Despite the Lockout, There's Atlanta Hawks News You Can Use

Headline: Zaza Pachulia to join Besiktas?

So said Besiktas coach Ergin Ataman to Howard Beck or Pete Thamel of The New York Times.

I did not know that Pachulia holds a Turkish passport. That makes signing him easier for Besiktas and, thus, more plausible. I remain skeptical both that FIBA considers it in their best interest for players under contract to NBA teams spend the lockout playing for European professional teams and that NBA players are more interested, right now, in playing for European professional teams than they are in putting pressure on NBA owners.

Headline: David Lighty signs with Pallacanestro Cantu

It's my opinion that every second-round pick and rookie free agent would be best served to have a plan to play basketball in the event that games are missed during the 2011-12 NBA season. Not just to aid their development, but to take advantage of the uniquely increase in attention they might receive in the NBA's absence.

As to how this affects the Hawks in particular, David Lighty will or will not be just as viable a rotation prospect in the Summer of 2012 as he is now and it's difficult to imagine a future CBA wherein the Hawks have fewer open roster spots next summer than they have right now.

Headline: Reno Bighorns to serve as Atlanta's 2011-12 D-League affiliate

My favorite* 2010-11 D-League team, the Reno Bighorns, will replace the defunct Utah Flash as Atlanta's 2011-12 D-League affiliate. With more teams acquiring their own D-League teams, the Hawks will have to share Reno with both the Memphis Grizzlies and the Sacramento Kings, should the Hawks choose to make use of the D-League for a second consecutive season.

*Select members of the 2010-11 Reno Bighorns: Nick Fazekas, Aaron Miles, Salim Stoudamire, Hassan Whiteside, Danny Green and Steve Novak

Updating Pape Sy in the D-League

Since we last checked in on Pape Sy at the D-League Showcase, the Flash have gone back to Utah, Sy's entered the starting lineup, and he's played much better. In the four games he's started, Sy has averaged 13 points a game and made 18 of 25 two-point field goal attempts. Both his assists and turnovers are down (1 and 1.25 per game, respectively) as he's presumably spending less time handling the ball.

Here are Sy's stats through 10 D-League games, 229 minutes:

Name	MPG	Pts/36	2PTFG%	3PTFG%	eFG%	FT Rate	TS%
Pape Sy	22.9	12.9	46.0	13.3	40.0	46.2	50.2

Name	MPG	A/36	TO/36	BS/36	S/36	OR%	DR%	PF/36
Pape Sy	22.9	2.3	3.3	0.1	0.6	4.3	12.6	4.4

Unofficial on/off numbers, assuming Utah haven't played much faster or slower with Sy on the court and that he's played an equal number of offensive and defensive possessions: Utah are +2.7 points per 100 possessions with Sy on the floor, +0.5 points per 100 possessions with Sy off the floor over his ten games with the team.

Further reference: Kevin Pelton's D-League translations

Scouting Pape Sy at the D-League Showcase, Day Two

Previously: Day One

Pape Sy received more extended run (17:24) in Utah's second appearance at the D-League Showcase and played the point for just 90 seconds allowing a broader view at the current state of his game. When his man had the ball, he again defended generally well though he struggled to deal with ball screens. Matched up against JamesOn Curry much of the first half, Sy showed a fine ability to stay with his man off the ball.

After going both scoreless and shotless yesterday, Sy scored 5 points this afternoon but needed 7 shots and 4 free throw attempts to do so. As in Vegas, Sy showed an ability to get into the lane a draw contact but, as in Vegas, Sy never looked under control enough to make a bucket in traffic and draw a foul. That Sy missed two layups on drives on which he did not get fouled perhaps aggravated this sense.

The rest of the Pape Sy shooting experience didn't look much better. It took obvious effort for him to get his lone three-point attempt to the basket. He received the ball on the deep right block twice, resulting in a an air-balled right-handed jump hook and a wild, missed left-handed runner across the lane. He attempted two pull-up jumpers, making one. The make involved him catching the ball on the left wing and dribbling left before pulling up. The miss saw him dribble from the left wing to the free throw line, where he pulled up for an unguarded shot that hit the backboard before the rim. His legs flailed as awkwardly on that shot as they did on his three-point attempt. In fact, Sy's shooting form looked so bad that I suspect it's related either to his pre-season back injury or his struggles in adjusting to the relatively high level of play in the D-League. I can't believe the Hawks would invest in an unknown 22-year-old whose shot looked like that during a pre-draft workout.

Through six games with the Flash, 17 of Sy's 30 D-League points have come at the free throw line and it's worth remembering that, according to Kevin Pelton's D-League translations, Free Throw Rate diminishes more than anything else in a player's statistical record in the transition from D-League to NBA basketball.

His updated stats through six D-League games (which now account for more than a quarter of his professional basketball experience):

Name	MPG	Pts/36	2PTFG%	3PTFG%	eFG%	FT Rate	TS%
Pape Sy	20.7	8.7	20.0	10.0	18.6	48.6	33.2

Name	MPG	A/36	TO/36	BS/36	S/36	OR%	DR%	PF/36
Pape Sy	20.7	3.2	4.6	0	0.6	6.6	11.3	5.2

Unofficial on/off numbers, assuming Utah haven't played much faster or slower with Sy on the court and that he's played an equal number of offensive and defensive possessions: Utah are -10 points per 100 possessions with Sy on the floor, -0.6 points per 100 possessions with Sy off the floor over the last six games.

The Flash return to action on January 14th.

Scouting Pape Sy at the D-League Showcase, Day One

Pape Sy played just 10 minutes of the Utah Flash's bogus 95-93 overtime loss to the Iowa Energy but he demonstrated one clear skill and one clear limitation in his limited time on court.

Good news first, Sy moves his feet well defensively. With Utah's first-choice point guard Kevin Kruger out injured, Sy played most of his (admittedly few) minutes at the point and kept Curtis Stinson in front of him when guarding Stinson one-on-one. Sy did not look as sound defending the screen-and-roll but, given his inexperience (both recent and lifetime) and the general unfamiliarity of the current Utah players with each other, it shouldn't diminish his overall defensive performance which also included sound transition defense (Sy broke up an Iowa fast break by drawing a charge and stymied a later 2-on-1 fast break through length and good positioning.) which would be welcome in Atlanta.

Unfortunately, it's unclear how Sy could contribute sufficiently on the offensive end to stay on the court and take advantage of his defensive instincts. As in his brief debut in Summer League, Sy does not deal well with ball pressure when bringing the ball up the court. There's no shame in being harassed by Curtis Stinson's quick hands but there's also no value in having your point guard have to back down his defender once he reaches half court. The first of Sy's two turnovers came as a result of trying to feed the post with his back to his teammate due to ball pressure.

Sy's lack of confidence handling the ball negates the value of both his speed and his passing ability (the latter glimpsed on a couple drive-and-kick opportunities when Sy caught the ball on the perimeter without immediate ball pressure and was able to get into the lane). There are reasons the NBA's not populated by 6-7 point guards (nor by grossly inexperienced 23-year-olds) and I suspect that Sy's development would be best served by having him focus on refining his defensive skills and developing his off-the-ball game rather than playing the position that gives him the maximum difficulty presently and seems the least likely for him to play at the highest level.

Pape Sy, D-League To Be Showcased on NBA TV This Week

The D-League Showcase begins tomorrow in South Padre Island, Texas. NBA TV will broadcast 10 games live, including both games featuring the Utah Flash and Atlanta's assignee, Pape Sy.

Sy and the Flash will face the Iowa Energy at 2:45 pm (ET) on Monday, January 10th and the Springfield Armor at 2:45pm (ET) on Tuesday, January 11th.

Sy has made four appearances for the Flash, playing just under 100 minutes. His numbers suggest plenty of activity but limited skills. Considering that much of Sy's potential value is tied up his defending, it will be useful to get an extended look at him on the court.

I don't know of anyone tracking on/off stats per possession for the D-League, but Utah's been outscored by 19 points over 975 since Sy joined the team and are -17 during the 97 minutes he's been on the court. Assuming Utah haven't played much faster or slower with Sy on the court and that he's played an equal number of offensive and defensive possessions, Utah's roughly -8.5 points per 100 possessions with Sy on the court and -1 per 100 possessions with him off the court over the past four games.

Name	MPG	Pts/36	2PTFG%	3PTFG%	eFG%	FT Rate	TS%
Pape Sy	24.3	9.3	21.1	11.1	19.6	50	34.4

Name	MPG	A/36	TO/36	BS/36	S/36	OR%	DR%	PF/36
Pape Sy	24.3	4.1	5.2	0	0.7	8.7	10.4	5.6

It's far too early to attempt to translate Sy's D-League production to NBA terms but, for those interested in how production typically translates from the D-League to the NBA, please consult Kevin Pelton's D-League translations.

Pape Sy Debuts in the D-League

The box score isn't especially encouraging. Pape Sy missed all 5 field goal attempts, turned the ball over 3 times, grabbed just 1 defensive rebound* and the Flash were outscored by 10 points while he was in the game for 24:52. Those looking for positive signs early in his American career can point to the 8 free throw attempts, 3 assists, 2 offensive rebounds, and a steal. And that he tied his professional high for minutes played in a game.

*Bakersfield missed 46 shots in the game.

At Utah Flash Daily, Kris Willis reviewed Sy's performance:

Pape Sy made his debut playing almost 25 minutes off of the bench. Sy went 0-5 from the field, 0-2 from three point range, and 6-8 from the free throw line. He added three rebounds, three assists, and one steal for the game. He was clearly rusty and perhaps nervous as he was playing in his first real competition since the Vegas Summer League. He looked fairly quick and looks like he might develop into a pretty good defender. He spent a lot of this game matched up against Lakers draft pick Devin Ebanks.

Ebanks scored 19 points on 11 shots and grabbed 10 rebounds (5 offensive) in 27:28.

Kris had filed his Sy report to Peachtree Hoops as well, now:

It was hardly a performance to get extremely excited about but remember that Sy hasn't played in an organized game since the Vegas Summer League. Remember his development will be a long term project and last night was just the beginning.

True, but Sy turns 23 in 3 months. He's older than both Jeff Teague and Jordan Crawford. Hell, he's older than four guys (Durant, Westbrook, Ibaka, and Harden) who played at least 30 minutes for the Thunder while beating the Hawks Friday night.

Sy's possible contributions appear to be tied solely to his athleticism. Given the age at which he's just starting to try and play significant minutes, by the time he might develop some complementary basketball skills, that athleticism may well be waning.

Pape Sy Could Make His American Basketball Debut Tonight

The Utah Flash host the Bakersfield Jam tonight.

Pape Sy could play.

Watch the game free on Futurecast.

AJC.com: Cunningham: Jordan Crawford Could Join Pape Sy in D-League

Michael Cunningham reports:

Pape Sy is off to play in the NBA Development League, and fellow Hawks rookie guard Jordan Crawford soon could join him.

“There has been some talk about it,” Hawks coach Larry Drew said. “We are certainly going to keep our options open with our young guys [and] putting them in situations where they can get some playing time instead of practicing every day and just being with the team. I would rather them be somewhere playing, where they are learning, where they can get some experience.”

Jordan Crawford played in 8 of Atlanta's first 16 games, for a total of just under 97 minutes, displaying promising shot creation if not always shot conversion skills plus perfectly acceptable assist, turnover, and defensive rebounding rates.

He's played in just 2 of the last 17 games, for just under 12 minutes, and has been inactive for 9 of the last 14 games as you never know when you might need to use Mo Evans and Damien Wilkins or Jason Collins and Etan Thomas at the same time.

TrueHoop: Ford: Hawks' Next Move?

Chad Ford on what less than zero cap space through at least 2013 might mean for the Atlanta Hawks:

Several GMs believe the Hawks won't be able to keep Johnson ($18.5 million in 2011-12), Josh Smith ($12.5 million in 2011-12), Marvin Williams ($8 million in 2011-12) and Horford ($10 million in 2011-12) together past this season for financial reasons.

While Horford's new salary won't push the Hawks into the luxury tax, it will put them very close. The move means they won't be able to afford to re-sign Jamal Crawford, or replace him with a similar salaried player next season, without incurring the tax.

That situation is already leading to speculation that GM Rick Sund may be forced to put Smith on the market soon. Sund briefly flirted with trading Smith last summer, before pulling back. While no one is claiming he's been made available yet, a number of GMs around the league expect his name to be in the mix by the February trade deadline.

Williams would be the Hawks' first choice to move, but he didn't get a lot of bites when he was available this summer. That could push them to see what they can get for Smith.

A number of teams including the Knicks, Nets, Pistons, and Suns have shown interest in the high-flying forward in the past. It will be interesting to see if talks heat up as we get closer to February.

Obviously, trading Josh Smith because you gave Joe Johnson (and, to a lesser extent, Marvin Williams or Mike Bibby) a ridiculous contract makes no sense. Perhaps Smith's recalcitrant behavior is incurable. Then again, investing in a proven NBA coach, himself hypothetically a bit of a disciplinarian, might have been a cost effective manner of maximizing the team's investment in the only player on the roster who could possibly become a franchise player.

ShamSports is back online now so I can, as close to officially as possible, note the 2011-12 salary commitment of the Atlanta Hawks (assuming Horford's deal is for $12 million per year) as $65.245 million for eight players and the 2012-13 commitment as $62.77 million for seven players.

That latter number should put Mike Bibby's expiring contract in perspective.

In news related to filling out a bench cheaply and possibly even productively, Nick Fazekas will be the first pick on the D-League Draft tonight. Click through and you'll see that I did not get a mention in (friend of the blog) Rob Mahoney's piece. There is much work yet to be done.

D-League Digest: Grading Teams' Use of the D-League

Part four of a six-part series grading each NBA team on their use of the D-League, from Matt Hubert of D-League Digest.

Atlanta Hawks: 0.92 GPA
High Grade: D (RU)
Low Grade: F (THN)
Players Assigned: 3 (2 in last two years)
Players Called Up: 15 (1 in last two years)

THN’s Take (by Bret LaGree, Hoopinion): The Hawks get an F. They assigned Thomas Gardner and Othello Hunter to Anaheim for 1 and 3 games respectively in 2008. That’s the sum total of their recent involvement unless you count signing Mario West last season, which had more to do with his previous work with the Hawks than anything he did in his intervening time in the D-League.

Based on their actions I assume the Hawks have no interest in the league as a source of free agents or as a means to develop their own players.

Final Assessment: The Hawks’ usage of the D-League has been trending in the wrong direction. They had four call-ups in the 2002-03 season and three in 2003-04, but after two apiece during the 2004-05, 05-06, and 06-07 seasons, they’ve had just one in the past two seasons and haven’t been particularly active in terms of assignments either. The decision to call-up of Mario West shows the Hawks’ lack of investment in the D-League as most people believe there were better prospects available at the time.

Hey, at least the Hawks didn't get an incomplete.

Hawks Again To Be Affiliated With Utah Flash

This is probably not the post that will determine for sure whether the comments are back in proper working order (Apologies.) but it's a sign that the Hawks, again, won't be making use of the D-League. The reason may be as much cultural and demographic as indicative of the franchise's best wishes. The nearest D-League team to Atlanta is in Fort Wayne, Indiana (507 miles).

Candidate for the 13th Roster Spot: Diamon Simpson

I liked him before the draft:

Simpson breaks the promising barrier of three blocks and three steals per 100 possessions, rebounds both ways, and stands the greatest chance of providing Luc Richard Mbah a Moute-type value (though likely without the ability to guard as many positions) to an NBA team in the 2009-10 season.

At Basketball Prospectus, Kevin Pelton likes what he's done in the D-League this season:

Diamon Simpson is the oddity in this group, a player the stats like much, much more than the scouts. DraftExpress doesn't have him among its list of top 25 potential callups, but he rates here as the best player in the D-League. The big issue is Simpson's size. As a 6'7" power forward, he might not be able to compete in the NBA. Even his numbers show some red flags, as his translated True Shooting Percentage would make him an extremely inefficient scorer in the NBA. Still, there are some things to really like. Simpson has been a beast on the offensive glass; his translated 14.7 percent offensive rebound percentage would put him sixth in the league, just behind DeJuan Blair. His steal percentage is also phenomenal for a big man, and Simpson blocks plenty of shots too. Oddly, Simpson's statistics last year as a senior at St. Mary's were nowhere near this impressive.

I don't know about that last sentence. In addition to the aforementioned impressive block and steal rates, Simpson's offensive and defensive rebound rates at St. Mary's were 12.2/24.0, almost exactly the same as more widely touted second-round sleeper Ahmad Nivins and slightly better than Jeff Pendergraph, who is rebounding at a handy 11.3/24.2 clip very early in his NBA career.

Background on Pelton's D-League-to-NBA translations.

Mario West, Professional Basketball Player

This one's for Karibo.

From Hardwood Paroxysm, where Matt Moore scours the D-League transaction wire:

The Maine Red Claws, presented by Quirk Chevrolet, today announced that the team has acquired Mario West. To make room on the roster, the team waived Stanley Thomas. The announcement was made by Red Claws President and General Manager Jon Jennings.

West, 25, appeared in 117 regular season games with the Atlanta Hawks over the last two seasons. He saw action in five preseason contests with the Hawks this season, putting in 2.2 ppg, 3.0 rpg and 1.0 spg. He was waived by Atlanta on October 22. West signed an NBA D-League contract and was claimed by the Red Claws.

Utah Flash Draft Garret Siler in First Round

That would be Utah Flash, D-League affiliate of the Atlanta Hawks. It may not be official but the people* are now free to consider Garret Siler to be the Hawks' fifth-string center.

Brad Jones, head coach of the Utah Flash:

"We are very excited to bring a big guy with his potential to the Utah Flash."

*People excited by size, by someone not having played basketball as long as other professional basketball players, and by compiling above average stats in Division II. What do I know, though? Jon L at Ridiculous Upside thinks Siler's "probably the best big man in the pool." That's only going to make John Bryant work that much harder.

Courtney Sims Is Coming To Camp

Buried beneath Joe Smith quote catering to intagiphiles and confirmation of the coming addition of Jason Collins* Sekou Smith shared this interesting tidbit yesterday:

Second-year forward Othello Hunter has committed to attend the Hawks’ training camp, which kicks off late next month.

He’ll join a growing list of camp invitees that already includes rookie free agent Garrett Siler, Frank Robinson and Courtney Sims.

Good news about Othello Hunter. The Hawks could do worse** than keep a fifth big man who could, if called upon, rebound and defend the four without embarrassment.

Even better news about Courtney Sims. He hasn't stuck in the NBA, playing 24 minutes in five games for three teams over the last two seasons, but in 1573 minutes in the D-League he's been outstanding, averaging 22 points and 10 rebounds per 36 minutes.

Inviting the reigning D-League MVP to camp demonstrates an increased organizational interest in both the D-League as a development system and in deepening the pool of potential bench players beyond veterans whose recent career (and less-recent fame) makes one hope they remain well down the depth chart and locals whose careers make no strong case for their involvement in the NBA in any sort of playing capacity.

*More on him when it's official.

**And, as it looks possible they'll end up with four centers on the roster, this may cease to be a hypothetical.

Hawks' D-League Affiliate To Be In Orem, UT

The Hawks old affiliate, the Anaheim Arsenal, moved to Springfield, MA. Apparently the Hawks needed to maintain near-maximum inefficiency with regard to location so they'll share (Ha!) the Utah Flash with the Utah Jazz.

I don't expect Jeff Teague or Sergey Gladyr to play there but maybe Othello Hunter can get another three-game stretch of experience while the Hawks are on a West Coast road trip.

D-League Roundup

Othello Hunter

• Scored 12 points (6-16 FGA, 0-4 FTA) and grabbed 11 rebounds (5 offensive) on 2/18.
• Scored 3 points (1-9 FGA, 1-2 FTA) and grabbed 8 rebounds (3 offensive) on 2/20.
• Scored 10 points (5-12 FGA) and grabbed 11 rebounds (6 offensive) on 2/21.

Thomas Gardner

• Scored 21 points (8-16 FGA, 3-7 3PTA, 2-2 FTA) in 26:13. Added 1 assist and turned the ball over three times on 2/20.
• Scored 26 points (9-16, 1-6 3PTA, 7-9 FTA) in 31:06. Grabbed 7 rebounds, had an assist, and just one turnover.

I'll total up their lines and calculate the advanced stats once it's confirmed that they're rejoining the Hawks. Anaheim doesn't play again until the 27th, so it may be a couple of days before we know for sure.