Mike Muscala doesn’t have to be here.
The Hawks’ young forward/center recently completed his second season in the NBA. He no longer has an obligation to play in the annual summer-league tournament.
Yet, here he is.
“I want to get better,” Muscala said Friday night after the Hawks’ opening game in the Las Vegas Summer League. “I think it’s really valuable for me to get more playing experience, to continue to play within the offense and learning to make reads and adjusting to the offense. I’m taking it in stride, trying to learn every day.”
This is more than simply playing against first- and second-year players and hordes of others looking for training-camp invitations or roster spots internationally or in the NBA Development League. Muscala will work on being the first option of an offensive possession — something that has not been the case during his brief professional career.
“I think he wants to improve as a player and we, as a staff, and him decided this is another tool to get better,” said Hawks assistant coach Kenny Atkinson, who is leading the Hawks’ entry. “The good thing about this is he can be the focal point a little. … What’s it like to be the first option on a team? What’s it like to lead a team? He is kind of leading this group. It’s not the regular season, but I think it’s a great experience for him all around.”
The ceiling continues to be high for Muscala. Although playing on a non-guaranteed contract, he is not going anywhere. Hawks management considers the second-round pick the steal of the 2013 NBA Draft and a player they want to continue to develop.
Muscala, 6-foot-11, played in 20 games as a rookie after he began his professional career playing in Spain. Las season, he appeared in 40 games and averaged 4.9 points and 3.0 rebounds in 12.6 minutes. Muscala appeared in 10 of the Hawks’ 16 postseason games last season and played more than 10 minutes in six of them.
There is detail work to do now.
“It’s little things,” Muscala said of what he wants to work on during this tournament and offseason. “I think my ball-handling, passing, finishing around the rim. I think I’m a pretty good rebounder and defender but just getting more comfortable within the offense. Taking my time. I think that’s what good offensive players in this league do. They are really patient and really confident in their shots. I want to continue to do that.”
The Hawks made a concerted to get bigger in the offseason. They added 6-11 Tiago Splitter in a trade with the Spurs. They signed 7-3 Edy Tavares to a contract after last year’s second-round pick spent a season in the same league in Spain where Muscala played. Along with starting center Al Horford, Splitter and Muscala can play the center/power forward role. Summer league is a chance to work on his skills away from the basket in the offense. He said it’s also a chance to hone his defensive skills as a power forward.
“It’s different,” he said after starting at forward in the summer-league opener. “I’m being more of the shift guy and not necessarily being the guy who is coming over to alter shots or block shots. That’s another good thing for me to work on, something I struggled with during the season. I would come over and try to block shots when I was supposed to be the help guy and become a more rotation defender.”
Muscala had eight points, six rebounds and a block in 24 minutes of the Hawks’ 86-71 loss to the Nuggets on Friday. The Hawks play the Warriors on Sunday in the second game of the tournament.
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