The Hawks seem stuck in the NBA's middle class, better off than the teams below them but unable to find a way to join the elite.
They've tried to spend their way to the top, but now that's part of the problem. The Hawks have about $61 million in salaries for next season committed to six veteran players, the core of a team that has been unable to make it past the second round of the playoffs.
Danny Ferry didn't make the decisions that got the Hawks to this point. But now that he's the Hawks' general manager, he will have to build a roster for next season without much financial flexibility.
Ferry will have to do it pretty much on the fly, too. The NBA free-agent negotiating period begins at 12:01 a.m. Sunday, less than a week after he took the job.
"It's a crash course, for sure," Ferry said. "I think we want to make the best decisions possible in the short term. We want to make right decisions, whether it's a trade, whether it's free agency. But especially trades."
The trade market remains the most likely way for the Hawks to make significant additions to the roster.
Trade speculation has swirled around forward Josh Smith, who has told the team he wants out. Teams have called the Hawks for the past two seasons about Smith because he's a talented and productive player with a reasonable contract.
The same can be said about center Al Horford, a two-time All-Star. Point guard Jeff Teague would be an attractive trade target, but he's a bargain whose rights the Hawks control for the next two seasons.
The Hawks have resisted trading any of their core players, but that could change now that Ferry is in charge. Besides, it's to the point where salary-cap rules are limiting the Hawks from signing expensive free agents.
After the Hawks sign draft picks John Jenkins and Mike Scott, they will be left with not much more than $6.5 million to sign as many as six players and remain below the luxury-tax threshold. Ferry said the team's ownership has told him they are willing to pay the dollar-for-dollar tax if it results in the team being "a lot better."
But Ferry said that he wants to use that permission "judiciously," especially since more punitive rules for tax-paying teams will start beginning with the 2013-14 season.
"Most teams are never one player away," he said. "I think that's a mistake sometimes teams make."
If the Hawks don't make a trade, then they'll have to find some value on the free-agent market and perhaps get some major contributions from rookies. That's how Ferry's predecessor, Ruck Sund, was able to build a bench before last season.
The Hawks signed veterans Willie Green, Tracy McGrady, Vladimir Radmanovic, Jannero Pargo and Jason Collins before 2011-12. They also signed rookie free agent Ivan Johnson, who became an effective rotation player.
Green, McGrady, Radmanovic, Pargo, Collins and Johnson can become free agents starting Sunday. The Hawks can retain salary-matching rights by extending a qualifying offer to Johnson by the end of Saturday. Ferry said Thursday he hadn't made a decision.
There's a sense of urgency with free agency starting, but Ferry said he plans to stay patient.
"We will have some control over that, but the players will have some control over that, as well," Ferry said. "So we are going to make our calls on July 1. We are going to explore every option, and hopefully we can make good decisions."
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