In yesterday's pre-game blog post, Michael Cunningham reported that the Atlanta Hawks would assign second round draft pick Pape Sy to the Utah Flash of the NBA Development League sometime this week. While the move has yet to be confirmed by the Flash, it appears that the move is imminent. The Flash don't play again until January 1st so it is very likely that Sy will join the team a few days before so that he can get a few practices under his belt before their first game.
The move is unprecedented in Hawks history as they have never really utilized the D-League short of a brief assignment a few years ago for Thomas Gardner and Othello Hunter. At this time there is no reason to expect Sy's stay in the D-League to be brief with no glaring need for him in Atlanta.
Coach Drew had this to say about Sy recently:
"I think it would suit him better to play than to sit around and practice all the time," Drew said on Monday. "He needs some playing experience."
We will be covering Sy's assignment with the Flash in its entirety with updates on his progress. Early reports since Sy began practicing are that he has shown the same promise that the Hawks saw from him in pre-draft workouts and Summer League. The biggest hurdle for Sy has been avoiding injury. Sy missed most of Summer League with an Achilles injury and has missed significant time since training camp with a back injury.
*Update* Just got word that Sy is set to arrive in Utah today. Utah Flash head coach Kevin Young replied to me on Twitter that Sy will be in Utah today for practice. The Hawks also made an official announcement via press release.
ROOKIE PAPE SY ASSIGNED TO UTAH FLASH OF NBA DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE
ATLANTA, GA ----- The Atlanta Hawks today assigned rookie guard/forward Pape Sy (POP SEE) to the Utah Flash
of the NBA Development League, according to Executive Vice President/General Manager Rick Sund.
Sy was the Hawks’ second round pick (53rd overall selection) in the 2010 NBA Draft. He missed the first 18 games
of the season due to a low back injury, and has been on the inactive list in the remainder of the games this year. Sy
appeared in two games for Atlanta’s summer league squad in Las Vegas, averaging 4.5 ppg, 1.0 rpg and 1.0 apg.
He signed with the Hawks on September 15, 2010.
*2:40 pm UPDATE*
Peachtree Hoops has also learned that player development coach Nick Van-Exel is traveling to the Flash along with Sy and will remain in Utah with him to assist in his development. No word as of yet on how long Sy will be in Utah.