According to Rogers Sportsnet on Monday, the Atlanta Hawks have named Onsi Saleh of Austin, Texas their new general manager. The Hawks decided to reassign the vacant general managerial position from within. Saleh had been the assistant general manager, and the Hawks decided to fire general manager Landry Fields of Long Beach, California, who the team hired at only 33 years of age in 2022.
Saleh had been the Hawks assistant general manager since May 2, 2024 according to Jackson Caudell of Sports Illustrated. Prior to that, Saleh had been the director of strategy and process for the San Antonio Spurs and the vice-president of basketball strategy for the Golden State Warriors.
Even though Saleh was born in Texas, he was raised in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It is in Edmonton where Saleh developed his basketball skills as a player. He earned degrees from the University of Alberta in biological science and history before attending Tulane University, where he graduated from the sports law program.
In Atlanta, it appears Saleh’s number one job will be to figure out the Hawks’s short term direction. Are they going to try and win now, and bring in more talent to complement star player Trae Young, or start a rebuilding process, and trade Young for numerous assets (draft picks and prospects). This past season, the Hawks made the play-in tournament with a record of 40 wins and 42 losses, but lost 120-95 to the Orlando Magic in the 7-8 game in central Florida, and then lost a very tight game by a score of 123-114 in overtime to the Miami Heat.
