With a five-player trade, the hapless Atlanta Hawks received guard Kirk Hinrich from the Washington Wizards in a move to strengthen their backcourt in the final stretch toward the playoffs.

In addition, Atlanta acquired forward Hilton Armstrong in addition to Hinrich and gave up guard Mike Bibby; guard Jordan Crawford, who is in his first year in the NBA; swingman Maurice Evans and a 2011 first-round draft choice.

Following the trade, the Hawks, who were down several players dropped a game in Phoenix to the Suns by a score of 105-97. This marked their fifth loss out of six games. Atlanta sits in fifth place in the strong Eastern Conference and they are attempting to stay ahead of the New York Knicks. The Knicks were able to beat Milwaukee and get a little closer to Atlanta when they played their first game following their acquisition of Carmelo Anthony.

About his traded teammates, Atlanta forward Josh Smith said, “Those guys are like brothers to me. At the same time, we know this is a business. These things happen. The guys at the top felt like a change needed to be made.”

Bibby is 32 years old and is struggling on the defensive side of the ball. His creativity has been stifled in his later years as a player. Larry Drew, head coach of the Hawks, believed that Jeff Teague, in his second year in the NBA would be able to take up Bibby’s slack; however he has only been averaging under 12 minutes of playing time each game.

Drew stated, “We have been searching for a point guard, someone who can come in and run this club. I am not saying the Mike didn’t do a good job. There just comes a point with the team where a change has to take place. With Kirk he brings toughness at that position. He is a heady guy, a smart guy and can make shots, all the tangibles we were looking for.”

Hinrich represents a significant upgrade over Bibby both offensively and defensively. He has an average of 11.1 points per game to go with 4.4 assists. He has started several games for Washington and often played at the same time as John Wall, the rookie phenomenon.

General Manager for Atlanta, Rick Sund stated, “We felt we had a good opportunity to improve our ballclub by adding Kirk and Hilton. Kirk is a well-rounded player that gives us options at both guard positions. In addition to being a solid and hard-nosed defender, he is a good shooter who can also distribute the ball. His resume includes significant playoff experience as well. Hilton can play both center and power forward, and will add frontcourt depth.”

This year, Bibby had an average of 9.4 points per game along with 3.6 assists. Atlanta did weaken their bench by trading Evans who was averaging 4.5 points per game and Crawford who was averaging 4.2 points per game. However, the team believes it justified the move to get better at point guard.

Joe Johnson, an All-Star for the Hawks said, “We have to wait and see what happens. We let three good guys go who I have become really good friends with. At the same time, we understand the business aspect of it and this is the profession we chose and trades happen. You have to deal with it. Getting Kirk and Armstrong they are definitely going to help. Kirk is very defensive minded and a guy who can really knock down the open shot, penetrate and make plays.”

When Hinrick was taken out off of the Washington roster right before tipoff in Philadelphia, it was obvious a trade was in the works. Armstrong and Hinrick viewed the first two quarters of the game while sitting on the bench, but both players stayed in the locker room for the second half, which resulted in a 117-94 loss for Atlanta.

Wall stated, “It was a pretty tough thing to hear. Kirk’s a veteran guy who taught me an awful lot about NBA basketball. I’ll really miss him. And Hilton was a good friend too. I wish them both well.”

Washington is currently undergoing another horrible year. They are now required to start a rebuilding process that will center on Wall. Even though Evans and Bibby are both experienced players, the Wizards are really looking for the potential success they get from Crawford and the first-round pick in the future.

Ernie Grunfield, Washington Team President stated, “We were able to acquire a proven, clutch leader in Mike, a hard-nosed veteran in Maurice, and an intriguing prospect in Jordan, as well as a first-round draft choice to add to our own first-round pick this summer. This trade continues our plan to build with draft picks and prospects, develop our young players and stay financially flexible.”

Washington played terribly in the 3rd and 4th quarters in the game against Philadelphia and lost their third consecutive game.

Flip Saunders, head coach of the Wizards said, “When word got around, guys kind of lost their concentration. I think with the deadline is over, guys will have a sense of relief.”

Wall indicated that he is eagerly anticipating playing alongside Bibby. He stated, “He’s a veteran, so I’m hoping he’ll be able to teach me, too.”