Fixing the Hawks: fire Woodson, trade Joe, keep Josh
In my six-point plan to fix the Hawks, Josh Smith stays but Joe Johnson goes. (Curtis Compton/AJC)
It’s the offseason. I’m cracking open a six-pack for the Hawks – not for celebration but for reconstruction.
The Hawks don’t need to strip everything down after getting swept out of the second round for the second year in a row, but they clearly can’t thrive as currently built.
Here goes:
♦ 1.) Make a coaching change. Hawks general manager Rick Sund has doubts about Mike Woodson. Otherwise he would not have given him only a two-year contract two years ago, or he would have extended him before (or during) this season. The Hawks have improved in many areas under Woodson, most notably the win total. But the team’s half-court offense has been an issue throughout Woodson’s tenure. Creativity is not his strong-suit. It also became clear in this postseason that players have stopped listening to him. Being stretched to seven games by Milwaukee (which lost its best player, Andrew Bogut, three weeks before the playoffs) was a warning sign. Getting smacked by Orlando by embarrassing margins reaffirmed either poor preparation by Woodson or that players were tuning him out. A head coach needs to get a team to play a certain way, with a toughness and resolve that we saw from the Bucks. Woodson hasn’t done that. Conclusion: This is as high as the Hawks will go with him. If he gets fired, don’t be surprised if he is replaced by assistant Larry Drew. There will be a push for a high-profile replacement, like Jeff Van Gundy, Avery Johnson or, in a dream world, Doc Rivers. But if the Hawks can’t lure one of them, and if ownership is resistant to spending big money, hiring Drew can be easily rationalized. He is liked and respected by players. He would bring more creativity to the offense. He is in-tune with the team’s problems, its strengths and weaknesses. The risk is that Drew never has been a head coach before. But regardless of who would get the job, a new voice is needed.
All of the Hawks' problems are not Mike Woodson's fault, but a new voice is needed to get team to the next level. (AP photo)
♦ 2.) Sign-and-trade Joe Johnson. I thought it was at least 50-50 Johnson would re-sign with the Hawks until his comments after Game 3. He has proven himself to be in that second tier of stars, which is fine. But his lack of leadership and three years of mostly dreadful playoff performances have damaged his reputation. Even worse, Johnson seems to have checked out mentally. He still has value on the open market. There are enough teams out there who are looking for a scorer and have money to spend. A sign-and-trade could net a nice player in return: whether a shooting guard, point guard or starting caliber center. Among the backup options at shooting guard, one name that already has popped up as a possible replacement is Milwaukee’s John Salmons. He obviously isn’t the scorer Johnson in, but he averaged nearly 20 per game in Milwaukee after a trade from Chicago this year.
♦ 3.) Don’t trade Josh Smith. Yes, this postseason was a microcosm of what’s wrong with Smith. He took over Game 2 against the Bucks, just as he took over so many games during the season. But he was awful in too many games and justifiably was criticized nationally for loafing it on defense. During a time out in Game 4 Monday night, Smith was paying more attention to the “Kiss Cam” on the Philips Arena scoreboard than Woodson during a time-out, and a fan yelled, “Pay attention, Josh!” But remember two things: 1) For most of this season, the commentary about Smith was positive – how much he had matured and how he deserved to be in the All-Star Game; 2) He has had only one head coach since leaving high school: Woodson. There’s a great danger in trading Smith if another coach in another city helps him become the player he can be. Even after six seasons, it’s too early to give up on him. His potential is too great.
♦ 4.) Acquire a center (or Chris Bosh): A strong defensive center would give the Hawks the physical presence they desperately need in the post and allow them to move Al Horford to power forward and Smith to small forward. Marvin Williams can take a seat on the bench, or on a plane out of town. Bosh, who will be a free agent and also could be part of a sign-and-trade, is a tantalizing alternative. First, he would love to come back to Atlanta (where he played at Georgia Tech). He is not a true center but he is 6-10 and would bring some offense to help compensate for Johnson’s loss. A front line of Bosh, Horford and Smith certainly would rank among the league’s best.
♦ 5.) Bench Mike Bibby: There’s no nice way to put this: He got his new contract and then took a significant step back this season. His scoring average dropped from 14.9 to 9.1, his shooting percentage from 43.5 to 41.6, his assists from 5.0 to 3.9. Woodson correctly chopped down his minutes (34.7 to 27.4). Bibby is too much of a liability defensively. With two years left on his contract, he’ll be difficult to trade. But at worse he’s a shooter to bring off the bench. Who to start? If Sund can’t acquire a veteran point guard and leader, take a look at Jeff Teague. He was mostly buried on Woodson’s bench, averaging 10 minutes a game, but we know he can bring speed to the lineup. Leadership? Those answers will come. But he can’t possibly be worse.
♦ 6.) Get tougher: This sort of goes back to coaching and a team’s identity. “Talent” doesn’t pertain only to a team’s skill level. Talent can be intelligence and physical and mental toughness. Talent can be heart. Too often, the Hawks have lacked that. Horford called out his teammates for it and he was dead on. Those intangibles can help a team overcome injuries and adversity. Milwaukee was a difficult team to play against. Charlotte was a more difficult team than the Hawks for Orlando to play against — not because of “skill” talent but because of the other kind of talent. There needs to be an in-house mandate by the Hawks of playing to a standard. If that exists now, they’re clearly ignoring it.
♦
Follow me on Twitter @JeffSchultzAJC and on Facebook.com/JeffSchultzAJC
♦
Recent Hawks posts
♦ Hawks make quick exit against Magic, and change is needed
♦ We’re LIVE from the Hawks’ . . . final game?
♦ Johnson, Woodson get hammered by national media
♦ Hawks quit on season (and Joe doesn’t care what you think)
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390 comments Add your comment
Yup!
May 11th, 2010
12:42 pm
Josh is the player. If he can’t act like a man and own up to his mistakes then he will get benched nuff’ said. If he wines about getting benched the he STILL won’t play……IDK whats so hard about that.
It’s PPL workin’ their azzes off tryna feed their families on minimum wage paychecks and you mean to tell me this fool Josh smith should be allowed to step foot on the court with the wrong atttitude???? Making 10mill a year???? F-outta here!!!!
He can sit his butt on the bench or get traded. He sould be thanking God for the position he’s in!!!!!
If I was his coach he’d learn real quick! MIKE WOODSON IS SOFTER THAN COTTONELL TISSUE PAPAER!!!!!!!
OpenMinded
May 11th, 2010
12:43 pm
Woody accepted lazy play and Josh just never developed the self discipline on his own to become an elite player…. he has real good talent but lacks the elite status talent that hustle could have at least pushed him towards… Woodson has to go, Johnson may do better with a coach who has talent for strategy, unfortunatley Woodson and Bobby Cox cannot manage/ strategize a game for hell.
heartofdarkness
May 11th, 2010
12:43 pm
I shall forgo, for the moment, the obligatory call for burning the city, plowing the fields and sowing them with salt, which is an old Atlanta tradition after yet another sports disaster [another old Atlanta tradition], Watching the Hawk’s season “augur in” [in Tom Wolfe's nice phrase] brings the franchise to a point where conclusive proof has been offered that fielding a team of undersized front line players with oversized guards is not a recipe for post season success.
In a perfect world, there would be a Chinese real estate billionaire looking to get his money offshore before things blow up in the Middle Kingdom, and he would be a big basketball fan. With a generous supply of his [or her] money, many of the excellent suggestions offered above might actually be possible to execute.
Accepting for a moment, that the world might not be perfect [nor conform to our expectations for it], the Hawks might accept that Georgia is a low middle tier market for professional basketball and that the basketball equivalent of “Moneyball” would be the most appropriate match for its reasonable expectations of revenue streams in the future. The ideal leader for this franchise would be a Billy Bean-like professional who focussed on undervalued productivity in the league, and assembled his team to be coached in a manner that maximized the talents of the players and exploited the weaknesses of the competition. The Utah Jazz are the closest NBA team to this organizational philosophy, and they have been competitive and watchable since the ’80s.
Watching the Hawks over the years has been like trying to catch the pea being palmed before it gets placed under the shell, or observing the deckchairs being re-arranged on the Titanic.
Mr. Phil
May 11th, 2010
12:43 pm
It Just came to me. My most inspired idea to date (but should only be resorted to if both Avery Johnson and Jeff Van Gundy are not available).
Marc Anthony Jackson as the new coach of the Atlanta Hawks. (bear with me)
1)No one is better qualified to teach Teague to play the point guard position (with or without athletic skills)
2)He must have learned something from Van Gundy about the profession having sat next to him at the broadcast table so long.
3)Nobody saw it coming.
We load up the team with the best outside shooters (as opposed to what we have in the most willing outside shooters) at every position and have Marc Jackson tutor Teague in the art of the pass ( an NBA skill he would have had no one demonstrate for him thus far). We run and gun the rest of the league to death and if we happen to play some defense that would be great too.
(Schultz: if we see this idea repeated anywhere then we will know it is stolen)
Dr. Warren
May 11th, 2010
12:44 pm
Jeff–I made the Tony Parker suggestion 36 hours ago near the top of a previous column…just sayin’, my friend.
Some Sense
May 11th, 2010
12:46 pm
This is truly complex, but these are my observations…for what they’re worth:
Joe, on sign-and-trade, and Woddy to go.
Al Horford is probably not a 4 (Power forward).
Josh Smith is most certainly not a 3 (Small forward).
Marvin Williams still has an upside.
Josh Childress would be an asset.
Teague must “man up” this summer.
New coach can’t be a retread…tight, tight fraternity, though.
Quick(est)action essential.
Tmac
May 11th, 2010
12:52 pm
How can a team give Mike Woodson a two year contract and he be held accountable. And give Marvin Williams a 4 year contract and Mike Bibby a 3 year contract?
While I don’t care for Woody as a coach for the very reason JS states above, his contract doesn’t kill this team. Marvin’s and Bibby’s 5 year contract last year and 3 year deal before this season (for the money) respectfully, straps this team down and restricts improving the team.
So Woody’s is just money, but doesn’t limit the team. I would say goodbye to Woody and thank him for improving the team… But i agree with Jeff, the players have tuned him out. Unfortunately, I think it reflects more poorly on the players than Woody.
JSS
May 11th, 2010
12:53 pm
@Mr. Phil…
There have been a quandary of bloggers calling for Mark Jackson since last Spring. Go check the archives of the Hawks Fan Nest… Also, see my post about TV commentators too… It didn’t help Rick Carlisle nor Mike Fratello one bit!
Eric C.
May 11th, 2010
12:56 pm
Webb, Nique, Ehlo, Blaylock, Steve Smith…guys with heart!!!
Sam Snead
May 11th, 2010
12:59 pm
Please quit saying that we can sign D-Wade.
He would never sign with Atlanta.
No superstar wants to play here. We haven’t had a superstar since the Great Mike Vick
Jeff Schultz
May 11th, 2010
12:59 pm
All I’m Saying is… Thanks. And any question involving J-Smoove is the million dollar question.
Tmac
May 11th, 2010
1:00 pm
My solution:
1. bring in a coach who specializes in developing talent. (this was a negative for Woody)
2. get rid of Marvin Williams for a small forward who can SHOOT and score.
3. get a true point guard. (Teague might be that guy, but who knows. see #1)
4. get a big man who can play defense. (you can adjust lineup with new small forward, JS, AH and new center, 3-4-5 positions)
If they do these things, the Hawks will get better and compete against the likes of Dwight Howard.
But for god’s sake do not give players with limited skills long-term contracts!!!
Jeff Schultz
May 11th, 2010
1:01 pm
Larry — It won’t, unless you get another center as good as Dwight. But Hawks didn’t get SHELLACKED this series because of Dwight Howard. They might’ve lost the series regardless because of him but they got shellacked for all the reasons previously addressed.
DeepDiver
May 11th, 2010
1:02 pm
Jeff, a few issues:
1) Mike Woodson’s contract is up — he doesn’t need to be fired.
2) Josh Smith is a nightmare at the 3, particularly on defense.
3) The Hawks can’t sign Chris Bosh. They are capped out even if Joe walks.
4) No, they cannot trade Josh Childress’ rights. He is a restricted free agent and is not under contract. The only way to deal him is to do a sign and trade, and if they do that they won’t get much back.
I really wish you and Bradley would be locked in a room with a copy of the CBA for a few days. Leave the NBA to Cunningham and stick to college sports, Thrashers, Braves, occasional feature on Falcons. Thanks.
Yup!
May 11th, 2010
1:03 pm
I mean, it’s not like Woody was saying anything important in those huddles anyway. Josh has been hearing the same thing for six seasons “Defense, Rebound, Play harder, Switch, Iso-Joe!, Come on guys!, we gotta get a stop right now, Play!, we need some offense!”
No real strategy…..just weak general motivational statements. Josh KNEW woody didn’t have any answers, so did the rest of the squad. Face it people, Woodson reached his limit.
Doc Rivers
May 11th, 2010
1:05 pm
I heard all guys buzzing that you want me to be your next coach. The only problem I have is that you guys don’t know how to treat a good coach. Mike Woodson brought you guys from the bottom to almost the top, and all you can do is talk bad about him. I will take Timberwolves job before I take the Hawks. No way Hosea!!!!
Sam Snead
May 11th, 2010
1:06 pm
@Jeff Schultz
Problem is, there is no center as good as Howard. You have to do what the Bobcats were able to do to him. Have a bunch of big bodies that can give you a couple of putbacks at least (the hawks bigs cannot do that), and hope for the best. Perimeter players have to stay on the shooters.
The only center that can somewhat guard howard one-on-one is Andrew Bynum, because of his size. I think Bynum can be had, we just have anything good to give up for except Josh Smith, who we should not trade
Jeff Schultz
May 11th, 2010
1:06 pm
You Are So Right: Thanks for the comments. My American Express is pretty close to the limit but let me check it and I’ll get back to you about buying the Hawks.
j
May 11th, 2010
1:06 pm
That Bosh thing is pure speculation. I have never heard anything about him wanting to play in Atlanta again. He played at Tech for 1 year and nothing has indicated he has loyalty to our city. He is from Houston and I heard ESPN a few days ago talking about how the Rockets have all but locked it up with him
Jeff Schultz
May 11th, 2010
1:06 pm
TP — Thanks.
Jeff Schultz
May 11th, 2010
1:08 pm
Clay — Yeah, a Dallas writer through out the possibility of Joe playing for Mavericks. That’s fine, but I would like to know who’d come back here in a sign-and-trade.
Jeff Schultz
May 11th, 2010
1:09 pm
JSS — Let’s just say it really hit home then.
MoreHeart
May 11th, 2010
1:09 pm
The main thing the Hawks need, first step is to have HEART and a Competitive Nature. Larry Drew as head coach, good grief. Get Fratello back or Ty Corbin in Utah. Someone that won’t put up with Josh Smith watching Kiss Cam during a time out. As Barkley said last night, this team is as good as it is going to get and they need to break them up.
Ced
May 11th, 2010
1:10 pm
First off Josh Smith doesn’t need to go ANYWHERE!! Josh was the heart of this team ALL season and for the playoffs. He displayed to me heart and passion, the one person that didn’t display either was Joe. It hurts me to say that but the truth was right before our eyes. Im not 100% sold that Joe has to go, although his comments and his demeanor in the Orlando series seemed like the first steps towards the door. I believe we could make it without Joe and I would be ok with a sign and trade, just as long as we get something back. The one thing that I absolutely believe HAS to change is Woodson as the coach. For too long we have looked like a team without plan on the offensive side, against Orlando it was just embarrising. The Magic out played us, not just because we were over matched in the talent department but because we were out coached in every area. A discrepency in talent shouldn’t result in a blow out EVERY SINGLE game, especially when your team is as talented as ours. The new focus should be on bringing in a new coach who actually believes in BALL MOVEMENT, preaches the fundamentals, and the players actually LISTEN TO!
Sam Snead
May 11th, 2010
1:11 pm
There’s no one from the Mavericks worth having except Dirk and J.Kidd, which the would promptly veto a trade to the Hawks
niremetal
May 11th, 2010
1:11 pm
Wait? Jeff Schultz hates Joe Johnson, loves Josh Smith, and doesn’t know a damned thing about NBA salary cap rules?
I’m shocked! Shocked, I say!
Jeff Schultz
May 11th, 2010
1:13 pm
Deep Diver:
1) Fire = Don’t re-sign. Semantics.
2) Disagree.
3) Sign-and-trades. Things can get done. They’re just more difficult. Space can be created. Open your mind, my child.
4) If Chills agrees to play for a certain time, he can be signed and dealt. It’s all semantics. Obviously no trading partner is going to make a move for Childress if he’s not going to play next season. Semantics.
5) You may now go cuddle with your copy of the CBA.
Gilley
May 11th, 2010
1:13 pm
I agree 100% Jeff. Great story!!
Feudfinder
May 11th, 2010
1:13 pm
Mr.Schultz, I have a suggestion: Let’s trade the whole team to Orlando for the ATL native, Dwight Howard. Then we can sign some CBA players who are willing to listen to their coach.
Jeff Schultz
May 11th, 2010
1:14 pm
MoreHeart — Might be a good call on Ty Corbin.
niremetal
May 11th, 2010
1:14 pm
And hey Jeff: There’s more to basketball than reading the box scores and looking at the players’ heights on their ESPN stat pages.
Jeff Schultz
May 11th, 2010
1:17 pm
Niremetal — I understand I’ll never be as smart as you, so I greatly appreciate you imparting your wisdom. Thank God for you and ESPN stat pages or I’d really know nothing.
Eric C.
May 11th, 2010
1:19 pm
Jeff, LMAO…great comeback to DeepDiver
Mr. Phil
May 11th, 2010
1:21 pm
Did someone say Ty Corbin?!!
If he comes back to Atlanta in any capacity I will move.
And no, that is not extra incentive.
Sam Snead
May 11th, 2010
1:22 pm
Sign and trade JJ…get rid of Marvin Williams somehow, or lay him down on the bench, and get rid of Bibby.
problem solved
Mr. Phil
May 11th, 2010
1:23 pm
BTW….the Marc Jackson idea was a joke.
Ted Striker
May 11th, 2010
1:23 pm
Ted Striker agrees on every single point in this column. Each suggestion Jeff makes addresses either attitude, effort, or technique (or some combination). Thomas has done rubbed off on you.
DawgDad
May 11th, 2010
1:24 pm
It’s no good to have an up-tempo athletic team if the players aren’t willing or able to play up-tempo and be an effort team. You can’t play half-court unless the team is willing to work half-court offenses. This roster has reached a plateau, and status quo will likely lead to a significant back-track in performance. This roster needs to be blown up. Sign-and-trade Joe for a center, if that’s possible, trade Josh, if that’s possible, and bring in some new guards.
The Hawks almost have to trade Josh Smith, but they have to decide if Woodson lost the team or whether it’s just bad apples no coach could control. Maybe they play it safe and move both of them.
Might be this team will struggle to get back to this level, but they might need to step back to be able to make a deeper run in the future. In the NBA it seems you can’t think championships unless you have one of the handful of great players. Nobody on this roster is in that category.
Eric C.
May 11th, 2010
1:28 pm
Josh Smith needs a real hard-a$$, spit in your face kind of coach…no doubt.
Hoops
May 11th, 2010
1:29 pm
Jeff,
You have some interesting points. This is what I would do if I were Rick Sund:
1. Don’t rehire Woodson. Go after the best available coach. Possibly Doc Rivers if he is serious about leaving Boston. Talk to Avery Johnson as well.
2. Sign and trade Joe Johnson. He has value. Get what you can for him. Devin Harris and Courtney lee is a start.
3. Use any player we have except Al Horford in a trade for the best center available.
4. Josh Smith is not a small forward. If we can get a center then use Josh Smith as trade bait to improve the team. I have said many times – Josh for Bosh!
This is possible-
PG – D. Harris, J. Teague
SG – J. Crawford, C. Lee
SF – J. Childress, M. Evans
PF – A. Horford, M. Williams
C – Bosh, Zaza
Head Coach – Doc Rivers
Deewight Howard
May 11th, 2010
1:34 pm
Josh Smith for player-coach!
JSS
May 11th, 2010
1:35 pm
@ Swingin’ Sam Snead
Bynum is not going anywhere… Where this team needs to look is for either one of the European UFA centers. Portland will have to make a move once July comes around. Our team needs quality bench players as well as a true star leader (or someone to accent Horford’s evolution to team leader). A player like D.J. Mbenga with the Lakers, no more Randolph Morris’s! A backup PF/C that can still run like Ronny Turiaf with the Mid level exception. We need tough hustle players who dive and chase.
Big B CH 99
May 11th, 2010
1:36 pm
Doc is retiring for now, he’s not looking to leave Boston to get another coaching job. He’s got yound kids that he wants to spend time with. His son is gonna be a Sr. PG at Indiana, & he also has a daughter playing a sport, he wants to be able to go watch them. But it would be great to get him, & would keep the fans interested.
houstondawg
May 11th, 2010
1:37 pm
Excellent article, I wouldnt like to see Mr. Drew in here coaching because we really need an experienced NBA Head Coach here, enough time of the training mode. JVG or Avery Johnson would be a good match. I think JVG is a better fit because he has alot of successful NBA knowledge under Riley and as a Head Coach. The pieces are here just need to lose Johnson and pick up a quality center Bosh would be great!! then pick up a few more free agents, don’t forget about Carl Landry excellent scorer and Tony Allen has alot of upside. We also need to find a better than average two guard to replace Joe Johnson. Also Draft a 7 footer in the draft or the forward from Kentucky.
niremetal
May 11th, 2010
1:37 pm
Jeff,
If you paid attention to the Hawks for more than 10 games per year, maybe your posts would reflect an ounce of basketball common sense. But since you won’t, let me give you some sound advice on how you could make sure that your posts don’t make a mockery of basketball writing.
Please, find me a professional scout or analyst who has watched Hawks game tape this year and who says that Josh Smith can play the SF. Or find me someone who thinks that the Hawks have the pieces to S&T for Bosh AFTER we S&T Joe. Or find me someone who has read the CBA who says that we have rights to trade in Josh Childress (we don’t – he’s a free agent, and we have NO rights in him except the right to match other NBA teams’ offers).
Or how about this – email your piece to Charley Rosen, Hubie Brown, or Sam Smith. Ask what they think of your half-assed attempt at basketball writing. At least pretend that you have the desire to learn 10% as much about the NBA as you know about the Braves and Bulldogs training camp machinations.
Spend time doing stuff like that instead of talking out of your ass. Then you won’t be a laughingstock on blogs where the fans live and breathe NBA basketball year-round, in contrast to people like you and Bradley who only skim the box scores and watch when the Hawks are on national TV.
Just because you know something about some sports doesn’t imbue you with knowledge of all others. Stop acting like it does.
Feudfinder
May 11th, 2010
1:37 pm
Everybody is pointing fingers at Woodson,everybody is bashing Joe Johnson, but I’m yet to see somebody blame the Unspirit of Atlanta for not giving Mike Woodson a complete team (reputable center).He has had to convert Al Hoford as a center. And you expected Hoford to contain Dwight Howard. Are you seriously kidding me?
DeepDiver
May 11th, 2010
1:39 pm
Jeff – thanks for responding. Easy to sit on your smarmy perch and rain conjecture and generalities.
The fact is, there is no feasible scenario in which Bosh or Dwayne Wade (whose signing here you and Bradley often speak on as if it were at all possible) can arrive in a Hawks uniform, unless they want to take substantially less money than the max (or if Miami or Toronto wants to do a SNT for JJ – ha!).
I am a fan of yours generally but your six or seven Hawks articles a year are so blatantly misinformed it drives me up the wall. Thanks again for taking the time.
niremetal
May 11th, 2010
1:42 pm
And you know – if you spent as much time trying to gain basketball knowledge as you do making snarky comments to those who question your basketball knowledge, maybe you’d actually have passable basketball knowledge.
Long Time Blogger
May 11th, 2010
1:43 pm
Jeff, I would advise you to do what other long-timers do on this blog….skip niremetals posts.
JSS
May 11th, 2010
1:44 pm
@ Jeff Schultz…
See i knew you missed the “bad old days” when Truth-serum, Niremetal and I would come in here and scream all forms of vitriol at you! You almost went back! I said “almost!”
Oh, take a gander at this one day…
http://www.netsdaily.com/2010/5/3/1455677/euroleague-scouting-trip-focus-on