Interview with Ressler

[Spud2nique]

This dude is open minded and won’t allow his ego to get in the way of business. He allows and trusts people to do their jobs. Good read. We are definitely in good hands with him and the colonel.

 

https://www.ajc.com/sports/basketball/and-with-tony-ressler-are-willing-spend-dollars/nVfAWFdOY7jFQrlfDj0lQP/

[JayBirdHawk]

Not Ressler but his wife Jami Gertz:

 

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While Ressler focuses more on the personnel side of things, Gertz has her hands on the game day experience. In addition to her in-arena spots that let fans know all of the entertainment and food options available at State Farm, she does the groundwork of keeping the staff constantly aware of maintaining top-notch hospitality. She believes the key to an excellent product is attention to detail on all levels.

“It’s a party when you come to State Farm Arena,” Gertz said. “We have won the No. 1 fan experience for a reason. We really worked hard to get that. So I’m feeling like that is copacetic. I used to go in, you should ask Steve Koonin, I used to be like ‘there’s no toilet paper in stall four in the bathroom on the third level. There was a spill on aisle eight, it took people a good 25 minutes to come clean it up. He came without a mop.’

“I am that kind of crazy because I know what it’s like for people to buy a ticket. I bought tickets when I couldn’t afford them. I worked hard enough where I could eventually become a season ticket holder. So, I’m coming from that fan experience being in L.A. and seeing where there was great food and then the food wasn’t so good. All of those things. I care a ton about fan experience.“

So now, our court play has to match, I believe, what our arena is and what our practice facility is. All those pieces are in place. Now, we have to come with the goods on the court. It’s time. That’s what we’ve been doing for the past three years.”

 

[Jdawgflow]

This was a great read.  She and Tony seem very motivated to make the team great in all aspects.  And thankfully they seem happy to let the experts do their jobs (ie. Koonin, Travis, etc).  I can’t believe it but I think I may be optimistic about our ownership.

[JayBirdHawk]

She's funny!

 

 

[High5]

Jami has to be the best owner(‘s wife) from a PR perspective. She’s great.

[JayBirdHawk]

 

 

[JayBirdHawk]

 

 

[JayBirdHawk]

 

 

[JayBirdHawk]

 

 

[JayBirdHawk]

 

 

[JayBirdHawk]

 

 

[JayBirdHawk]

 

 

[JayBirdHawk]

Very interesting stuff!

 

 

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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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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. “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.”

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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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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...... “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.”

 

[JayBirdHawk]

 

 

[JayBirdHawk]

Not specific to or about Tony Ressler but more about the Hawks and Atlanta!

 

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What the Hawks do so well in Atlanta is make the franchise feel like every single resident owns a piece of the team. Since Tony Ressler purchased the team, his mission has been to integrate the organization into the community. Chief marketing officer Melissa Proctor said that in one of the first meetings she had with Ressler, he made it clear to everyone in the room that the Hawks were going to be a civic asset before anything else. Ressler felt a sports franchise should exist to serve the community first and foremost and be given the same vigor it gives to the on-court product.

The Hawks’ mantra is “True to Atlanta.” It’s not just a catchy slogan, but it’s their DNA. The Hawks haven’t shied away from trying to improve this city — from turning State Farm Arena into an early-voting polling place to partnering with organizations to provide meals for families during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic to marching for social equality to doing business with Black-owned banks.

“Tony Ressler and Steve Koonin have helped bring back the Hawks to Atlanta as our own,” rapper Killer Mike said. “It’s truly my hometown team. I mean that to say, when I grew up, the Hawks and Braves were owned by Ted Turner. We absolutely adored those teams, wins and losses, because they always felt like they belonged to us. Even though I’ve loved the Hawks and Hawks players through the years, after Ted stopped owning the team, there were spurts when they were owned by corporations where it felt like they didn’t belong to us anymore. It felt like any day they could be gone.

One of the ways the Hawks have made the team feel like Atlanta’s own once again is by embracing the countless stars who call this city home, such as Killer Mike. There was a lot of work to be done when Ressler’s group took over the franchise after previous owner Bruce Levenson wrote this in a 2012 email when describing the team’s attendance: “My theory is that the Black crowd scared away the Whites and there are simply not enough affluent Black fans to build a significant season ticket base. I never felt uncomfortable, but I think Southern Whites simply were not comfortable being in an arena or at a bar where they were in the minority.”

What Levenson failed to realize, and why the Hawks were a fledgling franchise under his watch, is Black culture is a part of what makes Atlanta one of the best cities in this country. It should be celebrated and not seen as a nuisance for running a successful business. That’s an area where Ressler has been much different than Levenson.

One of Killer Mike’s grandest ideas was to get a second location of his barbershop, The SWAG Shop, inside the arena because the marriage just made sense to him. Barbershop culture starts with incessantly arguing over the most meaningless sports topics that undoubtedly grow heated while you’re in the chair getting your line crisp. The barbershop is where working-class folks can feel like they’re part of a family and don’t need a country club membership to feel a connection to everyone inside the building. The SWAG Shop inside State Farm Arena is now one of the most iconic amenities inside any arena or stadium around the country.

 

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Trae Young’s rise into a star has not only helped the Hawks on the floor, but off it too. The NBA is a star-driven league, and Atlantans love their stars like they do their own family members. The business side of the franchise does not shy away from the fact that Young helps make life easier. Youth jersey sales were up 1,200 percent from last year. Young has strong appeal to not only the young kids who the Hawks hope turn into lifelong fans, but they also believe he has relatability to the common man due to his stature.

Young has already embraced Atlanta as his city. His first two signature Adidas shoe colorways are homages to Atlanta. The Peach-colored hue with green accent is a nod to the many streets named Peachtree. The second colorway he unveiled in the playoffs is a mostly green version that mirrors the 1996 Summer Olympics logo. Young has turned into the star the Hawks have been searching for since Dominique, and he is the perfect representation of this city in many ways.

His performance in the first round of the playoffs against the Knicks not only heightened the long-term on-court potential of this team, but we could be witnessing this franchise turning into a destination that other stars want to play for.

“Most of the culture of what is cool in America is coming out of Atlanta,” Killer Mike said. “Atlanta influences everything. Now that we have your attention, we’re going to show off like Dominique in the dunk contest, like Trae Young from half court. The best is yet to come.