The Atlanta Hawks have hired former ESPN senior NBA writer Tim Bontemps for a front office position, the team announced. Bontemps will serve as a strategic adviser, reporting directly to president of basketball operations Onsi Saleh.

Bontemps, 41, spent the last eight seasons covering the NBA for ESPN after joining the network in 2018.

At ESPN, Bontemps focused primarily on team strategy, player movement and broader league trends. He also co-hosted "The Hoop Collective" podcast, earning a reputation for direct, straightforward analysis.

Bontemps began his journalism career at the New York Post following his 2007 graduation from St. Bonaventure. He was promoted in 2012 to cover the Brooklyn Nets beat, a role he held for three years before departing for The Washington Post.

Atlanta finished last season 46-36 under Saleh's first year as the franchise's lead basketball executive, falling in the first round of the playoffs to the eventual champion New York Knicks. Saleh orchestrated several roster changes during the year, including a midseason trade sending four-time All-Star Trae Young to the Washington Wizards for C.J. McCollum and Corey Kispert.