Hawks News (7-26-04)

[HawkTodd]

Hawks News (7-26-04)

Bucher: My summer league report card (7-26-04).

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/stor..._ric&id=1846605

Atlanta Hawks: Now maybe it's clear why No. 6 pick Josh Childress insists he's a 2, not a 3 -- because he's not likely to beat out high schooler Josh Smith (17th pick) at small forward, at least not based on their performances in Salt Lake City. Smith has the athleticism to have an impact without the ball, while Childress was frighteningly mediocre despite being the Hawks' primary summer-league go-to guy. Childress didn't have the lift to get his shot off inside and his funky stroke, as is, limits his range. At the other end, Derrick Dial got every look he wanted against him. It's only summer league, but still ...

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Rocky Mountain Revue Team Reports Part 1 (7-26-04).

http://www.hoopsworld.com/article_9139.shtml

Hawks: The Hawks came to the RMR with 4 just drafted rookies on the roster and Travis Hansen. Hansen showed what he could do, hit the three occasionally, play defense and be a leader. He showed lots of athleticism. He will be a good player off the bench next season, he will be able to make sure plays are called correctly and be the best defender on the squad. Junior Harrington should have played himself onto a spot on the team. The Hawks don’t have a true point guard on the roster and this gives Harrington a great opportunity. He isn’t going to be the type of guy who scores in bunches for you, but he is going to run the point with no mistakes and pass the ball to the guys that need it.

Josh Smith showed the most athletic ability out of every player at the RMR. He is a streaky player, some games exploding for lots of points and boards. Other games, he just disappeared. Lots of this has to do with the fact he is right out of high school. Given time, he could be the next Vince Carter in his first couple of years. He can jump probably higher than anyone else at the RMR. His rebounding will help the Hawks and he should be able to bulk up to play the PF spot in a year or two. Will be an amazing player. Josh Childress is going to be the next Scottie Pippen. He is steady and never plays outside himself. He continually got around 14 ppg and 6-8 boards each game. Expect this same production for the coming season. He can handle the ball and does a good job distributing the rock. Look for him to start at SF. Donta Smith did not show me a lot, neither did Royal Ivey. Look for the both to be on the active roster most of the time, just not seeing the floor a lot. Ivey has more of a chance to play as he can play either guard position and the Hawks will be lacking help there.

These Hawks will see a lot of time this coming season as the team is young. They will be force in the league once these guys get a little time together under their belts.

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Spears: Teen phenoms’ summer orientation (7-26-04).

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/stor...marc&id=1846663

Smith has the potential to become the most exciting Atlanta Hawk since Dominique "The Human Highlight Film" Wilkens. The 6-9, 210-pounder's acrobatic power slams make him a shoe-in for next year's dunk competition and he showed he isn't scared of trying to dunk on the likes of Dallas' 7-foot-5 rookie center Pavel Podkolzin. Smith also showed he can block shots, finishing third in the Rocky Mountain Revue in blocks per game at a 2.5 with several being tossed like a spiked volleyball.

Smith averaged a team-best 14.7 points (on 46.4-percent shooting), 4.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists in Utah. The 17th overall pick also showed he can hit the NBA 3-pointer by nailing seven of 18 attempts, but he needs to improve from the free-throw line (58.6 percent).

"It's a whole different game," Smith said. "It's much more physical and you got to play every night because you're stepping on the court with someone that could have as much game."

While Smith was statistically one of the top players in Utah, the Hawks still consider him to be very raw.

"He can make the plays with the dribble. Right now, he's very unorthodox with his play. He's raw," Hawks coach Mike Woodson said. "He does things off of instinct, and that's a good thing. But I tell these young guys, this is a thinking man's game. You got to absorb and learn as much as you can

"He's got a wonderful situation here, and I'm not going to baby him. I know he's 18. But I get paid to coach the team and that's what I'm going to do."

Hawks rookie Josh Smith sure didn't play like an 18-year-old in Utah.

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THE DAILY (7-26-04).

http://www.hoopsworld.com/article_9146.shtml

Atlanta Hawks: Erick Dampier opted out of the last two years of his Golden State contract at about $8 million per year in order to sign a secure, long-term deal. As teams above the cap, most notably the Knicks, fall by the wayside in sign-and-trade deals due to Golden State's reshuffled lineup, only teams with cap space can offer the unrestricted free agent more than the mid-level exception. Atlanta is reportedly offering Dampier only a three-year deal worth about $25 million, or also about $8 million per year. Dampier wants more years AND more salary. But why should Atlanta bid against itself?

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Patience behind shopping plans (7-26-04).

http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~90~2294504,00.html

Denver would like to add a strong perimeter defender, and White, Nuggets guard Voshon Lenard and Nuggets free-agent guard Jon Barry are considered more offensive-minded.

Barry, an NBA veteran who is receiving interest from the Atlanta Hawks and Los Angeles Clippers, has not heard from the Nuggets recently. The Atlanta resident averaged 6.2 points in 57 games last season.

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Hansen returns to Utah to play ball (7-25-04).

http://newsnet.byu.edu/story.cfm/51414

[emeans]

I know it is Summer League, but I saw an interesting article on ESPN saying that in the history of Summer League play over the years only 1 player has shaken off a bad showing ((Hinch sp??), the kid for Chicago) and have done well when the big boys strap it up in NBA. Only One!!!

Statistics show that usually if they do bad in Summer League they do bad in the NBA regular season. If they do good they may not do good in the NBA, but chances are they will do good in the NBA. The article was very interesting!!

That brings me to this question....Will Josh Childress be a bust in the NBA? Should we have drafted Devin Harris instead?

Your thoughts?

[Nicholasp27]

devin harris was already gone when we got chill

both "surefire bigs," dwight and emeka were taken

all three "surefire points," livingston, gordon, harris were taken

those were the 5 picks before us

we were unlucky to be #6 (thanks to LAC cointoss win and bobcats coming in this year at #4) in a 5 person draft

just think if we had won the LAC coin toss and gotten #2 pick...we'd either have howard/smith right now or livingston/smith

[Lascar78]

the only player I didn't want was deng.

I wasn't sure between childress and iguodala

I think if we end up second guessing ourselves over the pick, it will be for iguodala

regardless, I put very little stock into this. very little. I put alot more stock into pre-season play.

For now I'll just hope he gets focused by the time the preseason starts, and that we can get some sort of a center in here.

[emeans]

You are right Devin Harris was gone. Deng had a pretty good Summer League too.

I hope Josh Childress warrants the No. 6 pick. He impresses me moving without the ball but he scares me not being able to get his shot off. If he can't do that in Summer League, what will he do when the real NBA games start.

Most of you guys are penciling him in as the starter at SG. I wouldn't be so fast to do that based on his showing in Summer League games.

Hopefully he improves!!

[Packfill]

I think he will do better in a more structured offense (as opposed to what is usually plyed in the summer leagues) where he is not the number 1 option. We'll see, way too early to tell.

I'll say this though, if you go by summer league play I think Hansen could be the starting shooting guard at the beginning of the year. He has the athleticism, the hustle, defense. If his shot falls he will be a solid player.

[Nicholasp27]

he also did have pretty good numbers

in 28mpg:

11 points

5.8 rebounds

2 assists

1.2 steals

.5 blocks

not great shooting, but still, he could be a 15/7/3/2 guy with some development

the people who watched every game said he's the next scottie pippen, so between him and diaw, we've got smooth's tonto if he decides to be the man

[JTFan31]

I agree, he didnt do all that bad. Yes his shooting could of been better, but definitely that can improve, the important thing was that he find a way to avg 11 ppg and 6 rpg, he's got game and I think he will have a good season next year.

[Wretch]

He does many things well, so I don't think we'll be seeing him try to do one thing to dominate a game...especially not scoring. I don't care what they say about his release either. I've seen much uglier fall with regularity (Payton, Prince). Chill was also a penetrator in college. He's got the speed and the athleticism, and if it translates into the NBA he'll be fine.

Watching him, he's got Pippen written all over him - and that isn't a bad thing.

[emeans]

I was very impressed with Hansen!! I would definately put him ahead of Childress at SG as of right now.

Hansen plays good defense also.

So right now I would have starting:

JT

Hansen

Diaw

Harrington

Dampier??

Backups:

Ivey???

Childress

JSmooth

Henderson/CC

Collier/Pryz

[Traceman]

the similarities are definitely there. Childress is actually a better shooter coming out of college than Pippen was. I think Childress will get better and better as he adapts to the speed and athleticism of the NBA game. I still think he will be a quality starter for us this year and he will put up some really solid numbers for a rookie.

Josh Smith is such an elite athlete that he is able to overcome a lot of the things he doesn't know by simply leaping over people or by quickly recovering after getting out of position to make a play. On the other hand, Childress is a very good athlete but there are plenty of athletes in the NBA with his level of athleticism. Childress is very smart and he approaches the game from a cerebral standpoint, which I like. His improvement will come as he adjusts to the NBA game and as he realizes just what he needs to improve to be successful.

[Weez]

he'll do better in a more structured environment...

no, Hansen won't start. the handles aren't enough considering that we have JT as our starting pg.

[AHF]

Quote:

---

I know it is Summer League, but I saw an interesting article on ESPN saying that in the history of Summer League play over the years only 1 player has shaken off a bad showing ((Hinch sp??), the kid for Chicago) and have done well when the big boys strap it up in NBA. Only One!!!

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That wasn't only one player in the history of the summer league - it was one player last year.

More to the point, the Chad Ford article that talked about that did NOT list Chill as a bust this summer or even a potential bust. Even if you take the premise true that players rarely rebound, you have to acknowledge that Josh didn't bomb this summer and put him in the category with a lot of other players who did OK but didn't standout. For that category, there isn't a clear trend as to how their play translates to the more team oriented ball in the real NBA.

[Plainview1981]

he people who watched every game said he's the next scottie pippen, so between him and diaw, we've got smooth's tonto if he decides to be the man "

Next Pippen? Oh, come on now! Funny.... wasn't this said

about Diaw last year.

[Weez]

well, one things' for certain...Chill boards. he did it in college and he's doing it here...very very well for a sg/sf. It may actually be more of an accurate comparison with Chill, as he's got more offensive talent and range than Diaw...