Five Questions about the Hawks Off-season

[Jamaaliver]

From a very interesting read over at ESPN:

1. How much will the Hawks' lackluster performance against Cleveland change the way the front office approaches the offseason?

Very little. As badly as things went for Atlanta in its four-game drubbing at the hands of James, the Hawks' season was an undeniable success...

The Hawks achieved that not with splashy, impulsive acquisitions over the past two seasons, but by carefully assembling a roster of hand-picked, high-character players with skills that could be maximized in Budenholzer's system.

The feeling in Atlanta is that this team-building strategy is working beautifully, and there's no inclination to blow up a well-crafted, long-term plan because the Hawks ran into a buzzsaw operated by James.

2. Will the Hawks sign free agents Paul Millsap and DeMarre Carroll and bring the band back together for 2015-16?

[T]he Hawks figure to have approximately $23 million under the salary cap for those signings. Will that get it done? The sense both inside the Hawks and around the league is "not anymore."

The word from Atlanta is that its strong preference is to retain its two gritty, hard-working starting forwards, so long as the price isn't unreasonable.

But the Hawks also have a deliberate, careful front office that places a premium on financial flexibility. [If the front office peers into the future and sees too much money committed to too many players in their 30s -- whose best seasons are behind them -- that could inspire the Hawks brass to look at other options.

[Jamaaliver]

3. Who is the Hawks' point guard of the future?

The Hawks have two very good, imperfect options. The incumbent is Teague, who the Hawks drafted six summers ago during the Joe Johnson-Josh Smith-Al Horford era. His understudy, Dennis Schroder, is a 21-year-old firefly who buzzes around the floor with reckless abandon.

Teague had a breakout season and was named to his first All-Star Game in February...Teague has made strides, but there's still a persistent question in Atlanta as to whether he has the confidence or obsessive competitiveness to be the point guard who can grow old and prosper with the system in Atlanta.

In no way does Schroder lack for confidence and obsessive competitiveness, and the Hawks' brain trust loves him for it, even as they acknowledge he has some growing up to do. At some point, Schroder will assume the starting spot in Atlanta, but that's unlikely to be next season for one primary reason: Teague's contract is simply too favorable to send away, barring extraordinary circumstance.

5. What else do the Hawks need?

...the Hawks need some size to shore up the glass, where they got manhandled from the start of the season until their last whimper in Cleveland. The Hawks will forever be tempted by "skill bigs," as they should be, but rebounding is a skill, too, one the Hawks are deficient in.

Thoughts?
Concerns?
Predictions?

[Jamaaliver]

So the goal is to bring back the same core. I disagree with it, but I understand the decision. At least we seem unlikely to overpay.

They agree we need bigs greatly. Particularly some big strong guys to dominate the paint and rebound and block shots. Been saying this for years. Undersized Center, with an undersized PF with no legit backup Center is mind-bogglingly foolish. No more three point shooters at Center. I'd rather have a rebounder.

Schroeder is still regarded highly by the Front Office and seen as the PG of the future. Seems inevitable with the improvement Dennis made this season. he looked terrible in the playoffs versus WAS, but for most of the year he was such a huge part of this team's success. he'll get another summer in FIBA competition. I expect 12 ppg and 5 apg this upcoming season and strong consideration for 6th man of the year.

[Geaux_Hawks]

It all comes down to how much money we spend on Sap and DMC. A small pay raise for both would make me feel good knowing we didn't overpay, and remain flexible to make other moves.

Seeing how most of our problems could be fixed by just upgrading the bench, I wouldn't be opposed to bringing those guys back at all. Just keep in mind that we there is room and opportunity to improve in the starting lineup this off-season.

We really need some size off the bench. Robin Lopez and Chandler seem like ideal bodies, if we intend on keeping Sap, that should be cheap. Also, we could use some offense off of the bench.

We could really use a guy that can come in and get us a bucket when the system isn't getting us one. Moving Korver to the bench is something I am in favor of. To add to that, I honestly think Amare Stoudamire would be a great addition of the bench.

Like I say, Korver to the bench would be great for us. Therefore, we will need someone to replace him. Wes Matthews seems like the ideal fit, but I wouldn't mind Eric Gordon for the right trade or price if he becomes a FA.

I think Schroeder will be on the hot seat for being the "PG of the future". This might be a make or break year for him. If he does well enough to keep hope, then he will eventually supplant Teague, but if not, I could see him no longer viewed as the guy to take over and lose his personal value to us. Teague is still young also.

Overall, the front office seems to be committed to this core of players, so they may be thinking no big moves unless our guys get overpaid a lot. With that said, I think Sap is gone for sure since someone will offer him a nice chunk of change and years that we may not be willing to commit to him.

Just a thought, but I wonder if the front office has ever thought that Sap could start at the 3, just so they could add some size into the starting lineup. I'm saying its the smartest move, but would anybody be shocked?

[Jamaaliver]

I think Schroeder will be on the hot seat for being the "PG of the future". This might be a make or break year for him. If he does well enough to keep hope, then he will eventually supplant Teague, but if not, I could see him no longer viewed as the guy to take over and lose his personal value to us. Teague is still young also.

I would agree with this 100%. But, let's be clear: This PAST season was also a make or break season for Dennis. We've seen with Adreian and Bebe that Bud has little patience for young prospects that don't seem a good fit for what he wants to do.

Dennis's rookie year was awful. Had he struggled again early this season, he'd likely already be gone.

Hawks' propaganda filled Recap for Dennis's 2nd season:

Schröder played in 77 games, starting 10 and improved in just about every category. He managed to average 10 point per game, leading all bench players and giving Atlanta six players with at least that many for the second straight season. What was most noticeable about his offensive game was his drastically-improved shooting. His three-point percentage went from 23.8% in his rookie year to 35.1% this season. While he still admittedly has some work to do in that area (42.7% overall FG), he has made great strides in just two years.

For the most part, Schröder ran the offense to perfection while subbing in for Jeff Teague. He had an offensive rating of 102.4, upped his assists to 4.1 per game and increased his rebounding numbers. He played instinctively in head coach Mike Budenholzer’s system in year two, and Bud is going to want to see more improvement from him going forward.

[Geaux_Hawks]

I have to disagree there. Payne wasn't all that great, and some questioned why we even took him. Bebe had to be attached to Lou Will to free up cap space. We wanted cap space at that time to sign some big free agents. We ended up getting is replacement anyway, who was/is a better prospect as well.

[Jamaaliver]

So the analyst who answered these questions seems to be pretty spot on.

we focused on getting bigger, trading for Tiago and bringing over Edy. We focused on keeping Millsap while refusing to overpay for Demarre. We filled up the wing position with value, low cost players who fit what Bud likes to do.

The only thing that remains to be seen from his predictions above: Is Dennis really the PG of the future?

Time will tell. I'll be looking closely at his production in FIBA play this summer.