In Atlanta, Chris Vivlamore notes investing in the future is the term Hawks GM Travis Schlenk "prefers when speaking on the current state of the team." The Hawks traded C Dwight Howard and lost F Paul Millsap in free agency, and while some will say "rebuild and some will say tank, Schlenk doesn’t see it that way." Schlenk: "We are going to be young. We are going to be fun. We are going to develop our talent." He said the goal is to "maintain our flexibility. Get good guys on good contracts." He added, "I think a lot of times that what the term rebuilding means, you are conceding to losing. We don’t want to do that. We want to be competitive every night." Schlenk: "The end goal is to be able a team able to compete for a championship. We didn’t feel like maintaining where we were -- where you go 60, 48, 43 (wins)" (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 7/11).
IN & OUT GAME: In Chicago, Joe Cowley writes Bulls GM Gar Forman yesterday showed that he is either "completely out of touch with the Bulls’ fan base or simply a master at bobbing and weaving when hit with uneasy questions." Forman was asked if he "grasped how much disdain there was back in Chicago for the team’s front office." Cowley: "After all, 'Fire Gar/Pax' billboards don’t spring up for nothing." Forman said, "It’s always hard when you’ve had a level of success, and then you’ve got to take a step back and go in a new direction as far as a rebuild is concerned. And we know that it’s going to be a process and there’s going to be ups and downs." Forman then "detailed the organization’s 'great level of flexibility,' and the Bulls’ 'ability to have young players, develop those young players, have flexibility in order to add assets, and then draft picks will get us a step up in trying to go forward'" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 7/11).
STANDING PAT: In N.Y., Marc Berman cites sources as saying that Knicks Owner James Dolan is "moving forward with a plan" that has acting President Steve Mills remaining in the role permanently. No negotiations have "taken place yet between the Knicks and Mills." However, "subsequent interviews will be done to find a No. 2 man under Mills, who will be part of the process from here on." Mills is "expected to have final say on personnel matters." It is the same role Mills had when he was "hired to replace" Glen Grunwald as president before the '13-14 season. At this juncture, a "marquee hire" to fill the GM role "would be surprising." Though Oak View Group CEO Tim Leiweke has "organized a search for candidates, applicants have also been advised to contact Mills and Dolan about the position." It is expected Mills and Dolan will "focus more on assistant GMs and player-personnel directors seeking a promotion" (N.Y. POST, 7/11).
