Two names have emerged as candidates for a high-ranking front office position with the Atlanta Hawks: Joe Dumars and Cleveland Cavaliers’ David Griffin.
The Atlanta Hawks getting knocked out of the first round of the 2017 Eastern Conference Playoffs has quickly resulted in a restructuring of the front office. Hawks head coach Mike Budenholzer has given up his president of basketball operations title and former general manager Wes Wilcox will have a different role with the team.
Atlanta has found stability on the sidelines with Budenholzer as head coach and Tony Ressler as the Hawks’ majority owner, but the front office still hasn’t fully recovered from the Danny Ferry incident from three summers ago. The Hawks are looking to add a front office executive into the equation that has won a championship before.
Marc Stein reports that Atlanta is considering Joe Dumars and David Griffin as candidates to join the Hawks front office. Dumars is a Hall of Fame shooting guard with the Detroit Pistons. He also helped build a 2004 NBA Champion in Detroit as the former Pistons general manager. Griffin currently is the general manager for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Cleveland won the 2016 NBA Finals.
League sources say Joe Dumars and David Griffin are expected to emerge as candidates in the Hawks' search for a new lead front-office voice
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) May 5, 2017
Atlanta is admitting that it does need some help in the front office. Budenholzer is a solid head coach, but putting on multiple hats in the Atlanta organization may not be in the best interest for the Hawks going forward. Wilcox has done well in recent NBA Drafts, but has not made the best decisions in NBA free agency.
Dumars understands how to build a winning culture from the ground up. He did it in multiple incarnations with the Pistons. The 2004 Pistons remain the last NBA Champion to have not had an obvious star player, something Atlanta doesn’t exactly have either.
Griffin has thrived in a high-end dysfunctional environment in Cleveland. Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert knows how to get in the way of things. LeBron James is not the easiest person to construct a team for. Switching from David Blatt to Tyronn Lue on the sidelines mid-season had to have been difficult.
In short, Dumars has been away from the Pistons the last few years. He might want to get back into an NBA front office to get to work. Griffin may honestly be tired of the drama and combative nature of working for the Cavaliers. Atlanta won’t be as stressful of a job for Griffin as the one he has in Cleveland. The Hawks aren’t the first team that has targeted him in a front office role this spring.
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There are a few teams besides the Hawks that have made some front office moves this offseason including the Indiana Pacers, the Orlando Magic and maybe the Los Angeles Clippers. Atlanta seems to be the most stable of these organizations with front office vacancies. For that reason, Atlanta should be able to get somebody solid for whatever front office role they think needs to be filled.
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