Woodson still unsure if he'll remain Hawks coach

Post #1 » by **HMFFL** » Wed Jun 11, 2008 12:26 am

Atlanta Hawks coach Mike Woodson says he still doesn't know if he'll be offered a new contract by new general manager Rick Sund.

"We're still going through the process," Woodson said Tuesday. "That's all I can tell you. It's more of a feel-out process. We're getting to know each other. That's where we are. We'll play it by ear and just see."

Woodson's contract is up at the end of the month. He has a poor 106-222 record, but the Hawks have made steady progress during his four years and ended the NBA's longest playoff drought this season, when they were 37-45.

The Hawks lost to the Boston Celtics in seven games in the first round of the playoffs, their first postseason appearance since 1999.

Sund, 57, was hired on May 28, and last week he said it was too early to comment on Woodson's status.

"Next week at this time, it might be a more appropriate question," Sund said last Wednesday. "But today I can't answer it."

Sund didn't return a phone message on Tuesday.

Woodson still unsure if he'll remain Hawks coach

HoopsGuru25 · Post #2 » by **HoopsGuru25** » Wed Jun 11, 2008 12:40 am

I will be unsure if Woodson is the next Hawk's coach when Sund actually interviews someone for the job. Sund has been GM for 2 weeks. Is he going to hire Dwayne Casey out of no where? Is he waiting to interview Thibodeau(although I highly doubt this)after the finals are over? I really can't imagine Sund just sitting there wondering if Woody is the right coach for this team. If he was...wouldn't he have started interviewing potential coaches including Woody? It just doesn't feel like we have a "coaching vacancy". Maybe the Hawks are only offering one guaranteed year (like they did with BK)which is causing a hold up.

td00 · Post #3 » by **td00** » Wed Jun 11, 2008 4:21 am

Anyone think Woody hangs around if only offered another year? His ego might not allow him that status.

HoopsGuru25 · Post #4 » by **HoopsGuru25** » Wed Jun 11, 2008 4:34 am

I don't think he would. Woodson would be leaving the Hawks on a high note if he were to leave and he would probably be the top assistant on Brown's staff...where he would be the like successor when Brown leaves in a year or two.

JoshB914 · Post #5 » by **JoshB914** » Wed Jun 11, 2008 4:53 am

You'd be hard pressed to find an NBA coach willing to sign a one-year deal.

evildallas · Post #6 » by **evildallas** » Wed Jun 11, 2008 9:16 am

This reminds me of the when Gearon said he hadn't envisioned BK not being back. I thought "huh? How could not think that was possible. Your GM and coach don't speak anymore. Someone had to leave."

Given his career record how can Woodson not be unsure about getting an extension. He may think he deserves an extension, but how could a reasonable man not acknowledge there is serious doubt in the situation.

massey1992 · Post #7 » by **massey1992** » Wed Jun 11, 2008 2:23 pm

He should stay he is a great coach.

Master8492 · Post #8 » by **Master8492** » Wed Jun 11, 2008 2:36 pm

^The sad thing is Woody actually believes that.

parson · Post #9 » by **parson** » Wed Jun 11, 2008 5:42 pm

JoshB914 wrote:You'd be hard pressed to find an NBA coach willing to sign a one-year deal.

In this case, however, Sund seems to be holding all the trumps.

HoopsGuru25 · Post #10 » by **HoopsGuru25** » Wed Jun 11, 2008 6:13 pm

evildallas wrote:This reminds me of the when Gearon said he hadn't envisioned BK not being back. I thought "huh? How could not think that was possible. Your GM and coach don't speak anymore. Someone had to leave."

Given his career record how can Woodson not be unsure about getting an extension. He may think he deserves an extension, but how could a reasonable man not acknowledge there is serious doubt in the situation.

The Hawks are clueless and are clearly unprepared. It took them a month to find a new GM(why I don't know)after BK turned them down and it's been two weeks and they haven't even interviewed any one else for the head coaching job.

In this case, however, Sund seems to be holding all the trumps.

What trumps? Gearon(who has the final say) has already said Woodson deserves to come back even before we hired a GM....they didn't allow the GM to fire him last year...and they haven't interviewed any one else besides Woodson for the job.

NWO4Life · Post #11 » by **NWO4Life** » Wed Jun 11, 2008 6:55 pm

As far as Woody goes I want him to remain in place. Yes I said it. I know you can quote me times past about his removal but he should stay.

Woody has been stuck with the moves BK made. That being said the team has improved and I feel that he has improved as well. Experience is on his side now. It seems out in the open that the players trust him and there are no candidates that just jump to the front that just jump to the front as an improvement.

I see a 2 year with a club option on the third being the out come and if the head coach and the GM can be on the same page we should have a bright future.

With the ownership still in limbo and BK gone seems we need to keep some cohesion and whats on the floor on game night is whats most important.

Does anyone agree with this assessment?

CWell · Post #12 » by **CWell** » Wed Jun 11, 2008 6:59 pm

NWO4Life wrote:As far as Woody goes I want him to remain in place. Yes I said it. I know you can quote me times past about his removal but he should stay.

Woody has been stuck with the moves BK made. That being said the team has improved and I feel that he has improved as well. Experience is on his side now. It seems out in the open that the players trust him and there are no candidates that just jump to the front that just jump to the front as an improvement.

I see a 2 year with a club option on the third being the out come and if the head coach and the GM can be on the same page we should have a bright future.

With the ownership still in limbo and BK gone seems we need to keep some cohesion and whats on the floor on game night is whats most important.

Does anyone agree with this assessment?

I say BS,but that's just me.Woody was just as bad as his job as Knight was.KNight atleast got some talented players while passing over superstars.on the other hand Woody hasn't overachieved or even had the team playing to their full talent since he's been here.

CWell · Post #13 » by **CWell** » Wed Jun 11, 2008 7:01 pm

HoopsGuru25 wrote:-= original quote snipped =-

What trumps? Gearon(who has the final say) has already said Woodson deserves to come back even before we hired a GM....they didn't allow the GM to fire him last year...and they haven't interviewed any one else besides Woodson for the job.

Nobody knew we interviewed Sund either,so maybe they're just keeping quiet.

NWO4Life · Post #14 » by **NWO4Life** » Wed Jun 11, 2008 7:20 pm

CWell wrote:-= original quote snipped =-

I say BS,but that's just me.Woody was just as bad as his job as Knight was.KNight atleast got some talented players while passing over superstars.on the other hand Woody hasn't overachieved or even had the team playing to their full talent since he's been here.

Woody had a point guard for what??? 4 months?

How about a Center?

2 of the most defining positions in the game for creating an identity and style of play he has not had.

Joe said hes got woodys back so hes doing something right. Woody was forced to run a locker room like a nursery...you gotta teach the babies to walk before they can run. Look at the teams in the finals and the experience level of their players...

If the GM tweaks the roster they will get better and the mature as men and win more game. He's been working with kids you see with the mentality of your local Club 112 attitude. As long as they continue to improve how can you fire him?

conleyorbust · Post #15 » by **conleyorbust** » Wed Jun 11, 2008 7:54 pm

NWO4Life wrote:As far as Woody goes I want him to remain in place. Yes I said it. I know you can quote me times past about his removal but he should stay.

Woody has been stuck with the moves BK made. That being said the team has improved and I feel that he has improved as well. Experience is on his side now. It seems out in the open that the players trust him and there are no candidates that just jump to the front that just jump to the front as an improvement.

I see a 2 year with a club option on the third being the out come and if the head coach and the GM can be on the same page we should have a bright future.

With the ownership still in limbo and BK gone seems we need to keep some cohesion and whats on the floor on game night is whats most important.

Does anyone agree with this assessment?

Well I disagree with both the facts and the logic in the first part of your statement.

I think that the majority of the players don't trust him, and certainly don't bring it every night for him. Joe trusts him (the "bring it every night" is in question there) because Joe has absolute free reign with Woody.

As far as him being stuck with BK's crappy moves, so what? The fact that he had to deal with a flawed roster doesn't mean he did a good job, it just means it was harder for him to do well. He did a poor job with a poor roster.

Annual improvement? The roster got better, BK made bad moves but that doesn't mean that his moves made the franchise worse on a year-to-year basis, just made it a lot worse than it could have been. Of course the team is going to get better when you have a bunch of 20 yr olds on it.

If the question is whether there are better candidates out there than the answer is a resounding "yes". If the question is whether there are better candidates out there who are willing to come to ATL for what we are willing to pay and considering the ownership situation - well thats something else altogether but I certainly hope that Sund & Co. are bringing others in for interviews.

killbuckner · Post #16 » by **killbuckner** » Wed Jun 11, 2008 8:02 pm

I still say that this roster would have made any coach look bad. For most of his time here woodson had no PG, no post game, just one outside shooter who also doubled as the only guy who could consistently draw a doubleteam and kick out to the open man. But that said, its still time to make a change if for no other reason then to remove the scapegoat that everyone blames the teams problems on.

I think if you put avery Johnson as coach of this team he would have looked terrible. If you put Woodson on the Mavs then so many of his problems would just disappear. But still its time to shake things up and get some fresh blood in this franchise.