Travis Schlenk, formerly the President of Basketball Operations for the Hawks, will be shifting into a position where he will serve as an advisor and report directly to Principal Owner Tony Ressler. Schlenk will step down from his current role as President. Landry Fields, the Hawks’ general manager, will begin his new role immediately and will be responsible for managing the day-to-day activities of the Hawks OKBET Basketball Operations team.
Since his employment in May of 2017, Schlenk has been in charge of the Hawks’ restoration, which began with a record of 24 wins in the 2017–18 season and will culminate with the franchise making its second-ever trip to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2021. The Hawks ended the previous season with a record of 43-39 and were eliminated from the playoffs by the Miami Heat in the first round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs in five games.
“All throughout this season, Tony and I have had multiple, honest conversations about some of the personal things I’ve been going through and how I’ve been feeling, and I appreciate the counsel he has provided me as well as the opportunity he gave me six seasons ago to be a first-time general manager. In addition, I am grateful for the opportunity he gave me to be a first-time general manager.” “As we are about to begin a new year, it seems like the appropriate time for me to take a step back, reflect, and prioritize my family,” said Schlenk.
“I am proud of the team that I established, not just on the floor but also in the front office,” she said. We have established a solid base for the Hawks franchise, which has allowed us to attain a very high degree of success. In my capacity as an advisor, I am looking forward to working with Tony and Landry and to continuing to contribute in ways that are less obvious but which nevertheless have an influence.
Trae Young, a guard who has already won two All-Star games and will be on the 2022 All-NBA team, John Collins and Kevin Huerter, both of whom were selected for the All-Rookie Team, and De’Andre Hunter, who won the 2021 Rising Star award, were all drafted by the Hawks while Schlenk was their general manager.
“We owe a great deal of gratitude to Travis for all of the hard work he put into steering our team through a brisk process of rebuilding and transforming us into a team that can compete for a playoff spot. “Since the first day he joined our company, he has put in an incredible amount of effort to help us advance toward our ultimate objective of becoming a championship club,” Ressler said. Because he has such a good eye for talent, a strong work ethic, and extensive knowledge of our team, we are convinced that he will do a good job for us as a valued advisor.