2013-2014 Finish: 22-60

Season Highlight â€¨â€¨The Atlanta Hawks were just a bad team last year, there were not many highlights. They only compiled 22 wins. The highlight of their season was the trade deadline when they brought in Al Jefferson, Chris Bosh and Patrick Patterson in a span of 48 hours. This sparked the A-Town with some new faces and some excitement.

Season Lowlight â€¨â€¨Going into the season, there was great optimism that a healthy Derrick Rose would rise from the dead and lead the Hawks to their first post season in over ten years. These dreams were shot down when in the 4^th preseason game, Rose tore his meniscus.

 Best Trade The Atlanta Hawks send Jerryd Bayless to the Brooklyn Nets. The Atlanta Hawks send Amir Johnson to the Miami Heat. The Brooklyn Nets send Kyle Lowry to the Atlanta Hawks. The Miami Heat send Maurice Williams to the Atlanta Hawks. The Miami Heat send Chris Kaman to the Brooklyn Nets.

The Hawks got the better end of this deal. They traded away an overpriced Amir Johnson and Jerryd Bayless for two guys that just balled out in Atlanta. Kyle Lowry is one of the hottest commodities in the NLL right now and Mo Williams went above and beyond of what was expected of him while in a Hawks uniform. It looks like Lowry will be back with the Hawks for sure, while it will be much harder to find a common ground with Williams.

Worst Trade â€¨â€¨ The Atlanta Hawks send Draymond Green to the Golden State Warriors. The Atlanta Hawks sendDerek Fisher, Nazr Mohammed and Derrick Rose to the Utah Jazz. The Golden State Warriors send Luol Deng to the Atlanta Hawks. The Golden State Warriors send Ray McCallum to the Utah Jazz. The Utah Jazz send Michael Beasley, Patrick Beverley and Kent Bazemore to the Atlanta Hawks. The Utah Jazz send Nene Hilario and Alonzo Gee to the Golden State Warriors.

The Utah Jazz send a 2nd-Rounder (Den) and 2nd-Rounder (Por) to the Atlanta Hawks.

The Atlanta Hawks trade -6 GM points.The Golden State Warriors receive 13 GM points. The Utah Jazz trade -7 GM points.

In principle, the Hawks were trading an injured superstar and filler for a healthy borderline all-star and filler. The Hawks were trying to salvage their year in a poor division. This did not work out what so ever. The Hawks only won 22 games. Neither of the key acquisitions for the Hawks in the deal, Luol Deng and Michael Beasley, finished the season in Atlanta. Luol Deng actually said that he would refuse to resign in the offseason.

Other Notable Trades â€¨â€¨ The Atlanta Hawks send Luol Deng and Jeff Green to the Orlando Magic. The Orlando Magic send Al Jefferson, Steve Novak and Darrell Arthur to the Atlanta Hawks. 
The Atlanta Hawks send a 2nd-Rounder (Den) to the Orlando Magic. 

The Atlanta Hawks trade -15 GM points.The Orlando Magic receive 15 GM points.

The Atlanta Hawks send Andrew Bogut to the Washington Wizards. The Washington Wizards send Chris Bosh to the Atlanta Hawks. 


The Atlanta Hawks trade -7 GM points.The Washington Wizards receive 7 GM points.

 

In neither of these two deals, the Hawks come out as a clear cut winner. What they do, is give the Hawks a good pair of big men. Bosh and Jefferson easily become one of the better tandems in the league.

Best FA Signing â€¨â€¨Timofey Mozgov was the only free agent signing that played. He is slightly overpriced, but I he was a very effective backup big, so I would consider this a good free agent signing, not a bad one. In fact, he is the only player that suited up in all 82 games for the Hawks.

Worst FA Signing â€¨â€¨Only other free agent signing was Hilton Armstrong. He was only on the team for five days in the offseason.

Star â€¨â€¨It is hard to distinguish a star between Kyle Lowry and Al Jefferson. Both played great ball after being traded to the Hawks. Lowry is becoming one of the leagues premier point guards. In his time with the Hawks last season, he averaged 15.6 ppg and 8.2 apg, while putting up good rebounds and steals. Only playing in the last 20 games with Atlanta, Al Jefferson locked down the center position. He really stepped up his game after being traded to the Harks, averaging 17ppg and 9.1rpg.

Surprise â€¨â€¨Mo Williams was quite a nice surprise after being acquired from Miami in a mid season trade. He ended up starting quite a few times, many occasions out of position. His numbers were very good, looking like vintage Mo Williams with 17.5ppg.

Goat â€¨â€¨Derrick Rose was the brunt of all jokes and criticism this past year, going injured in both of the past two years.

Draft Report Card â€¨â€¨The Hawks drafted Marcus Smart and Glenn Robinson III, both in the first round. Both of these guys can contribute in their first season. Smart was a star point guard at Oklahoma State, he did struggle with his attitude at times, but all of the basketball skills are there. He is a point guard with a combination of size and skill, he does need to work on his shot though.

Glenn Robinson III is a second generation professional. Robinson III will see meaningful minutes at the small forward spot for this squad. He is athletic and play defense and could reek havoc on some of the all star forwards in the Eastern Conference.

Looking to the Future â€¨â€¨This Hawks team should be much better this season. With one or two more moves, they could be a team in the 10-12 range of the NLL.  It seems that the core of this team will be back in Atlanta. Bosh and Jefferson form a duo to be reckoned with. Their bigs will have stellar backups in Patterson, Mozgov and Olynyk and one of them could even be moved for a wing.

Their guards are also solid with a core of Lowry, Bradley and Smart. None of these guys are overwhelmingly big, but they will definitely get the done.

Their wings need a little bit of work. Right now Steve Novak is penciled in as their starting small forward. Glenn Robinson III could see some minutes, but look for GM Houndy to make a play for someone in free agency.

Upcoming Free Agents 

Kent Bazemore- Kent Bazemore is that energy man off of the bench. He stepped in and gave the Hawks good minutes last year, but it is unlikely that he will be back in the A-Town

Chris Bosh- Chris Bosh is a power forward with all star potential. He is athletic and has good offensive skill. Bosh will likely be back with the Hawks with a price tag just over 20 million.

Avery Bradley- The undersized shooting guard is a key part of this Hawks team. He is restricted and the Harks will bring him back.

Jared Cunningham- A role player out of Oregon State, Cunningham played limited minutes for the Hawks last year. He is not a necessity to bring back.

Kyle Lowry- This guy was huge for the Hawks now and will be in the future. The Hawks will do everything they can to bring him back. It is likely the two sides can come to an agreement.

Nazr Mohammed- Mohammed has played 825 games for the Hawks. It is doubtful he will play 826 next year.

Patrick Patterson- The stretch 4 can contribute a lot to this Hawks team. He will likely be back in Atlanta.

Mo Williams- Mo Williams came up big for the Hawks last year. It was a contract year and he has made it know he wants out.