Sports Illustrated Unimpressed by Hawks Offseason

[Jamaaliver]

Grade: C

...this summer could have been a time for bold investments for the Hawks, whose salary cap sheet is completely lacking in any major deadweight salary. Instead, Atlanta chose the quiet route, trusting that its core group of Al Horford, Paul Millsap, Jeff Teague and Kyle Korver will be enough...

All of the Hawks’ moves qualify as “minor.” Their biggest...$12 million over three years to Thabo Sefolosha. [He] has some bounce back potential...although fully guaranteeing the three-year deal will look regrettable if Sefolosha continues to decline... Kent Bazemore...should provide some punch and energy off Atlanta’s bench.

If there’s one newcomer to get excited about, it’s rookie forward Adreian Payne...The 6-foot-10 power forward seems to be a nice fit in Atlanta’s preferred spread offense. Payne will offer some frontcourt depth behind Horford and Millsap...

Worst move: Signing Thabo Sefolosha for three years.
Best move: Drafting Adreian Payne.

HERE

Yikes!

[Jamaaliver]

The grade is a bit harsh, but fair. Our moves were minor. We did have a chance to make a big move, but thus far, we remain largely the same. And I fear our front court still lacks the depth necessary to make a deep post-season run.

[Hawk Eye]

The grade is a bit harsh, but fair. Our moves were minor. We did have a chance to make a big move, but thus far, we remain largely the same. And I fear our front court still lacks the depth necessary to make a deep post-season run.

I still believe Atlanta will never become a place of even consideration for stars or big name free agens until we start making it to the ECF consistently.

[ATL Boy]

The Bebe trade Ferry made at the beginning of the off-season ended up being completely useless smh.

[Jamaaliver]

The grade is a bit harsh, but fair. Our moves were minor. We did have a chance to make a big move, but thus far, we remain largely the same. And I fear our front court still lacks the depth necessary to make a deep post-season run.

I still believe Atlanta will never become a place of even consideration for stars or big name free agents until we start making it to the ECF consistently.

Agreed. It will take some serious finagling to bring one here.

I was really hoping we'd go hard and pull in Pau Gasol. Then use him to try and recruit MARC Gasol next summer and set up the best frontcourt rotation in the NBA. (Pau, MARC, AL) That would have been my dream scenario.

The Bebe trade Ferry made at the beginning of the off-season ended up being completely useless smh.

Agreed.

But we still haven't officially signed Mack or Mike Scott, leaving us with plenty of cap space. Maybe Danny can actually make a trade that saves the off-season and gets us a few headlines this summer.

[Hawk Eye]

The grade is a bit harsh, but fair. Our moves were minor. We did have a chance to make a big move, but thus far, we remain largely the same. And I fear our front court still lacks the depth necessary to make a deep post-season run.

I still believe Atlanta will never become a place of even consideration for stars or big name free agents until we start making it to the ECF consistently.

Agreed. It will take some serious finagling to bring one here.

I was really hoping we'd go hard and pull in Pau Gasol. Then use him to try and recruit MARC Gasol next summer and set up the best frontcourt rotation in the NBA. (Pau, MARC, AL) That would have been my dream scenario.

The Bebe trade Ferry made at the beginning of the off-season ended up being completely useless smh.

Agreed.

But we still haven't officially signed Mack or Mike Scott, leaving us with plenty of cap space. Maybe Danny can actually make a trade that saves the off-season and gets us a few headlines this summer.

What's funny is that is exactly what I did in my fantasy league. Went out and get Pau on a 3 year contract and Recruited his brother Marc on a 3 year contract, gave Marc flexibility and allowed him a PO on the 3rd year just like Pau so he could sign a max offer elsewhere if he wanted after his time in ATL. Had a front court of Horford and M. Gasol with Pau as back up center.

[SBM]

I even think the draft pick was bad. Maybe we can get Martin and Shabazz from Minny since they drafted a SG with a lottery pick and are getting a SF in Wiggins.

[KobeBryant24]

I wish Atlanta was a sexy destination for free agents

[Yungsta404]

we are going to regret not picking up one of the many wings that were available on the board during our pick.

[HMFFL]

I also believe the grade is fair.
Nothing sexy about our off-season by any means.
While Atlanta has a lot going for it, there seems to be little interest amongst players to play here, so that will hopefully change over the next ten years.

[ATLHawksfan21]

SI calling the Thabo signing the worst move screams to me that they don't have a good grasp on our organization. He is going to fill a big need for us and do not be surprised when he returns to his near 40 or over 40% 3 pt shooting. Our defense needed help more than the offense and Thabo will be huge in that department. I expect Thabo to be a great fit with this squad and people will not be questioning that contract by mid-season.


I would rather stand pat and enter the season with this squad than make some trade. Monroe seems to be the only possible target and I want no part of him. Trading away solid players in exchange for giving a max to a defensive liability at C. No Thanks!!

[PandaKidd]

The biggest acquisiiton we made this year, could be our health.

If the offseason ends tomorrow, I will think we made minor upgrades and it really all depends on Al Horfords health. Also, dont be surprised if Millsap has a drop off in production .

I dont think we got much better, or much worse.

[ATLHawksfan21]

The biggest acquisiiton we made this year, could be our health.

If the offseason ends tomorrow, I will think we made minor upgrades and it really all depends on Al Horfords health. Also, dont be surprised if Millsap has a drop off in production .

I dont think we got much better, or much worse.

Millsap's points per game may decrease but he will score at a more efficient rate with Horford by his side.

Millsap shot 49.18% in the 28 games with Horford and 44.47% in the games without Horford. I will take that increase in efficiency in exchange for 2-3 points scored per game any day.

[graymule]

So. We didn't grab that star player that was floating around. Maybe he didn't want to come here.
Maybe he didn't fit in the scheme of things that Bud wants and wouldn't fit in.

Our head coach and our GM apparently signed the players that wanted and the players that they
believed would fit in with the scheme and the players we already have. Good!

Who cares if S I is impressed or not. If our coaches and players are happy with what we have,
then that's all hat matters.

[Jamaaliver]

Who cares if S I is impressed or not? If our coaches and players are happy with what we have,then that's all hat matters

It's a fair question. The obvious answer is that the Hawks have long held a reputation of being poorly run. There's a stigma over the entire organization which sticks in the minds of agents and players, sportswriters, pundits. Until we can begin to change the perception of the franchise and get some positive headlines, we will continue to have trouble attracting top free agents to play here.

In addition, the fanbase is pretty fractured right now with few top players on the team and fewer favourable headlines. The lack of fans at Hawks home games only reinforces the worst beliefs about our franchise: that we are essentially a bad team with a bad fan base and ATL is basketball purgatory.

A few positive headlines, a marketable star and a winning culture will all be necessary turn the tide in this city.

[MaceCase]

There were over 30 dozen positive headlines for the Hawks over the past 2 years that haven't changed the perception of the Hawk. I don't think 1 article by SI is going to make or break anything for this franchise.

[Jamaaliver]

I don't think 1 article by SI is going to make or break anything for this franchise.

You are absolutely correct. A single article alone won't bury us. It's the collective agreement of the more prominent sports punditry that continues to plague us with negative or mediocre predictions.

We've put a number of these in threads over the years; I'll go ahead and consolidate some of the more recent ones into a single spot for you (and all) to peruse.

2014:

• Grantland: Hawks "Losers" In Free Agency
• ESPN Rankings - EC- Hawks 7 Seed 42-40
• David Aldridge rates New Look Hawks middle of the Pack

[MaceCase]

And I'll say it again for those with selective quoting abilities; there were dozens of universally positive articles on the Hawks over the past two years that did not change the franchise's public perception by a single iota. 1 or a gaggle of articles from this current offseason that number far fewer than the amount published over the last few years will not have the magic ability of "burying" the Hawks much like the 2 year slew of positive pub didn't have the magic effect of raising the the Hawks from the dead after 30 years of malaise. It is barely a drop in the proverbial bucket, it is making a mountain out of a molehill and griping for the sake of griping when the prevailing attitude amongst both players and fans truly and deeply is "who cares".

There are no magic fixes for this franchise or city. A few positive headlines? Had those in droves over the past few years and nada. Marketable star? Had that in Nique and still nada. Winning culture? Longest consecutive playoff run in the East and again, nada. If you want to lose your hair over every single negative article out there then be my guest but all I know is Ferry came in with the exact knowledge that it will take time to change the collective psyche surrounding the Hawks. He's gotten positive reviews over two of the first three offseasons out of his 6 year contract with the Hawks but in typical fashion we should all freak out over the one. We should all just pretend that we were born yesterday with no idea of Atlanta being "the most miserable sports city" and act like trying to put a dent in that even over a 6 year period isn't a daunting enough task to speak nothing of expecting changes over one offseason.

[Jamaaliver]

^
You lost me. We've been creating threads for years to debate the merits of praise/criticism our franchise gets for its off-season moves. No one's freaking out.

The consensus this summer, is that folks seemed underwhelmed by what Ferry accomplished.

As far as quick fixes, we're in the midst of our 3rd (4th?) rebuild since the Mutombo led Hawks back in the 90s.
Ferry is attempting a quick fix by wooing max level free agents every summer.

As far as dozens of positive headlines, feel free to share a link or create a thread. I'm sure we'd all love a chance to read through and comment on them. I remember a few back in 2012, when Ferry dumped JJ. But I remember most from last summer bearing only moderate praise.

[MaceCase]

Yes, it hasn't been debated but actually established that the media has never accurately portrayed what this team is so why again are you buying into everything they are saying now all of a sudden with the claim that it is going to "bury" the franchise? But that's not freaking out though.

For someone who does nothing but gravedig old threads somehow a simple google search couldn't tell you that SI gave the Hawks a B+ just last year, the ESPN panel gave the Hawks an average of a B (A-, 2 B+, B-, C+), Aldridge ranked the Hawks offseason within his top 10 (#7) and Grantland had the Hawks as 2nd on their "Winners With Caveats" list with the ever so popular statement of how brainwashing or hypnosis had to be involved in the Millsap signing. I'm on my phone so it's a pain to copy the exact links but again, a grade schooler could have spent the 5 minutes it took me to find the year old versions of all of these "damning" articles on the hawks yet......where was all the positive changes in fans and players? But we should expect that negative reactions now...