Okay, the Atlanta Hawks are dead last in the Eastern Conference. As of February 13, 2018, the Hawks have the 6th most turnovers per game and are ranked 26th in rebounds, 22nd in offensive efficiency, and 26th in defensive efficiency. Having lost every starter from their first-place eastern conference finish back in 2015, it's no secret that they're rebuilding. However, one thing Hawks fans shouldn't have right now is a lack of hope.
In this past offseason, it seems like the only major move the franchise made was the hiring of Travis Schlenk at general manager back in May. Ultimately, the players are the ones who win or lose the games, but Schlenk, assistant general manager of the Golden State Warriors from 2012-2017, has seen first-hand what it takes to build a championship roster.
From the moment the 2017 NBA season began, there a was a fundamental shift in the way the Hawks front office operated; a shift from the loyal mentality shown in the four-year, $70M contract extension for Kent Bazemore, to a “what have you done for me lately?” attitude, which can be seen clearly in their letting go of Kyle Korver.
In the events that have occurred since they brought on Travis Schlenk as the general manager, they have made it clear that what they’re doing is starting from the ground up and doing it right.
There are a few crucial elements to what the front office is doing right now, from gutting the roster and ridding it of bad contracts to focusing on young talent and maximizing draft opportunity. Schlenk is a man with a plan, and just as Joel Embiid told Sixers fans to “Trust the Process”, I urge Hawks fans to do the same.
The first part of their rebuilding process was gutting the roster, and Travis Schlenk wasted no time in doing so. In just his first two months as general manager, he allowed Tim Hardaway and Paul Millsap to walk and dumped Dwight Howard to the Hornets. Hardaway and Millsap just weren’t the right fit for Atlanta in their rebuilding process- they were both in for big money, and for the Hawks to pay them fairly would be wasting the salary on guaranteeing an average finish on the season and a mid-level first-round pick at the 2018 NBA draft.
Although it may be difficult to see, re-signing those two solid role players would only spell continual mediocrity for the franchise. The Dwight Howard trade initially struck me as a head-scratcher, but as time went on, the same idea occurred to me: to keep Dwight Howard on the roster for $23.5M would only waste money on a season where the Hawks would be the eight seed at best.
The franchise only continued to show their dedication to clearing up space for the future when they traded Ryan Kelley to Houston for cash considerations in June, then bought out Jamaal Crawford and waived Diamond Stone in July. The acquisition and signing of players like Dewayne Dedmon, Ersan Ilyasova, Richard Jefferson, and Marco Belinelli, all on short-term contracts, show that the Hawks are making due for the short term and preparing for the future.
On top of that, the Hawks made it clear that all of these players were available at the trade deadline last Thursday- and although they were unable to strike a deal, it's likely that they were looking for more selections in the 2018 Draft. This “make due for now” mindset comes also in contrast to the long-term contracts of Dennis Schroder, DeAndre Bembry, Taurean Prince, and John Collins, all young players with big upside- which is the next major key to their rebuilding.
The Hawks organization has three young players in particular who are showing major promise- Dennis Schroder, Taurean Prince, and John Collins. All three were drafted by the Hawks in the last few years and the only one which is playing at a competitive starter caliber. All pose different versions of versatility.
Leaving these three players on the roster and developing them into stars is a major advantage for Atlanta, allowing the team to stay at a low level to maintain a high draft position while crafting the players into the young weapons they’ll need when it comes time to make a playoff run. Developing talent is easier said than done, however. Thankfully for Atlanta, they have the perfect coach to do so.
It all starts with Head Coach Mike Budenholzer. He is being heavily criticized in the wake of all of this rebuilding, but it can’t be ignored that in the last two seasons he took a rather unexciting roster with only one all-star and still managed to finish top five in the east. His teams play a special brand of basketball- emphasizing high-energy defense to force turnovers and run in transition. His Hawks are also known to run a very effective motion on offense, passing up good looks for great looks, and allowing players better opportunities than they would have on other teams.
Having learned from the man himself, Coach Bud is truly the Greg Popovich of the east, establishing a strong system of fundamentals, and sticking to it to an inconsistent play from his roster. This consistency that he has established makes way for decent role players to shine, meaning that just like the Spurs, the Hawks seem to usher young players into success as products of their coaching system. Overall, Atlanta under coach Budenholzer is the perfect environment for young players like Taurean Prince, John Collins, and Dennis Schroder to develop into stars.
The franchise has rights to ten draft picks in the next two years- some of them are conditional, two are unprotected first-rounders, and three are protected first rounders from teams which are all in the top ten anyways.
The way things seem to be playing out, the Hawks will likely make two selections in the first round of the 2018 NBA Draft, one of which will probably be top three. The way I see it, the organization is going to great lengths to take advantage of their draft position, looking to invest in young talent to build a long-term NBA powerhouse. They are certainly in a unique and exciting position with young talent and draft value, and having come from a very similar position just a few years ago, the second-place Boston Celtics would certainly tell you that it’s not a bad position to be in.
Draft picks are no golden ticket to success, though, as the team most widely known for valuing draft picks, the Philadelphia 76ers, are still trying to break their “good, not great” mold. Many teams go through rebuilding in a similar pattern as this Atlanta Hawks franchise, which has been a project run by general manager Travis Schlenk. He was there throughout the entire process of Golden State assembling arguably the best team of all-time.
This isn't to say the Hawks are going to be a generational great, but there are a few similarities between the current Hawks and the pre-championship Warriors that I think Schlenk will take advantage of. The coaching that led to their success and the brand of basketball these two organizations play are quite similar. Specifically, how their individual and well-designed systems allow for player development and overall success. Steve Kerr and Mike Budenholzer are both great NBA minds, and their systems reflect that. These coaches both emphasize active defense, followed by transition play, followed by spreading the floor with methodical ball movement to find open looks on offense.
Although Atlanta tends to take the ball inside a little more than Golden State, the way they approach basketball allows for great player development.
Chipping away at defenses to find open looks don’t allow for just one player to take over- it makes every player on the court a weapon on offense. In this system, any player could be the leading scorer on any given night. Quite frequently, the same players may score the most points because they’re just more lethal on offense, but overall, more players will touch the ball and score in different ways, and different guys can take over in light of injury or a bad night from a star. Due to this, role players like Jordan Bell for Golden State and Taurean Prince of Atlanta can turn into stars on any given night.
The issue now becomes depth, and this is where Atlanta’s situation is truly unique. That Warriors team had players up and down the roster who significantly contributed to their success, and the current Hawks just don’t have that, which is more exciting than people may think.
With their current position in the NBA, the Hawks have a very good chance of landing the number one pick. Big names like DeAndre Ayton and Marvin Bagley are making a splash in college basketball- and a surplus of picks means that Atlanta has the potential to bag some major young talent in the coming drafts. Travis Schlenk was along for the ride when Golden State picked Draymond Green, Steph Curry, and Klay Thompson. Those names speak for themselves, and Hawks fans can only hope that he learned a thing or two about how to draft during his time with the Warriors. On top of that, the work that the front office has done leaves the Hawks projected with over $40M in cap space and several open roster spots in 2019. Not to mention, some of the NBA’s best and brightest stars are eligible to test the free agent market in the coming years.
Yes, the Atlanta Hawks are the worst team in the Eastern Conference today. Their numbers are outright scary and their roster severely lacks the depth to even think about the playoffs. A lot of this poor play can be attributed to the moves that the front office made to gut the roster. These transactions initially stumped the NBA community, but now it is clear that they were making a deliberate effort to rebuild and increase draft stock. This series of methodical moves over the last two years has put them in a spot that other franchises should dream of.
Open cap space, young talent, enough draft picks to make even the 76ers front office do a double take, and one of the best coaches the NBA can offer puts them in quite an interesting position. There is no real recipe for success in basketball, and if there was, everyone would be doing it. Sometimes the pieces just have to fall in the right place at the right time for a team to become great, but for the Atlanta Hawks, the pieces are beginning to line up.
Their success will be dependent on whether the draft picks pay off and they successfully build depth in the free agent market, but they have the front office and coaching staff to do it. With all these factors combined, there's potential for a dramatic three-year turnaround for the Hawks to become a playoff team again.
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