1st pick talk, Jalen Johnson at the 2? And more Hawks talk W/ Wes Morton – Ep.71

1st pick talk, Jalen Johnson at the 2? And more Hawks talk W/ Wes Morton – Ep.71

welcome in Hawks fans your boy Bryce Lewis back at it again for another episode of Believe In Hawks you already know your boys back but I brought another guest with me this week Wes Morton managing editor for Pete Street Hoops if you’ve been familiar with the Hawks coverage scene pet Hoops has been around for a while and you know Wes I appreciate you coming on man and sharing some of your wisdom with me today yeah absolutely yeah thanks for having me on yeah it’s definitely it seems like it’s gonna be a busy offseason so lots to talk about so so so great timing definitely man and like you know I I feel like you know you know this is I want to say this one of the more active off Seasons we’ve had it’s just more active because of the draft now being a high high priority but we already knew coming into it even before that it was going to be a busy offseason so let’s go ahead and dive into it right now we’re gonna start with the draft obviously in a few weeks the Hawks will be able to make that first pick on ABC prime time uh we will unless they get another pick they’ll be done and so we’ll we’ll be able to just first pick all right we know we do we know so the big debate has been alexar rash and even kingan has been mentioned in that um as potential candidates for that first pick uh I feel like it’s been kind of a rotation a little bit first when we got the pick oh yeah s then R rash game momentum and now Clingan has been the latest one to game momentum uh what are your overall thoughts right now as we stand on that first pick of where the Hawks should go and then also just give your thoughts on the people that are being considered in those three yeah man yeah they got options for sure like you say it’s um it’s kind of every every rumor report you know people from ESPN or wherever you basically mentioned those three names s chess and and kingan and they’re all like a little bit different in their own right um you know obviously like positionally and kind of like you know where they would fit in and kind of what their age is so so it’s definitely you know part of it is like um you know it kind of ties into to everything going with the organization with you know they’re going to probably have to make some Moves In free agency so making this pick is going to kind of you know go go along that way to saying like Okay we’re kind of going this Direction versus this direction um you know two of them are two of them are basically big men types and then rear is a you know three and D they they you know they think maybe if he if he puts on a little bit of weight he can maybe play the four a little bit but um you know he’s going to shoot and you know defend and all that so you know it they don’t trade out of the spot which is which is kind of the other thing that’s kind of been popping up pretty recently they may try to trade down a few spots um because I think they can get one of them maybe a little bit lower but if they stay out one seems It’s Canna be one of those three guys and one of those three guys is going to you know give the Hawks some size something that they need that basically a position especially you know the the forward spots and and the the fiveman so um you know I kind of get into each individual guy um you know I think like like you said when we started it was basically just Alex SAR like just just when you look at his tape um his upside like like when you when you look at all the things he can do on the basketball court is like pretty crazy like he’s 71 he he moves he he legit moves like a wing um he can handle the ball in the open court you know kind of reminds you of you know you know Jaylen Johnson when he show he’s shown that over this past season you know you know little flashes of yanis not saying he’s Giannis but in terms of being able to actually handle the ball as a big man um you know got a little bit of passing as well you know a little bit of shooting but then the defense is is really what’s like you know defense is what everyone Raves about um you know the fact that he’s got like you know super huge wingspan um he can he can defend you know just kind of you know sideline to sideline kind of a guy he’s he’s super mobile super agile um can defend at the rim and block shots and stuff so you know question with him is he really young he just turned 19 he was in Australia this past year and you really didn’t play a lot I mean I mean that that kind of happens like when when guys go to like Europe or or Australia like you know those teams are professionals like they’re trying to win they’re not really trying to develop the guy so he kind of had a role where he was coming off the bench and you know he’ do some things but he would never really get more than like 20 minutes a game so it was kind of hard for him to like get into a rhythm and and that sort of thing so it’s kind of like you saw flashes you saw him being developed but he still an unfinished product m um so you know that’s that’s kind of the guy I’ve kind of leaned towards this whole this whole process you know the slashes he’s shown um as far as the other guys um kingan I’ve actually been a pretty big fan of him like even even well before like you know the col season kind of finish you know he was a little bit on the radar after last season um he he was yukon’s backup um sonogo their starter went to the NBA so he kind of moved into that starting center role um he was hurt um but obviously second half of the college basketball season you know he was pretty dominant Yukon went you know they they were basically like you know just a dominant Team all year went through the tournament like not many people challenged him and you know he was just a you know just that classic fiveman rim protector um you know you kind of see that in you know Rudy goar the guy he’s compared to or um you know going back a little bit of mar Gasol is another good comparison you know definitely a guy that’s um you know he big he’s not he’s not as mobile as SAR but um these playoffs like the NBA Playoffs have kind of shown us like you know those those classic b b are still like they can still do a lot of stuff when you look at you know goar and what Derrik Lively’s doing for for Dallas you know those classic drop bigs are still you know they still have a big effect and if you can just go up and you know um on offense his role is not going to be super huge he’ll just he’ll just grab lobs you know stuff like that I don’t think he’s ever going to be that much of a shooter um whereas I think SAR could become a shooter in a few years so so those are kind of differences there but but the fact that kingan’s been productive and he’s actually shown it in a college level just something like SAR hasn’t quite done just because he went a different route you know there’s some appeal there because because you kind of you kind of know a guy who kind of dominated college at that age he think he’s 20s 20 right now like he should be pretty productive immediately at the NBA um and the third Ras you know honestly I didn’t know too much about him until recently you know he’s a name that that kind of crept up on on a lot of people but I’d heard him kiic kicked around but the he’s playing in France you know 610 kind of wing guy um you know good Defender Good Team Defender all-around Defender good shooter um really good shooter they they think you know he could be a you know a really really high upside kind of shooter you know the questions if you can’t really put the ball in his hands tell him to create it’s not really his game um so he he’s gonna do a lot of his work off the ball which you know if you’re building around Trey young maybe that’s a good thing maybe you can’t take the ball you know um you know Trey young can can kind of set him up get into the paint and he’ll have you know that shooting space for him but you know he’s been productive really down the stretch the the French league has they play longer than you know any other league essentially like the Euro leagues the French league so he he just couple weeks ago ended his season so um you know Scott’s a bit to kind of look and see him there’s a picture around on Twitter with uh you know with with Quin Snyder and Landry fields and Kyle corver they they wouldn’t go they wouldn’t go watched him like a week after the the draft lottery so he’s a definite possibility for me I’m not I’m not that enthusiastic about giving you know putting a number one pick on a guy who just who can’t create at this stage like maybe he gets a little bit of creation later on in his career but he’s pretty much just gonna be an off ball kind of three and D guy you know should be a good good shooter good Defender you know he’s got like a 610 Wings span as well but um he’d be a guy if maybe if you traded down and maybe could pick him up three four five in the draft maybe somewhere you look but for me I think if the hawk stay at one I’m still L onar um even knowing that it’s you know the upside is there it’s going to probably take a few years but I think I think his ability is is just rare in this draft and I think he kind of puts it puts himself you know apart from each other and kind of a tear of his own yeah and I think too you know with SAR it’s funny they know you’ve heard the that word unicorn thrown around a few times uh which I mean that’s viewed as like oh you’re you you have a chance to potentially be a special player with the skill set that he possesses because I I mentioned on Twitter a couple days ago about just my only issue with Clingan is just I’m worried because you have seen it also in these playoffs where guys are going to attack your weaknesses you have clink on the floor Brunson saying give him to me because I know he can’t guard me and that may make him unplayable in certain situations um you know that’s kind of what Dallas at times did to Rudy gobear um so you know it’s but it’s a fine line because like you said everybody has a role and it can work it just depends on matchups and who you’re playing and things of that nature and then rash like I said I just feel like drafting him just to potentially trade DeAndre Hunter I’m just kind of like are we really making a upgrade of significant proportion there that’s really changing anything where I feel like SAR has the potential to actually kind of change some things for this team if you know obviously depending on playing time and where he is obviously he’s still developing as well so it’ll be interesting to kind of see like I said how how they view that when when that decision comes but you know when when talking about uh the roster as a whole you know people have obviously connected uh people wonder about Trey Young’s status with the team it feels like those those trade rumors have died down a little bit um I’ve seen some reports there saying yeah Hawks still value that’s probably unlikely uh big guy really is just deante still that’s going to be the big question mark uh for a lot of people is Deon gonna be moved so I just wanted to get your thoughts on on dejon’s situation uh just are are you feeling that that’s the case I’ve said that I wouldn’t be shocked if they kept him but you know I think there’s definitely gonna be conversations like they were at the trade deadline yeah I mean I I would I’d probably go the other way i’ I’d be pretty shocked I would be shocked if they kept them on honestly like I suppose it’s a possibility but I think it’s been pretty clear like the two seasons last two seasons just haven’t gone how they had hoped they had gone like I think everybody would admit that um deon’s extension kicks in this year and you know just just seems like you know whatever reason when they’re on the court together it it just doesn’t two guys that good should be better than they are at least the team should be better than they are and they’re just just not really they seem to kind of play better when even when Trey went down this past season in March like team actually kind of played pretty well I don’t that doesn’t mean that you know trainer is a bad player but it just felt like the lineups were a little bit more balanced you had dejon you had bogie had V really playing well and then the offsite was kind of true when it was just Trey Trey bogy DeAndre hunter or something those lineups seem to do a lot better so um for me I think I think the fit is is just not there I think it’s pretty clear at this point so um I think they would again Trey Young’s essentially the guy like he’s been there since 2018 you know the the franchise built built the whole thing around him he’s he’s the guy I think they would want to keep him um you know Jon obviously was brought in later um and you know there’s there’s kind of rumors that he’s he’s not particularly happy with his with his role and things of that nature so uh I think it would be best if yeah I mean if they try to move him like like I said he’s got a four-year deal now kicking in uh there are a lot of rumors I think the biggest ones I heard heard were were him with the Pelicans you see a lot of versions of like him for Brandon Ingram or something something in that area or you know maybe they’re trying to Target herb Jones the Pelicans are kind of in the same position where you know they just feel like Brandon Ingram and Zion don’t really fit together um with CJ and the mix so so those are two teams you know both the Hawks and the Pelicans are trying to shake things up anyway you I think those could be good that could be a good location for for D jante you know he can go there he can be pretty much like you know a better point guard than CJ can be for them and you know the Hawks can maybe get back some um some Wing players with a little bit more size and things so that that’s where I’ve basically been all along I think they’re gonna hold on to Trey I think they’re trying to build around them um move to jeante um and then a guy like Trey you know you really need a guy like Trey if if you’re gonna draft a big man if they draft SAR Clingan you you really got to have a point guard like um so I I think as good a point guard as as you can get you know Trey’s obviously like a great lob thrower get them involved um so so I think I think he’ll be able to kind of bring them along as well but yeah that’s that’s I suppose it’s possible they maybe maybe hold on to them and maybe try again you know maybe just maybe one more season with train to jante but me personally I I think I’ve kind of we’ve kind of seen all there is to see of this and I think it’s best if they kind of moved on and and then tried to you know really retool the roster around round Trey try to give more size try to improve the defense yeah and I think you know that’s very understandable I mean you know like I said the rumors are going to be there you said the Pelicans are be the most obvious connection which has been the most obvious you know I’ve seen a lot of people even the Pelican side of things talking about that trying to figure out which guard they would rather prefer um and then then you know we’ve heard even maybe San Antonio has been mentioned obviously um as a potential destination as well and then obviously we know guys like clink Capell and DeAndre Hunter are also going to be available I’ve made the suggestion you know with Oklahoma City having a surplus of picks they’re looking to move off some of them you probably could pick up a couple of first from OKC just because they have so many they can just and they need a center they need a guy like capella on the roster and things like that and the biggest thing I think obviously be DeAndre Hunter because people don’t really know where the best fit is I guess for him and then we don’t know what a trade would look like if that was the case or would he just be a part of a package so um do you do you see the likelihood of them both being gone after this offseason or is it is it more maybe one out of the two uh I’m honestly leaning at one out of the two and and I would probably lean Clint capella like um one thing I will say about you know joh Hunter like when he came back from injury he he kind of he came off the bench he was a six-man roll and honestly he was probably playing his best basketball of his career at that point I think um you know shooting shooting really well and and kind of a little bit more aggressive getting to the basket so I could see I could see them holding on DeAndre I think they I think they could probably keep him in that six-man role um that might be best for him um capella on the other hand you know he’s a lot older you know he’s I think he just turned 30 he’s he’s got one year on his contract um I think it’s time for them for for the hwks to kind of get younger at that Center position capella has dealt with some injuries over the last few years and he was playing well down the stretch of the season Once he got healthy once he is you know kind of back to being like you know obviously being cck capella and rebounding and blocking shots things but um I think especially with them having the number one over pick um in my mind that there’s a good chance to take it with a big man um and you still got okongwu kongu is you know just his extensions kicking in this year um I think it makes the most sense to to just like you say trade Clint this would be you know pretty decent pretty decent opportunity like you say with OKC they could just they could just grab him um because they needed a big man obviously kind of their last you know for their last playoff run they may want him going forward push Trent to the four um I think you see other teams honestly try to go maybe like a a Memphis Grizzlies try to put him next to jiren Jackson that’s another one I’ve seen rumored but yeah I do think Clint will have like you know a decent amount of um trade interests you know Memphis may be like a future first or something like that they don’t have the picks that OKC has but uh the fact that he’s he’s a veteran expiring big man who can you know he’s still pretty good like I said he’s he’s pretty good obviously Hawks fans have had his frustrations with like you know he doesn’t he doesn’t finish at The Rim as as much as he used to but he’s still he’s still good he still helps your defense he still helps your rebounding so I think I think he’s pretty likely to get moved and DeAndre Hunter I would say there possibility but I’ll say that there’s a lot less possibility just because he was he was really starting to play well towards the end of the season and I think they may they may keep him for for another season to to like I said come off the bench and maybe just just solidify that that bench unit yeah I mean that that’s obviously a rule that I think we all saw him excel in and you know hopefully that is something they consider but I also understand you know you gotta make sure you have someone who can fill in for that spot too which you know brings me to this next topic that has been brought up over the weekend um so Jaylen Johnson obviously is a guy who versatile player has different skills uh has some guard skills uh Haw as a four and everything there was a debate on Twitter that you know hey Jaylen Johnson could play the two guard spot right right and so uh i’ I’ve gave my two cents I was like jayen Johnson is a four he is a forward that’s how the team sees him that’s what he’s going to be and moving forward uh what what do you think about that whole conversation I I I mean I guess I can understand their concept oh wait he has guard skills all he has to do is be able to shoot and they’ll work right but I don’t know what what do you think about Jaylen Johnson at the two yeah I mean yeah I mean I’m with you there like he he’s a forward so and that’s and again that’s all the Hawks have you know the Hawks have of always seen him as a Ford like even when he wasn’t really playing he went to the G League they’re only play him at the four and they play him a little bit at the five actually in the G league so and and we’ve actually seen him actually play the five a little bit you know when they got injured I think there was a couple games where Clint and cono were out so J play the five but yeah I mean they see him as a five um yeah he definitely has guard skills he can handle the ball and all that but yeah the the the responses I got on Twitter were well it’s like you know it’s not about it’s not less about positions and more about you know putting you know tall you know size size around Trey and all this force and speed stuff and I’m like yeah but positions still do matter like like like a two guard is still a two guard like you’re not playing bogy at the four Bogie’s a two who could play three you know so you know positions do matter Jaylen he can handle the ball and things in open court but you know he plays a lot more like you know a pascal sakam who’s who’s who’s pretty clearly a four you know the Raptors were kind of playing him at the one for a little bit and it just wasn’t working it’s obvious it was working you know traded him to Indiana he slotted in at their four and you know now it’s working you know that that halberton se yakum kind of partnership is working you know I see a similar thing with Trey and Jaylen Johnson like yeah Jaylen can handle the ball but he’s also gonna set screens and roll to the rim he’s gonna finish at The Rim he rebounds like he does a lot of big man stuff while also having guard skills and you know he shot the ball better certainly but you know he’s he’s not you know most two guards are are shooting you know a lot of Threes are shooting you know 35 to 38% from three he’s he’s not quite as consistent a shooter like he’s more a guy he wants to drive so um yeah it’s he’s a forward like I said we’re we’re we’re under this talk where it’s like position lless basketball and that’s that’s somewhat true and guys can move around I could even see Jaylen playing the three a little bit he’s played the five already a little bit but you know when you start talking like the two like positions do matter like like the two guard has to be able to like you know be be like you know the secondary ball handler and the shooter and they don’t the Hawks don’t really see J that way they want him to do like you know big man stuff and finish near the rim so um and honestly like that’s I think that’s a big deal like everyone’s looking for those versatile whes like you don’t want to take away that versatility he has for his position you know just because he he could maybe make it work as a two like you want to put him in in the best position for him to succeed and and that’s as as him you know being being that four R yeah and like I I agree yeah for R let him Excel from that position let him continue to grow still is growing he’s doing still developing as a player as he continues on his career guy they look as a big part of the SC moving forward and as people believe star potential as well so you know let him you know it’s also moving him around it’s just like now he has to kind of learn the the you know incres that spot and what you need from this at him from the the three then him at the four even him at the five so you don’t want to add that to the the development of Jaylen when you’re trying to make that happen but you know speaking of that and the young guys in general um is there a young player out of the draft class from last year just already on the roster right now that you see going into next season obviously we have to see how the roster formulates but you could see going into next season as like he’s going to play a bigger role he’s going to take another step in your eyes yeah for me that’s that’s Kobe um you know I like what I saw like you know unfortunately he was hurt for most of the first first season he went he went to the G league for a little bit got hurt um you know kind of um he got better started really really taking off with the G League um he had like a 41-point game I believe um one game with the sky Hawks and um ended up kind of playing some time with with the Hawks and you know basically from first game and you could tell like his guard defense is is is something that they haven’t really had like you know reminded me a lot of like dlon Wright when he was here he was really like um you know playing good guard defense on the ball um causing turnovers um he can he can handle the ball a little bit he’s still kind of working on that um but you know handle the ball enough to be like this kind of combo guard role you know shooting and stuff has coming along but I think the fact that he just plays with like he he’s given 100% effort 100% hustle you know making things happen on the defensive end that that’s something the Hawks haven’t really had um a guard really you know occasionally Deonte would give us flashes where he’s you know creating Steals and stuff but you know Kobe can can really be that like you know third guard you know create a lot of turnovers and and handle the ball as well so you know that’s pretty valuable um especially especially next to Trey young you know you can kind of hide his defense a little bit when when you ever like guy like Kobe so you know I definitely see him I think I think there’s a possibility he’s even the backup point guard for next season backup point he’ll play some to um but I can see him having you know kind of like a you know maybe not quite Jaylen Johnson breakout but a little bit of breakout season in second year yeah and that would be really exciting for Hawks fans to see Kobe take that next step I mean that’s one of the reasons why you could also add that to why maybe moving on from D Jon would be best is for the Kobe’s development because you know did the facto backup PG and obviously when he was healthy they didn’t really play Kobe when they were both out there trading de jante so that could just be big for for for Kobe and to improve the defense in the back court Al together and depending on who they put at that two spot now you maybe put another two-way guy there now you’ve defensively added you can say you’ve upgraded if you go back to a four guard rotation with two guys who you know who can defend and you can get away with Trey as long as he continues to put an effort defensively and bogy who tries to do something um I’m I’m ask you one last one I’m G let you go we got to talk about the NBA Finals right now Celtics are up two nothing on uh Dallas before shifting to Dallas um is this series is this series over West is it is it done is is Boston taking this or or G fight back and we gon maybe go back to Boston 22 so I don’t ever like to say it’s done but I would I would definitely lean towards me personally I would lean towards probably being one-1 in Dallas Boston gets a split and then they they probably take it take it in game five honestly I just think I think Boston’s just playing too well um obviously with with poras coming back is like the perfect timing for them because I think they would have really struggled to a degree against the Mavericks um without porzingis but he he really like you know he was big for them in both games uh really but especially game one um they just don’t they it’s just a matchup problem for them like they just have no one who guard you know he was just rising up and firing over smaller guys and the fact that Boston can just space their floor with all five guys uh space the floor drive you know even when their offense wasn’t wasn’t really clicking a lot in game two um they they they also have just like the pr Defenders that just you know they’re making a tough for Kyrie and all that so it’s really just both sides of the ball I just think they’re they’re pretty dominant this this stage and they’re locked in they they’ve got experience you know like Kyrie’s basically the only one on that mass team who who’s been here before whereas the majority of auson team they were in the finals two years ago um you know Drew holiday’s been a champion with the bucks so they’ve got that experience so I think I think you know mavick will probably get one they’ll probably get one either game three or game four just to kind of you know I don’t think they get swept but I I would say it’s probably going to end in five just the way it looks yes sir the gentleman sweep okay five G Hey listen I’m I’m kind of the same boat I don’t want to give Dallas I want to count them out because they have been a team that can make adjustments you know I know sometimes even after they lost two first game ones in the first two series they play people like oh maybe you know and then they made adjustments and they were uh Jud us so maybe that could happen but um right now it looks like Boston is the better team in the series and so you know if that’s the case then good for them if that ends up happening and you obviously whereby is going next year East runs through Boston so and when so that’ll be what the Hawks know they’re aiming for but I appreciate you Wes for coming on man to the show man let people know where they can find you in your work yeah absolutely appreciate you’re having me again um so you can find me you know at PE hoops.com um we’ve been doing draft coverage we doing all sorts of stuff we’ve been trying to cover the the Atlanta Dream as well so you know join us there join us through you know draft day and through the fre agency and stuff like that um you can also follow me on Twitter blog Hawk b g ha a WK you know be you know I’ll be tweeting my my opinions and and things of that nature so yeah yeah yeah yes sir appreciate you like I said man you already know follow me on Twitter B2K listeners through audio don’t forget to leave a rating and review YouTube subscribe and like the video share it let people know this is the number one Hawks podcast in the community but appreciate you West like I said I’m Bryce that’s Wes see you next time

Wes Morton of Peachtree Hoops joins the show. We discuss the first pick, Hawks offseason storylines and Jalen Johnson playing the 2? and more.

00:00 – Intro
1:00 – 1st pick discussion
9:50 – Murray Trade Rumors
14:00 – Hunter and Capela trade rumors
17:15 – Jalen Johnson at the 2?
21:08 – Young Hawks player in line for a breakout season
24:00 – NBA Finals talk

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