Woj: Hornets hiring Dotun Akinwale as Assistant GM

[yosemiteben]

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Only info I've been able to find about him came from an ATL Hawks announcement from this summer:

ATLANTA – The Atlanta Hawks today announced a series of promotions and hires within its basketball operations leadership group; Dotun Akinwale Jr. has been promoted to vice president of player personnel...

Akinwale Jr. is in his 11th NBA season and ninth with the Hawks. Since joining the club in 2015, he’s also served as manager of scouting, director of scouting and senior director of player personnel. He came to Atlanta from the Orlando Magic, where he was a basketball operations coordinator after starting as an intern. Akinwale Jr. played collegiately at Thiel College (Pa.), where he earned a degree in Business Administration. He is a native of Germantown, Md.

https://www.nba.com/hawks/news/atlanta-hawks-announce-basketball-operations-leadership-promotions-and-hires

[JDR720]

Vice President of Player Personnel of the Atlanta Hawks since Jan 29, 2023 (Promoted).
Senior Director of Player Personnel of the Atlanta Hawks from Jul 23, 2021 (Promoted) to 2023 (Promoted).
Director of Scouting of the Atlanta Hawks from Aug 19, 2019 (Promoted) to 2021 (Promoted).
Manager of Scouting of the Atlanta Hawks from 2015-2016 (Hired) to 2018-2019 (Promoted).

https://basketball.realgm.com/staff/Dotun-Akinwale/Summary/18062

Not sure how to feel about him. We've basically recreated the Hawks from Schnall's time there.


But if he's the assistant GM, that means we're still going to hire a regular GM too?

[Braggins]

So he was manager of scouting and was promoted to director of scouting about a year after the 2018 draft where they traded Luka for Trae?

[JDR720]

So he was manager of scouting and was promoted to director of scouting about a year after the 2018 draft where they traded Luka for Trae?

On draft day in 2018, the Atlanta Hawks selected Luka Doncic. They then sent the young Slovenian to Dallas in exchange for Trae Young and a 2019 first-round pick. But what persuaded the club to send a potential franchise player packing?

Apparently, it all came down to the franchise’s big board. According to general manager Travis Schlenk, the Hawks would have been happy with several prospects; since they weren’t married to a specific player, getting Young and an extra pick seemed like a no-brainer.

On a 2019 episode of Adrian Wojnarowski’s “The Woj Pod,” Schlenk explained that the Hawks were getting ready to select Doncic for themselves when the Mavs came calling. “Not a lot of people know this: if we would’ve stayed at three, we would’ve taken Luka,” he said. “But then Dallas came in an hour or so before the draft. I had told them all along that it would take another lottery pick for us to slide back. That’s when the conversations got started.”

“I’ve always taken the strategy with the draft, to use a baseball strategy: the more swings you get, the more chances you have to get a hit,” the general manager continued. “To be able to take one lottery pick and essentially turn it into two, that made sense to us.”

https://www.sportscasting.com/why-did-the-atlanta-hawks-trade-luka-doncic-to-dallas/

Shelenk is a candidate for our GM job too, I think

[Braggins]

So he was manager of scouting and was promoted to director of scouting about a year after the 2018 draft where they traded Luka for Trae?

On draft day in 2018, the Atlanta Hawks selected Luka Doncic. They then sent the young Slovenian to Dallas in exchange for Trae Young and a 2019 first-round pick. But what persuaded the club to send a potential franchise player packing?

Apparently, it all came down to the franchise’s big board. According to general manager Travis Schlenk, the Hawks would have been happy with several prospects; since they weren’t married to a specific player, getting Young and an extra pick seemed like a no-brainer.

On a 2019 episode of Adrian Wojnarowski’s “The Woj Pod,” Schlenk explained that the Hawks were getting ready to select Doncic for themselves when the Mavs came calling. “Not a lot of people know this: if we would’ve stayed at three, we would’ve taken Luka,” he said. “But then Dallas came in an hour or so before the draft. I had told them all along that it would take another lottery pick for us to slide back. That’s when the conversations got started.”

“I’ve always taken the strategy with the draft, to use a baseball strategy: the more swings you get, the more chances you have to get a hit,” the general manager continued. “To be able to take one lottery pick and essentially turn it into two, that made sense to us.”

https://www.sportscasting.com/why-did-the-atlanta-hawks-trade-luka-doncic-to-dallas/

Shelenk is a candidate for our GM job too, I think

Peterson theoretically seems like an interesting hire, but I'm definitely iffy about hiring a bunch of other Atlanta guys.

At least this story makes it seem like the scouting department did their job having Luka over Trae, but the GM is maybe responsible for the bad trade.

Although, the first draft pick the Hawks made after this guy got promoted to director of scouting was taking Deandre Hunter 4th overall. Not sure about this guy, but I'm definitely a hard NO on Schlenk for the GM position.

[JDR720]

Peterson. Dotun.

Seems obvious Schnall is the one calling shots from a basketball perspective. He knew both of these guys from being a Hawks owner.

Hopefully they are well qualified and not being hired just because Schnall likes them.

Would feel better if they weren't from the Hawks though. Hiring the management of perennial treadmill team doesn't make me feel confident this works.

[Braggins]

Peterson. Dotun.

Seems obvious Schnall is the one calling shots from a basketball perspective. He knew both of these guys from being a Hawks owner.

Hopefully they are well qualified and not being hired just because Schnall likes them.

Would feel better if they weren't from the Hawks though. Hiring the management of perennial treadmill team doesn't make me feel confident this works.

The specific reasons I'm not a fan of the Atlanta front office from this time period are mostly their draft blunders. This Dotun guy being a major player in their scouting department during this period is hard for me to not worry about.

[Snidely FC]

So which is it, do they aspire to be “The Premier Franchise In The NBA,” or do they aspire to be “The 2018 Atlanta Hawks,” because those two things are mutually exclusive.

[Bassman]

From previous quote: “I’ve always taken the strategy with the draft, to use a baseball strategy: the more swings you get, the more chances you have to get a hit,” the general manager continued. “To be able to take one lottery pick and essentially turn it into two, that made sense to us.”

This notion is not false in and of itself, but cannot be applied universally. Depends on who you are missing out on. Kobe, for an example from our butchered past.

I fear Peterson and the owners are gathering all the gang from Atlanta for CLT. Not what I want to see…

[JDR720]

Peterson theoretically seems like an interesting hire, but I'm definitely iffy about hiring a bunch of other Atlanta guys.

At least this story makes it seem like the scouting department did their job having Luka over Trae, but the GM is maybe responsible for the bad trade.

Although, the first draft pick the Hawks made after this guy got promoted to director of scouting was taking Deandre Hunter 4th overall. Not sure about this guy, but I'm definitely a hard NO on Schlenk for the GM position.

Took Reddish 10th in that same draft. Somebody named Marcos Louzada Silva at 35th.

In 2020, they took Onyeka Okongwu 6th and Skylar Mays 50th.

In 2021, they took Jalen Johnson 20th and Sharife Cooper 48th.

So as far as I'm concerned, when he was scouting head the Hawks only had 2/7 picks that were good. Arguably 1/7 since Okongwu is a backup still.

In 2022 and 2023. They picked Kobe Bufkin, Seth Lundy, A.J. Griffin, and Ryan Rollins

So their drafting is to say the least... pretty terrible. Mitch hits on 2nd rounders better than they hit on 1st's.

[JDR720]

Like, how do you do an objectively bad job... and get promoted? Maybe he's just bad at drafting, but hopefully whoever our GM is comes from a strong drafting background. And isn't from the Hawks. 3/3 of our front office leaders being recent Hawks management doesn't bode well.

[fatlever]

Draft record is very concerning
But happy we are moving fast to get guys in place


Sent from my SM-G973U using RealGM mobile app

[JustBuzzin]

Bud is OTW

[JMAC3]

It is an assistant gm job, not too worried about it since Peterson and GM will have more say. I think I saw this dude is another guy either 30 yrs or just a tad older than that. At least our new ownership is spending money.

[luciano-davidwesley]

We don't know if Akinwale preferred someone else in those drafts and was overruled by Schlenk for example. We don't know enough to make judgement here.

We'll still have Kupcake on board as a draft advisor by the looks of things anyway.

[JDR720]

GREENVILLE, Pa.-- Dotun Akinwale was focused, calculated and persistent during his collegiate career at Thiel. When he was not in the Academic Center laboring for his Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration, he was working out in the Paul Bush '66 Memorial Fitness Center to prepare for basketball season on the hardwood floor of the Beeghly Gymnasium.

The former 6-foot-1-inch guard has a new uniform these days. He has traded in his navy blue and old gold uniform with T-H-I-E-L splashed across the chest for new colors and gear. He now favors blue, black, silver and white, and a tightly wound necktie.

A 2013 graduate, Akinwale has executed the most successful drive to the basket in his career in landing a front office internship with the NBA's Orlando Magic.

"It was always a dream of mine to work in the front office for an NBA team," said Akinwale. "I feel extremely lucky; it's really hard to get into the NBA."

Akinwale's front office internship is the culmination of more than two years of hard work and dedication, not only to his duties as student and basketball player but also to a campaign of résumé-building, networking and self-promotion.

Akinwale knew he wanted to work in sport in some capacity by the end of his sophomore year, he said. He then spent the next two summers working for Sports Management Group Worldwide, Inc. (SMGW). Located in Fairfax, Va., SMGW represents professional athletes throughout the country.

"I thought I wanted to be an agent," said Akinwale, explaining his summer employment with SMGW. "After my junior year, I decided I wanted to work in the NBA in the front office, and I started to map it out."

"I didn't know anyone," Akinwale continued. "I just started trying to make contacts."

There were many phone calls and emails along the way, mostly to people whose statures and reputations as professional sport managers might intimidate most college students. There was plenty of rejection along the way, too. Akinwale heard more than his fair share of 'we're not hiring', 'we'll keep your résumé on file' and 'we'll keep you in mind if anything opens up'.

Finally, Akinwale contacted George Rodman, the basketball operations manager for the Orlando Magic. Rodman kept in touch with Akinwale for months, but he was not certain if the team was going to hire a basketball operations intern for the 2013-14 season.

Months went by, and Akinwale began to consider applying to graduate schools. In the fall, Akinwale finally learned that the Magic planned to hire a basketball operations intern, and his networking success earned him an interview for the position via Skype with Rodman and other front office personnel. Akinwale's first interview led to a second Skype interview with general manager Rob Hennigan and vice president/assistant general manager Scott Perry.

On the night of his second interview, one of the team's human resources employees called Akinwale to offer him the internship. Without hesitation, he accepted the offer. Akinwale arrived in Orlando on Sept. 29 and started his internship the next day.

"The internship has been great so far," Akinwale said. "It's a lot of work, but it's a lot of fun. There's always something to do, but it's one of those things where I wake up every morning and I'm so excited to go into the office."

As part of his basketball operations internship, Akinwale has been busy updating and maintaining the Magic's player database, scheduling scouting credentials for the team's scouts and front office staff, and creating documents for use in staff meetings. He is also responsible for in-game charting of opponents' performances and generating mini scouting reports on several players per game, as well as breaking video down.

"He's such a great kid," Thiel's eighth-year men's basketball head coach Tim Loomis said of Akinwale. "He did all of our film work last year, and I think that helped him. Of course, he's a really bright kid. Administrative, front office; I think he's that kind of guy."

Akinwale's internship is not free from typical intern duties. He makes copies, takes lunch orders and makes runs to the airport. It's well worth it to get his foot in the door with an NBA team, though.

"A lot of the guys in the front office started off as interns," he said. "They all know what it's like to do the little things to help build on the bigger things. They're really great to work with, and they have been very helpful."

A native of Boyds, Md., Akinwale wears new colors and a grown up's uniform. He now does most of his work inside Orlando's $380 million Amway Center, but he is still focused, calculated and persistent in continuing to pursue his professional NBA career.

https://www.thiel.edu/newsroom/press-releases/detail/dotun-akinwale-lands-internship-with-nbas-orlando-magic

[SWedd523]

From Mike centric sycophants to Schnall ones.

Not getting good vibes from these moves

[wilson115]

The Hawks have also had problems with nepotism and a meddling owner. Read he worked directly under Jeff during their time with the Hawks so I guess he's Jeff's hire.

[yosemiteben]

I don't have anything negative to say about this. Who knows if ATL's GM even listened to this guy, maybe he had killer scouting reports and recommendations and the GM was just opinionated and went different directions.

I don't understand people being critical because Peterson is recruiting guys he has history with, I think that's what we should expect. It was either going to be someone from ATL's FO or BRK's FO, he's going to look for guys he knows and understands what it is like to work with.

[MasterIchiro]

Shouldn't surprise anyone. Employment is so much about who you know. Consultants and mercenaries are rare in any field.

My brother works in investment banking. He says the guys who make the most money already come from money. They just walk into a huge book when they start a new job. They inherit the network of a relative.

Schnall and Plokin are just doing what investors do. They tap into their network and use it as leverage.

The foundation of this front office is already the Atlanta Hawks network Schnall was a part of.

Hopefully Bud comes as part of the package along with the many assistants who'd scramble to work for him.

I've read the Hawks front office was split on the Dejounte Murray acquisition. Maybe the same thing happened with the Luka draft. Maybe Peterson recognizes this new assistant GM as a terrific scout. Maybe he was banging the table for Luka

The Hawks front office has been gutted. Peterson's job is to acquire the best personnel available. Maybe he pulls from the Nets as well.

Brooklyn did try to keep him. They offered him the GM job so we upped the ante and put him higher up.