With Tony Ressler In, Is Danny Ferry Out?
By John Buhler
As magical as the 2014-15 NBA Season was for the Atlanta Hawks, GM Danny Ferry’s absence from day-to-day operations due to controversial comments about Luol Deng was a major embarrassment to an otherwise magnificent year of Hawks basketball. The man who brought HC Mike Budenholzer over from San Antonio couldn’t be around the team he built as he went into exile over his offensive comments. With Atlanta Spirit Group officially selling the team to Tony Ressler on June 24th, is Danny Ferry’s resignation with the Atlanta Hawks organization inevitable?
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Ferry is a basketball lifer. He was an All-American forward playing for Coach Mike Krzyzewski at Duke University. Danny was a #2 overall selection by the Los Angeles Clippers in 1989. Ferry had a long career in the NBA, playing most notably for the Cleveland Cavaliers and the San Antonio Spurs. Before coming over to Atlanta in 2012, Ferry had GM experience with the Cleveland Cavaliers. What he and Coach Bud were building in Atlanta was something special, but I don’t think Ferry will be part of the Hawks organization by July.
If Tony Ressler wants to usher in a new era of Atlanta Hawks basketball with this past season being an extremely successful transitional year, the new Hawks’ majority owner can’t afford to bring any negative PR into 2015-16. While I don’t think anyone condones what Ferry said, even if Ressler accepts Ferry’s sincerest apology he can’t stay on as the Hawks GM this upcoming season if someone is still offended by Ferry’s comments. That includes everyone both emotionally and financially invested in the Atlanta Hawks.
The Atlanta Hawks Basketball Club (yeah, we’re a basketball club now) may not have to venture far to find Ferry’s replacement. Coach Bud and Assistant GM Wes Wilcox did a marvelous job running the team during Ferry’s exile. Bud learned so much during his 17-year tenure in the Alamo City from Spurs HC Gregg Popopvich and GM RC Buford. Even without Ferry, I loved how Budenholzer and Wilcox worked together this past season running Spurs East.
I envision Ressler’s number one priority as new majority owner is to keep Coach Bud in Atlanta for a very long time. Along with Coach Bud, the hiring of Hawks CEO Steve Koonin might have been the two best organizational moves this team has made in decades. Having men like Bud and Koonin in the organization has transformed this team perpetually in playoff purgatory into an East Conference Powerhouse.
Ressler will give Bud a major pay raise, along with more autonomy in the day-to-day operations of the team. I think Wilcox will also garner more responsibilities with increased pay, too. They both have earned it. As sad as it seems to see the man who built this team inevitably leave, if Ressler truly wants to usher in a new era of Atlanta Hawks basketball, he has to let Danny Ferry resign as opposed to firing him. It’s got to stay all positive if the Hawks want to carry its momentum into 2015-16.