3. Atlanta Hawks
Overall Record: 24-58 (.293)
Record since All-Star Break: 6-17 (.261)
Average point differential since All-Star Break: -9
Worst loss: 29 points (85-115 vs. Miami)
Rank in final standings: Last in the East, Tied for 3rd worst overall
End of Season Starters: Damion Lee (PG/SG), Taurean Prince (SF), John Collins (PF), Deandre’ Bembry (SF), Dewayne Dedmon (C)
Bench: Isaiah Taylor (PG), Tyler Dorsey (SG), Mike Muscala (C), Antonius Cleveland (SG), Miles Plumlee (C)
Travis Schlenk left Golden State to take over as general manager in Atlanta early this past offseason. He wasted no time dismantling an aging roster that had been bounced in the first round of the playoffs last season. He offloaded Dwight Howard’s $23 million dollar contract, let Paul Millsap, Thabo Sefolosha and Tim Hardaway, Jr. walk in free agency and secured two extra first round picks in the upcoming draft.
The Hawks have done one of the best tanking jobs this season, from start to finish, without even having to actively tank. They basically lined up the dominoes of a 20-25 win season with their offseason moves and just let the season unfold. As a result, all of their young players got solid minutes throughout the year and they lost 58 games, giving them one of the three worst records in the NBA.
Had Atlanta been in the Western Conference and gotten to play all the teams Phoenix and Dallas did, it’d be hard not to imagine them in position to draw the No. 1 overall pick on lottery night. As it is, they’ll likely land a top three pick as well as the 18th and 30th they already have secured and another at the top of the second round.
If Schlenk is half as good at actually winning games as he is at building a team to lose, the Hawks are in phenomenal shape as a franchise.