Category: Atlanta Hawks Blog

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

Daye signed consecutive 10-day contracts with Atlanta (March 15 and March 25) last season before signing a multi-year contract on April 4. He saw action in eight games with the Hawks, averaging 3.3 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 9.5 minutes per game.

Here’s the Atlanta Journal Constitution reporting that the Hawks are adding to their backcourt depth:

The Hawks reached a contract agreement with Justin Holiday Wednesday, according to several people familiar with the situation. The deal is for two years fully guaranteed.

The addition will give the Hawks needed depth at the wing following the loss of DeMarre Carroll to free agency last week.

Holiday, a 6-foot-6, 185-pound shooting guard/small forward, played last season for the Warriors. In 59 games, he averaged 4.3 points and 1.2 rebounds in 11.1 minutes. He also appeared in nine games for the 76ers in the 2012-13 season. Holiday has appeared in 68 career NBA games, including four starts, and averaged 4.4 points, 1.3 rebounds and .9 assists in 11.8 minutes.

Sale of Atlanta Hawks approved by NBA

The Atlanta Hawks Basketball Club today announced that its purchase by an ownership group led by Tony Ressler was completed yesterday, following the unanimous approval by the NBA Board of Governors.

“On behalf of our ownership group, we are so excited to officially become part of the Atlanta Hawks Basketball Club, an important civic asset to the community,” said Ressler. “We look forward to building upon the success of the team’s incredible playoff run this past season and the excitement it generated in the entire community.”

Ressler will serve as Principal Owner and Chair of the Board of Directors of the Hawks and as the team’s Governor on the NBA Board of Governors. Other investors include seven-time NBA All-Star Grant Hill, who will serve as Vice Chair of the Board, Townsquare Media Chair and CEO Steven Price, Clayton Dubilier & Rice partner Rick Schnall, and Spanx founder Sara Blakely and Marquis Jet co-founder Jesse Itzler, who are married.

According to ESPN.com, “Ressler and his partners, including existing Hawks partner Steven Price and former NBA player Grant Hill, agreed to purchase the Hawks for approximately $850 million, including debt obligations, in April. The deal includes the operating rights to Philips Arena.”

According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, “the ownership group also includes former owners Steven Price and Bob Goodman from the New York-based group. Michael Gearon Jr. and Sr. and Rutherford Seydel of the Atlanta-based group will retain a small investment of one percent combined. They were grandfathered in from the new NBA rule that requires an individual owner have at least a one percent share in a team. There are others with a small share in the franchise and Philips Arena. Ressler is the clear majority owner with a nearly 50 percent stake.”

About Tony Ressler

Tony Ressler co-founded Ares Management L.P., a publicly traded, leading global alternative asset management firm with approximately $87 billion of assets under management as of March 31,2015, in 1997. Ares operates four investment groups that invest in tradable credit, direct lending, private equity, and real estate. Ares currently has approximately 800 employees with offices in Atlanta in addition to its headquarters in Los Angeles and other offices in New York, Chicago, Dallas, London, Paris, Frankfurt, Stockholm and Shanghai. Ares Management’s current portfolio includes investments in several Atlanta area-based businesses including Floor & Décor Outlets of America, Inc., Serta Simmons Bedding, and Insight Global.

In the nonprofit sector, Ressler serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, as Co-Chair of the Board of Directors of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (“LACMA”) and as a member of the Board of Trustees of Georgetown University. He is also one of the founding members of the Board and Co-Finance Chair of the Painted Turtle Camp (affiliated with Paul Newman’s Hole in the Wall Association), which serves children dealing with chronic and life-threatening illnesses by providing old-fashioned camping experiences.

In the charter/public education sector, Ressler is a Founder and Board Co-Chair of the Alliance for College Ready Public Schools in Los Angeles. Since 2004, the Alliance has grown to 26 free, public charter middle and high schools serving approximately 11,000 students from LA’s poorest communities with historically underperforming schools. Four Alliance schools have been named California Distinguished Schools and three are ranked in the top 10 of all LAUSD schools. More than 90% of Alliance graduates have gone on to college.

Ressler received his B.S.F.S. from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and received his MBA from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business.

Tony and his wife, actress Jami Gertz, have three sons.

About Grant Hill

Grant Hill is one of the most accomplished NBA players of this generation and a seven-time NBA All-Star. He is currently a managing principal and founder of Penta Mezzanine Fund, a private equity mezzanine firm. Hill oversees Penta’s day-to-day activities, including the review and analysis of prospective investments as well as leading investor relations efforts and raising more than $85M for the fund. Hill also leads Hill Ventures, a private commercial real estate investment company that for the past 18 years has successfully invested in several multi-family residential complexes and other commercial real estate properties throughout Florida, Arizona, North Carolina and Washington, DC.

In addition to his frequent speaking appearances, Hill has had significant broadcasting roles with CBS Sports, Turner Sports and NBA TV. In 2015, Hill was added as a game analyst for CBS Sports’ broadcasts of the NCAA Final Four and National Championship game, where he joined commentators Bill Raftery and Jim Nantz to call games throughout the tournament. Additionally, Hill also participated in TNT’s coverage of the NCAA March to the Final Four and NBA Playoffs. Additionally, he serves as an occasional studio analyst on TNT’s Inside the NBA. For NBA TV, Hill is the co-host of NBA Inside Stuff throughout the NBA regular season and a studio analyst on its GameTime broadcast.

Hill’s philanthropic activities include as a Member on the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition, and an active participant in the First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign. Through the Grant and Tamia Hill Foundation, Hill has funded the Calvin Hill Scholarship at the Duke Divinity School, as well as programs including Child Abuse Prevention, the Grant Hill Achiever Scholarship programs in Orlando and Detroit, and has made contributions to Habitat for Humanity. Hill serves on the Board of Directors of the Orlando Museum of Art and the Trinity School of Arts and Sciences at Duke University, and he is the Chairman of Duke University Basketball’s Legacy Fund.

Hill and his wife, Tamia, a 7-time Grammy-nominated singer, have two daughters.

Official announcement from the Atlanta Hawks

The Atlanta Hawks announced today that Danny Ferry has stepped down as General Manager of the team. The move follows an indefinite leave of absence Ferry began in August, at the request of the team. The leave was triggered by the unauthorized release of an audio recording containing a brief portion of a lengthy conference call with team ownership and others during which Ferry repeated and paraphrased language from a third-party scouting report that contained a culturally insensitive characterization of a player.

Prior to today’s announcement, the Hawks organization retained a highly respected law firm, Alston & Bird LLP, and specifically a team led by senior partner Bernard Taylor, to investigate whether the remarks were racially motivated. Investigators conducted 19 witness interviews, including interviews of Ferry and several Hawks owners, and reviewed the contents of more than 24,000 emails, including every available work email sent or received by Ferry in his capacity as General Manager. The investigation by Alston & Bird made clear that the offensive language was not Ferry’s and none of Ferry’s remarks or behavior during the call were motivated by racial or ethnic animus, or by a person’s country of origin. To the contrary, Ferry shared his own opinion of Luol, recommended him both personally and professionally and ultimately tried to sign him to the team. The investigation revealed no other negative information on Ferry.

“This season has proved two things,” said Steve Koonin, CEO of the Hawks. “First, Danny Ferry is a tremendous GM. Danny was the principal architect of the Hawks’ success in Atlanta. From the hiring of Coach Bud to reinventing the roster, Danny’s vision has put us in the tremendous place we are today. Danny acted with integrity and professionalism as he guided the organization through important changes over the last few years. Second, Danny Ferry is not a racist. Danny showed great leadership in stepping aside in the fall so the season could proceed with as few distractions as possible. He has always put the team first despite the great personal difficulties he endured. Now that the team has identified new ownership, the resolution of Danny’s contract with existing ownership is appropriate. We wish Danny and his family only the best moving forward.”

“While the past year has been incredibly difficult and humbling, it is critical for me to clear my name and for people to realize that I have always built a culture of respect, diversity, and honesty,” said Ferry. “Now that the key facts have been made known, I am making the difficult decision to step away from this team and this special group of players. I have seen how gracious and forgiving people can be – especially Luol, who had every right to be hurt and angry after being brought into this situation. I thank him for his forgiveness and support. I also greatly appreciate that our players and coaches have been supportive, along with so many friends, old and new. As the Hawks move to a new chapter, I will continue to support the players and wish them the continued success that they and the fans of Atlanta deserve.”

On the court, Ferry led the building of a winning lineup. During his tenure, the team roster was reshaped as he engineered trades of several veterans; re-established valuable flexibility with the salary cap and draft picks; and simultaneously scouted and signed many of the standout players on the team today. He also hired Mike Budenholzer into his first head coaching position. The team achieved the best record in the Eastern Conference this year, and Coach Budenholzer was named NBA Coach of the Year.

“Building a successful team takes more than attracting a few stars,” Budenholzer said. “It is about finding the right combination of talent and teamwork to become an unbeatable combination. Danny’s vision and decision-making shaped the team that fans celebrate on the court today.”