Atlanta Hawks

The order for the 2013 NBA Draft is now set after the league held its annual draft lottery on Tuesday night. The Cleveland Cavaliers came out as the biggest winners of the evening moving up to snatch the No. 1 pick for the second time in the last three years. The Cavaliers selected point guard Kyrie Irving with the No. 1 overall pick in 2011. Here is a look at the lottery results: 1. Cleveland Cavaliers 2. Orlando Magic 3. Washington Wizards 4. Charlotte Bobcats 5. Phoenix Suns 6. New Orleans Pelicans 7. Sacramento Kings 8. Detroit Pistons 9. Minnesota Timberwolves 10. Portland Trail Blazers 11. Philadelphia 76ers 12. Oklahoma City Thunder 13. Dallas Mavericks 14. Utah Jazz The rest of the draft order was previously set thanks to reverse order of the team's 2013 regular season record. The Atlanta Hawks have two picks in the first round and will pick back-to-back at No. 17 and 18. Here is a look at the rest of the draft order. 15. Milwaukee Bucks 14. Utah Jazz 15. Milwaukee Bucks 16. Boston Celtics 17. Atlanta Hawks 18. Atlanta Hawks (from HOU via BKN) 19. Cleveland Cavs (from LAL) 20. Chicago Bulls 21. Utah Jazz (from GS via BKN) 22. Brooklyn Nets 23. Indiana Pacers 24. New York Knicks 25. L.A. Clippers 26. Minnesota Timberwolves (from MEM via HOU) 27. Denver Nuggets 28. San Antonio Spurs 29. Oklahoma City Thunder 30. Phoenix Suns (from MIA via LAL and CLE) Now that the draft order is set, actual draft analysis can center on team needs and individual player workouts which several teams have already begun. The draft will be held on on Thursday, June 27.

Dwight Howard and Chris Paul Planning Atlanta Rendezvous In any case, a league source says Paul will check out other teams, as Howard is expected to do. If Paul leaves, it could could pose a problem for the Lakers, who had enough already, if he and Dwight Howard decide to create a new option, joining up in Atlanta. Howard and Paul are pals. The Hawks can open up two maximum slots. They mused about Atlanta (D12’s from there, CP3 from North Carolina) years ago, before fate led them in other directions. Dwight Howard and Chris Paul Planning Atlanta Rendezvous In any case, a league source says Paul will check out other teams, as Howard is expected to do. If Paul leaves, it could could pose a problem for the Lakers, who had enough already, if he and Dwight Howard decide to create a new option, joining up in Atlanta. Howard and Paul are pals. The Hawks can open up two maximum slots. They mused about Atlanta (D12’s from there, CP3 from North Carolina) years ago, before fate led them in other directions.

“Adios,” says Sully the sheep, fed up with just being another face in a crowd. There’s nothing cool about being one of the herd, or drinking the typical light beer. Corona Light invites you to ‘ditch the herd’ and trade up to a refreshing, premium change. Non-conformism never tasted so good.

Stan Van Gundy told SportsTalk1080's David Baumann on Tuesday that he would not be returning to the NBA as a head coach next season citing family reasons. BREAKING: Stan Van Gundy just told us he WILL NOT be a head coach in the NBA next season. It's a family decision. — David Baumann (@DavidBaumann33) May 21, 2013 Stan Van Gundy: "The longer you are out, the more difficult it is to get back in... Right now it's not in the best interest of my family." — David Baumann (@DavidBaumann33) May 21, 2013 Van Gundy was thought to be at the top of the Atlanta Hawks' wish list this offseason. Van Gundy also told Baumann that despite being contacted by a lot of teams that he has not interviewed for any positions. That disputes an earlier report that he had been interviewed by the Hawks. Hawks general manager Danny Ferry has not established a timeline for naming a new coach. Other names that have surfaced in the search include San Antonio Spurs assistant Mike Budenholzer, former Seattle and Portland head coach Nate McMillan and Euroleague legend Ettore Messina.

Expectations Did you realize that DeShawn was brought to Atlanta in a Sign and Trade deal? He signed a 3 year deal for 2.24M per season in order to make the math work in the Joe Johnson trade. It had to be at least 3 years to be in a sign and trade. Just 2 years before this he was a key cog in Dallas winning the championship. A year before he was an ill-fit for a New Jersey Nets team that fell to pieces and experienced one of the worst seasons of his career. Our expectations were more aptly hoping (not expecting) that he could still provide parameter defense and hit an occasional 3 pointer. Results If you’ve read any stories about DeShawn you probably think of him as a wild card (or at least wild), but on the court it seemed like both DeShawn and Larry Drew knew what he could still do and what his knees couldn’t. DeShawn was given half of back-to-back games off based on whichever came Drew felt he needed his defense the most. This reduced DeShawn to appearing in only 56 games, but he starting 31 of those (mostly earlier in the season) and averaged his most minutes per game since he was a starter in Washington 5 years ago. When he was able to go we got the best DeShawn left. His defense win shares was almost the same as in Dallas during the championship year. Offensively he bounced back to shoot .364 from 3 point range from his .283 in New Jersey. His overall shooting was only .374 but since over 80% of his shots came from deep he had a very reasonable eFG% of 0.519, 7th best on the Hawks. Highlight I’m going with the February 22nd game against Sacramento at Philips Arena. Every time the Hawks needed a big basket it seemed like DeShawn was wide open and he didn’t disappoint. He was 2-2 from the line and hit his first 4 3 pointers making the 4th one late in the 3rd quarter to put the Hawks ahead 81-80. The next trip down he missed his first shot of the night (also a 3 point attempt) and was taken out. He came back in the 4th quarter and hit 1 more 3 pointer to push the lead to double digits with Atlanta never looking back. DeShawn only missed the one shot on his way to scoring 17 points. Prognosis Remember when I said DeShawn signed for 3 years? Well only the first year was guaranteed. It’s a no brainer that DeShawn get released because at this point he doesn’t have much left in those knees and Danny Ferry has plans for that cap space. He’s 32 now and has completed 13 seasons in the NBA, which mean he's probably at the league minimum level. While I enjoyed watching DeShawn ball as a Hawk, both sides knew how this was going to end when he signed the deal last year. While his experience is valuable I doubt he’ll come back at the minimum.

I'm going to take back a comment I made in another thread about Jeff Teague and his decision making. I said in that thread that Jeff still has the same decision making issues that he had when he came out of Wake Forest. After watching film and reading various breakdowns of Jeff's game from this past season, as well as looking at his efficiency stats compared to other point guards, it is beyond obvious that I was wrong. Jeff Teague still has decision making issues at times, but he has improved tremendously since he was a sophomore early entry into the 2009 NBA draft out of Wake Forest. At Wake Forest, Jeff Teague was a guy who got by on his athleticism. He was a tremendous penetrating lead guard that dominated the ball. The extent of his playmaking ability was his ability to drive and kick. Of the guards that came out of that draft, Jeff lead them all in FTA/40 that season, and that was a testament to his ability to attack the lane aggressively. Jeff was a relatively poor perimeter shooter coming out. His biggest issue though was his decision making. He held a 1:1 assist-to-turnover ratio while at Wake Forest. In his early time with the Hawks, Jeff had the same issues. He was sub par on the pick and roll. He lacked confidence in his ability to penetrate into the lane at will. He was very passive and deferred too much to his teammates. The playoff series against Chicago in 2011 was the first hint of what Jeff could eventually become. Going into his third season, Jeff improved in several aspects of his game, but his decision making was still lacking. He improved his efficiency numbers as a scorer in that season, but his AST% and TOV% were relatively stagnant from his first two seasons. In 2012-2013 though, what we saw out of Jeff was a lot more consistency and definitive improvement in his decision making ability. He improved his AST% from around 24% to almost 37%. His USG% increased by over 3 points, yet was was able to maintain his shooting efficiency overall. Both of these are very good signs. Here is a good link on Jeff's improvement as a playmaker as detailed the the author of the Hickory High blog: http://www.hickory-high.com/?p=5781 I won't go into any details that are already in that post. Essentially, Jeff Teague has gone from a player who was completely clueless on the pick and roll as a young player to a player that has become above average in his ability to recognize things off the pick and roll. The potential of Jeff Teague and Al Horford as a pick and roll tandem going forward is immense, IMO. The decision the Hawks have to make on Jeff this offseason is whether they go ahead and sign him to an extension, or if they sign him to his qualifying offer to hedge their bets on whether he will continue to show his upward trajectory. To look at what kind of contract Jeff could be looking at if he signs an extension, I decided to look at two players whose numbers were very close to Jeff's from this past season. Denver's Ty Lawson and Memphis's Mike Conley: Mike Conley 0.549 TS%, 0.497 eFG%, 0.295 AST%, 0.151 TOV%, 0.30 FTA/FGA, 0.210 USG% Ty Lawson 0.549 TS%, 0.505 eFG%, 0.302 AST%, 0.141 TOV%, 0.32 FTA/FGA, 0.222 USG% Jeff Teague 0.543 TS%, 0.496 eFG%, 0.361 AST%, 0.176 TOV%, 0.23 FTA/FGA, 0.230 USG% Ty Lawson signed a 4 year, $48 million extension recently. Mike Conley signed a 5 year, $40 million deal last year. I'm going to take back a comment I made in another thread about Jeff Teague and his decision making. I said in that thread that Jeff still has the same decision making issues that he had when he came out of Wake Forest. After watching film and reading various breakdowns of Jeff's game from this past season, as well as looking at his efficiency stats compared to other point guards, it is beyond obvious that I was wrong. Jeff Teague still has decision making issues at times, but he has improved tremendously since he was a sophomore early entry into the 2009 NBA draft out

http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/05/20/coaching-search-rumor-roundup-everyone-talks-to-kelvin-sampson/ The Suns are going to interview Rockets assistant coach Kelvin Sampson for their head coaching spot,reports CBSSports. For those of you scoring at home Sampson has also spoken to the Sixers, Bobcats, Bucks and Hawks. What are your thoughts on Kelvin Sampson? Does his history of blatantly breaking the rules at both Oklahoma and Indiana deter your from considering him? http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/05/20/coaching-search-rumor-roundup-everyone-talks-to-kelvin-sampson/ The Suns are going to interview Rockets assistant coach Kelvin Sampson for their head coaching spot,reports CBSSports. For those of you scoring at home Sampson has also spoken to the Sixers, Bobcats, Bucks and Hawks. What are your thoughts on Kelvin Sampson? Does his history of blatantly breaking the rules at both Oklahoma and Indiana deter your from considering him?

Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports The Atlanta Hawks are looking at head coaching candidates even though they haven’t fired Larry Drew yet. There is a name that has popped up during this search that is very interesting if not odd to me. The name Ettore Messina has arisen as a potential candidate. Messina has been a coach overseas for a long time and was a consultant for Mike Brown with the Los Angeles Lakers before, but I’m not a big fan of this idea. I know that a lot of the NBA players these days are coming from overseas and Europe especially, but I’m not positive that you want a coach who doesn’t have NBA head coaching experience to be leading your team. Messina is 53 years old and has been a coach in Italy, Russia and Spain since 1989. While he does have the one year of being a consultant, the idea still strikes me as odd. He has won the Euroleague title four times, but I don’t look much into those stats. It is likely going to be a completely different organization next season with whoever is coaching this team. It could be Drew or Messina or some other candidate, but things will be different. There will likely be no Josh Smith and who knows how long Al Horford is going to stick around if the team doesn’t go anywhere. There will be more rumors about the Atlanta coaching staff and Messina’s name will continue to come up until a final decision is made. Andy Schmidt is a columnist/writer for RantSports. Follow him on Twitter @ASchmidtSports, like his Facebook page or add him to your network on Google.

We’re taking a look back at the season that was for each member of the Atlanta Hawks, as well as a sneak peek into what the future might hold.  Today it’s Shelvin Mack. The season:  Shelvin Mack was called up by the Hawks after both the Washington Wizards and Philadelphia 76ers send him to the D-League earlier this season.  After playing 64 games for the Wizards last season, Washington couldn’t find room for him on the active roster this season, and Atlanta took advantage of the chance to have him as a true backup point guard to Jeff Teague after Lou Williams went down with an ACL tear. Mack proved worthy enough to remain with the Hawks for the second half of the season and made the playoff roster.  The second-year Butler product played 20 games, including one start, and averaged 5.2 PPG and 2.2 APG in a little over 13 minutes of game action.  His shooting was impressive on a consistent basis.  He shot 49 percent from the field and 40 percent from three in a Hawks uniform.  Best of all, he was selective with his shot, which is what you want from a point guard, particularly a backup.  Mack brought energy when he was on the floor and distributed the ball accordingly, which was a sign of maturity for a young player. The future:  Mack has a non-guaranteed contract to return to the Hawks next season, but based on his performance at the end of the season and the fact that he’s inked into the summer roster, I’d be shocked if he didn’t get invited to training camp.  Mack is a perfect backup for the position.  He’s smart, athletic, young, energetic and can shoot.  Assuming the Hawks re-sign Teague and start him next season, I would think Mack has a good chance of competing for that backup spot, though that could also depend on free agency. Mack has a few things to work on this offseason, and he admittedly wants to get better.  offensively, I’d like to see him use his quickness off the dribble to create shots for others more instead of just himself, and he definitely needs to improve his free throw shooting (57% with Hawks, 68% career).  He has a lot of skills that people haven’t seen him use to his fullest yet, so I look forward to him breaking out in a big way next season. Photo by Bruce Bennett/NBAE/Getty Images

As we get approach the 2013 NBA Draft, we are reaching out to local experts to help us scout some of the players the Hawks may take in the first round.  We had Christophe Ney from EuropeanProspects.com help us scout France center Rudy Gobert. What are his strengths? Weaknesses? Rudy Gobert has, first of all, terrific length with an incredible wingspan and great size to play as a center. Additionally, he is quite explosive and a good finisher in the paint. He runs the floor well and has a good timing to reject shots. From a physical point of view, Gobert is still quite underdeveloped. He struggles against stronger or shorter players because of a lack of strength. He has no real go-to-moves in the low post and mainly scores on put-backs and after passes from his teammates. He needs to work on his individual skillset to develop a more varied offensive package. What did he add to his team in Europe? What do you think he’ll bring to an NBA team? He mainly helped his team with shot-blocking on the defensive end and an athletic dimension all over the court. He suffered though a bit from a team structure that did not really favor him, as there was not a great playmaker to create opportunities for him. He has to be considered as a long term project for the NBA team that drafts him. Gobert has no significant experience on the highest European level as he played only in the French League so far. He has rarely faced opposition of his size, which will become an issue for him once playing in the NBA. Nevertheless, he will bring a great physical and athletic profile to build on for the future. What kind of style is he best suited for? I think that Gobert would fit best in a quick and free-flowing style with a good passing team. He will not be a force in the low post from where the offense can start. However, if a team is running a lot of fast breaks, Gobert can be highly effective as initiator with his shot-blocking and follow-up the break as a trailer. What sets him apart from other draft prospects at his position? Gobert is standing out because of his physical profile with a superb wingspan and excellent mobility for his size. What NBA player would you compare him to? Gobert himself has named Javale McGee as comparison to which I would agree in most parts, especially from a physical point of view. What’s your favorite memory of him in Europe? During the Adidas Eurocamp 2012, Rudy Gobert was playing there with his French U20 National Team. You had the impression that nobody in attendance has ever seen him play as Gobert did 2-3 dunks in a scrimmage and the whole gym was coming up with some “uuhs” and “oohhs” in an environment that is generally quite silent and “professional.” Here’s what some of the national mock drafts are saying about Gobert: ESPN.com Analysis: Atlanta is in rebuilding mode and can afford to swing for the fences. Gobert’s best attribute is a 7-foot-9 wingspan. He’s played adequately in the French League this year, but he’s still very much a work in progress. With most of the team heading into free agency, they need depth everywhere — especially on the front line. NBA.com Analysis: Gobert’s play this season has not helped his draft stock, but the NBA sees real potential. The NBA also sees 7-foot-1, with a good chance to add needed bulk, and a 7-foot-9 wingspan. YahooSports.com Analysis: He has a massive 7’9” wingspan and moves very well for a guy standing 7’2”. He should be able to clean the glass and play well enough offensively to make an immediate impact in the league. Photo courtesy of Basketnews.net