Atlanta Hawks Name Pelicans GM Bryson Graham and 76ers Exec Peter Dinwiddie to Senior Front Office Roles

To be clear, it does not seem like this is a change in status for Saleh as the lead decision maker in Atlanta's front office. Per Charania, Graham and Dinwiddie will report to Saleh as part of the new front-office structure. Both have extensive experience with their respective teams.

Graham started as a Pelicans intern, advanced to video coordinator, coaching and front-office roles in New Orleans, rose to the general manager position, and leaves after 15 years with the team. While the Pelicans haven't been a very successful franchise during Griffin's tenure, that cannot be entirely put on him because he was working under a variety of decision makers. Most recently, David Griffin was the President of Basketball Operations in New Orleans before being replaced by Joe Dumars. Therefore, it's more interesting to look at the players the Pelicans drafted during the Griffin-Graham partnership to get a sense of how he might help the Hawks.

Off first inspection, there are some good results here. Herb Jones and Trey Murphy III are the best two finds of the last few years for New Orleans, but snagging Jose Alvarado and Naji Marshall late deserves some praise. Both have shown they are clear rotation-level players for their respective teams. It remains to be seen how more recent picks like Jordan Hawkins and Yves Missi will develop, but they seem primed to become rotation pieces at the very least with Missi having starter upside. Of course, Graham also likely had a role in the selection of Dyson Daniels, who earned both an All-Defensive First Team and Most Improved Player selection for the Hawks this year after being acquired from New Orleans.

As a strategy and analytics exec, Dinwiddie has worked in the 76ers' front office since 2020 after 14 seasons with the Indiana Pacers. He was the executive vice president of basketball operations, so it's fair to assume he had significant influence under Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey. While it's hard to gauge exactly how he will help Atlanta in his role, it can be assumed that he will bring an experienced voice in analytics to the Hawks. Morey is one of the most analytically driven decision makers in the NBA and likely would not entrust Dinwiddie with such a significant role if he was not suited for it. He could be someone that has an influence on the Dyson Daniels extension talks that will likely take place this summer.

It's important to note that neither hire is for the position of President of Basketball Operations. This position has been vacated since Travis Schlenk left the organization and it's going to be interesting to see how the eventual hire at that spot will work with Saleh. Per Charania, that position still has not been filled.

"The Hawks fired Landry Fields as general manager on April 21 and announced a search for a new president of basketball operations while naming Saleh as the new GM. Any potential president hire for the Hawks will be made to complement Saleh and his staff."

Although it may not be as exciting as a new acquisition for the Hawks, getting an experienced front office around Saleh and the team's eventual president of basketball operations in his first season as the team's general manager will be critical. It seems like they are doing exactly that with these new hires.

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