Anthony Johnson was coming into his own at the point guard role. When healthy, Lorenzen Wright was a decent bet for five rebounds a contest. Tyronn Lue was becoming a crowd fave with his hustle and respectable D. Shelden Williams was, well, Shelden Williams, a 6-9 lump from Duke who took up some space in the paint.
For these four (we'll call them "expendable") parts of the Atlanta Hawks team, the Kings shipped away their dashing guard, Mike Bibby, an all-star caliber scorer who also distributes like one of those guys at the Fed Ex dock. Not since Jason Terry -sorry Tony Delk and Royal Ivey- have the Hawks had someone in the one slot who commanded the opposition's attention quite like the former University of Arizona star will. With Bibby, a career 16ppg/3rpg/6apg kind of guy, that all changes. All-star Joe Johnson and Bibby form one of the East's scariest backcourts. Throw in Josh Smith, Marvin Williams and legitimate rookie of the year candidate Al Horford and the Hawks' lineup morphs into downright spooky.
Coach Mike Woodson had his boys battling for a 7th spot before the trade; after the bold move, teams that were looking comfy at the 5th (Toronto) and 6th (Washington) slots now look a tad uneasy. Thank you, Sactown, for allowing us to have a fighting chance. Enjoy Shelden Williams!
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