Bazemore for the Kings? (split from game thread)
- Thread starter twslam07
- Start date
That still doesn't answer my question from a roster standpoint.
As for the winning team part, Atlanta is in a peculiar spot. They have the 7th best record in the league this year, but do you see them as a real threat to compete for a championship? I don't.
So what do they do? Do they ride it out and stay a playoff/2nd round and out team or do they start rebuilding? Horford is a FA this year and will be heavily pursued by many teams considering he's one of those players who can fit into any system. There's no guarantee he's coming back, and if he doesn't come back, that only makes this team worse. Then you start looking at the age of some of your older players (Millsap - 31, Sefolosha - 32, Splitter - 32, Korver - 35) and you can see that the window is closing very quickly.
Personally, I would rebuild if I were Atlanta. I've always been a championship or bust type of person. Schroder, Hardaway, & Tavares would be the guys I hold onto while looking to move Teague, Korver, Sefolosha, Millsap, & Splitter for young assets. If this is the direction they want to take, signing a 27 year old Bazemore probably doesn't make much sense for the Hawks.
But you're right. He does like Atlanta and his current team wins more than they lose. If Atlanta wants to continue spinning their wheels for the next couple of years, I'm sure they will desperately want Bazemore back. However, it's hard to sit here and speculate what will & will not happen or what he values or doesn't value. Is the city a huge factor? How competitive the team is? Having a starting role? Roster fit? Money? There's tons of variables that go into it. I will say this though. Bazemore has only made $5.2 mil during his career. At 27, that's not a lot of money for a NBA player. I'm sure the money is going to play a very, very big role. This is his shot at a big contract. I don't think he's going to squander it.
So considering we are also a competitive team, have a top 10 talent, have a starting spot for him, have a PG that will be constantly looking for him, and we make a sizeable contract offer, I'm sure he'll be more than willing to hear us out.
As for the winning team part, Atlanta is in a peculiar spot. They have the 7th best record in the league this year, but do you see them as a real threat to compete for a championship? I don't.
So what do they do? Do they ride it out and stay a playoff/2nd round and out team or do they start rebuilding? Horford is a FA this year and will be heavily pursued by many teams considering he's one of those players who can fit into any system. There's no guarantee he's coming back, and if he doesn't come back, that only makes this team worse. Then you start looking at the age of some of your older players (Millsap - 31, Sefolosha - 32, Splitter - 32, Korver - 35) and you can see that the window is closing very quickly.
Personally, I would rebuild if I were Atlanta. I've always been a championship or bust type of person. Schroder, Hardaway, & Tavares would be the guys I hold onto while looking to move Teague, Korver, Sefolosha, Millsap, & Splitter for young assets. If this is the direction they want to take, signing a 27 year old Bazemore probably doesn't make much sense for the Hawks.
But you're right. He does like Atlanta and his current team wins more than they lose. If Atlanta wants to continue spinning their wheels for the next couple of years, I'm sure they will desperately want Bazemore back. However, it's hard to sit here and speculate what will & will not happen or what he values or doesn't value. Is the city a huge factor? How competitive the team is? Having a starting role? Roster fit? Money? There's tons of variables that go into it. I will say this though. Bazemore has only made $5.2 mil during his career. At 27, that's not a lot of money for a NBA player. I'm sure the money is going to play a very, very big role. This is his shot at a big contract. I don't think he's going to squander it.
So considering we are also a competitive team, have a top 10 talent, have a starting spot for him, have a PG that will be constantly looking for him, and we make a sizeable contract offer, I'm sure he'll be more than willing to hear us out.
I'm not suggesting that they are not a "solid team," but can this solid team contend for a title? Can you see them ever beating GSW, SA, OKC, and/or CLE in a 4 game series?
The Hawks had the #1 seed last year. I'm sure they thought they were close to a title hence the Millsap signing. Now they've dropped off this year, and are at a point where they have peaked. If they are able to bring back Horford and if they are able to bring back Bazemore (both are big ifs), they still don't have the personnel to compete for a title. Depending on Horford's and Bazemore's cap holds, they may be able to make a push for another big player. Batum seems like the only guy that's available that would actually make sense. Teague/Bazemore/Batum/Millsap/Horford with Schroder/Korver/Sefolosha/Scott/Splitter coming off the bench would be a very good team. Everyone in the starting lineup is a good defender, shooter, and passer and the bench would have plenty of scoring, shooting, and defense as well. I could easily see this team take down CLE and make it to the finals. Not sure they could beat GSW or SA, but they would at least have a shot.
Having said all of that, there are a lot of ifs in that scenario. (If they resign Horford, if they resign Bazemore, if they end up having enough cap space to grab another good to great player, if they sign Batum, etc.) I'm actually very interested to see what the Hawks are going to do this offseason. Are they going to rebuild? Are they going to make a push to add another big player to their squad? Are they okay continuing the treadmill? You're guess is as good as mine right now.
The Hawks had the #1 seed last year. I'm sure they thought they were close to a title hence the Millsap signing. Now they've dropped off this year, and are at a point where they have peaked. If they are able to bring back Horford and if they are able to bring back Bazemore (both are big ifs), they still don't have the personnel to compete for a title. Depending on Horford's and Bazemore's cap holds, they may be able to make a push for another big player. Batum seems like the only guy that's available that would actually make sense. Teague/Bazemore/Batum/Millsap/Horford with Schroder/Korver/Sefolosha/Scott/Splitter coming off the bench would be a very good team. Everyone in the starting lineup is a good defender, shooter, and passer and the bench would have plenty of scoring, shooting, and defense as well. I could easily see this team take down CLE and make it to the finals. Not sure they could beat GSW or SA, but they would at least have a shot.
Having said all of that, there are a lot of ifs in that scenario. (If they resign Horford, if they resign Bazemore, if they end up having enough cap space to grab another good to great player, if they sign Batum, etc.) I'm actually very interested to see what the Hawks are going to do this offseason. Are they going to rebuild? Are they going to make a push to add another big player to their squad? Are they okay continuing the treadmill? You're guess is as good as mine right now.