On the surface this does not appear to be big news. Many teams have a similarly accomplished former player in a similar role. A closer look reveals that this small addition to the coaching staff could change the direction of the Hawks franchise.

Van Exel played 13 seasons in the NBA from 1993-2006, finishing his career with 12,658 points while averaging 6.6 assists per contest. He was named to the 1997-98 Western Conference All-Star team and earned a reputation as one of the most exciting guards in the league to watch. (Click Here for a full recap of his playing career in the official press release) His handles (immortalized by Jay-Z in the song “Crazy in Love”) were among the best of his era, and his brash style of play allowed the 6’1″, 170-pound guard to fill up the highlight tapes while playing primarily below the rim.

As a Player Development Instructor for the Hawks Van Exel will have contact with Joe, Jamal and Bibby, but veterans with nearly a decade (or more) of experience can only alter their approach so much. It is the potential influence Nick can have on the Hawks younger players that is exciting.

Up until now I would guess that few, if any, people have labeled Jeff Teague as “brash”. On the flip side, I doubt that anyone has described Nick Van Exel as “quiet” or “timid”. Van Exel played every night like he had a very large chip on his shoulder. Even after he had well established himself as a top-tier guard in the league he seemed to play like he was always out to prove any doubters wrong. If Teague can adopt any of that defiant, brash, aggressive (but under control) style that Van Exel perfected, then his value to the Hawks this year and beyond has just shot through the roof.

Earlier this summer in Vegas Jordan Crawford showed that he has some of that aggressive style in his game. Van Exel should be able to teach him how to perfect it and how to develop the skills and decision making that must accompany that aggression. Hopefully they can get past the whole cross-town rivalry from their days at Xavier and Cincinnati.

AL HORFORD
While Horford has been seen plenty around the ATL this summer, he has probably logged more miles than any of his teammates. Starting with his trip to Singapore with the NBA’s  Basketball Without Borders program, Horford seems to be working at a different camp, clinic or showcase every week. (Click Here to watch Al’s Flip Cam footage from his trip to Singapore)

The Bleacher Report recently put Al in their list of Top-10 Foreign NBA Players, and earlier this month he returned to the Dominican Republic to give back to his homeland. Joined by plenty of current and former NBA players including Francisco Garcia, J.R. Smith, and BJ Armstrong, Horford conducted multiple free camps for local youths.

MARVIN WILLIAMS
Earlier this summer Marvin conducted a camp in his hometown of Seattle, and this past week he jumped at the chance to join a host of NBA players as they traveled to Senegal for Basketball Without Borders – Africa.

JAMAL CRAWFORD
Crawford spends most of his summer back in Seattle where he seems to split his time evenly between giving back to the community and playing basketball in various leagues and charity events. Check out some of his highlights in this previous post and visit his foundation’s website to see all of the ways he gives back.

ZAZA PACHULIA
Big Z has been playing for the Republic of Georgia’s national team, trying to qualify for EuroBasket 2011. His schedule takes him through many countries in Europe, including Belgium, Bulgaria, Poland and others. Through the first three games his team is 2-1 and Pachulia is tied for the second highest scoring average, trailing only the Bulls Luol Deng, who plays for Great Britain. (Previous Blog Post)

JOSH POWELL
Powell scored 31 points in the championship game of the SJG Greater NC Pro-Am held in Durham. The three day tournament featured NBA players such as Raymond Felton and plenty of college and amateur talent. Check out these two stories written for SLAM Magazine about the tournament that has been dubbed the “Rucker of the South”. Tourney Recap | Day 1 Stories

This first one is the most impressive. While Jamal has had some impressive dunks in his career, his “hops” have not been on display while he has worn a Hawks jersey. This past weekend he showed he can still get up when his legs are fresh:

Note: Reports were that Jamal dropped 67 points in the game that was part of the Seattle Pro-Am. Brandon Roy and Nate Robinson are also reportedly participating in the weekly games that take place at Jamal’s alma mater (if you look at the scoreboard you can see that they are playing at Crawford Court).

This next clip is of Jamal crossing up a defender at a charity basketball event earlier this summer:

And finally, a local news report about that same game:

Last summer Zaza helped Georgia earn their first promotion into Division A by scoring 17.9 points and grabbing 8.5 rebounds per game (including a 34 point outburst against the Slovak Republic) as the team went 9-1 on the way to the Championship. Now the team is trying to qualify for EuroBasket 2011, which will serve as a qualifier for the 2012 Olympics in London.

To qualify for EuroBasket 2011, Zaza and his Georgian teammates will need to win their Group outright, or finish as one of the two best second place teams in the tournament. (This chart shows the qualifying format.) Georgia is part of Group C, and will be competing against Poland, Portugal, Bulgaria and Belgium.

Zaza and the team got off to a great start on Monday, defeating Marcin “The Polish Hammer” Gortat and Poland by a final score of 84-65 (Full recap and Box Score). Pachulia led all scorers with 26 points and added 8 rebounds while limiting Gortat to just 10 points and 3 boards. Zaza’s 26 was tied for the second most on the first day of competition, trailing only the Chicago Bulls’ Luol Deng, who scored 32 for Great Britain.

The Republic of Georgia remains a longshot to make the Olympics in 2012, but Zaza is helping the team reach uncharted territory with their recent accomplishments. The elevation to Division A sent fans into a frenzy last summer, and qualifying for EuroBasket 2011 would have to be considered one of the greatest athletic accomplishments in the country’s history.

Zaza and his teammates continue their quest to make history on Thursday when they take on Belgium.

ANOTHER GATOR
Zaza has been listening to one Florida Alum brag about back-to-back NCAA Championships for three years now, but this is the first time he will continue to get an earful while competing overseas. Taurean Green, point guard on Al Horford’s teams at the University of Florida, gained citizenship in Georgia this past June and started against Poland on Monday.

WORTH NOTING
Sergii Gladyr, the Hawks second round pick in 2009 and recent participant on Atlanta’s Summer League team, is playing for the Ukraine in the same tournament. He scored 8 points and pulled down 11 boards in his team’s first game, a 71-58 loss to F.Y.R. of Macedonia.

Wright played for the Hawks for two stints, the first from 1999-2001 and more recently from 2006-08. His best season as a Hawk came in 2000-01 when he averaged 12.4 points and 7.5 rebounds. However, it was Lorenzen Wright the person, rather than the player, that has left the biggest impact on those who knew him. It seemed appropriate to provide this forum for fans to express their condolences and tell their fond memories about Lorenzen.

Please feel free to contribute your comments below as we all keep Lorenzen, his family and his friends in our thoughts and prayers.

Fans repeatedly claim that Zaza is a dead ringer for the Italian Stallion in both appearance and in the way he delivers a line. What these fans don’t know is that this is not the first time these comparisons have been made. Far from it.

Hopefully, if you are reading this blog (which means you are a pretty big Hawks fan), you don’t need a full explanation of the circumstances surrounding the production of this video.

For many of us that follow the Hawks closely, that series against the Celtics in 2008 not only set the tone for the team’s evolution to a contender, but it also supplied some of the most lasting memories. Smoove put on a show in Game 3 as part of his first post season performance in front of his hometown fans, Joe scored 20 in the fourth quarter of Game 4 to even the series, and the whole team battled through Game 6  to force the series back to Boston. Still, for many of us, there are two moments that will forever remain unforgetable.

1 – Zaza refusing to back down from Kevin Garnett, sending the crowd into a frenzy as he charged at him (head first) following a cheap shove after the whistle. The play took place in Game 4 and the energy at The Highlight Factory for the rest of that game may never be duplicated.

2 – Zaza grabbing the microphone after the Hawks Game 6 victory and proclaiming “NOTHING EASY!” Words can’t describe the moment, so here is the YouTube clip so you can see for yourself:

Powell is widely regarded as a quality big man whose minutes were hurt by the fact that he was playing in a loaded frontcourt that featured Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum (not to mention Ron Artest and Luke Walton if L.A. was going with a smaller line-up). There is a high probability that Powell had drawn interest from other top teams (previous rumors had him linked to Denver, Chicago and Miami) and the fact that he chose to return home to Atlanta reflects positively on how players view the organization at this point.

There was a time not too long ago when an experienced player coming from a championship team would not even consider Atlanta as an option. It is amazing how little influence the mild winters of the South had on free agents when the team was coming off a 13-win season. A 53-win season and all of the key pieces returning can put any city on the map as an attractive free-agent destination.

HOMECOMING

Powell was named the 2001 Metro Atlanta Player of the Year by the Atlanta Tipoff Club while a senior at Riverdale High School, averaging 22.7 points and 13 rebounds per game. While at Riverdale he set nine school records including career scoring, career rebounding, most points in a game (40) and most rebounds in a game (18). Shot 63 percent from the floor during his prep career, and registered a school record 67 dunks as a senior. He is the only player in school history to have his jersey retired.

CHARACTER

When the Lakers visited Atlanta last season, Josh made a point to stop by his alma mater to donate $20,000 for a new computer lab. Powell brought two teammates to the assembly held at Riverdale that day – Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher. The fact that two extremely accomplished stars would go out of their way to support a ‘role player’ speaks very highly of their respect for Josh as a player and a teammate.

Speaking with Powell earlier today, my first impressions are that he is a well-spoken, intelligent guy that sees a great opportunity to get minutes here in Atlanta. His strength, toughness and post-season experience should be a solid addition to the Hawks roster.

It turns out that part of the reason we haven’t seen too much of Smoove is that he isn’t spending all of his time in the A-T-L. SLAM Magazine’s Tzvi Twersky recently caught up with Josh in New York and put together a quick Q&A with the Hawks forward.

The most important excerpt from the feature:

SLAM: What are you hoping to accomplish next season?
Josh Smith: The ultimate dream! I mean, I think that when you step out on the court you never want to undermine your goals, and I think that everybody has the opportunity to win a ring just like anybody else does. So that has to be my goal. 

Josh also talks about looking forward to playing under Coach Drew, the idea of playing with Shaq, and of course he touches on the addition of LeBron to the Southeast Division. Click Here to read the whole article.