Hawks seek to bring back bench players

“Our bench was so good for us last year,” Hawks assistant general manager Dave Pendergraft said. “In our exit meetings with our veterans [they] to a man said, ‘Can we get our same bench back?’ We are definitely going to make an effort to do that because, as you know, that was one of the deeper benches I’ve been involved with.”

Hawks bench players coalesced into an effective unit last season, especially on defense. However, all of the Hawks’ 2011-12 reserves except forward Ivan Johnson will be unrestricted free agents next month. They are centers Jason Collins and Erick Dampier; guards Willie Green, Kirk Hinrich and Jannero Pargo; and wing players Tracy McGrady, Vladimir Radmanovic and Jerry Stackhouse.

It’s likely those players would have to again accept minimum-salaried contracts to return. The Hawks won’t have much flexibility to sign free agents while sticking to their goal of not exceeding the luxury-tax threshold.

“You can’t make any decisions even in your head right now,” Hawks general manager Rick Sund said. “You can only play out scenarios because you don’t know what the [luxury] tax is going to be, you don’t know what the cap is going to be, you don’t know who you are going to draft.”

The Hawks have the No. 23 overall pick in the draft Thursday and expect to use it on a player who can contribute right away. That rookie could supplant one of the departing bench players but, otherwise, the bench in 2012-13 could look similar to last season’s unit if the Hawks pull off their plan.

Pargo and Green backed up Jeff Teague and Joe Johnson in the backcourt. Collins was the third center until he was injured, after which Dampier was signed. McGrady was the first wing player off the bench for most of the season.

“I feel like the guys who came off the bench felt they had an identity,” Pendergraft said. “I think they felt appreciated by the starters. I think we would be their first choice. Now, I think a lot of things play into that, but we talked to all of them and they had a good experience.”

None of the veteran free agents committed to a return to the Hawks, no surprise since they first will want to assess their market value this summer. Pargo came closest, saying he would “love to be back” if the Hawks are interested.

“I think some of the guys are definitely in the mix,” Hawks coach Larry Drew said. “My feeling is a lot of the guys are probably going to try to obviously get the best offer they can and go where the best offer is. We will be talking to most of them to see what they are thinking.”

There is some risk for the Hawks in bringing back the same bench players, not the least of which was the reserves’ struggles in the loss to Boston in the first round of the playoffs.

Green and Pargo could regress after each had career-best seasons on offense. Hinrich never found his form after offseason shoulder surgery.

McGrady’s occasional flashes of solid play couldn’t compensate for his physical decline and seeming reluctance to accept it. Radmanovic also struggled with injuries and is a three-point specialist who seemed hesitant to let if fly at times last season.

Collins again showed that he’s hard-pressed to be extended beyond his role as a post defender and Dampier’s conditioning was poor. Dampier turns 38 next month and Collins will be 34 in December.

Whatever the individual weaknesses of those players, Sund said they collectively created a good blend for the Hawks.

“Last year I think we were the deepest team in the from league one through 15 once we picked up Dampier,” Sund said. “We had a great composite with the versatility and flexibility. It gave a lot of options for Larry, which he used a lot. He changed lineups, and he could match up well.”