Hawks seek Summer League dividends

In other words, the Summer League isn't the league. That's evident by that makeup of Atlanta's bench, where assistant coach Lester Conner will sub for Larry Drew, and also a roster missing nearly all of Atlanta's veterans.

Teague, a point guard, is the only player on the summer roster who is certain to play a major role for the team in 2010-11. Rookie guard Jordan Crawford still has to carve out a role and fellow draft picks Sergiy Gladyr and Pape Sy most likely are headed back to their European teams in the winter.

The rest of Atlanta's summer roster features players hoping to catch on with the Hawks or another team. They range from undrafted rookie free agents to Luke Jackson, the No. 10 overall NBA draft pick in 2004 who is trying to scrap his way back into the league.

But there is value for the Hawks going to Las Vegas. They hope to bring along Teague and Crawford and possibly find a big man from among the free agents on the summer team.

The lower-stakes nature of the Summer League could work to coach Larry Drew's advantage when it comes to Teague.

“What I told him is basically I am going to turn him loose,” Drew said. “I want him to be himself. I don't want him to be concerned about making mistakes and missing shots because I have all the confidence in the world in his ability.”

Drew said he plans to take the opposite tact with Crawford, whom the Hawks acquired in a draft-night trade. At Xavier he led the Atlantic 10 in scoring last season but now will have to become a complementary scorer on a veteran team.

Drew wants Crawford to start working on filling that role in Las Vegas.

“I know he was a big-time scorer in college and I don't want to take away his aggressiveness,” Drew said. “But shot selection is a big key at this level. I will allow him to be himself but I will be letting him know if I think it's a bad shot.”

The Hawks own the rights to Sy and Gladyr, their second-round picks in the last two drafts. Both players have a year left on contracts with their respective European teams.

The Hawks have no plans to buy out those deals and add the players to their NBA roster.

“Now is not the right time,” Hawks assistant general manager Dave Pendergraft said. “We brought them over here to get experience. The game plan is for them to learn the system and get them some exposure to some NBA-level players.”

The Hawks are looking to add a center or power forward to the NBA roster. They will get a close look at five frontcourt players on the summer team with pro experience: Alade Aminu, James Augustine, Jermareo Davidson, Richard Hendrix and Randolph Morris.

Hawks Roster

Name, Position, Height, School/County (NBA experience)

Alade Aminu, F, 6-10, Georgia Tech (R)

James Augustine, F, 6-10, Illinois (2)

Jordan Crawford, G , 6-4, Xavier (R)

Jermareo Davidson , F, 6-10, Alabama (2)

Trey Gilder, F, 6-9, Northwestern State (1)

Sergiy Gladyr, G, 6-5, Ukraine (R)

Richard Hendrix, F, 6-9, Alabama (R)

Luke Jackson, F/G, 6-7, Oregon (4)

Landon Milbourne, F, 6-7, Maryland (R)

Randolph Morris, C, 6-11, Kentucky (4)

Pape Sy, G, 6-6, France (R)

Jeff Teague , G, 6-2 Wake Forest (1)

Hawks Schedule

Mon. vs. Memphis, 10:30 p.m.

Wed. vs. San Antonio, 6:30 p.m.

Thurs. vs. Milwaukee, 8:30 p.m.

Sat. vs. D-League Select, 10:30 p.m.

Sun. vs. Minnesota, 6:30 p.m.

Television

None of Atlanta's games will be shown live on NBA TV, though all will be re-aired the next day on that channel. The first two games (Monday vs. Memphis and Wednesday vs. San Antonio) will be streamed live at ESPN3.com.

A package for live video of all the games is available for purchase at www.nba.com/summerleaguebroadband.