The Atlanta Hawks have taken a different route to bolster their front office, bringing in former ESPN Senior NBA Writer Tim Bontemps as a strategic advisor.
Bontemps will work directly under President of Basketball Operations Onsi Saleh, adding a voice shaped by years of leaguewide coverage, team-building analysis, and close attention to player movement. For Atlanta, it’s a notable move at a time when the front office has already absorbed a loss.
Earlier this offseason, Bryson Graham left his role as senior vice president of basketball operations to join the Chicago Bulls as executive vice president of basketball operations in May. Graham’s fingerprints were all over important work in Atlanta, including the deal that landed the New Orleans Pelicans’ 2026 first-round pick. That pick ultimately turned into the No. 8 selection, which the Hawks used on point guard Kingston Flemings.
That kind of departure is not easy to replace. Atlanta is trying to do it by adding someone with a very different background, but one that could still fit neatly into the way the organization wants to operate.
Bontemps arrives after years spent on the outside studying the league up close. He most recently served as a senior writer for ESPN, and before that he covered the NBA for The Washington Post and the Brooklyn Nets for The New York Post. Along the way, he built a reputation around understanding how teams are constructed, how players move, and how organizations position themselves across the league.
That matters because the Hawks are clearly in a phase where every decision is tied to the bigger picture. They’ve built around a young core that includes Jalen Johnson, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Dyson Daniels, and Onyeka Okongwu, while continuing to add pieces that can fit alongside them.
One of those pieces is Flemings, whose selection traces back to the Graham-led deal. Atlanta also added Aaron Wiggins, a versatile player who brings shooting and championship experience. Each move points to the same goal: keep strengthening the roster without losing the long view.
That’s where Bontemps could come into play. His background covering strategy and roster construction could help Saleh and the rest of Atlanta’s decision-makers when they’re weighing talent, exploring options, and trying to read how other teams might approach negotiations.
There’s also the relationship side of the job. Bontemps has spent years building connections around the NBA, and those ties can matter when trades, free agency, and future roster moves start to take shape.
No one is going to pretend a single hire changes everything. But successful front offices are built by stacking smart voices, and Atlanta is clearly trying to do that as it keeps reshaping the organization on and off the floor.
Saleh has already overseen a front office shift with Graham’s exit, and Bontemps now steps into that opening with a different skill set and a fresh perspective. How much influence he ultimately has will play out over time, but for a Hawks team still building toward bigger things, this is the kind of move that could pay off in a major way.
In Other News...
This Hawks Rookie Is Quietly Addressing Atlanta's Biggest Postseason Problem
Atlanta spent the offseason trying to patch a frontcourt that did not always hold up when the games tightened, and the early signs from Zuby Ejiofor have given the Hawks something to watch closely. Drafted alongside Henri Veesaar and joined by the return of backup center Jock Landale, Ejiofor has already flashed the kind of rebounding and defensive versatility that can make a young big man useful in Quin Snyders system.
Summer league is not a final verdict on anything, but Ejiofor has looked comfortable doing the dirty work, including holding his own against a much taller opponent. For a Hawks team still sorting out how its interior rotation will look, that matters, because the path to a sturdier postseason profile may start with players who can adapt quickly and help on the glass without needing much of the offense built around them. [Read more 🡒]
Hawks Suddenly Sit At Center Of The Jonathan Kuminga Drama
Jonathan Kumingas free-agency market has turned into a slow-moving puzzle, and the Hawks are one of the teams hanging around the edges of it. Los Angeles has shown persistent interest in the forward, but the Lakers recent signings have tightened the path to a clean deal, leaving them without much room to make a compelling offer unless they clear salary or work out a sign-and-trade.
Atlantas name keeps surfacing because it sits in the kind of position that can shape the outcome without necessarily driving it. The Hawks have drawn varying levels of interest in Kuminga, but there are no active talks with his camp right now, even as other suitors like Cleveland and Sacramento remain in the picture. If the Lakers decide they need a trade route to get serious, Atlanta could become relevant quickly, though only if the framework makes sense for the Hawks as well. [Read more 🡒]
One Hawks Move Made Perfect Sense And Another Could Cost Them
The Hawks made one move that fits neatly into the kind of roster building teams talk themselves into all summer: bringing in Wiggins from Oklahoma City for two second-round picks. He should give Atlanta a useful blend of defensive versatility and three-point shooting off the bench, the sort of low-cost addition that can help a second unit without changing the shape of the roster.
The trickier decision came with Buddy Hield, whose contract was guaranteed for next season even though he was not a regular part of the rotation last year. Atlanta is already carrying 16 players on standard deals and has to trim to 15 before camp, so every guaranteed contract matters. The Hawks may like the stability, but the salary and roster math make this the kind of choice that can look a lot different once the real crunch begins. [Read more 🡒]