Saleh was named general manager on April 21st.
Atlanta Hawks General Manager, Onsi Saleh, spoke to the media on Monday afternoon for the first time since taking over as the lead decision-maker in Atlanta’s front office.
As one might expect, Saleh – who held roles with the San Antonio Spurs and Golden State Warriors before serving as the Hawks assistant GM last season – remained tight-lipped on any specifics regarding Atlanta’s plan for the 2025 offseason, though he was able to share some insight into his own team-building philosophy as well as the type of culture that he is working to instill in the organization moving forwards.
Here are a few things we learned from Onsi Saleh’s first conversation with the media.
No signs of a President of Basketball Operations hire
When the Hawks fired Landry Fields on April 21st, the team announced that in addition to promoting Saleh to GM, they would also be looking to bring in a President of Basketball Operations above Saleh to help lead the front office.
“Every offseason we evaluate how we operate and ways we can improve our organization. As we enter this pivotal offseason, we have several complex decisions ahead of us, and we are committed to providing the human and financial resources needed to ensure that we navigate these decisions with a high level of precision and foresight. Adding an accomplished, senior-level leader to provide strategic direction and structure as well as partnering with Onsi and our talented front office is a top priority,” Principal Owner Tony Ressler said in the statement released by the team.
Two months later (and mere hours away from the draft), the Hawks haven’t formally announced that they are no longer looking for a President of Basketball Operations, however it does appear that Saleh is going to be the lead decision-maker in the front office in his capacity as GM going forwards.
Asked directly about whether the plan is still for him to report to someone above him, Saleh said, “I understand and appreciate the question, but I don’t have the information to answer that question. As far as everything that’s been indicated to me, I’ll be making all basketball decisions moving forwards. Draft, free agency, all that.”
Last week, the Hawks hired Bryson Graham (who served as the GM in New Orleans last season) to be their VP of Basketball Operations, as well as Peter Dinwiddie (who previously held the EVP of Basketball Operations title in Philadelphia) to be their Senior VP of Strategy and Analytics. Both roles are expected to report up to Saleh, who indicated yesterday that he had a meaningful say in bringing both executives on board.
He began the press conference by thanking Tony Ressler for “empowering him to build out the front office,” saying “I thought we had two tremendous additions in Bryson Graham and Peter Dinwiddie. It’s 30 plus years of experience for us. [They are] amazing human beings, culture adds, so just thanking Tony for letting me build out this front office and empowering me to do that.”
He later added that he felt Graham and Dinwiddie were “the two most qualified individuals to add to [the] team”, saying that the hires were as much about functionality as they were about adding some additional leadership to the group in the front office. “It’s hard to manage a building basketball operations group and have everyone feel connected, but those guys as leaders really help in that world,” said Saleh.
While we can’t formally rule anything out, given how close we are to the draft/free agency, as well as the fact that Saleh was “empowered” to make two significant front office hires, I would be stunned to see the Hawks bring in a President of Basketball Operations above Saleh at this stage of the offseason. Based on his comments from yesterday, I anticipate that Onsi Saleh will be Atlanta’s no. 1 front office executive moving forward.
Saleh’s draft philosophy
With the NBA draft less than 36 hours away, there is a lot of anticipation about what the Hawks are going to do with their two first round picks at 13 and 22. While Saleh declined to share what positions or skillsets the team would be looking to target on Wednesday, he did express optimism in where the Hawks are picking, saying that he “really likes” (picks) 13 and 22, and that he feels the team will “be able to add two quality players to the mix.”
Speaking on his philosophy when it comes to the draft, Saleh gave a no frills answer, “I always pick the best player available, that’s my philosophy. I don’t believe in picking for a position. If there’s a guy that makes sense for us, we’re going to take him, and always the best player, that’s the philosophy.”
Asked to elaborate on what they are looking for as far as player traits, he said, “ways to impact winning. There are skillsets that we probably would love to have, but at the same time, if somebody’s really good at something that impacts winning on both ends of the court, that’s ultimately what we’re looking for, and fits within the guys we currently have on our team.”
Saleh also added that he values players with “competitiveness, toughness, resilience and adaptability.”
Player development will remain a priority
Speaking about how he will be looking to build the team into a championship contender, Saleh referenced the two teams that met in the Finals, the Indiana Pacers and the Oklahoma City Thunder.
“One thing we saw from those two teams is that they were developmentally focused. The rules have changed when it comes to roster construction, but you look at those two teams they really developed, they built a culture, and the chemistry and cohesion between those groups I think stood out when you watched them play. They both play the right way. So try to bring that mentality and that direction to our program,” Saleh said. “We are a very young group that is still developing, and I think it’s important to realize that here.”
Saleh also expressed his desire to build something sustainable as opposed to a “one hit wonder type of a team”, something that his previous experiences in San Antonio and Golden State have undoubtedly prepared him for given the prolonged success both those franchises have seen.
Hawks have “optionality” when it comes to team building this summer
Something Saleh repeatedly stressed during yesterday’s press conference was the number of different avenues the Hawks have available to improve their team this summer.
“We have a lot of optionality this summer. Between the moves we made at the deadline, a little bit more optionality, flexibility with the trade exceptions that we got. Long way to the tax [line]. [There are] different things we could do, but we also have the authority to go into the tax.”
In addition to their two first-round picks in Wednesday’s draft, Atlanta have a $25.26 million trade exception (which expires on July 7th) available to them from last summer’s Dejounte Murray trade – giving them the ability to trade for a player who makes up to that amount without having to give up matching salaries in a deal. A player like Brooklyn’s Cam Johnson, who shot 39% from three on a career-high volume (7.2 attempts per game) last season and has a $21 million cap hit for the 2025-26 season could be a target for Atlanta with this trade exception.
In addition to the Murray trade exception, the Hawks could also have access to the full $14.1 million non-taxpayer midlevel exception (MLE) to use in free agency. If the Hawks draft two players at 13 and 22 tomorrow night, decline Dom Barlow’s $2.3 million team option for next season, and bring back Caris Levert and Larry Nance Jr. at a combined annual salary of less than $20 million, they will have enough cap space to offer a free agent the MLE to fill their final roster spot while staying out of the luxury tax. Someone like Minnesota’s Nickael Alexander-Walker is a potential target if Atlanta has access to the full MLE.
While Saleh expressed confidence in the current roster, he also made it a point to emphasize the optionality available to the team this summer.
“I feel like we’re in a great position honestly,” Saleh said. “When you look at our season last year we had some injuries, still won 40 games despite those injuries and again the optionality that we’re adding to our group like our guys are developing still for sure, we got potentially two more guys coming in, but we also have optionality with different mechanisms to add to this team, [like] the mid level, the trade exception, things like that, so always looking to make our team better.”
Hawks are “locked in” with Trae Young (for next season)
Saleh also spoke about his relationship with All-Star point guard, Trae Young, saying “We’re locked in with Trae. We’re just locked in for next season, ready to move forward, be the best team that we could possibly be moving forward. I think a lot of his leadership from last season went probably unnoticed to the common eye, like, the way he helped develop our young guys and make them better was significant, so just continuing on with that and hopefully just making our team better.”
Saleh said he’s had a “great” relationship with Trae since he arrived in Atlanta last summer, but that their recent conversations have been more focused on developing the team culture as opposed to roster construction.
Of course, given the fact that Young is entering the final (guaranteed) year of his contract and is extension eligible this summer, we will soon find out just how “locked in” he is with the Hawks.
Saleh didn’t provide any updates on Young’s extension talks – the most important piece of business for Atlanta this summer – and if the two sides fail to reach an agreement before the season starts, the Hawks risk the possibility of their franchise player leaving for nothing next summer, upping the pressure on Saleh and the front office to try and work out a deal in the coming months.
While it’s certainly encouraging to hear that Young is excited for next season and that he has a strong relationship with Saleh, the more pressing question is what’s going to happen after next season?
You can find the full interview with Onsi Saleh on Youtube at the link provided here.