HoopsHype.com Rumors

Shams Charania: As he heard of Mike Brown firing, #Hawks' Danny Ferry - Brown's GM in CLE - was in meeting, and a person in room told me Ferry was shocked. Twitter @ShamsCharania

Atlanta Hawks, Los Angeles Lakers, Coaching, Danny Ferry, Mike Brown 

Peter Vecsey: Should Mike Brown not make it through the season it's safe to assume Danny Ferry will hire him 2 coach Hawks (Drew lame duck) next season. Twitter @PeterVecsey1

Atlanta Hawks, Coaching, Danny Ferry, Mike Brown, Larry Drew 

The Hawks planned on staying the course, with Joe Johnson headlining their team, if Rick Sund had decided to commit to a new long-term deal to stay on as general manager. Despite his team’s inability to win more than one round in recent seasons, Sund thought his core group of players, led by Johnson and Al Horford and with several others hitting the prime of their careers, could have gone deep into the postseason in 2012-13. But when Sund declined to stay long- term, the Hawks brought in former Cavs GM Danny Ferry to replace him as their chief decision-maker, with Sund now serving as Ferry’s adviser. Ferry was willing to make changes and that’s the only reason Johnson became expendable. New York Daily News

Atlanta Hawks, Brooklyn Nets, Joe Johnson, Danny Ferry, Rick Sund 

The owners’ best-received move might have been hiring Ferry after courting him for three months. “We had very clear and open conversations,” Ferry said. “I asked very direct questions of (Levenson). He gave very clear and honest answers. He asked direct questions of me. I gave very clear and honest answers. This was a situation I (was) comfortable in, very comfortable that we were going to be given a great opportunity to succeed. “I wanted to feel comfortable we would be working together going forward. …. I wanted to feel I was working for someone with strong values who I would enjoy working with.” Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Atlanta Hawks, Danny Ferry 

New general manager Danny Ferry agreed with the decision to pick up Drew’s option and the two will wait until after the season to discuss the coach’s future. “My focus is to go out and coach as well as I can,” Drew told the AJC. “I don’t want to concern myself. I had a conversation with my representative back in the early part of the summer and let it be known that I think the last couple of years speak for themselves as far as my ability as a head coach in this league. Things that I can’t control I’ve made my mind up long before that I can’t concern myself with. I enjoy doing what I’m doing. I enjoy the players. I enjoy the camaraderie. I enjoy the challenges. With the situation being what it is, I’ve already made my mind up. My focus is to go out and coach this team to the best of my ability and we’ll see where things fall.” Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Atlanta Hawks, Coaching, Danny Ferry, Larry Drew 

Chris Vivlamore: #Hawks' Josh Smith on whether GM Danny Ferry's assessment of his contract status was correct: "We are on the same page." Twitter @ajchawks

Atlanta Hawks, Danny Ferry, Josh Smith 

Ujiri has emerged as a rising star among league front-office executives and had been the 76ers' primary target along with new Atlanta Hawks GM Danny Ferry, sources said. Yahoo! Sports

Atlanta Hawks, Denver Nuggets, Philadelphia 76ers, Danny Ferry, Masai Ujiri 

Hawks GM Danny Ferry says Spurs free agent James Anderson has been invited to join the team’s veterans camp. Anderson apparently will accept, according to a tweet by former teammate Danny Green. Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Atlanta Hawks, Free Agency, Danny Ferry, James Anderson 

Tom Haberstroh: Interesting nugget: Danny Ferry says Orlando refused to trade Dwight Howard within the division, eliminating the Hawks. Twitter

Atlanta Hawks, Orlando Magic, Trade, Danny Ferry, Dwight Howard 

Was Howard a major focus for you? Danny Ferry: He was a focus of the whole league. It wasn’t our sole focus. You can’t invest everything in one guy like that. Grantland

Atlanta Hawks, Danny Ferry, Dwight Howard 

Danny Ferry: With Joe gone, the dynamic of our team is naturally going to change. There’s going to be more touches and more possessions that other people are gonna be a part of. I would imagine that both Devin [Harris] and Jeff — and Louis [Williams] — will absorb a lot of those. And all of them will become very important to our group. Grantland

Atlanta Hawks, Joe Johnson, Devin Harris, Danny Ferry, Louis Williams, Jeff Teague 

He approached the Orlando Magic about a trade for Howard in early July but was turned down. He never had the opportunity to share his vision with Howard and try to convince him that the dysfunction that Howard (an Atlanta native) was familiar with was a thing of the past. It never even got as far as being in position to convince Howard to sign an extension. “We had discussions with Orlando about Dwight Howard,” Ferry said. “They were apprehensive to trade him within the division.” Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Atlanta Hawks, Orlando Magic, Trade, Danny Ferry, Dwight Howard 

"In the past in Philadelphia, my role was to light it up and score as many points as I possibly could," (Lou) Williams said. "Talking to coach (Larry) Drew and talking to (general manager Danny Ferry), I think my role will be similar, if not increased. Obviously, you have Devin and you have Jeff, who are very talented guards, and then you add myself in that mode. I've always been the type of guy that I'm a team player, I'm a team guy. I don't plan on coming in here competing with these guys negatively. I think we can all compete and help us all win games." FOXSportsSouth.com

Atlanta Hawks, Danny Ferry, Louis Williams 

Ferry will tell you that he “didn’t come in looking to” trade Johnson, but the opportunity presented itself (and he pounced). But Smith is a different story. Ferry likes him –a lot. “He’s a really good player,” Ferry said. “I love his ability to pass the ball. I love his ability to make game-changing plays defensively. I love his competitiveness. If I was out there playing, I would want Josh on my team.” Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Atlanta Hawks, Danny Ferry, Josh Smith 

But does Smith want to be here? He wasn’t available for comment Tuesday, but Ferry said he has met with him twice. “He’s excited for next season,” he said. “We haven’t really gone in that direction with him [on roster plans]. But we’ve talked about how we’re going to play. We’ve talked about other payers. His ideas, my ideas. I’m just trying to establish a relationship.” Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Atlanta Hawks, Danny Ferry, Josh Smith 

Ken Berger: Philly already has interviewed Tom Penn and Danny Ferry for a position that will involve eventually replacing Rod Thorn as team president. Twitter

Philadelphia 76ers, Tom Penn, Rod Thorn, Danny Ferry, Jeff Bower 

According to Ferry, the moves weren’t easy to make because of the solid contributions of Johnson and Williams over the years, but needed to be done to usher in a fresh start. “Difficult decision to make in moving guys of that caliber,” Ferry told HOOPSWORLD about making the Williams and Johnson deals. “I think the mindset was that we probably weren’t good enough and the status quo wasn’t going to make sense if that was the case.” HoopsWorld

Atlanta Hawks, Joe Johnson, Danny Ferry, Marvin Williams 

Sources say the Sixers' ownership group, headed by Harris and private-equity guru David Blitzer, is expected to consider several candidates to handle the day-to-day duties under Thorn and eventually succeed him as team president. The Sixers previously interviewed former Spurs and Cavaliers exec Danny Ferry, who was later hired to the GM post in Atlanta. CBSSports.com

Philadelphia 76ers, Rod Thorn, Danny Ferry 

The Atlanta Hawks have signed veteran guard Lou Williams to a multi-year contract, it was announced today by President of Basketball Operations/GM Danny Ferry. Per club policy, terms of the deals were not disclosed. NBA.com

Atlanta Hawks, Danny Ferry, Louis Williams 

Hawks forward Josh Smith is eager to see what Danny Ferry has in store for the in the future but he doesn’t seem to be impressed by what he sees right now. Ferry agreed to trade Joe Johnson and Marvin Williams in deals that no doubt leave the Hawks as a worse team now. Word is Smith, whose contract expires after next season, expressed his concerns about the team’s direction in a recent meeting with Ferry. The Hawks GM in turn told Smith his short- and long-term visions for making the team a contender. Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Atlanta Hawks, Trade, Danny Ferry, Josh Smith