Atlanta Hawks: Complete 2017 offseason grades

The rebuilding efforts of the Atlanta Hawks netted three selections in the 2017 NBA Draft, another three players brought in through trades or free agency and the return of two others.

Even before the start of free agency, the Atlanta Hawks sent a clear message the roster for the 2017-18 season would be drastically different from the one a year ago.

General manager Travis Schlenk, hired away from Golden State less than a month before the 2017 NBA Draft, shipped out Dwight Howard and publicly stated Paul Millsap would likely draw better offers from around the league than he would to remain in Atlanta.

Millsap found the statement to be true, as the four-time All-Star power forward signed a three-year, $90 million contract with Denver, without ever receiving an offer from the Hawks.

Tim Hardaway Jr. was a restricted free agent, but when New York submitted an enormous $71 million contract offer over four years, Atlanta declined to match the offer sheet and allowed him to join the Knicks.

As Schlenk and the franchise embarked on a rebuilding effort, Atlanta shuffled through multiple players, even trading for Clippers guard Jamal Crawford only to buy out his contract, enabling him to hit the open market as an unrestricted free agent.

With three of the top four players in terms of minutes played from a season ago no longer on the roster, the Hawks enter the 2017-18 season with plenty of intrigue, and possibly a new centerpiece for the franchise. Here’s a look at their complete offseason grades, from the draft through free agency.

Atlanta Hawks select John Collins with 19th overall pick

Previous Team: Wake Forest (college)

2016-17 Statistics: 19.2 PPG, 9.8 RPG, 1.6 BPG

It didn’t take long for John Collins to make a strong impression.

During his stint in Las Vegas at NBA Summer League, Collins established himself as one of the most exciting players from the 2017 NBA Draft class, as he was able to use his athleticism to collect numerous rebounds and play well above the rim.

Each time he stepped onto the floor, Collins managed to make his mark, especially as he elevated towards the rim.

The New Orleans duo of Cheick Diallo and Keith Benson found out first hand, as they tried to challenge Collins as he attacked the basket on a pick-and-roll. The results were immediately plastered all over the internet.

https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/885254472598929408

Even more impressive than his aerial displays was his remarkable efficiency.

The 6’10” forward was named to the 2017 NBA Summer League First Team after posting 15.4 points and 9.2 rebounds per game while shooting 59.3 percent from the field — the highest percentage among players who attempted 50 or more shots during the tournament.

The early returns on Collins have been impressive and with the absence of Paul Millsap, Atlanta has a pressing need for him to log plenty of minutes during his rookie season.

Collins appears ready for the task.

Grade: A-

Atlanta Hawks select Tyler Dorsey with the 41st overall pick

Previous team: Oregon (college)

2016-17 Statistics: 14.6 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 1.7 APG

In need of some long range shooting, the Atlanta Hawks tabbed Oregon guard Tyler Dorsey after moving down in the draft.

As a team, Atlanta connected 729 times from beyond the arc a year ago, but with Paul Millsap, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Kyle Korver no longer on the roster, 32 percent of the conversions will not be returning.

An ankle injury limited Dorsey to just three appearances in Summer League, but he failed to convert from three-point range and shot just 4-of-11 from the field during his time in Las Vegas.

Even though the 6’4″ guard posted just 2.7 points per game in Summer League play, the Hawks saw enough to offer him a fully guaranteed two-year deal.

While Dorsey may spend a significant portion of his rookie season in the G League, Atlanta believes he is going to be a vital piece for the organization going forward.

Grade: C

Atlanta Hawks select Alpha Kaba with the 60th overall pick

Previous Team: Mega Leks (Serbia)

2016-17 Statistics: 10.3 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 0.9 BPG

The Atlanta Hawks closed out the 2017 NBA Draft by selecting perhaps the most intriguing prospect in the entire class.

Alpha Kaba, a 6’10” center with a 7’5″ wingspan, proved to be an efficient rebounder, averaging 4.0 per game despite being limited to just 11.2 minutes a night.

The Hawks are well aware Kaba is a raw prospect, as he averaged 10.3 points, 8.3 rebounds and just under a block per game during while playing in Serbia a year ago.

With a suddenly crowded crop of centers on the roster, Kaba will likely spend the 2017-18 season overseas. He spent last season playing for Mega Leks, but is negotiating a deal to play for Tony Parker‘s team in France, Asvel Basket.

Atlanta is intrigued with his massive wingspan and believes he belongs in the NBA.

Grade: B-

Atlanta Hawks bring in Diamond Stone via trade

Previous Team: Los Angeles Clippers

2016-17 Statistics: 1.4 PPG, 0.9 RPG, 0.1 BPG

In a three-team trade, the Los Angeles Clippers sent Diamond Stone, Jamal Crawford, a top-three protected 2018 first round draft pick and cash to Atlanta. The Hawks gave up a future second round pick and the Denver Nuggets shipped Danilo Gallinari to L.A.

Atlanta immediately bought out Crawford’s contract, enabling him to become an unrestricted free agent and paved his way to join the Timberwolves.

Less than a month later, the Hawks waived Stone.

The 6’11” center appeared in four games at the 2017 NBA Summer League tournament in Las Vegas, averaging 9.0 points and 3.5 rebounds in 15 minutes a game.

With a crowded frontcourt, the team decided to move on from Stone even though his contract only carried a $1.3 million guarantee for the 2017-18 season. This leaves Dewayne Dedmon, Mike Muscala and Miles Plumlee to compete for minutes at the center position.

For the Hawks, this move is all about the first-rounder coming via Houston, which will probably wind up somewhere in the 25-30 range.

Grade: C+

Atlanta Hawks trade for center Miles Plumlee and guard Marco Belinelli

Previous Team: Charlotte Hornets

Plumlee 2016-17 Statistics:  2.5 PPG, 2.1 RPG, 0.3 BPG

Belinelli 2016-17 Statistics:  0.5 PPG, 2.4 RPG. 2.0 APG

The Hawks have three players competing for minutes at the center position, but all are largely unproven after Dwight Howard was quickly removed from the roster.

Howard was benched for extended stints during the playoffs and with Atlanta entering a rebuilding period, the front office decided to move on from the 31-year-old center.

More from Atlanta Hawks

• 5 NBA players everyone should be keeping a close eye on in 2023-24
• NBA Trades: This Hawks-Mavericks deal is a winner for both teams
• NBA Trades: Atlanta forms a big three with this win-now deal with Toronto
• Grading the John Collins trade for the Atlanta Hawks and Utah Jazz
• NBA Rumors: Atlanta is pushing to add a third star in a major trade

The trade of Howard wasn’t just a salary dump, as Miles Plumlee was included in the deal primarily because of his $12.4 million salary this season — one Atlanta will have to pay for the next two years.

The 6’11” center split time between Milwaukee and the Hornets a year ago, but failed to make a major impact at either stop. Plumlee lost his starting position with the Bucks just nine games into the season and never cracked the starting lineup during his brief tenure in Charlotte.

Since being selected with the 26th overall pick of the 2012 NBA Draft, Atlanta will be the fifth different stop for Plumlee, and he has averaged over 16 minutes per game just once in his career.

Marco Belinelli was brought in to give the team some much-needed depth at the shooting guard position.

The 31-year-old guard is playing on an expiring contract, giving him an opportunity to prove himself as a viable long range threat off the bench for the Hawks, but if he doesn’t pan out, the team can simply move on next summer.

Belinelli connected two or more times from three-point range 29 times in 74 appearances for Charlotte last season, and he finished with over 100 makes from beyond the arc for the fourth time in his career.

Grade: C-

Atlanta Hawks re-sign Mike Muscala to a two-year, $10 million deal

Previous Team: Atlanta Hawks

2016-17 Statistics: 6.2 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 0.6 BPG

In his fourth season in the NBA, Mike Muscala developed a reliable three-point shot, enabling him to carve out a roster space in Atlanta.

Muscala connected 46 times at a 41.8 percent clip, making him just one of five players standing 6’10” or taller to convert at least 25 three-point field goals while shooting over 40 percent from beyond the arc.

When Washington essentially ran Dwight Howard off the court during their first round meeting in the 2017 NBA Playoffs, Atlanta turned to Muscala to spend some time on the floor.

Muscala averaged 13.5 minutes per game, but wasn’t much of a factor, as he averaged 2.8 points on 27.8 percent shooting from the field.

Atlanta drafted its power forward of the future with the selection of John Collins with the 19th overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, but the team is hoping Muscala will be able to fill in at center or at power forward behind him and Ersan Ilyasova.

Grade: C+

Atlanta Hawks re-sign Ersan Ilyasova to a one-year, $6 million deal

Previous Team: Atlanta Hawks

2016-17 Statistics: 13.1 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 1.7 APG

The absence of Paul Millsap turned long range shooting at the power forward position into a priority in Atlanta.

Even though he spent times with three different teams last year, Ersan Ilyasova still managed to convert 142 times from three-point range, nearly twice the amount of Millsap.

More from Hoops Habit

• The 5 most dominant NBA players who never won a championship
• 7 Players the Miami Heat might replace Herro with by the trade deadline
• Meet Cooper Flagg: The best American prospect since LeBron James
• Are the Miami Heat laying the groundwork for their next super team?
• Sophomore Jump: 5 second-year NBA players bound to breakout

Ilyasova was acquired at the trade deadline by the Hawks from the Philadelphia 76ers. The 30-year-old forward was sent to the Sixers after playing just three games for the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The constant changes of scenery didn’t prevent Ilyasova from playing 82 games for the first time in his career, as he reached the 1,000-point mark — a feat he never previously achieved during his nine-year career.

The Hawks averaged just 103.2 points per game, the eighth-fewest in the league, while Dennis Schroder is the only player returning, aside from Ilyasova, to score over 1,000 points for the team.

If rookie John Collins struggles to adapt to the professional game, Ilyasova could see extended minutes.

Grade: B

Atlanta Hawks land Dewayne Dedmon with a two-year, $14 million contract

Previous Team: San Antonio Spurs

2016-17 Statistics: 5.1 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 0.8 BPG

Desperate for some rim protection, the first new addition to the Hawks roster via free agency was center Dewayne Dedmon.

The seven-footer showed plenty of promise despite playing limited minutes with San Antonio last season. Dedmon started 37 times in 76 appearances, posting career-highs with 5.1 points on 62.2 percent shooting from the field, 6.5 rebounds in 17.5 minutes per game.

The 27-year-old totaled 10 or more rebounds on 13 occasions and led the Spurs in rebounds or blocks 21 times. Atlanta is hoping he can replicate similar numbers in additional time on the court.

Dedmon became an unrestricted free agent after opting out of his player option with this Spurs, and now he could be the starting center on opening night for Atlanta.

Grade: A-

Atlanta Hawks sign Luke Babbitt to a one-year deal

The low-risk moves from the Hawks spilled over into early August.

As the rest of the league awaited the future of Carmelo Anthony and Kyrie Irving, Atlanta rounded out its roster by landing forward Luke Babbitt to a one-year contract worth the veteran minimum of $1.97 million for a player with seven years of service.

Babbitt was the 16th overall pick of the 2010 NBA Draft and has latched on for stints in Portland, New Orleans and Miami for one simple reason: his ability to shoot the long range shot.

In 331 career appearances, Babbitt actually has a higher career average from three-point range (40.6 percent) than he does overall from the field (40.5 percent), as there is little mystery to his purpose on the floor.

The 6’9″ forward sank 113 shots last season and 87 of those makes came from three-point range, accounting for 76.9 percent of his total conversions a year ago.

While Babbitt has been a prolific shooter from beyond the arc, his total contributions have been limited, with averages of 4.7 points and 2.3 points per game.

Atlanta needed someone to stretch out the defense and with the free agent market rapidly drying up, Babbitt was one of the best players available.

Grade: C+

Final offseason grade

New Hawks general manager Travis Schlenk refused to call his first summer with the organization as a rebuilding effort, but tabbing the roster overhaul anything else becomes a difficult task.

Atlanta allowed Paul Millsap, an All-Star during each of his four seasons with the team, to simply walk to Denver without an attempt to re-sign him. Dwight Howard was traded for an unimpressive return and Tim Hardaway Jr. earned an unexpected, massive pay increase in New York.

The most successful regular season team the Hawks ever fielded, a 60-win club during the 2014-15 season, has been completely dismantled, with key contributors Kyle Korver, DeMarre Carroll, Jeff Teauge, Al Horford and Paul Millsap are all playing elsewhere.

The initial moves from Schlenk largely focused on unproven players capable of contributing next season on short-term contracts.

FanSided

The Hawks have a suddenly crowded field of centers, but among the six players competing for both roster spots and playing time, none have shown any consistency as a shot-blocker.

John Collins, the 19th pick of the 2017 NBA Draft, performed extremely well at the Las Vegas portion of the NBA Summer League tournament, but relying on a first-year player to become an impactful rebounder is a tall order.

The losses of Millsap and Howard forces Atlanta to replace over 40 percent of its total rebounds from a year ago. Since 2000, only Howard, Emeka Okafor, Blake Griffin, Elton Brand and Karl-Anthony Towns averaged 10 or more rebounds during their rookie season.

While Collins is capable of becoming the top rebounding threat, and perhaps the second scoring option behind point guard Dennis Schroder, only 14 players have posted at least 18 points and 10 rebounds a game during their debut season since 1980.

Along with the likely decline in rebounding efficiency, scoring will be even more of an issue next year, with three of the top four point scorers removed from the roster.

The offensive burden lies heavily on Schroder, a 23-year-old that poured in 17.9 points per game, but needed 15.4 shots to reach that career-high average.

The Hawks’ win total has decreased each of the past two years, and their streak of 10 consecutive playoff appearances is in serious jeopardy.

Atlanta did achieve financial flexibility for the future with their signings, but the franchise has experienced limited success in free agency during its history.

Next: 2017 NBA free agency tracker - Grades for every deal so far

Initial win projections predict the Hawks to win around 35 games, the worst place to be in the midst of a rebuilding effort — not talented enough to make the playoffs and unlikely to land a premium selection in the 2018 NBA Draft.

Final Grade: C-