Trae Young’s All-Star Snub and Atlanta Hawks Trade Deadline Preview with Andrew Kelly (Part 1)
On today’s show Andrew Kelly is here front of the podcast talk about some trade stuff as the deadline rapidly approaches about a week from when you’re listening to this podcast and the Hawks could be very busy in the next week also some of the latest stuff on Jon T Murray
And click aella the hunter Etc and Trey young in or out when it comes to the allstar game we’ll touch on all of what transpired there and much more and all of that and part one of two is on the way you are locked on Hawks your daily
Atlanta Hawks podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day Hello friends welcome to episode 1642 of the lck on Hawks podcast I am your host Brad Roland coming to you on a Thursday in fact it’s February 1st and on this podcast I’m joined by a good
Friend of mine I don’t bug this person too often but he is a team building connoisseur and a trade trade machine connoisseur Andrew Kelly feure Hoops is Here Andrew how are you I’m doing great man thanks for having me it’s my pleasure uh we’re recording this Thursday night the Hawks have a home
Back toback Friday and Saturday but we’ll mostly talk about some some trade stuff I should say on today’s podcast we should open though with uh just a few minutes ago as we’re recording this podcast Trey young was snubbed as e as Eastern Conference Allstar I’m not terribly shocked by this although I did
Say when he was not named as a starter I would be more bothered if he is not a reserve I think he should be there I want to be very clear about that I think he should be there um but uh we we just got this news Andrew what do you what do
You make of Trey not being selected I guess he could be selected now as injury replacement but for now not an All-Star yeah talking to you offline I think neither of us were surprised by this it’s just you know reading to the tea leaves it seemed like this was
Coming um certainly when you look at the season he’s had holistically and you know looking at his numbers he’s put up this year his play that’s clearly visible on the court um I really think he should have been an All-Star um but with that said I mean with the record
The Hawks have had they’re just not going to buy a lot of um Goodwill um so it’s not too surprising to see him held out in the end um I think he will have a good chance to get in as an injured replacement we know Julius Rand will be
Missing perhaps um one other guy we might get some other absence at some point that could help with that but um I don’t think either of us are too shocked by it even though we probably both agreed that he did have or he has having an All-Star caliber
Season yeah I don’t want to derrow the podcast too much we we have a lot to get to but um I do think it’s fair I’ve SE this point from some Hawks fans and I agree with it that um Trey does not seem to get the benefit of the doubt for the
Win loss record that some some people do um that are kind of on his same level and yes Trey has a Trey has flaws nobody saying it doesn’t but um I think it’s pretty clear it’s not Trey’s fault the record is what the record is this year
If I had to say that out loud so um again I I get it I think he’s is a better player than a couple guys that were selected in the East right now and he has the numbers and all that stuff but for whatever reason all the close
Calls have not gone in tra Direction when it comes to Allstar the last few years so uh like like you said not not terribly surprising but that’s not does not that does not mean that I agree with it because I I actually don’t agree with it but I guess we’ll talk about that
More uh later on in the uh coming I guess week or so because the deadline the deadlines is coming and then of course the allar break is the week after that anyway Andrew we are a week away as we’re recording this podcast from the trade deadline and that is why you are
Here today um I want to start kind of big picture and ask you uh where your heads at as uh someone who follows this stuff very closely and is a hawks Observer um even closer than that um we’re kind of in this space right now where the rumor mill has slowed a bit
Around the Hawks uh we’ll talk about players in a second D de Murray I should say as the most prominent example of this but the not not a ton of like new stuff happening right now we’re kind of in the in between period um where what are you thinking right now like what’s
What’s on your mind and how how uh pivotal is this because that’s kind of the other thing that’s about this but with the Hawks is that um they’re kind of in this place where they could maybe do nothing um that would not that would not make anybody happy I don’t think
Around Atlanta but we’re in this place where they’ they’re messaging anyway they don’t have to do this major stuff right now yeah just just quickly back to Trey I mean I think it is disappointing with the defensive improvements he’s made this year not to be rewarded for it I
Mean it’s just so visible how much better he’s played on the defensive end and um I think just from a buyin perspective like his postgame comments I mean I know he’s not having the season um team-wise that he was hoping to have but um he just seems like a more mature
Player to me so it is disappointing to see him not get a chance to play as of now um so hopefully you know he could perhaps make it as a as an injury substitute there and still make it but yeah it it is disappointing but on the
Trade front um there’s a really good piece today uh I read a little bit before the podcast on a website called Pete Street Hoops you might be familiar with it Brad I I do know it fairly well I believe yes it’s by our uh our friend
Wes Morton um just kind of giving an overview of where the Hawks are right now I thought it was great like it was a a really good encapsulation about where the team is right now um there’s just kind of no running away from what they are at this point you know I was
Somebody along with Zack low and other National commentators who were positive about the Hawks going into the season but they have just not launched like it just has not happened for them and at this point in the season more than halfway I I think you have to be honest
About where they are and start to consider the big picture um and right now I think it’s been pretty clear that the the Trey and deante pairing has just not worked for whatever reason I mean there’s a lot of factors that can go into that chiefly I would say on the
Defensive end despite uh offense improvements that Deon has made especially with the shooting and off ball game but at this point with the record being what it is I mean you have to start to explore your options I think there are some positive notes um certainly um Jaylen Johnson’s play this
Season has even exceeded expectations for us I I we were both high on him um even when the Hawks made that pick we thought it was the right pick at the time um but he’s been even better than expected I think really you have to look
At him along with Trey as clearly the two key pillars for this team and you want to be looking ways that you can create flexibility and a more copasetic environment for them to thrive in so you’re looking for good role players guys that can fit around their uh fit
Around them and enhance them um and at this point um deante is just the elant in the room it does seem that things are heading towards them eventually dealing he maybe it’s not this deadline like you said it wouldn’t be a shock if they stood Pat um but that really is chief on
Their list right now is sort of I I I guess correcting uh course there with with with just Deon specifically yeah it does seem like that is going to change at some point barring a another shift of some kind and we’ll talk more about deante in a second
Because he’s of course the number one topic around the Hawks right now but yeah it’s a good sort of Baseline I think sometimes we get lost in the day-to-day minutia of it all and um you know the Hawks have been disappointing for this season that is certainly worth
Noting I think even the Skeptics were not this low on the Hawks as theyve been performing at this level so far 2027 as we record this podcast but I think it’s important like West did on in that piece which we certainly should read at P Tre
Hoops it’s not just this season I mean it’s last season especially because that was the post deante trade world you could certainly argue that this core overall you know the the Trey Hunter capella bogy Etc core not exactly the same guys that that had spent the whole
Time of course they move off from Collin they from curter and they brought in Murray but you know this construction has been going on for several years now and since the Conference Finals run um the last three years have not been exactly satisfying and you could start
Again last year post Murray like I think that they expected that to be much more of a success than it was in year one and now that carries over to year two where we’re more than half through the season and they are s they traded for J Murray
This is not not because of Deon the as a landmark point they are sub 500 since that trade like that that’s that’s actually pretty jarring to think about when you are you’re already a pretty decent you know low low playoff team at that moment when you trade for jontay
Murray you trade you know significant Capital we we’ll leave it there in that trade you haven’t had any like crazy injury look against you in the last season and a half and you are basically 500 but you’re actually a little bit below 500 in the last year and a half
Like that’s it’s a little bit of a scary reality and that kind of makes it just from my you know I cover this podcast I cover this the team every day and do this podcast all the time it’s hard to kind of take a step back but sometimes
You kind of have to and be like okay this team is um the way that I would put it is they’ve just been pretty mid for a year and a half two years and like you know that’s not satisfying anybody so there are issues along the way I’ve been
I’ve been critical and we’ll be critical again of the cost cutting and all that stuff but the reality is they just Haven that good um that’s that’s two coaches Etc so um I don’t know what that leaves you as far as like what the operating mindset should be I think you talked
About building around TR and jayen that’s their plan it seems like and um there’s been some mixed messages I have to say internally externally about what the Hawks are actually trying to do right now it’s a question I get a lot of people they’re like hey what are the
Hawks trying to do and it’s like the only thing that I know right now is that the Hawks want to build kind of a round treay and jailen and everything else is kind of up in the air like how urgent are they to change things um you know
All these guys that are still available so uh in in one sense it’s kind of a shrug but on the other hand it’s kind of what you laid out like it is try jail and everybody else and have to figure out what what kind of formula should be
Moving forward and how much do they care about this year because that’s actually the other question is like how much do you care about winning right now and that’s going to sound funny for a team of 2027 but if they don’t care at all about that life becomes easier you can
Kind of make transactions that are future focused but if you still are trying to make the plan and trying to be the eight seat or the seven seat or whatever this year then it becomes harder Today’s Show is sponsored by eBay Motors our partners over there at eBay
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Apply yeah I think you nailed it and we have a a large sample size of onc Court production to this point that has shown that Trey has been better with de jante off the court I mean I think sometimes people can get kind of carried away like
The onoff numbers at times but when you have such a large like data set to work off of and it fits what you’re seeing on the court it’s I it’s it’s just hard to deny that um there needs to be a pivot at this point um going back to what you
Said about how they might strategize in the near future I I have a hard time seeing them wanting to sort of bottom this team out just for a number of reasons I don’t really see them just trading off everybody um I think they’ll one at minimum try to leave enough even if they
Trade Murray to have a path to at least a play in with a shot and making the playoffs VI that route so I don’t see them just you know even if everybody is up for grabs in theory aside from maybe Trey and and Jaylen I do think that they
Won’t be willing sellers on a lot of these like role player types that because they don’t want to make the team terrible um and and completely miss the play in if they can avoid that and I think at least getting to the play in could also be um important for
Maintaining trades byy in so I think that is at least a reasonable goal even if it’s like a long-term you know it doesn’t matter that much I could see why they would still value that even Beyond just you know the obvious you know ownership issues um but what I could see
Is um if they can find the right deal for deante at the deadline I think that’s like the most obvious one and we’ve talked about him a good bit but also I think that capella and we’re recording this now on February 1 um a little bit after the Stephen Adams trade
And the Houston Rockets were um connected in the athletic as a team that was at least monitoring capella so I think that he’s you know after dejonte just for obvious reasons I I I think he’s really the guy that we’ll see the most interest in um in moving from the hawk
Standpoint um so I think that’s uh G to be a really interesting one to to fall on the days leading up to the deadline with capella specifically and we’ll get into some other guys later too yeah for sure and when I say you know I think
It’s actually I’m glad you put up that you know there’s this idea in some of the corners of of hawks fandom and I don’t blame anybody for thinking this but like about bottoming out this year doing kind of a t like almost a full tank for the rest of the season number
One that’s not realistic from what I understand um it’s really hard to do that when you have Trey on the team um number one Trey wouldn’t want to do that if I know anything about Trey he doesn’t want to do that and also um like I don’t
Think the Hawks can be bad enough to be have that have it be worth it basically you know if it comes out at the end of the season if we’re in April and they are two games short of the play and they can maybe you know not press the gas
Super hard to be the 11 or 12 seed versus the 10 seed like like the Mavs did last year like sure at that point I don’t really care about the 10 seed personally um they might care about the 10 seed what whatever but we’re too
Early for that I think and the Hawks are currently in the 10 seed right now and I think if they are healthyish they are probably going to make the play in in my guess so that’s part of the calculus here too it’s more like what are you prioritizing so for
Instance we we start talking about Jon a little bit now the the rumored Lakers package has been the one that’s kind of been out there for a long time now it’s the chief asset in that deal is a 2029 first round pick and then you either
Have to you know fill in the money with d’angel Russell probably maybe go to another team um throw in a guy like jayen Chino or Max Christie that deal makes you worse in the short term I think everyone would acknowledge that even the Hawks um at the same time
That’s I’m not saying it’s a great offer because it’s not but it might be your best offer most reasonable offer when you throw in the fact that Jon has agency too you know his his Representatives probably are going to be in the mix here Lakers actively want him
Etc etc but that that is a that is a move that is future facing not only if they don’t like the pairing of Trey and deante but also you get the the central asset of that return is this pick in the future from the Lakers in a different
Way Clint capella any deal for capella is going to make you worse in the short term and now I I already hear people rolling their eyes I’m not saying that you don’t do it in fact even as the biggest capella stand probably out there I still advocated for trade them to
Trade capella this summer because they they’re not good enough to justify not doing it and I think you want to clear the books figure out what you have with the Kong wo Etc but that kind of deal will make you worse trading capella for what is probably going to be very little
Coming back is akin to what they did with Collins not it’s not exactly the same thing but that that deal makes you worse not not because you are in love with the John Collins experience but because you’re just losing a a good NBA player for very little and capella does
Help help them so it’s like you know Bogie’s a similar one and I think they actually like bogy more than the rest of these guys and it seems like they’re trying to keep bogy but I think the same thing is true there any deal with bogey
Is probably going to make you worse in the short term and the benefits to that hopefully would be in the long term so that’s what I’m talking about when it comes to balance and like what they’re actually looking for like even recently we we saw I’m sure you’ve seen this this
Reporting out there from Mark Stein first I think St L did it today on a podcast about how Quint snd wants to keep jte Murray and I’m not surprised by that because in general this is why I don’t like coaches being Executives either at the same time like bu was in
Atlanta coaches want to win like coaches don’t want to trade players and especially if if if you look at the return for a player and it’s the return for Deon is this Lakers package no coach is gonna love that you know what I mean like coaches want to win that day or the
Next day they don’t want to rebuild yeah coaches don’t like to rebuild that’s exactly what it is so um you you can certainly quibble with that and I’m not I’m not entirely sure that that is even accurate I’m not I’m not saying Mark’s reporting is wrong or anything like that
It’s just that you know we’re kind of in Silly Season we’re in spokes re season and like I’m not sure how much bearing that actually has just a good example of like there’s so many competing uh voices and thought processes and goals that it’s not cut
And dry I think that to your point earlier capella is the one where it’s like it makes the most sense to go ahead and move on from him if there’s a landing spot because you already have a Kong signed capella is getting older all that stuff it’s on your books um I
Purposely have not talked about the tax yet which we’ll talk about later on I bet but um yeah that’s kind of what we’re laying out here just to say like there’s a lot of sentiment I’m sure you’ve seen it too people are like just trade just trade all the trade them all
Trade trade capella trade Murray trade Hunter it’s like it’s not that easy it’s just it’s just not and people people hate that answer but it’s really complicated to make even one of those traits much less two or three of them in the next week yeah I think that was a great
Overview I think their Baseline is they would like to make the play in and if they get eliminated or just miss it you know they can accept that like hey we didn’t quite you know achieve our goals this season but we’ll have a top 10 pick
You can sell Trey on that and I think Trey is realistic like he can see things with dejonte aren’t working and agree to be a good solder while they kind of figure that out in the off season but that doesn’t mean that he’s going to endorse them signing off guys that he
Wants to play with like a you know b donovic or someone along those lines they don’t want to completely you know gut this team and make it a full rebuild with him I I don’t think he’ll he’ll buy into that um but on the uh on the I
Guess touching on both the jeon and capella um de jante I’ve been trying to keep up with like what we like to you know refer to as the slop just for fun um and it does kind of seem like they’re seeking two first rounders and like a
Key player of some you know of some importance you can kind of interpret that in different ways um often it’s it’s very difficult in negotiations to get everything you want like I think that everybody grasp that so it’s going to be hard to get two first round picks
And that player you might have to compromise and maybe get one first um another player you might like okay and then um some other assets um just among teams that we’ve seen that have been interested I mean the Lakers um there’s a lot of stuff going on about you know
LeBron wanting more help there um so they they make sense as an obvious landing spot um Austin Reeves is somebody that defensively I mean we’re not loving that fit with Trey um but there is a lot in his game to like and I think we would all agree that his
Contract is a clear value Austin Rees is the type of player that even if he isn’t the best fit with Atlanta he’s someone who could command a first round pick on the market um so he is a good asset to get back with Murray so I think sort of
Like a I guess a realistic best case scenario perhaps for for M Murray uh let’s assume the Lakers they can maybe get Hood chafino just to get like kind of a young Prospect um maybe that 2029 first that they could dangle and Austin Reeves I mean certainly the Lakers will
Push back on that they’ll want to do someone like D’Angelo Russell try to preserve Reeves but I think that’s kind of like the the best case scenario for the Hawks where you at least get you know you get to recoup some draft uh capital in that 29 pick you do get uh
Reeves who’s either could be interpreted as like a key player or somebody that you could flip for a future first and then someone like a Shapino who’s just you know an entry guy that that you could take a look at so I think that all in all that’s probably about the best
You could do um for Murray are you kind of along that same lines or Today’s Show is brought to you by LinkedIn jobs at start of the new year every small business own actually s the same question what is one move that I can make to take my business to the next
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Your job for free at linkedin.com lockon NBA that is linkedin.com Lon MBA post your job for free terms of conditions apply Yeah It’s tricky because I understand fully why Hawks fans are underwhelmed with this um the trouble with the Lakers in particular is that number one the Lakers want him like
There are teams that I think are interested in Deonte um the the team that has been out there though is like very clearly and actively we want Deonte Murray is the Lakers and unfortunately for the Hawks the Lakers have very limited assets um like for instance the
Two first round pick package that’s been reported it got reported against by Mike Scot it’s been out there a lot about what the Hawks are asking for for Deon they don’t have to lers can only trade one and it’s they only have one so okay start with one you throw in jayen Hino
Because he was their first round pick last year but no matter what you think about him he was a mid to late first round pick a year ago he’s played almost none so his value is not really a first round pick anymore on the market he’s probably second round pick you know
Maybe a good second round pick kind of Market wise but his value is not exactly a first- round pick right now as it is um they have Max Christie Etc they seem to be dug in on the Austin Reeves thing and I’ll keep it short I Austin Reeves
Like you you did a good job with that he’s a very good contract he’s very good offensive player his defense is really bad and the fact that he is deemed to be Untouchable is like kind of laughable in a lot of ways to me like he’s not a guy
Who should be Untouchable for any organization it is kind of it is kind of what it is he’s pretty overrated at this point I think but if the Lakers truly are like we’re not Trading Austin Reeves and that’s that is the messaging I don’t know if it’s going to change next week
But if they’re not going to do that and the Hawks I think are smart L even if you don’t love the the the pairing of Reeves and Trey and I don’t like you sort of allude to there either it’s not really about that you’re tra you’re asking for Austin Reed because that’s
The best guy they can offer you they’re not gonna offer you Aon or ad it’s like okay we want your pick and we want Austin reefs those are the two things the Lakers can offer you that are actually good value pieces and they want both of them and I don’t blame them for
That but yeah I mean could they get more from somebody else maybe it’s just that the the the reporting and even the Intel that’s not being reported stuff that I’m hearing behind the scenes there’s not a team that’s like super obviously in right now on dejonte for
What the Hawks are wanting you know the Knicks have been floated out there they have a pretty logical package too it’s Quinton Grimes as like the player Evan fornier as the matching salary and then they have a bunch of picks in the future now they’re not great picks if they
Could if they offer two of them that’s probably enough but they don’t want to probably du to them if I had to guess given the reporting that’s been out there on that um the other teams too like there’s Brooklyn interest they have more of an interesting package like they
Have more like readymade players like Andrews guy Dorian andin Smith might be in the mix there man how funny would that be if it finally happened and that was the way they they got it done there’s there’s a there’s a few angles with Brooklyn too because they do have a
Good number of picks now too I mean they have uh Den W’s contract who’s expiring I believe that falls in along the same lines they could tuck in with uh deante maybe send back like a Garrison Matthews just because the Hawks take to take you know money back there’s even the uh
There’s even the nuclear option my friend Tower Jones has been bringing up there’s the Ben Simmons option where where the Nets the Nets take on maybe capella or Hunter plus Murray and then they send Ben back to Atlanta I’m not saying it’s gonna happen it’s like
One of those things where like you wish for like Ben Simmons in 2020 then like a monkey Paul curls and like you get him like four years later when he’s like deteriorated but yeah I mean there’s there’s a few angles there I mean like Den Wy maybe a first even two the the
You know the Nets are pretty liberal with picks right now they have they have a lot of them um but it it is tough to pick out just one Suitor for him you know like I I do kind of like the Lakers package the most even if I’m not crazy about Reeves just
Because the asset you’re getting back I think is valuable and just you know I mean even if I don’t really like that fit and I don’t like longterm with Trey it would at least be fun to watch like him and Trey and Jaylen Johnson all you know plus passers in a Quin Snider
Offense like play out like a dud season like they would you know get their numbers enhance their value you know yada y um but yeah I mean it’s tough to find find that exact fit for Deonte I just kind of come back to the Lakers
Again and again if it’s not going to be I just don’t know that the Nets are ready to make that kind of move um but the other guy too I mean we’ve talked about Deonte a good bit is Capella and now that we’ve seen the uh the Stephen
Adams trade I think we’ve sort of set the market for capella the Hawks are already kind of up against it in negotiation just because everybody knows that they took a cono number six overall and they gave him an extension and the Hawks have not done the best job I I
Think like it’s fair to say with their Assets in the past few years so it hurts their negotiating power I think for him um there’s I was looking at some teams in preparation for that it’s funny because the Rockets did come up but a team like Oklahoma City I think is a
Team that could benefit from a center um when you look through their contracts uh for like money that can match uh Davis Bon is somebody that that pops up and he has I think like a a $5 million guarantee on his deal next year so that’s something you could take you know
A minimal amount of dead money and and actually cleared a little over $5 million if you were to agree to like a capella swap but maybe something like a bton in a two or three seconds you know they gave up I believe it’s five seconds
To get Sid Bay so it wouldn’t be the worst thing to reload some second round picks to you know facilitate some future moves so I think that they kind of make sense as a as a dance partner there but other than that it’s hard to see a lot
Of teams that jump out for capella I mean the Clippers maybe kind of on the margins could be interesting um but yeah that’s I think the the add parameters kind of set the tone for a future capella deal if that goes down so what I’ve been trying to say for
A while is that it’s not necessarily that the league doesn’t value capella like I’ve seen that set him out there and I get it he’s not the same guy he was before even I will acknowledge that um he’s taking a you know he’s he’s a half step slower he’s not the same
Finisher around the rim etc etc I get all that um with that said he would help a lot of teams the trouble is in season it’s harder to make the kind of deal because he’s making $22 million a year and you have to find a team that a needs
A center and by the way it has to be a good team that needs a center because if it’s a bad team why are they trading for click capella right now it has to be a good team and they have to have an inseason need for a better than normal
Backup center like no one’s trading for capella actively to have him play 15 minutes a game I don’t think maybe maybe there’s a hybrid role like an OKC like like you mentioned maybe he plays some with Chad and then he’s back up to chat that makes some sense I’ve seen like
Houston would have been the same thing if Houston had done it with have been like you know sangon is a good player but he’s not like a 35 minute a game player probably on on defense etc etc so like you’re looking for a very narrow window with Clint in season and it’s
Hard because you know he is a I still think I still think that Clint’s a starting center but he’s a lower in starting center now I think he’s still a fine starting center and it’s also hard too just in season because like you know obviously centers are so important for your defense it’s
Hard to integrate that in season because it often means you have to change your scheme and and things like that right and if you go down the list we won’t do that on this podcast but I I’ve done this exercise go down the list of the of
The standings from like best teams to worst teams how many of those teams need a 20 25 minute a game center right now bad enough to trade for a guy making starter money like the list is not long man it’s not and that’s that’s nobody’s fault I mean other than you could say
That and I have said the Haw sh trade in the summer and I I still believe that but like once they didn’t do that it was always going to be hard in season like you would kind of needed an injury like Memphis was a team that I know you and I
Talked about offline when Adams went down pre jaw injury and all that it would have been like they actually made a lot of sense for capella but once jaw went down they’re not going to buy now you know they just sold Stephen Adams for a future facing move and beyond that
Like the Pelicans like yeah he’s better than valunas probably but what does that actually mean you know what I mean like there’s there’s all kinds of deals that like kind of if you squint you can kind of see it but long story short like I’ve still I’ve still not heard a team and
This is doesn’t mean that it’s not out there but I’ve not heard a team that’s like that I’m like okay that’s it for capella like or any intel on that so they they would like to trade Clint at this point you know I think still some of the same caveats apply that have
Applied in the past Trey likes playing with Clint a lot uh I think given what Quinn has been reported to think about Deonte I think Quinn would probably not like to trade Clint because Quinn probably knows that Clint helps them um at the same time it’s time to do it it’s
Just that I’m sure that that deal is out there and they’re not they shouldn’t well this is my opinion they shouldn’t pay they shouldn’t pay assets to get off Clint do you agree with me on that right now I would not be giving away Capital to trade Clint personally no and I don’t
Think his his value has reached the point with one year left on his dual and he’s still a fine starting center like I would probably tear him with Stephen Adams you know both guys they could they could also move him the summer if they wanted to um they won’t they won’t get a
Lot back but I do think that if they if they’re desperate enough to do it in July they can just get him to go somewhere where for very little return if they had to you know what I mean yeah yeah and and with with where the Hawks
Are now you just can’t give up assets to get off like a oneye deal like that either like I would I would not do that but you know I’ve seen that too because you know I get people are very frustrated with Clint he’s he kind of um
Has a unique ability to bother people with his finishing and all that stuff yeah uh yeah I I’m I think it would be good for them I think you and I agree based on this conversation and others to move Clint if they able to and get some
Positive value you know even if it’s second round picks or something second a second round pick something like that I think just clear the books a little they should do and even if you don’t get you know the return almost isn’t the goal like you you really need to see more of
A cono I think we both agree with that we like to see more time um with a cono along with the starters especially Jaylen Johnson to kind of get a sense for how that could look um they’ve invested in his future already um they already have a high pick invested in him
So you would like to see a larger sample of a Cong as a starting center with you know where they are where you’re not a team that is looking to contend this year obviously so you would like to get a better assessment of a conu to figure
Out if he could be the answer this year I really haven’t loved a conu season this year like he has not made the the step forward that I’ve expected him to make so I think it in some ways it’s even more important now to to to try to
Get a longer look at him just to see because you might have to make a call on him as well um before long um just because he does have um an entire contract coming up you know he’s coming off his rookie deal this year um so I
Think that the the return is almost kind of aside the point for capella you’d like to get a couple you know two or three seconds if you could but a lot of it is just you’re clearing some salary from next year even if you have to take
Like a little bit back and you’re getting uh more time with AA to kind of feel out whether he can be the guy or not at the five for the future yeah to your point I I tweeted out some it wasn’t it wasn’t about these two players
But I tweeted out some of the you know the advanced numbers the epms the LeBron um etc those kind of you know highle Advanced metrics and none of them are particularly kind to a Kong wo this year and they all they actually all list capella as being comfortably better than
A Kong wo and I think I I got I got some replies from Haw fans that were dismissing the metrics because because they were higher on the capella on on capella than aong Wu and I just have to say like that I still think capella is
Better I do right now today I do too and I also think that a lot of it too is just the type of personnel that the Hawks have like it just works better when you have more of a traditional anchor Center like somebody that can just kind of raise the floor on defense
Because they don’t have perimeter Defenders like someone like capella he makes the most sense I not excuse me but like a Congo he makes the most sense like if you have a team like Boston where you have good perimeter Defenders and then you could take advantage of his
Ability to uh have versatility and defend at the level and all these other things that can you know raise his ceiling for you in the playoffs like that’s really like the appeal of a cono but if you don’t have you know good perimeter Defenders to start with it’s
Just a lot more of an ask for him to be an impactful player um so that’s that’s why I think it’s really important they get a longer look of him to kind of figure out which direction they want to go uh with Center no I totally agree I
Think that’s part of it and I’m not saying that Capel is the same guy he’s not the same guy used to be but it’s uh to your point I don’t think that aong has forced their hand is that’s the way that I keep putting it to people it’s
Like he’s not he’s not been so good that the Hawks are like okay got to make the move um and that’s maybe part of the problem is that they they keep kicking the can on the road and this is a um a hawks problem that I’ve had for several
Years now I’m sure you’ve heard me ran about this before they just don’t seem to make these timely decisions they always seem to wait too long all these moves and capella is kind of the same thing in some respects like they’re still holding on and holding on and it’s
A new day hopefully it’s a new front office you know new coach all that stuff but that’s where we are all right that is all with part one of myself and Andrew Kelly talking all things traded line we’ll have part two coming to you in your feeds right now
Actually so subscribe to the podcast if you’re not a subscriber already Spotify Apple overcast on the audio side as well as YouTube on the video side for every single episode of this show also please leave ratings and reviews if you are want to do that I would always
Appreciate that support to help us grow the podcast also spread the word for us if you have Hawks fans in your life family friends Etc follow us on Twitter SLX Lon Hawks follow me there as well at BTR Rolland also write about the Hawks regularly at patreon.com BTR Rolland and again part
Two should be available in your podcast feed of choice right now and with all that said we’ll see you all next time
Brad Rowland (@BTRowland, DIME on UPROXX) hosts episode No. 1642 of the Locked on Hawks podcast, and he is joined by Andrew Kelly (@andlankell) of Peachtree Hoops for Part 1 of a 2-part show. The discussion focuses on the upcoming NBA Trade Deadline for the Atlanta Hawks, including the latest on Dejounte Murray, Clint Capela, De’Andre Hunter, AJ Griffin, Bogdan Bogdanovic, the team’s overall direction, actual trade rumors, Trae Young’s All-Star snub, and much more.
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4 Comments
I hope he declines being an injury replacement and keeps a chip on his shoulder.
At this point, it looks like being in Atlanta is hurting Trae's career. I don't want him to go but I wouldn't be surprised if he asks for a trade soon. The Hawks front office failed him.
This is some BS
No way I am trading DJ for that crap offer from the fakers