Category: Atlanta Hawks Blog

The Atlanta Hawks have requested waivers on Terran Petteway, it was announced today by President of Basketball Operations/Head Coach Mike Budenholzer.

Petteway appeared in three preseason contests for the Hawks.

Thabo Sefolosha, now healed after the NYPD LITERALLY BROKE HIS LEG (and DAMAGED A LIGAMENT — while it remains unclear what Thabo actually did wrong), is finally back in action as NBA preseason continues. Here’s the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporting:

Thabo Sefolosha was back – even if it was just for eight minutes.

Sefolosha played his first game since April 7 following a broken right leg and ligament damage suffered in an arrest outside a New York nightclub later that night. He missed the Hawks first two exhibition games during the trial where he was fully acquitted last week.

“It felt good,” Sefolosha said following the Hawks’ 100-86 exhibition win over the Spurs at Philips Arena. “I didn’t play heavy minutes but at the same time it was good just to have a feel for it and be out there. …

“It’s great to be back. That’s what I love doing. This group is special and it’s like being around family.”

The Atlanta Hawks have requested waivers on Arsalan Kazemi and Edgar Sosa, it was announced today by President of Basketball Operations/Head Coach Mike Budenholzer.

Each player appeared in one preseason contest.

Lots of players around the league were signed to non-guaranteed contracts that merely brought them onto the team’s training camp/preseason roster. The vast majority of them will be waived in the next few weeks as teams trim their rosters for the regular season.

The Atlanta Hawks have signed forward Arsalan Kazemi (are-suh-lahn kah-ZEE-me) to a contract, it was announced today by President of Basketball Operations/Head Coach Mike Budenholzer. It’s presumably a non-guaranteed deal just for training camp.

Kazemi became the first Iranian national to be drafted by an NBA franchise when he was selected in the second round (54th overall) of the 2013 NBA Draft by Washington (his draft rights were subsequently traded to Philadelphia).

A 6-7 forward, Kazemi played his first three seasons of college basketball at Rice (2009-12) before transferring to Oregon for his senior year (2012-13) and helping the Ducks to the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA Tournament. He played in 130 career games as a collegian recording 11.7 points, 10.1 rebounds, 1.7 steals and 1.5 in assists in 29.0 minutes (.559 FG%, .678 FT%), including averaging a double-double during his sophomore (15.2 points/11.0 rebounds) and junior seasons (12.1 points/10.3 rebounds).

In 2013 he returned to his home country to play for Petrochimi Bandar Imam in the Iran Super League before signing with the Chongqing Soaring Dragons of the Chinese Basketball Association last season.

Kazemi was called up to the Iranian National Senior Team in 2010 after previously playing for the country’s under-19 and under-18 teams.

He will wear No. 5.

The Atlanta Hawks Basketball Club has announced several additions and promotions within the basketball operations department, it was announced today by President of Basketball Operations/Head Coach Mike Budenholzer.

The Hawks have named Michael Blackstone as Assistant General Manager, John Treloar as Director of Player Personnel, Malik Rose as Manager of Basketball Operations, Dotun Akinwale as Manager of Scouting, Matt Elijah as Manager of Basketball Administration, Daniel Starkman as Coordinator of Basketball Operations and David Painter as Director of Basketball Facilities. Jeff Peterson has been promoted to Director of Scouting and Naya-Joi Martin to Manager of Player Programs, while Rick Sund (Senior Advisor, Basketball Operations) and Mike McNeive (Director of Basketball Operations) continue in their roles.

“Much like building our team on the floor, we seek to add and retain high-character individuals who work well as a group at every level of our basketball operations department,” Budenholzer said. “We believe in a collaborative approach in everything we do, and are excited to have these talented and hard-working individuals with us.”

Blackstone comes to the Hawks from the Shapiro Negotiations Institute in Baltimore, MD, where he was Executive Vice President/Sports Practice Director. He was formerly the Executive Director of Basketball Operations for the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2010-13. Blackstone previously founded Humagination, a sales training and executive development firm.

A veteran of more than 30 years in pro and college basketball, Treloar spent the last five seasons with the Phoenix Suns, most recently as Director of Player Personnel. He was previously Head Coach of the Erie BayHawks of the NBA Development League, in the Continental Basketball Association, and an Assistant Coach at Louisiana State University and Indiana University.

Rose, a 13-year NBA veteran, appeared in 813 regular season games with the Charlotte Hornets, San Antonio Spurs, New York Knicks and Oklahoma City Thunder. He also appeared in 82 playoff games, winning two NBA championships with the Spurs in 1999 and 2003. The native of Philadelphia, PA starred collegiately at Drexel University. Since retiring as a player, Rose has worked in broadcasting with the Knicks, 76ers, Austin Toros of the NBA D-League, NBA TV and NBA Radio.

Akinwale spent the last two seasons with the Orlando Magic – he was an intern in basketball operations in 2013-14 and last season was promoted to Basketball Operations Coordinator. He is a 2013 graduate of Thiel College.

Elijah most recently worked as an Associate at Alvarez & Marsal in San Francisco, CA. He is a graduate of University of California-Santa Barbara, the University of Notre Dame (M.B.A.) and University of California Hastings College of the Law (Juris Doctor).

Starkman worked as a student manager with the University of Florida for the last four years, and earned a degree in Business Administration.

Painter has been the Practice Facility Manager at Cleveland Clinic Courts for the Cleveland Cavaliers since it opened in 2007. He previously worked as Associate Director of Recreation, as well as in admissions, at his alma mater, Baldwin-Wallace College. He also has a Master’s in Sports Management from Kent State.

Peterson was previously a Scout and Coordinator of Basketball Operations for the Hawks prior to his promotion. Peterson, who joined the Hawks as a seasonal assistant in 2012, finished his collegiate playing career at Florida State.

Martin spent last season as the Hawks’ Team Player Development Manager/Basketball Operations Coordinator. The native of Bronx, NY attended Williams College (B.A. in Psychology) and Emory’s Goizueta Business School (M.B.A.-Marketing). She previously worked as an intern in Public Relations for the New York Knicks and at the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.

With over 40 years of NBA experience, Sund is entering his fourth season as Senior Advisor and his eighth with the Hawks. He was the team’s Executive Vice President/General Manager from 2008-12, where under his leadership, the Hawks went 184-128, reaching the playoffs in all four seasons. Previously he worked in basketball leadership positions with the Dallas Mavericks, Detroit Pistons and Seattle Sonics after starting his career with the Milwaukee Bucks.

McNeive is entering his 13th season with the Hawks and 10th in his current position. He was Atlanta’s Director of Pro Personnel from 2004-06 after originally joining the Hawks as an Assistant Coach in 2003-04. He previously worked with the Milwaukee Bucks, Seattle Sonics and Orlando Magic.

Atlanta Hawks CEO Steve Koonin and President of Basketball Operations and Head Coach Mike Budenholzer announced earlier today that the organization will retire Dikembe Mutombo’s No. 55 uniform in a special ceremony on November 24th when the Hawks host the Boston Celtics at Philips Arena. The announcement was made during a ceremony recognizing today as Dikembe Mutombo Day in Fulton County.

“There are very few players who have had the impact on- and off-the-court that Dikembe has had, and he’s very deserving of this honor,” Koonin said. “As a player, man and humanitarian, he represents everything we want to be associated with. November 24th is going to be a memorable night in our franchise’s history, in Atlanta, in Fulton County, and for Dikembe and his family.”

Mutombo, who will be enshrined into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame on Sept. 11, spent five seasons (343 games) with the Hawks (1996-2001), finishing with averages of 11.9 points, 12.6 rebounds, 3.2 blocks and 1.2 assists in 36.2 minutes (.529 FG%).

He ranks third in franchise history in career field goal percentage (.529), blocks (1,094) and rebounds per game (12.6), seventh in defensive rebounds (3,093) and ninth in offensive rebounds (1,228) and minutes per game. He holds the second (277, 1997-98), fourth (269, 1999-00) and fifth positions (264, 1996-97) on the franchise list for most blocks in a single season, and has the sixth-best field goal percentage season (.562, 1999-00) in club history.

Overall, he played 18 years in the league (1,196 games), ranking second in NBA history in blocked shots (3,289) and 19th in rebounds (12,359), averaging 9.8 points, 10.3 rebounds, 2.8 blocks and 1.0 assists in 30.8 minutes (.518 FG%). He was a four-time Defensive Player of the Year (tied for the most in league history), eight-time All-Star and is the only two-time winner of the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award.

Mutombo will join Hawks legends Dominique Wilkins (#21), Lou Hudson (#23), Bob Pettit (#9) and Ted Turner as those honored in Philips Arena’s rafters.

You forgot about Jason Richardson. But he still exists and still plays basketball. And now he adds depth to the bench of a very good Eastern conference squad.

The Atlanta Hawks have signed Richardson, it was announced today by President of Basketball Operations/Head Coach Mike Budenholzer.

A 13-year NBA veteran, Richardson has played in 857 career regular season games (842 starts) with Golden State, Phoenix, Orlando, Charlotte and Philadelphia, averaging 17.1 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.2 steals in 34.1 minutes. In 37 postseason games, he has put in 17.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.1 steals in 34.1 minutes.

In 19 games last season with the 76ers, Richardson averaged 9.1 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 21.9 minutes.

Here’s the Atlanta Journal Constitution reporting the latest on a Hawks forward i. A very scary and serious situation:

Mike Scott faces up to 25 years in prison on two felony drug charges stemming from his arrest last month.

An initial court date in the case could take several months to be placed on the calendar as the drugs have been sent to an independent lab for processing, according to the Banks County assistant district attorney. That would mean an initial court appearance would come during the upcoming NBA season.

Scott was arrested, along with his younger brother, on July 30 after a traffic stop along Interstate 85 in Homer. In the vehicle, police found 35.2 grams of marijuana and 10.9 grams of Schedule I drug MDMA, known as Molly. The charge on the MDMA carries a sentence of up to 15 years. The charge on the marijuana carries a sentence of up to 10 years, according to Georgia statutes.