For all of the athleticism within Kent Bazemore and his wiry, 6-foot-5 frame, the process of development has taken nurturing and some prolonged steps. He was a self-made professional prospect, and then a cheerleader for the Golden State Warriors’ behind a glut of elite guards. He needed something more to supplement his athletic ability and his mind.

View photos Kent Bazemore is enjoying his first season as a regular NBA starter. (AP) More

So, in early September, Bazemore took his turns inside a bowling alley in uptown Atlanta. Before his second season with the Hawks, he pondered DeMarre Carroll leaving the team for the Toronto Raptors in free agency, and how there was no certainty Atlanta would reclaim a top seed in the Eastern Conference.

Bazemore had dressed sharply for a casual bowling session on a Saturday night and went over all topics regarding the Hawks: the Thabo Sefolosha case and his reemergence in training camp, the free-agent losses, the Atlanta coaching staff, the ego-less locker room. Most of all: How much a young guard needed to leave a rising power in the Bay Area, via trade to the Los Angeles Lakers, to find staying power in the NBA.

Bazemore’s free agency two years ago after a stint with the Lakers started with a call from Boston Celtics coach Brad Stevens, and it ended with him signing in Atlanta. The Hawks prepared for his arrival that summer with coach Mike Budenholzer awaiting at the team’s practice facility, laptop in hand. “You need help,” the coach told Bazemore. “We’re going to fix your jump shot.” Soon, Budenholzer put Hawks shooting coach Ben Sullivan on Bazemore to quicken his jumper’s delivery and mechanics and improve his balance. The first phase of the free-agency partnership had begun: Target the skills and the weaknesses and hone them all.

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“Selfishly, if I wanted to play 30 minutes a night and wanted a role in the NBA, I wouldn’t change anything: I needed to leave the Warriors,” Bazemore told The Vertical recently. “I looked at leaving Golden State as my chance to grow up. I was stuck behind Steph [Curry], behind Klay [Thompson] and Harrison [Barnes]. I was so young, man. I’ve grown so much, having the experience of playing in the playoffs, playing for a really competitive team. Coach Sullivan had me watching my shots before I came, and when we first met, he told me he was going to alter everything. I showed up every day and we broke it all the way down: shooting with three fingers, one-handed shooting, finding my balance.

“A couple years in, my confidence is up and I don’t mind shooting the ball from everywhere. I understand how to get a shot off or getting my feet set before the ball comes. I know how important that is now.”

It has always been about timing for Bazemore. Golden State’s front office lauded his upside out of Old Dominion in 2012, but the franchise never had a consistent opportunity for him, only NBA Development League assignments. Looking back, Bazemore says his trade from the Warriors in 2014 – to then-coach Mike D’Antoni’s Lakers – saved his earning potential. In 23 games and 15 starts for Los Angeles, Bazemore amassed some stats and confidence. Those two-and-a-half months in early 2014 had rescued him, leading to a two-year, $4 million deal with Atlanta.

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