Atlanta Hawks: 4 Free Agents Who Could Take Hawks to the Top

The Atlanta Hawks have become one of the more complacent teams in the NBA.

Their ownership refuses to go into the luxury tax and isn't willing to spend top-dollar on any free agent, deserving or not. They also won't extend anything more than a phone call to New Orleans or Orlando in hopes of landing one of the superstars on the block, Chris Paul and Dwight Howard. 

Its no secret that the current roster isn't good enough to contend for a championship, and with the ownership only willing tweak minor issues, they likely will never get there. The Hawks are one key piece away from truly competing: a capable offensive and defensive center—of course, a superstar might do the trick.

With the Hawks intent on staying out of the luxury tax and remaining a non-tax paying team, fixing this roster will be hard to do. There is little cap room to work with in the first place, but in order to stay out of the luxury tax, Atlanta will likely have to sign the last few spots on their roster for veteran minimums. 

With that being said, there is an off chance that GM Rick Sund and the Atlanta Spirit Group decide to shell out some cash in order to truly compete.

Here are four players, some of which could be available for a veteran minimum-contract, others not, who could help the Hawks get over the hump and make their first ever Eastern Conference Finals trip in Atlanta.

Michael Redd

Redd could be available for the veteran minimum, and seeing how coach Larry Drew has been asking for sharp-shooters, this is a good place to start.

It's a low-risk, high-reward situation with Redd. You can get him for cheap and if he doesn't perform you aren't really losing money. We haven't seen him in action in a while, so there is a chance he still has some of the old Michael Redd in him, the killer shooter who could drop 50 any night. Obviously no one is expecting him to drop 50, but spacing the floor for the Hawks and helping aid the probable loss of Jamal Crawford would be a valuable contribution to this team.

Redd can be had for cheap, and the Hawks should do what they can to buy in on him. He's a veteran who if not performing will at least provide leadership and maybe mentor the Hawks backcourt project, Pape Sy. 

Kwame Brown

Kwame Brown will be a little more expensive than Redd, and would likely turn the Hawks into a tax paying team if signed, so there's a red flag off the bat.

Nevertheless, Kwame Brown would be a nice front court addition for the Hawks. He's been overrated this offseason, and he's getting interest from a lot of teams who would expect a lot out of him. In Atlanta, a solid big who can play 20 minutes a game is all thats needed. He can be that guy, and he could be enough to get Atlanta over the hump of say the Chicago Bulls.

He's not the most imposing offensive or defensive force but he could certainly help. Al Horford said he expected the Hawks to get more front court players this offseason. I don't think Vladamir Radmonovic is what he had in mind. A guy like Kwame Brown, however, would certainly peak Horford's interest.

JJ Barea

With Kirk Hinrich sidelined to start the season and Earl Watson signing with the Jazz instead of the Hawks, Atlanta should pump out the cash to sign JJ Barea.

Instead of retaining Crawford, the Hawks get a man to handle the backup point guard role while Hinrich is gone, which will make Hinrich expendable. The Hawks could then trade Hinrich when healthy or just wait for his contract to expire. 

Barea is a dynamite scorer that would ameliorate the loss of Jamal Crawford as the spark-plug off the bench. Barea can do just that and fill a team-need in the process.

He won't come cheap, but it would be worth it for Atlanta to do what is necessary to make him a part of the team. 

Samuel Dalembert

Dalembert is the ideal free agent for the Atlanta Hawks.

He's a big, defensive-minded big man who isn't offensively inept. He's a solid, well-rounded center who would play next to Al Horford in the front court, allowing him to play his natural power forward. 

Horford has already brought up the Atlanta need for a big man several times throughout the condensed training camp. Dalembert is exactly what he should be looking for in a big man teammate. 

He wouldn't come cheap either, and it would take some outbidding to get him, but he could be the answer in Atlanta. 

He's the type of big man that could harass the Bulls front court like Atlanta couldn't do. He's the type of rebounder that could compete with Noah down low.

For Atlanta, getting to that elusive first Eastern Conference Finals won't be easy. They'll have to go through one or two of Boston, Miami or Chicago. If the Hawks get some talent up front like Dalembert, there is a legitimate chance they make that happen.