Even with Al Horford sidelined due to an injury, the Atlanta Hawks still manged to take the No.1 seeded Indiana Pacers to a thrilling 7 game series. It was almost an upset but the Pacers managed to pull out a win with a stellar performance from Paul George in game 7. This offseason, the Hawks will look to improve their roster by adding an elite small forward in hopes of making a deep run in the playoffs next season.
With all due respect to DeMarre Carroll who is a decent player but the Hawks need much more from their small forward position if they are planning to beat the likes of Indiana and Miami. And this offseason the team could actually do a major upgrade in the position as it has been reported that the Hawks are planning to bring in Luol Deng this summer in the 2014 NBA free agency.
The Hawks managed to clear enough cap space to make room for Deng after they made a trade for John Salmon's non-guaranteed contract for veteran guard Lou Wiliams and the 16th overall pick of the draft, which could eventually help them improve their financial flexibility by giving them over $15 million in cap room.
Deng could provide the Atlanta Hawks a premiere defender at the wing position that would help them guard the likes of LeBron James and Paul George in the East playoffs. Deng averaged 16.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.0 steals per game while shooting 43.1% from the field, 30.2% from three and 79.1% from long range last season.
The Atlanta Hawks, however, are in serious competition for Deng as it has been reported that the Mavs, Celtics, Magic, and Bobcats are also interested in the Cavs forward. Deng is looking to make a deal similar to Andre Iguodala's four-year, $48MM with the Warriors which is a reasonable price for a 10 year veteran who could be a valuable piece to a contender.
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