Hawks GM Landry Fields Press Conference | Trade Deadline 2024

Hawks GM Landry Fields Press Conference | Trade Deadline 2024

Oh cool thanks Billy um it is good to see most everybody here at zoom zoom land we don’t always have to be on camera so for those that I can see hello and I’m waving at you those that I can’t I’m glad you’re here um it’s

Uh uh it’s been it’s been a it’s been a lot these last few days um I think where I would start is just super proud of our group um the amount of conversations and debate and long nights that we had this past week and just our ability to dialogue um

Was really helpful it was really good uh for us and obviously because I everyone’s all thinking or wondering or asking themselves the same things you know we didn’t we didn’t do anything to this deadline um and for us what we really wanted to lean into was continued

Focus on our process continued focus on development and with any sort of concept that came in it’s not just the short-term results or the short-term goals I should say that we’re interested in it’s long-term so with anything understanding the second and third and fourth or the consequences is

Very very important to us because as we’re navigating you know this league this space new cap environment particular contracts like all the things and considering all things there is a lot of nuan and complexities that go into that as well as the guard rails or

The guard rails that we call them of our own DNA like what is important for us so if you take the the the sheer number of opportunities that Will Get shrunk into less and less just by who we are what we stand for things that we’re interested

In not just in the short term but in the long term as well and It ultimately landed us with not doing anything and I think another part of of this whole equation which is not a not the biggest Factor as to why we do anything but

There are certain games of the last few weeks that have been really important for us um and not just our team but like individuals right like we’ve seen an uptick with Ona we’ve seen an uptick with Jaylen Johnson we’ve seen an uptick with with sque Bay and I can go right

Down the line even down to College Park where you know Kobe buffkin is is developing extremely well in that environment and and that’s really important for our process as uh as I made known just with like how Jaylen has come up in that and that’s something

That for us long term is always going to be important tool um on how our guys develop so all things considered um yeah we ultimately decided that we weren’t going to do anything could we have done something absolutely but that would have been short-term results um that we

Didn’t feel were going to benefit us for the long term and that’s where we stand here today so with that opening I I’ll obviously open it up to any questions you may have uh further we’ll begin with Lauren Williams hey Landry um just curious as

Far as you know the goals that you guys had coming in which has been to uh build good habits and and make sure that guys are playing unselfishly things that are going to be long-term things that help you guys to be a championship team I’m curious what kind of benchmarks you guys

Have kind of put in place now um to kind of say okay when we reach X goal we we’ll make this move when we reach this we’ll do that yeah it’s it’s a good question um so part of that kind of baked into your question is is the science of it it’s

The measurements it’s the things that we value at the end of the day some of that stuff is tangible some of it is intangible right like we talked a lot about having a competitive Spirit we talk a lot about being unselfish uh being connected and unified

Um loving your craft and and owning like those are things that have certain indicators that you can evaluate they’re a little harder to measure for for certain but when we see kind of in my opening statement when you start to see some of those first fruits of it it’s

It’s really it’s exciting um like I watching Ona the last few games has been really important for us just to see how he’s able to switch out on ad Jason Tatum and show some defensive versatility and show the aggression to go get those forwards like that all that

All matters to us and like you can measure those particular instances for for certain right like did it result in a contested shot not always like some players are just so dang good that you can do everything you can and they make shot so you never want to get caught up

In resulting um but you do want to see all the actions that are prior to that where if you were to look at them over a long period of time you know you’d be net positive and so having that approach the it takes one patience which is I

Know is is tough for everybody in any Endeavor um but it also takes continuous Improvement um for for for those particular things so uh that’s where again you’re weighing the longterm and the short term and we’re watching well what does this trajectory look like right now off of those types of

Evaluations and I think we’ll know right we we’ll know when it’s time to to move on from from players and we know when it’s time to bring in somebody new but uh obviously right now that wasn’t the time this was not the time and and that

Being said I mean we’ve kind of seen this team you have players that have been rumored to be in the trade deadline in the past and you’ve held on to them for multitudes of reasonings whether that’s you hope that their value will go up over time um or it as you mentioned

It’s just not the right move at the time but with deante I’m curious how do you guys find that balance of maybe hoping that you know his value could go up over time or he fits in the long-term plan how do you how do you balance those two

Things um another good question I I’m less interested in maximizing just a player’s value in order to make a move for a different player like that is a part of any sports business and I and I certainly understand that but that’s also kind of not totally in your control

Right like if a player goes down on injury something significant you know like what does that do do for a player’s value like that’s that to me um is not as important as okay placing a value on going to a Deonte or a jayen or a Trey

Young and saying hey here are the areas in which we can continuously improve upon value and all that stuff that’ll take care of itself what comes before that is like well what are you doing to enhance value or what are you not doing to not enhance your value um but we’re

More interested in like the process the process of daily habits which we’ve been you know we’ve talked before on this very thing like to me having that as a huge focal point results will take care of themselves in that maybe not you may not see it right away but again the

Trajectory over a long haul I’m willing to bet that we would be net positive and we would see a more sustainable model of uh of that particular thing and um I’m more interested in that than I am in just the immediate like quick let’s just grab for anything talent-wise and try to

Make a play you like you’re going to need talent in this in this league I’m fully aware of that um but at the same time growing from within is really important because that gives us that gives us that it just gives us a great

Way and um you know as you look over in time and you look at across Sports at Great organizations they grow from within and there’s a particular DNA structure that they have for that and that I I am much more interested in than than short-term things but that requires

Patience it really does um I’m right there with you sometimes I walk in I’m like wish we were further than we are but you know what we’ve made the guard rails um we have everyone that’s bought in and sometimes like we’ll get to a point where yeah you got to make changes

Um but again wasn’t the time to do it this at this point so I guess when you look at this roster construction who who who would you say that this roster is maybe constructed around and how do you continue to build around them so this roster is more constructed

Around the things that we feel are important rather than any one particular player we’ll go to Zack Klein next hey landre appreciate you man um in talking to a bunch of guys around the league they said that you and your front office staff had a lot of deals on the

Table but these deals were definitely heavily it favored the opposition because they were hoping to take advantage of the perceived Youth and inexperience of this front office staff um how much did you guys learn through this process and maybe the best move was no move at all and you know it’s about

Being patient when you know the expectation is to make a move but again to stick to your core values and not be I guess as someone told me just the vultures are out and they were trying to attack that that’s brilliant um I I can’t speak for other teams and their perceived

Value of things or or am I am I going to sit here and judge another team on what they present as if that’s some indictment on us as a front office and our perceived Youth and inexperience whatever that may be um were there deals on the table that we said no to

Absolutely because for us it just didn’t make sense for what we’re valuing um and what we’re after from our long-term Vision uh and like that’s ultimately where we landed I wasn’t going to sit here and get caught up in that game if that was even a game to begin with so

That’s that’s that’s interesting though yeah it’s just to follow up about again gets the point of sticking to the core values and not taking a deal just to make a deal sake and make you know the the fan or you know other members just just happy just for you know for deal

Sake so to speak yeah no sorry what was the question there just how important when how hard is it to stick to those core values and not make a move when there’s pressure and expectation to do such things oh yeah um it I think it just takes a lot of a

Lot of belief in what you’re doing um and if it was me alone it would be it would be hard like I’m only one human and I’m finite but when you have a group that galvanizes around and bu into that Vision when there are things that come

In you don’t have that internal Discord at that like you’ve I’ve already set this is what it means to be hot this is what’s important so anything that comes in that needs to be run through that filter and everyone that has bought into that filter they are here to help in

That particular moment because yes there’s going to be pressures from all kinds and of various different sources but at the end of the day like we can only be who we can be and the mistake would be not knowing who you are what you stand for and if you truly stand for

Those things then yeah it’s going to require really hard conversations uh excuse me really hard a really hard yeah well conversations first and foremost but then secondarily um hard decisions and sometimes there decisions in what you do and what you don’t do and that’s

What I leaned into that um and I I’m I’m grateful that I have such a supportive staff around me I’m grateful that me and Quinn and Tony are all aligned and who we are and what it is that we want to do um as well as everyone else from Kyle to

Our you know head of analytics and Dwight I mean like I can go right down the line um where our alignment on who we are and what we value is really important so thank you we’ll go to Charles Odum thank you um uh obviously every team uh deals with injuries but to what

Extent did uh injuries uh this season uh with uh DeAndre and Jaylen uh impact your ability uh to make um conclusions about this roster construction and how did that possibly impact decisions you made at trade deadland yeah it’s a part of it um to your point injuries are always going to

Be a part of things uh they’re not always in your control and a lot of times you spend your energies on preventive measures and placing a value on things that you avoid but it’s always hard to judge the value and things that you avoid because you never know like

What you ultimately avoid at the end of the day and uh I mean yeah it’s it’s a part of it because you’re looking at really important players that are valuable and you know the impact that they can have on the game so when they’re not there then you know it it

Kind of becomes this whole evaluation process but what is helpful for us is how you do anything is how you do everything and if you are injured like how are you attacking your rehab right it’s the same thing as well how are you attacking your game on the court those

Things that come before the results that we’re looking for are the focus those when you get those right again to Lauren what we talked about earlier that is exactly what it is that we’re focused on so um those things are going to matter regardless of of the circumstances that

You find yourself in because those are consistent how do you operate in moments of adversity or suffering um are things that we’re going to place value in so to us as far as it relates to our roster construction um I don’t think it was as

Heavy of an impact um as some may think um but I do understand you need you need good players out there to win ball games uh so that was an unfortunate part about that but for for us we don’t want to waste that moment either um and make

Sure that we’re we’re diligently working and helping those particular players through those circumstance ances that their end just a quick follow um how is that related also to uh the mention you made it earlier uh to recent gains as you’ve only recently uh had opportunities to see DeAndre and jayen

Together yeah I like you see you see some of those those games and it’s not a it’s not a great sample size on the season um but there’s enough there where you go oh that’s exciting like can we explore that further what would that look like over 20 40 50 games um and

Then at that point you know make a call like the good news is we have guys that are that are under contract that give us that Runway of evaluation um in order for us to have a large enough sample size to then make an informed decision on what we’re doing

Allison hey Landry when you’re talking about the long-term goal how much do you evaluate getting into the playoffs just beyond the play in with this group and does it put more pressure on you when it even just comes in the summer on maybe making bigger moves if you don’t get to

Where you want to get to in the playoffs yes um I I’m sorry if I sound like a brooken record it’s a really good it’s a good question um we would love to go as far as we possibly can in any given season um I I’d be particularly

Interested in well how did we get there right like how much can you rely on luck in that particular moment I I don’t want to get caught up in a term that I used before resulting right like if you win 10 games in a row does that make you a

Great team not necessarily if you lose 10 games in a row does that make you a bad team not necessarily what was it that ultimately led to us being in a position of the playoffs of the second round of the Conference Finals of the finals right like that’s really

Important for us and that takes a lot of deep Dives um and I think that that’s really important for us to make sure where let’s say like if we are a playoff team that evaluation is going to be crucial we’re going to have to look at well why were we quote unquote

Successful right now were were they habits that led to those results awesome let’s continue on with that were they poor habits and now of a sudden we’re just finding ourselves because other teams got injured well that’s a tough call for us now we have to look at the

Sample size that we have before going into at going into any point in time where where you’re looking to make changes on your team and then make that decision based off of what you have and just real quick when you mentioned longterm like what is the definition of

Longterm is it one two three Seasons until you can really say like you found success in the group that you have or need to make changes uh for me any time you talk about longterm it’s just talking about do you have a big enough sample size

Based off what that is there are certain measurements in any analytics model that will tell you okay 100 200 300 400 possessions of anything like that’s a big enough sample size for you to make an informed decision on that to get caught up in one year two year three

Years it is hard to say I’ll just be honest I can’t sit here and say hey in three years it’s going to be this like that I don’t want to lie to you and I don’t want to that’s a bad setup too it’s just more like okay for where we

Ultimately want to go what kind of sample size do we have for that uh Kora great Landry thanks for your time um sample size brings us a good question here um I think a lot there’s been a lot OB say a lot of talk and thought about our Trey and Deonte working well

Together the numbers would suggest that when they’re on the floor together you’re not as good a team um on a scale of one to 10 how confident are you that this pairing is going to work and lead to where you guys want to go as a

Franchise um it’s a it’s a really good question um and I love how you framed it like sample size is getting larger and larger and larger and assuming you’re looking at specific lineups and defensive and offensive ratings which can always be debated as well um yeah you’re starting to see that more and

More and um yeah I I can’t lie to you the numbers speak for for themselves on that um but we’re also interested in well let’s say they’re on the court together and it’s based off the numbers it’s not working out well why is that like what are things that we can do for

Them in a development aspect to make it look more like the onoff line ups that I’m I’m I’m assuming that you’re looking at and ultimately like that then that lays something that is a bit that is measurable those are things now from a development standpoint that you can look

At and say okay can you progress in these areas if you can’t then yeah like those are those are times like that I’m not saying that’s exactly how it’s going to happen with any player where you’d have to consider the changes that you know everyone would then be kind of kind

Of kind of asking and looking for at the end of the day um to follow that are you saying like is there something that you see or know like if we get this kind of piece then this will work better or I mean kind of where art like what is your

Thinking at this point about what’s going to make this work pece in terms of what like is there another player that we like a type of player on the floor that would make that combination work better for us so having Trey and and Deonte on the floor

Together is that g to help us be a better team is there one more piece or do we need to play a different style is there something that you see now that’s going to make you the kind of team that you want to be well as far as another

Player I mean that that’s always hard to say um for for those guys or any particular instance yeah it’s looking at okay why when it is working on the court like why is that successful why are we seeing positive results of that what is it that you’re doing those would be the

Things that for us I think tie back into a lot of our a lot of our pillars like one what’s the competitive spirit in that particular moment are we being unselfish are we moving the ball those things which you know from a past standpoint you can measure like if

Things get sticky there then yeah that’s tough now the development to make it simple is like hey you got continuously move the ball and keep the advantage for for the group um and are you willing to do that are you not willing to do that

If you are great then we’re going to be better if you’re not then okay then we’ve reached a point or we reached the ceiling here okay take go back my last question like how confident do you feel in in that and the two of them work together sorry what was I’m sorry how

Confident do you feel that this is going to work out ultimately in the way that you envisioned um I think that those guys are competitors I think that at the end of the day they want to do what they need to do to win um and I would Bank on

That I’m I’m very confident in that uh if that changes then you’ll see changes Caleb Johnson hey Landry um I wanted to ask you about AJ Griffin and how you view his his value and his development uh especially given the fact that he had a big rookie season he’s kind of com into

This year not really been a part of the rotation uh and then hasn’t gone down to uh the g- league to get development in that way so how are you viewing his value and his development process he hasn’t necessarily really been playing yeah um every everyone’s well aware AJ had

Some personal things that that he needed to go through or not needed to go through but he went through um this season and um you know it’s it’s unfortunate and we wanted to first and foremost make sure that he AJ the human is okay and when we brought him back and

He got back into the fold um like there was just because he hasn’t been in College Park let’s say it doesn’t mean development wasn’t happening like there’s still things that we’re doing pre-practice during practice post practice pregame and uh in postgame and whatnot um I at this point you will see

Him be more in College Park just as we’re continuously laying out his development pathway um to bring it down a little bit more specifically on the defensive in that’s a growth area for AJ everyone knows he’s an elite shooter unbelievable shooter um for for where

He’s at at this stage of his career but in order for him to continuously maximize himself and for us to be maximized we’re going to have to lean into the defensive aspect of his game uh and that’s where we’re going to be focusing on now post deadline and then

Uh just speaking on another player uh Trent Forest has obviously been a guy for you who was able to to provide uh some some depth especially as you guys were hit with injuries uh as you’re reaching that part of his his two-way deal where you know it could get a

Little little complicated with the number of games that he’s been a part of uh how do you foresee you know his his Futures as part of this team and and being a part of that two-way contract yeah it’s it’s a it’s currently a discussion right now on what it looks

Like for him in the future uh and that’s something that uh when the team gets back off the trip you know we’ll have that discussion with Quinn we’ll sit down and figure out what comes next from China thanks Lauren Williams hi again Landry um when has

Talked a lot about you know the the size that this team has had to face on a night in and Night Out basis particularly when injuries have happened I’m curious what your philosophy is moving forward regarding maybe adding some size to this roster yeah an NBA size and length is

Always going to be helpful uh it’s an important tool um as it relates to just how good players are and just the sheer nature of the game of basketball so it’s definitely um a focus of ours it’s it’s part of our objectives for the future um but right now um obviously we’re not

Making any moves to upgrade in size there’s still things we can do right where like there’s still a chances to change your roster even post deadline right like there’s there’s buyout markets there’s tons of things but right now we’re focused on our current group but it is something that um I agree with

Quinn and we’re aligned on like we know that that’s something that for us we’re going to have to make sure we’re addressing in the future yeah I was gonna that was my actual followup too you talked about the buyout market and I was curious how much you guys kind of

Evaluated what’s out there and and maybe what your thoughts are well it’s um that’s always hard well may I don’t know for us it always is because you got guys that you have 15 guys on roster so if somebody’s coming in somebody’s got to go out and

With whoever that may be you know like they’ve done things for us and they’ve integrated themselves into the group um and it’s important for for our culture and you know camaraderie so you’re always weighing that versus the player that does come in and like does the player that’s coming in are they solving

Particular uh objectives that we have are they achieving those objectives and also not only that but is it somebody that we can ultimately grow into the future with will be things that we are filtering through um as we make those considerations there’s nothing that we’re we’re doing right now but we’re

Keeping a pulse on that market for sure and then obviously you guys still have the trade player exception from the John Collins deal this I know you guys have a a year to use that so I’m just curious how you plan to kind of use that cap or

That flexib ability that that created just because we didn’t get a chance to see you guys use it at the deadline this year yeah you know for certain yeah the expiration date on that is important um believe it’s July 8th is when that would extinguish so we do have some time for

That um and it’s an important tool it’s a helpful tool as we go into the summer you know post-draft free agency and when everything kind of comes back into where we have these opportunities to externally change our team Caleb Johnson hey Landry um I know you said

Earlier that you didn’t want to make any deals that would potentially be like shortsighted or or for the now and not help you out in the future uh the flip side of that though were there any uh thought into maybe we might have to make our team a little bit worse in the

Current mode in order to be better in the future is that not something that you were really interested in doing um making making our team worse uh is language that I would never use around our office I think that a competitive spirit is always going to be

At play um and that’s always going to be subjective too right like maybe to you we got worse but to me it’s like hey we got better um that that’s I I’m not in I’m not interested at all in anything that’s like tanking or like anything of

That type of of definition right now because that’s always a tricky thing and I understand when teams have to do that they have to do that um but I still think that there’s this component of your how and your process and again the competitiveness that you need to operate

By daily regardless of the talent level that you have so um wasn’t a thought for us in under that definition pen yeah I I try not to put words in your mouth but when you say you’re talking like you you didn’t want to make deals uh that were sacrificing long term

For short term and to me that sounds like we’re playing more for 2025 26 than 24 is that an accurate way of of paraphrasing what you’re saying uh you may you may have to say that a different way sure when you say that we weren’t willing to sacrifice the

Long term for the short term it sounds like we don’t have as much like we’re not we don’t have as high aspirations for this season as we do for coming Seasons oh I understand what you’re saying no no no what what I mean when I say longterm and short-term I I lean

More into our valuables or valuables our values and um and expectations and things that we place a value on for us where like hypothetically speaking if you have a player that comes in that has really really tough Intel I guess you could say but they’re Uber talented like that’s not

That may help us in the short term right but the moment that starts to seep in and like that type of Personality or character enters the mix then that could have damages that be go beyond just this season and what I think can you envision this team without Trey on it going not

Like in the future I haven’t even sat here and thought about that I’m focused on what we got all right thanks so much for your time today Landry appreciate it thanks everyone for your time thank you I’m

Atlanta Hawks GM Landry Fields meets with the media following the 2024 NBA Trade Deadline.

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