According to general manager Travis Schlenk and who witnessed the Atlanta Hawks’ 4-1 collapse against the Miami Heat. The season ended badly.
Miami demonstrated how to halt a single-dimensional assault dead in its tracks. “For ‘Ice Trae’ to turn up, someone else needs heating,” Schlenk says.
On April 26, Schlenk appeared on 92.9 The Game two days before joining players and staff for departure interviews.
Schlenk said that he believed the Atlanta Hawks were closer to the club that ended 26-14 down the stretch than the one that was 17-25 at the time. However, he did say that they will “always try to improve the roster.”
He predicted additional roster change, which he reaffirmed a few days later.
Expect a fresh new appearance. After a poor season, the Atlanta Hawks have made changes to their squad for next season.
Schlenk sounded more like he did when he joined the same team in January when questioned aloud whether bringing everyone back was a mistake when he appeared on The Morning Show with John Fricke and Hugh Douglas. The group’s architect went one step farther and left no space for doubt about his summer intentions.
“Last year, we decided to rerun the same group, and…we probably should have sought to improve rather than stick with the status quo.” So, based on how the season finished this year, we will strive to enhance the squad for next season.”
That seems like a normal response when a club gets eliminated from the playoffs. However, the distinction of maintaining the status quo – something Schlenk has previously regretted – prompted an intriguing follow-up from Douglas, who inquired about roster turnover.
Atlanta Hawks: “We have a few free agents on our roster.” We have a few players that are under contract. We have a player that is available for a contract extension. All of that factors. So we believe that there will be some movement among our free agents as we attempt to improve the team.”
While it may be meaningless, Schlenk’s statement that they anticipate change among free agents is intriguing. Only Gorgui Dieng, Lou Williams, and Delon Wright are currently unrestricted free agents with the Atlanta Hawks.
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