The Atlanta Hawks have exercised the contract options for the 2007-08 season on the trio of Josh Smith, Josh Childress and Marvin Williams, it was announced today by Executive Vice President/General Manager Billy Knight.

“This move is reflective of the tremendous progress all three of these young men have made in their brief NBA careers,” Knight said. “Individually and collectively, they have established themselves as important parts of our nucleus, they are great fan favorites, and we feel they will continue to elevate their games moving forward.”

Smith, the 17th overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft, finished 2nd in the NBA in total blocks (208) and 4th in blocks per game (2.6) last season. He compiled 15.0 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 4.1 apg, 3.1 bpg and 1.0 spg following the All-Star break. Overall, the high-flyer led the club in bpg, and ranked 3rd in rpg (6.6), 4th in ppg (11.3) and apg (2.4). The youngest player in NBA history to reach 300 blocks, Smith has moved into 9th place (352) on the Atlanta career rejections list.

One of the NBA’s most efficient players, Childress ranked 13th in the league in steals-to-turnover ratio (0.85) and 39th in steals, and would have led the league in three-point percentage (.492) and placed 3rd in field-goal percentage (.552) had he qualified in those categories. He finished the season at 10.0 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 1.8 apg and 1.2 spg. Childress was selected 6th overall in the 2004 NBA Draft.

Williams capped off his first pro campaign by earning NBA All-Rookie second team honors. He improved his scoring numbers each month of the season, highlighted by averaging 12.3 ppg, 6.1 rpg and 1.2 apg in April. Among rookies, he placed 10th in ppg, 7th in rpg, 10th in FG% and 7th in mpg. This past July, Williams was named Most Valuable Player of the Rocky Mountain Revue after averaging a league-best 23.2 ppg, 5.0 rpg and 3.2 apg (.549 FG%, .879 FT%). The 20-year-old was the second overall pick in the 2005 NBA Draft.

The Hawks will open Training Camp 2006 on Tuesday, October 3.

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