Atlanta Hawks looking good for next season after some smart additions – NBA News
The Atlanta Hawks have made some big moves this offseason to prepare a new team roster. And one of the new faces on the roster, Devin Harris, says that he is excited about seeing the team with the new line up on the court.
"I'm excited to see how we all fit together,'' Harris said in a telephone interview.
The Hawks officially announced on Wednesday that they were trading Marvin Williams to the Utah Jazz for Devin Harris and Joe Johnson to the Brooklyn Nets for a bunch of players. The signing of Lou Williams is still pending approval
by the league.
The trade of Joe Johnson was by far the biggest news coming out from the franchise, which owed the player $90 million over a period of four years. Releasing him gives the Hawks some much needed cap space.
Hawks General Manager Danny Ferry, who has been a busy man ever since he took up the job, released a statement regarding the departure of Joe Johnson and Marvin Williams.
“We felt with the team that we had, we were probably going to maintain the status quo and not be able to reach a championship level. We now have the opportunity to work within the new CBA in a better way that will allow us to move
forward and be opportunistic in the future as we work to build a sustainable championship level team,” said Ferry.
The Hawks picked up Vanderbilt shooting guard John Jenkins and Virginia forward Mike Scott in the NBA Draft that took place on June 28th. They now have a back court filled with young, athletic and rising stars in Lou
Williams, Jeff Teague and Devin Harris. With the kind of line up they have assembled, it is easy to predict that the Hawks will be playing a fast paced up tempo style of basketball next season.
"I've been with a lot of teams where we played two small guards together. Obviously, they're a team that likes to get up and down and that fits with what we do well,” added Harris.
Harris spent the last season with the Utah Jazz, and has played with the Dallas Mavericks and the New Jersey Nets before that. He averaged 11.3 points per game with Utah, a drop from his averages from previous seasons.
Williams, the other back court addition to the Hawks, averaged a season high 14.9 points per game with the Philadelphia 76ers last season, and was the runner up in the 6th man of the year voting. He opted out of his
contract with the Sixers after the season ended.
With the addition of Harris and Williams, Teague already in the backcourt, and players such as Josh Smith at the front, the Hawks are looking like a good team for next season. Additionally, the cap space made available by the trade
of Joe Johnson to the Nets will give them the opportunity to aggressively tackle fee agency next summer.
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