BUd losing his grip on GMing?

[tbhawksfan1]

Another AJC columnist looks at our current predicament and sees one obvious solution:

The painful truth is that the depleted recent lineup may be exactly what the Hawks require now, and perhaps for a couple of seasons to come. Painful as starting over may be, that is a place where the Hawks find themselves once more. Millsap surely will move on after this season, leaving this team with even less playing personality and teetering ever more toward the they-really-need-to-stink-their-way-into-the-draft-lottery plan.

Once more the Hawks find themselves a middling team when the only foreseeable route to improvement involves multiple seasons of wretched results. And even that would require the kind of luck and creativity on draft day that this franchise never has possessed in bulk.

Meanwhile, two of the notables the Hawks decided they could do without are contesting for the Eastern Conference summit. Good for Al Horford in Boston and Kyle Korver in Cleveland.

myAJC

After this season a lot of people are going to be SERIOUSLY questioning the handling of this team. The number of players that have walked with no return. The draft picks that were quickly ejected. The waffling ie trading KK to Clev while maintaining a win now strategy. Signing guys that don't fit Bud ball. Signing DH to one of the worst 3 point shooting teams, then trading KK....

Losing Horf for nothing is a firing offense for me. Added to the above and crap I didn't mention, the $hit has hit the fan.

We're about to go into a low asset rebuild or a pathetic effort to compete by bringing Sap back. Best trade chip DH, other trade chips........................noone, unless you want to move Schro, which we may end up having to do based on our trajectory over the next 2-3 years.

F frickin minus

[tbhawksfan1]

Oh and our best trade chip DH might bring a late first and a lot of bad contract

[Jamaaliver]

Some rumors and speculation on the Front Office status of Wes and Mike Bud:

Atlanta Hawks

Just after being sold to Antony Ressler, the Atlanta Hawks named Mike Budenholzer President of Basketball Operations and promoted Wes Wilcox to the role of general manager. While it’s unlikely either changes roles this offseason, there has been talk in NBA circles of the Hawks making some organizational changes and adding some new faces.

When the Hawks named Budenholzer to the post of team president, the new ownership group sought to make a stability statement for a team that had just won the Southeast Division title.

With ownership more in control and settled, there is a growing sense that some changes may be in order, especially as the team starts to remake itself after losing Al Horford to free agency last offseason and faces the possibility of losing Paul Millsap this offseason.

A league source said it’s unlikely the Hawks change either role at the top, but adding more options to the staff seems more likely than not.

Basketball Insiders



So, word is everyone keeps their job for another year. We just will add more chefs to the kitchen.

Bud's grip on this franchise seems undeniably strong. For better or for worse.

[xccelerate]

So, word is everyone keeps their job for another year. We just will add more chefs to the kitchen.

Bud's grip on this franchise seems undeniably strong. For better or for worse.

That seriously sucks. As a long time fan, it's been difficult to give the Hawks any attention this season. I dread more mediocrity next year might make it worse.

[Jamaaliver]

ESPN ranks Front Office staffs in the Association.

The combo of Wes and CMB comes in smack dab in the middle.

Appropriately enough.

[Jamaaliver]

My pick for the future GM of the Hawks. He has the Spurs connection with Bud and it appears he has a rapport with part-owner Grant Hill.

How do NBA owners and their top business execs identify a good candidate to lead basketball operations when they see one?

here are seven who received high marks for having the ingredients to succeed...

Brian Wright, San Antonio Spurs assistant general manager

The Spurs tree extends across the NBA landscape, with Sean Marks the latest graduate to move on to lead his own front office. Soon after Marks' departure, San Antonio snatched up Wright from Detroit, where he served as assistant general manager after cutting his teeth with the Magic as an intern.

Those who lead scouting efforts need to thrive not only as talent evaluators but also as masters of process with a knack for aggregating information and distinguishing the good input from the bad. Wright earned that reputation in Detroit and will continue that track in San Antonio with a wider scope beyond the draft. As the vernacular of the Spurs goes, Wright is also a young guy who is "over himself."

Fans of Wright believe he's still a few seasons away from being considered a legitimate candidate for a general manager gig, but they feel he has the confidence and curiosity to develop the fluency any exec needs to succeed at the top job.

ESPN

[Jamaaliver]

The playoffs are no longer a certainty for the struggling Atlanta Hawks, whose immediate concern has shifted from postseason seeding to not being pushed out the door.

The Hawks, who have slipped to sixth in the eight-team Eastern Conference playoff standings, will play three games in four days against the conference’s top two teams.

Much is on the line for Budenholzer, who as president of basketball operations made such offseason decisions as giving Bazemore a $70 million deal for four years and center Dwight Howard a three-year contract worth $70.5 million.

“This is the most enthused I’ve seen him in a long, long time,” Bazemore said of the coach. “He wants it just as much as we do. … When you see him get that rage in his eyes, it does something for you.”

Associated Press


Bud feeling the pressure and conveying his disappointment in no uncertain terms.

[tbhawksfan1]

C'mon, hope he was talking to the mirror concerning disappointment. He built the team and they are what they should be. Ageing guys carying your team are more likely to miss games furthur weakening a relatively weak roster.

[Jamaaliver]

The Hawks traded Dwight Howard, their overpaid and ill-fit of a center for relative table scraps...

Howard’s return to Atlanta was billed as some grand homecoming by the misguided front office. But it will go down as one of the worst free-agent mistakes in franchise history, as millions of people now scream, “I told you so.” That one move, in concert with letting Al Horford leave in free agency, doomed coach Mike Budenholzer’s tenure as team president.

myAJC



Is this a fair assessment?

Will the Dwight Howard signing really go down in the annals of Hawks lore as one of the worst Free Agent acquisitions ever?

[tbhawksfan1]

http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/246374/Hawks-Seeking-Paul-Millsap-Sign-And-Trade-Interest-From-Suns-Kings-Nuggets

Wow now they're saying that it was a player revolt that stopped them from trading Sap... Now we know and they're demotions were merited. Can't have the farm animals running the farm unless it's lebron

[Jamaaliver]

Read on Twitter

I must concur.

[Jamaaliver]

Budenholzer on changes: ‘Coaching is most important thing I’ve done’

This was not the typical summer for Mike Budenholzer. His job description changed. His power was reduced. The final remnants of a veteran roster that he helped create were excised, giving his team a new level of obscurity.

But the Hawks let him keep his stapler. Also the job he originally was brought here for.

“There’s been unique circumstances here that have put us all in different positions,” Budenholzer said Tuesday. “I’ve enjoyed and relished all of those opportunities. But coaching has always been the most important thing I’ve always done.”

It’s a challenging transition for Budenholzer. It can’t be easy going from: 1) coaching a veteran-laden playoff roster to one where eight of 16 players have zero to one year of NBA experience; 2) being reduced to a voice in the room after having ultimate control for two years.

Travis Schlenk was hired as the new general manager in May, three weeks after majority owner Tony Ressler removed Budenholzer as president of basketball ops and demoting general manager Wes Wilcox to a “special advisor” role. (Translation: He’s still under contract, but doesn’t have a bio in the media guide.)

The changes came after two seasons of regression. It had to be an an ego shot for Budenholzer, but it’s clear he’s better suited for a folding chair than a desk chair.

“Organizations go through change,” he said. “Yeah, it’s different. But I believe in Atlanta. I believe in our ownership. So let’s build it up again. There wasn’t (hesitation).”

Bazemore said Budenholzer has been “like a beacon in a storm. I think this is great for him because he basically starts with a clean slate. He has a lot of raw talent, and he’s a coach of the year.”

This will be his greatest coaching challenge. The Hawks don’t have a ton of shooters or definite “keepers.” But Budenholzer will get them to play defense and share the ball because that’s what he does best.

myAJC

[macd-gm]

I'm just repeating now but the 2 things we don't know are the things that would get Bud out of here
1) is Travis an **** - i mean seriously- they may agree on everything but if he's a jerk Bud doesn't want to deal with that
2) what are Bud's options after this season - let's face it, there are some greener pastures

I'm optimistic that Bud will have a very long career here in the Atlanta and this team is in the ECF next season.

[jayu70]

I'm just repeating now but the 2 things we don't know are the things that would get Bud out of here
1) is Travis an **** - i mean seriously- they may agree on everything but if he's a jerk Bud doesn't want to deal with that
2) what are Bud's options after this season - let's face it, there are some greener pastures

I'm optimistic that Bud will have a very long career here in the Atlanta and this team is in the ECF next season.

Agreed, Bud would be snatched up real quick if let go.

[Jamaaliver]

Some truth bombs from Ressler regarding Bud's run as decision-maker of the franchise:

...the devolving record and the new ownership group led by Ressler didn’t give Budenholzer much chance to retain both jobs.

“I think Mike felt he was a great head coach,” Ressler said. “I tried to convince him and I think he realized fully that being the GM is a full-time job. So why does anyone on earth think they can do two extraordinarily difficult jobs? And I believe Bud saw that very clearly. And to this minute, I think what Bud wanted above everything else was a great GM who knew more about player personnel than he could or did. It’s not a part-time job. And anyone who thinks it is, I think makes a big mistake.

“And being a great head coach that is extraordinary in player development, and where players literally -- which is not that common -- there are not that many ways to distinguish yourselves, to differentiate yourselves as a head coach in this league. But making players think they can come here to get better, I absolutely believe is one of those. But that’s not a part-time (bleeping) job. That’s a tough job. I think Bud, and I certainly had a strong view, as you might imagine, I said we need a great GM and we need a great head coach. I thought we had a great head coach. And I thought we had a GM that was not great, that was not experienced, who was not top dog. It’s just two jobs.”

Budenholzer acknowledges it was “not easy” to give up the VP job and its decision-making authority. But this is how the Hawks are organized now, and he’s made his peace with it.

NBA.com

[jayu70]

Bud was in year 3 as a first time head coach. He still had a lot to learn about that. Being handed a PoB ops so soon when he hadn't mastered coaching was the problem. The new owner more than likely wanted to maintain front office continuity after the DF fiasco.
I like that they both recognized the situation for what it was.