1. Season Overview

Before I break down Atlanta’s 2001-2002 season I need to say that I don’t know very much about the Hawks. To tell you the truth, I only saw them play about 5 times this season. I’m not gonna lie to you, I’m not an Atlanta Hawks expert.

The 2001-2002 season was a tough one for the Hawks. The team was plagued by injuries all year, the big one being the season-ender to Theo Ratliff. Going into the season, the Hawks looked pretty good. I myself said they had legitimate hopes to be a playoff team in the weak east. Little did I know however, that the team wouldn’t even come close, and would finish 33-49. When I made the bold playoff prediction for the Hawks, was it because the Hawks really do have talent or was it because I had a little too much to drink? The common basketball fan would say I was drunk off my you know what, but a few others would agree, that hey the Hawks do have playoff talent. The team is lead by their two stars, Shareef Abdur-Rahim and Jason Terry. The two are not considered stars in the NBA yet, but if they keep putting up the consistent numbers they have been as of late they will be.

It is safe to say that this season was a rebuilding one for the Hawks. The team looked like they had to get used to each other. 3 new players had come over from the Mutumbo deal, and this would be their first whole season with the Hawks. Too bad the best player out of the 3 lasted about 2 games before going down with a season ending injury. It is still up in the whether Theo Ratliff will stay healthy enough to give the Hawks a full season of work. You can’t blame the whole season on one injury though, especially since Nazr Mohammed filled in beautifully for the all-star center. So who can you blame it on? Is there a scapegoat here? Is the management really at fault? It seemed like a pretty good move to me to get younger and trade Mutumbo, especially since when Ratliff is healthy he averages an outstanding 4 blocks a game. Another good trade was the draft day trade of (essentially) Pau Gasol and Lorenzen Wright for Abdur-Rahim. For the management to be able to pry away a proven star with only a young unproven foreigner is pretty impressive. Sure, Gasol is turning out to be a damn good player, but Abdur-Rahim already was.

Focusing on the season itself, the Hawks were outmatched from the beginning almost every game. If you’ve ever heard of Cal Bowdler, Mark Strickland, Ira Nwebie, Hanno Mottola or Emanual Davis you receive a prize. You might say this is unfair, because all teams have their benchwarmers, but these 4 guys combined to start 79 games. This is just a small example of the type of players Coach had to go with on certain nights. Worse than this though, was the scoring averages. Only the 2 studs, Terry and Shareef averaged in double digits for the season. No one averaged double digit rebounds, and Ira Newbie was the third best rebounder on the team. I may not have seen them play much, but numbers don’t lie. This team needs help.

The Hawks roster consists of some interesting players. There are many guys who are “tweeners”. Such players include DerMarr Johnson, Jason Terry, Dion Glover and Toni Kukoc. Terry is a real Shooting Guard forced to play Point Guard, DerMarr Johnson is a 2 guard/ small forward like Dion Glover. As for Kukoc, well that’s been something I’ve wondered since I first heard of the guy. Point guard, Small or Power Forward. Or is it Point Forward? Well, I don’t really know but hopefully the Hawks can put him somewhere he can contribute. Some needs for the offseason are a point guard (preferably a scoring one) and some depth up front.

2. Stats

See http://www.nba.com/hawks/stats/

3. Draft History

• 2001 - Pau Gasol (a) / Spain - #3
             Jamaal Tinsley (b) / Iowa State - #27
• 2000 - DerMarr Johnson / Cincinnati - #6
• 1999 - Jason Terry / Arizona - #10
             Cal Bowdler / Old Dominion - #17
             Dion Glover / Georgia Tech - #20
             Jumaine Jones (c) / Georgia - #27
• 1998 - Roshown McLeod / Duke - #22
• 1997 - Ed Gray / California - #22
• 1996 - Priest Lauderdale / Central State (OH) - #28
• 1995 - Alan Henderson / Indiana - #16
• 1994 - pick went to LA Clippers
• 1993 - Doug Edwards / Florida State - #15
• 1992 - Adam Keefe / Stanford - #10
• 1991 - Stacey Augmon / UNLV - #9
             Anthony Avent (d) / Seton Hall - #15
• 1990 - Rumeal Robinson / Michigan - #10
• 1989 - Roy Marble / Iowa - #23

Pretty Ugly Isn’t it?

Free Agents in 2002: Bowdler, Mottola, Newbie, Smith, Strickland and Vaughn.

4. Roster Evaluation

Point Guard:
Well, You could look at this spot 2 ways. One, there set because Jason Terry is there and they a have a backup point guard by committee thing going on, or 2, you can look at it as Jason Terry is not a point guard and is a shooting guard and none of the backups are capable starters. Which way management looks at it I’m not sure. I do know however that the fans want a true point next to Terry and think that’s the way they should head in the draft. Take that for what its worth. Terry will be good no matter where you play him, but he is probably better at shooting guard because of the chance for more scoring opportunities. Jacque Vaughn is a joke and Emanual Davis isn’t much better. If the Vaughn wants to stop being ridiculed by Sportscenter anchors, he has to show that his collegiate performances were no fluke. The likeliness of this happening is low. The Hawks, no matter what Terry is need a backup/possible starter. Terry is a great player but he needs some support in both scoring and defense.
Grade: (1 being worst 10 being best) 6 if Terry is a PG 1 if he is not

Shooting Guard:
Dermarr Johnson, Dion Glover and Jason Terry are all guys who don’t really know how they ended up here. All 3 may be better suited at their alternative positions. In any case, this is a pretty solid 3 man lineup if Terry can be a full time Shooting Guard. Dion Glover is not too great of a player and shouldn’t see too much time, while Dermarr Johnson has the potential to be a really good player. Both have skills, but neither have figured out what they need to do to succeed at the NBA level. Terry once again might not belong here. He is small (6’2) for the 2 guard position. Luckily the two guys behind him are huge, 6’5 and 6’9 respectively. If either one of these guys pans out, Terry could move over to point and either Johnson or Glover could make a big starting line. Really, either way the Hawks go in the draft they’ll be set. Whether it’s a point or a wing they select, Terry can play the one the position they don’t get help at.
Grade: 7 If Terry is there 4 if not

Small Forward:
Ah, a breath of fresh air. Here is time for my Atlanta praise. The small forward position is set. Abdur-Rahim is one of the most underrated stars in the NBA. He can truly do it all inside and out. He has a good 3, a nice jumper and an even better post up game. He is truly all-star quality. Like stated before Glover and Johnson can both play here as well. The rest goes Bowdler and Crawford (kind of) and Kukoc and Newbie. Kukoc won’t see much time if he’s playing behind Reef, so he will probably run as a PF. Newbie turned out to be a pretty good back up, and Bowdler and Crawford proved to still be greatly overpaid. Bowdler should be let go next year, and Newbie might be resigned in favor of him. All together, the Hawks have a true star at this spot in Abdur-Rahim.
Grade: 8

Power Forward:
Well, at least they have a lot of guys. Toni Kukoc is a good scoring threat but isn’t very tough, Alan Henderson is tough but not a scoring threat. Bowdler and Crawford are neither. Put them all together and you have a kinda tough kinda good shooter who is overpaid. (By the way, Alan Henderson’s toughness=45 mil). Hanno Mottola could prove to be a good power forward. All together though, this is an interesting position that will have to be filled by committee. With the return of Ratliff however, you may see Nazr here some too.
Grade:6 (Because of Kukoc)

Center:
This is by far the second strongest position on the team and really the only one that is halfway deep. Theo Ratliff is truly a great player who is a defensive beast. He can block 3 a night and pick you up 9 boards. Kind of reminds me of a younger… no wait never mind. He could become as good as Mutumbo, but is short of what Mutumbo was at his age. Ratliff isn’t the best offensive center, but he can get the job done everywhere else. His backup, Nazr Mohammad, was thrust into a starting role after the injury to Ratliff. He did extremely well, and has proven himself as a capable starter and a great backup. Whether or not Ratliff can get healthy is the big issue here. Mottola and Henderson can both play center, so this isn’t as big as a need as power forward. One more true center should do the trick, and the Hawks will be set.
Grade: 7

Team Needs: Point Guard, Depth up front, Perhaps a tall shooting guard.

5. Management:

Head Coach: Lon Kruger replaced Lenny Wilkens, who resigned from the position on April 24, 2000. While this is his first NBA coaching position, he has previous ties to the franchise after being selected by the Hawks in the ninth round of the 1974 NBA Draft. Has quite a job to do in front of him. To really be successful, he needs to have good drafts in the next couple of years.

General Management: Pete Babcock: Needs to turn it around or job might be in jeopardy.

6. My selection:

Steve Logan, PG, 5'10" Cincinnati

Ok, ok so it might not be the most logical choice. I’m also the Rockets GM, and Caron Butler and #1 isn’t very logical (yet). I’m not very logical. But if you dig deep, you can see why Logan is a good choice. He is surprisingly similar to Terry in the regard that he can play both spots, but is just a little short. Some argue he is a 2 guard but he showed last year he is a 1. A midget backcourt would be in place, probably the smallest in the league if he started at the 1. The development of fellow bearcat alumni D. Johnson is big. Logan could backup Terry at the 1 if Johnson showed he could play to his potential. If not a small backcourt would have to be played. The allowing of zone lessens the harshness of the tiny backcourt though. Steve Logan was a star at Cincinnati and had his team ranked very high throughout the season. He received many awards, and played well all year. He can flat out score any way you slice it. He has the chance to be a solid scoring option of the bench or maybe even starting. Best point guard I had to choose from at this spot. Really has good leadership abilities and is tough on top of being an excellent shooter. Similar to Jason Terry or Khalid El Amin or Tim Hardaway? Guess we will see.

Others I considered:

Freddie Jones 6’4 SG Oregon: He is just as good if not a better pick just because of his size and outstanding athleticism. He didn’t do all that Logan did, but is probably a better NBA prospect. Only reason I didn’t pick him was because I really think that Jacque Vaughn and Davis should not be getting playing time. They would still be getting that if the Hawks went in his decision. Either way they go, they’re fine. Jones should turn out to be a good player somewhere if he builds upon his athleticism and exciting dunks. Also he is a good free throw shooter.

Casey Jacobson 6’6 SG Stanford: Reminded someone of Trajan Langdon and that was enough to scare me away. He’s an excellent shooter but he’s not strong enough or quick enough to hang with the likes of McGrady or Carter or Jones or Allen. His pure shooting ability will probably put him high in the draft, but I just think a good overall player is better than a player that can just pretty much do one thing. Could be a huge bust.

Marcus Taylor 6’3 PG Michigan State: A tall solid point guard who really could’ve used 2 more years. In any case he’s a stud or bust player. Not something you want when you already have Jacque Vaughn. He could turn out to be a solid NBA point guard because he has the skills and the desire to.

Others: Dan Gadzuric, Sam Clancy, Kristic: Because they are all big men.

Likely Selection:

Probably the best point guard that falls to them unless a great shooting guard is still available. I’d say either one of these or another horse up front is a safe bet.