"What's next for the Atlanta Hawks?"

[WakaFlocka]

Insider article posted today, thought y'all may appreciate this.

The Atlanta Hawks were the playoff team everyone forgot. Even though they posted their sixth straight postseason appearance, they still were one of the bottom five teams in the league in attendance. They've had a hard time generating excitement despite featuring a roster of exciting players who are coveted around the league.

But they've also been a poster child for the treadmill of mediocrity, and that treadmill was unplugged by the Indiana Pacers. Now they enter the offseason with an opportunity to drastically remake the franchise.

Here's a look at where they've been and where they're headed:

The Good

Horford

The continued excellence of Al Horford: It astonishes me that Horford is as underappreciated as he is. Here's a player who averages a double-double, can play on the block or out of the high post, is an excellent passer, exhibits high basketball IQ, is an excellent team defender and scores efficiently from all over the floor. In many ways, Horford is where Marc Gasol was a few years back -- an elite talent hidden in plain sight. The best part about Horford is Atlanta has him under contract for a paltry $12 million a year for the next three years, and that discount is what allows the organization the flexibility to add talent without being a tank job.

The emergence of Jeff Teague: Earlier this season, I wrote about Teague's push for his next deal and how he has put up numbers that compare favorably with the other point guards of his class who have been extended. His shooting efficiency has gone down since then, and took an even bigger dip in the playoffs, but he has solidified himself as an above-average starter in the league. He still needs to get better at setting the table for others and making the players around him better -- a very different endeavor from racking up assists.

Immense cap flexibility: Ultimately, that's what this season was all about. Atlanta gambled (rightly) that moving Joe Johnson's albatross contract would not affect their win-loss column significantly but would lift an enormous burden off the cap books. The Hawks enter the 2013 postseason with more cap space than any other team and own three extra future first-round picks and two future second-round picks, in addition to owning all their own picks, positioning themselves to remake the team how they see fit. That includes wooing native son Dwight Howard and getting him to leave money on the table in Los Angeles for a chance at a new start.

The Bad

Losing Lou Williams: The loss of Williams to a season-ending ACL injury was a tremendous blow. Williams brought a different look as a scorer and playmaker off the bench, and while one might look at Devin Harris as a reasonable facsimile, the fact is that many of Atlanta's best performing plus-minus lineups featured Williams, despite his appearing in only 39 games this season. Williams would have been a big boost in the playoffs particularly, as the Pacers defense is geared to allow midrange shots and he has been one of the most efficient midrange players in the NBA throughout his career.

The Josh Smith cap hold: Atlanta tried to move Smith at the trade deadline, to no avail. Whether it decides to ultimately keep him or not, it'll have to work around his $16.4 million cap hold (basically a placeholder on the books that eats up cap space until it signs him to a new deal, he signs elsewhere, or the team renounces him). When trying to juggle several time-sensitive options -- paying Teague, putting together big-money offers for other free agents -- that cap hold can become cumbersome, particularly if the Hawks plan on recouping value for Smith in a sign-and-trade.

Flexibility is a double-edged sword: Having a massive amount of cap space is great, provided you have someone worthy to give it to. I always think back to the seasons immediately following the dismantling of the championship Chicago Bulls. The Bulls set themselves up with huge cap flexibility to sign impending star free agents (Tim Duncan, Tracy McGrady, Grant Hill), but one by one they all rejected Chicago's overtures. Atlanta has to walk away from this offseason with some tangible improvements without overpaying for them.

Summer decisions and questions

Josh Smith | UFA: As mentioned, Smith's contract status makes this summer's activities a bit tricky. Smith is seeking a maximum salary deal, which is too pricey for a player with questionable shot selection and inconsistent effort from play to play. The Hawks need to decide fairly quickly whether they want him to stay. How much do you pay him? Do you seek a sign-and-trade or do you renounce him?

Jeff Teague | UFA: Similar to the Smith dilemma, the Hawks need to decide quickly whether they are going to keep Teague. If they don't, they risk having another team submit an offer sheet for him. Depending on how that contract is structured, it could put a dent in their cap space (an offer sheet first-year salary becomes a restricted free agent's de facto cap hold). Do you proactively lock Teague up? Do you wait for an offer sheet then decide quickly whether to match?

Devin Harris, Kyle Korver, Dahntay Jones, Zaza Pachulia, Anthony Tolliver | UFA: All of these players performed their roles solidly, although maybe not to the level of their respective salaries. They will almost certainly all be renounced immediately to eliminate their cap holds, but that doesn't shut the door on their return. (It just eliminates their Bird rights.) Whom do you bring back? Can you find better alternatives on the open market?

Larry Drew | FA coach: Drew's contract expires, and part of the flexibility of remaking the roster includes finding a new voice to lead the team. Drew has amassed a record of 128-102 (55.7 percent) and been to the playoffs every season he's been in Atlanta, but no one would characterize him as a transformational leader. Do you bring him back to coach the new roster? Can you attract a marquee name in coaching free agency?

Prognosis

The Hawks have the benefit of tabula rasa, a blank slate, which is an optimal position for a front office that took over recently. They need to quickly assess the chances of retaining Smith at a reasonable rate; otherwise, they should already have a pulse on which teams are interested and what kind of assets can be acquired for him. Coming to terms with Teague should also be a priority, as letting the situation drag creates more inflexibility. This is where turning a vision into a plan and executing it is vital to the future success of the franchise.

[Watchman]

Let Drew go. Let it be known early so we can attract free agents or trade candidates.

[WakaFlocka]

Let Drew go. Let it be known early so we can attract free agents or trade candidates.

While I don't disagree with letting Larry go, by any means, I think we'd have to hire a new ("attractive") coach before FAs start wanting to sign here.

Off topic, but saw your avatar - you a GTO owner? I just sold my '06 SRM 6MT

[Watchman]

While I don't disagree with letting Larry go, by any means, I think we'd have to hire a new ("attractive") coach before FAs start wanting to sign here.

Off topic, but saw your avatar - you a GTO owner? I just sold my '06 SRM 6MT

I had a 2004 GTO, but I traded it in about 15 months ago with 151,000 miles on it. i miss it.

[WakaFlocka]

I had a 2004 GTO, but I traded it in about 15 months ago with 151,000 miles on it. i miss it.

Nice, mine had ~57k on it when I traded it in a couple weeks back.

[DrReality]

what odds do you give Teague to return? Think that decision is pivotal in moving forward

[frosgrim]

what odds do you give Teague to return?  Think that decision is pivotal in moving forward 

I guess they'll keep the tlrights to JT. But will make a hard play for CP3. Teague is insurance but not seen as central to the rebuild. Just my takeSent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using Tapatalk 2

[TheNorthCydeRises]

I guess they'll keep the tlrights to JT. But will make a hard play for CP3. Teague is insurance but not seen as central to the rebuild. Just my takeSent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using Tapatalk 2

The problem with keeping Teague, is that if a team really wants him, they can immediately put out an offer sheet to him. And unlike in years past, the Hawks would only have 3 days to decide if they want to match it or not. So they need to have in mind right away if they want to keep Teague.

The other thing is that if they really want to completely utilize all of their cap room, they'll have to renounce just about everyone on the roster who doesn't have a contract next year. Guys like Korver, Teague, and Zaza have cap holds totaling over 23 million. Smith's cap hold is over 16 million. Harris' cap hold is almost 13 million.

Over 71 million in cap holds total.

[Sothron]

We need a sexy coaching hire IMO fairly early and use that to try and draw the big names like Dwight and Paul. If I was Ferry I would already have asked their agents what coaches those guys would like to play for.

[cam1218]

We need a sexy coaching hire IMO fairly early and use that to try and draw the big names like Dwight and Paul. If I was Ferry I would already have asked their agents what coaches those guys would like to play for.

100 percent right.If we are going to be a serious player in free agency we must sign a legit coach first. These guys aren't going to come here to play under Drew. We need to show we are serious about winning and finally get a respected coach.