According to a published report, the Sacramento Kings have agreed to trade starting point guard Mike Bibby to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for veteran PG Anthony Johnson, former 2006 first round pick Shelden Williams, guard Tyrone Lue and veteran big man Lorenzen Wright.

HB Analysis: A brilliant move by the Hawks, who finally appear ready to make a return to the postseason for the first time in almost a decade. With already a solid roster which features guard Joe Johnson, athletic deluxes Josh Smith and Marvin Williams along with solid first-year center Al Horford, Atlanta makes the move they needed to to finally send the right message to their fans. They are ready to compete in an abysmal conference aside from heavy hitters Boston, Detroit and Orlando.

The 29 year-old Bibby might not be what he used to be but the former Arizona standout is still an effective point guard who can get into the lane, score and get other teammates involved. It looks like a good fit.

For the Kings, they decided it was time for a change. Already with a solid nucleus in place which includes former LaSalle Academy product Ron Artest, Bronx native Francisco Garcia, leading scorer Kevin Martin, PG Beno Udrih, center Brad Miller and instant offense John Salmons, Sacramento is ready to move on without Bibby, who missed the entire first half before returning to play in 15 games netting 13.5 PPG, 5.0 APG and 3.7 RPG.

They essentially got Bibby’s contract off the books and it looks like they received expiring contracts. So, even though they got garbage in return, the deal from their position also made plenty of sense.

It remains to be seen if the 21-28 Hawks, who are tied for the final two spots with the Nets and 76ers will make the playoffs. However, with Jason Kidd expected to still wind up in Dallas if Jerry Stackhouse would just shut the heck up already, you have to give them a decided edge to get in which should be real exciting to watch. I’d liken it to last year’s feel good story with Golden State where they hadn’t been in for a while, had an athletic team and pulled a huge first round upset of Dallas.

Who would want to draw the Hawks in the first round? I sure wouldn’t.