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.
