Maybe the search just doesn’t matter anymore. Or maybe it’s Danny Ferry.
Maybe just forget everything you knew about the search for a president of basketball operations for the Atlanta Hawks organization.
If you hadn’t been following along, the Hawks announced they were moving on from general manager Landry Fields on April 21 and promoting Onsi Saleh to that position. At the same time, they released a statement about their intentions to fill the open president of basketball operations positions.
That was a full six weeks ago at this point — and yet still crickets on that front. Rumored names in the times since have included Bob Myers, Tim Connelly, Masai Ujiri, and possibly most curiously and somewhat infamous to long time Hawks fans, Danny Ferry.
Now Ferry’s name is back in the rumor mill, but this time not as the top executive in the organization. The latest from the always busy Marc Stein and Jake L. Fischer on The Stein Line substack:
The Hawks’ search for a new president of basketball operations has been far quieter in recent days than the Suns’ pursuit of a new head coach, but one scenario making the rounds that Atlanta is said to be considering: Re-hiring Danny Ferry as a senior adviser to newly promoted GM Onsi Saleh.
The Stein Line first reported earlier this month that A) Atlanta had made Ferry part of this interview process 10 years after dismissing him and B) that it had considered simply adding an experienced adviser to Saleh in the event they opt against hiring a new president to serve as lead decision-maker in the wake of Landry Fields’ dismissal.
The highest-profile candidates Atlanta is known to have spoken to thus far in pursuit of a new head of basketball operations: Toronto’s Masai Ujiri and Giannis Antetokounmpo’s agent Alex Saratsis.
So it’s possible, maybe even increasingly likely, that the president of basketball ops spots remains unfilled just as it has been since the departure of Travis Schlenk — if this rumor holds true of course.
What do you think of bring Ferry back in an advisor role as opposed to as president?