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Keith Allison, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia CommonsYesterday I wrote that the Hawks should trade for Jaylen Brown. I was 68% sure. Twenty-four hours later I'm blowing up my own take.
Forget Brown. Go get Giannis Antetokounmpo. I'm 73% sure.
Three weeks ago I was 72% on drafting a guard at 8. Two weeks later I dropped to 65% saying trade up for one. Yesterday I abandoned the guard thesis entirely for a wing. Today I'm abandoning the wing for a top-five player on the planet.
Yes, I know what this looks like. I don't care.
140-89. That's the argument. The Hawks lost their final three playoff games by a combined 96 points. You don't run that back with a draft pick and hope. You run it back with 27.6 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 62.4% from the field.
The price is real. Kuminga, Risacher, Kispert, Hield, picks 8 and 23, plus a 2029 first. That's the entire periphery. But the core stays -- JJ, NAW, Okongwu, Daniels. Giannis next to Jalen Johnson is two top-ten players who don't need the same shots.
Five points higher than Brown because the player is better. Not higher than that because the cost is steeper and Giannis hasn't named Atlanta as his destination. This is framework, not fait accompli.
But the Hawks have 12 days. Draft on the 23rd. Kuminga option on the 29th. Every domino is lined up.
Knock them over.
Tell me I'm wrong.
The Tilt
The Hawks lost three straight by 96 combined points -- a guard at 8 won't fix that, but Giannis next to JJ would.
— Dex Ponce
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