The priority heading into the offseason for Hawks majority owner Tony Ressler was for his franchise to be meaningfully better by the time the regular season began. He gathered general manager Travis Schlenk, coach Lloyd Pierce, assistant general manager Landry Fields and assistant coach Nate McMillan inside a room at the Hawks’ practice facility and asked if the franchise could take the next step if the Hawks signed four or five quality veterans when free agency opened earlier this month. Each of them said yes.
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Atlanta signed Bogdan Bogdanovic, Danilo Gallinari, Rajon Rondo and Kris Dunn — committing more than $158 million in salary — with the clear objective of making the team better while adding complementary pieces to its recent first-round draft picks who are still growing. These signings have made Ressler feel even more bullish on this season while maintaining flexibility should the Hawks want to make an even more significant move.
For the past several seasons, Ressler has talked individually with Trae Young, John Collins, Kevin Huerter, Cam Reddish and De’Andre Hunter and asked for their patience. And in those conversations, Ressler said if those players would maintain patience, they would see an improved roster that is ready to make the playoffs.
“We have a plan and are not trying to put money in the mattress for a rainy day,” Ressler told The Athletic. “We are trying to invest in this team now.
“I said this to Travis: What’s the point of having all of this cap space if you don’t use it? That’s like looking at a fancy toy that you could never get your hands on. To me, using the cap space was building the cap space, positioning ourselves for this and not using it would have been the great frustration, and Travis certainly shared that view and did everything he could to make sure he used the cap space. We used every bit of that cap space. He did exactly what he was supposed to do, and I’m here with great confidence.”
When Ressler hired Schlenk away from Golden State in 2017, the plan was to slowly rebuild through the draft and acquire expiring, dead-money contracts in return for future cap space and more draft picks. The Hawks signaled that the asset accumulation stage of their rebuild was nearing completion when Schlenk traded up for Hunter in last year’s draft and used a first-round pick acquired in one of those dead-money deals in his trade for Clint Capela.
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The Hawks eventually accumulated more than $44 million in cap space, the most in the NBA this offseason. The group anticipated only a few franchises having cap space to make significant signings, giving the Hawks the opportunity to control the market. Ressler signed off on the Hawks’ spending spree, and now the team has a roster in place that should be in the playoff race in the Eastern Conference.
“I’ve owned the team for five years,” Ressler said. “The first two we were in the playoffs, and the last three we were not. Being in the playoffs is a lot more fun for everyone involved. I promise you that. Yes, we thought we would draft some really good young players and build some very significant cap space over the last three seasons. Going into this season, we had a very strong view that we had a very good group of young players — getting better, hopefully, and yes, we expect and think they are.
“I think Travis wanted everyone to know he had the most cap space in the NBA, and he damn well expected to use it. I think that was the message he sent when free agency began. I didn’t know if he was going to be able to use it, but to his credit and really the entire basketball ops’ credit, they used it. Having the most cap space in the NBA and not using it — that I don’t get. I think as we’ve tried to say over the last year or two that we want to invest in the team, roster and players at the right time with the right contracts, with the right priorities. Our job was to, frankly, match a quality group of young players with a quality group of veterans that can absolutely make us a truly competitive team to take that next step.”
One of the worst-kept secrets across the NBA heading into this offseason was the Hawks were looking to end their constructed-to-lose phase and enter into talent-accumulation mode. Pierce said in March that he expected the Hawks to be in the playoffs this season, which was an unexpected comment. But it was clear with the moves the Hawks made that the team wanted to start winning.
“If you’re asking me did I suggest he make that statement, the answer is no,” Ressler said. “He didn’t check with me at all nor would he. The fact that he said it, I say, great. Listen, last time I checked, if you’re a coach in the NBA, if you’re a player in the NBA, if you’re a GM in the NBA, if you’re an owner in the NBA, you sign up for this kind of pressure. I think Lloyd just put pressure on himself, on the team and the franchise, and he said what he thinks. Hopefully, he has a roster he believes in and we’re going to see.”
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Ressler believes in this roster and thinks the Hawks have enough talent to be appreciably better than last year’s 20-47 team. He would not put numbers or a specific expectation on what he believes will be a successful season because “it’s bad business” but did say that “appreciably better from 20 is not 25,” and he expects, hopes and thinks that this team has enough talent to make the playoffs. Atlanta still is focused on becoming one of the best teams in the league, however, and Ressler acknowledged that they are not there just yet.
Several national reporters have mentioned a “mandate” from the top of the organization to win this season. The word “mandate” is strong, and Ressler vehemently denied using it. “I don’t really talk that way — ‘Make the playoffs, or I’m gonna beat each of you.’ It’s such a silly thing,” he said. The conversation about making this team better instead focused on the players available in free agency who could improve the roster. Schlenk and his team provided Ressler a list of veteran players who would fit well with the returning young players, and the Hawks ended up getting several of their top targets.
A successful season for the Hawks should be making the playoffs, potentially winning a few games in their first-round series and seeing continued growth from each of the team’s young players. Ressler exuded hope that the team will be exciting and competitive no matter who’s on the floor.
While the Hawks are not constructed to win a championship this season, Ressler believes the organization is on the right path in bringing Atlanta its first trophy since moving from St. Louis in 1968.
“The objective is not, emphatically, to be the eighth seed in the playoffs and pound our chest and say, ‘Mission accomplished,'” Ressler said. “There’s a plan here, and this is clearly one step in the plan, which is to get appreciably better off a shortened 20-win season.”
Ressler understands the way to become a championship contender is to have a few of the young players go from good to great. Young is already on that path, but it’s unclear if anyone else on the roster can reach the All-NBA level one day. The growth from Hunter and Reddish looked encouraging in the preseason, but it was just that — the preseason. Collins was one of four players in the NBA to average more than 20 points and 10 rebounds per game last season, and he did so while shooting better than 40 percent from 3-point range. He’s one of the best young frontcourt players in the league and could solidify himself with a roster this talented. Ressler said he would “love to see” Collins remain with the Hawks for an extended period. Collins is eligible to receive a rookie contract extension. If a deal is not reached by 6 p.m. Monday, Collins will be a free agent at the end of this season.
Because the Hawks have built through the draft, developed those players well and now have the veteran contracts needed, they have all of the necessary pieces to swing for a superstar through a trade. Ressler and Schlenk have had conversations about and are in agreement on a schedule of progress, but Ressler didn’t share the timeframe. How good the Hawks are in the coming season will tell us a lot about the future of the team. For the first time in the Schlenk-Pierce era, we should also get a better idea if they are the right people to lead the Hawks.
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“I think this year is going to give me enormous confidence, but if the question is do I think each of them are highly competent, do I think they work well together, do I think they’re both quality people, the answer is yes, yes and yes,” Ressler said. “But if you’re asking me do I think we have the formula based on the last two years of performance, I would say we need more time as a franchise. I think you guys have seen GMs and coaches who may not work perfectly together. All I can say is I think Travis and Lloyd are a superb team so far, but please understand let’s win a bit. We really do believe that last year’s season was difficult for so many reasons, including the fact that it stopped early just when we started playing good basketball. Please hear me, 20-47 in a 67-game season is not something to write home about. I think we do have a good roster. We’ve done some good things, not just on the court but in coaching and in our front office. I feel great about where we are starting the season. I don’t get into the press stuff too much because I would rather let the players, coaches and GM talk about what we’re doing from a basketball perspective because they should know more and are closer to it, but I look forward to talking to you guys whether it’s at the midseason point or end of season. We should be so much better, and it’s going to be painfully obvious. We’ll see.”
Ressler has said before that no Hawks fan is as impatient as he is. That was evidenced by some of the moves the Hawks made near the start of his tenure, about which he has said “I was the schmuck in the room.” He has learned to take advice from Schlenk and trust the basketball operations team.
Ressler’s patience could be tested if things don’t go as smoothly as he thinks they will, but the hope is that the Hawks’ moves take them from irrelevancy to playoff contenders. Everyone inside the organization now expects it.
“This idea of saying I’m highly competitive and impatient is such a rich-asshole comment,” Ressler said. “Please hear me, every single player on the Atlanta Hawks is probably more competitive than me and more impatient than me. Every single kid wants to win. When you see the way these kids look after a win or loss, these kids are the most competitive kids on earth. It’s actually what astounds me about NBA players. I promise you this, I wanted our head coach and our GM in a room and said, ‘Listen, guys, with what we’re doing, can we get appreciably better if we sign four or five quality vets with this group of young players because all of us want to fucking win.'”
(Photo of Tony Ressler, left, and John Collins: Jason Getz / USA Today)
