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

[Jamaaliver]

Read on Twitter

The Hawks wanted to collect salary cap space and draft assets as part of their on-going rebuilding effort.

They have both - in abundance.

After a 24-win season in 2017-18, the Hawks entered the offseason with three first- and one second-round draft picks and $20 million in salary cap space.

In summary, the Hawks turned their $20 million in cap space into a future first-round pick, a second-round pick and a second-round pick swap. They will go into next season with a roster not expected to win under new head coach Lloyd Pierce, thus enhancing their own draft position, and a chance to scrutinize and develop a core of young players with Kent Bazemore (now the longest tenured Hawk), Taurean Prince, DeAndre Bembry, John Collins, Tyler Dorsey and their three rookies. The Hawks cleared the way for Young and got a first-round pick for Schroder, who they had to trade.

After this summer, the Hawks have choices. Now, they must choose wisely.

[tbhawksfan1]

Looks like TS is serious about building a contender. It's gonna take about 8 years, but he's all in (except for the pitiful Lin move) and I like that. Still think he's made some bad moves that add to the rebuild timeline but I still like the plan

[D21]

I would not say "Hawks got a first round pick for Schröder" because it's not sure at all. If OKC goes in the lottery in 2022, we get two second round picks.

[tbhawksfan1]

Horf / Sap / Carroll / Teague / Schro = Prince and a couple of seconds. Way to tear it down

Nothing like starting a rebuild from 0 to prove how good you are. Well to be fair, I should add Plumlee

[ChokeFasncists]

I expect Nash to be present at training camp

Fo real? Steve? Why? That'd be incredible!

[Jamaaliver]

I expect Nash to be present at training camp

Fo real? Steve? Why? That'd be incredible!

Coach Lloyd Pierce and Stevie Nash are old college buddies, having played collegiately together at Santa Clara University.

Pierce and Trae Young spoke extensively about Nash during Trae's visit and draft workout with Atlanta. Trae even mentioned that he had previously spoken to Nash multiple times during the draft process.

With Young recently eschewing the Steph Curry comps and stating publicly that Nash is his favorite player, it just seems like they're setting up an inevitable visit by Nash as a 'special advisor' at some point in training camp or pre-season.

[MaceCase]

I believe Nash is employed by the Warriors as a consultant, Trav will have to put in a call and hope Nash doesn't mind the flights from LA to ATL.

[GoodDayLa]

Looks like TS is serious about building a contender. It's gonna take about 8 years, but he's all in (except for the pitiful Lin move) and I like that. Still think he's made some bad moves that add to the rebuild timeline but I still like the plan

We'll see if trading for Lin is a pitiful move. From the perspective of a Hawks fan who may not closely follow other cellar dwellers like the Nets the past 2 seasons, I cannot disagree with your take and understand your POV.

Jeremy Lin and his injuries unintentionally caused all Lin fans to look like fools for saying that Lin was going to lift the Nets into the playoffs the last 2 seasons and show his true worth as a starting lead guard with heavy usage and ball in hand.

Lin fans were left grasping at straws trying to convince nonbelievers that Lin's 11-12 record at the end of his first Brooklyn season was proof he could take a horrible team and make it .500 with just his impact and another quality NBA player in Brook Lopez. Whether that's an accurate take or not, it's not convincing enough to win folks over. Even during the Linsanity craze, many people felt Lin was not truly impressive, such as former Hawk Jon Barry for one.

Jon Barry said Lin was likely to falter upon Melo's return from injury and that Lin and Melo could not co-exist together to win games. Barry was right. That's exactly what happened.

There will be a small segment of Lin fans that try really hard to convince every last Hawk fan that Lin is the savior & hero you didn't know you needed. Some will use stats, some will use game tape, some will use their emotions, some will use their spiritual belief to convince Hawks fans.

I've tried some of the above methods. I can say it does not work, whether the arguments were right or wrong is irrelevant. People will not be convinced unless Lin does the convincing himself. Even then, he can't convince them all.

I really like the roster the GM TS has put together. It makes a lot of sense on paper. We have no idea how strong Lin's body coming back from 2 seasons of serious injuries will be or how great a coach Lloyd will be or how ready the rookies will be.

I am a fan of Trae Young's game and believe he deserves a chance to lead the franchise. I don't think he is the better player than Lin at this point and he lacks experience in 2018. But that does not matter. It's Trae's world now, it's his team, and Lin is a supporting cast member. And that's ok. If all goes well, Jeremy Lin can be the Klay Thompson (not in style of play but in impact) to Trae's Curry or the Pippen to Trae's Jordan. Worst case, Lin can be the Corey Joseph or Fred VanFleet of the team.

I believe this is how the front office views Lin's arrival as well. Maybe Lin is dynamic and Lin and Trae will be 2 peas in a pod. But if not, Lin's an expiring contract. Brilliant move by the ATL braintrust.

For all of TS's heady moves that I agree with and think I understand, only time will tell if the coaches can put TS's gameplan into action on the court.

Will Lin be healthy? Will Trae be mature and unselfish enough as a rookie along with the other rookies to play for wins and not to establish themselves first in the NBA? That's a seriously tough ask for any NBA rookie trying to get his payday in a few years.

I believe if Lin can still play effective NBA basketball on one good knee, then TS's move to bring Lin in will prove absolutely brilliant this season because Lin will help keep games close by being a ball mover and hockey assist guy. Lin will do all the scrappy things that nobody but his teammates care about to keep the scores of games close

Learning to compete in year 1 will cut down the rebuild from 8 years to only 3-4 years. This is Lin's projected value to the team. He can speed up the turnaround for the Hawks. That's why he was signed. YOur GM is a smart guy.


At the end of games, if Trae gets the glory shots, some Lin fans will express dismay. However, it is what it is. I believe Lin had his window and injuries got in his way. There's nothing wrong with being a dynamic support player like Klay Thompson or Scottie Pippen and if LIn can do that for this team in 2018, that'd be fantastic and show that GM TS is one smart cookie..

[ChokeFasncists]

I expect Nash to be present at training camp

Fo real? Steve? Why? That'd be incredible!

Coach Lloyd Pierce and Stevie Nash are old college buddies, having played collegiately together at Santa Clara University.

Pierce and Trae Young spoke extensively about Nash during Trae's visit and draft workout with Atlanta. Trae even mentioned that he had previously spoken to Nash multiple times during the draft process.

With Young recently eschewing the Steph Curry comps and stating publicly that Nash is his favorite player, it just seems like they're setting up an inevitable visit by Nash as a 'special advisor' at some point in training camp or pre-season.

That would truly be awesome, but:

I believe Nash is employed by the Warriors as a consultant, Trav will have to put in a call and hope Nash doesn't mind the flights from LA to ATL.

That might give everyone some pause.

I don't think the Dubs would forbid him if he decides he want to do this. Lets hope it works out.

[Jamaaliver]

The Warriors brain trust has officially taken over the Hawks Front Office...

Hawks announce front office changes

Former Golden State Warriors and Charlotte Hornets general manager Rod Higgins has been named vice president of basketball operations of the Atlanta Hawks, the team revealed in announcement of front-office changes Thursday.

Higgins, who served a college scout for the Hawks last season, will continue to report to second-year Hawks general manager Travis Schlenk -- formerly the assistant GM with the Warriors.

Additionally, the Hawks announced that former Warriors GM Larry Riley will be brought in as a senior adviser.

Amico Hoops

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

[kg01]

The Warriors brain trust has officially taken over the Hawks Front Office...

Hawks announce front office changes

Former Golden State Warriors and Charlotte Hornets general manager Rod Higgins has been named vice president of basketball operations of the Atlanta Hawks, the team revealed in announcement of front-office changes Thursday.

Higgins, who served a college scout for the Hawks last season, will continue to report to second-year Hawks general manager Travis Schlenk -- formerly the assistant GM with the Warriors.

Additionally, the Hawks announced that former Warriors GM Larry Riley will be brought in as a senior adviser.

Amico Hoops

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

... I see dead people ....

[macd-gm]

Well, well, well. We've had some great discussions these last few weeks....

[ChokeFasncists]

Larry Riley is absolutely the real deal.

Lane is apparently top-notched.

Well done.

[Jamaaliver]

A Travis quote from summer 2017:

Things were kind of running themselves in Golden State. We [had] a young core, a successful young core, put together...Here, we have to get that situation. Even though they’ve been to the playoffs, they haven’t had a ton of success. Other than the one trip to the Eastern Conference finals, they’ve been first round and out, a couple second round and out. How do we get the next step?

It’s a big summer with free agency out there. It’s a team that could have a lot of cap space depending on how we put it together ...the goal is to find another Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green.

We’ve got to be diligent with our picks. We’ve got to be diligent with the guys we sign in free agency. One of the things we did in Golden State is we avoided signing bad contracts

myAJC




That definitely puts the Trae, Huerter, Spellman selections in proper perspective.

[ChokeFasncists]

A Travis quote from summer 2017:

Things were kind of running themselves in Golden State. We [had] a young core, a successful young core, put together...Here, we have to get that situation. Even though they’ve been to the playoffs, they haven’t had a ton of success. Other than the one trip to the Eastern Conference finals, they’ve been first round and out, a couple second round and out. How do we get the next step?

It’s a big summer with free agency out there. It’s a team that could have a lot of cap space depending on how we put it together ...the goal is to find another Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green.

We’ve got to be diligent with our picks. We’ve got to be diligent with the guys we sign in free agency. One of the things we did in Golden State is we avoided signing bad contracts

myAJC




That definitely puts the Trae, Huerter, Spellman selections in proper perspective.

This has got to be the most bizarre thing to ever happen in NBA team building, especially if all three turn out to be as good as the other three or better. OTOH, Prince's gonna be Barnes? Collins Bogut? Bazemore Iggy? Lin Livingston? Dedmon Ezeli? Carter Lee? Anderson Speights?

[Jamaaliver]

This has got to be the most bizarre thing to ever happen in NBA team building, especially if all three turn out to be as good as the other three or better.



OTOH, Prince's gonna be Barnes? Collins Bogut? Bazemore Iggy? Lin Livingston? Dedmon Ezeli? Carter Lee? Anderson Speights?

Just a sneaking suspicion, but i doubt Travis or ownership views any of those guys (with the clear exception of Collins) as long term fixtures here.

[ChokeFasncists]

This has got to be the most bizarre thing to ever happen in NBA team building, especially if all three turn out to be as good as the other three or better.



OTOH, Prince's gonna be Barnes? Collins Bogut? Bazemore Iggy? Lin Livingston? Dedmon Ezeli? Carter Lee? Anderson Speights?

Just a sneaking suspicion, but i doubt Travis or ownership views any of those guys (with the clear exception of Collins) as long term fixtures here.

Haha, sure, mainly tongue-in-cheek.

[Jamaaliver]

Read on Twitter

Watch on YouTube

[Jamaaliver]

It was an eventful summer as the Hawks’ front office added a group of players that includes Vince Carter, Jeremy Lin, Alex Len, Justin Anderson and Thomas Robinson to complement rookies Trae Young, Kevin Huerter, Omari Spellman and Jaylen Adams...

“Certainly, any time we can get a young guy who has upside — those are the kind of guys that we are looking for,” general manager Travis Schlenk said.

This comes as no surprise as Schlenk, who worked alongside Bob Myers at Golden State for 13 years (six as an assistant general manager), made it very clear upon his arrival in Atlanta that the Golden State formula could work in Atlanta, and it was something he was prepared to try. The thought process is to build up the Hawks’ foundation through the draft, just as the Warriors did from 2009 to 2012 with the addition of one Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.

“One of the main focuses when I got here was to get a younger roster. I think at the time when I was hired we had the fourth-oldest roster in the league, so we started that process last summer. We feel like we are able to accomplish a lot of our goals through the draft this year,” Schlenk said. “We are continually getting future assets.”

The Athletic

[Jamaaliver]

There is a lot of noise about Travis trying to recreate the Warriors here. Obviously that's hard to do but the truth is why not? The rest of the league has been really slow to respond to team that has dominated the league for four years. Obviously they have Durant now but they were doing it when Steph was the only true star on the team.

My point is that what Travis seems to understand is that what makes the Warriors successful is the enormous pressure they put on defenses from at least 3-4 positions at all times.

This is a decent point, and I'm sure it was a major selling point when Travis was going through the hiring process.

Another benefit of following that GS model (drafting comparable players and bringing in their former coaches/execs/trainers) is the culture they managed to establish with high character guys. Something Trav mentioned when he was first hired (and clearly played a role in hiring Luscious Lloyd).

They managed to create an atmosphere where top Free Agents wanted to come out and be a part of it. And they signed top FA targets as a result -- from Iggy, to Durant to DeMarcus this summer. (Admittedly, the last two guys are bandwagon jumpers). But the fact guys actually want to play there is a noteworthy part of maintaining their stranglehold on the league.

I think Travis and Lloyd are focused on recreating that aspect of the Warriors model in addition to the lights out shooting from all over the court.

Just a thought on a rainy day in Southern Ohio.

Spoiler:

“It was critically important to find a dynamic teacher who could connect with and develop our young core while instilling the culture and high standards we feel are necessary in a successful program,” Hawks general manager Travis Schlenk said in a statement.

After hiring L Pierce -- May 2018

Schlenk made clear what characteristics he was looking for when selecting 19th overall.

“I’m going to say this a lot,” Schlenk told the AJC back in June. “We are going to focus on character. We are going to focus on length. We are going to focus on skill. Those are the things we did at Golden State and all the draft processes that I’ve been in. We’ll do the same thing here.”

Schlenk stated his ideals and he delivered upon what he said when it came to the draft: he selected a high-character guy, a freak athlete and the best player available.

Pre-draft 2017

The good news: Player evaluation is his strength. So what does he look for?

“Character,” Schlenk said. “When a player comes out of the game, how does he interact with coaches? What kind of posture do they have on the bench? How do they interact at practices. If you have bad-character guys or guys who aren’t easy to get along with, it just brings everybody down.”

myAJC -- Predraft 2017

Travis and I, we’ve communicated and talked. We’re going to spend more time making sure we have the right people here. As we talk about culture and we talk about this organization and we talk about the advancement of this organization, it’s making sure the right people are here...

After being hired in May 2018