Hawks Q&A

[malice]

The Hawks are performing better than expected, but that's probably something that you're not entirely happy about... however it is a good indication of the presence of good, young players. Who's the key?

[somerandomguy]

May 24, 2014 4:43:28 GMT bloop said:

What would be an ideal type of team for you? It's evident you enjoy the "chucking" style, but would you want a team full of them, or is there a certain balance you are looking for?

#13: come on man, I gotta keep some secrets........

I guess I will just say that I do actually try to find the best players for the system, then see if there's players I can surround those top players with and give them as "other scoring" and defensive things the team needs. If you can find some balance there, then sure there maybe some balance.

[somerandomguy]

May 24, 2014 8:22:21 GMT malice said:

The Hawks are performing better than expected, but that's probably something that you're not entirely happy about... however it is a good indication of the presence of good, young players. Who's the key?

#14: well that's flattering, I thought we were playing worse then what the teams capable of.

But anyways, it's been a team effort really, I guess you can say Head/Hayward/Griffin but there have been others that have contributed to the team outside of them including the two PG's we had before Sergio. Having the impact players we have right now will go a long way, we'll try our best to either develop the players that stay here through the rebuild or get the most value we can out of the others.

[shorty]

With the Hawks unable to find another home for Blake Griffin, and nobody else seemingly giving a shit in recent games, will the franchise still attempt to move him for more outside oriented players or has Blake proven himself to be a steady cornerstone of the franchise?

[somerandomguy]

May 24, 2014 23:34:45 GMT shorty said:

With the Hawks unable to find another home for Blake Griffin, and nobody else seemingly giving a shit in recent games, will the franchise still attempt to move him for more outside oriented players or has Blake proven himself to be a steady cornerstone of the franchise?

#15: nope, we're still looking to move BG, Blake's just proving to his next team just how good he is and how much potential he has

[malice]

Bradley Beal... what's he bring to the table that you're excited about?

[somerandomguy]

#16: Well Beal is a 20 year old shooting guard that can really be lights out from three and has enough athleticism to get to the rim, though he may struggle at doing the latter early on, we definitely plan to take advantage of his 3pt shot and feel that both Hayward and him could be a very nice duo on the wings. We're a good outside shooting PG away from really putting something special together on the perimeter again. Of course, given some things both Hayward and Beal lack that PG will have to bring more to the table then just their shooting.

[tyfreak]

You are credited with creating the chuck. Do you see Blake Griffin developing his outside shot?

[somerandomguy]

May 26, 2014 14:52:38 GMT tyfreak said:

You are credited with creating the chuck. Do you see Blake Griffin developing his outside shot?

#17:well read this tweet from Marc Stein and then you can answer that question yourself

@espnsteinline

The Atlanta Hawks have traded 3rd year big man Blake Griffin for LA Lakers point guard Ricky Rubio, story to come.

[itnas123]

Who would you say is your developing big three for this teams future?

[somerandomguy]

May 26, 2014 15:11:15 GMT itnas123 said:

Who would you say is your developing big three for this teams future?

#19: It's obviously Rubio/Beal/Hayward unless Whiteside turns into the Shaq of this league or starts shooting 3's like Dirk, he's probably a good ways out of being apart of a big 3

[ballislife]

Do you have any big plans for the Hawks this offseason, or are you guys still want to be in a total rebuild for at least another season?

[somerandomguy]

May 26, 2014 16:28:44 GMT ballislife said:

Do you have any big plans for the Hawks this offseason, or are you guys still want to be in a total rebuild for at least another season?

well we just signed Yao Ming but I will tell you what my approach was to this FA

#20: I will say that my goal this FA was to create more of an identity, I think Rubio/Beal/Hayward is a solid core and my goal was to surround that team with good pieces that fit our system. So no, I wasn't exactly committed to a "total rebuild" if that implies me sitting out this offseason and hoping for another loto pick. I won't say that I never considered it, but this was such a good FA class that it ultimately would have been foolish for me to pass up. I didn't exactly think Yao would accept the offer I gave him right away, I thought maybe a more desperate team would have offered him a 3rd year, the plan really was just to sign smaller pieces while everyone was focused on Bron/Melo/Wade but I am happy to have Yao and though some maybe scratching their head a little at the signing, I will say that my system still needs a good post scorer, in the previous league I had DeRon Davis who was huge for that team in the post. And Okafor surprisingly became a nice post scorer as his career progressed. So I don't think having Yao here will hurt him too much and I don't think it will hurt us either.

But now with Yao we're in a very nice situation, we have his services for 2 seasons and then we'll have cap once again after he leaves/retires (I don't anticapate bringing him back). Him and Stuckey gives us 25+ million off the books, Hayward and Rubio will be extended by then, Beal will still have 2 years left on his rookie deal. And this team will hopefully have loads of cap space in 2015 and 2016 as well if 2016 proves to be better. I really like the situation we're in.

[gotmelk0490]

Still dedicated to the chuck?

[Posting&Toasting]

What are your expectations for this season?

[bloop]

Do you see Beal as an eventual Batman or Robin?

[somerandomguy]

May 28, 2014 16:16:41 GMT gotmelk0490 said:

Still dedicated to the chuck?

#21: why wouldn't I be?

[somerandomguy]

May 28, 2014 16:23:10 GMT Posting&Toasting said:

What are your expectations for this season?

#22: to be better then last season, sounds simple, but I really don't have high expectations, I don't like going into seasons with expectations, because then you believe in them so much that there's room for disappointment, so if we're better then last season (should be easy to do right?) then I'm happy, if we make the playoffs then that's even better.

[somerandomguy]

May 28, 2014 17:01:25 GMT bloop said:

Do you see Beal as an eventual Batman or Robin?

#23: Doesn't really matter to me, I just expect him to be a great player, whether that means he'll play his role effectively, represent us in the all star game or making a HOF speech one day I think he'll be a great player regardless. I guess you can say he's playing robin right now to Yao, if he proves later in his career he can play batman, then he'll have the freedom to do that.

But with the Heat, I didn't feel like we had a true batman, we had a group of guys that could put up big numbers when needed, I think this group is leaning towards a team that looks like that again.

[springs]

looks like your team is lacking a defensive identity. you think your guys will develop a better defensive game or will you be forced to draft/trade for some defense

[somerandomguy]

May 28, 2014 21:39:26 GMT springs said:

looks like your team is lacking a defensive identity. you think your guys will develop a better defensive game or will you be forced to draft/trade for some defense

#24: It's not too much of a concern right now, I'm more worried about offense and how everyone can get there own while still winning games. The defense can come later, I could always find good defenders in the league pretty easily, but it's much harder for me to go and find guys that can take over games with their offense.

My only real concern right now defensively is I want to force turnovers to lead to more possessions and currently as of preseason the Hawks are 4th in steals as well as opposing turnovers. I guess if you want to call rebounding defense that's another concern, but we're 4th in that as well. What we're giving up per game doesn't matter to me too much right now just so long as we can consistently outscore teams and not have too many slumping games.

When this team starts competing then yes, the defense will be improved, but this Atlanta team isn't ready for that yet.

[BrazilianDude]

What are you lookig to get for Ming? How will that next piece complete your team

[springs]

yao putting up 27 ppg in an outside offence, dude is legit. will you be looking to move him for young value or would you rather keep him and compete next season with improved Rubio/Beal/Hayward

[somerandomguy]

I got asked pretty much the same question twice, so I will answer them both with one answer

#25: I think that Yao is more then likely staying, I haven't gotten the sort of interest I was hoping for and Yao is obviously carrying this team on his back. Now if someone had an offer that would convinced me to otherwise move Yao then I can't say no to it if it's a good offer. But Yao has provided great stability to this franchise and I feel will help us even beyond his years here. Whether it be through trade or our franchise being better respected by other free agents.

Yao is the most consistent big if not player in our leagues history and I expect him to continue that consistency until he decides to hang it up. He can put up huge numbers no matter where he goes or what system is run for him, he's just that good of a player even at 32.

[itnas123]

What has lead to the success of this Hawks team who were a lotto team just last season?

2nd question: What does Beal need to improve on to become a better player? 

[shorty]

So far how would you rate the progress of your young players, and how that measures up compared to your expectations of them?

[somerandomguy]

May 31, 2014 18:25:15 GMT itnas123 said:

What has lead to the success of this Hawks team who were a lotto team just last season?

2nd question: What does Beal need to improve on to become a better player? 

itnas you could have saved the 2nd question for another day, but I will answer both.

#26

1Q: Obviously the addition of Yao and Rubio has made a huge difference, last year I felt like I had to go all inside for Griffin or all outside for my shooters this year, I think the team has a little more freedom on offense and that's leading to pretty much the 2nd best offense in the league across the board (Grizzlies being first). While Yao has been amazing to this point and looks like an all star, Rubio should get credit for making this offense work as well and for helping make it as efficient as it is right now. Of course adding Varejao has helped our rebounding as well as some scoring and Hayward/Beal are playing great from the perimeter for us.

2Q: As for Beal, we're focused on his shooting right now trying to keep his shot sharp and to keep his confidence up in it every game, I think that confidence while spread into other parts of his game.

[somerandomguy]

May 31, 2014 19:21:09 GMT shorty said:

So far how would you rate the progress of your young players, and how that measures up compared to your expectations of them?

#27: I think they're doing fine, I will say I was a little disappointed in Beal this season, but I wasn't expecting Rubio to play the way he is playing either and that's obviously taking shots from Beal which isn't a bad thing so long as those shots are going in. Hayward has stayed in his role and is playing it well, that's all you can really ask from a guy like him. Rubio as said has impressed though and I will admit he has won me other and proving he can be a top PG in today's game.

[malice]

5th in the East - but could easily finish anywhere from 1st to 6th (expectation-wise). Can you win it all, and become the first GM to win two titles with two different teams?

[somerandomguy]

Jun 1, 2014 3:16:53 GMT malice said:

5th in the East - but could easily finish anywhere from 1st to 6th (expectation-wise). Can you win it all, and become the first GM to win two titles with two different teams?

#28: Well first off, ballislife won that championship not me, I may have set the blue print, but he executed the same plan I had for that team when I was running it and won it all. The credit goes to him as that's not easy to do.

As for the Hawks, like I said, I don't like setting expectations for my teams. I just let the season play out and if there's something I see that I don't like then I change it, but saying that I'm going to win the championship when this team hasn't been in the playoffs the past two years and the teams still 29 wins from even being a 50% win team is a bit crazy. I will just say that I'm hoping to not only make the playoffs but to have a good showing, if we do better then having a good showing, then I will be happy.

If we're talking about championships though, expect some high scoring games on the way there for both sides