Rick Sund shouldn

Post #1 » by **HMFFL** » Fri Jun 1, 2012 3:59 am

As early as next week, the Hawks will make an announcement on the status of Rick Sund. Maybe he comes back as general manager. Maybe he comes back as team president. Maybe he comes back as consultant, spiritual adviser, GM Emeritus and VP of Deflecting Blame for the Joe Johnson Contract.

Doesn’t really matter what he decides. It’s a problem.

Sund is considering retirement. Do you know what some say when an athlete is considering retirement? He already has checked out. The same belief should apply to coaches and team executives.

In all likelihood, no matter what Sund chooses to do, he will remain with the Hawks through the draft. He still has the downtown office on Marietta Street. He will attend an NBA draft combine this weekend. He will be the Hawks’ executive talking to other general managers about players who potentially might be available in trade.

Sund goes into this Hawks’ offseason as both a possible lame duck and their primary makeover artist — a bad combination. http://blogs.ajc.com/jeff-schultz-blog/ ... for-hawks/

evildallas · Post #2 » by **evildallas** » Tue Jun 5, 2012 4:23 am

I agree with the opinion. Sund is professional, but a GM has to live and breath a mission.

It dawned on me today how much I disagree with the blow up the roster position many on this board have. Sadly the reason isn't that I love the roster or think it can truly accomplish great things, but rather than I don't think the right people are in place to do the rebuilding. Last time we rebuilt from scratch Billy Knight was the GM and while he did do a fine job at the fire sale, he wasn't the right evaluator of talent or architect of the plan that the team really needed. Right now we a GM that's contemplating retirement and the least expense coach on a lame duck deal. Wrong people to lay the foundation for another decade of Hawks teams.

jagstang76 · Post #3 » by **jagstang76** » Tue Jun 5, 2012 1:36 pm

I don't know if this needs to be under a new topic or not, but this quote makes me think about how this team should be built. I remember BK talking about the "long & athletic" philosophy, and for a while I felt it made a lot of sense. However, getting long and athletic can't override actual talent (i.e. taking Marvin rather than Paul or Deron). He also let positional need override his plan and all common sense to take Sheldon Williams. The thread on Dallas had a comment about marketable players that makes a lot of sense to me. The right mix on a roster (in my opinion) has to include a marketable talent, a strong core of talent both offensive and defensive, and an overall worker mentality in the team that allows them to remain disciplined. The one team I would model after right now is OKC. They built a young, very talented core that has great marketability and the discipline to press through adversity. I also think having the right coach makes a huge difference. Woody, as much as I hate to admit it, was a fairly solid coach with a strong defensive mindset, but he couldn't get anyone to listen to him. Drew doesn't have the right personality in my book. There are a few coaches out there that have just rode the talent, but there are those who have made their talent better. Sounds simple, but we all know how hard it is to put together all these pieces. I just believe we need a GM that explicitly focuses on this plan. There are a few players on this team that fit this mold, but we need to make changes that reflect this mindset. It may take a while before we can make enough moves that puts this team on the right track, but we have to start somewhere.

theatlfan · Post #4 » by **theatlfan** » Tue Jun 5, 2012 6:07 pm

I thought on this and I could see it go either way. I'd think a new GM wouldn't want to be seen as the wrecking ball that tore down a decent club. So, if Sund would do that for us, then all the better. A new GM wouldn't have to make the tough calls of which assets to give away to get our cap into a position where we could go through a rebuild. The bigger problem is would Sund do it though. Would he be willing to make the last hurrah of his career be a tearing down of a club that he steered to a 2nd tier team. If so, then I think we could get a better GM than we could if he didn't...

raleigh · Post #5 » by **raleigh** » Tue Jun 5, 2012 9:06 pm

What could he possibly do that is worse than signing a guy to a $123M deal?

evildallas · Post #6 » by **evildallas** » Wed Jun 6, 2012 1:59 am

raleigh wrote:What could he possibly do that is worse than signing a guy to a $123M deal?

I still believe that's an ownership decision. If I'm an owner I don't empower an employee to invest that much money on his own. It's almost half the value of the franchise. I do feel that if he even advocated that move he should never work in basketball again.

This is also why Joe is not dumped to get out of the contract. Someone at the top loves Joe and evidently coming up small in the playoffs each year isn't enough to sour that love.

jagstang76 · Post #7 » by **jagstang76** » Wed Jun 6, 2012 1:56 pm

Well, no matter how much ASG loves JJ, he's moving downhill in his career, not up. At some point, that must be understood and the good of the franchise considered. IMO, an owner cannot afford to get too attached to the players because they have to operate on a higher perspective to be sure their investments match the goals they have set. Otherwise, you have blind allegiance that results in under-performance. I like Joe too, but his game isn't enough to warrant his contract, and that just kills this team's chances.