The Atlanta Hawks bowed out of the 2022 NBA playoffs early this season after a five-game loss to the Miami Heat. After the loss, Atlanta Hawks GM Travis Schlenk expressed regret in how he handled the prior offseason.
In an interview on 92.9 The Game, an Atlanta sports radio program, Schlenk commented on their 2021 offseason decisions. “We made the decision last year…to run the same group back,” Schlenk said. “We probably should’ve tried to upgrade as opposed to stay status quo.”
In the 2021 playoffs, the Hawks made a surprising run to the conference finals, falling only to the future NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks. Atlanta understandably chose to run another season back with the same group, but Schlenk now sees that as a mistake.
The Hawks’ GM went on to say that he plans to have a different approach this time around. “The way the season played out, we’re certainly going to try to upgrade the roster moving forward into next season,” Schlenk added.
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The lack of offseason additions made the Atlanta Hawks’ offense over-reliant on Trae Young, who led the NBA in total points and assists this season. While that worked well enough in the regular season, a top playoff opponent like the Heat were able to shut him down.
In the Hawks’ five-game loss, Young had more total turnovers than either assists or made field goals. The Heat defense was able to focus solely on Young, causing issues for Atlanta.
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With the contract Trae Young is due this offseason, the Atlanta Hawks will lack financial flexibility. Atlanta already owes both John Collins and Danillo Gallinari over $20 million for next season’s services. With Young, Huerter, Bogdanovic, and Capela, the team has 6 players making over $14 million each.
It’s unclear what moves GM Travis Schlenk will be able to pull off this offseason. Regardless, it’s a positive sign for Atlanta that he won’t repeat the mistakes of the past.
