Atlanta Hawks: Larry Drew to return as coach
The Hawks said they’ve exercised the option on coach Larry Drew’s contract for next season. The team signed Drew to a two-year contract with an option in 2010.
The Hawks have posted an 84-64 record with Drew as coach. They lost to Boston in the first round of the playoffs last week, ending a streak of three consecutive years in the second round. But the team’s owners and management cited the team’s 40-26 regular-season record as a success in light of several injuries to key players, including center Al Horford.
“Larry did an outstanding job this season in guiding our team to the fourth-best record in the Eastern Conference, despite a condensed schedule and unfortunate injuries,” Hawks GM Rick Sund said in a statement released by the team. “The Hawks have reached the postseason in each of his years on the bench, and we feel Larry’s experience, expertise and dedication to the game were a key ingredient to our success.”
Sund’s contract expires next month. He’s been in talks with the team’s owners about re-signing but hasn’t committed to a return or publicly addressed his future. Sund’s other options include retirement or taking a part-time role with the Hawks or another team.
Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat
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601 comments Add your comment
DawgNole
May 19th, 2012
3:22 pm
BasketballTopFan
May 18th, 2012
2:02 pm
The Atlanta Hawks made a very good move in keeping Larry Drew as Head Coach. Good Luck next year. The Hawks could win the NBA Championship with this nucleus.
______________________
This is a joke, right? Please tell me you’re not serious.
DawgNole
May 19th, 2012
3:25 pm
the buster
May 18th, 2012
2:24 pm
For how much longer? Other teams that were a couple of years helplessly behind, a re now ahead of the Hawks, and some of them are still in playoffs. Why?
_______________________
For the answer to your question, see Slimjr’s post at 2:35 p.m. (May 18)
DawgNole
May 19th, 2012
3:27 pm
KevinM
May 18th, 2012
1:54 pm
SteveW, or any other season ticket holder, I am sad for this news . . . .
This move to bring LD back for one more year is typical and ASG continues to surprise no one with their moves.
Sund going to part-time? What? 4 hour work days getting tough on his 32 year career?
One of the worse days as a Hawks supporter in recent memory.
It just sickened me when 790 gave me this news.
____________________
Same here. Sickened, but not surprised.
Ray
May 19th, 2012
3:31 pm
@DawgNole
It’s not a joke
I wish in some backwater world it was, but this is reality my friend.
@ KevinM
I think Davis is going to be great, but people always say for every Derrick Rose and Kevin Durant there is Kwame Brown and Sam Bowie.
Honestly it’s been a minute since we’ve had a blunder as the #1 pick last one I can remember being Greg Oden and surprisingly people talking about bringing him here which would be the worse thing to ever do.
Ray
May 19th, 2012
3:32 pm
When I say We’ve talking about the NBA as a whole.
DawgNole
May 19th, 2012
3:39 pm
atlnative
May 18th, 2012
2:52 pm
Coach Drew,Thanks for returning to the Atlanta Hawks. If you can Stop Josh Smith from shooting three pointers,and let Jeff Teague break down the opposing defenses,this team can win about 57 wins a year.
______________________
And lose once again in the first or second round of the playoffs.
DawgNole
May 19th, 2012
3:46 pm
tyger
May 18th, 2012
2:17 pm
LD led his troop of wounded warriors to a 40-26 record…
LD has to run his show and live with the consequences…
If he doesnt win, he’s fired, doesnt matter what we think…
________________________
“A 40-26 record . . . .” But you left out one minor detail: Another miserable playoff performance.
“If he doesnt win, he’s fired . . . .” I think you must mean “If he doesn’t win, he’s HIRED.” Isn’t that what they just did?
bigcalidawg
May 19th, 2012
3:48 pm
Good move. Drew is a good coach that held this team together with kite string and band-aids.
Seriously, Marvin Williams, Jeff Teague, Twin, Ivan……no JJ (he mailed it in), no Al, and even Za Za with injuries.
The issue is not with the Coach. The issue is with that max contract to about the 50th best player in the league.
Ray
May 19th, 2012
3:59 pm
@ bigcalidawg
L.D is a coach for an upstart team trying to get back from the ashes like the New Jersery Nets or Detroit Pistons.
This team is a playoff team we hired someone with no real experience at H.C that was a huge mistake plus he was Mike Woodson’s Underling that was another mistake.
At least when we hired Mike Woodson at first we weren’t the best team in the world at that time, but once we let Woodson go everyone knew that it was time for change what did ASG do? Hire L.D because everyone liked him that’s not change!
Our biggest problem which will stay with us for awhile is that we have no true superstar, or we might in Josh Smith, but L.D ain’t the right type of coach for him.
We need a new coach who will change the I’m too cool culture of this franchise someone like Greg Pop heck even Doc Rivers whom we could have had.
Someone who will lay into these guys not one that just makes threats and never does anything about it.
As for JJ he is a issue that could be solved if we had a clever GM same with Marvin just dump his ass off somewhere in the Mojave Desert all I give a you know what.
DawgNole
May 19th, 2012
4:13 pm
Ken Strickland
May 18th, 2012
4:25 pm
You can whine, cry, complain and b!tch all you want, but LDrew did an excellent job of keeping his team in the hunt and moving this team forward under a trying schedule. It makes his accomplishment even more impressive when you consider the financial constraints he had to work with. When you add the brutal schedule his Hawks had to endure, and the fact they led the league in gms lost to injuries, he should have been extended.
____________________
Oh, lord. It’s Mr. Delusional again. And Mr. Excuse Maker. And Mr. Admirer of Mediocrity. All rolled into one convenient package.
Talk about whining!
DawgNole
May 19th, 2012
4:18 pm
AG
May 18th, 2012
5:39 pm
I cannot believe it, but I am okay with the move. LD has grown a lot over two seasons.
______________________
I cannot believe it either–although it shouldn’t be surprising in this town.
DawgNole
May 19th, 2012
4:21 pm
xfan
May 18th, 2012
6:05 pm
Time the BS stops..hawks are happy to always be 2nd best.
______________________
Actually, 2nd best would represent a huge improvement for this team. But it’s never happened.
DawgNole
May 19th, 2012
4:32 pm
Ray
May 18th, 2012
6:12 pm
I think the Hawks had a good year–considering the injuries . . . .
They fought all the way down to the end.
______________________
Again, that’s part of the problem with too many of this city’s fans–a culture of acceptance of mediocrity.
Fought all the way down to the end of WHAT? Round 1? That’s a long way from the REAL end.
DawgNole
May 19th, 2012
4:34 pm
benjamin
May 18th, 2012
7:14 pm
I am trying to get 50,000 Hawks fan to join me in buying into the team. $2000 a piece will give us a $100 million.
__________________
Hell, they oughta be paying US to watch.
DawgNole
May 19th, 2012
4:39 pm
Ray
May 18th, 2012
7:46 pm
So where the hell is Gearon with his BS spin that only works on 4 year olds
____________________
Based on many of these posts, it works on far more than just 4-year-olds.
DawgNole
May 19th, 2012
4:41 pm
tyger
May 18th, 2012
9:24 pm
LD did a marvelous job with the Hawks this year…
_________________________
Absolutely stunning how some of these folks define “marvelous.”
DawgNole
May 19th, 2012
4:59 pm
doc
May 18th, 2012
11:43 pm
It is official meta world peace is a psychopath. Send him home forever. It is awful to see him knee guys while tv announcers say someone over reacts. It is time to put meta and the nba out of its misery. There should be no room for this guy period.
_______________________
You got that right–except for dignifying the jerk by referring to him by that fake name. He’s ron artest–a criminal on the basketball court.
DawgNole
May 19th, 2012
5:06 pm
Buddy Grizzard
May 19th, 2012
2:12 am
“Prior to landing on the Spurs’ doorstep, Diaw hadn’t played much defense in years, but here he is grinding away for Popovich in May.”
Diaw hadn’t played defense IN YEARS, but he arrives on a team with championship culture, and see what happens. When Josh Smith lands on a team with championship culture, he will be an All-Star and All-NBA for years to come. He could have been that in Atlanta if the Hawks had hired a coach capable of instilling such a culture.
_____________________
I’ve long said this city’s “culture of losing and of accepting mediocrity” is a big part of the problem. You’ve said it quite well here yourself.
Ray
May 19th, 2012
5:34 pm
@DawgNole
ATL culture is too laid back compared to the other cities the only way fans either leave or show up is if you’re winning or losing.
When most of my friends get on Facebook talking about either team Braves, Hawks, and Falcons it’s always during the playoffs and once they lose their done. Saying crap like A,B, and C suck because insert cuss word here.
This is why ASG gets away with this craptastic ownership their running because fans will keep showing up when they win, and keep saying the same crap when they lose.
Ray
May 19th, 2012
5:37 pm
This is the main reason I don’t blame Josh for wanting to leave no one in GA cares about Basketball as they claim they just see stars for the most part. To most people it’s like a big party when the popular guy shows up ex. Kobe, Durant, Lebron, or Paul Pierce the party is great. When it’s not so great guys like Kevin Love or Lamarcus Alridge are here. Not saying these guys are bad, but fans see this party as a snooze fest basically.
Slimjr
May 19th, 2012
5:42 pm
Sautee
May 18th, 2012
3:15 pm
“slim, it’s 28-47. That’s 37.3% Not good.
Woody’s record vs. +500% teams: 83-181 That’s 31.5% Even worse.” -Sautee-
Thanks Sautee for the Stats…Wow Just Freaking Brutal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
doc
May 19th, 2012
6:47 pm
i have posted several times form my iphone and have had it blocked for some mysterious reason like about six or seven times now. not sure but wonder if dawgnole complained about my grave errors to the ajc and has had me and my iphone disconnected. heh heh
anyway i will say now in brief that the white elephant in the room is josh and what to do with him and his pending contract. my opinion is to trade him for tow or three players and build around teague, jj and al. dont let the ld news distract us. it was expected and anyone thinking otherwise has not followed this organization. doing something proactive with josh would of course be out of character but i continue to hope for and have three players like a big, a perimeter defender and a three point expert walk through the door or santa claus, the way rod continues to say that jamal is a difference maker and santa came through his chimney last night.
o’b the officiating last night was an abomination. when they called a foul on harden after gasol and chopped him two straight times and all harden seemed to do was to turn and run away i pretty much turned of the tube until later in the game. i dont get it sometimes except to know i am watching wwf and i am thinking about giving up the nba forever. yeah the lakers had to make em but it allows an old team to catch its breath and it also extends the game for the winner of all the free throws.
42 shots, those thunder guys are thugs arent they?
Rusty
May 19th, 2012
6:51 pm
Anyone who thinks that LD is better than mediocre don’t know any thing about basketball.
Slimjr
May 19th, 2012
7:17 pm
DawgNole
May 19th, 2012
4:13 pm
Ken Strickland
May 18th, 2012
4:25 pm
You can whine, cry, complain and b!tch all you want, but LDrew did an excellent job of keeping his team in the hunt and moving this team forward under a trying schedule. It makes his accomplishment even more impressive when you consider the financial constraints he had to work with. When you add the brutal schedule his Hawks had to endure, and the fact they led the league in gms lost to injuries, he should have been extended.
____________________
“Oh, lord. It’s Mr. Delusional again. And Mr. Excuse Maker. And Mr. Admirer of Mediocrity. All rolled into one convenient package.
Talk about whining!”
Freaking funny! Hehehehehehhehehe
44 more years of excuses= 2056
The Starship Enterprise maybe fully operational by then? Scottie we need more warp drive! Aye Captain!
Slimjr
May 19th, 2012
7:18 pm
Agree doc.its all rigged Tim was right!
High-sider
May 19th, 2012
7:36 pm
The [Atlanta] Dream is playing the [Indiana] Fever on WNBA LiveAccess.
WNBA LiveAccess @ $4.99 > NBA [Premium] League Pass @ $189 [or $169 with the $20 credit/discount]
I was never able to access [set up] my NBA League Pass broadband or mobile device account[s]. NBA League Pass and the partnering telco [telecommunication] providers need to get their technical issues straight.
Slimjr
May 19th, 2012
8:04 pm
“Erik Spoelstra”
Your bags packed yet? This is not Atlanta.. You probably will not make it to the ECF this year?
Greyhound leaves on the hour!
bigcalidawg
May 19th, 2012
8:25 pm
That’s it…..it’s official. The NBA is too rough. Time to go back to the leather helmets.
Tim
May 19th, 2012
8:36 pm
Atlanta has a pro basketball team?
Slimjr
May 19th, 2012
8:39 pm
doc for you:
“Allegations against the NBA
On June 10, 2008, Donaghy’s attorney filed a court document alleging, among other things, that Game 6 of the 2002 Western Conference Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings was fixed by two referees. The letter states that Donaghy “learned from Referee A that Referees A and F wanted to extend the series to seven games. Tim knew Referees A and F to be ‘company men’, always acting in the interest of the NBA, and that night, it was in the NBA’s interest to add another game to the series.”[39] The Lakers won Game 6, attempting 18 more free throws than the Kings in the fourth quarter, and went on to win the 2002 NBA Finals. The teams were not named, but the Western Conference Finals was the only seven-game series that year.[40] The document claimed that Donaghy told federal agents that to increase television ratings and ticket sales, “top executives of the NBA sought to manipulate games using referees”.[39] It also said that NBA officials would tell referees to not call technical fouls on certain players, and states that a referee was privately reprimanded by the league for ejecting a star player in the first quarter of a January 2000 game.[39] Stern denied the accusations, calling Donaghy a “singing, cooperating witness”.[4 -Wikipedia-
Hmmmm. Where there’s smoke……………
Mike D
May 19th, 2012
9:42 pm
Well T Mac is not coming back!
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
May 19th, 2012
10:33 pm
atlnative
May 18th, 2012
2:52 pm
Coach Drew,Thanks for returning to the Atlanta Hawks. If you can Stop Josh Smith from shooting three pointers,and let Jeff Teague break down the opposing defenses,this team can win about 57 wins a year.
______________________
And lose once again in the first or second round of the playoffs.
*******
Co-sign
O'Brien
May 19th, 2012
11:05 pm
Najeh,
How do you think the ASG should handle the Josh situation?
Personally, I think they should offer him an extension this off-season (5 years, $80 mil, hopefully with year 5 being a team option), and if he doesnt sign it, I would trade him. We cannot afford to risk him playing the season out, and then walking away for nothing. After all, I dont see the ASG moving him in a sign and trade.
High-sider,
With Jordan Farmar, Lakers won back to back championships. Without Jordan Farmar, Lakers got swept by Dallas in the second round. So how important of a player was Jordan Farmar?
Every year is different. Orlando swept us by 101 points one year, and then we eliminate them in 6 games the next year. Teams change, players change, so Jamal is not the end all-be all for us getting to the ECF. If Al and Zaza are both healthy, we might have beaten Boston anyways.
Let’s wait and see if Jamal becomes a FA this offseason, and see which teams offer him a contract, and for how much.
doc
May 20th, 2012
12:00 am
o’b who do you think is more fragile dh or josh? we saw how dh handled it, i dont want to see josh make us more hostages than we already are to the actions of the basg.
doc
May 20th, 2012
12:13 am
o’b funny we had jamal for both series against orlando, one under woody and one under ld. one we lost by a record number of points the other we dumped them out of the playoffs in the first round. jamal avg about the same in both series having multiple 20 games in both years. so, can i infer it had nothing to do with jamal and everything to do with ld? no, not anymore than saying it was all about jamal the second year and not the first nor to make up jamal would have been the difference against boston this year as he has never ever been on the winning side during his many seasons in the nba. that is except the year he played for woody when he was 4-0 putting up the same numbers as every year before for another coach. obviously, it had nothing to do with jamal and all about how woody handled him. yeah nope, but some here have that kind of critical analysis skills. me, i think it was more about boston being without kg for extended periods and the hawks playing better defensive alignments against the magic under ld than jamal doing jamal like stuff he did before. this might go over some folks heads but 1+1 doesnt always make 2, if the logic is flawed and no direct correlation can be made.
doc
May 20th, 2012
12:25 am
for spur fans:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1198491/index.htm
and not so much kg fans. heh heh
hawks fan down under
May 20th, 2012
12:33 am
well it’s predictable but still disappointing.
They must trade Josh now and get what they can. what a joke of a team.
at least next year I can save myself $150 and not bother to get NBA.tv
losers!
doc
May 20th, 2012
12:35 am
rod if you could saty these things about jamal and his career aganst the celts then you might have an argument, to put in context from a sports illlustrated article on duncan:
5 His Buddy KG
Just kidding, as this might count in his favor. In fact, Duncan hates Kevin Garnett. Hates him the way liberals hate Sean Hannity. This information comes from very reliable sources, who talk about how KG has made a career of trying to punk Duncan, baiting him and slapping him and whispering really weird smack into his ear. They talk about how funny this is, because the worst thing you can do as an opponent is piss off Duncan. Then, as Malik Rose says, “he f—— destroys you.” Duncan’s lifetime numbers versus Garnett’s teams, by the way: 19.4 points per game, 11.6 boards and a 44–17 record, including the postseason.
dont think jamal measures up lifetime, not even close and there is no argument to suggest jamal had it in him to be a difference maker this time in his career when he really never was before.
doc
May 20th, 2012
12:53 am
finally, the lie is done:
17 The Myth
Two weeks ago, before Game 1 of the series against the Jazz, Popovich was asked whom he’d be starting at center, and he answered, “Tim Duncan, like we have for the last 15 years.” And thus the lamest ruse in recent NBA history finally came to an end. After two decades of being called a power forward, of showing up on All-Star ballots as a power forward, of engendering debate about whether he’s already the greatest ever at the four, the Spurs have come clean. Tim Duncan’s a center. Always has been.
doc
May 20th, 2012
1:06 am
kd is so much more deadly that queen. i remember when queen did that during regular season games but he has not been able to pull that trigger like durant has done repeatedly when it counts. nice, go thunder!
not sure i know who i could pull for if it comes to it the thunder or the spurs because i like and respect how much they play. take that back if westbrook would stop playing with is mattel popgun after a big shot.
doc
May 20th, 2012
1:10 am
sweet!
DawgNole
May 20th, 2012
1:49 am
doc
May 19th, 2012
6:47 pm
i have posted several times form my iphone and have had it blocked for some mysterious reason like about six or seven times now. not sure but wonder if dawgnole complained about my grave errors to the ajc and has had me and my iphone disconnected. heh heh
_____________________
You know better than that, doc. I share your frustration about the idiotic filters that block perfectly legitimate posts–even those filled with “grave errors.”
vava74
May 20th, 2012
3:27 am
OK people, for me this is a NO-NO.
My appearances around here will be, from now on, as sporadic as HB Ando’s.
I’m gone.
High-sider
May 20th, 2012
3:35 am
test
vava74
May 20th, 2012
3:40 am
But before I go, here’s a little something from Bill Simmons’ latest Grantland article:
“The Garnett/Doc/Pierce/Rondo/Allen Celtics have been together for five years; the Duncan/Popovich/Ginobili/Parker Spurs have been together twice as long. When basketball is humming the right way, it’s not about throwing an All-Star team together — it’s about familiarity, about knowing your teammates almost as well as you know yourself. Boston fans adore this particular Celtics team because we know them. We know when Pierce or Rondo is feeling it, when it’s clicking for Garnett, when we’re going to run that sneaky play for a 3 with Ray coming off a double screen … it’s gotten to the point that when Rondo drives into the paint and pulls over Garnett’s defender, we start reacting to the alley-oop lob to Garnett even before Rondo releases it. I’m sure Spurs fans know exactly what I mean. When the nucleus of a good team knows itself to the point that it permeates to the fans, that’s when you’ve really accomplished something. It’s what the Spurs and Celtics managed to build, it’s what Oklahoma City has been trying to build … and as the Heat is learning, it’s something that can’t be thrown into a microwave and cooked like a frozen burrito.”
Funny, but we, as Hawks fans, feel the same about our Hawks…
We know them so well that we sense when that typical Hawks’ bonehead/letdown play is coming… (ISO-Joe dribbling into futility, losing the rock/making a bad pass/launching a bad and hopeless shot, Josh jacking up a bad jumper, Marvin clanking that open jumper, …).
High-sider
May 20th, 2012
3:46 am
LD deserves another chance.
High-sider
May 20th, 2012
4:08 am
Can’t post a response
mykhalc
May 20th, 2012
4:52 am
achieving the goal of mediocre playoff team is the winnin’ formula the the Hawks. i’m sure their goal is within reach next season too…continued success to the most uninspiring team i have ever watched.
Walt Frazier
May 20th, 2012
8:38 am
Cheap Hawks management should translate into cheaper prices for fan seats. Since Hawks management wants to keep LD cause he works for cheap-the Hawks need to pass these savings along to their fanbase. Tickets for nosebleed might go for as little as 3. Middle seats for 5. courtside seats no more than 20. Concessions would probabley more than the seats. BYOB.
Walt Frazier
May 20th, 2012
8:40 am
“probably” be