Report: Mike Woodson could leave Hawks for Sixers
One report has Mike Woodson coaching again next season -- but in Philadelphia. (Hyosub Shin/AJC)
Even before this season began, it was clear the year would be a referendum on coach Mike Woodson. He was entering the last season of a two-year deal (he wanted at least three) and every time he asked management for an extension, he was told, “We’re going to wait until after the season.”
Now that the Hawks are struggling with Milwaukee in the opening round of the playoffs, whether Woodson is re-signed/wants to stay is as big an issue as ever. In fact, some reasoned speculation now has him leaving on his own — to Philadelphia.
There is an increasing belief that Charlotte coach Larry Brown is finally ready to retire from coaching and return to Philly, where he still maintains a home, to become president of the Sixers. According to a story by Yahoo Sports, Brown already has his wish list: Washington Wizards executive Milt Newton would be his general manager. Woodson, his former assistant in Detroit, would be his coach.
To think: Hawks general manager Rick Sund might not even have a decision to make.
Excerpts from the Yahoo story:
Still, the possibility is strong that Brown will coach the 76ers, because Woodson wouldn’t leave an Eastern Conference contender unless the Hawks low-ball him in contract talks at season’s end. His deal is expiring with Atlanta, and several sources familiar with the Hawks’ plans predict an offer that Woodson could easily refuse. …
The possibility of Brown coaching the 76ers could rest largely on how things play out with the Hawks. There’s been a cool relationship between management and Woodson, and sources say that the organization’s priority isn’t to reward him with an expensive contract extension. The Hawks are pooling resources to get maximum money available for Joe Johnson. The message has been made clear to the Hawks: Offer Johnson a max contract extension on July 1, and they’re likely to keep him.
Sources say that this is the reason Atlanta is willing to sell its first-round pick for $3 million this summer, and the reason that they’ll likely offer no more than a three-year contract for $1.8 to $2 million a year to a possible Woodson successor. Woodson could expect a bigger offer to stay on the job, but perhaps not by much. For Woodson, the 76ers could offer leverage to leave, but he would have to weigh leaving a legitimate Eastern Conference contender for a flawed roster in Philadelphia.
Woodson has aired complaints about his contract status and that of his assistants on a few occasions. One would think if the Hawks were overly concerned about losing him, they would’ve attempted to sign him by now. Losing consecutive games to the Bucks in a series doesn’t help his cause, even if the Hawks may still go on to win the series.
OK, let’s open the flood gates: What are you thoughts on Woodson potentially leaving?
♦
Earlier post
♦ TUESDAY COUNTDOWN: L.T.’s boozy draft, Ben’s brain, NHL ‘extraction’
♦
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212 comments Add your comment
A.W.
April 27th, 2010
1:19 pm
HAH HA HA! I LIKE THATDOZER!”Take Bobby, TP, and Chipper with you”
MAN! IS IT FOOTBALL SEASON YET?
HAWKS-STUPID & WACK
BRAVES-STUPID & STINKY
THRASHERS-well, i don’t know if they even exist.
who cares
April 27th, 2010
1:19 pm
Being that the ASG is leaking money, no one watches the NBA any more (recent poll numbers) Let’s just sell the Hawks to Seattle and pay down GA’s debt so that the legislators don’t get a wild hair up their butts, along with the BOE’s and start jacking up taxes to cover the illegal aliens that are using our ER’s and Schools ILLEGALLY!.BTW- Obama’s new rule-Women wil lhave to play basketball in Burka’s and hajibs. Plus half time shows will be replaced by a prayer session.
Rod Thrasher
April 27th, 2010
1:20 pm
I want woodson gone. If we hadn’t taken boston to seven games in ‘08 he wouldn’t be here. We are so inconsistent, that is coaching. C’ya Mike Woodson.
Pi$$onaDAWG
April 27th, 2010
1:21 pm
Do we need to take donations to buy the Airfare or Bus ticket to send LimpWOOD on his way to Philly. We will love the fans and Media up there.
Pi$$onaDAWG
April 27th, 2010
1:21 pm
Sorry HE will love the Philly Fans and Media.
pdub
April 27th, 2010
1:23 pm
If there is a god this will happen. Woodson is atrocious.
Dap01
April 27th, 2010
1:25 pm
This article is misleading, where is the BAD news?
gcs
April 27th, 2010
1:27 pm
Larry Brown has spent two whole seasons at Charlotte. Isn’t it about time for him to be moving on?
If the Hawks could get Brown just for a couple of seasons while this core group of players are still together, they may have a chance at a mini-run. Woodson will never take the Hawks anywhere.
.
A.W.
April 27th, 2010
1:28 pm
HA HA! WHO WANTS TO BUY “WOODY’S”BUS OR PLANE TICKET TO PHILLY? IT WILL BE A GREAT THING IF START DOIN’ FUNRAISERS TO RAISE UP SOME MONEY FOR HIM TO GO!
“give us… us…free…..FROM WOODY!”
HA! HA! LOL!
Got to go
April 27th, 2010
1:40 pm
Woodson should have been fired 2 years ago. The morons that run the hawks and thrashers are clueless about big personnel decisions—more mediocrity in store–bank on it.
i_am_soulstar
April 27th, 2010
1:41 pm
Woody’s done a good job (in the regular season), but he’s a B+ coach at best, and sometimes, you have to let go of the good for the great.
Hawks have the greater talent, but Skiles is yelling instructions from the bench on how to break down the Hawks’ predictable defense (He twirls his finger in a motion that tells BJ to go around the pick so that the Hawks’ll switch and he can take Zaza off the dribble).
The whole premise of the switching defense is to take advantage of having 5 starting players that can defend at least 3-4 positions. But this doesn’t hold true for the Hawks past the starters. Besides Mo Evans and Mario West (who can both guard the 1, 2, and 3), the bench players CANNOT guard more than 2 positions.
Adjust Woody, make the switch only when you have adequate personnel on the floor. If it’s a chess game, and Scott Skiles knows what you’re gonna do before you do it, how do you ever expect to capture the king.
If Woody doesn’t make adjustments, why even bother getting out of the 1st round.
But that being said, if the Hawks aren’t willing to offer a decent salary for Woody, will they be willing to offer more money for someone better?
Let Woody go for a lesser, more inexperienced coach or get JJ his payday??? I don’t see how it’s going to work.
G'Vegas Dawg
April 27th, 2010
1:42 pm
gcs – That was supposedly the plan a few years ago when we had the 7 game series with Boston. But, since we stepped up and fought so hard it saved Woody’s job. Since that time Brown has said that he will not coach another team after he is done in Charlotte.
i_am_soulstar
April 27th, 2010
1:43 pm
I’ll take Jeff Van Gundy though.
SOUTH GA DAWG FAN
April 27th, 2010
1:45 pm
avery johnson is the man for the job can he take over before the next game
Dawgs2010
April 27th, 2010
1:46 pm
Bye-Bye!
TONE
April 27th, 2010
1:47 pm
Woody is behind this rumor he is going to use this as a bargaining chip to get a contract with a neverending rollover every year.
Dan the Nerd
April 27th, 2010
1:54 pm
Jeff-
WTF? I had to check to see who wrote this article. This is almost like reporting. I though Sekou had come back for a moment. Does this mean you are going to retire the count? You will never know how badly I wanted to leave the “o” out of that last sentence…
I think it makes sense for all parties if Woody leaves. Someone will pay him more money to build a competitive team and the Hawks need someone to take them over the hump to win a championship. My two cents.
dshep
April 27th, 2010
1:55 pm
Best news of the day!!!! This team should have 60 wins and already be done with these Milwaulkee bums!!!
fayncdawg
April 27th, 2010
1:56 pm
BILLY DONOVAN!!
TONE
April 27th, 2010
1:59 pm
hawks can NOT win a game on the road I doubt they could beat the class A girls state champion if it was an away game is that woody’s fault YES IT IS
gtjackets1729
April 27th, 2010
2:09 pm
Hire Woody before tomorrow Philly!
Mike
April 27th, 2010
2:10 pm
I eat and breath Nba. You guys arent reading between the lines. For one thing, if Woody is lousy, other teams wouldnt talk to him. Coaches big flaw is he doesn’t build up his rookies. Teague gets 6 min. per night but excelled with 20 min. ,, He’s useless for the playoffs. Teague is GM Sunds baby and I am sure that caused tension between coach and GM. I think that is the biggest problem right now in the playoffs. No instant offense…driving to the basket outside shot. Teague reminds me of a poor mans Tracy McGrady. This guy needed time on the floor through out the whole year. 5-6 min per game!!!!!!
1st round exit
April 27th, 2010
2:13 pm
Maybe the Hawks will be more successful than Tech was at sending their coach North!
lazydawg
April 27th, 2010
2:16 pm
So what if he leaves,we should not let him hold another job over the Hawks head.We can do just as crappy with anyone.Probably time for a change anyway.Don’t let the door hit you on the way out of Phillips.
Najeh Davenpoop
April 27th, 2010
2:19 pm
As disgusted as I am with Woody’s coaching the last two games, I still see him as the Hawks’ Dan Reeves — he may be nothing special and may never take this team to the promised land, but if you let him go, his replacement is a lot more likely to be Jim Mora than Mike Smith. If you have a replacement in mind that will improve the team — and Lord knows there’s gotta be someone out there who fits the bill — then by all means fire him, but don’t just let him go if you have no backup plan.
Dr. Richard Handler
April 27th, 2010
2:21 pm
I love the morons who want Woody gone. Let’s not forget when he came in after Pete Babcock’s terrorist bombing of the franchise, he had to replace Lon Kruger Mellankamp who also took the team in a nose dive but received millions for trashing it. He takes over a decimated team and with the help of Rick Sund gets up to 50+wins and you want him gone. I know now how sportstalk radio thrives. the morons and idiots who fill this column should not be allowed to own a telephone. go ahead fire Woody, whether you like him or not he has not been treated very well for the crap he’s endured with this franchise.
Cool Mo-Gee
April 27th, 2010
2:23 pm
Please take him away from us 76ers. We will throw in our 1st round pick in the process. Just take him far away.
HireMe
April 27th, 2010
2:27 pm
Hire Paul Hewlett PLEASE.
NYCmatt
April 27th, 2010
2:30 pm
Hawks Management … or intern, secretary, whoever might read these things … even JJ himself: please don’t break the bank to keep JJ. He really doesn’t add that much value. He’s not a championship winning leader. We’ve elevated our game but the bucks are showing us there’s a ceiling. Let’s break through to the next level and get a real star.
Spartacus
April 27th, 2010
2:35 pm
Here’s a thought. When Steve Smith (much better than Dominique) was broadcasting, he was always right on point with what adjustments the Hawks needed to make. He’s an offensive minded guy that know the game and has respect around the league. I would take a shot with him as the coach. These players have obviously tuned Woody out. How many times can a team play uninspired basketball in the playoffs?
feudfinder
April 27th, 2010
2:35 pm
The hawks are not a road-worthy team. So expect the game to go 7, but they will eventually close out the bucks. However, they may get swept by Orlando. For certain, they are not beating the magic in the series. At best, the hawks win 1.
BirdDawg
April 27th, 2010
2:36 pm
Who could replace Woodson if he leaves or is let go? Let’s see, walk out to any crowded sidewalk, close your eyes, point in any random direction and you’re bound to pick someone that could do at least as well as he did. All that freakin’ talent and to this point, he still hasn’t turned this team into a legitimate contender.
Big Ray
April 27th, 2010
2:39 pm
Jeff ,
If the Hawks don’t retain Woodson, they’ll either end up promoting one of his assistants, or hiring some new guy who is as green as spring grass.
Having said that, does Woodson do the kind of job that others can’t do?
I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s gone by his own volition (or otherwise). It’s in the nature of a GM to remake things “in his own image”, as it were. I always figured Sund would, unless Woody endeared himself to the organization, or made himself indispensable. He may have done the first, but not the second. It’s not like a GM coming in over a proven commodity like Rick Adelman, Phil Jackson, Gregg Popovich, Jerry Sloan, etc.
We’ll see what happens.
Meanwhile, I find the max contract for Joe and other financial stuff tiresome. These guys aren’t broke, but they sure like to act that way. Sell off the first round draft pick? Don’t know if I believe that one. And Joe worth a max contract? If the front office believes that, then they must believe that coaching is the problem. As it stands right now, Joe is getting the Hawks nowhere without the likes of Josh and Al, and that is a FACT. This team wouldn’t have gone as far as it did without the continued emergence of those two, plain and simple. Max contract? Again, only if you think that Joe is that type of player, as long as you put a better coach over him. Otherwise, is that money well spent?
Hawks < Roadkill
April 27th, 2010
2:41 pm
Not a chance Hawks resign Woodson. With how the Hawks are struggling against Milwaukee? HA! The two wins in Atlanta while decisive, were not a complete beatery on the Bucks, which they should have been. They got stamped in Game 3, and lost game 4.
Smith and Horford are unmotivated and he doesn’t seem to know what to do. There is no reason that Smith, AT POWERFORWARD, should have ANY type of 3 point shot and an awful freethrow. Furthermore, with how athletic both those guys are, they should be guaranteed to drop 20 a piece each and every night. Woodson doesn’t know what he’s doing and neither do his players.
With Atlanta’s starting lineup, they should be right behind Orlando.
Your two bigs are damaged goods. Woodson didn’t get into their head early enough and now they’re as good as they’ll ever be.
Melly
April 27th, 2010
2:41 pm
Please, please Philly take him. The man has no set rotation, and never will. Why does he continue to ignore one of the deepest benches in the league? He needs to go..
BirdDawg
April 27th, 2010
2:43 pm
Najeh,
I like your analogy, although I see Mike Woodson as Jim Mora. Another assistant, hired on the strength of his success working for a championship caliber coach, that can’t achieve the same level on his own. If we let him go, maybe we can find our Dan Reeves, someone that can at least get us to the championship even if we don’t win. At this point, I would believe almost any coach available can make better use of the talent on the team. If Woodson can win 53 games with these guys, surely Avery Johnson, Byron Scott, Jeff Van Gundy or even Harry the Hawk can get them to at least the Eastern Conference Finals.
K-Bomb
April 27th, 2010
2:43 pm
Let Woody go…. I do not mind the nucleus of the talent here, with some tweaks. Rick Sund can do the job to take talent to a higher level.
Notes on Woody – on a bad team he could not find time for Boris Diaw, who ends up being a very good player for Phoenix and Charlotte. Not that getting JJ for Diaw was bad, just a reflection on Woody’s player development/management. Acie Law comes in to start (pre-Bibby) and after getting hurt Woody leaves him on the bench. Not sure Acie would have been good or bad, but Woody did nothing for him. This team has offensive talent, but read anything written by Charley Rosen or others about the Hawks and you see they run almost no plays except isolations. Review the video from Game 4, the ball goes a player and 4 others stand around. Wins require JJ or Jamal or Josh to carry the team. Marvin is not a bad player, but what other team has its 3 only get 6 shots a game! Woody basically sticks him in a corner and tells him to stay there.
I agree that choices for a replacement would include Jeff Van Gundy, Avery Johnson, Patrick Ewing (with great assistants), Jim Cleamons, Sam Mitchell.
After every away loss this year players are quoted as lamenting their lack of effort. I do not think it is lack of effort as much as lack of preparation and leadership from the coaching staff. Yes, Woody’s staff is as bad as he is… Jim Todd, Larry Drew, Bob Bender, Mark Price, Tyrone Hill, etc.
Delbert D.
April 27th, 2010
2:44 pm
That would open the door for Paul Hewitt.
Tom
April 27th, 2010
2:44 pm
Bring in the Zen master or Jay Z.
JeJe
April 27th, 2010
2:46 pm
LOL @ Schultz saying it could be more trouble for Hawks.
Let Woody go to Philly. That team !@#$ing sucks. Let him rot with Elton Brand and Iguodala who is one of the most overpaid players in the league. That team is more garbage than this team is
JeJe
April 27th, 2010
2:49 pm
Why is there even talk of extending Woodson? Let this garbage coach go. It’s obvious he can’t coach basketball. The team HAS IMPROVED ITS RECORD BECAUSE IT HAS NATURALLY GOTTEN BETTER WITH AGE (IT’S A YOUNG TEAM).
He claims to be a defensive coach yet THE TEAM DOESN’T DEFEND ON THE ROAD
Jerome
April 27th, 2010
2:54 pm
Woodson still forget that must teams would have FIRED him a couple of years back with the losing record.
JeJe
April 27th, 2010
2:55 pm
Why exactly was Woodson laughing and smiling with the ref all toward the end of the game last night?
Resign Joe, trade Marvin and Bibby for Devin Harris (after they hopefully get John Wall), and GO INTO THE LUXURY TAX TO SIGN SOME MORE VETS and this team will be fine
BONE
April 27th, 2010
2:56 pm
LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO SOMEBODY GET WOODY N HERE. EVERY SINGLE POSTER IS HAPPY WITH THIS RUMOR LOOOOOOOOOOL WOODY NEEDSS TO SEE THIS, WE DNT WANT U WOODHEAD
gasaluki
April 27th, 2010
2:58 pm
The past two games in Milwaukee he has been totally outcoached. Even a zone would have worked better on defense, after the switching to get the mismatches the Bucks ate us up.
ccrider
April 27th, 2010
3:26 pm
The Hawks would have to be idiots to sign Joe Johnson to a Max contract. He isn’t Kobe, LeBron or Wade. They may lose in the 1st round with Johnson and will certainly lose in the 2nd round to Orlando.
But, the most insane idea is selling their draft pick. This may be the deepest draft in NBA history, due to all of the underclassmen coming out because of the uncertainty of the labor agreement. The Hawks would get a mid 20’s pick that would be as good as a top 10 pick in some years.
If this is their plan, then Rick Sund needs to be fired first!
SWATlantadolfan
April 27th, 2010
3:27 pm
Can we let him go before game 5? Ill drive him there, but you guys will have to help him pack and provide gas money….whos with me?
DNice
April 27th, 2010
3:28 pm
need the right player
April 27th, 2010
11:50 am
Haven’t read the stuff above, apologies, but the Hawks need to be saving money to offer Dwayne Wade Johnson’s position in Atlanta. Wade would bring instant energy, and he would love to play for a contender. Johnson just can’t seem to get beyond his limitations, and frankly, is not a top ten talent like Wade. Go get Wade, keep the rest intact, and win the title next year. Go Hawks!
I said this very thing to friends this week and they laughed at me. Joe Johnson is a good player Danny Manning was a good player Domonique and DWade or great players. There is a huge difference and if not for Bird and the Celtics we could have won a championship or the year they traded Nique for Manning which is one of the dumbest moves in the history of the team (maybe drafting Marvin Williams over CP3 comes in pretty high also).
Tell Joe it was nice but unless he wants to play for the vet minimum then hit the streets and go to the Clippers or Bulls and help them because you are not getting any better and the team not getting younger. By the way please reserve a seat for Marvin Williams in your car and also the guy who drafted him (Billy Knight) and the fools who resigned him last summer (Spirit).
NO I am not fairweather either because I never agreed with marvin as we had enough tweeners already and hadnt had a real PG since Mookie and CP3 was available. I wasnt hot on Deron Williams I will admit but CP3 I was indeed.
SWATlantadolfan
April 27th, 2010
3:30 pm
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I'm Gumby, dammit!!
April 27th, 2010
3:31 pm
Harry the Hawk could outcoach Woodie. We might need him to fill Marvin’s roster spot, though.