Edmontonian becomes general manager for NBA’s Atlanta Hawks

Onsi Saleh of Edmonton has been promoted to general manager of the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association.

The Atlanta Hawks promoted Edmonton’s Onsi Saleh to general manager after firing Landry Fields on Monday.

Landry was GM for three seasons in Atlanta, with the team missing the playoffs in the last two of those.

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The Hawks also announced that they have opened a search for a president of basketball operations. Atlanta went 40-42 this season, then missed the playoffs after going 0-2 in the play-in tournament.

“Every offseason we evaluate how we operate and ways we can improve our organization,” Hawks principal owner Tony Ressler said. “As we enter this pivotal offseason, we have several complex decisions ahead of us, and we are committed to providing the human and financial resources needed to ensure that we navigate these decisions with a high level of precision and foresight.”

Ressler added that “adding an accomplished, senior-level leader to provide strategic direction and structure” alongside Saleh “is a top priority.”

Fields led the decision-making a year ago when Atlanta had the No. 1 pick and selected Zaccharie Risacher, who is a finalist for rookie of the year this season. The Hawks have an All-Star guard in Trae Young and another budding star in Dyson Daniels, a finalist for both defensive player of the year and most improved player this season.

Saleh joined the Hawks a year after three seasons with the Golden State Warriors, his time there ending with him holding the roles of vice president of basketball strategy and team counsel. He spent five years before joining the Warriors with the San Antonio Spurs and was the team’s director of strategy and process.

Saleh, who was born in Austin, Texas, and grew up in Edmonton, graduated from the University of Alberta with a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences and a post-graduate degree in history.

He graduated from Tulane University Law School with a Doctor of Law in 2017. He served as a legal clerk for the 22nd Judicial District Court of Louisiana and as an intake specialist with the Louisiana Civil Justice Center before joining the Spurs.

“A kid from a little town in Canada, and my dream was to be associated with the NBA in some way,” he told the Tulane Law School’s website before joining the Spurs. “It’s really been surreal.”

The Hawks haven’t won a playoff series since making it to the Eastern Conference finals in 2021.

With files from The Canadian Press.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

Tim Reynolds, The Associated Press