The Hawks recently traded C Dwight Howard to the Hornets and may lose F Paul Milsap in free agency, but new GM Travis Schlenk "doesn’t like the word rebuild," according to Chris Vivlamore of the ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION. Schlenk: "We are going to play an exciting brand of basketball. We want to be competitive. We want fans to show up every night thinking we have a chance to win. ... If we make the playoffs, great. If we miss out one year, it’s not the end of the world. We just have a chance to get a better player. Our goal is to be competitive.” He added that the 76ers' rebuild under former GM Sam Hinkie is "not" the Hawks' model (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 6/30).
ARE UPGRADES TOO MUCH? Reactions continue pouring in for the Hawks' lavish Philips Arena upgrades, with ESPN's Amin Alhassan saying, "All of these things scream one thing to me: 'Look how awesome our arena is. We’ve got all these things you can do. You don't even have to bother yourself with watching the game.'" He added, "The bar behind the basket thing, that’s not a new innovation. You know who does that a lot? WNBA teams when they play in NBA arenas because they can't sell out the whole lower bowl." ESPN's Marcellus Wiley: "They're enhancing the in-game experience to a point where the game is an afterthought. You’re going to get your haircut, you’re going to do some golf. Are you even going to watch the damn game?" (“SportsNation,” ESPN, 6/29). ESPN's Jemele Hill said, "That's when you know you might not be the best sports town, if you got to do all that to bring the fans there" ("SportsCenter," ESPN, 6/29). ESPN's Sarah Spain: "If you need to get a shape-up and work on your drive at a basketball game then you don't deserve to have those basketball tickets" ("Around The Horn," ESPN, 6/29).
