Atlanta Hawks hire Danny Ferry as their General Manager - NBA Update
Atlanta Hawks have signed Danny Ferry as their new General Manager. The franchise has awarded a 6 year contract to Ferry, who has replaced Rick Sund.
Sund had been associated with the franchise for the last 4 seasons and his contract matured on June 30th last month.
Ferry assumed the role of GM on Monday and has vowed to direct all of his energies to build a championship calibre team.
"My family and I are thrilled to join the Hawks organization and Atlanta community," Ferry said in the release. "There were many components that made this the right fit for me, but clearly my confidence in the ownership group and
their dedication to building a Championship calibre franchise was most important. They are committed to building with the right people and investing in critical areas for development; both essential elements if we want to create sustained success. "
Ferry previously served as Cleveland Cavaliers' GM from 2005-10, presiding over most of the LeBron James era. In the 2008-09 season, they won their first Central Division title since 1976 and also finished with the best record
in Eastern Conference. Then, in the next season, they finished with the NBA’s best record for the second consecutive season.
However same cannot be said about Atlanta’s last season. Hawks finished the regular season with a 40-26 record, securing the 5th birth in the Eastern Conference. However they were ejected by Boston Celtics in the post
season’s first round.
The franchise has never failed to reach the playoffs in the last eight seasons and has the potential of becoming one of the top teams.
With Danny at the helm, a lot of positive change can be expected. First of all, his appointment has strengthened the fact that Atlanta’s owners are no more interested in selling the franchise. Last year, the club was almost sold
out to Alex Meruelo, a Southern California millionaire, but the deal couldn’t go through.
The most important issue for the Hawks is that they lack a genuine superstar in the team. They have players like Josh Smith, Joe Johnson, Jeff Teague and Al Horford, but the cast is missing that one big name who can add the killing
instinct. There are not many options available in this year’s free agency for the Hawks to add some player of that sort, but this would be one fact Ferry will have to address sooner rather than later.
The 45-year-old’s hiring has come at a perfect time for the Hawks. The NBA draft is just around the corner and the Hawks have a total of 9 players in free agency. Moreover key players like Joe Johnson and Josh Smith are heading
into the final year of their contract and retaining them will requires some positive steps from the front office.
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