Atlanta

Replacing Crawford


Philip Maymin
Basketball News Services 

Who will be the new replacement for Chris Crawford, out for the season with a knee injury? Head coach Mike Woodson has no idea and is even pondering the radical idea of banking on 18-year-old Josh Smith or fellow rookie Donta Smith for some valuable minutes. While the Hawks will be watching the waiver wires like, well, like hawks, they are probably also not averse to a trade or a free agent signing to shore up their front court.

But who is available? The always enigmatic Keon Clark is still out there, somewhere. Karl Malone is perhaps still technically a free agent but there's no way he would sign with the Hawks as it goes against everything he has said he is looking for. With all of Utah's latest offseason frontcourt acquisitions, perhaps Matt Harpring could be available? But would the Jazz trade last year's captain? Detroit has a loaded frontcourt... ah, wishful dreaming.

The only benefit to the Hawks is that they are still under the cap and could take a large contract off of the hands of a team loaded with forwards and centers in return for virtually no salary and possibly a second-round draft pick. That would be an ideal situation for Atlanta. If something can't be worked out before the regular season starts, then there seems to really be only one option: shop Antoine Walker.

Walker is taking up 38% of Atlanta's total salary right now. It's the last year of his contract. He could well be this year's Rasheed Wallace, as adding him to the right team could make them contenders. Much as the Hawks were able to profit from their one-game rental of Wallace last year, they will be able to profit from Walker this year.

Whatever they do, they should stop simply hoarding draft picks. Atlanta needs some frontcourt depth.

NEXT GAME
Nothing says a power lunch for school-age children like courtside seats at Phillips Arena to catch the Hawks battle the Memphis Grizzlies. Imagine your child's Show & Tell on Thursday ... getting to meet Bonzi Wells and Pau Gasol! Today's tipoff is at 11:00 a.m. EDT. There are no plans at this time to broadcast this game on TV but you can catch it on the radio if you tune your dial to 103.5 WRBO-FM. Contact the Atlanta Hawks at (404) 878-2858 or log onto Hawks.com for more information on how to reserve space for a class and school. Do it now!

TEAM NOTES
The Hawks will step foot on the floor of Philips Arena for the first time on Wednesday morning, playing an 11:00 am game against the Memphis Grizzlies in the Bank of America Kids Game.

Former Hawk and 15-year league veteran Grant Long has reached agreement to serve as the television analystfor Hawks games on PAX-TV, Turner South and FSN South this season. “This is a great opportunity for me to be able to do something that I love,” Long said. “I have good memories of my time playing with the Hawks, so I’m thrilled to remain in the game and in the city of Atlanta.”

The annual Atlanta Hawks Charity Golf Classic has been scheduled for October 29 at Bear's Best in Suwanee ... The event, presented by Philips Electronics, Bud Light, Delta Air Lines, Sprite, Jaguar Cars North America and Outback Steakhouse of Buckhead and Peachtree City, benefits the Hawks Foundation as well as the AFLAC Cancer Center and Blood Disorder Service of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta ... On November 1, the organization will hold the Charity Tip Off Luncheon at the Downtown Ritz-Carlton Hotel, benefiting the Hawks Foundation ... Last year's tournament raised in excess of $50,000 for charity, while the luncheon brought in over $10,000 ... Call (404) 827-3865 for more information.

INJURY UPDATE
Chris Crawford(knee) is lost for the season and possibly the rest of his career.Tony Delk(knee) is out indefinitely as his return date remains unclear.

NEWSLINES

Our own Patrick J. Austin ofHoopsworld.comwrites: Chris Crawford, the only player on our roster who’s spent his entire career in Atlanta, tore a right knee ligament and will miss the entire 2004/2005 season. To make matters worse for Chris, this was his contract year... Now, with this injury, it's safe to say we've seen the last of him in Atlanta, and possibly the league. I'd like to this time and look back at the up and down career of Chris Crawford.

John Manasso ofThe Atlanta Journal-Constitutionwrites: With the loss of Chris Crawford for the season to a knee injury, when Hawks coach Mike Woodson looks for some scoring off the bench at forward, he is glaring into a yawning chasm. So who will take Crawford's place?"I don't know right now," Woodson said. "I brought Josh Smith in for a few extra minutes [Monday against Miami]. One of those young guys, I've got to groom."... Teams must announce their rosters several days before the league's opening night, and with only about two weeks left before then, a helpful veteran could come across the wire in about a week or 10 days... "When you've got a talented kid like Josh Smith or [fellow rookie forward Donta Smith], those guys haven't played in our league," Woodson said. "So we've got to take a close look at those guys."

The Memphis Commercial Appealwrites: As part of the NBA's Read to Achieve initiative, the Hawks have invited schools across the Atlanta area to make attending the game a field trip.New faces make up the Hawks' roster as the team boasts 11 new players. Antoine Walker, Tony Delk, Al Harrington and veteran Kevin Willis are among the newcomers trying to improve the franchise.

Bob Kravitz ofThe Indianapolis Starwrites: This is not your father's Eastern Conference anymore... Even the Atlanta Hawks show signs they might awaken from their decade-long stupor.Seriously.