It had been barely 10 minutes since the Hawks introduced Danny Ferry as their general manager, and already he was getting questions about the moves he plans to make.
"I'm here a day," Ferry said, sounding a bit exasperated.
Ferry doesn't have much time to sort things out. It's the biggest week of the NBA calendar for player acquisitions, starting with the NBA draft Thursday night.
The Hawks own the No. 23 and No. 43 overall picks. They have just six players under contract for next season and not much flexibility to sign free agents, so it's possible they'll need the player they select in the first round to contribute next season.
It's a quick turnaround for Ferry, but at least he's not coming into the draft cold. He was a Spurs executive the past two years and said he scouted several college games last season.
Still, Ferry wasn't as focused on players expected to be drafted in the first round because San Antonio's only pick is No. 59, the next-to-last selection in the draft.
"Do I know all of the guys that are going to be available at [pick No.] 23 like the back of my hand? No, but I know them pretty well," Ferry said Monday. "I will use the next few days to dig into those guys in particular. We will be looking at the whole draft because, who knows, maybe we do something else? We'll see."
Ferry is getting help in the crash course from the Hawks' holdover basketball staff. That includes Ferry's predecessor, Rick Sund, as well as assistant GM Dave Pendergraft and coach Larry Drew.
The current staff said there hasn't been much clash of visions.
"He's more of an observer and a listener, and then when he has an opinion, he well articulates it," Pendergraft said. "There hasn't been a player on our board where he just comes in and says, 'Erase it.' It's gone very, very smooth. There's more agreement than disagreement right now."
The Hawks will have to use free agency to plug most of their holes, but the draft offers a chance to acquire players with relatively small salaries and control their rights for as many as four seasons. The first-round pick's contract will be for two years with team options for the third and fourth years.
Ferry said he would collaborate with his staff on the pick, but that he has the final call.
"Ultimately, I will be the one that will have to make that decision if we can't come to a consensus," he said.
Ferry last ran a draft in 2009, when he was Cavaliers GM. He had a mixed draft record in Cleveland, which is true of a lot of executives.
Ferry never had a high pick because Cleveland was among the best teams in the Eastern Conference during his time as GM. Ferry had two separate stints as a basketball executive for the Spurs, who have a long history of finding good players late in the draft.
Hawks co-owner Bruce Levenson said Ferry draws on that experience for his draft philosophy.
"It's really a broad focus that shows a really deep understanding of everything from the analytics to the team chemistry to the psychology of a player," Levenson said. "How you look at a player and look at if this player has a chance to be developed in a real player-development program."
That suggests that the Hawks, in spite of their immediate needs, could draft a player who needs seasoning. Levenson said the Hawks planned to improve their approach to developing players long-term, including making better use of their NBA Development League affiliate.
"The 'best player' scenario probably fits us the best right now," Pendergraft said.
