For coaches like Woodson, waiting is hard part

[HMFFL]

Two seasons ago, Mike Woodson guided the Atlanta Hawks to the playoffs for the first time in nine years and came within a win of knocking off the NBA’s eventual champions. Last season, he took the Hawks to the Eastern Conference semifinals, the first such visit for the franchise since 1997.

So what did Woodson and his coaching staff acquire as a reward from the Hawks?

Nothing.

Woodson will likely enter this season in the final year of his contract, and, for now at least, the Hawks haven’t expressed any interest in negotiating an extension for him.

“Every year, people have me fired,” Woodson told Yahoo! Sports by phone. “I can’t worry about that. I really can’t. Am I a little disappointed that none of my staff and I were extended contracts this year? You’re damn right I am because we deserve it. We deserve it with what we’ve done this past year. Any other coach probably would have been extended without a doubt.

“For us not to be extended is not right. But it is what it is. … I still have a job to do.”

Though Woodson’s lame-duck status is complicated by the Hawks’ dysfunctional ownership group, it also serves as an example of how a growing number of NBA teams are determined to rein in costs for their coaching and scouting staffs. With ticket and sponsorship revenue limited by the slow economy and the league facing a possible lockout in two years, some teams have decided to cut costs on the sidelines. Link

[TONEGULLY]

I dont like Woodson BUT i do think he deserves some type of respect from the GM, explaining to him if he is or isnt going to get extended.

[evildallas]

These stories come out like clockwork or a plant. He was given a two year deal based on one series against Boston because 37 wins and backing into the playoffs wasn't a strong selling point. The team did do well last year. As such no one is talking about firing him right now, but should that be enough to extend the deal? He's under contract this year without a net. He wins, he gets rewarded. He doesn't and he still may get an extension or he could be done in Atlanta. He wins big and he'll have the power.

Sports owners traditionally have used extensions as rewards and as an attempt to motivate. The other function is to prevent a rival from hiring your coach away. The end result is often paying someone for additional time after they've been fired. For the Atlanta Spirit, what does giving Mike Woodson an extension do? They'd lose flexibility. He'd be able to relax a bit. Would it lock him up in case he exceeds wildest dreams and becomes a hot property? In theory, but with an extension if he took the team to the finals this year don't you think he'd want to renegotiate it? In my opinion, the odds that he wears out his welcome and progress stalls are greater than the odds that he excels and someone tries to hire him away when his contract runs out.

I'd probably be more sympathetic to Woodson if he had a bigger check mark on his side and if I didn't read at least 3 articles a year where he's quoted as saying that he thinks he should have an extension. Like I said win big and he gets the power. Slow, steady improvement in team performance requires patience in the coach in terms of his own contract.

[Jamaaliver]

Woodson has a losing regular season record. He has a losing playoff record. He got swept from the playoffs last year. His team's anemic offense makes them ridiculously inconsistent. (See the MIA series last year.) He has not developed a single young player on the offensive side of the ball. He has one season with a winning record as head coach.

There is no way we should bind ourselves to him long term until he proves he can get our team to consistently play at a competitive level.

[HoopsGuru25]

I'm kind of split on this. I'm not a Woodson supporter but I think he did a good job last year and going from 37 to 47 wins with no major trade or free agent signings and more injuries than the previous year is pretty tough to do.

I also think it's a slap in the face to the ASG on his part to say "any other coach would have been extended w/o a doubt" considering that he would have been fired long time ago (regardless of if he was to blame or not)for having a career record that terrible any where else. We had the worst record of any team from 05-08 yet Woodson made it through despite guys like Adlemen,Saunders,and Van Gundy getting fired left and right despite having much better results.

[azuresou1]

I'm kind of split on this. I'm not a Woodson supporter but I think he did a good job last year and going from 37 to 47 wins with no major trade or free agent signings and more injuries than the previous year is pretty tough to do.

I also think it's a slap in the face to the ASG on his part to say "any other coach would have been extended w/o a doubt" considering that he would have been fired long time ago (regardless of if he was to blame or not)for having a career record that terrible any where else. We had the worst record of any team from 05-08 yet Woodson made it through despite guys like Adlemen,Saunders,and Van Gundy getting fired left and right despite having much better results.

This.

I'd be thrilled if we had Rick Adelman as a head coach though. Thrilled.

[Jamaaliver]

I second that azure.

I'd go for Flip Saunders or Stan Van Gundy as well. Those guys know how to coach.

[azuresou1]

Flip Saunders, yes. Stan Van Gundy, no. Shaq, as much as I hate him, nailed it: he's a master of panic.