One nice thing about the Hawks getting the two premier guys they were connected to is the 20 minutes I spent watching NAW and Luke Kennard highlights were not in vain.

It’s funny that the Hawks initially leaked that they wanted to fill the POBO role only to later come around on Onsi Saleh as the lead decision maker. Hawks ownership actually avoided the mistake of falling for a big name who isn’t the right fit.

Hawks could still use a little more size at forward to pair with their 6'5 reserve wings in NAW and Kennard. Jabari Walker got crowded out in Portland but he was efficient and rebounds. Shot 39% from 3 at 6'9. Could be a useful deep bench guy.

Biggest offseason winners and losers, so far.

Capela's Hawks career was strong despite all the whiffed bunnies towards the end. They were weirdly dependent on his rim protection year after year. 96th, 93rd, 84th, 85th %iles in estimated wins until this year when the drop off came. Unlucky not to make All Defense in 21.

Besides getting the valuable NOP pick, the most impressive part of ATL's offseason is how little they have committed in $ long term. They've assembled a team that should compete for home court but they can also pivot off it anytime if they want. Cap sheet via NoTradeClause.

RAPM has made a huge comeback in relevance the last year or so. Felt like that metric was mostly done as a standalone but the up and coming stats sites all feature it prominently.

I’ve warmed on Asa Newell as someone who has a shot to deliver John Collins type production on a rookie deal. I think the difference with FOs now is they’re more skeptical about committing big $ to that type of player. He moves without the ball and Trae & Jalen are gonna find him

Says a lot about ATL’s moves this summer that you can stay put w/ young talent and the NOP 26 pick or trade for Giannis and be happy either way. I’m in the try & trade for Giannis camp tho. A Giannis/Trae/KP/Dyson 4 could ship the East. ATL is in the best trade position for him.

BPM is a good interpretation of the box score but it would be nice to see it phased out in favor of more robust metrics in NCAA. It’s transparent but too limited against stuff with tracking. I get why but seems like there’s been less development with all in one metrics in NCAA.

Assuming Hawks have a max of two vet mins to burn, I think Monte Morris is worth a look using one. He was bad last year in PHX, but he still rarely turns it over and provides meaningful competition for Kobe Bufkin, whom it seems the Hawks still clearly believe in.

Seems inevitable to me that pro sports sees a real decline as youth increasingly prefers watching streaming content over watching sports.

I buy Asa Newell as a capable shooter.

In the admittedly little SL I’ve watched, Jase Richardson has stood out to me. The shooting was always a confident bet, but the all around offensive polish is impressive for his age. Would feel good about that pick based on early returns if I were an Orlando fan.

For the remaining roster spots, I think Malcolm Brogdon and Precious Achiuwa make sense. Not sure how much Brogdon has left in the tank, but he’s a helpful vet creator who won’t block Kobe or Dyson PG minutes. Precious at the 5 fits ATL’s emphasis on motor and pace of play.

It’s interesting to think about how big the Huerter trade could be for Atlanta. They traded him for a Kings pick then turned into potentially a top 10 pick from New Orleans in 26. That was a really nice way for Travis Schlenk to go out.

I like how ATL has committed to being a play finishing team after the DJM experiment. They added a lot more cutting to their O thru Dyson and Zacc last year, and added shooting in KP, NAW, and Luke this summer. They need to break into the top 10 of assisted eFG%. 16th last year.

Feel like the best path forward for ATL is to use this season as an evaluation season for Trae. His EPM has declined the last 3 seasons, matching the eye test. But now the Hawks have their best roster since 2021. Taking a wait and see approach to paying him makes sense.

Re: Sarr discourse, I do agree there are real drawbacks to not being able to do the little things properly, like being at least a reliable roll man. That’s a huge drag from a big. But he also showed enough real upside to not be comfy fading him out of the top of 10 altogether.

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