The Atlanta Hawks underwent much roster upheaval over this past offseason that also saw the departure of All-Star forward Paul Millsap in free agency on a three-year, $90 deal with the Denver Nuggets.
According to David Aldridge of NBA.com, the decision to move on from Millsap required some convincing of team majority owner Tony Ressler.
But, honestly, the losses are part of the plan this year. The worst thing you can be in the NBA is mediocre, and that’s where the Hawks were. Majority owner Tony Ressler had to be convinced to let Millsap go, but he signed off on not re-signing Millsap, and then went all-in on Process South, replacing former GM Wes Wilcox in May — who remains with the franchise as a consultant — with Schlenk, who was the assistant GM with the Warriors the last five years.
“Well, we had two choices, the way I saw it,” Ressler said Friday, in the new owners’/VIP digs, which are hard off the new Hawks Bar that is directly behind the baseline, steps off the floor — one of the many parts of the Philips renovation, which is scheduled to conclude next year.
“We never had the choice of being a contender. We weren’t,” Ressler said. “I saw the team go from 60 wins to 48 to 43. And we didn’t make many changes going from 60 to 48 to 43. We thought we made additions. Let’s just say I concluded, with Travis’ help, with Bud’s help, I concluded that we were not going in the right direction.
The Hawks had constructed a competitive last year headed by Millsap and Dwight Howard, but that resulted in a first-round exit. The choice to move on from both players gave a clear indication that the team was heading into a full rebuilding phase centered around their remaining young core group.
The fact of the matter is that Atlanta was nowhere near truly challenging the Cleveland Cavaliers and the long-term recommitment to Millsap would keep them at that same level. On top of that, it had become apparent that the front office was heading in that direction after moving Howard just prior to the 2017 NBA Draft.
All of this has at least given the Hawks a new sense of direction over the next several years of rebuilding the roster through young talent.
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