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Atlanta Hawks (Last Year: 47-35)
Live 2009 NBA Draft Grades:
19. Jeff Teague, PG, Wake Forest
It appears Mike Bibby is a goner from Atlanta with Jamaal Crawford and Teague now in town. Teague is a scoring guard like Crawford so it will be interesting to see who will handle the ball for the Hawks. (Pick Grade: Makes Sense)
49. Sergiy Gladyr, SG, Ukraine
What percent of these foreign guys will never play in the NBA? Fifty? Sixty-six? I�m officially giving every Euro player drafted in the second a “meh” because I just don’t care. (Pick Grade: Meh)
2009 NBA Offseason Transactions:
2008-09 Season Summary:
Hawks management doesn’t get near the credit it deserves for re-building Atlanta into a respectable NBA franchise. They pretty much stole Joe Johnson and Mike Bibby in trades, and while a couple of their draft picks have back-fired (i.e. Shelden Williams and Acie Law), selections like Al Horford, Josh Smith, and Marvin Williams have been solid. Still, Atlanta is a far way from being an elite NBA team as demonstrated by them getting swept by the Cavs in the second round of the playoffs. With a move or two this off-season, the Hawks could take the next step to compete with the big dogs in the Eastern Conference.
2009-10 Projected Depth Chart:
C: Al Horford/Randolph Morris/Joe Smith/Jason Collins
PF: Josh Smith/Zaza Pachulia
SF: Marvin Williams/Maurice Evans
SG: Joe Johnson/Jamal Crawford
PG: Mike Bibby/Jeff Teague
NBA Free Agents:
SG Mario West (RFA)
F Othello Hunter (RFA)
SG Thomas Gardner (RFA)
2009-10 Team Salary: Approximately $40.9 million
2009-10 Expected League Salary Cap: $57.3 million
NBA Offseason Needs:
1. Point Guard – The Hawks have a major decision to make this off-season. Mike Bibby has been the solid veteran point guard presence needed to lead this young team since his arrival a year and a half ago. Bibby is part of a talented list of veteran unrestricted free agent point guards this off-season. Should Atlanta try to re-sign Bibby or pursue the likes of Jason Kidd or Andre Miller, or even try to sign a young restricted free agent like Raymond Felton. Since they are well under the cap, it is safe to say the Hawks will land a solid point guard whether or not it is Bibby.
2. Depth Up Front – The Hawks pretty much need depth at every position with only eight players under contract for next season, but especially up-front. Zaza Pachulia was effective in his role as back-up center this season, and the Hawks will probably attempt to re-sign him for a reasonable price. Solomon Jones also showed signs of being a solid bench player and could be brought back. But with the amount of cap space they have and the fact that starting power forward Marvin Williams is better suited playing on the perimeter, Atlanta should take a hard look at the available big on the market, specifically one who can crash the boards.
3. Another Scorer – Assuming the Hawks re-sign Bibby and bring back Marvin Williams, their starting five seems to be set. However, there is a need for some scoring punch off the bench especially since the starters averaged about 77 points per game this season. Flip Murray provided that boost this season and looks like he found a home in the ATL, but is a free agent.
Written by Paul Banks of NBC Chicago and the Washington Times, and David Kay of the The Sports Bank.
Send Paul an e-mail here: paulb05 AT hotmail DOT com.
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