ATLANTA — When Travis Schlenk was hired as the Hawks’ general manager in 2017, owner Tony Ressler stated rather emphatically, “I didn’t bring him in for me to make basketball decisions,” and we can now view those words with some amusement, or at least a big, fat, “Oy.”
But in those days, Ressler meant it, and he let Schlenk take a sledgehammer to an aging roster. Dwight Howard was dumped, Kyle Korver was traded, Paul Millsap, Thabo Sefolosha and Tim Hardaway were allowed to leave in free agency. Coach Mike Budenholzer, having been stripped of autonomy over the roster, pouted after seeing his 60-win roster from two seasons earlier torn down for a rebuild. The Hawks finished 24-58 and Bud fled for Milwaukee but it proved to be the correct path to success. Three years later, Atlanta reached the Eastern Conference finals, and even if that suggested some overachievement, there was no doubting the team’s direction.
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The NBA trade deadline is Thursday. The Hawks are at a crossroads again. But this is not the ideal week to swing a sledgehammer.
The team has talent but just as clearly needs change to contend in the future. Approaching salary cap problems mandate significant moves before next season. Maybe general manager Landry Fields can sell an asset or two for draft picks or expiring contracts before Thursday. But this is an organization in flux at all levels. The best time to assess the big picture, define priorities and reshape a roster is in the offseason when other teams are in the same mode and have time to process and manipulate the salary cap.
If the starting point for Atlanta’s fledgling basketball operations staff is, “We can contend in the East,” it’s assuming a lot. The Hawks are a .500 team (27-27). They’ve played two-thirds of the season. They generally have played better the past few weeks but still have the look of a team that at best will win one round of the playoffs and at worst will get bounced in the play-in round (assuming it gets in).
They are two games behind the sixth-seeded Heat to avoid the play-in round. They are 2 1/2 games ahead of the 11th-seeded Pacers to miss getting in altogether. This is a more important season than most to get into the draft lottery because they actually own their first-round pick and that’s not the case in 2025 or 2027 (both unprotected). So it’s not the time to go all in at the trade deadline.
Also, consider the situation on several fronts.
• Ownership/front office: It’s always possible that owner Tony Ressler will take a step back and allow his new front office, headed by Fields, assistant GM Korver and an assortment of mostly newbies that includes Ressler’s son, Nick, to sort things out. It’s just as possible that he’ll want to hire a new top executive after the season to help guide the 34-year-old Fields. (As The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported, the Hawks had discussions with former team scout and executive Chris Grant, who served under former fallen general manager Danny Ferry. But they have since backed off.) If there is any chance of change in the front office, it seems logical that should take place first before any significant roster decisions are made.
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• Coach Nate McMillan: He will have one year plus an option left on his $6 million per year contract after this season and there’s a possibility he will not be back for a variety of reasons, not the least of which are: 1) The team has declined since the surprising conference finals run, even if it isn’t necessarily all his fault; 2) He no longer works for the general manager who hired him; 3) He has an up-and-down relationship with guard Trae Young. If Ressler fires McMillan, shouldn’t the new coach have input on what current players he’s comfortable with and which ones don’t fit his philosophy?
• Salary cap: I’ll try to recap this without making your eyes bleed. Next season will be the last on Dejounte Murray’s contract before free agency, and this is a good time to remind you it took a haul of draft picks to get him. DeAndre Hunter’s recent extension kicks in, with his salary jumping from $9.8 million to $20.1 million. Young will be at $40 million-plus, John Collins at $25 million and Clint Capela at $21 million. The team has salary commitments to at least 10 players for $142.6 million. If Bogdan Bogdanovic exercises his $18 million option – not inconceivable considering the condition of his knee could make it difficult for him to secure a multi-year deal – the payroll jumps to $160.6 million (sixth highest in the league) for only 11 players. That’s well above the projected salary cap of $134 million and right at the luxury cap level of $162 million. In short, it’s a full-retail payroll performing at Dollar Store levels.
• Trae Young: Don’t take this as the Hawks will explore trading their star point guard and marketing centerpiece. But how the pairing with Murray develops is crucial moving forward as it pertains to roster building. It’s also worth noting that while Young and many of his fans believe the player receives undue criticism, questions about his reputation extend far beyond media and some fans. Young failed to make it into the All-Star Game for the third time in five seasons, and it wasn’t because of those two entities. He finished seventh overall in voting among Eastern Conference guards. This was the breakdown of voting parties: fans fifth, media sixth, players 12th. This doesn’t help the “Players want to come here to play with Trae” narrative. He wasn’t added to the conference team by coaches. If this indicates how he’s perceived by players and coaches, how will that impact roster-building efforts moving forward?
• Options: Yes, Fields could alleviate next year’s problem now by dealing Bogdanovic. They also could finally deal Collins, who brings some skills that other teams would like. But Collins’ trade value isn’t high now, in part because of his contract. Unless there’s a great offer on the table, there’s no clear upside to trading Collins or another regular rotation player now. Most trades at the deadline involve a buyer and a seller, not two teams expecting to get better. Moving Collins, Capela or another major piece in the offseason, when more teams could be involved, makes more sense.
It all could make for a boring trade deadline for the Hawks. But there’s too much uncertainty before the deadline and there will be uncertainty after it. The problems can’t be fixed before Thursday.
(Photo of Trae Young gesturing after a 3-pointer: Chris Coduto / Getty Images)