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Atlanta Hawks: Three months ago, the high-flying Hawks were the talk of the NBA. After sneaking into the playoffs, Atlanta came out of nowhere to shockingly force the Boston Celtics to a winner-take-all, seventh game in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Celtics eliminated the Hawks in Game 7, but it appeared the feisty Hawks had taken a huge step forward. They had a roster teeming with young, talented athletes and, after years of ineptitude, it seemed they were coming together as a team. However, that momentum may have grinded to a halt as Atlanta management has bumbled negotiations with key players. Last month, Josh Childress took the unprecedented step of signing with a team on a different continent (Olympiacos in the Greek League.) Josh Smith, an ultra-talented, productive, and exciting forward is a restricted free-agent and still has not been signed. It is unclear if Atlanta will pony up and sign Smith to a long-term contract. Following the 2008-2009 season, Marvin Williams will become an restricted free-agent, and Mike Bibby will be unrestricted. In the summer of 2010, superstar Joe Johnson's deal expires. At some point, the Hawks have to decide what type of organization they want to be perceived as. Either they will be content with mediocrity, or commit to keeping vital pieces in Atlanta. With so many other teams in the East improving, Atlanta will have a difficult task qualifying for the postseason going forward. The Hawks should be a team on the rise; instead they appear headed in the wrong direction.

LOSERS

Atlanta Hawks
You've got to hand it to the Hawks, currently the most dysfunctional team in the NBA. After finally making the playoffs and pushing the Celtics to a seventh game in the first round, the Hawks looked like the team on the rise. Then the offseason came and the Hawks' ownership group, Atlanta Spirit, got to work.

Their first move was a good one, letting GM Billy Knight walk. The Hawks were in the playoffs despite Knight's consistent botching of the draft, not because of him. Unfortunately, after Knight resigned, everything got seriously mangled in Atlanta. A number of the top GM candidates they pursued said "no, thanks" and the Hawks ended up settling on Rick Sund, a nice guy who's failed badly as a GM in his last two stops in Seattle and Detroit.

Sund's first move was to bring back head coach Mike Woodson -- a guy who several players don't really like and whose coaching style doesn't fit the talent on the team.

Then the Hawks completely mishandled Josh Childress. First, they offered him a contract for less than the midlevel exception. Then they told him to go find a better deal, thinking no team would make a strong offer. Childress found a better deal in Greece and warned the Hawks he'd take the money. The Hawks called his bluff and Childress took the money and ran. Normally, I wouldn't make such a fuss over a sixth man, but Childress was the glue that held the team together -- he was very underrated.

Now the Hawks are between a rock and hard place with Josh Smith. Their offer is lower than what Emeka Okafor and Luol Deng got. Smith is upset and doesn't really want to play in Atlanta. If they up the offer, they risk overpaying a player who is unhappy in Atlanta. If the Hawks don't increase the offer, they risk Smith taking the one-year qualifying offer in Atlanta and bolting next summer as an unrestricted free agent.

SneakerKing33 wrote:Why cant our franchise just be normal? I just dont understand what our problem is, its unbelievable!