This is irresponsible reporting by the media, IMO.

[KB21]

Hawks GM Search

It may be true that the Hawks are considering Billy King and Bernie Bickerstaff for the GM job, but IMO, this is a case of a reporter getting the AVAILABLE names and throwing them out there. They are attempting to see what sticks. My guess is, no one has heard anything concrete about what the Hawks plan to do. Over the next week, I think we may see some legitimate names get reported, but when this came out, it was a day after Billy resigned.

IMO, both Bernie Bickerstaff and Billy King are being mentioned because they are currently available. Notice that they also threw out a few names of some assistant GMs in the league in Chris Grant, Tommy Shepperd, and Brian Hagen, and they added the notation "among other assistants." The translation of this is that this reporter does not know what the Hawks are going to do, and he is seeing how much he can get to stick on the wall. I think Marc Stein did the same thing the other day when he mentioned that Billy King was a candidate in Atlanta even though his candidacy makes a lot of sense with ASG's desire to retain Mike Woodson. Right now, every available GM and assistant GM in the NBA is a candidate to replace Billy Knight.

I believe we will see the Hawks in the next week or two start interviewing possible GM candidates, and this list will probably include current Detroit Pistons VP of Player Personnel Scott Perry, current Cleveland Cavaliers Assistant GMs Chris Grant and Lance Blanks, current Washington Wizards Assistant GM Tommy Shepperd, current Atlanta Hawks Assistant GM Gary Fitzsimmons, current Detroit Pistons Assistant GM Jeff Weltman, former Philadelphia 76ers GM Billy King, and former Charlotte Hornets Executive VP Bernie Bickerstaff. I'm sure some other names will be considered as well.

I will try to find some stuff on each of the names I mentioned in this thread and post it in this thread.

The name that intrigues me is Scott Perry from the Pistons.

[DrReality]

Reports on what might happen are like a docu-drama. Part reality and part fiction, but you never know which is which.

[KB21]

On the Move

This was the press release when Scott Perry took the assistant gm job in Seattle. It gives some good background information on him, including his stints as an assistant at Michigan, head coach at Eastern Kentucky, and when he got his start in the Pistons organization.

Perry back in Detroit's front office

Scott is a Detroit and Michigan man. He spent one year in Seattle where he commuted to and from, and he left to come back to Detroit when John Hammond took the gm job in Milwaukee. That could be a potential road block towards getting him, but by taking the Atlanta job, he would be the general manager and not the assistant general manager.

[KB21]

Former PR man on track to become GM

This guy has a very interesting background. He's worked his way up from the media side of the operations, which would be an interesting angle for the Hawks. Considering how gruff Billy Knight was to the media and how some fans perceived him, getting a guy like Tommy Sheppard would be a contrasting style.

Sheppard and Newton receive promotions

This article gives a little insight as to what Tommy's job was with the Wizards. He's been involved in salary cap management, negotiations, draft preparation, and talent evaluation. This also gives a little insight on Milt Newton as well, another potential GM candidate for the Hawks.