Atlanta Hawks General Manager Travis Schlenk has a vision. After five seasons as an assistant GM with Golden State, Schlenk got 'the big gig' in Atlanta, locked and loaded with multiple championships on his resume and majority credit to the decision of drafting Draymond Green at 35 in 2007 (fact check).
Schlenk had this to say during his introductory press conference:
"The passion of the ownership team was evident throughout the process, and the team's high standard aligns with organizations I've been part of and plan to emulate in Atlanta. I am excited to get started and look forward to collaborating with the team to build a first-class, championship-level franchise with a goal of sustained success.
“Not going to be easy to do, but the goal (in Atlanta) is to find a Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. We really built through the draft in Golden State.”
Fast-forward to June 21st, 2018 and Schlenk drafted Steph Curry-lite and Klay Thompson-lite, or at least so he hopes. The beginning steps to build this Golden State emulated team involved the eye raising Doncic-for-Young swap (plus a 1st-round pick) and it remains to be seen what direction the boom or bust scales will be tipped.
In the interim, Schlenk is selling the fans of the Atlanta Hawks a dream that their team will one day reproduce the qualities of the golden boys in Oakland; high-volume three point shots, frenetic pace, switching defensive schemes, and most of all, exiting, youthful, dominant basketball.
Putting on the hindsight goggles, a large group of defendants of the Kevin Durant decision two summers ago contend that the Warriors drafted the team they have and merely just added on major piece to it in free agency. But the important factor is they, mostly, drafted this team. If you look back at the pillars of the current Warriors in terms of draft history:
- Steph Curry - 7th overall, 2009
- Klay Thompson - 11th overall, 2011
- Draymond Green - 35th overall, 2012
- Harrison Barnes - 7th overall, 2012
- *Iguodala was signed during the 2013 summer.
Based on this model, if Schlenk truly believes he's found his foundational back-court replicas of Steph and Klay in Kevin and Trae, then he's already ahead of the curve seeing how Steph and Klay were two drafts apart ('09 and '11). Schlenk was able to nab his guys about 14 picks apart in a single evening.
With the Atlanta-drafted future Top D.O.G. in John Collins, he crosses another guy off the list to replicate, whether that's Barnes or Green; who knows he could become a freak hybrid of all of them or better. Although this wasn't a Schlenk-draftee, he's certainly a young and integral piece desired on this team as he's a perfect modern day athlete, rim-runner, and versatile defender. Look for him to be a part of this Hawks core.
So in terms of who's left, you need the fourth piece of the puzzle. Golden State took four years to get their pillars in place, (with free agents/trades sprinkled in along the way). In terms of timeline, Schlenk is ahead of the curve and will be looking to add his next foundational piece with an army of draft picks in the future:
- Atlanta owns all of their O.G. 1st round draft picks for at least the next 7 years
- Atlanta owns two 1st round picks from the Cavs (Kyle Korver trade) and the Mavs (Doncic trade), although these can technically manifest into different packages at some point between 2019-2023
- Atlanta owns a 2019 2nd round pick from Charlotte, Minnesota or LAL, AND Portland.
- Atlanta owns a 2023 second round pick from Charlotte.
Clearly from the moment Schlenk took office, his first order of business has been to stack draft assets. Last week began the process of trying to capitizlae on those assests (as well as flipping assests into more assets), in his outlined quest for building the Golden State of the East.
But if you take the scope of his game-plan away from GTA3 view and more of a GTA2 perspective, is he looking at this rebuild the wrong way?
In it's totality, it took the Golden State Warriors six years from the time they drafted Steph Curry to the time they won their first championship and began to shift the mindset of the league that there was a new way to win in the finals without a dominant back-to-the-basket post presence.
Who's to say six years from now, while Travis Schlenk is trying to put the finishing touches on building Golden State 2.0, that the league hasn't shifted to a different style of basketball? Hell, Golden State 1.0 may not even exist as we know it by then.
Jumping backwards by 6 years at a time, let's review the NBA title winners starting with the Warriors first ring back in 2015:
2015 NBA Champions: Golden State Warriors
2009 NBA Champions: Los Angeles Lakers
2003 NBA Champions: San Antonio Spurs
1997 NBA Champions: Chicago Bulls
1991 NBA Champions: Chicago Bulls
1985 NBA Champions: Los Angeles Lakers
1979 NBA Champions: Seattle SuperSonics
If you look through the years and these teams, these are pretty distinct stylistic eras of teams. There's also variables to consider like league rule changes such as the elimination of hand-checking, or high school players no longer being allowed to enter the draft (from the standpoint of the intersection of league talent and player development), among others.
With the conclusion of the 2018 NBA Draft, could we be ushering in a new era again?
Last week, 6 of the 14 lottery picks went to players 6'11" or taller, 3 of them within the first four selections. This isn't to make a point about the big man resurgance, well not quite. It's more of a highlight of the type of big men being selected.
Take Ayton for instance; a chiseled 7-footer that can shoot from almost anywhere on the court, has post moves, and is a great rebounder.
Or take Jaren Jackson, Jr, a 6'11" forward who can also shoot from almost anywhere on the floor, block shots, run the rim, and create mismatches.
This latest draft gives the impression that front courts will be revolutionized in terms of prospects' versatility and skill-set. Bigs are being required to do more than ever, and as a result, the trend is creating an environment where that's the type of players teams will not only target, but players are being trained and developed at an early age to become.
The next few drafts and off-seasons will prove telling for Schlenk as he navigates an era where the Golden State Warriors in large part are dominating the league but at the same time have an expiration date just like any other dynasty. Their run will end at some point, whether that's from an internal personnel degradation due to contract disputes and luxury taxes, or a team that cracks their armor with a style of play that one ups them.
Whatever the case may be, to blindly try and emulate the Golden State Warrior "formula" may prohibit the natural growth and development of the talent already on he team as well as the talent the Hawks try and acquire. There's also the possibility that the huge gamble taken on Trae Young just won't pay off in the slightest.
When it's all said and done, Atlanta's selection of Young will forever be tied to the success of Luka Doncic. Before either rookie's have played again, it's tough to feel super confident about this trade just yet seeing how Doncic has a an extremely high floor and high upside, while Young has extremely high upside and an extremely low floor. Kevin Huerter is fine at 19th overall no matter what he turns out to be, but all-in-all, it's tough to have realistic expectations that the two players selected in this draft will mirror two of the greatest shooters of all time, especially if the league has shifted towards a new era.