The early returns from the Hawks' recent trade for Mike Bibby look promising: 2-5 is better than 0-7.

Where the deal will rank in Hawks annals, however, won't be known until April. That's when the playoff bids will be handed out.

The Hawks have a fighting chance to earn one, and probably a much better chance now than they did before Bibby arrived.

Five other notable Hawks trades of the past decade:

Aug. 19, 2005: Hawks trade Boris Diaw and two conditional first-round draft picks to Phoenix for Joe Johnson

The skinny: This is the trade that brought the Hawks' fractured ownership situation to the public. On paper the deal looked one-sided for the Suns, who gained valuable draft picks and a solid prospect in Diaw, who won the NBA's most improved player award in 2006. The deal doesn't look quite as sweet now, because the Hawks' draft pick in 2007 was lottery-protected (they snagged rookie of the year contender Al Horford with the third pick in last June's draft). And Diaw's momentum has cooled considerably since the Suns gave him a $45 million contract extension, while Johnson has played in back-to-back All-Star games. The Suns get the Hawks' first-round pick in the June draft, but if the Hawks make the playoffs it won't be nearly as valuable.

Feb. 19, 2004: Hawks obtain a first-round pick (which turned out to be Josh Smith), Bob Sura and Zeljko Rebraca from Detroit, and veteran forward Chris Mills from Boston and gave up Rasheed Wallace in a three-team deal

The skinny: This deal basically boils down to a straight up Josh Smith-for-Rasheed Wallace swap. The Pistons got the final piece to their 2004 championship puzzle in the deal, and Wallace has helped keep them among the league's elite since then. Smith, meanwhile, was a steal as the 17th pick in the 2004 draft. He entered the process with a projected top-10 grade but slipped into the Hawks' lap on draft night. Smith has blossomed into a stat-stuffer supreme who has at times dominated games on offense and defense. He has been among the league's top shot blockers since his rookie season and is poised to cash in on a lucrative contract extension after this season.

Aug. 2, 2002: Hawks trade Toni Kukoc and Leon Smith and a 2003 first-round draft pick to Milwaukee for Glenn Robinson

The skinny: This turned out to be one of the more unfulfilling trades of the past decade. Robinson spent one season with the Hawks before being sent to Philadelphia in a multi-team trade in July 2003 that provided the Hawks with some of the much-needed cap space used to fund their current rebuilding project. Robinson led the Hawks in scoring (20.8) during the 2002-03 season and helped them to a 35-47 record. But the Eastern Conference was a bit tougher back then, and 35 wins couldn't get a team into the playoffs.

June 27, 2001: Hawks trade Brevin Knight, Lorenzen Wright and Pau Gasol to Vancouver for Shareef Abdur-Rahim and the 27th pick in the 2001 draft (Jamaal Tinsley, who was traded to Indiana for a future first-round pick)

The skinny: This qualifies as the Hawks' what-could-have-been trade. What could they have done with Gasol, the 7-foot Spaniard who went on to win Rookie of the Year honors? What kind of team could they have built around Gasol, who led Memphis to three consecutive playoff appearances during his 7 1/2 seasons with the Grizzlies before being traded last month to the Los Angeles Lakers? Abdur-Rahim had a solid career with the Hawks, ranking among the team leaders in scoring and rebounds during his three seasons playing in front of his hometown fans. But the Hawks never sniffed the playoffs during his tenure.

Aug. 2, 1999: Hawks trade Steve Smith and Ed Gray to Portland for Isaiah Rider and Jim Jackson

The skinny: Widely considered the deal that sealed the Hawks' near-decade of bad karma, moving a fan-favorite, All-Star, big-game performer and Olympic gold medalist in Smith for a troublesome talent in Rider looks even more preposterous in retrospect. It was an overreaction to a second-round playoff sweep by the Knicks that brought on this and a slew of other roster-related changes (including the departures of Mookie Blaylock, Grant Long, Christian Laettner and Tyrone Corbin). Trading character for a character is always bad business in the NBA. Always. And Smith won the league's Walter J. Kennedy Citizenship Award in 1998. The Hawks also made the playoffs in each of Smith's four seasons with the club, the best stretch in franchise history that didn't include Dominique Wilkins. Rider missed the season opener and lasted only 60 games with the Hawks before he was cut for disciplinary reasons.