Tony

Delk

''I don’t look at Tony (Delk) as a point guard,’' Ainge said. ''I look at Tony as a two-guard. I look at J.R. (Bremer) and Marcus (Banks) as my only point guards right now even though Tony can play there some.’' Of course, Ainge doesn’t decide who plays where once the season starts, but since he is interested in signing another point guard -- possibly Kenny Anderson -- Delk might not have much value next season.

Delk will be one of the scoring options for the Hawks this season.

Delk has played in just one NBA game in the last 10 months, so he’ll take it slowly at first. He should eventually start at the two-guard for the Hawks. Working in his favor is his pre-established rapport with Antoine Walker, his teammate in college, with the Celtics and Mavericks.

Delk’s moved up from 16 to 24 to 28 minutes Wednesday, when he produced 13 points, seven rebounds and three assists. “He needs some minutes,” Woodson said. “We’re trying to get him back. When we traded for him, we had an idea to play him some good minutes.”

Despite missing 14 games this season, Delk is the No. 3 scorer on the team. We don’t really expect the Hawks to come up with one role for Delk, but rather to shuttle him between the starting lineup and the bench, shooting guard and point guard.

Delk should be ready to play tomorrow.

Coach Jim O’Brien said the decision isn’t just for rest; that Delk wouldn’t play even if it were the regular season.

Coach Don Nelson said, ''I like him in the starting lineup. We were thinking about starting the rookie [Josh Howard] before we made the trade.’' It looks like Nelson never really planned to make much use of Danny Fortson as a starter. Over his last two starts, Delk has 39 points, 10 boards, four steals, and seven 3-pointers.

Delk continues to start for Dallas. In 24.5 minutes per game, he’s averaging 10.5 points and 4.3 rebounds, while also being in the Top 20 in the league in 3-pointers and steals.

''It’s going to be awhile, I think, probably seven to 10 days, minimum,’' Nelson said. Danny Fortson should regularly start at center while Delk is out.