The battle has begun.
The Hawks may have a couple of training camp invitations and perhaps one roster spot available come September. A group of hopefuls began their journey as part of the Hawks Las Vegas Summer League team Friday.
The Hawks opened with an 86-71 loss to the Nuggets at the Cox Pavilion on the campus of the University of Nevada-Las Vegas.
Lamar Patterson, a second-round pick last year, led the Hawks with a game-high 16 points. He added four rebounds and three assists in 20 minutes. Patterson is one of the hopefuls.
“I thought Lamar was good,” said Hawks assistant Kenny Atkinson, who is coaching the team.
Brandon Ashley, who went undrafted out of Arizona, finished with 15 points and five rebounds in 21 minutes for the Hawks.
The Hawks do have two players who are guaranteed to be on the roster at the start of the season in Mike Muscala and Edy Tavares. Muscala, who has played two seasons with the Hawks, finished with eight points and six rebounds. Tavares, a second-round pick last year, had four points, five rebounds and two blocks.
Terran Petteway added 11 points for the Hawks as the starting shooting guard.
“I thought Brandon Ashley showed some signs,” Atkinson said. “I thought Petteway showed some signs. We are figuring these guys out, what they can do, what they can’t do.”
The Hawks started Stephen Holt, Petteway, Patterson, Muscala and Tavares. Tomas Bellas, Josh Davis, Jon Horford and Trey McKinney-Jones did not play with a crowded roster. They will likely get playing time in upcoming games. Glenn Robinson III, only added to the roster Thursday, did not dress. He will be a player that will be in the mix for a camp invitation.
“I just wanted to come out, make sure I was aggressive and take open shots to help my team as best I could,” Ashley said. “Playing on this level, it so much faster and the decisions are a whole lot faster. Coming out and competing against guys who are just as athletic as you. It’s like anything, you have to use your mind and skill set.”
Gary Harris led the Nuggets with 15 points. First-round pick Emmanuel Mudiay was impressive with 11 points, five rebounds and four assists.
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