God, please make me 6'9

[peter delevett <pdelevett@amcity.com>]

I simpy cannot believe this. I saw this guy play in college against Tulane,
and he was quite possibly the most unathletic person I've ever seen. I'm sure
he could not make the Celtics Mailing List All-Stars.

Note that ESPN is quick to point out that he averaged a whole 7.9 points after
Ellis went down! Oh goody! That's probably a million dollars per point.

The best thing I can say about this kid is that if guys like Benoit Benjamin
and Derrick Coleman had his work ethic, they'd be certain Hall of Famers.


ATLANTA (Ticker) -- After a flurry of offseason and draft day trades, the
Atlanta Hawks finally kept one of their players from last season today,
re-signing free agent forward Chris Crawford to a multi-year contract. 

                          Specific terms of the deal were not disclosed. 

                          The 6-9 Crawford became a vital member of the Hawks
after LaPhonso Ellis went down with a hernia injury. He averaged 6.9 points
and 4.2 rebounds over 42 games in the lockout-shortened season, but averaged
7.9 points over the final 30 games after Ellis' injury. 

                          "I'm really glad it's over," said Crawford, a
second-round draft pick out of Marquette in 1997.  "Now I can concentrate on
basketball. I always wanted to stay here and they always said they  wanted me
back, so it was just a matter of sitting down and working out an agreement.
I'm glad it worked out." 

                          Crawford missed the final three games of Atlanta's
first-round playoff series with Detroit, but in  his first game back in the
second round, he scored a career-high 26 points against the New York Knicks.
Crawford averaged 9.8 points and 3.2 rebounds in six playoff games this
season. 

                          The Hawks have been very busy in the offseason. On
August 2, they acquired Isaiah Rider and Jimmy Jackson for Steve Smith and Ed
Gray and completed a sign-and-trade deal with the Los Angeles Clippers for
forward-center Lorenzen Wright. 

                          Should Crawford be able to stay in the starting
lineup, the Hawks would have a formidable frontcourt with Wright and 7-2
center Dikembe Mutombo alongside the small forward. 

                          "We feel really good about bringing Chris back,"
said Hawks general manager Pete Babcock.  "We're trying to accentuate the
running game, baseline to baseline, which is one of his major strengths. He's
so athletic. He scores well on the break. He did a great job for us last year
as a  starter and coming off the bench, so he's really developing as a
player." 

                          Crawford has averaged 5.3 points and 1.6 rebounds in
two seasons totaling 82 games. Overall, he has shot 42.7 percent from the
field and 82.6 percent from the line.