In Zach Lowe’s recent Not quite mid-season awards he left out a category that I think would have been quite easy to fill.
I’m referring to the GM award which I’ve little doubt should be heading Danny Ferry’s way in Atlanta.
What Ferry has achieved in short time in his role with the Hawks really has been quite extraordinary.
Of course coach Larry Drew has been instrumental in hoisting this club into third spot in the East, but it’s been Ferry’s astute tinkering that’s put Atlanta in an excellent position this season, and an even better one going forward.
When Ferry landed in Atlanta he would have needed a few panadols thinking about the nature of the roster, particularly in regards to Joe Johnson who had/has probably the most outrageously configured contract in the league.
Somehow however Ferry was able to take advantage of the Brooklyn frenzy, and send Johnson there before signing a slew of shooters such as Williams and Korver to compliment the highly effective front court of Smith and Horford, in addition to the continually improving point guard play of Jeff Teague.
When Ferry was done dealing, he had the Hawks pay role ranked as low as 18th in the NBA, but most remarkably had them in a position where next year they’re committed to a comparatively measly $18 million.
To put that into context, there’s no other team who can even claim to be committed to less than $25 million next season, while at this stage there’s just five clubs under $40 million.
Most encouraging however is that despite Atlanta’s robust roster modifications their level of play in many areas has actually escalated. To have kept pace with Miami in the South-East has been a story in itself, but to my mind it’s been their balanced output which has been most striking.
The Hawks are presently playing at a defensive level they haven’t achieved in 14 years, while only Miami and New York have claims to a better point per-game offense in the East. The Hawks have hit the fifth most threes in the NBA this season owing to the likes of Marvin Williams and Kyle Korver.
I’d expect Atlanta will be active before the trade deadline, though just how bullish remains to be seen.
I’m sure they’ll think very seriously regarding potential big tickets such as Gasol and perhaps Rudy Gay, though it’s what stance they’ll take on the likes of their own talent such as Josh Smith and Zaza Pachulia’s expiring contracts which might be of most interest.
If the Hawks negotiate this period as well as they’ve played the initial stages of the Ferry regime, then Atlanta will be well situated for a deep run in this season’s playoffs with every right to believe there’ll be bigger riches in the years to come.
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