Atlanta Hawks: 5 Biggest Mistakes Of The 21st Century

1. Drafting Marvin Williams

Oh, boy. Before the required criticism of Marvin Williams begins, let me just say that he was a solid player in his career in Atlanta. For his career in the Highlight Factory, Williams put up a respectable 11 points per game and constantly improved his shot, eventually evolving from a slasher to an all-around threat.

He had a great and decently lengthy career as the Hawks starting small forward. He constantly produced at a stable level and was part of the original core of high-flyers that started the “Highlight Factory”. He would have been loved by all and everything would have been fine had Williams been taken mid-to-late first round. However, that was not the case.

Marvin was drafted with the second pick in the NBA Draft, ahead of Deron Williams, Chris Paul, and Andrew Bynum. The Hawks front office passed up on three All-Stars and one potential Hall-of-Famer to get Williams.

The most mind-boggling thing about this is that the Hawks were loaded on forwards. Josh Childress, Josh Smith, Joe Johnson, and Al Harrington were all there. What they needed was a point guard, as mentioned in the slide about Sheldon Williams. At that time, the Hawks were alternating starting Tyronne Lue and Royal Ivey at the point.

Imagine a lineup in 2005 featuring Chris Paul, Joe Johnson, Josh Childress, and Josh Smith. This would attract superstars from all over the league and the Hawks might have had a ring by now had they drafted Paul.

Even Williams would have been a reasonable pick that would be considered a great decision look back it it. He was a top 3 point guard for a good portion of his career.

Marvin Williams was a solid player, but Chris Paul or Deron Williams had the potential to bring a ring to the A.

Next: Dwight Howard: Still A Star

Respect to Marv, though. Here’s a few highlights of his Atlanta career.