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Are The Hawks Doomed Again In 2005-06?

Authored by Steve Bostic - July 27, 2005 - 11:30 pm

Current Featured Columns

The First Three Weeks of 2008-09

Now that we’ve had a little time to watch free agency unfold, along with the usual accompaniment of trades, let’s look at some of the key moves and how they impact the teams involved.

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The Boom Dizzle era is over, and the Warriors quickly recovered by signing two nice pieces to complement their young core.

Christopher Reina. July 10, 2008.

	Reliving Eight Years Of Jermaine Regardless of how happy he is to be out of Indiana, there will always be a part of Indiana in Jermaine O'Neal's 6’11” frame. Andrew Perna. July 13, 2008.
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The Atlanta Hawks are the worst team in the National Basketball Association by a wide margin. They are currently the “Clippers of the East”, the NBA basketball version of Siberia. The organization currently has tons of money to spend on free agents except that nobody really wants to come to Atlanta because they are so desperately bad. They are currently being used by Joe Johnson of the Phoenix Suns who needs any team to step up and make him a max contract offer so that he can get maximum money to remain with his current title contender. JJ knows what the Hawks apparently don’t…that the Suns will not let him escape at any price.

The Hawks are absolutely desperate for a point guard and a center, a fact that everyone in the league seems to understand except for the Hawks themselves. How do we know they are in the dark? In the draft the Hawks passed up two incredibly solid point guards to take another forward who is clearly not ready for prime time. In other words, the Hawks took the less NBA ready player and passed over two potential All-Star point guards who are ready for NBA minutes right now. They compound they stupidity further with the attempt to sign another wing player in JJ.

But what can the Hawks do right now to start getting the train back on the track before they lose another 69 games next season?

First, they give Eddy Curry a 5-year guaranteed contract in the vicinity of $40 million. Suddenly, John Paxson, the Chicago Bulls GM, will have some dancing to do and some decisions to make. The Bulls are already leery of Curry for a laundry list of reasons and his current uninsurable heart now tops the list. The Bulls will put numerous stipulations in any Curry contract that will make the deal less than desirable from Curry’s standpoint and the Hawks can eliminate any chance of the Bull’s matching by giving him a completely guaranteed deal.

There are risks involved for the Hawks but they must start taking some chances to improve their team enough to where free agents will actually consider them next year. Curry has been tested by many of the country’s top cardiologists and it has been determined that he can play with little risk. Curry is a legit post who can score (16.1 ppg) and is only 22 years old. A potentially great center can be had for a blue light special price and Atlanta needs to make a bold stroke and get this deal done.

Second, the Hawks should sign Earl Watson, and unrestricted free agent, to play the point. Watson has been better than Jason Williams the last 18 months in Memphis but wasn’t making starters money. He is NBA ready, a solid citizen, and can help the Hawks immeasurably in what will be another challenging season next year. Plus, he can be had for a reasonable price which will save additional cap money for next summer’s free agent crop.

Obtaining Curry and Watson could give the Hawks a nice shot in the arm for the upcoming season. Josh Childress and Josh Smith should be better with a year under their belt and the Hawks could probably put up 25 wins…not good but a significant improvement any way you look at it. The Hawks also have two #1 draft picks next year to help continue this reclamation project. Eddy Curry and Earl Watson are two great moves that could provide immediate relief at prices that are surely affordable with money to spare. Let’s hope the Hawks don’t sit back and do nothing while their long suffering fans continue to stay away in droves.