Travis Schlenk Interview New 06/16/2022....Old 01/04/2022 and 02/25/2022

[jayu70]

Way to start off 2022 Travis.
He takes ownership in his role in assembling the team but he is not happy with the defensive effort. Changes maybe on the horizon.

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[myrak433]

make a move Schlenk. get Trae a star running-mate

[kg01]

Rather than begging (again) for them to go get a star, I think the better discussion is identifying what actual difference makers are moderately available.

I do think they need to make some kind of move(s) but I think the most likely scenario is they make moves around the edges (i.e. not "star" moves). I'd be curious to hear who ya'll think is (a) a difference-maker and (b) available.

I should add, imho, none of the Pacers guys qualify as difference makers. Ok, now go. Who ya got?

[jayu70]

Rather than begging (again) for them to go get a star, I think the better discussion is identifying what actual difference makers are moderately available.

I do think they need to make some kind of move(s) but I think the most likely scenario is they make moves around the edges (i.e. not "star" moves). I'd be curious to hear who ya'll think is (a) a difference-maker and (b) available.

I should add, imho, none of the Pacers guys qualify as difference makers. Ok, now go. Who ya got?

Get a real backup PG to organize the 2nd unit, they always appear out of sync doesn't even look like part of the same team - Wright is just not a PG.
Bench or trade Lou

[CP War Hawks]

This sounds like a not so indirect shot at Huerter and even Capela. Too many one way players that can't or unwilling to play par defense.

[jayu70]

This sounds like a not so indirect shot at Huerter. Too many one way players that can't or unwilling to play par defense.

And Lou and Gallo.

[Jamaaliver]

Way to start off 2022 Travis.
He takes ownership in his role in assembling the team but he is not happy with the defensive effort. Changes maybe on the horizon.

Read on Twitter

Finally!

It drove me crazy all summer long to hear that running it back was the only option and we shouldn't make any big changes.

Trae carried a flawed roster to the ECF, but there were huge holes that needed to be addressed all along.

Spoiler:

You had this stance before the playoffs which illustrates for me the actual results had no impact, whatsoever, on your thought process.

We're not talking about blowing up a roster.

We're talking aggressively looking to improve.



...this team isn’t good enough to beat a wounded Milwaukee team and is unlikely to even get past Brooklyn.

TL;DR — Trae’s great. But the rest of these bums need to be upgraded.

July 2021

[kg01]

My point stands. The results didn't matter to you. You just want to see constant change.

[Jamaaliver]

^Nah. I've simply seen what happens when a team settles on a mediocre roster after overachieving.

It's the same mistake we made after the 2015 season. We assumed we'd waltz right back to the postseason while the rest of the conference worked to improve their rosters.

Diminishing returns both then and now by standing pat and refusing to fix flaws on the roster.

[tbhawksfan1]

I think that Travis put his foot in his mouth a bit. Given what the Hawks have faced this season, it's a bit difficult to talk this way. What does he think that he can do, find players that won't get injured or catch covid?

If he had said we need to do better...ok, but he made it sound like the team just doesn't care or want to put forth the effort to win.

It's another major asterick season and the Hawks have been one of the hardest hit teams. Hunter is a huge loss. We just went through a period of missing the most players of any team in the league.... Travis dealing with a major new year hangover or what.

For those that think that we need to bail on our young players and make a trade...who you got? Who do you give up to get them? If you say BS I say BS. Guy is the biggest headcase in the game and can't blame his problems on Philly. If he wanted a trade he just needed to report and give at least some effort. He has let his team down more than any player...like ever

I just can't believe that people; including Travis are crapping on the team given what they've been through

[D21]

Yes, there are things to fix, but it's like we have a full roster since the beginning of the season.
ATL is the second highest team hurt by COVID, and the 6th on overall absence.
Put them all on the floor and there is no defensive problem if they want to.

This team is almost the same than last year, they should be better offensively, and defensively, just by playing together one more year. If it's in their head, it's because of injuries they all had to take care, and rush the recovery to all play at the start of the season.
If fully healthy, this team know how to defend, at least on average defense which, like it was said, would be enough to win a lot more game.
Actually, I don't want to see average defense, I would prefer a bit lower than average if they want, but with some sequences with high defense. At least, it would make them work on the defense they will need to do in playoffs games.

What did we loose from last season ? Dunn, but he almost not played at all last season.
What I see first may not be a defensive problem, but an offensive one between "with Trae" and "without Trae".
Last season, it was simple, when Trae was on the bench or injured, Bogi was the PG, and it was working. This season, it's Delon or Lou, and it doesn't work.

The other problem is that with all these players out, when Reddish is available, he gets a too much high role on offense, and he puts all his energy in it, while I would like to see him working first on defense. Not absolutely on the long term, but as this team needs better defense, Nate should give him the goal to improve that.
He never asked Hunter to go all offense, so he has to ask Reddish the same thing, and I hope to see it in this next game.

[jayu70]

Nothing like that January interview but worth noting:
https://omny.fm/shows/92-9-the-game-morning-show-w-john-and-hugh/travis-schlenk-season-unlike-any-other

"I've been in the NBA for 26 years, been on some really good teams and some really bad teams, but I don't know that I've been on a team that lost 10 straight home games in a row. I don't think I've been on a team that had multiple seven game winning streaks and multiple five game losing streaks," says Schlenk. "Up and down, it's tough to figure out. We've seen this team go on runs this year and last year and hopefully we can get it started tonight, get on a run here, and secure on of those spots in the postseason."

We sometimes play like two separate teams in the same game!

[jayu70]

Read on Twitter

Schlenk's quotes:

“We’re the easy target,” Hawks president Travis Schlenk said. “Every rumor out there has the Hawks in it.”

Does that bother him?

“It doesn’t bother me. It’s harder on the players than me,” he said. “It’s hard on their families. I talk to their agents, or if they’re in town, I talk to them directly and tell them: ‘Look, don’t pay attention to what you read. I’ll let you know if something is real.’ I just don’t want them to read about something on Twitter before they hear it from me.”

“It’s not going to be a major overhaul,” Schlenk said. “I think some people have assumed some things based on some of my comments or Tony’s comments after the season.”

“It’s about fit,” he said. “That’s an aspect of this people don’t appreciate enough. It’s easy to (assess) talent, but these are human beings, and they’re a close-knit group of guys who spend a lot of time together. The right guy or the wrong guy can really affect a team.”


“It’s a lot easier to become a good team, a playoff team, than it is to become one that contends for a title,” Schlenk said. “We feel we’ve become a competitive team, but now we have to take the next step, and these are difficult decisions. If you make a mistake in the draft, you can overcome that. It’s a two-year mistake. If you make a mistake in free agency or in a sign-and-trade, when you’re giving somebody a four-year, $150 million contract, that can be detrimental for a long time.”


As for how Young figures in all this, Schlenk said: “He wants to win. Our owner wants to win. Our coach wants to win. I want to win. We all want to win. He knows we’re doing everything we can to get better and contend for a championship, and he has put his trust in us. But it’s not as easy as snapping your fingers. All teams are trying to get better.”

“We realize we have a special player in Trae, and we’re trying to give him the best opportunity to succeed because we all want to succeed,” Schlenk said.

[raleigh]

Love him or hate him, Schultz always finds a way to get good quotes for his stories. I wonder if he comes across as "old school" to the front office compared to Kirschner.

[D21]

Happy to see it goes in the sense that once again, the media are using ATL to create lots of stories, but that management is thinking twice before sending a huge contract to a RFA for example.

I hope this is the truth, and that they know we don't need Ayton here, but need to fix the real problems: wing defense, health, and should I say better coaching?

[raleigh]

They'll give Nate some time, and health is hard to influence. So if the goal is defense, I keep coming back to a Huerter trade...although that goes against the health thing (because Kevin is nothing if not available).