With the recent acquisition of sharpshooting guard Kyle Korver from the Chicago Bulls, it looks like the Hawks roster is starting to take a more definitive shape for the 2012-13 season.
Before this trade was made, I will admit that I really had no idea what Danny Ferry's next move would be; he honestly could have done anything. He could have tried to make a blockbuster deal to acquire Dwight Howard, or perhaps have traded Josh Smith, signally the start of the rebuilding process.
But this trade for Korver, in my opinion, makes me think that the remains of the Hawks core pieces (Smoove, Zaza, Teague, and Horford) will all still be on the team when the start of the season arrives. Why? Because I believe that this will be the best set up for the Hawks on offense.
Think back: last year, the Hawks always seemed the most successful in the halfcourt when they were working out of the high post with either Josh or Joe Johnson. Those two would then either try to beat their defender, hoping to command a double team, which would then (hopefully) result in a carousel of passing to an open three point shooter. With the editions of rookie John Jenkins, whose shot is more pure than anything I have ever seen, Anthony Morrow, and Korver, this method of primary offense could been extremely successful. Of course, this did lead to a lot of JJ and Josh in isolation, which often resulted in a lot of awful looking possessions.While I'd prefer the pretty looking possessions, awful looking things are kind of a specialty of Atlanta.
Of course, with JJ being gone, two things will change: 1) there won't be plurality of plays where it seems like JJ is overdribbling to no success and 2) Horford will have to step up in his shot creating abilities. If Smoove and Al can work in the post to moderate success, then the team won't fall far from where it was last season. Of course, it could fail miserably, as the team could very easily miss JJ's shot creating ability, and will very obviously miss Marvin and Joe's defense on the wing. Either way, the team will either have a fun season before entering the 2013 offseason where there is SO MUCH CAP ROOM, or it will falter along the way, possibly trade away Smoove for pieces, and gather up a decent lottery pick before stumbling upon SO MUCH CAP ROOM!
There is still a hole at small forward, however. The team could conceivably start Korver or Morrow there, but only if it believes that defense is something that isn't worth playing. They could reach out to Tracy McGrady again, but I don't think T-Mac wants to play here after his woes with playing time last season. (and defense isn't exactly one of Tracy's best skills...) Grant Hill is still out on the market and is a player I would want, I don't believe the Hawks have the cap room to sign him or anyone else straight up. They've already used the MLE on Lou Williams, and still have the bi-annual exception to use. They could also do a sign-and-trade for a player, seeing how the Hawks have a $5 million trade exception from the Joe Johnson deal with the Nets. The exciting thing is that the team can use the whole TPE without worrying about the luxury tax line, meaning the Hawks might actually make use of it!
Other than a move for a small forward, I expect all roster moves to be quiet. The team might sign another guy who can play spot minutes in the frontcourt to spell the Josh/Al/Zaza/Ivan quartet, seeing how the best option after those four right now might be Johan Petro. (Ew) The team should be done with guards, as we have about 2320 of them under contract right now. Of course, Ferry could have something completely different up his sleeve that will make everything I just wrote completely invalid. WELP...
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