By almost every measure, the Hawks were worse this season than in 2009-10.
Then, surprisingly, they had better postseason results than in the franchise’s previous 12 trips to the playoffs.
Because he puts more stock in the latter than the former, Hawks general manager Rick Sund said he doesn’t believe the team has peaked, even though it again fell short of advancing to the Eastern Conference finals.
“I’ve had that question every year, even the year I got here [2008]: ‘Can this core group get even better?’” Sund said Friday in his first interview since Chicago eliminated the Hawks from the East semifinals May 12.
“And they have, I think, in terms of what it’s ultimately about, the playoffs. I think we were pretty competitive in the playoffs. I think we can continue to do it, but I think we will look, like we do every year, to see if we can do something to make our club better.”
The Hawks won 44 games this season after posting 53 victories last season. They regressed on offense and defense and suffered more home losses of 20 points or more than any winning team in league history.
In the playoffs, the Hawks beat Orlando in six games after the Magic swept them by an NBA-record margin in 2010.
The Hawks won Game 1 against Chicago and led late in Game 5 before fading and losing in six.
“I thought we were pretty close this year,” Sund said. “Last year they were disappointed by the embarrassment [against Orlando]. ... This year they were disappointed that the opportunity was there, they were close, and they didn’t get there. There’s a big difference.”
As things stand now, significant external improvement for the Hawks most likely would have to happen via trades rather than free agency. The team has very little flexibility to add new players while also sticking to their philosophy of not paying a tax on high payrolls.
The NBA’s labor agreement is set to expire June 30, at which point the owners would lock out the players. There hasn’t been much progress in talks as the owners have sought major concessions.
Sund said it’s difficult to evaluate what moves the Hawks can make until they know the new rules. He declined to say what personnel needs the Hawks would try to address, but cited Dallas as an example of a team that ended up with good results by after sticking with its nucleus.
After advancing to the 2006 NBA finals, Dallas lost in the first round of the playoffs in three of the next four seasons. But the Mavericks kept together a core that includes Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd and Jason Terry and are back in the finals.
Sund said the Hawks, who have advanced to the second round in three consecutive seasons, could follow the same path, but he didn’t rule out making a major trade.
Sund addressed some other topics:
- He said Larry Drew improved during the course of his first season as a head coach. "I think he was very good in the playoffs," Sund said. "I think his confidence level and his belief in the players and the players' belief in him improved, and that's just the maturation process that coaches go through."
- Sund said he expects point guard Jeff Teague to get regular minutes next season after his breakthrough performance against the Bulls.
- Center Al Horford has expressed his preference to play power forward, but Sund said he wasn't sure if the team would seek a full-time center.
- Sund signed guard Joe Johnson to the richest contract in the league last summer, and Johnson had his worst season in Atlanta. But Sund said he was "really happy" with Johnson's postseason play.
- Sund declined to say if the team would offer Crawford a contract extension before he's eligible to become a free agent on July 1.
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