For a team as deep in a rebuild as possible, the news that Dan Padover has come over as general manager should be a sight for sore Atlanta Dream fan eyes. Darius Taylor will join him as assistant general manager.
The former GM of the Las Vegas Aces has been hailed as one of the best in the business. Padover guiding the team throw the phase of moving from San Antonio to Las Vegas. Then, proceeded to build out one of the best rosters in the game today.
Looking to the ways in which Padover built the roster in Vegas, he really nailed all aspects of team building. In the draft, he was able to choose franchise cornerstone and MVP A’ja Wilson as well as 2021 sixth player of the year Kelsey Plum. Via trade, he was able to take Liz Cambage from Dallas when she became disgruntled there. As if that’s not enough, Padover was also able to convince Chelsea Gray to sign as an unrestricted free agent after the 2020 season.
Atlanta has also seen changes in ownership, basketball operations, and coaching in this calendar year. With just a handful of players under contract going into the next season, the roster is likely to turn over quite a bit as well.
If anybody can handle this rebuild, it’s Padover and Taylor. The Dream announced his hiring, as well as assistant GM Darius Taylor on October 25th:
Michael Burns
Founder of HoopSocial. Girl Dad. WNBA stan. Syracuse Orange and Charlotte Hornets fan. Sarcasm is my native tongue. You can follow me on Twitter at @mike_hoopsocial.