The Atlanta Hawks made a front office move on Monday, promoting assistant GM Landry Fields to general manager.
Fields, 33, has had a meteoric rise as an executive since his playing career ended following the 2015-16 season.
He began as a scout with the San Antonio Spurs in 2016 before becoming general manager of the team’s G-League affiliate three years later.
Fields then went on to Atlanta, where he is now team president Travis Schlenk’s right-hand man. Not bad for a former second-round pick who played five NBA seasons and is still younger than some of the guys who will be playing n Game 5 of the NBA Finals tonight.
The NBA world seems to be collectively happy for Fields, while also being stunned that he has already worked himself into the position he’s in.
Congratulations to @landryfields. Smart player, top shelf person, who worked his way up from the G League and scouting. Also once owned a famous couch. https://t.co/IsVevuOucn
— Alan Hahn (@alanhahn) June 13, 2022
Landry Fields fans right now pic.twitter.com/rsrpHsC1V3
— Knicks Memes (@KnicksMemes) June 13, 2022
Ahhhh @landryfields you are such a stud!!! People don’t understand, he’s doin this at age 33. I guess that Stanford education is aiiight then lol https://t.co/0rTgrpQVZ3
— Jeremy Lin (@JLin7) June 13, 2022
LANDRY FIELDS IS A GENERAL MANAGER? pic.twitter.com/nvCnzy4xPn
— BetMGM 🦁 (@BetMGM) June 13, 2022
You guys do know Landry fields has been Schlenk right hand man since he joined the hawks right???
Like every pro day and anything they attend together for the most part. He’s just getting a tittle more appropriate for the work he was already doing lol
— BringBackThePicks (@1CE_TRAE) June 13, 2022
Landry Fields originally was originally part of the San Antonio Spurs scouting team for three years before being promoted to GM of the Austin Spurs in 2019.
In late 2020, he would leave the Spurs organization to Atlanta for their Assistant GM role. https://t.co/eJeDWJQczp
— Ty Jäger (@TheTyJager) June 13, 2022
Congrats to @landryfields
Well deserved promotion in a fantastic front office 🙂 https://t.co/m3i7e8IXea
— Grant Liffmann (@GrantLiffmann) June 13, 2022
Landry Fields becoming an NBA GM at only 33 is even more surprising than Fields playing with Jeremy Lin in the Rising Stars game a decade ago.
— Jonathan Wagner (@JonathanJWagner) June 13, 2022
Landry Fields is a GM? Wtf? https://t.co/qsxI5Y9v2l
— Patrick Fenelon 🌹 (@Patrick_Fenelon) June 13, 2022
Now that his new title is out of the way, this is going to be a busy summer for Fields and the Hawks. Atlanta went from making the Eastern Conference Finals in 2021 to having to advance out of the play-in tournament this year.
The Hawks eventually lost to the Miami Heat in five games in the first round of the playoffs. A bounce back season is the goal in 2022-23.