Atlanta

Googs Retiring?


Philip Maymin
Basketball News Services 

Tom Gugliotta, a former All-Star and a versatile forward now playing in his lucky 13th season, may be hanging up his sneakers after this year to spend more time with his Phoenix-based daughter. Or maybe, once he becomes a free agent this summer, he could convince the Suns that he would be a good bench player for them and a prodigal one, to boot. Either way, Googs is likely to be gone from the team that has given him more minutes than any other in the past half of a decade.

Gugliotta hasn't averaged 28.4 minutes per game, his current average as a Hawk, since the 1999-2000 season, when he was still a Sun. Until that point, he had averaged more than half an hour per game for seven straight years on four different teams. He'd been a Wizard, a Warrior, a Timberwolf, and a Sun.

Since injuring his MCL, ACL, and PCL on March 10, 2000, he has not played many minutes or many games in any season. It's the story of a career that's been winding down but has suddenly received a punch in the arm with a rejuvenated and healthier knee.

Would his veteran leadership and versatility be helpful to a young Hawks team that will likely only get younger after the draft? If they still need a frontcourt player, the Hawks could do a lot worse than re-signing Googs, but with their renewed emphasis on youth and building for the future, and given Gugliotta's desire to head west one way or another, the likelihood of him coming back is minimal at best.

We may be watching his last hurrah in these last 12 games.

NEXT GAME
The Atlanta Hawks (11-59, fifth in the Southeast) finish their two-game divisional road trip TONIGHT with a game at Washington against the Wizards (39-30, second in the Southeast). The game starts at 7:00pm Eastern and will be broadcast on NBA League Pass.

TEAM NOTES
What do Tyronn Lue and John Goodman have in common? Why does Tony Delk wear #00? And what's the connection between Josh Childress and LL Cool J? Find out in the newest Pop Up Hawkvideos!

INJURY UPDATE
Michael Stewart
(back) andKevin Willis(back) are on the injured list.Al Harrington (knee tendonitis) is questionable for tonight's game.

NEWSLINES

Sekou Smith ofThe Atlanta Journal-Constitutionwrites: Gugliotta has made peace with the good and bad of a career that has had as many highs as lows. That's why he's decided his 13th NBA season — this season — will be his last. Well, maybe."I went into this season thinking this was it," said Gugliotta, whose Hawks will take the floor against Washington Wednesday night at the MCI Center in the same town his NBA career began. "It's just the way I approached this whole thing, that I'd retire after this year and get one with the life." But that was before a trade deadline deal sent him from Boston to Atlanta. And before he went from seldom-used reserve for the Celtics to a key component for the struggling Hawks.

Scott Preston ofStuff New Zealandwrites: Only in the country five days, Kantrail Horton has already managed five different first-name spellings... Just days before jetting to New Zealand, Horton, 27, had been rubbing shoulders with NBA superstars in Atlanta. After finishing the ABA season with the Kansas City Knights 10 days ago, Horton went back to his home state to recover. He watched the Phoenix Suns play the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night and was introduced to Amare Stoudamire, Shawn Marion and members of the Western Conference-leading Suns by former college teammate at Iowa State, Paul Shirley, a Suns bench player.

Michael Lee ofThe Washington Postwrites: For several months, Jordan had been speaking with apprehension about the month of March, when the Wizards were scheduled to play 10 of 15 games on the road. He even joked that he was "looking forward to April." But the Wizards have already guaranteed a winning month, going 8-6 -- including 5-5 on the road, following the Western Conference trip -- as they prepare to host the Atlanta Hawks tonight. With a win against the Hawks, the Wizards would set a new mark for wins at MCI Center with 25.They will play eight of their next 11 games at home, where they are 24-9, fourth-best in the East.

Johnny Ludden ofThe San Antonio Express-Newswrites: Manu Ginobili took it upon himself to make sure the Spurs didn't completely cough up their 23-point lead against Atlanta.More Spurs coverage # Duncan's return uncertain from moderate ankle sprain # Ginobili follows own path toward leadership status # Manu meter: vs. Atlanta Hawks # Tale of the tape: Manu vs. Man U # Tonight: Spurs (52-18) vs. Sonics (49-21) # KENS audio: Tony Parker on the Spurs' injuries # David Flores: Basketball never far from Bass' mind # Spurs of yore: Larry Kenon, No. 35 # Mike Monroe: Playoff-bound West teams have some pesky issues to address After the Hawks climbed within 88-79, he re-entered the game and promptly drove to the basket on six consecutive possessions. Ginobili scored on each, either at the foul line or the rim, and punctuated the performance with a dunk.