Just because he’s done this a few times before, try five times in the past four seasons, doesn’t make it any easier for Mo Evans to move into a new locker room.
His latest move, however, comes with some added intrigue. Not only is he moving into the locker stall, roster spot and role vacated by former Hawks swingman Josh Childress, Evans has already moved into his No. 1 jersey as well.
Childress moved on to Olympiakos in Greece after negotiations on a contract extension with the Hawks failed. That opened the door for Evans, who was also courted by Olympiakos before signing his three-year deal with the Hawks.
And now he has to get up to speed quickly in order to assume the duties of Childress, who finished sixth in the voting for the NBA’s Sixth Man Award last season.
“It’s never an easy transition when you come into a situation where a team is already established,” Evans said Tuesday after the Hawks wrapped up their first practice of training camp at Philips Arena. “I don’t think people understand the tremendous advantage a player has by playing for a team for multiple years in a row and being in a system, playing for a coach multiple years in a row.
“Every year of my career I’ve had to adjust to a new system and coach, so the transition early will be a bit rocky because you’re trying to learn the terminology, the plays and everything. So that’s what I’m dealing with now, the feeling out process.”
The process has been a bit strange for everyone, namely teammates who were and remain close to Childress. However, they know how important it is that they welcome Evans into the fabric of a tight-knit group.
“We were watching film [Monday] and we saw [Childress] on the tape and it hits you that he’s over there in Greece doing his thing,” Marvin Williams said. “So for me, you know, it’s a trip because Chilly was my right hand man. But it helps when you replace a player who was a great fit on this team with another guy who is a great fit. It seems like Mo’s been with us for a while already, and we’ve only been together as a group for a couple of days. But he’s a vet and you know he’ll handle things like a pro.”
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I'm not sure if he going to be able to get the right place, right time rebounds that Josh did, but I'm glad he's on this team and I'm expecting good overall numbers for Mo.
