Back in 2014-15 season, the Atlanta Hawks turned a lot of heads by winning 60 games, and making it all the way to the conference finals. Although they were swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers, they still established themselves as a legitimate contender in the East.

However, they were not able to follow up on the success they had that year as they had early exits the past two seasons. That prompted their front office to rebuild, and either trade or see their core players walk away. With Paul Millsap agreeing to terms with the Denver Nuggets recently, it now leaves the Hawks with no one from their starting lineup just two years ago. They will all compete against each other starting this coming season, and have signed lucrative contracts, amounting to almost $350 million, according to a piece made by Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

“The Hawks won 60 games on the way to a berth in the Eastern Conference finals during the 2014-15 season. The entire starting five of Jeff Teague, Kyle Korver, DeMarre Carroll, Paul Millsap and Al Horford were named the NBA’s Player of the Month for January as the team did not lose a game. All but Carroll were named All-Stars.”

“All five players have recently signed elsewhere – for total contracts worth a combined $342 million. Only Kent Bazemore and Dennis Schroder remain from that team. Mike Muscala and Thabo Sefolosha are unrestricted free agents this summer and were also a part of the team.”

Like Millsap, Teague has also found a new home and will be playing for Minnesota Timberwolves next season. Horford joined the Boston Celtics last summer on a max contract, while Korver was traded to the Cavs before the trade deadline in February. Carroll left the Hawks after their historic season and signed with the Toronto Raptors.

This definitely shows that consistent runs each season is what teams really aspire for. The lack of it may result to rebuilding, in order to cut down on losses, especially if they are not willing to commit a lot of money on their big name free agents. What a  huge difference two years really makes for an NBA team, and the Atlanta Hawks are the perfect example of this.