The Hawks have been busy in the month since their season came to an end.
The organization has held more pre-NBA draft player workouts than in recent years. General manager Wes Wilcox estimates that the Hawks have seen nearly 70 players in workouts in Atlanta and visits to other locations. That number does not include many of the projected top picks in Thursday’s draft.
Why have the Hawks worked out so many players? It’s a product of the number and placement of their selections this year. The Hawks have picks Nos. 21, 44 and 54. That’s three picks in the bottom two-thirds of the draft.
“This year we have a larger spectrum of opportunities in the draft,” Wilcox said.
With a greater spectrum comes a greater need for information. Wilcox credited the work of director of player personnel John Treloar and assistant general manager Jeff Peterson for their role in the process.
Typically, players projected to be selected in the top 15 will not work out for a team with the No. 21 pick. There are a finite number of days a player can work out before the draft. Agents must also understand the realistic range their player may fit and identify teams with positional needs. There are client expectations that have to be met. It is not necessarily beneficial for a player projected to be selected in a lottery position to work out for a team drafting in the bottom third of the first round.
A player such as LSU’s Ben Simmons, who could be the No. 1 overall pick, chose not to work out for any team before the draft.
It’s possible that the player the Hawks select in the first round never worked out for the team. There are other ways to obtain information, a process the Hawks’ basketball operations department works on year-round.
“We understand and respect the entire process,” Wilcox said.
There are diamonds that can be found in the second round, where the Hawks have two selections this year. Just listen to Draymond Green, who just finished his second straight appearance in the NBA Finals as a key member of the Golden State Warriors, rattle off the names of all 34 players who were selected before him in 2013.
Some of the players the Hawks brought in for pre-draft workouts could get an invitation to play for their entry in the Las Vegas Summer League next month.
The Hawks have also worked to maintain a relationship with local universities and colleges, Wilcox said. The team recently had Georgia Tech’s Marcus Georges-Hunt and Georgia’s Kenny Gaines and Charles Mann in for workouts.
“We’ve always tried to have a great deal of respect for the local universities – Georgia, Georgia Tech and Georgia State,” Wilcox said. “Even beyond. So we’ve had players from those schools in, sometimes multiple times, because we think it’s really important to know that body of players very well and show incredible respect and appreciation to the universities that we partner with.
“We are all the custodians of basketball here in Atlanta and the state of Georgia. I think we’ve been very fortunate to work with the coaches of those programs to bring them to our facility.”
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