Hawks' Onsi Saleh Reportedly Lands New Contract, Promotion After 1 Season as GM

It reportedly didn't take long for Onsi Saleh to land a promotion and new contract with the Atlanta Hawks.

ESPN's Shams Charania reported Wednesday that the Hawks signed their general manager to a "long-term contract extension" while also promoting him to president of basketball operations.

Saleh took over the GM role last offseason.

While he was previously an executive with the Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs, working as Atlanta's GM put Saleh under a much brighter spotlight. And he wasted no time making his presence felt by trading the draft rights to Derik Queen at No. 13 overall for the No. 23 pick (Georgia forward Asa Newell) in the 2025 NBA draft and an unprotected 2026 first-rounder.

That 2026 first-rounder ended up being the No. 8 overall selection, giving the Hawks a potential franchise building block moving forward.

Saleh wasn't done and traded for Nickeil Alexander-Walker before the season started. During the season, he dealt Trae Young to the Washington Wizards, Luke Kennard to the Los Angeles Lakers and Kristaps Porziņģis to the Golden State Warriors.

Atlanta brought in CJ McCollum, Buddy Hield, Jonathan Kuminga and draft capital in those moves and ended the regular season with a 46-36 record and the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference.

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It even built a 2-1 lead over the New York Knicks in the first round and remain the only team in these playoffs to defeat the Knicks, who are now awaiting a Western Conference opponent in the NBA Finals.

The decision to move Young in particular stands out, as it wasn't long ago he was the face of the franchise and a fan favorite in Atlanta.

Yet Saleh helped usher in a new era and was the runner-up for the 2026 league executive of the year. Now he will have a chance to build on his headline moves as the Hawks look to become a legitimate contender in the Eastern Conference in the coming years.