Atlanta Hawks not too excited about the upcoming draft: NBA Update
The 2011 National Basketball Association Draft are fast approaching and the participant teams are eagerly looking to hit the jack pot so that they could enhance their results in the next season.
However, the Atlanta Hawks are not that excited about the upcoming draft and the reason behind it, they don’t have a first round option. This has left no choice for Atlanta’s General Manager Rick Sund except to play the waiting game, since they have No. 48 overall pick in the NBA Draft.
The 5th seeded Hawks made it to the 2011 playoffs with record of 0.537 (44 wins and 38 losses). After defeating the Orlando Magic 4-2 in the Eastern Conference quarter-finals, the Hawks were thrown out of the contention by the top team of the East, Chicago Bulls in the semi-finals round.
The wounded Hawks were looking to heal their sores by strengthening their roster for the next season through some fresh inclusions, but back in February GM Sund traded the their first round pick to get guard Kirk Hinrich from Washington Wizards, which is now hurting them. The Hawks also lost their two skilful players Mike Bibby and Jordan Crawford in that Hinrich deal.
Moreover, the Hawks are also not in a flexible position to trade a pick in the draft from other teams. Adding salt to the injury is the uncertainty regarding the new Collective Bargaining Agreement that can postpone start of the free agency market, this really has dented Atlanta’s moral.
On Friday Sund said, “There’s probably less (talk among teams) with regards to the uncertainty of the CBA and people willing to pull the trigger. In prior years a few days before the draft, there’s some consummation of trades. There’s just as much dialogue, but not much action.”
Guard Jeff Teague showed sparks in game-6 of the East semi-finals against the Bulls, as he remained successful in matching up with the devastating Derrick Rose, but the Hawks still don’t have that trust on their two year veteran, as he wasn’t given much minutes in the games earlier and he spent most of his time on the bench.
Sund further said, “I like the progress Teague has made in the last couple of years. He’s had his highs and lows, but you’ve got to be ready to play. He got a break when Hinrich got hurt and he took advantage of it, which is good for him and good for us. So it gives the coach a lot of flexibility moving forward.”
With the inclusion of Hinrich the Hawks got the sturdiness they were hoping for, but they still need to fill in quite a few gaps. The Hawks’ roster requires another impact player, who can team up with Hinrich to lift their side up against their rivals, but with 48th pick this seems more than difficult.
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