| Hawks Keep Key Players In The Nest Authored by Patrick J. Austin - July 12, 2009 - 6:10 pm
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Bibby signed for three years, Pachulia for four years, and Williams is expected to sign for five years. Best of all, it appears each player’s contract is extremely reasonable. Bibby’s $18 million dollar contract over three years is for slightly-above mid-level exception money. Pachulia’s deal is for roughly the same yearly amount.
Williams’ contract looks as though it will be five years for $40 million dollars, which breaks down to around eight million dollars a season (though the details of the contract have not been released). Given the fact Ben Gordon and Anderson Varejao were able to get $50 million dollar deals from the Pistons and Cavs, re-signing a rising star like Williams for $40 million is a bargain.
The down economy and fixation on 2010 certainly benefited the Hawks in negotiations. I guarantee you in any other off-season the team would not have been able to re-sign Bibby, Pachulia, and Williams for such reasonable sums.
With key players re-signing along with the acquisition of Jamal Crawford and drafting of Jeff Teague, the Hawks have certainly upgraded the roster. It’s great to see important pieces to the Hawks core remain intact. This will give the Hawks a leg up against teams like Cavaliers, Magic and Pistons – all teams who made major moves and will need time to adjust and gel with their new players. The Hawks’ starting five will hit the ground running with no adjustment time needed and with an upgraded bench to help immediately.
Does this mean the Hawks are done for the off-season? Yes and no. For big moves, yes; though, they still need to a couple more bench pieces to fill out the roster. The Hawks GM, Rick Sund, should scour the bargain bin to add some frontcourt depth. They could take a chance on Chris Wilcox or maybe bring back Theo Ratliff for veteran stability. Either way, an extra big is definitely needed.
The Hawks should also take a look at adding an extra shooter to the bench. Someone like Steve Novak would be perfect.
If the Hawks can add those two pieces, I’d venture to say this has been one of the most productive off-seasons in recent history for the franchise.
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