CBS Sports Releases Hawks 2014 Off-Season Grade

[Jamaaliver]

Last Summer CBSSports.com issued very high marks to the team for dumping Josh Smith, replacing him with Paul Millsap and drafting three solid prospects. Their assessment then was that we'd had an A- off-season.

This summer, they seem less impressed:

They were looking at some depth issues, particularly on the wing. Mostly, though, they were looking to bring in a legit star...The Hawks made a cap-saving move of trading Lou Williams and Noguiera for John Salmons...Everything was set for them to make a huge free agent offer and they landed...

Nobody.

They do seem really high on Adreian Payne:

Atlanta landed a steal with Adreian Payne in the first-round. Not only is Payne perfect for their system as a big who can rebound, score in the post and shoot from the perimeter, but Payne provides coverage in the event that they lose Paul Millsap in what is set to be an expensive free agency.

Overall grade and accomplishments — C+: The Hawks didn't land a significant upgrade; they didn't turn themselves into contenders. But they kept a good team together, will get Al Horford back, drafted well, kept their flexibility, and added some quality depth.

Sefolosha isn't the best 3-and-D target they could have gotten, and losing Noguiera was regrettable given his upside. But Payne could have an impact fairly quickly, Sefolosha helps their defense which was a major concern, and their point guard depth is young and talented now.

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on-basketball/24675139/offseason-report-atlanta-hawks

[Hawk Eye]

Everything that CBS said is basically what I expected based on my other readings from other sources of our grade for this off-season. If our coaches can get Thabo out of his shooting slump and get him up to his 3 point% he had 2 years ago then I think he will have the biggest impact out of all of our new guys.

[Jamaaliver]

On the plus side, they applaud the front office for not over-reacting and overpaying for anyone. And also credit us for signing Thabo and Bazemore.

The good news is they didn't respond by overpaying for another player and that means they still have flexibility long-term...What they did add was some guard depth. They signed Thabo Sefolosha to give them a wing defender...The Hawks brought back Shelvin Mack, and signed Kent Bazemore. Bazemore's a good fit in the shot-centric system.

Their speculation that Bazemore will be a good fit in our system is encouraging. As is their praise for what Payne can bring.

Our two biggest gaffes this summer, IMO, losing Bebe for so little and failing to get Pau or any other capable Center.

The article echoes the sentiment regarding Bebe:

...losing Noguiera was regrettable given his upside...

And despite their lack of enthusiasm for the moves we actually made this summer, they don't predict gloom and doom for next season.

[ATLHawksfan21]

The good thing about Thabo is I don't think his shot is as broke as the 31.6% from 3 season mark will lead you to believe. After taking a closer look at his season, Thabo shot well from 3 for the majority of the year. His percentages were killed by a terrible slump to start the year and a bad slump after he returned from injury.

Thabo started the year off slowly going 3/21 from downtown in the first 8 games.

He then setlles in and shoots 37.3% over the next 46 games before injuring his calf.

He injures his calf and misses around 6 weeks of PT from the end of Feb. - April 7. He returns and shoots 1/13 from 3 in the final 7 games. He continued to struggle from 3 during the playoffs. I'm not sure if it was due to rust, still being hampered by the injury, or just pure cold shooting.

I know this is cherry picking, but it still shows some promise in my opinion. It's not uncommon for players to start the season off cold or struggle a bit when returning from a 6 week absence. I'm hopeful that we can get at least 38% out of him if he can come out of the gates firing and stay injury free this season. Being regularly involved in the offense should help his rhythm and allow him to shoot a little better as well.