NBA Free Agency has been dotted with big move after big non-move except where the Atlanta Hawks are concerned. The middle-of-the-road franchise has taken an almost hermit approach to a time associated with Las Vegas flirtings, meetings on private jet charters, and loads of backhanded courtship wrapped in PR wrapped in news. The Hawks are content with who they are and how they’ve gotten there. Naysayers and cynics be damned.
In that sense, the ATL Hawks grant us a much undervalued lesson in free agency: it’s possible to over-commit, overthink, and overshoot the free agency process. If no moves exist that fit within a game plan, then there’s no point in playing the game. Quite simple, actually.
The Hawks haven’t completely removed themselves from the free agency movement, of course. For Lou Williams and draft rights to Lucas Nogueira, a Brazilian professional player, they got a second round pick for the coming year plus John Salmons. They’ve since put Salmons on waivers. Through the Lakers organization, they picked up dynamic guard Kent Bazemore for a two-year deal worth $2 million per—most likely as a way to make up for Williams’ to-be-missed scoring. Lastly, they’ve also added some wing defense and shooting by bringing on Thabo Sefolosha.
None of these are star-studded exchanges, surely, but the organization understands that it needs a blueprint before it can leave an imprint on a major free agent’s mind. (People like pre-Houston Dwight Howard or, who knows, even Kevin Love, Russell Westbrook, or Kevin Durant as they take on the coming free agencies).
GM Danny Ferry and new coach Mike Budenholzer understand a thing or two about playing their hand. They both were part of the Spurs organization at one point and understand that true success doesn’t just come from a big name. Still, attracting more top talent to complement Paul Millsap, Al Horford, and Jeff Teague isn’t completely out of their realm of thought. It’s just a matter of getting others to see what it is they’re building before the building ever comes up.
As Hawks part owner and CEO Steve Koonin tells it to NBA.com:
“We will make a very concerted effort, and I personally think we are going to become a haven for free agents. We have so much to offer … Coach Bud, the style of play and an incredible lifestyle in what I believe is the best city in the world to live in. We’ve got a team on the ascent and an organization on the rise. History is not an indicator of what’s to come.”
That being said, with no history to lead the way, the Hawks might need to play up the ante so the basketball world sees beyond the void. Or else, there’s the danger that the ‘only-average’ stigma attached to the organization comes to define them even when they purport to be steering away from it.
But with the likes of Houston and Miami showing us how quickly matters can derail when cards are overplayed, the Hawks might just be onto something that lasts longer than a Morey signing or a LeBron tenure.
