The Gatorade Dump plays GM: Atlanta Hawks Edition
The dog days of summer are coming here at the Gatorade Dump. In a week, the NBA season will be over. The World Cup is going on for another month, and while I love watching the games, there isn't so much that I can say about them (I leave that to places like Pounding the Rock, The Sports Pulse, World Cup Blog, etc.). Baseball is going on, but of the three major sports, I follow baseball the least. So with that in mind, I'm going to take on some outside-the-box projects during the summer. One of the recurring projects I'll be doing is called "The Gatorade Dump Plays GM." I'm going to analyze the offseason prospects for every NBA team, starting today with the Atlanta Hawks.To make this whole project good, I need some other opinions out there on each team. So please, feel free to give me some feedback in the comments section. In addition, be sure to check out Impending Firestorm on MVN for some great Atlanta Hawks coverage. Finally, be tune in to the NBA GM Fix It Contest, going on right now.
Anyway, onto the Hawks.
Throughout the 1990s, the Hawks were a perennial playoff team, but never were able to be anything more. Veterans such as Dominique Wilkins, Steve Smith, Dikembe Mutumbo, and Mookie Blaylock were standouts on teams that were always decent, but never great. After their final playoff team in the 1999 lockout season ended in an embarrasing sweep to the 8th seeded Knicks, ownership decided to overhaul the team. Smith, Blaylock, and Grant Long left, and ownership attempted to rebuild.Since that last playoff performance, things have gone way downhill for the Hawks. Instead of rebuilding around young stars, the Hawks ownership took flyers on overrated veterans. In the last 6 years, Jim Jackson, Isaiah Rider, Toni Kukoc, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Glenn Robinson, Antoine Walker, and Rasheed Wallace had forgetful stints with the Hawks. Draft picks were wasted, and there seemed to be no hope. The Hawks had become the laughingstock of the NBA.
But things are starting to look up. In 2004, the Hawks finally had some draft picks, and used them to select Josh Childress and Josh Smith. 2005 was a brutal year, but younsters emerged. Then there was the 2005 offseason. Yes, there were major mistakes. Drafting Marvin Williams over Chris Paul may haunt the franchise forever. Trading two first-round picks and Boris Diaw for Joe Johnson might hurt for a while. But despite this, the Hawks showed signs of life this season, improving their win total from 13 to 26. Now, with an emerging young core of Johnson, Williams, and Smith, things are looking up for the Hawks.
Johnson, Smith, and Williams are real keepers for this team. Johnson was as good as advertised last season as a solid combo guard. Smith's game has really developed and he has the potential to be a Scottie Pippen-like player for this team. Williams, last year's #2 draft pick, didn't show much last season, but he will likely step in at power forward for free agent Al Harrington. At center, Zaza Pachulia should be a fixture for a while, having signed a 4 year extension at only 4 million per year. Childress and Salim Stoudamire had solid seasons last year and provide depth in the backcourt.
The Hawks are set to have 8 players under contract next season (Johnson, Williams, Smith, Pachulia, Childress, Tyronn Lue, Salim Stoudamire, and John Edwards). With two spots taken by the first and second round draft picks, there are 5 spots open.
The problem area is point guard. Lue and Ivey simply cannot be a long term answer. One proposal that I've heard is to trade some of the young pieces in an attempt to get Allen Iverson, but the Hawks would almost certainly have to part with either Johnson, Smith, or Williams. The Hawks could also use their first-round draft pick to select Marcus Williams or Randy Foye, but they seem set on drafting Shelden Williams to provide some toughness inside. I don't think this is the correct strategy, but I can see the logic from a roster perspective.
With those two options out by the wayside, the best way the Hawks can upgrade the position is through a trade. The Hawks have one real asset in Al Harrington. Harrington is one of the top members of the 2006 free agent class, but he does not fit in the Hawks long-term plans. The Hawks should try to use Harrington to acquire a point guard. The best way to do this is to trade Harrington to the Indiana Pacers for Jamaal Tinsley. Both players need a change of scenery, and the Pacers nearly got Harrington for Ron Artest. Tinsley has the talent to be a solid point guard, but fell out of favor with Rick Carlisle. With the Hawks, he would be a very good playmaker and would get the most out of Smith, Williams, and the rest of the gang.
The other way to upgrade the position would be through free agency. Jason Terry is the top point guard on the market, but he would carry too high of a price tag and doesn't fit in well. Mike James is another option, but he isn't the type of distributor Atlanta needs. The best guy on the market for the Hawks is Sam Cassell. Cassell instigated a revival for the Clippers last season, and if signed, he would have a similar impact on the Hawks. Signing Cassell to a two year deal worth between 12 and 14 million should be at the top of the offseason tasklist.With their final roster spot, the Hawks should go after a cheap big guard. Let Royel Ivey walk and go after a guy like Keith Bogans or Billy Thomas for the minimum salary.
With that in mind, here would be the Hawks 2006/07 roster.
PG: Jamaal Tinsley
SG: Joe Johnson
SF: Josh Smith
PF: Marvin Williams
C: Zaza Pachulia
6th Man: Josh Childress
7th Man: Sam Cassell (2 years, 12 million)
8th Man: Tyronn Lue
9th Man: Shelden Williams
10th Man: Salim Stoudamire
Big Man Project 1: John Edwards
Big Man Project 2: Paul Davis (Second Round Pick)
12th Man: Billy Thomas
With this roster, the Hawks could be a playoff team next year and would set themselves up for a decade of regular playoff appearances.
Next up: Boston Celtics
posted by Pradamaster at 12:31 PM
8 Comments:
dude... I love your columns but I gotta ask why you have Sam I Am coming off the bench for in favour of the Tin Man?
8:05 PM
A couple reasons.
1. Cassell would wear down if he played starter minutes. Ideally, he would play second fiddle to Tinsley during the season and then play the crunch time minutes during the playoffs.
2. Tinsley's game is not suited for coming off the bench. When the Clippers substituted Cassell for Shaun Livingston, they were getting a guy who could provide an immediate spark. Tinsley is not that type of player. He's the type of guy who plays best as a starter.
For those reason, I'd have him start and have Cassell play the crunch time minutes off the bench.
9:58 PM
The Hawks are going to have to offer Cassell a lot more money than that if they want to nab him. I can't see the Clippers not matching what you have them paying him, and he'd stay put inf the money is equal.
Also, I can't imagine he'd sign anywhere without a guarantee that he'd be in the starting lineup.
Great work. I look forward to your Celtics column.
9:25 AM
I agree with you alex. I think it will be difficult for the Hawks to acquire Cassell. Cassell is at the end of his career and I can't imagine he wants to go to Atlanta and come off of their bench, rather than staying with a quality team on the rise in the Clippers. Even if the Clips decide to start Livingston next year ahead of Sam, I would still expect the Clips to offer him a decent contract offer cause he did so much for that franchise last year and can do the same again this upcoming season.
11:00 AM
Alex and Mini Me, I do consent that 2 years and 12 million is a bit generous for Cassell. More likely, it will take something like 2 years and 14-16 million. It's an investment I'd still like to see the Hawks make, even if it's slightly more money.
I disagree, however, with your claims that Cassell wouldn't want to play in Atlanta. Yes, if the money is absolutely equal, I'd say he stays in LA. But if not, why not Atlanta? My main point in this column was that, for the first time in a while, the Hawks should not be considered a laughingstock. They have stockpiled a lot of great young talent and only need someone to bring it all together. In reality, Atlanta's situation is not very different from the Clippers' situation last year. The Clippers had tons of talent with Brand, Maggette, Kaman, and Livingston, but didn't have an experienced PG to bring it all together. If Cassell prides himself on turning around young franchises like it seems he does, then Atlanta is a perfect fit. I think he's not as concerned with starting as he is playing a key role in a shocking turnaround. With Johnson, Smith, Williams, and Pachulia, the Hawks have the same young talent the Clippers had last offseason. I would think that Cassell would jump at the opportunity to turn the Hawks around.
7:56 PM
i dont think sam i am wants to rebuild with another team. i think he wants to take the clips over the hump instead. the clips are a quality team and you could argue one more year of experience, and one player away, and they are a legit contender in the west. i am not sure why he would want to leave that for an unsure thing in atlanta.
8:02 PM
I also think that the Clip, at this time last year, were more advanced than the Hawks are now. They started the 2004-05 campaign well, and ended up with 37 wins, despite struggling through some injuries. I'm not as confident as you are that they're closer than a couple of years away from turning the corner.
In terms of rebuilding projects, if Sam decided to leave LA, I can't imagine that the Raptors wouldn't make him a similar offer, and be a more attractive destination. Though the Hawks have some young pieces in place, the Raptors core of Bosh, Villaneuva, and whomever they acquire (through the draft or a trade) with the number one pick is more promising, in my opinion.
On another note, I love the Harrington-Tinsley sign and trade; I think it works well for both clubs. However, since the Pacers are over the cap, they would probably have to package someone else with Jamaal to make the salaries match up, assuming that Harrington signs for close to his market value.
12:36 PM
I agree, the Clippers were further along than the Hawks are at this time. The Clippers had a star in Elton Brand and a second-tier star in Corey Maggette. What the Clippers didn't have was a crop of talented youngsters like Atlanta. Atlanta is certainly more unproven, but that means even more youngsters for Cassell to shape.
And I also agree that if Toronto were to enter the Cassell sweepstakes, they would have a more attractive team. They have one thing the Hawks don't have; a bona fide star. However, it's still entirely possible that Toronto either re-signs Mike James or decides to go with Jose Calderon at the point. Atlanta literaly has nobody else to depend on.
And as a final note, you stole my thunder with the Pacers edition coming up. The salaries don't match up, but that's because I expect Indiana to dump Stephen Jackson to Orlando for a couple draft picks. That would free up the salary cap room needed to take on the difference between Harrington's and Tinsley's contracts.
6:23 PM
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