The Atlanta Hawks have made the playoffs for 10 straight seasons but have never been more than a mediocre team that never got anywhere. They’re now heading into rebuilding after letting Paul Millsap go in free agency, who was the last remaining member from the 14-15 squad starting 5 that won 60 games and lost in the ECF.

After another disappointing postseason campaign, coach Bud and Wes Wilcox resigned as president of basketball operations and GM, respectively. Not long after that, the Hawks hired former Warriors assistant GM Travis Schlenk as their new GM and president of basketball operations. Schlenk spent 12 years with the Warriors, helped them build their dynasty and played a key role in drafting Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.

Let’s just get one thing out of the way before anything else. You’re not going anywhere in today’s NBA without true SUPERSTAR talent. Yes, the Hawks were in the playoffs for a decade but never got even close to an NBA championship. They could’ve kept Millsap, THJ and those guys but what would be the point? First round exits and perpetual mediocrity? They’re better off in this new direction. During the rebuilding years, the Hawks will be bad, have high draft picks and a chance to do what they’ve never done: draft a superstar. Atlanta is not attracting any top free agent unless there’s something special going on. And that starts with drafting. Schlenk is well aware of all this after the success he enjoyed with the Warriors.

The new GM didn’t take long to start making moves. You don’t want Dwight Howard around the young guys while rebuilding for obvious reasons. The Hawks moved down in the 2nd round and got rid of D12 in exchange for Miles Plumlee, who’s on a terrible contract (3 years, $32.5M) that won’t matter because the Hawks will be bad, and Marco Bellineli, a shooter with one year left on his deal. With this move, Atlanta saves some money and opens up some cap space over the next two years (Plumlee’s contract is one year longer than Dwight’s though).

The Rookie:

June 22, 2017: With the 19th pick in the draft, the Hawks selected John Collins from Wake Forest.

Collins was a projected top 15 in most people’s draft boards and probably the best available player at that point. He’s an athletic freak and a great rebounder with a great motor. Offensively, Collins has a nice couple of moves in the post, runs the floor and works very well as a roll man in the PNR . Schroder should be an interesting PNR partner for him. His mid-range is good and has a nice touch. The 3-pointer wasn’t there in college but it was “not his role” according to him. He’s working on that aspect of his game and already showed some improvement and encouraging signs in draft workouts. Defensively… he’ll struggle. We’ve seen before what happens in the modern NBA to bigs that can’t defend. The physical tools are there but he’ll not become good from day to night and needs someone that teaches him how to play defense. The Hawks are a good team to help him as they rely a lot on internal improvement. He would’ve been a lottery pick if he had shown a 3-point shot in college, even with the struggles in the defensive side of the floor.

The Leader of the Rebuild:

Dennis Schroder had a very promising playoff series against the Wizards that put people on notice. He averaged 22 PPG for the series while shooting 45.5% from the field and the 3-ball like he never did before (42.5%) in his career. He went right at one of the best point guards in the league in John Wall and proved one thing in this series: he’s not afraid of anyone. The question now is: was this a fluke series or is Schroder going to follow up his postseason play this season?

Schroder still has a lot of ways to go. The assist-turnover ratio was just not good last season (6 assists/3 turnovers). The 3 point-shooting (34%) was average in the regular season but he was actually an elite mid-range shooter. He doesn’t draw many fouls (3.2 per game) because he isn’t aggressive enough. His finishing at the rim is mediocre. That’s a lot of areas to improve on and why the rebuild will benefit him. On defense, he’s not great but not bad either. Point guard defense isn’t that important as long as you’re not awful. Carrying the team’s offense probably means that a slight drop off in the defensive side of the floor is coming.

Dennis will have time to sort things out and has an organization that trusts and believes in him to be the face of the rebuild. The next 2-3 years will determine if he’s just the second coming of Jeff Teague or an all-star caliber point-guard. It’s hard to see him taking this squad anywhere in the future though. The talent around him is just not there after the departure of Millsap and other key guys. Maintaining the aggressiveness and good decision making he showcased in the playoffs (7.7 assists to 1.7 turnovers) should be a good way to go.

The young wings:

The departure of THJ, Sefolosha and last season’s Kyle Korver trade should open up even more playing time for young wings Taurean Prince and DeAndre Bembry.

The 12th pick in the 2016 draft got a real chance last season after the all-star due to some injuries and had some impressive moments. The 23 year-old was a starter in the postseason and you could argue that he outplayed the $108M man Otto Porter during the WAS series. He’s athletic, lengthy and can defend 1-4. Taurean Prince is the type of guy you want on your because of his hustle and ability to make winning plays. I don’t know if he’s ever going to have much of an offensive game but his outside shot showed some encouraging signs and should only get better with time and reps. Prince’s game reminds of Jae Crowder’s and that’s the type of player I expect him to be in the future. He’ll have plenty of playing time this season and if there’s any place, time and system for him to showcase and develop his game, it’s in Atlanta.

DeAndre Bembry spent most of last season on the D-League working on his game and didn’t get much of a chance. For what it’s worth, he was very good in this year’s summer league and showcased his versatility on both sides of the floor. Offensively, the St Joseph’s product has a ton of playmaking upside with his elite court vision and great passing skills. He’ll make the right basketball play. The shot wasn’t there last season but he’s been working on it in the offseason. His shooting should define how much he’ll play this season and how good he can be in today’s NBA. His defense is just fine, great feel for the game, knows where to be and should only improve with time.

Vets:

The Hawks also acquired big man Dewayne Dedmon from SA in free agency. He’s a nice get that started 37 games last season for the Spurs and his defensive impact is huge. Great rim protector, can switch on the PNR and defend the perimeter. Could’ve been even better last season if he avoided foul trouble more often. He’s also accustomed to playing in a similar system to coach Bud’s and as much as it hurts me to say this, he should offer the same offensively as Dwight Howard did last season (not good).

Babbit and Bellineli are great shooters that should fit nicely in coach Bud’s system too. Muscala shot 41% from deep last season and Ilyasova is always a nice role player to have.

Kent Bazemore was average last season and didn’t live up to his contract. His game took a slight step back all-around. Bazemore couldn’t put the floor when he was forced to, his defense dropped off a bit and he just wasn’t efficient at all. Who knows if it was just a down year. If there’s a deal that makes sense for the Hawks on the table in order to get rid of that awful contract, the Hawks should pull the trigger without hesitation.

The Hawks will be better than they look on paper because of how good their system is and Budenholzer should maximize this team’s potential. I wouldn’t be surprised one bit if they overachieved by a ton. The loss of Millsap should hurt but I still expect them to be competitive (around the 30-35 wins mark) and this means that they’ll have a lower draft pick than their roster suggests in the loaded 2018 draft, where they could find their future franchise player. Atlanta is rebuilding the right way so far. They finally realized that blow it all up was the right way to go in the modern NBA. I appreciate their attempt to rebuild and try something different. This front office knows what they are doing. It’s their opportunity to get out of mediocrity and go for star talent in the draft. It should definitely be a weird year for the organization and the city after 10 consecutive years making the postseason but something that Hawks fans should look forward to because it’ll only benefit them in the near future.