The Hawks introduced new GM Travis Schlenk at a Philips Arena news conference on Friday, and it was revealed his title also "includes head of basketball operations," according to Chris Vivlamore of the ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION. Hawks Owner Tony Ressler will "sign off on major decisions," but Schlenk was hired with a "championship pedigree to continue" the franchise’s goal of winning an NBA title. Ressler said of Schlenk, “I did not bring him in here for me to make basketball decisions. I hope that is as clear as I can be." However, Ressler added, "Every ownership has to sign off on numbers." Schlenk was hired "after 12 years with the Warriors, including the last five" as Assistant GM. Ressler said that Schlenk was "chosen from a group of between eight and 10 candidates" (AJC.com, 6/2).The AP's Paul Newberry wrote Schlenk already is "facing a host of issues ranging from re-signing" free agent F Paul Millsap to "figuring out a role" for C Dwight Howard. Ressler on Friday "gushed over Schlenk's qualifications, saying he clearly stood out among" the candidates interviewed. Schlenk: "We want to build a championship-quality team that's sustainable. We want to be in the conversation every year as a franchise than can compete for a championship" (AP, 6/2).
BIG MAN ON CAMPUS: In Atlanta, Jeff Schultz notes short of "setting the budget and signing checks," Schlenk "can pretty much do anything he wants in his new job." He can "sign anybody, trade anybody, draft anybody." Schlenk is an "independent thinker with an outsider’s perspective, which will serve him well in a front office that needed some shaking up." The Hawks’ front office "needed a fresh approach, as well as a sense of humor." Schultz: "Folks have been wound tightly there for a while" (AJC.com, 6/2). Schlenk noted the Hawks were a playoff team this past season and "could have had home-court (advantage) if they get a couple more games here and there." Schlenk: "Free agents typically sign places where they want to go to be successful. That’s what we’ve got to do. We’ve got to turn Atlanta into a place where a player looks at us, he says he can go there and win." Schlenk said of the NBA's luxury tax, "I don’t think it makes sense for a franchise to go into the tax unless you are competing for a championship. To go into the tax to try to get an eight, seven seed, to me, being fiscally responsible with these gentlemen’s money, that’s not right" (AJC.com, 6/2).
FORCED MARRIAGE? In Atlanta, Mark Bradley noted Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer relinquished the head of basketball operations title to Schlenk, and the two will "need to work most closely" together. Ressler "described Schlenk as 'an extraordinary collaborator' who 'will leverage our assets,' coaching among them." Budenholzer is "technically just a coach, but he can never be just" that in the Hawks organization. He has "been an outsize presence since his arrival" in '13. It will be "intriguing to see how the dour" Budenholzer "fits into a department run by Schlenk, who comes from the most collegial franchise there is." Budenholzer "wasn’t in attendance Friday, being otherwise occupied with his son’s high school graduation." But Schlenk said the two have been "spending four or five hours a day together." Schlenk: "There’s no reason to believe there’ll be any issues with coach and (me). He’s one of best coaches in [the] league, in my opinion. We’re a partnership. We’re in this together. I know he feels the same way." But Bradley noted for four years, "spanning radically different ownership," Budenholzer was the Hawks’ top basketball decision maker. Bradley: "That just changed." Schlenk’s is the "voice that will resonate" moving forward. More Bradley: "I put the over/under on the Schlenk/Bud pairing at two years" (AJC.com, 6/3).
