Atlanta Hawks: 3 things to watch for during Summer League

Atlanta Hawks Summer League storyline No. 1: The performance of the rookies will be of great interest

Rookies Jalen Johnson (20th overall) and Sharife Cooper (48th overall) are going to have a lot of eyes on them and how they perform. Johnson was widely viewed as a lottery talent but slid due to questions about how his time in high school and college ended. Still, him falling to the Hawks was a steal.

It will push for the steal of the draft if he’s able to prove he can shoot. He shot better than 53 percent from the floor and 44 percent from deep, but it was on low volume. Worst yet, he was a poor free-throw shooter. Some believe that is an indicator of shooting efficiency at the pro level.

Cooper was viewed as possibly the best pure passer in this class but found himself deep in the second round due to concerns about his size and lack of a consistent jumper.

The 6-foot-1 Cooper managed to average 20.2 points per game while shooting under 40 percent from the floor and just 22.8 percent from deep. He also doled out 8.1 assists per contest. Jumper or no jumper, he was effective.

For Cooper — who shot 82.5 percent from the free-throw line — finding his jumper is second to running the offense.

They aren’t the only names to keep an eye on either.

Skylar Mays is an obvious one having received a qualifying offer from the Hawks. It’s possible they let him run the show (for whatever that’s worth in Summer League) and let Cooper focus on scoring. Mays did show some passing chops in 33 games last season.

Keep an eye on Admiral Schofield too. The former Washington Wizard averaged 10.1 points and 5.8 boards in the G League last season and has good size at 6-foot-5 and 241 pounds.