The Hawks have fired general manager Landry Fields and will begin a search for a new president of basketball operations, the team announced today in a press release.
While Atlanta seeks a new top front office executive, assistant general manager Onsi Saleh will replace Fields as GM on an interim basis, overseeing day-to-day basketball operations for the organization.
“Every offseason we evaluate how we operate and ways we can improve our organization,” team owner Tony Ressler said in a statement. “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.
“I would genuinely like to thank Landry for his leadership during his time with us. Landry made our franchise better and left contributions that have positioned us for growth. I am grateful for his dedication and wish him success in his next endeavor.”
Fields replaced former president of basketball operations Travis Schlenk during the 2022/23 season and has been running the Hawks’ front office since then. The team has won 41, 36, and 40 games in his three seasons at the helm, making a single playoff appearance during that time and not advancing past the first round.
Atlanta was eliminated in the play-in tournament this year, doesn’t control any of its own first-round picks through 2027, and faces an uncertain future with star guard Trae Young, who will be extension-eligible this offseason.
However, the Hawks’ roster features a promising core of young talent, including forward Jalen Johnson, Defensive Player of the Year and Most Improved Player finalist Dyson Daniels, and last year’s No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher. The club also controls a handful of draft picks from other teams, including the Kings’ (top-12 protected) and Lakers’ first-rounders in 2025.
According to today’s announcement, the Hawks have hired Sportsology Group, an advisory firm, to direct their search for a new head of basketball operations. That suggests the process likely won’t move as quickly in Atlanta as it did in New Orleans or Sacramento, where the Pelicans and Kings chose new top executives almost immediately after firing their former GMs.
Sixers general manager Elton Brand, who works under Daryl Morey in Philadelphia, is among the candidates expected to receive consideration from the Hawks, according to NBA insiders Marc Stein and Jake Fischer (Twitter link).
During his end-of-season media session, Fields shot down any speculation that Quin Snyder‘s job was in danger. While that may still be true, it’s worth keeping an eye on Snyder’s status with Fields out of the picture, since it’s not uncommon for new lead executives to want to make their own head coaching hires.
Honestly I didn’t see this coming. Can the new GM help Trae Young learn how to boxout, or put a hand on a guy who was torching the team in the 2nd half?
Agonizing that all these GMs getting canned are infinitely more competent than Karnisovas, and yet he remains secure somehow. Ridiculous
Ben, I voiced my issues with AK on the Bulls topic from a few days ago. I need to erase it from my mind so the summer can be carefree for my stress. Lol
Lol. Yea that analysis was on point. The Donovan loyalty is puzzling and his refusal to tank is full confirmation that this treadmill ride isn’t ending soon.
Good mental health strategy fr, im trying to do the same . The least that Jerry could do at this point is hire a PR therapist for the fans 😭
This is so true.
He gets the #1 pick in the draft and nailed his last 3 trades and picks in draft. Gets a first for Reddish and Heuter. Wow!
Main negative for Landry was the fact that he didn’t trade Trae last summer when he should have. Whoever we hire to run the front office next needs to be able to find the right value for Trae & pull the trigger on a deal asap.
You’re right tho. Landry made a lot of great moves. The Jalen Johnson draft pick was definitely the best.
Why don’t the elevate Larry Riley? He was great in his short stint with the Warriors. And that team was a complete mess.
Awful take. Trae is not going anywhere. You do not know ball
Trae has neutral if not negative trade value, I was under the impression that they shopped him at the 24 trade deadline and last offseason and could not find a taker. Can’t really fault Landry for that.
I’m a bit surprised, I thought Landry had a decent track record. The Pels deal to get rid of Dejonte was pretty good, and not his only solid roster move.
True. The Mavericks should put him on line 1 pronto.
He shouldn’t have traded for him in the first place. No one in their right mind would ever think that Young and Murray would be a good combo.
Landry Fields Forever…ironic him and Lennon shared a similar fate (figuratively…). Rip jon Lennon and George too
The Hawks could right a wrong. Last I checked, Larry Riley was in their FO. As a GM, he drafted Steph Curry and Klay Thompson. He also traded for Andrew Bogut. For some reason, he got demoted. In those days, they had a screwy FO that was left over from the Cohan/Rowell days. He became director of scouting. They then drafted Harrison Barnes, Draymond Green and Festus Ezeli. Ezeli’s career was derailed by a serious knee injury. He was definitely instrumental pulling the Dubs out of the wannabes realm in the NBA. He deserves another shot.
Larry Riley deserves very little credit. He was the extension of Don Nelson‘s wishes and then later Jerry West’s directions.
Are you sure about that? The Warriors salary cap and FO were pretty screwed up at the time. I doubt Nelson or West were cap wizards.
It’s what I understand about how things went down then.
Nelson had to come in and fix GM Chris Mullin’s big mess. Gave Dunlavy too much money and also Troy Murphy. Midling players making major dollars.
Things turned around when Indiana swapped Stephen Jackson and Al Harrington for our two big money contracts.
He shouldn’t hold his breath. He’s widely viewed as first being Nelson’s stand-in, and then West’s front man. Good soldier, but never a real decision maker.
Yes, exactly. Don Nelson wore both GM and head coach hats as he was accustomed to and Riley was one of his assistant coaches on the bench.
Ownership wanted Nelly to give up the GM hat so he suggested Larry Riley for the position.
Nothing changed. Nelly just told Riley what to do.
Um…I’m sure he had input into Riley’s moves. But, Nelson wasn’t the GM; Mullins was. Riley later became the Asst GM under Mullins. He became GM when Lacob decided to not renew Mullins contract. Myers was hired because was an Agent and knew the Salary Cap issues.
This is how I recall the whole thing but if I’m fuzzy in a couple areas, I apologize.
It was a phone call from Mullin to come back and save him the second time.
Remember, it was Nelly 20 years earlier who suggested to Chris that he give up drinking six months to show himself He wasn’t an alcoholic. Chris couldn’t do it and the rest is history.
Mullin credits Nelly with saving his life. The redo was when the new GM got in way too deep and called on his buddy again to save him.
The previous Three or four coaches in a row couldn’t get more than 20 wins out of the team, except for Eric Musselman, who worked his magic and achieved 35 and 37 wins.
St Jean was fired and Chris wanted his own guy on the bench and brought in Montgomery from Stanford, which was a flop…, as were Chris Mullins roster moves.
The Atlanta Warriors thread now, lol.
OK Sparky. I know you are a noob here. But, let me explain this to you. Executives, coaches, and players move around frequently. Riley was once the Warriors GM and Director of Scouting. He is currently the Hawks Director of Scouting. The Hawks are looking for a new GM. Kind of a fit. Does that hurt your head.
Mullins hired Nelson. Mullins was GM from 04-09. Nelson was HC from 06-10. Cohen and Rowell were the problem childs.
Oh yes, exactly. Those owners were the worst of the worst. I remember like it was yesterday. Everyone was calling for them to sell the team.
(I remember Cohen was an owner, but Robert Rowell, was he also an owner or an executive?)
OK, just looked it up. Robert Rowell was team president hired by Cohen.
His Wikipedia page tells us a lot, but it’s not 100% accurate, beginning with a photo of Larry Riley supposedly being Rowell !!
I had to look up the details also. I just remember that the Warriors were horrible before Riley. Wasn’t there a trade with Utah where they got nothing but had to do get their salary cap in order.
“Widely viewed” by who? We all know that people on the outside know little of what is going on inside. For example, people have the moronic view Steve Kerr is obsessed with “Small Ball” and wouldn’t play a 7-footer. That is obviously stupid.
74 – Well, you certainly know little of what is or was going on with Nelson/Mullin/Riley in that period. Amazingly, that’s stayed true even after you looked up the details.
For your information — GM annual salary
Rank Name Team Compensation
T-1 Nico Harrison Dallas Mavericks $5 million
T-1 Rob Pelinka Los Angeles Lakers $5 million
3 Sam Presti Oklahoma City Thunder $4.5 million
4 Elton Brand Philadelphia 76ers $4 million
5 Masai Ujiri Toronto Raptors $3.5 million
T-6 Danny Ainge Utah Jazz $3 million
T-6 Mike Dunleavy Jr. Golden State Warriors $3 million
T-8 Arturas Karnisovas Chicago Bulls $2.5 million
T-8 Trent Redden Los Angeles Clippers $2.5 million
T-10 Matt Lloyd Minnesota Timberwolves $2 million
T-10 Mike Gansey Cleveland Cavaliers $2 million
12 Zach Kleiman Memphis Grizzlies $1.8 million
13 James Jones Phoenix Suns $1.7 million
14 Anthony Parker Orlando Magic $1.5 million
15 Jeff Peterson Charlotte Hornets $1.4 million
16 Will Dawkins Washington Wizards $1.3 million
So Brad Stevens $3 million is not up here bc he is President?
Yes, president and VP are not here.
Data prob not 100% accurate (these things are usually difficult to source).
Stevens should be listed since he’s President and GM, just like Masai Ujiri who is listed.
Elton Brand is listed as PHI’s GM, but Daryl Morey is President.
Pat Riley probably makes more $ than everyone here.
Andy Elisburg is the technical Heat GM and has been with the organization for 35 years, probably has a high salary too that wouldn’t be public.
They should call the WartHog to cut the ends off this sh*t sandwich (Trae)
Landry Fields as GM (took over for Travis Schlenk on Dec 21, 2022)
2023 SEASON (Fields Assistant GM)
DRAFT: AJ Griffin (16th)
TRADE: Salary dump of Kevin Huerter for 2024 FRP (didn’t convey), Mo Harkless, Justin Holiday
2023 SEASON (Fields as GM)
TRADE: 5x SRPs for Saddiq Bey
TRADE: 2x SRPs, Justin Holiday, Frank Kaminsky for Garrison Mathews, Bruno Fernando
COACHING CHANGE: Fire Nate McMillain, Hire Quin Snyder
SEASON RESULT: 41-41 (7th seed / Lose in 1st round)
The Hawks fired a lot of second rounders into the sun and have little to show for it. Mathews is the only player remaining in the organization.
2024 SEASON
DRAFT: Kobe Bufkin (15th), Mouhamed Gueye (39th), Seth Lundy (45th)
TRADE: Salary dump John Collins for Rudy Gay and SRP
TRADE: Acquire 2x SRPs, acquire salary of Usman Garuba, TyTy Washington
TRADE: Salary dump 1x SRP, Gay, Garuba, Washington for Patty Mills
NET: John Collins for 2x SRPs, Patty Mills (Waived at buyout deadline)
SEASON RESULT: 36-46 (10th)
2025 SEASON
DRAFT: Zaccharie Risacher (1st), Nikola Djursic (43rd)
TRADE: Salary dump A.J. Griffin for Djursic
TRADE: Salary dump DeJounte Murray for 2x FRPs, Dyson Daniels, Larry Nance, Cody Zeller, E.J. Liddell
FA: Sign Vit Krejci (multi-year from 2W)
TRADE: Salary dump DeAndre Hunter for Caris LeVert, Georges Niang
TRADE: Bogdan Bogdanovic for Terance Mann, Bones Hyland (Waive Hyland)
SEASON RESULT: 40-42 (8th / Lost both Play-In games)
There’s nothing to really suggest Fields was the right man to rebuild the team moving forward. Most of ATL’s moves the last three years were all about cutting costs. They didn’t hit on any of their draft picks, and they didn’t do anything to really move the team in one direction or another.
I am lower on the Dyson Daniels part of the Murray trade than most, he didn’t improve in Atlanta so much as he fit next to Trae and was just blocked for PT in New Orleans (can’t play him together with Zion & Herb Jones). The original sin was acquiring Murray in the first place but that’s not on Fields. Fields at least was able to sign Murray to a tradeable extension, which is more than can be said of Trae Young who they are stuck with.
Good breakdown. Definitely a very mixed bag for Fields. I don’t have a problem with his firing so much as I simply wouldn’t trust this nepotistic ownership to make a superior hire. But I suppose there’s always a chance they will.
Daniels really has to improve his shooting. Obviously he’s still valuable even as a subpar shooter, but needless to say it would make a huge difference. He made a bit of progress there this season, but his embarrassingly bad FT% doesn’t inspire a ton of confidence on that front.
Thank you for the breakdown. Couple of points I would disagree on though your take as a whole is solid.
– I don’t count the Asst. GM stuff, as that was still Schlenk’s mess.
– I would also state they did not ‘miss’ on Risarcher. Granted, they eally had almost no choice but to draft him, but I think he is doing well, especially for his age. Still up in the air, but not a miss.
– I also think his salary cutting moves worked out well. The guys he moved were not going to move the needle for anyone and the rest of the league knew it. SRP’s aren’t worth much, but just dumping those guys was a plus, especially Collins and Griffin. Huerter and Hunter were easier to move, but his decisions to move on from them were solid. They both filled a role that many teams wanted, but the Hawks had to decide if either would improve (and he went the correct direction to move on). They would have blocked JJ, ZR, and probably Dyson if they were still here taking up minutes.
My big problem with this move is that the whole league seems to think GSW front office folks are so much better than they really are. In perspective, Curry ‘fell’ to them in the draft and should have gone higher, and he was 100% the driving force there and the rest of that team got too much credit. They did find pieces, but I mean, who couldn’t play with Curry in his prime and do well?
I would say Risacher they did not “miss”. They had the #1 pick and took the best available player. I don’t really assign credit to GMs for the #1 pick (unless they clearly botch the selection).
To elaborate on what I meant by cost-cutting, Fields was pretty much an interim GM the last few years.
The Hawks have been tearing down while trying to stay “competitive”. They brought in a younger/inexperienced executive to do the work that a higher-level executive/visionary wouldn’t have signed up for. The dirty work is mostly done at this point.
Might be a decision based on team performance, but this wouldn’t appear to be the year to be too strict there, with injuries and youth.
Or it could be all about team building direction. Landry didn’t draft Young, but (at least publicly) seemed to be a big supporter of treating him as a foundation piece and building around him. I doubt Snyder feels the same way (if only because he’s a coach). This season was another one where Young demonstrated he’s not that kind of player.
BS. 22 YO avg. starting lineup, no bigs on roster, JJ’s injury, no backup PG it’s a miracle he survived the year. went into the play-in with only Okongwu and Mo Gueye able to play in the frontcourt, both 6-10. all opponents have to do is swarm trae and go big
Traes been in the league for 7 years and is 50 games under .500
He has had plenty of talent around him and a front office that has reconfigured solely around him 3 times already axing anyone who stood in the way.
He has also been in a conference where 1/3 of the teams have been tanking his whole tenure
What screams get a 3rd date about that?
Exactly. This season might not have been the best to evaluate the entire roster, but the play-in games were a chance for TY to show some leadership for a young group. He did the opposite.
why Brand? don’t get that at all
Brand will stay in philly and do absolutely nothing more than he has been (be a spectator at games) until he can’t anymore.
You don’t want to hire him to be your gm.
Really, you don’t.
Hawks went to East Finals with a young upcoming team. 2020-21 Since then have had the #1pick in draft. And some nice picks in draft. Yet all they do is look for trades to retool. And just go the opposite way as a team. This year their pick is traded away. They do have Lakers pick. And Kings pick. Two first rd picks in a deep draft.
Since the East Finals in 2020-21. Hawks have picked in the draft —
2021 — #20 pick first rd
2022 — #16 pick first rd
2033 — #15 pick first rd
2024 — #1 pick first rd
After 4 top 10 picks and 6 1st rd picks
in 2020, 2019, 2018.
This is not a well run Franchise. Team building is about winning. Hawks go the opposite way. As a Knick fan. I know all too well what this is. You have to find basketball people you trust. And let them see it thru. Minimum 5 yrs.
I’m shocked
Elton Brand? LMAO!
Another GM afraid to improve the team…