Atlanta Hawks Free Agency Preview

Atlanta Hawks Free Agency Preview

welcome in Hawks fans your boy Bryce Lewis back at it again for another believe in Hawks episode nba free agency is almost upon us at Monday at 6 PM teams will be able to start negotiating with other players from other teams that have entered free agency and the Hawks are expected to potentially make news in the first few hours if not the first few days so we’re going to talk about all of that some guys they could look at in free agency on this episode of Believe in Hawks i appreciate you all tuning in before we get into that please subscribe to the channel we’re almost to 2,000 subs the journey has been long but we are almost there i appreciate all of the support I’ve gotten over the years uh covering the Hawks and Falcons as well uh like the video leave a comment down below about anything we discussed today my audio listeners as well much love to you as well please leave a rating hopefully five stars on the podcast so more people can uh get this podcast see this podcast pop some of his recommendations something so uh and everything under the sun so like I said I appreciate you guys for that but like I said let’s go ahead and dive right into it so the Hawks already have been active this this this off season um getting Kristoff Porzingis getting Ace Newell in the draft and now you’re entering free agency and this has all happened within the past week so this is not something that’s happened over multiple weeks it’s been a week and you know talks have already been attached to a few names nil Alexander Walker some people wondered about Ty JRo question do you get Caris Levert back these are all things that Hawks fans have been debating talking about trying to decide what will the Hawks do who will they get we have heard from the sideline that for Alexander Walker it’s basically the Detroit Pistons and the Atlanta Hawks and things change as earlier today Malik Beasley is now under investigation uh for for potentially gambling um and betting so that has changed some things as well for the Hawks and we’ll see how it dramatically impacts their ability to acquire those players like bringing back of the Levert or getting an Alexander Walker obviously we also have a new name that was thrown into the hat as well luke Canard was a name that was also mentioned as a Hawks looking to add some shooting as well so we’re going to talk about all that like I said on the pod so let’s start in house first before we go to uh guys outside of the home so obviously Caris Levert um is the main free agent that the Hawks are if they’re going to resign they resign uh they did not tenure tender Dominique Barlo uh so he will be a free agent uh so he will not be returning to the team it seems like um never know they talk later and he’ll come back but as of right now he will not be here so and they have some other guys Garrison Matthews Larry Nance Jr etc that they could also bring back but you could see the Hawks priorities probably with Caris Levert we’ve heard through multiple reports that the Hawks have strong interest in bringing back Levert levert has came out and said he wants to be back in Atlanta but at the same time we know it’s a business the markets are going to determine what the Hawks do and with the Malik Beasley news that could potentially have changed a lot because now the Pistons may be looking at Caris Levert as a fallback if they can’t get Alexander Walker which means they may be able to pony up more money because they were negotiating with Malik Beasley and then whatever they had left they were going to try to throw at Alexander Walker and we heard Carist was a name early in the offseason as a as a player that Detroit may be interested in and now we’ll see what happens but in the Hawks’s case in their situation Harris Levert is is someone who has been discussed u it seems like people are very split i I think with Caris you know what he gets he breaks you he brings you some defense he brings you some playmaking he brings the ability to create his own shot which is something the Hawks need he was able to help Trey Young play off ball at times last year in fourth quarter situations just because he’s able to handle the ball himself now obviously he is a he’s what I consider a part of that old school ISO player where he can at times hijack an offense and in today’s NBA where it’s so it feels like to win you have to be connected you can’t have that one player who’s just like “All right I’m just going to you know do my thing unless it’s like your star player like your starst star it it feels like sometimes guys like him it’s like he’s valuable because he can get a bucket but at the same time if he’s not hitting his shots if he’s not hot he can hurt your offense.” And I think that’s where some people I think are split on Levert i have said I would want Levert back if you could get Nikil Alexander Walker and you could get Larus Levert back that would be fantastic that would be really really good if you’re the Atlanta Hawks like I said with the news with Malik that changes things because now Detroit has more money to play with and you know they’re probably gonna move on just just because we don’t know what’s happening with Malik and you know we’ll see what happens but you know I think Caris Levert because cuz I asked this question if you if the Caris Levert leaves even if you get Alexander Walker you don’t really have a creator in the second unit and you don’t have a playmaker in the second unit which I’ve said that if that happens and you lose Albert now it’s no more of a priority if you’re not going to be able to find a creator you have to find a playmaker at point guard because now at that point you’re your second unit who who’s who’s creating offense for who who’s able to get a shot in that second unit because you know New is not an offensive guy we’ll see who they use as the backup center but obviously as a big you have to give be fed the ball uh you know Walker is more of a he’s a guy who could take you off the dribble but he’s not like a shot creator uh and like I said if you don’t get Levert back I mean I guess you still have to find you a backup three and a backup point guard and be and obviously we we can talk about Kobe Buffkin and everything but you still have some some holes that you have to fill with not really any answers to those questions so Caris is a guy who again it’s always dependent on the number i think Hawks fans have always said if the number is too high then understandably we get why Carris will walk and like I said with Detroit having some more cap space we don’t know what they’re going to offer we don’t know if it’s hey we’re going to negotiate with with Walker if we can’t get Walker we’ll just go ahead and have LeVert call his you know representation hey this is what we’ll offer you if we can’t get Alexander Walker and the Hawks then have to decide okay do we want to pay Alexander Walker whatever the the price is which some Hawks fans have talked about how high they want that number to go which we’ll get into and then are we able to also pay Levert at a comfortable price because essentially what you’re trying to do if you’re Detroit in that situation is offer Levert a contract that will make the Hawks uncomfortable and be like I don’t know if we want to pay that for him you know it’s just he does have value to this team because of the things I’ve mentioned and I’ve said this about guys these guys are role players every role player has a weakness so if you don’t like something about a guy I mean there’s no player you’re going to bring in that’s gonna somehow fix the issues he had because even if you have someone who doesn’t do what he does he may not be able to do the other things he can do well so it’s like you have to just kind of figure out within the scheme of your team what works what do you need and what are you willing to live with and so you know for the Hawks I I think Caris is a guy who if if you can get him back for sure but if not then you got to figure out what that is and and and if that is Luke Canard and you just feel like maybe we should add shooting in that in that spot you know obviously like I’ve said you got to shift more to a playmaking point guard so I’d love to hear you guys’ thoughts on Caris Levert would you want Caris Avert back and if so what price would you want him at what are you comfortable paying him that’s what I would love to know in the comments section down below for sure uh from you guys so now getting into outside of the home let’s talk about Nquila Alexander Walker he is the guy who has been connected to the Hawks for weeks with that uh trade exception that they have the 25 million one that they have obviously you don’t want to pay him 25 million think a lot of people would agree that’s a little bit of a high price but again we don’t know how Detroit could potentially change the the spectrum of it and then also we don’t know what Nquille wants we don’t know because obviously Minnesota has resigned Nas Reed and Julius Randle to both $100 million plus contracts so his time in Minnesota is effectively over um it’s just a matter of what what is the price the Hawks are going to get him at if they can get him right i I I’ve seen some people say with Walker if they go over 20 million that makes him a little I don’t know if Nikquille is worth under over 20 because this is a situation because he’s a he’s a valuable archetype of player a 3 and D guy um and he’s and he’s he’s a higher level guy some people are like “What are you comfortable?” Like I said 20 million some people are like “Eh if you can keep him to like 18 million 17 million it’s like that’s a good number to get him at you know but like I saying we don’t we don’t know how bad the Hawks want him we’ve just heard his name connected to the team the whole time but we don’t know how badly the Hawks want it if if if Detroit somehow because Detroit can do this if they’re negotiating and they figure hey we’re not going to be able to beat the Hawks offer and they go ahead and sign Levert then the Hawks now can just you know sign Nil and then be like “All right well we can sign you at a lower price because Detroit’s out of it.” Where if the choice’s in it to the end now that price could go up so you know Walker he he he’s a guy good defensive player you know that’s what he kind of I I feel like built his reputation on is his is his defense uh and then he’s kind of been you know trying to develop the shot get his shot right etc etc this past season he averaged nine points three rebounds three assists a game so again not a he’s not like a crazy offensive player but he’s capable um you know playoffs you you saw the duality of a role player he had a game against Oklahoma City where he has zero points but he also came back the next game and had 23 he’s a guy who like I said can do some things he can be active on the boards and you know a bit of a guy who can move the ball at times so you know he’s a guy that I think you definitely want to look at as a potential option for sure because in the regular season he shot 38% from three so guy who has improved his three-point shot since coming into the league and like I said the 38D archetype of player um who can defend and also get some points at the other end so he’s a guy I definitely you know young guy 26 i’m curious really with him the years if they sign him are we giving him three are we giving him four um in that situation and you know I think he will fit in seamlessly with Trey because at the end of the day when you when you sign to the Hawks you know he shot 38% from three he’s going to get a lot of open looks this year so that I mean if Nikil can become a 40% three-point shooter that would be wonderful and again the biggest one of the biggest things the Hawks need is shooting so if you can get Nil getting close to 40 and then let’s say let’s say you do get Luke Canard you know you got two guys who can who can shoot and then you added Christopher who’s a shooter now essentially this offseason you added some shooters to your to your rotation and you you’ve kind of you know increased the duality of your of the offense because now hey we got some guys we can interchange that can shoot we got some guys who can interchange that can drive and attack the rim and etc so I mean if we can get him I’d love to it’s just all about the number and like I said in these situations this may situation where you may have to overpay for him this is just because of the negotiating just because of the bidding war you just got to you you you want him bad you think he’s a great fit and you overpay a little bit and you know we’ll see what that number is and we’ll talk about it once it happens but you know if if if you think he’s that valuable of a player to you and you think he can really take that next step here in Atlanta you know why not so he’s a guy definitely Hawks are going to be in for we know they’re in the final two for them him that could be something we hear about after 6 PM on Monday just in terms of just how quickly that deal comes together if not within the first 24 hours of free agency so very very um going to be on I guess the kill Alexander watch alert and Hawks watch just in case that deal does get done or if they don’t end up getting him and then seeing how the Hawks can pivot from there obviously leave your comments down below about what you think about Nikil Walker Alexander what you would pay him what you’re comfortable and what impact do you think he can make on this team so so another guy who’s been mentioned um by by some by some fans um because of some of the moves this team’s made has been Tai Jerome ty Jerome after Cleveland resigned Sam Merrill and etc people feel like Tai Jerome will be gone now Tai Jerome is an interesting case because he has probably only had one good year which was last year he was I think a six-man finalist I think finished third right and people obviously have some concerns okay was that a one-year was he a one-year wonder did he just happen to have a good year because of the situation he was in in Cleveland because situations can very much dictate how a player performs would his situation Atlanta be the same as Cleveland where it would make him be better or make him be worse obviously we know his playoff run especially in the second round was not good so people are already skeptical about that some people in the Hawks nation has been like I would like him just again someone you could break and have competition with Kobe Buffkin maybe someone you could trust because again if he plays like he played last year because and some people believe that what we saw last year is what he is now um in the regular season at least that oh yeah that would be he’d be a great fit um I think somebody brought up a great stat i think it was Grant Shirley uh he mentioned that Caris and Jerome had an extremely high positive on the floor together um in Cleveland now again two different teams two different situations so that there’s no guarantee that’s going to happen here but that is something to keep to look at um especially again they said if you don’t get Nikquille maybe Ty Derome’s your other guy that you go get at that position um again I don’t I feel like with guys who’ve only had one strong year of course you’re always a little weary of like okay do we think he can do the same thing here again with Trey Young as your guy you have to think about the minutes a guy would get it’s not like he’s going to be playing 20 something minutes a game at least in most situations unless it’s foul trouble Trey Young etc but I mean Ty Jerome’s an interesting guy for sure um you know he like I said made some strides as just an overall player um you know and like I said Cleveland’s situation’s so conducive to what he did it works he’s only 27 he averaged 13 points a game um like I said 65 so he’s he’s he’s a bit of a a bigger guy at the two but can play some one if you need him too hold on a second so he shot 43% 44% from three this past year so he was a sniper from three um which obviously again if you could bring that in that would be fantastic um if you could get another shooter because if you notice a lot of the guys that they’ve been targeting are guys who are shooting are shooters you know your worst shooter is the guy you probably could resign at Caris Bert but if you look at the kill almost 40% Tai over 40% Luke Canard like you see what I’m saying like so clearly they’re trying to address that issue of shooting with these additions but I haven’t heard the Hawks connected to him yet obviously that doesn’t mean they’re not doesn’t mean that he’s not a fallback land but again a guy is an option if you lose Caris Avert is that a direction you look in so that’s someone to definitely keep an eye on again with him money what are you comfortable paying him what are you comfortable giving him to come to Atlanta love to hear you guys’ thoughts on him down below and what that could look like um let’s talk about Luke Canard since we’ve been talking um been a bit of a marksman in his career he averaged nine points a game this past season three rebounds three assists uh plays for the Memphis Grizzlies last year came from Duke yeah um again regular season shot four 43% from three so marksman really good shooter you know can can do to some different things 65 etc um and like I said they look at this as like a if they lose a vert you know and stuff like that again um you can’t go wrong with shooting you can’t go wrong with shooting i’ve said that I would rather have Levert over Canard clearly but at the same time if you get Canard and then you can get you a playmaking backup point guard I think it’ll work because now you got a sharpshooter Walker can shoot and you got a playmaking guy so he’s a guy that if the Hawks go in that direction because they have to pivot because they can’t get somebody they want that wouldn’t be a bad person obviously we obviously know the 3 and D is a very valuable type of player uh Canard’s one of the better shooting three andds that are available out there um so I I would completely understand the Hawks getting in that race and he’ll have multiple teams interested so but I don’t think Luke Canard’s a guy who’s going to break the bank i could be wrong i could be shocked but I I don’t think he’s going to break the bank at least so again a guy who you can look into uh see what what what the what the numbers looking like seeing what his market’s like and then if like I said you have to make that pivot after some decisions you can go in that direction add some shooting Trey Young Luke Canard dangerous duo if you think about it especially with that type of shooting percentage um so again and I think Canard overall as a player has shown the ability to put the ball on the floor at times you know and I because I think sometimes when we look at these types of players we just think are they strictly in the corner the biggest thing if you’re obviously these guys are not creators but if you could just put the ball on the floor that can mean so much because you can make defenses collapse and do they have the ability to pass remember he averaged three assists so he has the ability to pass make some plays for teammates and you know with that you know can also lead to other good looks for other guys so Luke Canard if that’s a direction they want to go in I’m I’m all I’m all for it all for Luke Canard if we can get him like I said on a good deal and again if he’s the backup plan so be it so we’ll see let’s talk about a name that’s been mentioned that’s been connected to the team last year um Titus Jones so he’s a guy I’ve mentioned a couple of guy times um as a potential option for the Hawks the issue with him is obviously he’s another small point guard so you know defensively you know he’s not going to be you know great you know but he can shoot score a little bit he averaged 10 points for the Suns and five assists 10 and five if you’re getting that from the backup point guard position behind Trey Young you’re happy you know now obviously he averaged more minutes when he played last year he averaged 26 27 minutes a game but he’s a guy the reason why is that he’s he’s a good shooter he averaged 41 he see uh not average he shot 41% from three last year so immediately bring shooting he’s also a low turnover guy titus has some playmaking ability without the turnovers he only averaged 1.1 turnovers a game so I that’s the reason why I’ve always liked him if if as a nice veteran men guy because he’s supposed he’s probably going to take a one-year pro it deal after how his tenure with Phoenix ended you know kind of getting out of the rotation towards the end so he would be a guy who if you want improve your shooting low turnovers but can make plays Jones would be a guy to look into for sure and again if you lose Levert I think it makes Jones even more valuable to the Hawks just because of that you know and like I said the way they’re building the second unit your potential backup bigs are Asa and potentially a Kong Woo or Pzingis let’s just say hypothetically it is Porzingis you got two basically huge guys you have Nil let’s say you’re able to get the kill and then let’s just say you add another wing whatever that’s like six six and up right you pretty much have a probably a pretty decent defensive front line after Jones and because that’s the key with these guys what is what are you putting him with are you putting him with other small non-defenders on the floor that’s where you could have your issues defensively but if you’re putting him with defenders plus defenders it it it minimizes their impact and so because you’re getting shooting and listen Titus is capable of having a big game he’s capable of going high you know and I think that’s very valuable for a team like the Hawks so again don’t know if the Hawks are going to be reconnected to him this year again we don’t we have heard nothing really about the backup point guard position for this team we haven’t heard who they’re eyeing what they’re doing what the plan is we just are been speculating a lot of people want to bring in competition for Kobe Buffy which I think is the smart thing to do you have to bring someone else in there just because you can’t say you’re going to trust Kobe Buffing going into the year and so but we haven’t actually heard of what the plan is we’ve just speculated so I’m curious to know if Jones will be back on the radar once again for them as a potential as a potential player that they could go after and so we’ll we’ll see i I I I like Jones but I understand if someone maybe wants a more defensive guard which speaking of defensive backups now I don’t know how you guys are going to feel about this i don’t think he will be extremely popular when I mention this name but he’s a name to mention what about Gary Payton from Golden State um obviously not an offensive guy right that’s not what he’s bringing to the table he’s breaking defense and a championship pedigree that’s what he’s that’s what he’s breaking obviously we’ve heard how important he is to the Warriors defensively uh and everything but I mean will we will we hate it if the Hawks were like “Hey 30 he’s 32 so obviously you probably signed a one two-year deal would not be long.” You know only averaged seven points basically three rebounds like I said not really a playmaker that’s not really what his his thing is um now in the regular season last year he shot 32 33% from three postseason he shot closer to 40 but you know I don’t think I was on the same volume but he’s he’s one of the best defensive guards out there so if they wanted us to focus more defensively in that situation could you go Gary Payton i’m just I’m just bringing up it as a name not trying to say that is like a firm we should do it just wanted to know your guys’ thoughts if would would Gary Peyton be even someone y’all consider a couple other names the Hawks could look at uh Jared Butler uh played with the Sixers 24 year old guy averaged uh nine points played between Washington and Philadelphia averaged nine points four assists he’s another Dave you could maybe put to that point guard argument i would have loved to maybe try to get into Quinton Grimes sweep stakes but he’s asking for some absurd money 25 million listen brother you have some talent so we’re not gonna deny it when he when there was injuries he stepped up but I ain’t giving you 25 for half a good year bro you know if he’s willing to come down on off that number we can talk but I I don’t know if that is something I’m I’m doing if I’m Atlanta but he would be also another good name um to also look at as well um I know within our own free agents that Larry Nance because Barlo hasn’t been given an offer seems to be likely he’ll potentially be back as third third center maybe so we’ll be interested to see what something happens with Larry i’m curious we we’ve teetered um Katon Walls and and Jacob Toppenhen curious to see what happens there i know they hide Jayla Johnson’s brother so all these guys are potential options for the team another veteran name to throw out there uh a Malcolm Brogden potentially obviously he’s had some injury issues but another guy you could potentially bring out there uh you know if you can’t maybe get Levert back do you look at a Bruce Brown potentially uh I don’t know if his number is going to be too high you know there’s some names for sure that you could go after somebody break me should we bring back Dennis Shruder i mean I don’t know if the Hawks want to do that i mean I don’t know how you guys feel about that i mean Dennis Shruder would be I mean Dennis obviously he’s a score first guy he wouldn’t be bad to have um especially because it seems like the choice going to move on from him but I don’t know about Dennis i mean again these are all just potential options that you can look into um as a potential guy uh to look at so I mean this those are just some names like I’ve mentioned that we can look into see if that’s something I know early in the offseason some people had even mentioned Jonathan Kaminga as a potential another sign and trade candidate with how they’ve drafted I think that’s changed you know unless you see him as a backup three which I mean I think he can do uh but again it’s just you know him can he can he adapt to what the Hawks want to do can he adapt to the system are you comfortable with what he’s doing and trying to you know figure out what what his role is within the team because obviously the biggest thing is role definition when you build teams what is your role what is your role definition can you execute that role within the scheme of the team to help the team be better so as another name as well so these are just some names uh obviously we talk about some of the bigger names that connect to the Hawks some names that maybe potentially be good for the Hawks uh like I said I’d love to hear you guys’ thoughts on maybe if there’s some players that I didn’t mention that y’all would love for us to take a look at drop them down below uh obviously you know what number y’all are cool with with them uh these are all potential possibilities we’ll figure out Monday at 6 PM when teams start negotiating with free agents what happens in the legal tampering period and we’ll see what the Hawks get themselves into around that time so I’m very excited to see what’s to come i think there’s it’s kind of a more optimistic time in Atlanta Hawks basketball right now with some of the moves they’ve already made and it’ll be interesting to see how they can put the cherry on top because they make a couple more signings and you’re pretty much your team set so you just get into summer league action you kind of go from there so we’ll have to see what happens man but I appreciate you guys tuning in for another Hawks episode if you enjoyed this episode subscribe to the channel like the video leave a comment down below getting closer to 2,000 subscribers so if you subscribe you are helping achieve a goal you are part of a journey i appreciate you guys audio listeners please leave five stars on the podcast so more people can see the podcast we’ll probably start to try the next couple weeks try to get some people back on the pod get some more guests back on the pod this week’s been more of a solo pod week just because of all the stuff that’s happened if we get Walker I’ll be back tomorrow with another podcast on that edition plus any other boobs that potentially are made outside of that as well so we’re we’re going to be a little active this week I think depending on what the Hawks do and I’ll be all over it for you guys because you know because if you guys are investing in me I want to invest in you guys so I appreciate you guys for sure but it’s your boy Bus see you next time

Free Agency is upon us, and the Atlanta Hawks are connected to a few names. I talk about those players and more.

Topics

00:00 – Intro
2:35 – Caris Levert
7:55 – NAW
13:00 – Ty Jerome
16:40 – Luke Kennard
19:30 – Tyus Jones
22:50 – other free agents

Levert leaving?
NAW coming to Atlanta?
Other free agents