Post by TimPig on Nov 7, 2019 19:26:25 GMT
You can’t argue with three straight championships or four consecutive seasons with the league’s best record. You can’t argue with half a decade of Finals appearances or 335 wins in five years.
With the dynasty now in the rearview mirror and a bright future that has the potential to include super prospects like Shaquille O'Neal and Andrew Wiggins, it felt like the right time for a post mortem on Atlanta’s recent success.
First and foremost, it’s worth acknowledging that the Hawks are surprisingly in first place this season. However, their fearless leader was recently caught on a hot mic saying the following:
If their own front office doesn't even believe in them, can the rest of us?
Moving on...
The Hawks of recent years will no doubt go down as one of TMBSL 5.0’s greatest dynasties next to the 2008-2013 Charlotte Hornets and the 2000-2026 Harlem Globetrotters, but there was something different about this Hawks team.
While the Hornets proved their excellence by lucking into two of the most obvious first overall draft picks and a third overall in the most overpowered draft classes in TMBSL history while surrounding those three with an flawless supporting cast consisting of names like Seventh Woods, Jalen Brunson, Tacko Fall, and Otto Porter, the Hawks did things differently.
They also weren’t like the Globetrotters who have maintained competitiveness for 26 years, not once entertaining the idea of having a losing season (their closest was when they *only* won 44 games in 2011).
The Atlanta Hawks made their triumphant return to the TMBSL ranks after folding during The Great Contraction of 2012 alongside the Utah Jazz.
Pickings were admittedly slim in the expansion draft, which is why we saw Utah make an unprecedented zero picks, leaving them $50,000,000 in soft cap space (this will be important later).
Atlanta took a slightly different approach, but still decided to take a chance on a few youngsters who they felt had shown glimpses of potential.
Their picks:
Jimmer Fredette, Chicago Bulls
Antonio Daniels, Harlem Globetrotters
Hank Finkel, Washington Bullets
Walt Wesley, New Orleans Buccaneers
A mashup of garbage with the exception of Antonio Daniels, whose two productive seasons are more than the other three players combined.
That expansion draft took place in 2019, and the Hawks’ dynasty began in 2022. The first three years of their second existence were better than expected as Atlanta won 60, 63, and 53 games respectively.
During those three seasons, some big names came and went - Simisola Shittu and Jay Williams (who was acquired for three first-round picks) come to mind - but it was in 2022 that something in the water changed and this team went on the aforementioned unprecedented (but actually precedented twice) run.
Big names made up the core of those Atlanta teams, and our group of unbiased award-winning investigative journalists talked to numerous sources and spent months digging into how exactly this squad managed to come together. We took a look at each important contributor on the team below, and how exactly they came to become a member of the Hawks.
Jonas Valanciunas
Let’s start with the big man in the middle, Jonas Valanciunas.
Valanciunas signed with Atlanta during the 2020 offseason and immediately showed that he was one of the league’s prime big men alongside Simisola Shittu, averaging 22.9 points, 12.7 rebounds, 1.5 blocks, and 1.1 steals per game. All of this production for a mere $4,500,000 that Jonas agreed to sign for, and then had extended for an additional two years? Damn. Brilliant maneuvering by a cap savvy GM, right? Or was it?
Historical records show that the MLE offer presented to Valanciunas wasn’t presented until the fifth and final day of free agency. That’s three bidding periods across four days that a player who would go on to become one of the league’s best big men was ignored by Atlanta.
Other players that GM Beard chose to offer the mid-level exception BEFORE Jonas? The 36-year-old Caron Butler and *gulp* Klay Thompson. Jimmer Fredette was offered an MLE the same day as Valanciunas.
But hey, he was still the only one to take a chance, right?
Except he wasn’t.
skrouse and the Orlando Magic offered Jonas the exact same terms one day before the Hawks did. @odin and the Heat offered him more money ($6,000,000) over more years (three) than anyone else on the first day of free agency.
It seems fortunate that none of Caron, Klay, or Jimmer accepted the MLE before Jonas. Luck also favored the Hawks when Jonas rejected similar (in the case of Orlando) or better (in the case of Miami) deals.
A near miss that could have completely changed how we remember these Hawks teams.
Olden Polynice
Manning the paint next to Jonas all those years was Olden Polynice, a player the Hawks acquired from the Bulls following Willis Reed’s unexpected departure from Chicago. Chicago began a full-on firesale that saw them trade every contributor from their 2020 championship team, including Polynice.
The trade itself was straightforward - Atlanta exchanged the first overall draft pick five years out for Polynice.
But let’s rewind the clock to just a few seasons earlier.
2020 saw two teams depart TMSBL - the Los Angeles Lakers and the Carolina Cougars. The Hawks stood third in the waiver priority behind Portland and Dallas and in front of Harlem and Chicago.
Kobe Bryant went first to Portland and Scottie Pippen went second to Dallas - two young players who had shown potential but would never end up panning out.
Third to Atlanta? Wesley Johnson, a player that JHB would go on to spend years excoriating.
To make matters worse, Jermaine O’Neal went fourth to the Harlem Globetrotters.
And finally, guess who went fifth to Chicago? If you guessed Olden Polynice, give yourself a pat on the back.
A player who could’ve been had for free but was instead prioritized lower than Wesley Johnson was later acquired for the rights to LeBron James.
Luck brought Valanciunas to town, and poor scouting forced the Hawks to exchange LeBron James for Polynice, a decision they wouldn’t have had to make with just a bit of additional foresight.
Stephen Jackson
The third key piece of these Hawks teams, Jackson was a free agent the year the Hawks returned to TMBSL, and with nothing but four small contracts on their books following the expansion draft, the Hawks were primed to add a player who would become one of the league’s best wings on a long-term deal.
The Harlem Globetrotters offered "S-Jax" an MLE on day one. As did the Chicago Bulls. The Portland Trail Blazers actually had the soft cap room to offer him $8,000,000 per year over three years, an offer Jackson ultimately rebuked.
The Utah Jazz offered a deal for six years and $10,000,000 on day one that he’d eventually accept...on day three.
The Hawks’ day one offer for the stud wing? There wasn’t one.
But surely after losing out on two of their top three day one targets - Tim Duncan and Vlade Divac - and with plenty of soft cap to spare, the Hawks would enter a bid for day two, right?
Wrong.
In fact, the Hawks never presented Jackson with an offer.
Some of the names the Hawks brought in that offseason with their soft cap space:
Donnell Harvey ($6,000,000)
Nerlens Noel ($6,000,000)
Plummer Lott ($6,000,000)
Darius Miles ($3,000,000)
Manute Bol ($3,000,000)
Reggie Williams ($3,000,000)
The Hawks brought the previously ignored Jackson to town later that same season at the cost of three first-round picks (20-22), three second-round picks (20-22), two of their expansion draft choices (Jimmer Fredette and Walt Wesley), and 10,000 bucks.
The 2020 and 2021 ended up being used on Al Jefferson and Ben Poquette. No harm there.
The 2022 pick? First overall and could have sent Bill Russell to Atlanta.
Kawhi Leonard and God Shammgod
These two players are grouped together because, frankly, they weren’t bad deals for the Hawks and didn’t have the same implications as their deals above.
Shammgod was the Hawks’ big free agent signing in their second inaugural season when he agreed to terms on a six-year, $8,000,000 per year deal. While he proved to be a good but not great player who was signed instead of players like Jackson, Tracy McGrady, and Jay Williams, he was a valuable contributor on three championship teams.
Leonard, a defensive stalwart who had just come off a championship with the Globetrotters, was acquired for a late first-round pick, a couple of second round picks, bucks, and a bunch of nobody prospects. It was a stark contrast to what Harlem had paid for Kawhi when they acquired him from Orlando in 2020 - five first round picks - though the true value of those picks was unknown at the time with the wheel soon to be implemented.
What makes these players similar, in addition to the fact that the Hawks didn’t have to give up much for them, is that they both departed following the 2024 season when Atlanta decided they were replaceable (in the case of Shammgod) or not worth their contract (Kawhi).
The Hawks’ final championship?
2024.
With the dynasty now in the rearview mirror and a bright future that has the potential to include super prospects like Shaquille O'Neal and Andrew Wiggins, it felt like the right time for a post mortem on Atlanta’s recent success.
First and foremost, it’s worth acknowledging that the Hawks are surprisingly in first place this season. However, their fearless leader was recently caught on a hot mic saying the following:
If their own front office doesn't even believe in them, can the rest of us?
Moving on...
The Hawks of recent years will no doubt go down as one of TMBSL 5.0’s greatest dynasties next to the 2008-2013 Charlotte Hornets and the 2000-2026 Harlem Globetrotters, but there was something different about this Hawks team.
While the Hornets proved their excellence by lucking into two of the most obvious first overall draft picks and a third overall in the most overpowered draft classes in TMBSL history while surrounding those three with an flawless supporting cast consisting of names like Seventh Woods, Jalen Brunson, Tacko Fall, and Otto Porter, the Hawks did things differently.
They also weren’t like the Globetrotters who have maintained competitiveness for 26 years, not once entertaining the idea of having a losing season (their closest was when they *only* won 44 games in 2011).
The Atlanta Hawks made their triumphant return to the TMBSL ranks after folding during The Great Contraction of 2012 alongside the Utah Jazz.
Pickings were admittedly slim in the expansion draft, which is why we saw Utah make an unprecedented zero picks, leaving them $50,000,000 in soft cap space (this will be important later).
Atlanta took a slightly different approach, but still decided to take a chance on a few youngsters who they felt had shown glimpses of potential.
Their picks:
Jun 5, 2019 15:28:50 GMT jhb said:
Selections:Jimmer Fredette, Chicago Bulls
Antonio Daniels, Harlem Globetrotters
Hank Finkel, Washington Bullets
Walt Wesley, New Orleans Buccaneers
A mashup of garbage with the exception of Antonio Daniels, whose two productive seasons are more than the other three players combined.
That expansion draft took place in 2019, and the Hawks’ dynasty began in 2022. The first three years of their second existence were better than expected as Atlanta won 60, 63, and 53 games respectively.
During those three seasons, some big names came and went - Simisola Shittu and Jay Williams (who was acquired for three first-round picks) come to mind - but it was in 2022 that something in the water changed and this team went on the aforementioned unprecedented (but actually precedented twice) run.
Big names made up the core of those Atlanta teams, and our group of unbiased award-winning investigative journalists talked to numerous sources and spent months digging into how exactly this squad managed to come together. We took a look at each important contributor on the team below, and how exactly they came to become a member of the Hawks.
Jonas Valanciunas
Let’s start with the big man in the middle, Jonas Valanciunas.
Valanciunas signed with Atlanta during the 2020 offseason and immediately showed that he was one of the league’s prime big men alongside Simisola Shittu, averaging 22.9 points, 12.7 rebounds, 1.5 blocks, and 1.1 steals per game. All of this production for a mere $4,500,000 that Jonas agreed to sign for, and then had extended for an additional two years? Damn. Brilliant maneuvering by a cap savvy GM, right? Or was it?
Historical records show that the MLE offer presented to Valanciunas wasn’t presented until the fifth and final day of free agency. That’s three bidding periods across four days that a player who would go on to become one of the league’s best big men was ignored by Atlanta.
Other players that GM Beard chose to offer the mid-level exception BEFORE Jonas? The 36-year-old Caron Butler and *gulp* Klay Thompson. Jimmer Fredette was offered an MLE the same day as Valanciunas.
But hey, he was still the only one to take a chance, right?
Except he wasn’t.
skrouse and the Orlando Magic offered Jonas the exact same terms one day before the Hawks did. @odin and the Heat offered him more money ($6,000,000) over more years (three) than anyone else on the first day of free agency.
It seems fortunate that none of Caron, Klay, or Jimmer accepted the MLE before Jonas. Luck also favored the Hawks when Jonas rejected similar (in the case of Orlando) or better (in the case of Miami) deals.
A near miss that could have completely changed how we remember these Hawks teams.
Olden Polynice
Manning the paint next to Jonas all those years was Olden Polynice, a player the Hawks acquired from the Bulls following Willis Reed’s unexpected departure from Chicago. Chicago began a full-on firesale that saw them trade every contributor from their 2020 championship team, including Polynice.
The trade itself was straightforward - Atlanta exchanged the first overall draft pick five years out for Polynice.
But let’s rewind the clock to just a few seasons earlier.
2020 saw two teams depart TMSBL - the Los Angeles Lakers and the Carolina Cougars. The Hawks stood third in the waiver priority behind Portland and Dallas and in front of Harlem and Chicago.
Kobe Bryant went first to Portland and Scottie Pippen went second to Dallas - two young players who had shown potential but would never end up panning out.
Third to Atlanta? Wesley Johnson, a player that JHB would go on to spend years excoriating.
To make matters worse, Jermaine O’Neal went fourth to the Harlem Globetrotters.
And finally, guess who went fifth to Chicago? If you guessed Olden Polynice, give yourself a pat on the back.
A player who could’ve been had for free but was instead prioritized lower than Wesley Johnson was later acquired for the rights to LeBron James.
Luck brought Valanciunas to town, and poor scouting forced the Hawks to exchange LeBron James for Polynice, a decision they wouldn’t have had to make with just a bit of additional foresight.
Stephen Jackson
The third key piece of these Hawks teams, Jackson was a free agent the year the Hawks returned to TMBSL, and with nothing but four small contracts on their books following the expansion draft, the Hawks were primed to add a player who would become one of the league’s best wings on a long-term deal.
The Harlem Globetrotters offered "S-Jax" an MLE on day one. As did the Chicago Bulls. The Portland Trail Blazers actually had the soft cap room to offer him $8,000,000 per year over three years, an offer Jackson ultimately rebuked.
The Utah Jazz offered a deal for six years and $10,000,000 on day one that he’d eventually accept...on day three.
The Hawks’ day one offer for the stud wing? There wasn’t one.
But surely after losing out on two of their top three day one targets - Tim Duncan and Vlade Divac - and with plenty of soft cap to spare, the Hawks would enter a bid for day two, right?
Wrong.
In fact, the Hawks never presented Jackson with an offer.
Some of the names the Hawks brought in that offseason with their soft cap space:
Donnell Harvey ($6,000,000)
Nerlens Noel ($6,000,000)
Plummer Lott ($6,000,000)
Darius Miles ($3,000,000)
Manute Bol ($3,000,000)
Reggie Williams ($3,000,000)
The Hawks brought the previously ignored Jackson to town later that same season at the cost of three first-round picks (20-22), three second-round picks (20-22), two of their expansion draft choices (Jimmer Fredette and Walt Wesley), and 10,000 bucks.
The 2020 and 2021 ended up being used on Al Jefferson and Ben Poquette. No harm there.
The 2022 pick? First overall and could have sent Bill Russell to Atlanta.
Kawhi Leonard and God Shammgod
These two players are grouped together because, frankly, they weren’t bad deals for the Hawks and didn’t have the same implications as their deals above.
Shammgod was the Hawks’ big free agent signing in their second inaugural season when he agreed to terms on a six-year, $8,000,000 per year deal. While he proved to be a good but not great player who was signed instead of players like Jackson, Tracy McGrady, and Jay Williams, he was a valuable contributor on three championship teams.
Leonard, a defensive stalwart who had just come off a championship with the Globetrotters, was acquired for a late first-round pick, a couple of second round picks, bucks, and a bunch of nobody prospects. It was a stark contrast to what Harlem had paid for Kawhi when they acquired him from Orlando in 2020 - five first round picks - though the true value of those picks was unknown at the time with the wheel soon to be implemented.
What makes these players similar, in addition to the fact that the Hawks didn’t have to give up much for them, is that they both departed following the 2024 season when Atlanta decided they were replaceable (in the case of Shammgod) or not worth their contract (Kawhi).
The Hawks’ final championship?
2024.
