The Atlanta Hawks remain in the headlines as they prepare to close on making another significant trade that will send forward Marvin Williams for Utah Jazz point guard Devin Harris, according to sources briefed on the discussions.
Williams, who never lived up to the hype after the Hawks took him No.2 overall in the 2005 draft ahead of Chris Paul and who gravely wanted to play in Atlanta, has two seasons left on his contract at $8.3 million and $7.5 million.
Combined with the Johnson trade, Atlanta is sending out more than $105 million in long-term salary with Monday's two deals and tacking back just $23.5 million, as Harris is entering the final year of his contract at $8.5 million.
With so much free money to shop around with, the Hawks have thus quickly emerged as a potential destination for Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard, who grew up in the Atlanta area and is close friends with Hawks swingman Josh Smith.
New Hawks GM, Danny Ferry, has a key piece to offer Orlando in trade proposals for Howard in All-Star center Al Horford and young guard Jeff Teague, as well as the forthcoming salary-cap space to pursue Howard in the summer of 2013 should Orlando resist the trade inquires.
As of now, however, Howard may not be the only All-Star the Hawks are looking to acquire this summer. The Hawks have enough space to also make a bid for Clippers guard Chris Paul, who is expected to hold off an extension with the Los Angeles Clippers this summer to keep his options open, even with Blake Griffin on the verge of finalizing a five-year extension with the Clippers worth an estimated $95 million.
In his first week on the job, Ferry has been able to leave a satisfying impression on power forward Josh Smith, sources said. Smith had been vocal for months about wanting to be dealt, but sources say that the swingman is excited about the direction Ferry has taken to improve things in such a brief time on the job.
