|
Legend
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 21,509
|
Hawks benefit from having Dominique around
http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/sha...ving_domi.html
Sorry to have to subject you guys to more Terrence Moore, but thought some might find it interesting the impact Nique still makes.
Quote:
It took awhile, but this is exactly the way it should work for the Hawks. I mean, everywhere you look, it’s Dominique, Dominique, Dominique.
Surely you’ve heard of The Human Highlight Film, otherwise known as Dominique Wilkins, the past, present and forever face of the franchise. He’s the Hawks vice president of basketball, which means he is an advisor to the Gearons, the primary owners who run the team for Atlanta Spirit, LLC.
“While Michael Gearon Jr., is like a brother to me, Michael Gearon Sr. is just like a father,” said Wilkins, a popular courtside fixture at Philips Arena for home games. He also is a studio analyst for pregame, halftime and postgame shows of Hawks telecasts.
Here’s the biggest thing: Away from the slew of cameras and autograph seekers, Wilkins is doing what he should have been doing since his Hall of Fame career ended nearly a decade ago.
That is, he is passing along his considerable hoops knowledge to current Hawks players.
Or shall we say that Wilkins finally is allowed by the Hawks to do so.
It isn’t a coincidence, for instance, that after Wilkins began huddling around practices this season with guys on what is the NBA’s youngest team, the Hawks began flying in the vicinity of their first playoff berth this century. More specifically, talented but raw Josh Smith is evolving into something beyond just a fancy dunking and blocking machine. With help from Hakeem Olajuwon during the summer and even more help from Wilkins throughout the regular season, Smith is closer to becoming a complete player.
“You can have a tendency to get away from the basics, but [Wilkins] has been there to help me polish that up,” said Smith, who often works with Wilkins either before or after practices.
They discuss the physical as well as the mental, and then Smith dribbles toward combining the two. Smith added about Wilkins, “He’s also been there to teach me new moves on the block, and it’s been great. Just being able to get bits and pieces from a Hall of Famer — oh, man — you think about that all the time.”
Which means something was wrong with the way previous Hawks ownership and management viewed Wilkins’ role with the franchise.
Wilkins had no role.
That’s because the majority of those in charge of the Hawks for Time Warner couldn’t care less about Wilkins’ icon status around town. In fact, they resented it. How else can you explain why they only used Wilkins as sort of a well-dressed complement to Harry The Hawk?
“Oh, no question that was the case,” said Wilkins, who often asked Hawks officials before Atlanta Spirit took over four years ago for more visibility with the franchise. They listened, nodded and then continued to ignore him. Added Wilkins, “I didn’t understand why they had a problem with me, because I’m an easy guy to get along with. The thing is, I love the Hawks, and I love the city of Atlanta, and I don’t think there is anybody around who wants this team to win more than me.”
The Gearons might challenge Wilkins for such honors. It was Gearon Sr., a former Hawks general manager, who helped organize the deal with the Utah Jazz in 1982 that brought Wilkins to Atlanta. “Listen, everybody knows how I feel about Dominique, and he’s a very intelligent guy, and we’re fortunate to have him actively involved with the franchise,” said Gearon, who simply is making the Hawks resemble the Los Angeles Lakers, the Boston Celtics and other teams that promote their star players from the past.
Just ask Wilkins, recalling a conversation he had this year in New Orleans during All-Star weekend. “I was talking to Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, and we mentioned how we all have basketball expertise, and how we’re all able to teach it in a way that guys understand,” Wilkins said. “You see the position that Bird is in [as president of basketball operations for the Indiana Pacers] and what Magic is doing for the Lakers [co-owner and vice president].
“That’s what I like about the owners that we have now with the Hawks. They’ve given me the opportunity to do the things that I like to do.”
It has helped Wilkins, and it really has helped the Hawks.
|
|
Hawks benefit from having Dominique around
Linear Mode
