Report: Hawks wanted to re-sign pair of veteran free agents before firing Landry Fields

The Hawks surprised a lot of people when they fired general manager Landry Fields following an exit from the play-in tournament.

Fields took over for Travis Schlenk, and nobody could argue the club was in a better place when he took over compared to when he left. Schlenk was forced to trade for Dejounte Murray. Atlanta’s former GM thought the price of three first-round picks and more was too much, but ownership forced his hand.

The gamble didn’t workout, and it would’ve sunk the organization into a complete rebuild, but Fields swung a trade in which Dejounte Murrray netted two first-round picks and, more importantly, Dyson Daniels. The deal singlehandidly saved the Hawks from maybe having to trade Trae Young.

Nevertheless, Fields was fired, and the Hawks are looking for a President of Basketball Operations to pair with current GM Onsi Salah. Whoever joins Saleh will have a lot of significant decisions to make immediately.

Extension talks with Trae Young loom. The Hawks own two first-round picks — No. 13 and 22 — and have several decisions to make on their own free agents. According to Michael Scotto,  the club wanted to re-sign Caris LeVert and Larry Nance Jr. but wanted to let Clint Capela walk.

“Before the departure of Landry Fields, the expectation was Clint Capela would likely move on this summer in free agency, and the organization wanted to re-sign Caris LeVert and Larry Nance Jr.,” Scotto wrote.

Nance came over from New Orleans in the Murray trade, and LeVert was sent from Cleveland in the De’Andre Hunter trade. Nance only played in 24 games with the Hawks due to an injury, but the veteran was productive, averaging 8.5 points on 62.6% effective shooting to go along with 4.3 rebounds per game. LeVert averaged nearly 15 points per game on 48.2% shooting from the field and 33.8% from beyond the arc.

The Hawks struggled with depth down the stretch, and injuries certainly played a role in that. Bringing back both of these guys could still be in the cards.