The parking lot, which includes a rust-colored Bentley and a custom truck with massive wheels, provides the first clues this isn’t a typical pickup game.
A security guard with a sidearm pistol stands inside the door. He directs a visitor inside the gym, where the owner of the big truck, Joe Johnson, has the ball on the wing.
The man jostling for position with Johnson is Josh Smith. Jeff Teague is calling for the ball at the top of the key, but Johnson muscles into the lane and sinks one of his familiar fadeaway jump shots.
The Hawks teammates should be playing out this scene at training camp on the Philips Arena practice court. Instead, they are reduced to playing in a church gym in southeast Atlanta because NBA owners have locked out players.
That doesn’t mean Hawks players will be idle. Whether it’s overseas, in one of the pro-am leagues sprinkled around the country or in this nondescript church gym, the players are going to find a good game.
It’s what they do.
“We’ve been doing this long before we were getting paid,” Johnson said. “It ain’t about that. It’s about staying in shape and enjoying the game.”
The spectators on this day include friends of Hawks players and another 10 or so players. Other local pros who show up include Louis Williams (South Gwinnett High/76ers), Jarrett Jack (Georgia Tech/Hornets) and Derrick Favors (South Atlanta/Tech/Jazz).
Damien Wilkins, a free agent who played collegiately at Georgia and for the Hawks last season, is a regular, as is Al Thornton, a free agent who finished last season with the Warriors. Trey Thompkins and Travis Leslie, former Georgia teammates who were drafted by the Clippers in June, get their first NBA-level competition here.
These games tend to sprout up as training camp approaches. With no NBA training camp, the games will simply extended into the fall.
“This is probably the best competition right here,” Smith said. “I can get out there and bang bodies. It feels like a playoff game out there.”
Pickup games are the easiest option for players who want tough games. A more lucrative but also more drastic option is to play in pro leagues overseas.
Over the summer, a YouTube video of Johnson popped up in which he said he was thinking about doing so if the lockout lasted a while. But he said that’s not an option now.
“I’m just chilling, man,” he said.
Smith said playing overseas is “in the back of my mind” but he remains optimistic the lockout will end in the near future. But he added: “If this [lockout] so happens to last a little longer than it’s supposed to, I might have to seek other avenues of employment.”
Hawks center Zaza Pachulia already took that route. After playing for his native Georgia in the European Olympic qualifying tournament this summer, Pachulia signed a contract with a Turkish club that will allow him to return to Atlanta when a labor deal is reached.
Pachulia said earning a paycheck outside the NBA is nice but it’s not the only motivation.
“Forget about financial part, I really miss playing ball,” he said. “I still miss playing [NBA] ball.”
Teague said he’s not considering another pro league. Instead, he said he plans to enroll at Wake Forest in the spring to work on finishing his communications degree if the lockout drags on.
Teague, who entered the draft after his second college season, said he’s already enrolled in an online course.
“I think I need to get in the classroom so I can have a little more focus,” he said, laughing. “I end up having to email the teacher a lot, like, ‘Can I have a make-up?’”
When the lockout ends, the Hawks may need to add as many as six players, depending on the new rules. They have seven under guaranteed contracts for 2011-12: Pachulia, Johnson, Smith, Teague, Kirk Hinrich, Al Horford, and Marvin Williams.
It’s not clear when the lockout will end. The NBA has canceled the first two weeks of the season, and the two sides appear re-entrenched in drastically opposed positions after marathon bargaining sessions last weekend.
Smith said owners wanted to make sure players, who are paid bi-weekly during the regular season, miss a paycheck.
“We just have to show solidarity,” Smith said.
In the mean time they will keep playing together wherever they can find a good game.
