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Golden Tornadoes
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Trading Trae was the right decision. Now they have to find offense. Daniels' offense has gone AWOL, NAW can only give you 25 or so a game, JJ gives you empty triple doubles, Kennard and Kispert are identical players, and Porzingis is still injured. OO isn't gifted enough offensively to carry the load either. The Hawks would do well to go out and get somebody like Norman Powell or Keyonte George. They need a bucket getter.
Their biggest problem is they don't have a path. If trading Trae was on their radar, which we know it was, he should've been gone either before the season or after. They traded him at the worst possible time.
As it is, they made win-now moves all offaeason then punted on it before even seeing the team whole. That smacks of being rudderless, which is very troubling.
Golden Tornadoes
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I agree that holding him was the wrong decision. I think Saleh wanted to see the team mesh with Trae not injured to see if it could work. It couldn't and he got what little value he could squeeze out of Washington. They have massive future flexibility, but short-term scoring problems. If the Hawks can hold a team to under 120 points, they have a chance, but even that wasn't good enough to beat the Bucks today. I don't think it's a rudderless ship problem, but it definitely is a trade Trae too late problem. They could have addressed the scoring in the offseason had they chosen to do it then, but they didn't. Because of the timing of the trade, Saleh now has to either make a purely defensive team work, or try to make another trade to get some offense. Either way, trading Trae back in the offseason could have solved many of these issues.
On another note, I would really like Quinn to get Zaccharie Risacher moved to a 2 and make Jalen a 3 to allow Porzingis to play 4 and OO to play the 5. Let NAW play the 1 to start then rotate McCollum and Daniels in with the 2nd team to keep the defensive pressure on. Either that or start Kennard at the 2 and allow Kispert and ZR to play with the 2nd team to create more balance.
Wait, lemme stop you right here first.
They played 3 games together. 51 minutes.
They have no idea if it worked.
Golden Tornadoes
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While they didn't play much together, the numbers when they did play together were awful. Plus/minus says that the Hawks were -2.9 with him on the floor vs -0.7 with him off the floor. His mixed teamwork rating is only better than 19% of players in the NBA. The Hawks net rating per 100 possessions with him on the floor was -8.2 (ORTG: 121.5, DRTG: 129.7) Since trading him, the Hawks net rating per 100 is -1.6 (ORTG: 114.8, DRTG: 116.4). All that to say, the offense has taken a big step back without him and the defense has taken a big step forward without him.
Golden Tornadoes
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He isn't healthy or cleared. He is set to have a re-evaluation after the All-Star break for his MCL and quad injuries.
I know you know enough about the league to know 3 games isn't enough time to tell anything.
Golden Tornadoes
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I agree. Which brings us back to the original point that you made that Saleh should never have entered the season with Trae being a Hawk. That was mistake number 1. Mistake 2 would have been keeping him as a member of the Hawks for longer than he did. I was purely speculating that maybe Saleh wanted to see how Trae meshed with the current unit. Unfortunately, he couldn’t stay healthy enough to do so (neither has Porzingis) and the limited time he was healthy, the numbers were awful. Saleh cut the line then and got what he could. But again, all that is just covering for Saleh’s original mistake- starting the season with Trae. Time will tell how this all shakes out, but one thing is clear and that is the Hawks are in desperate need of offense.
Unlike others on this board (looking at you @Techster) I can carry on a data driven discussion with you without stooping down to insulting your ice cream choices
Techster
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I agree. Which brings us back to the original point that you made that Saleh should never have entered the season with Trae being a Hawk. That was mistake number 1. Mistake 2 would have been keeping him as a member of the Hawks for longer than he did. I was purely speculating that maybe Saleh wanted to see how Trae meshed with the current unit. Unfortunately, he couldn’t stay healthy enough to do so (neither has Porzingis) and the limited time he was healthy, the numbers were awful. Saleh cut the line then and got what he could. But again, all that is just covering for Saleh’s original mistake- starting the season with Trae. Time will tell how this all shakes out, but one thing is clear and that is the Hawks are in desperate need of offense.
Unlike others on this board (looking at you @Techster) I can carry on a data driven discussion with you without stooping down to insulting your ice cream choices
To be fair to myself, KG's ice cream choices are so rock bottom that it's not possible to stoop down that low...
Golden Tornadoes
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Although it's not confirmed, it's not a stretch to say that the Bucks and Giannis are heading towards a breakup. With the Hawks in need of offense, is it worth getting back under a massive max contract for a guy who isn't great spacing the floor, but adds immediate offensive and defensive impact? Risacher probably has to be included, with a deft of draft picks and Porzingis going as well. Is the steep price plus adding that massive max worth it?
Man, with Giannis' recent spate of injuries, team's should have major pause with him and his style of play. Went down with a calf injury last night, likely out a month or more.
Also, and you gonna yell at me for saying this, the reality is that JJ and Giannis cannot play together. So a Giannis trade would likely center on JJ going out, not ZR.
Flame away .........
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I worry the constant calf strains are leading to an Achilles issue. Would make me wary of trading for him, despite how much I like him as a player
Yep. It my not be 'something', but it's not 'nothing'.
Truth be told, I had the same concern for Trae. His calf hasn't been right for 2 years now.
Golden Tornadoes
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Aw, come on @kg01 why would I yell at you for that take? That’s perfectly reasonable. And, hope you’re sitting down before you read this next part,
I actually agree with you on it 
JJ and Giannis are very similar players, with JJ being a better 3-point shooter. If it takes JJ to get him, it’s a hard no. Not to mention with the injury concerns now, you have to be worried about if his body is starting to work against him a little bit. I do wonder where they turn for offense though. Do they try to get another 3 point sniper, or do they go for a bucket getter no matter where it is on the court? Or do they stand pat and wait till the offseason and draft to address it? Saleh has a myriad of options.
I’ll save the yelling and flaming for another day and another post.
Golden Tornadoes
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Washington now gets to fulfill Young's wish of playing with AD. So glad the Hawks avoided that deal, as Dallas retools with younger players and draft assets while Washington gets an oft-injured player with a ridiculous price tag.
Golden Tornadoes
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I’m pretty surprised that Saleh was able to offload Porzingis onto the Warriors and was able to get Hield and Kuminga in return. I do worry about the fit with Hield, as he’s joining an already deep guard rotation. Kuminga adds much needed frontcourt scoring, but sacrifices size to get it. Hopefully Longdale can give us about 10-15 useful minutes per night. The second unit for this team is looking really dangerous.
This might be a pipedream, but I would really like the Hawks to go after Lonzo Ball after he gets bought out. I had hoped they would have made a move for Coby White, but the team needs a natural point. I like NAW and Daniels, but they aren’t natural points and it’s a clear need when watching the games.
As a side note, I really hope Porzingis is able to get right with the Warriors. I have a couple friends who deal with POTS, and it completely changed them and their daily routine. Hopefully the medical staff can find something that works for him and he’s able to regain his strength and energy.
This might be a pipedream, but I would really like the Hawks to go after Lonzo Ball after he gets bought out. I had hoped they would have made a move for Coby White, but the team needs a natural point. I like NAW and Daniels, but they aren’t natural points and it’s a clear need when watching the games.
As a side note, I really hope Porzingis is able to get right with the Warriors. I have a couple friends who deal with POTS, and it completely changed them and their daily routine. Hopefully the medical staff can find something that works for him and he’s able to regain his strength and energy.
I don't think Trae ever wanted to play with AD. Seems that was just DAL putting media reports out. Notice all that stuff came from the same guy who's known to be close to the Mavs organization.
They went from demanding Risacher and picks from Atlanta to settling on a pretty mediocre return.
I have a feeling most of these acquisitions won't ever play for the Hawks. Likely more deals are gonna happen. Jmho. As you said, there are some weird fits unless someone is moved.
I love, love Landale. Wish we could've kept him when we first had him years ago. He's become a really nice frontcourt depth piece.
It's actually really sad what's become of Porzingis. He was really good when he played but he just can't get healthy. A real shame. I hope he recovers just to live life.
Golden Tornadoes
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It wouldn't surprise me in the least to see the Hawks deal away Hield or expand the framework into a three-team deal to redirect Hield to another team. There are just too many guards who do the same thing on the team. That's the biggest reason why Vit was traded. It doesn't make much sense to get someone who does what Kispert does, just at a lesser level when we traded Vit away for the same reason. Maybe another big is on the way, or maybe it's to get a PG. Today should be interesting, maybe less so seeing as Giannis is highly unlikely to be dealt away.