| Time To Cash In On Atlanta's Stockpile Of Swingmen Authored by Jason M. Williams - August 14, 2006 - 11:55 am
Over the past three years, Atlanta Hawks fans have seen conference finals fixtures like Jason Terry, Antoine Walker, Boris Diaw and even Rasheed Wallace put on the red and gold only to be dealt away by Billy Knight.
They shook their heads while their General Manager passed on drafting nearby Winston-Salem’s favorite son and reigning Rookie of the Year Chris Paul when the team was devoid a point guard since the days of Mookie Blaylock.
They have dropped their jaws as Knight’s frugal fingers fumbled opportunities to acquire key big men, including Erick Dampier, Eddy Curry and Samuel Dalembert.
And worst of all, they have watched helplessly as he has added swingman after swingman after swingman to a roster overflowing with...yup, you guessed it: swingmen. Now Knight is on the verge of dealing away his perhaps most coveted asset for a mere $7.5M trade exception and a future draft pick from a team who hasn’t entered the lottery in a decade.
He took over the team in 2003 along with six other General Managers in the NBA: Danny Ainge (Boston), John Paxson (Chicago), Larry Bird (Indiana), Isiah Thomas (New York), Ernie Grunfeld (Washington), and Lenny Harris (Milwaukee). All six of these men have engineered squads worthy of making the playoffs at least once in their first three seasons at the helm of their respective NBA franchise. However, Knight is the lone GM incapable of doing anything but trading away key assets for cap room.
With athletic small forwards Al Harrington, Josh Smith, and Josh Childress already on his roster, and no point guard of the future within sight, Knight passed on eventual Rookie of the Year Chris Paul and Illinois standout Deron Williams in favor of swingman Marvin Williams. He then gave up on Boris Diaw and packaged him with two first round picks to the Phoenix Suns for combo guard Joe Johnson. This left NBA analysts scratching their heads, wondering why the Hawks were planning a starting lineup with virtually the same player at all five positions. His management skills have driven the fans out of Philips Arena with no reason to come back the following season.
The Hawks have not qualified for the playoffs since 1999, have not had an All Star since Shareef Abdur-Rahim in 2001-02, and finished with the worst record in the NBA in 2004-05, with five wins less than the expansion Charlotte Bobcats. Combine these facts, and you have a team that has finished in the bottom three in attendance the past three years, managing a pitiful 14,000 fans per game in a stadium that seats 20,300. It is true that Billy Knight has taken the wheel of this team and driven them into the ground, yet he still finds himself in perhaps the most ideal situation for a GM in this league: a roster of multiple young inexpensive trading chips combined with mountains of expendable cap room playing in gorgeous metropolitan Atlanta.
Today, Knight finds himself making impulsive panic decisions in order to save himself from being fired by the Atlanta Spirit LLC owners circle. These moves include the signing and grossly overestimating the value of Speedy Claxton (~$7M in 06-07), a career backup point guard, and the distinct possibility of trading Al Harrington to Indiana for virtually nothing. Harrington has evolved into the upper echelon of athletic NBA small forwards. His mid-range salary, along with his versatility on the court, makes him a very marketable commodity for teams around the league.
However, Knight seems incapable of pulling the trigger on a blockbuster deal that would either bring in a superstar, or a likeable cast of veterans that could gel into a contending squad. Rather than trade for a marquee player that would bring both fans and excitement to the arena while reestablishing value for his franchise, Knight has cowered behind his desk and only asked for a mere $7.5M trade exception and a future first rounder in return. As if having a team salary $15M under the cap isn’t enough, he plans to squander this opportunity to improve his ball club in favor of adding more bankroll to sit upon while the fans continue to lose faith in their team’s willingness to bring in All-Stars to guide the team into the playoffs.
To demonstrate how I would turn this franchise around, I have generated a five-step process for transforming the feeble tweeters from the south into savage hungry Hawks prepared to feast upon the rest of the Eastern Conference. I am assuming the current Hawks roster of 13 players plus the ability to sign-and-trade Harrington. I am also operating under the $53.135M salary cap with the Hawks at approximately $43M after the signing of number five overall draft pick Shelden Williams. I am also acknowledging the signing of free agent PG Speedy Claxton, who is unable to be traded until December 15, 2006. Not only will my scenario restructure the focus of the franchise to become an immediate playoff contender, but it will also strengthen the marketability of the organization while generating revenue from increased interest in the team and ticket sales. It will not, however, take away from the youthful core Knight has collected in the past three years, but rather strengthen it with veteran leadership and playoff experience.
Step 1: Establish the untouchables of the franchise.
This is in no way the easiest of decisions. With so many current Hawk players capable of performing at a high level at the same positions, it becomes difficult discriminating against which players are worthy of deeming “untouchable”. However, as chief advisor to Billy Knight’s 2006 off-season overhaul, I have chosen four current players to remain off limits from the rest of the league.
Politically, it would be impossible for Knight to deal away Joe Johnson, especially after giving up two first round picks and Most Improved Player of the Year Boris Diaw to acquire him.
Along with Johnson, human highlight reel and Atlanta hometown product Josh Smith is also a fixture Hawks fans can take solace in the fact that he will become an Eastern Conference All-Star staple donning the red and gold.
The third member of the Hawks core is Marvin Williams. Despite the fact that he virtually plays the same position as Smith, he is far too young and talented to be dealt at this point. His potential and athleticism were chief reasons for his selection as the number two pick in the 2005 NBA Draft. Again, it would be politically impossible for Knight to deal him, especially after passing on PG Chris Paul.
The final cornerstone of this rebuilding effort is defensive rock Shelden Williams. His presence in the paint is something needed for this team to grow into a cohesive unit. As a low post shot swatter, he allows the perimeter defenders of the team to play tighter defense along the arc because they are confident he will be there to alter any drive toward the basket.
Now that we have established our young core of future Hawks, with an average age between them of 22 years old, it is finally time to dip into the free agent and trade markets to further strengthen this team.
Step 2: Sign C Lorenzen Wright or PF Reggie Evans.
Atlanta is very thin on the front line. Last year’s emergence of Zaza Pachulia made him the most valuable player on Atlanta’s frontcourt. Even with the arrival of Shelden Williams, the Hawks are still faced with giving minutes to Marvin Williams, John Edwards, and rookie Solomon Jones at the four and five positions. This is unacceptable. Signing Lorenzen Wright, a former Hawk, or rugged rebounder Reggie Evans would add depth to the roster and would come at a very low cost. Being $10M under the cap, this is extremely feasible. Reports are already indicating that the Hawks are about to land Wright for 2 years, $6M, or can probably sign Evans to a similar deal.
Step 3: Sign-and-Trade Al Harrington and Salim Stoudamire to Denver for Kenyon Martin.
The Hawks don’t need Al Harrington, the Nuggets don’t want Kenyon Martin. Despite K-Mart’s tendency for injury, he is still a very passionate, hardworking defensive power forward in this league. His playoff experience and overall fearless moxie would help motivate a team laced with guys still too young to drink. His defensive prowess, combined with that of Josh Smith and Shelden Williams, would instantly make the Hawks a team that played with their heart on their sleeve and fire in their eyes night in and night out. Not to mention, K-Mart is the type of blue collar, hard nosed athlete fans in Atlanta would appreciate and eventually grow to love. His attitude would immediately raise the Hawks in the standings, and allow Shelden Williams the ability to transition slowly into the lineup.
In order to make this deal work, the Hawks would also satisfy the Nuggets need for a shooter by including backup guard Salim Stoudamire in the deal. This allows the Nuggets to rid themselves of the player Coach George Karl loathes, while bringing in a superior combo forward to compliment Carmelo Anthony. Atlanta also fills out its front line rotation very nicely with this addition.
Step 4: Step into Philly/Boston Allen Iverson trade talks.
Everyone in the NBA community realizes that Boston is desperate to trade for Allen Iverson. In this scenario, Atlanta steps in and offers to facilitate the trade. Here’s my proposed trade:
- Atlanta trades Tyronn Lue to Boston and Josh Childress to Philadelphia.
- Boston trades Brian Grant and Delonte West to Atlanta and Wally Szczerbiak, Sebastian Telfair, and Al Jefferson to Philadelphia.
- Philadelphia trades Allen Iverson to Boston and Kyle Korver to Atlanta.
(Note this trade must wait until August 28, 2006 to be completed due to Grant and Telfair having recently been dealt from Portland to Boston.)
Before you begin to clench your coffee cup at your cubicle, let me explain the reasoning. First, Philadelphia is reluctant to trade AI because he has been the franchise for the past decade. However, in return they get a former All-Star at the two-guard position in Wally Szczerbiak, an electric point guard Sebastian Telfair, promising big man Al Jefferson, and exciting swingman Josh Childress. This trade gives Philadelphia an extremely talented and deep roster. Also, Philly gets rid of Kyle Korver’s long contract while getting a generous upgrade in level of talent.
Atlanta loses two pawns on the roster that wouldn’t see valuable minutes, and in return gets a solid starting PG in Delonte West, a three-point specialist in Korver off the bench, and an expiring contract in Brian Grant. The acquisition of West also allows Claxton to assume his role as the spark plug backup, where he has thrived thus far throughout his career.
You may be wondering why Boston would do this trade, but Danny Ainge is sitting on a hot seat and has been obsessing over the prospect of teaming AI with Paul Pierce. The Sebastian Telfair trade was immediately suspect once they acquired Rajon Rondo from the Suns in the 2006 draft. Boston has accumulated enough pieces over the past few years and will now line up two future Hall of Famers along with promising youngsters Gerald Green, Ryan Gomes, Kendrick Perkins and newly acquired defensive menace Theo Ratliff. This immediately improves the team, who still has depth with Rondo, Tony Allen, Allan Ray, Leon Powe, and Brian Scalabrine off the bench.
Why is Atlanta important to this trade? They offer Philadelphia a place to dump Korver’s salary, while getting a drastic increase in production from the same position in Wally Sczcerbiak. Boston finally gets the star power it needs to compete with New Jersey for the Atlantic, and Atlanta solidifies its roster to compete for a playoff spot in the East.
Most importantly, this trade solidifies the Hawks roster, dumps two players that would otherwise play very limited roles, and keeps the payroll only $2M over the cap. This is assuming Atlanta is able to legally maneuver above the NBA salary cap.
Step 5: Change the team logo back to the nostalgic Pac-Man look-alike logo.
Everyone loves the old Hawks uniforms worn by Dominique Wilkins. The vintage uniforms would be a fan favorite and would produce instant sales for their new exciting roster. Plus, look what happened when the Detroit Pistons reverted back to their former uniforms and logo…
Finally, my proposed 2006-07 Atlanta Hawks Depth Chart
PG – West, Claxton, Ivey
SG – J.Johnson, Korver
SF – J.Smith, M.Williams
PF – Martin, S.Williams, Grant, Batista
C – Pachulia, Wright/Evans, Edwards, Jones
This gives the Hawks a very strong starting five with a great cast of talented role players off the bench. If Knight can make this happen, then a prediction can be made about his squad in the immediate future:
2006-07 Atlanta Hawks Prediction: 5th seed in Eastern Conference, increased ticket sales to 18,000 per game, with possible sellouts in the playoffs.
Jason M. Williams can be reached at jaywilli05@gmail.com for comments. |
