Hawks offseason so far W/ Sam Amico – Ep.79

Hawks offseason so far W/ Sam Amico – Ep.79

welcome in Hawks fans your boy Bryce Lewis back at it again for another believe in Hawks episode and as we continue to cover the Atlanta Hawks offseason I had to bring another special guest on to the show Sam Amo from Hoops wire inba senior writer for them welcome into the show sir how are you doing today good Bryce how I you know um here we are early July and there’s still tons of uh NBA stuff to cover just feel like I there’s no rest which I like I it’s better this way than than downtime but you know all kinds of stuff going on in the NBA uh early July and I suspect that’ll continue till late July yeah I mean hey this is the most active time obviously summer league is about is already stting and it’s gonna you know we’re getting into full gear with all of that and so this is a time where they say if you you love basketball you’re real junky you’re real junky at this point outside of just free agency And Trades that potentially could still maybe come at this point but obviously one of the major teams in the cycle of the offseason has been the Atlanta Hawks a lot of rumors since getting the first pick going through the NBA draft now going into free agency and so before we get into specific things I just wanted to ask you about so far the Atlanta Hawks off season what is what has been your thoughts on what they’ve done do you like the direction they’re going in do do you hate it what where are you feeling right now with the moves that Landry field and company has made so far with this team well I mean you know you first heard that they were going to try to trade Deon Murray before the trade deadline in February and at that time you know he was going to the Lakers that’s what everybody was saying he’s getting traded to the Lakers um but you know and then you hear after the season that they’re going to trade either young or Murray or both and you just kind of kept waiting to see what was going to develop um I I I think that they showed look they tried I I I thought the the deal for Murray initially was a good deal but you know at some point and and they’re both good players they get along very well it’s just how do they fit and and I think after a couple years you figured you know this probably isn’t the match we’re looking for um I I think if you’re going to trade one or the other the the guy to trade would have been Murray uh as good as he is I I just think Trey Young you know was on a different level from him uh slightly different but a better player all around and the face of the franchise and I think you have a lot more explaining to do if you traded Trey young so you know look you didn’t get much back for Murray uh in this you know on paper You Know M may but what you’re looking for if your Atlanta is a fit right you you’re hoping that Dyson Daniels develops into a nice player uh you’re hoping Larry Nance Jr can can help you in some way shape or form maybe EJ Liddell uh who had a lot of promise coming into the NBA before blowing out his knee uh with New Orleans maybe he developed so you’re looking at you know a couple guys there in Daniels and Liddell that you have your fingers cross that that they can develop into something at least as rotational players Larry n Jr you already know what he can do um you know Defender rebounder uh glue guy so you know if you’re Atlanta you got at least two pretty nice bench players there um and and I really think that there’s probably some moves some more moves on the way I feel like that that was just a start to kind of what they’re looking to do um but you know I I think they got to start and to me it seems like and you could be I could be totally wrong here but it seems like they want to keep Trey young and keep him as the face of the franchise and continue to build around him that way but but look they had been spinning their wheels right I mean they got to the Eastern Conference Finals a few years ago uh seemed kind of on the up and up and then they made the Murray trade and it just didn’t develop like they’d hoped and um I think that they it makes sense that they’re trying to shake it up a little bit right now yeah and I mean you know in this business you know you you took a chance and it didn’t work out and like you said it happens in this league you know and I think some fans want them to be aggressive and swing again but you know obviously if you missed last time you may be more careful this time around so I think that’s important and and to mention like I think the biggest person from that trade that you mentioned with with DJ I think is Dyson I think Hawks were one of the worst teams at the point of attack last year and Dyson Daniels a lot of people from the New Orleans side I’ve talked to says that he is immediately probably the best point of attack Defender we have now that’s one thing he can do is defend the ball it’s just offensively he has a ways to go and if that works out then he can develop into a really nice player uh but so speaking of that trade though today we we we learned that the Pelicans wanted Clint or Kong wo that’s what they’re saying that was something they wanted uh and the Hawks also did not want to trade for Brandon Ingram which was a person that was connected to him uh to him a lot because of the contract extension the big thing Pelicans hold up a lot of teams hold up they don’t nobody wants to pay Brandon Ingram $50 million uh what do your thoughts on that are you kind of like yeah I understand that I I agree with that decision or do you feel like the Hawks maybe should have just you know hey you need to give up capella or conu and get Ingram and bring another guy in here I would have did it yeah no I think you know with the rise of Jaylen Johnson that you want to be really careful uh with with somebody like a Brandon Ingram like I said nobody it’s not just the Atlanta Hawks it’s the New Orleans Pelicans that don’t want to pay him that they’ve been trying to trade him it sounds like and are unable to move him for that very reason so um you know I think that that was probably a wise move on the Hawks part again like I said you don’t want to you don’t want to rush into something that that really and Brandon Ingram fine player obviously you know borderline Allstar when he can stay healthy but you don’t want to handcuff yourself and doesn’t move the needle enough for you to make that move and risk you know with this whole contract situation risk kind of handcuffing yourself whether you sign him to that max deal or which would really be handcuffing yourself or you know potentially losing him for nothing uh at some point so and and you know look the Hawks are filled other than Trey young they’re full of guys who are pretty good but aren’t Allstars capella mangu DeAndre Hunter you know these kind of guys bogdanovic these are all really good players but you know they don’t have that and it seems like again Jaylen Johnson clearly seems like a guy on the Rise um but it just seems like there’s some other move out there where they’re going to potentially make a splash here uh without having to move Trey young so yeah I think that you did the right thing if you’re Atlanta and say no you know look we’ll give you DJ for these guys and perhaps it seems like set ourselves up for another move and it’s not you know look we’ve seen it in the NBA nowadays it’s not about having three Superstars otherwise the Phoenix Suns would have won the championship you know it’s not about having three big names and big contracts it’s all about fit and we’ve really seen that a lot over the course of the NBA over the past few years how much parody there is with the Denver Nuggets winning a championship Miami Heat you know going to the finals Dallas Mavericks going to finals Suns and Bucks uh those those teams all have one really good player M but everybody else around them fits and that’s really it seems like in today’s NBA with the new collective bargaining agreement you want to be wise about how you build and not overspend so I think that the fact that the Hawks have taken to this point a fairly cautious approach has been okay yeah and I think it’s funny you mentioned the CBI I’ve said that like you said it changes the way teams build their rosters you know you can’t just put a bunch of star players together and have lack of death and think that’s going to get through or else the Suns would have had some more success I think you know a team like goldon state who’s paid the electri tax for years was even trying to be like all right let’s start trying to in some way cut some cost here I’m obviously with Clay Thompson walking and I’m sure you know I know you CLE covered Cleveland a little bit more closely in your time I’m sure they with Donovan’s contract and maybe some other potential contracts on the rise they got to make decisions so it’s impacting so many teams in this league in Atlanta I’ve always said the big next big extension you’re probably gonna give is Jaylen Johnson so you have to keep that in mind when requ iring players because I’m sure they don’t want to be a second apron team and obviously Tony wrestler’s gotten some heat for not willing to want to pay tax in general but you know that’s kind of how things go but you know talking about the tax I think a couple of players that we’ve mentioned for the Hawks that people have wondered about them moving has been Clint capella and DeAndre Hunter I want to start on Clint capella first obviously he was mentioned the Pelicans trade um do you at this moment still in time do you sense there is a market for obviously free agency’s gone by a little bit some teams have signed some centers drafted some centers but guy who’s on an inspiring deal this year do you do you still see value for Clint capella around for the Hawks to potentially make a move yeah you know there’s certainly value anytime you have a starting caliber Center who’s athletic uh lob finisher uh good Defender you know protects the basket those you’re always trying to find those uh type of players so uh I’m sure there’s a market out there for him you know look New Orleans really really obviously still after that deal needs a center you know they have nobody so um that’s I I don’t know that you know that those sides will revisit things but the potential is there um and if you’re Atlanta it’s like you know we’ve got to ask ourselves are we getting back equal value you know this is this is a market where teams are trying to obviously right now cut cost a little bit but uh you know to me it’s the Market’s still there I I just think at this point you’re probably not getting back the same type of player for capella that you’re giving up now if you can if you could get two or three players uh uh back for him then that’s something else to consider but there are a lot of teams right now you know that are kind of figuring things out in the middle uh obviously New Orleans won Portland has like six centers now so you know I mean there’s something there where maybe you could get a couple of guys back for for one um but it doesn’t sound to me like that the Hawks have been overly aggressive uh in terms of shopping capella but I think the teams have been have been calling and speaking of that too the other guy I bing ydre Hunter um he’s been a guy who I mean I’ve heard for years has been available but again I don’t think the Hawks have aggressive shopped him um a guy who some people will say with his draft pick selection oh hasn’t reached the expectations but at the same time I think he’s a solid player in in this league I don’t think he’s bad I just you know he’s just solid and so um do you also maybe feel that exact same well same way about uh DeAndre just there’s a market still got to figure some things out because especially because he’s playing a very valuable position in this league Wing everybody like needs Wings they want wings he is a guy who for the major majority of last season shot 40% from three he improved that part of his game so that can make him his value go up a little bit more uh and Etc yeah no you know and that’s true he’s you know the NBA is so wing and perimeter oriented now um and he has his moment certainly where he has you know I saw him one game this year against Cleveland in Cleveland where he just you know for about five to eight minutes kind of looked like Michael Jordan you know then he went back to just being steady but he is he’s always steady uh a hard worker in terms of on the court he’s you know there’s never any questions about effort or any of that um he’s just and I don’t even I don’t want to call him streaky but it’s just more like a guy who’s just kind of out there for a while then he’ll have some good moments and then he goes back to being kind of out there but um you know again are you going to get back equal value for him and and you don’t really make a trade if you feel like you’re getting equal value you wanna you want to get better value you know so those are some things facing the Hawks to me it seems like obviously Capella’s a starter in the NBA but guys like DeAndre Hunter bonovich there’s a few guys in the Hawks rotation that it’s like are they a starter or are they reserve on a winning team um you know and I think the Hawks are kind of figuring that out too and you could do a lot worse than the situation that they’re in right now with you know the starting five that they’re probably going to I don’t want to say probably go into the season with but as a starting five looks today you could do a lot worse you know are they obviously the East is super tough but you know they’re they’re still I would think going to be in that seven eight range right now so you know there’s still moves that could potentially be made maybe lift them up a little bit but I mean you’re talking about you know the teams that obviously you have Philly I think Milwaukee’s going to be back you know obviously the defending Champion Boston Celtics uh the look unbelievable uh so there’s four right there the Cavs the magic there’s there’s six and the Pacers went to the Eastern Conference Finals there seven so I mean who is Atlanta and how are they going to be able to pass one of those teams or they decide you know what we’re just going to you know hope for next three or four years we’re able to acquire some picks and and and weight it out a little bit it’s they’re in a very interesting very interesting spot because they are kind of right there in the middle of the Eastern Conference and could go one way or the other and uh be interesting to see which which route they take and you know I know you’re gonna ask me about Trey young but I I hope for their sake that they continue to keep him and build around him um I I think that he and he and Snyder work very well together and and you know it’s hard to find players like Trey young I know he takes grief from people around the league or he’s not a great defender or whatever and I’m just like to me he’s one you know he is one of the most dynamic players in the NBA and you just got to put people around him and people who fit around him and I think that that’s what they’re trying to do yeah you know like you mentioned Trey already yeah I was about to ask you about Trey because I think one thing about Trey young is like you said he kind of gets this bad rep I know a lot of people talk about the USA team and like how does he not make the team and d d d and you know obviously we know about the All-Star Game this past year second in fan voting I believe second or third in fan voting but still didn’t make it till someone got hurt as a replacement um there’s this perception in the league that the league does not value Trey young or do not does not see him as highly and one of those reasons is because he’s in Atlanta because Atlanta universally in basketball circles is not a respected franchise I guess so that was is that’s what hurts him but at the same time if you actually watch him pay attention you see the value he brings to the T so what I wanted you to kind go a bit deeper into is about just how how you you know like I said you view Trey in the grand scheme of things and and is the criticism is the views of him warranted is are they fair you know and just everything like that surrounding him because you know people there there are people who feel like oh when they were talking about treay rumors oh there there’s not a lot of interest DJ has more interest things of that nature and so is it Trey Young’s not a valuable player in this game is he not liked in this game game etc etc so yeah just overall like what is your overall opinion of just Trey young the player especially from where he came into the league to now yeah no to me he’s I I never I don’t understand that I don’t understand the criticism um you know to me you’re talking about an elite scorer a guy who racks up assists uh you know he’s not a selfish player you know I don’t know why he sometimes it seems like he gets that reputation uh definitely not and to me you’re right I mean you think about the Hawks obviously not one of the NBA’s more noted traditional you know Powers so to speak um but to me I I I just look at it like you know off top of my head you know how many point guards and guards overall can I think better than Trey young to me he’s in the top five maybe top you know if you want to get say he’s worse than that top seven or eight but to me I I just think if he were in a different Market he would probably be even more scrutinized and criticized but I think he would also get way more way more praise and um I just think it’s rare that you’re able to find a guy who can be the face of your franchise for a long time he’s still in his prime right now uh he he’s a dynamic scorer and you know I mean the NBA that’s what it’s all about putting ball in the hoop and finding ways to put the ball in the Bas and he does that not just by scoring but obviously his assist numbers are always high so I I I just don’t get it I think I’m hopeful for his sake and for the hawk sake that they continue to stay together um because I just think you know probably really if you can think of guys who are synonymous with the Hawks I mean you go like Dominique Wilkins you know and Trey young to me Trey Young’s the new the kind of the new guy that you build your team around and wait to see what happens but because remember this a guy who led this team to the Eastern Conference Finals a couple years ago you know before dejonte Murray and I would say they’re not much worse now than they were you know the team that went to the Eastern Conference Finals you I I I think Jaylen Johnson has a higher upside obviously than John Collins who was on that team so to me it’s like he can take the team places he kind of reminds me of Allan Iverson in that sense where it’s like you know he’s got that determination he’s got that fire uh and he’s got the ability to beat teams one on five sometimes so you know to me that’s I I I just think he’s an invaluable and unfairly criticized player who uh he’s one of my favorite you know I’m an older guy so it’s hard for me to say oh he’s my favorite player I but he’s really one of my favorite players to watch I love watching the guy and I love watching that’s a big part of what you’re doing if you’re the Atlanta Hawks or any NBA team you want to have a guy that people are willing to pay to see and he’s one of those players I mean probably one of the top 10 players in the league when it comes to that you know but again I know that the Hawks can be sometimes a hard cell in Atlanta I just I I I know that and and uh to me it’d be a mistake to trade him I I I think that you should just continue to ride that as long as you can and let him know how much you appreciate him and see how far he can carry you and and you know I know he’s had issues with coaches in the past but now it seems like he’s got a great relationship with Quinn Snyder and I think that that if you’re star player and your coach see ey to eye that can take you places because then the star player you know the other guys respect him so they’re going to they’re going to follow along it’s it’s really when your star player and the coach have a problem then everything turns into a mess so I think that they’re off to a good start there with Quinn Snider and and um and Trey young together so to me look Bonafide Allstar and I don’t think you get back anything close to him if you if you decided to trade him off yeah Sam I think with Trey young I feel like him and Atlanta were kind of a perfect match in regards to how the basketball World Views Atlanta then how the basketall World Views Trey young and kind of both look down upon you know a little bit in the grand scheme of things and so I think it kind of makes maybe for a perfect match in that regard but one thing that you mentioned obviously is the Ascension of Jaylen Johnson um I just want to get get your thoughts on him I think some people are wondering depending if they don’t acquire another I guess strong offensive option this offseason seems like they’re setting up Jaylen Johnson to now going into his fourth year to be the second guy and him to take that next jump so I just want to get your thoughts on what do you think of Jaylen Johnson obviously breaking out this past year some people believe if he didn’t have so missed so many games he would have been a most impr player of the year uh and overall so yeah what what do you think of Jaylen Johnson’s prospects coming into this next season yeah I think that’s just it I mean maybe he’s the number two guy you know number two option um certainly looked like he could develop into that even while he was you know really number three behind when healthy behind uh young and Murray probably going to get more touches as they’re currently constructed you know um and and really you know after those first at least the first year you’re kind of thinking boy I don’t I don’t know what this guy’s you know looks like another one of those Duke flops kind of guy and uh but really just came on strong in terms of his comfort level uh you know perhaps and I look I’ve always thought Nate McMillan was a great coach I kind of question that move but it seems like you know sometimes different coaches and their different voices are better for different players and he was just Jaylen Johnson was just going to grow into a good player it seemed like regardless of who the coach was but I think that Quinn Snider has been a good fit for him a good match um and you know really helped the whole staff really uh there has has helped him quite a bit so I I I just think that you know look maybe you’re looking at a a potential number two guy you know who really seemed at one point uh really before the injuries that is this guy going to be an Allstar someday you know I mean he has he started to show that type of potential so you know maybe the Hawks are banking on his continued development and growth um and if so it’s like getting a whole new player you know it’s like went out traded for somebody almost as long as he can continue this upward trajectory so look that’s to me that’s that’s a big sign what he does uh assuming you keep Trey young uh what Jaylen Johnson does you know maybe maybe this is the guy that’s helping you get to new heights uh and becoming that number two option that you really have kind of been clamoring for who’s a fit um and and you know there’s every reason to believe and have High Hopes in in Johnson potentially turning into that guy yeah and I think that’s like I said he’s one of the Hawks fans are very excited about a guy who like I said show flashes I mean you saw I sometimes said when you watched him if you didn’t watch basketball and you was turned into a game he’s that type of player I say you would be like he he comes off he gives off a like really good player energy like he doesn’t seem like oh yeah he’s just out there you know and I think that that’s what most exciting I mean I remember people were having comparisons about like what is the ceiling I mean I’m seeing Scotty piffen I mean even some people mention LeBron like some people just you know because they’re seeing dunk can pass because that’s a very underrated part of his game um you know can finish at the rim and stuff and just for him the biggest thing I’ve always said is just confidence uh and stealing the confidence into him playing you know using your you know your size to your advantage and just really putting it all together and that’s something that he’ll continue to do through the process with getting more experience but you know speaking from young one young player to the next Hawks drafted Zach uh zachari rishe as the first pick in the NBA draft this past year and summer league is coming up Hawks play this I believe start summer league play this Friday um for for them and Kobe buffin another guy they’re expecting to step up is gonna play muhamad gay as well uh because just a name a few um what is the one or what what what is one thing maybe you want to see during summer I know Summer League is a weird time because you know we’ll see players struggle then they’ll be fine and things of that nature but you know I don’t know how much you pay attention to Ray through the process obviously we heard a lot about him during the process but you know what what do you want to what would you want to see from him going into his first you know minutes as a NBA basketball player in the summer league playing with like I said some guys from last year’s gra class that people are high on as well yeah you know it’s funny that we’ve gone this far without talking about the number one overall pick in the draft you know I mean he just doesn’t have that kind of buzz about him as previous number ones but you know obviously what you want to see from him is a guy who’s very comfortable out there uh and maybe not you know from the very first tip but you know eventually you want to see a guy who’s comfortable confident um really comes as a complete package as advertised you know uh supposedly can do it all you know I mean great athlete can can handle the ball can shoot can drive can finish you know pretty good Defender Wing Defender Type U so yeah I mean you know obviously super young um and that’s always a concern in terms of how how much is he going to be able to contribute from day one with the Hawks um in the regular season but you know you want to see a guy who’s look we always say this about NBA players right they kind of have that it Factor even when they’re not making shots or or you know look a little clunky out there you know for instance I watched the Lakers summer league team the other day and you know D this Dalton connect their first round pick isn’t making any shots but I’m like yeah he just looks like an NBA player that that’s ready to contribute and I think that’s what you want to see from risset it’s not about his stats or his final num it’s about you know how does he move is he moving like a guy who’s going to be able to contribute right away is he does he have those tools is he is he just doing stuff that separates himself uh you know you can just simple eye test can show you who’s ready for the NBA you know on a consistent basis and I think that’s what you I think you’re going to see that already but what you want to see is somebody who looks like yeah this is going to be a franchise guy at some point because that’s what you want with your number one pick and if all goes well it looks like a guy who’s really going to help the Atlanta Hawks this year so all of a sudden now you have Trey young you have a a player on the rise and Jaylen Johnson and now all of a sudden you have a rookie number one overall pick who all of a sudden is your your number three guy who could contribute that way so um you know could be positive things for the Hawks without even making another move depending on the rise of these other young players so and you do you do have the bonovich and the DeAndre hunters and the capellas and you know everybody else to kind of fill in around these guys um but you know there’s some ifs there and that’s that’s you know that’s anytime you go into a season with ifs fans overreact and make it sound like they’re negatives but in reality there’s some hope there uh with the Hawks and richet is obviously you know that’s what you want to see is this guy an NBA Ready Player um and and how comfortable is he already at such a young age uh you know the nice thing it’d be great if he dominated but I don’t think anybody expects that and if that really means a whole lot the what means more is what kind of fit is he gonna be and what type of upside is he showing right now yeah definitely and I think that’s that’s the next big thing for Hawks fans to tune into R sh’s debut this Friday obviously starting off I believe they start off against the Wizards so you know that’s obviously interesting with the story lines between SAR and the Hawks and everything that happened between there so that’s definitely going to be an exciting time and overall like you said they have a lot of young players that they are relying on this season to make another step and to help the team and if that works out then yeah you should see Hawks should maybe be better than last year but if they don’t then obviously you have to re-evaluate and reassess so it’s going to be interesting to see what the Hawks do moving forward but Sam I appreciate you coming on to the show let people know where they can find you if they want to keep up with your work yeah uh Hoops wire.com is you know uh I’ve been running that now for three or four years somewhere in there um before that I was at Sports Illustrated Fox Sports um and uh just broke off broke off on my own and and have been running this fortunately you know all my readers came with me from Fox Sports but which is great made it a full-time job but it also means you know 12 14 days sometimes weekends holidays you know but I wouldn’t trade it for the world so yeah Hoops wire.com is a website uh at amiko Hoops on Twitter or XX as it’s called now um also on threads at amiko hoops and I even have an amiko Hoops Facebook page so um anywhere you can follow me there I probably you know I always say if you follow me on on social media you better really love basketball because I never shut up and uh we just keep posting away so uh it’s a lot of fun and uh I’ve had I’ve had some some fun uh writing about the Hawks I think they’ve had a real interesting off season as always remind fans Don’t Panic too much in July because they have all the way until February to make a trade right price so you know um but anyway it’s really cool I I always enjoy uh the Hawks is a little boy were my first favorite team believe it or not so um yes sir have a special place in my heart even though I grew up in Northeast Ohio so I don’t know make sense of that but uh I think I I think I just like their uniforms but they’ve always held a special place in my heart because of that and I was Quinn Snider’s roommate at basketball camp so really wow for you right there with quid Snider in the younger days huh there you go I can tell you this he was uh he could one thing I remember about him is he could just jump out of the gym he was 6′ one but had the hot like a 46 inch vertical back in the day that’s that’s all I remember about I mean when we a vertical man we got to bring out the archives we need to find the archives for this yeah yeah he was he was a dunking machine that was that was something that I remember even at 6 fo1 was dunking over 6768 guys that was his that was a strong point I envied him for that cuz I I get off about I got about 4 in vertical so hey you know it’s funny you mentioned that he was like yeah he was 61 dunking I was like shoot maybe that’s why he relates so well DET Tre he’s like listen I was your playing basketball so I understand what you’re going through I can help ey here so yeah that’s that’s cool though that’s cool that’s that’s a fun fact right there uh a great way to end off the show for sure but like I said Sam I appreciate you coming on and obviously guys but this podcast is available on any podcast platform Apple Spotify whatever if you’re watching this on YouTube subscribe to the channel like the video show some love everything like that as we continue through this Atlanta Hawks offseason and wait for any other potential moves that potentially could be in the Wake moving forward but next step is summer league this Friday as the Hawks kick it off and you get to see number one overall pick rash play in his debut but that’s Sam I’m Bryce see you next time

Hoopswire’s Own NBA senior writer Sam Amico joins the show. We discuss the Hawks offseason so far, what he thinks Atlanta’s moves and Trae Young and a fun fact many may not know about Quin Snyder

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00:00 – Intro
1:10 – Hawks offseason so far
4:40 – Reaction to the Dejounte Trade
9:20 – Clint moved soon?
11:30 – Hunter moved soon?
16:00 – Thoughts on Trae Young
21:30 – Jalen Johnson option 2?
25:30 – Summer league for the Hawks

#atlantahawks #traeyoung #dejountemurray #nbatrades #nbasummerleague #nbaoffseason #hoopswire #nbapodcast