After a mildly disappointing campaign for the 2015-16 Atlanta Hawks, the front office had a big decision to make regarding the makeup of their roster moving forward.
That decision revolved around four-time All-Star Al Horford. Since being drafted by the Hawks in the 2007 draft, the Florida big man is the only player that was a part of every Hawks’ team that has reached a still-active nine straight playoff appearances. Keeping Horford proved to be crucial in a shift to a team that saw numerous franchise-best achievements in 2015.
But after the 2016 season, it was time for Al to get paid.
One conclusion that could clearly be reached after 2016 was that the currently constructed Hawks’ roster couldn’t compete with the Cleveland Cavaliers. A 0-8 record against LeBron James and company over the past two playoff series was more than enough to showcase that. With that likely being a huge factor, the Hawks decided to shake it up by signing Atlanta native Dwight Howard to a huge contract early in free agency.
Trading Jeff Teague for a draft pick to open the door for Schroder was understandable, but choosing what appears to be a washed up center over Horford seemed unjustifiable.
In the moments leading up to the final stages of signing Horford, news came in that Kent Bazemore had been resigned to a huge deal of his own — all but shutting the door on the possibility of the Hawks being able to afford Horford.
There could only be one way — move a ton of cap space. The easiest way to do just that would be to trade the Hawks’ best player, Paul Millsap.
At first thought, trading away one of the best and most underrated players in the NBA from the previous season to make room for someone who isn’t quite as good didn’t make sense. One key word quickly made it all click: assets.
Assets are something the Hawks don’t have a lot of. A perennial playoff team doesn’t get high draft picks, and besides Dennis Schroder, the Atlanta roster doesn’t feature much young talent with high upside. Combine that with the struggle that all Atlanta sports have to get marquee free agents, and the Hawks constantly have to find under-the-radar free agents like Millsap, Bazemore and DeMarre Carroll to stay relevant. That could all change with a trade involving Millsap.
Trade packages were rumored from the Phoenix Suns — a team that has three first-round draft picks and a young wing in T.J. Warren that would surely interest Atlanta. Everything was right there for the Hawks. They could manage to remain a contender in the East — albeit with a slight decline — by signing Dwight Howard to fill in the gap of Millsap. In addition to that, Atlanta could have received multiple first-round picks and a talented young perimeter player to quickly go from a middling Eastern Conference playoff team to a playoff team with multiple future assets.
All they had to do was sign Al Horford… and it was looking more and more likely.
It all appeared to be falling into place for Atlanta, and a Millsap trade featuring a huge package in return seemed to be in the near future. And then it happened. In a huge shock, the news that Horford signed with the Celtics popped up on social media just minutes after the report that stated he was likely to stay in Atlanta. Horford immediately tweeted “Celtic Pride,” and the Hawks’ dreams were crushed. The big disappointment in all of this is… it was completely the Hawks’ fault.
$6 million dollars over four years. That was the amount of money the two sides couldn’t come to terms over. In a contract coming close to reaching $150 million, the Atlanta front office refused to give Horford an extra $1.2 million per year to bring him back. In today’s salary cap, it was chump change. Instead, Horford walked, and the Hawks received nothing in return. The assets were gone. The one constant in the nine consecutive playoff appearances was headed to the hated rival.
The outlook for the Hawks looks rather bleak now. Paul Millsap can opt out of his contract after this season, which he will almost assuredly do thanks to signing Howard and adding some smaller pieces. The Hawks will still likely be a playoff team, which means no high draft pick as well. With the possibility that Millsap can leave for nothing, the Hawks could be looking at a surplus of cap space and a roster featuring an inexperienced Dennis Schroder and washed up Dwight Howard next offseason.
Atlanta’s front office has nobody to blame but themselves. Being able to stay competitive while also building for the future is an opportunity that doesn’t come around very often. The idea of paying a 30-year old Horford close to $150 million may not have looked great, but he’s an all-star center in an age where nearly everyone gets paid nine-figure salaries over five years. What we all knew is that Horford would continue to produce. Lowballing your franchise player to try to save $1.2 million per year typically won’t sit right with many people, and it certainly didn’t with the newest Boston Celtic. What could have been a franchise-altering offseason that set up the Hawks for years to come quickly turned into a nightmare — a mostly old roster with little leverage. The final piece from the memorable nine-year run is gone… and the end of the playoff streak could quickly be arriving.
