Tim Bontemps bolts ESPN writing gig for Hawks front office job

From the press box to the executive suite. 

Former ESPN NBA writer and New York Post reporter Tim Bontemps is taking a role with the Hawks’ front office as a strategic advisor, he confirmed Wednesday.

The new position will see Bontemps report to the team’s president of basketball operations, Onsi Saleh.

ESPN reported the news on Wednesday morning, and Bontemps confirmed his move in posts on X, as well as on “The Hoop Collective” podcast. 

“It’s something I’ve thought about for a while, but I never knew if I’d have a chance to do or the right thing would come along. I’m very grateful and appreciative for Onsi to give me a chance to try to help a little bit,” Bontemps said.

“I had a dream job at ESPN. … I certainly wasn’t trying to go anywhere. I was only going to leave if it was a really awesome thing that came up and I got very fortunate that this is a very cool thing and so we’re going to move to Atlanta.”

Bontemps started his journalism career with The Post and covered the Nets during his time at the paper before covering the NBA for the Washington Post and later going to the Worldwide Leader. 

Front Office Sports first reported that Bontemps was in advanced talks to join the Hawks’ front office in June. He was absent from “The Hoop Collective” during the reaction to the blockbuster Giannis Antetokounmpo trade. 

Bontemps had been heavily focusing on team strategy, player movement and league trends during his latter coverage of the league at ESPN, in addition to appearing on the network’s shows and digital assets. 

Atlanta is coming off a season in which it was knocked out of the playoffs in the first round by the Knicks after going 46-36 in the regular season.