There will soon be a measure of resolution to the off-court embarrassment that befell the Hawks last offseason and detracted from their on-court record-breaking year.
The Hawks plan to promote Mike Budenholzer to president/head coach and assistant general manager Wes Wilcox to GM, moves would end the tenure of embattled Danny Ferry as general manager.
The Hawks declined comment, but according to a person familiar with the situation, neither Budenholzer nor Wilcox has been formally informed of a change to their roles. Such changes can only be made when the sale of the franchise to a group led by Antony Ressler is finalized next week.
The reorganization was first reported by Yahoo Sports.
The franchise has been under a cloud since September, when controlling owner Bruce Levenson announced he would sell his interest in the team following the discovery of a 2012 email containing racist remarks he made about the fan base and game operations.
Days later, Ferry was granted an indefinite leave of absence for racially insensitive comments he made during a June conference call with ownership and management that prompted an internal investigation. Ferry was away from the team the entire season while the Hawks set several franchise records and advanced to the Eastern Conference finals.
The sale of the Hawks and Philips Arena to a group led by Ressler will be finalized on Wednesday, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution previously reported. Official announcement will likely come the following day. The NBA Board of Governors received financial packets on the sale and is voting on final approval. According to NBA rules, new ownership cannot play a role in the operation of the team nor speak publicly until the deal is finalized.
Ressler will be the clear majority owner of the Hawks. He will be joined in a new group that includes former NBA All-Star Grant Hill; Clayton Dubilier & Rice partner Rick Schnall; and Spanx founder Sara Blakely and Marquis Jet co-founder Jesse Itzler, who are married.
According to several people familiar with the situation, there will some former partners and investors included as well. Steven Price and Bob Goodman, who were part of a team’s New York-based ownership group, will retain a stake. Michael Gearon Jr., Michael Gearon Sr. and Rutherford Seydel, part of the Atlanta-based group, will also retain a small percentage. The group will likely include several others.
Levenson and his Washington, D.C., partners of Ed Peskowitz and Todd Foreman will no longer be a part of the franchise.
The AJC has previously reported that several officials within the organization did not expect Ferry to return. He has two years remaining on the six-year, $18 million deal he signed in 2012. A buyout of Ferry’s contract is being discussed and the details over how he will leave the organization are still being resolved and could take several more days.
Ferry has not commented publicly since his statement upon taking the leave of absence.
Budenholzer is about to enter the third and final year of the $5 million deal he signed when hired as head coach in 2013. He was due to make $2 million in the upcoming season.
Budenholzer, the reigning NBA coach of the year, served as the head of basketball operations during Ferry’s absence. Wilcox and the basketball operations staff remained intact throughout the season. They will continue oversight of the NBA draft next week and free agency which begins July 1.
Budenholzer would become one of several president/head coaches in the NBA, which include his mentor Gregg Popovich with the Spurs, Stan Van Gundy with the Pistons, Flip Saunders with Timberwolves and Doc Rivers with the Clippers.
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