The Atlanta Hawks are ready for the Summer League

The Atlanta Hawks are ready for the Summer League

Welcome in Hawks fans. Your boy Bryce is back at it again for more Believe in Hawks. Summer League is upon us. Hawks play in the summer league Friday. You may be listening to this Friday. So that would be today. Or if you listen to this on Thursday, it will be tomorrow. Either way, Hawks play in the summer league Friday 4:30 on I believe it’s going to be on ESPN 2 versus the Miami Heat. So you’ll be able to catch that first game against them on Friday. like I mentioned and we’re going to dive into that. Then also we’re going to dive into seeing a lot more players posting workout videos. Nquille and Vic Crate, you’ve seen the Jaylen Tik Toks, Trey Young always posting, he’s working. Dyson Daniels getting people excited. We’re going to talk about though what we’re seeing from the team this offseason. Obviously entering a very crucial offseason for this team as it seems like the expectation of winning is taking a step forward with this uh franchise. and then obviously bouncing off of that who I believe could be the most important players to that success and more. So, I appreciate you guys tuning in Believing Hawks. If you enjoy this episode, subscribe to the channel, like the video, leave a comment down below about anything we discuss. We’re almost to 2,000 subscribers on YouTube, so please double again, hit that subscribe button, help your boy hit 2K. Appreciate all the love and support through the journey so far. And, you know, there’s anything I can do for you guys, definitely let me know for sure. or obviously follows me on X or Twitter, whatever you want to call it, at Bryce_2K, B R I2K to keep up with all my Hawks takes and and you know, just talking about some of the live tweet during the game and so you know, way be interactive with me on there. So like I said guys, appreciate you guys and let’s go ahead and dive into it. So, as I mentioned, summer league coming up for the Hawks, and you know, the summer league portion is is is is kind of interesting. It’s it’s interesting, but it’s also kind of important uh for the team, right? The Hawks right now, they have some interesting players that a lot of people are going to be watching. Obviously, let’s just start with the most obvious person, Kobe Buckingham. right now still position as Trey’s backup point guard. I know a lot of people have jumped off the Kobe Buffin train just with the lack of playing that he’s done the last few years, injuries, and then some people feeling like they haven’t seen enough from him in the time he’s played. And on top of that, some people thinking he’s not really a point guard, he’s a two guard. And so, there’s been a lot of stuff, a lot of conversation about Kobe Buffkin. He’s healthy. He’s ready for summer league. last year, if you remember, he got shoulder was the first time we heard about the injury he had. Uh missed the summer league, played in the preseason, then got hurt there after the last game. So, or not after the last game, but you know, he got hurt a little bit into the season. So, he’s going to be a guy that obviously people are going to look at. What are some things that I’m looking out for? Does he look comfortable? Summer League is always kind of hard to gauge because not every player you’re playing against is going to be, I guess you want to say, of NBA level, I guess, because a lot of these guys are just trying to hope to get a try out an exhibit 10, a two-way deal with a lot of teams. Uh, some of these guys are, you know, G-Leaguers, things of that nature. But you obviously are playing at times against some other really good talent and some in some good teams. So Kobe, I just want to see him be comfortable. I want to see his command the offense and pick and roll and just, you know, I always say rehabbing can sometimes be sometimes the best thing for a player because all you have time to do is work. Work on your game, work on whatever you’re trying to do because like you have time. Obviously, you’re rehabbing. So like that’s your main focus, but you know, did Kobe come back this year with anything? And like I said, summer league is designed to try to showcase everybody. It’s not a focused game plan on, okay, we’re gonna let Kobe Buffin intentionally try to go get 30. If he gets 30, great. But I don’t, you know, this it’s the summer league, man. So, and you get and they get like I think four games this year. So, four four opportunities. And and I’ve said this, too. I’ve said, you know, Kobe Buffkin looks good. I wouldn’t be surprised to the Hawks if they feel like they’ve seen enough shut him down. So, you know, especially if he is expected to be a very important part of the rotation this season just because he is Trey Young’s backup. So, I just want to see that from him. Um, just like I said, command of the offense and just him getting comfortable. Plus, this is a good opportunity for him to get the rust off, not playing basketball for for a while now. Just getting some playing time, be able to get, you know, like I said, ability just to play basketball and kind of just let him go from there. So, I’ll be intrigued to see how he kind of comes along in the process. And, you know, as a lot of people are, they’re going to very much comment on this game. I look forward to seeing how people react to Kobe Buffin tomorrow. They have a couple other names. Obviously, Ace Newell, um, Georgia, draft pick for the for the Hawks first round. Another guy you’re obviously going to be looking at, how does the rookie do? You know, he he’s been opposed a lot in a lot of summer league clips uh for for the Hawks. You know, another guy who he’s listed as a forward, so I know there’s some conversation about is he a center, is he a forward, they still may play him at center. They officially only have one center on the roster and Jake Stevens. And I I think that, you know, I think Asa is just kind of He’s just kind of there to kind of just, you know, show the Hawks why you like him. The athleticism, the rebounding, the defense, the a, you know, the ability to get put backs, things of that nature. I think I want to see how he does on the boards. I want to see how his energy is, and I want to see how active he is defensively. Those are three things I’m looking for out of him because I think it’s very important for him to kind of just show the Hawks coaching staff, you know, hey, you can use me in different ways because he is a guy who some people consider a tweener. How does he guard a five? How does he guard a four? Uh, you know, is he a guy who I’m assuming he’ll take some threes during this since that’s a shot he can take even though he’s not great at it right now. How does his shot look? you know, obviously, you know, I don’t know how much work he’s put in between the draft and now just because, you know, it’s very short turnaround. You know, obviously we know he’s been in practice, but I don’t know how much time he’s just been working at his game since the end of the college basketball season. So, you know, just want to see his athleticism, see see everything that you that the Hawks like about you on film, on the court, and just be active. It’ll be an interesting matchup tomorrow because like I said, even though he’s not the center, we’ll see because they may play him at center and then Jack Stevens come off the bench. But Clue Wear is I think still playing for the Heat in the summer league. I could be wrong. Uh if he is though, that would be a really good matchup to see to see how he does against an NBA level player, a starter at that incl. So if if because I you know haven’t I know that something’s been going on. I know. I think Miami’s been playing in the earlier portion of summer league. I think um but I would feel like after a while they would sit him down. I don’t know if they’re sitting him down for Vegas or not. So that would be a really good match up to keep an eye on tomorrow if that does indeed happen. Then obviously another guy uh that’s been mentioned, Kobe Johnson, uh the brother of Jaylen Johnson. um a guy who I think a lot of people aren’t expecting him to become this player who makes the team, but he just he’s he’s just interesting because again he’s Jaylen’s brother and then also his strength coming out of UCLA. He is a guy who is a really good defender. That is his strength and that’s how if he makes any league roster, he’s going to make the team is his defense. that is what he was known for and at UCLA and I think he said it in the uh summer league, you know, pre-pressor earlier this week. He said, “I want to show that I’m the best defender in the country.” And, you know, I I think Kobe, you know, he’s been working with Jaylen. I know they’ve been doing with Chris Johnson Hoops, uh, who’s obviously a very known trainer. He’s worked with a lot of players in the league. he’s been working with them, you know, and I and I think he’s a guy who I think, like I said, people are going to be intrigued by him just to see what he does because if he if he shows what he what he can do defensively, I think a team may be interested enough to pick him up. I mean, the Hawks have like one two-way left because they just resigned Kobe uh not Kobe, uh Jacob Top into a two-way deal, which I’ll get into in a minute with him. Um, so I think overall Kobe at best maybe what you get you get you said you get your exhibit 10 and you know you just kind of work and this is a great opportunity to kind of show teams what you can do and like I said the Hawks can easily change their mind if they feel like oh my god he’s so impressive we got to get him on a two-way on that last two-way deal but we’ll have to see he’s just a guy like I said we’ll have to see what he can do and obviously offensively which is where his biggest question marks are. How does he perform offensively? Is he aggressive offensively? you know, what does he show on that side of the ball? So, another guy to keep an eye on for sure. Feel like there’s like a bunch of people because I can get it to, right? Talk about Kobe. Let’s talk about Nicola. Um, if you remember, Nicola was the second round draft pick last year for the Hawks. Plays, they list him as a guard forward. A lot of people have talked about him because with that backup point guard spot, the Hawks have tried him at point guard, kind of letting him get more familiar with that. He’s kind of a combo guard, but they’re letting him get familiar with that. He also has some athleticism and some burst. So, I’m assuming, again, I don’t know what the starting lineup’s going to be. I mean, they could come out tomorrow and have him play two spot with with Kobe Buffkin. So, I don’t know what exactly they’re going to do. I’m sure they’re going to give him opportunities on ball to kind of like, you know, facilitate kind of run it a little bit, see how he does, see how his growth spin because remember he spent last year essentially in the G-League. You know, he because they could Hawks could have easily stashed him overseas and then brought him in this year. They stashed him in the G-League. He wasn’t even with the team officially. he was just signed a contract with the co the Skyhawks and you know he’s coming into this off season with an opportunity to kind of show his progress. A lot of people are looking at him as a popular name to get that that last two-way spot for the Hawks. And listen, I that wouldn’t be a move that I would be against. Um if he shows it, I don’t see why not. And so he’s a guy that I think people like I said have have a very close eye on as well in the back court. It’s just how does he perform? Does he look more comfortable? Cuz last year you could see the athleticism from him, but you also could see the the the the wildness, the looseness with the ball, just him not maybe being used to being the primary creator on offense in terms of like facilitation and using that now and that experience he’s gotten over the last year and like, okay, how far have you came? Because that’s like I said, that’s a big thing for summer league too for a lot of these players. It’s an opportunity to show, okay, how far has this guy came since last year, especially if you know he wasn’t playing for you on your main roster or he was in your G-League system. So, he’s another guy a lot of people are looking at keep a close eye on as well. And so then you get into the last guy I want to get into, Jacob Topin. So, I actually originally was going to come in this video and talk about Jacob Topping could be very much a candidate for a two-way, but as I mentioned just a couple minutes ago, Hawks have signed him to a two-way deal, you know, and I think the only person that they have an offer out to that they’re waiting to hear from is uh Keen Walls, right? Because he’s still in the mix as well. And maybe Nicola could play a part. But Jacob Toppens always been an interesting player to me. He is a guy who I think has showed some pop um over the last year. I mean, he played really well with the Skyhawks last year. Apparently, he played really well. I think he was in I can’t remember what G-League team. I know he was at New York’s G-League team at some point, if if not the last team he was with, but he came to the Skyhawks, played really well. Think he was averaging like almost 20 a game. Played the one game for the Hawks, had like 20 plus against the Magic. uh obviously against their second and third stringers and guy who’s really seem like he’s improved his three-point ball. Uh big thing for him. He’s 6’8 so could play that three. He’s he he’s a he’s still maybe what you consider a little light. I think the last time I saw some weight was like 200. So I don’t know if that’s ideal. He has because you’re thinking okay cr skinny um and 80 but he’s like 6’8 or whatever. Um I’m curious to see how he does. He’s a guy who depending on the situations with the roster, I could see him, I don’t want to say get playing a lot, but I could see the Hawks giving him some chances at times during the season. Um, just and I think a lot of it is dictated on how he performs in the summer league. uh in in just what he does cuz I would not be shocked and this is just me. I wouldn’t be shocked if he was our leading scorer from the summer league team. I would not be shocked. He has shown offensive pop um with the Skyhawks and like I said in the one game he played for the Atlanta Hawks and even when he was in New York. So I’m curious to see does that continue. Clearly the Hawks like them enough to give him one of those two-way spots uh which so far they’ve gave into two wings. So, you know, I’m I’m I’m going to keep an eye on him as well. I think there’s a handful of guys going to keep an eye on. Obviously, the other guys on the team are trying to make an impression. You know, I could come back on here after the game and be like, “This other guy made this impression on me and so on and so forth.” So, I’m curious to really see, you know, how he does for sure. Obviously, Lamont Butler is another guy to keep an eye on. and Eli, the other two-way guy, uh, is another guy to keep an eye on as well. So, there’s definitely multiple dudes to keep an eye on for the summer league team. And I’m I’m very interested. Listen, they say summer league is for the sickos. So, you know, I will be a sicko as I am at work at 4:30 and I will be having the uh summer league on on my phone in the middle of a show. So, um, cuz I’m, like I said, I want I want to watch these guys and see how they do. And that way I can come on here and tell you guys, okay, this is what I saw and what you guys saw. So, obviously before we move on, definitely let me know, who are you paying attention to in summer league? Who do you want to watch? Who are you interested in? What are you looking to see? Just everything. What about summer league are you most excited about? Who are you most excited about? And leave your thoughts down below in the comment section. But speaking of the summer league team and now going to the main NBA roster, the Hawks, you know, we know about their off seasonason so far. They’ve gotten a lot of buzz from the media. A lot of people think of the Hawks take that next step next year. And and one thing I’ve loved through this offseason and listen maybe I’m just a basketball junkie but you’ve seen the workout videos with Jaylen seen the workout videos with Trey just today at the time of this recording Hawks posting Nick uh the kill Walker to kill Alexander Walker and Vic Crerache working together in the gym Hawks gym together working out saw like over like one minute plus video. Love to see guys getting in work, you know. You know, Dyson Daniels has been putting in a lot of work. I posted a video on X. Got got a lot of lot of lot of views. Just Dyson working. Looked like he got a little crossover. Look like he working on the mid-range. I mean, you know, you you could sense this team wants to get better. They want to to improve. They want to win. And I think that’s always been the biggest biggest thing with this team is just they want to win, right? And you got to put in the work to do it. So I’ I’ve just been thoroughly impressed by that and what they’ve been doing. And obviously Chris Operink is coming in will be a great addition to the team. Luke Canard, we know what he brings to the table. And like I said, Nquille already working. We know what he brings to the table. He’ll be a very valuable part of this team for the Hawks. We know Trey Young is important, Mong Woo, all those guys. But at the end of the day for me, this season comes down to three guys for the Hawks, and that is Tyson Daniels, Zachary Risha, Jaylen Johnson. In Jaylen Johnson’s case, and I’ll start there, it’s just about health for him, staying healthy, because I think now there’s a question of is he the number two and number three guy with Kristoff there now? But nonetheless, I mean, you you want to see Jaylen pick off pick up where he left off last year. A lot of people feel like even if he didn’t make the All-Star game, he would have been a fringe all-star player. And so he’s a guy that if he could stay healthy, just his ability to kind of do it all even in this version of the Atlanta Hawks is so important because like I said, he he could facilitate. We know about his ability to attack the rim. You know, he is like they say sometimes you’re the biggest and strongest guy on the field. I mean, not the field, on the court. And sometimes you need to take advantage of your mismatches because um my guy David Lee, he he broke it down on on X Twitter. He said, “Listen, the one thing about Christopher Pzing is because of his ability to shoot, there’s going to be a even more spacing than there has been for the Hawks this year when he’s on the floor, especially. And so you had guys like Tatum and Brown for Boston being able to take advantage of matchups because of that, because they knew they have the space to get to the rim.” They said, “Who is that? Is Jaylen the guy to take advantage? Is he the one who could benefit the most from Kristoff Borzingas being there and allowing him to now have more open lanes and a more of a clean driving lane to the room? Because like we always said with Queen Capella is that he just didn’t fit what Quinn wanted to do at the end of the day because he is a very in the paint guy and at times that can very much limit spacing. Well, Kristoff, he may be over in the corner, top of the key, wherever. And so that creates opportunities for guys like a Jaylen Johnson to take advantage of his matchups, especially if he’s going against a smaller or weaker guy than him. If he can stay healthy, he will be crucial to what the Hawks do this season. And he still will be just as important and people still have very, very high expectations for him and what they want to see from him this year. [Music] And then Zachary Rishet. I mean, you know, Brad Roland when I had him on earlier this this um off season mentioned for for Zack, there’s a difference between him being a really good shooter and a great shooter. And you know, people have have entertained the whole Jaylen playing the three thing. I’ve have said that I do not think Jaylen Johnson’s game is a three type of game. It just he he seems like he he plays more like a four. He doesn’t play like a three to me, but I understand why people want to see it just to like, oh, can he do it? But at the end of the day, I don’t think the Hawks want to move Risha out the starting rotation because of what he brings, his defensive versatility, his ability to cut, and if he continues to improve his shooting, and just like I said, for him, just consistency, if he can just stay consistent, sky’s is the limit for him. Um he just will be so crucial because there were some games definitely where you’re like if we just got more from Zack we win this game. And that’s why I mentioned consistency because if he could just consistently give you a certain output a game and obviously you know you’re NBA season you’re going to have that outlier 30 point game and the outlier 2 point four-point game. It happens to everybody. But for Zach, you know, he him taking another step and and whatever the Hawks said to him at the end of the year, they said, “Hey, Zach, we need you to be really good at this next year.” Whatever in the grand scheme of what they need from him this year, if he can really do that role, that specific job that has been given to him extremely well, that will bode very well for the Atlanta Hawks and what they’re trying to do. Because listen, if the Hawks make the playoffs, remember something. I mean, he’s had a taste of playing ball, but he hasn’t had a taste of actual playoff basketball yet. There’s going to be some up and downs with him. That’s just if you watch the NBA playoffs, you know what I’m talking about. You know, there’s just going to be players who just are up and down. Like even the second best player, Oklahoma City, Jada, had some terrible games, terrible stretches of games, but he also had masterful performances. It’s it’s just part of the playoffs. you’re playing the same team as much as seven times. So, that can happen. And you know, Zach’s no different if he’s in that situation. But if he continues just to make those strides as a shooter and like and he said it in an interview with Giannis’s brother, if you could just have a skill, and that’s what you heard a lot of players say, if you just have a skill that you can rely on, that in itself can keep you in the league and also keep you on the floor and then allow you to build the rest of your game. He he talked about having, okay, if I can do this, I got to be able to do this, too. If I can’t do this, what’s my answer to that? And so, Zach understands like, okay, if I’m going to be legit, I gotta I gotta get a skill and be great at it. And right now, for him, he’s really good cutter, right? Good defender, you know, great around the rim. I said he was he was masterful on offensive putbacks. But for him, if he can really get that shooting down, Zachary Risha I think we’ll be in for a really good second year from him. And then lastly, Dyson Daniels. And I honestly I think Dyson honestly out of the three of them could be considered the most important out of all three, even though they’re all important. Because if Dyson, and people have mentioned this, some people have said, could Dyson take a Jimmy Butler type of leap next year? If you remember, Jimmy Butler came into Lee was a defensive player. He was not an offensive guy. Offensively was offense was not his strong suit. That was not his thing. And then he came back. I think D Rose was hurt and he became a a solid offensive option and obviously ended up becoming what he became in his career and then what he is now. from the from the clips that we’ve seen from Dyson, he’s been working on the trying to, you know, dribble, attack off the dribble, some mid-range, uh, pull-ups. We know that Dyson wants to improve his offensive game. He has spoke very vocally about wanting to improve his offensive game. If he becomes an offensive threat, it changes the whole dynamic for the Hawks because now teams could look at the Hawks and say, “Okay, we got to try to control Trey. Do something with Jaylen Johnson. Do something with Bzingis.” Right? So, they’re probably going to say, “We will, if we have to, we will allow Zachary or Tyson Daniels to beat us, right? And that’s why I said it’s important for Zack to be able to, you know, improve his shooting. But for Dyson, if he shows, hey, I can break your defense now, create off of that, get a jumper, get a midi, different variations to his offensive game where he becomes a consistent bucket for this team. And I’m not thinking Dyson’s going to become some 25 game score, but even if Dyson becomes like a 17 point game guy, 16 point game guy, that just changes the dynamic because now it’s like if we try to trap Trey, Dyson has the ability to beat us. And like I said, at the end at the end of the day as an NBA team, we’re going to take your chances, especially at beginning year. Beginning year is going to have be where Dyson has his opportunity. Teams are going to be like, “All right, show us that you can shoot. show us that you you were an offensive threat and we need to we need to plan for you. And so all the work he’s doing now, he’s like I said, he’s worked with Phil Handy, one of the great trainers, great coaches in this league to get his game where he wants it to go. He if he takes that step offensively, I mean there I will be very much thinking the Hawks will be in finals talk conversation. That’s how important I think Dan Dyson is to this season and obviously his health as well. Health for everybody. But Dyson has a really strong opportunity to really put pressure on opposing teams if he really develops the offensive game. And we saw improvements in his game last year, but we also saw he still has a lot more to get better at. He’s working and he’s coming. So really excited to see what Dyson Daniels does and we’ll have to see. Like I said, the whole offseason everybody’s working, training, trying to get better um before camp. It’s July, so I mean they’ll probably be back in sesh. So I think they have some I think they have some pretty training camp practices like September and then you have media day in October then training camp. So we’ll have to see what the Hawks do and and how they put it all together, man. But obviously, you know, we’ll have to see. So, I’ll be keeping an eye on the summer league game. I’ll give you guys my thoughts on the game after something to be given a thought on. Summer League can very much vary. First game usually probably will just because it’s the first game. Um, and then we’ll go from there. So, I appreciate you guys tuning in for another Hawks episode. Obviously, if you’ve enjoyed this episode, subscribe to the channel, like the video, leave a comment down below. Audio listeners, please leave a fivestar rating on this podcast so more people can see the podcast. Um, follow me on Twitter at Bryce_2K for all my Hawks takes. Definitely do that so you can interact with me, talk to me, and everything under the sun. And like I said, we’re going to keep an eye on. Summer League season is here. We’ll see what the Hawks do. Uh, I told y’all who I’m interested in. Let me know who you’re interested seeing. Let me know about anything else in this video that you have a question about or, you know, think about what I’ve talked about today. So, appreciate you guys. It’s by Lewis. See you next time.

The Hawks are getting ready for the summer league, and I give my thoughts on who to watch for. Plus Hawks players still grinding for the big season ahead.

Topics

Players to watch for in the Summer League
The most important players for the Hawks

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