The Lorenaissance Veteran power forward Lorenzen Wright believes the Hawks can get to where they want to go by following where he has been. By Jon Cooper Things have changed quite a bit since Lorenzen Wright first took the floor for the Atlanta Hawks in the first game ever played at Philips Arena (one in which he converted the arena’s first traditional three-point play). "I'm more of a veteran now," said Wright, who was 23 and only in his fourth professional season when acquired by the Hawks prior to the 1999-2000 season. "I was trying to figure myself out, kind of like these guys are doing, trying to figure out what my niche was going to be in the NBA, what kind of player I was going to be." The Hawks know what to expect from Wright when he begins his 11th NBA season in the home opener against New York on Nov. 3 (he was suspended by the League for the season opener Nov. 1 at Philadelphia for his participation in a fight in the preseason against Memphis). He will be the elder statesman on a squad so young that more than half of his teammates were either in or just getting out of middle school when his NBA career began. But Wright's experience, his familiarity with his role and ability to lead by example all factored into General Manager Billy Knight's decision to sign Wright as a free agent on Aug. 30. "He's a big man that has NBA experience," said Knight. "I think he's established himself as a physical competitor, a guy that can play interior defense, that can rebound and score the ball some for you. We finished next-to-last in defensive rebounding, and next-to-last in points scored against us in the paint. So those are two areas we think he's going to make a big imprint on for us." The 30-year-old native of Memphis, Tenn., and former No. 1 pick of the Los Angeles Clippers (7th overall) in the 1996 NBA Draft, had already made an imprint on Knight, who first acquired him when he was GM in Memphis. The 2001 Draft Day trade still makes Hawks faithful cringe, as in addition to Wright, the Hawks also sent Brevin Knight and the rights to Pau Gasol to Memphis in exchange for Shareef Abdur-Rahim and the 27th pick of that Draft, which turned out to be Jamaal Tinsley, who would be shipped to Indiana for a future No. 1. The season before the trade Wright set what is still is his career-high, averaging 12.4 points per game. Bringing Wright back to Atlanta was a much more palatable move. "The game is all about relationships," said Knight. "I knew him from Memphis, obviously, and I liked his personality, I liked his attitude, I liked his toughness and I really liked what I thought he could help our young guys do — be a professional big man in the NBA. He'll help Shelden [Williams] that way, he'll help Solomon Jones that way, he'll help Esteban Batista. He'll help everyone in that way. He'll push Zaza every day. So I think it was a good bonus for us to be able to get him this summer." "Billy brought me to Memphis and we already had a very good relationship throughout the years," said Wright, who for his career is averaging 6.9 rebounds per game and 8.8 points on .460 shooting in 25.5 minutes. "I gave him a call this summer and let him know I'd be more than happy to play for him and be a part of this organization." He's already playing a big part in mentoring the young talent in the middle. "It's great experience for me to have someone who has been in the league a long time and who knows the ins and outs of the center position," said Williams, the Hawks first-round pick in 2006 (fifth overall). "Pregame stuff and workout stuff, he tells me the things that he does that give him good position on offense and defense." "I'm sure that there are some things that I can learn from him and he's going to help me to get better and I'm going to help him to get better also," added Pachulia, who in his first full season as a starting center last season was third in the NBA in offensive rebounds per game (3.4) and fifth in total offensive rebounds (264). "He's an aggressive player so it's going to be very good for me and for the team. He's going to help our defense." As Wright showed in the Oct. 11 exhibition in Memphis, he can also take the offensive. While he knows he carried things a little too far that night, there was a message from the altercation with now-former Grizzlie Kimani Ffriend that he hopes will reverberate throughout the league. "I'm here to add a little toughness and let guys know that we won't be taken for granted on the inside," said Wright (shown right during his first tour of duty). "We're going to fight back this year and it's not going to be a cakewalk." "Certainly no one in the league condones fighting or getting into it like that," said Knight. "But you always try to look at the positive sides of everything and say the toughness and the physicality that he brings to the court is a bonus for a young team. So they learn those things to help them go forward." Wright, who just missed the Hawks' last playoff run, believes he's right on time for the next one. "This is a promising team," he said. "It reminds me of Memphis a few years back, when we hadn't made the playoffs and were trying to make a run for it. To be on a team that's on the turnaround, and help it start winning games, it's a good feeling." Jon Cooper is a freelance writer based in Atlanta 資料來源 http://myurl.com.tw/14p3 --

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