After six years as the Atlanta Hawks’ top executive, Travis Schlenk chose to move into an advisory role with Atlanta in Dec. 2022. He joined the Washington Wizards organization in 2023.
Landry Fields, a former player and scout for the San Antonio Spurs, was hired by the Hawks as an Assistant General Manager in 2020. He was then promoted to General Manager in June 2022.
When he took over, his first course of action was acquiring All-Star guard Dejounte Murray from the San Antonio Spurs. There was considerable excitement about what he and Trae Young could look like as a pairing.
At the trade deadline in 2023, the Hawks were 28-28 and only five games back of the sixth seed. Looking to make a playoff push, Fields put all his chips on the table to make a splash deal. This was one of the main issues that occurred during his tenure as GM.
Negative Value Trades
At the aforementioned deadline in 2023, Atlanta traded five future second-round picks to acquire Saddiq Bey from the Detroit Pistons. It was a four-team deal involving the Hawks, Pistons, Golden State Warriors and Portland Trail Blazers.
In that deal, Fields dealt second-round picks in 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026 and 2028. Meanwhile, Bey only averaged 7.5 points in 22 minutes per game in the playoffs that season. He tore his ACL the following season, and Atlanta moved on from Bey.
In essence, Fields traded five second-round picks for a role player who only spent a year and a half with the organization.
This trade put the Hawks at a deficit in assets. Because of trades made this season, Atlanta was able to recoup second-round pick assets, but dealing five such picks in a single trade is a mismanagement of assets. This was in addition to the Murray trade, where the Hawks gave up multiple years of first-round picks.
Missed Draft Picks
By far the biggest problem Atlanta had during Fields’ tenure was how badly they missed in the draft. In 2023, the Hawks used their first-round pick to select Kobe Bufkin out of Michigan. It is safe to say that did not work. Bufkin only played 27 games with Atlanta across two seasons before being traded for cash to the Brooklyn Nets.
He was eventually waived and proceeded to sign 10-day contracts with both the Memphis Grizzlies and the Los Angeles Lakers. Bufkin was waived by the Lakers in April, and at just 22 years old, his NBA future remains uncertain. The Hawks drafted Bufkin over both Keyonte George and Jamie Jaquez Jr., who went at picks 16 and 18, respectively.
Getting the number one overall pick can be a blessing to a franchise, especially considering Atlanta had just the 10th-best odds to get the pick. Selecting Zaccharie Risacher first overall is proving to be a regrettable decision.
Understandably, some circumstances caused the selection of Risacher. For one, Alex Sarr, who was pegged as the top prospect in the 2024 class, chose not to workout with the Hawks.
It is unusual for a top prospect not to workout with the team holding the top pick, but that decision led Atlanta to look elsewhere. As expected, the 2024 class has turned out to be one of the weakest draft classes in recent memory, but Risacher hasn’t developed into the player the Hawks hoped by now.
Had To Be Done
By 2024, it was clear that Young and Murray weren’t working out. After missing the playoffs, the writing was on the wall that the duo was going to split. In the end, it wound up being a great trade for Atlanta. They acquired perennial All-NBA defender Dyson Daniels and two future first-round picks in the trade with the New Orleans Pelicans.
At the trade deadline last season, the Cleveland Cavaliers were looking to capitalize on their magical season. During that run, Cleveland targeted De’Andre Hunter at the deadline.
He was averaging 19 points per game off the bench while shooting 39% from three with Atlanta. The Hawks added Caris LeVert, Georges Niang, three second-round picks and two pick swaps, which included the 23rd pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.
While these were great trades for the Hawks, it wasn’t enough to save his job. Fields only lasted until March 2025, when Atlanta decided to move on. His tenure was short, but Fields did more harm than good with bad draft picks and negative value trades.
‘Deficit of Draft Assets’
At the conclusion of the trade deadline this season, Hawks General Manager Onsi Saleh admitted that Atlanta was at a “deficit of draft assets.”
The Murray acquisition, which Fields spearheaded, saw the Hawks move multiple first-round picks. That was a major part of the deficit. The previously mentioned Bey deal was the other major trade that put Atlanta in this position.
The tough pill to swallow is while the Hawks have already moved on from both Bey and Murray, some of the draft picks they moved have yet to be selected.
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