The Atlanta Hawks lost to the Pacers last night by a score of 92-80, eliminating them from the playoffs. Marc Stein of ESPN.com weighed in on some of the issues the team will deal with this offseason. Here are the highlights:
- Stein opines that GM Danny Ferry will let other teams around the league know that they have lots of assets and are willing to use them in the trade market if the opportunity presents itself.
- The Hawks want to acquire another major piece for their roster. The team knows that they need at least one more star player even if Al Horford makes a full recovery from the shoulder separations he’s endured these past two seasons.
- That piece might be Pistons restricted free agent Greg Monroe, opines Stein. The article notes the close ties between Monroe’s agent, David Falk and Ferry, who Falk used to represent.
- One of the Hawks priorities this offseason will be the continuing development of Dennis Schröder, who never emerged as the backup to Jeff Teague that they hoped he would become. In 49 games, Schröder averaged 3.7 PPG, 1.2 RPG, and 1.9 APG in 13.1 minutes per contest.