Danny Ferry, Monte McNair, Calvin Booth Among Those Linked to Hawks’ Top Exec Vacancy

The Hawks are casting a wide net in their search for a new president of basketball operations — and that net apparently includes a few familiar faces.

One of them? Former Hawks GM Danny Ferry.

According to WSB-TV’s Zach Klein, Atlanta’s front office search is in full swing, with multiple candidates lined up to interview for the top job.

The list includes Ferry, current 76ers executive Elton Brand, former Kings GM Monte McNair, ex-Nuggets GM Calvin Booth, and former Hawks forward and current G League president Shareef Abdur-Rahim.

That’s not all. The Hawks’ list of candidates is reportedly long, and those are just the names we know so far. The process is still in its early stages, and nothing appears close to finalized.

Ferry, who served as Hawks GM from 2012 to 2015, helped build one of the franchise’s most successful teams in recent memory — the 60-win squad that reached the Eastern Conference finals in 2015. He later resigned after controversy surrounding an internal scouting report, but has remained active in league circles.

For the record, Ferry was Hawks coach Quin Snyder‘s roommate when the two played together at Duke.

Meanwhile, Brand has been through this before. He’s been part of the Sixers’ front office since 2016, rising from player development to GM of the G League’s Delaware Blue Coats, then eventually to the Sixers’ top decision-maker following the departure of Bryan Colangelo.

In a short but memorable run as lead executive, Brand pulled off some major swings –including trades for Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris, the acquisition of Matisse Thybulle, and a max extension for Ben Simmons. Most of the moves were applauded at the time, though the Al Horford signing remains a popular trivia question in Philadelphia.

After a disappointing first-round exit in 2020, the Sixers hired Daryl Morey to take over as president of basketball ops, and Brand was retained in the GM role.

Brand has also surfaced as a candidate in several previous front office searches — including with the Knicks, Timberwolves, and Hornets — though those teams ultimately went in other directions.

In Atlanta, the Hawks recently promoted Onsi Saleh to GM following Landry Fields’ shift away from day-to-day basketball duties. Whoever is hired as president will oversee the entire operation — including what’s next for a roster led by Trae Young, and potentially on the verge of significant change.

At this point, it’s unclear who has the inside track — or whether the Hawks are leaning toward someone with organizational ties like Ferry or Abdur-Rahim, or an executive with a fresh set of eyes like McNair or Booth.

But one thing’s clear: the Hawks are keeping all options open. And for now, the search rolls on.