Atlanta Hawks finalizing deal to make Travis Schlenk new general manager

The Atlanta Hawks are finalizing a deal to make Golden State Warriors vice president of basketball operations Travis Schlenk their new general manager, a person with knowledge of the situation confirmed to Paste BN Sports. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the deal had not yet been announced.

Schlenk spent the past 13 seasons with the Warriors, the last eight in a front office capacity and the previous five as an assistant coach and video scout. From the drafting of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green to the sign-and-trade for Andre Iguodala and so many other moves that helped created the NBA’s most dominant team, Schlenk has played a pivotal part in their rise while working under two general managers (Larry Riley was succeeded by Bob Myers in 2012).

The Hawks’ vacancy was created by their recent organizational restructuring. Wes Wilcox resigned as general manager and is now special adviser to ownership, and Mike Budenholzer resigned as president of basketball operations and is now solely focused on being the team’s head coach.

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Schlenk, who played basketball at Bethel College and received his masters from Wichita State, got his NBA start with the Orlando Magic in 1997 as a member of their basketball operations staff and later worked under Pat Riley for four seasons as the Miami Heat’s video coordinator. He will have plenty of key decisions to make this summer for the Hawks, who went 43-39 last season before falling in six games in the first round of the playoffs to the Washington Wizards.

Not only will four-time All-Star forward Paul Millsap be a free agent, but the future of center Dwight Howard is uncertain after his subpar finish to the season. Howard, who has a combined $47 million left on his contract in the next two seasons, averaged eight points and 10.7 rebounds per game against the Wizards after averaging 13.5 points and 12.7 rebounds during the regular season.

While it remains to be seen what kind of trade value the 31-year-old Howard has at this stage of his career — and with the money he is owed — the options will certainly be explored over the coming months. The Vertical first reported Schlenk’s hiring with the Hawks.

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