Lloyd Pierce smiled at the attempt to tip his hand.
The Hawks coach is not saying who will be the team’s starting point guard when the 2018-19 NBA season begins.
Or perhaps he doesn’t know yet.
On the roster are veteran Jeremy Lin and first-round draft pick Trae Young. Lin is coming back from a ruptured patella tendon of the right knee suffered in the season-opening game with the Nets last season. Young was the No. 5 overall pick in this year’s draft, a significant investment by the Hawks in the position.
“Competition, that’s the beauty,” Pierce said when asked who might be the starter with training camp beginning next week.