The Atlanta Hawks are leaving no stone untouched in their pursuit of new President of Basketball Operations. So much so that the latest candidate to surface as a possibility might not even be attainable. To that point, the Hawks have now placed Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri on their wishlist, according to The Stein Line’s Mark Stein.
Hawks Name Masai Ujiri As President Of Basketball Ops Candidate
Ujiri and the Raptors are now six years removed from the franchise’s first and only championship season. Nevertheless, his roster-building skills are still applauded by many. Indeed, Toronto’s in prime position to take a major step forward thanks to the moves he’s made since December 2023 alone.
The Hawks have expressed interest in trying to hire Masai Ujiri away from Toronto, league sources tell @thesteinline.bsky.social.Full story: tinyurl.com/4das7v3e
— Marc Stein (@thesteinline.bsky.social) 2025-05-15T01:07:34.515Z
In that time, they’ve traded for RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickey, Brandon Ingram and Ochai Agbaji. They’ve drafted Ja’Kobe Walter, Jonathan Mogbo, Jamal Shead and Ulrich Chomche. They’ve also signed Jamison Battle and AJ Lawson.
With those pieces (and others) placed around Scottie Barnes, 2025-26 looks pretty promising. If the Hawks had him as a talent evaluator, there’s little to no doubt they could do more with less. That’s important for a team that’s had a hard time putting their own puzzle together.
It doesn’t hurt that he’s more likely to amass draft capital than to waste it.
The Other Candidates
Thus far, the franchise that was originally known as the Tri-Cities Blackhawks has been linked to myriad candidates with prior experience as a leading front office member. That list includes: current Philadelphia 76ers general manager Elton Brand; former Sacramento Kings general manager Monte McNair; former Denver Nuggets general manager Calvin Booth; current San Antonio Spurs basketball operations consultant Danny Ferry; and current NBA G League president Shareef Abdur-Rahim.
However, Brand has removed himself from the Hawks’ search to focus on the Sixers’ offseason.
After Brand stepped back, it appeared as the foursome of McNair, Booth, Ferry, and Abdur-Rahim would compete with former BYU standout Travis Hansen, for the President of Basketball Operations role. Hansen, who was actually drafted by the Hawks in 2003, has no NBA front office experience. Still, he’s founded a successful private equity company (Tesani), which speaks to his business acumen.
With that being said, Hawks owner Tony Ressler is toying with the idea of hiring a player agent as president, per The Stein Line. In fact, they’re eyeing two specific agents — Austin Brown (Creative Arts Agency) and Alex Saratsis (Octagon).
Notably, Brown represents Hawks face of the franchise Trae Young, which could lend insight into the star guard’s future in Atlanta. Saratsis, who RG.org’s Grant Afseth names as a dark horse candidate, represents several players from the international basketball community. One such player is Milwaukee Bucks leader Giannis Antetokounmpo, whose future in the Midwest is as undefined as ever.
The Player Agent Route
Hiring a player agent as the lead front office executive is a path that franchises like the New York Knicks (Leon Rose), Los Angeles Lakers (Rob Pelinka) and Golden State Warriors (Bob Myers) have made popular.
There have been varying degrees of success between those three franchises. Yet, they’ve all been perennial playoff teams under those former player agents. The Lakers and Warriors both won championships, the latter becoming a dynasty.
With that in mind, it’s worth mentioning the relationships that agents have with players and executives around the league. Players don’t tend to salivate over the idea of joining the Hawks, for one reason or another. Thus, a former agent’s connections could make acquiring and attracting talent easier.
© Brett Davis-Imagn Images
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