Atlanta Hawks: Skylar Mays should be Delon Wright’s shadow

The Atlanta Hawks training camp is fully underway as of Tuesday. After an encouraging media day on Monday, the Hawks shared the first looks at almost everyone taking part in the first practices. We even got some clips of one-on-one sessions, including one in particular that drew quite a response from the crowd.

We’ve been going over themes to keep an eye on during camp through the latter parts of the Summer. And we’ve talked about the importance of this time for rookie Sharife Cooper to be around the likes of Trae Young and the Hawks other guards.

One player who could stand to benefit in an even more specific way is second-year guard Skylar Mays, last year’s 50th-overall pick.

Atlanta Hawks guard Skylar Mays should take all of the notes he can from fellow combo-guard

Mays got more run last season than anyone expected from a late second-round pick. Thanks to the Hawks severe bout with the injury bug, the 6-foot-4 combo guard saw action in 33 games last season. He averaged 3.8 points, 1.1 rebounds, and 0.9 assists in 8.2 minutes per game. He got (even more) scant burn in the postseason.

The former LSU Tiger has flashed the ability to score in a variety of ways.

He shot 44.5 percent from the floor. And. while he only shot 35.0 percent from deep, he hit 43.4 percent of his triples when attempting three or more. His playmaking has flashed as well, with a 16-point, seven-assist outing against the Houston Rockets to his credit.

And with a respectable 6-foot-7 wingspan, there is defensive potential there too.

This is where eight-year veteran Delon Wright comes in. The 6-foot-5 journeyman comes over from the Sacramento Kings, making the Hawks his sixth team in his career.

Wright too has shown an ability to score, has (briefly) been a starter, come off of the bench, and defends well. On that last point, it was noted during media day how he is capable of switching from point guards to many modern small forwards with success.

He does so without having a great wingspan (6-foot-6.5) too.

His addition has been viewed as a boon for the Hawks backup point guard situation. That is very true. The Hawks offense often fell off a cliff when Young went to the bench last season. For as valuable as Lou Williams is, he is better served as a scorer, not the facilitator role he was forced into after being traded to Atlanta for Rajon Rondo.

Speaking of Rondo, whereas he should have been a great mentor for Young, his journeyman status precedes his reputation for not always being easy to deal with.

That hasn’t been the case for Wright, whose older brother Dorel was a valuable and versatile wing when he played. We documented the positive impact he will have on the team back when he was acquired.

Wright presents the blueprint for the kind of player the younger Mays should be striving to be. Capable of doing some of everything asked and the track record to have teammates speak so glowingly of you.