Atlanta Hawks Roundtable: Thoughts on the hiring of Travis Schlenk

This is a big summer coming up for the Atlanta Hawks with the hiring of a new GM along with some other big decisions in regards to the draft and free agency on the horizon. It seemed like as good a time as ever to tap into the pulse of the Peachtree Hoops staff to touch on some of the more pressing issues that the team will face this offseason. Up first is the hiring of Travis Schlenk as the team’s new general manager and head of basketball operations.

What are your thoughts on the hiring of Travis Schlenk?

Kris Willis: All things considered, I think it was a good hire and made the best of what was a bad situation. I’m not sure there really needed to be a front office shakeup but I am very happy with the choice of Schlenk over hiring a retread who happened to have a recognizable name.

Schlenk looks like a solid hire. He comes from a winning organization that plays a modern version of the NBA game. He arrives at a time when there are a lot of big decisions to be made with the Hawks and it will be interesting to see him put his stamp on this current roster. That is of course if he is given free reign to do just that and that is something that at this point we can’t be sure of.

Brad Rowland: I’m a big fan of the move. I tended to side with the hire of an assistant GM type given the available options and Schlenk’s pedigree with the Warriors is tremendous. Throw in the fact that I’ve heard (very) good things from those close to that organization and I’m even more encouraged. The big question remains how involved ownership will be in mandating things on the basketball side but, if that isn’t the problem that it could be, Schlenk’s track record suggests he’ll be just fine.

Glen Willis: It exceeded my expectations. I had no inclination that they would be able to pull front office talent from the Warriors. I can’t think of how this could have turned out any better. I was really concerned that Ressler’s comments and what appears to have been a hands on ownership style would really limit

RedRev: I did not see an option that would be a guaranteed success. As a draft person, the Warriors and the impact reported from Schlenk has been very strong. Overall, I am very pleased with the hire and now we wait to see it's impact.

Graham Chapple: I love it. The Hawks didn’t settle in this department and hired with someone with real experience. The Chauncy Billups rumours didn’t inspire me with confidence but Schlenk really does. Everyone who has worked with him as great things to say about him and he got a great endorsement from Jerry West. As an executive, that’s as good as of an endorsement as you could possibly get.

Josh Lane: Outside of his last name sounding like the effect when Wolverine retracts his claws, I think it is a great hire considering the alternatives that the team was rumored to have interviewed. A good amount of the hoops heads out here in Norcal reassured me with how great he has been for the organization so with that I am excited. The only thing that I am worried about is how involved ownership will be with his decision making. Recent local radio interviews make it seem that Schlenk wants to avoid bad contracts and build through the draft. That said it sounds like Atlanta could be headed for a rebuild and I truly question if the new owners want that…

Thomas Jenkins: I like it a lot. I think that hiring Schlenk was a great move, and probably the best reasonable outcome that fans could have hoped for. As fun as it would have been to see the Hawks hire someone like David Griffin, that was always a pipe dream with little chance of actually happening. Whether or not this front office shakeup was a good idea is certainly worth a long discussion on its own, but it’s relieving to see the team hire someone with Schlenk’s reputation. It never hurts to steal someone from an organization as successful as Golden State.