Atlanta Hawks 2k19 "Trusting The Process Again"

[georgiafan]

Trade Alert

The other long rumor awaited trade as finally been made The Hawks have traded Jeremy Lin and Dwayne Dedmon to the Suns. The Hawks will receive the contract of Ryan Anderson and most importantly a 1st round pick in this year draft which is top 10 protected.

Suns Take
Everyone knows the Suns have a massive hole at PG staring a rookie that grades out at 71 overall. Lin not only is a huge upgrade he should fit in well in the suns system and be able to upgrade the 27th ranked team in assits. They suns also could use another big man so Dedmon will shift over to PF (80 ovr) and start right away. Dedmons defense ability is needed as they rank 29th in the NBA.

After a slow start they have improved and now sit with a record of 15 and 23 so only 3 games back from the playoffs. The pick is top 10 protected this year and next so they will not miss a chance to land a elite prospect. They have a lot of young players on the roster already so they are done with rebuilding through the draft and ready to bring in a veteran player. Removing the 20 million for Ryan Anderson next year should leave plenty of space to go after Kemba Walker and maybe even other players. Lin and Dedmon both have expiring contracts and likely could be resigned the summer.


Hawks Take
The decision to trade for Lin instead of taking the 1st round pick from the Nuggets was a head scratcher this summer. That move has now sort of been corrected as they land a 1st round pick. The hawks now add another team to the score board watch list and they are hoping the Suns will improve to a late lottery pick and not have to wait another year to land the pick. If its not this year then the pick is in danger of dropping to the 20's if the Suns can land a high profile FA.

Ryan Andersons contract is a ugly he is owed 20 million for next year and he cant play a lick of defense. He does however fit in well with this current team as nobody as ever doubted his ability to shoot. He will see playing time as the 4th big and gives the hawks a lot of bodies at PF/C next year. He will also play mentor to Spellman who has showed promise as rookie.

This sits the Hawks up with as many as 4 lottery picks this year though likely atleast one of them will have to wait because protections. Its to early to know what the gameplan is but the Hawks wanted to land another draft pick so they must have a plan in mind. This also means all the bad contracts are coming off the books next year leaving a ton of cap space for next offseason.

[georgiafan]

Trade Alert

Knicks Take
The biggest surprise in the league is the Knicks who despite a rash of injuries to KP, THJ and Lee if the season ended today would make the playoff as the 8th seed with a 20-22 record. The biggest issue on the team Is depth at PF/C and Kosta Kofus upgrades that spot. The main reason for the trade is getting a expiring contract and dumping the 7.5 million owed to Lance Thomas next year. This moves upgrades the bench and creates more cap space as they go big game hunting this summer

Kings Take
The Kings have a ton of cap space next season and likely wont be able to use it to sign a difference maker. They add a 2nd round pick by taking on Thomas's contract next year and still have plenty of cap space for other moves. Kofus wasn’t in the rotation as they are loaded with players in the front court. Since they don’t currently own a 1st round pick the 2nd round pick means more to them then it does most teams.

[georgiafan]

Romeo Langford - Draft Profile

Size - 6'6 - 195 pounds
Age - 19
Position - SF / SG
DE Rank - 4th overall
DE Mock - 1st

Grades
Inside Scoring C+
Mid Range C
3 Point B-
Playmaking C+
Prem D C+
Post D D
Rebound C
Athlete B+
IQ B-
Potential A
OVR B

Strength
He is a really good athlete with high potential that’s only 19 years old. He can play the 2 or the 3, can shoot 3's and has good IQ.

Weakness
He should be able to develop into a solid defender however that’s not a strength at this time. He needs to work on his inside scoring and mid range shot. He is more of a 3rd scoring option on a championship team

How does he fit with Trae Young? He is going to need some time so he wouldn’t be able to start and play 30 minutes as a rookie unless your trying to tank again. His defense isn’t likely to ever be elite and is more of a supporting role player then a star

How does he fit with current roster? He likely falls out of the top 5 come draft time so is more of a candidate with the Mavs pick then their own inside the top 3. He would defnetly fill a need at SG and him and Huerter would make for a nice fit long term. The problem would be can he ever guard #1 scorers enough to be the long term starting SG ?

[georgiafan]

Sekou Doumbouya - Draft Profile

Size - 6'9 - 210 pounds
Age - 19
Position - SF / PF
DE Rank - 5th overall
DE Mock - 6th

Grades
Inside Scoring C+
Mid Range D
3 Point D-
Playmaking B-
Prem D B-
Post D C
Rebound C
Athlete A-
IQ B-
Potential A
OVR B-

Strength
He is a great athlete that can defend multiple positions and is only 19 so lots of potential. His best fit is prob a small ball 4.

Weakness
He isn’t a threat from the 3 point line and mid range and likely never will be. He has a ways to go before he can be a real threat to score inside. He needs to improve his post defense if he is going to play the 4. He doesn't project to be a elite scorer. He is a bit raw coming over from France.

How does he fit with Trae Young? He isn’t going to take any scoring pressure off Trae, but he would help out on defense a little even though likely wont be able to guard elite scoring PG’s.

How does he fit with current roster? He is expected to go around 6th overall so its hard to see the Hawks taking him if their pick lands in the top 3. If he is on the board when the Mavs pick then its possible they go BPA and take him. He wouldn’t push prince for the starting job like others would as he isn’t a scoring threat at this point. He has a lot of upside so throwing him into the mix as rookie could play off in a few years.

[Cruzerr]

Loving these draft prospect writeups, have you thought about who do you like the most?

[georgiafan]

Quote: Originally Posted by Cruzerr

Loving these draft prospect writeups, have you thought about who do you like the most?

Of the elite 3 guys which to me are R.J Barrett, Zion and Cam I'm completely torn on R.J and Zion. R.J would fill the biggest need on the team and make the most basketball sense since he can defend and score. Zion on the other hand would be the most fun to play with.

I have one more profile I'll have up today and then a few more in depth big men. I think after that I will go with some smaller writeups on players like several PG's at once.

[georgiafan]

Top 3 Surprises & Disappointments

The East standings are tighter then the West
The 6th seed in the East is currently the Heat with 24 wins and the 13th seed is the Cavs with 20 wins. Even all The way down to the 14th and 15th seeds have 18 & 17 wins. Its only a 4 game difference from the 6th seed and having a top 10 draft pick. This is going to make for a fascinating playoff race and also means not many trades will be made as the deadline approaches in 2 weeks.





Bucks are the 2nd seed
The Bucks have been outstanding this year with a record of 35 and 11 and are currently the 2nd seed. If they keep it up the Greak Freak likely wins his first MVP





Rookie Class for the ages
Everyone knew this rookie class was going to be good and its been ever better then expected with 4 players averaging over 16 a game. Some bad news Marvin Bagley just got hurt and will miss about 2 months. Even outside of the top names Bamba, Knox and Sexton are having good years







Pelicans NBA's 3rd worst teams
They made the trade for bazmore before the season started and so far its not helped with wins as they are 16 and 37. The good news they didn't trade this years 1st round pick and next years is lottery protected. They are in a tricky spot trying to make AD happy or risk losing him. If your a Pelican fan with the year about half way over you might as well tank and land a top 5 draft pick and have some $ to spend this summer.





Grizzles losers of 10 straight
It looked like a playoff season last month then the long losing streak happened which is currently at 10 and 13 of 14. They were some rumors of trading Parsons however with a possible top 10 pick that's likely not going to happen now.





Mavs losers of 7 straight
Similar to Memphis the Mavs had been in the thick of the playoff race and now have lost 7 straight and 10 of 11. The positive news Dirk is back in a few games the bad they have some serious catching up to do if they are going to make the playoffs. They are still likely to good to land in the top 5 and keep their draft pick. The Hawks fans are starting to get pumped as it looks like the Mavs pick will be in the 6 to 10 range.

[georgiafan]

Quentrin Grimes - Draft Profile

Size - 6'5 - 210 pounds
Age - 18
Position - SG / PG
DE Rank - 8th overall
DE Mock - 8th

Grades
Inside Scoring B-
Mid Range C
3 Point C
Playmaking B+
Prem D D+
Post D D
Rebound C
Athlete A
IQ C
Potential B
OVR B

Strength
He is a combo guard that can play the 1 or the 2. He can make plays and is a good athlete. His shooting isn't a strength now however in a year or two that should become respectable.

Weakness
His defense is pretty awful and he has some serious work to before he even gets average. He has limited upside and not the best IQ either.

How does he fit with Trae Young?
Not that well he can't defend and isn't a huge offense threat in the first few years.

How does he fit with current roster?
They are looking for a combo G to come off the bench and play big minutes as a rookie. The biggest issue is do you take someone in the 7 to 11 range that cant defend and wont be able to start alongside Young ? If you ask us the answer to that is no especially with his limited upside. He could fall out of the top 10 come draft day since most teams will view him as a backup.