Hawks teach valuable lesson: Life after mistakes
It’s become popular – and quite correct – to compare the Thunder to the Portland TrailBlazers in terms of rebuilding and how quickly it has taken both franchises. They are on the virtual same trajectory, the only difference being Portland started two years earlier.
But don’t forget the Atlanta Hawks when comparing rebuilding franchises. They, too, are two years ahead of the Thunder but started from about the same situation.
The Hawks made their only Ford Center appearance of the season Tuesday night, when the Thunder won 106-99 in a rousing game. And we saw why Atlanta joins Portland, Memphis and OKC as soaring NBA franchises attempting to crash the NBA’s elite level. The Hawks might get there first. They might already be there.
Atlanta’s rebuilding job is even more impressive than the Thunder’s. The Hawks rebuilt after going 28-54 in 2003-04. And the rebuilding wasn’t pretty. Atlanta went 13-69, 26-56, 30-52 and 37-45 the next four years. But the Hawks made the playoffs in the soft Eastern Conference with that 37-45 record.
Last season, Atlanta went 47-35 and won a playoff series. This year, the Hawks are 30-17 and challenging Orlando and Boston for the East’s No. 2 seed. The Hawks are the only team in the league to improve its victory total four straight years.
“The Hawks have done a great job,” said Thunder coach Scott Brooks. “They drafted a very good group, they acquired a very good group and they’ve stayed with it. They’ve improved every year.
“NBA teams that build and sustain, that’s what they do.”
The Hawks are great inspiration for rising franchises. They’re reaching the elite level despite some big misses.
In 2004, Atlanta drafted Josh Childress with the sixth overall pick. He played four seasons and was productive; 11.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, 31.3 minutes per game. Think a slightly inferior Jeff Green.
Then Childress bolted the Hawks for a $20-million, 3-year contract in Greece.
In 2005, Atlanta had the No. 2 overall pick and drafted North Carolina’s Marvin Williams. A solid ballplayer. The Jazz had the third pick and chose Deron Williams. The Hornets had the fourth pick and took Chris Paul.
So in back-to-back, premium drafts, the Hawks selected a short-timer and passed on an all-star point guard.
And yet Atlanta still excels, with draft picks (Josh Smith, Al Horford, Marvin Williams) and trades (Joe Johnson, Jamal Crawford, Mike Bibby).
The lesson is strong. Teams are going to make mistakes. Not every draft pick will be a hit. Not every cornerstone will stick. But keep plugging, keep believing, don’t panic, and good things can happen.
The Thunder has yet to lay such dinosaur eggs. But it will. It’s bound to happen. The Hawks prove that such misses don’t have to derail high hopes.
-------------Berry Tramel can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including AM-640 and FM-98.1. You can e-mail him here and follow him on Twitter @BerryTramel. Visit Berry's website here.
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Sam does a great job of drafting players that fit the team and the city. It’s interesting that most of the Thunder players are from really big cities but, don’t make a big deal about how small OKC is in comparison. My guess is that Salt Lake City and OKC probably get more skeptics who question that the players will want to play there. I think that aspect is overrated. The players who want to win look for organizations that want to win and who do things the right way. They can make money anywhere.