Good article from The Athletic...

[REHawksFan]

Hawks Path To Future Success Clearer Than Ever

Here's some exerpts:

Say this about Schlenk: He is unafraid to make bold moves, and as he says, he never doubts himself because he’s “an overweight bald guy.”

Last year, it was trading Luka Doncic to Dallas for Young and what turned out to be Duke’s Cam Reddish. The Hawks also acquired a 2022 top-14 protected pick from Oklahoma City in the Dennis Schröder deal, which was widely criticized by the national media, and as it turns out, the Thunder have made him available in deals, according to multiple reports. Omari Spellman was the result of a three-team trade, and there have been other smaller deals that have resulted in second-round picks.

Since the lottery, Schlenk prioritized moving up in the draft. At first, it was to get up to No. 3, which the New York Knicks rebuffed, and then he settled on No. 4 for the assets he has gained through the years.

“We feel good about the way draft played out,” Schlenk said Thursday night. “Since I’ve gotten here, we spent a lot of time accumulating assets. Tonight we decided to cash some of those in for guys we feel like are going to help us in the future.”

It’s quite the price for Hunter, although he’s widely considered to be the most pro-ready player in this draft outside of Zion Williamson. The price to move from 8 to 4 cost two first-round picks, a high second-round pick, most likely two more second-round picks and absorbing one of the worst contracts in the league. Hunter has to meet expectations and probably exceed them for the value to be worth it.

But at this point, can anyone doubt Schlenk’s evaluations?

In his first draft, he landed Collins, who nearly averaged 20 points and 10 rebounds and shot 35 percent from 3-point range in his second season. His defense remains a work in progress, but he did show growth toward the end of this past season. He also has to develop into more of a creator than what he has shown — the next step of his evolution. Oh, he was also drafted No. 19 overall and only will be paid $2.7 million next season — an absolute bargain for one of the game’s best young forwards.

The same goes for Huerter, who fell to No. 19 and emerged as one of the best shooters in last year’s draft class and showed flashes of potentially being a force on defense, too. He’ll be paid slightly less than Collins next season.

The Hawks took a gamble in a lot of people’s opinions when they traded for Young, but he emerged as a deadly scoring threat from anywhere on the floor and is already one of the game’s best passers. It’s not a coincidence that Collins, Dewayne Dedmon, Alex Len and Prince saw their best numbers so far in their careers. All of them credited Young’s playmaking abilities throughout the season for why they felt like they had seen growth in their own games.

Especially after last year’s draft, a lot of the talk centered on how Atlanta was a knockoff version of the early Golden State days, but, the similarities are growing. The Hawks have a small point guard; the Warriors have a small point guard. The Hawks have large wings; the Warriors have large wings. Hunter is 6-foot-8 with a 7-2 wingspan. Reddish is 6-8 with a 7-1 wingspan. Huerter is 6-7, which is a good size, but he doesn’t have the wingspan of Hunter or Reddish.

More importantly, all three wings perfectly complement Young’s style of play, and all three are better playing off a ball-dominant point guard who can create for them.

“I think he’s a great leader and has a tremendous work ethic,” Reddish said of playing with Young. “I think he can do it all on the court. Obviously, he’s a tremendous passer. He will be able to find me throughout the entire game. I’m looking forward to learning from him, being around him, soaking it all in.”

What has become clear is this team is building around Young as its centerpiece. When Atlanta becomes a playoff team, teams will scheme to attack Young as often as they possibly can on both ends, especially on defense. So, Schlenk drafted two shields for Young who can mask Young’s defensive limitations. The same goes for Huerter. He is the Klay Thompson to Steph Curry — the knockdown shooter who can serve as the team’s second option on offense.

Head coach Lloyd Pierce touched on complementing Young and how it’s not always easy to do. Lots of times teams aren’t balanced, and it’s why we’re seeing more positionless basketball across the league — Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet on the floor at the same time in Toronto or Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum in Portland were the two examples he used.

Yet, the Hawks have found balance through the draft. Even Bruno Fernando fits in alongside Collins in the frontcourt. Fernando was someone I mentioned last month as a possible target for the Hawks’ two top-10 picks if they traded down. The Hawks viewed Fernando as a first-round talent and wound up getting great value at No. 34. Fernando can bang down low, provide solid interior defense and space out for the 3. His shot from 3 isn’t there quite yet, but there’s hope he can quickly develop one, much like Collins.

“Travis told me that he really loves me and wanted to give me an opportunity,” Fernando said. “I couldn’t think twice. I started getting emotional right away. I’m just extremely happy. It feels like I was just in Atlanta a week ago for a workout. Now, I get to go right back there and create a home. I’m excited about it.”

The Hawks have $63 million tied up in the expiring contracts of Kent Bazemore, Allen Crabbe, Miles Plumlee and now Hill but just $33 million committed to the rest of the roster. That means the Hawks, once they are ready to take that next step in the process, will have room to acquire whichever max-level free agent, or two, they want.

Next season still likely will consist of more of the phrase “growth and development,” a favorite go-to to describe the growing pains that all young teams go through, but the path to being “the next Golden State” has never looked clearer than now