Atlanta Hawks: Larry Drew is the choice for coach
Hawks pick Drew to be next coach.
The Hawks have decided to hire Larry Drew as their next head coach, people with knowledge of the decision said today.
Drew was Atlanta’s lead assistant for six years under Mike Woodson, who was let go last month. Drew and the team are working out the details of a contract this evening and the official announcement of his hiring is expected on Saturday.
Drew, 52, emerged from a group of finalists that also included Avery Johnson, Dwane Casey and Mark Jackson. Once Johnson agreed to coach the Nets early in the week, that left Atlanta’s ownership group and GM Rick Sund to choose from among the other three candidates.
This will be Drew’s first head-coaching job after he’s been an NBA assistant for the the last 14 seasons. He worked for the Lakers, Wizards, Pistons and Nets before joining Woodson’s staff for the 2004-05 season. Drew played 714 games over 10 NBA seasons from 1980-91.
“He’s very experienced, just being around the game,” Hawks guard Jamal Crawford said. “He’s very knowledgeable. I think he is prepared for a lot of different situations.”
When Sund decided not to retain Woodson, he said the team needed “another voice” after the team lost in the second round of the playoffs the last two years. The Hawks apparently decided Drew will have a leadership style distinct from Woodson while also having the advantage of established relationships with players and familiarity with the team’s issues.
“He knows the faults of our teams,” Crawford said. “It’s not like we are a bad team. Now we can continue to build; we don’t have to start over.”
Drew inherits a team that won 53 games next season and, among its core players, has all but Joe Johnson under contract for next season. But he will face some challenges as the Hawks look to break through after getting swept in the second round of the playoffs in consecutive years.
Drew is popular among players but now his role changes from sometimes-confidant to the person in charge of their playing time and involvement in the offense. He also will have to reprimand players for their mistakes while trying to maintain relationships and team chemistry.
“Everything is going to be a first for him,” Crawford said. “But I think it will be a little bit easier transition because he knows our team. He doesn’t have to come in and learn the different personalities, what makes people tick and how to motivate them.”
When the Hawks let Woodson go, among the concerns expressed by players and management was what they considered Woodson’s differing levels of accountability. They said Woodson didn’t rebuke certain players as often as he did others, leading to some resentment in the locker room.
The Hawks also want to move away from an isolation-heavy offensive approach that was influenced by guard Joe Johnson’s playing style. Johnson is eligible to become a free agent next month, and the Hawks still want to re-sign him.
A person with knowledge of Johnson’s plans said he’s still open to returning. But the person said the new coach would have to sell Johnson on relying more on his teammates in the offense and ensure him that locker-room chemistry would improve.
MC
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
552 comments Add your comment
Charlie
June 11th, 2010
7:23 pm
PATHETIC!! Apparently none of the other “interviewees” had the least desire to work under these owners who don’t know squat about basketball! They could have hired him months ago since they knew he was their guy from the beginning.
Feudfinder
June 11th, 2010
7:23 pm
congratulations Mr. Larry Drew! You really deserve a shot at coaching. I wish you best luck, and more importantly, I hope you prove these doubting Thomas’ wrong with your hard work. May the Lord almighty guide you through. Once again, congratulations! Keep it coming brother
Jerome
June 11th, 2010
7:24 pm
People, DON’T BUY TICKETS, let the ASG go to the games.
And 1
June 11th, 2010
7:29 pm
Congratulations Larry Drew !!!! You REALLY deserve this shot as HEAD COACH. We wish you the best of luck, and more importantly, WE hope you GET US TO THE NEXT LEVEL with your hard work AND your ability to WORK THEM HARD. Once again, congratulations! Keep it coming MY brother.
Feudfinder
June 11th, 2010
7:33 pm
Not to worry tickets will be sold. Tickets were sold when Terry Stotts was the coach.
hawks fan
June 11th, 2010
7:33 pm
As long as he can establish a half-court offense an the players respect an listen to him we should be good.
Mary Jackson
June 11th, 2010
7:34 pm
Are you serious…………already on payroll, Dominique Wilkins is already on payroll as well and Atlanta love Nique, will you guys ever give him a chance………after all he’s done for the Hawks………..No hawks games for me the upcoming season.
Michael
June 11th, 2010
7:35 pm
“Great” coaches have great players.
Robert
June 11th, 2010
7:36 pm
this was a bad decision but the Hawks do this alot.so we all should expect this by now.they will be lucky to win 50 games next year!!!Bad hire anyway you look at it.
Dr. Dave
June 11th, 2010
7:36 pm
Despite working with and for Woody, Larry Drew is his own man and will make his own decisions. Unlike Woody, he has the respect of the Hawks players. He will have to prove that he is different.
Hawks fan no more
June 11th, 2010
7:38 pm
This ownership group and gm are all jokes! I can no longer support a team that refuses to contend for a championship. Good bye Hawks! You’ve just lost a fan of 28yrs.
lexluther
June 11th, 2010
7:39 pm
The move might make sense if Drew decides to push his offense philosphy on the team and make the decisions Woody couldn’t or wouldn’t. Sit down with Josh Smith and tell him that he’s not going to stand for that childish disrespect he often showed to Woody. Make Marvin realize that he has the skills and potential to be a hellava small forward if he stop being so damn scared and play hard night in and night out. Force ASG and Sund to go get a true center and move Al to power forward. Give the team to Teague and insist that JOE and BIBBY guide the youngster like Garnett, Pierece and Ray Ray did Rondo. And by all means, run, run, run. Be the only Eastern Confrence Team that has a West Coast mentality and by the seasons end, have teams dreading to face the Atlanta Hawks. Dammit Man…do it.
BTW….I told Woody that if he didn’t play Teague and get that kid into the flow before the playoffs that he would be sleeping with the fishes. Can anyone say Tony Soprano…..forgetaboutit!!!!!
DHunt
June 11th, 2010
7:39 pm
Dang, give the man a chance. The last six years don’t say anything about his coaching style, because he wasn’t the one calling the plays or deciding substitutions and in-game strategy. Hell, Woody never got thrown out of a game for coaching too hard, so we didn’t even get to see a glimpse of this guy even nominally in charge.
As a matter of fact, the only thing we KNOW about Coach Drew is that he knows this team and the players. He has had the opportunity to evaluate them all in great detail. He was a stand out point guard (a lot of them seem to be having much success as coaches). And he must have said something to convince the GM and ownership that he was going in a different direction.
For all the early naysayers, I will give you this little bit of rope to play with. If the team stays substantially the same then Coach Drew doesn’t get more than one year to prove he’s an upgrade over Woodson. He can’t claim that he had to come in and start from the ground up. He can start getting his program in place right now, just got to move his stuff down the hall to the big office. IF the Hawks make a significant player personnel change, give him at least two years to let the pieces gel.
Some of you act like you expected Phil Jackson to show up to coach the Hawks. Calm down.
Go Hawks!
mountain_jim
June 11th, 2010
7:41 pm
I have an open mind about it myself. If we were not going to be able to get Doc, know one here knows for certain whether we could have done better or not. Congrats and good luck to you Drew!
I for one am just glad they had the sense to finally get rid of Woody, whose offense and lack of flexibility I was sick of.
i_am_soulstar
June 11th, 2010
7:42 pm
Holy crap. I guess I would’ve lost that bet. Congrats Drew!
mountain_jim
June 11th, 2010
7:43 pm
I hope he can work the refs better, like you see Doc doing the whole game.
Billy Knight
June 11th, 2010
7:44 pm
i tried to tell them
northcyde
June 11th, 2010
7:44 pm
@ Section 303
They hate it for the same reasons why people may hate our upcoming 1st round draft pick. If fans feel that there are better players than the one we picked, then they’re going to be mad.
Same with the coach.
Our coaching candidates were Avery, Casey, Drew, and Jackson. In other words . . . a coach who has been to the NBA Finals, 2 assistant coaches, and a TV commentator who used to be an ex-PG.
Meanwhile, you look up in Cleveland, and you see ex-championship or NBA Finals caliber coaches being mentioned for that job.
That’s why they’re mad. They feel we hired the least common denominator.
mountain_jim
June 11th, 2010
7:45 pm
No Billy you hired Woody, you were stuck with him.
Feudfinder
June 11th, 2010
7:46 pm
Just like empty barrels make most noise, you television viewers do the most complaining. You guys need to go to South Africa and watch the world’s most popular sport, SOOOOOOOOOCER.
geno
June 11th, 2010
7:46 pm
Hawks settle for Drew. Really, considering the afore mentioned candidates “Drew”s” not that bad a choice. Question is, why can’t the Hawks attract any high profile Coaching talent. Too cheap, I guess!!!
drmaryb
June 11th, 2010
7:48 pm
HoopsHype
For all you Avery Johnson LOVERS, goto hoopshype.com, scroll half-way down the page and read all the dirt on Avery! They didn’t call him little general for nothing! I knew there was something about him that I didn’t like, but wow! I didn’t know he was a narcissistic – sociopath too!
Thank God we dodged that bullet! If that is who yall wanted here? You have no RIGHT to complain about
Larry Drew!
And, for all the jack-azzes on here that said anybody is better than Woodson? STHU! You got your wish.
For all of us who supports whoever the coach is & blame the GM for at least not building a complete team:
1 to 5 & a stacked bench (the real culprit), let’s wait and see what happens before the complaining starts!
CLYDE
I dare you to say – one damned word! You got what YOU lobbied for to ad – nauseam-sp!!!!!
2 FOR JOHN DREW
June 11th, 2010
7:50 pm
I’D BE AWFULLY INTERESTED IN SEKOU SMITH’S INSIGHT ON THIS HIRE.
I WAS ALWAYS A HUGE JOHN DREW FAN ….. AND WHEN ANOTHER DREW SURFACED IN THE LEAGUE, I PAID ATTENTION TO HIS GAME ….. AND OMG, I WAS KINDA SURPRISED ….. HE HAD GAME ! LET’S HOPE HE HAS A ” COACHING ” GAME TOO. I’D ALSO LOVE TO SEE MARK PRICE ON HIS STAFF ….. HE HELPED RONDO !!!!!!!!
GO ATLANTA teams and DAWGS!!!
June 11th, 2010
7:51 pm
Let’s not jump the gun, I remember a team called the Falcons hired a coach 3 years ago named mike smith and everyone was saying this is bad and who is this, but now they look like genuises not saying Drew will be as successful but give the man time and then will see.
DunwoodyHeel
June 11th, 2010
7:52 pm
Drew’s teams ran, ran, ran during the summer leagues. I bet he starts Teague and puts in a “seven seconds or less” offense. That’s wear down the old Celtics, and that’s also the way to beat the Magic — get a good shot up while Dwight Howard still hasn’t crossed half court.
This does raise the question whether Johnson is gone. Running a “seven seconds or less” offense spreads the shots around evenly, and means no more “iso Joe.”
Harry Hawk
June 11th, 2010
7:53 pm
Well, if you don’t want to pay the coach much, this is a good move. The fact of the matter is that this roster has likely reached its ceiling. That isn’t attractive to most guys on the market. Add the “Joe Johnson is a goner” factor and, well, Larry Drew is the coach we get.
JeJe
June 11th, 2010
7:53 pm
FIRE DREW
tyger
June 11th, 2010
7:53 pm
Doesn’t bode well for Sund – Casey was his boy!
Feudfinder
June 11th, 2010
7:53 pm
DHUNT, I must admit that you have senses, and you use them very very very well. Keep it coming man!
cheese
June 11th, 2010
7:54 pm
not the sexy pick, but a safe pick of new head coach.
JeJe
June 11th, 2010
7:54 pm
JK
FIRE SUND
WE NEED MONEY TO GET FREE AGENTS. IF DREW WAS INDEED A PG, LET’S SEE IF HE BENCHES DEADWEIGHTS DUCK AND BIB
MrHughes
June 11th, 2010
7:55 pm
We’re screwed.. bye atlanta hawks basketball.
Halsey
June 11th, 2010
7:58 pm
This won’t be a popular hire with many fans because they want “an experienced head coach with experience and success in the playoffs!!”. That’s the cookie cutter reply that many fans give when a new coach is being searched for. Those fans think the same coaches should be recycled over and over, because if teams only hire guys that fit that description, there’d never be any new coaches hired…
Robert
June 11th, 2010
7:58 pm
Dhunt get a clue this is a bad hire.he will be no better than Terry Stots and some of the other bad choices over the years.
Big Baby Davis
June 11th, 2010
8:03 pm
The Hawks took the cheap route–is the Spririt Group that broke. I predict the Hawks wont win 42 games next season.
Ron Swanson
June 11th, 2010
8:04 pm
Dwayne Casey looked like a perfect fit! What happened?
Pete
June 11th, 2010
8:07 pm
Hawks are a freaking joke. Why would you hire the top assistant to the guy you just fired?
drmaryb
June 11th, 2010
8:08 pm
UFA
Tyson Chandler to opt out of contract for 2010 @ $12.6 Milly? mmmmhh…….
Who?
June 11th, 2010
8:09 pm
Are you serious? An assistant on that staff? More dumb decisions by the morons who run the hawks. I’m not renewing my season tickets.
heap o' cheap
June 11th, 2010
8:09 pm
Cheap way out, cheap way out, cheap way out, cheap way out, cheap way out, cheap way out !
Mitun
June 11th, 2010
8:12 pm
people! why are you guys judging that guy when the season hasn’t started?
Bangkapi Ajarn
June 11th, 2010
8:15 pm
My opinion of the Atlanta Spirit group is once again vindicated!!!
Any guess on how this will affect ticket sales? A spike upwards, no change, a spike downwards??
ballhawker
June 11th, 2010
8:20 pm
We are doomed, I knew they would hire the cheaper guy. Why fire Woody and keep his brains. This doesn’t pass the common sense test. I am definietly not re-newing my season tickets.
Chris
June 11th, 2010
8:22 pm
I don’t think any of the “final three” were worth REAL consideration. Only a LBJ or Wade-like signing could save this franchise.
I’d like to thank the Hawks for making my decision. I won’t be renewing my season tickets.
Byron Scott(lol)
June 11th, 2010
8:24 pm
Well, we know what happened to Avery Johnson but how come you guys didn’t give ME a call or even Jeff Van Gundy for that matter? I know the coaching pool is small this season. So congrats to Larry Drew anyway. There are some assistants in the NBA that, when given a chance, can thrive and excel. It’s just not the greatest group of available coaches out there. Even the Cavs had to go to college.
drmaryb
June 11th, 2010
8:24 pm
Les Miserables!
Some people are miserable – no matter what? They have no facts, stats or dirt on Drew, but, yet andstill complain?
They complain for the sake of complaining.
They whine for the sake of whining.
They cry for the sake of crying.
That’s what natural born haters do!
They hate for the sake of hating.
Some hate because he’s black
Some hate because they don’t know him
Some hate because they are haters
Ignore them, get your Scroll-On!
The glass is full now, let’s celebrate that and move on. We need to shift the focus back to the roster:
1. Re-sign our best player, Mr. Johnson
2. Draft the best big available @ #24
3. Give Teague the damned ball
Again, congratulations Mr. Drew, you have earned an opportunity of a lifetime, to be the HC of a NBA roster!
screw balls
June 11th, 2010
8:28 pm
The Hawks players are happy with this guy because they can run over him. The Hawks needed a new voice in the locker room and huddle. This move does absolutely nothing to change this.The Hawks are a undisciplined team and will regress this season under Drew’s leadership or lack there of.
vava74
June 11th, 2010
8:30 pm
First of all, congratulations are in order for Drew.
Best wishes. His eventual success will be OUR joy.
Let’s hope that it will materialize.
Second, it’s unfair to disqualify someone just because he was a member of a staff. He tried to go away a while ago to pursue his own career SEPARATELY FROM WOODY, but was not allowed to walk.
This tells us two things: he was seen as valuable and knowledgeable by Woody, but drew himself was already fed up with Woody’s lack of acceptance of his input and was not there “just for the pay check”.
Third, it was widely reported by Sekeu that Drew disagreed strongly of Woody’s work and did not get him to accept any of his input.
That alone proves – IMO – that he knew what most of us knew already: Woody’s Hawks were a house of cards.
Fourth, yes, it is a low profile choice and a choice which does not bring the fresh air which sometimes is necessary but:
Avery has not proven to be successful in the post season with two crash and burn situations and a bad rep as a guy who gets into everyone’s nerves.
Casey has been reported by Wolves’ bloggers cited by some one over here as a Woody mark 2.0.
Mark Jackson’s signing would certainly be a “sexy” move by the ASG but why is he deserving of more trust than a guy who has been in the league for 30 years as a player and assistant coach?
Finally, if this was not Sund’s choice, which seems pretty obvious, how does he fell now?
CONFEDERATE DAWG
June 11th, 2010
8:31 pm
THANK GOOD LORD WE DIDNT GET MARK JACKSON!
Ken Strickland
June 11th, 2010
8:38 pm
I’d like to know how many of you cry babies were part of the interview process, especially when Larry Drew interviewed. Can anyone give us a clue how well Mark Jackson acquitted himself in displaying his knowledge of the Hawks, and what it actually takes to be a HC, especially an NBA HC?
I think LDrew will be a better HC with JJ than Casey or Jackson would be without him. Larry Drew definitely gives the Hawks a better chance of resigning JJ and correcting what ailed the team under Woodson. His NBA experience as a quality PG that played good DEF, and used speed, quickness and penetrating ability to be successful, will certain help Teague.
And before some of you cry babies say anything, there’s no way he could have helped Teague all that much as an assistant if Woodson refused to play him and take advantage of what he learned. It’s amazing how some of you can be so jaded and out of touch with reality. Those who wanted Avery Johnson, or someone other than LDrew, conveniently forget that he was an assistant under Don Nelson, who, like Woodson, had lost the ear of his players.
Nelson was fired during the season and replaced by his top assistant, Avery Johnson. The subsequent results speak for itself. We have far too many KNOW IT ALL fans, who actually know very little. Rather than make an A$$ of myself by prejudging the man without knowing a damned thing about his situation, his interview, knowledge or ability, I’ll give him my support and see what he does, just like I did with Woodson.
CONGRADULATIONS HC LARRY DREW, AND GOOD LUCK!!!!!!