Danny

Ferry

Ferry, 36, is already working in the Spurs’ front office.

The Pelicans have a challenging offseason on their hands and they’ll need a GM in a hurry. Ferry said he is happy to stay and help the team find new management for basketball operations.

He was with the Hawks until 2015 when they parted ways after reports of insensitive remarks about Luol Deng. Ferry was hired by former GM Dell Demps in 2016 as a consultant, and owner Gayle Benson said on Friday the team “will immediately begin the process of restructuring our basketball operations department.”

The Pelicans fired Dell Demps on Friday. Woj tweeted that New Orleans ownership “wants an overhaul of Pelicans and a search for a GM to take command of Davis trade talks and the reshaping of team’s future.” Ferry was hired by Demps in June of 2016 to serve in a special advisory role on his front office staff. Prior to this position, Ferry was the general manager of the Hawks.

Budenholzer’s name is getting to be scorching hot in coaching circles and we would be shocked if he’s not a head coach next season. He’s been very important on Gregg Popovich’s bench, but he deserves a shot at running his own team.

The Spurs have nine days off until the Finals begin. During that time, they’ve given permission for Budenholzer to negotiate a contract with old friend Danny Ferry -- who is now the GM of the Hawks. Budenholzer, Gregg Popovich’s right-hand man, was also drawing interest from the Sixers and Pistons.

Budenholzer has been with the Spurs for the last 18 years. He’s spent 16 of those seasons as an assistant to Gregg Popovich, and has spent the last five as Pop’s top assistant. After a lot of flirtation around the league, he finally leaves the nest to join former Spurs exec and current Hawks GM Danny Ferry. They’ll try to build San Antonio East in Atlanta. It’s a hire the Hawks’ fan base should be excited about.

Van Gundy and Budenholzer would the second and third candidates to interview with Hawks GM Danny Ferry along with Nate McMillan. Yahoo! Sports reported previously that Ferry is also interested in hiring CSKA Moscow coach Ettore Messina. It’s unknown whether the Hawks have interviewed Messina, but the Journal-Constitution reported that Ferry has interviewed other unknown candidates. At this point, it seems clear that Ferry is casting a wide net but is playing his cards very close to the vest.

Messina is the coach of CSKA Moscow and has some street cred among NBA GMs. In fact, when Hawks GM Danny Ferry was in Cleveland, he had his coach Mike Brown travel overseas to study Messina’s offense. The Hawks have also interviewed Nate McMillan this week and they’re looking to replace Larry Drew.

Ferry said he would “take some time” to evaluate the season and what the offseason might hold before making any player or coaching decisions. Drew remains under contract but it’s unclear if he’ll be part of Ferry’s rebuilding effort, which includes boat loads of cap space this summer. It’s unlikely that space will be devoted to Smith, who appears determined to test free agency in hopes of getting a max contract.