Hawks Deny Reports Wes Wilcox Has Been Fired as Atlanta Hawks GM

The Atlanta Hawks are denying reports they have fired general manager Wes Wilcox on Wednesday following the team's first-round playoff exit at the hands of the Washington Wizards. 

"Hawks leadership is undergoing a period of evaluation and looking at how basketball operations works best," read a statement from the team. "There are no changes to report at this time and any reports indicating otherwise are inaccurate."

Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reported ownership is still discussing Wilcox's future and a decision has yet to be made. Jeff Goodman.com of ESPN first reported the front-office change. Jeff Hullinger of WXIA confirmed the news.

In addition to the Wilcox news, Hawks president/coach Mike Budenholzer has been in talks with ownership to drop duties as president, but stay on as Atlanta coach, according to Wojnarowski. 

Wilcox joined the Hawks organization in 2012 from the Cleveland Cavaliers, where he'd worked his way up to director of player personnel during a decade-long stay with the franchise. He was originally hired by Atlanta as assistant general manager to Danny Ferry.

The Cal State Fullerton product was promoted to general manager in June 2015 after Ferry's departure following a controversy involving racially insensitive comments.

In January, Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated reported Wilcox received "undisclosed discipline" from the Hawks after making a race-based joke at a fan gathering.

The incident was first reported by Deadspin's Patrick Redford, who provided details about the situation from two sources present at the "Chalk Talk" event, including season ticket holder Clarenton Crawford.

"I know you guys may be angry with me, but I’m used to it because I have a black wife and three mixed kids, so I’m used to people being angry and argumentative," Wilcox reportedly replied following a series of questions about polarizing roster moves.

The Hawks GM provided Deadspin with a statement about his comments.

"At an early December chalk talk, I made a self-deprecating comment at my own expense regarding my family, which is multi-racial," Wilcox said. "This joke offended Mr. Crawford and his wife and for that, I apologize."

The Hawks went 48-34 during his first season in control of the roster before getting swept by the eventual champion Cavaliers in the second round. Their performance faded slightly during the 2016-17 campaign, as they went 43-39 before getting ousted by the Wizards in the first round.