The Atlanta Hawks have two needs heading into this summer. They need to find a starting shooting guard as they should just let Joe Johnson leave after his performance and mouth against the Magic in the playoffs. I would think that John Salmons, Ray Allen or Mike Miller would be solid fits on the Hawks. They also need a backup small forward to push Marvin Williams. Josh Howard, Quentin Richardson, Travis Outlaw and Hakim Warrick should be considered for the job as they all have decent upsides. The Hawks have started to ante’ up for players so expect them to bring in some help this summer.

UPDATE: (7/8/2010) – The Hawks have signed Joe Johnson to a six year, $123.7 million dollar deal today.

The Hawks have picked 22-year old forward Pape Sy with the 53rd overall pick of the NBA Draft. Sy played in 30 games in France last season and he averaged 14.2 minutes, 5.2 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. This is a major project for the Hawks as Sy appears to be a very raw basketball player right now.

The Hawks picked 22-year old small forward Damion James with the #24 overall pick and then they shipped him to the Nets for 22-year old shooting guard Jordan Crawford (#27 overall) and the #31 overall pick (center Tibor Pleiss). The Hawks then sold the rights to Tibor Pleiss to the Thunder pocketing some cash on the deal. SG/PG Jordan Crawford played in 35 games (34 starts) at Xavier last season and he averaged 20.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.3 steals per game. He played in 65 games (42 starts) in his two years in college and he averaged 15.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.2 steals per game. The Hawks really like Crawford and he will be a safety net for the Hawks if Joe Johnson leaves as a free agent.

The Hawks have hired 52-year old Larry Drew to be the new head coach of the Atlanta Hawks. He has been a assistant coach for the Hawks, Lakers, Pistons, Wizards and Nets. Drew also played 10 years in the NBA appearing in 714 games in which he averaged 25.7 minutes, 11.4 points, 1.8 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Drew got a two year guaranteed contract with a option for a 3rd year at a average of $1.2 million bucks per year making him one of the lowest paid head coaches in the NBA. Time will tell if this was a good hire for the Hawks or not as he doesn’t have head coaching experience but he has been in the game most of his adult life.

31-year old SG/SF Maurice Evans has picked up his option for the 2010-11 season valued at $2.5 million bucks. Evans played in 79 games (5 starts) for the Hawks last season and he averaged 16.7 minutes, 5.7 points, 1.9 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game. Evans has now played two years with the Hawks appearing in 159 games (30 starts) in which he has averaged 19.9 minutes, 6.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game. The Hawks probably would have rather spent the $2.5 million bucks that Evans will make on another free agent but he has been a solid player off the bench for them.

23-year old center Al Horford keeps improving for the Atlanta Hawks. Horford played in 81 games (all starts) last season for the Hawks and he averaged 35.1 minutes, 14.2 points, 9.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.1 blocked shots per game. I expect that Horford will take his offense to a new level next season if Joe Johnson leaves the Hawks for greener pastures. Horford has now played in 229 games (225 starts) in his three years for the Hawks and he is averaging 33.3 minutes, 12.0 points, 9.7 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.1 blocked shots per game. Horford will hopefully have a long career with the Hawks as he is still very young at 23.