The summer of 2016 will likely go down as one of the most impactful offseasons in NBA history, and one that the Atlanta Hawks fell prey to as well.
With the NBA salary cap jumping an immense $24 million that summer due to a new television deal, teams decided it was a good time to dole out some of the worst contracts in NBA history, and that is exactly what they did. Oh boy, did they.
With every single team flush with exorbitant sums of money, almost no team got away scot-free, and some teams (sorry Lakers fans) were laden with contracts that were almost immediately immovable as soon as pen was put to paper.
Even the Hawks, who at the time were helmed at GM head coach Mike Budenholzer, were not immune to this excess funding, as Bud signed both Kent Bazemore (understandable) and hometown “hero” Dwight Howard (oof) to huge, multi-year deals.
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Though Kent Bazemore’s is looking not bad, the Dwight Howard experiment only lasted one season in Atlanta before being moved to Charlotte for spare parts and another bad contract signed that summer (Miles Plumlee).
Many teams are still languishing beneath those decisions made in the summer of 2016, and their consequences are far-reaching, but even still, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
Luckily for those teams, the lowly Hawks, atop their noble steed of $30 million in cap space, can come riding in and save other teams by taking on some of those terrible contracts at the low, low price of a draft pick or two.
We’ve outlined some of the worst contracts from the summer of 2016 that Atlanta could take on, and what the Hawks might be asking for in return.
Luol Deng, 4 years/$72 million
The albatross to end all albatrosses, Luol Deng’s contract with the Los Angeles Lakers was perhaps the worst signed during the fateful summer of ’16.
Though Magic Johnson laughed off the idea of a team taking on Deng’s sizable deal earlier this year, the Hawks should be willing to listen to offers involving a pick or young, cost-controlled asset from the Lakers in order to take on the final two years of Deng’s extremely misguided 4-year pact.
Despite the Lakers 2018 first-rounder already out the door to the Philadelphia, the team has their full compliment of picks going forward, so the Hawks should be able to pry away at least one of those selections away from a team looking to nab LeBron James, Paul George or even Kawhi Leonard this offseason.
Joakim Noah, 4 years/$72 million
The first three contracts on this list are absolute killers, and Joakim Noah’s is no exception. Though he had extremely productive during the start of his career with the Bulls (even making multiple All-Star teams), injuries have hampered him for years in New York, and, at this point, he is seemingly washed up.
We have already outlined a Dennis Schröder trade that involves Noah, and if he can provide some veteran leadership and intensity, as well as a future draft pick or two from the Knicks, the Hawks should at least consider taking on Noah’s hideous multi-year deal from 2016.
Bismack Biyombo, 4 years/$72 million
Bismack Biyombo picked a great time to put up a sensational 26-rebound performance in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers, and he was rewarded with the same deal that has plagued the teams that signed Deng and Noah – 4 years/$72 million.
Though Biyombo is much younger than both players (25 vs. 33), his production and minutes load slipped in 2017-18, and he has shown little to no development during his tenure with the Magic.
Similar to Noah, we have outlined a Schröder trade package involving Biyombo that would allow the Hawks to take on the remaining two years of his deal while nabbing a couple picks from the Magic in the process.
Ian Mahinmi, 4 years/$64 million
Long the bane of Ringer contributor and podcaster Joe House, the Hawks would gladly take on the remaining two years and $32 million of Ian Mahinmi’s contract if the team were able to procure a first- and/or second-rounder from former playoff adversaries the Washington Wizards.
Mahinmi could ostensibly provide something resembling rim protection for the Hawks, which they have sorely lacked in recent years, but in the end, this move would be a clear salary dump tailormade for the Wizards to perhaps make some noise in free agency (potential Boogie destination?) – allowing the Hawks to take yet another draft pick in the coming years. Bring it on baby!
Tyler Johnson, 4 years/$50 million
In a quirk of fate, Heat President Pat Riley provided combo guard Tyler Johnson a backloaded contract that provides him an astonishing $40 million over the final two years of his deal, making it perhaps the most immovable of any of these atrocious deals – though at least Johnson can provide a modicum of productiveness to whatever team takes on those rough final two years.
Johnson has always played well against the Hawks, and his defensive intensity, solid shooting numbers (37.1% in his career from downtown) and relative youth (26 years old) means he will be productive for Atlanta if they were to offer a lifeline to Miami – who are looking to contend for the foreseeable future.
Nabbing a first rounder from Miami to take Johnson would be nice, though they are quite thin in that department at the moment, and their second-rounders are even more sparse, as the only one of their own they have is in 2022 or in 2024 (if it lands between 31-55).
Meyers Leonard, 4 years/$41 million
Despite being in the league for six seasons, Meyers Leonard of the Portland Trail Blazers is still only 26 and has shown a knack for being a jump-shooting big man at 7’1” at the center position.
Though he produced solid numbers during his first few seasons, he fell completely out of the rotation in 2017-18, in which he played a career-low 254 minutes. This insipid showing came just two years after signing a massive 4 year/$41 million deal with the Blazers
The Blazers have the full battery of their first-round picks and also have a bevy of second-rounders in the coming years. Portland will likely be looking to unload some bad money (Leonard definitely qualifies) in order to retool the roster around Damian Lillard after a disappointing first-round playoff exit.
The Hawks would gladly take the final two years of Leonard in order to procure a first-rounder from the Blazers, if they’re willing to pony up.
Dwight Powell, 4 years/$37 million
The least distasteful of these contracts, Dwight Powell’s 4-year/$37 million pact with the Mavericks makes Biyombo’s weighty deal with the Magic look even more insane, as Powell has been more productive with the Mavs with almost less than half the salary.
If the Mavs are trying to get back into contention, as the DeMarcus Cousins to the Mavs rumors entail, then nabbing a first rounder for Powell is not out of the question. Even if it were, another second-rounder never hurt anybody, and Schlenk and Co. would gladly take it in any deal with the Mavs for Powell.
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With so much bad salary on the books for so many teams, the Hawks should have ample opportunities to take on some dead money from desperate teams looking to jettison as much salary as possible to entice some “big fish” in free agency with max-money offers.