What’s the Next the Step in the Highlight Factory?

I am a huge Hawks fan: I have witnessed the team hit rock bottom (a 13 win season led by Antoine Walker and Al Harrington) and stuck with them through the growing pains. Now, the Hawks have learned how to fly, but it seems as though they still have a lot of work to do.

After completing one of the best seasons in the history of the franchise, the Hawks dream season came crashing down in a horrendous best-of-seven series versus Dwight Howard and his Orlando Magic. The Magic controlled every element of the series and showed it by winning all four games with convincing double digit wins. Dwight’s vanishing act shed light on the huge schism between the Hawks and the elite.


Assume the position for Dwight.

Near the end of the regular season, I witnessed the Hawks annihilate the Lakers, which got me to believe that the Hawks were legit contenders. However, the Hawks’ playoff struggles have exposed the glaring weaknesses of the team. These weaknesses have plagued the Hawks since before the 13 win season, but when the team is winning, they are easier to cover. But in all due respect, these issues need to be addressed in order for the Hawks to get better.

1) Find a true center.
We need to find someone to scrap with Superman. It was just too easy. Horford is a power forward, not a center. I was trying to see who the Hawks could chase this offseason via trade or free agency, but not much come to mind: Brandon Haywood, Greg Oden, Marcus Camby, Jermaine O’Neal, Samuel Dalembert, Theo Ratliff, or Amare Stoudemire. Or we can find one through the draft such as Cole Aldrich, Hassan Whiteside, or Solomon Alabi. OR just convince Dwight to come back home.

2) Get a new coach
Everyone knows that Mike Woodson is NOT a good coach (he’s better than Paul Hewitt though). Seriously though, he has no idea what he is doing out there: does not have much aptitude for offensive sets, sucks at developing young players, and has poor clock management. We need to bring in a coach who knows how to coach, like Byron Scott or Avery Johnson. Lastly, Woodson also needs to realize that Joe Johnson is NOT the truth, which leads me to my next point…

3) Joe Johnson needs to realize that he’s not Kobe
In every sense of the word, Joe is an All-star player. However, he must think that he is one of the elite players in the league. Unfortunately, he does not have enough moves to be like Kobe. Johnson utilizes two moves: a crossover semi-fadeaway jumper and a driving floater in the lane. Most importantly, if you are a star you have got to make your shots when you are being aggressively guarded. Kobe, Melo, Lebron, D-Wade, heck even Paul Pierce all shoot around 33-40%, while scoring 15- 18 on a bad night. That’s making at least one out of every three shots. Johnson? 12 points on 28% shooting. But hey, by all means bring him back. I like the rotation with him and Jamal Crawford right now, so Rick Sund should try at all costs to re-sign Joe, but not at a max contract.

4) Develop a point guard
This kind of goes with firing Mike Woodson. Remember when Marvin Williams was supposed to be the next big thing coming off a National Championship at UNC? Well, he is now just a role player struggling to gain any momentum on his career. Is he content with being a side dish? Or is his coach suppressing his ability to contribute? Maybe it is a little bit of both, but I am sure that Woodson has done a HORRIBLE job in developing players. The only 1st round picks to fulfill their potentials are Josh Smith, and Al Horford (who was one of the most polished players coming out of the draft). The others? Josh Childress, Shelden Williams, Marvin Williams, and Acie Law have all been labeled as busts. Okay, to defend Woodson a little, the GM makes the ultimate decision, but the coach has direct input and influence on the pick and these selections and Woodson was all for drafting Williams ahead of CP3 and Deron Williams, two potential Hall of Famers. Woodson kind of has the opportunity to make up for his mistakes with the development of Jeff Teague, but he rarely played Teague, most of the time in favor for veterans Jamal Crawford and Mike Bibby. Teague has already displayed the ability to be a solid if not upper-half point guard in the NBA: he has quick feet, can run the floor, decent vision, and can score at ease. He can probably accomplish close to what Darren Collison did last season off of athleticism alone.


The second coming of agent zero?

Speaking of developing players, the NBA Lottery is this coming Tuesday. Won’t it be interesting if Minnesota wins the draft lottery? They already selected Jonny Flynn and Ricky Rubio last year, but now can add a John Wall. How about the Hawks, Wizards, or Heat swooping in and offering a deal for Rubio or Flynn? Interesting.