What the Hawks need---Michael Lee

[Guest]

[ The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: 5/1/03 ]

What McDavid is buying: The Hawks

David McDavid is about to become the proud new owner of two professional sports franchises. What is he getting for his money? The Hawks have a rich history -- but recently they've been awful. The 4-year-old Thrashers have almost no history -- but they have high hopes for making the playoffs next season.

HAWKS

OVERVIEW: The Hawks are the fifth-winningest franchise in NBA history with 2,142 victories, but wins have been hard to come by since 1999, when the New York Knicks swept them out of the second round the playoffs. They haven't sniffed the postseason since and won just 35 games after "guaranteeing" a playoff appearance this season. Former general manager Pete Babcock was fired in April after leading the team through a painful rebuilding process which resulted in the losingest four-year stretch (121-207) since the team played in Milwaukee in the early 1950s. This franchise does have a history of success, making the playoffs in 18 of 21 seasons before this recent slide, and has been the home of such NBA legends as Bob Petitt, Lou Hudson and Dominique Wilkins.

Related:

• Breaking down the Thrashers

ROSTER: The Hawks have some talented pieces with three former All-Stars in Shareef Abdur-Rahim (right), Theo Ratliff and Glenn Robinson. Ratliff led the NBA in blocked shots, and Abdur-Rahim and Robinson were one of the most prolific scoring duos in the league this season. But that trio hasn't consistently played well together and is surrounded by average subs Chris Crawford, Dan Dickau, Nazr Mohammed and Alan Henderson. Dickau is the only guard under contract next season.

Key issue: Re-signing restricted free-agent point guard Jason Terry; acquiring athletic, defensive-minded players, especially at guard.

BANK ACCOUNT: After shelling out a $500,000 rebate to season-ticket holders for failing to make the playoffs, the Hawks are set to pay the luxury tax this summer for having an "overpaid" team with a $55 million payroll. The team currently has about $34 million tied up in Abdur-Rahim, Ratliff and Robinson next season, and that number will rise to about $37 million in 2004-05. Those salaries are off the books in 2005-06, meaning a new owner has the flexibility to create an entirely new team in just two seasons.

Key issue: Deciding whether to pay big money for a competitive team next season or dump/trade salary and take the fans through another rebuilding process.

FAN BASE: The Hawks had the second worst attendance in the NBA this season at 12,894 -- and most nights, many of those fans were disguised as empty seats. They drew less than the Nuggets, Heat, Raptors, Bulls, Clippers and Grizzlies, teams with inferior records. The Hawks have a measly 4,000 season-ticket holders, tame in comparison to the rest of the league, but the city does know and appreciate good basketball -- sellout crowds cheered their lungs out for the three-time champion Lakers and Michael Jordan.

Key issue: The city never has seemed to have a fascination with the Hawks. Even when Wilkins was at his Human-Highlight-Film-peak, the team still had difficulty filling the Omni.

COACH/GM: Terry Stotts and Billy Knight have respectively assumed coach and general manager duties this offseason, but both are dangling with no cushion. Stotts went 24-31 after replacing Lon Kruger on Dec. 26, but he kept the team together during a difficult stretch and earned the support of his players while winning 21 of the final 40 games. Knight is a respected basketball mind who was former general manager of the Vancouver/Memphis Grizzlies, and he will lead the team at least through the June NBA draft.

Key issue: Despite their reputations, it would be difficult for a new owner to sell Stotts and Knight to a city that is begging for a new regime.

IMAGE: The Hawks were probably the only team in the NBA to get booed for winning a game in their home arena. Granted, they were playing against Michael Jordan, but that 91-89 nationally televised game said a lot about how this team is perceived. Unfortunately, the majority of the fans here have moved from anger to apathy regarding the Hawks. And nationally, the team is regarded as a joke for that failed "playoff guarantee" and four years of putrid play.

Key issue: Finding a way to connect to the fans by fielding an entertaining, exciting team. This city is desperate for more than a playoff winner, and the Hawks have been a loser for too long.

-- Michael Lee

[Hawksman]

I count as 20,000 fans lol. JK.