2013 NBA Team Previews: Atlanta Hawks

Team Preview: Atlanta Hawks

The Atlanta Hawks were under the radar this offseason, but did well despite striking out on some of the big names. After losing in the Dwight Howard and Chris Paul sweepstakes, the Hawks had to find another way to revamp their team. Let’s take a look at some key additions and losses they made this past offseason:

Key Additions	Key Losses
Paul Millsap	Larry Drew (Head Coach)
Gustavo Ayon	Josh Smith
Elton Brand	Devin Harris
Lucas Nogueira
Dennis Schroeder
Mike Budenholzer (Head Coach)
Jared Cunningham

Although the Hawks didn’t lose a large quantity of players, they did lose two valuable players in Josh Smith and Devin Harris. Josh Smith went to sign a large contract in Detroit, meanwhile Devin Harris went on to sign a three-year, $9 million deal in Dallas.

The Hawks now bring in new head coach, Mike Bundenholzer who is taking over for former head coach Larry Drew. Bundenholzer, who was an assistant head coach for Gregg Popovich for 16 years, is looking to bring everything he learned over in San Antonio to Atlanta.

The Hawks over the past two years have done some crafty work, as they have been able to get rid of large contracts to players such as Joe Johnson and Josh Smith. Those two players no longer wear a Hawks uniform. It is evident that the team is looking to move forward in a different way.  Their goal is to build back up by removing any large contracts in order to pave the way to bring in multiple talented players at a reasonable price.

The Hawks were able to bring in players like Paul Millsap and Elton Brand to strengthen the frontcourt as well as replace the void left by Josh Smith. However, some of the biggest moves that the Hawks weren’t from free agency or via draft, but from within. The Hawks were able to retain players like Jeff Teague, Kyle Korver, etc. In keeping Teague and Korver, it strengthens their perimeter shooting and with the both of them, builds up a strong backcourt.

Over the past few years, the Hawks have been able to clear cap space by removing disastrous contracts, making them much more active during the free agency period. Let’s take a look at the Hawks salary from the 2013-2014 season all the way up until 2017-2018:

Name	2013-14	2014-15	2015-16	2016-17	2017-18
Al Horford	$12,000,000	$12,000,000	$12,000,000
Paul Millsap	$9,500,000	$9,500,000
Jeff Teague	$8,000,000	$8,000,000	$8,000,000	$8,000,000
Kyle Korver	$6,760,563	$6,253,521	$5,746,479	$5,239,437
Lou Williams	$5,225,000	$5,450,000
Elton Brand	$4,000,000
DeMarre Carroll	$2,557,545	$2,442,455
Gustavo Ayon	$1,500,000	$1,875,000
Lucas Nogueira	$1,419,200
Dennis Schroder	$1,348,200	$1,690,680	$1,763,400	$2,708,582	$3,824,518
John Jenkins	$1,258,800	$1,312,920	$2,228,025	$3,241,776
Jared Cunningham	$1,208,400	$1,260,360	$2,204,370	$3,222,789
Pero Antic	$1,200,000	$1,250,000	$1,562,500
Shelvin Mack	$884,293	$1,148,163
Mike Scott	$788,872	$1,115,243
David Lighty	$490,180	$1,016,482
Jeremy Tyler - X	$100,000
Damien Wilkins
Royal Ivey
Guaranteed Total:	$54,758,508	$45,336,656	$25,746,479	$13,239,437
Inclusive Total:	$58,241,053	$54,314,824	$33,504,774	$22,412,584	$3,824,518

As you can see, Elton Brand’s $4 million contract is up at the end of this season and there is no doubt that Brand is bound to prove himself as he tries to get locked up for a longer term. The team is a process in the making and it will be quite interesting to keep an eye out on the Hawks this season.

Predictions:

I always find it odd that the Hawks really don’t get the respect they truly deserve. They have made the playoffs the past six seasons but still fail to come up in conversation. Although, I don’t see them matching their win totals from last season because I feel as if their additions in the offseason just don’t outweigh their losses (as of now). That being said, there is no doubt that this team has a bright future ahead of them with the young talent they have. At the end of the day, I see this team going 38-44 missing the playoffs as the 9^th/10^th seed as a competitive team just on the outskirts. Not many people have talked about the Hawks, but in a couple of seasons, their play will be the center of attention.

(Salary table courtesy of www.hoopsworld.com)