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Hawks Rumors: Millsap, Wilcox, Front Office

May 8th, 2017 at 12:43pm CST by Luke Adams

It was a “poorly-kept secret” in NBA circles that Wes Wilcox and Mike Budenholzer haven’t seen eye-to-eye on the Hawks’ direction in recent years, according to TNT’s David Aldridge. In his latest Morning Tip column on NBA.com, Aldridge takes a deep dive on the Hawks and the “philosophical” differences between Wilcox and Budenholzer, citing one source who referred to the front office situation as “a Game of Thrones kind of thing.”

According to Aldridge’s sources, Wilcox was in favor of trading Paul Millsap earlier this year and going all-in on an Atlanta rebuild, but Budenholzer – who retained final say on the team’s personnel moves at the time – nixed that idea.

[RELATED: David Griffin, Joe Dumars, Troy Weaver on Hawks’ radar?]

Although Hawks owner Tony Ressler – in a conversation with Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution – dismissed the notion that Budenholzer and Wilcox couldn’t work together, both men were re-assigned last week to roles that reduce their influence within the basketball operations department. Budenholzer is no longer the president of basketball ops, while Wilcox is no longer the Hawks’ GM.

Here’s more out of Atlanta:

  • No matter who the Hawks hire as their next GM, Millsap is expected to negotiate directly with Ressler this offseason, per Aldridge. And Atlanta will do everything it can to re-sign the All-Star big man. “There’s no disagreement on whether we’re going to try and keep him, and whether he’s great for the Atlanta Hawks,” Ressler said of Millsap.
  • While Millsap has publicly expressed a desire to remain with the Hawks, there are “rumblings about what he really thought about this season,” according to Aldridge, who writes that “there was unhappiness among some with a lack of accountability for other players who consistently made mistakes on the floor.”
  • Said one Hawks source to Aldridge: “We had guys out there doing (stuff) they had no business doing.”
  • Some members of the Hawks were also confused about why Thabo Sefolosha fell out of the club’s rotation in the playoffs, says Aldridge.
  • Ressler is serious about continuing to listen to Wes Wilcox‘s input as the former GM moves to a new advisory role, per Aldridge. The Hawks owner will also listen to input from execs like assistant GM Jeff Peterson and director of player personnel John Treloar, who were hired by Wilcox.
  • Wilcox is negotiating a new contract with the Hawks as he transitions to his new role, according to Aldridge, who notes that the deal will have offset protection for the franchise in case Wilcox finds a job with another team.
  • With free agency looming, Millsap still feels like he can improve as a player, as KL Chouinard of Hawks.com details.
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Hawks Eyeing Troy Weaver For Front Office Job?

May 8th, 2017 at 10:10am CST by Luke Adams

With top decision-makers Mike Budenholzer and Wes Wilcox transitioning to new roles this offseason, the Hawks are searching for a new basketball executive to head their front office, and may be eyeing a Thunder executive. League sources tell Marc Stein (Twitter link) that OKC vice president and assistant GM Troy Weaver is “poised to emerge” as a top candidate for Atlanta.

Weaver, who is a key voice in the Thunder’s front office under Sam Presti, has been viewed for some time as a future general manager candidate. Earlier this year, ESPN’s Kevin Pelton identified Weaver as one of seven front-office “prospects” to watch.

As Pelton detailed at the time, Weaver isn’t necessarily a salary cap expert, but he’s an “obsessive student” of the NBA’s history and has a “discerning eye for raw basketball talent.” According to Pelton, people who have worked with Weaver view him as a collaborative co-worker who could be trusted to hire an outstanding and balanced staff.

Of course, it’s not clear yet how much latitude the Hawks’ new basketball operations head will be given to restructure the front office and bring in new people. While Budenholzer and Wilcox have been re-assigned, Budenholzer is still expected to have a voice in personnel decisions, and Atlanta hasn’t technically fired anyone at this point. It remains to be seen whether execs like senior advisor Rick Sund or assistant GMs Michael Blackstone and Jeff Peterson will remain with the Hawks under new leadership.

In addition to Weaver, candidates for the Hawks’ top front office job reportedly include David Griffin and Joe Dumars. More names could be added to that list in the coming days or weeks.

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Paul Millsap Staying In Atlanta Is Far From A Given

May 7th, 2017 at 3:24pm CST by marksuleymanov
  • A state of disarray surrounding the Hawks since 2013 has led to a flurry of roster-altering moves. Now, with Paul Millsap entering free agency, the team faces a major decision: dedicate significant dollars to re-sign a productive, but aging player or move on and construct a younger, more cost-effective team, Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer writes. If Millsap departs, O’Connor notes that a frustrated and declining Dwight Howard would become the team’s primary option and recent history suggests he’s not suited for that role.
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David Griffin, Joe Dumars On Hawks’ Radar?

May 5th, 2017 at 2:16pm CST by Luke Adams

Having restructured their front office, the Hawks are in the market for a new top basketball executive, and according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (via Twitter), league sources suggest that David Griffin and Joe Dumars are expected to emerge as candidates for that job.

Mike Budenholzer had previously served as the president of basketball operations in Atlanta, but relinquished that title and will simply be the club’s head coach going forward. Meanwhile, Wes Wilcox was the Hawks’ general manager, but will now serve as a special advisor to team ownership. Both Budenholzer and Wilcox are expected to have a say in personnel decisions, but the Hawks are on the lookout for someone who will have the final say.

Griffin has emerged as the most popular front office target around the league early in the 2017 offseason. Despite playing a significant role in building the Cavaliers’ roster, the GM is on an expiring deal with the defending champs, and contract talks between the two sides have reportedly stalled. That has opened the door for rival suitors to prepare pitches for Griffin. In addition to the Hawks, the Magic are believed to have the Cavs GM high on their wish list, though those teams won’t be able to talk to him until Cleveland’s season ends.

As for Dumars, the Pistons’ former president of basketball operations stepped down from that role in 2014. During his time in Detroit, he helped lead the club to a 595–536 (.527) regular-season record, 73 postseason wins, and an NBA championship in 2004, and was named Executive of the Year in 2003. In recent years, he has been linked most frequently to the Pelicans’ front office, should New Orleans decide to shake things up.

As Stein observes (via Twitter), Hawks minority owner Grant Hill, who was expected to have a hand in the team’s search for a new executive, has ties to both Griffin and Dumars. Griffin worked in the Suns’ basketball operations department when Hill was in Phoenix as a player, and Dumars played with Hill in Detroit.

Earlier today, Hawks principal owner Tony Ressler said that he hopes to have a GM in place before June’s draft, though he has confidence in the current basketball operations department to handle things in the coming weeks. Ressler added that he hopes Wilcox remains with the Hawks in his new role, admitting that the former GM will have many other options around the NBA (all Twitter links via David Aldridge of NBA.com).

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Hawks To Retain Wilcox; Budenholzer To Relinquish President Title

May 5th, 2017 at 8:32am CST by Luke Adams

MAY 5, 8:32am: Speaking to Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Hawks owner Tony Ressler has confirmed the changes reported below. According to Ressler, Wilcox will serve as a special advisor to team ownership going forward, and the search has begun for a new general manager to head the basketball operations department.

MAY 4, 4:21pm: Although a report on Wednesday indicated that the Hawks were set to part ways with Wes Wilcox, the general manager will remain with the franchise in a high-ranking front office role after all, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. However, Atlanta’s front office will still be undergoing some changes.Mike Budenholzer vertical

According to Wojnarowski, Mike Budenholzer will relinquish his title as the Hawks’ president of basketball operations. Budenholzer will remain the club’s head coach, and will still have a say in personnel decisions, but he will no longer oversee the basketball operations department. Instead, Atlanta will seek out a new president of basketball operations, per Wojnarowski.

Since June 30, 2015, Budenholzer had been the team’s president of basketball operations, in addition to the head coach. In that faculty, Budenholzer had the final say in all basketball matters. Budenholzer has been the Hawks’ head coach since the end of 2013 playoffs. Prior to taking the head coaching job in Atlanta, Coach Bud was an assistant coach under Gregg Popovich with the Spurs.

As we discussed on Wednesday, there are now only four men in the NBA who possess both head coach and president of basketball operations titles: Doc Rivers with the Clippers, Stan Van Gundy in Detroit, Tom Thibodeau with the Timberwolves, and Popovich in San Antonio.

The Hawks just completed a 43-39 season, in which they finished as the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference and were eliminated in the first round by the Wizards. Atlanta has made the playoffs in ten consecutive seasons.

On Tuesday, the Magic began their interview process for president of basketball operations, with names such as Kevin McHale and Cavaliers GM David Griffin topping their wish list. Orlando is the only team besides Atlanta currently seeking a president of basketball operations. In the coming days, it will likely become apparent whether the Hawks will pursue the Magic’s candidates for their own vacant post.

Minority owner Grant Hill will play a key role in the search process, but has currently shown no interest in moving to operations full-time, Woj reports.

Joshua Fischman contributed to this story. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Hawks Executive Wes Wilcox Exploring Other Opportunities?

May 4th, 2017 at 10:50pm CST by marksuleymanov
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2017 Offseason Salary Cap Digest: Atlanta Hawks

May 4th, 2017 at 6:02pm CST by Luke Adams

A year after losing Al Horford in free agency, the Hawks risk Paul Millsap declining his player option and following the same path. When Horford left last summer, Atlanta went on a bit of a spending spree, signing Dwight Howard, Kent Bazemore, and Dennis Schroder to lucrative long-term deals. Those three veterans are now the highest-paid players on the Hawks’ books, and it will be interesting to see if the club adds another player or two to that group if Millsap departs.

Here’s where things currently stand for the Hawks financially, as we continue our Offseason Salary Cap Digest series for 2017:

Guaranteed Salary

Player Options

Team Options

  • None

Non-Guaranteed Salary

  • Mike Dunleavy Jr. ($3,512,500) — Partial guarantee. Guaranteed portion noted above.1
  • Ryan Kelly ($1,577,230)2
  • Total: $5,089,730

Restricted Free Agents

  • Tim Hardaway Jr. ($4,588,840 qualifying offer / $5,704,013 cap hold)
  • Total: $5,704,013

Cap Holds

Trade Exceptions

Projected Salary Cap: $101,000,000

Maximum Cap Room: $30,922,632

  • By waiving their players without fully guaranteed contracts and renouncing all their exceptions and free agents (including Millsap), the Hawks would be left with six players on guaranteed deals, a cap hold for their first-round pick, and cap charges for empty roster spots totaling $70,077,368. That would give the club nearly $31MM in cap room, but if Atlanta wants to make an effort to re-sign Millsap, that space would go away — Millsap’s cap hold exceeds $30MM on its own.

Footnotes:

  1. Dunleavy’s salary becomes fully guaranteed after July 1.
  2. Kelly’s salary becomes fully guaranteed after July 7.

Salary information from Basketball Insiders and The Vertical was used in the creation of this post.

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Latest On Potential Hawks’ Front Office Shakeup

May 3rd, 2017 at 3:44pm CST by Luke Adams

3:44pm: Mike Budenholzer has been discussing with Hawks ownership the possibility of eliminating his duties as president of basketball operations and focusing on coaching the team, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Twitter link). Wojnarowski adds (via Twitter) that the Hawks continue to discuss Wilcox’s role, and resolution could come later today.

With Wilcox apparently on the outs and Budenholzer potentially taking on a reduced role, there would be at least one major opening in Atlanta’s front office. However, as the team’s statement below notes, nothing is official yet.

3:31pm: “There are no changes to report at this time,” the Hawks said in a statement issued to Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link). “Any reports indicating otherwise are inaccurate.”

The Hawks’ statement stops short of declaring that Wilcox isn’t going anywhere, simply suggesting there are no changes to announce “at this time.” That likely means that the move just hasn’t yet been made official, but we’ll continue to follow the story to see if anything changes.

2:59pm: With their season over, the Hawks are parting ways with general manager Wes Wilcox, according to ESPN’s Jeff Goodman and Marc Spears. While head coach Mike Budenholzer is also the president of basketball operations in Atlanta, Wilcox had played a key role in the department and in making personnel decisions.

Wilcox, who was originally hired by the Hawks as an assistant general manager back in 2012, took over as the team’s GM in 2015. The club was coming off a 60-win season at that time, but has since seen its win total slip to 48 in 2015/16 and then to 43 in 2016/17. The Hawks were eliminated from the postseason in the first round this season, a year after losing Al Horford in free agency, and Atlanta will now face the possibility of watching Paul Millsap walk as well, though owner Tony Ressler has said the organization will do all it can to retain the veteran big man.

[RELATED: Paul Millsap says he’ll likely opt out of contract]

Although the team lost Horford last summer, it was still an active offseason for the Hawks, who traded Jeff Teague and then signed Kent Bazemore and Dwight Howard to pricey long-term deals. Bazemore saw his numbers slip in the first year of his new contract, while Taurean Prince – who was drafted with the pick acquired in the Teague trade – didn’t make much of an impact in his rookie season. As for Howard, he reportedly expressed some displeasure during his exit interview about his role in Atlanta.

Wilcox originally received his promotion when racially-charged remarks made by Danny Ferry about Luol Deng led to Ferry’s resignation. Wilcox found himself in a similar – albeit less publicized – situation earlier this year, when a Deadspin report indicated that the Hawks GM had made a joke in poor taste at a season-ticket holder event. Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated reported at the time that Wilcox received discipline from the organization following that incident, though there’s no indication it played a major part – or any part – in his dismissal.

While Wilcox’s ouster wasn’t necessarily expected, a recent report did suggests that the Hawks may make front office changes to get new voices involved in basketball decisions.

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Timberwolves Finalize Purchase Of Iowa Energy

May 3rd, 2017 at 11:28am CST by Luke Adams

The Timberwolves have finalized the purchase of the Iowa Energy, a D-League franchise, the team announced today (Twitter link). The Energy previously had a partnership with the Grizzlies, but we learned back in January that the Wolves would be taking over control of the Des Moines-based club going forward.

In the wake of today’s announcement, it makes sense to take stock of where things stand in regard to NBA teams and their D-League affiliates. In 2016/17, 22 NBA clubs had one-on-one relationships with D-League teams, leaving eight NBA franchises without their own affiliates. However, changes are in store for the 2017/18 season, as the Development League becomes known as the Gatorade League.

Here are the changes expected for the 2017/18 G-League season, including updates on all the teams without affiliates:

  • Atlanta Hawks: Will take over the Erie BayHawks, with an affiliate of their own in College Park, Georgia lined up for the 2019/20 season. Previously unaffiliated.
  • Denver Nuggets: No concrete plans reported.
  • Los Angeles Clippers: Hoping to operate new affiliate in 2017/18.
  • Memphis Grizzlies: Will own and operate a new affiliate in Southaven, Mississippi. Previously affiliated with the Iowa Energy.
  • Milwaukee Bucks: Will own and operate a new affiliate in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Previously unaffiliated.
  • Minnesota Timberwolves: Will take over the Iowa Energy. Previously unaffiliated.
  • New Orleans Pelicans: No affiliation for 2017/18. Intend to own and operate a new affiliate for the 2018/19 season. Search reportedly narrowed to six cities.
  • Orlando Magic: Will own and operate a new affiliate in Lakeland, Florida. Previously affiliated with the Erie BayHawks.
  • Portland Trail Blazers: No concrete plans reported.
  • Washington Wizards: No concrete plans reported.
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Mike Scott Cleared Of Drug Charges

May 2nd, 2017 at 5:47pm CST by Joshua Fischman

Former Atlanta Hawks power forward Mike Scott was cleared Tuesday by a Georgia court of charges in a felony drug case, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical.

Scott and his brother Antonn were arrested at a routine traffic stop in July 2015 after police said they found marijuana and MDMA in the Scotts’ car. Ultimately, the judge ruled that there was insufficient reason for the Scotts’ vehicle to be stopped, the search was conducted improperly, and there was no probable cause for the brothers to be arrested. Mike Scott’s counsel told Wojnarowski that the ordeal  “could be the worst case of racial profiling [he] has ever seen” in his 35 years as an attorney.

Scott played five seasons with the Hawks, averaging 7.1 points, 3.0 rebounds, and shooting 46.0 percent from the field. He last suited up for Atlanta on February 15, eight days before the Hawks traded him to the Phoenix Suns, who then waived him the following day. Scott’s best NBA season came in 2013/2014, when he averaged 9.6 PPG and 3.6 RPG on 47.9% shooting in 80 games (18.5 MPG).

The dismissal of charges in Scott’s case will presumably speed up his return to the NBA, as teams reportedly have been awaiting a conclusion to the case.

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