Sund: Players Need ‘Another Voice’ After Six Years of Woodson’s
The Hawks decided not to offer coach Mike Woodson a new contract.
Woodson coached the Hawks for six seasons. The team improved its record in each of the last five years, including a 53-29 record this season that was fifth-best in franchise history, but GM Rick Sund decided the team needs a new leader.
“It was a hard decision,” Sund said. “When I analyzed and looked at it, I went round and round. Finally I think it got to the situation where the compelling thought is, ‘Maybe change is good for everybody.’ That happens quite a bit in the NBA. Maybe the players need to hear another voice, and maybe Mike needs to talk to another group.”
Sund declined to comment on the details of his evaluation of Woodson. Sund also didn’t want to discuss any potential candidates to replace Woodson or offer a broad outline of what qualities he wants in a successor.
Early media speculation has centered on Dallas assistant Dwane Casey, whom the Hawks interviewed before hiring Woodson. Sund was the Seattle GM when Casey was an assistant coach there for five seasons.
Woodson, who is free to seek other jobs, did not return a message. He has defended his tenure with the Hawks while highlighting accomplishments that include three consecutive playoffs appearances, and said he received unfairly harsh criticism for the team’s loss to Orlando in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
But Hawks management had doubts that Woodson’s approach would lead to further improvement, according to two people with knowledge of the decision. Among their concerns was that Woodson would have an increasingly difficult time getting through to his players if he returned.
Some players felt Woodson didn’t rebuke certain players as strongly as he did others for their mistakes, according to four people familiar with the locker-room dynamics. The differing levels of accountability led to resentment for some players , the people said.
Players credited Woodson with helping to maintain a loose atmosphere and reducing the length, frequency, and intensity of practices in an effort to keep them fresh for the playoffs. But one player said he hopes a new coach who doesn’t “play favorites” can improve the team’s chemistry.
Beyond those issues, the Hawks weren’t satisfied with Woodson’s 8-14 postseason record over the past two seasons. Last season the Hawks beat Miami in the first round before losing 4-0 to Cleveland in the semifinals. This season the Hawks beat Milwaukee in the opening round before losing in four games to the Magic by an NBA-record total margin of 101 points.
Hawks forward Josh Smith said the team’s decision to part ways with Woodson despite his success is a sign of the higher expectations for the franchise.
“It feels good to know we are not just satisfied with just being the eighth seed or improving every season,” he said. “We’ve got expectations of going to the playoffs every year and being a difference-maker in the playoffs. The organization has everything going in the right direction.”
Woodson, 52, had a 206-286 record with the Hawks. He took over for Terry Stotts in 2004-05 after previously serving as an assistant coach in Detroit, Philadelphia, Cleveland and Milwaukee.
Former Hawks GM Billy Knight tried to fire Woodson more than once during his third season but ownership rebuffed him. Knight resigned after the 2008 season and was replaced by Sund, who signed Woodson to a two-year contract after he guided the Hawks to their first postseason appearance in eight years.
Smith is the only player on the roster to play all six seasons under Woodson. The two had a contentious relationship at times but Smith said they had come to an understanding.
“It was rough starting out, but everything was smooth sailing a couple of years ago once we finally figured out what we wanted out of each other,” Smith said. “You just hate to see somebody you came in the game with leave like this.”
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590 comments Add your comment
terrell
May 14th, 2010
3:22 pm
206-286 in 6 seasons. Enough said!
governor404
May 14th, 2010
3:24 pm
Its often said that a woman can raise a boy, but it takes a man to turn that boy into a man, Woodson was ideal when the Hawks were young and inexperienced, he groomed them and had many a sleepless nite watching them grow, they are men now and its going to take a no non-sense coach with some credentials i may add, to take this Hawk group to the championship level, thanks Woody for putting us back on the map, we’ll see you in the playoffs next year i.e. Hawks vs Philly in the 2 vs 7 matchup.
4 Jacks
May 14th, 2010
3:25 pm
Now if we could just get rid of Gearon and this worthless and pathetic ownership. That is the real problem and until these morons sell the teams (Hawks & Thrashers) you best save your money, unless you just like throwing it away. Atlanta fans deserve so much better than these bozos for owners.
Half Fan Half Amazing
May 14th, 2010
3:26 pm
I don’t agree with the decision. If anyone inside or outside the organization thought this team’s ceiling was any higher than the top 6-8 teams in the NBA (translating to a 2nd round exit from the playoffs), then you are delusional. If you thought Jamal Crawford and Joe Smith were the missing links to a championship, you don’t watch enough basketball. I was thrilled by their additions, but they paled in comparison to Shaq, Vince Carter, and Rasheed Wallace joining our main competition. And the same ISO offense people criticize now produced 53 wins and a multitude of highlights throughout the year. Facts are facts, and canning a coach who squeezed more out of the team every year absolutely sucks. We all saw some players (I won’t say the team) quit on the floor against Orlando, and somehow the coach gets the boot. What a shame. It’s what some of you wanted, but the continuous improvement was about to cease with Woody or whoever the next coach is.
northcyde
May 14th, 2010
3:26 pm
HAHA Sautee . . . Clyde’s blogging career is over. I guess he’ll try to run JJ out of town in the meantime.
LOL . . I can’t wait to watch this Cleveland news conference. If the Mike Brown firing isn’t “accurate” . . then why is the Cleveland owner having a press conference in 8 minutes?
Clyde
May 14th, 2010
3:26 pm
Its a wonderful day in the Fire Woody Nation. Finally we get the thing we worked so hard for for 5 years. Sekou Smith is in the NBA.com offices looking down proudly at us right now.
Najeh Davenpoop
May 14th, 2010
3:26 pm
Woody came across as a classy, stand-up guy who had the right personality for a good head coach, but it is painfully clear at this point that he is not capable of making the tactical decisions to win in the playoffs. I’m glad he helped make the Hawks relevant again, but I’m not sorry to see him go. This was the right decision.
That said, firing Woody is the easy part. The hard part is hiring a replacement who is better, whether that’s a big name or an obscure assistant. This is probably going to be one of the defining decisions of Sund’s career as the Hawks GM.
anotherdawg
May 14th, 2010
3:26 pm
Whether you like Woodson, or not, theres no doubt that it had reached a point where a change had to be made. A fresh start for the team, and for him as well, is for the best.
Tmac
May 14th, 2010
3:26 pm
I think that it was “communicated” to Sund or any of the 100 owners (lol), if you want to have any chance of keeping JJ… Woody had to go. That and the fact that other players (josh) had tuned him out… Read between the line.
Now (Atlanta Spirit), don’t screw it up and make a bad hire!
Coach
May 14th, 2010
3:26 pm
Get Doc Rivers!
AL
May 14th, 2010
3:26 pm
WOW!!! Can’t believe they fired Coach Woodson. He put them back on the Map and this is how they repay him….Where is the loyalty? Mark my words….This is the beginning of the Hawks return to Meritocracy as a NBA Franchise….Believe it! How do you improve season after season and get fired??? Only in professional sports is the consistency of improvement not enough.
tree rollins
May 14th, 2010
3:26 pm
This defending of Woodson is insanity guys! Across the board I heard national analysts say the Hawks had the lowest basketball IQ of any NBA team. Did they draft nothing but dummies – NO, its a reflection of their coach – he’s the one that didn’t lift their basketball IQ. They played like streetballers because that’s as much as he could give them. Give me a break!
Craig
May 14th, 2010
3:26 pm
tarheel3, I thought anyone associated with NC basketball knew the game. The guy needed to go and that is the bottomline.
GT
May 14th, 2010
3:26 pm
Shocked this man won as much as he did. Nothing in his resume suggested this year’s results. Never seen a team play to this extreme unless it is Ga. Tech which was very similar in talent and results.
Justin
May 14th, 2010
3:32 pm
It’s amazing how quick many of you forgot what this organization looked like 6 years ago. Woodson gets a bad rep from many who know nothing about the game of basketball. Good Luck Woody!
bob
May 14th, 2010
3:33 pm
I think Rick Sund has made good moves so far with the limited leverage he has had.
The new head coach choice will be a big move. Chose wisely.
John
May 14th, 2010
3:35 pm
I hope whomever Rick SUND hires he be required to bring along a center so players like Al Hereford can learn their trade at their natuaral position.
Eraserhead
May 14th, 2010
3:37 pm
I appreciate the job Coach Woodson did with the Hawks but it was time for a change. I don’t think the players were listening to him in the playoffs.
Bad Rattler
May 14th, 2010
3:38 pm
The Hawks need to get some real players before you get rid of the coach. I don’t care who come’s here the Hawks are going to be pitiful until they get some real players. The Players are garbage.
X Playground Great
May 14th, 2010
3:39 pm
The Atlanta Spirit group and Sund is a JOKE. Woody wins over 50 game and they release him, are you kidding me. Lets see if Cleveland Cavaliers fire Mike Brown. I remember the years when we wanted a 50 win season. Dont be surprised to see Joe following Woody out of town to the next team.
donjuan
May 14th, 2010
3:40 pm
its’ sad..Hawks hadnt been a winner in forever.. woody comes they .. win and now the expectations are higher… if he could have gotten rid of Josh, Mike Bibby and gotten a 7 footer he would have been alright.. Big Z in Cleveland.. Josh never learned how to play the name and Bibby is washed up…
The Real Hawk
May 14th, 2010
3:40 pm
Hire Mike Brown!
TLUV
May 14th, 2010
3:41 pm
its about time
S Hawk Fan
May 14th, 2010
3:42 pm
X “I know little about basketball” Playground great….. One can wish he takes Joe with him!
TLUV
May 14th, 2010
3:43 pm
Hire Bruce Pearl
X Playground Great
May 14th, 2010
3:46 pm
LOL…S “ometime” Hawks fan…Joe’s been the BEST player here in ATLANTA since Dominque. Further, Cavaliers expections were much higher then the Hawks, and they blew it. Lets see what Cleveland does with Mike. Too bad we couldnt have lost a few more games so that we could have gotten that 4th seed in the playoffs and played Cleveland. Hawks would have been in the Eastern Finals..
BigTimeTECHFan
May 14th, 2010
3:47 pm
Just look at the talent Atlanta has verses Orlando:
Are Orlando’s player’s that much better then Atlanta to beat then 4 in a row by 20+ points IN THE PLAYOFFS. NO!
Difference was Orlando has a average to good coach that knows how to:
1. Design an offense that utilizes his players skills, They may not be allstars but when they are on the court you have to account for them
2. Call a offense in a game, where the mismatches are, etc
3. Get players to play in team system to win, see Lewis, plays totally different then in with the Sonics went from one on one player to team player.
Woodson did not do any of the above, in fact Johnson was nice team player with the Suns and Woodson turned him into a one on one player, why because Woodson’s only hope was beat a player one on one because he can’t coach an offense to breakdown anybody.
TCEE
May 14th, 2010
3:47 pm
X Playground Great – guess you havent heard the news…Mike Brown was fired ! LOL
Greg
May 14th, 2010
3:49 pm
North clyde, the legacy of Woody, like it or not….
TWO playoff series wins in SIX years, both in 7 games over lower seeded opponents.
And, the most lopsided playoff series loss in NBA history despite the fact that the Hawks starting lineup consisted of two, almost, 3 NBA all-stars and the NBA’s 6th man of the year.
As for his victory totals, I don’t think they bear that much significance considering we were at rock bottom when he was hired….which is the only reason he got the job to begin with….and the Hawks made significant additions to the roster via the draft and free agency from one year to the next.
X Playground Great
May 14th, 2010
3:50 pm
Thanks TCEE…no I didnt hear that. So, Mike was the reason that the Cav’s had 20+ turnovers. LOL
donjuan
May 14th, 2010
3:52 pm
who thought the Hawks would get past Orlando.? Superman’s been beating Josh all of his life. He knew that Josh never learned the game and couldnt play worth a sheit.. He should have spent 4 yrs in college before he came to the NBA but his parents were all about the money.. Josh will be washed up in 3 yrs… tops…. Woodson will coach again and make the finals in that time.. mark my word…
BigTimeTECHFan
May 14th, 2010
3:52 pm
I would love to see the current team stay together one more year under a good coach. But if Johnson goes, then trade J Smith (free more money)and someone for early no 1 pick (D Cousins – Kentuky) and sign Dwayne Wade.
Wade
Teague
Cousins
Hortford
Craford
jeff
May 14th, 2010
3:53 pm
Let’s steal Doc Rivers away from the Celtics
Greg
May 14th, 2010
3:55 pm
X Playground Great, the Hawks would have lost to the Cavs in 5 or 6 games. Even Mike Brown can coach circles around Woodson.
Don’t tell me how the Hawks went 4-0 vs the Celtics because all of those games were earlier in the year when Garnett and others were banged up for the Celtics. The Hawks were fortunate in that several teams had key players out with injury when the Hawks played them and the Hawks stayed relatively healthy all year. Without some inordinate luck with injuries(our own and other teams), the Hawks should have been a 45-47 win team.
tarheels3
May 14th, 2010
3:56 pm
NC basketball and we know this game, right vs wrong and this is simply wrong. This man gave this team a 110% and you have to let him finish the job. You can’t mess over a good man. Here is what should of been done… Get the missing pieces to this puzzle and finish putting it together. Rick Sund you made a very selfish decision, not a quality decision. A true leader never makes a selfish decision. He does what is best for the team. And this decision was not even close to being a quality decision. The # 1 priorty should have been to clean up the mess between the Atlanta Spirit.
wcj
May 14th, 2010
3:57 pm
Mike Woodson will be back to coach against Atlanta with another team next season. I wonder how the fans will treat him?
Mitch
May 14th, 2010
3:57 pm
Woody deserves a great deal of credit…he brought the franchise back from perennial laughing stock to being one of the more respected teams in the NBA, and did it under two GMs, with not much security and had to develop the team’s youth in order to do it (although it would have been great if he developed at least one young guard in his tenure…but never did).
The problem was the Hawks really never played consistently smart basketball under Woody’s watch. How often did the team come out of a timeout, especially late in games, that we saw what Woody set up and said, “Wow, now that was a great call”? The only great call Woody could think of was isolating Joe…and as the talent around Joe got stronger, the need for Joe to hog the ball was far less, yet Woody never really had the answers for this.
Plus, how many times did Woody call his team flat? His players on the whole were lazy…they took lesser teams like the Knicks for granted and got beat and the players took many quarters off…this is why they blew so many good leads…they wanted it easy, and the coach didn’t set the standard for effort. And it would have been nice had Woody had better veteran leadership, but Joe Johnson was one of the first to try to take it easy…Joe seemed like he was always trying to save himself for some other game…like the next game or the game after that.
What the Hawks need is Tom Thibodeau…look at what his defense has done in the Cleveland series. And his defense with the Celtics doesn’t have half the youth and athleticism the Hawks have. Imagine, just imagine what he could do with these Hawks.
What we all need to consider is what players like Joe, Marvin and Josh will look like playing for a coach who sets the highest priority on defense and hustle and offensive unity and execution, and makes sure his players are focused and eager. Rick Sund should try to keep this team together as best he can…and try to add a center and another point guard to the mix. Tom Thibodeau could have this team playing at a level we haven’t seen in years with the Hawks. Under Thibodeau, Jeff Teague could become the next Rondo.
Greg
May 14th, 2010
3:57 pm
Donjuan, Woodson couldn’t coach a d-league team to the finals. Astonished that anyone can think that he’s capable of that.
Greg
May 14th, 2010
3:58 pm
that’s a d-league team to the d-league finals…
TCEE
May 14th, 2010
3:58 pm
Greg…the season is 82 games
Greg
May 14th, 2010
3:59 pm
tarheels3, stick to UNC. You don’t know jack about this situation, moron.
Dawgs Natl Champs 2010
May 14th, 2010
3:59 pm
Keep your hands off of Mark Fox. He is a young Phil Jackson.
Patoris
May 14th, 2010
3:59 pm
The man did a great job while he was he here. He did the best he could with the talent that he had. Don’t blame the horrible playoff loses on him…he is not on the court the players are. If they are doing what they want instead of following his direction it is not his fault. Atlanta will be a 40 win team without him next season. WATCH & SEE!!!! I miss him already.
X Playground Great
May 14th, 2010
4:00 pm
Greg, early in the season KG wasnt hurt, nothing but his ego when the Hawks laid into them. And yeah, your mental is a big part of the game. With the Hawks dominating Boston, it definitely would have creeped into their minds how the Hawks OWN them.
BigTimeTECHFan
May 14th, 2010
4:01 pm
Doc would be nice – He’ll command respect, but dought we can get him from Boston.
Darb
May 14th, 2010
4:03 pm
The Hawks ownership is a joke, how can we expect them to hire anyone that isnt a joke, and coach a team thats also a joke. It all starts at the top, and this program from top to bottom will continue to be a joke until the right individual comes along, buys the team, and gets the right folksd to make a real team of the Hawks program.
Who Cares
May 14th, 2010
4:06 pm
Is Joe Johnson going with Woody. I guess we can’t ask for everything at once. Nice move Rick Sund!
BigTimeTECHFan
May 14th, 2010
4:06 pm
Get John Thompson’s son
elong
May 14th, 2010
4:07 pm
van gundy – not the orlando one – that is my choice
TCEE
May 14th, 2010
4:09 pm
X Playground Great Now there are reports saying Cleveland is not firing Mike Brown…who knows …LOL