It’s almost comical what the Hawks have become. A few years ago, Travis Schlenk was pulling all of the right strings, leading the team to the Eastern Conference Finals. For the first time since Dominque Wilkins donned a Hawks uniform, there was hope around the organization that they might finally reach the pinnacle of the sport.
However, that progress came to a screeching halt, and it was soon revealed as to why. The Hawks owner, Tony Ressler, made the decision that he and his son, Nick Ressler, knew more about basketball than Travis Schlenk. After a couple of years of turmoil, Schlenk decided to step down, leading to Landry Fields and Kyle Korver taking over.
Fields and Korver are two infants when it comes to the front office, but they are promising figures nonetheless. With them running the show, Hawks fans could have some semblance of confidence that this team might be able to turn things around.
The problem is nobody believes that’s the case. Hands-on owners very rarely have the ability to let go of their own ego, even if it means running their team into the ground. There is very little doubt in my mind that Tony and Nick Ressler are still very active in the basketball decision making, especially as it was just announced that Nick has been given a promotion within the organization. His new title is the Principle Advisor to the Governor.
I’m not going to get my panties in a wad over this because titles are meaningless, especially when you own the team. The Resslers could call themselves “Dumb” and “Dumber.” At the end of the day, they have the capability to call the shots.
Who knows if they still are? I have my hunches, but the only thing I do know is that as long as they keep fiddling in NBA business, the Hawks will continue to fall short of expectations, which will ultimately lead to a total rebuild.
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