AJC Columnist Mark Bradley pens a new article indicating his belief that ATL will indeed be looking for a new GM sooner than later. Complimentary
link to the MyAJC article:
The Hawks will soon be seeking a new GM
It usually works this way: Owner hires general manager; GM hires coach. These being the Hawks, they have it backward. They have a coach but not yet a new owner and a GM who hasn’t been GM since Sept. 12 and probably won’t be again. (At least not here.)
...These being the Hawks, the organization has turned back-flips in the effort to distance itself from Ferry, even to the laughable extent of nominating Budenholzer for NBA executive of the year.
Roster-wise, Budenholzer hasn’t had much to do. That’s about to change. The draft is June 25 and the Hawks are again picking 15th. Free agency arrives in July. There’s a chance new ownership — the Hawks are being bought by a group headed by Antony Ressler — could say, “Hey, Budenholzer finished third in the exec-of-the-year voting; let’s make him permanent GM.” Such an urge should be resisted.
Ferry built the best team in franchise history, although “builder” isn’t the B-word anyone uses to describe his situation. The word invariably used is “baggage.” It’s hard to imagine new owners choosing to keep someone whose image, if not his basketball acumen, has been besmirched. These being the Hawks, they might never find a GM better than the one they’re about to dump.
A good read. Not much concrete evidence or info to support the inference. But clearly the speculation has been consistent for months. The belief my many in the know that DF is indeed gone.
I heard on an ESPN Podcast months ago that the reason Ferry hasn't been outright let go is that he has a clause in his contract that does not allow him to be fired. This at least makes sense from the actions that the organization has taken and a statement Koonin made to the AJC last year. (3 posts above)
