review.

But again...the season started 2 months ago. Okongwu just needs more time.

(And I'd rather OO gets brought along slowly and plays only when ready -- compared how we developed Cam, playing him when he's still raw and having to watch every awful mistake and decision of a young player finding his way.)

[jayu70]

Okongwu was my No. 4 overall player in the 2020 NBA Draft, and he’s a terrific center who helps teams win in the playoffs due to his mobility as a defender, rim protection, ability to handle the ball and intelligence as a roller on offense.

When do we get to see ANY of that?

I know it feels like we've been waiting for him forever, but it's been two months.

In the big scheme of things, that's nothing. Considering the number of veterans added last Fall, it was always unlikely he'd play a huge role as a rookie. Especially when we factor in his injury.

He'll be a rotation piece starting next season, most likely. In the meantime, we're best served letting him get stronger, practice with the first teamers and learn in film review.

But again...the season started 2 months ago. Okongwu just needs more time.

(And I'd rather OO gets brought along slowly and plays only when ready -- compared how we developed Cam, playing him when he's still raw and having to watch every awful mistake and decision of a young player finding his way.)

Bigs in general take longer to develop. The fact that he had an injury to deal with and no SL, no camp, a playbook to learn, very limited practice time due to schedule and COVID protocols and the players in front of him, I'm not sure what the expectation really is. Pierce said before the season started, if you can't keep up you'll get left behind particurlarly because of this season's circumstances with the compressed schedule.

[shakes0]

When do we get to see ANY of that?

I know it feels like we've been waiting for him forever, but it's been two months.

In the big scheme of things, that's nothing. Considering the number of veterans added last Fall, it was always unlikely he'd play a huge role as a rookie. Especially when we factor in his injury.

He'll be a rotation piece starting next season, most likely. In the meantime, we're best served letting him get stronger, practice with the first teamers and learn in film review.

But again...the season started 2 months ago. Okongwu just needs more time.

(And I'd rather OO gets brought along slowly and plays only when ready -- compared how we developed Cam, playing him when he's still raw and having to watch every awful mistake and decision of a young player finding his way.)

Bigs in general take longer to develop. The fact that he had an injury to deal with and no SL, no camp, a playbook to learn, very limited practice time due to schedule and COVID protocols and the players in front of him, I'm not sure what the expectation really is. Pierce said before the season started, if you can't keep up you'll get left behind particurlarly because of this season's circumstances with the compressed schedule.

I know I know I know. But its like this...if I got a brand new PS5 tomorrow, but was told I could only look at it and am not allowed to play with it until next year I'd be really annoyed. That's how I feel with OO, but only because of all the injuries we've had. If we had a full lineup and he was stuck on the bench all year I wouldn't care. It's just that when I see Bruno Friggen Fernando enter the game I want to throw that new PS5 through the window.

[Jamaaliver]

I know I know I know. But its like this...if I got a brand new PS5 tomorrow, but was told I could only look at it and am not allowed to play with it until next year I'd be really annoyed. That's how I feel with OO, but only because of all the injuries we've had. If we had a full lineup and he was stuck on the bench all year I wouldn't care. It's just that when I see Bruno Friggen Fernando enter the game I want to throw that new PS5 through the window.

PS5!?!

Nah, bro. Okongwu ain't no PS5. LaMelo is a PS5. Bright and shiny, super exciting, but'll be played out in a couple years.

Okongwu is a long term investment, like a 10-year treasury bond. Stuff it away, knowing that'll increase in value in the long term.

[jayu70]

I know it feels like we've been waiting for him forever, but it's been two months.

In the big scheme of things, that's nothing. Considering the number of veterans added last Fall, it was always unlikely he'd play a huge role as a rookie. Especially when we factor in his injury.

He'll be a rotation piece starting next season, most likely. In the meantime, we're best served letting him get stronger, practice with the first teamers and learn in film review.

But again...the season started 2 months ago. Okongwu just needs more time.

(And I'd rather OO gets brought along slowly and plays only when ready -- compared how we developed Cam, playing him when he's still raw and having to watch every awful mistake and decision of a young player finding his way.)

Bigs in general take longer to develop. The fact that he had an injury to deal with and no SL, no camp, a playbook to learn, very limited practice time due to schedule and COVID protocols and the players in front of him, I'm not sure what the expectation really is. Pierce said before the season started, if you can't keep up you'll get left behind particurlarly because of this season's circumstances with the compressed schedule.

I know I know I know. But its like this...if I got a brand new PS5 tomorrow, but was told I could only look at it and am not allowed to play with it until next year I'd be really annoyed. That's how I feel with OO, but only because of all the injuries we've had. If we had a full lineup and he was stuck on the bench all year I wouldn't care. It's just that when I see Bruno Friggen Fernando enter the game I want to throw that new PS5 through the window.

You should have kept your PS4 .

But seriously I do get your frustration, but I prefer to take into account the overall context and situation, particularly because he was also injured.
MY hope was the Bruno would have take advantage of his early role as the backup C, but he is still playing reactionary basketball vs anticipatory.
I read something awhile back that the pandemic and time off affected Bruno and Cam (both were in Atlanta in Apartments) the most because they didn't have the access to a facility they could work out at like Trae and Hunter had. They only had the limited access to the Hawks practice facility once they were allowed.

[Jamaaliver]

Which Young NBA Cores Are Built for the Future

Atlanta Hawks: Built for the Future



If this past offseason is any indication, the Atlanta Hawks have already signaled which side of this debate they think they're on. They spent big on Danilo Gallinari, Bogdan Bogdanovic and Rajon Rondo, suggesting they were ready to move forward.

And it's really not hard to understand that line of thinking.

Trae Young is a bona fide offensive hub. His career averages of 24.1 points and 8.8 assists are matched only by Oscar Robertson. His vision is among the game's best. And his ability to shoot from well outside the three-point line spreads the floor in a way few others can.

Looking for the kind of players who fit around him and cover his defensive limitations is the right call.

In terms of pure talent, John Collins is another player Atlanta can build around. And recent reports indicate he'll be there beyond the deadline. With his ability to both shoot from the outside and do damage as a rim roller, he fits well alongside Young and Clint Capela.

When those three are on the floor, the Hawks are plus-5.0 points per 100 possessions. Finding the right pieces to go around them doesn't require tanking.

Bleacher Report

[D21]

Whoa, isn't it the first piece from BR on ATL that makes some sense this season ?

[Jamaaliver]

Damn

[Jamaaliver]

Memories...

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