A quick look at Atlanta Hawks General Manager Travis Schlenk’s thinking during the trade deadline.
The trade deadline came and went, and the Atlanta Hawks and General Manager Travis Schlenk stayed put. Other than sending away former second-round pick Tyler Dorsey, the Atlanta Hawks made no deals for players on the roster.
While the team did make two trades (for former Hawk Shelvin Mack and Jabari Bird), both players that were sent to Atlanta will be waived to make room for open roster spots.
According to a tweet from NBA.com’s Kevin Chouinard, those spots will be used to sign a couple of young players and no players were brought in because the direction of the team is sound:
Travis Schlenk said that part of the motivation for standing (mostly) pat at deadline is the direction of the team over last 25 games. He likes the team’s vibe on/off court.
— Kevin Chouinard (@KLChouinard) February 7, 2019
Of course, that’s exactly the right move, as the team has little chance of making the playoffs or of losing enough games to put themselves in pole position for the #1 overall pick – though the lottery odds are indeed quite wacky this year.
In the end, the trade deadline underscored the fact that the Atlanta Hawks seem happy with where the team is, especially regarding the young cornerstones of John Collins, Trae Young and Kevin Huerter.
The Hawks have been playing extremely well of late – far better than any of the other “tanking” teams around them (Knicks have lost 14 straight games, Suns losing streak at 12). Just two nights ago, the Hawks outplayed one of the best teams in the league – the Toronto Raptors – in the first half by canning 13 three-pointers, before cooling off considerably in the second half.
Schlenk has proven to be inflexible to a fault at times, but in this case, not taking on money that lasts beyond this season was the right move.
According to a story by Chris Kirschner of The Athletic, Schlenk was quoted as saying: “Keeping our flexibility moving forward not taking money on for next year was a great asset.”
With the team playing well and a smorgasbord of draft picks on the horizon, the Atlanta Hawks are in good shape – even if the trade deadline was rather dull.