Lamar Patterson had a feeling he would end up with the Hawks. It just took a little draft-night drama to get there.
Patterson went through 19 workouts, including two separate sessions with the Hawks, before last month’s NBA draft. The guard, out of Pittsburgh, felt good about the Atlanta workouts and the conversations he and his agent had with the team. Still, there are no guarantees.
On draft night, Patterson’s family and friends gathered in a conference room at a hotel in his hometown of Lancaster, Pa. While he knew there was only a slim chance he would be selected early, the first round seemingly took forever.
“I just wanted (the first round) to be over so we could get on with the more realistic part,” Patterson said. “The second round started, and it was flying by. I was like ‘C’mon, I need to hear my name called.’”
Patterson left the room and watched from the hallway. One of his brothers left the building. It was becoming too much to take.
When the Hawks were on the clock with the 43rd selection the anticipation was overwhelming. But the team used their second-round selection on Edy Tavares.
“I was like, ‘I don’t know if it’s going to happen,’” Patterson recalled.
His agent called and told him to keep watching, that stuff was happening and he should be patient for a little while longer.
Patterson was told the Bucks were going to select him with the 48th pick — and trade him to the Hawks. It didn’t take long for the celebration to begin.
“Once they said ‘With the 48th pick’ and all they said was ‘La’ and the room went crazy. It was surreal at first. It was five minutes of celebrating with my friends and family that were up there.
“Ten minutes later my brother comes up crying and he grabs me, and it just broke me down. It broke me down because everything he was feeling. Draft day was one I’ll definitely remember forever.”
The youngest of three boys, raised by his mother and grandmother who sent all of them to play and graduate from college, has come a long way. Now the work begins.
Patterson is playing in the Las Vegas Summer League with the Hawks, learning the system and trying to make an early impression in the competition for an open roster spot.
Through four games, Patterson has averaged 7.8 points. However, he has only three assists. For the player who models his game after Magic Johnson, he wants to do better.
“I’m picking up on (the offense) pretty decent, but I’m not going to say I’m an expert,” Patterson said. “I have a good grasp of it. I have to figure out how I can make my playmaking ability more involved in the game offensively. That is going to come at time.”
In his senior season at Pittsburgh, Patterson averaged 17.1 points, 4.3 assists and 4.9 rebounds per game. Pittsburgh coach Jamie Dixon said Patterson is a pass-first player who can play several positions. So far in summer league, he has played point guard, shooting guard and small forward.
“He has great vision and is very unselfish,” Dixon said. “That is ultimately why I feel he can become a very good player with his unselfishness and understanding of the game. I think he’ll have no issues playing different spots.
“(He is an NBA player) with his shooting and passing ability. He can score, play a role, play with other players and make good players even better and with his shooting he can spread the floor, which is a big part of the NBA now.”
The Hawks have Jeff Teague, Dennis Schroder and Shelvin Mack (qualifying offer) at the ball-handling guard position. There could be a spot for Patterson. He also could play a season overseas to develop, as several Hawks draftees have done in recent years.
“Definitely, I knew that going in,” Patterson said of the overseas option. “The Hawks weren’t the only team where that option was on the table. I knew that going in. Right now I’m doing everything I can (to stay). I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself to do this or that in order to stay. I know eventually I will have my opportunity. As long as I’m ready for that opportunity and I take it by the horns and run with it, I will be fine.”
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