The Atlanta Hawks have not been deep in the playoffs in years and with a highly anticipated free agency period approaching, an employee of the team sent out a letter to ticket holders about the excitement, but after using the names of Dwight Howard and Chris Paul, the team may have tampered with the players.
According to ESPN.com, Hawks president Bob Williams said that a team ticket representative sent out the letter, which mentioned both Howard and Paul, as a mistake. The NBA policy says that teams cannot tamper with players while signed to contract with other teams and that they must decline on comments about those players before actual free agency begins, which will be on July 1. Both Howard and Paul are considered to be the top free agents this year and the Hawks are expected to go after one if not both players.
A letter was sent out on a team letterhead about the upcoming season and free agency and read: "Hot New Player news: Chris Paul and Dwight Howard," and claims that player interest in joining the Hawks is "skyrocketing." Howard is expected to be a big target for the team as they likely will lose Josh Smith and while it was a low level staffer, the team likely will be fined or get another penalty. The NBA has not commented yet on the story and while the Hawks have the room financially to sign the players, that does not mean they will.
Howard is from Atlanta while Paul played in the region in college, but most signs point to him staying in LA with the Clippers. The Clippers are looking for a new coach and the hire will likely be one that sways Paul to stay.
"The buzz around our offseason is more than heating up," the letter said, according to the paper. "With massive cap space, 4 draft picks, and free agency rapidly approaching, we sit in the best position in the NBA. Player interest is skyrocketing as the possibilities of landing Chris Paul & Dwight Howard become more and more of a reality.
