Hawks’ decision to bring back Rick Sund was expected
Rick Sund has had some obvious hits and misses as general manager. (Curtis Compton/AJC)
The Atlanta Spirit appears on the verge of selling the Thrashers to a group in Winnipeg and are in negotiations to sell the Hawks, which would rid Atlanta of the often dysfunctional ownership group all together. But Rick Sund isn’t going anywhere.
The Hawks have exercised an option on Sund’s contract, meaning he will be back for a fourth season as general manager. The story comes via our Michael Cunningham and originally was reported by Zach Klein of WSB Channel 2.
Loading ...There are mixed feelings on Sund. Last season he fired coach Mike Woodson, which most agreed with, but replaced him with Larry Drew. Drew was viewed by some as a weak candidate. But he seemed to prove himself during the Hawks’ playoff run when the Hawks upset Orlando in the first round and stretched the Chicago Bulls to six games in the second, despite the absence of starting point guard Kirk Hinrich.
Sund made a great trade last year for Jamal Crawford. But he also signed Mike Bibby and Marvin Williams to contract extensions, which didn’t work out (Bibby’s play declined after he received the new deal; Williams never has met pre-draft expectations).
This year, Sund’s late-season deal for Hinrich was a key move in the series win over Orlando. But when Hinrich was injured and Jeff Teague played so well against Chicago, some wondered why Teague wasn’t playing before and if the Hinrich deal ever had to be made. The fact rookie Jordan Crawford was included in the trade to Washington and flourished late in the season also didn’t look good.
The most controversial move of all was the max contract ($123.7 million) given to guard Joe Johnson. But Sund felt the Hawks would take too big of a step back without Johnson. We’ll also never know to what extent ownership had on that decision.
This much seems certain: Sund faces another important offseason. After three straight seasons of being eliminated in the second round of the playoffs, there’s a good chance he will trade at least one member of the Hawks’ core. Because of Johnson’s contract and Al Horford’s value, the most plausible candidate is Josh Smith.
Bottom line: Sund may have had some missteps. But he’s a vast improvement over his predecessor, Billy Knight. I don’t have a huge problem with him coming back for another season to see if he can fix this roster. Also, with ownership in flux, it wasn’t realistic to believe a significant change was going to be made at the top.
So what are your thoughts on Sund? I’ve got a poll up also: Thumbs up or thumbs down?
By Jeff Schultz
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109 comments Add your comment
James on Pharr Rd
May 18th, 2011
7:00 pm
Should have shot for a Coach/GM type of guy… And this appears like we are heading towards keeping LD, and the rest of the core guys as well.Sometimes success can come as a curse. Thanks JT, it is safe to say it is all your fault.Lol
Slim
May 18th, 2011
7:19 pm
Starters: Teague/Joe/Josh/LarrySanders/AndrewBogut
Reserves: John Salmons/pg-sg?/Thornton/Gooden/Pachulia
Traded: Horford, Williams, Hinrich for Bogut, Sanders, Salmons, Gooden
Win NOW! Chicago has a center and bigs off the bench. OKC has a center and bigs off the bench. Celtics HAD a center and bigs off the bench.
Boozer is terrible at defense but Joakim Noah, Gibson, Asik and Deng cover for him.
Smith, Bogut, Sanders, Gooden, and Pachulia {and Semih Erden??} would compete with them and Bogut neutralizes and wears down Noah in their matchups.
Horford and Williams must be packaged to net these players. Milwaukee was 4th defensively in the league. No team in the league has the defensive personnel to jettison this team to the top.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::
“This is the playoffs so when you go into a series you look at all the possibilities, and you anticipate what they could do,” Thibodeau said. “They could go big, they could go small. But usually the biggest adjustment in a playoff series is intensity game to game so you could add a play here and there. But that’s not going to change the strengths and weaknesses of a team. I think it’s important to understand that and then the readiness to play. You have to sustain that intensity throughout the game.”
The Heat shot 47.1 percent from the field in Game 1 compared to the Bulls’ 43.1, but Chicago held James and Wade to 12 field goals and 33 points combined. That kind of defense coupled with their dominant rebounding has been a Bulls’ staple all season, and when paired with 47.1 percent shooting (10-of-21) from three-point range, they overwhelmed the Heat in Game 1.
“Your defense and your rebounding are the two things you want to be able to count on every night,” Thibodeau said. “Some nights you’re going to shoot the ball better than others, but if you’re doing those other two things you should still have a chance to win.”
djthescorpian
May 19th, 2011
7:24 am
Fire LD? First, take a poll of the Hawks players-who would like the move? -Josh, of course. Then poll down the rest of the roster and see what players want a new coach. Personally, I want the Hawks to focus on-acquiring/developing defensive energetic true power forwards. Meanwhile, loved that game last night with Miami. Haslem is back-what a game! That’s what I’m talking bout. Look up in the stands-there is Pat Riley-ever so confident-and spreading that motivation to the superstars-especially Lebron. Meanwhile, look at the Dallas vs. OKC game. Dirk (Dirt) Nowitzki (I like to call him “dirt” because he looks, and is- disgustingly unstoppable (reminds me of bird), and like Bird_ Dirk is in “love” with his own crane (his game-how he shoots), which is always a good thing-circa “Earl the Pearl Monroe” That’s a skill set that cannot be taught, nor bought, especially on that 7 foot frame. (All the greats had that great attitude and body language that said they were unstoppable and they backed it up) Meanwhile, look at the skillful, yet confident K. Durant. He’s such a humble kid and a very God fearing respectable young man. (You look at him-you’d want him as a brother, a son, some of you lady’s- a husband or boyfriend) He is just an honorable kid in who he gives honor to. Watch his post game interviews-… Although these blogs are supposed to be about the Hawks-to me, the real spot light seems to be on focusing on the positive attitudes of the players on the remaining NBA playoff teams (Dallas/OKC) and (Miami/Chicago) that this whole planet is witnessing. These games I see make me feel good. They seem to have intrinsic value to me and I hope I’m not the only one who feels this, professional or fan-why? Because these teams have players who now are humble and know what it takes to get to this level. And to the fans, sports players in general, and any other non playoff NBA teams who are currently watching and or reading this blog: A teaching lesson -as to emulate or aspire to-what a real team and what real men (young or old) are made of.
Hawks and Josh Smith may have had enough of each other | Jeff Schultz
May 21st, 2011
1:12 pm
[...] Hawks general manager Rick Sund wanted to give the core of this team one more chance to show what it can do. There was improvement this postseason – upsetting Orlando and taking Chicago to six games without their starting point guard – but this probably is as far as this unit can go. [...]
joe
May 22nd, 2011
7:48 am
just another example of the Hawks futility. Sund is a joke, every decision he makes is a joke(120m for JJ, resign Bibby and Marvin, etc. etc. …..) The Hawks ownership and Sund deserve each other. I keep getting calls from the Hawks about season tickets, they don’t seem to understand when i tell them I wouldn’t go watch the hawks for free, much less pay for the tic’s…..
SUND SUCKS
May 23rd, 2011
2:14 pm
SUND SUCKS. WHY NOT GET A TRUE BASKETBALL MIND. SOMEONE WITH A WINNING BASKETBALL BACKGROUND. A GUY THAT KNOWS WHAT TALENT LOOKS LIKE AND KNOWS HOW TO WIN A RING. NOT JUST SOME POLITICAL, CORPORATE, AMWAY TYPE SMUCK. IF DANNY AINGE CAN BE A SUCCESSFUL GM, WHY CAN’T BOB MCADOO, MO CHEEKS, JOHNNY DAVIS OR ADRIAN DANTLEY BE CONSIDERED FOR GM’s and HEAD COACH JOB’s? THEY ARE STILL INVOLVED IN THE GAME AND HAVE ALL PAYED THEIR DUES. KEVIN MCHALE WILL PROBABLY END UP EITHER GETTING ANOTHER GM JOB OR HEAD COACHING JOB. (WHICH I HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH) BUT WHY NOT CONSIDER MORE REAL TALENT FOR THESE POSITIONS. GUYS WITH BASKETBALL KNOWLEDGE AND WINNING ATTITUDES WHO THE PLAYERS CAN RELATE TO AND RESPECT. QUIT RECYCLING THE SAME OLD FARTS FOR THE MAJORITY OF THE POSITIONS. IT APPEARS THEY ARE JUST STAYING IN THE TRADITION OF THE GOOD OLE BOY CLUB. SUND SUCKS !!!!
SUND SUCKS
May 23rd, 2011
2:23 pm
BTW, BILLY KNIGHT SUCKS TOO. I NEVER THOUGHT MUCH OF HIM OR WOODSON. THEY ALL MADE HORRIBLE DECISIONS. THE ONLY WAY TO GET REAL TALENT IS TO HAVE REAL TALENT EVALUATE REAL TALENT.
SUND SUCKS
May 23rd, 2011
3:10 pm
IT SEEMS AVERY JOHNSON WAS PROBABLY A LITTLE TOO INTIMIDATING FOR SUND.
JOHNSON HAS BEEN KNOWN TO BE A BIT FIERY IN HIS EFFORTS TO WIN AND MOTIVATE.
WHICH IS EXACTLY WHAT THE HAWKS NEEDED. SUND STILL SUCKS !!!
Mr. Gearon, Jr.
May 24th, 2011
3:53 pm
Starters: Teague/Joe/Josh (lose weight)/LarrySanders/AndrewBogut
Reserves: John Salmons/pg-sg?/Thornton/Gooden/Pachulia
sounds good. we capitalize on youth and can stem the possible tide of Joe’s aging.