At that time, Wilkins was already 34 years old, while Danny Manning was not yet 28 and in his prime. Trading Wilkins and two first-round picks for Danny Manning, regardless of the trade value or performance that season, seemed like the right move to Hawks fans after the season ended.
However, unexpectedly, Danny Manning's performance took a dramatic downturn between ages 28 and 29 last season, aging rapidly. In the first four games of this season, he averaged only 15.5 points and 5.2 rebounds.
Of course, that's not bad, especially with the peak performance of elite point guard Mookie Blaylock, the high-scoring tall shooting guard Steve Smith, and the strong frontcourt rotation of Grant Lang, Andrew Lang, and Stacey Augmon, with Ken Norman and Alan Henderson coming off the bench...
The Hawks' configuration is aimed at winning the championship, but no one expected the strongest core player, Danny Manning, to decline so rapidly, collapsing after just one peak year.
