Great read from Hawks.com on the trade

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Hawks Add Scorer in a Big (Dog) Way

ATLANTA, Aug. 2 -- In a blockbuster deal announced this afternoon by team President Stan Kasten, the Atlanta Hawks have obtained the services of All-Star forward Glenn “Big Dog” Robinson from the Milwaukee Bucks for Toni Kukoc, Leon Smith and one of the Hawks' two first-round picks in 2003.

With Abdur-Rahim and Robinson, the Hawks will have one of the best forward tandems in the league.

Scott Cunningham

NBAE/Getty Images

“Much like the Gary Sheffield deal made by the Braves last off-season, our company felt strongly about executing this deal after it was brought to their attention,” said Kasten. “We have always been committed to improving ourselves whenever we can, and I can’t express enough my gratitude to AOL ownership in assisting the franchise in getting this done.”

“We’re excited about the opportunity to acquire a player of Glenn Robinson’s stature,” said Hawks Vice President/General Manager Pete Babcock. “He addresses one of our specific weaknesses which was the perimeter game. We’re sorry to see Toni Kukoc go, he was an integral part of our rebuilding process. But we had to give up something to get a player of Glenn Robinson’s caliber.”

Robinson, a two-time NBA All-Star (2000 and 2001) with career averages of 21.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.2 steals, is entering his ninth season as a pro after being snagged by the Bucks as the number one overall pick in the 1994 NBA Draft. He was the franchise’s third overall number one pick, following the selections of Lew Alcindor (now Kareem Abdur-Jabbar in the 1969 Draft) and Kent Benson (1977). He brings career averages of 21.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.2 steals to the Hawks, along with making 46.3-percent of his field goals, 34 percent of his three-point attempts and 81.2-percent from the line.

In 66 games last year, Robinson scored 20.7 points in 35.5 minutes of action, in addition to recording 6.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.5 steals. His 20.7 points-per-game averaged ranked 17th among the league’s leaders, and he shot 46.7-percent from the field, 32.6-percent from three-point range and connected on 84-percent of his free throws. Robinson scored season highs of 38 points on two occasions.

“It’s extremely exciting to add a player of Glenn’s capabilities, he’s one of the premier offensive players in the league and I think his abilities will mesh well with Shareef (Abdur-Rahim) and Theo (Ratliff) along the front line,” said Head Coach Lon Kruger. “When you add a player of Glenn’s caliber, you have to give up a quality person and player in Toni Kukoc. We appreciate what Toni’s done and now we’ll move forward with Glenn.”

A talented, all-around player who has never made less than 45-percent of his field goal attempts, Robinson concludes his Bucks career among the franchise leaders in several statistical categories: points scored (12,010, 2nd), scoring average (21.1, 2nd), field goal made (4,723, 3rd), free throws made (2,070, 3rd), three-point field goals made (494, 2nd), rebounds (3,519, 5th), steals (689, 7th), games played (568, 7th) and minutes played (21,762, 3rd). His second-place status in points scored and scoring average in Milwaukee trails only Abdur-Jabbar. Robinson has a career-high of a 45-point performance against Golden State on February 25, 2001.

He enjoyed his best season in 1997-98 when he tallied a career-best 23.4 ppg, which would have placed him fourth in the NBA, but he did not meet the minimum NBA qualifying standard for games played or points scored.

Named to the 1995 NBA All-Rookie first team, Robinson finished third in balloting for league Rookie of the Year behind Grant Hill and Jason Kidd. He did receive Rookie of the Year honors from Basketball Digest - voters consisting of NBA beat writers, columnists and broadcasters.

Selected to the 1996 United States Olympic Basketball Team that competed and took home the gold medal in Atlanta, Robinson was forced to withdraw before the international competition began of tendinitis in his right Achilles.

A prep standout at Gary, Indiana’s Roosevelt High School, Robinson played collegiately at Purdue University where he took home numerous National Player of the Year honors as a junior following the 1993-94 season. In addition to receiving the John Wooden Award as the nation’s top college player that same year, he also was selected by many organizations as a first-team All-America and chosen by conference coaches and media as the Big Ten’s Player of the Year after leading the NCAA and the Big Ten in scoring at 30.3 ppg and 31.8 ppg respectively.

The 29-year-old Robinson was born January 10, 1973 in Gary, Indiana.

Third on the Hawks in scoring last year, Kukoc recorded 9.9 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 59 games. He missed 23 games due to injury after suffering a fractured right wrist last January. Kukoc spent less than two seasons in an Atlanta uniform after he was acquired along with Theo Ratliff, Nazr Mohammed and Pepe Sanchez on February 22, 2001 for Dikembe Mutombo and Roshown McLeod.

A nine-year veteran, Kukoc was a member of three consecutive Chicago Bulls NBA championship teams from 1995-96 to 1997-98. He has career numbers of 13.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4.0 assists (.455 FG%, .363 3FG%, .732 FT%).

Smith was signed for the rest of the 2002 season on March 6 following two ten-day stints with the club. In 14 appearances, the 6-10 forward averaged 2.2 points and 2.2 rebounds (.385 FG%, .647 FT%). The 21-year-old Smith also played 28 games in the CBA last season for the Gary Steelheads and Sioux Falls Skyforce.

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[Hawksfreak]

Yea that was a great article! It was kida like the Sheffield trade wasn't it!