Over the length of an entire NBA offseason, where there's no shortage of unexpected roster movement, it's understandable to forget an under-the-radar front office departure from a team who was a recent first-round exit.
Plus, after the departure, it's not like they slowed down. Their summer had just begun, and it ended up being a wild one. Not in a traditional sense, as they didn't go out and acquire a superstar-level talent, but they made all the right moves to potentially leap them to the top of the Eastern Conference.
They operated all summer without Bryson Graham - their senior vice president of basketball operations and right-hand man to Onsi Saleh - after he left for an expanded role with the Chicago Bulls.
It took a hot minute, but finally, the Hawks have replaced Graham.
They chose an internal option to back up Saleh's operations
They could've looked elsewhere. Maybe there was a hidden gem somewhere around the league awaiting a call. Or maybe, the hidden gem was already in the fold.
On Tuesday morning, the Hawks announced a variety of front office adjustments, including most notably Peter Dinwiddie, who would be promoted from senior vice president of strategy and analytics to executive vice president of basketball operations.
Hawks announce a series of front office adjustments: pic.twitter.com/D55QrFb805
— Zach Langley (@ZachLangleyNBA) September 8, 2026
That's a major step up.
Dinwiddie joined the Atlanta Hawks organization at the same time Graham did - in the critical 2025 offseason, following the firing of Landry Fields.
Graham was the top guy under Saleh, who was entering his first offseason as Atlanta's lead decision-maker. With Graham gone, that spot sat empty for awhile, but is now being filled by Dinwiddie, who looks to have a similar career progression to Graham.
With Saleh calling all the shots, the Hawks have operated in a way that's likely to result in success. Whether it's during this upcoming season or next. Adding Dinwiddie's respected voice into a larger role should do nothing but great things regarding the tough decisions they'll soon be forced to make.
More voices can provide input on how to cut down the roster
Everyone seems to be forgetting that the Hawks aren't at all done with their movement this summer. The season begins in just over a month, and yet, Atlanta needs to get rid of a few guys in order to get things started.
At 17-rostered players, they'll need to get down to 15. Maybe they'll take it all the way to the buzzer, or maybe, with Dinwiddie's guidance under Saleh, it can be something they get done sooner rather than later.
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