Atlanta Hawks: Avery Johnson says he’s agreed to coach Nets
Johnson headed to Nets, not Hawks.
One coaching candidate down for the Hawks, three still in the mix.
The Associated Press reported that Avery Johnson says he’s agreed to coach the Nets. Johnson told the AP the team is expected to announce the news on Thursday.
Johnson was among four candidates the Hawks have been considering as the replacement for Mike Woodson. With Johnson apparently out of the running, general manager Rick Sund and Atlanta’s ownership group now will choose from among Dwane Casey, Larry Drew and Mark Jackson.
Casey is a Dallas assistant coach and former head coach in Minnesota. Drew was an assistant under Woodson, who was let go after six seasons. Jackson, a television broadcaster, hasn’t been a coach at any level but was a long-time NBA point guard.
A person with knowledge of the process said Hawks management is still considering all three candidates and will make a decision soon. The Hawks, Cavaliers and Clippers are the only teams yet to name a head coach.
MC
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309 comments Add your comment
drmaryb
June 9th, 2010
8:32 pm
Lewis
Thanks for re:posting your June 6 Editorial!
That was FANTASTIC – Sunday Morning Breakfast! Flat out awesome research!
You are the reason, I knew anything about Casey, including the cheating stuff!
You brought the TRUTH: the good, the bad & the ugly!
So, keep it coming!
darrell starks
June 9th, 2010
8:35 pm
Dont be surprise if LEBRON and BOSH end up as a net, plus they have the 3rd pick this team will be sick.
DRAFT WESLEY JOHNSON my opinion could be the sleeper of the draft.
STARTER DEVIN, WESLEY, LEBRON, BOSH, LOPEZ
THE NETS WILL BE DEADLY
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!
JeJe
June 9th, 2010
8:40 pm
Drew isn’t staying as an Assistant. His whole family is on the West Coast. Only reason he’s here is because Larry Drew Jr is nearby at Chapel Hill
SUND WILL HIRE CASEY BECAUSE HE IS FROM SEATTLE. TOO BAD CASEY SUCKS AND HAS ACCOMPLISHED NOTHING
MARK BRADLEY’S REASONING FOR GETTING CASEY IS A JOKE. HOW MANY “PLAYER’S COACHES” WITH NO SUCCESS IN THE NBA EVER ACCOMPLISH !@#$ IN THIS LEAGUE?
OH WAIT, SUND HAS ACCOMPLISHED NOTHING EITHER. HIS CAREER ACHIEVEMENT IN HIS 25+ YEARS IS TRADING PAYTON FOR RAY ALLEN LOL
Grandad
June 9th, 2010
9:02 pm
drmaryb:
Eveything is gonna be okay. people are gettin’ on ASG
for what? Doing a thorough job (along with Sund).
If you saw my post above – Casey is a teacher and that is
what our kids need. Everyone is primed & ready to over-react.
remember how delighted we were when we knew change was coming.
Now it’s almost here. Let’s not parse over names. We didn’t
share the interview room. so – Hawk fans – lets get ready to
back the new guy whomever he is. Give him his chance,
he [?] deserves it.
Also – drmaryb – ‘Bear Bryant’ was credited with that quote ^ above,
now whether he was the 1st, I don’t know?
JeJe – When you said that about the white / black thing;
it entered my mind again. [someone mentioned it weeks ago]
And, I’m sorry it did.
I only want the very best & most qualified coach.
ddd-house
June 9th, 2010
9:02 pm
I am sooooo sick of this BS with these owners, AJ was best coach out there for this and they let go and now they want to hand the keys over to some assistants; are you F*&)ing kidding me. This would be like taking steps backward.
Big Ray
June 9th, 2010
9:07 pm
At least some folks understand that everything ends with the owners. If you are one of those fools who thinks Rick Sund is in control of this franchise/organization, I feel bad for you. Stupidity is harder to cure than cancer.
tony
June 9th, 2010
9:10 pm
It’s about time for the fans in Atlanta and around Ga to have a say in what those no good owners do with our team. That’ right that team belong to the fans. Without us there won’t be the Atlanta Hawks in the State of Ga. It’s their responsibility to put the right product in those facilities make us feel good about coming to the games. The best way to deal with those no good owners is to stop showing up to the games. Stop spending your hard earn money on their bad product. Let them take their bad product somewhere else.
drmaryb
June 9th, 2010
9:15 pm
Grand-Daddy
Thks! Yeah Bear Bryant! Hey, I would NOT be mad if Casey got the Job! Why Not just hire him
Four weeks ago! If he’s our man – then Let’s Go!
Why all the dilly-dally Picadilly? We should be on to the next item on our long task list!
We need to re-sign Joe and plan for the draft – eh?
The Sixers got their man on Day-1! They’re not having all this drama. However, I do like a little drama – but not this much. We got too many owners who don’t see eye to eye….we’ re NOT going anywhere until they get on the same 8 – page(s). Geez!
Grand-Daddy! Gimmie……Gimmee…….Gimmee!
drmaryb
June 9th, 2010
9:25 pm
ddd-house
How do you know Avery Johnson EVER intended to come here?
Most prospects simply use the Hawks to leverage a better deal – elsewhere!
(See Kenyon Martin)
Don’t forget – Atlanta has great Steaks! (See Ruth Chris)
You can always come here for a great steak dinner & the strip clubs are the best ever!
Hey – they don’t call it. “Black Hollywood” for nothing!
N. D. T. K.
June 9th, 2010
9:27 pm
Truth,
the people crying about Avery didn’t mention this quote from your post on the coaches. Isn’t this just what the Hawks need? :
“He runs a tight ship, he cracks the whip and when he cracks it, you know it and feel it. Avery holds everybody accountable. Dirk (Nowitzki), if he’s out there messing around, he subs him out. There’s no situation where he allows guys to play through inconsistency or lack of intensity. That’s something that is welcome by all NBA players.” — Anthony Johnson, 2007.
Big Ray
June 9th, 2010
9:27 pm
drmaryb
For the same reason Snow White took forever to get anything done. Hard to stay focused and on point when you have 7 dwarves yappity-yapping all at once, and one of them seems to always be drunk (he’s the one that likes to talk too much…tells ya how bad the finances are and why they fought for the Joe Johnson trade in the first place).
ajw
June 9th, 2010
9:27 pm
What about Vinny Del Negro? He actually has a good offensive strategy. He did alright with what he had in Chicago. He has more Head Coaching experience than any of the others. He probably isn’t very expensive.
Big Ray
June 9th, 2010
9:29 pm
That quote is great, and it’s what part of what you want out of a coach. Unfortunately, you can’t quote that without quoting the Cons side of things. Everything is a gamble. And this is one gamble the organization simply chose not to make. Not much we can do about it.
Big Ray
June 9th, 2010
9:30 pm
Vinny Del Negro gets in UFC matches with his GM. Sund’s too old for that, and we don’t want him getting Sprewel-ed on the practice floor….LOL!
made up name
June 9th, 2010
9:31 pm
A few years ago they were saying teams had to interview at least one black candidate. Since the Hawks aren’t interviewing even ONE non-black person, I guess they are racist.
CrazyDiamond
June 9th, 2010
9:33 pm
How many games would the Hawks win if the coach just rolled the ball out and said “Play”? This past year my guess is the Hawks would have won 53 if Woody just rolled the ball out there.
We need a coach that is better than that. With playoff experience. With a $50 million dollar player payroll, the Hawks cannot skimp on paying for a quality coach. Makes no sense. Would be like the Braves having the greatest starting five pitchers with an unproven rookie catcher.
We are so screwed.
Hawks Fan
June 9th, 2010
9:34 pm
Hawks need to continue the search and interview more coaches. DOC RIVERS!!!!!!!!!!
cdog
June 9th, 2010
9:42 pm
no big ray, i won’t commit suicide. that would send me automaticly to hell.yes avery johnson was my coach. i know a winner when i see one no matter what race or who he is.johnson would have been a perfect fit for the team.he would not have put with rick sund’s stupidity.if i was you big ray, i would start looking at college prospects because under your boy, rick sund, the hawks will be in the lottery for years to come and you will criticizing whoever the coach is instead of the obvious problem, rick sund
ryan
June 9th, 2010
9:43 pm
This all goes back to Ted Turner when he sold the teams Braves,Hawks,and Thrashers to AOL, Time Warner that was the death nail. WCW failed David McDavid would been able buy to the Hawks and Thrashers we would be talking about this.
theight
June 9th, 2010
9:43 pm
I just don’t understand Sund and the hawks. Why is it that everybody they want to sign or resign they want to wait until the last minute to do so unless its someone like Marvin Williams and ZaZa. Almost lost Josh because they wanted to wait and see if someone else would offer just to match. Joe could have been resigned if Sund would have offer before his last year. Now here we go and has lost out to the Nets in getting Avery Johnson. I don’t think its because of the money that Avery went to the Nets, its simply that no one else was offering him the head coaching job so he had to do what he had to do. Rick Sund is really getting on my nerves. it doesn’t take a genious to know which players to go after and which coach is the best available. I really don’t see any point in letting woodson go if the hawks has to go out and get a rookie coach. Avery is the only coach that was available that could have encouraged good players to come in and play with the hawks.
Nate ArchiBALL
June 9th, 2010
9:43 pm
Wasn’t Rick Sund the third choice when the Atlanta Spirit Group was searching for a GM?
theight
June 9th, 2010
9:48 pm
@made up name.
The rule wasn’t that teams had to interview at least 1 black coach, it was that they had to inerview at least 1 minority coach. actually i didn’t think that was an NBA rule, i thought it was college sports and the nfl rules.
LB
June 9th, 2010
9:48 pm
I DO NOT SEE WHERE ANYONE OF THE OWNERS HERE ARE INTERESTED EVEN A LITTLE LITTLE BIT ABOUT WINNING A CHAMPIONSHIP!!! GET OFF THE SIDELINES BOYS AND PICK A COACH THAT WANTS TO WIN HERE.
cdog
June 9th, 2010
9:51 pm
michael cunningham, guess why byron scott was not contacted?look who’s in charge of the contacting, rick sund.its too much like doing the right thing.as i said, when it comes to common sense,rick sund was out to lunch when it was given out
FORMERHAWKSFAN
June 9th, 2010
9:52 pm
Dear Arthur Blank,
Please by the Hawks! ASG is trying to ruin our team so they can sale it!
Sund is a Bum! We don’t your friend to coach our team. We want a coach not a puppet! You fire Woody to hire somebody worst than Woody!
ASG is the worst thing in Atlanta history since Bill Cambell!
O'Brien
June 9th, 2010
9:52 pm
We have seen some of the coaching hires Sund has made. Some have been good, but some have been bad (Bob Weiss anyone)? So to me, whether he takes his time or not is not a true indication that its helping him make the right hire.
But the important thing, like Grandad posted above, is whoever is hired, we need to give them a chance, and give them time. Even if it is not the guy we wanted, the bottom line is they will be the Hawks coach, and last I checked, we are all Hawks fans (or most of us anyway).
drmaryb
June 9th, 2010
9:56 pm
Blue-Ray
(Sharper Image)
Yeah that is a great qoute! However, that’s why his azz got ran out of Dallas! And, why Byron Scott got ran out of New Jersey & New Orleans!
These million dollar babies ain’t going for that ISH! This ain’t ROOTS! (Cracking Whips? Hell to the Naw!)
These are the X-BOX 360 generation. Generation – X! These kids ain’t NEVER been told NO! These coddled azzes have NEVER even had a spanking! They smoke weed and push rims and chase women!
I give Avery 24 months and them players will be gassing his azz too!
Mr. John Wooden – The Coach! (RIP) didn’t do it that way, because you don’t motivate real men with disrespect and intimidation tactics!
Tony Dungy won without yelling & cursing too! Treat a Man like a Man & he will run through a wall for you!
Doc Rivers doesn’t crack whips either, neither does Phil Jackson! Players like KOBE will not respond to whip ai crackin’ either.
Who the hell cares what – Anthony Johnson has to say anyways! He’s a perennial scrub!
Thank God! Avery Johnson didn’t come here with that Ish! Josh would have whupped his azz!
He almost put a choke hold on Woody in year 2 & Woody called Pete to come and get his son, before Woody killed him! (See Latrell Spreewll & PJ Carlisimo)
The more I think about it? – Call Mark Jackson!
drmaryb
June 9th, 2010
10:07 pm
Blue-Ray
(1080 P)
I just saw your f/u post. I see you thought of Spreewell too! Great minds do think alike!
We need a great communicator with a sound system in here! Call Casey! From what I read, he embodies what this team need!
Najeh Davenpoop
June 9th, 2010
10:09 pm
Rick Sund’s “slow and steady wins the race” approach seems to be going swimmingly.
Let’s hope Dwane Casey is the next Bill Belichick.
O'Brien
June 9th, 2010
10:11 pm
More from nba.com, speaking about our Hawks;
“Areas of strength:
Some teams would love a solid power forward. The Hawks have two. And they both start. Only problem is Al Horford is on the floor masquerading as a center. Horford cracked the All-Star lineup this year and is usually good for a double-double, and in the right scenario would blossom as a 6-10 power forward. But that’s also where Josh Smith toils, and he has grown steadily the last 3 seasons, maturing as a defender and inside scorer.
Needs work:
Hard to believe, but the Hawks are still paying dearly for passing up Chris Paul and Deron Williams 6 years ago. Since then, they had to sign Speedy Claxton, use a pick on Acie Law IV and extend Mike Bibby in his twilight. And they still lack a quality point guard. Bibby was noticeably slow this season. Jeff Teague showed early promise as a rookie but is unproven as a starter.
Two stats that matter:
No. 2 — that’s where the Hawks drafted Marvin Williams overall.
No. 5 — that’s what option Williams was in the lineup last season.
The way to go:
There usually aren’t many pearls to be found at No. 24, but the Hawks should go looking in Kentucky for one. Either Eric Bledsoe, who helped John Wall at the point, or Daniel Orton, a 6-10 true center. Both are leaving Kentucky after raw showings as freshmen.
Big Ray
June 9th, 2010
10:13 pm
drmaryb
Yes, communicator first. Sometimes cracking the whip is not the way to go. Best quote I ever heard from a coach came from Chuck Daly, former coach of the championship Bad Boys Detroit Pistons:
“It’s a players’ league. They allow you to coach them or they don’t,” Daly once said of the NBA. “Once they stop allowing you to coach, you’re on your way out.”
Boom. Bam. Truth.
i_am_soulstar
June 9th, 2010
10:17 pm
*Thinks of Sund getting ‘Sprewelled’ on the practice floor* *Laughs*
Sorry Rick.
If they hire Mark Jackson, it’s gonna be a long summer of me crying myself to sleep in the fetal position.
Big Ray
June 9th, 2010
10:18 pm
cdog ,
Don’t know what race has anything to do with this, so you can drop that part of the conversation as far as I’m concerned. Avery Johnson would not have put up with Sund’s stupidity? Again, I ask where are the multiple championship rings (hell, give me just one) that makes this man so deserving of such high praise and regard.
I think he also “didn’t put up with Mark Cuban’s stupidity”….got him fired, in short. You swear up and down you know Byron Scott hasn’t been contacted by Sund and the Hawks. Fine, if you can prove it. What I’m wondering is why he’s not being mentioned as a coach for any of the OTHER teams in the league. Oh, they’re all stupid? Dang man, you should have been a GM. None of these dudes offered Avery a job when Dallas fired him. NONE of them. That’s 31 complete idiots. You could probably take all of their jobs, because they are all stupid. It took one rich russian to set it all straight.
Keep it comin’ bro. In the meantime, I hope somebody buys you a throwback jersey of Avery when he played for the Spurs….if they sell them that is…
Big Ray
June 9th, 2010
10:21 pm
O’brien ,
I read that analysis and started crying again. Had to go see my therapist about my post lottery draft pick depression. He only sees me on Wednesdays.
He reserves Tuesdays for CDOG and his post Woody-era and “missed out on Avery” depression.
Charges $90 an hour, too….
Big Ray
June 9th, 2010
10:24 pm
I am soulstar ,
I am a sick mofo, LOL. Did you know the Sprewel victim (PJ Carlesimo) got a job as an assistant coach…forgot which NBA team, but I bet he wears a neck brace to practice just to be safe, LOL…
Moist Poo Poo
June 9th, 2010
10:26 pm
Avery gets paid $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ to take the New Jersey job, Joe Johnson leaves for greener pastures $$$$$$$$$$, we lose a 50 plus win Underpaid ($) coach in Mike Woodson, THANKS ASG AND RICK SUND! I guess we’ll be one of the lucky 15 teams on that lottery drawing show during the playoffs next year. Wait and see, they will give the draft pick away too. HAHAHA!
cp
June 9th, 2010
10:27 pm
Thank you drmaryb thank you. Its like that thought escapes most of these bloggers. Just because a guy was interviewed doesn’t mean he really has interest to come here. As you stated guys in the past have used the Hawks to secure better deals elsewhere. I remember when Cassell did that one summer. I just don’t get how adults don’t understand that a person has to want to come here first. You cant start blaming Sund because somebody doesn’t want to be here… And ray you’re wasting your time with cdog. Dude had no problem with Sund when Woodrow was here. As soon as he didn’t get a new contract Sund became some idiot in cdog’s mind.
drmaryb
June 9th, 2010
10:31 pm
Blue-Ray
(3-D)
Wow! Chuck Daly (RIP) – He said that? Damn – that’s tight! You see, Great Coaches never draw plays on a board! That’s just window dressing for the camera! Sort of like Amare, Dwight & P-Diddy wearing reading glasses! It makes you LOOK intelligent!
Championship COACHES spit philosophy and ideals! They push your buttons and motivate the inner-you! Why? Because that’s what got you here! If you listen to Doc in the huddle? You already know what I mean!
You don’t have to tell – Leon Powe what pressure is! That man knows what pressure is!
He, his Mamma & siblings slept in cars and homeless shelters for 10 years in the freezing cold!
Leon Powe doesn’t need a whippin’! He needs a Man to teach him – how to be a man!
He is like Brandon Roy! He needs a Leader to Follow! I’m thinking Mark Jackson might be the
Dark Horse in this race! IDK ….. Blue-Ray? I just got a feeling!
ryan
June 9th, 2010
10:32 pm
Is there any way somebody from Atlanta with a lot of money can buy the Hawks and Braves i don’t care about the Thrashers . PLEASE SOME ONE SAVE US !
R e b u i l d
June 9th, 2010
10:36 pm
Ditto on the Sundofabytch is an idiot. He hasnt got a clue. If you are going to fire woodson for doing a great job with limit talent at least have an up grade in mind…not another assistant coach experiment. What an idiot.
Mike is back
June 9th, 2010
10:36 pm
Section 303, agreed…I think you have to give Casey a chance. I know he got a good endorsement from KG. I prefer a new voice, and a new philosophy. I think Mark Jackson is a fine fella, but I prefer someone with coaching experience.
I was pulling to get Avery…however, I knew it would be a long shot. Once the name Mark Jackson was mentioned after to have spoken to Avery…that kind of tells everyone, the Hawks have some doubts on whether they can sign AJ. Hence the reason why we hear the Hawks will name a coach this week…kind of like the Josh saga.
Funny thing though…BK was fired for suggesting the ASG replace Woody with Larry Drew…now Drew is one of the finalist for the coaching vacancy, Right!!!
Man, there is never a dull moment with ASG. PLEASE ANNOUNCE CASEY AS THE HEAD COACH ALREADY, and if you are going to hire LDrew…why the F did it take so looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong!
sund is an idiot in a lot of people's mind
June 9th, 2010
10:37 pm
fire sund!
now you know the rest of the story,,,,
June 9th, 2010
10:41 pm
So the under achieving and long time unemployed, feminine avery refuses to coach the hawk because Sund could not commit to upgrading the center position and avery felt the hawks were not headed in the right direction.- go figure
Ray
June 9th, 2010
10:44 pm
Big Ray
June 9th, 2010
10:21 pm
O’brien ,
I read that analysis and started crying again. Had to go see my therapist about my post lottery draft pick depression. He only sees me on Wednesdays. Because he can only stomach so much of me. Unfortunately you guys have to put up with my sorry aisee
Moist Poo Poo
June 9th, 2010
10:45 pm
I heard a blue light special for tickets was being advertised at the highlight factory for the 2011 season. (GIVE IT AWAY AND THEY MIGHT COME!) LOL.
Mike is back
June 9th, 2010
10:47 pm
Big Ray, speaking of PJ…I hope Woodson learns something from his stint with the Hawks. I would hate to see him end up a wash out like PJ Carlesimo. That would be a shame. At lease he wasn’t choked out by Josh. lol
drmaryb
June 9th, 2010
10:49 pm
Cdog
IDK Dwayne Casey was black until you said something about race.
BTW .. Last time I checked? Cdog sounds like a black man’s name – I guess that makes you a “Wanna – Be”
I’m sure your parents didn’t name their kid – “cdog”?
Now go to your room without supper! You little snotty-nosed wanna-be!
Next Blogger – Puh..lease!
tidog
June 9th, 2010
10:50 pm
Bases are loaded and Casey’s at bat
drmaryb
June 9th, 2010
10:54 pm
Blue-Ray
(1080 P)
Get your Scroll-On! Don’t take the bait. That’s your boy cdog re: Ray.
Keep Scrollin Bruh. That dude needs a diaper change or a new blog. Maybe – MySpace?
i_am_soulstar
June 9th, 2010
10:54 pm
Lol, Ray, the worst part is, they say most of the other players just kinda stood there and watched.