The Atlanta Hawks tonight acquired the draft rights to Jordan Crawford (the 27th pick) and Tibor Pleiss (the 31st pick) from the New Jersey Nets, in exchange for the rights to Damion James, who the Hawks selected at the 24th spot in the 2010 NBA Draft. Atlanta subsequently sent the rights to Pleiss to Oklahoma City in exchange for financial considerations.
At the 53rd spot in the second round, the Hawks drafted 6-7 Pape Sy from the Le Havre club in France’s Pro A League.
“We wanted to select the best player available, and we feel like we accomplished that with Jordan Crawford,” said Hawks Executive Vice President/General Manager Rick Sund. “We’re thrilled to acquire a player of Jordan’s caliber. He’s a player we scouted throughout the year, and targeted in the pre-draft process.”
“Jordan is a prolific scorer with deep range, who rose to the occasion for his team in the postseason,” said Hawks Assistant GM/Director of Player Personnel Dave Pendergraft. “He’s a gym rat who loves to play the game, and will give us another player who can play multiple positions and put the ball in the basket.”
Crawford (a 6-4 guard) led Xavier and the Atlantic 10 in scoring last season (20.5 ppg), appearing in 35 games (.462 FG%, .773 FT%). He averaged 29.0 ppg in three contests in the NCAA Tournament, earning a spot on the NCAA Tournament All-West Region Team. He played in 30 games as a freshman at Indiana University (in 2007-08), finishing seventh among Big Ten freshmen in scoring at 9.7 ppg, hitting double-figures 15 times.
The Detroit native played at Communication and Media Arts High School in his hometown, before attending Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, VA for a year. His brother, Joe, played at University of Kentucky from 2004-08.
Crawford will be available to the Atlanta media when the Hawks commence their rookie camp, which is scheduled to begin on July 9 on the Philips Arena practice court.
“I was impressed with Pape’s workout,” said Hawks coach Larry Drew. “He had a strong desire to come in here and showcase his talent. He’s got a great shot, and the ability to play two positions. We were really hoping he’d be there for us.”
