SI: Rob Mahoney's Offseason Grade for Hawks - B

[AHF]

Atlanta Hawks

 

Best move: Nabbing Tiago Splitter for an irrelevant, top-55 protected draft pick. It pays to have cap room at the right time—and to have a long-standing relationship with a franchise looking to unload the salary of a quality player.

 

Worst move: Bidding high to acquire Tim Hardaway Jr., a player with no discernible record of passing or defending at an NBA level.

 

Analysis: In a way, the Hawks became the victim of their own shrewd negotiating in past summers. Paul Millsap and DeMarre Carroll both entered the off-season as unrestricted free agents just two years after coming to Atlanta. Both had significantly outperformed their modest contracts (Millsap earned $19 million over two years and Carroll just $5 million) and proven their value to the organization. Yet Atlanta was faced with a complicated proposition: Due to the fact that Millsap and Carroll had only been with the team for two years, the Hawks didn’t have full Bird rights for either player and would thus need to dip into their cap space to re-sign them at competitive rates.

 

There wasn’t the room. Signing two free agents of this caliber to market deals would have demanded breaking up the core of the team. Instead, the Hawks brought back the more indispensable player of the two (Millsap) after Carroll had committed to a contract elsewhere that would have been far out of their price range. One of the best, most prolific starting lineups in the league last season lost its go-to perimeter defender and beating heart. 

 

Carroll won’t be easily replaced. Part of the effort to do so, however, came preemptively; weeks before Carroll agreed to join the Raptors, Hawks coach and newly named team president Mike Budenholzer traded the team’s first-round pick for Knicks wing Tim Hardaway Jr. You’d be hard-pressed to find a swingman less like Carroll. Hardaway is a problem defender who yearns to create and holds the ball much longer than he should. Carroll was effective for the Hawks precisely because he worked hard, channeled his energies well, and didn’t have any presumptions about role or touches. It’s going to take some serious developmental work before Hardaway looks like a piece that could fit comfortably in Budenholzer’s system, making him a strange acquisition even before considering that the Hawks gave up more to acquire him than most any other team would have.

 

Whether Hardaway, Kent Bazemore, recent addition Justin Holiday, or a recovered Thabo Sefolosha ultimately winds up filling Caroll’s spot in the starting lineup, the Hawks know they’ll need to compensate for the difference elsewhere. Millsap, Al Horford, Kyle Korver, and Jeff Teague will all be integral in that effort. So, too, will Tiago Splitter— a quality two-way center on a bargain deal (Splitter will make $17.4 million over the next two seasons) who cost the Hawks no real asset to require. When San Antonio needed to clear Splitter’s salary from its books to make room for LaMarcus Aldridge, Atlanta jumped at the chance. Getting a player this good on a contract this friendly would likely not have been possible through other means. Only by way of the Spurs’ specific need could Atlanta land a third big who could support Millsap and Horford with stout defense in space and hard rolls to the rim. 

 

Grade: B

 

http://www.si.com/nba/2015/09/16/off-season-grades-southeast-division-hawks-wizards-heat-dwyane-wade-goran-dragic

Edited September 17, 2015 by AHF

[AUhawksfan]

Seems like a pretty fair grade. The guy at least appears to have done his research. I'm good with the analysis.

[hazer]

THJr is going to surprise a lot of experts in this system...

[capstone21]

THJr is going to surprise a lot of experts in this system...

NY is a bad place to be a rookie as you are surrounded by veterans that will not teach you how to be a better player.  The culture here is different ... he either takes advantage and learn and play our game or he sits.  I have a feelign his offense will be more efficient but I have a feeling is D will be still bad.  

[hazer]

NY is a bad place to be a rookie as you are surrounded by veterans that will not teach you how to be a better player.  The culture here is different ... he either takes advantage and learn and play our game or he sits.  I have a feelign his offense will be more efficient but I have a feeling is D will be still bad.  

D can be improved with teaching and effort. And Atlanta will be an environment where THJr will want (and have) to put forth more effort on D and will receive considerably more coaching. Nobody plays D in NY. He'll never be a DMC, but I have a feeling his D can improve to average.

[Guest]

NY is a bad place to be a rookie as you are surrounded by veterans that will not teach you how to be a better player. The culture here is different ... he either takes advantage and learn and play our game or he sits. I have a feelign his offense will be more efficient but I have a feeling is D will be still bad.

If he doesn't at least put forth the EFFORT on defense, he'll be on the bench.

[PSSSHHHRRR87]

Fair grade but he'll be proved wrong on Timmy. He's our SG of the future... And I keep forgetting we added Splitter. Speaks to how excitable the move was. Great move, but boring...

[AHF]

I  hope THJ is every bit as good as you guys predict and we are happy to pay him when he is a RFA in two years.

[ATLHawks3]

Can October 27th come any sooner?

[Guest]

Can October 27th come any sooner?

I'll even take preseason games.

This offseason has seemed slower than usual, even on the Squawk.

[Guest]

I'll even take preseason games.

This offseason has seemed slower than usual, even on the Squawk.

That's cuz you skipped out on the dynasty draft.

[Guest]

That's cuz you skipped out on the dynasty draft.

You know.....that's probably true, lol. Edited September 18, 2015 by JayBirdHawk

[DrReality]

Culture is huge and will make the diff with TH jr