RICK SUND
Executive Vice President and General Manager

In his first full summer as the team's head of basketball operations, the Hawks succeeded in retaining the bulk of the team's nucleus from the 2008-09's 47-win club, including unrestricted free agents Mike Bibby and Zaza Pachulia, and restricted free agent Marvin Williams.

The Hawks landed additional firepower when the organization added the services of veteran guard Jamal Crawford from Golden State, and drafted Wake Forest's Jeff Teague (the 19th overall pick in the 2009 Draft).

Last year, Atlanta returned to postseason play for the third straight year (and second under Sund) and recorded the franchise's best record in 13 seasons when they finished with 53 victories and a third-place regular season ranking in the Eastern Conference. His ability to obtain Crawford via trade not only filled a void coming off the bench, but also provided the Hawks with a legitimate Sixth Man of the Year candidate. A starter for much of his pro career, Crawford was willing and able to do what was necessary (he tallied a league-high 18.0 ppg, the most by any reserve a year ago) for the team en route to winning his first NBA honor and reaching the playoffs for the first time in his career.

The man behind much of this summer's off-season activity, Sund was able to re-sign unrestricted free agent and four-time All-Star Joe Johnson, and acquire dynamic guard Jordan Crawford from Xavier in this year's Draft. In addition, he was responsible to hiring a new coach for the Hawks, naming longtime NBA assistant Larry Drew.

Formerly the General Manager of the Seattle Sonics from 2001-07, Sund and the Sonics were the inaugural champions of the Northwest Division in 2004-05, and the team reached the postseason twice during his tenure.

Prior to that, he served in several different capacities with the Dallas Mavericks from 1979-94, finishing up as Vice President of Basketball Operations. At the start of his tenure, he helped the expansion Mavericks develop their inaugural season roster as the Director of Player Personnel. Selected by team President Norm Sonju, Sund - at the age of 28 - became one of the youngest lead executives in the league.

One of the NBA's most-respected front office executives, Sund presided over a Mavericks team that won a franchise-record 55 games and took home the Midwest Division title in 1986-87. Dallas matched or improved their record in each of the franchise's first eight seasons, reaching the playoffs on six occasions and making it to the Western Conference Finals in 1988.

In 1994, he spent one season as a consultant for the Sonics during Wally Walker's first season as GM, managing the Sonics' college scouting program and assisting Walker with personnel decisions.

Sund joined the Pistons as Vice President of Player Personnel in the summer of 1995, later assuming the title of Executive VP and General Manager of Basketball Operations. The Pistons, winners of 100 games in his first two seasons, participated in the playoffs four times during his Detroit years, where he spent six seasons (1995-2001). He assisted in developing the Pistons in the areas of roster and player development, trades, contract negotiations, player drafts, free-agent acquisitions and other team operations.

Sund began his career in Milwaukee under the tutelage of Wayne Embry, spending five years with the Bucks after graduating with a master's degree in sports administration from Ohio University in 1974.

He was a two-sport athlete at Northwestern University, where in basketball (as a 6-4 guard) he earned CoSIDA Academic All-America (third team) honors in 1973, and was twice named academic All-Big Ten, while also seeing action as a tight end and wide receiver on the football team. He holds a bachelor's degree in political science from Northwestern.

Sund is a charter member of the advisory board for the University of Michigan's Division of Kinesiology Sport Management. He previously served on the board of directors for the Special Olympics for the state of Washington, and was an advisory board member of the University of Oregon's business school's Warsaw Sports Marketing and Management Division.

Born on June 4, 1951, Sund has completed three marathons and a mini-triathlon. Richard Walker Sund is a native of Elgin, IL, and is a member of the Illinois Basketball Hall of Fame. He and his wife Lea are the parents of two children, daughter Hali and son Patrick.