The Atlanta Hawks are entering into a crucial offseason. General manager Danny Ferry is hoping to make significant changes to the team in an effort to make them a championship contender each year. Those changes will likely range from a wide variety of things. Several long-time players could be leaving Atlanta, a few marquee players could be coming in and a change at head coach seems more likely by the day. However, a few of Ferry's wish list items might not pan out after Stan Van Gundy announced he was not returning to coach this season.
Van Gundy was Ferry's top choice at head coach. The team has not yet come to a conclusion on the future of current coach Larry Drew. If they thought they would likely land Van Gundy, then Ferry would be fired. However, Van Gundy made it clear in a radio interview that he has no plans on returning to the league in 2013, dashing those dreams for the Hawks.
The loss of Van Gundy could lead to the loss of another wish list item- Dwight Howard. The Hawks have made Howard a priority when free agency rolls around. They had hoped having Van Gundy as head coach would lure Howard back to his hometown. Howard was born and raised in Atlanta and the Hawks would certainly be open to him returning home.
Howard will likely demand a max contract of sorts since he has so much guaranteed money on the table in Los Angeles. The Hawks are already unwilling to offer Josh Smith a maximum contract, so it is unclear if they view Howard as worth the money. With Smith on the outs, Atlanta might not have the pieces in place to make the Hawks an attractive destination for the All-Star center. However, Howard and Al Horford pairing up could create the best 4/5 combination in the NBA.
While the Hawks hope to be in the running to get Howard, the Los Angeles Lakers remain hopeful that the center just decides to re-sign with the team and stay in Hollywood. Howard did want to go to a large market team in order to get more endorsement deals and what not. Obviously, Los Angeles is the best place for that. However, Howard has voiced frustrations with the coaching staff and he clearly did not mesh well with Kobe Bryant and other key Lakers players. This will all play into his decision of where to take his talents to next season.
