With Atlanta's season officially over, the Hawks made a predictable decision on Monday, parting ways with GM Landry Fields. This decision was overdue, looking at the biggest moves Fields has made since joining the team.
Days after being hired by the Hawks, the franchise sent a wealth of picks to the Spurs in exchange for point guard Dejounte Murray. It was a move that never made sense for Atlanta and pushed the franchise drastically in the wrong direction. Acquiring another undersized point guard when you already have the defensive inconsistency of Trae Young is a move that only works on 2K.
Real basketball always prevented the idea of having two point guards who are only productive with the ball in their hands.
In fairness, Fields did a nice job recovering Dyson Daniels and draft picks when it was clear it wasn't working with Murray in Atlanta. Still, it is hard to give credit to the GM for putting out a fire of his own making. The promise of selling the future only worked for two seasons before it became clear Atlanta was ready to make a change.
Breaking: Atlanta Hawks GM Landry Fields has been relieved of his duties, and Onsi Saleh has been promoted to general manager, team says.
— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) April 21, 2025
Hawks Firing GM Landry Fields is the Right Move
Fields' other notable moves over the last two years included extending De'Andre Hunter only to move off the forward in a salary dump months later. Every move Landry Fields has made of note has been reversed or had an underwhelming outcome. If the Hawks are going to sell their young core and convince veteran Trae Young of the future of the team, this was a move that had to be made. Keeping the GM would have been a signal that this team is content with mediocrity.
This is where the Hawks have appeared to be each of the past three seasons. At least this year's trade deadline salary dumps signaled the Hawks were thinking of the future and were woken up enough to realize a change was needed. The next GM needs to be someone the franchise believes can think outside the box and retain Trae Young, Atlanta's young core, and be able to land a secondary scorer this team so badly needs.
If the roster was ever able to stay healthy for a full season, they are one piece away from being a real contender in the Eastern Conference. This move inches them closer to that and sends a signal to Young and the Atlanta fanbase that losing won't be accepted. Now the team must do the more difficult part and follow this through with at least one splashy addition and continue to search for much-needed bench depth.