The Washington Wizards are hiring former Atlanta Hawks president of basketball operations Travis Schlenk to become Washington’s senior VP of player personnel, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Schlenk is the first hire by Michael Winger, who was named the President of Monumental Basketball last week. Winger oversee the Wizards, G-League affiliate Capital City Go-Go, and WNBA’s Washington Mystics.
Schlenk will oversee all pro and amateur evaluations and team scouts as the Wizards’ senior VP of player personnel. Additionally, Winger expects to hire a general manager that will run the day-to-day operations of the Wizards.
According to Ava Wallace of The Washington Post, GM won’t be the last hire, as the team expects to continue to change significantly and get bigger.
It’s evident Winger is giving the Wizards an organizational structure that the franchise has not seen before.
Schlenk has made his name throughout the NBA executive rankings. He started as a video coordinator for the Miami Heat from 1999-2003. He joined the Golden State Warriors in 2005 as an assistant coach but moved into the front office in 2010.
Schlenk was the Warriors’ assistant general manager from 2012-2017, reporting to Bob Myers. He joined the Atlanta Hawks in 2017 and eventually became the Hawks’ president of basketball operations.
Pundits credit Schlenk with identifying Draymond Green ahead of the 2012 NBA Draft. After joining the Hawks, Schlenk got tasked with rebuilding Atlanta’s roster around Trae Young, including acquiring the likes of John Collins, De’Andre Hunter, and Kevin Huerter. More importantly, Schlenk transformed the Hawks into a versatile and positionless roster.
In 2018, Schlenk fired Mike Budenholzer after several seasons of stalling in the playoffs.
In 2020, Schlenk signed Bogdan Bogdanović and Kris Dunn. He also traded for Danilo Gallinari and Lou Williams. Then fired head coach Lloyd Pierce in favor of Nate McMillan. That Hawks team reached the Eastern Conference Finals.
Schlenk stepped down in December as the Hawks’ president for an advisor role. However, recently it was reported Schlenk was no longer with Atlanta and was free to join any team.
The Wizards have been stuck in NBA purgatory. It’s been 44 seasons since the Wizards last reached the Conference Finals. It’s the longest drought in the league.
As for recently, Washington has not won more than 35 games in any of the last four seasons, despite having three-time All-Star Bradley Beal. Fans and analysts have called for the Wizards to undergo a complete rebuild.
Owner Ted Leonsis is reportedly not against a rebuild following the hire of Winger. The addition of Schlenk suggests Winger is putting together a super team of executives that collectively will evaluate and construct a suitable roster moving forward.
