Hawks will get look at young players, draft picks in summer league
The Hawks are rebuilding around a core of young players and draft picks and several from each category will begin play in the Las Vegas Summer League on Friday.
The Hawks will field a team in the 24-team tournament that includes all three of last year’s draft picks, Taurean Prince, DeAndre Bembry and Isaia Cordinier, as well as all three of this year’s selections in John Collins, Tyler Dorsey and Alpha Kaba.
The Las Vegas Summer League runs through July 17. All teams are guaranteed five games. Teams are seeded after three scheduled games for tournament play.
The Hawks, who will be coached by assistant Charles Lee, are scheduled to play:
- Nets, 8 p.m. (ET) Friday on NBA TV
- Pelicans, 4 p.m. (ET) Sunday on NBA TV
- Bulls, 4 p.m. (ET) Monday on ESPNU
Collins recently signed his rookie contract, and Dorsey could sign a deal in the near future. General manager Travis Schlenk thinks Dorsey will make the Hawks’ regular-season roster. He was a second-round pick (No. 41 overall) out of Oregon.
“We err on the side of shooting,” Schlenk said of Dorsey (6-foot-4, 183 pounds). “There were bigger, longer guys available. We went with the shooter. At the end of the game, it’s the team with the most points that wins.”
In addition to the Hawks’ past six draft picks, soon-to-be acquired Diamond Stone most likely will be a part of the summer-league roster. The second-year center is a part of the three-team trade between the Hawks, Clippers and Nuggets that was expected to be finalized Thursday.
While the Hawks have not announced their final summer-league roster, the following players are expected to be on the team:
- Josh Magette, a point guard who played in the D-League (recently renamed the NBA G League) last season for the Los Angeles D-Fenders. He was the final cut on the Hawks' regular-season roster last season. The Hawks are expected to sign Magette to a two-way contract (the G League and the NBA) in the near future.
- Bryce Cotton, a point guard who played last season in Australia. He was with the Hawks in the summer league last year and has NBA experience.
- Trent Lockett, a shooting guard who played last season in Spain. He played collegiately at Arizona State and Marquette.
- Duje Dukan, a forward who plays in the G League for the Windy City Bulls. He played collegiately at Wisconsin.
- Quincy Ford, a wing who plays in the G League for the Salt Lake City Stars. He played collegiately at Northeastern.
- Richard Solomon, a forward who played in France last season. He was with the Hawks in the summer league last year.
- Nate Britt, a point guard from North Carolina who went undrafted this year.
- Tyler Cavanaugh, a center from George Washington who went undrafted this year.
About the Author
Chris Vivlamore is the sports editor at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He has served as reporter and editor at the AJC since 2003.
