Atlanta Hawks: Rick Sund Q-and-A
More from my interview yesterday with Hawks GM Rick Sund.
MC: What is your evaluation of the season?
Sund: There are two seasons. Once you become a real playoff team, there are two seasons. I thought we had an unbelievably great first season: 40 wins, key people hurt, the players and Larry [Drew] kept their focus. We ended up having the fourth-best record in the East. I thought with all the adversity it was really a great year with the compressed schedule and all the obstacles a team has to climb, which every team has those obstacles. I thought it was good.
The second part of the season is the playoffs and that’s disappointing. I think a great thing when you go through the [exit] interview process you get to talk to the players, and to a man—I still have a couple to do—but to a man they all think we should still be playing. And that’s a good thing. There’s disappointment in their heart. They look [at the playoffs] and feel they are good enough to be playing at the championship level.
MC: When you evaluate the team, are you able to separate out the effects of all the injuries from where you need to get better?
Sund: Two-and-a-half weeks after the season, you are a little bit more pragmatic. The emotions are out of the focus. When you look at it and you have to say, the last four years this team in the Eastern Conference has had the third-or fourth-best record either by the end of the regular season or by getting through the first round and getting to the second round. We’ve had the third- or fourth-best record in the last four years. Our goal is to get into those top two [in the East], because that’s when you have a legitimate shot to get to the finals. That’s that championship level. That’s the NBA’s version of the Final Four. You want to be one of those top two teams playing at the end of May and into June because you’ve got a legitimate shot to win a championship. We’ve fallen short of that. That’s our goal. 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. So we will have to explore all opportunities.
MC: The team’s deficiencies were mostly on offense, which came to fruition against the Celtics, a very good defensive team. From a personnel standpoint, how can the team improve offensively?
Sund: Again, you say separate the injuries, you really can’t, because if your key personnel are core members of your club, you are going to miss the points that that person may bring or the rebounds. I think we were one of the better defensive teams in the league, something last season we really wanted to focus on. I think Larry and the team did a great job. Points-wise it was Chicago one, Boston two, Philly three, Miami four, Memphis five, we are sixth. Defending in certain areas [like] field-goal percentage. In all of that, we really improved. I think that was the strength of our team. Now we have got to focus on, can we score a little more. Having said that, our offensive efficiency—which I know you are a big stat guy—was really good in the fourth quarter, particularly the last five minutes of the game. Joe [Johnson] in particular [was good] in crunch time. We were good in the fourth quarter, we were good in overtime games, close games. You are always looking at how you get better. I think some of that will come, if the team is the same, from [Jeff] Teague. Teague is going to continue to get better. He got a lot of easy shots for us in the playoffs for some of our players. Joe really improved his 3-point shooting. Marvin [Williams] shot the 3-pointer pretty good. You are asking me questions that really Larry should answer but I think, overall, the dialogue from the coaching staff and the management last year was [about] defense. We’ve got to focus on that and we can manufacture and we have enough talent to get shots.
MC: Why do you think things like good offensive efficiency in fourth quarter didn’t translate to the playoffs?
Sund: I haven’t really zeroed in on that. I think with the exception of the blowout game, all of the games—and we pretty much dominated Game 1-you take those two games out and the other four games were pretty close and could have gone either way. It was a missed shot here and a missed shot there.
MC: We saw the tension between Joe’s deliberate style that he likes to play and LD’s motion offense, something that he expressed his frustration about at one point. Can that tension be resolved with this personnel?
Sund: That question should be to Coach.
MC: Do you plan to extend a tender to Ivan [Johnson]?
Sund: I’m not going to comment on that right now.
MC: Will you try to sign Josh Smith to an extension?
Sund: I’m not going to get into contract stuff.
MC: Josh had a great year production-wise but–
Sund: I think it was the best year Josh has had, at least in the four years I’ve been here. I’ve said it for the record and I’ll say it again: Irrespective of how the voting came out, he should have been an All-Star. I thought Josh had an absolutely terrific year. He did a great job of making sure, hey, we lost some huge production with [Al] Horford and he picked it up.
MC: But his offensive efficiency fell off, and a large part of that is because he’s taking more shots away from the basket and not shooting–
Sund: You have to ask those questions to Larry.
MC: But from a personnel standpoint, do you think he fits with what Larry is trying to do offensively?
Sund: Yes.
MC: Does that mean the migration away from the basket–
Sund: Those are questions you have to ask Larry. I think he’s an All-Star player. He played a total All-Star caliber play this year. He’s been exceptional in the post. I thought his defense was great. He’s one of the better passing power forwards in the league. I think he had a very good year.
MC: Is it your perception Josh is still happy being here with the Hawks?
Sund: I’m going to have his exit interview sometime this week. But, yeah, when you read the things of him saying . . . He’s such a competitor. I was talking to his dad the other day, and he mentioned we all think we should be playing, and that’s great. And [Josh] is one of them.
MC: Can you discuss tour team salary situation going forward?
Sund: I don’t like to talk about it until we find out what the taxes are and the league does its audit. We are in a situation where we have six guys under contract and we will have to fill in either via trade, first-round pick, second-round pick. How much room [under the tax level] do we have to use the mid-level, the bi-annual. We have all of those exceptions. Its’ too early to say.
MC: Is it possible you may have to build the same way as last year, when you had to find some value with minimum-salaried guys?
Sund: Many of the good teams are going to have to finesse their way around and look at that as an option. If you don’t want to be a perennial taxpayer, you have to look at those options. . . . I thought our team this year had a legitimate chance to get to the one or two spot [in the East]. We ended up with the fourth-best record in the [East] but we thought we could still be playing. I asked ownership if we think we are going to have a chance to make a run at it, we are going to have to dip our toe into and go into the tax and pay a little bit of tax. And they did it with no problem. We are an official taxpayer this year and I thought that was a good move for us given the injuries.
MC: I know you probably haven’t had much chance to study prospects in detail, but do you have an idea of the quality of depth in the draft?
Sund: I’m a real division of labor guy and that’s Dave Pendergraft and Mike McNeive, they focus on that all the time. I am getting more involved. During the year I go out and see some people but really focusing in on the groupings, where we pick at 23 who is going to be there, who do I really need to look at, who do you like in the combines, who do you not like. Chicago [combine] has become a really good tool because it’s basically all interviews for two or three days. That’s turned out to be really more productive than even in the past, when they just play.
MC: Have you gotten a feel from Dave and Mike on what they think about the draft prospects?
Sund: They’ve handled the draft pretty good the last couple of years. We got a good player in Teague and we got a good player in [Jordan] Crawford, which we parlayed into [Kirk] Hinrich. They feel that we will get a quality player at the 23rd pick, or there are quality people there. There are a few people they like that they might want to move down to get. Who knows. It’s way too early to tell. The lottery is tonight and next week is when it really starts to focus.
MC: How do you think that Crawford trade turned out now that Hinrich’s contract is expiring?
Sund: We felt we could make a run last year. Not quite as good as this year [but] we had to get through Orlando. It was the first time in four years we didn’t have home-court advantage and many people picked Orlando to win the conference. And then we took the best team record-wise [the Bulls] where we won the first game and then won another game. Hinrich didn’t play in that [series]. We like to think if Hinrich did play we would have advanced that round. It’s just unfortunate he came in with the injury this year. But I don’t think there’s any question in my mind that we wouldn’t have advanced to the second round last year without Kirk on our team.
Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat
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
535 comments Add your comment
High-sider
May 31st, 2012
3:20 pm
@brigadier
brigadier
May 31st, 2012
12:39 pm
high-sider,
are u more of a jamal crawford fan than a hawks fan or no?
———————————————————————-
For the sake of political correctness, I am a Hawks fan, first, and a Jamal Crawford fan, second.
Rusty
May 31st, 2012
3:21 pm
I really think that Sessions was the weak link against the thunder.
Rod from College Park
May 31st, 2012
3:25 pm
“Marvin was 17 – 46 from 3 vs Eastern Conference playoff teams ( 37% )
Marvin was 6 – 16 from 3 vs Western Conference playoff teams ( 38% )
Marvin was 23 – 62 total from 3 vs NBA playoff teams ( 37% )
(( shrug ))
Not great, but not nearly as bad as people would want to believe.
Having said that, Sund is incredible with his spin doctoring.”
My Calculations say 17-50 vs. Eastern conference playoff teams for 34%
6-16 vs western confernce playoff teams for 38%
23-66 for 34.8 % vs playoffs teams all while being left wide open. I agree not great.
DawgNole
May 31st, 2012
3:26 pm
PMC
May 31st, 2012
11:33 am
This team has done absolutely nothing of consequence since the team was blown up and rebuilt (poorly under Knight and Woody.
_______________________
Actually, it’s been a lot longer than that. Try since 1968.
Rusty
May 31st, 2012
3:30 pm
Falcan you say that PG should just takeover the leadership of the team,hell, Woody & LD wouldn’t even let him play for 2 years. LD would rather let a washed up MB play who couldn’t defend against his grandmother. If JT tried to stand up against LD he would never see the floor,look what happen to TMac & Ivan.
DawgNole
May 31st, 2012
3:31 pm
Bdfshjdf
May 31st, 2012
10:47 am
Nice interview, thanks for taking it up a notch and jabbing him with a few critical questions MC, you did a good job.
_____________________
Nothing wrong with the questions, but did you notice that whenever MC bore down or persisted, Sund cut him off and deferred to others. That’s what corporate mouthpieces tend to do–especially those with loser mentality.
White Man
May 31st, 2012
3:37 pm
Josh and JJ did well running the offense. Teague will never be a star quality Point Guard and cant quarterback this team
Package him and Al and lets get a center and a point guard. !.
White Man
May 31st, 2012
3:39 pm
“hell, Woody & LD wouldn’t even let him play for 2 years.”
Wise decisions on their parts. I see why they did not start him.
Rusty
May 31st, 2012
3:42 pm
How stupid JT had a good year but idiots like white man talk bullcrap.
Rusty
May 31st, 2012
3:43 pm
White man is a whole.
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
May 31st, 2012
3:47 pm
This Q&A is about as bad as the one with Gearon Jr. MC asked great questions.
My only takeaway is that the players think they should still be playing. So does every other team in the league. STFU and be real. You are the worst GM. You talk about being a final 2 team in the conference. Have you EVER accomplished this in your 32 years?
If Hinrich had played in that Chicago series, Teague wouldn’t have played at all. Last time I checked, Teague had a coming out party in that series – no homo. We would’ve gotten murdered with or without Hinrich. SMH
I’m surprised Sund didn’t just say:
“The goal is to win 50 games. Because if you win 50 games, you are most likely going to make the playoffs. If you make the playoffs, you have a chance of winning round 1. If you win round 1, you have a chance of going to round 2. If you win round 2, you have a chance of going to the ECF. If you win the ECF, you have a chance of going to the Finals.”
In my mock offseason, I had Gearon answering that question about Smoove and said Gearon would circumvent it. Just as Sund does here:
MC: Is it your perception Josh is still happy being here with the Hawks?
Sund: I’m going to have his exit interview sometime this week. But, yeah, when you read the things of him saying . . . He’s such a competitor. I was talking to his dad the other day, and he mentioned we all think we should be playing, and that’s great. And [Josh] is one of them.
Does Sund even answer the question MC asked? No.
northcyde
May 31st, 2012
3:55 pm
DePort
May 31st, 2012
1:26 pm
Hawks were in the same situation in the 90s … we had mookie and steve smith and we were getting to the playoffs and just couldnt get past the bulls… we blew up the team and we were bottom dwellers for the next ten years or so… So what makes you all think its going to be any different this time? We get rid of Joe .. and Josh.. or any combination and we will be a lottery team for another ten years! I atleast have false hope every year .. its better than knowing you will never win!
***********************
It’s the trades that we did that year, that led to our demise. They traded our top 2 players for inefficient offensive players
Steve Smith turned into J.R. Rider and Jimmy Jackson
Mookie Blaylock turned into 1st round pick ( Jason Terry ) and Bimbo Coles
We went from a team that was 2nd in defense . . to 25th in defense
And the offense that was bad the year before, only slightly improved numbers wise ( despite their league overall offensive ranking actually decreasing from the previous year . . from 19th to 22nd )
And that’s why the Hawks need to make the RIGHT kinds of moves when tweaking or changing this roster.
You don’t trade Josh Smith for someone who can’t at least adequately defend and rebound on the frontline. You preferably trade him for a guy who can give you above average efficiency on both the offensive and defensive ends.
You don’t trade Joe Johnson for someone who can’t defend out on the perimeter and would give up more than he can score. Even if that guy is a lesser offensive player, his defense needs to limit the guy he’s guarding.
Trading Smitty for JR and Jimmy was NOT an upgrade. Neither of those guys were going to stop anybody, and both of those guys weren’t going to get to the FT line at the rate Smitty got to it. So despite bringing in 2 offensive players, both were highly inefficient offensive players.
And don’t even get me started on the Bimbo for Mookie trade. Yeah, the 1st round pick may have been the ultimate acquisition in that deal, but the Hawks took an unnecessary step back with that trade.
That 1999 Hawks team simply needed to be tweaked. Both Mookie and Smitty were taking bad shots that year, but playing pretty good defense. Instead, the Hawks blew it up, and surrounded Dikembe with a bunch of inefficient non defense playing gunners.
And the results were disasterous. Too bad Lenny took the fall for that garbage playground team.
Sund . . . build the damn team right.
O'Brien
May 31st, 2012
3:55 pm
northcyde,
It’s hard for Sund to answer those questions when he may not be the GM next year.
Grandad
May 31st, 2012
4:01 pm
Rusty
You are correct;
(can you believe I said that)
Teaguer is our pg, unless we bring in Nash
-or-
use Jeff as trade bait.
Cut LD just a bit of slack;
he did insert him in as a starter,
brought in Van Exel as plyr devel Instrctor,
stuck with him this yr;
JT had his best yr under LD !
I still think Jeff is a natural [2].
Barbosa … Jet Terry w/o the natural jumper.
But pay attn now;
I`m your ally on this one.
cp
May 31st, 2012
4:02 pm
falcans
May 31st, 2012
2:40 pm
slimpg@ josh career avg 16 ppg 8rpg 4asst 2blks…. he is iguadala without the publicity. 2nd I have no idea why everybody is so hard on Josh with the jumpers… he has a better average than kobe (this year) and the reason he is on the perimeter is #1 we cant run a pick n roll. #2 he is able to blow by defenders if HE CAN GET THE BALL BEFORE THE SHOT CLOCK IS EXPIRING #3 because LD uses him as a 3 to appease Al and give him the illusion he is a 4. put smith at the 4 and let him play like a 4 he is a top 5 PF. How many times have u seen a play called for Josh in the post… high or low??? @ facts baby facts, Horford can ball he is just overrated and needs to take a back seat to Josh ,JJ , and Teague if can learn to consistently hit those floaters lol nevermind Trade AL
______________________________________________________________________________
Smdh. Its going to be a long offseason if there are more post like this on the blog.
O'Brien
May 31st, 2012
4:03 pm
It’s hard for Sund to answer those questions (offer Ivan, offer Josh an extension)when he may not be the GM next year, which makes it even more ironic that LD’s option was picked up so quickly.
But judging by Sund’s responses, I think he will be back next year.
And I’m with northcyde. I don’t want to trade our guys for a top 5 draft pick, only to sit back and wait 3 years for that player to develop into a young star (if we get the pick right – Marvin, Shelden still fresh in my mind). And if he does develop into a young star, what will stop him from signing with the highest FA bidder when he gets turned off by the ASG and our GM?
northcyde
May 31st, 2012
4:03 pm
Rod, you’re right. He was 17 – 50.
OK . . so he shot the 3 more like Jamal Crawford.
(( shrugs ))
northcyde
May 31st, 2012
4:04 pm
O’Brien . . exactly.
I’m seeing our “window of opportunity” being about 2 years. If they tweak the roster, bring in the right players that will improve us, or at least balance us out.
Najeh Davenpoop
May 31st, 2012
4:07 pm
“I’m surprised Sund didn’t just say:
“The goal is to win 50 games. Because if you win 50 games, you are most likely going to make the playoffs. If you make the playoffs, you have a chance of winning round 1. If you win round 1, you have a chance of going to round 2. If you win round 2, you have a chance of going to the ECF. If you win the ECF, you have a chance of going to the Finals.””
The goal is to play basketball. If you play basketball, you have a chance to win 50 games, make the playoffs, win Round 1, win Round 2, win the ECF and win the Finals.
Mission accomplished.
Najeh Davenpoop
May 31st, 2012
4:07 pm
“I’m seeing our “window of opportunity” being about 2 years. If they tweak the roster, bring in the right players that will improve us, or at least balance us out.”
Window of opportunity to do what?
Ra'mon
May 31st, 2012
4:14 pm
O’Brien, would you be for trading Al for Cousins and Sac’s number 1 pick?
Slimjr
May 31st, 2012
4:18 pm
GET THIS DUDE SUND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This dude is a cant miss!!!!!!!!!!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L66QmiB0xj4
Slimjr
May 31st, 2012
4:20 pm
Hey DUI, were you at? Why don’t you chime in with your take on this blog? Do you have an opinion?
No?
Rod from College Park
May 31st, 2012
4:21 pm
Rod, you’re right. He was 17 – 50.
I know. Good try.
darrell starks
May 31st, 2012
4:25 pm
Melo #23 is a must for the Hawks.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Slimjr
May 31st, 2012
4:26 pm
[where]^^^^
darrell starks
May 31st, 2012
4:27 pm
STARTER TEAGUE, JOE, JOSH, HORFORD, ZAZA
BENCH PARGO, TMAC, MARVIN, IVAN, MELO
RESERVE GREEN, ?, ?
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
DawgNole
May 31st, 2012
4:31 pm
drmaryb.(*_*).
May 31st, 2012
12:29 pm
I could not find work right away, so instinctively I began this SHOE SHINE Business and, landed a corporate contract to “pick up and drop off shoes in office buildings. I hired 30 some odd girls to do the physical work and, we made 50K in my first month at age 21 . . . .
My Mother was appalled that I was in Atlanta and, shining shoes? – But, no job was beneath me . . . .
_______________________
You made $50,000 in your first month? What in the world could’ve been appalling about that job?
darrell starks
May 31st, 2012
4:33 pm
You Guys and me and Horford, Josh have been screaming for the past 5 years, all of these guys are projects nothing more, take a chance on a 7′0 Melo who is tough defensively in the paint and also final get a legit 7′0 on the this team.
Every year Hawks are drafting guy’s between 6′4 and 6′10 this is getting old now, and not one player have made the team.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
brigadier
May 31st, 2012
4:34 pm
high-sider,
that explains a lot. u care more for the player jamal crawford than the hawks. that is ur choice. u dont have to be pc about it.
darrell starks
May 31st, 2012
4:41 pm
The last 7′0 drafted by the Hawks Paul Gasol in 2001 and then traded, that’s 11years now.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
brigadier
May 31st, 2012
4:41 pm
crawford isnt in their league. crawford is similar to a jr smith type of player
brigadier
May 31st, 2012
4:46 pm
high-sider,
did u follow hawks before crawford came to team and do u follow since he left?what is the euphoria with him since u said u fav players were mark price and mullin?
Ra'mon
May 31st, 2012
4:49 pm
Starks, I thought Collier was a 7′0.
Ra'mon
May 31st, 2012
5:00 pm
Nevermind that was 2000, and Milwaukee drafted him.
Just Joe
May 31st, 2012
6:07 pm
Orlando Johnson – 6′5″ 205 lb SG from UCSB with a 6′11″ wingspan & 34″ no step vertical. Shot 42.7% from 3, scored 19.7 pts & grabbed 5.8 rebounds per game.
Kevin Murphy – 6′7″ 195 lb SG from Tenn Tech with 6′7″ wingspan & 27.8″ no step vertical. Shot 41.6% from 3, scored 20.6 pts & grabbed 5.2 rebounds per game.
I’m greedy. Draft both of these guys!!!
falcans
May 31st, 2012
6:14 pm
@ CP What about Smooves production do you not agree with?? That LD keeps him on the perimeter?? That we cant run the pick n roll or Josh career stats?? exactly
@Rusty Hinrich gets the nod because he is willing to be unpopular in the locker room. Obviously he is older now but he still commands respect as a proven VET. I guess I prefer my PG to DEMAND AND COMMAND. Seeing how neither one of us can speak on what LD is saying behind closed doors I can only go by what I see. It is plausible that LD is holding him back but its also possible he sees what I see on the court. Im talking intangibles. He has no presence. whose fault it is doesnt matter really. With that said I am not willing to trade Teague for at least another 2 years. He can gain confidence but im not so sure bout his horrendous floor vision. I mean u must admit Teague NEVER DISHES ON FAST BREAKS….. Even with Wilkins reincarnated (lol) Josh waiting for a alley oop
HImdownstairs
May 31st, 2012
6:19 pm
Don’t look forward to the hawks having a “state of the franchise ” meeting like the Falcons. These guys might as well run the franchise as if it has a clearance sign from Walmart on them. They are low budget owners that are content with whatever production the team produces as long as the larger return goes into their pockets.
ryan
May 31st, 2012
6:22 pm
This team is like Groundhog day its keeps doing the same thing over and over Gearon really is the one that’s the GM not Sund its sucks that it seems nothing will change in our life time with the Hawks .
O"Brien
May 31st, 2012
6:23 pm
From jeff schultz;
Sund is considering retirement. Do you know what some say when an athlete is considering retirement? He already has checked out. The same belief should apply to coaches and team executives.
In all likelihood, no matter what Sund chooses to do, he will remain with the Hawks through the draft. He still has the downtown office on Marietta Street. He will attend an NBA draft combine this weekend. He will be the Hawks’ executive talking to other general managers about players who potentially might be available in trade.
Sund goes into this Hawks’ offseason as both a possible lame duck and their primary makeover artist — a bad combination.
http://blogs.ajc.com/jeff-schultz-blog/2012/05/31/rick-sund-shouldnt-be-making-decisions-for-hawks/?cxntfid=blogs_jeff_schultz_blog/
High-sider
May 31st, 2012
6:29 pm
@brigadier
brigadier
May 31st, 2012
4:46 pm
high-sider,
did u follow hawks before crawford came to team and do u follow since he left?what is the euphoria with him since u said u fav players were mark price and mullin?
————————————————————
I followed the Hawks prior to Jamal Crawford coming to the team but I followed the Hawks more after Crawford became a team member of the Hawks. Crawford has a “smooth,” finesse offensive game with a very good to “pure” shooting touch. Crawford is a hybrid [cross] between a “pure” shooter and “pure” scorer who has the propensity to make difficult or “clutch” shots with a certain of amount regularity which the opposition has [come] to respect and must account [for].
doc
May 31st, 2012
6:53 pm
o’b , i am sure this didnt fly over your head either where the most telling and the most important and incriminating part of the schultz’ article was how this limbo state was known at least to us and the press as early as december of 2011 and NOTHING has been done. as he said it isnt like they couldnt put together a prime list of the young studs out there and immediately start preparing to hire one of them as soon as available rather than wait on sund to make a decision. these guys are always waiting to not make a decision even when one is imminent.
doc
May 31st, 2012
6:56 pm
dmb, you sure all those girls wee doing is shining shoes baby. it is good to share in the profits but of what? maybe that is what chilled mom’s affection to your plan.
Artman
May 31st, 2012
6:59 pm
I have to admit I really don’t understand the owners. Building a winning franchise does not require one to be a rocket scientist. The plan is really simple.
What is the best organization in the NBA? It is clearly San Antonio. All the owners need to do is to hire the second in charge in San Antonio as GM and let him
establish the culture and run the organization. Let him hire the coach. When the Seattle Sonics moved to Oklahoma City, they followed this plan. Look at them now. And
yet the owners of the Hawks hire Rick sund as GM. They hire Larry Drew as coach. Are they studpid or do they just not care? It was understood when they hired Rick Sund
as an interim GM, he was here to maintain until the lawsuits were settled, and apparently sell the Hawks. So why is he here? Are they expecting the light bulb to turn
on and suddenly he will become a genius GM? The owners are content with mediocrity. Everything else is just pure PR.
Last summer, if they had any clue at all, they could have hired Rick Adelman as coach. He was a proven winner. They did nothing.
I was giddy when I thought we had a new owner. Nothing was certain but at least there was a possibility of the new owner doing the smart thing. However we know how that went.
The only thing that might possibly make sense is that the ASG is still trying to sell the Hawks and have settled on the status quo until they find a buyer. The Hawks are becoming the Clippers of the east. Look at them. They have Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, etc and look like they might have a chance at a serious run for the money. But what did they do, they brought back Vinny Del Negro back as coach. I’m sure the Clipper fans are furious. They could easily have Jerry Sloan or some other proven winner as a coach. What the frog?
We can talk about players until the end of time but without a solid organization and culture, the Hawks will only be mediocre. If the owners are still try to sell the Hawks, let us know so at least we can have some hope. Until the ASG is gone or the light bulb to a winner franchise suddenly goes on, how can any reasonable fan expect any possibility of ever having the possibility of competing for the championship?
Artman
May 31st, 2012
7:00 pm
Obviously my previous post did not format properly. I hope it is readable.
doc
May 31st, 2012
7:30 pm
meanwhile one ex-atlanta franchise hires another ex-coach from another ex-atlanta hockey franchise; as the world turns. ex-thrasher coach hartley is going to the flames in calgary. hartley was the only experienced coach the spirit hired ever in their years here for either hockey or bball and he delivered. however, they sent him packing as he knew more about what a team needed rather than stars as he refused to give into their whims. they fired him to never sniff another playoff again thinking it might help get them a star to sign, meanwhile the star? he dumped them because they didnt have a coach nor a capable and competent gm who could put a team together. go figure, and ya think josh will stay? fools if you do.
why oh why the basg? you know rod, i am right.
PD
May 31st, 2012
7:39 pm
this is so sad to read. Just do a Billy Knight if you’re not going to answer questions.
doc
May 31st, 2012
7:51 pm
pd, so right one a mute, the other teflon coated answers that say nothing.
BILLY KNIGHT
May 31st, 2012
8:00 pm
Just do a Billy Knight if you’re not going to answer guestions.
Slimjr
May 31st, 2012
8:01 pm
Jeff Schultz
Rick Sund shouldn’t be making decisions for Hawks
2:45 pm May 31, 2012, by Jeff Schultz
Rick Sund will decide on his future soon, but Hawks should be hiring another decision-maker. (Jason Getz/AJC)
Rick Sund will decide on his future soon, but Hawks should be hiring another decision-maker. (Jason Getz/AJC)
“As early as next week, the Hawks will make an announcement on the status of Rick Sund. Maybe he comes back as general manager. Maybe he comes back as team president. Maybe he comes back as consultant, spiritual adviser, GM Emeritus and VP of Deflecting Blame for the Joe Johnson Contract.
Doesn’t really matter what he decides. It’s a problem.
Sund is considering retirement. Do you know what some say when an athlete is considering retirement? He already has checked out. The same belief should apply to coaches and team executives.
In all likelihood, no matter what Sund chooses to do, he will remain with the Hawks through the draft. He still has the downtown office on Marietta Street. He will attend an NBA draft combine this weekend. He will be the Hawks’ executive talking to other general managers about players who potentially might be available in trade.” -Jeff S.-
Agree, this dude should be kicking rocks!
44/2056