by John Levasseur
One of the best signings this free agency that will go unnoticed was a move made by the Atlanta Hawks to bring in Thabo Sefolosha. There are a large number of reasons why this is a good move, Thabo brings a lot of great qualities to the table, particularly his experience and defensive intensity.
One of the best signings this free agency that will go unnoticed was a move made by the Atlanta Hawks to bring in Thabo Sefolosha. There are a large number of reasons why this is a good move, Thabo brings a lot of great qualities to the table, particularly his experience and defensive intensity.
The Hawks seem to always be hovering around the .500 mark, sometimes the 7th or 8th seed, sometimes barely missing the playoffs. However, this season was the first year in recent memory that I remember scheduling time to sit down and watch their playoff games and people were talking about them. Most people were in awe over the fact that Indiana appeared to be trapped in an epic slide, a team that looked so good last year in the playoffs and during the season was faltering and skidding out of control. However, I was intrigued by what I saw from the Georgia team.
Jeff Teague drew my attention, and was exciting everyone with his incredible play. He was dicing up the defense, slashing and attacking the basket, finishing some shots that he had no business making like that one handed three over Scola. Millsap was doing his thing, everytime the announcer would call him undersized, he would flirt with a double double and out-rebound Hibbert. Korver was hitting shots, Lou Williams had a couple good games, and the whole time I was thinking to myself, “God, they're doing this without their highest paid player?!” In the end, Indiana was able to overpower them, Paul George had some nights that reminded you why LeBron gave him a shot out last year as a player who had 'next' in the NBA, and Lance Stephenson dropped some buckets as well. But they caught my eye as a team that was a few moves away from competing in the east.
They went after the BPA (Best Player Available) in the draft this year, picking up Adrien Payne who was one of my favorite non-lottery prospects heading into the draft, and Walter Tavares who had been highly touted by my co-producer Steve. Both of these guys are big men, and while depth is important down low, the positions of need that I saw this team being in desperate need of were a defensive stopper, an upgrade at small forward, and a more athletic shooting guard who can still shoot the three to compliment Korver. Still having a three point shooter is important, because you don't want to significantly change your offense when you sub out a player who is that singularly talented. A defensive stopper to help slow down the likes of George and Stephenson during the playoffs, and someone who isn't Cartier Martin to start at small forward. Not that Martin is a terrible player, he is in the NBA after all, but when you compare lineups to teams around the league the small forward position is filled with the superstars of the league more often then not and Martin is not on that level.
Thabo Sefolosha offers solutions at two of those requirements. He is a widely regarded defensive stopper, posting some of the best sportVU defensive numbers in the league, and a reliable three point threat. The other tremendous advantage is that while Sefolosha has never won a championship, he has plenty of experience in the playoffs (the Thunder have made the playoffs each year he's been on the team, and the finals once) and can bring some desperate veteran leadership to a Hawks team that is lacking a true leader. This leadership also can be shown in his decision-making, while he hasn't had the highest usage ratings, his turnover rating is fairly good, only averaging 14 per 100 possessions since he's been with the Thunder. The final two large parts so far unmentioned is his age (30) and his incredibly reasonable contract at only $4 million a year for three seasons.
So how does this impact the Hawks besides fitting needs? He allows them to run a consistent offense, because while he can't shoot as well as Korver (who can?), he still saw two seasons of three point shooting over 40% before his more recent season when he was injured. He allows for a lot more flexibility, the Hawks HC, Mark Budenholzer, seems to be great at taking versatile players and fitting them into his offensive system. In a vacuum, this is a great signing because it allows their head coach to do what he does best and put the right player in the right position to succeed. Take this out of the vacuum, and it allows the Hawks to pursue other big name free agents like Luol Deng or Trevor Ariza. A great possibility in my mind would be bringing Lance Stephenson in for a meeting. This would bring a rising talent to a city that has largely forgotten about the fact they have a professional basketball team, and would be a defensive nightmare alongside Sefolosha and Millsap. They also have the cap room to bring him in, or any other solid free agent they deem to be a good fit.
Huge ups to the Atlanta front office for such a strong signing, with Horford coming back, and with the potential to add more pieces to their intruiging puzzle, they could have a brighter future much more quickly then expected.
Jeff Teague drew my attention, and was exciting everyone with his incredible play. He was dicing up the defense, slashing and attacking the basket, finishing some shots that he had no business making like that one handed three over Scola. Millsap was doing his thing, everytime the announcer would call him undersized, he would flirt with a double double and out-rebound Hibbert. Korver was hitting shots, Lou Williams had a couple good games, and the whole time I was thinking to myself, “God, they're doing this without their highest paid player?!” In the end, Indiana was able to overpower them, Paul George had some nights that reminded you why LeBron gave him a shot out last year as a player who had 'next' in the NBA, and Lance Stephenson dropped some buckets as well. But they caught my eye as a team that was a few moves away from competing in the east.
They went after the BPA (Best Player Available) in the draft this year, picking up Adrien Payne who was one of my favorite non-lottery prospects heading into the draft, and Walter Tavares who had been highly touted by my co-producer Steve. Both of these guys are big men, and while depth is important down low, the positions of need that I saw this team being in desperate need of were a defensive stopper, an upgrade at small forward, and a more athletic shooting guard who can still shoot the three to compliment Korver. Still having a three point shooter is important, because you don't want to significantly change your offense when you sub out a player who is that singularly talented. A defensive stopper to help slow down the likes of George and Stephenson during the playoffs, and someone who isn't Cartier Martin to start at small forward. Not that Martin is a terrible player, he is in the NBA after all, but when you compare lineups to teams around the league the small forward position is filled with the superstars of the league more often then not and Martin is not on that level.
Thabo Sefolosha offers solutions at two of those requirements. He is a widely regarded defensive stopper, posting some of the best sportVU defensive numbers in the league, and a reliable three point threat. The other tremendous advantage is that while Sefolosha has never won a championship, he has plenty of experience in the playoffs (the Thunder have made the playoffs each year he's been on the team, and the finals once) and can bring some desperate veteran leadership to a Hawks team that is lacking a true leader. This leadership also can be shown in his decision-making, while he hasn't had the highest usage ratings, his turnover rating is fairly good, only averaging 14 per 100 possessions since he's been with the Thunder. The final two large parts so far unmentioned is his age (30) and his incredibly reasonable contract at only $4 million a year for three seasons.
So how does this impact the Hawks besides fitting needs? He allows them to run a consistent offense, because while he can't shoot as well as Korver (who can?), he still saw two seasons of three point shooting over 40% before his more recent season when he was injured. He allows for a lot more flexibility, the Hawks HC, Mark Budenholzer, seems to be great at taking versatile players and fitting them into his offensive system. In a vacuum, this is a great signing because it allows their head coach to do what he does best and put the right player in the right position to succeed. Take this out of the vacuum, and it allows the Hawks to pursue other big name free agents like Luol Deng or Trevor Ariza. A great possibility in my mind would be bringing Lance Stephenson in for a meeting. This would bring a rising talent to a city that has largely forgotten about the fact they have a professional basketball team, and would be a defensive nightmare alongside Sefolosha and Millsap. They also have the cap room to bring him in, or any other solid free agent they deem to be a good fit.
Huge ups to the Atlanta front office for such a strong signing, with Horford coming back, and with the potential to add more pieces to their intruiging puzzle, they could have a brighter future much more quickly then expected.