Hawks Offseason Reviews -- 2018 Edition

[Jamaaliver]

An annual collection I pull together of pundits, insiders and sportswriters as they assess how well we played the off-season...and what to expect from the new collection of players.


2017 Offseason Review

So, how'd we do this offseason?


Replacing Bud with Lloyd...dumping Dennis...trading for Trae and, of course -- landing Linsanity.

What's it all worth in the grand scheme of things?

[Jamaaliver]

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Kevin Pelton of ESPN assessed the summer performance of every NBA team and, in short, he did not enjoy what Schlenk and company elected to do. Atlanta was given a “D-” grade and only the Charlotte Hornets (F) were graded as harshly:



The Hawks’ three biggest moves of the offseason involved point guards coming and going. When Luka Doncic slipped to Atlanta at the third pick, the Hawks opted to trade down two spots and take Oklahoma point guard Trae Young, picking up a future first-rounder from the Dallas Mavericks in the process. After an up (Las Vegas) and down (Salt Lake City) summer-league run from Young, Atlanta could regret passing on Doncic if he lives up to his statistical projections.

Atlanta used much of its cap space on adding Jeremy Lin, coming off a ruptured patella, as a veteran mentor to share time with Young. With a crowd at the point, the Hawks sent incumbent starter Dennis Schroder to the Oklahoma City Thunder as part of a deal taking back Carmelo Anthony’s contract. That trade could yield a first-round pick, but only if the Thunder make the playoffs in 2022.




All told, it would be easy to evaluate Atlanta’s offseason in a negative light, especially if one harbored significant distaste toward the Young-Doncic trade. Still, it takes a combination of three separately negative evaluations to come to a “D-” grade and that appears overly harsh when considering the team’s present-day goals.

Brutal.

[Jamaaliver]

30 Teams In 30 Days: Atlanta Hawks


2017-18 Record: (24-58, did not qualify for the playoffs)

Who’s new: Coach Lloyd Pierce, Trae Young (Draft), Kevin Huerter (Draft), Omari Spellman (Draft), Jeremy Lin (trade), Justin Anderson (trade), Alex Len (free agency), Vince Carter (free agency)

Who’s gone: Coach Mike Budenholzer, Dennis Schroder, Mike Muscala

The lowdown: Three years after winning a conference-best 60 games, the Hawks crash-landed and clearly set their sights on the Draft lottery by the 2018 All-Star break. New GM Travis Schlenk dumped Marco Belinelli and Ersan Ilasova at the trade deadline and would’ve shipped off a few more players if he could. Basically, Schlenk attempted to scrub most of the work of Budenholzer, who ran the basketball operation previously. John Collins made the All-Rookie team and Taurean Prince finished strong. However, Kent Bazemore — the club’s highest-paid player — sputtered and never felt comfortable being a volume scorer (12.9 points per game). The Hawks couldn’t win or generate much interest in Atlanta, putting the framework for a fresh era in place well before 2017-18 ended.

The Hawks held the No. 3 overall pick in the 2018 Draft. Deandre Ayton and Marvin Bagley III were off the board. What say you, Mr. Schlenk?

He made a gutsy move, bypassing European sensation Luka Doncic in favor of Young and a 2019 protected first from the Mavericks. Schlenk admitted the Hawks’ war room was evenly split on Doncic and Young, but the ’19 first-rounder was the deal-maker. That’s not an overwhelming vote of confidence for Young, and you wonder if Hawks ownership nudged Schlenk into making the deal because of Young’s star potential. The organization dropped millions to give the newly-renamed State Farm Arena some bling over the last year and obviously crave a player with flair to move the needle in Atlanta.

Spoiler:

Young certainly brings a wow factor. He was the box office star at Oklahoma with his long-range shots and fancy passes. He also became the first collegiate player to lead the nation in scoring and assists in the same season. The Hawks say his ability to make teammates better is vastly unappreciated and will smooth his transition into the NBA.

He also had a ragged second half of last season and became a social media punch line. His shot selection and accuracy raised red flags. In a sense, his final year at OU was a tale of two players: Tantalizing Trae and Tragic Trae.

NBA scouts say Young’s other drawbacks were his lack of size, athletic ability and defense. He was a polarizing Draft pick and the Hawks’ decision received mixed reviews at best among Hawks fans.

That additional first-round pick Atlanta got from Dallas could prove beneficial for a rebuilding team that wants to collect as many assets as possible. The idea of Young becoming an Atlanta Basketball Jesus seems like a reach … until you remember this franchise hasn’t had a ticket-selling sensation in its history. Even Pete Maravich and Dominique Wilkins weren’t basketball magnets in this college football-crazed town.

With a new basketball regime in place, it was only a matter of time before Budenholzer, stripped of his basketball operations stripes, would bolt. Schlenk wanted his own people, which is standard operating procedure for a new GM. Once the season ended, Budenholzer began running off copies of his resume with the blessing of the Hawks. He landed in Milwaukee and Schlenk began searching for Budenholzer’s successor.

Eventually, Schlenk stayed in his comfort zone and hired Pierce. (Years ago, they both worked for the Golden State Warriors.) Pierce came with strong reviews for his work as an assistant coach, most recently with the Sixers. As a player, he rode shotgun in college at Santa Clara with Steve Nash and brings solid people skills to Atlanta. He is, however, a first-time coach and sometimes, it gets tricky when folks slide one seat over on the bench.

It was no secret the Hawks wanted to jettison starting point guard and leading scorer Schroder this summer. He had legal issues and didn’t develop solid chemistry with his teammates. When the Thunder agreed to a proposal, the Hawks pounced, sending Schroder to OKC for Carmelo Anthony (who was subsequently bought out), Justin Anderson and a future first-rounder. Of course, this means the Hawks will either go with a rookie as their starting point guard or Lin (who should be healthy for training camp after he missed all but one game last season.)

With their additional first-round pick this year, the Hawks took Huerter, a sharp-shooter from Maryland. Right now they’re getting nothing special offensively from the swing position and Huerter will get a long look as a rotational player.

In order to help a young locker room adjust, the Hawks added 41-year-old Carter (who was a rookie when Young was born). Carter has become a lovable NBA senior citizen, which allows folks to overlook his declining skills. His veteran voice will help when the Hawks endure a losing streak.

...the summer belonged to the deal the Hawks swung for Young. It’s one of those decisions that could make Schlenk look like a genius, especially if he scores big on the 2019 Dallas pick and Young pans out. The flip side? Doncic becomes the transcendent star in Dallas that the Hawks craved. The final verdict on this deal won’t be delivered for years. By then, will the Hawks be winners?

NBA.com

[ChokeFasncists]

So many unknowns. But thing is, if this team sucks, good for the tank, if it plays well, it's positive.

There'll be a lot of capspace, if the team plays bad, absorb bad contracts for picks, if it plays well, sign capable vets.

Trey probably won't be very good at first, but no reason to believe that he won't be later. Don't know why there's so much controversy.

and, of course -- landing Linsanity.

[Jamaaliver]

NBA Offseason Grade for Every Team

Atlanta Hawks: Decidedly Average (C)

The Atlanta Hawks were busy this offseason, adding Jeremy Lin, dumping Dennis Schroder as part of a deal that also made Carmelo Anthony one of the shortest-tenured Hawks in history, trading Mike Muscala, hiring Lloyd Pierce to replace Mike Budenholzer, and snagging Kevin Huerter at No. 19 in the draft.

But combine all of that, and it still doesn't matter as much as the deal the Hawks struck on draft night.

If Luka Doncic is a superstar and Trae Young isn't, the Hawks will regret this offseason for years. Atlanta dealt Doncic to the Mavs for Young and a top-five protected first-rounder in 2019. Picking up an additional first just for moving down two spots sounds fantastic, but the particulars of this scenario make it a massive risk.

It could pay off if Young is a cornerstone, but his summer-league play revealed the exact shortcomings his detractors worried about. Lacking burst and struggling to create separation, clean looks were hard to come by for Young. He flashed excellent passing vision, but if he can't generate his own offense from the perimeter, Young is in for a rough ride.

Rather than cop out and wait until we know more about the Doncic-Young dynamic, we're going with an average grade. At the very least, the Hawks followed a clear vision under GM Travis Schlenk by adding assets and signing up for a deliberate rebuild. Most clubs skip steps, so kudos to the Hawks for what appears to be extreme patience.

Bleacher Report

[Jamaaliver]

Grading each teams offseason

Atlanta Hawks: C



Additions: Trae Young, Kevin Huerter, Omari Spellman, Jeremy Lin, Justin Anderson and Lloyd Pierce

Subtractions: Dennis Schroder, Mike Muscala

New Hawks GM Travis Schlenk is clearly trying to replicate the Steph Curry -- Klay Thompson -- Draymond gReentrio in Atlanta as seen by his Young -- Huerter -- Spellman draft selections. Unfortunately for him, his guys are all poor man's versions of the Warriors Hall of Fame trifecta, and his vision may have caused him to pass on a potential superstar in Luka Doncic.

USA Today Sports

[Jamaaliver]

Offseason grades for every team


Atlanta Hawks

Grade: B

The rebuilding Hawks gambled by trading Luka Doncic for Trae Young and a protected 2019 first-round pick, then got rid of Dennis Schroder to put the team entirely in Young's hands. They also picked up another first-round pick for facilitating Carmelo's exit from OKC. It's going to be a while before the Hawks are good again, but they're collecting assets along the way.

CBS Sports

[macd-gm]

Offseason grades for every team


Atlanta Hawks

Grade: B

The rebuilding Hawks gambled by trading Luka Doncic for Trae Young and a protected 2019 first-round pick, then got rid of Dennis Schroder to put the team entirely in Young's hands. They also picked up another first-round pick for facilitating Carmelo's exit from OKC. It's going to be a while before the Hawks are good again, but they're collecting assets along the way.

CBS Sports

Hilarious. I know of two grades B and D-. These folks don't know anything really. I agree with B. Maybe B+.

[Jamaaliver]

Hilarious. I know of two grades B and D-. These folks don't know anything really. I agree with B. Maybe B+.

This surprises me.

You were extremely critical of Travis during the Budenholzer Conundrum.

Has the drafting of Trae (and Huerter) caused you to come back around on our GM?

[macd-gm]

Hilarious. I know of two grades B and D-. These folks don't know anything really. I agree with B. Maybe B+.

This surprises me.

You were extremely critical of Travis during the Budenholzer Conundrum.

Has the drafting of Trae (and Huerter) caused you to come back around on our GM?

Oh yes. Trae was my guy and I think grapping him and getting a pick out of it was a great move. I still think Bud gets a bad rap for essentially being forced out but i'm happy with our drafting and happy with coach so far. Don't know if he knows what he's doing but he's the type of coach we needed.

I still don't totally trust Travis but since he picked my guy how can i not like him right now?