Dominique Wilkins on Atlanta Hawks Goals, ‘Untouchable’ Players, Bogdanovic

By George Adamopoulos / [email protected]

Atlanta Hawks legend and current Vice President of Basketball and Special Advisor to the CEO Dominique Wilkins sat down with Eurohoops for a Q&A during his visit to the NBA Basketball School in Costa Navarino.

Wilkins, who also led Panathinaikos Athens to its first-ever Euroleague championship in 1996, spoke about his experience in Greece, how he joined the team, some special moments with the Greens and comparisons to Kendrick Nunn.

He also discussed the Hawks’ goals, tradeable players and Bogdan Bogdanovic.

Here is part of the interview:

Eurohoops: Lucrative contracts in Europe are a bit of a minimum in the NBA. How does this gap translate to future transfers in both leagues?

The money in the NBA keeps increasing. That’s why European players say, “Hey, that’s a lot of money being paid in the NBA.” That’s why the best players go to the NBA. Can you blame them? But if the Euroleague had the same situation, a lot of players probably would have stayed.

Dominique Wilkins: Is there a player of our time who is the new Dominique?

No, I know the league. I think there are players like you. I think I’m a mix of several players.

EH: What is your vision for the future of the Atlanta Hawks franchise?

DW: We’re always trying to do different things to make our franchise better. Get the best situations possible and put them together. Hopefully it works. And that’s what we’re doing right now. Our basketball operations guys are doing what they need to do to try to make sure we put the best pieces in place and get the best players for our team. It’s always a work in progress.

EH: Is there a trade for Dejounte Murray or Trae Young?

There are always trades for each team…

EH: No one is untouchable?

DW: I wouldn’t say ‘nobody’. But there are a lot of players who aren’t.

EH: What place does Bogdan Bogdanovic have in the future of the team?

DW: I love Bogdanovic. He’s a great shooter and a great guy. We’ve developed a really cool friendship. I love Bogi.