Atlanta Hawks Trading Deadline Report

The Atlanta Hawks record stands at 21-25, good enough for 3^rd in the Southwest Division and 7^th in the Eastern Conference. The Hawks have a chance to greatly improve before the trade deadline. While they have a solid starting lineup, which is both potent and efficient, they only have one true threat from behind the arc. This is the key to the Hawks potential success: they must improve as a team behind the 3-point line.

According to NBA.com, the Hawks currently shoot .326% as a team from long range. This ranks them 29^th out of 30. Now, let's analyze how important this statistic is as a factor for success. The top 10 teams at shooting three pointers have a combined winning percentage of .645%, with only one team under .500 (Sacramento, 23-25). The bottom ten teams in this category total a winning percentage of .380, with only two teams above .500 (Houston and Denver, ranked 22^nd and 21^st in the category respectively). It is clear that teams shooting three pointers well generally succeed more often. The question is: what can Atlanta do to fix this problem as the trade deadline looms?

Joe Johnson is the team's only true threat behind the arc. He shoots .351% and averages 1.8 threes per game. Among all NBA players he ranks 19^th in the latter category. The only other player on the Hawks roster in the top 75 is Tyronn Lue (#69, .9 3PM per game).

Perhaps the position the Hawks can try to improve in is at point guard. While Anthony Johnson is very efficient, he is not a three point threat. He averages 6.4 points, 2.4 rebounds, 5 assists, and 1 steal per game. Johnson only averages .7 threes made per game, ranking him at #87.

Johnson is the most reasonable player to trade away and replace because the rest of the Hawks offense contribute other attributes that cannot be sacrificed solely for more three pointers. Joe Johnson is the leading scorer, Josh Smith averages over 18 points, 2 steals, and over 8 rebounds per game, and Marvin Williams averages 16.5 ppg and 5.6 rpg. Al Horford is the Hawks other starter, and while he scoring just under 10 points per game, he pulls down a huge 9.9 rebounds per game.

It definitely seems like the point guard is the one and only area that can, practically speaking, be replaced. So, who are good alternatives?

Steve Blake, from the Portland Trail Blazers, seems to be the best candidate for the Hawks to go after. Blake's stats are generally comparable to Johnson's: 7.8 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 4.7 apg, and .9 spg. The big difference is Blake's ability to shoot the three, which he is not afraid to do. He shoots .435 % and makes 1.5 threes each game. This ranks him at 35 in the category. Should the Hawks go after Blake, they do not lose any of the production Johnson has been giving them, and they help solve their problem shooting three pointers.

It should be interesting to see if the Hawks feel the need to make a deal and go after a long distance shooter before the deadline. Because if they do, it gives them a legitimate shot to compete in the Eastern Conference.