Bibby could be huge trading chip

The Hawks are hours away from the start of training camp. Even after last season’s playoff run, there are questions that need answers.

Five burning questions (and answers) about the Hawks:

Is veteran Mike Bibby the long-term answer at point guard or are the Hawks just renting his services until the trade deadline?

Bibby is entering the final year of his contract ($15.5 million) and looms as a huge trading chip, if the Hawks were so inclined and not interested in signing him to an extension. He was the linchpin to their playoff push late last season. They were listless in the weeks leading up the trade deadline in February and then finished 15-15 over the last 30 games. There is no riskier move for the Hawks this season than trading Bibby without

any assurance that his backups (Acie

Law IV, Speedy Claxton and possibly Flip Murray) are ready to lead in his absence. Deficiencies at point guard sunk the Hawks’ playoff hopes in each of the three seasons preceding last year’s breakthrough.

Can seasoned veterans Mo Evans and Murray make up for the loss of Josh Childress, both on and off the court?

Theoretically, they should easily make up the statistical loss of what Childress brought (11.8 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 29.9 minutes). Evans is every bit the defender Childress was for the Hawks off the bench, if not better. And he’s a more dangerous long-distance shooter. Murray, meanwhile, can swing between both guard positions and spell either Bibby or Joe Johnson. As much as the Hawks will miss the intangibles and yeoman’s effort Childress provided, he is being replaced by two more experienced players who are just as versatile.

After the great playoff series the Hawks had against Boston, might there be a postseason hangover?

Perhaps. But if the Hawks need a primer on how not to drink their own Kool-Aid, they need only check in with the Los Angeles Clippers, Golden State and Chicago. All three had playoff breakthroughs in the past three years only to come crashing back to earth. The warning signs won’t be hard to spot. If the Hawks continue to play with the occasional focus and intensity that has been their trademark in past seasons, the lessons learned during that rugged series against the Celtics will have evaporated in the summer heat. Those weeks-long cold spells the Hawks have endured the past four years, stretches marred by an inability to close out winnable games, can no longer be attributed to youth, inexperience and a shallow roster. If they really did grow up during the Boston series, as Hawks’ captain and All-Star Johnson insists they did, the results will show in improved consistency.

Can the Hawks afford to leave Josh Smith and Al Horford inside without adequate support?

No, which is why Randolph Morris was signed and Solomon Jones spent his summer adding 25 pounds. However, when your starting power forward and center each stand just over 6-foot-9, you’re in a precarious position. When the Hawks need to go with a bigger lineup, don’t be surprised to see Smith slide over to small forward and Horford to Smith’s power forward spot and Zaza Pachulia, Morris or Jones move into the starting lineup. That was a wrinkle the Hawks needed last season, especially in the playoffs against Boston’s physical frontline, but simply did not have.

The Hawks have a wicked early schedule, including 10 of their first 16 games on the road. Can they survive that early test?

They don’t really have a choice. If they don’t find a way to tread water during November, they’ll spend the next two months trying to dig out of that hole. The Hawks aren’t just playing on the road early on, they are facing quality teams — including nine of those first 16 games against playoff teams from last season. The Hawks have their entire starting five returning and all but one member of the core rotation. It’s not as if they’ll show up for these games the discombobulated crew they’ve been early in season’s past. So much of what they accomplish, or don’t, will depend on the moves coach Mike Woodson makes while sorting out his playing rotation.