The Atlanta Hawks are finalizing a deal to hire Pelicans General Manager Bryson Graham as Senior Vice President of Basketball Operations. They have also hired Philadelphia 76ers executive Peter Dinwiddie as Senior Vice President of Strategy and Analytics. These hires come as the first additions to new Hawks GM Onsi Saleh, who was promoted after the franchise decided to fire former GM Landry Fields.
Bryson Graham started his career with the Pels in 2010 as an intern, working his way up the organization. Graham was promoted to GM last off-season under the former President of Basketball Operations, David Griffin. His promotion came after former GM Trajan Langdon left for the Pistons' job last summer. Graham's departure is a disappointing one, as over the years, he has been important in identifying talent through the draft process. Let's take a closer look.
What the Pelicans lost
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Graham has been loyal to the Pelicans organization for years, working his way up for 14 years before finally being named General Manager last summer. So what makes him so great? Well, it's his dedication. Graham is an extremely hard worker who dedicates himself to growing his basketball mind and really challenges himself to be better. Whether that comes in the form of figuring out why certain guys fit with the Pelicans' culture or why certain guys won't fit.
Over his time with the Pelicans, he has been credited with helping them make selections like Dyson Daniels, who was drafted 8th overall in 2022. Daniels was traded last off-season to the Hawks and won Most Improved Player this past year. Showing that the Pelicans made a mistake by trading away Daniels. However, Graham held up his end of the bargain, which was to find talent. It's not his fault Willie Green couldn't develop it.
Graham has also been credited with pressuring the rest of the Pels front office to draft Trey Murphy in 2021. Murphy's scouting report, according to NBAdraft.net, described him as a potential three-and-D wing in the NBA. However, Graham saw something in him that others didn't, so the Pels took Murphy 17th overall. Now, Trey is one of the most complete wings in the NBA. He's a guy who can score at all three levels, has crazy athleticism and is on his way to [being a superstar player](https://pelicandebrief.com/why-the-pelicans-cannot-trade-trey-murphy-amid-latest-rumors) in this league.
But outside of the 1st round of the draft, Graham also excels at finding diamonds in the rough. He helped the Pelicans' front office discover a pair of second-round gems. Firstly, Herb Jones, one of the NBA's best defenders, was drafted 35th overall by the Pelicans in 2021. Another guy is [Antonio Reeves](https://pelicandebrief.com/antonio-reeves-is-the-new-orleans-pelicans-secret-weapon), who was drafted 47th overall in last year's draft. He is a crafty microwave scorer who shot 39.5% from 3 last season.
Graham also played a massive part in bringing in a couple of undrafted guys like Jose Alvarado and Naji Marshall. It is wild to be able to find quality role players like these two as undrafted rookies.
What it all boils down to is that the Pelicans just lost a guy who has done nothing but help bring talent to the organization year in and year out. Someone who has been loyal to the organization, and many could argue, should maybe have gotten the job Joe Dumars did. In a year where you're picking 7th overall, not having Bryson Graham to help make decisions with this pick is an absolute nightmare and could lead to the Pelicans ending up with a bust.