In 2014-15, the 60-win Atlanta Hawks were one of the league's best stories before getting banged up in the playoffs and suffering a sweep at the hands of the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference finals. They took a step back last season and, after a second straight sweep to those same Cavs, it was clear that major changes could be coming.
Now, Atlanta has officially moved on from the group that produced four All-Stars and a 19-game winning streak. DeMarre Carroll left for the Toronto Raptors last summer, and Jeff Teague was traded to the Indiana Pacers the day before the draft. But the biggest difference between the Hawks you were used to and the ones you'll see next season is at the center position. When the free agency moratorium is over, Dwight Howard will sign a three-year contract worth a reported $70.5 million, replacing Al Horford and bringing with him a bunch of questions about how his game fits with the rest of the roster.
No one is talking about Atlanta potentially contending for a title anymore. No one, that is, except for Howard.
"I want to do whatever I can to bring a championship home," Howard said Tuesday, via Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal Constitution. "I know it's not going to be easy. I've worked extremely hard this summer, every summer. I'm very motivated. I'm really [ticked] off about last season. I'm looking forward to coming back with a different mentality."
Like the Hawks this past season, Howard's Houston Rockets failed to build on their run to the conference finals. Unlike Atlanta, though, Houston was in real danger of missing the playoffs. The Rockets had a slow start, fired their coach, failed to find chemistry and collapsed defensively. Of course he's upset about it, and of course he's motivated.
Howard used to be considered a franchise cornerstone, the kind of guy who could put almost any team into the championship picture. Those days are long gone now, and he told Sam Amick of USA Today in March that it bothered him that he has not been selected as an All-Star the past two seasons. He also swore then that the Rockets could still come together and win a championship. That obviously did not happen.
When Howard talks about winning the whole thing, it feels like he's either trying to talk it into existence or say what he thinks superstars are supposed to say. Leaders aren't supposed to shy away from pressure and expectations, after all. The Hawks are trying to make a difficult transition, though, so maybe this time it is best to start small.
