Last night's loss ushered in an offseason of probable change in Atlanta. Only three Hawks are under fully guaranteed contracts for next season, and the team's long list of free agents includes coach Larry Drew. Speculation that Drew was on his way out of Atlanta began almost as soon as GM Danny Ferry took over the team's front office last summer, but the coach's job appears safe for the moment. The Hawks say they'll hold off on personnel decisions for a few days, tweets Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. In the meantime, here's the latest from the Highlight Factory:
- It's not far-fetched that the Hawks could wind up with both Dwight Howard and Chris Paul this summer, as some league executives who spoke to Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio believe (Twitter link). Still, they'd have to turn down about $30MM each to join forces in Atlanta.
- Overpaying to re-sign Josh Smith, just as the Hawks did with Joe Johnson, won't make the team any more popular in Atlanta, opines Jacob Eisenberg of SheridanHoops.com.
- Still, the Atlanta market is appealing to players in spite of the Hawks' lack of cachet and fan support, says Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun, who believes Kyle Korver might be a fit with the Raptors (Twitter links).