Draft just one part of Hawks’ makeover

The five minutes the Hawks spend on the clock in the first round of Thursday night’s NBA draft is just a small part of a retooling of the roster that could take all summer.

It’s a process that’s actually already begun. The Hawks and the Golden State Warriors are close to completing a deal that would bring veteran guard Jamal Crawford to the Hawks for point guards Acie Law IV and Speedy Claxton.

The draft, a staple for the Hawks in recent years as they tried to rebuild a program from the ground up, is just an appetizer for the full-course meal that is free agency.

The Hawks enter the negotiating period, which begins July 1, with all sorts of business to tend to. And that includes deciding what to do with unrestricted free agents Mike Bibby, Flip Murray and Zaza Pachulia as well as restricted free-agent forward Marvin Williams.

“This is a big difference for us now because we built to this point with early draft picks, and now we have all these free agents,” Hawks coach Mike Woodson said Wednesday morning after watching North Carolina point guard Ty Lawson work out at Philips Arena. “Unlike in years past, we’re not going into the draft looking for a savior. We need a player that can help us, and if he does so immediately that’s really a bonus.”

Still, what the Hawks do with the 19th pick will be the clearest indication of where their priorities lie in free agency.

Crawford is a combo guard. He isn’t necessarily a replacement for Bibby or Law, but another shooter added to a roster in desperate need of even more firepower.

“We have so many free agents that no matter who we pick, we can make a case for him and adding him to our mix,” said Hawks assistant general manager Dave Pendergraft. “And the uncertainty and the unpredictability of free agency and what that brings, makes it nice to be picking at 19, where you’re not depending on someone to come in and rescue you.”

The Hawks worked out players of all shapes and sizes and position.

Lawson was the last point guard to come in, a position group highlighted by Wake Forest’s Jeff Teague, Virginia Commonwealth’s Eric Maynor and Florida State’s Toney Douglas.

Wayne Ellington, a teammate of Lawson’s at North Carolina, is one of several shooting guards expected to go in the first round. Louisville’s Terrence Williams and Xavier’s Derrick Brown also came in for workouts.

The Hawks saw plenty of big men as well, including Ohio State 7-footer B.J. Mullens and North Carolina’s Tyler Hansbrough, who impressed during a Sunday morning session where he was matched against Georgia Tech power forward Alade Aminu and Shawn Taggart of Memphis.

“The thing that I like is that we haven’t limited ourselves to anything,” said Woodson, whose role in the draft process was much more prominent this year with Hawks general manager Rick Sund and Pendergraft running things. “We’ve examined everything, and we will continue to do so right up until the very end. There’s so much that goes on during a draft, so many things that could change throughout the course of the night once teams start picking and the draft takes shape.”

Indeed, at 19 the Hawks could be the recipient of some good fortune if a player projected higher were to fall, something that always seems to happen on draft night.

“You have to be prepared for any and everything on draft night,” Pendergraft said. “And given the nature of what we’re dealing with, particularly in free agency after this, that’s the only approach you can take.”