Atlanta Hawks: Camp Report Day 7

It appears the Hawks are in no hurry to add another veteran guard. And if Kirk Hinrich continues his quick recovery from shoulder surgery, Larry Drew said there’s a chance they may try to get by with that they have until he returns to the lineup.

“It sounds like he is healing pretty good,” Drew said today. “From my understanding, he is ahead of schedule, and that is a good thing. He wants to hurry up and get back but we have got to let this thing take its course. It’s something you can’t rush. Those type injuries they could really set you back.”

Hinrich had the procedure in early November and the Hawks said he would be out 3-4 months. He’s been shooting baskets but still doesn’t have full range of motion and hasn’t been cleared to run.

Drew said the Hawks inquired about free agent point guard Carlos Arroyo but were told he’s playing elsewhere. He said there have been internal discussions about Gilbert Arenas and other free agents but “right now we are not making decisions on any of those guys.”

So it’s possible the Hawks could start the season without adding another vet guard and patch it together while Hinrich mends.

“We’ve talked about that as a [coaching] staff and management,” Drew said. “But timetable-wise there is no guarantee when he is going to come back. It’s not like we know, ‘Exactly this date,’ and know what we are working with. We’ve got to make a decision from that point. Do we try to keep our head above water until he gets back or do we get some help? Right now we are going to go with what we have and if something falls through the cracks we will take a look.”

Right now at point guard the Hawks have Jeff Teague and Pape Sy plus camp invitees Brad Wanamaker and Donald Sloan. The shooting guards are veterans Joe Johnson and Tracy McGrady as well as camp invitees Zach Graham and Jerry Stackhouse. Sy and Wanamaker also can play there, and Drew said even Marvin Williams could spot minutes at shooting guard.

You can see that without Hinrich available to play both guard spots there’s not much depth at all, much less guys the Hawks can be certain will be productive and reliable. It spills over to small forward, too, where there is no real backup for Williams. McGrady, Johnson and Josh Smith can fill in there.

Camp report

• Rick Sund can sign another veteran to a minimum deal. I’m not certain if that would cause the Hawks to dip their toe across the luxury-tax line. They likely will end up with enough non-guaranteed contracts on the roster that they can make some adjustments later to avoid a year-end tax bill.
• Drew will have the ability to send out some very big lineups. How about McGrady, Johnson, Smith, Al Horford and Jason Collins or McGrady, Johnson, Williams, Smith, and Horford? “There are some different combinations I can use,” Drew said.
• Drew said Sy “has come a long ways as far as improvement,” called Wanamaker “a heady player” and still sounds like he’d like to keep Stackhouse: “He’s had a good camp so far.”
• As you probably heard by now, Jamal Crawford signed with Portland. It turns out he could have been had for the mid-level.
• The Hawks weren’t scrimmaging when media types were let in today but reports say Magnum Rolle has looked pretty good. Word is he’s playing much more aggressively than he did during last season’s Hawks practices and the June minicamp. Atlanta, of course, could use another true big in the rotation behind Al Horford, Zaza Pachulia, Jason Collins and Smith.
• Drew said McGrady sat out yesterday with a sore arm. He was back on the court today.
• Drew said there will be a short practice tomorrow followed by a 45-minute scrimmage. The public event starts at 7:30 7 p.m. at Philips Arena.

Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat