Soaring Down South
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The Atlanta Hawks are spending their money wisely

By Tyler Sellers

Oct 31, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Hawks bench players react with the players in the game during a time out against the Sacramento Kings during the second half at Philips Arena. The Hawks defeated the Kings 106-95. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 31, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Hawks bench players react with the players in the game during a time out against the Sacramento Kings during the second half at Philips Arena. The Hawks defeated the Kings 106-95. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports /
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One of the trickiest parts about the NBA is a team managing its money. The Atlanta Hawks have done a great job of doing just that.

There have been several very good, but not great players that the Hawks had an opportunity to re-sign, but instead let them walk for other franchises in the last few years. The most recent and noteworthy one was Al Horford over this past summer.

The Hawks did own his bird rights, and could have offered Horford an additional year over the life of his contract. It’s old news that the Hawks neglected to offer the contract he was looking for, and went on to sign with the Boston Celtics.

Maybe the best decision they ever made, was letting Josh Smith go after the 2013 season. Smith had a hell of a run as a Hawk, but since his departure, his career has taken a turn for the worse. During the summer of 2013, Smith signed a big, rich deal with the Detroit Pistons for four years and $54 million. His first season was pretty good. He averaged 16.8  points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.4 blocks per game. Those numbers can be deceiving though as the painted area was more clogged up than my arteries if I went on an all McDonald’s diet with Andre Drummond, Greg Monroe and Smith.

Nov 21, 2014; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward
Nov 21, 2014; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward /

Once Stan Van Gundy was hired on as the Pistons head coach and president of basketball operations, Smith’s Detroit tenure was doomed. For the first few weeks of the 2014-2015 season, his numbers dipped to 13 points per game, with .240 and .475 percentages from long range and the free throws. There weren’t any takers for Smith in the trade market, so just to rid himself of Josh Smith completely, Van Gundy wound up waiving him despite Smith being owed $27 million over the following two seasons.

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If you happen to be wondering who Smith is playing for, or his whereabouts, he can be found in the NBA unemployment line. He has become one of the most unwanted players around. Another noteworthy Hawk that went unsigned over an off season was DeMarre Carroll.

The decision not to bring him back came down to a him or me situation between Paul Millsap. Instead of letting the Orlando Magic add him to their roster, they spent the necessary cheddar to keep Millsap, and Carroll priced himself out of town.

The Atlanta Hawks team salary for this season is right in the middle of the pack in line with all the other teams. They have the 17th highest total for player contracts for the season that we are currently in. There is $98,881,000 worth of player salaries on the books for this year.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have the highest total team salary that has them paying the luxury tax with $130,479,215. If you start to feel envious because of their status as defending champions, keep in mind every win that they earn is much more costly for that franchise as opposed to when the Hawks chalk up their wins.

Oct 10, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Hawks center
Oct 10, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Hawks center /

The Hawks top earner right now in terms of salary is Dwight Howard, raking in $23,180,275 in the first year of his 3 year, $70 million contract. Next is Paul Millsap who is making $20,072,033 this season. He has a player option next year, that he is almost certainly going to opt out of, valued at $21,472,407. That’s what it costs to have perhaps the best frontline in the conference. If both these guys can remain healthy and play the majority of the 82 games, then that is money well spent.

Listed next on this ledger is Kent Bazemore, and he makes $15,730,338. There is a valid argument to be made that they overpaid for him, when they signed him over the summer to a four-year, $70 million contract. He is undersized for a small forward and he doesn’t have a consistent enough stroke you’d like your starting two guard to have.

Mike Budenholzer is going to be the coach for the long haul, and he doesn’t actually place a label on either wing player. Considering the youth and amount of upside Bazemore has, and the bags of money they saved with Horford going off the books, it can’t necessarily be viewed as a bad deal either.

Nov 7, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Kent Bazemore (24) celebrates after his three-point basket in the fourth quarter of their game against the Washington Wizards at Philips Arena. The Hawks won 114-99. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 7, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Kent Bazemore (24) celebrates after his three-point basket in the fourth quarter of their game against the Washington Wizards at Philips Arena. The Hawks won 114-99. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports /

The Hawks have seven expiring contract’s this season which will give the club a grand amount of flexibility in the near future. The most significant one is the last year of Tiago Splitter‘s deal, which is paying him $8,550,000 to look ravishing in his tailor made suits outside of the huddles. It will be a relief to the team for that to be concluded. All of Kyle Korver, Kris Humphries, Thabo Sefolosha, Mike Scott, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Ryan Kelly along with Splitter will be free agents next season.

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They also recently committed four more years and $70 million more on a contract extension for Dennis Schroeder. After looking around the league at other similar point guards, like Mike Conley [over $26 million per year] and Reggie Jackson [over $17 million per year], it should be a fair deal for both parties. As one of the top teams in the East, the Hawks are getting the most bang for their buck.