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The start of training camp is just a few days away and Atlanta Hawks General Manager Danny Ferry addressed the media on Thursday to discuss his new look Atlanta Hawks. Plenty has changed since we last saw the team. A rebuilt coaching staff will guide the unit this season under the direction of new Head Coach Mike Budenholzer. Half of the roster has been overturned so will the Hawks fall in an Eastern Conference that seems to have gotten stronger this offseason?
"I think we have to get through the beginning of the year to get a feel from our group, but we're not just putting together new players. We have an entirely new coaching staff that is working together. That being said, the guys will work hard and compete. And we have smart coaches and they'll put guys in positions to succeed. I expect us to be competitive. What that means as it relates to wins, losses and so on ... I don't know. The East is better, first of all. You can go through the teams and see the East has gotten more competitive, which I like."
Ferry went on to point out Charlotte, Detroit and Milwaukee as teams that he thought would be improved. He went on to point out that this team is just the beginning of the process. He used words like character and competitiveness repeatedly and its easy to envision a club that comes to play every night and competes to the end no matter the outcome. That is something that we haven't necessarily seen over the last couple of seasons. He also pointed out the roster's flexibility and how the team will have some options to make changes should the opportunity arise.
"I think we're in a position where we have started to build on the values we want to work as a team," Ferry said. "I think we have professional guys that will compete every night, and pretty good characters guys as well. With that, we want to keep flexibility as strategic option for us right now with where we are as a team. With where we are lined up, with contracts and the future we have the opportunity to still take different paths. I think we have a value system that is going to guide us along that way. But we still have the option to make changes and do things going forward that allow us to continue to build and to continue to try to get better."
The rest of the team will be made available on Monday, September 30 at the annual media day event.