5 potential general manager options for the Atlanta Hawks

The reshaping of the front office for the Atlanta Hawks began a week after being eliminated in the opening round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs.

After days of speculation about his future with the organization, Hawks general manager Wes Wilcox resigned, but agreed to remain with the team as an advisor. In an unexpected twist, Mike Budenholzer announced he will step down as president of basketball operations.

By relinquishing control of basketball operations, Budenholzer will dedicate all of his time to his head coaching duties with the team.

The pair of moves enables Atlanta to hire a new general manager with an elevated level of control. Both Wilcox and Budenholzer will continue to have a say in personnel decisions, but principal team owner Tony Ressler stressed the general manager will oversee the entire front office.

Ressler intends to have a new general manager in place prior to the NBA Draft on June 22. The entire roster could look drastically different over the next few months, as Atlanta has the 19th, 31st and 60th picks in the 2017 NBA Draft.

Atlanta holds the draft rights to the Timberwolves’ first round pick in 2018, along with its own first and second round selections.

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The team must also determine how vital four-time All-Star Paul Millsap is to the organization. The 6-foot-8 forward can opt out of his contract this summer and command a maximum contract as an unrestricted free agent.

Millsap posted Atlanta’s highest scoring (18.1 points per game) and minute averages (34 per game) while ranking second in rebounding (7.7 per game), assists (3.7 per game), steals (1.3 per game) and blocks (0.9 per game) this season.

If Millsap signs a maximum contract with the Hawks, he could sign a deal for $205 million over five years. The other 29 teams in the league could offer him a four-year, $158.4 million deal.

Either contact would be a significant pay raise from the $21.5 million he was slated to earn during the 2017-18 campaign.

Within a few hours of the resignations of Wilcox and Budenholzer, a few candidates for the opening were revealed.

Let’s examine five realistic options for the vacant Atlanta Hawks general manager vacancy.