The Atlanta Hawks season ended with a disappointing loss in Game 6 at home to the Washington Wizards. However, the Hawks didn’t go down without a fight. Paul Millsap powered the team in the fourth quarter, but his efforts fell short. He finished with 31 points and 11 rebounds in what could have possibly been his final game in a Hawks uniform.
Their own free agents
As mentioned above, Millsap may have played his final game with the Hawks, as he is expected to decline his $21.4 million player option to become an unrestricted free agent. The Hawks have expressed a strong desire to re-sign him to a long-term deal, but Millsap has yet to show the willingness to remain in Atlanta.
Obviously, he will be Atlanta’s number one priority in the offseason, but they also have to focus on retaining their other free agents.
Ersan Ilyasova, Kris Humphries, Thabo Sefolosha, and Mike Muscala will all become unrestricted free agents this summer. Sefolosha and Humphries were hardly part of the team’s regular rotation, so it may not interest Atlanta to re-sign them. Ilyasova was a pleasant mid-season acquisition, as he became a crucial part of the rotation. Muscala may also be retained. Mike Dunleavy has a team option on his contract, and Tim Hardaway Jr. has a qualifying offer.
With the way Hardaway Jr. performed during the playoffs, he will demand plenty of money as a restricted free agent.
It would be tough for the Hawks to keep both Hardaway and Millsap, so they will have a lot of decisions to make in the offseason.
Return with same team or blow it up?
Millsap’s free agency decision has huge implications on which direction the Hawks will head in the next season. If he leaves, perhaps Atlanta should consider blowing up the roster and rebuild around Dennis Schroder.
It would be difficult for them to find star talent to replace Atlanta, so it would be ideal for them to simply reconstruct.
Free agents to consider
If they do decide to rebuild, the Hawks could look at a few free agents, such as Ian Clark, Thomas Robinson, and Justin Holiday. They should consider young pieces and go from there.
Clark and Holiday are proven role players, and Robinson has shown his ability to produce with extended minutes.
If the Hawks are able to maintain most of their talent, they will be an average playoffs team again. There may be no reason for them to head in that direction, which should result into a major roster overhaul. It was a decent season for them, but the core talent is getting older, and it may be time to move on.
