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.

The Hawks have five unrestricted free agents and two restricted free agents heading into this summer. I have a feeling that Joe Johnson is going to want league max money and he doesn’t strike me as worth that kind of cash. I think the Knicks are going to make a huge play for him because of his past in which he played for head coach Mike D’Antoni. With the way Johnson talked about the fans of Atlanta in the playoffs I just don’t see the Hawks putting a legit effort into bringing him back. Backup SG/SF Maurice Evans will likely be back for the Hawks in 2010-11 as he has a player option. He might get lost in all of the glitz this summer if he opts out so I see him picking up his option and coming back to Atlanta. Backup forward Joe Smith is a good guy to have on the end of the bench so the Hawks might try to bring him back at around the league minimum if he will play for that. Center Jason Collins and forward Randolph Morris are the last of the unrestricted free agents on the Hawks and I would be surprised if they brought either of them back. Josh Childress is a restricted free agent and he is considering a return to the NBA. The Hawks would likely want to keep him around if he wants to come back to the NBA as Childress is a solid player. Mario West is the other restricted free agent on the Hawks and they would likely match a small deal for him.

After the Atlanta Hawks recent 4-0 series loss to the Orlando Magic, speculation has been growing that head coach Mike Woodson will likely not return next season.  The Hawks weren’t just swept by the Magic, they were embarrassed by losing the four games by a total of 101 points for an average loss of 25 points per game.  Woodson’s contract expires this Monday (5/17) and it doesn’t look very likely that the Hawks will re-sign him.  In six seasons with the Hawks, Woodson has a regular season record of 206-286 (.419) and a postseason record of 11-18 (.379).  He had a lot of success the past two regular seasons with a record of 100-64 (.609), but the Hawks haven’t come close to making it out of the second round of the playoffs and have been swept in the Conference Semifinals two years in a row.  Woodson has proven he can be a solid coach in the NBA, but he can’t get the Hawks to even compete with the elite teams deep in the playoffs.  Hawks’ co-owner Michael Gearon Jr. has expressed publicly some of the things he did not like about the way Woodson chose to run the team, particularly Woodsons’ reluctance to play the young and talented point guard Jeff Teague.  Gearon has a point there, since the 32-year-old Mike Bibby had the worse season of his career and Teague only played 6.6 minutes per game.  The decision on whether to keep Woodson will ultimately be up to GM Rick Sund though, who hasn’t commented either way yet.  It does sound like the Hawks are ready to go in a new direction, so Mike Woodson should be ready to pack his bags.

SG/PG Jamal Crawford of the Hawks has won the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year Award. He played in 79 games (0 starts) for the Hawks this season and he averaged 31.1 minutes, 18.0 points, 2.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game as he provided instant offense off the bench all year long. He shot pretty well from everywhere on the court this year as he hit 44.9% from the floor, 38.2% from three point range and he nailed 85.7% of his free throws. Crawford might not get a chance to win this award next season as I could see scenarios in which he could start at either guard spot next year for the Hawks.

Zaza Pachulia is now in his fifth season with the Atlanta Hawks, and it has been his worst one yet.  The 6-11, 275-pound Pachulia has often been seen as one of the Hawks enforcers, playing physical down low and not afraid of giving a hard foul.  After the 2006-’07 season, where Pachulia averaged 12.2 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.0 steals, and 0.5 blocks, his role diminished the next couple seasons.  Although he was getting less minutes and was almost always coming off the bench the next two seasons, he was still a productive big man for them.  The past two seasons he only played 17.4 minutes and averaged 5.8 points and 5.0 rebounds, while shooting 47% from the field and 70% from the line.  This season he hasn’t been the same physical presence the Hawks were used to seeing on defense and he hasn’t been as strong of a rebounder.  That is why he has been getting even less minutes this year.  He is playing 13.5 minutes per game while averaging just 4.1 points and 3.5 rebounds this season.  He is also only making 44% of his shots and is shooting just 66% from the line.  The Hawks are going to need Pachulia to step it up in the playoffs and play more like he has the past two seasons.

Marvin Williams’ production has dropped this season, but he is getting less minutes and has become more of a role player for the Atlanta Hawks this season.  He has been a solid role player this season, averaging 10.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 0.7 blocks, and 0.7 steals in 29.7 minutes per game.  All of those averages are his lowest since his 2005-’06 rookie season, including his minutes.  Yet, in the past two games he has put together two of his best games of the season.  He didn’t look like a guy who shoots 44% and only averages 10 points and 5 rebounds.  That’s because on Monday night in a 112-93 win over the Chicago Bulls, he played 32 minutes and went 7-14 for 18 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 steal.  He followed that impressive performance up with another one last night in a 112-93 win over the Philadelphia 76ers, where he went 8-12 for 21 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal.  The Hawks are already one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference, so if they can get some more games like this out of Marvin Williams it will be a great bonus.

Anthony “Spud” Webb was always told he was too small to play basketball.  That never stopped the 5’6″ Webb from pursuing his dream and becoming a star in the NBA.  Spud Webb had an incredible leaping ability with a vertical leap around 42 inches, which he showed off in the 1986 Slam Dunk Contest.  Spud ended up winning that Dunk Contest, and it really put him on the map.  Most people know about the show he put on in that 1986 Dunk Contest, but most people don’t realize that Spud really was a solid NBA player for quite a few years.  He was a rookie the year he won that dunk contest, and he only averaged about 16 minutes per game in his first four seasons with the Hawks.  He still made an impact, despite playing such few minutes.  As a rookie, he not only won the dunk contest, but he also averaged 15.6 minutes, 7.8 points, 4.3 assists, 1.6 rebounds, 1.0 steals and shot 48% from the field.  Those are some pretty good numbers for a rookie, especially one playing just 15 minutes per game.  His breakout season was in the 1990-’91 season, where he played 29.3 minutes per game and averaged 13.4 points, 5.6 assists, 2.3 rebounds, 1.6 steals, and shot 45% from the field.

Spud impressed a lot of teams around the league, especially the Sacramento Kings who traded for him the next season.  He had his best season that year (91-92) with the Kings, averaging 35 minutes, 16.0 points, 7.1 assists, 2.9 rebounds, 1.6 steals, and shot 45% from the field and 37% from three.  Although Webb had his best years statistically with the Spurs, he will always be remembered for that memorable 1986 Dunk Contest as an Atlanta Hawk.  Spud Webb inspired many small guards from then on, including Tyrone “Mugsy” Bogues (5’3″), Earl Boykins (5’5″), and most of all Nate Robinson (5’9″).  Spud was Robinson’s inspiration for the 2006 Dunk Contest and trained him for it, which Robinson went on to win.  Robinson also won the 2009 Dunk Contest and will be looking for his third Dunk Contest win in this year’s contest, which Spud will be a judge for.

Atlanta Hawks’ point guard Mike Bibby has been very inconsistent for the Atlanta Hawks this season and is averaging career-lows in points, assists, rebounds, and steals.  He has career averages of 16.0 points, 6.0 assists, 3.3 rebounds, 1.3 steals, 36 minutes, and a 44% FG percentage.  This year Bibby is averaging only 8.9 points, 4.2 assists, 2.1 rebounds, 0.8 steals, and is shooting just 41% from the field.  His numbers were even worse in the past month and his play has been very inconsistent.  Due to his poor play, Bibby is averaging just 27 minutes per game and has not played more than 30 minutes in a game in over a month.   In the past four games, Bibby scored 11 points against the Hawks, 0 points against the Spurs, 2 points against the Celtics, and 10 points against the Magic.  That just shows just how inconsistent Bibby has been, especially scoring the ball.  Either Bibby needs to really step up his play, or perhaps the Hawks should start giving their talented rookie Jeff Teague some more minutes.  Even though Teague’s numbers are far from impressive, he is averaging only 10 minutes per game so he has not been given much of a chance to show his stuff.  Luckily for the Hawks they have the best 6th Man in the game in Jamal Crawford, who makes up for Bibby’s poor play and is averaging 17.7 points and 2.8 assists.

Josh Smith has been doing a little bit of everything for the Atlanta Hawks this year, and he is deserving of All-Star status.  The 6’9″, 240-pound Smith is only 24, but he has been a force in this league for about five years now.  Joe Johnson gets most of the credit for the Hawks success, which is deserving, but Smith is the difference-maker for the Hawks in my opinion.  He is by no means a one-dimensional player and fills up the stat sheet night after night.  This season he is averaging 15.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 2.2 blocks, and 1.5 steals.  Smith is also shooting 52% from the field and with his combination of size, athleticism, and jumping ability Smith often has game-changing dunks or blocks that swing the momentum in the Hawks favor.  Smith does have the ability to hit the open three, but he is not consistent from there.  That is why I like to see that he has taken that out of his game and he is more aggressive, taking it to the hole more often.  Smith is a true all-around player and he is one of the main reasons the Hawks are 29-14 this season.

Jamal Crawford has played in every game for the Atlanta Hawks this season, but has not started one game.  He has fit in perfectly as the Atlanta Hawks sixth man and is the Hawks’ second leading scorer behind Joe Johnson despite coming off the bench.  Crawford has a knack for hitting tough shots at key moments, something he showed a few games ago with a deep three at the buzzer to beat the Suns.  On the season, Crawford is averaging 17.0 points, 2.7 assists, and 2.5 rebounds in 30.6 minutes per game.  Crawford has always shown flashes of great play on offense ever since he came into the league, but in his 9-year career he has never made the playoffs.  Crawford is now a huge contributor to a Hawks team that will definitely make the playoffs this season and I think Crawford is starting to run away with the 6th Man of the Year Award.  Crawford is a very exciting player to watch and some of the “rainmaker” shots he makes are almost unbelievable at times.  He does it often though, especially from behind the arc, with 21 career 4-point plays to prove it.  That is only 3 behind Reggie Miller, who is the all-time leader in that category.