After an embarrassing loss against a depleted-Portland Trailblazers squad, Atlanta Hawks general manager, Travis Schlenk, had some strong words in his appearance on The Morning Show for Atlanta Hawks radio station, 92.9 The Game. Coaches, players, fans and apparently, the front office are losing their patience with this Hawks team.
Coming off the heels of an Eastern Conference Finals appearance in 2021, everyone had high expectations for the Hawks entering the 2021-22 campaign. Nothing has gelled right for this club, from injuries to Covid-19 issues, and it has all spilled out on the court. The Hawks are now 16-20 overall, sitting at 12th in the East. No one thought this is where the team would be at, at this point in the season, especially Schlenk.
“It’s a hard pill to swallow when your team’s not playing as well as you think it should. And maybe I need to lower my expectations for this team,” Schlenk said, “ultimately, falls on my shoulders.”
The Trailblazers were without both Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum, their two best scorers. Yet, for the the third time in four games the Hawks allowed a team to score 130+ points. All three games have resulted in a loss.
Schlenk’s comments may have sounded harsh, but it actually should be a breathe of fresh air for Hawks fans and even Atlanta fans in general.
“There’s no sense of urgency to make a stop. There’s no sense of accountability that ‘I’m going to stop my guy’ or as a team, ‘we’re going to make an effort’…somebody gets scored on, they go down to the other end. It doesn’t bother them,” Schlenk said.
For many years, the Hawks lived in mediocrity. Regime after regime, the franchise seemed content with making the playoffs, but with no endgame of actually winning a championship. Even the 60-win team from 2015, had a ceiling of the Conference final. No one truly thought they were going to beat the Lebron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers, and news flash, the management at the time knew that too.
To hear a prominent member of the front office be so critical of the team is what fans want from their franchise. Schlenk is letting the team know, the coaching staff know and the fans know, that what they are watching is not acceptable.
Then Schlenk put everyone on notice with his comments about the trade deadline. Excluding Trae Young, and maybe a couple other Hawks, all options seem to be on the table.
“We have a few weeks before the trade deadline here, and this is what I need to figure out. It’s my responsibility to put a product on the floor that can win, and right now. I’m not sure I have done that,” Schlenk said.
Knowing how aggressive Schlenk has been in the past, changes are coming for the Hawks franchise. Whether it is Earth-shattering or a couple minor moves, the boss has spoken and only time will tell what happens.
Schlenk’s comments were pretty blunt and there is not much to interpret if you read what he said. Nevertheless, what do you think of his comments? Does this hurt the team or help the team in anyway? Let us know with your comments below!
