What is Sund's offseason plan?

[theatlfan]

The more I think about this, the more I realize that I really don't know. On the one hand, he is a result oriented, hands off GM that allows the people under him to make decisions without interference and the knowledge that their jobs will not be based on some micromanaged factor (i.e., JJ played 40 minutes per game instead of the stated goal of 37.5) but on Ws. In the interviews I've seen with him, he has made it clear that there is a line between his decisions and those of his coach. To this extent, Woodson led the team to a near-50 W season and home court advantage in round 1 of the playoffs - no easy feat considering that we were close to the record for Ls in a season 3-4 years ago. All this would imply that Sund should go out and give Woodson the parts he needs to take the Hawks deeper into the playoffs. The things that are truly holes on our team are a C that wouldn't be a a complete mismatch when he's on Big Z (no one isn't a mismatch against Howard) and someone that can contain the Barbosa and Nate Robinsons of the league. If he could land these pieces - on top of ensuring we don't regress by resigning our own or at least getting near equivalent, or better, replacements - then we aren't too far from competing with a CLE or an ORL. Considering that he turned a lemon (Chills defection to Greece) into lemonade (signings of Mo Evans and Flip) with limited resources last year, is Sund ready to set his sights higher this off-season?

OTOH, Sund is very shrewd and plays his cards close to the vest. He says things that on the surface seem like praise, but doesn't really mean anything to his future plans. As we've already seen, "I'm happy with Woodson as coach" doesn't mean "I'm willing to commit to him long term". You have to watch his actions to determine what he will do. Looking @ his actions, they seem to say that he isn't enamored with this team. On top of the low balling Chills which led to the defection, Woodson wasn't extended and he made no attempt to shoot higher than the minimal deals given to Flip Murray (1 year/$1.5 mil) and Mo Evans (2 years/$2.5 per with a PO for the same $) in FA last year. That amount of $$$ is what you pay to ensure that the end of your bench is decent and can step up in case of injury - not for solidifying 2 of the only 3 positions on the bench in the rotation. Further, there was no attempt to snag a 2nd rounder for cash even though he was about to completely redo the 11-14 spots on the team (he signed Hunter, Gardner, and Morris; West was the only holdover). Sure, Sund did resign Smith, but Sund didn't exactly jump to bring Smith back, and considering Smith's stunning '07-'08 season, he didn't exactly break the piggy bank either. Did Sund wait to see who his possible trade partners would be for Smith would be when he decided to go a different direction? Is it a coincidence that he ensured that Woodson and JJ's deals expire @ the same time? If this is the case, Sund is in position to completely turn it over. Out of our top 8, 4 are FAs; JJ is expiring; Horford is on a rookie contract. Only Evans (a PO in '10-'11 for minimal $$$) and Smith (long term, big $$$) are the only pieces that currently have contracts past this year and neither is untradeable. The rest of our roster doesn't have much - only Speedy (as an expiring) and Law (B-Level prospect or a small expiring) have any value and only one, Morris, has a contract into next season. Could we come out the off-season with an entirely new team? Could Sund look to trade Smith or Horford in an attempt to land Rubio (you think it'd be easier to find a new coach next year if he had Rubio to tutor)? Mortgage some of the parts for cap room and picks next off-season in what could be a time with the most talent available (both draft and FA class) than we've seen in awhile? With what we have, he could prolly pull it off.

I can't say either plan is particularly bad plan, and honestly, one plan doesn't necessarily exclude the other either - due to our stack of PFs and our weakness in talent and/or depth @ every other position. But I still don't know what Sund's next move is...

Thoughts?

[niffoc4]

I think we saw a similar sund last year to the one we'll see this year. He'll wait and see with Marvin, sign cheap bench veterans... possibly replacing Flip Murray with Jannero Pargo. The only thing I'm not sure about is PG. The draft will probably be a good indication. I think he'll go cheap if he drafts a Ty Lawson, but if he doesn't draft a PG, then he's probably going to try to keep Bibby or go for one of the top PGs (like Nash Miller, Kidd).