Drew doesn’t waste time sending message to Hawks’ players
Larry Drew to Josh Smith: "Lose 10 pounds and if you ever want to see the court again, don't ever shoot another jumper." Kidding. Sort of.
Can you tell how a coach is going to do by what he says in a press conference? No — no more than what you can tell by how a politician will do, based on his campaign promises.
Jerry Glanville: Entertaining in press conferences but a clown as a head coach.
Mike Smith: Dry in press conferences but solid as a head coach
Larry Drew? He said all the right things at his introductory news conference. Actually, he said more than you would have expected, and without much prompting. Here are eight quotes that stood out Monday and why:
♦ 1. Drew on impending free agent Joe Johnson: “I know there’s been some criticism at times that he may go a little too much one on one. Certainly, I do believe that he’s a focal point of this team. I’ll implement some things that probably will take the ball out of his hands a little bit more but it will make him even more effective.”
Comment: Well, that didn’t take long. Drew basically tells Joe out of the box, “I want you back but under these circumstances.” You have to like that.
♦ 2. Drew on Josh Smith: “I just saw Josh Smith come in here, too. The thing is to get him off the perimeter. Put him in position to be a little more successful. I believe with his athleticism, he has a lot of capablity in low post.”
Comment: Well, that didn’t take long (part II). Drew basically tells Smith, with Smith standing in the doorway, not far from the stage, “Don’t shoot from out there.” Drew is just like the fan screaming at his TV set.
♦ 3. Drew on his coaching staff: “I’m compiling names.”
Comment: The assistant coaches in the room at the time must realize: Change is forthcoming.
♦ 4. Drew on point guard Jeff Teague, who was seldom used as a rookie by Mike Woodson: “I really believe this kid has the package. Rick [Sund] and I spoke about it. I think he has the ability to make this team better, to have an impact on this team. The offense will really benefit from his speed and his quickness — to break the defense down.”
Comment: I think Mike Bibby just became a bench player.
♦ 5. Al Horford, the most universally respected player in the locker room, comparing Drew to Woodson: “He’s totally different. Coach Woodson was more laid back. Larry’s different. He’s already reached out to us and let us know he’s going to change the offense a little bit and how he’s emphasizing the defensive part of things. … Even though Larry was a part of our team before, it’s a big change for us. Because when you have a head coach, you [the assistant] can’t get the last say. With him being in charge now, things are going to be different.”
Comment: Horford recognized during his two seasons that Drew had ideas that he couldn’t push through. That’s a bit of an indictment on Woodson.
♦ 6. Drew on the same subject: “When you’re an assistant coach, your job is to give the head coach as much information as you possibly can. He decides what he wants to use, and what he doesn’t want to use he gets rid of. Mike made the decision to use what he used. I don’t fault him for that.”
Comment: Everybody else will.
♦ 7. Drew, on the need to change his relationship with players, now that he’s no longer the assistant coach: “Everybody tells me when you move over six inches, it’s all the difference in the world. But when you’re talking about dealing with players you have to know what buttons to push. I know now. I’ve had conversations with a lot these guys this morning. I’m still going to be Larry. But I’m to be a little more firm in what I want. Things are going to be done a little bit different.”
Comment: The level of accountability just went up.
♦ 8. Sund, on perceptions by fans that Drew was an afterthought as a candidate, not to be taken seriously: “I don’t care what the perception is. He was the very first candidate we interviewed. We know how the process went. I wanted to hear what other candidates thought about our club. I wanted to hear what Larry thought of our club. That was the process. What he’s done in the last six years made him a candidate. The process is what made him a head coach.”
Comment: It’s widely believed there was disagreement among Sund and owners on who to hire. There was clear interest in Avery Johnson. But thumb-twiddling by all involved, primarily over his salary demands, led him to take the New Jersey job. Bottom line, we’ll probably never know the whole story. But Drew is saying all the right things, and now we’ll see what actions follow his words.
♦
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♦
Instant re-blog
♦ If Braves’ Pendleton got blame before, he better get credit now
♦ Larry Drew’s first issue: What to do with Joe Johnson?
♦ How’s this scenario: Mike Woodson as LeBron’s next coach?
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80 comments Add your comment
JustAThought
June 15th, 2010
10:06 am
All the talk about JJ is moot at this point…………….Until the ASG resign him the coach and the fans should be perparing themselves for JJ playing for some other team(which I predict will be the case).
ASHCAN.
June 15th, 2010
11:00 am
Great info jeff,wish you had a link of the introduction.
Mystikal
June 15th, 2010
11:15 am
Get on em’ Drew!! I think his hiring will be beneficial. This was already a successful team and with a new coach who is a more savy offensively that could make a great difference. Also using Teague more will limit the liability defensively at point guard while also hopefully giving us another weapon and/or giving us the opportunity to change up the tempo.
phoenixfalcon
June 15th, 2010
11:22 am
it’s going to be the same old same old, it’s like going from the big slim jim to the little .25 cent slim jim, it’s still a slim jim. they had a chance to really change this team, change the culture, but they failed ( yet again ) to do that.
Rufus1
June 15th, 2010
11:24 am
What is CHEAP?
Not spending 4mil a year on a coach in a players league…Is that Cheap?
Not wanting to losing 20mil a year on a mediocre basketball team(i,e. Mark Cuban)…is that cheap?
Not overpaying for player(i,e. Joe Johnson)…is that cheap?
Is OKC or Portland cheap? There payroll is less than the hawks.
Not wanting to pay a luxury tax on a basketball team in a football city…is that cheap?
I DON’T THINK ASG ARE CHEAP….I THINK THEY ARE GOOD BUSINESS MEN…I THINK THE OWNERS OF THE KNICKS, MAVS, MAGIC, HORNETS AND JAZZ ARE STUPID!
The NBA has a bad business structure…Stop blaming ASG for being good business men and blame the NBA for there SALARY CAP STRUCTURE. If the NBA had a HARD CAP, we might be the best team in the league.
P.S. The Hawks are a successful franchise(53 wins, 3 straight playoff appearances) …just in case you didn’t know
mario
June 15th, 2010
11:29 am
everything sounds good..we will see what happens
mario
June 15th, 2010
11:56 am
HELL NO RUFUS SOME OF WHAT YOUA RE SAYING IS TRUE BUT NOT ALL OF IT…OKC AND PORTLAND ARE YOUNGER THAN WE ARE..LETS SEE WHAT THEIR SALARY CAP IS IN A COUPLE OF YEARS WHEN THE ROOKI CONTRACT IS UP.
Big D
June 15th, 2010
11:59 am
DON’T THINK ASG ARE CHEAP….I THINK THEY ARE GOOD BUSINESS MEN…I THINK THE OWNERS OF THE KNICKS, MAVS, MAGIC, HORNETS AND JAZZ ARE STUPID!
—–
Oh really, how come the Knicks, Magic, Mavs and Jazz all have made Finals appearances and the Hawks have yet to get back to the ECF since 1988. Since 88 the Knicks 2 FInals, Jazz 2 finals, Mavs 1 final, Magic 2 finals oh and the Magic came into the league in 89, same year as the Hornets. So I think those owners arent as stupid as you say…incase you didnt know
Now the ASG is a dysfunctional group who are as egotistical as they are apathetic about putting a winning product capable of competing for a title
Chipper isn't Hampton: He won't just sit back, collect checks | Jeff Schultz
June 15th, 2010
12:03 pm
[...] ♦ Drew doesn’t waste time sending message to Hawks’ players [...]
Rufus1
June 15th, 2010
12:50 pm
ASG NOT CHEAP SMART…ALL THAT MATTERS IS A TITLE!!!
Why go over the luxury tax for players who don’t win you a title…
All the teams that payed the LUXTAX and lost more than the Hawks are BAD BUSINESS MEN!!!!!
Trading for bad contracts(i,e. Vince Carter, Antwoine Jamison and Shaq) hoping they will make you a little better is CRAZY.
ASG is doing the RIGHT WAY, the rest of them are doing it WRONG WAY.
JC
June 15th, 2010
1:24 pm
@Rufus and Mario, I think your capslock buttons are on (How embarrassing).
@Phoenix, I can’t decide if the Slim Jim analogy is the best or the worst I’ve ever heard.
@Everyone else, give Drew a chance. It might turn out that he has been more responsible for the good things that have happened to the Hawks recently than you think.
D.W.
June 15th, 2010
1:59 pm
I’m in agreement with Chuck, send Josh Smith packing. If he’s going to be a superstar, I’m fine with him being that somewhere else!!!
Terrell
June 15th, 2010
2:10 pm
if there is one thing I’ve learned from this playoffs it’s this, “DO just enough to get you in!” Yes we want Atl to win every game and play at the highest level of intensity possible. We did that the past 2 years and what has happened? Look at the Celtics, they aren’t the same team that we swept in the regular season.
Terrell
June 15th, 2010
2:12 pm
Yes trade Josh Smith! I’m tired of winning, so while we are at it lets get rid of Horford because he plays too hard! (sarcasm off)
You guys are too funny!
Big D
June 15th, 2010
2:13 pm
We have no choice but to give Drew a chance b/c he is our coach.
I hope unlike Woody he will pull guys for lack of effort, intensity and taking bad shots (JOSH SMITH). I do believe Drew will not put up with Josh Smiths attitude and behavorial problems.
3Klub
June 15th, 2010
3:01 pm
I’m on board with Drew. I admit there were other people I wanted to see get the job, BUT moving Larry to HC means that this team is going forward and not starting over. When you have a young team that wins 53 games, a 4 seed and gets to the second round of the play-offs, you dont want to start over so I’m glad about that. Now the question is what will Sund or more importantly ASG do personnel wise. I’d like to see us keep Joe and add to the mix. We don’t have the cash to sign one of these big time free agents, but there are plenty of complimentary pieces to be had out here. I just hope we can make some sort of splash personel wise. GO HAWKS!
Jim Jones
June 15th, 2010
4:31 pm
That’s right, people. Drink that Kool-Aid. Drink it all up. That’s right.
Whopper Dawg
June 15th, 2010
5:34 pm
That actually sounded pretty good.
Winning will fix a lot of things during the regular season, and the Hawks have enough talent to remain about where they are. The million dollar questions is Mr. Drew take this collection of players (as it sounds like he and Sund are sold on them) and close the gap with the elite 4 teams. The playoffs were mostly a joke this year with the haves running rough shod over the have nots. The Hawks were exposed as a have not.
wesleywhatwhat
June 15th, 2010
5:48 pm
i like the hire, at first glance.
he at least seems to recognize what the rest of the world does about the hawks – too much iso joe offense and josh smith needs to stay near the basket to be the all star he can be.
now to make it happen on the court.
good luck fellas, u have lots of fans in atlanta hoping u can be a great team in 2010-2011.
Brendan
June 15th, 2010
6:11 pm
I just hope the Hawks can advance to the CF. The quote I heard on 680TheFan driving in was, “Everyone in that lockerroom wants to get past the 2nd round. But they just don’t know how.”
I was a little stunned to hear that quote. Hopefully, Coach Drew has the answers. He is, after all, the Coach.
JeJe
June 15th, 2010
6:32 pm
LARRY DREW SAID ON THE RADIO THIS MORNING HE HAS TO GET THE RIGHT COMPLIMENTARY PLAYERS AROUND JJ
TRADES PLEASE
GET RID OF DUCK AND BIB
DONATE THEM TO SALVATION ARMY
JeJe
June 15th, 2010
6:32 pm
WHAT’S ALL THIS TALK ABOUT WOODY BEING LAID BACK?
HE SEEMED LIKE A PERSISTENT A-HOLE TO ME
STEELY DAN MAN
June 15th, 2010
6:57 pm
GOOD READ GUYS/GALS !!!!!!
I’M LAST …….. YAY !!!
Luke Cage
June 15th, 2010
7:41 pm
All I hear is how is joe going to want to go away from the ISO’s, well no matter where he signs he will have to abandon it so its a silly thing to keep hearing
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June 16th, 2010
1:02 am
[...] ♦ Drew doesn’t waste time sending message to Hawks’ players [...]
Bruce Bruce
June 16th, 2010
11:15 am
Atlanta won’t win 35 games without Joe Johnson. Everybody keeps talking about J. Crawford. He is more of a ball hog than Johnson. He has never even been to the playoffs before this year. The only other dependable player is Horford. The rest of the guys are suspect. What you should be saying is can we trade Marvin and someone else to bring in a legitimate three or five man to compliment the current roster. The old saying is “you never miss a good thing until it is gone”. Hawks fans will miss Joe’s ability to play defense, pass and score when he is gone. Furthermore, if you think one bad comment by Joe is enough to let him go just think what will happen when the team goes from 53 wins to 30 wins.
cdog
June 16th, 2010
12:26 pm
hope coach drew will do good but i still say there wasn’t anything wrong with the hawks which couldn’t be fix by rick sund addind a couple of good big men and resigning joe johnson. people will see this season what i’m talking about.
David
June 16th, 2010
2:08 pm
I think that the Hawks are making the right choices. Woodson deserves to lose his job in my opinion. I don’t see how the heck you can afford to get swept when you’re only one playoff seed down from your opponent. It’s not how good your regular season is in the end, it’s your playoff performance. There needs to be a middle man inbetween Woodson and Stan Van Gundy.
tjhook
June 16th, 2010
9:15 pm
Al Harrington for newest Hawk. Can be had at mid-level salary. Talk about it. He could be the fit we need to bring more balance.
Mystikal
June 16th, 2010
9:34 pm
The hawks will get over the hump when ownership is prepared to really invest in the team. In business you have to spend money to make money, while in this arena sometimes you have to take calculated risks. In the draft we always wait to see who falls to us instead of making moves to get who we want. In free agency, we wait til last minute and let market decide what someone is worth and then often end up gettin left overs. And although I think Drew is a good choice, we just took the cheapest coaching option. If there was a way penny pinching could get you championships I’m sure someone would have written a book by now.