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Add NBC Sports' Kurt Helin to the list of not-so-secret admirers to the game of Hawks rookie Dennis Schröder.
Robby already headlined his Vegas League Winners/Losers column with Dennis, and now Pro Basketball Talk can't help themselves either.
But the one guy in Las Vegas who leapt out to me as a potential steal of a pick was 19-year-old German point guard Dennis Schroder of the Hawks, who was drafted at No. 17.
In the helter-skelter, pick-up style of the NBA Summer League Schroder showed a mature game, a patient and unhurried style that stood out - especially since he was one of the youngest players there.
No doubt, Dennis was worth watching out there, showing more than the minimum 15 pieces of flair as he zipped passes, got steals and attacked the basket. Sure, the shooting looked like it needed some medicine, but you couldn't help to be excited by the obvious talent on display.
One more time from Kurt (read the whole thing):
Watching him, I saw what could well be a quality NBA point guard down the line, a guy who can start and lead a team on both ends if he develops.
And that would be a real steal at No. 17.
The lead the team part is especially interesting to me, in that the Hawks haven't had a guy who could lead on both ends from the point guard position in quite some time, probably Mookie Blaylock. (Mike Bibby fans, I'm sorry, but the defensive end was....um....stinky.)
Schröder has already shown that he can be a part of the Hawks rotation next year and the more minutes, the better. Remember that the Spurs tossed Tony Parker out there as a young man of 19 and started him 72 games. Now the Hawks don't have to do that, having signed Jeff Teague for four years, but a significant amount of minutes can be applied should Schröder prove competent with the initial time received.
Maybe then it wouldn't be long before the Hawks their own Mark Price/Kevin Johnson problem in Atlanta, a problem the Hawks have never had and one that would be quite welcome to long time Bird Watchers.