If the Hawks don't believe that Mike Bibby is the team's point guard of the future, they may opt to trade his expiring contract.

Bibby is owed $15.5 million this season, but Atlanta lacks another suitable option at point guard as they look to make the playoffs for the second-straight season.

The Atlanta Hawks have exercised the contract options for the 2009-10 season on forward/center Al Horford and guard Acie Law, announced today by Executive VP/General Manager Rick Sund.  Per team policy, financial terms were not disclosed.

A unanimous selection to the NBA All-Rookie First Team and runner-up for Rookie of the Year honors, Horford had an outstanding season in helping the Hawks reach the postseason for the first time in nine years.  The first Atlanta pick to earn first team All-Rookie since Stacey Augmon in 1991-92, he nearly averaged a double-double a year ago, recording 10.1 points and 9.7 rebounds in 81 contests.

During the playoffs, the 6-10 forward/center from Florida increased his totals, scoring 12.6 points and grabbing 10.4 rebounds in the seven games against Boston.

Despite battling injuries much of the 2007-08 campaign, Law was fifth among rookies in assists and third on the Hawks, to go along with 4.2 points per game.  He saw action in 56 contests and is coming off a fine summer effort at the Rocky Mountain Revue, where he was named to the All-Tournament Team after averaging 16.2 points, 3.6 assists, and 2.2 rebounds.

The Atlanta Hawks today named four-time NBA All-Star and Georgia Tech legend Mark Price as a Shooting Consultant, and former Hawk and Yellow Jacket star Duane Ferrell as Player Relations and Programs Manager, according to Executive Vice President and General Manager Rick Sund. Price joins the Hawks after spending last season as the Memphis Grizzlies? Shooting Coach, while Ferrell served in a player development role for the Washington Wizards from 2001-04.

?Coach Woodson thought it was important that we add a shooting specialist to the staff,? Sund said. ?Mark is recognized as one of the premier shooters in the history of the league, and is a welcome addition to our coaching staff. We?re also pleased to enhance our basketball operations area with Duane?s experience. His work with the Wizards, coupled with his time as a player, adds another valuable asset to assist our guys with their development off the court.?

Hawks' point guard Mike Bibby hasn't forgotten the team's Game Seven loss to the Celtics in April's NBA playoffs and still believes his team could have won, according to Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

"I think we definitely could have beaten them," Bibby said. "We just didn?t play well on the road at all, and I mean at all. But things happen for a reason. Maybe that was the start for us to excel this season."

Hawks leader Joe Johnson is excited about the new season and feels it is important that the team continues to progress, according to Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

"We had a taste last year. And now it?s about building on that and going forward. You never want to take a step back," Johnson said. "So you have to go to work every day with taking that next step on your mind. It has to be your fuel in the gym, in the weight room, on the track and everywhere else."

The Hawks (37-45) earned the Eastern Conference's eighth seed in the postseason, and then pushed the Celtics to seven games in the first round.

Hawks general manager Rick Sund says that training camp is going to be a full-time gig for the team as they head into the 2008-09 season, according to Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Sund has a hefty schedule on tap for the Hawks.

"We?re putting them up at the hotel this year. They?re going to have practice sessions in the morning and skill sessions and meetings and everything at night. We?re going to be like "Hard Knocks" on HBO; we?re going that route," Sund said.

"We?re not going to go crazy because we have rules. But training camp is going to be a 24-7 gig. We?re going to be focused. We want to set some goals and do some things that will ? we want to catch some teams ahead of us [in the standings] and keep the seven teams that finished last season behind us, behind us."

Josh Smith received a five-year, $58 million deal from the Hawks this summer, but still appears motivated as he has been taking part in unofficial workouts at Philips Arena, according to Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

"I came in [a couple weeks back] just after I signed my contract and got one game in. This week I?m here for good. We?ve got to start early like we started last year. We have to keep it up. We came in early last summer about this time and we ended up making the playoffs," Smith said. "We?ve got to do it again this year. And we?ve got new faces as well so we have to give ourselves some time to gel. So I wanted to be here to make sure that happens."