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The Atlanta Hawks have signed forward/center Josh Powell to a contract, according to Executive Vice President/General Manager Rick Sund. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Powell, a 6-9, 240-pound forward/center, joins the Hawks after two seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers, where he was a reserve player for the two-time World Champions. He tallied 3.4 points and 2.4 rebounds during his Lakers career (10.4 minutes per game), and connected on .409 of his field goal attempts.
“I look forward to joining a franchise I’m very familiar with,” said Powell. “The Hawks have done some great things over the past few years, and I think it’s great to come back home and play here. They’ve enjoyed success in the East, and while they have room to improve and grow, the nucleus is here to make that next step.
“Obviously, I followed the Hawks quite a bit growing up, and the excitement during the Dominique (Wilkins) years was a great thing to watch. We have to continue to get better and hopefully I can bring a little bit of what I’ve learned from my days with Lakers to the team.”
A five-year professional, Powell was a local product at Riverdale (GA) High School who played collegiately at North Carolina State. Undrafted in the 2003 NBA Draft following his sophomore season at NC State, he spent several seasons in Europe before joining the Dallas Mavericks in 2005.
After one season with the Mavericks (2005-06), Powell split the next season between the Golden State Warriors (30 games) and Indiana Pacers (seven games) before landing with the Los Angeles Clippers in 2007-08. He brings 37 games of playoff experience to Atlanta, averaging 5.6 minutes per game.
Powell finished with averages of 9.7 points and 4.5 rebounds over his two-year collegiate career at NC State, with a 12.4 scoring mark as a sophomore.
