Atlanta Hawks: Rookie draft pick Mike Scott signs contract
The Hawks today signed rookie forward Mike Scott, their second-round pick in the June draft.
Scott signed a two-year contract for the minimum salary that includes some guarantees, according to Hawks GM Danny Ferry. The minimum salary for 2012-13 is $473,604.
“Mike will be on the team this year,” Ferry wrote in a text message.
Today is the deadline for teams to at least extend a required tender to second-round draft picks in order to retain their rights.
Scott, 24, was the No. 43 overall draft pick and Atlanta’s second selection behind guard John Jenkins. Scott figures to benefit from the Hawks’ efforts to strengthen their player-development program but he’s not projected to play much in 2012-13.
When the Hawks drafted Scott, GM Danny Ferry said he’s strictly a power forward. That means Scott is slotted behind Josh Smith, Al Horford, Zaza Pachulia, Ivan Johnson, Jordan Williams and perhaps Johan Petro in the frontcourt rotation.
Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat
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240 comments Add your comment
Ken Strickland
September 11th, 2012
9:40 am
http://www.detroitbadboys.com/2012/9/8/3303441/nba-offseason-recap-atlanta-hawks
Read and enjoy, although some of you will cringe at the writers ideas about JSmith.
Buddy G
September 11th, 2012
11:33 am
“And isn’t it nice to have another ex-Woody assistant on the sidelines this year for us? The family just keeps growing!”
If you’re talking about Atkinson, he was the only coach that was retained from D’Antoni’s staff after Woody took over. He was an outsider to Woody’s staff and sat behind the bench, not on it. Dolan initially wanted Atkinson fired but was talked out of it, then refused to let him interview for a job in Portland.
I doubt he came to the Hawks on Woody’s recommendation… don’t see him doing LD any favors.
Buddy G
September 11th, 2012
12:06 pm
Decent analysis Ken S., but it’s another writer who doesn’t think the Hawks will make the playoffs. I think the Hawks will not only make the playoffs but compete for home court advantage.
Ken Strickland
September 11th, 2012
1:49 pm
BUDDY G-We are in total agreement. Let’s face it, even without JJ, Marvin and all of the jumpshooters we’ve had since MWoodson became HC, we were primarily a jumpshooting team that seldom attacked the lane. But now, this team currently has at least 5 players(Korver, Jenkins, Morrow, Williams, Harris), that are as good at shooting the 3 as anyone we’ve had in the past.
We all knew what was in store for us if Flip Murray, Jamal Crawford, JJohnson, MBibby, or KHinrich, weren’t hitting their 3s or outside shots. What are the odds of high percentage shooters(especially 3pt shooting)like Jenkins, Morrow, Korver, Williams and Harris being off in their shooting during the same gm? And if Anderson manages to make the active roster, we can add another potential high percentage shooter to the list.
Ferry intends for this team to be more like the Spurs on OFF and DEF. We’ll be loaded with high percentage 3pt threats, which will definitely spread the DEF. This will allow more room for Josh, Horford, JWilliams and Ivan to provide the inside scoring, while Teague, Harris, Morrow, and Williams will consistently attacks the lane.
I’ll guarantee you that Ferry will have a big hand in restructuring the DEF approach. He’ll have us switch from the individual style of one on one DEF to a more team oriented DEF system, which the Spurs have relied on. Since BBowen retired, TDuncan is the only player they can count on consistently to be a DEF stopper. You can’t convince me that Bonner, TParker, Ginobilli, or any of their other key players, other than Duncan, are better than average defenders.
Just like the Bulls and Celtics, they’ve made the team DEF concept work for them. In order for LDrew to keep his job after this season, he’ll have to successfully impliment the approach Ferry wants for this team from here on out. Otherwise, we might see him get replaced by a Spurs assistant.
Najeh Davenpoop
September 11th, 2012
2:28 pm
Hawks sign Damion James, according to Adrian Wojnarowski. You may remember him as the guy the Hawks drafted in 2010 and traded on draft night for Jordan Crawford and the first pick in the second round.
Najeh Davenpoop
September 11th, 2012
2:28 pm
Adrian Wojnarowski @WojYahooNBA
Free agent forward Damion James has reached agreement on a one-year deal with Atlanta, agent Mark Bartelstein told Yahoo! Sports.
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Najeh Davenpoop
September 11th, 2012
2:29 pm
So in other words, this is Danny Ferry’s plan for the SF position this season.
My guess is there are no guarantees in his deal, seeing as how he has been injured pretty much his entire NBA career.
Najeh Davenpoop
September 11th, 2012
2:30 pm
Gotta wonder if the invisible hand of Rick Sund was behind this signing, seeing as how Sund drafted him.
Grandad
September 11th, 2012
2:40 pm
Ken S
Thanks for the ‘ link ‘ @ 9:40 am.
Finally someone agrees with me:
“Josh Smith`s 27-year-old waning athleticism”.
Add the fact;
he`s never really developed a skill set,
for the day – the legs give out.
i_am_soulstar
September 11th, 2012
2:41 pm
Damion James. He wasn’t too bad with the Nets when i saw him on the court, for however short a period that was. Too bad, I was really hoping the Hawks worked something out with Pietrus.
i_am_soulstar
September 11th, 2012
2:43 pm
I’m hoping they worked this guy out first. 32 games in 2 seasons? :/ one of them was lockout shortened, but still…
Jae Evolution
September 11th, 2012
2:44 pm
Didn’t expect much from whoever we did sign. He can rebound, defend (I guess), and hustle for transition points. Not going to expect much more from him, he’ll play his hardest for us for the year looking for a roster spot next summer.
Buddy G
September 11th, 2012
2:58 pm
“I was really hoping the Hawks worked something out with Pietrus.”
Rumor has it that his last two stops he has not been a positive presence in the locker room.
i_am_soulstar
September 11th, 2012
3:04 pm
Heard Damion James was primarily a defensive guy coming out of college. The sample size might be inadequate, but I’m sure it’s a low risk situation.
I hear the Spurs are still trying to move Dejuan Blair. It’s amazing that they have so many talented bigs on their roster they could actively shop of a guy like Blair who’s still on a rookie contract.
ACLs or no ACLs, I’d trade Jenkins for Blair, and match whatever gets thrown at Blair as an RFA in 2013.
I like Jenkins, but Blair has already shown that he’s an NBA starter-caliber player. And he won’t have to worry about there being a glut of 4s (Splitter, Bonner, Duncan) that limit his playing time.
i_am_soulstar
September 11th, 2012
3:06 pm
Buddy G.,
Thanks, I guess that explains why everyone’s only offering him the vet. min.
i_am_soulstar
September 11th, 2012
3:14 pm
I guess Ferry’s serious about this player development thing.
KevinM
September 11th, 2012
3:15 pm
James averaged at double/double his last year at Texas…..those nimbers are better than anything Marvin put together.
He’s cheap, he’s virtually a no-risk for Danny, so we’ll see if he can take advantage of the situation.
What IMO won’t be much different is LD; no way he learns to coach a different way all of a sudden. He has little control of his team once they are on the court.
“I doubt he came to the Hawks on Woody’s recommendation… don’t see him doing LD any favors.”
Buddy, I didn’t suggest Woody gave his okay nor did I suggest this was a Woody hiring in NY. Simply put, a former Woody assistant who was kept on the staff with Woody is in Atlanta now. So he is a former Woody assistant. He has some proving to do along with LD and the coaches who were retained.
i_am_soulstar
September 11th, 2012
3:16 pm
Which probably means that the days of the Hawks signing guys in the twilight of their careers (unless it’s someone really good) are over for a while.
i_am_soulstar
September 11th, 2012
3:24 pm
Damion’s handles and passing aren’t that great though, which remind me of Marvin. Unless Marvin had a clear lane when driving, he was a guaranteed turnover waiting to happen. Maybe they’ll help him ‘develop’ this aspect of his game though.
Astro Joe
September 11th, 2012
3:28 pm
Well, at least Damion isn’t likely to hoist a ton of jumpers.
Najeh, hard to say if Sund was drafting to keep him or if the trade with NJ was already done and Sund was drafting him on their behalf.
I seem to recall that he was considered something of a “sleeper pick” before that draft… of course, that didn’t project him to be hurt more often than healthy.
That being said, I’d be shocked if he is signed to a fully guaranteed deal and I wouldn’t assume this is the last move to acquire a SF by Ferry.
Astro Joe
September 11th, 2012
3:40 pm
James has played about 32 games or about 22% of the total games he could have played over the past two NBA seasons. That equates to about 18 games next season. If he triples that to 66%, he would still miss almost 30 games. So slow down on all of the projections… this guy has played less than half a season… he is essentially a 25 YO rookie.
Balance Is Key
September 11th, 2012
3:49 pm
Are we SURE Mike Scott can’t play the SF position?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ok8bXyISyH8
I really don’t see him translating into a PF in thye NBA
He May be 6′8 but he’s no Ivan the Terrible.
Balance Is Key
September 11th, 2012
3:50 pm
Dude can stroke it…
Just Joe
September 11th, 2012
3:52 pm
James is 6′7″ with a 7′0″ wingspan. I was happy when we made the pick (projected to go anywhere from 20-40 that year), but I was also happy when we traded him for Jordan Crawford & the 31st pick. Then I was disappointed when we sold the 31st pick.
Coming out of college, people thought he would be able to shoot the 3 & defend. In what’s shaping up to be a transition year, I have no problem with bringing in guys like Anderson & James to see what they can do. I’d much rather give them a spot on the roster than Deshawn Stevenson, who has no future with this team past this year.
i_am_soulstar
September 11th, 2012
4:00 pm
Requests to “slow down on all of the the projections” or chill out with the speculation continue to baffle me. What are sports blogs for again?
Astro Joe
September 11th, 2012
4:01 pm
Just Joe, co-sign. Let’s bring in all of the most recent first rounders who were dumped by their original team during their rookie contract. Where’s Jonny Flynn?
Astro Joe
September 11th, 2012
4:02 pm
soulstar, true enough. have fun projecting, don’t let me stop you. I’ve already projected that he will wear 30 different suits during the 2012-13 season.
i_am_soulstar
September 11th, 2012
4:03 pm
Seeing LD coach with this bunch is gonna be muy interesante. I think he’s in over his head. I like the guy, but with his weird rotations with players he was familiar with, I’m wondering what’s gonna happen with this new crop.
i_am_soulstar
September 11th, 2012
4:05 pm
Astro Joe
September 11th, 2012
4:02 pm
soulstar, true enough. have fun projecting, don’t let me stop you. I’ve already projected that he will wear 30 different suits during the 2012-13 season.
*****************************************************************
May be as accurate a projection as we’ll see on here.
MsDee
September 11th, 2012
4:19 pm
Najeh Davenpoop “My guess is there are no guarantees in his deal, seeing as how he has been injured pretty much his entire NBA career.”
What kind of injury did he have? I couldnt find it.
Astro Joe
September 11th, 2012
4:24 pm
I do like Ferry’s most recent focus on players who should be able to improve our rebounding. Both Scott and James will be expected to grab every loose ball and get it in the hands of one of the 17 guards on the team. That is a good thing. Ivan needs to sign his QO before Ferry reaches his quota of thick-bodied players.
Astro Joe
September 11th, 2012
4:26 pm
Excerpt from ESPN.
A broken right foot limited versatile forward Damion James to 32 games in his first two NBA seasons with the Nets, but that wasn’t enough to deter Atlanta.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, the Hawks have reached a one-year deal with the 6-foot-7, 225-pound forward.
James is not a good shooter at this stage in his career, but the 24-year-old showed what he’s capable of in what ended up being an injury-shortened 2011-12 season; 4.9 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 1.0 spg, 1.0 bpg in seven games.
If he can stay healthy, James could end up being a bargain in Atlanta, with Kyle Korver being the scoring small forward and James being the defensive-oriented 3.
CalmFury
September 11th, 2012
4:30 pm
Apparently I’m not alone in wondering who this guy is with his lack of game appearances. But if he can be a solid defender/rebounder, I think he can fill a need this season and try to prove his worth in the future.
I come here specifically for the speculation and opinions on (potential or actual) player movement, especially when I’m not familiar with the player but definitely not for the internet comment fight-to-the-deaths… IMO you never (really) win an argument on the internet, but some of you folks are nothing if not dedicated to your positions.
Buddy Grizzard
September 11th, 2012
4:49 pm
“What IMO won’t be much different is LD; no way he learns to coach a different way all of a sudden.”
I don’t think he learns a new way to coach, I think he gets to coach the way he knows how to coach now that ball-stopper Joe is out of the picture. As long as Joe was here, LD was going to bow and scrape for him. Now that he’s gone and the two focal points of the offense, Josh and Al, are willing passers, he has the opportunity to really implement his motion offense. I trash LD pretty hard core, but I’m actually expecting good things from him this year.
Buddy Grizzard
September 11th, 2012
4:55 pm
“Are we SURE Mike Scott can’t play the SF position?”
Balance is Key, do YOU think we should put him out there to guard LeBron and Carmelo?
Just Joe
September 11th, 2012
4:57 pm
So current roster is:
Teague, Harris, LouWill, Morrow, Jenkins, Stevenson, Korver, Anderson, James, Smith, Scott, Jordan Williams, Horford, Pachulia, and Petro.
That’s 15. Ivan would make 16. You can carry up to 20 going in to traning camp.
KevinM
September 11th, 2012
4:58 pm
Buddy, to go along with that, how about having our PFs run the break while we’re out there? Some things simply will not change.
LD’s relationship with Ivan? I still wouldn’t be surprised if he isn’t back. Danny has signed young guys Scott and James, so we may have seen the last of Ivan.
So as much as we know what LD is, many still think that he will now be able to show some leadership to this franchise.
I see LD as a .500 coach, and nothing more. I still see him as an extension of Woody.
jhan
September 11th, 2012
5:01 pm
I said before not to be suprised if LD’s offense looks good with this crew. There will be lots of open jump shots for a team full of jumpshooters – could be interesting.
Jae Evolution
September 11th, 2012
6:05 pm
The Nets signed Josh Childress to a one year non-guranteed deal.
Nets are severely underrated, if they could get a decent defending/rebounding C to put next to or behind Lopez they can challenge anyone.
PG – DWill/Watson
SG – JJ/Brooks/Bogans
SF – Wallace/ Childress/Overseas dude
PF – Blatche(?)/Humphries/Evans
C – Lopez/?
I would say they are contenders now with adding Blatche probably being another low-post presence and Childress an off the bench defender and transition and oop threat, scary.
KevinM
September 11th, 2012
6:13 pm
At this moment, the Nyets are paper tigers.
They have to perform on the court as well. Currently, they don’t have advantages over many teams. With them not having any time to mesh more than one camp, they could very easily start off very slow.