What Are the Atlanta Hawks Doing to Save Their Franchise?
Atlanta is well-known for its storied history and sports teams, but its basketball franchise is often forgotten. Despite this the Hawks were once a premier organization in the National Basketball Association with many hall-of-famers experiencing their golden periods there–namely Dominique Wilkins, Moses Malone and Dikembe 'Mountain' Mutombo. In recent years, the Hawks have been one of the worst teams in the league, and with a 15-33 record this season, they have little hope for improvement. They are currently “rebuilding” towards every team’s goal–winning a championship. This entices the question: how can the Hawks restore their former glory as a top team?
The NBA is a business. Each “front office,” (administration) must allocate their “salary cap” (budget), effectively. Every team is an investor, and players are stocks that can be traded. However, there is risk as the contract that players sign is binding and cannot be violated until the term ends. Players, themselves, can also be put into the position of an investor, in that they can choose which teams they play.
There is no defined formula for a rebuild, only examples. Great examples are the Spurs, the Boston Celtics, and the dominant Golden State Warriors. There are two possible choices: one is through the draft, which is what the Warriors did; the other is by trading assets like picks or current contracts for “free-agent” all-stars (top players) who are not under contract by other teams, which is what the 2007-2012 “Big-Three” Celtics did.
The market for players is ever shifting, but people tend to follow trends. The recent trend of the NBA has been drafting taller players who are able to perform duties of guards, such as passing, shooting, and even dribbling. Thus, the value and demand for such assets has influenced how teams pick in the draft.
Despite this rising trend, the Hawks picked point guard Trae Young, who was compared to Steph Curry not only for his stature and savvy passing but for his deep 3-point shooting, from the draft in 2018. Along with catch-and-shoot player Kevin Huerter and their best player, second- year athletic forward John Collins, many compared this young lineup to a “mini-Warriors.” These decisions were clearly the work of General Manager Travis Schlenk who was trying to reproduce the success of the most unstoppable team in sports, having been a Warriors Assistant GM in the past. So far, this experiment has not worked out for the Hawks because Trae Young is extremely inefficient despite his averaging good statistics and Huerter still has a long way to go before becoming a top shooter in the league.
The approach that the Hawks have taken is a slow and patient approach. They are choosing to develop their players as quickly as possible while giving them ample time to adjust and “tanking,” or losing, purposely to obtain a good pick in the draft. They are currently on track to have a high chance of the first pick in the 2019 NBA draft, in which the whole draft is full of bright prospects.
As of the recent trade deadline, the Hawks waived two young players, but most importantly, allowed Taiwanese guard Jeremy Lin to sign with the Toronto Raptors for nothing in return, and in his own right, he had sustained some interest among Hawks fans. This move obviously left many Hawks fans disappointed as the guard had only played one season with the team and was most likely having great merchandise sales. The problem with these moves is that the Hawks did not manage to land any picks or young players, suggesting they may be content with waiting out the rest of the season and potentially making some more moves during the off-season. At the end of the day, the NBA is still entertainment, and losing an exciting player like Lin will, in the short run, hurt the Hawk’s ticket sales, which are already one of the lowest in the league.
It is more than assured that with an opportunity, the Hawks will undoubtedly trade away hefty contracts for a cast of players with defined roles. In 2014, the Hawks won 60 games and had a deep run in the playoffs. The credit goes to coach Mike Budenholzer and a starting roster of five players who averaged more than ten points each. It was a bad idea to allow Budenholzer to leave, as he is now leading the Milwaukee Bucks to the playoffs as the first seed in the East. Indeed, the Hawks must find undervalued players and build a core through a culture of teamwork and selflessness, which has always been a trend in successful teams in recent years.
Success certainly is possible given the state-of-the-art infrastructure, medical facilities, and the large market in Atlanta. When the Hawks are playing unselfish, and more excitingly, winning basketball, it will allow them to profit off viewership, merchandise sales, and live attendances. Hope exists in Atlanta, but it all depends on the Hawk's ability to minimize risk and maximize value.
Edited by: Haejin Kang
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