Behind The Scenes - Your Atlanta Hawks!

[JayBirdHawk]

Interesting stuff. Long read.

Quote

Her chief responsibilities in assisting Schlenk are analyzing all potential transactions and focusing on how they relate to the cap.

That makes her job especially difficult right now because the cap is still unknown due to the effects of the pandemic, and there’s a chance it could lower the cap for the 2021-22 season.

“In this case, I’m making assumptions based on the fact of looking at worst-case scenarios, middle-of-the-road and best-case scenarios,” Leftwich said. “Given where we are, we don’t know if there will be fans next year, so we don’t know the numbers. I can’t say a lot went into calculations. We’re a room team, and we expect to still be a room team.”

No matter what happens with the cap for next season, the Hawks will have the most space in the NBA. That’s something Leftwich says is specifically planned for because the team is continually analyzing different contract signings, what draft capital it has and what extensions are coming up. Leftwich said the team normally projects the cap situation two years out. After that, it becomes guesswork because of trades.

One of the big subplots for the Hawks this offseason is what they’ll do with John Collins’ contract extension. Collins is eligible for a rookie extension that won’t begin in 2021, but the team could decide to get it done now so it’s locked in on their books. If the Hawks did that, they would not be taking advantage of Collins’ low cap hold in 2021-22 that could be used to their benefit in a rich free-agent class. Leftwich can’t get into specifics of what the Hawks are going to do with Collins’ contract, but she said they work with their own analytics team that builds projects into a model analyzing player productivity as compared with other players across the league. That gives the team the insight to decide what a player contract should be worth.

Leftwich isn’t necessarily giving her input on whom the Hawks should sign or extend or make a trade for, but her analysis is crucial to making sure the numbers work for the future of the team. For example, on Trae Young’s trajectory, he’s likely going to get a max contract extension. Depending on what honors he receives until that time comes, it’s possible he’ll be eligible to receive 30 percent of the cap. This is all factored into Leftwich’s reporting.

“For purposes of projections, we’re looking at what the actual commitments are, and we’re looking at that in conjunction with our entire payroll and looking at our team’s salary,” she said. “Every player has a free-agent amount at the conclusion of their contract, so that is included, but you might change it if you think that particular player would get signed at a higher or lower amount than their free-agent amount. That’s the process you go through. For room projection purposes, you’re looking at the player’s free-agent amount and comparing him to what you think that player’s free-agent value might be, and you might make changes based on your assumptions.

“When looking at trades, I’m just looking at it to make sure it works for cap purposes. Any potential transaction, I’m looking at the trade rules in the CBA and the bylaws to make sure it works for cap purposes. That’s my primary role, and I’m also looking at how our salary cap will look after the trade and not just in the current year. In the current year, you’re just looking to see if it works for cap purposes, but I’m looking at what our salary cap looks like several years out based on several transactions.”

Another aspect of her job is deciding what are fair contracts for players using previous contract data across the league. For example, the Hawks have the 52nd pick in the upcoming draft. If the team elects to keep the pick, Leftwich will gather comparable contracts for players drafted in that range to use when the team negotiates with that player and his representation. Every detail of the player’s contract is discussed and debated with Leftwich’s advice.

 

 

[macdaddy]

I haven't read it yet and i'm sure it's hyperbole and out of context but man i don't like this quote from Travis  

Schlenk: “She basically did my job for me when I was in Golden State.”

 

There's got to be a better way to say that. 

 

 

[JayBirdHawk]

1 minute ago, macdaddy said:

I haven't read it yet and i'm sure it's hyperbole and out of context but man i don't like this quote from Travis  

Schlenk: “She basically did my job for me when I was in Golden State.”

 

There's got to be a better way to say that. 

 

 

For Clarity:

Quote

Leftwich didn’t know Travis Schlenk very well when she interviewed with Atlanta. He would call the league office to submit various moves for approval when he was Golden State’s assistant general manager, but that was the extent of their professional interaction. Her breadth of institutional knowledge relating to the CBA and how widely respected she is across the NBA made hiring her a no-brainer.

“When I was in Golden State, one of the tasks I had was writing all of our player contracts,” Schlenk said. “I’m certainly not a lawyer, although your standard uniform player contracts are not terribly tough. Most of the language is already done. There are a few things you need to put in there, but I would always send them to Michelle because I didn’t know what I was doing, so they could get proofed. She would always send me my work back with a bunch of red lines with all of my mistakes. She’s the world’s best red-liner. If you want someone to proofread this story, you should send it to her.

“But I needed someone to do the cap stuff, so I called Michelle. I asked her if she knew of any young people who would be good for the position. It wasn’t a senior position at the time. She had said that she would be interested. So I thought to myself, ‘Why would I go get someone young who’s going to call her and ask her everything when I could just have her?’ I had to figure out some finance stuff because she’s going to require a lot more money with her experience. It was a no-brainer for me because I had confidence and trust in her with my experience dealing with her in Golden State. Any time I had a question about the cap, she’d be the person I talk to. She was basically doing my job for me when I was in Golden State.”

 

[Spud2nique]

Schlenk means ...

 

 

[AHF]

1 hour ago, JayBirdHawk said:

For Clarity:

 

The clarity is definitely good to see.  While they picked the splashiest one-liner to shoot out, I like this one better:

Quote

Any time I had a question about the cap, she’d be the person I talk to. 

 

[JayBirdHawk]

Bump.....read up on the Hawks Capologist!

[frosgrim]

Thanks for sharing this JB.  The Hawks just keep getting some of the best and brightest (e.g., the training facility, remodeling of the arena, Leftwich, and now being super aggressive in FA).  Its fun to watch an organization build itself up from the absolute bottom to something the city can be proud of.  

[hawkzlova123]

Is she by any chance byron leftwich's sister?