The Charlotte Hornets add to the front office – Are the Hornets becoming the Atlanta Hawks?

The Charlotte Hornets add to the front office – Are the Hornets becoming the Atlanta Hawks?

Coming up today on the lockdown Hornets podcast who’s the new guy Jeff Peterson already hard at work hiring people a part of his staff and my next question is are the Charlotte Hornets really just becoming the Atlanta Hawks we’ll talk about all of that today on lockon

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Terms and conditions apply as you can see if you’re watching on YouTube no Doug Branson he should be joining us once again on Monday and so it’s just going to be be me going solo Doo one more time now I think with this new software that I’m working out

Today I’m hoping to avoid any problems we all know when I go solo there’s going to be a tech issue in fact I to be quite honest with you I’ve already had a couple before I even started but once we get into a flow I’m hoping that it all

Works out just hold on with me for a little bit with the tech stuff as crazy as Doug is he’s quite smart with the behind the scenes stuff so me not so much I’m just the attempt at a pretty face and then also bringing you the

Takes so I’m going to try to do that and be the Renaissance Man such as Doug Branson is so we’re gonna bring you an episode about a new hire that the new EVP of basketball Ops has already made within just a couple of days on the job

And he’s going back to a familiar place we’ll get to that in just a moment but Rod Boon I believe wge had the news first but Rod Boon of the Charlotte Observer also reporting as well that the Hornets are hiring Atlanta’s Doon aen wall I’m hoping I’m getting that right

Doon aen wall AK i n w l as the assistant general manager making him the first hire on Jeff Peterson staff League sources confirmed that’s a tweet from Rod Boon’s Twitter account at Rod Boon he also tweets out aen wall was the vice president of player Personnel for the

Atlanta Hawks receiving the promotion to that role last summer and so who is this guy who is Doon aen wall well Jeff Peterson certainly has familiarity because they both work together in the Atlanta Hawks organization and it’s his 12th year in the league he got his start

With the Orlando Magic but was with the Atlanta Hawks for most of his time and in fact if you go to Atlanta hawks.com a part of nba.com of course aen wall Jr is in his 11th NBA season and Ninth with the Hawks this was last year and so it’s

His 12th season and he joined the club in 2015 he served as a manager of scouting director of scouting and senior director of player Personnel he came to Atlanta from the magic where he was a basketball operations coordinator after starting as an intern aen wall Jr played collegiately at theal College in

Pennsylvania teal maybe everything is messing me up today where he earned a degree in Business Administration he is a native of Germantown Maryland so a couple things here one both former players and Jeff Peterson and oen wall Jr so that’s not always the case you would think most of these decision

Makers have some background in basketball but that’s not always the case and so both of these guys at least having played college basketball within the last 20 years seeming ly relatively young too which is another thing to take note of here with aen wall getting his

Start just 12 years ago it’s a good mix right younger but you have some NBA experience just as Jeff Peterson has here and with aen wall Jr having a background in The Scouting Department I actually really like that one because you’re assistant general manager we’ll see if Jeff Peterson decides to hire a

GM I would imagine so you don’t have that on the staff right now and so you’re going for the assistant GM before you go for the actual GM as long as Jeff Peterson is the one that is the chief basketball decision maker such as Rick schn and Gabe Plotkin emphasized in

Introductory press conference then that’s fine usually you would think it’s the other way around hire the GM the GM hires the assistant GM but it doesn’t matter Peterson deciding to just bring aen wall Jr into the fold as soon as possible but I like him having a scouting background so if that’s the

Case then I’m hoping that this is someone that has already learned a lot about the NBA draft you can be drafting players for 30 40 50 years and still never figure it out to the point where you never have a Miss but it’s just important to learn from some of the

Misses and feel and figure out why you got it right on some of your hits and so the fact that this is somebody that is younger but has the experience having the best of both worlds there I like this guy coming from The Scouting Department because if you build through

The draft then you’re going to be set up for success and you can absolutely exercise those other channels to have a team get better but the draft is the most important cost controlled salaries having these guys come into the building and having the inside track to sign them

Once they get to their second and third year contract it it it matters right we all understand this it’s also impressive because I think Jeff Peterson gets that too I think he puts that as high priority as a lot of GMS do but when you

Go back to the W pod and listen to Jeff talk with Adrien wowski he’s telling you that a lot of these guys don’t even get to free agency anymore or at least free agency isn’t what it used to be because once you draft these players if they’re

Good enough then there is a lot of Team control to have the upper hand at keeping them in the building which is nice especially with our own GM for quite some time and Mitch cup telling us that hitting in the draft is really the only source of making this team better

So I I like putting emphasis on the draft while also exploring other ways to improve the team and I expect that to happen because we saw it during his time in Brooklyn no he wasn’t the lead dog there that was Shawn Marx but still being there and being so helpful from

His reputation yeah I’m hoping that that he finds that happy medium while also putting an emphasis on the draft hiring somebody immediately in The Scouting Department that makes sense to me so some familiarity I like bringing guys in that you’ve worked with in the past and

Some people will say oh well maybe he’s just hiring a guest man you can’t hire all these familiar faces nepotism yet one I’m cool with this I want my guys to be on the same page this is always been a disconnect for me and some other

People and other fans that might view it as oh I want A diversity of thought well that’s that is borrowing a phrase directly used from Frank Reich if you guys are Carolina Panthers fans who we can go with the bringing in all of the smart minds and everybody wants to be

The head chef to use the classic kitchen example and it’s like o okay yeah a lot of head chefs a lot of differing ideas they want to take control and it doesn’t really work out it feels like there is a direct line of communication there is direct hierarchy forming and I like that

Good old f fashion business model sometimes we need to learn from that sometimes we need to progress from that but also I like having a clear line of communication you have your co-owners hopefully they’re going to let the basketball guy do the basketball thing with consultation from them I know

People were a little worried about that comment but that’s just the way of the NBA and the business I’m hoping they allow Jeff Peterson to still be the driving force as Chief basketball decision maker which is what I expect and then Jeff Peterson relying on his

Guys like a doton aen wall who comes from a scouting background and has had some success with the Atlanta Hawks that will allow us to serve as a transition into if the Charlotte Hornets are really just becoming the Atlanta Hawks and if they are becoming the Atlanta Hawks do

We like that is that something that you want to do we’ll get to that in just a moment but first I want to tell you that this episode is brought to you by eBay Motors our partners at eBay motors have teamed up with with locked on Fantasy

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Something that you’re okay with so let’s take a look at how the Hawks have built their team over the past few years if you look at let’s just go to their draft history right because that’s something okay if Jeff Peterson was a part of that for quite some time going to the

Brooklyn Nets organization in 2019 and now you’re going back to the Hawks hiring aen wall who had been a part of that scouting department since 2015 2016 then how have the O the Hawks operated since then well if you look at their draft history some of the hits

That they have John Collins falling all the way to 19 loved that pick then that was somebody that they hit in 2017 then you go to 2018 and that was an interesting draft because 2018 was the draft that Dallas wanted to get Luca donic so badly that they gave up a lot

To move up and go select him and yeah you it’s it’s a miss right if you’re the Hawks then you just stay there and you select LCA donic for sure but if you do trade back I like the process a little bit because you get some Assets in

Return and you still select an all NBA caliber player in Trey young so yeah like there are problems with Trey he’s not Luca he’s not of the same Stratosphere I get it but I like the process to be honest with you you didn’t hit on it but I like the process you get

Some Talent you get some Assets in return you also draft Kevin herder at 19 that’s someone that gets to a second contract another franchise valued him enough to go pay him a decent amount of money in Sacramento and while yet he’s had an up and down season Kevin herder I

Would still call a hit at number 19 you move on not a great year in 2019 where you had two top 10 picks and you didn’t hit on any of them so that one’s a bad one and I I should say Jackson Hayes actually goes to New Orleans and so yeah

That was the pick they they get Cam reddish who I loved to be honest with you like this is a little bit of hindsight for me because at the time I loved cam reddish and you know everybody’s giving him a shot because of how talented is and any that dude is a

Myth in high school basketball like everybody talks about how he was the toughest D dude to defend ever in high school basketball anyways he missed but I like that thought process from the Hawks the other picks I would say are hits and we’ll see how they roll Ana Kung Wu at number

Six we’ll see like we’re we’re still trying to get to another level with him I really liked him in that uh Lamela ball draft by the way in 2020 but I I like Ana Kano I would still say that that’s a hit Jaylen Johnson maybe took a

Little bit but man Jaylen Johnson has been fun for them I mean Hawks fans would point to him as a positive when what is overall a disappointing season and then of course AJ Griffin he’s somebody that needs to step it up a little bit and the other guy I didn’t

Mention just because it’s not here on the draft history because I guess technically he wasn’t drafted by them it’s the weird rule where they don’t announce the the draft picks to their team until the trades is finalized anyways DeAndre Hunter I DeAndre Hunter this is where we can get to another part

Of the process for the Hawks where their draft I think for the most part I it’s it’s polarizing I like it perhaps it’s because they’ve selected players that I liked coming out of the draft and so I’m willing to accept that like I liked Amari Spelman at 30 didn’t work out but

I liked him um Shere man at 48 you absolutely take a shot at that guy who was supposed to be a first round pick before he had a bad shooting season and I forget what else hurt Cooper falling out and falling down in that process but man I liked Sharie

Cooper yeah I mean taking a stab at him absolutely so if you start to get to the other part of the process though I think you look at free agency where yeah they gave DeAndre Hunter a lot of money questionable decision it if you look at some of the other decisions they made

Maybe via the trade market they traded they made a big one for dejonte Murray because they were going after it it was a weird fit at the time I remember the discourse surrounding the dejonte Murray trade being hesitant for both teams in fact I remember quite a few NBA analysts

Telling you that oh man did I don’t like it for either team I’d rather have Deonte Murray with San Antonio even if they collect some assets from the Hawks like I get it but Deon Murray and Trey young in the same backourt I know what they were trying to do they were trying

To counter the def efficiencies defensively that Trey young brings to the table with dejonte who’s a very good Defender but how are they going to work offensively and yeah it’s not been a great fit to now we’re having constant discussion about which one of those guys

Are you GNA trade you gonna make the big one and move on from Trey young or are you gonna make something smaller and trade de Jon Murray to the Lakers or whoever is the rumored team at the time so yeah there there’ve been some questionable moves from them but again I

Keep going back to the thought and while they haven’t hit on everything I do like the fact that you have a good mix of exercising everything you can to make your team better hey we got to the Eastern Conference Finals we had an epic Series against Philadelphia

And we won and that was because we had a bad dude in Trey Young Who led the way we had a star we put enough around him to beat what was a superior team at the time I even if Joel embid Ben Simmons the Fiasco passing up on a dunk yeah

It’s all horrific for Philadelphia right but still got to give the Hawks credit and what they were able to accomplish so okay you have that success no it’s not sustained and that’s an issue but I like that you have a good mix of trying to get better through the trade market

Trying to get better through the draft and hitting on some guys trying to get better through free agency you know they give some of their guys that second contract at least keeping what you think is internal talent in the system which I love hello love that if you hit on guys

I hate watching those players leave and we’ve seen that too much from Charlotte because they kind of have to in some situations because they’re ah they’re not really hits yet so we’ll just let them move to a different team not going to pay him and then with some of the

Guys that are pretty good or what you would call a a success as a first round pick or if you did a redraft you’d probably just select him again it it’s nice to get value from those guys if you trade them you know PJ Washington comes

To mind you got a lot of value there but I also want to keep these guys that we draft and then have them stick around for more than four years and get to the next level and while the Hawks are trying to have that sustained success after getting to the Eastern Conference Finals

I like that you have a big mix and so the question is do we think the Hornets are becoming the Hawks well you have Rick schn who is a minority owner with the Hawks for quite some time you have Jeff Peterson who was in the organization for quite some time and

Peterson is going back to that franchise to get an assistant GM so yeah it this is what we can try to evaluate what has Atlanta done do we want to see that done here we’ve used them as an example a lot over the last couple of years right hey

Star point guard offensive-minded and lamelo okay can we just build around that guy and have some success getting to the Post season it smaller Market in in a way of basketball interest Atlanta’s not a small Market but you get the idea just as far as basketball interest goes you

Know it’s not La it’s not Boston yeah maybe maybe the Hawks maybe that’s the blueprint that we follow well they were listening folks they were listening and they just decided you know what let’s just go get a bunch of dudes from that organization and move it up a

Few hours up I 85 we’ll figure out if that is a good strategy for the Hornets or not but um it’s it’s going to be like that either way no matter how you slice it we’ll continue on with lock on Hornets in just a moment but first I

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For free terms and conditions apply so as always we appreciate LinkedIn and all of our partners for helping out with the locked on podcast Network so I said I would talk about the upcoming schedule yesterday and then I just got carried away with the mailbag I got carried away

With Jeff Peterson and all of the takeaways from the presser from all of the platforms the podcast he was a busy man after being introduced as the new EVP so I tried to consolidate all of that I didn’t play any but all the comments as much as possible in order to

Give you episode so here is the upcoming schedule for the Charlotte Hornets they have a game against the Washington Wizards on the road tonight they’re back at home back to back back at home Saturday against Brooklyn and then they hit the road a couple more times once against Detroit and then once against

Memphis before they come back home at the Spectrum Center on March 15 so if we just go with those next four games this is where if you care about salvaging any momentum at the end of the season with Jeff Peterson calling this yeah small sample but better than no sample sample

Size then you want to give Jeff Peterson something positive to evaluate right like these guys are still playing for something we’ll see about lamelo who knows if he comes back I think he does based off what we heard from Steve Clifford in his interview with us on

West and Walker but who knows man so Brandon Miller you would like to have some momentum for him going into next season games is enough for you to either you stagnate I guess all out or move up or down hopefully it’s not going down for Brandon Miller as he still has a lot

Of responsibility offensively but think about the other guys right like Trey man those guys are going to be fighting for minutes in the back court next season especially when you put lamelo ball back into the fold and also what about Nick Smith Jr is there any opportunity for him to

Get playing time with Seth Curry out for what I would imagine is quite a while we saw him at a boot in a boot at Spectrum Center same thing with Cody Martin so with those guys playing more so in the back court Nick Smith Jr you’re gonna

Have another shot at this man or there’s a very good likelihood that you will so okay you guys are playing for something these next four games three on the road but competition is not great I’d at least like to see two and two right like

I i’ I’d like to see and one I mean think about it even if you’re on the road I get it Washington and Detroit the two worst teams in all of basketball man beat those teams beat those teams I know offensively it’s been a tough watch Steve Clifford even admitted it Flatout

Told you it was not aesthetically pleasing their game the last time out at the Spectrum Center yeah it wasn’t find a way to win those games man bad teams you found a way to do so right after the trade deadline do it again now you have

A bunch of road games after so you’re back home at Phoenix March 15th and then you’re on the road for Philly Orlando Atlanta Cleveland that’s a tough schedule you’re back at home for a long time but the schedule gets really tough Golden State Clippers Boston then it’s Portland Orlando Oklahoma City Dallas

Yeah I mean this it’s imperative with these next four games because it is brutal it’s nice that you have a long home stand stand like it’s actually ridiculous you have a eight game long home stand which is the longest I think in Hornet’s history if I’m not mistaken

It’s certainly the longest that I can remember before you close out the season on a three-game road trip yeah guys this could get ugly for the last 20 games what I feel like is going to happen is I’m hoping that they can come away with a couple of victories in the next four

Really go three and one would love 4-0 we’ve seen them do it before hey 4 and0 I don’t think that’s crazy to ask for and then after that it might get ugly again but this is where we’re going to have to start to figure out what individual pieces mean to this team

Moving forward because that’s exactly what Jeff Peterson is trying to evaluate so what are the positives that we can take away we’re going to be try to we’re going to be trying to look for that the rest of the way here on lockon hornets and hopefully we can finish out the

Season strong that’ll do it for lockon Hornets thanks for making us your first listen we are free and available anywhere you get your podcast and that includes you YouTube also follow me on Twitter Walker mail I’ll plug Doug substack even if he’s not here go read

His work it’s great Doug is funny and insightful Hornet every Hornets boox score.com and then when you check us out on YouTube subscribe like hit the notification button all the cliches from all your favorite YouTube Talent over the years do all of that here on lockdown hornets have a great weekend

Hopefully the Hornets can show some positive things and we’ll be here to talk about it on Monday

Are the Charlotte Hornets becoming the Atlanta Hawks? Walker goes solo to dissect the first hire after Jeff Peterson was introduced as EVP of basketball operations. What should we take away from the Hornets new Assistant GM in Dotun Akinwale? Would you be okay with following an Atlanta Hawks type approach the past few years? Finally, Walker takes a look at the Hornets upcoming schedule.

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