ESPN ranks Atlanta Hawks management in the middle of the pack

The Atlanta Hawks are coming off of a 41-win season, their first such campaign in four years. They reached the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2015 and took the eventual champs six games. Since then, they’ve had was it widely viewed as a home run draft and plugged some holes in free agency.

This after three straight seasons of fewer than 30 wins and, obviously, no playoff appearances.

Despite this turnaround, ESPN has determined that the job done by Travis Schlenk and Company is mediocre.

Atlanta Hawks management middle-of-the-road per Worldwide Leader in Sports

The ranking comes as part of ESPN’s annual Future Power Rankings (subscription required) and, overall, the Hawks ranked right on par with where most outlets had them throughout the offseason. They rank 11th, just ahead of the New York Knicks but (somehow) right below the Philadelphia 76ers who are expecting Ben Simmons back soon.

It’s when parsing through the individual metrics that make up the ranking that the issues start.

They ranked the roster 12th. Again, this team was one of the final four left playing games last season and got to that point despite not being healthy all year.

In the ‘Money’ category, the Hawks ranked 20th. That makes sense given the $378 million they handed out to Trae Young, John Collins, and Clint Capela. Not to mention the yet-to-be-determined amount that will (hopefully) keep Kevin Huerter around long-term.

They’re 14th in ‘Market’ which also makes some sense. Atlanta is in the top-10 in market size. But the franchise has had some difficulty in landing big free agents in the past. The issue with that is this regime, which took over four years ago, has been building organically while waiting to pounce on the right free agent or disgruntled superstar looking to be traded.

Until it happens, though, it is still valid to hold it against them. But it could soon change.

The Hawks also ranked 16th in ‘Draft’, a category that risks punishing some teams twice. It weighs future picks with draft positioning. In theory, a good team with just its original picks could have a poor ranking in this metric drag down their overall ranking.

Meanwhile, Oklahoma City leads the category thanks to their 18 first-round picks over the next seven years. It’s great that OKC has been able to give themselves so much flexibility going forward but ‘potential’ is just that until it’s realized. Similar to what the Hawks just did last season.

That’s what makes their ranking in the final category, ‘Management’, so questionable.

Coming in at 15th, they are behind the aforementioned Thunder who had to firesale after Paul George bailed to get here and rank fifth. They also fall in line behind the 76ers, New York Knicks, Phoenix Suns, and Memphis Grizzlies.

Of those, Phoenix at least makes sense given what that group put together reached the NBA Finals. But Atlanta knocked both the 76ers and Knicks out of the playoffs.

What Grizzlies management has done to rank above the Hawks is a mystery.

Their entry for the overall ranking mentions it is their highest placement in over a decade of the exercise. It also goes on to acknowledge that they should probably rank them higher and that a top-10 spot should be expected.

It’s great that they come to that conclusion. But then, why not just put them there in the first place without the disclaimer? At any rate, it does seem they recognize the Hawks, from top to bottom, are legit.