THHB Special Commentary: Context

The AJC's excellent Michael Cunningham pleads with the Hawks fans and its bloggers in his piece this afternoon.

Money Quote:

I’d expect there to be more joy and optimism even among my blog people, who aren’t the casual fans glancing at the standings and saying “Hey, the Hawks are ballin!” but instead wring their hands over all the things they see wrong with their squad. Love ya for that, and I understand this is a place for you to dog your no-good family among family while bitterly defending them against outsiders (that’s not just my family, is it?). But your team is in the East mix so please try to have some fun.

Now, I don't know exactly who he is referring to, but it's safe to say that all in the Hawks Blogging Nation have focused on the endgame/destination versus the ride getting there at quite a few points in the season.

So let me say that Michael, to that end, I assure you that, as the one who is documenting a horrible decade in Hawks basketball and was on-site witness to most of those disasters, it is definitely a joy to be debating, analyzing, and recapping the ins and outs of a playoff bound team.

Even as I was on The Bill Shanks Show today, it was important to note that we are talking about a team who is in 3rd place in the Eastern Conference, have been assured a playoff spot since the first week of the season, and only recently lamented the exclusion of a THIRD Hawk on the Eastern Conference All-Star team.

Still, as we also mentioned on Shanks' show, married with our excitement of the relevance and success of our favored team, there is the understanding of where this team can go and the associated frustration with the shortcomings that threaten to prevent the team from achieving that destination.

This is where we find the blogs, fans, and even national pundits---we've clarified where the Hawks are and how they got here, now what's the next step and what's keeping them from getting there. Players aren't satisfied with stopping at a certain level of success---unless that stop includes a championship ring on your finger. And it's no different for the people that watch and support the team as well.

Utah Jazz fans should do somersaults about the run they have had with Jerry Sloan since the 80's---but should that prevent them, the beats that cover them, or the Jazz themselves for wanting, working towards, and discussing what can get them to the ultimate prize?

We have context, but that won't stop us from looking beyond that spot for the next one. We celebrate the achievements of this team, even on a night to night basis--but we also understand there is more there and what a shame it would be if they never got to the ultimate place that their talent says they can go.

So the fans are going to come out to the games and yelp when Josh Smith does something amazing, when Joe Johnson applies his late game killer sauce to his opponent, while wanting the team to continue to improve and calling them out when they repeat the same mistakes.

Hoopinion will continue to document Josh Smith's inability to make jump shots as he is celebrating the reduction of those same shots that have resulted in Smith's rise to greatness this season.

Hawkstr8talk will tinker with lineups, trying to get the most out of the Hawks for (48) minutes as his goal is always the championship.

Peachtree Hoops will bounce off the walls in both excitement and frustration from minute to minutes with his team.

CoCo will continue to dish out the hard love, and be there for a hug as well.

Soaring Down South will continue to analyze and communicate his view of this Hawks team and, like the rest of us, try to understand how they can get to the next level---while enjoying this one on the way.

After all, this is probably a (50) win Hawks team who is going to enjoy first round home court advantage in the playoffs for the second straight year. They have crossed off a number of "sinces" from the beginning of the season forward in their path to this success.

In contrast, (10) years ago Isaiah Rider was giving a farewell press conference in the bowels of Philips Arena with a fishing cap on his head.

Times are most definitely better.

THHB's Top 10 Hawks of the Decade: Number Three

First time checking out our End of the Hawks Decade articles?

A Decade of Hawks Aughts (and Aught-Nots),

Top Hawks by Statistical Category

THHB's Top 10 (and more) Hawks of the Decade, #10, #9, #8, #7, #6, #5, #4

We're down to the last three Hawks--most of you probably have done the math and figured out whose left (like commenter dmorton surmised by #7)--hey, it wasn't the best of decades for a sports franchise--there weren't many who stood out (or lasted) for a decent part of the decade.

Now we move onto one of THHB's all time favorites. We've got an official award for the opposing player who does the extraordinary during our game reviews named after him. He was THE hawk for the first half of the decade.

The Number Three Hawk of the Decade is:

Jason Terry

We love Jet. The way he flew down the court with the ball. The automatic nature of his jump shot. The headband and the high socks.

JT was part of the fabled 1999 draft that netted the Hawks Terry, a few years of Dion Glover, even less of Cal Bowdler, and the vapor that was Jumaine Jones as a Hawk.

Going into that draft, there were (5) point-ish guards that were potential lottery picks. The Hawks, having traded their PG of the 90's, Mookie Blaylock, to Oakland for their pick, would select #10 and were predicted to select one of those guards. Of the bunch, it was expected that Steve Francis and Baron Davis would be long gone by the 10th pick (and they were). The others that the Hawks would have a shot at would be between Terry, Utah's Andre Miller, and Duke's freshman William Avery. Miller would be somewhat of a longshot to make it to 10, leaving the Hawks choosing between Terry and Avery.

Some predictions had the Hawks selecting the young Avery, but ultimately the Hawks chose wisely and grabbed Terry, who was coming off a championship career at Arizona. Terry immediately got to work with the Hawks working on his jump shot constantly (his late night trips to the new Philips Arena practice floor to shoot jumpers was a popular story at the time), learning the nuances of running the point, and fighting for playing time under veteran coach Lenny Wilkens.

A running theme during Terry's tenure as a Hawk was the TV drama-esque question of "Is He or Isn't He" in regards to being a point guard. Bigger point guards were brought in (Emanuel Davis, Boris Diaw among the group) to play with JT so he could he could just focus on scoring and then the team would shift back to Jet playing the point, with Glover at shooting guard. Despite the back and forth, Terry managed to post career highs in Assist Rate, Assists per game, and Total Assists in 2002-2003, finishing in the NBA Top 10 in each of those categories. For the decade, Terry led the Hawks in the same categories.

Still, Terry never really seemed comfortable triggering the offense full time, leading to the famous statement by his last GM, Billy Knight, that defining who is the "point guard" isn't necessary---there are just "guards".

The two highest scoring games of Terry's career came as a Hawk, both occurring in 2002-2003.

The first was an epic shootout between JT and Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki, where JT set his career highs in point (46) and free throws made and attempted (13/17). Nowitzki, who had (42), Steve Nash, and Tim Hardaway put away the Hawks late in the fourth quarter.

The other was the home finale against the Cavaliers, where JT scored (43) and dimed (10) times. The Hawks trailed by (3) when the Cavs missed their free throw with a few seconds left and JT took the ball, elected not to call a timeout, raced down the court around a strong Ira Newble screen, and buried the game tying three. The Hawks would win in double-OT (and probably got Newble a fat multi-year contract with the Cavs that offseason).

One of the least told Terry traits was his ability to get into scraps on the court. Terry famously got into it with (then) Pacers PG Anthony Johnson and has continued his fiesty personality in Dallas. And he was the only one to have Shareef Abdur-Rahim's back in his fight with Kenny Thomas in 2002.

During interviews, JT is very personable, always flashing his big smile. While he doesn't ever say very much in those interviews, Jet was always willing to talk to the media after games, something strong on a franchise that didn't experience much winning while he was in the home locker room at Philips Arena. THHB's Jason Terry Tip-Of-The-Cap awards during game reviews are named for Terry's propensity to acknowledging his opponent after games---and there were plenty of chances for Terry to tip that cap throughout his (403) games as a Hawk.

In the summer of 2003, Terry tried to get away from all the losing, signing an offer sheet with the Jazz. A 3 year, 21 million dollar deal, the Hawks waited the (14) days before matching, but not before Terry asked that it not be matched. To his credit, once back in the ATL, Terry made the best of the rest of his stay before being shipped off to Dallas a part of Billy Knight's reset of the roster in 2004.

We loved Terry's speed, his shot, and his personality. We wish he had some success in the ATL, but he certainly has made up for it in Dallas with the Mavs. His skills, production (4th in PER, 1st in Assist Rate, 1st in Steals Rate), and attitude despite his constantly changing role on the court, having weak coaching, and no veterans to help along the way, endeared himself to THHB and has earned his ranking as the #3 Hawk of the Decade.

THHB's Top 10 Hawks of the Decade: Number Four

Haven't seen our Countdown of the Top 10 Hawks of the Decade? Check out our other End of the Hawks Decade articles:

A Decade of Hawks Aughts (and Aught-Nots),

Top Hawks by Statistical Category

THHB's Top 10 (and more) Hawks of the Decade, #10, #9, #8, #7, #6, #5


Our next player arrived as a part of the Pete Babcock "rebuild while staying relevant now" plan, which, umm, yeah.


Our Number Four Hawk of the Decade is:

Shareef Abdur-Rahim

The Hawks had the #3 pick in the 2001 draft and worked out a variety of players who could continue the rebuilding started by the recent drafting of guards Jason Terry (#10, 1999), Dion Glover (#20, 1999), and DerMarr Johnson (#6, 2000).

It was a big man draft, which worked well for the Hawks, given the guard heavy draft focus above. The high school quartet of Eddy Curry, Tyson Chandler, DeSagana Diop, and Kwame Brown were all targets of then GM Pete Babcock, as was Duke straight man Shane Battier. Less known to all was the potential impact of Spaniard Pau Gasol. And, if the backcourt were still an option for Pete, Jason Richardson and a guy named Joe Johnson would be there, if wanted.

In the days leading up to the draft, Grizzlies GM Billy Knight was wanting to shed costs and one of the biggest salaries he could shed was that of sixth year forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim. Shareef was going into the third year of a 6 year, 70.88 million dollar deal and the Grizzlies were going nowhere. Babcock saw the opportunity to snag a young (25 at the time) 20/10 caliber power forward. As he stated after the deal was struck for Lorenzen Wright, Brevin Knight, and the Hawks pick in the 2001 draft, "We felt we could either draft someone who might become an All-Star or acquire someone who was already there." And so the deal was done.

Immediately upon arriving, Abdur-Rahim showed what had made him a productive player in VAN; a fundamenally sound, workman like post approach and a nice, if a little robotic, jump shooting style. Abdur-Rahim counting stats, constantly referenced in the tidy PPG/RPG format (as we did just above), were a product of high minutes and high usage, and his time in ATL was no different, trailing only Joe Johnson in Usage for the decade (25.4).

Despite the production and efficiency (20.2 PER), Abdur-Rahim's numbers rarely had the impact one would expect with stats (and contract) such as his. He produced, but it was as understated as he was and rarely had a take-over effect on games.

One fantastic exception was the Thanksgiving break explosion in 2001 against the Detroit Pistons, when Shareef dropped the magic (50) on their visitors in a 106-99 win. It would be one of two times Shareef scored 40+ points in his career, both with the Hawks. He had a great spin move to the hoop, great touch around the basket, and had an unusual way of dunking despite looking like he was (27) feet underneath the hoop.

He was recognized in 2002 as an NBA All-Star and, while his production validated his presence there, his ho-hum approach to the game didn't translate to that particular exhibition.

He played on a youthful, rudderless roster with questionable coaching and never complained, he just worked, and played solid basketball. He was never the star Babcock might have thought when acquiring him to grow with his young guards,and they never had a winning record with Shareef. His time as a Hawk ended when he was sent packing again by Billy Knight, now the Hawks GM, as he scrapped Babcock's roster and started over in 2004.

Despite his mild-mannered appearance, impact on the game and the team's record, Shareef led the team in PER for the decade, was near the top in total rebounding rate (6th, 13.3), defensive rating (4th, 105) and TS% (4th, 55%). In the traditional stats, he was 2nd in PPG (20.4), 3rd in rebounding (8.9), first in free throws made per game and attempted per game (5.5/6.6), 4th in FG% (47.3), 2nd in FT% (83.5), tied for 4th in steals (1.1), and was the best post presence the Hawks had before Al Horford showed up in the ATL. He grinded out efficiency and production every night he was here---not too high, not too low--much like his post game demeanor.

His consistent, dependable, high level production makes him THHB's Number Four Hawks of the Decade.

(Video Note: Looking around the webbage, there appears to be no video evidence of Shareef's time in the ATL, save for this TNT footage from '02-'03. So we've included a highlight package that has bits of him playing for everybody but the Hawks. Go figure.)

THHB's Top 10 Hawks of the Decade: Number Five

Before we begin, you encourage you to check out our other End of the Hawks Decade articles:

A Decade of Hawks Aughts (and Aught-Nots),

Top Hawks by Statistical Category

THHB's Top 10 (and more) Hawks of the Decade, #10, #9, #8, #7, #6


Our Number Five Hawk of the Decade is:


Al Horford

For those Bird Watchers who witnessed Al mesh seamlessly into the high talent fabric that was the 2010 All-Star Game, you had to feel pride.

There was your guy, your player hitting jump shots, running the floor, finishing strong, rebounding, provide (what?!) defense at an AS game. Al proved he belonged on a stage where few Hawks have proved worthy.

This season, Horford became the first drafted Hawk to represent the good guys in the All-Star game since Kevin Willis in 1992.

Still, as the 2007 NBA Draft approached, and as Greg Oden and Kevin Durant were already penned in at the top 2 positions, what the people wanted to do with #3 pick was hotly contested as seen here, here, and here among many channels of opinion.

In the Hawks Blog-o-rama, ESPN's Hoopinion thought very highly of Al in his two opportunities to evaluate their options. We had our sights set on Al from the get-go and are thrilled things have worked out better than if the team had cast their lots with Jianlian or Conley as were discussed in those circles.

Right from the beginning, Horford was a team favorite due to his hustle, attitude, and plus level abilities. He was drafted to fill the need for a post playing big on both ends, and to date he has not disappointed statistically--and has delivered when called upon. His immediate acumen in the front court allowed the Hawks to divest themselves of the previous fellow drafted to fulfill such desperate needs, Shelden Williams, in the trade that brought the #6 Hawk of the decade into the fold.

Horford ranked second in the decade in Defensive Rebounding Rate (24.2, second to Mutombo), and in Total Rebounding Rate (16.8) while also being the only Hawks to rate in the Top 5 in both Offensive and Defensive Rating (114/105).

There has been much discussion around how historically little Horford is used offensively, but more recently Coach Woodson has seen fit to include Horford more. Still, as Hardwood Paroxysm showed in their PER/Usage report, and as Matt Moore himself thought enough of to invoke all caps, AL HORFORD NEEDS MORE TOUCHES. End quote.

Horford has acquitted himself nicely in being a power forward in a center universe, something he admitted to us he wasn't sure he was able to do and still be the player he thought he could be. But he has and he continues to grow, meaning that this may not be the only decade that Horford resides in the Hawks Top Ten.

His growth has helped the Hawks rise from the depths of the lottery to deeper and deeper into the playoffs. His professional approach and attitude has come to define him and are likely the reasons, along with his production and talent, that the coaches voted him in as a reserve in this year's all star game.

Will he have a Derek Harper like consistency to his statistical improvement? We hope so, and look forward to seeing Horford in a Hawks uniform for a long time.

After all, he is our Number Five Hawk of the Decade.

THHB's Top 10 Hawks of the Decade: Number Six

If you haven't heard, you can check out our other End of the Hawks Decade articles:

A Decade of Hawks Aughts (and Aught-Nots),

Top Hawks by Statistical Category

THHB's Top 10 (and more) Hawks of the Decade, #10, #9, #8, #7


Number Six is a player upon whose arrival the improvement of the franchise kicked into high gear.

Our Number Six Hawks Player of the Decade is:

Mike Bibby

Bibby came to the Hawks in the 2007 deal that sent Anthony Johnson, Tyronn Lue, Lorenzen Wright and 2006 Hawks' first rounder Shelden Williams to Sacramento in a salary dump trade.

The trade marked two things:

1. The Hawks were finally the team buying at the trade deadline instead of selling. A wonderful statement on the state of the franchise.

2. Bibby marked the first real point guard the Hawks had rostered since Mookie Blaylock was dealt in 1999.

Neither of these things should go understated, as they were significant marking points of the team's direction. That the Hawks were able to get a player of Bibby's caliber for nothing more than a collection of salaries was a position that the Hawks hadn't been in a while.

But what made Bibby's arrival most weighty, as well as garnering the #6 slot on our list, was that the presence of his consistent, long range shooting and leadership at the position that needs it most---and those two things drove the Hawks to the next level--the playoffs.

Last season, Bibby turned in a terrific performance at the point, stated somewhat awkwardly by THHB here, prompting a 3 year, 18 million dollar deal for a job well done and some continued stability at the point.

Bibby provided a needed relief for Joe Johnson, one as another shooter in the backcourt who is cold-blooded when it comes to taking late game shots, another as an outlet to pass to when double-teamed, and finally as the needed locker room voice---not just to the media, but to teammates and Coach Woodson as well. THHB makes the point that without that steadying influence in the locker room, the team doesn't mature into the home court holding playoff team it is right now.

This season, Bibby's role is reduced due to age, defensive erosion, and the presence of Jamal Crawford. Bibby's numbers are down---including rate numbers---and his skill set is more role playing facilitator and long range sniper than 35-40 minute-per-game workhorse, but he still provides the leadership and playmaking abilities at the point that the team needs there.

Bibby's arrival on the team, and the leap of success that followed, along with his production since he joined the team, makes Bibby our Number Six Hawk of the Decade.

THHB's Top 10 Hawks of the Decade: Number Seven

If you didn't already know, we invite you to check out our other End of the Hawks Decade articles:

A Decade of Hawks Aughts (and Aught-Nots),

Top Hawks by Statistical Category

THHB's Top 10 (and more) Hawks of the Decade, #10, #9, #8

Our next entry is a player that was undoubtedly the face of the Hawks in the 90's, post Dominique. His presence, statistical acumen, and unique personality carried him through the last days of Lenny Wilkens and into the dawn of the Lon Kruger era.

Our Number Seven Hawk of the Decade is:

Dikembe Mutombo

When folks think of Dikembe Mutombo, they usually conjure up the image of a blocked shot followed by a wagging finger followed closely by a variation of his signature Cookie-Monster like voice and laugh. What THHB remembers about the 7'2 giant is his tremendous productivity as one of the best ever to play for the Hawks.

Those who read us regularly know of our fondness for the shot-blocker---that's no lie---and Mutombo was terrific at it. Even though he was 33-34 years old during the first two years of the aughts, Deke's block rate was still top 10 in the L. For his career, Mutombo has the eighth best block shot rate, the seventh best blocks per game, the second most blocked shots total. He was a massive deterrent inside; his presence alone made driving opponents think twice while they shot inside against Dikembe.

Man did not fly in the House of Mutombo.

While his shot blocking was all-time level, what made Mutombo statistically special was his outstanding rebounding on both ends.

Mutombo easily distanced all Hawks in the aughts in Defensive (31.9) and Total Rebounding Rate (21.9). In the two seasons in Atlanta that decade, Deke led the NBA in DRR in '99-'00 and won the rebounding triple crown (ORR, DRR, and TRR) in '00-'01. For his efforts, Mutombo won the Defensive Player of the Year Award for 2000-2001.

Included in that terrific '00-'01 campaign was Deke's fourth trip to the AS game as a Hawk. In that game, Mutombo helped the East overcome a (19) point fourth quarter deficit to win the game in Washington DC. In it Mutombo blocked (3) shots and grabbed an astounding (22) rebounds. The performance complimented the scoring of Sixer star Allen Iverson and was played out in front on then-Philly coach Larry Brown.

The Hawks in 2000-2001 were clearly in a rebuilding period with the purging of Steve Smith and Mookie Blaylock before the previous season and Mutombo had over (30) million dollars coming to him in his Age 35 and 36 seasons in the two years left on his contract. Those variables plus the impression Dikembe left on Larry Brown made it no surprise when the Hawks dealt Mutombo to the Sixers for Toni Kukoc, Theo Ratliff, Nazr Mohammed, and Pepe Sanchez--just (11) days after that AS game.

Kukoc was tailing off already after years of pro ball dating back to his teen years and battled back problems up to the point where he was dealt in the Glenn Robinson deal two season later. Ratliff blocked shots like Mutombo, but wasn't near the rebounder the Hawks had come to know in Dikembe. Mohammed became a solid piece and tied for #10 on our All-Decade list.

In the end--understanding how it all played out--it would have been nice to be able to keep Mutombo around as a defensive presence and rebounder--even into the early part of Josh Smith's years--but it's unlikely the big man would have signed with the rebuilding Hawks, especially as the team shuffled through the Kruger and Terry Stotts years. Still, his presence here would have held down the since hard to staff position of center and personally given Dikembe significant momentum for his own Hall of Fame chances.

Mutombo's fantastic production and like-ability was sensational for his time with the Hawks, but is ranked seventh here due to the brevity of his time as a Hawk in the Aughts (131 games). Had he continued---he may have been number one.

Here is a reminder of the fun that was watching Mutombo--the greatest free agent signing ever for the Hawks:

THHB's Top 10 Hawks of the Decade: Number Eight

As always, we invite you to check out our other End of the Hawks Decade articles:

A Decade of Hawks Aughts (and Aught-Nots),

Top Hawks by Statistical Category

THHB's Top 10 (and more) Hawks of the Decade, #10, #9

Today we look at a player that will be in the center of what-if discussions for the next decade to come. His mere presence on the roster, his role on the team, and what his ceiling may/may not be are topics that are almost impossible to gain consensus among even the most fervent of Bird Watchers.

Our Number Eight Hawk of the Decade is:

Marvin Williams


Any discussion on Marvin Williams and his presence in the Atlanta Hawks has to begin (to the chagrin of many Hawks fans) with the 2005 NBA Draft.

Setting the scene:

The Hawks were coming off a miserable (13) win season and had drafted two young guard/forward types in the 2004 draft (Josh Childress, Josh Smith), thereby beginning to bring the Billy Knight vision to the court.

The Hawks ended up with the #2 pick in the draft and was likely looking at any of what was considered by many to be the Top 4 players in the draft: Andrew Bogut, Marvin Williams, Chris Paul, and Deron Williams.

The draft was widely considered to be one of the best for point guard position in some time, a position long needed for the Hawks, a search that we dwelled on at some length in this entry. The Hawks ended that woebegone season with the following players starting (at some part of the season) at the point.

Player (Starts)

Tyronn Lue (46)
Kenny Anderson (20)
Boris Diaw  (11)
Royal Ivey  (5)

Shouldn't have to tell you (and their record did if you needed to be told) but that mess was screaming for assistance from Billy Knight to improve that position in the starting lineup. And no, taking Diaw out to the point was not the droid they were looking for.

So, as the draft approached, the Hawks worked out Paul and Williams, who fit this need, as well as looking at the players who could potentially fall into the "best available player" category, which included Williams, as evidenced by the write-ups leading up to the draft.

DraftExpress

At this point, all we know is that Marvin Williams is going to be a promising forward in the NBA and is most likely a top five pick or possibly even the first overall pick whenever he decides to leave North Carolina. Unfortunately, it’s just way too early to speculate specifically what kind of player he will develop into.

 

ESPN-Chad Ford

Williams is Insider's No. 1-ranked player in the draft. He's a versatile forward who can play both inside and out. Still developing but has the trappings of a superstar.

SI--Ian Thomsen

Has size, skills and savvy to help transform Atlanta into an exciting, up-tempo team. 

ESPN's (and Hawks Nation's own) Hoopinion:

 I thought Luol Deng was a moderately risky pick last year. I was wrong. Similarly, Williams should thrive in the extra space created by the depth of the NBA three-point line. I'd put Williams down the list of my Rookie of the Year favorites, but most likely to be the best player from the draft in five, eight, and ten years.

Billy Knight, by all admissions, eschewed the long held tradition of identifying a point guard in the lineup. "Guards are guards" he most famously said upon being asked who he saw running the point. To most accounts, he was not impressed with Chris Paul's size and wasn't sure if Deron Williams was so sure a thing as not to pass on the best available player. So there was decent consensus when, to the dismay of those who believe in resolving things like the post and the point, Knight passed on the point guards and selected the talented Williams.

Looking back, it's clear that it was Chris Paul that was the best player in that draft and he filled a Hawks need--and that, combined with Williams not yet realizing the ceiling that some might have thought possible for him, is what leads this discussion when Marvin's Hawk status comes up.

Because of the gamble of future potential over filling what folks other than Billy Knight thought was a need, there was some anticipation as to whether this (19) year old could capture the fans imagination such as the potential and athleticism displayed by Josh Smith had the year before.

But since much of Marvin's skill lay within the confines of the jump shot, this was not something that was going to jump out at fans. One of Williams' other skills, running the floor and finishing, was stunted by the lack of a starting caliber point guard to make that happen.The fact that Joe Johnson, whose ball handling skills and hopeful acquisition from Phoenix may also have persuaded Knight to pass on a point in the draft, isn't a run-the-floor ball handler may have interrupted that as well.

Marvin spent the next seasons finding his spot on the floor and role on the team, a process eased by the fulfillment of the promise of great work ethic and character lauded from his year in Chapel Hill. Marvin's obvious good nature and effort kept the erupting of Chris Paul into an All-Star into full fledged resentment of Marvin by the Hawks faithful.

Prior to the 2008-2009 season, Williams had hit a miserable 25-108 (23 percent) from beyond the 3-pt line. In '08-'09, Williams extended his range to hit 55-155 (35 percent) and took a visible step forward in his development and role in the Hawks first winning season since 1999.

The development and improvement was such that it was the first season he began to emerge from his draft slot shadow and be embraced for what he is rather than what one might have thought him to become. Marvin missed almost the entire month of March w/injury. When he returned, in a home game against the Indiana Pacers, Williams was given a standing ovation, an indication that his absence was certainly felt.

This season, Williams has not been able to build on the improvements of last season for a variety of reasons. One is the arrival of Jamal Crawford, who has a Joe Johnson like Usage Rate and therefore gobbles up extra possessions that might have found their way to Marvin last season, leading to less minutes and shot attempts per game (Williams' Usage is also down from last year while Crawford uses a bit more possessions and minutes than did Flip Murray last season.)

Another is some amount of bad luck, as Marvin has been able (for the most part) to maintain his effectiveness on his jump shots but has missed an aberrant number of shots around the basket. If he had been able to maintain last year's success rate on shots under 10 feet, he would have another (7) baskets made, which would raise his shooting percentage above (46) percent, higher than last year's number.

Marvin was signed to an extension (5 years, 40 million) this past off-season, but his future role and impact on the team remains a mystery. He has shown flashes of being able to be a scorer when Joe Johnson is out, highlighted by his (20) free throw effort against the Bobcats last season. Some have suggested he would be an ideal sixth man, or seventh man in the wake of Crawford's role, providing another strong scoring option off the bench. As it is, Marvin remains in the starting lineup, picking his spots on offense while playing solid ball on the defensive end, making his abilities to perhaps score more or take on a larger role on the team a luxury for the Hawks.

Fortunately Williams is a company man, ready and willing to be used in any capacity, and this is a trait that shows on the outside as well, making him very easy to like as a fan. His story, talent, work ethic, intangibles (see video below), and his all-star caliber mustache (of course) make him our Number Eight Hawk of the Decade.

THHB's Top 10 Hawks of the Decade: Number Nine

As always, we invite you to check out our other End of the Hawks Decade articles:

A Decade of Hawks Aughts (and Aught-Nots),

Top Hawks by Statistical Category

THHB's Top 10 (and more) Hawks of the Decade, #10

Now we look at a player (yes, only one this time) that became one of the most interesting situation/stories of the Hawks decade---a player that was also productive enough to warrant inclusion here as well. But he is/was a player that drew mixed reviews among Hawks fans, in fact, we think some will have issue with his inclusion on our list.

The Number Nine Hawk of the Decade is:

Josh Childress

From the get-go, the drafting of Childress was an interesting inclusion in a decade worth of interesting roster moves.

Leading up to the 2004 draft, the Hawks worked out many players due to their various draft positions (4 of the top 37 picks). Looking at their place with the 6th pick, the Hawks potentially had the choice of a diverse group of talents (Ben Gordon, Jameer Nelson, Al Jefferson, Andre Iguodala) but still managed to genuinely surprise by taking Childress on draft night.

Coming from Stanford, he had the look and sound of a good guy, hard working, athletic talent--and fit into Billy Knight's long, athletic wingman approach to roster building. Since the Hawks passed on Luol Deng and Iguodala to take him (which more fans were comfortable with), his unorthodox shooting style and play was ripe for criticism.

But whatever could be said about Childress' odd form in shooting, from the first season he proved to be a solid, productive player. Childress was the 4th most productive player as it corresponds to PER for the rookie season. He trailed #1 pick Dwight Howard, #2 pick Emeka Okafor, and #17 pick Josh Smith. Good job, Billy Knight, eh?

Childress did improve every season over his (4) with the Hawks and led the team for the decade in Effective FG% and Offensive Rating and was 7th in PER for the decade for the ATL. In the meantime, however, he got classified by Mike Woodson as a 6th man and hustle guy off the bench, a designation that saw him relegated to a reserve (highly used, sure), going as far as not starting a single game in '07-'08 even when injuries saw Marvin Williams and even Flubber West gain starting assignments instead of Childress and he saw his minutes shrink as well.

The issue of being pigeonholed by the staff into this role left the talented swingman longing for a different situation or more money to accept it. When the restricted free agency period arose and the Hawks (with new GM Rick Sund) playing hardball, Childress challenged the Hawks to pay up or watch Josh go overseas to Greece. Nobody blinked and Childress, while remaining Hawks property to this day, has been enjoying the European high-life for the last two seasons.

Childress gave it up entirely on the court, was good on the defensive end, and aggressive all over the place. He above the rim play was exciting and useful and the Hawks have yet to adequately replace his value to the team. He would be a wonderful starting small forward today with Marvin Williams coming off the bench. Instead they lost Childress and gave Marvin the money that could have kept Chill in the ATL. We love Mustache Marvin too, but Childress was/is more productive than Marvin at similar points in their careers.

Below is a highlight package of what we're missing out on losing our #9 player of the Decade.

We miss J-Chill and wish he were a part of all of the success the last two seasons and beyond.

(Audio on this clip is Ludacris so, you know, it's not suitable for Work or Children. In other words, if you don't like profanity, mute before listening. That is all.)

THHB's Top 10 Hawks of the Decade: Number Ten

First, we invite you to check out our other End of the Hawks Decade articles:

A Decade of Hawks Aughts (and Aught-Nots),

Top Hawks by Statistical Category

THHB's Top 10 (and more) Hawks of the Decade (the and more edition)

We kick off the countdown with a pair of Hawks that you wouldn't think were similar, but they are.

Player A: 21.6 minutes per game, 8.3 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 2.5 oreb, .467 FG, 13.0 ORB%, 20.1 USG%
Player B: 22.7 minutes per game, 8.5 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 2.4 oreb, .465 FG, 12.3 ORB%, 19.0 USG%

Our Number Ten Hawk(s) of the Decade are:

Nazr Mohammed and Zaza Pachulia


Nazr came to the Hawks in the Dikembe Mutombo deal in 2001 with the Sixers and was a solid figure on the Hawks for parts of three seasons. Mohammed played a career high amount of minutes and games started for the 2001-2002 Hawks and led the decade in Offensive Rebounding percentage. Nazr never was an above the rim player, but was able to be a good shot deterrent inside, finishing 6th in blocks per game in the decade, 5th in blocks rate, and 8th overall despite his part time minutes.

We tended to underrate him as a player when he was a Hawk, likely longing for a talent like Mutombo inside, and we bristled initially when Pete Babcock signed him to his 5 year, 28.5 million dollar deal the offseason after coming over from PHL. It wasn't long before we saw that, while Nazr wasn't ever going to be Dikembe, he was worth the moderate amount of money as an excellent offensive rebounder, good overall rebounder, and shot blocker. Nazr is still getting it done with the Bobcats, still rebounding, blocking shots, and being an excellent value in the middle.

Which brings us to Zaza, who has achieved fan favorite status for a few reasons:

He isn't afraid to mix it up with the other team, a trait that---ummm---well----not many other Hawks have. We're sure you don't need proof, but in case you do, never forget this:



His offensive rebounding and ability to get to the line. Pachulia does a terrific job of keeping possessions alive and getting shooters like Joe Johnson more throws at the basket. Zaza also does a remarkable job at drawing contact while shooting, even if sometimes he doesn't seem all that concerned about where the ball is going.

His initial contract was a modest 4 years and 16 million. His next contract, signed this past offseason, was a slight raise at 4 years and 19 million despite money out there for centers. Zaza took somewhat below market value and stayed with the ATL. Who doesn't love and respect that?!

Zaza and Nazr have another thing in common---they are not bashful about talking to the fans on Twitter, which makes them instant THHB favorites. Zaza can be found as @zaza27 and Nazr tweets from his @nazrmohammed address.

Both guys were role playing centers who provided sneaky value to the team and THHB recognizes their efforts as the Number Ten Top Hawk(s) of the Decade!

THHB Top 10 (and more) Hawks of the Decade: And More Edition

First we tackled the Top 20 Events of the previous decade for the Atlanta Hawks.

Then we broke down Top Hawks by Statistical Category which sorted through the advanced stats (and some traditional) to look at the top Hawks in each category.

Now we begin our trek through THHB Top 10 (and more) Hawks of the Decade--an superiorly imperfect, non-scientific rundown of who we thought were the top Hawks of the Aughts.

Today, we begin with those who didn't make the Top 10, but were notable in ways that warranted a Jason Terry Memorial Tip-of-the-Cap and an anecdote or two.

The One-Year "Wonders":

When Pete Babcock decided to rebuild, he did so by trying to infuse veteran talent to support the youth that he was drafting. Unfortunately, he often dealt the youth (in the form of draft picks) to grab onto a player on the back end of his prime or in other ways that the team never really worked. Other "wonders" were brought in via deals that sent expiring contracts out and talent in.

Jim Jackson and Isaiah Rider were brought in when Steve Smith was sent off to Portland to play out his contract. Early on the move looked great, as both Jackson and Rider were scoring and using a ton of plays in doing so. In fact, Jackson and Rider in '99-'00 had the highest teammate combined Usage % in the decade for the Hawks (53 percent). Of course, it didn't last as Rider flamed out famously towards the end of his only season in Atlanta and Jackson was sent packing early the next year to Cleveland for Brevin Knight.

Toni Kukoc and Theo Ratliff came over in a 2001 deal with PHL that sent Dikembe to Larry Brown's world. Ratliff missed almost his entire first year with the Hawks with a bad hip, but came back strong the next year to lead the league in blocks and blocks per game. Ratliff was sent packing in 2004 to Portland in the Rasheed Wallace deal. At the time of Ratliff's hip injury, folks thought it might be a Bo Jackson situation, but he bounced back the next season as noted and in 2004 led the league in games played with (85) and is still blocking shots in the L--now with the Spurs.

Kukoc made an impact immediately in the first (17) games as a Hawks---beginning a trend in which the Hawks would kick butt in April and consequently negatively impact their lottery chances. In the 2001-2002 season, however, Kukoc looked  a very old (33) years old and suffered the worst of any of his NBA seasons to date.

Kukoc was dealt in the 2002 offseason to Milwaukee in order to bring in Glenn Robinson. Robinson played one unspectacular season with the Hawks (it was their ill fated "playoff guarantee" season) and then got shipped off to PHL in return for the insurance covered contract of Terrell Brandon.

When Robinson came on board, he famously boasted to THHB that he would have us wearing his jersey by mid-season rather than the JT version sported at the time. He offered to hook us up with some swag to help the deal. Being good company men, we said we would welcome it. Soon after his boasting, we noted in our RealGM space that Robinson had a peculiar tendency to lose the ball after his third dribble, something also noted by then-assistant coach Alex English. English told us that they were coaching Robinson to only dribble twice and then make a move. While Robinson never changed his approach with us or turned us aside when we asked questions, the offer of swag never came up again.

Antoine Walker came over when JT was sent out to Dallas and didn't even make it a full season with the Birds before he was traded at the deadline for a first round pick from the Celtics. Walker was a great quote and understood the game of basketball but needed a ton of volume (minutes and possessions) to get his stats to a "star" level and shot threes about as good as Josh Smith does while taking (5) a game.

And the 2006 pick the Hawks got for Walker? Well, it was sent to Phoenix in the Joe Johnson deal and was later sold back to Boston in time to make Rajon Rondo their selection.
 

Alan Henderson:


Henderson's main value came prior to the decade and was more known for his contract in the aughts (he signed a 6 year, 45.5 million dollar deal prior to the 1999 season) than for what he did on the court. Henderson was an excellent offensive rebounder (4th in the decade for the Hawks in OREB%), but not much else. He was a below-the-rim player after injuries took away a season or two and the Hawks couldn't come close to unloading his deal until the last season, when he was traded with JT in the Walker deal.

Stephen Jackson:

Billy Knight brought Jackson in for a million dollars in 2003, which was odd in that Jackson was coming off a season with the San Antonio Spurs in which he played a key role (58 starts, 28 mpg) in winning a championship (foreshadowing his personality conflicts down the road?). Still, Jackson started (78) games for the Hawks in '03-'04 and showed he could be a major scorer in the league. Jackson's (42) points in April against WAS represents the 6th highest scoring Hawk game of the decade. Jackson famously stopped talking to the media during a long losing streak in which he felt he was misquoted (not by us) and intended to parlay his counting stats coming out party into an long term deal.

Jackson broke his media silence to us after the last game of the season, but not before making us wait (45) minutes after the game was over. He thanked us for our patience and vowed to answer any question we wanted to ask. From that interview, we learned that he was looking for a 6 year, 42 million dollar or so deal, which he would later get when the Hawks signed and traded him to IND for Al Harrington. It was a fitting end to a season where Jackson showed considerably different sides of his personality.

The Others:

There were a number of Hawks who were memorable over the course of the decade for reasons other than their importance or production on the court. We list because we care:

• Ronald "RFM" Murray: 

We always abbreviated RFM's name in honor of every publication, broadcast team, and print media always taking great pleasure in saying his name all the way through---"Ronald "Flip" Murray". Murray inspired the Peachtree Hoops led phenomenon known as "Hot Flip" where Murray could suddenly and without warning begin to score out of his mind. Murray was known for being extremely and maddeningly inconsistent throughout his career, but his season with the Hawks was arguably his best as a pro. His role and its value proved to be important enough for the Hawks to spend a good amount of money in the deal that brought Jamal Crawford to Atlanta to upgrade RFM's position this offseason.

• Ira Newble: 

Never did hustle lead to so much playing time--Newble actually averaged around (30) minutes per game for the '01-'02 and '02-'03 campaign despite being little more than a small forward type who specialized in setting screens and putbacks. Newble did hustle, however, and THHB joked with Newble about his pending free agency and if he could top the 6 year, 18 million dollar deal that Greg Buckner had received from PHL before the '02-'03 season. He ended up settling for a 4 year, 11 million dollar deal from Cleveland. Upon coming back to Philips Arena with his new team, Newble was chased by a furious then-coach Paul Silas out of the locker room and down the hallway for an unspecified comment that was made towards the coach by Newble.

• Tyronn Lue, Tony Delk, Kenny Anderson, Anthony Johnson, Emanual Davis, Brevin Knight, Bimbo Coles, Matt Maloney, Jacque Vaughn, Dan Dickau
  

These were the point guards prior to Mike Bibby's arrival--The Hawks never trusted Jason Terry to run the team full time and almost immediately after drafting him started to pair him with replacement level floor generals with Lue being the best of the bunch.  We don't include Speedy Claxton on here for the same reason we don't include Terrell Brandon and Gary Payton--you have to actually play to get mentioned (ooooh---Burn!).

• Dion Glover and DerMarr Johnson

In other words, your Shaw Summer League Hall of Famers!  Glover and Johnson represented two more young pieces that were going to team with JT and Shareef to lead the Hawks back into the playoffs. Johnson's car crash in 2002 left him lucky to walk and breathe, much less play the game again.

• Chris Crawford
  

Crawford was infamous for throwing his considerable athleticism around the court to his fragile body;s detriment. Almost as infamous was the long, but fairly small contact given him by Pete Babcock after the 1999 playoffs. Crawford was as determined off the court as he was on it, always pushing extra hard to get rehabbed and back on the court. Crawford was coming off his best season as a Hawk ('03-'04) when just before the '04-'05 season opened, in an exhibition game in Birmingham, Crawford suffered another knee injury, this one costing him his career.

• Hanno Mottola and Cal Bowdler

Bowdler was never liked by the fan base because he was part of an immediately disappointing 1999 draft. Cal could shoot it just fine, and was a great guy, but he had the knees of an 80 year old man and was slower than rush hour traffic. We would have loved to have watched a foot race between Bowdler and Gheorghe Muresan.

Mottola was a role player for Lon Kruger, but his greatest contribution had nothing to do with himself, rather, his persona was the focal point of Atlanta's 790 the Zone personality Mike Bell's greatest bits on the air---"Cooking with Hanno". High comedy, especially the one where he invites Mookie Blaylock in for some hints on baking "brownies."

• Peja Drobnjak

Worst. BO. Ever.

• Lee Nailon
  

  The only player in the decade we covered the team to intentionally play his music so loud you could hardly hear your audio after the fact. Thanks, Lee!

• Mikki Moore and Jon Barry

After an Emory student radio personality called out Barry during a question session with Mike Woodson, Barry challenged the kid on it, wondering why he went to the coach instead of asking Jon directly. The mild confrontation occurred while we were talking to Moore and when Barry began to confront, Mikki started yelling "Fight! Fight!"  

Ah, the lottery years.


Next: THHB Top 10 Hawks of the Decade (#10)

Hawks Decade in Review 2: Top Hawks by Statistical Category

First we tackled the Top 20 Events of the previous decade for the Atlanta Hawks.

Now we look at the men who were the Hawks of the Aughts by statistically sorting through the advanced stats (brought to you by Basketball Reference) to look at the top guys in each category.


Categorically Speaking:

We looked at players who played at least 100 games (seemed like a good enough number to get beyond a single season look) with the Hawks in the Aughts--This yielded (32) players for our sample and we looked at each of the Advanced Categories (and the traditional counting stats at the bottom) to see which Hawks led in each one. (Glossary of Terms found here)

PER : 

1. Shareef Abdur-Rahim (211 games) 20.4
2. Joe Johnson (334 games)  18.3
3. Dikembe Mutombo (131 games) 18.3

Shareef provided a 50 point game, fundamental basketball, consistency and little else. Pete Babcock acquired him in the middle of his prime and Billy Knight dumped him at the end, preserving his 20+ PER. 

Trends: We expect that Josh Smith (17.6) will creep into this group by the end of the year or next season.

Others: Jason Terry (17.2), Al Horford (16.6)


Usage Percentage:

1. Joe Johnson   26.2
2. Shareef Abdur-Rahim   25.4
3. Al Harrington (142 games)  24.7

Surprise? Eh, no. Each represents the player upon which the ball stopped in their particular time in the decade. Shareef from 2002 to 2004, Harrington for the next two seasons, and Joe until present (and counting).

Interesting: If we expanded the sample out to (50) games, Isaiah Rider (28.8), Glenn Robinson (28.8), and Antoine Walker (27.9) would have led this category.

Others: Salim Stoudamire (T4th with JT and Josh Smith, 23.1), Dion Glover (7th, 21.0), Al Horford (19th, 16.3--extremely underused)

Total Rebounding Percentage:

1. Dikembe Mutombo   21.7
2. Nazr Mohammed  (198 games) 17.3
3. Al Horford (182 games) 17.1

When Mohammed signed his 5 year, 28.5 million dollar contract in 2001, we thought it was too pricey, but Nazr was plenty productive as a Hawk--similar to Zaza Pachulia, who just missed this list.

Would like to see Josh Smith get a little further up this list--currently, he is 9th at 13.3 career.

Others: Shelden Williams (4th, 16.8), Zaza Pachulia (5th, 15.3), Lorenzen Wright (6th, 14.1)

Assist Percentage:

1. Jason Terry (403 games) 28.3
2. Jacque Vaughn (153 games) 27.9
3. Mike Bibby (146 games) 25.8

Wow. Mike Bibby has already played 146 games with the Hawks. This list illustrates the lack of pass-first point guards in the past decade--something not likely to be reversed anytime soon.

Others: Anthony Johnson (4th, 25.7), Joe Johnson (5th, 25.6), Tyronn Lue (6th, 24.5)

Block Percentage:

1. Theo Ratliff (137 games) 7.4
2. Dikembe Mutombo       5.8
3. Josh Smith  (410 games)  5.4

The Hawks have had themselves some prolific shotblockers (and THHB loves shot blockers)--Ratliff was injured the first season in Atlanta, but before being sent with Abdur-Rahim to Portland Ratliff led the league in blocked shots his two seasons in the ATL.

Others: Solomon Jones (4th, 4.2), Al Horford (5th, 2.8), Cal Bowdler (T6 w/Nazr Mohammed, 2.3), DerMarr Johnson (9th, 2.1)


Steal Percentage:

1. Mario West (117 games)  3.0
2. Jason Terry        2.2
T3. Anthony Johnson (133 games)  2.0
T3: Royal Ivey  (188 games)  2.0
T3: Dion Glover  (273 games) 2.0

Yowza! That's some role playingly goodness. We still marvel at Royal Ivey playing 188 games with the Hawks. Among players with significant minutes on the list are Mike Bibby and Josh Smith (T6, 1.9).


Effective Field Goal Percentage:

1. Josh Childress (285 games)  .543
2. Solomon Jones  (156 games)  .537
3. Maurice Evans  (114 games)  .534

Deke and Horford are next on the list (.530 and .526 respectively), leading players who actually start for the team. It's fitting that Childress and Evans are together on this list--considering one was brought in to replace the production of the other.

Others: Mike Bibby (7th, .514), Joe Johnson (9th, .499), Jason Terry (10th, .485), Shareef Abdur-Rahim (12th, .480)

Offensive and Defensive Rating:

OR:

1. Josh Childress     120 
2. Maurice Evans     117
3. Solomon Jones    116

DR:

1. Dikembe Mutombo  100
2. Theo Ratliff        102
3. Nazr Mohammed  103

The only player to appear in the Top 5 in both lists? That would be Al Horford (115, 105).


An Homage to Statistics Past:

Points Per Game: 

1. Joe Johnson    21.8
2. Shareef Abdur-Rahim  20.4
3. Al Harrington  18.1

Surprise, surprise---the guys who use the most possessions get the nod in a counting category involving scoring. As with the Usage category above, when we move the line to (50) games, Glenn Robinson, Antoine Walker, and Isaiah Rider all popped into the Top 6.

Others: Jason Terry (4th, 16.2), Josh Smith (5th, 14.1)


Rebounds Per Game:

1. Dikembe Mutombo    14.1
2. Al Horford                  9.6
3. Shareef Abdur-Rahim  8.9

We always took the approach with Shareef while he was here that--while they said he was a 20/10 guy when he came in, he was really a 19/9 guy--in other words a cut below the star level that usually coincided with the 20/10 plateau. When you look at his numbers, he did put up 20/9 for the Hawks, and a good PER, but was certainly a cut (or two) below the perennial all-stars.

Others: Josh Smith (4th, 7.4), Theo Ratliff (5th, 7.3)

Assists Per Game: 

1. Joe Johnson     5.6
2. Jason Terry     5.5
3. Mike Bibby      5.2

Whew---no league leaders there, eh? Babcock's drafting of JT and subsequent "is he or isn't he" approach to the PG position (a philosophy that led to the Bimbo Coles, Emanual Davis and Brevin Knight minutes next to JT) and Billy Knight's "guards are guards" approach left the Hawks rudderless at the point for the decade until the arrival of Bibby. Bibby provided presence and leadership at the point, but was never a pass-first/playmaker type that usually throw up 8-9-10 assists a game.

Others: Tyronn Lue (T4 w/Jacque Vaughn, 3.6)


Blocks Per Game:

1. Theo Ratliff              3.2
2. Dikembe Mutombo  3.1
3. Josh Smith               2.4

Did we mention we love shot blockers? Ratliff had a (7) block game against the Celtics the week he was traded that helped to seal the deal over Mt. Mutombo.

Others: Al Horford (4th, 1.2), Nazr Mohammed (T5 w/Shareef Abdur-Rahim, 0.7)

Next Up in the Decade Installment: THHB Top 10 (and more) Hawks of the Decade

A Decade of Hawks Aughts (and Aught-Nots)

We could take the time to break down the Hawks' breakdown against the Cavs in back to back games, but we've chosen a much darker place--a recap of the Top Events of the Aughts, The 2000's, or whatever history chooses to call this last decade, one which saw many changes for the Hawks, for good and bad.

First we'll list some of those that didn't quite make the Top 20---we call these the Best of the Rest:

• Dikembe Mutombo, Roshown McLeod traded to PHL for Toni Kukoc, Theo Ratliff, Nazr Mohammed
• Shareef scores 50 against DET on Thanksgiving 2001
• Jason Terry scores 46, Dirk Nowitzki 40 in epic scoring battle in 2002 (Hawks lose)
  
• Hawks trade Kukoc, Lorenzen Wright, and Brevin Knight for Glenn "Big Dog" Robinson
• DerMarr Johnson critically injured in early morning Mercedes accident in 2002
• Hawks use pick acquired for trading 2001 pick to trade with SAC; draft Dan Dickau
• Jason Terry signs 3 year, 22.5 million dollar offer sheet with Jazz, Hawks match
• Steven Jackson, Bob Sura, and company win big in April---and cost the Hawks draft positions while the Clippers tank in 2004
• Stephen Jackson signed and traded to Indiana for Al Harrington
• Peja Drobjnak signed, named smelliest player alive--literally
• Hawks win (13) games in 2004-2005
• Hawks sign Zaza Pachulia to 4 year, 16 million dollar deal
• Hawks miss on Sam Cassell, sign Speedy Claxton to a 4 year, 24 million dollar contract
• Hawks 2009 offseason a big success (draft Jeff Teague, resigned Bibby, Marvin, Zaza, sign Joe Smith. Hawks trade Acie Law, Speedy Claxton for Jamal Crawford)
• Hawks start season 21-10, best start since 1997

Now, on with the countdown:

20. Philips Arena Opens

The Hawks had played the previous seasons split between the Georgia Dome and Georgia Tech and left homeless in the process.


As the 1999-2000 season opened, the Hawks had a new home where the old Omni once stood. Philips Arena is still one of its kind with all the luxury boxes on one side and with new locker rooms and practice court, the Hawks were finally home.

The arena would go on to host the 2003 All-Star game, Michael Jordan's last, and later ride the excitement of Josh Smith and others and get dubbed "The Highlight Factory".

19. Josh Smith wins the 2005 NBA Slam Dunk Contest 

Josh Smith, World. World, Josh Smith.

Fans were introduced to the Hawks high flying, exciting rookie when Smith slammed his way to the trophy. Smith dunks were great, but what folks remember most was when Smith donned a Dominique Wilkins throwback jersey and completed the signature windmill slam. It gave the Hawks a face for the franchise, even if it wasn't the best player on the team, he was the most noticeable and exciting, something that holds true to this day.


18. The 2007 NBA Draft

 The 2007 NBA was shaping up to be a good one. Greg Oden and Kevin Durant had declared for the draft, as had Mike Conley, Jr and Yi Jianlian. Adding to the flavor were the early entries of the back-to-back national champion Florida Gators, featuring Corey Brewer, Joakim Noah, and Al Horford.


Despite the depth of the draft, the Hawks were on the verge of losing their pick, as they had to finish making good on the Joe Johnson deal with the Suns. If the Hawks didn't draw a top 3 pick in the lottery, they would lose the pick to the Suns and potentially miss out on adding another key piece to the mix.

Fortunately, the Hawks would indeed land the third pick in the draft and while it seemed for a while that there was a steep dropoff from Oden and Durant, the Hawks settled in on Horford, who gave the Hawks a low post presence on both ends they did not currently have.

Some fans weren't convinced, claiming the pick reminded them of the Shelden Williams pick from the year before, but it wouldn't be long before Horford would win everyone over with his fundamental play, athleticism, and hard work. Horford's rookie season was so impressive that he was a solid second place in the Rookie of the Year voting behind Kevin Durant.


17. Hawks "guarantee" playoffs for their season ticket holders

"Good afternoon, thank you for calling your playoff-bound Atlanta Hawks. How can I help you?"

This was an example of a greeting you would get for calling the Atlanta Hawks offices in 2002-2003. The team, led by coach Lon Kruger, decided that they would guarantee that the team would make the playoffs or offer a check or discount on the next season's season tickets.

Billboards were erected and mainstream media hyped it up, but mostly jokes were told at the Hawks expense. Expectations were high with the acquisition of Glenn Robinson in the offseason, and it was probably those, along with a cast of misfitting skill sets, that cost Lon Kruger his job in December as the Hawks were headed to a (35) win season---not enough to make the playoffs.

16. The Hawks Coaching Carousel

When the decade began, the all time winningest coach was at the helm. After the 1999-2000 season, Lenny Wilkens was gone and the Hawks were out to get a new coach. Byron Scott and Isiah Thomas were among those who were available at the time, but the Hawks set their sights on another big name coach.

Tom Izzo was offered a 5 year, 15 million dollar deal to leave Michigan State, but ultimately wasn't convinced he could succeed with a franchise in such disrepair. Jilted, the Hawks didn't pursue one of the successful former coaches available, but instead stayed on the college trail and brought in Illinois coach Lon Kruger.

Kruger was a good guy, but wasn't respected well on the professional level, despite the presence of strong assistants such as Eric Musselman, Rick Mahorn, and Gar Heard. Kruger also struggled with success, winning (25) games in 2000-2001, and (33) in 2001-2002.

Kruger was launched in December 2002, after starting the season 11-16 and seeing his team somewhat quit on him on a couple of games just before being replaced.

Terry Stotts, who became a lead assistant after Eric Musselman took the Golden State job, took over from Kruger and finished the season and coached the 2003-2004 season as well. Stotts was a firm believer in the establish-the-outside-and-that-will-open-up-the-inside coach.

In the summer of 2004, Billy Knight wanted to make a change and hired top assistant Mike Woodson away from the Pistons. Woodson took on a roster that was stripped down to the bone, with the exception of holdover Antoine Walker, who would be traded later that season.

After so much turnover, it's a wonder that Woodson has been kept ever since, starting with (13) wins and improving every season after.

15. Pete Babcock resigns, Billy Knight takes over as Hawks GM

There were many who celebrated the passing tenure of Pete Babcock, who had been the Hawks GM since 1990. Pete oversaw the end of the Mike Fratello era and all of the Lenny Wilkens era.

Pete had a flair for the trade or free agent signing, bringing in Dikembe Mutombo, Christian Laettner, Steve Smith, Mookie Blaylock, and the like--and was always an accessible figure in the organization, quick to claim ownership of any negative setback for the team.

Unfortunately, Pete also oversaw an era where the Hawks never quite got where the fans thought they should be with the Lenny teams, and the rebuilding effort in the early part of this decade which never did payoff with a winning record. More importantly to the fans of Atlanta, he also was "the one who traded Dominique Wilkins." and few of those folks were sorry when he stepped down.

14. Josh Smith signs an offer sheet with Memphis

Smith was a restricted free agent and Hawks GM Rick Sund was letting the market dictate the contract Smith could earn. The Sixers had shown interest, but they chose to pursue Elton Brand instead. Next were the Clippers, but they made a deal to acquire Marcus Camby and closed that door. The only team left were the Memphis Grizzlies if Smith wanted some substantial long term contract before the 2008-2009 season, and the team obliged, offering Smith a 5 year, 58 million dollar deal.The Hawks took nearly a second to match the offer and secure Smith through his mid-twenties.

13. Josh Childress moves to Greece

Childress saw low offers from a league that assumed the Hawks would match any reasonable number for the restricted free agent's services and made good on a threat to seek greener pastures elsewhere---even if that elsewhere wasn't even in the NBA.

Childress was a Billy Knight selection, sixth overall in 2004 ahead of Luol Deng and Andre Iguodala, but bristled at being relegated to bench status by Mike Woodson and what he felt like was inferior treatment from his teammates due to his being pigeonholed as "the energy guy". So when new Hawks GM Rick Sund wanted to let the market dictate proper compensation for Childress, Josh's agents did just that---in a league where there is no salary cap.

Childress made headlines for crossing over, and might still be the most interesting case of a player bucking the restricted free agent process. The Hawks maintain his rights by offering the same qualifying offer the last two seasons, but it seems that due to his personal reasons for not wanting to return to ATL along with the team's continued leverage in the situation, that Josh's return to the NBA will have to wait and will likely not be with the Hawks.

12. Dominique Wilkins comes back to the Hawks, Hawks retire Wilkins' number

After an acrimonious contract negotiation that led to his being dealt to the LA Clippers in 1994, Dominique Wilkins finally came back to the Hawks organization in many official (and unofficial) capacities.


After officially announcing his retirement from the NBA, the Hawks made plans to retire his jersey in January 2001, setting off a series of events surrounding the retirement, including a dinner in which THHB broke bread with Spud Webb.

Fittingly, the retirement ceremony took place on the night the Hawks played against the Clippers, and the fans lustily booed President Stan Kasten for his role (and Pete Babcock's) in dealing the legend away all those seasons ago.

Wilkins took the podium and told the fans how he'd taken his status in the city for granted, thanked the organization for welcoming him back, and seemed to soak in the fact that he was back in the Hawks fold. His jersey rose to take its place next to Bob Petitt and Lou Hudson in the Philips Arena rafters.

It just felt right having 'Nique back and it seemed good karma was following as The Namesake when to New Jersey for the 2001 Draft Lottery and pulled the Hawks the third pick overall.
 
Since then it has been a joy seeing Wilkins around the franchise and is fantastic filling the analyst role in the Hawks telecasts. Wilkins is just a tremendous ambassador for Hawks basketball and we would have missed a lot if Kasten and company hadn't reached out to 'Nique in 2000.

11. Hawks get back into the winning record business, wins first playoff series since 1999

They hadn't had a winning record since the short season of 1999, nor had they advanced in the playoffs since they sent Joe Dumars packing for good and then got blitzed by Latrell Sprewell and the Knicks that year.


They started 6-0 for the season, then rode that out to a (47) win season and matched up against the dangerous and hot Miami Heat, led by Dwyane Wade. It what was the most bizarre playoff series of the season, both teams took turns playing awful until Joe Johnson hit some huge shots in Game 7 and sent the Heat packing.

10. The 2001 NBA Draft

Pete Babcock posed the question, "If you thought you could draft a guy who you thought might end up an All-Star or trade that pick for a young guy who is an All-Star, shouldn't you do it?"

And there, in a nutshell was the reasoning behind trading the #3 pick in the 2001 draft to the Memphis Grizzlies for Shareef Abdur-Rahim and the #27 pick in the draft.

That the Hawks passed on Pau Gasol or Shane Battier to land Shareef was only part of the legacy of this draft. The other was in the pick that the Hawks didn't ever use.

The #27 pick was earmarked for a point guard, of which there were a number of solid choices available in this draft. Babcock said that he would use the 27th pick as long as "his guy" was still on the board. As the draft wore on, point guards were not coming off the board and by the time the 27th pick was up, only little known Raul Lopez was selected from the point guard pool (Jeryl Sasser was also selected by considered a SG by many).

Certainly Babcock's "guy" was still on the board as choices such as Iowa State's Jamaal Tinsley and Arizona's Gilbert Arenas. But when the time came, the Hawks passed and dealt the rights to that pick to Indiana, who scooped up Tinsley. So went the chance for the Hawks getting a point guard, a legacy that would see more heartache later.

Later, Babcock would tell us that his guy was indeed still on the board---France's Tony Parker. And the reason the Hawks missed on that tremendous talent was that he just didn't get enough from his scout abroad that Parker could handle the NBA game.

Oops.

9. Billy Knight Starts Over

As Knight took over full time after the departure of Pete Babcock, he intended to rebuild the roster based on his vision of what a roster should be. He took over a team that was over the cap, talented, but with lottery results.

He soon divested the team of all functional parts, taking back picks or expiring contracts in his quest to start over.

First Glenn Robinson was sent packing for the insurance controlled contract of Terrell Brandon and a future first rounder.

Next, Shareef Abdur-Rahim ,Theo Ratliff, and Dan Dickau were headed to Portland for Rasheed Wallace and Wesley Person. 

Then, after one game in New Jersey, Wallace was packaged to Detroit for Bob Sura, Zeljko Rebraca, Chris Mills, and a #1 pick.

Over the next summer, Knight would send complete the purge, sending Jason Terry and Alan Henderson off to Dallas for Antoine Walker and Tony Delk. Walker would be sent out at the trade deadline to Boston for another future pick.

Whereas Babcock tried to stay competitive while retooling the roster earlier in the decade, Knight tore it all down and started from scratch, and those deals laid the groundwork for Knight's vision.

8. Hawks trade Shelden Williams, Anthony Johnson, Lorenzen Wright, and Tyronn Lue to Sacramento for Mike Bibby

The Hawks were a young, growing team in need of direction. The Hawks had been searching for a true point guard since dealing Mookie Blaylock. In what would be Billy Knight's last bold move as Hawks GM, he swung this trade deadline deal, stealing a player that would soon be a catalyst for the Hawks playoff runs to come.

When Bibby joined the team, all things clicked and, despite not being completely ready physically to play the minutes needed, the team took shape and flight and drove the Celtics to that seven game limit.

The next season, with the veteran point guard in for an entire camp and his body ready to go, the team took another step forward to their first winning record in almost a decade.
 

7. Hawks use pick from the Rasheed Wallace trade to select Josh Smith.

It was the ultimate hit or miss pick. Josh Smith, who had been slated in the top 10 in most mock drafts for the previous season, had started to slip based on the raw nature of his talent. Smith, entering the draft as a high school senior, had been talked about with the Hawks #6 pick in the 2004 draft (Knight chose Stanford's Josh Childress) and when the chance came to take him with the #17 pick they owned, Knight grabbed the local product.

From the very beginning, folks could see that Smith had athletic gifts that the fans hadn't seen since Dominique was a Hawks, but lacked a lot of basic skills.  Over time and not without a lot of "why does he do that?" questions from fans and coaches alike, Smith has proven to be a special talent, one capable of winning or losing games based on his level of play.

6. Hawks sell to David McDavid, wait, no--to the Atlanta Spirit Group

In 2003 AOL/Time Warner was interested in divesting itself of the Hawks, Thrashers, and Philips Arena and looked like they had the person to sell it to---Texas auto dealership tycoon David McDavid. But through a loophole in the letter of intent deal with McDavid, AOL/Time Warner instead sold to a group that was thown together to take advantage of a very small purchasing window, a group that consisted of ownership groups from at least (3) different geographical locations.

At the press conference, there were smiles all around as the Atlanta, Washington DC, and Boston groups all were giddy over their sudden entry into the NBA and NHL. Bostonian Steve Belkin bragged of "deep pockets" to us when we asked how the franchise would pursue top free agents and if they would be hesitant to go over the cap.

The honeymoon would be short, however, as quickly rumors of discontent between the groups began to spread and would ultimately show itself to the public--causing harm and humiliation to fans and staff for both clubs.

5. Hawks trade Boris Diaw and (2) first round picks to Phoenix for Joe Johnson; bring down the ownership curtain for all to see.

This deal was huge for two reasons. One, it brought an all-star level talent to the Hawks to build around--and whether you believe that Johnson is or isn't a franchise player, he was a player that the Hawks could build around until their draft picks developed.

The other was that it brought to the forefront something that had been discussed since the Hawks were sold two seasons before---that the multiple owners in the ownership group didn't get along, and that those problems were ultimately hurting the franchise from within.

As soon as Knight was ready to do the Johnson deal, NBA governor Steve Belkin wanted to nix it, citing the price to pay was too heavy as Hawks were going to spend the picks plus a max contract for Johnson. The other owners sided with Knight as this was a needed move and that they had to overpay contextually to get it done.

What happened next was a series of lawsuits and power plays that left the Hawks (as well as the NHL's Thrashers) in court and in financial limbo. The classic photo of Belkin offering his hand to Knight after a particular courtroom episode and Knight choosing to not look at Belkin and certainly not shake his hand was symbolic of the discontent that was prevalent.





T3. The 2005/2006 NBA Drafts

Billy Knight made a lot of good choices during his run as Hawks GM. He successfully stayed away from franchise crippling deals (Kenyon Martin, Erick Dampier) and built a team of long, athletic players which make for tough matchups for most teams that has proven to be successful.

But in many circles, he will be known for his draft choices or, better stated, who he didn't choose as well was who he did.

In 2005, the Hawks were coming off their abyssmal 2004-2005 campaign which had seen the Hawks win a putrid (13) games. The Hawks had long been characterized as having no point guard since the trade of Mookie Blaylock and had since dealt Jason Terry to the Mavericks. So as the Hawks approached the 2005 draft with the #2 pick, and with number one Milwaukee choosing between Utah's Andrew Bogut or North Carolina's Marvin Williams, it looked as if the Hawks were home free in their pick of a really good point guard litter, Wake Forest's Chris Paul, Illinois' Deron Williams, or North Carolina's Raymond Felton.

But it should of come as no surprise that Knight turned away from that position and selected another long, athletic forward (he had drafted Josh Childress and Josh Smith the season before) in Marvin Williams, rather than look to fill a position of need (and talent) as the point guard position. Knight implied that he gone for the best player available with the pick.

Knight had long noted that "guards are guards" and had no need for labels such as "the 1, 2, 3, or anything". Maybe he felt empowered because they were scoping out Joe Johnson at the time and felt this wasn't actually a need, but whatever the reason the Hawks missed out on drafting a floor general.

Almost immediately Hawks fans knew their franchised had missed. Williams looked like an underclassman who needed a lot of work to realize his potential, and Paul and Deron Williams looked strong from the get-go, especially Paul, who showed leadership and a flair for making plays for himself and his teammates.

Compounding the pain of that miss was that the Hawks next draft in which they had the fifth pick overall. Not as snazzy as the previous class, and void of an obvious point guard selection, Knight selected Duke's Shelden Williams to the surprise of many draft experts and Hawks fans, who had been hoping for the best player available in their minds, Villanova's Randy Foye or Washington's Brandon Roy. After the draft, Knight raved about Williams' makeup and how it fit the Hawks need for a big man up front, a 180 degree turn from the previous draft.

Once again Hawks fans felt immediately that their team had again missed. Williams looked very shaky in an NBA frontcourt, almost instantly showing bench player potential only, no matter how good a guy he seemed. Roy, who meanwhile had ended up in Portland, showed All-Star caliber play from the first game.


2. The gutting of the last Lenny Wilkens Playoff Team

True, this began after the 1999 short lockout season, in the summer,  but since the last season bled (appropriate word chosen) into 2000 we're counting it.

After being swept by the Knicks in the '99 playoffs, looking old and nonathletic in process, then-GM Pete Babcock decided it was time to nuke the aging bunch, which had seen a number of good seasons and playoff visits, but never threatened to go deep in the playoffs and lacked anything that resembled pizazz.

Beginning in the summer of '99, Pete launched Mookie Blaylock to Golden State with their own first round pick in return for the Warriors pick, which was #10.

Then Babcock traded two more #1 picks to LA (no, the Clippers) for a sign and trade deal for young PF Lorenzen Wright. Wright signed a 6 year, 42 million dollar deal as a part of the trade.

Finally, the coup de gras, Babcock made what he later said to be "the biggest mistake of my career" by sending crowd favorite Steve Smith to Portland for Jim Jackson and Isaiah "JR" Rider.

Blazer employees were said to be celebrating the fact that the oft-troubled Rider would now be Atlanta's to deal with, and from the very beginning, the Hawks found out why.

First, Rider missed the team plane to camp because he didn't want to fly on a prop plane and it went downhill from there. He missed practices when he lived in the hotel inside CNN Center, reportedly got caught smoking pot in a hotel, and so on until his release from the team in March 2000 and impromptu press conference afterwards where he sported some hat that looked straight off the Gorton's Fisherman's head.

All of which led to the poorest Lenny Wilkens coaching performance of his tenure in Atlanta and, ultimately, his exit--setting the stage for the decade to come for Hawks basketball.

1. Hawks make playoffs for first time since 1999, play epic seven game series with the Boston Celtics

Despite the fact that the experience was used far too much in the next season as grounds for improvement, this was still the biggest happening for the Hawks in the past decade.

This series had it all---drama, unlikely survival, the eternally fantastic Zaza Pachulia/Kevin Garnett episode, Al Horford telling Paul Pierce that he would be best off staying on the Philips Arena floor, Mike Bibby calling out an entire city (that would be Boston), and a Dominique guaranteed Game Seven.

Most of all it signaled that the Hawks, who had made the playoffs by the skin of their sub .500 teeth, could compete with the biggest of the big boys (The C's were a juggernaut and did win it all, after all.) even in the playoffs. They got throttled, forgotten, and then clawed their way back.

We can still remember the feeling of making the playoffs and the rush of forcing the overwhelmingly favored Celtics to go the full seven games. It signaled the return to relevance for Hawks basketball and bolstered the maturing core's confidence, a pivotal step to where the team resides today.

THHB wishes to thank all involved with us over the past decade. Special thoughts go out to Arthur Triche, Jason Roose, and John Steinberg, as well as Pete Babcock, Billy Knight, Steve Holman, Bob Rathbun, and all the coaches and players that put up with our questions and our general lack of knowledge. And special thanks to The Namesake, THHF, Dominique Wilkins for always taking the time to talk to us and for all the years, energy, and passion he has dedicated to the franchise.