Diamond Stone had his path blocked with the Clippers.
There may be no such obstacle with the Hawks.
The Hawks acquired the little-used second-year center in a three-way trade this week. The big man joined the Hawks entry in the Las Vegas Summer League. Stone had his first practice on Saturday and is hopeful he can play in an upcoming game after missing the opener. The Hawks play the Pelicans at 4 p.m. (ET) Sunday at the Cox Pavilion on the campus of the University of Nevada-Las Vegas.
Stone was selected in the second round (No. 40 overall) by the Pelicans and immediately traded to the Clippers during last year’s draft. He played just one season at Maryland. With the Clippers he sat and watched behind veterans such as Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan.
With the trade, Stone joins a Hawks team with just rookie John Collins at power forward and Mike Muscala and Miles Plumlee at center. Stone said he didn’t realize the Hawks had just a deficiency of big men. While the Hawks will add to their roster, for a young, developing player there is a chance for Stone.
“I was 19 years old,” Stone said of his first NBA season. “I had to wait my turn. I feel like God gave me this opportunity for a reason and I’m going to take advantage of it.”
The 6-11, 265-pound Stone appeared in just seven games for the Clippers. He played in 13 game on the NBA G League and averaged 16.2 points and 7.0 rebounds.
Stone doesn’t lack for confidence – both for the fact that the Hawks can compete with a young roster that has lost most of its veterans and his ability.
On the Hawks: “I’m excited,” Stone said. “I feel like it’s a great opportunity for me in Atlanta. The Clipper organization taught me to humble myself. They taught me things about how to handle myself off the court. I had great vets – Paul Pierce, Chris Paul, DeAndre Jordan. I feel like this is a great young team. We have a great young core. It should be a great season. I feel like we are going to shock some crowds and shock some coaches.”
On his ability: “Personally, I can do it all. I’m comfortable putting the ball down. I’m comfortable shooting the ball. Pick-and-pop. Dribbling up. Shooting the ball. It’s really wherever the Hawks need me to fit. I’m really getting good at my passing, right and left hand passing. Great interior passing. I need to keep working on my perimeter defense. I made huge strides but it’s something to get better at.”
Following summer league, Stone plans to spend most of his time in Atlanta so he can continue to work on his game and build relationships and rapport with this new teammates.
“I feel like my competitive nature will carry to everyone on the team,” Stone sasid. “(Kent) Bazemore, (Dennis) Schroder, (Malcolm) Delaney I feel like they are dogs themselves. They want to win.”
