Atlanta Hawks: Larry Drew studying with Euro coach David Blatt
Back when Hawks coach Larry Drew added assistants Kenny Atkinson and Bob Weiss to join Lester Conner and Bob Bender, Drew said his staff was “set” for 2012-13.
But, according to a report out of Russia that was translated by Eurohoops.com, Drew is in Israel to meet with Maccabi Tel Aviv coach David Blatt. According to Eurohoops, Blatt recently signed a three-year contract with Maccabi but has a “turbulent relationship” with the club’s management.
UPDATE: Hawks GM Danny Ferry confirms that Drew is not seeking to add Blatt to his staff but went to Maccabi’s camp to observe, learn and share ideas with Blatt.
“Larry respects the international game and is enjoying the opportunity to share ideas with David Blatt,” Ferry wrote in a text message. “David is a heckuva coach and I know that Larry appreciates that David has been so open. I know Larry is enjoying the opportunity to closely watch [Maccabi's] program. It is a highly respected program.”
Blatt is an American native who played at Princeton. He coached the Russian national team to a bronze medal finish at the 2012 Olympics.
Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat
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371 comments Add your comment
doc
September 17th, 2012
12:59 pm
boy slimj, that is how to take things out of context and distort everything i said. who do you work for, cnn, fox news or the gov’t? or did you go to journalism school with dawgnole?
heh heh
Buddy G
September 17th, 2012
1:48 pm
“Anyone see that Hakeem is spending more than 2 days working with the Knicks and Amare?”
Actually it was more than two WEEKS that Amare spent with Hakeem. Also, Hakeem’s former teammate Mike Woodson has arranged for Dream to have an ongoing consultancy with the Knicks to work with all their post players, including Carmelo and Tyson Chandler.
“I’m a little surprised that the Ivan signing did not initiate a new blog.”
I’m not surprised. MC never even reported the fact that Ivan won Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for April. Not sure what the motivation is behind the news blackout regarding Ivan, but it definitely exists. I think he’s a huge story and will be broadcasting it through every avenue available to me.
Jay Dubu
September 17th, 2012
2:06 pm
When do the Hawks report to camp?
vava74
September 17th, 2012
2:07 pm
Buddy G,
MC has general lack of interest for his job as the Hawks’ beat.
What else would justify his option to make a report on all players and then making of only a few?
And what about having Pape Sy as the background for his twitter account? If that is not an indirect take at the Hawks…
Basically, I think MC loathes his job and does just the minimum.
If he is not on holiday right now – and I don’t how he could since he had his break IN THE MIDDLE OF SUMMER LEAGUE – why this slooooooooow pace of blogs?
Can’t he type something small but remotely up to date every single day or every two days?
Astro Joe
September 17th, 2012
2:32 pm
^Biting the hand that feeds you (information).
vava74
September 17th, 2012
2:51 pm
AJ,
A hand that cannot be described as overly generous when handing out food…
MsDee
September 17th, 2012
2:55 pm
vava74
The day Josh can just PREFECT the PF position ONLY, without TRYING to play every one else’s position on the court BY NOT STREWING IT UP, than maybe, JUST MAYBE that’s the season Josh becomes an ALLSTAR, other than that, his bad will continue to out weight his good. You and others can either choose to except that or not!!
MsDee
September 17th, 2012
3:03 pm
All yall Josh lovers hate on Horford cause AL doesnt have Josh’s athleticism but what he DOES have that Josh doesn’t have is SMARTS!! What good is it to have the talent if it isnt used correctly?? LeBron answered that himself after realizing what he didnt do last season vs this past season.
vava74
September 17th, 2012
3:24 pm
MsDee,
Your obvious crush for Horford makes you be as unfair as the people that say that Horford is as bad as Koncak.
Josh was our #1 guy last year. It’s that simple.
You harp away about Josh’s weaknesses – as I know and acknowledge them all – but his pluses outweigh by a mile his minuses.
Did he made substantial mistakes during games 4 to 6 of the BOS series? Sure, but he was injured and he did not have the coaching and the maturity to adapt his game accordingly. Instead, he did what he usually does, tried to take over.
We would have won game 2 if it wasn’t for his injury in the 4th quarter and that, although is not a fact, is something I have little doubt on.
Josh has exactly ZERO days of proper coaching in the NBA so far. ZERO.
Whilst Horford had 4 years of college in a well run and well coached program and now, under leisure suit larry, he has regressed as a hustle player.
MsDee
September 17th, 2012
3:32 pm
“Whilst Horford had 4 years of college in a well run and well coached program and now, under leisure suit larry, he has regressed as a hustle player.”
Ok, so based on that statement alone, Horford is just as or more effective than Josh, they both just are being under-coached! Ok, I will take that.
Slimjr
September 17th, 2012
3:34 pm
NO debate here. Josh knows the plays better than any other player on the team. Did Larry not speak those words at some point in the past?
Anyways Al could have the highest BB IQ on this roster. He does not have the skills to take this franchise to new heights. When your averaging 9 and 7 in the playoffs, PLAYOFFS and you have been picked as an AllStar and All NBA player, you have not fulfilled those lofty titles to say the least. Your just an average basketball player. Meaningful impact in an ECF way? Championship potential? I dare say not..
The two combine do not have enough firepower to get it done…
The streak will continue for sure…0-45 [ECF visits], Tragic… Yawn…
We need STARS MAN!
MsDee
September 17th, 2012
3:38 pm
The only reason u can say that Josh was the better player last year is because he TOOK the ball out of our pg hands and took matters into his OWN HANDS!! No matter HOW many points/assists/rebounds Josh gets in taking over like that, HE WILL FOREVER GET PASSED UP IN THE ALLSTAR B/C THAT WILL FOREVER BE A DUMB PLAY, NO MATTER HOW U LOOK AT IT!!
And that has NOTHING to do with my “crush” on Horford, tho he IS a cutie pie!!
Slimjr
September 17th, 2012
3:41 pm
silly me doc, for chewing and swallowing that trade idea from Ra’mon yesterday.. LOL!
But I could not stand the thought of cheering for just one franchise 45 straight years that has won nada..
Guess that’s why you call them [fans] which evolved from the word [FANATIC]……
MsDee
September 17th, 2012
3:42 pm
Horford played all but 2 FREAKING PLAYOFF GAMES this past season and someone has the audacity to speak about his 9pts, and 7rebs??? WOW, If I have the “crush” u guys sure do have the HATE!!
MsDee
September 17th, 2012
3:44 pm
While Josh played his USUAL SELF
Slimjr
September 17th, 2012
3:46 pm
Nice one MsDee….LOL!
OKay let me rephrase.
ALL NBA AL/ 2x ALLSTAR is averaging for HIS CAREER IN THE PLAYOFFS:
9pts. and 7 rebs per game….. Thank you
MsDee
September 17th, 2012
3:50 pm
While Josh played his USUAL SELF and cost us the game. Only thing I see missing in us not being able to pull out the series wasnt b/c Josh got hurt, but b/c we were missing Zaza.
Slimjr
September 17th, 2012
4:09 pm
Imagine Al going up against LaMarcus Aldridge at the 4 in a playoff series? That would be a sight to behold for sure…
Oh the Humanity..
glw
September 17th, 2012
4:13 pm
man why do we always have to knock Al or Josh. Josh and Al are on the same team, and from what i have noticed they seem to get along pretty well on the floor, and as brother Ken S mentioned, probably will get along better this year without Joe in the equation. They will be our team’s leaders and most likely team captains. So who cares which one outplays the other one. Josh has his flaws, and Al has his flaws, but they are both good players. I dont care who we perceive is a NO.1 and No.2 or even a 3rd or 4th option. Guess what this year, they are Option 1A and 1B.
jhan
September 17th, 2012
4:33 pm
Vava – are you really saying that after 8 years in the NBA Josh can’t figure out when he’s taking a bad shot? Or how to box out? Or when not to foul? Or when to let the PG run the show? That’s a pretty poor indictment of his intelligence. I believe he knows all these things but refuses to do them. He seems like the type that will finally figure it out when he’s been out of the league for several years. That dude should be a perennial All-Star in my opinion. The only thing stopping him is the area between his ears.
Sautee
September 17th, 2012
4:38 pm
“ALL NBA AL/ 2x ALLSTAR is averaging for HIS CAREER IN THE PLAYOFFS:”
“9pts. and 7 rebs per game….. Thank you” – slimjr
You’ve done it again slim.
Here’s the link, if you even care to get it right:
http://www.nba.com/playerfile/al_horford/career_stats.html
You are unceasingly careless with facts.
MsDee
September 17th, 2012
5:00 pm
Wow, thx Sautee for those CORRECT stats and im here thinking that slimjr knows what he was posting about.
And since we are on the comparing side of things, AL Horford averaged .58FG, .75FT, 8.3RPG, 4TO and 15.3pts in 3 games while JOSH averaged .38FG, .76FT, 13.6RPG, 3 TO, and 16.8 PPG in 5 games…WOW u guys ARE right, Josh IS better than Horford, esp in the PLAYOFFS!!!!!
Ken Strickland
September 17th, 2012
5:11 pm
GLW-Well said. It’s too bad our resident HORFORD HATERS lack the intelligence to see it that way. Rather than being a fan of any one player, I’m a Hawks fan, which means I’m a fan of every player on our team, including the ones at the end of the bench.
This stupid gm of singling out players to bash or glorify is just childish and extremely immature. This type of ignorance is NOT what a true fan of any team would do. We currently have 13 players under guaranteed or partially guarantee contracts, and they are
1-AHorford
2-JSmith
3-ZPachulia
4-JTeague
5-IJohnson
6-AMorrow
7-KKorver(only $500K guaranteed)
8-LWilliams
9-JWilliams
10-DHarris
11-JJenkins
12-MScott(partially guaranteed)
13-DStevenson
14-JPetro
We also have 2 players under nonguaranteed contacts
1-DJames
2-JAnderson
Like I’ve said before, we might end up seeing Korver or Stevenson traded or waived before the season starts. If KBenson gets an invite and accepts, we just might see them both traded and/or released. If you’re a true Hawks fan, you have to admit that this would be the most talented, versatile, and deepest lineup we’ve had in over a decade.
Sautee
September 17th, 2012
5:17 pm
slim, let me ask you a question:
Since Horford, for his career, has averaged 12.3 FGA in the playoffs, how many points would you EXPECT that he should have averaged? Keep in mind that, as you have said, every team in the playoffs plays better defense. So how many there slim? What are your expectations of 12.3 FGA per game?
Slimjr
September 17th, 2012
5:30 pm
Dont mean to be rude Sautee, but go ahead and amuse yourself and answer your own questions ref what Al’s points avg. should be….Have at it….
doc
September 17th, 2012
5:32 pm
glw, some see it as salt and pepper working together while others have snow in their eyes.
ms dee, never stop thinking around slimj as it might mean no thinking is done at all.
heh heh, slimj just kidding but today you are full of ummm, well nonsense than usual.
as they say slimj, dont let facts get in the way of a good story or in this case …..opinion as warped as they can be. now is it cnn or fox news where you get your facts?
Slimjr
September 17th, 2012
5:34 pm
doc got jokes today? keep up up the great work!
doc
September 17th, 2012
5:44 pm
Just Joe
September 17th, 2012
5:45 pm
We’ll all have our answer(s) on Josh and Al (and Teague) soon. Ferry has surrounded those 3 with shooters (LouWill, Morrow, Jenkins, and Korver) to space the floor, as well as quality backups (Harris, Ivan, and ZaZa). It’s sink or swim time!!!
Sautee
September 17th, 2012
5:51 pm
slim, I think you get my point. You are listing Horford’s stats as if they are lacking, when the truth is, that for the number of shots he was given, it’s just about what you’d expect.
Why won’t you admit THAT little fact? You denigrate him, but if you truly think he should have scored more, you should be complaining about LD and Woody not calling for more plays for Al.
But that’s not your agenda, is it?
It’s like complaining about the farmers with your mouth full of food.
Just Joe
September 17th, 2012
6:03 pm
My two disappointments in Al’s playoff career: shooting 42% from the field in the 2011 playoffs, and the 12 turnovers in this year’s playoffs (3 games). If his “thing” is efficiency, then he can’t have these kinds of lapses.
Sautee
September 17th, 2012
6:09 pm
Just Joe,
co-sign
steven a smith
September 17th, 2012
6:19 pm
Ken Strickland
September 17th, 2012
5:11 pm
It is immature for “ANYONE” who cannot be open-minded enough to accept an opposing view to their own. All Al HORFORD LOVERS NEED TO GROW UP AND ACCEPT THAT HE IS
” AVERAGE AL” AND PROBABLY DID NOT DESERVE A $12MIL/PER YEAR CONTARCT!!!!!
AL HORFORD IS NOW MARVIN WILLIAMS WITHOUT A “3 POINT JUMPSHOT.”
Slimjr
September 17th, 2012
6:23 pm
Well said Just Joe. Well said..Those turnovers in this years playoffs produce by AL are the antitheses as one of the [Horford Fan Club Members] put it [EFFICIENT].
They are are caused by a player trying to do to much[ force it instead of letting it come to him].. Josh does the same too.. Yes..
Sautee
September 17th, 2012
6:23 pm
slim, since you seemingly refuse to clean up that pile of feces that you laid at 3:34 and 3:46, I’ll set the record straight:
Horford’s career playoff averages are: 11.7 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 2.7 apg, 0.6 spg, 1.1 bpg
This year’s playoffs: 15.3 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 2.7 apg, 1.3 spg, 1.3 bpg
http://www.nba.com/playerfile/al_horford/career_stats.html
Just Joe
September 17th, 2012
6:31 pm
I’m not going to go through every game, but here’s a summary of Al’s 7-turnover game 6:
First quarter: ball stolen by Bradley, bad pass stolen by Pierce
Second quarter: offensive foul, bad pass stolen by Garnett
Third quarter: lost ball out of bounds, charge, double dribble
Fourth quarter:
steven a smith
September 17th, 2012
6:44 pm
MsDee
September 17th, 2012
5:00 pm
Are you possibly MsHorford???
Slimjr
September 17th, 2012
7:10 pm
No Sautee, you did me a favor and cleaned it up yourself and for that action I say thanks..
11.7 ppg, 8.7 rpg= Yawn…[ECF] or [Championship] body of work from an ALLSTAR? Right…
Those [nimbers] are an example of being overrated..Those lofty labels given to this player he has not produced…But keep flinging as you put so coherently put it [Feces]. It wont change the fact he’s not producing the [hype]. The [nimbers] just solidify reality. Its going to be alright, Danny’s going to fix this quandary..
The two combined do not have the firepower to get it done…
45 and counting……
Slimjr
September 17th, 2012
7:12 pm
delete[put]^^^^^
Slimjr
September 17th, 2012
7:21 pm
“here’s a summary of Al’s 7-turnover game 6:
First quarter: ball stolen by Bradley, bad pass stolen by Pierce
Second quarter: offensive foul, bad pass stolen by Garnett
Third quarter: lost ball out of bounds, charge, double dribble
Fourth quarter:” -Just Joe-
Be careful Just Joe, your teetering on pissing off the whole Fan Club Crew! LOL!
In coming! Shields at full strength Captain! Maintain Red-Alert Scottie! Aye Captain!
doc
September 17th, 2012
7:40 pm
jordan williams waived per MC, hmmm. hoped he had a future here.
Sautee
September 17th, 2012
7:50 pm
slim,
Why complain that Horford should score more without addressing his low number of FGA?
That makes ZERO sense. And if you think that his All-Star berths mean that he should be a bigger scorer… well, perhaps that has more to do with YOUR expectations of him, than that of the coaches. He does what’s asked in a steady, stable fashion. For that he’s pilloried as “overrated”.
Some of us see him for what he is… a solid big who generally makes good decisions (despite his 7 tos in Gm. 6). Not a savior. Not a franchise maker. But a solid piece who has a fair contract. If trading him could make us better, let’s go for it. but we need another big if we let him go, and I’m not seeing very many bigs we could trade Al for, who would be better than Al.
Ken Strickland
September 17th, 2012
8:06 pm
STEVEN A SMITH-Your comments about AHorford’s abilities are far more than just your OPINION, they represent SHEER STUPIDITY. You see, only a total idiot would think an AVERAGE basketball player could garner 2 All Star selections and 1 All NBA selection in their 1st 4yrs. Anyone that agrees with your BS has to be STUPID.
Ken Strickland
September 17th, 2012
8:11 pm
DOC-
Slimjr
September 17th, 2012
8:13 pm
“Not a savior. Not a franchise maker. But a solid piece who has a fair contract. If trading him could make us better, let’s go for it” -Sautee-
Co-sign.
Slimjr
September 17th, 2012
8:16 pm
doc
September 17th, 2012
7:40 pm
“jordan williams waived per MC, hmmm. hoped he had a future here”
How bout Benson?
Ken Strickland
September 17th, 2012
8:26 pm
DOC-I certainly didn’t see that coming. I thought they might waive Korver and/or Stevenson, but Williams is certainly a surprise. Finally signing IJohnson may have had something to do with it. Also, the progress KBenson demonstrated during the Summer league might have had something to do with it as well.
Scott and Williams both play PF, and Ferry stated that Scott would be on our opening season roster. One thing’s certain, our coaches weren’t impressed enough with his gm and overall potential to give him a training camp invite.
Sautee
September 17th, 2012
8:29 pm
11.7 ppg, 8.7 rpg= Championship body of work from an ALLSTAR. – slimjr
See what a little editing can do to YOUR post slim? If you want to edit doc and I to make your points seem stronger, then you can expect the same from me.
But I’d rather that if you quote me, you do it in context. And I’ll do the same for you. Deal?
Ken Strickland
September 17th, 2012
8:30 pm
As it now stands we now have our 15 man roster, unless Benson accepts a training camp invite and has a solid showing.
steven a smith
September 17th, 2012
9:38 pm
Ken Strickland
September 17th, 2012
8:26 pm
DOC-I certainly didn’t see that coming. I thought they might waive Korver and/or Stevenson, but Williams is certainly a surprise
D. Ferry traded for Kyle Korver. I highly doubt he would waive him.(DUH???) Good thing you are not the GM. You would probably sign Al Horford to a 6yr. 120mill. contract extension!!