Report: Hawks to interview Avery Johnson
Avery Johnson
ESPN.com’s Marc Stein reports the Hawks will interview Avery Johnson for their vacant head coach position.
Johnson, an ESPN analyst, last coached the Dallas Mavericks. He took over during the 2004-05 season and Dallas won 60 games in 2005-06, earning Johnson Coach of the Year honors. But the Mavericks lost a six-game series to Miami in the Finals after leading 2-0. The Mavericks fired Johnson after they lost in the first round of the playoffs in both 2007 and 2008.
If the Hawks want to hire Johnson it would probably take a significant financial commitment. Johnson reportedly earned more than $4 million per year in his final contract with the Mavericks. That’s more than twice the final salary the Hawks paid Mike Woodson, who was told on Friday that he wouldn’t be retained.
Johnson isn’t assured of earning his previous coaching salary when he returns to the sidelines, but he has leverage as probably the most high-profile candidate available. He’s already interviewed with Philadelphia and New Orleans and Johnson also reportedly has interest in coaching the Nets, who were recently sold to Russian billionaire Mikhali Prokhorov.
The Hawks also are set to interview Mavericks assistant Dwane Casey.
MC
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428 comments Add your comment
northcyde
May 19th, 2010
4:32 pm
No . . . because Mayo isn’t a PG. Crawford is more of a PG than Mayo.
Hoops
May 19th, 2010
4:38 pm
Ramon,
Yes! The Grizzlies will need a SF once if they loose Gay. I don’t think they would take Marvin though.
Ramon
May 19th, 2010
4:40 pm
Speaking of Crawford @ northcyde, would you be willing to trade Crawford for Mayo (who averages the same as Crawford)
Grandad
May 19th, 2010
4:44 pm
Ramon:
No / but! (not as a [1])
I would love to have Mayo.
I would have to peruse the situation if Joe stays.
If Joe leaves…now…it opens up possibilities.
However, I like Mayo the player & I constanly
wish to acquire ‘talent’ for my Hawks.
Ramon
May 19th, 2010
4:48 pm
Grandad, I would explore trading OJ for Crawford because they do the same thing and OJ is half of the price, and he has a chance of becoming even better. He reminds me a lot of the young Stackhouse but with a better jump shot.
Grandad
May 19th, 2010
4:49 pm
Ramon:
Not answering for nc / but always remember:
”chemistry”
Jamal / loves it here & seemed to thrive.
1st place that I think he has felt @ home.
Food for thought.
cp
May 19th, 2010
4:50 pm
I like Mayo but he isn’t a pg. I do however think he is a better defender than Crawford and he is younger. As far as Marvin, I don’t think the market for him is very big. He is viewed as an underachiever to some and a bust to others. This draft does seem deep. I think their will be some guys available when we pick that can contribute right out the gate.
Ramon
May 19th, 2010
5:15 pm
Grandad, JC seems to like it here. However, on numerous occasions it seemed as if his shot selection fueled into the chemistry problems that left J&A unhappy for a good part of the post season and regular season. Also, if JC’s not willing to re-sign next year for a significant drop in pay, wouldn’t the Hawks then lose him for nothing. In my mind the only untouchables on the team are J&A unless Chris Paul becomes available. Otherwise anyone, excluding J&A, can have on a new jersey next season.
northcyde
May 19th, 2010
5:21 pm
People have to look at trades from both sides. Now ask yourself. If you were a Grizzlies fan, would you want management to trade the #25 pick for Marvin?
Not only could the pic be possibly better than Marvin, his contract would DEFINITELY be better than Marvin’s.
There is no way that Memphis takes Marvin and trades the #25 pick, unless multiple people are involved in the trade.
And once again, before talking about what the Hawks can do over the summer, people have to have command of 5 terms, and how it pretains to the Hawks this summer.
* unrestricted free agent
* salary cap
* luxury tax
* sign and trade
* cap hold
Regardless of what we do with JJ, we’re only going to have a little less than 6 million to spend on free agents. Any other players ( especially modest to big contract guys ) will have to be acquired via a sign and trade.
northcyde
May 19th, 2010
5:26 pm
Mayo for Crawford? In a heartbeat.
Ramon
May 19th, 2010
5:30 pm
Northcyde, I personally think the management of Memphis would make that deal. And I actually think Marvin would do good in their system. I think the value that basketball coaches and GMs have for Marvin is different than the value that the Hawks’ fans have for him. I think Sund judged his value on Marvin last season on what other executives were valuing Marvin as. Think about Marvin is under 25, with over 28 playoff games experience, and has yet to play in an OFFENSIVE system that involved ball movement. And Marvin is a decent on the ball defender. So I think Memphis would make the deal.
Najeh Davenpoop
May 19th, 2010
5:36 pm
The Hawks would have to consider themselves lucky if anyone gives up anything of value for Marvin. I honestly don’t think they could get a second round pick for him, as bad as his contract is. The only way they get rid of him is if they get an equally bad contract in return. After Bibby, Marvin is probably the least tradeable player on this roster.
Najeh Davenpoop
May 19th, 2010
5:37 pm
On the other hand, if Marvin was getting paid what he is worth — around $4-$5 million a year — trading him for a first-rounder would be a lot more believable.
terrell
May 19th, 2010
5:39 pm
Hawks trade Josh Smith and #19 to NJ for Josh Boone, Jarvis Hayes and #3.
Nets miss out on Lebron when they lost the lottery(probably would’nt have got him anyway), so they pick up another highlight reel in Smith. They need fans in the worse way.
Harris, Smith, and Lopez are a nice trio to bulid around.
Hawks move up to take C Demarcus Cousins so they can move Al Horford to his natural positon of pf.
They also pick up a backup pf to replace Joe Smith and another shooter to add to the bench.(See ya Mario)
All of this of course after Atlanta hired Byron Scott to replace Woodson. Hopefully he can do for Teague, what he did for CP3.
If this happened, would you be angry, so,so, or estatic?
Najeh Davenpoop
May 19th, 2010
5:41 pm
I’d do Mayo for Crawford too (let’s forget for a second that Memphis wouldn’t) but I also wouldn’t want him to have a central role in the offense here the way he does with the Grizzlies. If he was used the way Crawford is now, that would be terrific.
Rod from College Park
May 19th, 2010
5:48 pm
Marvin is no more than a bench player. Probably would not still be in the league if he was not on the Hawks. No team in the league will trade for him unless it is part of a bigger deal, and they are trying to get rid of a bad contract. Remember no one else in the league was interested in him last summer except the Hawks, and they bid agianst themselves. His agent should be commended.
Ramon
May 19th, 2010
5:53 pm
Rod, please show me the article that states no one else was interested in Marvin last season, because I don’t believe that. Sund is NOTORIOUS for taking too long and low balling players. And you’re saying that no one else in the league was willing to pay around the same price tag that SUND offered Marvin? If that’s the case then we’re screwed as a franchise, because this is the same man picking our next coach, and the outcome of JJ. lol
Ramon
May 19th, 2010
5:55 pm
Philly are now negotiating a contract with Doug Collins. So that’s one less team to worry about.
cp
May 19th, 2010
5:59 pm
I don’t remember reading about too many teams wanting Marvin last summer. I have to add that he was a restricted free agent so that might have had a lot to do with it. But yea I don’t recall any teams showing any interest.
Najeh Davenpoop
May 19th, 2010
6:00 pm
“If this happened, would you be angry, so,so, or estatic?”
So-so. Cousins could be a bigger version of C-Webb who can guard Dwight Howard. He also could be Kwame Brown. He’s not as explosive of an athlete as Josh, and at least as much of a head case by all reports. I think when you have a known commodity in Josh — a borderline All-Star and DPOY candidate — you shouldn’t trade him unless you get a sure thing. Wall and Turner are more or less sure things. Cousins is not.
Melvin
May 19th, 2010
6:08 pm
Who the heck is Dean Demopolous?
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/basketball/nba/05/19/demopolous.hawks/index.html#ixzz0oPg4VK2V
terrell
May 19th, 2010
6:15 pm
Najeh ,we also get cap space, and two pretty good bench players to replace Mario, Joe Smith, Hamburger Collins, and Randawful Morris. lol!
!
terrell
May 19th, 2010
6:33 pm
Dean who? Why does Sund think he has to bring in someone he knows? This team isn’t that far away. We need a vet Head Coach who the players respect. Not some unknown assistant. I love Nate, so if he’s anything close to him, I’m all in. But I seriously doubt he is.
Rod from College Park
May 19th, 2010
6:58 pm
Ramon,
Remeber he was restricted, but no one made him an offer. Josh was also and he got an offer and we matched. You never heard of any team making an offer to Marvin, and believe me that would have been released on one of the basketball websites. I really don’t think anyone else was willing to pay what we paid, and that should be obvious by what Ariza and Artest signed for, and they are much better players on both sides of the ball. I’m not on record as being a big fan of Sund, and based on what he has done since he has been here, I can’t say I like him any more than I did before. Jamal was a great move, but that’s it. I am on record on the blog saying that if we resigned Marvin, it would be one of our worse mistakes. We might be screwed. He did not do anything in Seattle to prove otherwise.
bigdave
May 19th, 2010
7:08 pm
DEMO!
drmaryb
May 19th, 2010
7:47 pm
MICHAEL
You HOT man! You HOT! Like Dwayne Wade’s RIGHT hand. (LOL)
Co-Sign your 405 PM Editorial!
You brought passion – fire – insight & one helluva perspective to this here blog! Keep it up!
Welty
May 19th, 2010
9:20 pm
Why fire Woodson just to hire another loser?
Welty
May 19th, 2010
9:24 pm
The hawks should definitely pay Marvin what he’s worth to the team: ZERO.