Travis Schlenk trying to build Hawks in Warrior’s image (aka 2018 offseason thread)

[DirtybirdGA]

Nah, I can direct to the site for a clip...lol

[Jamaaliver]

Hawks GM Schlenk drafts ‘dribble, pass, shoot’ players but says Warriors not really on his mind

Outside observers saw the players Hawks general manager Travis Schlenk chose in the draft last week and figured he was trying to build a team in the image of the Warriors, the franchise that he once served as a top basketball executive.

Yet Schlenk insists he didn’t have the Warriors in mind when drafting Young, Huerter, and Spellman. Well, not exactly. Schlenk said Young is more comparable to Rockets point guard Chris Paul than Curry.


“As I’ve mentioned from Day 1, we are looking for skilled players,” Schlenk said. “When you look at the league today, you need guys out on the floor that can dribble, that can shoot, that can pass. All three of these guys can shoot.”

The comparisons to Young and Huerter will endure despite Schlenk’s protestations that he didn’t have the Golden State duo (or Green) in mind when he made the picks. Young and Huerter both said they won’t shy away from the association.

myAJC

[Jamaaliver]

Travis telegraphing his moves again:

The Hawks were focused on getting a playmaker, and they rated Young and Doncic as the two best such players in the draft. It was a close call between the two players, Schlenk said.

The GM made the final call. Schlenk decided that the first-round pick the Hawks got from the Mavericks had greater value than whatever edge Doncic has over Young as a prospect. Schlenk has consistently said that he wants to add as many draft picks as possible to give him more chances to hit on big talent in the draft. His hope is that he got a two-for-one Thursday: a future All-Star in Young, and the chance to find another one with the extra pick.

“Two of our goals in the next few years is to accumulate as much assets as we can and to get as much talent as we can,” Schlenk said. “Luka is a heck of a player; we were happy with him. Trae is a heck of a player; we are excited to have him. When the opportunity came to pick up a first-round pick from the Mavericks, it just kind of made sense to accomplish both goals with one move.”

AJC.com

[Jamaaliver]

...it’s easy enough to put Atlanta's first-round picks into Golden State archetypes: Young is a knockoff Curry, sharpshooter Kevin Huerter is a big wing along the lines of a Klay Thompson and Omari Spellman is kind of an undersized, high-energy center like Draymond Green.


“I swear to goodness, people think I’m joking, but it never once crossed my mind,” Schlenk said. “Listen, all the philosophies we have here are the same philosophies we had there so there are going to be similar players. There’s certainly a lot of shared characteristics both franchises look for in players.”

Atlanta's fascination with Young is grounded in something far more aspirational than seeing him as a Curry clone. If Young hits his ceiling, he’s not just going to be one of the better point guards in the league, he’s going to be the rare type of player who creates a buzz in every arena he steps foot in.

USA Today

[Jamaaliver]

Most Interesting Teams of the 2018 NBA Draft

Atlanta Hawks

Hawks GM Travis Schlenk is clearly replicating the Golden State mold with his choices in the 2018 draft. Judging from the first-rounders they had by the end of the night, the Hawks seem to be producing a B-movie version of the Warriors’ dynasty.

“When you look at the league today, you need guys who can shoot, dribble, and pass. All three of these guys can,” Schlenk said at the end of the night. “We’re looking for multidimensional players that can play the way we want to play: up and down, an exciting brand of basketball.”

There will be less pressure on Young to do everything on the ball like he had to do with the Sooners, which should lead him to running around more screens and blasting away with 3s from deep.

Huerter is a better ball handler and passer than Warriors guard Thompson was at the same stage of their careers. Huerter certainly will be used as an initiator for new Hawks head coach Lloyd Pierce.

Spellman lost almost 50 pounds during his redshirt season at Villanova, which improved his mobility defending the perimeter...he shot 43.3 percent on nearly four attempts per game at Villanova.

With the trade of guard Devonte’ Graham to the Hornets for two future second round picks, Hawks continue stockpiling future assets. That’s the logic Schlenk used in the biggest trade of the night: trading the no. 3 pick to the Dallas Mavericks for no. 5 and a top-five-protected 2019 first-rounder that will become fully unprotected in 2023.

The Hawks will likely have three firsts and three seconds in the 2019 draft, which will give them immense flexibility.

The Hawks came away with three talented prospects who fit the type of team they want to build, with some extra assets to help them in the future, and through it all they showed they won’t let public opinion dictate their choices.

The Ringer

[macd-gm]

Where have I been on Huerter? He seems to be a better all around player than i was aware of.

[Jamaaliver]

Hawks to play ‘waiting game’ in NBA free agent market

The Hawks will have roughly $20 million in space under the salary cap when the NBA free-agency period officially begins Sunday, but don’t look for them to seek out the top players on the market.

The Hawks will prioritize using the cap space to trade for expensive and unwanted players in exchange for draft picks and young players. Then, after the market has settled, the Hawks sign a free agent or two for depth on their young roster.

“We are not going to be quick out of the gate looking to sign guys,” Schlenk said. “We will see what the market dictates. We’ve got 12 guys under contract, so three open spots. We will play the waiting game and see how market plays out.”

The Hawks have 12 players with guaranteed contracts for 2018-19 and three others with non-guaranteed deals: Antonius Cleveland, Isaiah Taylor and Jaylen Morris. That gives Schlenk the flexibility to use up to six spots to shape the roster.

myAJC

[Jamaaliver]

Three Teams Still Have Significant 2018 Cap Room

Atlanta Hawks

It’s been a quiet July so far for the Hawks, who signed their three first-round picks and inked Jaylen Adams to a two-way contract, but have otherwise stayed out of the fray. That’s no surprise, as GM Travis Schlenk said last week that the team expected to take a wait-and-see approach to free agency.

Currently, the Hawks have about $22.1MM in available cap room. They could increase that number to approximately $24.8MM by cutting Jaylen Morris and Antonius Cleveland, who are on modest non-guaranteed deals.

The Hawks are the midst of a rebuilding process and will be very patient as they put together their roster. That could mean wanting to use their cap room to take on a bad contract or two, adding more picks to their cache of draft assets. However, if they think the time is right to make a swing for a young restricted free agent who could be a cornerstone piece, they’re in position to do so. One weekend report linked them to LaVine.

Hoops Rumors

[Jamaaliver]

Trav still leaning too much on his contacts/approach from the GSW days:

Read on Twitter

[Spud2nique]

Trav still leaning too much on his contacts/approach from the GSW days:

Read on Twitter

Bs we were mentioned because of money and slink ties to scrubs. Slink needs to forget he was involved in drafting Draymond. Smh. Get over it you got lucky.

[tbhawksfan1]

New GM + new coach = ?

TS is going to be here for a while, for better or worse... Have to live with his choices. Time will tell. Young and a lott pick is not a bad return even if some / many of us would have snatched Doncic.

My biggest question for TS so far... Why not flip more assets to move up in last draft? He actually traded out of a strong draft... 3 to 5 and 34. Smart and big corones or just dumb...?

[dms269]

New GM + new coach = ?

TS is going to be here for a while, for better or worse... Have to live with his choices. Time will tell. Young and a lott pick is not a bad return even if some / many of us would have snatched Doncic.

My biggest question for TS so far... Why not flip more assets to move up in last draft? He actually traded out of a strong draft... 3 to 5 and 34. Smart and big corones or just dumb...?

What would you have preferred they done to move up? Schlenk said that he was considering moving up from 19 to make sure he snagged one of Walker or Huerter but had Intel on who MIL was gonna take and decided not to make the deal.

[tbhawksfan1]

Let's see: take the BPA in Doncic, trade up with the other picks, move future assets to exploit this talent rich draft, not trade out of 34 in this talent rich draft. Trade Dedmon / Moose last deadline for assets in last draft.... etc....

[jayu70]

Let's see: take the BPA in Doncic, trade up with the other picks, move future assets to exploit this talent rich draft, not trade out of 34 in this talent rich draft. Trade Dedmon / Moose last deadline for assets in last draft.... etc....

You must have an easy button.

[tbhawksfan1]

No one made him trade back and out. OK, you can't move up, but he moved down and out. Strange choice for the beginning of a rebuild. A player chosen this year helps climb out of a rebuild quicker than a deferred pick.

I'm in it for the long haul, but I absolutely would have done everything and anything to load up on last years strong draft instead of deferring to future, weaker draft. I also would flip now assets for more picks. These kind of trades happen all the time. So far far after last off-season, pick #30 was all TS has managed to add with available cap and / or players.

[tbhawksfan1]

Thing with a new GM is, you have to give em a clean slate. Once they start making moves, you either like em, or not. Enough don't like moves happen and before you know it you got a bad GM. If he starts by making like moves chances are you got a good one.

Where are TS's like moves? I start counting his moves after the Collins draft as he'd only been here 2 weeks. Last off-season was a fail in that with all the cap and player trades he could have made, he only brought in vets that were not flipped during the season. The DH trade was a disaster, should have just waived or streached him instead of taking on Beli and Plumlee and giving the better pick. Last draft he traded back and out.

All of these are not like moves.

So far this summer, nothing. If he isn't able to land a much better than #30 pick for his cap space or sign a developable young player, he will have totally struck out on this off-season.

Pierce also gets a clean slate, but I'm worried that he's a rah, rah D guy that won't have an O system.

I'm all for giving a new GM a clean slate, but I'm watching and it doesn't take me 5 years to know when a GM is stinking it up.

[dms269]

No one made him trade back and out. OK, you can't move up, but he moved down and out. Strange choice for the beginning of a rebuild. A player chosen this year helps climb out of a rebuild quicker than a deferred pick.

I'm in it for the long haul, but I absolutely would have done everything and anything to load up on last years strong draft instead of deferring to future, weaker draft. I also would flip now assets for more picks. These kind of trades happen all the time. So far far after last off-season, pick #30 was all TS has managed to add with available cap and / or players.

Are we really going to get upset because he traded #34 for two future 2nds? There wasn't a player there the team liked, so he got rid of it for two future 2nds.

What now assets did you want them to move for picks? Collins and/or Prince for a late teens pick? No one else we have/had had the market to bring back other good assets. The trade market last trade deadline dried up, so that isn't on Schlenk. Teams were playing the buyout market so players like Dedmon, Muscala, Illya, and Belinelli didn't have value.

So far Schlenk has added: 2019 DAL 1st, 2019 CHA 2nd, 2019 MIN/LAL 2nd (less favorable), 2020 POR 2nd (heavily protected), and 2023 CHA 2nd.

Thing with a new GM is, you have to give em a clean slate. Once they start making moves, you either like em, or not. Enough don't like moves happen and before you know it you got a bad GM. If he starts by making like moves chances are you got a good one.

Where are TS's like moves? I start counting his moves after the Collins draft as he'd only been here 2 weeks. Last off-season was a fail in that with all the cap and player trades he could have made, he only brought in vets that were not flipped during the season. The DH trade was a disaster, should have just waived or streached him instead of taking on Beli and Plumlee and giving the better pick. Last draft he traded back and out.

All of these are not like moves.

So far this summer, nothing. If he isn't able to land a much better than #30 pick for his cap space or sign a developable young player, he will have totally struck out on this off-season.

Pierce also gets a clean slate, but I'm worried that he's a rah, rah D guy that won't have an O system.

I'm all for giving a new GM a clean slate, but I'm watching and it doesn't take me 5 years to know when a GM is stinking it up.

So we waive Dwight and take a 23.5 million dollar cap hit for two seasons because no team was going to claim him for that salary. Stretching Dwight would have resulted in us taking a 9.4 million dollar cap hit over 5 seasons (including last season). By getting Plumlee we would have cap space for 2 seasons prior to Dwight's stretch.

[Jamaaliver]

A player chosen this year helps climb out of a rebuild quicker than a deferred pick.

That's the thing. I don't believe Travis in interested in a quick rebuild.

Deferring the pick makes us worse for our own 2019 selection...and gives us an extra asset.

From that perspective...it makes perfect sense.




Even if we don't like it.

[tbhawksfan1]

No one made him trade back and out. OK, you can't move up, but he moved down and out. Strange choice for the beginning of a rebuild. A player chosen this year helps climb out of a rebuild quicker than a deferred pick.

I'm in it for the long haul, but I absolutely would have done everything and anything to load up on last years strong draft instead of deferring to future, weaker draft. I also would flip now assets for more picks. These kind of trades happen all the time. So far far after last off-season, pick #30 was all TS has managed to add with available cap and / or players.

Are we really going to get upset because he traded #34 for two future 2nds? There wasn't a player there the team liked, so he got rid of it for two future 2nds.

What now assets did you want them to move for picks? Collins and/or Prince for a late teens pick? No one else we have/had had the market to bring back other good assets. The trade market last trade deadline dried up, so that isn't on Schlenk. Teams were playing the buyout market so players like Dedmon, Muscala, Illya, and Belinelli didn't have value.

So far Schlenk has added: 2019 DAL 1st, 2019 CHA 2nd, 2019 MIN/LAL 2nd (less favorable), 2020 POR 2nd (heavily protected), and 2023 CHA 2nd.

Are we really going to get upset because he traded #34 for two future 2nds? There wasn't a player there the team liked, so he got rid of it for two future 2nds.

It's not the value I don't like, it's the deferred. I guess you think they like the players that will be availible with those future seconds better? I would like the Hawks future young core to take shape asap. How many drafts have to go by before TS can find someone to draft?

What now assets did you want them to move for picks?

Anything would have made me feel better.

Teams were playing the buyout market so players like Dedmon, Muscala, Illya, and Belinelli didn't have value.

This is an indictment on his signing choices. That he brought in all those vets and failed to move any of them in a tank is a fail.

So far Schlenk has added: 2019 DAL 1st, 2019 CHA 2nd, 2019 MIN/LAL 2nd (less favorable), 2020 POR 2nd (heavily protected), and 2023 CHA 2nd.

Much of which was obtained by deferring from the last better draft to future drafts. I thought we needed to bring in young talent now. When does TS plan to compete?

My alternative to what TS has done would have been very different, but not too complicated. Let's start after Collin's draft. TS had plenty of cap and he signed the above bad signings that he was unable to unload. He might still get something for Dedmon, but that will be pure luck as Dedmon easily could have opted out. I would have brought in a better quality FA signed to a longer, more valuable deal for pure trade purposes or I would have foregone a good FA and absorbed a bigger deal than Crawford, obtaining better compensation than #30. Filled out the rest of the roster with scrubs. I would have gotten rid of DH without taking on pure crap and trading down. Easy to streach / buy out him and eat the money without absorbing trash.

I would have flipped anything not nailed down before the deadline Collins aside. I would have made every effort to move up in last draft.

Since here TS has only made one move that I'm not sceptical of and that is the Trae / FRP for Doncic move. This could turn out to be his first good move. Depends on Trae, Doncic and the player that will be the FRP. Every other move, I'm very sceptical of

[tbhawksfan1]

A player chosen this year helps climb out of a rebuild quicker than a deferred pick.

That's the thing. I don't believe Travis in interested in a quick rebuild.

Deferring the pick makes us worse for our own 2019 selection...and gives us an extra asset.

From that perspective...it makes perfect sense.




Even if we don't like it.

I am 100% on the full rebuild train from the minute they didn't add to the 60 win team. How does not drafting players rebuild a team? It wasn't a bad draft. it was considered one of the better recent drafts and much better than next. It was considered top heavy and deep. Why defer? Wouldn't you have liked it if TS had plaed all in on last draft and gotten something like: Doncic or Trae / Carter / Knox?