Comments on: Sund allowing Woodson considerable input

By: Crawford blindsided by Nelson (and another ESPN turnover) | Jeff Schultz

Crawford blindsided by Nelson (and another ESPN turnover) | Jeff Schultz — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 14:58:04 +0000

[...] of all, Hawks general manager Rick Sund reaffirmed Monday that he would not draft or trade for a player if Woodson wasn’t on board with the move. Why [...]

By: Grip

Grip — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 16:50:51 +0000

acie can not stay healthy, he has way to many injuries for a player his age!!!! That alone should take him out of the equation. Marvin is almost as bad, A guy that young with major back problems is a mess waiting to happen, cire woodson, because too many players have gripes, and trade Marvin and bring Chills back.Get a big guy for Marvin and draft a point. How hard is that????

By: X and O's

X and O's — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 22:16:54 +0000

Huh! there is nothing to suggest that coach Wooodson’s input would or could have a positive affect on what players the Hawks select. The reality is…if coach Woodson’s coaching skills are an indication of his ablities in the areas of player personal….. cut the political consensus nonsense… minimize any inputs provided by the coach of an under achieving team…

By: newkid

newkid — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 17:08:28 +0000

Ray, I suspect you’re right about Sund knowing more than he lets on. That’s okay, he shouldn’t let on. But he insults you with that non-sense about not knowing who to target until Thursday morning. I too hope this guy’s not stealing ASG money under the pretense of being a competent GM.

We could indeed do with a Paul Allen, Dr. Buss, or Dan Gilbert type basketball owner here in Atlanta, couldn’t we? Big money (of the Allen type), if only temporarily, tends to help conceal the incompetence of some GMs, and helps those with mere adequate skills appear to be world beaters.

By: Brodie

Brodie — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 16:45:27 +0000

As further proof, a few days ago Andersen scored 18 points with 4 rebounds and 3 assists in the game that saw his FC Barcelona team take home the ACB Spanish League Crown. The ACB is widely regarded as the best league outside the NBA and when coupled with his vast International experience playing (well) against guys like Duncan, Dwight, Yao, Dirk, Gasol(s), Boozer, Brand, Bosh etc; makes his credentials look pretty decent.

Have I convinced anyone or am I just biased?

By: Big Ray

Big Ray — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 16:44:08 +0000

Newkid,

Also, the Blazers are sterling example of how to do things right. Some will be quick to say that it all is based on a rich owner in Paul Allen. Fail to see what that has to do with the draft, but spin doctors will continue to burn that record until it’s ash.

By: Big Ray

Big Ray — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 16:37:09 +0000

Newkid,

The only caveat I can think of that may exonerate Sund and his crew is that they are saying this for the sake of misinformation or misdirection. They probably know precisely who they want (or so you’d hope), but are more than willing to throw an “Oh, I don’t know” when asked who they are targeting in the draft.

With nearly everybody a big question mark after Griffin, Rubio, and Thabeet, or at least so all the websites say, nobody wants to give out info on who they want to target.

Or so I say. I could be wrong, and Sund could be as dumb as you fear he is. I sure hope not…

By: Brodie

Brodie — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 16:34:18 +0000

I would really love to hear everyone’s opinions on the David Andersen situation. As an Australian NBA fan, I’ve found it really frustrating for the last few years to see Andersen’s NBA dreams effectively thwarted by the Hawks’ reluctance to either sign him or trade is rights to another team that does want him. The Hawks drafted him in 2002 and since then he has been one of the best big men in Europe. He wants to play for the Hawks, and would seemingly be a cheaper solution to their backup PF/C need than a current NBA player of his caliber. He’s 6′11, 245 and can shoot the lights out and mix it up inside with his toughness and rebounding. I see him being very realistically comparable to-
Luis Scola- taller, better shooting, less rebounding
Mehmet Okur- More athletic but less 3’s.

An article by Jonathon Givony discussing his Hawks situation-

http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/David-Andersen-5222/

A clip for Hawks fans/contributors who may be struggling to remember who this guy is-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyPw2G2WPsM

What do you all think about his viability as a sound financial move to leave more cap room to sign guys like Bibby?

By: newkid

newkid — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 13:56:49 +0000

AJ, negotiations with other teams to position oneself for the player you’re targeting need not – and should not – include discussion of the player(s). It’s foolishness to behave in that manner, and – while we may disagree on this point – in my opinion it’s incompetence to not know who you’re targeting until the 11th hour. NO there’s no reason to reveal your priorities to Schultz or any beat writer, but gosh don’t tell the world that you’ll arrive at Thursday morning still unsure of who your 1st, 2nd, and 3rd priorities are, and that because you haven’t developed this ranking until the last minute, you could not have taken any steps to position yourself to acquire your priorities. That’s simply inviting failure; that’s the sort of ‘planning’ that leads to getting screwed by allowing Memphis to offer Smith a contract that straps you in unanticipated ways; that’s being completely unprepared for the Childress fiasco; that’s our history and it’s one of incompetence.

Now none of what I’ve said argues for making premature judgments about players, team needs, etc. It merely argues for due diligence, not just the week prior to the exam, but throughout the semester and year. This cat has been ‘evaluating’ ALL YEAR (supposedly). The draft night moves the Blazers have made the past few years could not have been made if they’d waited until the 11th hour to identify targeted players, and I think we can be reasonably sure that the front office wasn’t going about its business discussion it’s master plan. No way they could’ve devised and executed such intricate strategies as they did (along with the cooperation of several other teams) if they’d screwed around until draft day deciding who they wanted. And the consequence of proper and early preparation (and yes some luck, which we’ve also had, but bungled royally) is seemingly an emerging powerhouse in the West.

By: Mike is back

Mike is back — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 13:23:28 +0000

Yeah, I hear ya Ray…Woody can say one thing…he has been afforded many opportunities a lot of young coaches like himself never get…I tired of excuses. Certainly, having the GM and the Coach on the same accord bodes well for the team…not to mention contract negation. You never want to see a fiasco where your Coach and GM are getting into a pissing contest over the direction of the team.

Hey, if Bradley and Shultz can make a change…Maybe there is hope for Woody. Heh heh