The Hawks officially began a new era Wednesday when the NBA approved the trade of franchise cornerstone Joe Johnson.
Now the Hawks will seek to forge a fresh identity.
Johnson, the six-time All-Star guard, was the team's linchpin since he arrived in 2005. He was the foremost component of Atlanta's transition from perennial draft lottery team to one with an active streak of five consecutive playoffs berths.
But Johnson could never lead Atlanta past the second round of the playoffs and his contract was a major reason the team couldn't make major moves to improve the roster. New general manager Danny Ferry decided the Hawks were not true championship contenders and quickly engineered the trade of Johnson after just one week on the job.
"We believed the status quo probably wasn't good enough and it wasn't sustainable," Ferry said. "We would be good, but not good enough. Through these trades hopefully we put ourselves in a position of strength going into the new [labor agreement]."
Atlanta is in position to have maximum salary-cap space next summer, when stars such as Dwight Howard, Chris Paul and Andrew Bynum are eligible to become free agents. But for now the Hawks have less talent and an unbalanced roster after the trades of Johnson and forward Marvin Williams and the pending signing of guard Louis Williams.
In exchange for Johnson, the Hawks received Jordan Farmar, Anthony Morrow, Johan Petro, DeShawn Stevenson and Jordan Williams from New Jersey. In a separate transaction, Atlanta sent Williams to Utah for guard Devin Harris.
Atlanta has yet to sign Williams but that's a formality after the Snellville native agreed to a contract with the team Tuesday. The Hawks plan to buy out Farmar's contract.
Atlanta has gone from a team with plenty of size in the backcourt and plenty of options on the wing to one with smaller guards and no true small forward. Johnson (6 feet 7) is one of the bigger shooting guards in the league and also could play small forward; Marvin Williams (6-9) had more than enough size for a small forward.
Ferry said the Hawks will continue to explore free agents this summer and look at trade options through next season's deadline but are prepared to use smaller lineups.
"We'll play differently," he said. "We will play through our our point guards and attacking guards more. And plus we will play a little more up-tempo."
That would be a change for the Hawks after Johnson's deliberate offensive style in the half-court symbolized the team's personality.
Johnson used his size and strength to post up defenders or shoot over them. Williams was one of Atlanta's best rebounders and his combination of size and athleticism allowed him to defend small forwards of any size.
As it stands now, the Hawks in 2012-13 will have players with point guard size at shooting guard and shooting guards shifting over to small forward. The Hawks could, for example, face circumstances where they pair Jeff Teague (6-2, 185 pounds) with Louis Williams (6-1, 185) in the back court with Morrow (6-5) or Stevenson (6-5) at small forward.
The Hawks have other options, including shifting Josh Smith from power forward to small forward like they did last season. Rookie draft pick John Jenkins (6-4) also figures to play significant minutes at shooting guard.
There are some potential options on the team's summer league roster, including 6-7 wing Pape Sy. The Hawks are trying Sy at shooting guard after he played at the point during his previous stint with the team and coach Larry Drew said Sy also could play small forward.
As part of the Johnson trade, Atlanta also acquired a lottery-protected first-round draft pick in 2013 that Brooklyn had acquired from Houston, plus the Nets' second-round draft pick in 2017. The first-round pick Atlanta acquired would become a second-round pick and cash in 2017 if Houston doesn't qualify for the playoffs by then.
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