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ATLANTA — The commentary started with Kevin Durant spouting off a cliche.

“Every team’s goal is to win every single game,” Durant said.

It might sound like a no-brainer. Then Durant realized it is not. Durant backtracked.

“Well, not every team,” Durant said, causing a roar of laughter.

The objective might be simple for the Warriors (48-14) entering Wednesday’s game against the Atlanta Hawks (19-43). The Warriors would like to win as many games as possible to keep up with the Houston Rockets (48-13) for the top seed in the Western Conference without compromising their health.

Other teams have different agendas. The Hawks represent one of 12 NBA teams that have a below .500 record. And for those teams, more losses mean more opportunities to land a top pick in the NBA draft.

Should that change?

“No. I’m sure it’s been going on for a while. But it’s more publicized nowadays. Does it matter, to be honest?” Durant said. “You have great teams and you’re always going to have bad teams and middle-of-the-pack teams. That’s how it is.”

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That is how it is for the Atlanta Hawks under general manager Travis Schlenk after serving as a Warriors assistant general manager in the previous six.

After making the NBA playoffs for 10 consecutive years, the Hawks have the Eastern Conference’s second-worst record. One of the reasons? Schlenk decided to blow up Atlanta’s aging roster.

Schlenk traded disgruntled center Dwight Howard and the No. 31 pick to the Charlotte Hornets officially for Miles Plumlee, Marco Belinelli and the 41st pick and unofficially for salary cap relief. For the same reasons, the Hawks also allowed former All-Star Paul Millsap and Tim Hardaway Jr. to walk in free agency.

“Travis has a tough job ahead of him obviously having to rebuild,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “This team has been really successful over the last decade. But it was just time. It was time to start fresh. He knew that. He’s taking on the challenge.”

Schlenk has taken on that challenge by collecting draft picks, maximizing cap flexibility and prioritizing young players’ development. That has yielded many short-term losses. That could result in plenty of long-term wins, though.

“I think it is more so the front office and the business side of it. I don’t think the players are going out there trying to lose,” Durant said. “But obviously if the GM is telling your coaches who to play and you’re bringing a lot of D-League guys up, you’re trying to get that pick. I understand that. You want to try to get the best player you can for the future. But I think the players on the court, more so than anything, respect the game and the flow of the game. And they want to win. But GM and owner obviously, they’re not playing. They’re trying to do what’s best for business down the line. So I get it.”

So does Kerr, who credited Schlenk for Golden State’s championship rise through the same strategy.

“It’s not an easy process to go through. You have to draft well and you have to sign the right free agents. You have to manage the cap,” Kerr said. “Those are all things Travis helped with in Golden State and one of the reasons we’re in the position we are now. He went through that process with [General Manager] Bob Myers and played a big role in it.”

Therefore, the outcome seems inevitable. The Warriors will likely coast to an easy win over the Hawks because of teams’ talent disparity. The Warriors have set themselves up to succeed, while the Hawks have set themselves up to fail.

“I think the players are still going out and trying to win basketball games,” Durant said. “This Atlanta team, record-wise, is not the best in the league. But they’re going to come out extremely hard. No matter who they have on the floor, they’re going to play inspired basketball. That’s the only thing that matters to me. The front office is going to make their decisions.”