Josh Smith calls it 'semi-rebuilding.'

Lou Williams goes with the appellation 'restructuring.'

Whatever the description, there's no abstinent that the Atlanta Hawks will attending a lot altered this season.

The accumulation that begins training affected on Tuesday includes alone 5 holdovers from endure year's team, which fabricated its fifth beeline cruise to the playoffs but was alone in the aperture annular by the Boston Celtics.

Gone is Joe Johnson, the centerpiece of the aggregation back 2005. Marvin Williams wear soccer shoes aswell was beatific packing, a above No. 2 all-embracing aces who never lived up to expectations.

'It's absolutely traveling to be a claiming because we're semi-rebuilding,' said Smith, one of the few accustomed faces. 'You abhorrence to see those guys leave. But we're traveling to be arena with altered teammates now, so we've got to try to accomplish things work.'

Stuck on a acutely abiding bend of getting a acceptable aggregation that didn't accept any agitation authoritative the playoffs, but was never stout abundant to get accomplished the additional round, the Hawks absitively on a affecting makeover afterwards their latest postseason exit. They assassin a new accepted manager, Danny Ferry, who anon put his brand on the aggregation by authoritative two arresting moves that were advised to accord the aggregation abundant action allowance financially to blueprint a new course.

He beatific Johnson wear Nike Soccer Cleats, a six-time All-Star but aswell the team's highest-paid player, to the Brooklyn Nets for what amounted to a agglomeration of -to-be expiring contracts. Williams' ample bacon was beatific to the Utah Jazz for point bouncer Devin Harris.

'It's affectionate of startling,' Smith said. 'But you knew something was traveling to appear if they brought in a new GM.'

On Monday, as the new-look Hawks aggregate on the convenance cloister for media day, anybody capital to apperceive how Smith acquainted about the changes. Born and aloft in Atlanta, he's spent his absolute eight-year career with the Hawks. But he's branch into the final year of his arrangement and has been the accountable of assiduous barter rumors and letters that he's not blessed with the administration of the team. Not so, said Smith. He declared himself 'on board' with the changes Ferry fabricated and believes the aggregation is now bigger positioned to accomplish a jump in the standings - if not appropriate away, absolutely in the future. 'I'm all for change,' Smith said. 'The endure 5 years, we were affectionate of ashore in one place. We couldn't get out of it. It's like we were ashore in cement.'

Not that the aggregation has been absolutely dismantled. Smith wear adidas soccer Cleats is advancing off the best division of his alive career. He's abutting by backstab All-Star centermost Al Horford, who absent a lot of of endure division with an abrasion afore authoritative a affecting acknowledgment in the playoffs, and point bouncer Jeff Teague, who put up solid numbers in his aboriginal year as a starter. Zaza Pachulia and Ivan Johnson are solid contributors off the bench.

Everyone abroad is new.

'The appellation we're application is 'restructuring,'' said Williams, who averaged a career-best 14.9 credibility a bold endure division for the 76ers. 'We're not rebuilding. We've still got affluence of guys actuality who are added than capable.'

Especially in the backcourt. For this capricious year, Ferry wear Nike Soccer Shoes has accumulated a agenda that is abundant on guards and affairs to play at a agitated pace, which ability be all-important back there's not a accomplished lot of admeasurement and abyss in the frontcourt.

Usually you accept seven or eight guys who apperceive what they're traveling to do. We alone accept two, three or four guys like that. It will be absorbing to see how we put it together.'