The Hawks denied a Wednesday report that the team and general manager Wes Wilcox have parted ways.
The Hawks issued the following statement to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “Hawks leadership is undergoing a period of evaluation and looking at how basketball operations works best. There are no changes to report at this time and any reports indicating otherwise are inaccurate.”
Several members of the Hawks organization, including high-ranking officials, were unaware of such a personnel move when reached by the AJC.
Hawks principal owner Tony Ressler gave Wilcox a vote of confidence in an interview with the AJC several weeks ago. Ressler said he valued the working relationship between head coach and president of basketball operations Mike Budenholzer and Wilcox.
“I’ve said to Bud and I’ve said to Wes, I think they are both really, really talented,” Ressler said last month. “I really think they both have great basketball minds. I think Bud is a great coach. I think Wes understands the league, understands players, understands the draft, understands how to scout, understands players’ strengths and weaknesses. I feel we have to great basketball executives.”
Wilcox is in his second season as general manager and fifth the team after serving as assistant general manager. Wilcox has been in the NBA for 15 years including director of player personnel with the Cavaliers.
