Atlanta Hawks: Still no decision on GM Rick Sund’s return
Nearly three weeks after the end of the Hawks’ season, general manager Rick Sund’s future with the team remains up in the air.
Sund’s contract expires at the end of June and he’s had discussions with the team’s owners about re-signing. But Sund said today no agreement has been reached to return for a fifth season.
“We have had a little bit of discussion but we’ve been focusing so much on putting closure to the season,” Sund said. “Nothing has been resolved at this point. We will have some more discussions and then the process will play itself out at some point and time. I’m here until July 1.
“Have I thought about it? Yes. Have I focused on it? No, because we just have too much that had to be done here in the last two weeks.”
Sund is scheduled to leave tomorrow for the scouting event in Minneapolis. He said he also still has to conduct exit interviews with a couple players.
Sund declined to comment on the details of his discussions with Hawks owner or say which factors play a role in his decision.
“I’m not going to talk about it until the process plays itself out,” he said. “It will probably happen relatively soon.”
In addition to re-signing with the Hawks, Sund’s potential options include an advisory role with either the Hawks or another club. Sund, who turns 61 next week, also could opt for retirement.
Sund replaced Billy Knight in 2008. The Hawks had their streak of second-round playoff appearances snapped at three with the loss to Boston.
Sund described Atlanta’s regular season as “unbelievably great” in light of the significant injuries suffered by key players. He said the playoffs were “disappointing” because the goal is to be one of the top two teams in the Eastern Conference.
“Having said that, we have to look at our club and say where are the areas we can improve, what can we do without taking a step back,” he said. “So we will have to explore all opportunities.”
Check back later for more from my interview with Sund.
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175 comments Add your comment
Double Dribble
May 30th, 2012
10:22 pm
Welcome YOUR 2014-2015 Seattle Hawks….
As long as Gearon and the bums are running the show, you can’t completely rule out them selling this team off to the highest non-Atlanta bidder, just like they did the Thrashers.
(Yes, I know the NBA wouldn’t let Atlanta lose its franchise, but I thought the same thing about the NHL too)
DawgNole
May 30th, 2012
10:27 pm
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
May 30th, 2012
9:21 pm
“Sund described Atlanta’s regular season as “unbelievably great”
Yeah finishing 4th (really 5th with the seedings) in the conference is unbelievably great.
Lakers went to 2nd round and I’m 99.9999999% sure every single person in that city and organization views their season as an epic fail.
FIRE SUND
______________________
Now that, in a nutshell, explains the difference between “Losersville” and championship cities, which are NEVER content with falling short of the top. NEVER.
doc
May 30th, 2012
10:33 pm
gdad i understand i have been losing posts frequently and i cannot send any by iphone. that maybe the result of the collective conscious oand collective fieldo f the blog members rather than the ajc because of the errors but just the same it is frustrating to put something down and find it isnt to be read as thius is an act of sharing.
rod, i dont hate jamal at all nor should any criticism of it be considered as such. just tired of hearing about a guy who had one good year and one fairly routine one as a hawk. yes, he had a good series against the magic that helped us win however it wasnt the only reason because if it had been then we would have won the year before because his nimbers were exactly the same, seems he played well against the magic and matched up well against them, not so much against the bulls, eh? but the team won against the magic playing differently year two than year one when they had woody at the helm and players different on the other side. sorry, to disagree, again if it was all about him by the nimbers we should have won both years. and yes i loved to see him light it up. i coined flip on roids. i also saw less of this the last year he was here and it didnt seem he brought as much magical stuff to the blazers this year either though he tried. but man he wasnt going to get the money he wanted and i say pay the man if he deserves it and good for him in taking the chance and winning the 5 mil lottery.
doc
May 30th, 2012
10:36 pm
doube dribble, prostate got you down?
they will have to pay for the phillips and move it too to seattle. funny how you guys covet the hawks, why not the sacramento team as that is easier fodder for you guys isnt it? or is your city so bad you cant even get a team that wants to move?
High-sider
May 30th, 2012
10:52 pm
High-sider’s first week as Atlanta Hawks GM:
Bye Kirk. Bye Marv’. Welcome back Jamal! Yeah, yeah, baby, yeah [laughing in my Austin Powers' voice].
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2HBdRCroks&feature=fvwrel
And then there are you skeptics, cynics and pessimists who are probably thinking and saying to yourselves, “If High-sider becomes our [Hawks] GM, he’s going to change the color scheme [and the Hawks uniform colors] to red, black and green and he’s going to have a big portrait of a hawk flying across the night sky with a crescent moon showing in the background. You know that crescent moon is shown in honor of those muslims [probably pronounced by some on this blog as MOOZ-lambs].” [LOL and LMAO]
High-sider
May 30th, 2012
10:58 pm
@Grandad
“…HS;
last eve – I tried to define racism
also mentioned Ecclesiastes & Song of Solomon
did you see ?” – Grandad
Yes, I read both posts.
drmaryb.(*_*).
May 30th, 2012
11:09 pm
Sund!
Head West young fella Head West. We don’t want none – bye.
_______
Go Celtics! Beat the Heat!!!
Slimjr
May 30th, 2012
11:25 pm
Dang, James cant make two clutch shots?
Figures……Its in his head now…..
Keep shooting…
Slimjr
May 30th, 2012
11:32 pm
Hey DUI whats your take on this blog? Lets see your opinion about the situation. Take the focus off of us bloggers for a change or is that asking too much?
Slimjr
May 30th, 2012
11:34 pm
James penetrates into the paint and turns down a layup or jumper? Passes back out with one defender on him!
Lebron is flustered!
Dude is soft!
Buddy Grizzard
May 30th, 2012
11:38 pm
“But now that Gearon’s made it personal with KG, he will not consider signing here.”
KG is a championship calibre player. He never would have signed here. What kills me is that Ivan called KG a dirty player, and unlike Gearon, he had the opportunity to back it up on the floor. KG is a bully. He pushes people that back down and avoids people who fight back. By not letting Ivan play, it took all the fight out of the Hawks.
By the way, in regards to waiting to find out that Sund will be back for another year of coach/GM lame duck status, the suspense is killing me!
High-sider
May 30th, 2012
11:39 pm
I hate to admit this but I think Skip Bayless is right. LeBron has no n-ts; he’s not [a] clutch [player]. LeBron is missing free throws tonight and couldn’t even make the game-winning 15-16 foot jumper over Rondo. D-Wade can’t shoot worth a damn from the FT line tonight either. Rondo is killing the Heat; he’s definitely clutch. I think I need to retract my statement in my earlier post about taking D-Wade over Rondo. Rondo is a special player.
Rondo just got “mugged” going to the basket and the refs didn’t call a damn thing.
O"Brien
May 30th, 2012
11:40 pm
Of course. Rondo should have gotten 2 FT (Wade wacked him in the face), but refs missed it, and it leads to a dunk for Miami. If it was LeBron or Wade, they would have gone to the line.
Meanwhile, Lebron has been to the line 22 times.
Anybody but Miami, please win the NBA title.
High-sider
May 30th, 2012
11:41 pm
Make Smoove happy; trade Josh for Bosh.
Old Man Peabody
May 30th, 2012
11:43 pm
Pat Riley is not that stupid to trade for Josh lol
Old Man Peabody
May 30th, 2012
11:43 pm
Pat Riley is not that stupid to trade for Josh lol
Rod from College Park
May 30th, 2012
11:44 pm
Celtics getting treated like they are the Hawks. Getting no calls. That’s how the NBA works when the winner is already pre-determined.
Old Man Peabody
May 30th, 2012
11:48 pm
How was the winner predetermined, Stern told the Heat to let Boston get up by 15, then Boston let the Heat come back and win in overtime. Lol, you guys sound bitter and pathetic. SMH
Slimjr
May 30th, 2012
11:50 pm
up 2-0= win 94% of the time!
Old Man Peabody
May 30th, 2012
11:52 pm
I don’t see why so many on here hate on the Heat, most Hawks fans want what they have.
1. A president/GM in Riley that will do whatever it takes to make his team better.
2. A owner in Mickey Arison that will spend whatever to give the city of Miami and its fans a championship.
terrell
May 30th, 2012
11:54 pm
Rondo is a beast. But NOOOOO, we had to take Shellhead. smmfgdh. Marvin over CP3 is bad, but taking Shellhead 16 spots before Rondo might be worse. If there is such a thing. Do we HATE pgs’??
terrell
May 30th, 2012
11:57 pm
Stern:
Thanks for taking the Hornets off my hands Mr. Tom Benson. Here’s Anthony Davis for your troubles. Youre going to need him.
Slimjr
May 30th, 2012
11:59 pm
Old Man Peabody
May 30th, 2012
11:52 pm
“I don’t see why so many on here hate on the Heat, most Hawks fans want what they have.”
Cause when the Hawks match up with the Heat, its always 8[3 refs] on 5! We are tired of the biased help they receive from the Chief Gangster! Lebron does not need any help or does he? Hmmmmm
Slimjr
May 31st, 2012
12:05 am
If I’m a Miami fan you need to be a little concerned that the chosen one has become a choker?
Without the refs help Miami get stomped on! 49 freaking free throw attempts? Huh? Rigged?
Najeh Davenpoop
May 31st, 2012
12:11 am
“He said the playoffs were “disappointing” because the goal is to be one of the top two teams in the Eastern Conference.”
One of the top two teams. Not even the top team in the conference, let alone the best team in the league.
Old Man Peabody
May 31st, 2012
12:12 am
I don’t think Miami or any other contender in the East is worried about the Hawks, out of the 16 playoff teams, the Hawks ranked 13th against teams over .500. PRETENDERS
Buddy Grizzard
May 31st, 2012
12:14 am
“I would attempt to sign Nash, Felton, or acquire a pass first point guard via trade or draft before signing an isolation player.”
Ra’mon I like your thinking with regards to Nash, but not Felton. Felton is a bust, a coach killer, a lazy, out-of-shape player and the absolute last player you want in your locker room. It’s funny you’re depating scorer vs. facilitator then you bring up Nash who does both at an elite level. I talked about the Hawks pursuing Nash this offseason here:
http://www.hoopinionblog.com/2012/04/wishful-thinking-part-ii-steve-nash.html
If the Hawks had made it to the ECF this year and proven themselves one of the top 4-6 teams in the NBA, someone like Steve Nash might consider signing here. Nash might look at the Hawks and think he’s the piece to push them over the top. Plus the Hawks could free up some cap space by using the Amnesty on Marvin to pay him. But after the Hawks flamed out in the first round, I doubt someone like Nash would even consider the Hawks. As JeJe pointed out, this team has zero championship aspirations. That’s no more appealing for a player like Nash than it is for KG.
Najeh Davenpoop
May 31st, 2012
12:16 am
““Paugasol *is* a Top notch / Top level Player !
-was and is-
Future Hall 0` Famer !””
Uh, no. Tell me Grandad, are Amare Stoudemire and Chris Bosh future Hall of Famers? Because their career accomplishments and Pau’s career accomplishments are awfully similar, with the exception of Amare never getting to have Kobe win him a ring.
Based on talent, sure, Pau is a Hall of Famer, but Pau has never lived up to his talent.
Melvin
May 31st, 2012
12:17 am
Below is my fantasy trade of the day and it successful on the ESPN trade machine.
Kings- Al Horford
Magic- DeMarcus Cousins, Marvin Williams
Hawks-Dwight Howard
http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine
Najeh Davenpoop
May 31st, 2012
12:21 am
“Just interested since their are so many Jamal haters. What has been the best move Sund has made since he has been the GM?”
Drafting Teague.
Najeh Davenpoop
May 31st, 2012
12:24 am
“I don’t see why so many on here hate on the Heat, most Hawks fans want what they have.”
Isn’t that a good enough reason in and of itself?
I hate the Heat because Wade is a whiner and LeBron’s Decision is one of the worst NBA-related things I have ever seen in my life. But obviously if I could trade the Hawks roster for the Heat roster I would.
Slimjr
May 31st, 2012
12:24 am
Lebron will end up like Charles Barkley, RINGLESS…
He does want it dude..Even at home he’s flustered? What the?
High-sider
May 31st, 2012
12:26 am
After a second look, that attempted game-winning jumper by LeBron at the end of regulation tonight appeared to be closer to 22 feet as opposed to 15-16 feet. I still feel that last Heat possession at the end of regulation was poorly executed.
Slimjr
May 31st, 2012
12:27 am
insert[not]
mykhalc
May 31st, 2012
12:28 am
i finally have the perfect word for this franchise…APATHY!!! ladies and gents..please meet your AaaaaaaaPATHY HAWKS for the 2012-2013 season!!! at SG……6′7″ Joe……ZZZzzzzzzzzzz
Old Man Peabody
May 31st, 2012
12:31 am
I do think a lot of the Heat’s execution has to do with their horrible coach. If Riley was coaching this team, I would have no doubt they would win the Ship, but with Spoelstra, it’s up to Lebron and Wade to bail him out with his non play calling butt.
Slimjr
May 31st, 2012
12:34 am
Agree Spoelstra is out of his league….
High-sider
May 31st, 2012
12:42 am
@terrell
terrell
May 30th, 2012
11:57 pm
Stern:
Thanks for taking the Hornets off my hands Mr. Tom Benson. Here’s Anthony Davis for your troubles. Youre going to need him.
—————————————————————————–
I was thinking the same thing. It reminds me of how the Cavs got the No. 1 pick after one season removed from “The Decision.” Even though the T-wolves had the worst record of the 2010-2011 regular season, the Cavs still “won” the lottery and got the No. 1 which seemed to be a setup to pacify and console Dan Gilbert for “losing” LeBron James and a lot of [Cavs'] “franchise value.”
cp
May 31st, 2012
12:46 am
I see the mod didnt like my post with links to workout videos.
High-sider
May 31st, 2012
12:48 am
^Correction: “…the Cavs still “won” the lottery and got the No. 1 [pick*] which seemed to be a setup…”
prison mike
May 31st, 2012
1:23 am
The Hawks need to make history. Make a contest/reality show after the “Apprentice”. Let contestants build various D league teams for a season from scratch.
Whomever wins gets a 1 years job as Hawks GM… what ya think.
Grandad
May 31st, 2012
1:52 am
Najeh
1st of all;
Najeh you are way to smart to attempt this argument.
Stoudemire & Bosh ?
2nd;
It`s like someone said the other day:
[apologies to the source]
HOF in basketball includes College & international.
3rd;
One can make the case, PG is the 2nd best Euro
to play in the NBA.
4th;
Since when did Kobe win the Title by himself.
Most people recognize that Kobe woul not have won
his last two rings w/o Gasol.
5th;
What is potential anyway ?
PG has been a very productive player.
Holds most career records for Memphis franshise.
6th;
Why does it diminish a player who subjugate his own ability
for the greater good.
Mickey Mantle said:
when asked what he wanted on his monument @ Yankee Stadium,
[Monument Park]
” I was a good teammate ” -MM-
*Up until maybe this yr Gasol was a Top Ten Player !
** Maybe this yr he drops into the 3rd group of five ?
*** I still say top 12.
****Best pure post player since Shaq`s prime !
Scores, Rebounds, blcks shots.
So what … the Kobe propaganda machine places blame on Pau
to take the responsibilty, blame, accountability from Kobe;
yet Kobe gets all the credit when LAL wins a championship.
Heck no – I do not buy that atall !
Kobe can`t have it both ways and you Najeh cannot endorse
a hypocritical concept.
Grandad
May 31st, 2012
1:53 am
too smart
Grandad
May 31st, 2012
1:55 am
I was typing tooo fast for the greater good.
Buddy Grizzard
May 31st, 2012
2:06 am
depating = debating bleh
High-sider
May 31st, 2012
2:34 am
Najeh Davenpoop
May 31st, 2012
12:21 am
“Just interested since their are so many Jamal haters. What has been the best move Sund has made since he has been the GM?”
Drafting Teague.
———————————————————
Sund’s best move as the Hawks GM – Acquiring Jamal Crawford
Sund’s worst move as the Hawks GM – Squandering Jamal Crawford
Buddy Grizzard
May 31st, 2012
2:34 am
“Do you realize that players are primarily judged and evaluated by/on individual statistics such as points per game averages, rebounds per game averages, assists per game averages, steals per games averages, blocks per game averages, turnovers per game averages, field goal percentages, free throw percentages, 3pt. field goal percentages, etc.?”
High-Sider, there’s an entire movement you may be unaware of, championed by the ESPN TrueHoop Network, which I write for, called “Advanced Statistics.” Yes I know that players are primarily judged by individual stats… by CASUAL fans such as yourself. I’ve heard +/- mentioned by commentators all the time, but only by the good ones (you won’t hear Dominique mention it). But hey, since all you want to talk about is individual stats, let’s talk about Jamal Crawford in Games 5 & 6 last year against CHI, the games that would decide if the Hawks would go to the ECF for the first time since the franchise was in St. Louis.
Here’s Jamal Crawford’s stats for those two games: 3-19 FGs (16%), 0-7 3P (0%), 5 PPG. So you see, when it mattered most, when it meant a shot at going to the ECF, Jamal Crawford was terrible.
Go ahead, talk about how great he was against Orlando, a team that hasn’t made it out of the first round the last two seasons. Maybe he did win that series for us, I don’t know. But I prefer to talk about what the Hawks did the last two seasons against Eastern Conference Finalists Chicago and Boston.
I’m done talking to you about this. We can pick up the conversation if you ever get on my level. Hinrich didn’t score but didn’t allow Rondo, the Celtics’ most valuable player, to score a basket in Game 3. And yet you say because Hinrich didn’t contribute in the PPG dept., he didn’t contribute to the team’s chances of winning. This is the statement of a casual fan who is not capable of analyzing the game at anything above the most cursory level. It’s like debating a kindergartener, and I’m done with it bro.
EmirS.
May 31st, 2012
2:57 am
Since when does a franchise hire the coach before they determine the future of their current GM? Rick Sund is coming back for ATLEAST another year.
If Sund is to not come back, then the sole reason for that being is to get a better GM to scout this DEEP draft pool. Other then that, I don’t see Sund going anywhere. And even with that reason, I highly doubt it will happen.
EmirS.
May 31st, 2012
2:58 am
And let me add this:
Rondo is a BEAST!
Celtics will build around him. Celtics will win another ring with Rondo wearing green. And the Celtics will still be better then the Hawks.
Hawks Blog Legend Worldwide Clyde
May 31st, 2012
3:31 am
Woody passed up on Chris Paul, Deron Williams and Rondo.
Woody wanted Speedy Claxton, Tyron Lue and Mike Bibby.