Contextualizing the Hawks drafting Risacher #1 & the Dejounte trade | Part 3: Building a Contender

Contextualizing the Hawks drafting Risacher #1 & the Dejounte trade | Part 3: Building a Contender

NBA draft night is stressful for everyone involved from the players who have poured thousands of hours into their craft and are on the precipice of achieving their dreams to the executives who dedicated months to Scout and evaluate prospects with their livelihoods on the lines and the overinvestment fans who have mortgaged their mental stability on the pick their team makes as one of those overinvestment fans I experienced a complete five stages of grief starting in the moments following the hawk selection when people started texting me about W announcing RZA Shay was the pick I refused to believe it until Adam Sil himself came out to the podium as soon as that first syllable starting with the Z was uttered I felt a wave of anger just roll over me and don’t get me wrong I wasn’t necessarily angry at anyone in particular not re Shay or the Hawks front office but more so angry at myself for convincing myself that they would make what appear to be an obvious selection and take alexar mad that I believe the Hawks could get the draft right and mad I put so much effort into imagining SAR as part of the Hawks core I walked almost half the entire heart Jackson terminal just fuming I then started deflecting the hating on SAR and it took me an hour for my anger to dissipate into disappointment and I was able to begrudgingly welcome rash to Atlanta by the next morning I had accepted the pick for what it was I began to unpack what adding Reay meant for the Hawks vision for this Ross going forward and now I’m cautiously optimistic the Hawks have finally established a sens of direction that makes sense ret was the first Domino to fall but the rationale behind his selection was indica ative of every other move trade and pick to follow to understand the Hawk’s decision you got to understand Zachary rash’s game ret is not your typical number one pick by any means he doesn’t possess the typical qualities or indicators of a star lacking generational athletic gifts measurements outlier skills dominant production impact or intangibles yet somehow he mirrors an archetype that’s coveted around the league look at the rosters from past champions and you’ll see glimpses of rach’s projection Derek white Drew holiday cavius Codwell Pope Wiggins Dante D chenzo ojio anunobi Andre guala Richard Jefferson Harrison Barnes Danny Green the list goes on and on despite the variance in shape and size these players all have a common Essence defining characteristics that make them invaluable next to franchise cornerstones and the finishing touches that complete contending rosters they are connective three and D guards and wings while number of players listed above are much more capable of scaling up their offense the majority of their value is produced by their ability to fluidly oscillate between roles on a night toight basis they do whatever their team needs of them on both ends without disrupting the flow of the offense and compromising the Integrity of the defense they play the game with a beautiful Simplicity but as at chucking Dart States in his excellent Draft preview and draft circles the Allure of simplification is a dangerous one Reay may be the most simple Prospect in this class when it comes to play types that are typically indicative of self-creation prowess Ray ran just 32 pick and rolls in 65 games that’s just 4.4% of his total plays he had 27 combined possessions out of iso post-ups and handoffs conversely nearly 87% of his plays came from primarily off ball play types spot up transition offensive boards off screens and cuts we sh shot 31.6% on 137 drives with a 19.7 turnover percentage 30.4% on 92 pull-up jumpers 47.1% on layups in the half court 33.3% on rim attempts driving close outs to his right and 27% to his left he also shot above 40% on catch and shoot threes on about two and a half attempts per game 53.8 effective field goal percentage off screens 36.8% on pullup threes 1.27 one Cuts Point possession 62 % on cuts to the basket 1.144 points per possession in transition and was the ball handler 35.7% of the time so what does that mean he does not have a reliable way to create any advantages for himself like his predecessors at number one think about Paulo banero wenyama Zion but he has proven that he can leverage opportunities created for him on the professional level while being a positive Defender as a teenager playing Major minutes for a playoff team especially when he kept it simple the NBA is rightfully called a Wings league and just two days ago we were reminded just how valuable even sub All-Star level wings are to NBA teams Mel Bridges commanded four unprotected Furs and OG an yobi intends to sign a 5-year $215 million contract it has become abundantly clear that if you aren’t able to identify these low usage hyper efficient connective Wings who double as capable Defenders the price to acquire them is unbelievably steep the reality is that even if the only things that trans from what re displayed this season are his catch and shoot ability cutting prowess and solid team defense he instantly becomes the best swing TR has ever played with by packaging all that within a 69ine frame for a Hawks team who’s been burned when drafting Wings who excelled at everything except little things while also viewing themselves as above playing simply adding a skilled wing with length with a I’ll do anything to help this team mindset is extremely attractive it’s the label and expectations of the number one pick the tantalizing Allure of other prospects that makes this selection feel underwhelming I still disagree with the evaluation philosophy that placed rash number one on the Hawks board but I cannot deny the intrinsic value that archetype he represents has proven in the NBA and I can’t act like I don’t see the vision his exceptional Simplicity undoubtedly makes R Shay a non-traditional number one pick but maybe just maybe he eventually proves he was the right number one pick for the Hawks I’ve been campaigning for the Hawks to upgrade their positional versus versatility size and length around trade for months really years for a team that employs one of the slightest players in the league it has been borderline organizational mouth practice to continue to surround him without adequate size in 2023 the Hawks graded out as the lightest team in the NBA waited by minutes played and were below average height wise while they approved this past season they were still the sixth lightest and about average in height that’s not good enough especially for a Trey young Le roster the addition of Reay alongside the other moves the Hawks have made is a huge step in the right direction prior to the second round the Hawks traded AJ Griffin to the rockets for the 44th pick from Houston which they then flip with the heat to move up to 43rd from the colage draft rights this trade hurt me man I I just can’t lie AJ became one of my favorite players the day he got drafted and he had an incredible rookie year both in impact and memorable moments with all the buzzer beaters he hit as a rookie AJ Griffin shot 46.67% on pullup threes 66% at The Rim 55% on floaters and had a 56.8 effective fuel percentage on pull-up jumpers which was the sixth best in the NBA all that Excellence resulted in the most efficient volume three-point shooting rookie season at 56 affective field goal percentage by a teenager in NBA history he was one of just six rookies since 1996 to shoot 60% at The Rim 40% from mid-range and above 39% from three joining Elite Shooters such as Klay Thompson and Michael Porter Jr he had a 25 plus game stretch where he averaged nearly 10 points per game on 5050 90 splits very very few rookies have ever shown this combination of efficiency and difficult shot making and AJ did it at just 19 years old unfortunately he had too many things happening at once from the transition at head coach to some off court issues with his family later on an injury that made it very tough for him to adjust to Quinn’s Blitz heavy defensive scheme that necessitates precise rotations from weak side Defenders AJ is extremely gifted as a scorer but his foot speed and defensive technique is not strong enough to compensate for poor positioning within the scheme it seemed like his confidence was low throughout the season which makes sense since he saw sporadic minutes after being firmly in the rotation the year before Shooters need to have a consistent Rhythm and that’s especially true for younger players in that M as his shot struggled and he remained a defensive liability on a team that’s employed too many Garrison Matthews on a minimum contract outplayed him on both ends Kobe buffkin returned from his hand injury it was immediately impactful V Cree got caught up from the Skyhawks and was infinitely better than AJ and honestly every other ring on the roster with the Hawks already over indexed at guard and Wing the Hawks front office most likely did not see path to AJ getting playing minutes with all the other pieces we have at his position and also consider the re a shade pick and Kobe’s projection and impact as a Defender as well the Hawks worked out a number of second round targets so I was really hoping that they would work their way to make a selection at some point especially since they didn’t have the second this year and there was a good amount of contributors in the second round of this draft I absolutely hate that AJ was a casualty but the Hawks put themselves firmly in position they get a contributor and I was really hoping they would get and expecting them to snag a front Court piece my three top three targets MBO flip and Smith were immedately off the board with the first three picks but they weren’t supposed to make it to the second round anyways by the time the Hawks pick came around there were a number of front Court guys they had worked out that I thought they may take with my list in the following order Isaiah Crawford at one Enrique Freeman or Rich Chi ni jurisic and then arml trayor I expected the Hawks to maybe take a forward or a big but they went with Nia jurisich who he is a wing but he’s also one of the best shot creators in the draft when you look at the list of NBA players with the first name the cola and their last name ends in I see uh that’s a pretty good track record and I think jerisich has a chance to add his name to that long and pretty successful list this man is a true shot Creator at 68 he can get to pretty much any spot he wants averag 14.8 points 2.8 rebounds 3.4 assists on 62 shooting percentage but he was actually underwhelming for the majority of the season because he was sharing a team with nicoa toic who was a top five Prospect in this Draft before the KN the knee issues um once D toic transferred to a different team jerisich became the primary ball handler and production and efficiency spiked once toic left putting up 20.1 points on 62.3 to shooting percentage this man wants to get to the rim and he will get there by any means necessary 16.3 Drive percentage and he shot 50% on those drives um and that came a variety of different ways he he loves to manipulate the pick and roll and get the big man to switch out on him he has the ability to blow pass big straight off the dribble he’s very crafty with his deceleration change of pace I wouldn’t say he has a tight or super creative handle but it’s very functional he has a good amount of birth getting downhill as well his ability to get downhill is complimented by his Rim finishing ability he shot 58.2% at The Rim in the half court a bunch of creative finishes uh flip shots he also has a good amount of verticality like you may not really expect that from him but he can burst up to the rim had about 15 dunks in a half court 25 on the season and he can just beat bigs to the contest like he’s just going to rise up fast and they can get to it and so that gives him pretty good upside as a positive Rim finisher in the NBA at his size with his burst and with his verticality with toich transferring to a different team jerisich took on the shot creation load and so what that ended up translating to is that 32.4% of his possessions were as the picking Ro bamler and again that’s a good compliment for the Hawks because Reay doesn’t necessarily and has not necessarily displayed any shot creation potential but jish has plenty of reps as that sort of second side Creator when he would translate to the NBA but he was their primary shot Creator he was operating out a pick and roll he was Finding guys driving and kicking getting to the basket pulling up from midrange pulling up from three so he’s seen those sort of looks and that gives me a little bit of optimism that he can translate and be a secondary Creator in the NBA when he’s attacking the weak side he’s not a consistent shooter at this point but he did shoot it much better in that stretch where he was running the offense and so he finished with a 1.026 spot up points per possession so that includes drives to the basket when you’re attacking Closeouts that includes catch and shoot threes um so he sort of shown that he can function off Ball even if at this point he may be a little more suited to be on the ball it’s just more so about whether he’s going to be efficient enough as a scorer or good enough playmaker to you know sort of soak up that usage in the NBA and as an example of that growth he needs to do as a decision maker while he had some incredible passes in the combine during the season like some things that would really make you jump out your seat and be like yo he really just threw that he also had a 28.2 turnover percentage when the defense commits on the pick and roll and so that’s sort of like as he’s attacking the basket or as he’s probing um he’s getting help or he’s seeing a mul an extra body so he does need to grow as a decision Aker in that sense he also shot just 26.8% on 41 off the dribble threes um his shot this dude is so confident like he has he’s just brimming with irrational confidence and sometimes that results in an incredible play or it’s an incredibly difficult shot or it’s a really bad turnover and so his sort of shot selection may need to adjust in the NBA just because he hasn’t proven himself as a consistent shooter but the way his shot looks I do believe he can get there is just more so about making sure he can get those easier looks to find his Rhythm and get his mechanics and sort of just get a repeatable motion and that’s another example of that he shot 26.8% on 41 guarded Katch and shoot threes and then 36.2% on 47 onu guarded threes so not a proven shooter by any means at this point defensively I wouldn’t say he’s a lock down Defender at this point but I do think he’s closer to a positive than a negative I think he’s intelligent in terms of his positioning and the way he defends on the ball but he still has a way to go to be a positive defender in the NBA at least because while he does have length he does he’s not like unbelievably lengthy his wingspan is essentially the same length as his height um but he’s going to be in the right position more often than not there are some separation questions as his handle isn’t necessarily tight as I mentioned before and he isn’t an elite athlete when you compare the NBA players but the biggest question is can he scale down his on ball reps and still be effective because he wasn’t effective playing next to tow pitch when he was more off the ball so he has growth to do in that aspect as a playmaker and then defensively as a shot creating perimeter threat there’s a lot of players that I’m going to compare him to that may seem a little um on the high side and that’s because you know in terms of his archetype there’s only so many guys that aren’t necessarily extremely good at basketball that play like him um he compared himself to less athletic Anthony Edwards and then he also said that people compared to Joe Johnson I really see both of those but I also see a little bit of Manu jino and Rudy Fernandez the Hawks were able to pick up one of the biggest deals in the draft as jerisich brings upside as a three-level scorer with unbelievable flashes as a playmaker and passer and a legitimate 68 frame during the rookies introductory press conference landrea emphasized size shooting and defensive upside as the main driving points behind their selections with Ray and jerisich and both guys truly embody that thought process positional versatility equals scheme versatility on both ends and the Hawks have unlocked a level of adaptability they have simply not had the Hawks committed to that philosophy with the trade that followed just one day later there seems to be a lot of confusion as to why the Hawks would trade the Jon for a return that seems underwhelming but in actuality this deal was a massive win the Hawks and not the fleeing a lot of people are calling this deal looking at the full trade details the Hawks are sending de jont Murray to the Pelicans for Dyson Daniels Larry n Jr a 2025 unprotected Lakers first round pick and a 2027 unprotected Pelicans or bucks first round pick which is least favorable which means that the Pelicans are worse than the Bucks the Hawks get the Bucks pick and vice versa since the Hawks don’t control their 25 first which was sent to San Antonio for DJ alongside a 26 Swap and a 27 arm protected first acquiring some potentially valuable draft capital and what shaping up to be a fire draft class is massive the West Was a blood bath last year and while some of the veteran teams like the nuggets and Clippers have gotten weaker so far this off season younger teams have improved massively and Memphis will be firmly back in play for a top seed that means that the Lakers have a chance to miss the playoffs and the Hawks could potentially have two first in 2025 as they also own Sacramento’s 25 which is top 12 protected now the 2027 isn’t as valuable but recouping any draft capital for the DJ trade is a win now why would the Hawks trade de Jon considering in a vacuum he’s by far the best player in this deal as a top 50 to 60-ish player who’s below All-Star level really just below it I respect DJ Massy as a player it’s one of the best ISO scorers in the NBA and among its most clutch performers as well as his growth as a shooter and willingness to sign a contract extension at a very friendly number for the Hawks the Hawks decision has everything to do with the fit alongside Trey which flat out just didn’t work the Hawks and Trey they incorrectly evaluated what the John brought to the table and he wasn’t able to adjust to what we needed he’s not a point of attack Defender not that great off ball and he wasn’t able to adjust his skill set because we asked him to play out of position and something he’s not comfortable with the result of that miscalculation gave the Hawks one of the most poorly fitting Duos in the modern NBA to contextualize just how poorly fitting this Duo was I went back to 2000 and I collected every All-Star Duo two-year net rating over the span of two seasons and I defined All-Star Duos as two players who played at least 50 games together within a year of All-Star selections Deon was an allar the year before he joined Trey he hasn’t been one since but they still qualify under that condition as you watch these Duos show up on your screen I’m sure you’re going to notice that the vast majority of them have a very high positive net rating which makes sense you have two Allstars you put them together when they’re both on the court your team should perform pretty well now all net rating is is offensive rating minus the defensive rating so it’s how much better a team performs on both ends of the court for these All-Star Duos the average net rating was 7.8 and the highest net rating belonged to Steph Curry and Klay Thompson now where do you think Trey young and de jontay Murray are with both of them on the court the Hawks had – 2.62 net rating not only is that leagues worse than any other Duo since 2000 the only other two negative du were a minus 0.01 and a minus 0.02 and that was Zack LaVine and Demar de rozan and Jason kid and Vince Carter the Hawks were unfathomably bad with both of their Allstars on the court there is no precedence really throughout NBA history for a team to have this poor of a net rating with two of their best players on the court two Allstar level players so so the Hawks were 110th out of the 110 All-Star du to play at least two seasons together since 2000 but what makes this even worse is that with Trey Young on the court they were a plus 2.78 that gave Trey a plus 3.9 swing with him on the court and the Jon off which ranked 63d out of these deal out of these Duos so there was only one choice because with de Jon on they were a negative 1.12 and again it’s not really an indictment on De jont as a player I’m sure he’ll perform better in New Orleans but in terms of the infrastructure the they had at the Hawks it just wasn’t working it was always about the fit from a pure talent standpoint the Hawks absolutely got worse however in terms of actual ENC Court play in fit the Hawks got Dyson Daniels in return who is much better suited to play next to Trey young Jaylen Johnson and Zachary rachet Dyson Daniels is an all defensive caliber player at just 21 years old he made a case as one of the most disruptive defenders in the NBA this season finishing fourth in Def flections per 75 possessions at 4.63 third in Steels per 75 possessions at 2.3 and contested 34 23% of shots at The Rim while on the floor Dyson danels is one of the most disruptive defenders in the NBA thanks to his length and incredible timing with his hands no post up spin move or lazy dribble is safe when he’s in the vicinity Dyson grades out as an impactful Defender by every all-in-one metric he’s a plus 1.5 a defensive estimated plus minus which is the 88th percentile he’s plus 1.4 and defensive LeBron 91th percentile he’s a plus 2.6 and defensive box plus minus or 96 percentile he achieved that while consistently matching up against the best players in the NBA grading out in the 94th percentile in matchup difficulty and that’s even more impressive when you consider the Pelicans roster herb Jones who’s also one of the best permanent defenders in the NBA his intersection of size agility technique strength and timing makes it one of the best point of attack defenders in the association frequently being tasked with stifling the League’s best scores he stays attached through screens and refuses to concede advantages this pie chart shows the positions he’s defended and what portion of the time that he defended them you can see he’s pretty much mainly matched up against shooting guards and point guards but he has the ability to slide up and down as needed whether you’re switching or blitzing because of his frame and because of defensive gifts his timing and his positioning offensively Dyson leverages his 68 frame with a 611 wingspan when attacking increases in the defense he shot 59.6% at the rim and 60% at The Rim in the half court a great number for a wing especially for a Pelicans team that completely lacks spacing his Rim pressure came from a variety of situations driving Closeouts cutting off ball operating out of the dunker spot in short wow and getting downhill off handoffs he flashed some creation out of pick and roll as well as a wing Who functioned as a short roller having a in between option is a must and Dyson displayed phenomenal touch on floater shooting 51.5% on 66 attempts he went to the floater when big showed help on his rolls and cuts and he used it out of pick and roll as a ball handler as well his ability to finish effectively at The Rim complement his downhill ability posting a 12.9 assist percentage on drives which puts him in the 84th percentile Dyson is an extremely underrated passer who functions as a connective Wing making quick decisions in the right pass nearly every time I performed an analysis to identify the connective wings from last season and Dyson was on a short list of just 13 players who made quick decisions yet still created quality looks for the teammates without turning the ball over and he was also by far the best defender his 2.7 assists don’t jump out of you but it’s important to remember that context of his role within the Pelicans offensive hierarchy the flashes of hit to-head passes in transition and live dribble dimes just secondary ball handler upside now Dyson’s biggest weakness by far is is outside shooting there’s no sugar coating it he was often treated as a complete offensive liability by posing teams he got the Josh Giddy and Ben simus treatment at times there were times the centers would be match up on him sagging off 15 plus feet to provide help around the RM players aggressively stunned at ball handlers and tagged rollers when they were matched up against him as he commands zero respect as a shooter because he’s such a weak shooter teams would guard Dyson with their centers or Worse Defenders his inability to shoot resulted in a clog paint for the Pelican scores now Golden State and San Antonio were especially disrespectful with wemy playing 20 plus feet off and Golden State aggressively taging pick and rolles there’s a couple Clips in his film as well where Dyson picks up his dribble when there’s a wide open Lane in front of him and that happened a lot and it’s something Pelicans fans let me know was a major issue he’s not a confident offensive player by any means at this point there were times when he bring the ball up and he pick the ball up before he even put any pressure on the defense so while he can sort of function as that secondary ball hler in terms of bringing the ball up the floor he’s not necessar comfortable enough operating as a secondary playmaker at least not yet now spacing isn’t just shooting and one thing Dyson’s really good at is leveraging the space of guys sagging off of him to create looks for his teammates so as you watch this possession he’s going down the court in transition wimy has been disrespectful this entire game he’s completely dropping off of him and transition he’s standing under the basket while Dyson has the ball instead of forcing anything going directly at wanyama he turns around and goes into a dribble handoff with CJ mcallum which creates an open three because wanyama is so deep in the pain when he’s sitting in the corner and his man sheats over he’ll look to set a pin down for his teammates when Golden State put Chris Paul on him or pretty much any other time they put a weaker defender on Dyson they would use him in ball screens they use him in dribble handoffs here on this possession he dribbles his way over to Zion they can’t switch that because he don’t want Chris Paul on Zion and so there’s way too much space for Zion and he knocks down the three now let’s say out of the screen of role a defense will put two players on the ball like golden state is doing here he’s such a good passer out of the short r that he can make the right decision and sort of keep the offense flowing even if he is a non shooter D shot just 29.1% from three and 30.5% on catching shoot threes he was better from the corner shooting 37.4% on 96 attempts I’m no shooting coach but I do feel like he dips the ball a little bit too much and he’s a little narrow in his base I know we say Kyle corver can fix shooting issues and you know maybe he can’t but Dyson was working with maybe the best shooting coach in the league Fred vincon who just got hired by the Pistons and he’s also credited with turning Lonzo bi herb and Naji Marshall into great three-point Shooters so I’m not saying it’s unfixable but he’s had a lot of help and I don’t know if we can necessarily Bank on KY cor working magic and that’s not to say I don’t think he’ll ever not be able to shoot or space the floor from three but the reality is he doesn’t have any indicators so far in the NBA of being a consistent shooter he’s sub 65% from his career from the free throw line he’s never been a consistent three-point shooter with his mechanics and his touch in other areas I do think it’s realistic to think that he can get a a little bit close to League average but honestly the biggest thing is getting up the volume because no matter how well he shoots it if he’s only taking two or three a game that’s not really making much of a difference in the way that defenses have to guard him so while I do think he can get there it’s going to be a process for sure now because he’s so often ignored on offense he’s able to sneak and these just sort of NAB these offensive boards he’s probably the best back tapping Wing I’ve ever seen especially right now in the NBA he’s always active seeking bodies to box out and he’s helping his bigs in The Possession Dyson’s MO defensive gifts and effective Rim finishing made him a rotational player in New Orleans despite a severe lack of shooting ability he would join the Hawks and immediately established himself as the best perimeter defender on the roster he has proven he can be impactful without shooting it well but if he can develop a League average jumper the Hawks will have found themselves one of the most valuable starters in the NBA with all that being said Dyson is the best perimeter defender in the tray young era and it’s not close I wouldn’t even say the Hawks necessarily got worse with this trade two first a potential perfect backourt partner and real Defender Dyson Daniels as well as a rotational big who can defend and pass out of the short R Larry Nance for a guy that we gave up three unprotected first for while becoming much better defensively and breaking up an untenable fit people are simultaneously overring D jonte in his Market I have a theory that the Aesthetics of his game are much more digestible than his actual impact he also hasn’t lost his defensive rep among fans who don’t watch him even some of the media but they’re also underrating Dyson Daniels in the addition of two first value-wise this is the best deal that was on the table according to reporters covering the team way better than the offers Atlanta got to the deadline and it was a non-negotiable to go into next season with Trey and the Jon Shar in the back court that could not happen with bi reportedly available it would have been nice to get him in return but he is becoming an unrestricted free agent in The Following season and he’s reportedly seeking a Max contract I can understand the Hawk’s hesitancy to give up assets for what could wind up in a to be a very expensive extension or even worse a one-year rental the M Bridges trade being the first of the off season warped people’s view of the market as well in my opinion the Knicks overpaid like that’s without a doubt as they’re the only team who will give up six first from a kill because they’re trying to build a team with the power of friendship and while Deonte is a better player than Mel Bridges Mel holds more value as a malleable Wing who completes the puzzle for New York and complement most teams and most importantly every Contender better than DJ even with a defensive and fit Improvement trading Deon Murray leavs a shot creation void that would inevitably cause slippage in late game situations making it easier for teams to load up on trade and clutch there’s still work to be done and many more options for the Hawks front office to consider as they continue to navigate the off season so what’s next two months ago I posted my vision for the Hawks to begin their path to contention there were two established starting pieces in the primary and secondary ball handlers Trey young and Jaylen Johnson in three positions of need at guard the best back court partner for Trey is a connected point of attack Defender with herb Jones on table I was banking on internal growth from V or and or buffkin acquiring Dyson Daniels through trade or drafting Ron Holland or Stefon Castle the Hawks check that first need off the list by picking up Dyson and they absolutely need to get V Cree on a full-time contract as well once he’s locked up that’s a really nice three guard rotation that can hang defensively both with and without tra keeps the ball moving with room to grow into larger offensive roles in Kobe buffkin now V was extended a qualifying offer by the Hawks which makes him a restricted free agent meaning that the Hawks can match any sort of contract that’s offered to him however V’s contract was not converted to a standard contract last season which means that the qualifying offer is another two-way contract the Hawks have indicated they want to sign up to a standard contract V is probably looking for Financial Security as this is just his second contract with his first being a 4year $6 million contract which is 30% guaranteed I’d expect his annual average value to be somewhere around $3 to5 million and a longer term contract either 3 or four years the Hawks need to get this done he’s familiar with the system and he played really well last season and he still be on a great contract for the production that he provides the Jon’s departure left a black hole of usage and shot creation the Hawks could explore replacing this offseason but after reviewing the options available I lean towards filling those duties by committee this upcoming season scaling up bogy and jayen Paul George signed with the Clippers and the pathway to a be trade is a good bit murkier considering they already did the Jon trade without giving him back judging from reports the Hawks could trade for Lori or see if they can buy low on the Bulls mid three pretty much anyone except vich now at first glance Lori marinan seems like the perfect pce for Atlanta he is one of the most unique skill sets in NBA history as he is the first player to ever record 200 plus threes in 100 plus dunks in a single season he is the most seasons by 7 foot or taller player shooting above 36% from three in NBA history with five and he’s one of two players to shoot 65% at The Rim 40% from the mid-range and 40% from three last season his off ball value in a 7 foot frame makes him a tantalizing fit next to Trey except he has some fundamental issues that make me hesitate to really deal with the Jazz adding Lorie does not solve the Hawk’s need of adding a secondary Creator even with his self-creation growth 84.1% % of his ma shots were assisted which is by far the most among all 20 plus Point per game scores and he’s also tied for last and assist percentage which is the amount of possessions that he recorded an assist with chrisop porzingis at 2% in his entire career he has just one season with the percentage of his shots being assisted being below 70% which was also his least efficient scoring season the Hawks just don’t have the infrastructure to give up assets for a high volume offall player who does not create for himself or others and has defensive limitations with all the draft Capital they already ow to dispur dealing with Danny a already makes me nervous because it feels like he never loses a trade and I’m sure he’s got a massive price tag for Lorie marinin he makes this team very very good but I still think we would be a notch below Boston New York and Philly it’s just way too risky to trade away the capital we just Acquired and further mortgage the future for a player who doesn’t directly solve the secondary Creator void while not putting us at the top of the East the only other feasible option is buying low on the bull shot creators while dear is a far better playmaker than jontay Murray he’s still a ball stopper with similar offensive deficiencies he’s a mid-range heavy scorer low Rim pressure and even a lower three-point attempt volume and at his age he isn’t holding up defensively either Zack LaVine on the other hand he’s moving me his contract is disgusting but with DeAndre Hunter and Clint capella currently taking up 31.2% of the cap combined lavine’s 30% starts to look bearable with the Hawk’s efforts to shore up the defense LaVine is a near perfect fit into what Atlanta’s building still one of the League’s most athletic and dynamic scorers even seven years off an te LaVine would Feast off the licks generated by Trey driving Closeouts pressuring the rim while getting up plenty of Threes his defense has improved from God awful to slightly below average and he can make driv and kick reads and would be an Elite pressure release valve for Trey while also being Dynamic enough off ball to give Jaylen plenty of room to operate if the Bulls are truly struggling this bad to get off his contract especially if they’re willing to give up a first as reported I’m making that deal 10 out of 10 times even if it takes clearing cap by trading with Dre capella or both if they can’t buy extremely low on Lavine I believe the Hawks should stay out of the star hunting game and appreciate the blessing the Pelicans bestowed on them by allowing them to somewhat make up the mistake they made trading for the johnon take this season to see how Jaylen performs with higher usage give Kobe buffkin Dyson Daniels rashay and mohamd gay meaningful minutes and revisit this task in the off season Once you have a better understanding of the shot creation ability already on the roster that leaves one more task is termining the future at center now I’m part of the start o camp and I believe in his ability to be a long-term five especially with the length the Hawks have added the these additions help make Ona feasible just like they assist Trey as the addition of competent point of attack Defenders lessens the need for Ono aong to have to constantly cover up the hawk lapses it should also help him on the glass Ana’s screening ability existing chemistry with Trey and growth as a shooter in dribble handoff Hub makes him the most logical option to start and build around Clinton is still a productive player and maybe the League’s best offensive rebounder but it’s time for him to be moved he fell off massively as a finisher and clogged the paint so badly that both Trey and Deonte were incredibly more efficient scores especially at the rim with him off the floor once you combine his offensive fallof with the defensive drop off he’s run his course with the Hawks some of my favorite destinations from him have already gotten the center such as Memphis New Orleans Washington OKC but he still brings enough value that I’m optimistic he could be moved Chicago apparently has interest and he makes sense as a screener for giddy so maybe that’s a potential destination outside of the internal decisions Walker kler is a name I’d like the Hawks to monitor the 71 Behemoth was one of the best room protectors in the NBA as a rookie performing well enough for the people to clown the Wolves for trading him away for a lesser French version while earning himself a spot on the Team USA roster and all rookie first team those jokes only lasted a season as Kesler fell out of Utah’s rotation thanks to John Collins inability to space the floor while soaking up 30 plus minutes a night the Jazz just couldn’t put enough shooting on the floor to make a Lory John Collins Kesler front Court work in the second year paint defending Savant was a casualty as the Jazz tried to reclaim John Collins’s value despite this he recorded a 9.2 block percentage second behind that creature in San Antonio averaged 1.4 won seven points per possession as a role man which puts him in the 90th percentile and shot 70.4% at The Rim there reports he wasn’t seeing eye to eye with Coach will hardy but Jazz reporters have said that’s mov over I’d at least make a call to see if they’re open to any deals from Kesler as he is from Atlanta and he graduated from Woodward Larry Nance is absolutely a rotation big as well so the Hawks could just run him and Ona as the big man tandem the Hawks pushing back Bruno Fernando’s contract guaranteed day is an indicator they’re evaluating their options at the five as it gives them the flexibility to move off of one of Clint Ona Nance and Rain Bruno as a third Center if I was function as the Hawks front office I’d also make calls on Nick Richard a true 7-footer with a 7 fo wingspan as the backup big and Charlotte um pretty solid rebounder decent rim protector shot 74% at The Rim 65% at layups then I also call about W Carter Jr Orlando I don’t know if he’s available but they just signed Goa to a long-term contract so I wonder if they’re going to be paying their third string big man that much or are they going to let Mo Wagner go right after I recorded that they just announced that Mo Wagner was signed to a contract with Orlando so definitely definitely definitely the Hawks need to reach out to wendo Carter he’s now the number one Target in my opinion I didn’t think he’d be available but I think he just makes way too much sense as a player who can play next Ona alongside Ona back up Ona the Hawks have to make that call about him U but those three are really the only bigs that I consider for the Hawks with the Deon deal pending the Hawks have yet to make a free agency signing as they can’t offer a contract of any sizable value until they shed salary through a hunter or capella trade DJ deal might have to be expanded as well since the trade won’t go through until July 6th which will activate a 15% trade kicker that will boost DJ’s salary by around 4 million this is paid by the Pelicans but it requires New Orleans to add additional salary to match DJ’s contract which it could satisfy by adding Matt Ryan Jeremiah Robinson Earl or Jose alberado or by expanding the trade they can turn the valent tunish signing into a signing trade among other options so there may be additional teams or pieces added to that deal maybe someone from the Wizards whatever the Hawks are as always most likely trying to stay on attack so any free agency signings will almost surely wait until they can clear more room the big man Market is especially thin with Claxton hardenstein baz and Jaylen Smith already signed among others at this point I think it’s most likely that the Hawks make a free agency signing it will be a veteran PG or a locker room presence vet eventful offseason thus far and I’m expecting more movement eventually specifically with Hunter and capella I’m confident in saying at least one of them gets moved the L Hawks were gifted a chance to completely change the trajectory of the franchise and if you squint you can start to see the framework of a contender being built they’ve revamped their identity to focus on versatility and length in just three roster moves and have position themselves to build organically continuity wins championships in this league and that begins with drafting well and committing to development this team is not contending by taking a win now swing for this upcoming season but there’s a plan finally forming to build a quality roster the ethical way with all the pieces finally falling into place I hope you can begin to see the full picture and trusting the new front offices app to contention thank you for watching and if you enjoyed this video I’d really appreciate if you liked subscribe I’m going to continue to try and bring as many high quality videos as I can my channel has grown a lot over the last couple weeks with the HW number one pick and I appreciate each and every one of you sp spending the time making the decision to watch my videos I’ll see you in the next one [Music] oh

#nbadraft #traeyoung #atlantahawks

The Atlanta Hawks were gifted a chance to completely change the trajectory of the franchise, and if you squint, you can start to see the framework of a contender being built. They’ve revamped their identity to focus on versatility and length in just 3 roster moves and have positioned themselves to build organically. Continuity wins championships in this league, and that begins with drafting well and committing to development.

This team isn’t contending by taking a win-now swing next season, but there’s a plan finally forming to build a quality roster the ethical way. Zaccharie Risacher was the first domino to fall, but the rationale behind his selection was indicative of every other move, trade, and pick to follow.

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Timestamps:
0:00 – Intro: NBA Draft Night is Stressful
1:39 – Rationalizing the Hawks drafing Zaccharie Risacher #1 overall
6:29 – Why the Hawks Traded AJ Griffin
8:39 – Hawks Targets in the 2nd Round
9:24 – Nikola Djurišić | Film Breakdown & Prospect Evaluation
14:51 – Why the Dejounte Murray Trade was a Huge WIN for the Hawks
16:37 – Visualizing how Trae & Dejounte Stacked Up vs Other All-Star Duos
18:43 – Dyson Daniels | Film Breakdown & Evaluation
25:23 – The Reality of Dejounte Murray’s Trade Value
27:04 – Building a Contender: Connective POA Defender
28:22 – Building a Contender: 2-Way Playmaker & Shot Creator
31:49 – Building a Contender: Versatile Rim-Protecting Big
34:48 – What the Hawks Do Next?
35:44 – Conclusion: Hope for a New Era
36:32 – Outro

Music Creds:

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