To close out hour one Willy P talks to Atlanta Hawks beat writer for the Athletic Chris Kirschner. Will starts off the interview by asking Chris how impressed he is with the Hawks on how they turned their roster around. Chris responds by saying that with the Hawks being able to turn guys like “Damien Jones, Deandre Bembry, Treveon Ghram, and Jeff Teague into Danilo Gallinari, Onyeka Okongwu, Bogdan Bogdanovic is very impressive.” Next, Will asks Chris how important the Bogdanovic signing was for the Hawks, and Chris responds by saying “It was the most important signing for the Hawks, and the Hawks have been looking for a guy like Bogdanovic since they drafted Trae Young. A guy who can be a secondary playmaker, create his own shot, shoot the three pointer, so this was the most important signing for the Hawks. Next, Will asks Chris about what the potential starting five could look like. Chris responds by saying “I know a lot of people get caught up in the starting five, but it doesn’t really matter, but if you ask me the starting five is Trae, Bogdanovic, Cam, Collins, and Capela. I know Gallinari signed a healthy contract, but at this point in his career he’s better suited coming off the bench. To continue the interview Nick asks what we might see Lloyd Pierce do schematically with this team. Nick responds by basically saying that it's going to be interesting how coach Pierce handles his lineups, but one area this team will likely focus on is defense because this team was “dreadful on that side of the court.” Chris also says that “The Bogdanovic and Gallinari signings don’t help you out in that are, and Rondo doesn’t help you out in that area even though some people have been confused saying he was a good defender in Boston which he was, but he’s not that player anymore. Kris Dunn however I believe is one of the best defensive players in the league.” Chris finishes his thought by basically saying the Hawks and coach Pierce “last year had about three guys they could depend on where as this year they have a complete roster.” Lastly, Nick closes things out by asking Chris what he thinks the future of John Collins is with the Hawks. Chris responds by saying that “I think the moves the Hawks made actually will help them get a deal done with Collins because their salary cap is tied up for 2020 and 2021 so I think they’ll be able to get a deal done whether it’s this year or next year.”
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.