Tomorrow Starts Today -- A new era starts in Hawks Basketball

[Jamaaliver]

Ownership has largely changed everything about the franchise since taking over in 2015. I'd say most of the changes appear for the better. New practice facility, a renovated stadium, a new GM, a new coach, an overhauled roster with a couple of franchise faces.

Dear ATL...

Our vision for the future of the Hawks Franchise is taking shape.



As you read this, we are putting the finishing touches on the transformation of our home, the new State Farm Arena...We are so excited to host you at the arena and introduce you to our new head coach, Lloyd Pierce, and our exciting young team.

With Trae Young, the NCAA’s top scorer and passer last season, joining the likes of John Collins, Taurean Prince and veterans Jeremy Lin, Kent Bazemore and Vince Carter, we have assembled a roster with a mix of high-potential young players and quality veterans necessary to make sure each player is held accountable every day and reaches their full potential.

As the leaders of this franchise, we have taken the first major steps toward building something special and lasting:

• A TEAM BUILT with one goal in mind – winning a championship – and one that will do the work to get there.
• An ARENA BUILT to serve the fans, create memorable experiences and play its part in the renaissance of our downtown.
• A BUSINESS BUILT on the principles of engagement, diversity and innovation at every opportunity.

Hawks NBA Page

[Jamaaliver]

Hawks’ Kent Bazemore is last man standing

Final player remaining from 60-win team



Four seasons ago, the 2014-15 Hawks were a 60-win team and advanced to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in franchise history. It seems like so long ago.

One by one each player left in different ways. The distinguished starters departed when DeMarre Carroll, Jeff Teague, Al Horford, Kyle Korver and Paul Millsap signed elsewhere as free agents or traded. This offseason, two of the final three reserves from that roster were dealt in Dennis Schroder and Mike Muscala.

Kent Bazemore is the last man standing.

Four seasons ago, the 2014-15 Hawks were a 60-win team and advanced to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in franchise history. It seems like so long ago. Bazemore is entering his seventh season in the NBA and fifth with the Hawks. The Hawks invested in Bazemore with a four-year, $70 million contract in 2016. He will earn $18 million this season and has a $19.2 million player option in 2019-20.

The Hawks’ yearly win totals went down each season following the great heights. The win total went from 48 to 42 to 24 last season.

Ownership changed hands. The front office went through three restructures, the latest about to embark on the second season of a major rebuild. Coach Mike Budenholzer and all his assistants left this summer. Even the home arena has a new name and an extensive renovation.

Bazemore is the only one left, save for a handful of support staff.

A core of young players is being assembled. Taurean Prince, DeAndre Bembry, John Collins, Tyler Dorsey and this year’s three first-round draft picks Trae Young, Kevin Huerter and Omari Spellman have been added. The team could have as many as three first-round picks again next season.

“You take it a day at a time,” Bazemore told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution recently.

myAJC

[Jamaaliver]

Two years later, I'd say we finally started making the right choice on many of those tough decisions...

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They have seven recent first-round picks on their roster right now and that does not include Alex Len or last year’s second-round selection Tyler Dorsey. Atlanta’s rotation should include at least one player under the age of 26 at every position, so the front office will have plenty of opportunities to evaluate talent before the 2019 offseason when they could have two lottery picks and over $40 million in cap space.

Which young players establish themselves?
This season the Hawks will give recently drafted players significant opportunities, including Young, John Collins and Taurean Prince. While teams far from contention have an even clearer incentive to draft the best prospect available, how that trio fares will give the front office a better idea of how long this rebuild will take and what players are good enough to be a part of the long-term plan. For example, a strong year from Young will encourage Atlanta to add talent that will mesh with his passing and shooting sooner rather than later while a disappointing season could put the brakes on aggressively using cap space to add complementary pieces.

The Athletic

Will Your NBA Team Be Better or Worse Off in 5 Years?

Atlanta Hawks: Better



But their trajectory does not hinge on one hit or miss. They have their hands in enough opportunities to brighten up their outlook through opportunistic volume.

Young and John Collins are two potential headliners for Atlanta.

Beyond that, the Hawks should retain open-ended access to max cap space for as long as they please.

Bleacher Report

[jayu70]

Ownership has largely changed everything about the franchise since taking over in 2015. I'd say most of the changes appear for the better. New practice facility, a renovated stadium, a new GM, a new coach, an overhauled roster with a couple of franchise faces.

Except, when Ferry was hired as GM, he had ownership concerns:

Levenson addressed Ferry's concerns with one of the most wide-ranging, demanding contracts ever scored by an NBA general manager: A six-year contract at more than $2 million per season, guarantees the ownership would invest tens of millions into both a D-League team and a new practice facility and, the big one, Ferry would report to only one man in the organization -- Levenson.

So I think some of these things were already in the pipeline when Ressler bought the team.

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/13457071/nba-how-atlanta-hawks-regime-fell-apart

[Jamaaliver]

That's cold, Jaybird...



Tomorrow starts TODAY!!!!

[kg01]

Cop-out alert!!

For me, it's still too early to tell. This is a year-2 question IMHO. We're still in year-1.

Eh, that's how I feel. Shoot me.

[jayu70]

That's cold, Jaybird...



Tomorrow starts TODAY!!!!

Cold hard facts bruh . Nothing but.
Just like I won't give Schlenk all the credit for drafting Collins. Some of that goes to Bud and the existing scouting team.

[Jamaaliver]

Cold hard facts bruh . Nothing but.

Just like I won't give Schlenk all the credit for drafting Collins. Some of that goes to Bud and the existing scouting team.

[Jamaaliver]

Back on topic, I think the business side is unquestionably headed in the right direction.

In his first interview after purchasing the team, Ressler was already talking about redoing the arena and practice facility as they were considered sub par.

Ferry and Atlanta Spirit may have talked about it...but it was Ressler and company that brought it into being.

Spoiler:

From AJC:

Not two hours after being officially introduced as the Atlanta Hawks’ new controlling owner...Ressler allowed that there were three things the new owners could do about Philips Arena, which opened in 1999: Nothing, remodel or rebuild. And the first, Ressler said, “isn’t an option.”

(Ressler also described Philips as being “not in the upper quartile of arenas.”)

Which means that the new owners want a new arena, which is par for the course. (Arthur Blank wanted a new stadium from the moment he bought the Falcons, which wasn’t even 10 years after the Georgia Dome had opened.) Maybe it’ll be a redone Philips. Maybe it’ll be a rebuilt arena where Philips stands. Maybe it won’t.

He and his group “are in the first 24 hours of being owners,” so it’s not as if they’ve picked a parcel of land. But that discussion — downtown versus the suburbs — will be coming soon.

HERE

Ummm...wow.

Thoughts?

And ground breaking on the practice facility didn't even occur until over a year after Ressler's group had bought the team:

From the first day I toured our practice facilities, I felt that the Atlanta Hawks were and are at a professional disadvantage facilities-wise; my view was that it was job No. 1 to change that. That was absolutely our first and highest objective.

Here

The start of construction on the Hawks’ new practice facility has been delayed until at least late June.

The $50 million-plus facility was to break ground in mid-May, the team announced at its unveiling in April. Those plans have been pushed back until after the NBA Draft, which will be held June 23. The facility is scheduled to be opened for the 2017-18 season.

AJC -- 2016

Now, regarding the players/personnel...

[jayu70]

Cold hard facts bruh . Nothing but.

Just like I won't give Schlenk all the credit for drafting Collins. Some of that goes to Bud and the existing scouting team.

Enjoy again (since I've posted this article before):

Mit Shah is a Wake Forest alum and a major benefactor to the school. He recently donated $5 million to the school to build a basketball practice facility. Shah also happens to be a co-owner of the Hawks as he joined the investment team led by principal owner Tony Ressler that purchased the team two years ago.
“He was always nudging me and saying, ‘If you are around at 19, we are going to take you,’” the 19-year-old Collins said. “He came through on his word. I’m happy to be a Hawk. I’m happy to be in Atlanta.”
Shah did more than suggest Collins could be a Hawk. He brought assistant general manager Jeff Peterson to a Wake Forest-Duke game. He spoke to coach Mike Budenholzer about Collins several times before an interview at the NBA Scouting Combine in May.
“We really thought there was no chance he would be there when we picked and there was absolutely no chance he was going to get by us at 19,” Shah said.
Shah was in the Hawks’ war room on draft night Thursday. Manning was at the draft in Brooklyn to support Collins. They began a rapid text exchange when it became clear the Hawks were going to select Collins. Shah described the Hawks’ room as “ecstatic” with the selection.

And Schlenk admittedly said he was scouting later picks since he was still with GSW and relied heavily on the current scouting department. Schlenk was hired May 25th,2017 the draft was June 22, 2017 - less than 30 days.

https://www.myajc.com/sports/basketball/collins-the-latest-connection-between-hawks-wake-forest/dpa23mwhkHHaMNxCu2fVqM/

[Jamaaliver]

Enjoy again (since I've posted this article before):

Yeah, you've touted that article alot.

I believe the new GM came in NOT giving a rat's @$$ about what other people wanted. T Schlenk was given carte blanche to go whatever direction he wanted to go.

And clearly Collins was on his list of players to consider.

I'm not re litigating it 16 months later.

I don't believe for a second Travis showed up unprepared with 0 knowledge of the draftees that summer. It's kinda insane to think he'd completely defer on his first major decision in charge.




Now stop trying to poop all over my new thread...

[jayu70]

Doesn't change the facts.

[Jamaaliver]

We seem to disagree on what consitutues facts. Schlenk had a number of directions he could have gone in. (Including trading Prince and #19 to Denver and stealing Donovan Mitchell. )

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He stood pat and selected the kid who led the NCAA in PER as a sophomore. What some minority owner told the demoted PBO months before doesn't really bear much weight.

Hell, Bud was begging for MIllsap to come back to no avail. We saw how much weight his opinion carried with Trav. None!

Read on Twitter

Spoiler:

Trav was looking at a ton of big men at #19. He chose correctly. (Though Kuzma, Giles or Jarrett Allen could have each been solid selections as well)

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

Schlenk mentioned (without names) the team is looking at nine players at the No. 19 spot. Here are nine players I think the Hawks could be targeting if they indeed go big man with the first selection:

* Lauri Markkanen, PF, Arizona

* Zach Collins, PF/C, Gonzaga

* Jarrett Allen, C, Texas

* John Collins, PF, Wake Forest

* Justin Patton, C, Creighton

* Ike Anigbogu, C, UCLA

* Harry Giles, PF, Duke

* T.J. Leaf, PF, UCLA

* Ivan Rabb, PF/C, California

[jayu70]

We seem to disagree on what consitutues facts. Schlenk had a number of directions he could have gone in. (Including trading Prince and #19 to Denver and stealing Donovan Mitchell.)

He stood pat and selected the kid who led the league in PER as a sophomore. What some minority owner told the demoted PBO months before doesn't really bear much weight.

Hell, Bud was begging for MIllsap to come back to no avail. We saw how much weight his opinion carried with Trav. None!

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

Now you're just going off on a tangent throwing stuff against the wall. There was never any talk of making such a deal or the Hawks moving up in the draft.

[Jamaaliver]

Now you're just going off on a tangent throwing stuff against the wall. There was never any talk of making such a deal or the Hawks moving up in the draft.

Huh?

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Travis literally told our beat reporter it was an option.

Spoiler:

But their draft board had 9 guys rated similarly.

Read on Twitter

So Travis stood pat and was willing to take whoever fell to us at #19.




From the day of the draft:

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

[macd-gm]

Not to get in the middle but that's what every gm says 90% of the time. Hell Travis said that this year too. "Exploring all options" is basically telling the league to call me. Doesn't mean anything is really happening.

The future is bright because Trae and Collins are studs, we have basically no bad contracts and we have a ton of 1st round picks. We'll struggle this year a bit because of inexperience and a lot because of total lack of any depth. But it'll be fun to watch.

[Jamaaliver]

Not to get in the middle but that's what every gm says 90% of the time. Hell Travis said that this year too. "Exploring all options" is basically telling the league to call me. Doesn't mean anything is really happening.

You are 100% correct. It;s just weird to think that a GM whose specialty is player evaluation and drafting...would get no credit for his first draft.

Did others input? Of course. But he pulled the trigger and will get all the blame and/or credit that goes along with it.

Ferry walked into a similar situation in 2012 and blew his first pick (the first of many blown draft picks) on Johnny Jenkins. He gets all the blame for that. Not Drew or Sund or anyone else.


This team is clearly Schlenk's vision. I don't love all the choices, but he has his stamp on it.

Giving credit to the guy who'd already been demoted from making personnel decisions is...weird. Especially when he was removed from his post two months before the selection was made.




If anything, give credit to Jeff Peterson and Rick Sund who ran draft review before Schlenk was hired. But no one wants to give Sund any credit.

Spoiler:

Read on Twitter

Assistant general manager Jeff Peterson is the point person on the draft, a coordinator’s role he has served that past under Wilcox, and continues preparation for the Hawks entry in the Las Vegas Summer League in July. Director of player personnel John Treloar continues to run pre-draft workouts. Director of basketball operations Mike McNeive continues to gather player evaluations for the draft. Sund said the preparation is not unusual and he has served as the point person in the absence of Wilcox.

AJC-- May 2017

[Jamaaliver]

From 2017:

We want to continue the success we’ve had, but realize we might have to take a step back. We just don’t want to dip down 2-3 years in a row. We realize that young players in this league take their lumps but we don’t want to send the message that we’re (fine) with losing.

NBA.com

“The Philly model is not our plan,” Hawks general manager Travis Schlenk said Wednesday. “We want to be competitive.”

Be advised that Schlenk’s definition of “competitive” mightn’t coincide with yours. He referred to his time at Golden State. From 2008 through 2011, the Warriors won 29, 26, 36 and 23 games, which wasn’t quite Philly-style tanking.

That’s apparently Schlenk’s model for the Hawks – win 30 or so games, maybe have a sniff at the playoffs, keep your draft picks and hit big when you exercise them. “If we miss out (on postseason play) one year,” he said, “it’s not the end of the world.”

myAJC

[Jamaaliver]

Tomorrow starts today, er...tonight.

Trae Young era begins for Hawks, who have a lot riding on him

Trae Young’s first NBA game is Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden. He will start at point guard for the Hawks against the Knicks. It’s the first game of a long season for Young, but it’s also the beginning of an era.

It’s not exactly right to say that the franchise’s future is riding on Young becoming a star. It’s not exactly wrong, either. Young is the first draft lottery selection for general manager Travis Schlenk, who has engineered a losing-for-picks rebuilding strategy.

A strong rookie season for Young would be tangible proof that something better is ahead for the Hawks. It’s a lot to ask. The NBA is hard, especially for teenagers.

Critics who didn’t like Schlenk’s trade are ready to pile on some more. Doncic’s floor is perceived to be high, while Young is viewed as boom-or-bust. The trade will be at the forefront when Doncic and the Mavericks come to Atlanta next week for the Hawks’ home opener which, not coincidentally, is their only nationally-televised game of the season.

Schlenk has asked fans to have patience with Young while emphasizing that he’s just one piece a long-term puzzle. But Schlenk, maybe more than anyone, needs Young to be a good rookie.

AJC

[jayu70]

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