According to reports, the Atlanta Hawks have found their new general manager. Is it a good fit?
The Atlanta Hawks finally have a new decision-maker in their front office. How did we find out this information? It came in a Woj Bomb, of course. According to a report by Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical, the Hawks plan to hire Golden State Warriors assistant general manager Travis Schlenk as their next general manager.
Travis Schlenk is Atlanta's choice to become new GM and sides are entering into contract talks, league sources tell @TheVertical.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 24, 2017
The report was later confirmed by Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
I can confirm Yahoo report that Travis Schlenk will be Hawks GM once final contract details are finalized.
— Chris Vivlamore (@CVivlamoreAJC) May 24, 2017
Of course, until contract talks have concluded, the move is not official. On the surface, this looks like an outstanding hire. Schlenk obviously comes from a great organization and brings several years of experience to the table.
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The Golden State Warriors have made the NBA Finals in three consecutive seasons, winning one championship (and possibly a second in a few weeks). Hawks fans are chomping at the bit to be able to boast similar accomplishments.
The Hawks had been searching for a new GM since Mike Budenholzer relinquished his duties as president of basketball operations and former GM Wes Wilcox transitioned to special adviser to ownership.
Schlenk isn’t a household name like some of the other candidates that were thrown around throughout this search. David Griffin, Joe Dumars, Chauncey Billups, and Brent Barry were reported as candidates at one time or another.
Schlenk has been with the Warriors for 12 years, five as assistant general manager. Overall, he has 16 years of experience in the NBA. The rest of his bio has been helpfully provided on Twitter by Hawks.com writer KL Chouinard.
Here's Schlenk's bio from the Warriors: pic.twitter.com/QVgqKLt95A
— Kevin Chouinard (@KLChouinard) May 24, 2017
In looking at his bio, it appears that Schlenk’s specialty is player development and scouting. The Hawks have always placed a huge emphasis on those two areas, so it is not surprising that Schlenk ended up being their man.
Will Schlenk want to re-sign Paul Millsap to a long-term deal? Does he want to rebuild? Will he trade Dwight Howard? These questions will all be answered this summer. One question is finally answered, several more remain. Don’t you love the offseason?
Next: Is signing Milos Teodosic realistic?
We’ll keep you updated as more information becomes available. For now, it seems that the Hawks have made an excellent hire.