Hawks Could Hire Danny Fire As Senior Advisor To New Top Basketball Executive

Per Marc Stein of The Stein Line, the Hawks could potentially bring in Ferry to serve as a senior advisor to whoever lands the head of basketball operations vacancy.

Atlanta is looking to replace former top basketball executive Landry Fields, fired after the season. The Hawks recently elevated assistant GM Onsi Saleh to the role of full-time GM.

They reportedly already interviewed Ferry for the post, as well as former Denver Nuggets GM Calvin Booth and ex-Sacramento Kings GM Monte McNair.

Ferry previously ran Atlanta’s front office from 2012–15, stepping down after a racially insensitive comment about Luol Deng during a conference call drew widespread criticism. He later served as an advisor and interim GM with the Pelicans.

As an aside, Ferry is a former roommate of Hawks coach Quin Snyder, when the two were playing for Duke in the late 1980s.

Others linked to the position include Timberwolves president Tim Connelly, Magic senior advisor John Hammond, G League president Shareef Abdur-Rahim, and former Hawks wing Travis Hansen.

Per Stein, Hawks owner Tony Ressler has also considered the unconventional route of hiring a player agent to run the team. Among the names floated: Austin Brown of CAA, who represents star guard Trae Young, and Octagon’s Alex Saratsis, the agent for Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo.

“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 Antetokounmpo’s agent Alex Saratsis,” Stein noted.

Sources have told Hoops Wire that the Hawks are hoping to hire a new chief basketball executive before the NBA draft at the end of June.