Grading the Tenure of Former Hawks General Manager Landry Fields

Landry Fields was promoted to the general manager role on July 1st, 2022. In the roughly 33 months of his tenure as general manager, it was never clear exactly who was responsible for some of the biggest moves that occurred during this timeframe. He did not have the title of "President of Basketball Operations", indicating that all of the praise - or blame - for the transactions he oversaw cannot be placed squarely with him. However, it is worth looking back at his major transaction history and assess whether he had a positive or negative impact on the franchise.

Best Moves

1) Trading for Dyson Daniels

This move stands alone as Fields' best work. Although the influence of Onsi Saleh can't be underestimated, Fields was able to flip Dejounte Murray to the New Orleans Pelicans for Daniels, Larry Nance, and two first round picks. one of which the Hawks will have in this year's draft. Daniels has been the perfect backcourt teammate to pair alongside Trae Young and is a finalist for Most Improved Player and Defensive Player of the year.

The list of accomplishments for Daniels this year are staggering:

• He's the first player since Rajon Rondo (2010-11) to have a steal/foul ratio of 1.2-or-higher (min. 150 steals).

• He led Atlanta to a 10-spot defensive rating improvement from 2023-24 to 2024-25 (118.4 drtg to 114.8 drtg).

• Owns the most 4+ steal games (27) in the NBA since 1993-94 (Nate McMillan) and the most 5+ steal games (14) since 2010-11 (Chris Paul).

• Tallied 443 total deflections, the most in a single season since the league began tracking the stat.

• Recovered 79 loose balls during the 2024-25 campaign, the second-most by any player in the NBA.

• Inaugural Eastern Conference Defensive Player of the Month and one of only two players to be named a two-time Defensive Player of the Month (October/November and March).

It is safe to say that this is a move that worked in the Hawks.

2) Drafting Zaccharie Risacher

While not a perfect rookie season, Zaccharie Risacher showed that he was worthy of being the No. 1 overall pick in the draft and is a finalist for Rookie of the Year.

Risacher shot 39.3% from deep in the month of January due to improved shot selection and becoming more comfortable in the offense. Furthermore, he created the highest percentage of his shots for himself during that month. After taking only 28 three-pointers in January, he upped his volume during February (50 attempts) and March (84 attempts), improving his percentage to 44% in February before falling back down to 39.3% from deep in March. That's a three month sample size of him being a respectable shooter even without the 15 threes he's made in April, good for a percentage of 39.5% on the month thus far. Making a 10% jump in three-point percentages and essentially maintaining that level isn't just improvement - it's a leap. Now, he shot under 30% on above-the-break threes. Those are among the toughest three-pointers and it's indicative that he isn't quite an elite shooter. However, he did finish with a combined 44% shooting percentage on the 146 corner threes he attempted. It isn't the largest sample size, but those are valuable shots for him to be taking and making at such a young age.

That's all before mentioning how good Risacher is as an off-ball player. He has a great sense of space and cuts at the right time to capitalize on the gravity of Trae Young. For all the hype about Castle's finishing at the rim, Risacher posted a shooting percentage of 65.1% at the rim compared to Castle's percentage of 65.5%. He did it in 100 less attempts, but Risacher also plays with Young, meaning his opportunities to initiate offense and create his own shot are more limited. He doesn't have the ball in his hands as much as Castle, which bears out in Castle having a usage percentage of 26% while Risacher is only at 20.9%. It's fair to say Castle is a better finisher right now, but Risacher also had less opportunities to get downhill and played a very different role. In the limited chances he got to make plays for others, he's a smart player who sees passing lines and identifies rollers heading to the rim. He also has a solid handle for such a young wing as he can put the ball on the floor and do something with it.

3) Trading for Vit Krejci/Signing Onyeka Okongwu to and extension

Krejci is a legitimate contributor that the Hawks sent nothing for while Okonguw is a starting center on a cost-cotnroleld contract. Those are two hidden moves that have played out well for Atlanta.

Okongwu in particular turned in a huge season for the Hawks after finally being given the starting job. Getting Okongwu on a 4-year, $68 million dollar extension was a great deal for the Hawks and if he can keep improving next season, it might be considered one of the best deals in the entire NBA.

Krejci is not a perfect player, but has shown significant improvement during his time in Atlanta, from playing in the G-League to being a real rotation player for the Hawks.

Worst Moves

1) Trading Bogdan Bogdanovic For Terance Mann

Bogdanovic was not playing well this season and it seemed like the Hawks were determined to move off of his deal, but the Terance Mann experience was not quite what they had hoped for when they made the move. Mann was not able to provide the level of defense they were hoping and was not a consistent enough offensive player either. The bad thing is that Mann's contract still has three seasons left and he did not play well enough after the trade where it is a guarantee he remains in the rotation next season.

2) Drafting Kobe Bufkin

The jury may still be out on Bufkin, but he has not been healthy enough to be a contributor for the Hawks yet.

3) Signing DeAndre Hunter

Hunter was given a four-year, $90 Million extension a couple of years ago and it was known quickly that it was not a great deal for the Hawks. Yes, Hunter was having a career year this season when the Hawks decided to trade him, but he has been often injured and inconsistent. He did not deserve that level of extension at the time and the Hawks were lucky to be able to move off of it.

Overall Grade: C+

Fields really excelled in terms of adding players to the roster on reasonable contracts. Landing Johnson for the deal that he got him at seems like a steal if Johnson is able to stay healthy and he also got Okongwu on a dirt-cheap deal for a starting center. Those are legitimately great moves that have paid off nicely in 2024-25. Unearthing a wing with hidden potential in Krejci was also a savvy move that has worked well for Atlanta's rotation. However, his drafting record has been so-so and moving on from Bogdanovic does not appear to have worked out well for the Hawks thus far. Fields helped set the Hawks up nicely for the future with the acquisitions of Daniels and Risacher, as well as getting Okongwu on that extension, but he had plenty of missteps as well. It was a short tenure that had some ups and downs.

Additional Links

Trae Young Rumors: Analyst Says Don't Buy Young Staying In Atlanta

2025 NBA Mock Draft: Newest Mock Sees Atlanta Take Two Familiar Names To Address Wing Depth

2025 NBA Offseason: Who Are The Atlanta Hawks Free Agents This Summer and What Is The Likelihood They Return?