Why the Hawks still haven’t gotten past missing on Chris Paul
Chris Paul (in blue) is not now, nor has he ever been, a Hawk. (AJC photo by Hyosub Shin)
Every Hawks blog post elicits the same two reader comments. The first: “We should have drafted Chris Paul!” The second, following close at hand: “Can we please stop talking about Chris Paul?”
Reader No. 2 has a point. The draft in question came in 2005. But a misspent pick of 5 2/3 years ago is the gift (to other teams) that goes on taking (from the Hawks).
History lesson: The Hawks entered the 2005 lottery with the NBA’s worst record (13-69) and stood the best chance of landing the first pick. They had had some good young wings but no center and no point guard.
The 2005 draft, as luck had it, included both a center (Andrew Bogut of Utah) and three point guards (Paul of Wake Forest, Deron Williams from Illinois and Raymond Felton of North Carolina) cut from high cloth. There was disappointment among Hawks brass when they finished second to Milwaukee in the lottery — everyone knew the Bucks would take Bogut — but they still felt they’d make out OK. And they should have.
Marvin Williams, a freshman forward who’d been North Carolina’s sixth man, scarcely missed a shot in his Atlanta audition, and general manager Billy Knight was smitten. On Draft Night the Hawks left the three point guards on the board, each of whom was snagged by the next three selecting teams. Thus did the Hawks spend their highest pick in 30 years on yet another forward. The team exited the draft as it had entered. Not getting a center was bad luck. Not finding a point guard was bad business.
Five and a half seasons later, the Hawks approach the trading deadline still on the PG prowl. They’ve since spent two first-round picks on the position (Acie Law IV and Jeff Teague) and made two trades importing point guards of a sort (Mike Bibby, Jamal Crawford), but they haven’t yet found the guy capable of running an NBA team in the way NBA team needs to be run.
Their reported/rumored targets this February? Point guards again — Ramon Sessions of Cleveland, Andre Miller of Portland and the recently dealt-t0-Denver Felton. Also included: Washington’s Kirk Hinrich, who has point-guard qualities. The Hawks have decided they can climb no higher with Mike Bibby, which is true now but wasn’t true when he arrived.
In his final act as GM, Knight acquired Bibby from Sacramento in Feburary 2008 at a time when the Hawks were in danger of missing the playoffs for the eighth year running. Bibby helped settle the younger Hawks, who slipped in as the No. 8 seed and carried the champs-to-be Celtics to a Game 7. That was when the Hawks stopped being losers, and it wouldn’t have happened without Bibby.
But Bibby is idiosyncratic: He doesn’t drive to the basket, and he guards nothing that moves. He’s skilled at distributing the ball on the break and he can make a three-point shot, but he couldn’t have been a starting point guard on a good team if that team didn’t have Joe Johnson. Those two like and trust one another, and Bibby doesn’t mind letting Johnson control the ball.
Thing is, Larry Drew’s new share-the-wealth offense features Johnson less, and the upshot has been that nobody is running this team. (Ergo, the offense often is rendered a fusillade of jump shots.) When Crawford enters, his mission is to score, and Teague, of whom much was expected, has delivered nothing.
The East keeps getting better. The Hawks, the No. 3 seed last season, are positioned to be the fifth seed this year. They need to make a personnel move, but it’s unclear if any of those players mentioned will mesh with Johnson. And if Crawford is included in any deal, the Hawks’ second unit becomes substandard. (Bibby as a sub wouldn’t have nearly the effect Crawford does.)
This could have been avoided had Knight made the right pick at the right time. Having Paul or Deron Williams — I preferred the latter, who was just traded to the Nets — would have made the Hawks a playoff team in 2007, perhaps in 2006. No, they wouldn’t have been drafting high enough in 2007 to land Al Horford, but they’d already have been a good team by then.
Without a real point guard, the Hawks wound up getting pretty good anyway. But their way was the harder way, and that way has reached the point of diminishing returns. Five years later, the Hawks still lack their Chris Paul.
By Mark Bradley
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214 comments Add your comment
AG
February 23rd, 2011
2:17 pm
Pretty tough for Teague to contribute something planted on the bench. Mark, if they gave you a Hawks uniform and you sat on the bench like Teague does, your contribution will be the same. Why is everybody giving up on this kid without giving him an opportunity to play. I have seen some good and some bad, but he deserves an opportunity to start.
Golddawg
February 23rd, 2011
2:17 pm
Felton is an all star caliber player…Ty Lawson will be. We have to many of the same type players with no point or center. Smith will be addition by subtraction.
PG – Felton/Lawson
SG – JJ
SF – Marvin
PF – Horford
C – Nene
Braves 2011
February 23rd, 2011
2:18 pm
Mark, this franchise is stuck.
What is the JJ contract going to look like in another year or two of diminishing returns?
True Hawk Fan
February 23rd, 2011
2:23 pm
Rallllph, upchuck, Ralllph! There you go Mark. I said I would throw up if you mentioned drafting Chris Paul one more time. Get a life and move on to some real solutions. Please! Oops! I forgot, you don’t know diddley about basketball.
reality
February 23rd, 2011
2:23 pm
With a real point guard, this team could have been and still could be a championship contender. They have a lot of weapons but the offense just doesn’t flow b/c of no point guard (not to mention the defensive breakdowns).
It’s almost impossible to win without a point guard or center. You better have Kobe Bryant or Lebron James on your team if you want to do it that way.
The Truth
February 23rd, 2011
2:24 pm
Are there anymore Russian billionaire criminals interested in buying an NBA team? Until the Hawks have a solid ownership that is willing to do what it takes to put a winner on the court, all the speculation and discussion is pointless.
tyger
February 23rd, 2011
2:26 pm
POINTLESS ARTICLE
Ted M
February 23rd, 2011
2:36 pm
Is Josh Smith our 1 and only bargaining chip? Ty Lawson is the backup couldn’t we get him for less the JS?
JSB
February 23rd, 2011
2:45 pm
Mark, do you think the ASG would sell the Hawks for $380 million today?
bobby
February 23rd, 2011
2:45 pm
also in the 2005 draft andrew byumn was in this draft the hawks should have traded down in the top 10 and drafted byumn.
DMR
February 23rd, 2011
2:47 pm
The Hawks need to think “BIG PICTURE AND LONG TERM”. They have made the playoffs the last few years, but we all know that the East keeps getting better. The Hawks are not good enough, nor will they be good enough to get past the first round if they stand pat. I would be willing to see the Hawks take a STEP BACK to leap forward.
Signing Joe Johnson to this massive contract was an inept business decision. The Hawks, at times, have performed better when Johnson was on the shelf. The Hawks taking Marvin Williams back in the day was also a major gaffe. Time to forget about the past and make major strides toward the future.
Your best building block is Al Horford. Josh Smith is a great piece of trade bait and you have to get rid of Crawford before he becomes a free agent and you get nothing.
Chris Paul | More Than More Insurance
February 23rd, 2011
2:49 pm
[...] Why the Hawks still haven’t gotten past missing on Chris Paul – Atlanta Journal Constitu… Why the Hawks still haven't gotten past missing on Chris PaulAtlanta Journal Constitution (blog)Chris Paul (in blue) is not now, nor has he ever been, a Hawk. (AJC photo by Hyosub Shin) Every Hawks blog post elicits the same two reader comments. The first: âWe should have drafted Chris Paul!â The second, following close at hand: âCan we please … Feb 23, 2011 1:49am [...]
true enough
February 23rd, 2011
2:55 pm
True enough, MB. Nice job! I wonder if Marvin made all of those shots with Bk looking on with or without someone in his face, guarding him or if he just stood there with a rack of balls and shot.
It still amazes that we spent a number 2 pick overall, OVERALL, on a guy that couldn’t crack the starting five in college.
40 weeks + and still no signs of labour !!? | Women and Pregnancy
February 23rd, 2011
3:02 pm
[...] Why the Hawks still haven't gotten past missing on Chris Paul … [...]
Golddawg
February 23rd, 2011
3:02 pm
Lawson was only a backup becasue Billups was in Denver. Now that Billups is gone Lawson will get his chance. He filled in a couple of weeks ago when Billups was banged up a played great. Lawson will be an allstar in the next few years.
Chris Paul | More Than More Insurance
February 23rd, 2011
3:05 pm
[...] Why the Hawks still havenât gotten past missing on Chris Paul – Atlanta Journal Constitut… Every Hawks blog post elicits the same two reader comments. The first: âWe should have drafted Chris Paul!â The second, following close at hand: âCan we please stop talking about Chris Paul?â Reader No. 2 has a point. The draft in question came in … Feb 22, 2011 4:10pm [...]
atlanta fan
February 23rd, 2011
3:07 pm
the problem with the hawks is the upper management and the coach. I am not taking up for mike woodson, but how do you fire mike and hire someone that coached under him. whats the saying (2 peas in a pod)???????
The Game Has Changed
February 23rd, 2011
3:12 pm
Can anybody tell me what Chris and Deron have done in the playoffs. NOTHING. Getting rid of Mike Woodson was our biggest mistake. The owners are out of touch with realty if thought the team would improve with the same players and an assistant coach. Get Real. The Nets did the same thing to Byron Scott and he took them to the finals. It might be 20 years before the Nets get back to the finals. And it might be 10 years before the Hawks get back to the second round.
Ted M
February 23rd, 2011
3:13 pm
Are there anymore Russian billionaire criminals interested in buying an NBA team?
Yes there are!
Jo Bling
February 23rd, 2011
3:14 pm
“If you’re trading Josh Smith, you’re losing an All-Star caliber player.”
Say what? I don’t recall Josh Smith playing in any All-Star games, being selected for any All-Star games, or even being nominated for any All-Star games. What do you mean “All-Star caliber”? Oh, you mean that he SHOULD be an All-Star but isn’t? And why do you think that is? I think everyone on this board and anyone else who watches the Hawks on a regular basis knows that Josh Smith has the god-given talent to be an NBA All-Star, and yet he’s not. Why is that? The reason is pretty simple – he has a 10-cent head.
This season started off with a lot of promise for Josh, and he appeared to have matured a bit. But it didn’t take long for him to slide back into his old ways, and the team has suffered for it of late. He single-handedly cost us a 23-point lead and the game a couple of weeks ago. I’ve never seen anything like it.
The bottom line is that it will always be a question with Josh of whether he’s an asset or a liability – a tremendous defensive presence who is equally devastating (in a bad way) on offense. And here everyone seems so convinced that he’s our best bargaining chip. Really? Don’t you think that other GMs have Josh figured out? I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Sund has already offered Josh once or twice and been laughed at.
BirdDog
February 23rd, 2011
3:21 pm
Clearly one of the dumbest moves in franchise history! Only an Atlanta team could do something that stupid…
The Game Has Changed
February 23rd, 2011
3:24 pm
Jo BLing- You have to consider him a top 15 small forward. Thats good enough for me. He wants to be a point guard and a shooting guard. The Hawks should keep him and bring him off the bench instead of Crawford.
JR1967
February 23rd, 2011
3:30 pm
Just go ahead and sell the Hawks and hopefully, they will go to Seattle and become the Supersonics.
coolio
February 23rd, 2011
3:30 pm
Get Gerald Wallace.All the bobcats want is a expiring contract and a first round pick.Easily done
Golddawg
February 23rd, 2011
3:32 pm
Smith is not a top 15 small forward…he is a PF, period. That’s the problem, we have two really good PF on this team. One needs to be flipped for a good C or PG. Horford ain’t going anywhere so Smith is the one. It makes me cringe when I see Smith listed as the starting SF.
rebuild
February 23rd, 2011
3:34 pm
remember a couple years ago when the motto was “rebuild”? i think they need to get that motto back. We are stuck in the middle of the pack, and just became the 6th best team in the east. we are currently good enough to make it to the playoffs, but not good enough to win anything. Because we keep making the playoffs, we can’t get very good draft picks, which limits the rookies we bring in. If by some miracle the hawks could trade joe johnson (especially after the dumbest contract ever was given to him), trade marvin williams (second dumbest contract ever to him), trade josh smith (simply the dumbest player ever), get rid of crawford for he is gone anyways, get rid of bibby, and keep horford. ill take a couple of bad years so we can get lottery picks and actually draft players good enough to win championships. we are stuck right now, and without shedding some of these ridiculous contracts we aren’t going to get any better
Golddawg
February 23rd, 2011
3:35 pm
Flip Smith for a PG or C, or a package for both. Once we get 5 players on the court playing their correct/natural position Mark Bradley will be writing an article about how Golddawg needs to run a NBA franchise.
Golddawg
February 23rd, 2011
3:36 pm
Oh yeah, Marvin will be just fine at the 3 with an actual PG and C.
Miles D
February 23rd, 2011
3:37 pm
WOW!!! I’m amazed but not surprised!! The Nets have acquired Deron Williams and the Hawks didn’t even make a play for him! The simple fact that we let that trade go down in front of our faces means this frachise will NEVER be true contenders!!! All the Nets did was trade a supplemental draft pick, Derrick Favors, and Devin Harris for D-Will! If I were Hawks management I definitley would have gave up Josh Smith and Jammal Crawford for D-Will!! But I guess thats the thing…I’m not Hawks management..just a fan. ALL HAWKS FANS SHOULD START WEARING BAGS ON OUR HEADS IF WE ATTEND GAMES!!! We’ve essentially missed on CP3, D-Will, and Devin Harris TWICE!!! And I hear the Hawks are thinking about Ramon Sessions??? What a joke of a franchise!!!! WHATEVER HAWKS!!!
TM
February 23rd, 2011
3:37 pm
I’m trying to figure out who is worse:
1. Ga Tech- for still allowing Paul Hewitt to have the title of “Head Coach” of their team.
or
2. Atlanta Hawks for still having Marvin Williams draw a paycheck from the Atlanta Spirit.
I’m leaning toward #2, but can be easily swayed either way.
BOTH are killing their respective clubs.
Mr. Mojo
February 23rd, 2011
3:47 pm
They did rebuild and once they got the the playoffs in 3 years since they only added Crawford. Other well run franchises would fo put peices arounf them and been a contender but not the Hawks. We actually did the Knicks a big favor by offering Joe a Max deal if we didnt he would of been on the KNicks and they never would of gotten Melo. All that asied, I am always sticking up for Josh and we shouldnt trade him unless we can get Chris Paul. The Hawks should be on the phone with NO right now trying to put a package together for CP3.
John
February 23rd, 2011
3:52 pm
If the best Atlanta can do is Kirk Hinrich, they might as well not do anything at all and wait for off-season. No way is Bibby AND first round pick worth a guy averaging 11 and 4 this year. I know Atlanta needs a PG, and a C (why aren’t they going after Thabeet?). Sure he’s a bust, but he’s better than what Atlanta has. But I wouldn’t give up a 1st rounder for either, even though Atlanta has no clue how to draft.
John
February 23rd, 2011
3:54 pm
Miles, that wouldn’t have been enough for DWill (although I would have loved it). Favors is about 2 or 3 years away from being a true stud in the league. Harris is a very good PG, plus they got 2 1st round picks. Atlanta had NO CHANCE of offering something even close to that.
Jerry West
February 23rd, 2011
3:54 pm
@Mojo
Josh isn’t enough to get CP3. Unless the Hawks were offering up Horford, the Hornets would laugh and hang up.
Painfully Obvious
February 23rd, 2011
3:59 pm
Thanks for the reminder Mark
Mark Bradley
February 23rd, 2011
4:01 pm
I’m not sure Hasheem Thabeet is better than Jason Collins, John.
If you’re looking for the worst No. 2 pick of the past decade, Thabeet, ahem, beats Marvin Williams.
John
February 23rd, 2011
4:04 pm
Mark, believe me, I don’t think he’s much of an improvement, but if you put him beside Horford, I can’t imagine how he doesn’t get 8 – 12 rebounds a game and 2 – 4 blocks a game. I know he’s a skinny as a cr*ckhead, but surely he could get those numbers.
Mel from Atlanta
February 23rd, 2011
4:05 pm
Even dumber…give Joe Johnson more money than KING JAMES. Stupid is and Stupid does.
John
February 23rd, 2011
4:07 pm
Here’s a thought…to h*ll with the PG. Send Bibby, Marvin, Jamal Crawford to Utah for Jefferson. Let Al stay at center for a while, and put him beside Jefferson. Just wondering how that would look.
John
February 23rd, 2011
4:08 pm
If Teague can’t get JJ, Josh, Al and Jefferson the ball, then it would be TRULY OBVIOUS he can’t play at the NBA level.
KevinM
February 23rd, 2011
4:09 pm
Why is anyone asking about Lawson? The guy scores is super in Game 1 after Melo, is still on a rookie contract, and you think Denver is that gullible to dump both their point guards? Wow…
The same for Sessions; he scores 30 against the Lakers and the next day, people start pining for his services. Folks, he isn’t being showcased to be traded at that point. They want to dump Mo…you got the wrong PG! FYI, Sessions has no 3 pt arsenal…he is limited. That doesn’t help this team.
As for Hindrich, tell me something Mark. Washington is abysmal on the road. They have bloated contracts with Hindrich/Lewis. These guys aren’t helping their current team win…how are they going to help a team on non-chalants win? Its a junk for junk swap…no gain, and Sund doesn’t do deals just to do deals….frankly, I’m not sure he knows what a deal worth doing is?
Get a portion of Bibby/Marvin/Zaza/Smoove/JC1/Mo out of the picture. They aren’t providing enough for what they’re being hired to do. Get us a PG and a C….why is this so difficult? Because we overvalue our mediocre talent.
By the time the next 24 hours passes, we will have been the only Eastern team not to have made a significant move this season, summer or in-season. We will have Josh Powell & Damien Wilkins as our big additions.
We will have to swap 3 pieces for one and probably give out cash as well….well, we should have 3M sitting somewhere because of the gain in last year’s draft right Mr. Sund? Or was that your bonus?
Give me Brooks, Battier, Miller…guys who have won this season and make us better in the starting 5. Let Marvin and Bibby sit a while if we can’t coerce another team to take them.
When the day is over, Andre Miller will be in the East as we watch Charlotte snatch him up so he can play for a real NBA coach. We have no idea what a real NBA coach is.
John
February 23rd, 2011
4:11 pm
Had to rejust…trade wouldn’t work. But this would: Bibby, Jamal, ZaZa and 1st round pick for Jefferson and Raja Bell
Mr. Mojo
February 23rd, 2011
4:12 pm
I doubt it look at the other stars being traded and I havent seen a player as good as Josh go back in any of those deals. Hornets can laugh at that but they wont do better and when Paul pushes his way out next year they will get their hands tied like Denver did.
Mel from Atlanta
February 23rd, 2011
4:13 pm
Anyone have anything positive to say? Jeez.
John
February 23rd, 2011
4:16 pm
Mel…the majority of us are supporters of the “Hawks”. The players didn’t assemble themselves. It’s the same story every year with the owners and GM that watch everyone ahead of them get stronger and stronger, while Atlanta stays pat. It’s difficult to be upbeat this time of year…but such is life as an Atlanta fan (see Falcons, Hawks, Thrashers, GT, and Braves—minus 1995).
Loserville USA
February 23rd, 2011
4:16 pm
So Deron Williams is out there and we just let him fly by. Unbelievable.
Just move this team to Ruckert Park and let ‘em play on the playground for the rest of the year.
Unwatchable Wunderlichs.
John
February 23rd, 2011
4:17 pm
Mr. Mojo…I wouldn’t be so sure on CP3 pushing his way out. After what’s happened the past couple years, and now with Carmelo, don’t be surprised to see a “franchise tag” in the new CBA for the NBA.
John
February 23rd, 2011
4:18 pm
People shouldn’t be so upset about Deron Williams being traded to NJ..Atlanta had nothing close to what NJ had to offer…NOTHING.
Whopper Dawg
February 23rd, 2011
4:22 pm
The Hawks are in the NBA netherworld now, good enough to win and stay far from the lotto, and far from good enough to contend. They should package all of their picks for 2011, 2012 and 2013 for a top five pick and get their point guard. They will just waste those picks anyway.
John
February 23rd, 2011
4:24 pm
Whopper….hahahahahaha…funny thing is, that’s not a bad idea. However, would Atlanta actually draft a PG?