Despite strong start, no contract talk for Woodson

Post #1 » by **HMFFL** » Wed Dec 16, 2009 4:10 pm

Hawks coach Mike Woodson says he is comfortable with his contract status. Said Woodson, "I have no choice." Woodson is in the second year of a two-year deal granted him in June 2008 by general manager Rick Sund shortly after Sund's hire. While the Hawks reached the second round of the playoffs last spring for the first time since the 1996-97 season, Woodson went into this season with no talk of an extension.

The Hawks, who play Memphis Wednesday night at Philips Arena, have since gotten off to one of the best starts in team history. However, indications are that any new contract talks will still wait until season's end. "Am I happy about it? No," Woodson said Tuesday. "But it is what it is. But I'm not going to sit here and complain about it by any means. I have this year on my contract and then I'm a free agent. They have not approached me, so obviously we're going to play it out."

His situation doesn't appear to be an issue with the team. Forward Marvin Williams said the contract status of both Woodson and guard Joe Johnson, who is also in the last year of his deal, has even had a galvanizing effect. "I think everybody understands the situation, even Joe's situation," Williams said. "I think everybody knows what's on the line. Guys on the team are kind of playing for those two guys right now." Woodson has the support of players. "He's all in all a great coach as far as getting the game plan ready and preparing us day in, day out, for battle," Johnson said. Said forward Josh Smith of an extension, "Any time a coach can be successful every season and improve his winning percentage, I think that he deserves a shot." http://www.ajc.com/sports/atlanta-hawks ... 42146.html

parson · Post #2 » by **parson** » Wed Dec 16, 2009 5:47 pm

This team is loaded, so it's playoff success or nothing.

raleigh · Post #3 » by **raleigh** » Wed Dec 16, 2009 5:55 pm

parson wrote:This team is loaded, so it's playoff success or nothing.

When the team was losing, Woodson was not fired because of the level of talent. So, I think it's perfectly rational to not extend him using the same "level of talent" argument (from the other perspective).

dpaulh · Post #4 » by **dpaulh** » Wed Dec 16, 2009 8:13 pm

Woody is a good coach. I like him as the coach of THIS team. He knows what everyone on the team is capable of and he has done a nice job this year of letting everyone do what they are best at doing. Not only are our players maturing, but our coach is maturing as well. He is also doing a very good job at not overusing anyone this year, but that is easier to do with the depth we have.

Woody finally has a GOOD team and he is guiding them to wins. With all that being said, I would still like to wait for an extension until after we see how well he coaches a good, deep team in the playoffs. I think he understands this as well.

azuresou1 · Post #5 » by **azuresou1** » Wed Dec 16, 2009 8:24 pm

I think I've been overly harsh on Woody.

That said, get this man an offensive coordinator ASAP.

LL Cool Scott · Post #6 » by **LL Cool Scott** » Thu Dec 17, 2009 12:02 am

azuresou1 wrote:I think I've been overly harsh on Woody.

That said, get this man an offensive coordinator ASAP.

We're the highest scoring team in the league. That's not all transition points.

evildallas · Post #7 » by **evildallas** » Thu Dec 17, 2009 3:53 am

Not sure why Woodson would want an extension right now? As well as the team is playing he just needs a strong playoff run (winning in round 2) to be a hot commodity and really increase his earning potential. Whatever he'd be offered now is likely something he could get with a mediocre playoff performance (making it to round 2). He has an opportunity to be like Nate McMillan when the Sonics didn't give him an extension. It would take a playoff fizzle or a total regular season collapse to actually lose him money on his next contract.

JoshB914 · Post #8 » by **JoshB914** » Thu Dec 17, 2009 6:07 am

The overtones of these Woody threads sure have changed. Remember this time last year when he was the "worst coach in the NBA?"

Nice to see things are finally starting to click with not just the team, but Woody as well. It's kind of cool that he has grown with the team. He was just a rookie HC when he started, and it took him a while to figure things out, but I think he's getting there. That being said, I've always felt it's really been a personnel issue rather than a coaching issue with this team. This is the first year we have a truly dangerous team thanks to a real bench and maturation of Josh Smith. That's really been the difference to me.

However, there's still a long way to go before he can earn an extension. We haven't accomplished anything yet.

azuresou1 · Post #9 » by **azuresou1** » Thu Dec 17, 2009 3:38 pm

LL Cool Scott wrote:
azuresou1 wrote:I think I've been overly harsh on Woody.

That said, get this man an offensive coordinator ASAP.

We're the highest scoring team in the league. That's not all transition points.

I'm more inclined to attribute that to the development of our team and talent at all our positions than I am to coaching.

Big Mone · Post #10 » by **Big Mone** » Fri Dec 18, 2009 2:17 am

I think Sund and the ASG should pony up the cash and lock Woodson in to a multi-year deal. I'm not really sure what more they could want from Woodson. He's provided increased wins year-to-year, deeper advancement into the playoffs two years in a row, and now his team is certainly playing as one of the best in the league. True you can't give Woodson all of the credit for the Hawks' successes, but surely he must be given credit for some. Step up ASG and take care of Woodson NOW!!