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Atlanta Hawks’ offseason goals: Re-sign Horford, Bazemore

By John Buhler

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The Atlanta Hawks will need to deal out some serious cash to keep both center Al Horford and small forward Kent Bazemore, as they enter free agency in 2016.

The Atlanta Hawks have long been a franchise that spends under the salary cap, getting more bang for their buck than most teams in the Eastern Conference. It seems to have worked during the days of Atlanta Spirit Group, as the Atlanta Hawks made the Eastern Conference Playoffs eight straight years, despite having a bottom 10 payroll in the National Basketball Association.

However, with Atlanta becoming a big player in the East after last season’s unprecedented success, the Hawks front office led by general manager Wes Wilcox will have to break the bank to keep two key pieces in the team’s starting frontcourt beyond 2016. All-Star center Al Horford and new starting small forward Kent Bazemore both enter free agency this summer, so Wilcox and company will have to prioritize figuring out how to re-sign both starters.

The Atlanta front office was able to re-sign two-time NBA All-Star power forward Paul Millsap this past free agency period to a three-year deal worth $39 million guaranteed to keep Millsap in Atlanta. Millsap was heavily pursued by the Atlanta Hawks’ Southeast Division rival in the Orlando Magic before ultimately inking his three-year deal with a player option in 2017-18 worth $21 million.

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The price of being able to re-sign Paul Millsap for a near maximum salary was that it meant the end of the DeMarre Carroll era in Atlanta. Carroll, the Hawks’ starting small forward from 2013 to 2015 outplayed his worth in Atlanta, thus signing with Atlantic Division juggernaut in the Toronto Raptors.

While it was tough to see a competitor like Carroll leave Atlanta, Wilcox and head coach Mike Budenholzer knew that Al Horford was going to become a free agent the following season, and along with the Oklahoma City Thunder small forward Kevin Durant and the Cleveland Cavaliers point forward LeBron James, would stand as the NBA’s best three unrestricted free agents entering this summer’s free agency sweepstakes.

Yes, the Atlanta Hawks can offer Al Horford more than any other team in the league, as he has played all nine of his NBA seasons with the Hawks. Thus, Atlanta obviously has Bird Rights with Horford. While he is no doubt worthy of a maximum contract as a Top 30 player in the Association, he may choose to take a “hometown” discount to help his team become a perennial title contender as the decade comes to a close.

Horford could also do what many expect both Durant and James to do in re-upping with their current team for one more season before the NBA Salary Cap explodes in summer of 2017 and reap the benefits on an expanded Cap then.

While it would seem that Al Horford is part of the Atlanta Hawks’ long-term plans, it gets more complicated in understanding what to do with their new starting swingman in Kent Bazemore, whose value continues to grow by the game.

ESPN’s Zach Lowe conducted an informal poll with a series of NBA executives and believes that Bazemore’s expected annual salary starting in 2016-17 could go anywhere from “mid-level exception to $12 million to who knows?” Since Summer 2016 will stand as Kent Bazemore’s first big NBA payday, it would be hard to get him to take a team-friendly deal to stay in Atlanta. He’ll garner more than the $2 million he makes now in the second year of his two-year deal with the Atlanta Hawks.

Coach Bud’s player development system could theoretically create another great 3 and D-type of wing in Atlanta, but he likely won’t find a player as athletic as Kent Bazemore out on the wing. Through the club’s first 38 games, Bazemore has been the team’s most consistent shooter, leading the team in three-point percentage (.425) and free throw percentage among regular rotational players (.877).

Next: Al Horford: Atlanta Hawks' catalyst for deep playoff run

Atlanta has all but Horford, Bazemore, and big man Mike Muscala on the books beyond this season, so Wilcox and Budenholzer will have to get creative to appropriately pay and maybe keep all three players beyond this season. It would make the most sense for Horford to bet on himself and take a team-friendly, one-year deal before re-upping with a maximum salary in 2016-17 to help keep Bazemore and even Muscala in Atlanta for the foreseeable future. Keep an eye on all three players’ play as the second half of the season is almost upon us. Let’s Go Hawks!

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