Atlanta Hawks: ASG’s Michael Gearon Jr. Talks Hawks
Talked to ASG’s Michael Gearon Jr for a playoffs preview story last week. Couldn’t get everything in, so here are some excerpts from the interview:
Michael Gearon, Jr. (Brant Sanderlin/AJC)
On the season
“It is good. I’ve been around the franchise since I was a kid. For us, when we came in here it was all about trying to build a team through the draft with a core group of guys, a young team. The goal we’ve had is get better every year. The goal this year is to move up from where we were last year. This is our third year in playoffs, and its’ not about making the playoffs. It’s about going as far as we can as a team.
“We’ve got a bunch of guys that believe in themselves, and when we are playing the right way we are as good as any team in the league. I’ve been waiting for this day since the end of last season, as a fan. Our your guys have matured, they are used to the playoffs.”
On Woody’s performance
“He’s done a good job. Getting the third seed, 53 wins, each year we keep getting better and better—regular season, he has done a tremendous job. But us a franchise, from the ownership down, we judge ourselves in the playoffs. It’s not just the regular season, its’ winning championships and we feel we have the right core here, culturally—coach, GM, players—and that’s what we are trying to do.”
On leaving Woody’s future up to Rick Sund
“Any owner that meddles with coaches and players, that’s a mistake. We have become a franchise that has become a standard for, we are loyal to our coaches, loyal to our GM, loyal to our players. I think loyalty goes both ways. I think (Woody) is the longest tenured coach in the East (tied with Doc Rivers). We brought Joe in here, and we’ve built with a bunch of good young players. I think we are capable of being an elite team, and that is what we have been building for.”
On intentions to bring back J.J.
“That’s always been the goal. Last summer, we committed to doing it back then. We think Joe likes it here. We like Joe here. We fought hard to get Joe here, as everyone knows. He’s a four-time All-Star. He’s been the face of this franchise and the team has been built around Joe.”
On his view of the Hawks’ offense
“I’m not a coach, I’m not a GM, but when you watch our team, when we move the ball, we are pretty good. Because we’ve got a deep team. We don’t have LeBron, we don’t have Kobe, but we’ve got a deep team where any night we’ve got a bunch of guys capable of performing at a high level. I look at our team kind of like the Boston Celtics of the 80s, when they had Bird, Walton, Ainge, Parrish, McHale–you don’t know on what night which guy is going to get the points. That is when we are at our best. And we’ve got two guys capable of breaking down a defense, Joe and Jamal. Not many teams have that. That is one of our strengths.”
On players’ support for Woody
“We stood by him when everyone in the world said, ‘Why are you standing by this coach with 13 wins, 27 wins, 30 wins.’ Woody is a good guy. I think one way you can judge a coach is whether players play hard for you, and these guys play hard for Woody.”
On direction of team
“It’s not easy to win 53 games, but I think it’s important you understand that as a franchise, we are not slapping each other on the back. We want to be an elite team for many years and we’ve got the core to do that because we are one of the youngest good teams in the league. I think it’s interesting that we started a youth movement. Portland did it, Oklahoma did it. Minnesota, Memphis. Maybe it’s not a good idea to go out and sign Kenyon Martin for $90 million, or trade Andre Miler for Allen Iverson, and realize that doesn’t’ work in Denver. . . . I’m gun-shy of trading for long-term, high-profile veteran, because if you look at the league historically, it’s hard.
“I’m glad we didn’t get impatient. We stayed the course and Woody was supportive of that. Coaches in this league, they lose and they trash the organization, they trash the players. It’s never them. One of the things I have always admired about Mike is when Josh was 18, 19, 20 he never said something about Josh in the paper. Childress, Marvin—he stayed the course. That’s not easy.”
On size of future payroll and using cap exceptions
“I have no idea. We haven’t made decisions based on payroll. If we had, we wouldn’t have gotten Crawford. We have always been committed to keeping our core together. Josh Smith was a restricted free agent. We knew Josh wasn’t going anywhere, but the way the league rules work with restricted free agents it’s a different process. With Joe last summer, we offered the max money we could offer him as a player. Rick is more the one to talk to about the mid-level (exception), but I’ve seen more mistakes with the mid-level than I have smart decisions.
“I love our core team, but there are two phases to this. We just finished the first phase. These questions are better asked after the postseason. I don’t know. You and I are sitting here talking today, but if we get swept first round, I might see our guys differently. I love our core, but I think what has allowed us to be successful has been flexibility. We turned Shelden Williams into Mike Bibby. That’s a pretty darn good move. We turned Acie Law and Speedy Claxton into Jamal Crawford. I don’t fault anything we have done today. I love Mo. He’s a great guy, he plays his tail off. It’s hard to find guys who do that for four minutes or 40.”
MC
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180 comments Add your comment
Tale of Woe
April 19th, 2010
3:59 pm
Read between the lines – Woody is a goner unless we get to the conference finals
Tony from Stone Mountain
April 19th, 2010
4:00 pm
I think “For Real” added some inches to some players. Let me check. I’ll be back.
kwooden1
April 19th, 2010
4:09 pm
I think the HAWKS ownership hasn’t made any bold moves because they’re not willing to spend a lot of money and they’re currently getting positive results. We can’t expect to be as good as Orlando or Cleveland without what they had, #1 PICKS! AND Very Good ones at that! I don’t know how anyone can argue with moving up from the 4th spot to the 3rd spot, especially with the 1st and 2nd spots being Orlando and Cleveland. I’m a fan like everyone else and I would like for the team to just WIN, but Cleveland and Orlando are also under the microscope. Clearly ownership can’t or won’t spend the type of money that Orlando and Cleveland did so we’re going to have to live with that. Looking at how ownership has been operating, I expect for them to offer JJ a close to Max contract and re-sign Woody. The rest of the summer is anyone’s guess. I never expected Golden State to make the trade for Crawford, so I’m not going to speculate on any trades at this point.
GO HAWKS!!!
Grandad
April 19th, 2010
4:15 pm
Michael Cunningham:
I salute you sir.
Najeh Davenpoop
April 19th, 2010
4:28 pm
Gearon is the only Hawks owner I like. At least he always comes across as someone who cares about the product on the floor. All we know about the other owners is that they are strapped for cash.
Great stuff MC.
Samuel
April 19th, 2010
4:32 pm
Obviously, we didn’t get swept in the first round. So what does he see as a good enough improvement? What if we sweep the first round. Is that good enough. What if we sweep then loose in 6 to Orlando. Is that good enough?
Bottom line is, is there a coach out there who can “Guarantee” that they can take us farther than Woody has. If not, why risk going backwards?
I’m sick of talking about what ifs as far as players are concerned. Where is Chris Paul now? I’d rather have JJ, Jamal and Bibby than Chris Paul and a couple of scrubbs which is what we likely would have if we had Paul. We can’t pay everybody. I like our back court. It’s the Center position that we need to upgrade to go to the next level.
We should sweep MKE if we keep running our offense through Josh on the right blocks, not Horford. Horford is not ready for that.
MC, why keep dwelling on the “Offense” questions. We’re 4th in the league in offense. What more do you want? Clyde, you been hanging out with the big shots? Dude is on some serious sh_t, comparing us to the Celtics. Again, I put nothing past anybody who would “fix” their mouth to make a statement like that.
JJ>CP3
Woody=COY
Show me state
April 19th, 2010
4:38 pm
Great article MC…..of course i’m always representing da Hawks and their progression back here in da “Show me State”….i’m trying to win over Hawks fans here…..after all da Hawks are originally from here and we don’t have a NBA team….i think i’m da biggest Atlanta fan here….it’s cool tho…Hawks fan for life and Go Hawks!!!!!!
northcyde
April 19th, 2010
4:40 pm
I wonder who is going to commit the first REAL hard foul in this series?
My money is on Kurt Thomas. And it’ll probably come tomorrow night.
hawks_4_life
April 19th, 2010
4:44 pm
hopefully its on marvin so we dont miss a beat
lewis
April 19th, 2010
4:46 pm
I hope Joe Smith takes it upon himself to teach Al Horford how to position himself against bigger players. If were going to remain small as a team, someone’s gotta show Al and Josh how to be more dominant on the boards and on D against bigger players.
Hawk n the Ham
April 19th, 2010
4:55 pm
Cavs & Bulls game is going to be funny to watch tonight, after all the comments Noah has said about how the city of Cleveland sucks.
heartofdarkness
April 19th, 2010
5:40 pm
After watching the Magic and Bobcats last night, if the officiating is as indifferent to pushing, holding, slapping and elbowing as it was last night, the Hawks have no answer for the big guy from Orlando. He is an awesome presence, even though every play he is involved in is arguably an infraction. But in an unrefereed game, size and strength receives the advantage. If it continues, bet with the league and take Van Gundy’s boys.
RLP
April 19th, 2010
5:40 pm
I think the team with most pressure to win is the Cavaliers. Imagine having “The King” and blowing it again this year. Is Noah pulling a Bibby for the Bulls?
Go Hawks.
O'Brien
April 19th, 2010
5:42 pm
Samuel,
Its easy to look back in hind sight, and its easy to play the game of what ifs (I’ve played a few myself), although that does not change anything.
You said JJ > CP3. I think JJ is the 3rd best SG in the league, but I also think CP3 is a top 3 PG in the league. So to me, they are equal when you rank them at their positions. But who does JJ make better? And compare that to how Paul makes his teamates (look what he did for Chandler and David West) better.
Ultimately though, I think we’re comparing apples and oranges.
You also said if we had CP3 we would have had some scrubs. Really? Because we could have drafted CP3 the same offseason when JJ signed with us, and we already had Josh Smith and Childress. So the only difference if we had drafted CP3 was we would not have Horford and Crawford.
So you’re telling me that a team constructed around of Josh Smith, CP3, JJ, Childress and ZaZa are scrubs? I disagree.
And you say we’re top 4 in offense. But I think you have to look deeper than the numbers. We have too many scoring droughts (especially in the fourth).
For the record, I dont think Woody is COY, but I am ok with bringing him back. I just want more flexibility from him, and an offensive coordinator.
Sautee
April 19th, 2010
5:52 pm
The KING OF REASEARCH deigned to say this:
“Sautee . . if you’re going to do a little “online sparring” with people, you need to be able to keep your composure a little bit better. I knew exactly what would push your button, and you fell for it hook, line, and sinker. Don’t let that happen again.”
“My points are usually backed up by facts. So if being an “arrogant prick” means that I state the facts, so be it.”
No northcyde, the reason you are an arrogant prick is because you talk down to those who disagree with you. And because you try to tell others how they should feel.
And because you think you have claimed some mythic blog territory. That’s as loony as Truth-serum’s conspiracy theories.
But hey, I’m sure it’s good to be King.
LouFan
April 19th, 2010
6:07 pm
Well I hope THE KING OF RESEARCH can win a blog championship because why do they call him a king without one?
For slow people… That is a hit on Lebron.
northcyde
April 19th, 2010
6:15 pm
Believe it or not Samuel . . . because of Teague’s great regular season finale, I think we ended up with the 2nd best offensive rating in the league.
Meanwhile . . . the defense was 13th.
When this team plays defense, it fuels the offense. So if we go through a tough 4th quarter, they have to make sure that they stop people on the other end from scoring.
I just want the Hawks to take care of business any way possible tomorrow night . . . because Game 3 in Milwaukee will be BANANAS!!!
sam'l
April 19th, 2010
6:17 pm
Somewhere buried in what I just read is a telling point. Dwight Howard should have fouled out of last night’s game. He had 5 fouls and then he smashed a Bobcat in the head (Wallace?…whoever he was he made a spectacular rebound)….A few minutes later Howard fouled someone else…and he hung around to make a killer putback dunk .and help sew up the game.
This could be a problem ……
TigerWoods
April 19th, 2010
6:20 pm
DeepDiver, in my response to Obrien, i was talking starters. We did nothing relative to our starters, other than retain old Bibby, and underachieving Marvin. Don’t also get me started on Al. He is NOT, i repeat NOT a center. He is too small. You talk Jamal, he is out so called bench.
i like Hawks, but you can not teach height. This team as currently made up, has zero chance winning a series against Orlando. i give them one game max. It has nothing to do with coach. It has to do with personnel. Orlando has two legit centers. What do Hawks have? Two legit power forwards. Not to mention Orlando point guard will run circles around us.
That is ok we have sixth freaking man award who plays ZERO defense. Good for us. Hubie or Phil could not do any better than current Hawks coach. It is all about talent in this league. Look what happened when Lakers only had the great Kobe, nothing. Then they get Gasol and others, and they become better over night. Same coach was there.
Any way, enough teaching you kids for one day. have to rest for my 18 holes for tomorrow.
O'Brien
April 19th, 2010
6:28 pm
northcyde,
It looks like the Blazers are working on an extension for Camby. It is reported to be 2 years, $21 million guaranteed.
If thats true, thats way out of the Hawks budget anyway. Haywood will probably be out of our budget too.
I hope Sund finds another deal like BK did with ZaZa.
sam'l
April 19th, 2010
6:29 pm
Gearon must know something we don’t. How can you lose a hundred million dollars and not have your first thought be….”God! I just lost a hundred million dollars!”
O'Brien
April 19th, 2010
6:45 pm
From nba.com,
“For a veteran like Smith, who was already in the NBA when many of his Atlanta Hawks teammates and most of the Bucks were still formulating their hoop dreams, seeing a rookie glide through a defense without so much as slight bump off course was a shock to his old school sensibilities.
Smith doesn’t need a Hot Tub Time Machine to remember the way things are supposed to be done in the playoffs. Those lanes that open up to the basket for small guards are supposed to be closed with a solid lick from a bigger player the closer said guard gets to the basket.”
I’m glad to see Joe Smith speaking up. Hopefully his teamates are paying attention, because this team does not do a good job of giving hard fouls…
Big Ray
April 19th, 2010
6:54 pm
I agree with Ree Roe . It’s good to see Gearon speak out more. The man who owns the team (in large part, at least) sees the game like a fan because he is a fan, which is always good.
I find it very interesting that what he had to say about coaching, players, and how this team plays….is pretty much the same as what many have been saying here all this time. Good thing he doesn’t post here, though (that we know of). He might get told that his views aren’t researched enough, LOL.
I belive Gearon just threw something out there as an example when he said “if we get swept in the first round.” That would be a more drastic example. I don’t see a problem with waiting to see if a coach can help a team go further in the postseason than it did last year. The Heat pushed us to 7 games last year. We weren’t completely healthy. If a weaker Bucks team can push a healthier Hawks team to 7 games, that is NOT an improvement, and something must be looked at. It can’t just be the coach, though. You have to look at the total picture. Of course, that does not mean that the coach isn’t the one who stands the most chance of taking the fall. Historically, it’s the coach who does take the fall most often.
Having said that, I don’t see it happening. The Bucks shouldn’t be able to push us far, and I don’t believe we will let them.
The second round is where the judgment continues. If we get swept like we did last year….again, something has to be looked at. If we win one game and lose 4, I’d say we still have to look seriously at something. Winning two games is the beginning of a true improvement in my mind. Again, this team is healthy, save for JJ’s thumb.
While I hate to say it, even JJ’s thumb can’t be used as an excuse. Nobody is making excuses for Kobe’s finger.
Having the 4th best offense or whatever is all well and fine during the regular season. It means next to nothing in the playoffs when your consistent execution is everything, and your defense is the backbone of what you do. Ask teams like Phoenix and Dallas how far those wonderful offenses have taken them in the playoffs in the last decade.
Looking forward to game 2, and hopefully another beatdown with less meltdown in the second half. Get at ‘em, Hawks!
TigerWoods
April 19th, 2010
6:57 pm
obrien, good point on your last comment. You are finally redeeming yourself. yes i know i was goina sleep, but…
yes – old man Smith looks at that Buddha Marvin, the pint sized Al, and sees something. He sees lack of toughness. Hawks are soft. Soft inside, soft outside. Bibby and Jamal are soft. Marvin is soft. Crack some heads, if we don’t beat up BJ, how we goina play vs. Howard. No hope, but at least, do as cats did yesterday. Beat up Howard, break his arm if you have to.
northcyde
April 19th, 2010
7:05 pm
Wow @ Camby potentially signing a deal like that . . . at his age. But that shows you how desperate teams are to retain or obtain a quality center.
It also makes you wonder what the market for Horford will look like in 2011 . . IF . . a new collective bargaining agreement is signed by then.
Say Horford averages 15 ppg and 10 rebs . . and makes another All-Star team. There is no telling what teams will offer him . . and what we’re potentially forced to match.
RODNEY KING-Emmit Till
April 19th, 2010
7:08 pm
Need to sign Travis Outlaw and Draft Gordon Heyward. Get rid of Mo since he’s opting out. Sign Kyrylo Fesenko or Bendan Haywood. If all else fails, get Drew Gooden.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pae5GLy-9Zc&playnext_from=TL&videos=ba8vvndf-Ag
Big Ray
April 19th, 2010
7:09 pm
Loufan ,
Too funny! Good one….
Sautee ,
Blog royalty status is hard to attain. I’m still only a blog court jester, myself. Maybe if I work hard on my research skills, I can rise to the position of Duke. Or maybe I’ll just bribe the blog Catholic church into a higher position. Worked well in the middle ages, and they didn’t even have the internet then….
And you should know by now not to get too tangled up in online sparring with internet ninjas. They know how to push your all the internet buttons on your internet body and render you internet paralyzed. With their special internet ninja vision, they can see right through your computer screen and tell whether or not you are actually upset, or if you’re actually just messing with them, and pushing their internet buttons.
I don’t suppose that possibility had ever occurred to an internet ninja versed in the skills of online sparring, something I just don’t have. Oh well, I guess I’ll just have to settle for knowing you personally, and your penchant for deviant and mischievous machinations.
Anyway, just my unresearched guess….
Blog Court Jester…over and out…
ryan
April 19th, 2010
7:12 pm
I hope that if Joe Johnson leaves the Hawks look at sign and trade deal for like D. Wade or Chris Bosh.
hawks_4_life
April 19th, 2010
7:15 pm
ryan
how will bosh fit on this team?
Big Ray
April 19th, 2010
7:18 pm
Gearon says they don’t make decisions based on payroll. Perhaps that means we need not worry about what contract Horford could command.
Besides, we must re-sign Joe, no matter the cost. Is there an echo in here?
The Truth
April 19th, 2010
7:26 pm
I see the blog is in rare form today. Nice job MC. The delivery of real facts will always beat out speculations and demagoguery. Maybe the Michael Gearon interview will serve as a reset switch for some old arguments that never seem to go away on this blog. Now we have heard it from the source.
TigerWoods
April 19th, 2010
7:29 pm
Nothcyde, my friend, Al is NOT a center. I like you
He will not get the money Camby at 45 gets. Trust me on that.
lewis
April 19th, 2010
7:33 pm
Al could learn a thing or two from his old pal Joakim Noah. That said, it doesn’t get much better than Al, the guy is a winner. He won in college and he’s willing to learn to play out of position to do the same in the NBA. 16/11 next year i’m callin it.
Big Ray
April 19th, 2010
7:38 pm
To be honest, I’m not sure how DWade would fit on this team. Not saying he couldn’t, just wondering about the chemistry and what not.
Bosh is a different matter. Initially I’d say you have to let Josh go. The reason being, it can’t be Horford. Somebody has to play center, and between Josh, Bosh, and Horford….it’s Horford. The problem with that is that losing Josh means losing a whopping dose of defense.
So, the only other way to do it is to kick Marvin to the bench or trade him away, take your chances with Josh at the 3, and either find a way to keep him from increasing his jumpshot attempts, or help him develop a more reliable jumpshot (a serious shooting coach who can make a difference, Mark Price apparently isn’t guy).
Still, Josh defending at the 3 and not the 4 is not what I prefer, but I’m neither coach nor GM. Nor blog royalty for that matter…..LOL…
Big Ray
April 19th, 2010
7:40 pm
Lewis,
I’ll second that.
The Truth,
Well said.
O'Brien
April 19th, 2010
7:44 pm
northcyde,
Hawks could run into financial problems in 2011-2012. Their only guaranteed contracts for 2011 are: Josh at $12.4 mil, Marivn at $7.5 mil, Bibby at $6.2 mil, and ZaZa at $4.75 mil. Thats $26.575 million already.
That does not include JJ’s max contract (assuming he resigns), and that does not include Crawford (assuming he resigns), plus Teague at $1.6 mil.
I think Sund and the ASG will have to get creative.
Ray,
I am just a peasant who consistently passes through the blog court…
ryan
April 19th, 2010
7:47 pm
Hawks 4 life i’m just saying the Hawks need a post player and CB4 could be that guy.
hawks_4_life
April 19th, 2010
7:53 pm
ryan
true they are not overly refined in the post but you have to give to get and will bosh demand alot of cash this summer, thats going to be rough.
O'Brien
April 19th, 2010
8:09 pm
Speaking of money, I saw this on the Thrashers blog, which was from an interview with Bruce Levenson. He was asked about the ongoing litigation, which he said has not impacted their operations.
However, the interesting comment to me was he said
“We have been ideally looking for an investor to come in and play a role in the Atlanta Thrashers – ideally a local investor who would give us more financial muscle, if you will, in this community. We haven’t found that person yet but we are continuing to look.”
So I’m wondering, would they also need a local investor for the Hawks? Where’s our Texas car salesman? He just won a bunch of money from Time Warner…
Blast
April 19th, 2010
8:13 pm
Playoffs already getting testy! Hard fouls, ejections, suspensions, trash talking all over the place, and it’s only the first round. I love it! So far, Hawks/Bucks and LA/Thunder are still playing nice.
I love Joakim Noah. Maybe because he is a rookie, he’s one player that sure speaks his mind. He called out leBron on their dancing, he called KG a dirty player, he trashed the city of Celeveland…Go, Noah!
Nice article, Mr. Michael.
hawks_4_life
April 19th, 2010
8:20 pm
Blast
Noah is not a rookie….lol
Blast
April 19th, 2010
8:21 pm
Bulls are not scoring or stopping anyone. Bad recipe for disaster.
Blast
April 19th, 2010
8:22 pm
My bad! Yeah he came in with Horford!
Astro Joe
April 19th, 2010
8:34 pm
Horford’s extension will most likely be under the conditions of the next CBA, so it is hard to speculate about any team’s payroll situation without knowing the structure on the new deal between union and owneship. I wouldn’t lose any sleep over it as there are plenty of temas that have a mix of current CBA big contracts and young guys deserving of raises in the post-CBA world. Guys with NBA pay grade mush higher than our little blog-status will figure that stuff out.
Jennings made a lot of contested long jumpers the other day. Sure, he had some drives, but dude was nailing long shots that I would love to see him take for the remainder of the series. Too bad I missed the game blog that night, I would have loved to read the reaction when Woody inserted Teague as the designated quick-guard-stopper.
Hawk n the Ham
April 19th, 2010
8:39 pm
If Noah really wants to become a villain, he needs to put one of those ‘level 2′ flagrant fouls on Lebron tonight.
Here’s to hoping!!
Michael Cunningham
April 19th, 2010
8:45 pm
@ samuel: “MC, why keep dwelling on the “Offense” questions. We’re 4th in the league in offense.”
actually, Gearon brought up the offense unsolicited earlier in the interview and i just followed up on it. not sure if you are a regular reader of the blog, but i’ve often said the bottom-line numbers of the offense are good so the burden of proof is on those who say it’s awful. i have said i think the offense could be more diverse in fourth quarters. that’s not because the Isos aren’t ever effective but because of the psychological and emotional effect on the other four guys when they don’t work. i think Gearon is right that the Hawks generally are better when they share the ball.
Hawk n the Ham
April 19th, 2010
8:48 pm
Flip is doing his thing!
Blast
April 19th, 2010
8:49 pm
Nice to see Flip playing well for Bulls in playoffs.
Blast
April 19th, 2010
9:01 pm
Reggie Miller is wrong. Bulls should not slow it down. They are not good enough to play Cavs in a slow, half court game. Bulls are better off playing a high-paced, scrambling, helter sketter game.
Samuel
April 19th, 2010
9:03 pm
MC,
I was here when you weren’t even thought of, my friend. I haven’t posted much since Cuz left but i’ve been checking you out. I’m a teacher and coach so I do most of my posting during the summer.You’re doing a pretty good job. I have noticed that you haven’t bashed Woody’s offense as much as most here. Yes, I think everyone agrees that the offense works better when “JJ” passes the ball sooner, however, numbers don’t lie. You said that right on.