Travis Schlenk, the Hawks GM, doesn’t have a single clue what he’s doing. Schlenk is establishing himself as one of the dumbest general managers in any sport. It’s not like it’s a secret. The Hawks have been a disaster since he took over the ship in 2019. In fact, Schlenk has been such a nightmare that a player actually spoke out about how bad he is at his job. Alex Len doesn’t understand what the Hawks front office is doing.
Here is the backstory. The 2018-19 NBA Season ends. The Hawks decided to let Dewayne Dedmon walk in free agency. Atlanta re-signs Alex Len instead for a much lower price tag. Dedmon ends up signing a 3-year, $40 million deal with the Kings. Easy enough, right? NOPE. The Hawks reversed course midseason and traded for Dedmon this year sending out Len in the deal. Yeah, that’s the Hawks.
Len spoke out recently how he doesn’t understand what Atlanta is doing.
via Chris Kirschner of The Athletic
“They didn’t want to pay him in the first place, so it didn’t make sense to me,” Len said. “If they wanted him, they could have just paid him. So they get him as a backup now and end up paying him anyway.”
Well said. Now in fairness, they Hawks did pick up two 2nd round picks by reacquiring Dedmon. It still doesn’t make sense. Atlanta ate the Dedmon contract to pick up two low value picks after they had already given up a first round pick for Clint Capela who hasn’t played a game with the team (coronavirus or not).
Now Atlanta has really put themselves into a pickle. The Dedmon deal actually makes it unlikely they match a high offer sheet for John Collins. At some point, the Hawks have to turn the corner. Losing Collins won’t help those matters.
I’m glad someone finally spoke out against this front office. It’s been a long list of dumb mistakes. Trading Dennis Schroder for nothing. How about the Luka Doncic for Trae Young draft day swap. What about the fact that De’Andre Hunter and Cam Reddish have looked lost as rookies.
