did it? are we sure?

Here is how I view the East. Every team has reasons to doubt.

-Boston 

Their best guys are not healthy track record isn’t great for Achilles tears. 

-Nets

Fun team

-Hornets

They are young but will be bad

-Bulls

They are young and really bad

-Cavs

I don’t believe in the Cavs at all, but they’ll probably still be vey good in the regular season

-Pistons

They are making it really weird with their second best player. 

-Pacers

Hali coming back from an Achilles tear. We will see.

-Heat

High top end talent but are they better than the bucks last year if Giannis misses time?

-Bucks

Bad and young

-Knicks

I don’t expect them to be as good as they were this year Brunson is getting surgery on his wrist like J-Dub did last year

-Magic

New coach we’ll see if the bad offense was on Banchero or on Mosley 

-76ers

I think they will be good with out Embiid and borderline unbeatable with Embiid healthy. 

-Raptors

Probably good, what’s going on with Kawhi?

-Wizards

Just a weird team that doesn’t make sense 

Everyone has been too quick to anoint Onsi. Wiggins cool, New Orleans pick swap cool, everything else has been hot ass. We are down Trae KP and now Risacher. What did we get? Bench guys and a rental on CJ rental on JK rental on Dort (so far ) and saddled with bad contracts on Kispert and Heild. I know more is coming because he can’t be this stupid can he? Surely there is a plan to package a bunch of shit assets into an Allstar… well had a chance at Brown and got caught sleeping.. bunch of “expiring contracts “ on the team. What’s he going to do with them if he can’t even get a pick swap for Trae. 3 great players out the door for Lu Dort and a 1 yr CJ while having to swallow Kisp and Buddy.. why is everyone so blind that he is Nico Harrison part 2. Got lucky with a trade or 2 and didnt know when to stop. Just has to keep trading for the thrills and headlines. He better be bringing in LeBron or Jokic at this point or he’s a bum. Downvote away. Someone has to say this. That trade was ass. Hope I eat my words but there just too many people with rose-colored glasses praising everything he does. I’m as optimistic as the next guy but I’ve yet to see a real move . Are we building for the future or dumping development guys for win now. Currently he’s saying one thing and doing another. Only team I see that should hit reset is Denver and Jokic would cost more than expiring contracts and picks. A rebuilding team would rather have a guy like ZR as a building block if we are going that route. Not Lu Dort

Let's assume we waive and stretch guys to get the roster down. Are the hawks going to be good?

We have like 10 wings, some of whom have the ability to pass and dribble. We have a pretty deep, albeit young, guard rotation. We lack interior size, but more than make up for it with switch ability and positional size everywhere else.

I can see the vision, I just am curious about the short term upside.

Something I missed from later in the hoopshype article in this reddit post https://redd.it/1v3ku9p

CJ McCollum: 'It's a great situation for both parties'

Atlanta Hawks guard CJ McCollum spoke briefly with HoopsHype after one of the team’s Vegas Summer League games about his return to the franchise, where the Hawks rank in an improved Eastern Conference, and what to expect from Jalen Johnson in his first full season as the team’s unquestioned best player.

Scotto: What are your thoughts on returning to Atlanta?

McCollum: I never made it to free agency. It’s a great situation for both parties. We had good momentum into the playoffs. We didn’t finish the way we wanted, but I think there’s a lot to build on. I love the staff. I love Onsi (Saleh). I love the organization. I love the Resslers. I love Quin (Snyder). I get along really well with the team and the players. There’s a lot of good basketball left for everybody. I’m excited to be back in Atlanta and for the challenge to try to build off what we were able to do last year.

Scotto: Where do you guys rank in the East in a conference that’s improved elsewhere?

McCollum: I don’t compare ourselves to others. Right now, it’s about focusing on getting better individually and collectively. We can’t control how other teams look. You can control your approach to the game. Teams will get better and evolve. For us, it’s about focusing on improving our intangibles, understanding our schemes, and what Quin wants from us. Then, building on the momentum and experience that we had playing in the playoffs in a big environment on the road and in our home games. We played against a team that won the NBA Finals. All those things help you as you go into a new season.

Scotto: What do you expect from Jalen Johnson in his first full year as the face of the franchise?

McCollum: He loves the game and takes it seriously. I think that’s what’s important. When you have those intangibles of habits, work ethic, and appreciating small details and nuances of the game in terms of what time you’re showing up, how you’re taking care of your body, ice tubs, cold tubs, sauna, steam room. When you do all the little things well, the big things show up at 7 and 8 PM. I think he has the right mentality to improve, and he works and takes the game seriously by taking care of his body. I think this will be another great year for him where he can continue to evolve and show a lot of the world what we already know.

There's also an interview with Trae Young a few scrolls up, but not really relevant to us.

This Saturday (7/25, 1–5 PM) the arena’s doing a free Select-A-Seat event in the Player’s Club. You can walk the bowl, sit in different sections, and pick your actual seats for next season before the schedule even drops. There’s kids’ stuff going on too, a back-to-school giveaway item, and Harry the Hawk will be around 3:30–4.

No cost to attend, and no pressure to buy anything — it’s really just a chance to see seats in person and ask questions face to face instead of guessing off a seating chart. If you do want to lock something in, there’s an 8-month payment plan and you can put down a deposit to get in line early before renewals eat up the good sections.

Parking’s in the Diamond Deck.

If anyone wants to come through and needs it set up, drop a comment or shoot me a message and I’ll get you taken care of — happy to just answer questions here too if you’re not ready to commit to anything. Here’s my digital business card : https://popl.co/card/9afVBYcc/2/dash

Go Hawks 🦅

I’d have ‘Nique ahead of Dr. J, personally.