The Atlanta Hawks need a new General Manager/head of basketball operations, and they are not afraid to think big — they asked Portland if they could speak to GM Neil Olshey about a new job, but were shot down.
Besides the big name targets, they are looking at some of the more respected assistant GMs around the league as well, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.
The Atlanta Hawks have secured permission to interview Warriors executive Travis Schlenk for their front office search, league sources say
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) May 20, 2017
The Warriors' Travis Schlenk and the Wizards' Tommy Sheppard, as we reported yesterday, are the new candidates of note in Atlanta's search.
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) May 20, 2017
The Hawks likely have a fairly long list. On it is almost certainly David Griffin, the Cavaliers GM who is without a contract after this season (he is available July 1). Orlando also is waiting to see what is up with Griffin — will the Cavaliers pay him the going rate for a top GM? — before making their move.
Mike Budenholzer had been serving as head coach and GM, but he and assistant GM Wes Willcox both stepped away from their roles after a disagreement about the future direction of the franchise. Whoever gets the role next faces that same challenge. Paul Millsap is a free agent, should the Hawks max him out and re-sign him, likely making them a 4-6 seed, a good but not great team for the foreseeable future, or do they start the rebuild now. Budenholzer had wanted to rebuild, ownership may not want to go that direction, or maybe they wanted someone else to handle it.
