This is make or break time for the Atlanta Hawks.
With a number of a trades along with some massive salaries coming off the books, the Hawks set themselves up to be a major player in free agency this summer.
They have already been linked to Dwight Howard and Chris Paul as it appears Atlanta is ready to finally take a run at the Miami Heat in the Southeast Division.
The Hawks have been a consistent playoff team but nothing close to a true championship contender. So for them to take the next step, they’ll need to hit a home run in free agency to get to that level.
Miami has dominated the division since LeBron James and Chris Bosh came to town and the other three teams sure aren’t ready to make a run at the division — or even the playoffs for that matter.
So this is Danny Ferry’s big shot to get it right in Atlanta. It seems like they’re moving on from Josh Smith and ready to try to build a team that can contend in a pretty weak Eastern Conference.
The time is now.
Note: All numbers below courtesy of hoopshype.com
Atlanta Hawks
2012-13 record: 44-38
2013-14 contract commitments: $18.5 million
UFAs: Josh Smith, small forward, Devin Harris, point guard, Dahntay Jones, shooting guard, Kyle Korver, small forward, Zaza Pachulia, centre, Johan Petro, centre, Anthony Tolliver, power forward
RFAs: Ivan Johnson, power forward, Jeff Teague, point guard
Free agent fit: Dwight Howard, centre
The skinny: When he was running the Cleveland Cavaliers, Ferry was never able to surround LeBron James with the right pieces — and that’s probably why he’s in Miami today. Now, as the GM in Atlanta, he doesn’t want to repeat the same mistakes. His main priority last season was to fix Atlanta’s troubling salary situation and that mission was accomplished. With a ton of free agents coming off the books — and by somehow convincing Brooklyn to take Joe Johnson’s contract — the Hawks are primed for a major run in free agency this summer. They are one of the few teams that could bring in two premier players to try and create their own Big Three (along with Al Horford) to go up against the Heat. The hard part could be convincing them to want to play in Atlanta — but it should be a very fun summer for the Hawks.
Charlotte Bobcats (soon to be Hornets)
2012-13 record: 21-61
2013-14 contract commitments: $40.4 million
UFAs: Desagna Diop, centre, Josh McRoberts, power forward, Jannero Pargo, point guard, Reggie Williams, small forward
RFAs: Gerald Henderson, shooting guard, B.J. Mullens, centre
Free agent fit: Nate Robinson, shooting guard
The skinny: When you’re this bad for this many years, you would’ve figured they’d land a star player in the draft by now. Unfortunately, that hasn’t been the case and the Bobcats remain one of the least successful franchises in pro sports. The Bobcats’ best chance of succeeding won’t be in free agency because even with Michael Jordan running the ship — it’s difficult to imagine Charlotte luring a legitimate talent on the market. Maybe MJ should come out of retirement for a third time? But in all seriousness, the Bobcats aren’t in any position to succeed with their current group in place and spending in free agency could just take them further away from the stacked 2014 Draft. Wait for Wiggins.
Miami Heat
2012-13 record: 66-16
2013-14 contract commitments: $85.6 million
UFAs: Ray Allen, shooting guard (player option), Chris Andersen, power forward, Mario Chalmers, point guard (team option), Juwan Howard, power forward, Rashard Lewis (player option)
RFAs: N/A
Free agent fit: Chris Andersen, power forward
The skinny: When it appeared the San Antonio Spurs had the NBA Finals wrapped up late in Game 6, many were wondering if we had seen the last of the Big Three in Miami. With Dwyane Wade’s knees starting to give out and Chris Bosh’s struggles with premier post players — it was starting to look like those old Cleveland teams for LeBron James. But the Heat figured it out and took home their second title in a row. There has been some talk that the Heat would look to move Bosh in roder to find a true post player to pair James and Wade but they’ll likely have a very similar roster as they look for a three-peat in 2013-14. Despite being already pretty deep in commitment, we expect the Heat to do all they can to keep Chris Andersen around. They need his rebounding, shotblocking, energy off the bench. They don’t really have a player on their team who could replace him.
Orlando Magic
2012-13 record: 20-62
2013-14 contract commitments: $75.3 million
UFAs: Hedo Turkoglu, small forward (player option), Beno Udrih, point guard
RFAs: DeQuan Jones, small forward
Free agent fit: N/A
The skinny: The Magic are in the early stages of a long rebuild. They are in a dire need of talent as they failed to get much in return for longtime franchise player Dwight Howard. The team is likely to exercise a $6-million buyout clause in Hedo Turkoglu’s contract as they continue to close the Dwight Howard era. The Magic will have plenty of room to play with this summer but it seems they will continue to rebuild through the draft and will likely try to roll over the space for future free agent classes.
Washington Wizards
2012-13 record: 29-53
2013-14 contract commitments: $57.4 million
UFAs: Trevor Ariza, small forward (player option), Leandro Barbosa, point guard, Jason Collins, centre, Cartier Martin, power forward, Emeka Okafor (power forward), A.J. Price, point guard, Martell Webster, shooting guard
RFAs: Garrett Temple, shooting guard
Free agent fit: Luke Walton, small forward
The skinny: For a team that has struggled as much as Washington, they sure are locked in with a lot of bad contracts. Nene, Emeka Okafor (he’ll be back) and Trevor Ariza (he’s not turning down $7 million) could combine for a total of $25 million in salary next season. Not exactly bang for your buck there. The good news is that Wizards starting improving in the second half of the year once Bradley Beal got adjusted to the pro level and John Wall got healthy. Unlike some other bottomfeeders, Washington has some key pieces in place and need to get better at the small forward position and certainly more athletic up front. The draft will help but they could use some cheaper veterans that can help the Wizards once again develop into a winning team.
