The Hawks have begun the interviewing process for their next president of basketball operations, Marc Stein and Jake Fischer report in their latest rumor round-up at Substack.
The Hawks fired general manager Landry Fields last month and promoted Onsi Saleh to that role, but Atlanta wants to pair him with another top executive.
Sixers GM Elton Brand, former Nuggets GM Calvin Booth and former Kings GM Monte McNair have already undergone initial interviews for the position, apparently via Zoom, per Stein and Fischer.
Former BYU and EuroLeague swingman Travis Hansen and G League president Shareef Abdur-Rahim are also on the Hawks’ radar.
Here’s more from Stein and Fischer:
- Grizzlies management was so interested in adding Tuomas Iisalo to their coaching staff that they sent multiple executives to France last season to evaluate and ultimately recruit him to Memphis. The Grizzlies gave him a seven-figure salary and also paid a seven-figure buyout last summer to hire him away from Paris Basketball. Iisalo replaced Taylor Jenkins late in the regular season and had the interim tag removed this past week.
- Newly hired Suns GM Brian Gregory is expected to conduct the team’s head coaching search, with more than a dozen candidates under consideration. Though Phoenix has strong interest in hiring a coach without previous NBA head coaching experience, there are two candidates who don’t fit that description — Pelicans associate head coach James Borrego and Bucks assistant Dave Joerger. Borrego had a stint as Charlotte’s head coach, while Joerger has been a head coach with Memphis and Sacramento.
- Luka Doncic isn’t eligible for an extension until early August but the process has already begun. Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka and coach JJ Redick had dinner with Doncic and Doncic’s business manager, Lara Beth Seager, two nights after the Lakers were eliminated. The star guard has one year left on his current deal.