Ok the title is kinda click bait because he mentioned it around the 45 minute mark of the newest 2 part Locked on Hawks podcast and even said "I don't think it's going to happen" and called it his wild august prediction but it's still interesting to think about. He went on to say that Trae-Risacher-Hunter-JJ-a center could be our starting lineup.
How we feeling about 19 year old, 6'9 Risacher starting next to Trae this year?
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If you’re gonna draft him #1 then he better start.
my idea: alternate between him and Dyson for preseason and then decide to start em both when you remember Dre is great off the bench.
Please keep bringing Dre and Bogi off the bench. It actually works
Who tf is our 3?? Trae Dyson Ris Jalen <Center>
He is a forward. Did people think he was going to start at the 2? He’s gonna split minutes with Dre at the 3
His team in France had him picking up guards full court and he excelled, so it could work. My only concern is there are a lot more explosive shooting guards in this league than there are small forwards. Any given stretch, you could play Devin Booker, Donovan Mitchell, Anthony Edwards, etc., in the same week. He’s already going to have a target on his back going #1, I’d hate for him to start having confidence issues if things don’t go his way early on. Trae, Dyson, Risacher, JJ, and OO is the lineup I’d go with.
I could definitely see it. I know that this sub doesn’t like it, but Hunter has been a starter since his rookie season whenever he was healthy. Maybe this stretch this past season where he came off the bench will change things in the coaching staff’s minds, but even then I’m not sure. Quin has had a track record of sticking with proven/older guys, and we don’t have any proven starter-level 3s on the roster. Since all signs point towards the team wanting to win, I could totally see Hunter entering the season as the starter unless another player is good enough to take it from him.
That leaves the 2 spot with 3-5 players (Bogi/Dyson/Zacch/Vit/Kobe) competing for the spot.
* Bogi is the easy answer and probably the best player amongst the group. However, given how the Hawks have handled him coming off the bench + the lack of a proven non-Trae primary creator, I could totally see him staying in the 6th man role he had last season and leading the bench unit
* Dyson is really intriguing paired next to Trae, and tbh I currently have him penciled in as a starter. His defense is a potential game-changer, and playing alongside a NBA PG for the first time in his career is going to be really helpful for his offensive game. The main concern is
* If Zacch works out long-term at the 2 as well as the 3, that would give us a lot of size and lineup versatility to pair alongside Trae. I don’t see that happening this season tbh given Quin’s track record with playing young players combined with the amount of players competing for play time at the 2 (and a lesser extent at the 3), but if he ends up absolutely popping when playing alongside Trae it’s not out of the realm of possibility
* I don’t think that Vit will be the opening night starter (or in contention that much tbh), but if any injuries happen he’s probably the next player up. If the shooting from last season is real, then his defense/passing/shooting seems like a perfect fit next to Trae.
* I don’t think that Kobe realistically will ever start at the 2 since he’s our backup PG, but I’m just mentioning him here since he is a combo guard. He’d probably only start at the 2 if we have like 3 or 4 injuries at the position tbh, but he should be mentioned
I personally think that the starting lineup will be very matchup dependent (also that starting doesn’t matter as much as how many minutes a player gets), but if I had to choose a single starting lineup right now I’d go Trae/Dyson/Zacch/Jalen/OO. I think that Bogi is a better player than Dyson rn, but he’s a lot more valuable coming off the bench. Likewise, I think that Hunter is *currently* better/more proven than Zacch (**very** subject to change), but Hunter coming off the bench and helping fill backup 4 minutes is more valuable than him starting
Dyson is our starting 2 guard and deandre will start at the 3 to start the year. You would be a bit silly to think risacher is better than deandre RIGHT now. He will likely transition to the starter later in the year. But deandre will be healthy to start the year and has gotten significant nba minutes. It takes time to adjust to the nba.
Trae Bufkin Risacher Johnson Okongwu
I don’t care who starts at 2 the first game of the season. Let’s see who they’re trotting out at game 20 or 30, assuming there are no injury issues.