The Hawks

I received a "gift" from the Atlanta Hawks over the Christmas Holidays that offers me $30 towards two game tickets. I had every intention of attending a game, but after watching this team over the last couple of months, I have changed my mind. It is obvious to anyone that has ever played basketball on any level that this team is flawed.

The Mad Scientist (Billy Knight) has constructed a team of athletes who can't shoot, can't dribble, and can't defend. He trades for a point guard two months too late. His centerpiece (#2 pick Marvin Williams) is starting to look like a long shot to reach my predicted level of Shareef Abdur Rahim, which is a far cry from the Kevin Garnett comparisons I was reading before he was drafted. While Marvin still struggles to find a niche from himself on this team, the player I wanted, Deron Williams, has turned into a franchise point guard. The "other guy" (Chris Paul) has turned into Isiah Thomas Jr. I predicted that Marvin would be a fringe all-star, but even that is starting to look like a dream, and yeah I know he is only 21.

Bottom line is the ASG (Atlanta Spirit) will need to make several moves in the offseason to make this team competitive. The obvious move is to fire Billy Knight and Mike Woodson. Yeah, Woodson inherited a woefully bad team, and yes the team is still flawed, but they should be a much better team than this, and for that Woodson shoulders the blame. Another move I believe ownership will need to make is the trade of Marvin Williams or Josh Smith, along with Mike Bibby. Josh Smith is the more attractive piece, but I would prefer to hold on to him simply because of the way he impacts a game. Williams and Bibby are the two choices for me, because Bibby has an expiring contract next year, and Williams still has the "potential" to become a good player. Despite the flaws in Josh Smith's game, I would prefer to have him playing the 3, with Horford sliding over to his natural pf position. The one problem is the difficulty in finding a legitimate center in this league. The Hawks cannot continue to play an undersized pf and c together. Of course the trades do not have to be done until the trading deadline next year, which gives the new coach/gm (fingers crossed) a chance to prove me wrong, and make the pieces of this intricate puzzle fit into a good basketball team.