"After consecutive years of first-round wins but second-round humiliations, the Hawks are in a precarious situation. They are mandating improvement at a time when their best - albeit sometimes unpopular - player, Joe Johnson, is entering free agency and owners have a death grip on their wallets. The draft is Thursday. It's safe to assume that the Hawks' chances of taking the next step do not hinge on the 24th selection. It depends on almost everything else: Johnson's re-signing; the front-office scramble if he leaves; the potential return or trade of expatriate, Josh Childress; any potential trade involving almost anybody else (save Al Horford, who might as well stick his feet in concrete because he's not going anywhere). As summers go, this one ranks up there in importance with any in Hawks' history. If they take a step back, they potentially lose some of the goodwill they've built up. Even if they remain flat, there will be cries to blow it up again." http://blogs.ajc.com/jeff-schultz-b...o-slide-back/?cxntfid=blogs_jeff_schultz_blog
