The Hawks lost to the Cavaliers on Monday night by a score of 104-93 and have fallen a game behind Cleveland in the series. Atlanta, coming off a 48-34 campaign, has a busy offseason ahead of it, and with a number of key players set to hit free agency, the franchise will certainly have some difficult calls to make.
Al Horford (15.2 points, 7.3 rebounds), Kirk Hinrich (0.5 points, 1.3 assists), Kent Bazemore (11.6 points, 5.1 rebounds) and Kris Humphries (6.4 points, 3.4 rebounds) are all set to become unrestricted free agents, Mike Scott (6.2 points, 2.7 rebounds) and Lamar Patterson (2.4 points, 1.4 rebounds) both have non-guaranteed deals, plus, the Hawks have a team option for Mike Muscala worth $1,015,696. Atlanta currently has $51.7MM in guaranteed salary committed for 2016/17, which means the franchise could have approximately $40MM in cap flexibility to work with this offseason.
This brings me to today’s topic: Who among Atlanta’s potential free agents should the team re-sign/retain this summer? Who should the team let walk?
Take to the comments section to share your thoughts and voice your opinions on the subject. Tell us who the team should prioritize retaining for the 2016/17 season and why. If you are against one or more of the players mentioned above remaining in a Hawks uniform, share your thoughts with us on that as well. We look forward to what you have to say.
Heavy rumors that ATL has already decided to offer Horford a max deal and that’s not a bad move with the $$$ available. I’m sure that ATL will offer Baze a decent deal too. The rest of the names are end of the bench types with the possible exception of Mike Scott who is facing felony drug charges.
The intriguing piece would be if they have the $$ to throw another max deal and who would be intrigued by such $$. Everyone’s favorite targets are Durant and LeBron and the Hawks ha v e a hole at SF, but that’s a long shot at best. OTOH, Dwight Howard may make some sense. He’s been rumored to be interested in returning to his hometown and the current regime has been interested in veterans. Would Howard, Horford, and Millsap be too much $$ committed to the frontcourt?
I think the Hawks will offer Horford a max deal or very close to the max, just like they did with Millsap. I think this is a smart move by the Hawks as well. The only legitimate big FA that would even consider a move to Atlanta is Howard. If I have a choice between Horford and Howard, I will choose Horford every time.
If the Hawks offer Horford a max, it will be very difficult to bring back Baze. I think its possible, but if Baze gets offered anything close to what DeMarre Carrol got, there is no way the Hawks will be able to keep him. If we lose Baze, then the Hawks will have a huge deficit at the 2 and 3, especially the 3.
With all of that being said, even if the Hawks get Horford and Baze back, they still are no more than the 2nd best team in the East, and maybe not even a top 5 team overall. They need younger talent and another shooter that can create his own shot.
It depends on what the owner wants. Do they want to win 48 games and compete every night for their very good Coach? Or do they want to win a Championship?
If it’s the latter and they get swept by the Cavs, they have to blow it up. They will not leapfrog TOR nor stay ahead of BOS with this core.
If they are content with a 5 seed and a roster full of Really Good Basketball Men Who Are Respected Around the League, yeah sign Al and Baze and tickle the edges of your roster by trading Teague.
Horford will probably get a max deal. Baze will probably be in the same situation as DeMarre was last year, and is going to get paid to go elsewhere. Humphries gives the Hawks a nice edge and could probably stick around for cheap. The rest of the pieces are replaceable. The only way I see a top 5 SG or SF coming to ATL is via some sort of blockbuster sign and trade involving us giving up a PG + a handful of picks. Without a top 5 player, we continue to be a 3 – 6 seed for the next few years. I’m not sure that the 2004 Pistons model works in this era, and I unfortunately think that’s what is being attempted.
The hawks need to let Horford and Korver walk resign Bazemore and Muscala and Humphries go after Whiteside or Mozgov and go after Harrison Barnes shift Bazemore down to the 2 with that being said the lineup would look like this Teague, Bazemore, Barnes, Milsap, and Whiteside or Mozgov can potentially push us over the edge and we still have Hardaway Jr, Sefalosha, Dennis, Patterson,Tavares, and we probably could sign an veteran who can play the 2 or 3 for cheap that will bring that competitive edge
I like the lineup but it’s very unlikely that the heat allow a team to steal whiteside considering that he is the future of that organization
I believe they will keep Horford with a market offer like Millsap’s. I am not sold on big money for Bazemore. I would more interested in putting that money into the likes of Crabbe or Aminu from Portland or another upside play. One of the pint guards needs to go to help fill the other wing spot. I personally think Bazemore is a sixth man for a championship level team and that’s what we are aiming for. I think the 3 spot had got to be a little more physical if we are to compete with Cleveland and Toronto and San Antonio