Sefolosha with Hawks

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Five Things We Love About Thabo Sefolosha

The Hawks have acquired free agent guard/forward Thabo Sefolosha to add wing depth to the Kyle Korver and DeMarre Carroll duo that was very good in the starting lineup. Behind Carroll and Korver, the Hawks were thin on the wing and adding Sefolosha fills that need, particularly on the defensive end.

Sefolosha spent the last five-plus seasons with the Thunder. For his career, Sefolosha has averaged 5.8 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 1.1 steals per game. His best offensive single season was two years ago in 2012-13 when he averaged 7.6 points per game on 48.1 percent shooting and 41.9 percent shooting from three.

Sefolosha had a tough 2013-14 campaign, seeing his efficiency drop off as he battled a calf injury. The Hawks hope that after getting him back to 100 percent, he'll be able to return to the form that made him one of the better 3-and-D threats in the NBA.

Sefolosha’s defense has always been his calling card. He is a tenacious defender on the wing, and he has the size -- listed at 6'7", 215 pounds -- and wingspan -- listed at 7'2" -- to bother opposing wings. He has very good lateral quickness when healthy, and can keep up with smaller wings on the perimeter as well as having the size to handle bigger forwards.

This past season, Sefolosha was 50th in the NBA against pick-and-roll ball-handlers, allowing just 0.71 points per possession, per Synergy Sports, and was 70th in the league against isolation, allowing 0.73 PPP. The Hawks hope that adding him will provide them with an extra wing defender, something they lacked when Carroll came out of games last season.

On offense, Atlanta will hope he returns to his 2012-13 form. This past season, Sefolosha struggled, shooting just 30.6 percent from three-point range and only 28.2 percent from distance on spot-up attempts. In 2012-13, he was 22nd in the NBA at 1.06 points per possession. He hit 47.9 percent of his shot attempts that season as a spot-up shooter, averaging 1.14 PPP and shot 42.8 percent from three-point range.

Along with the injury, Sefolosha took more contested shots in catch-and-shoot situations. Per Synergy, Thabo was guarded on 52.6 percent of his catch-and-shoot attempts this past season, where he shot just 23.6 percent when guarded compared to 38.5 percent on unguarded attempts. In 2012-13 he was guarded on just 39.2 percent of his catch-and-shoot attempts, and he shot 40.2 percent on those attempts and 40.7 percent on his unguarded attempts.

Sefolosha figures to play in a similar offensive role to Carroll. 54.8 percent of Carroll’s catch-and-shoot attempts were guarded last season. He shot 37.2 percent in those opportunities which landed him in the top 26 percent in the NBA. Sefolosha figures to see similar looks in the Hawks offense, and if healthy he can hopefully regain the form that put him in the top 10 percent in the NBA on guarded attempts two seasons ago, per Synergy Sports.

Sefolosha’s defense alone will be a boost for the Hawks' wing depth, and if he can regain his shooting form that he’s shown he can achieve, he could also be a terrific floor-spacing weapon for the Hawks drive-and-kick offense. 

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Sefolosha A Great Fit In Hawks' System

ATLANTA -- The Atlanta Hawks completed a sign-and-trade deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder that will bring guard/forward Thabo Sefolosha to Atlanta, as well as the draft rights to Giorgos Printezis, in exchange for the draft rights to Sofoklis Schortsanitis, it was announced today by President of Basketball Operations/General Manager Danny Ferry.

"Thabo is an unselfish, competitive and playoff-tested player, and does many things well on both sides of the ball,” Ferry said. "He also fills a need, giving us more size and depth at the wing position. He’s been a part of winning programs and will fit our culture well.”

Sefolosha, 30, played and started in 61 games last season with the Oklahoma City Thunder, averaging 6.3 points, 3.6 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.3 steals in 26.0 minutes (.415 FG%, .768 FT%). In his eight-year career, Sefolosha has appeared in 551 games with the Thunder and Bulls (407 starting assignments) and has averaged 5.8 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.1 steals in 23.4 minutes (.442 FG%, .348 3FG%, .746 FT%). He was selected to the NBA’s All-Defensive second team in 2009-10.

He has also played in 78 playoff games, starting 67, averaging 4.6 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.0 steals in 19.9 minutes.

Sefolosha was originally selected by the Philadelphia 76ers with the 13th overall pick of the 2006 NBA Draft, and was traded to Chicago in exchange for the draft right to Rodney Carney, a second-round pick and cash considerations. He spent two-and-a-half seasons with the Bulls before going to the Thunder on February 19, 2009 in exchange for a first-round pick.

The native of Vevey, Switzerland has also played for Tege Riviera Basket (Switzerland), Elan Chalon (France) and Angelico Biella (Italy). He also played briefly for Fenerbahce Ulker in Turkey in 2011.

Printezis was originally selected by the San Antonio Spurs in the second round (58th overall) of the 2007 NBA Draft.  He currently plays for Olympiacos Piraeus in Greece.

Atlanta acquired the draft rights to Schortsanitis from the Los Angeles Clippers on July 30, 2012 in a sign-and-trade transaction for Willie Green, after he was originally selected by the Clippers in the second round (34th overall) of the 2003 NBA Draft.  He currently plays for Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel. 

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