Report: Hawks will part ways with GM Danny Ferry

The sale of the Atlanta Hawks will signal a new day for the suddenly resurgent franchise. It may also signal the end of general manager Danny Ferry's tenure there.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Jeff Schultz, "There has been a belief within the Hawks’ organization for several months that the team’s general manager is not going to be brought back."

Schultz also reports that for at least the next year, head coach Mike Budenholzer and assistant general manager Wes Wilcox will continue to run the basketball operations department, with Budenholzer, the reigning Coach of the Year, expected to get a new contract that comes with more money and autonomy.

Ferry was granted an indefinite leave of absence from his duties as GM and president of basketball operations in September after it was revealed that during a June meeting with Hawks management, he read aloud a racist comment about Luol Deng contained in a scouting report.

With the Hawks enjoying a franchise record 60-win season in the aftermath of the controversy, the team submitted Budenholzer's name for Executive of the Year instead of Ferry's, who was the architect of the East's top seed. Budenholzer subsequently finished third in the voting.

Team owner Bruce Levenson announced his intention to sell the Hawks in September, after self-reporting an August 2012 email he wrote that contained offensive stereotypes about the team's African-American fanbase and comparisons between black and white fans.

The Hawks' sale to Tony Ressler is expected to be finalized on June 24.

The Hawks have a crucial summer ahead of them, with All-Star power forward Paul Millsap and breakout starter DeMarre Carroll both set for unrestricted free agency and the team trying to solidify its status as East contenders going forward.