Atlanta Hawks Free Agency Grades
Draft: Taurean Prince, DeAndre Bembry, Isaia Cordinier
Free agency: re-signed Kent Bazemore and Kris Humphries, signed Dwight Howard and Jarrett Jack
Departures: Al Horford, Jeff Teague
Once the Hawks secured Dwight Howard's services, they were faced with a few options: 1. They could re-sign Horford and go big along with Millsap and Howard. 2. They could re-sign Horford, then trade Millsap for future assets and sport a Horford-Howard frontline entering next season or, 3. Let Horford walk and go with Millsap and Howard.
The Hawks chose option number three, since Horford was willing to re-sign, but the Hawks drew a line in the contract negations and were too stubborn to slightly go over it to meet Horford's wishes. They were reportedly $6 million apart which, sadly, is like pennies in today's NBA financial landscape.
A Millsap-Howard front court is mighty intriguing, especially on defense. Millsap has a well-earned reputation of being one of the most elastic defenders in the game, being able to guard multiple positions. He is a beastly rebounder and has a silky jumper and smooth passing game that fits perfectly with the hawks' offensive identity. His skills should theoretically mesh well with the defensive-minded Howard. Theoretically.
The Hawks should be able to maintain or even improve their defense from last year, but their offense might suffer. They lost their steady albeit unspectacular floor general in Teague, who was traded to Indiana to open up room for the younger yet more erratic Dennis Schroder. Schroder is known to be way more explosive than Teague, and there is still hope for substantial improvement, seeing as he is only 22-years-old. While a still effective defensive center, Howard has fallen off on offense. He still stinks at shooting free throws, and he too often tries to post up instead of get involved as the rim-runner in pick and rolls, a role he should be really exempt at.
Except, throughout past seasons, Howard has been reluctant to embrace the role of a pick and roll monster. He has been a career average passer, constantly slow on rotations, which is a trait his pass-happy coach Mike Budenholzer will come to loath.
Although, Atlanta is known to have one of the best development staffs in the association. If Howard is going to discover his old dominant form, Atlanta is one of the best organizations in basketball to extract that old magic.
Transitioning to the rest of the Hawks' roster, talent is relatively scarce. Schroder looks ready to be an NBA starting point guard, but a point guard who cannot can open jumpers with relative ease has a ceiling. Kyle Korver, at 35, is starting to slow up. Still a magnificent shooter, he has trouble getting open since he's obviously lost some quickness, resulting in barfy, contested chuck-ups and a 3-point-percentage last season that was three percentage points worse than his career average.
Kent Bazemore, who the Hawks re-signed for a mammoth 4 year-$70 million deal, is never going to be the first or second option in an offense. He is a 3 and-d player who got paid like a star, a practice very common this offseason.
I don't know how much better this starting lineup will be compared to last year's. The Hawks lost two of their three best players last season, and replaced them with Schroder and Howard, two players who could boom or bust in their new environments.
For a team so reliant on movement and chemistry, it will take these Hawks time to get chugging. But once they do, perhaps they could be better than their 2015 selves.
Grade: C
Free agency: re-signed Kent Bazemore and Kris Humphries, signed Dwight Howard and Jarrett Jack
Departures: Al Horford, Jeff Teague
Once the Hawks secured Dwight Howard's services, they were faced with a few options: 1. They could re-sign Horford and go big along with Millsap and Howard. 2. They could re-sign Horford, then trade Millsap for future assets and sport a Horford-Howard frontline entering next season or, 3. Let Horford walk and go with Millsap and Howard.
The Hawks chose option number three, since Horford was willing to re-sign, but the Hawks drew a line in the contract negations and were too stubborn to slightly go over it to meet Horford's wishes. They were reportedly $6 million apart which, sadly, is like pennies in today's NBA financial landscape.
A Millsap-Howard front court is mighty intriguing, especially on defense. Millsap has a well-earned reputation of being one of the most elastic defenders in the game, being able to guard multiple positions. He is a beastly rebounder and has a silky jumper and smooth passing game that fits perfectly with the hawks' offensive identity. His skills should theoretically mesh well with the defensive-minded Howard. Theoretically.
The Hawks should be able to maintain or even improve their defense from last year, but their offense might suffer. They lost their steady albeit unspectacular floor general in Teague, who was traded to Indiana to open up room for the younger yet more erratic Dennis Schroder. Schroder is known to be way more explosive than Teague, and there is still hope for substantial improvement, seeing as he is only 22-years-old. While a still effective defensive center, Howard has fallen off on offense. He still stinks at shooting free throws, and he too often tries to post up instead of get involved as the rim-runner in pick and rolls, a role he should be really exempt at.
Except, throughout past seasons, Howard has been reluctant to embrace the role of a pick and roll monster. He has been a career average passer, constantly slow on rotations, which is a trait his pass-happy coach Mike Budenholzer will come to loath.
Although, Atlanta is known to have one of the best development staffs in the association. If Howard is going to discover his old dominant form, Atlanta is one of the best organizations in basketball to extract that old magic.
Transitioning to the rest of the Hawks' roster, talent is relatively scarce. Schroder looks ready to be an NBA starting point guard, but a point guard who cannot can open jumpers with relative ease has a ceiling. Kyle Korver, at 35, is starting to slow up. Still a magnificent shooter, he has trouble getting open since he's obviously lost some quickness, resulting in barfy, contested chuck-ups and a 3-point-percentage last season that was three percentage points worse than his career average.
Kent Bazemore, who the Hawks re-signed for a mammoth 4 year-$70 million deal, is never going to be the first or second option in an offense. He is a 3 and-d player who got paid like a star, a practice very common this offseason.
I don't know how much better this starting lineup will be compared to last year's. The Hawks lost two of their three best players last season, and replaced them with Schroder and Howard, two players who could boom or bust in their new environments.
For a team so reliant on movement and chemistry, it will take these Hawks time to get chugging. But once they do, perhaps they could be better than their 2015 selves.
Grade: C
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