The Hawks’ next coach? Put Dwane Casey on the case
Improved his team’s record each of the past five seasons; just coached his team to the No. 3 in the East; has made the playoffs three years running; has won two playoff series, each in seven games.
If you’re the Chicago Bulls and you’re hiring for a coach, Mike Woodson would surely be at the top of your list. But the Hawks aren’t the Bulls, and they’ve gone as far with him as they can. And let’s not sell the man short: Under Woodson, this team rose from abject misery to win 53 games.
But the postseason just completed surely represented the end of the road for the Woodman. The Hawks haven’t yet said what they’re going to do, but if they weren’t willing to re-up Woodson when his team was winning 53 regular-season games, there seems no chance they’ll do it after his team lost a playoff series by an average of 25.3 points.
From Jamal Crawford, speaking between Games 3 and 4: “It was like an NCAA tournament game — they were the No. 1 seed and we were the 16. Except that they’re the 2 and we’re the 3.”
It’s possible the Hawks would have been swept with Zen Master Phil Jackson on their bench, but they couldn’t have looked any worse under any coach. This wasn’t a case of an opponent just being better. This was a stark study in what happens when good players stop listening.
Assuming the Hawks change coaches, the next man needs to be one capable of getting and keeping his players’ attention. As Woodson keeps noting, these aren’t the inept Hawks of 2004-2005. At issue now is finding the man capable of taking this team from Round 2 ignominy to Round 3 and beyond.
Avery Johnson’s name arises often, but word in NBA circles is that he’ll get the New Orleans job. Byron Scott is another possibility, but he has had the benefit of having two of the era’s best point guards (Jason Kidd, Chris Paul) in his two coaching stops and got fired from both. And there’s always sentiment to recycle some TV coach — Doug Collins, Jeff Van Gundy, Mike Fratello — but with such big names we must ask: If they’re so great, why aren’t they coaching?
The man I’d hire was interviewed for this job when Woodson got it in 2004. (Also interviewed back then: Mike Brown, who now coaches LeBron.) The man I’d hire is Dwane Casey, who’s currently being sought by other teams — he has interviewed with the Hornets — but might have a greater interest in these Hawks.
Casey worked under Rick Sund, who’s now the Hawks’ general manager, for five years with Seattle as Nate McMillan’s chief assistant. He’s currently employed as Rick Carlisle’s assistant with the Dallas Mavericks. Casey got a chance to be a head coach in 2005 with Minnesota, but it wasn’t a real chance. Kevin McHale fired him halfway through his second season. (Casey’s record was 53-69, which was terrific if you note how the T-Wolves have since collapsed.)
Casey isn’t an exotic coach. He’s not going to go all Don Nelson on you. Where he’d be an upgrade is in relationships. The Hawks died in the playoffs because they stopped trusting one another. (When in doubt, shoot a jumper.) The next coach must handle feelings as much as X’s and O’s.
He must convince Joe Johnson — assuming Johnson stays, which I believe he will — to share the ball. He must convince Josh Smith not to compete with Johnson jump shot for jump shot. He must convince Smith, whose defense in the postseason was terrible, to make the basic rotations and not always play for the film-at-11 block.
Asked Tuesday if the team had stopped paying heed to Woodson in these playoffs, Al Horford said: “I think that’s fair to say to some extent. Some guys had mentally checked out.”
No, that doesn’t say much for those guys: How can you stop caring when you have, as Horford put it, “a chance to do something special”? But it also says they’re not apt to listen to Mike Woodson ever again. I believe Dwane Casey can make them listen. I believe he should be the Hawks’ next coach.
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270 comments Add your comment
Jerry West
May 11th, 2010
12:19 pm
First?
Labo
May 11th, 2010
12:19 pm
First??
glenn
May 11th, 2010
12:23 pm
I would rather have Byron Scott . Point guards yes but very thin team . Really got the most out of the Hornets .
Jerry West
May 11th, 2010
12:25 pm
Mark, can we get a bit more on why you think they’d listen to Casey? I mean, “he worked for Sund”, and “he didn’t get a fair shake in Minny” doesn’t tell us a lot about what he brings to the table. I thought the reason he was let go in Minny was that KG didn’t like him/ wouldn’t listen to a young coach.
O'Brien
May 11th, 2010
12:26 pm
Mark,
After last season, you wrote a column on how the Hawks need to keep the team intact. Well, Rick resigned Bibby, Marvin and ZaZa. And we got nothing from them.
It’s cool. I’ve been wrong many a times too.
Moving on, how do you feel about Doc’s assistant (Thibodeau)?
Mark Bradley
May 11th, 2010
12:27 pm
Because Dwane Casey is very good with young players. And the heart of this team is still young.
Spuds McKenzie
May 11th, 2010
12:29 pm
Want guts & grit and someone who knows what it takes to win? Bill Lambier.
TXDawg
May 11th, 2010
12:30 pm
Sounds like a good choice to me.
TXDawg
May 11th, 2010
12:31 pm
Bill Lambier could barely coach women, I don’t see him having the personality to mesh with young talent like the Hawks have.
Bill
May 11th, 2010
12:32 pm
I’ll buy in to that..Hire Casey.
jj
May 11th, 2010
12:32 pm
why did these clowns wait to stop listening to woodson when the playoffs started
TXDawg
May 11th, 2010
12:33 pm
Mark, do you think Stan VanGundy is a better coach than his brother Jeff?
Mark Bradley
May 11th, 2010
12:36 pm
Stan Van Gundy has done a great job. But he pushes his guys awfully hard. I’m not sure how much longer the Magic will be listening to him, either.
Marcus
May 11th, 2010
12:39 pm
What decision point is there for management to go with another 1st timer (like Woodson) vs. an experienced (dare I say retread) head coach?
Does it come down to $$$ or expectations?
if its expectations, we may have to go the route of the 2004 DET Pistons, who fired Rick Carlisle after consecutive 50-win seasons to hire veteran coach /professional nomad Larry Brown, who eventually took the same team to the NBA title. Iironically enough, Woody was on Larry’s staff.
HawkKingBibby
May 11th, 2010
12:42 pm
TYRONE CORBIN, the Hawks need to fin the NEXT GREAT coach not hire a retread.
Brad
May 11th, 2010
12:44 pm
Mark, do you think the Hawks would consider hiring any college coaches? Are there even any out there that would be possibilities?
Texas Hawk
May 11th, 2010
12:49 pm
Don’t take this the wrong way Mark Bradley but I am in Texas and I watched a lot of Dallas games and the one they lost ummmm they took Jump shots. Thats why they got beat down by the Spurs so don’t give me that he can coach this team around that, LOL. I would say this though I am not a fully Woody fan BUT I was watching when we won only “8″ games so becareful what you ask for.
Dr. Warren
May 11th, 2010
12:49 pm
Mark—For the life of me, I just don’t get why the Hawks would choose the playoffs–the playoffs–to quit on their coach? Why such horrible timing? Why should it happen now and not mid-season?
O'Brien
May 11th, 2010
12:52 pm
@TXDawg , May 11th, 2010, 12:31 pm
“Bill Lambier could barely coach women, I don’t see him having the personality to mesh with young talent like the Hawks have”.
I thought his WNBA teams won 3 titles.
Mark,
Agree on SVG. Unless a head coach has won a championship, or is a HOF type coach, sooner or later I think his players will tune him out.
Brad
May 11th, 2010
12:53 pm
Mark, do you think the Hawks might consider hiring any college coaches? Are there even any out there that would be possibilities?
No Woody for Me
May 11th, 2010
12:57 pm
Josh Smith would listen to Fratello for maybe 5 minutes and then go cry in a corner. Here are the top requirements for the next coach
#1 requirement – “championship” pedigree so the veterans will listen
#2 requirement – Ability to adapt and game plan within games
#3 requirement – Ability to develop young talent, esp at point guard
Sounds like Byron Scott or Avery Johnson to me.
Section 303
May 11th, 2010
1:06 pm
Mark, I don’t know if I agree with you or not. I do not know that much about Casey, to be honest. You’re doing a good job, though. I like that you came up with a name, and some good reasons why.
Do me a favor…keep talking writing about the Hawks this offseason. Don’t just forget about them when football starts back up.
Rock Preston
May 11th, 2010
1:06 pm
Why does eveyone still call us a young team??? Al, Josh and Marvin are the only young guys. I would take a flier on Tyrone Corbin. He is sitting next to the best coach in the NBA in Jerry Sloan.
Jerry West
May 11th, 2010
1:09 pm
Hornets fans would strongly disagree on Byron Scott and young talent. He barely played Marcus Thornton, who turned into a big time scorer, and didn’t do much with Julian Wright. Collison took off after Byron left as well. Avery would be nice, but he tended to wear on his young PG Devin Harris. He may have mellowed though.
Corbin would be interesting, esp. if he was able to install some semblance of the efficient offense Utah runs.
Big-D
May 11th, 2010
1:11 pm
I think the Celtics and Suns have proven that with a good PG you can compete with the big boys. Atlanta should become the new PG Univ. First go out and get a former Guard as head coach. How about recruiting from someone who worked under Jerry Sloan. Oh what do you know. There is Tyrone Corbin.
Now go out and worked that sign and trade proposed yesterday with the New Orleans Hornets. Send Joe and Marvin over there for Peja, draft picks, and Darren Collins
AG
May 11th, 2010
1:11 pm
Mark, I have asked several times, Bill Laimbeer. Keep the nucleus. We cannot have Josh as they three. We need to find a three, put Marvin and Bibby on the bench – makes us have a strong bench. Start Teague. Find us a journeyman SF – maybe Salmons? As much as I hate to say it resign Joe, and have an offense. Imagine Salmons and Joe on the court at the same time. Bibby coming off the bench hitting treys. Find another one or two shooters to come off the bench.
LAST SECOND THREE (AIR BALL)
May 11th, 2010
1:12 pm
what about Bill Cartwright , he would get their respect , be hard for them to ignore him
AG
May 11th, 2010
1:14 pm
All these assistants names being thrown around are sitting at home, Corbin, etc. I like the idea of having a coach who was a point guard and can get the most out of them. If not Laimbeer, Avery Johnson. Jeff Van Gundy will make us a slow team – also a big center (look what Phoenix did WITHOUT Shaq!) Van Gundy got bounced from Houston so quick and he had McGrady and Yao
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May 11th, 2010
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Dr. Dave
May 11th, 2010
1:20 pm
Kenny Smith is smart, articulate, and as a former point guard, knows the game. Though he has never coached, he would do well, much like Nate McMillian.
Art Vandelay
May 11th, 2010
1:23 pm
Why doesn’t Patrick Ewing’s name ever enter the conversation when the next Hawks coach is discussed? He’s been an assistant for several years on some very good teams, and I can’t think of anyone better to work with Horford and Smith in developing a real low-post game. Ewing should get consideration because he’s paid his dues…and we’d also have the added benefit of taking a very good assistant off of Orlando’s bench.
Gilley
May 11th, 2010
1:23 pm
MOST fans are irrational and overreact based on their emotions. We had a good season. 53-wins and advanced to the second round. Jazz get trumped every year after making the playoffs and no one is calling for Jerry Sloan’s head and they shouldn’t……BUT. His players compete, run plays and are not dependent upon one person. That is why Mike Woodson should be relived of his coaching duties. He doesn’t get the best out of his players and his time is up. He has and will deserve a coaching job but just for another team.
I heard people throw Patrick Ewing’s name out there to help with our bigs and no diss to Tyrone Hill, he is a huge upgrade but we do not need a rookie coach. We need a veteran. Brian Hill, Hubie Brown, Byron Scott. Someone who has championship/elite experience as a head coach not an assistant coach.
Dr. Warren
May 11th, 2010
1:27 pm
Hubie Brown is 77 YEARS OLD. As I’ve said on this blog many times this week, how about Kevin Loughery? The guy won everywhere he went, including in Atlanta. And don’t be surprised, by the way, if Dominique Wilkins is interviewed for the job.
FunkyBobbyJ
May 11th, 2010
1:28 pm
I think that you are going to have to have a very strong coach with these guys. As said, they have essentially been playing the same way for a few years. It will take a strong personality and someone who has earned their stripes to get these guys to change. We have to have a point guard that can break down a defense – maybe Teague – who knows Woody only played 7 or 8 guys – I guess that is what you get when a coach is worried about their job. We had a solid bench; it hjust got utilized less and less.
Texas Hawk
May 11th, 2010
1:40 pm
FunkyBobbyJ,
I agree with you that we has a decent bench. I thought them drafting Teague would mean a little bit better play at guard. I think Woody should have played him more through out the year so he could have been ready to contribute in the Playoffs! I really wanted to see Teague start the last game with Bibby coming off the bench after Crawford but Woody decided not to change any of his playoff roster. Now we are fishing with every other sorry playoff loser team!
LAST SECOND THREE (AIR BALL)
May 11th, 2010
1:43 pm
NO to Nique players that had that much talent usually have trouble getting down to the level of most of their players. I am a huge Human Highlight film Fan but don’t believe a rookie head coach is the way to go.
Reid Adair
May 11th, 2010
1:44 pm
I think Dwane Casey would be a great choice. However, I disagree that Joe Johnson should be here in 2010-11.
houstondawg
May 11th, 2010
1:46 pm
Don’t Forget Doug Collins built the Bulls team and got fired before they learned to play together as a team. Phil Jackson was his assistant.
Jeff V Gundy was always missing a few pieces to compete, and in houston he had the T Mac primadonna screwing that team up.
Andy
May 11th, 2010
1:49 pm
Mark
The national media is crushing the Hawks. I was listening to Michael Wilbon on the Tony Kornheiser Show that aired yesterday and he said that the Hawks were the worst franchise in the league and should be contracted. He also said that this was the biggest collapse in playoff history of any sport. He was mainly noting how the Hawks were blown out in every game and this was before last night’s game. He put all of the blame on the franchise and the fans and left Johnson blameless and said that he will leave ATL and go on to have a great career somewhere else. He is certainly not a Hawks fan.
ATLANTA TEAMS SUCK
May 11th, 2010
1:50 pm
a YOUNGER hubie brown would be the perfect coach for the hawks.
Andy
May 11th, 2010
1:50 pm
Mark
The national media is crushing the Hawks. I was listening to Michael Wilbon on the Tony Kornheiser Show that aired yesterday and he said that the Hawks were the worst franchise in the league and should be contracted. He also said that this was the biggest collapse in playoff history of any sport. He was mainly noting how the Hawks were blown out in every game and this was before last night’s game. He put all of the blame on the franchise and the fans and left Johnson blameless and said that he will leave ATL and go on to have a great career somewhere else. He is certainly not a Hawks fan.
ZEKE
May 11th, 2010
1:53 pm
I am available and waiting on the phone call. I can be there from Florida in a flash, and I’m a hall of fame point guard
justbiznus
May 11th, 2010
1:53 pm
PAT REILLY!!!
Kane337
May 11th, 2010
1:54 pm
Jon Koncak as Hawks next coach.
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May 11th, 2010
1:55 pm
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Andy
May 11th, 2010
1:57 pm
Mark
The national media is crushing the Hawks. I was listening to Michael Wilbon on the Tony Kornheiser Show that aired yesterday and he said that the Hawks were the worst franchise in the league and should be contracted. He also said that this was the biggest collapse in playoff history of any sport. He was mainly noting how the Hawks were blown out in every game and this was before last night’s game. He put all of the blame on the franchise and the fans and left Johnson blameless and said that he will leave ATL and go on to have a great career somewhere else. He is not a Hawks fan.
Luis Valdes
May 11th, 2010
2:01 pm
The most compelling argument thus far is Patrick Ewing.
ryan
May 11th, 2010
2:01 pm
what about Doc Rivers or Avery Johnson
Stotts Era
May 11th, 2010
2:04 pm
patrick ewing is a terrible choice as head coach, probably a good assistant though
jlewis
May 11th, 2010
2:06 pm
I agree that Woodson should go, not because he is a bad coach, he has just been here to long. I am curious about one thing Bradley, who is Joe to share the ball with, besides bringing in Bibby and Jamal Crawford, both points and no defense, what moves have the Spirit Group made to make this team better. Woodson did a hell of a job with what he had, and Joe is the only good player that was willing to come here. This team played hard, and the attendance was poor, ATL is about to get what they deserve, a perennial loser again.
Let him Joe
May 11th, 2010
2:08 pm
I want Doc to come back to the A.
Art Vandelay
May 11th, 2010
2:08 pm
Stotts, you want to back that up with some reasons WHY Ewing would be terrible?
Joey
May 11th, 2010
2:09 pm
Laimbeer can show the Hawks how to properly and professionally flop, even with no contact. I believe Kurt Thomas attended Laimbeer’s School of Flopping lately, judging by his ridiculous performance in the Hawks-Bucks series.
Mr. Obvious
May 11th, 2010
2:09 pm
RE: “Because Dwane Casey is very good with young players.” – Mark Bradley @ 12:27pm
So are prostitutes, Mark, but that doesn’t mean I want THEM coaching our Hawks.
Also, last time I checked, the Hawks are still employing a coach.
Let him Joe
May 11th, 2010
2:10 pm
Maybe we talk Magic or Barkley into coaching.
Reality
May 11th, 2010
2:11 pm
At this point I am just thrilled that Woody will be a name of the past!!
Tiger Woods
May 11th, 2010
2:14 pm
I know some prostitutes who are good teachers!
NewCoach
May 11th, 2010
2:21 pm
This would be the same Dwane Casey who put $1,000 in cash in an EmeryWorldwide envelope and sent it to bribe then high school kid Chris Mills to come to Kentucky? THAT Dwane Casey? The one who touched off the scandal that got Eddie Sutton (and Casey) run off of Kentucky? I don’t see the Spirit hiring a guy who’s on record as a cheater.
Ryder
May 11th, 2010
2:25 pm
The first question that Rick Sund should ask the next head coach in any interview is “Who is your strategy on offense?” Any answer outside of “running a low post offense around Al Horford” and Sund should throw them out on their a**. I really don’t know or care who the next coach is, but he needs to realize that the Hawks have a blue chipper, leader, and a future 20-10 guy in Al Horford who will come to play every night. Build around him and watch the other players follow a true leader.
Secondly, Sund should ask him how he’s going to deal with Josh Smith, who is ultra-talented but is still petulant.
Finally, they need a coach who can be a communicator and stress the importance of fundamentals like ball movement.
Remember, unlike Chicago, Philadelphia and New Orleans, Atlanta has a bevy of talent that can contend for a championship now. They need a new voice that can take advantage of that talent.
Dwane Casey
May 11th, 2010
2:25 pm
Yep. That’d be me.
Kane337
May 11th, 2010
2:25 pm
Paul Hewitt as Hawks coach. He is also good with “young” players.
RobertNAtl
May 11th, 2010
2:29 pm
How about Detlef Schrempf? He seemed like a pretty good guy when he was doing a guest spot on the Pawnee cable access diabetes telethon last Thursday. And he used to play basketball!!! So there you go!!!
cdog
May 11th, 2010
2:30 pm
i keep telling everyone, coaching is not the problem with the hawks, its the fact the hawks don’t have physical quality big man to compete with teams like orlando and cleveland.any team thatb has a big man inside that is active and plays strong gives the hawks problems.rick sund should heed this and correct this this off season.letting joe go and woodson would set the team back.just watch this when it happens.he equipped the hawks to beat boston but forgot about cleveland and orlando.he should keep the current players and go out and get a bosh, stoudermier or dirk nortwitzki to go along with the 53 win group we already have..sund should use his head and not panic because we lost to orlando
Arthur Blank
May 11th, 2010
2:31 pm
Needs to leanr to use spell che”x” if you wanna be taknes seriously, geeez. PE, S I owns da falcooons.
KILJOY
May 11th, 2010
2:31 pm
If ever a group of guys needed Bob Knight,its this group!
OSCAR
May 11th, 2010
2:33 pm
What about Bobby Cox?
Dominique Wilkins
May 11th, 2010
2:40 pm
Josh Smiff have had a good season.
The Atlanta Hawks has been a disappointment.
GT Alum
May 11th, 2010
2:45 pm
I think it’s probably overstating to say that the players who quit quit on Woody. I mean, don’t they want to win in the postseason for themselves? Don’t they have more pride than to just let another team walk all over them while giving very little resistance? If so, don’t you still crash the boards for rebounds and dive for loose balls and cover an opposing player like a blanket on defense? Is that really stuff that NBA players have to be coached to do? (Actually, I know that, defying all logic, doing much of anything on the defensive end of the floor is something a lot of players need to be coached into doing.)
It seems like the only way these players only quit on Woody is if they said let’s play so badly there’s no way they’ll keep him around. Otherwise, it seems like they just plain quit, and that says some disturbing things about the character and the competitive drive of some members of this team.
Anthony Jerome Webb
May 11th, 2010
2:49 pm
Give me a shot!!
Clayton Bigsby
May 11th, 2010
2:51 pm
I say hire Meadowlark Lemon as the head coach and Curly Neal as his assistant. It would definitely make watching those clowns (Hawks) more fun..
Kel Varnsen
May 11th, 2010
2:53 pm
Terry Pendleton, he is so good at teaching players not to have any solid surface make contact with the ball, every shot will be nothing but net.
pluckthehawks
May 11th, 2010
2:53 pm
Stan pushes very hard and he never stops coaching. I sit by the Magic bench (21 yrs.) and egg them on when the game is a blow out and Stan is going over what people are doing wrong. The players roll their eyes and snicker….I always thought he coached too much but we are all seeing the results.
GIVE ME A BREAK
May 11th, 2010
2:53 pm
The players that quit need to go. No one can coach lazy players. These guys are millionaires not children. Sad for Atlanta. I wish the games hadn’t been on TV for everyone to see.
Nate ArchiBALL
May 11th, 2010
2:54 pm
Most ex coaches sound like John Wooden when doing game analysis on TV. Remember all of them that you hear on TV were fired several times (Jeff Van Gundy, Hubie Brown, Mike Fratello, Doug Collins) and usually for good reason). Hell, if Mike Woodson was on TV we would probably want him to coach the Hawks.
Jeff Van Gundy – his offenses in New York and Houston were as predictable as Woody’s.
Hubie Brown – besides the fact that he damn near 80 years old, I don’t think most of the bloggers here remember when Hubie coached the Kentucky Colonels, Atlanta Hawks and New York Knicks. GREAT X and O guy but he has some major personality issues.
A little Hubie history….. http://lexnihilnovi.blogspot.com/2009/11/hubie-brown-bill-russell-is-moron.html
Delbert D.
May 11th, 2010
2:54 pm
Laimbeer’s socks! Laimbeer’s socks! Laimbeer’s socks!
Fan of the game
May 11th, 2010
2:56 pm
I hear that one of the assistants in Cleveland, is good with younger players. Plus he has worked with Yao Ming, Kobe Bryant and now Lebron James. Don’t know if he will leave Cleveland but hey if you going to go with someone who is good with players I would def give him a chance.
pluckthehawks
May 11th, 2010
3:00 pm
Laimbeer is still the only player I’ve ever seen in person who could shot a long 2 and punch you in the face at the same time.
Mr. Turnip-Green Jeans
May 11th, 2010
3:03 pm
Casey sounds kinda like basketball’s version of Bobby Cox.
Hawks players who didn’t show-up for the playoffs need to be gone, no matter who they are. It’s a shame Horford had to take the floor with some of these quitters. He pretty much had to go it alone. They should build the team around Al. He’s actually got the guts it takes to play championship basketball. Joe and Josh have proved to be losers; effort, guts, and force-of-will, can’t be taught.
Kenbud
May 11th, 2010
3:03 pm
Mark — It just feels like the players need someone they can relate with. Someone who they look up to (for ANY reason) and someone who can bring touch love mixed with a dose of player love. Even though he has never coached, I would say that person is …… Mark Jackson. I think he would be a great fit for the team. They know him from TV. They know he knows the game (from listening to his observations). They know he was a GREAT leader as a point guard. It’s a risk, but a gutsy one.
Gordon
May 11th, 2010
3:03 pm
Paul Hewitt is the man the Hawks need. He is clearly committed to the city of Atlanta. I don’t care what Tech does to try to keep him, the Hawks should go get him.
Whopper Dawg
May 11th, 2010
3:06 pm
I would make Skiles say no.
Fan of the game
May 11th, 2010
3:06 pm
Mark Jackson would not be good. He has not coached at any level. Coach Hunt with the Cavs would be a great pick.
G'Vegas Dawg
May 11th, 2010
3:06 pm
The Hawks will be broke after I form my class-action lawsuit against them for not fulfilling their end of the bargain on Saturday night. I am suing for $154 (my price for 3 tix) + $42 (2 beers) + $14 (cabride from Westin) + $128 (Westin for 1 night) + $167 (dinner at the Westin). In all seriousness, the Hawks need a coach that can develop Jeff Teague, tell Josh Smith to grown the he11 up, make signing Jamal Crawford the utmost priority and tell Joe Johnson to hit the road! At this point I don’t care who it is. I have said before that I am very appreciative of Woody, but, his progress has hit its high point and he no longer has control of his team.
Casey???
May 11th, 2010
3:07 pm
Hire dwayne casey? Lay off the weed for awhile. Why hire some castoff who got fired from the minnesota timberwolves? His record in his year as an NBA head coach: 43-59 record (.422). WOW!!!!!! That sounds like the coach the hawks need, with a losing record!!! But, the morons that own this team will probably hire him and give jj max money!!!! Keep on atlanta, there’s a reason the team always sucks!!!!!
A. Teesman
May 11th, 2010
3:07 pm
Kevin Loughery, he’s so 80s. And, I like that. Saw him once in the Eckerd in Dunwoody Village. Saw Terry Forster once there, too.
Hire Tiger!!!
May 11th, 2010
3:08 pm
The new coach: Tiger Woods! He’s proven that he knows how to really score in Orlando! He’s the man!!!!
Bob Cranston
May 11th, 2010
3:10 pm
I do not believe the Hawks’ coach is the problem. Woodson did as much as he could, maybe more, with his team. Let’s face it, the Hawks do not have a real center or a quick point guard – and cannot compete with teams that have stars at those positions. Al Horford is very skilled and has tremendous heart, but has been playing out of position since he joined the Hawks. Mike Bibby, never known for his quickness, is basically in the twilight of his career. Another starter, Josh Smith, while possessing incredible raw talent, still shows immaturity and a lack of focus far too often. In my opinion, the Hawks should forget about a new coach and get some players that can help take the team to the next level.
Bill Russell
May 11th, 2010
3:10 pm
Bill Russell—he’s rested and ready—he’ll take these young hawks to the top baby!!!!
steve brown
May 11th, 2010
3:13 pm
fyi
This, in a nutshell, is the surprising (?) result of a quick Q & A session I did with Dave/College Wolf of TWolves blog, the site covering Minnesota of the Bloguin network.
For your pleasure (?), here is the complete transcript, I think it should work as a warning for Ed Stefanski and all of us Sixers fans.
(S4G): Casey’s record as T’Wolves head coach in 2006/2007 was 33-49 and was 20-20 the year after, when Mc Hale fired him and put Randy Wittman in his place (Wittman went 12-30 the rest of the way…). What do you remember of that stint, other than they were surely troubled seasons in Minnesota, and that coaching Szczerbiak, Olowokandi, Ricky Davis, Marco Jaric etc surely wasn’t an easy task?
(CW): Yes, we had bad teams, but don’t forget though that we also had KG near his absolute prime. Those seasons he was one of the (arguably) Top 5 players in the league. With that said, the Casey Coaching Era (CCE) was quite a while ago, so I apologize for not being to elaborate with tons and tons of details for you and your readers.
However, a few things stick out in my mind, and I can assure you that they were not good things. First off, Casey was nearly an epic fail at coaching X’s and O’s. At times, some of us Wolves fans wondered if he had any idea if he knew what he was doing at all. He was especially terrible coming out of timeouts.
It might not have been as bad as I am making it sound, but our playcalling/execution coming out of timeouts was absurd and horrendous. It seemed like we would never score, and most times it resulted in a turnover or terrible shot.
Again, it probably wasn’t *that bad*, but the fact that it is something I’ve never forgotten about the CCE has got to mean something. Casey’s substitutions were illogical and nonsensical. We fans were pulling our hairs out because his lineups and distribution of minutes made absolutely no sense.
Also, it didn’t seem like Casey had “control” of his team at all. Granted, we had a few bad apples back then, but he was far too passive and timid to be the leader of our team at that time. Now, it could have been simply that these things were factors of Casey being a rookie head coach. I don’t know.
Perhaps he has gotten better the past two years as a bench coach for the Dallas Mavericks. For his sake I hope that he has learned a thing or two.
(S4G): Why did Minnesota decide to give him the team that year? Was it another “Randy Ayers case” (=lack of better options) or what?
(CW): I am not entirely sure. Glen Taylor and McHale were doing their best to “win now”, and I think they viewed Dwane Casey as a hot-shot up and coming assistant coach, in the same mold as someone like Nate McMillan.
It’s not that they had a lack of better options, because they went out and actively recruited Casey. It was just a complete swing and a miss, because it was obvious that Casey was in way too far over his head. At the time, I had thought he was one of the worst coaches I’d ever seen. Little did I know what to expect from the Randy (Dim)Wittman era…
(S4G): Which were Casey’s strengths as a coach, and what was he missing?
(CW): I honestly cannot remember any “strengths” besides the fact that he was a nice guy. Also, I think he did a decent job getting our players to play defense during his 20-20 second season, although the stats might say otherwise (I didn’t check).
He was missing everything. Namely: experience, presentation, advanced game knowledge/strategy, good assistants, and good players.
(S4G): Can being fired by Kevin Mc Hale be considered a plus in a coach’s resume?
(CW): No comment
(S4G): Would you recommend the Sixers to give the helm to Casey? Why? Any other team where he would be a good fit?
(CW): No, I would not recommend him being the new head coach of your team. He just doesn’t strike me as a guy that will ever be a truly successful NBA *head coach.* I think his ideal position is that of an assistant coach for a veteran contending team. Those players would be much more likely to listen to him and his ideals, rather than a rebuilding team full of youngsters.
I realize that the Sixers are a veteran, contending (hopefully) team, but I wouldn’t want you guys to waste your championship window because a coach like Casey was hired. I think you guys could do much better.
I don’t think he would be a good fit as a head coach anywhere in the NBA. As an assistant coach, yes. You could probably do worse with the plethora of no-name assistants that have been floating around the league for years.
Thank you for enlightening us, Dave…
Conclusion: please say “NO” to Dwane Casey !!
Next !
Bill W.
May 11th, 2010
3:15 pm
How about Scott Skiles?
Z
May 11th, 2010
3:15 pm
One name I am surprised hasn’t popped up. Sam Mitchell, former NBA Coach of the Year with Toronto, already living in Atlanta.
D.W.
May 11th, 2010
3:15 pm
OK for Casey, OK for Joe Johnson if he stays, but Josh Smith needs to go!!
BuckCommander
May 11th, 2010
3:17 pm
First??
BuckCommander
May 11th, 2010
3:17 pm
Second??
JSS
May 11th, 2010
3:17 pm
@Casey???
Because Kevin McHale was up North’s version of Billy Knight…
BuckCommander
May 11th, 2010
3:17 pm
Crap!!
GEORGIA97
May 11th, 2010
3:18 pm
Bill Laimbeer deserves a chance instead of some retread hack. One thing’s for sure, no one on his team would quit like the Hawks just did.
steve brown
May 11th, 2010
3:20 pm
More:
Casey played college basketball at the University of Kentucky between 1975 and 1979. While he served as an assistant coach there, Emery Worldwide employees discovered $1,000 in cash in an envelope mailed by Casey to recruit Chris Mills.[1] The resulting scandal contributed to head coach Eddie Sutton’s resignation and Mills’ transfer to the University of Arizona.
steve brown
May 11th, 2010
3:21 pm
Mark,
Doesn’t seem like a guy I would go after or want to pull for.
pluckthehawks
May 11th, 2010
3:25 pm
Nick Nolte….he won alot in the movie Blue Chips.
JSS
May 11th, 2010
3:26 pm
@Z…
Because Sam lost control of a young team… But you know, I’d pay just to she his super fine wife Anita Meadows, the absolute 2nd best player this State ever produced behind Teresa Edwards. Yes she was better than Katrina McClain…
pluckthehawks
May 11th, 2010
3:26 pm
what about Vinny Del Negro?
Keep Woody!
May 11th, 2010
3:27 pm
Woody deserves a raise and big bonus for taking this young team to the second round without a point guard or a center! Plus, he had a bunch of attitude issues to deal with from smith and johnson. The owners need to get him better players and he’ll take them to the nba finals next year! First priority: break the bank and get D-Wade and Bosh—pay whatever it takes.
Section 212
May 11th, 2010
3:28 pm
I am not in favor of blowing up the team… Hawks must remain a playoff team, much like the Jazz have been over the years. Simple approach is to not resign Woody, keep Joe (if he wants to be hear) and bring in a head coach (and staff) who will demand that Joe, Harford and Josh play as All-Stars at all times, especially Joe. Announce the the PG position is Teagues to loose. My vote is to bring in Ty Corbin. He has the benefit of knowing the Utah offense and has toughness.
ZEKE
May 11th, 2010
3:29 pm
Come on people I am a hall of famer give me a shot , I know how to win championships
Woodson is goofy
May 11th, 2010
3:29 pm
Send the Hawks back to St. Louis.
Gene Hackman!
May 11th, 2010
3:30 pm
Gene’s the man!!! Look what he did with that team in Hoosiers! With the Hawks, he would win the NBA in year 1!!!!
pluckthehawks
May 11th, 2010
3:30 pm
At least they won a championship in STL…..
Section 212
May 11th, 2010
3:31 pm
The attitude problems and lack of offensive plan has been there all season. These issues cost the Hawks at least 5-6 games during the regular season. It was only further exposed when the team was under the spotlight of the playoffs playing against the top teams and coaches.
realtalk
May 11th, 2010
3:31 pm
FINALLY SOMEBODY TOLD THE REAL ISSUE!! CDOG YOU ARE A GENIUS!! These idiot clowns keep on dogging Woodson. We do not need any rookies coaches or has-beens! Woodson put in work. Each year, we are winning more and more games. The issue is NOT HAVING A TRUE BIG MAN IN THE POST!! BOSH, STOUDAMIRE, ETC. That’s what we need to grab more boards = more shot attempts=more points. We also need a team leader. This team obviously does not have a leader. Joe is a good ball player but we need a player with Dwayne Wade like capabilites who will not be scared to close games. I know we can not solve all of this in one off-season but we do need to correct one or the other. I would go for the TRUE CENTER first. Then go after a star athlete. Woodson is not the problem. There is only so much that a coach can do. Those guys getting nervous and playing to their full potential is not his fault. They just had a terrible post season. After this then maybe Teague will have adapted enough to be a true PG. The PG position is not solid right now. None of them play any DEFENSE. MY ONE AND ONLY WISH FOR THE HAWKS THIS POST SEASON IS TO AT LEAST GET CHRIS BOSH, OR SOME QUALITY BIG MAN. And for the record, MARVIN WILLAMS IS A BUST!! ITS TRUE!!
pluckthehawks
May 11th, 2010
3:31 pm
Seeing Zeke post made me spit food….thanks I needed that today!
The University of Georgia Tech
May 11th, 2010
3:33 pm
guys who currently do not have coaching jobs currently: 1-jeff van gundy 2-avery johnson 3-mark jackson
guys who are head coaches in the nba and may leave for atl: 1-doc rivers(played here and family in florida) 2-erik spoelstra (miami is going w/pat riley s lets take their seconds) 3-don nelson(he is about to be out of golden state but doesnt want to be)
assistants in the nba atl should look at: 1-patrick ewing(assistant w/magic…cant beat em’ join em’) 2-tom thibodeau (assistant w/celtics defensive guy) 3-tyrone corbin (ex-hawk and current jazz assistant)
college head coaches to come to the nba and atl:1-coach k(aint happening) 2-bobby cremins(he owned the town of atl before) 3-paul hewitt (he fits the pro game better)
out of left field hires that would work: 1-bobby knight(needs a challange plus his son is going to be fired soon so he needs somewhere for him to work) 2-paul westhead (might loose but sure would be fun to watch) 3-hubbie brown (he won here before)
pluckthehawks
May 11th, 2010
3:34 pm
“we need a player with Dwayne Wade like capabilites” THAT is sure not alot to ask for….we need that too!
realtalk
May 11th, 2010
3:35 pm
and please stay off of drugs when you say hire casey!! dude seriously you need to rethink your opinons before writing some of these columns!!
Jimmy Chittwood
May 11th, 2010
3:39 pm
At this point, I would take Norman Dale from Hoosiers or the basketball coach from ‘Teenwolf’ that ate fried chicken on the bench during the games…….
Blue
May 11th, 2010
3:39 pm
Dwayne Casey ……… ???????????
Mr. Turnip-Green Jeans
May 11th, 2010
3:43 pm
I wouldn’t mind Rick Mahorn as coach, as long as he came in kicking azz. A player’s coach is the last thing we need. We need a coach the players respect, one whose physical presence strikes terror in their souls.
Adolf Hitler
May 11th, 2010
3:43 pm
Patrick Ewing, Kenny Smith, or Avery Johnson.
Someone needs to get in Josh Smith’s ass and tell him to quit all of the whining at the refs and get back on defense or sit in the bench. The new coach also needs to find a creative way to get MArvin Williams going. The dude has a beautiful jumper, yet he seems to have no heart, and I haven’t seen anything that he does well too build on. Bibby needs to be laid up on the bench. the man cannot play ANY defense. Start teague and let him play through his mistakes. That was the main problem that i had with Woodson. he had no patience in developing a rookie PG.
We need a superstar….we haven’t had one in this town since 2007
cuckoosnest
May 11th, 2010
3:44 pm
Go for the guy who loves the Hawks, is a proven winner and whose teams play solid defense. Go get Doc Rivers.
BigTimeTECHFan
May 11th, 2010
3:47 pm
I say get Bill Laimbeer and Rick Mahorn as coach’s.
That way JJ would be more scared of the coaches then skinny defenders
OPTION THREE
May 11th, 2010
3:52 pm
Pat Summitt should be considered ,
nah never mind they couldn’t afford her
jg
May 11th, 2010
3:54 pm
laimbeer sounds like a great choice–but i talked to the guy a few years ago while running camera at a wnba game in atlanta. approached laimbeer a few hours before the game in private to tell him, “hey i’m jg and i’m a huge hawks fan and don’t take this personal but i hated you as a player for the pistons but would have loved you if you had played for the hawks.”
but before i could say anything after i said i’m a huge hawks fan–laimbeer interrupts me and screams out “hey rick (rick mahorn) this guy likes the hawks–do you see any banners in this place.” and he then put his hand over his eyes as if to look around the top of the arena. mahorn then comes over to where we were and says “they aint no banners in here–every thing here is a bunch of losers.” i say well they played your pistons guys pretty tough until yall started fights with them. laimbeer says, “the hawks are a bunch of pu**y’s and still are.” i jokingly say well dominique and kevin willis are right over there and you guys should go tell them that.” without a laugh or smile or any thing mahorn says “where, i’ll go tell them right now.” don’t think he did but he sure wasn’t worried at all about doing it. i also said to mahorn–who also told me to refer to him as mr. mahorn–that didn’t you used to be an assistant with the hawks–and the best i remember he said something like, “yeah back when i was a loser.”
this is no joke the rest of the night even during their game–if i walked the players off the court during timeouts and into detroit’s huddle–laimbeer would look at me and place his hand over his eyes kind of like making a visor–and look up toward the rafters..as if to say where are the banners.
i always hated laimbeer and all of pistons–but after that–i’ll never have any respect for him. all i was trying to do is compliment him on a great career and even though i hated him because he always beat my hawks–i respected his game! he was a great shooter, great rebounder, great ft shooter, smart player, great passer but most of all a world class jerk!
say no but not only he11 no to mr. laimbeer.
pluckthehawks
May 11th, 2010
3:57 pm
Is that coach dude from “The White Shadow” still alive?
BLACK IN BUCKHEAD
May 11th, 2010
3:58 pm
why want someone put MIke Glenn (FORMER HAWK) name in the hat i really thnk he’s what the hawks need someone who will push these guys and make them play at that level like the lakers boston and cavs, people come on he’s what ATLANTA needs mike a stundent of the game so let’s get him in for a interview.GO STINGER……..
Please say it ain't so
May 11th, 2010
3:59 pm
As a long time Hawks fan who just moved from Atlanta to Chicago one month ago, please tell me Woody won’t be following me up here
jg
May 11th, 2010
4:00 pm
did you see possession when joe johnson semi drove into the free throw area only to see dwight howard approaching–he was so scared he took one more dribble and passed out to the perimeter–as is he’d seen the devil himself.
so intimidated by howard it was unbelievable. the guy is very good but not that good. we gave him way too much respect. not once did we foul him hard. it reminded me of the way our teams used to play jordan. it was like we don’t want to hurt him–heck fire put him on the ground a time or two. throw the ball in to who ever he’s guarding and tell them to drive right into him, pump fake maybe get him off his feet and jump into him and try to get him into foul trouble. the bobcats had him on the bench the entire series.
we were just to dad gum scared of the guy. that they just shot the ball ridiculously well!!! some were tough shots but a great deal of the threes were wide open shots. we can’t make them–but give the magic credit–they were on fire the entire series.
bye bye woody–it’s been he11
jg
May 11th, 2010
4:02 pm
bye bye woody–it’s been terrible!
pluckthehawks
May 11th, 2010
4:05 pm
…and you could bring Salami out of retirment.
jg
May 11th, 2010
4:09 pm
too much respect from our guys toward dwight howard. i mean he’s good and all but he’s not that good. joe johnson was scared to death of the dude. he drove the lane one time and saw howard and retreated like a little girl. embarrassing! zsa zsa threw about 8 pump fakes at howard on one layup attempt only to shoot it over the goal. try some thing different–jump into the guy every once in a while. at least try to get him foul trouble by going inside. sure he may block your shot 4 or times but the others may result in a foul or two. the bobcats had him in trouble the whole series.
at the end of the day i really liked this hawks team. they did have a great year in spite of woody and these two playoff series. i hope the guys can get past this and if they decide to move a few players i’m ok with that. the coach should be gone already. i’ve been looking on the internet all day to see if and when it happens. as for the team you have to keep horford, marvin and josh–maybe some of the others will respond to a coach who actually puts them in position to win. maybe one that can draw up a few plays that can score more consistently. maybe one that will sit anyone that doesn’t follow his rules.
2011 new coach, new approach and new attitude!!!! go hawks
Go Hawks 2011
May 11th, 2010
4:13 pm
Nique for the next Hawks Coach!
Nique for the next Hawks Coach!
Nique for the next Hawks Coach!
Nique for the next Hawks Coach!
Nique for the next Hawks Coach!
Nique for the next Hawks Coach!
Nique for the next Hawks Coach!
Nique for the next Hawks Coach!
Nique for the next Hawks Coach!
Nique for the next Hawks Coach!
Nique for the next Hawks Coach!
Nique for the next Hawks Coach!
Nique for the next Hawks Coach!
Nique for the next Hawks Coach!
Nique for the next Hawks Coach!
Nique for the next Hawks Coach!
Nique for the next Hawks Coach!
Nique for the next Hawks Coach!
Nique for the next Hawks Coach!
Nique for the next Hawks Coach!
Nique for the next Hawks Coach!
Nique for the next Hawks Coach!
Nique for the next Hawks Coach!
Nique for the next Hawks Coach!
Nique for the next Hawks Coach!
Go Hawks 2011
May 11th, 2010
4:16 pm
We need someone to control the team… Nique
We need someone to control the team… Nique
We need someone to control the team… Nique
We need someone to control the team… Nique
We need someone to control the team… Nique
We need someone to control the team… Nique
We need someone to control the team… Nique
We need someone to control the team… Nique
We need someone to control the team… Nique
We need someone to control the team… Nique
We need someone to control the team… Nique
We need someone to control the team… Nique
We need someone to control the team… Nique
We need someone to control the team… Nique
We need someone to control the team… Nique
We need someone to control the team… Nique
We need someone to control the team… Nique
We need someone to control the team… Nique
We need someone to control the team… Nique
We need someone to control the team… Nique
BobinBuford
May 11th, 2010
4:18 pm
I’m with say it ain’t so – buy as a Bulls fan living in Atlanta, the last guy I want to see on the Bulls bench is Woodson.
Also the deal with Doug Collins coaching the Bulls was that Jerry Reinsdorf thought the Bulls had gotten as far as they could with him as head coach. As it was famously said, Collins took the Bulls from A to B, but not from B to C.
And if ANY team wants Paul Hewitt, there are a lot of fans on The Flats that would be glad to let him go.
crackbaby
May 11th, 2010
4:23 pm
Mark,
Is there any chance we could get Doc Rivers? His Boston teams execute well and in my opinion, maximize results. Don’t know his contract status but it would be fair to say he has roots in Atlanta.
MitchC
May 11th, 2010
4:26 pm
Mark, I’m on the fence about Casey. I dont know enough about him to pass judgement. Fratello is too old, and was the coach for another time, when the Hawks were dominated by Dominque. Collins, is also, too much of a dinosaur.
I actually like the idea of Jeff Van Gundy. Yes, I know he’s been on TV, and hasnt coached for a while, but, look at his resume. He was an assistant with Riley when the Knicks went to the seventh game of the 1994 Finals. Then, as the head coach, he got to the Finals again with an injury riddled team in 1999. He’s exactly the opposite of Woodson. He’s intense, and his teams play good defense, something the Hawks could definitely learn to do more of.
I guess Woodson is gone. It will be interesting to see what the Hawks come up with.
Smitty
May 11th, 2010
4:29 pm
Nique? do you listen to him? Great guy. Fantastic player. But self – inflated and very much like Josh Smith. Never won a championship at any level. and not all that smart, although that is obviously not a prerequisite for being anNBA coach, only a championship one(Jackson,Riley,Popovich)
Bushwacker
May 11th, 2010
4:32 pm
This team needs some one who is a great TEACHER adn MOTIVATOR “ASS KICKER” and his name is Bobby Knight!
Bushwacker
May 11th, 2010
4:35 pm
Agreat teacher and motivator who has nothing left to prove in college.
Coach K
Bushwacker
May 11th, 2010
4:37 pm
Does Coack K play golf, Augusta National membership and house on Ocone, I hear Big Ben is trying to dump one cheap!
Mitch
May 11th, 2010
4:38 pm
The best candidate for new head coach: Tom Thibodeau, Associate Assistant coach for Doc Rivers in Boston. For what the Hawks need: Thibodeau is the best answer by far.
Look at it this way: if we are ever going to win our division we have to figure out a way to defend the Magic and Thibodeau is regarded as one of the real defensive geniuses in the game today. In fact, when he was in charge of the defense with the Rockets, his teams were top 5 year after year…and now he’s helped to win a World Championship for the Celtics, who were awful before he arrived…and this past week has found a way to slow down LeBron and Mo and Company with a relatively old lineup, to boot.
If the Hawks could get a legitimate center like Al Jefferson for Josh Smith, they should do it. Everyone knows that Al Horford will be a great power forward. Jefferson can do what no current Hawk can do. He can muscle Dwight Howard off the block.
The other key would be getting Josh Childress to return…with his length and tenacity and smarts, it would be a lot harder for the likes of Lewis and Pietrus to have room all night to splash threes.
Thibodeau would do a great job turning Jeff Teague into a good defender and slasher on the other end, a la Rondo.
Heck, he’d probably finally get JJ to play with his feet and his head…if JJ sticks around.
Take care of the defense first…it will lead to an array of fast breaks and easy baskets, and then build up the half court offense. Thibodeau is made to order for this. He’s going to go fast, so the Hawks would have to pounce on him quickly. I’d be elated if they did.
Goldclub
May 11th, 2010
4:39 pm
Patrick Ewing might be the most effective if the Goldclub is back in full swing. If not then I like Mark’s choice of Kasey.
Hawker Jet
May 11th, 2010
4:40 pm
I too vote for Doc Rivers, he has done a good job in Boston, and I believe he would put a spark in the players. I think the Hawks do need a big man in the middle and let Horford and Smith play the forward positions.
cdog
May 11th, 2010
4:51 pm
mike woodson should remain the hawks coach.i don’t care who you bring in.unless the hawks get a quality big man.they too will have an early exit from the playoffs next season.
HawksFanSince82
May 11th, 2010
4:51 pm
I just feel that its time for the Hawks to show the rest of the NBA that we are serious about contending for a NBA championship and the first step in doing so for the Hawks is to hire a serious, big name coach like Van Gundy, Avery Johnson, witch should be the# 1 and 2 options.
Mitch
May 11th, 2010
4:54 pm
Tom Thibodeau, Celtics Defensive Genius.
Want to finally slow down the Magic? We need Thibodeau.
Acquire a center (Al Jefferson for Josh Smith…no brainer there).
Bring back Childress…a guy who will actually crowd and pester Lewis and Pietrus…no more easy threes.
Thibodeau would develop Jeff Teague as a defender and slasher a la Rondo.
He’s the right guy. Defense wins championships and he’s already helped to win the Celtics a ring and right now has incredibly found a way to slow down LeBron, Mo and Co. with a lineup as anceint at the Rolling Stones.
Give Thibodeau these young Hawks and he will have them soaring.
The Hawks have to act fast, for this guy is the hot name out there right now.
jwilli120
May 11th, 2010
4:56 pm
MARK JACKSON,,,MARK JACKSON,,,MARK JACKSON,,, NO EXPLATION NEEDED
Maintain
May 11th, 2010
4:56 pm
Like Woody and Hewitt, the next coach should be African-American to better relate to the roster of players and get more fans to the games!
Fundamentals
May 11th, 2010
5:04 pm
Thank you for answering my call for options and suggestions.
TROTTINGHOME
May 11th, 2010
5:04 pm
Saw an article on yahoo sports (hawks team page ) quoting hordford about team chemistry. No one hear did any article about htat. Shame on you bum writers.
where’s SEKO
guesswhosthis
May 11th, 2010
5:12 pm
I don’t know who the next head coach should be but it clearly isn’t Woodson. People keep complaining about how he can’t get his players to play hard but i don’t think that is the reason they were so bad. Put simply, the hawks were bad because of Woodsons switching defensive philosophy. The players could have gave a 200% effort and they still would have lost because the switching defense causes matchup problems all over the floor. Do you ever see Dwight Howard playing defense out on the wings or at the top of the key trying to guard point guards? No. He is always around the basket where he is most effective. Woodsons defense always had players where they were least effective, which is exactly what the opposing team wanted. Defense is simple. Instill in each player on your team a sense of pride. Then before every game matchup each player to who they will defend. The rest is about having pride as a player. Ask them, do you want this player to beat you? Now the task is simple. Don’t let your man beat you.
JCToo
May 11th, 2010
5:26 pm
What about Lawrence Frank? He had some decent runs in NJ
jlewis
May 11th, 2010
5:28 pm
Dwayne Wade huh. Didn’t his team get eliminated in the first round of the playoffs in the last two years? It can be argued they have equal talent to the Hawks, people, we are not that good, this team is not ready for a championship.
Reality
May 11th, 2010
5:29 pm
realtalk…. there are only two of you that believe Woody should stay! feels pretty lonely doesn’t it?
SWAT Native
May 11th, 2010
5:35 pm
A few people have mentioned Kenny Smith as a replacement. I think that Kenny actually interviewed when they hired Woody, and I hear that he was very impressive (I always thought getting passed over is why he has been so critical of the Hawks). He also played briefly for the Hawks back in the day. He’d be a good candidate.
Also, people brush off Bill Laimbier, but it’s amazing to me that he hasn’t gotten an NBA head coaching job. He won three championships in the WNBA. He may have been a little to gruff for women, but his style might work better with men. I can’t understand why the Pistons haven’t hired him.
truthspitter
May 11th, 2010
5:39 pm
What about T.I.P? he could get them guns so they could defend themselves better
Disgruntled
May 11th, 2010
5:48 pm
Very disappointed. They were just good enough to get me watching. It always starts with the coach, but don’t think Woodson would not look a lot better with Superman wearing his uniform. You could see the Hawks were scared to drive the lane.
Disgruntled
May 11th, 2010
5:51 pm
Jlewis at 5:28, you are right. Hawks are 3-4 best in East which is good, but Orlando is scary good with Howard. Put him in a Hawks uniform and give them our best center and who wins?
Jo
May 11th, 2010
6:00 pm
not convinced….its nothing more than just a big wildcard.
ntrigue
May 11th, 2010
6:09 pm
Mark what do you think about Steve Smith as the Hawks coach? He seems to be familiar with our team strengths and weakness. And I think the players would respect him and he would bring an offense that would allow us to run!!!
How about....
May 11th, 2010
6:10 pm
Come on, everyone knows we need Coach Norman Dale (Gene Hackman in Hoosiers)!!! And bring Jimmy..that kid could shoot they eyes out!!
Grandad
May 11th, 2010
6:19 pm
Tell us the whole story of the *Ky. incident.
I’m not trying to stir the pot. I’m curious
as he seems to have overcome that moment.
*[video tape case/in the mail/Sutton?]
Hawkman
May 11th, 2010
6:19 pm
Doesn’t anyone else on here think Josh Smith is pathetic driving to the basket? Which, along with an unreliable jumper, means his only real value is his athleticism on defense and ally oops. We need a change.
dooley
May 11th, 2010
6:39 pm
SAM MItchell
Big Dawg A
May 11th, 2010
6:40 pm
Thankfully Woody is going to be history!! Bad coach that will become someone else’s problem! A coach that I hope we go after is Brian Shaw! He is a assistant coach with the Lakers. He played PG and retired in 2003. He is a up and coming star in the coaching profession! He is widely respected for his ability to relate and teach players. He also played PG and we need a lot of help there.
He is widely rumored to be next in line to take the Laker job! Come on ASG do your homework and go after this coach before someone else gets him!
Mystikal
May 11th, 2010
6:42 pm
If Mark Cuban is tripping in Big D, how bout we try to get Haywood on a 2/3 yr deal or maybe Jermaine O’neal if he’ll take a cut. Trade Marvin away for draft picks and cap space. Either resign Chillz cheaper than Marv, or get Ronnie Brewer or Travis Outlaw.Then trade Bibby for whatever we can get (if anything) and sign Flip Murray for cheap.
Starters:
Teague
JJ
Smoove
Horford
Haywood
Bench:
Murray
Crawford
Chillz/Brewer/ Outlaw
Zaza
Best case scenario of course.
Sope Creek
May 11th, 2010
6:43 pm
Why Dwayne Casey? Because he’s a UK guy, and Bradley favors UK at all turns.
“Good with young players”? Woodson’s proved able to bring young players along already, and he’s won with them – far more than Casey can say at any of his several stops.
No, I don’t think Casey’s gonna be the answer for the Hawks.
Mystikal
May 11th, 2010
6:52 pm
Bibby and Marv are good guys and ppl you want on your team. But both are too inconsistent and make too much for what they do, or should I say don’t do! Someway, we have to get rid of one or both of them to free up some money.
Mr. Phil
May 11th, 2010
7:05 pm
I already got 1,000+ supporters since this morning at http://twitter.com/number2sucks.
Joe’s gotta go.
K-Dogg
May 11th, 2010
7:07 pm
I am a big time Hawk fan living in texas and always read you guys comments and dont understand how you guys cant relize the big problem with this team is point guard play and having a undersized front court. You cant win with a 6′9 and 6′8 center and power forward if you play the magic, lakers or cavs period i dont care if they had D. Wade over Joe this year they were not goign to beat the magic. They have to find a true center. Josh cant play the 3 he cant shoot liek that and teams will know that when they play us. Let Woody go and trade Josh while he still has some value simple as that guys a blind man can see that!!!!!
AG
May 11th, 2010
7:08 pm
That guy from NJ (Frank) is certainly a good option. This team needs a coach. Stop hating on Hortford. He is a top 10 center in the NBA. He is only overpowered by a couple of centers – Howard, Bynum……don’t know any more. If Hortford would have kept shooting his mid range shot, this series would have been different. It would have pulled Howard away from the ball. Then they could have posted Josh. Our coach just sucked on adjustments. If you lost 3 games by 30 points, why do the same thing? That is why he should have a red carpet leading him out of Atlanta. Why did he keep starting Marvin & Bibby?
DawgBoi
May 11th, 2010
7:08 pm
Hire Ty Corbin or Mark Jackson. Get rid of Joe Johnson.
AG
May 11th, 2010
7:10 pm
Josh made some stupid mistakes and he cried to the officials, but clearly he has a pulse!!! He tries to do more than he can (jumpshots). I will give it to Josh, in the off -season he improves his game, so I expect that jumper to be a lot better. Remember Nique had a horrible jumper when he first came in the league.
Mr. Phil
May 11th, 2010
7:12 pm
@K-Dogg
You are missing the point.
Losing is not the issue.Quitting,whining,and insulting the fans is.
K-Dogg
May 11th, 2010
7:15 pm
AG did you just compare Josh Smith to Nique????? Man find something else better to do then type on this site! Josh is a knee injury away from being out og the L dog?? He has no jumper is just athletic and blocks shots on the weekside. I like him as a player but like i said him at the 4 and horford at the 5 will never get it done period!! Yeah they can beat otehr teams like this but the the same teams will be in the title conversation every year if everything remains the same!!!
K-Dogg
May 11th, 2010
7:17 pm
@Mr Phil why is losing not the issue???? You must not like supporting teams that win with that mentality!
Jeff D.
May 11th, 2010
7:21 pm
Oh no! At first I was thinking Don Casey. I’d listen to someone making a case for Dwane Casey. The Wolves blog isn’t so flattering though.
MAXX
May 11th, 2010
7:24 pm
Mark- Good article. What about Mark Jackson? Hand down, Man down!
K-Dogg
May 11th, 2010
7:26 pm
Man josh got to go guys he cant play the 3 and play big AL spot and will never come off the bench and the thought of him playing the 3 gives me gas!!! Marvin is ok on the cool he a role player that can knock down open shots and defend all teams would love to have a player like him!!!
MAXX
May 11th, 2010
7:58 pm
Jimmy Chitwood- Hilarious!
Explicit
May 11th, 2010
8:02 pm
Is it true that Mark Price holds a shooting session quite often for the Hawks but no players other than Mario show up and instead just blow off one of the greatest free throw shooters ever? I seriously want to know if what I have heard is true.
Atlanta Spirit
May 11th, 2010
8:13 pm
Who’s the cheapest?
4 Jacks
May 11th, 2010
8:23 pm
It really doen’t matter who the next coach is. As long as this loser ownership is in place the Hawks nor the Thrashers will ever be a real contender. Most teams are a direct reflection of ownership and management. That being the case these teams have zero chance of ever becoming more than what they are now, because the morons that own these two teams are pathetic and ZERO’S theirselves. Gearon and the rest of this so called ownership should do us a big favor and sell the teams to somone who truly cares and will make a true committment and spend the money to make these teams true contenders. We know that the ASG will not make this committment, as they are all LOSERS, and have shown they are completely inept as owners and leaders. Atlanta fans truly deserve better.
AG
May 11th, 2010
8:40 pm
K Dogg, Josh is very athletic, but Nique worked on his game. Yes, Josh is no Nique, but he has some of the same attributes. Also, enough of the we need a center. Are you going to go on playstation and create one? Here are the centers post season stats (I quit because it was really bad)
T.Duncan/SA 19ppg 10 reb
D. Howard/Orl 15ppg 11reb
A. Hortford/Atl 15ppg 9 reb
Shaq 11 ppg 6 reb
A. Bynum/LA 10 ppg 9 reb
K. Perkins/Bos 6ppg 7 reb
K. Fesenko/Utah 3 ppg 4 reb
N. Krstic/OkC 7 ppg 5 reb
K. Thomas/Mil 5 ppg 8 reb
J. Collins/Pho 1 ppg 2 reb
AG
May 11th, 2010
8:44 pm
Okay, others that were not even worth looking are Camby, Muhammed, Petro (Denver) 2 ppg 1 reb – I guess Nene did not play. So in the playoff that are dominated by centers, who on the list outside of superman would you prefer to have? Looking at Marvin’s 8 ppg and 5 rebs, many other cities are pissed also (SA – Jefferson 9 p pg5 rebs, LA Artest 10 ppg 3 rebs)
scott
May 11th, 2010
8:51 pm
Mark. The Magic players will be listening to Van Gundy as long as they are winning. And i’m sure they will be winning for a long time. You’re talking like they don’t want to be pushed to be the best. Those players respect the crap out of Stan.
K-Dogg
May 11th, 2010
8:56 pm
Ag man you sound like you know a little bit about basketball and are giving me stats so let me give you one. Dwight shot like what 85% from the feild this seriers and that was a big reason why they could do no wrong on offense playing through him. Dog you dont have to bring in a center that can score everybody in the starting 5 does not have to do that but give me one that can hold the man at least. Why you think the cavs brought in Shaq??? Like i said about Marvin he ok with me yall can run him out of town along with bibby but i dont blame them. Bibby does need to go to the bench. But all in all AG if you think this team can beat the magic, lakers and Cavs with this big men rotation and undersized center and power forward which our record over the past 3 years is like 3-20(Another stat for you) you crazy!!!!!!!!
K-Dogg
May 11th, 2010
9:03 pm
The play station comment was cute too by the way but i can give you a couple of guys AG! Kaman, Dalembert, STAT, David Lee a couple of bigger guys that are athletic if you put next to big Al would make them bigger then 6′9 and 6′8 and these are guys i came up with off the top of my head without even breaking down other teams rostors.
AG
May 11th, 2010
9:03 pm
Dwight is a monster and NOBODY can stop him except Dwight – and good coaching. To neutralize him on defense, Hortford should be at least 15 feet away from the basket. He should shot that nice jumper of his or drive to the hole. Joe, Crawford, ZaZa all were scared when they went into the hole. Did you see Jackson drive in the Charlotte series. He anticipated the contact and got fouled.
When he is on offense, body him outside of the paint and make him work. Many times when the Hawks double teamed, they still let him go to the rim. Lastly, how many dunks did he get from that stupid switching defense, or with slow players allowing their man to penetrate and dish?
AG
May 11th, 2010
9:06 pm
Funny how none of those guys played in the post season. The Hawks are a running team. Now, I did want us to get Jermaine O’Neal, or Kwame Brown – yes I did say Kwame Brown. I think he can run the floor and fit into our system. We cannot have Josh at the three – unless we get a big who can stretch the floor.
Sho Nuff
May 11th, 2010
9:07 pm
these millionaire hawk players quit after the buck series, anxious for their long vacations, knowing they would get blown out by orlando—-but, they still get paid millions plus fat playoff checks–which is all they care about. Now don’t bother them–they need a vacation baby!!!
AG
May 11th, 2010
9:09 pm
The Hawks had a chance to get him but instead chose R. Morris. Keep this team together, but add better pieces off the bench. Put Bibby and Marvin on the bench. Bring in a three who loves to shoot the three (maybe R. Anderson??)
Uranus
May 11th, 2010
9:12 pm
No thanks.
K-Dogg
May 11th, 2010
9:17 pm
AG i agree with the comment about us not driving the ball and getting into his chest 100% but Dwight is not the 2nd coming of Wilt Chamblin dog come on now he can only stop his self. We talking about the same Dwight here. He averge 18 points and has still one post move the running hook come on now. Yeah you want a guy who can pull him away frmo the basket but which Al tried to do but im talking about defending him dog. Al stood no chance at doing that. He caught the ball where he wanted to and bullied him all over the court. If a guy with one post move and just dunks everything shots 85% from the feild dog it means he is being held by someone to little dog come on now!!!
K-Dogg
May 11th, 2010
9:24 pm
AG the fac that you ssaid Jermain O’Neal and Kwame Brown will allow me to leave you alone but one last thing i want to ask you and thats why do you think the Hawks can play with every team in the L but the Lakers, Magic and Cavs????????????????????? Ding Ding Ding their too little man!!!!!!!
Najeh Davenpoop
May 11th, 2010
9:39 pm
Dwane Casey is the best you can come up with?
I’ve heard names like Mike Budenholzer (Spurs’ top assistant), Tom Thibodeau (Celtics’ top assistant who tends to get most of the credit for their defense), etc. being thrown around. I wonder if even a guy like Kelvin Sampson (Bucks’ top assistant, been to the Final Four) might not be a decent dark horse. I’ll admit, armchair-evaluating NBA coaches is a lot harder than doing the same in the NFL (you can’t just look at offensive and defensive team stats and decide how good an assistant is because NBA assistants are not so specialized), but it seems like there are a lot of people out there with better track records than Dwane Casey.
t_height
May 11th, 2010
9:45 pm
What the hawks are missing are allen iverson or a type of player. He may have lost it but he still competes and he is not scared to shoot, take the ball to the basket. He doesn’t sit around and dribble one on one until the clock runs down. I know most of you wouldn’t agree with this but he is the type of player that will make josh better, teague, and even marvin because they can use their athleticism to score. Defense will be a big problem but hell they couldn’t play defense nor score this year. I’m not saying bring him in to be the starting point guard but he could really help a team like this.
t_height
May 11th, 2010
9:46 pm
If they can bring AI in and try to sign Childress and Bosh, this would be a great team.
K-Dogg
May 11th, 2010
9:49 pm
T-Hieght AI is a drunk dog lollllll he got bigger problems then basketball right now!! Nice thought but will never happen. Childress aint coming back either dog no way no how he went overseas to play before he played for us!!
tony
May 11th, 2010
10:17 pm
What Bradley is suggesting is exactly why the Atlanta hawks have never gotten to a nba a finals; suggesting that we should hire someone unproving. We might as well keep Woodson. At least he had connection with a championship ball club.
We need to hire someone who has championship credential. No one has hired Avery Johnson yet so we need to push hard to get him to come to Atlanta.
The Coach
May 11th, 2010
10:25 pm
How about John Wooden? Sure, he’s old (100) but he can teach discipline—which is what this hawk team needs most! he wouldn’t put up with these quitters and would light a fire under them!!!!
GTalum78
May 11th, 2010
10:33 pm
We think it would be fantastic if our AD relinquished Coach Paul Blewitt’s penalty clause so they could interview him
Big Ray
May 11th, 2010
10:43 pm
Dwayne Casey? I don’t know about that. He has experience, but if he can’t do Xs and Os, then forget it. We already know what that looks like.
Too much is made of “the team improved from year to year.” Yeah? Looks to me like natural progression and addition of talent. How much of this is Woody to be credited for? Did he bring Mike Bibby and Jamal Crawford here?
We need a veteran coach, but we don’t need an ineffective one. Change for the sake of change is not really change…
Big Ray
May 11th, 2010
10:48 pm
Having a connection with a championship team does not make you a champion at what you do. Better to stay in a Holiday Inn at night and eat Mentos. Case in point: Adam Morrison has an NBA Championship ring. Does that make you want to go out and sign him right now?
I can appreciate people talking about getting rid of Josh Smith, when they think it all the way through. As in, they talk about who to trade him for, and how it could benefit the team.
I can’t abide the fools who want him gone because they don’t like a few things he did, and have no idea what he brought to this team.
Unfortunately the latter far outnumbers the former.
Buckhead Basketball
May 11th, 2010
10:59 pm
1. It IS obvious that Woodson has taken this team as far as HE can and it is time to pass the baton!
2. You cannot hire ANYONE who does not have HEAD coaching experience….this team needs some minor changes (and a few new pieces) and it could compete for an Eastern Conference Championship to start with!
3. Once a coach has lost his players in the locker room, they will tune him out and that seems to what has occurred.
4. Hiring a Re-Tread coach (Collins, Fratello, Jeff Van Gundy) is a mistake. Think about it? Van Gundy NEVER got Houston out of the first round- EVER! And yet his replacement Adelman did it in his 2nd year? BUT because Van Gundy is now on TV, he suddenly got smarter? Why would he be a good hire?
5. Casey might be the right hire for a multitude of reasons- Look at what happened in Minnesota after he left? He proved he can coach and dealt with an organization that had traded Sam Cassell for a first round pick and Marko Jaric? (Come on- the only thing Marko is known for is having married a super model!) and yet Casey had Minnesota in the TOP 10 Defensively in the league……and think where they are now??
He has to be someone to consider!
Wilsmi2000
May 11th, 2010
10:59 pm
First of all we don’t need to jump the gun. Has anybody ever thought that maybe the MAGIC are that good? What if they go on to win the title? Some of you guys don’t know anything about Pro Sports ..You don’t just drop your Coach for some guy that’s never been a Head Coach (Casey??) Sure Woodson’s team go swept in the second round, but he got them there. Don’t forget that this team has glaring weaknesses. Critically in need of a true center, PG..Teague still developing, Bibby over the hill. College Coach??? Guess you guys forgot about Kruger?? You guys criticize Woodson for playing 7 or 8 guys!!! Other than Jamal, Zaza, and Evans. Who else could be depended on to come through for them. Remember that Orlando hasn’t lost a game yet. Not a big fan of Josh and Marvin. Josh makes too many bonehead plays and marvin to inconsistent. So instead of making Woody a scapegoat why don’t we address the real issues. Well you don’t win 53 games and get to the second round of the playoffs without being able to coach. Also remember that Hawks are still progressing and not a title contender yet.
Big Ray
May 11th, 2010
11:02 pm
You’re crazy. We just set a record for how many points a team could lose by in a series. If the Magic are that good, how come they don’t have the best record in the league…by a wide margin?
Even our own team majority owner said we looked like a deer in the headlights.
Woodson has to go. Period.
Buckhead Basketball
May 11th, 2010
11:04 pm
Mark Jackson? No Coaching experience PERIOD! How did that experiment work with Vinny Del Negro?
shannon
May 11th, 2010
11:21 pm
Perfect example Mike Brown isn’t a coach,if he didn’t have Lebron he wouldn’t have lasted this long…. A team needs a coach, everyone wants to say Mike Woodson made this team better but I think they just ultimately got better..The bucks series showed coaching problems where the orlando series showed coaching and personal problems. Rondo sucked offensively when he first got in the league but Doc let him learn thru his mistakes and now even tho the Celtics are old he makes them work by his energy..Salim,Acie and hopefully not Teague never developed under Woodson because he was so concerned about losing that he mortgaged the team to JJ and will now be foreclosed lol… I hope we keep JJ and add a real PG that can create like Devin Harris or get a Real Center and Move Horford to power forward…Anybody disagree?
LEA
May 11th, 2010
11:22 pm
you’re an douche, Smoove’s defense was horrible but Al’s was great please. He barely attempted to guard dwight the entire game
rainman
May 11th, 2010
11:24 pm
Casey and Jeff Van Gundy are viable possibilities, and the sooner the Hawks sever ties with Woodson, – the better!
1. I’m down with fracticide — we need Jeff to kill his brother Stan.
2. Cleveland got Shaq to limit DH in the inevitable playoff showdown. How this proves out is yet to be determined.
3. Brendan Haywood would be our most attainable FA to give the size and defense we need to add to the 5 position. AH can still play 5 when the matchup dictates, but we obviously don’t have the answer for the Magic – yet. Haywood at 5 and Al at 4 should be able to hold their own.
4. JJ is a tough subject. He has been a major reason for the Hawks going from pitiful to respectable. The fact that he turned down the 4-year, 60 mil. extension, and the recent performance in the playoffs — plus, the dissing of the fans, not to mention we need the bread to fill other holes …. see ya!
5. I had several other points, like PG, perimeter scoring, trade possibilities, Josh Childress, etc. – … but I gotta go to bed.
I guess a good coach would be a good start.
An Adult
May 11th, 2010
11:47 pm
Jerry West and Labo… get a life. I know high school is boring but you could be doing something better with your time than waiting for a blog to open up to be ‘first’. It’s not quite jock sniffing but close.
glenn
May 12th, 2010
12:01 am
Why not go after someone like Tom Izzo if going after an unproven NBA commodity ? I could see that guy taking the job if he was offered a fair contract .
rusty
May 12th, 2010
12:09 am
woody has to go. he made horrible substitions,would not play his bench,refused to bench mavin or
bibby,let joe run the team amuck with his dribbling & ball hogging shutting down all ball movement &player movement,had no control of js.,had no offensive plays we never get easy shots,ran that horrible switching defense creating horrible mis matches for us & pulling our big men away from the boards.must have hated teague & joe smith,got beat by sorry teams like the nets,knicks & toronto.
after our great start our season went downward just like what happened last year,showed favoitism
to certain player & treated others like crap,never made changes or adjustments during games or between games,had to the stubborn coach in the nba,vever had any set plays,never seen a team who had a harder time getting the ball in bounds. he has to GO
The Coach
May 12th, 2010
12:24 am
Don’t hire dwayne casey—he can’t coach a lick. He was a loser in minnesota with better talent than the hawks have. Hire a superstar type coach like Pat Riley or Phil Jackson—pay whatever they want.
AG
May 12th, 2010
12:24 am
Wow, read some old post guys. Hortford is a top 10 center in this league!!!! He got manhandled by Superman. When the starting center for the Bobcats or Pacers, Minn, etc.. outdo him, then we have a problem. His numbers in the post season are only second to T. Duncan 19ppg 11 rebs and Dwight 15ppg 11 rebs. Hortford 15 ppg 9 rebs. The only player I would trade Josh for is Noah. Lastly, Van Gundy was horrible in Houston, and that team could not throw it in the ocean with T. Mc and Yao.
AG
May 12th, 2010
12:26 am
I could almost give Woody another shot, but he is to stubborn. A coach makes adjustments. Down 0-3,make a change, shake up the team, start Teague and Evans. I think that could have saved his job.
Joe
May 12th, 2010
1:01 am
Byron Scott should be the next hawks coach.
Big Ray
May 12th, 2010
1:25 am
I’d take Byron Scott. Like, right now …
rhettt
May 12th, 2010
1:31 am
Lambeer did coach a WNBA team to three diferent league titles. Plus he has played on NBA championship teams. He knows what it takes to win. He would be my first choice to replace Woodson.
TK Williams
May 12th, 2010
1:33 am
Wow…some of you are so out of line with your dumb comments. Dwane Casey would be an awesome coach for the Hawks. Do some real homework on his stint in Minnesota. He was fired when his team was sitting in the 8th spot. Where do you think they should have been? McHale and Taylor had no clue what they were doing when they just up and made a ridiculous trade but inspite of that, DC pushed through and would have most likely held the 8th seed in the tough western conference. And did an idiot really bring up the UK issue that happened over 20 years ago? Shall I go through the plethora of coaches who have gone through scandals. And for the record, DC was cleared from that…do your homework!!! Of all the coaches out there, he should certainly be at the top of the list. He knows the game very very well, defense is his speciality, he has great relationships with players (he and Kevin Garnett had a great relationship in Minnesota, contrary to what you may think), he’s young and hungry!!! The Hawks need his energy and enthusiasm.
Doc
May 12th, 2010
1:46 am
Bring the Doc in.
hmmmm
May 12th, 2010
1:48 am
I hear Brown is ready to make another move. He is always looking.
Rusty
May 12th, 2010
2:26 am
How about Bobby Cox. Guys love playing for him.
babalouie
May 12th, 2010
5:13 am
Another stroke of genius from the expert who picked the Hawks to beat Orlando in 7. Why don’t you do something productive and suggest to Gearon that he package Josh and Bibby for Bosh in a sign and trade. Toronto would be happy to get some talent for Bosh, we get rid of Bibby’s salary and upgrade with a clutch player with some discipline who can score at will. The salaries about match. It’s a no brainer and you can even take the credit for dreaming it up.
The Coach
May 12th, 2010
7:22 am
How about Larry Bird—he’’s tired of living in indiana and would want some of the fast paced stuff in the Atlanta night scene—he’ll work for $10 mil which is chump change for the hawks. Get larry!
taudawg
May 12th, 2010
7:30 am
Josh Smith is like watching an 8 year old in a man’s body. He is extremely lazy for most of the game and will give you a highlight or two, then pout away. I just think a fan can only watch him getting a rebound, dribbling down the entire floor then backing in and throwing up a prayer only so many times. Joe Johnson slows the game down so much, you don’t have to defense the Hawks. Our basketball IQ is very poor. We don’t move and we don’t hustle for most of the game. I guess it is because we are “professionals”.
Hire Skiles and have a solid brand of offense. Milwaukee did a number on us and was vastly outnumbered talent wise. They moved the ball very well.
The Hawks are about as boring a pro team as you could want to watch. It is really hard to watch them game in and game out. Its like watching a pick up game with five guys that have never played together before.
Tell It Like It Is
May 12th, 2010
8:48 am
If making millions does not motivate you to produce, then how in the hell can Woodson or any coach make this team jell. Unfortunately, the only way that Josh Smith will listen is if he is traded. He is a ledgend in his own mind. Keep Woody; get a good point guard who can break down defenses like Rhondo, Williams and Paul; and get a Center who can control the lane. Talent and heart wins and not just x’s and o’s. The NBA is not “The Hoosiers”.
Chef Mentuer
May 12th, 2010
8:50 am
They need to hire Bob Thomas!
connor
May 12th, 2010
9:15 am
hire MARK PRICE, God knows GT isn’t going to
I Hate Lenny Wilkens, Stan Kasten, and Pete Babcock
May 12th, 2010
10:06 am
Why has no one even thought of Steve Smith? He’s got the personality, the basketball smarts, and was an expert at drawing a whistle. He’d have a tremendous amount to teach these guys and I believe would be able to take them over the top.
heartofdarkness
May 12th, 2010
10:08 am
I liked the suggestion that the Hawks bring in Dominique to coach this team next year. After listening to his analysis on TV during the course of the season, I think he could communicate on the same level as the players are willing to listen. Not only that, but he could remain the game analyst on the broadcast and maybe even take Rathbun on as an assistant. It would be a hire worthy of the Hawks organization.
htwo0rider
May 12th, 2010
10:44 am
Layne Kiffin might take the job…his pops could teach defense
ZEKE
May 12th, 2010
10:48 am
Ok folks its a day later come on make the call I am waiting!! , I will also be able to be contacted through my MYSPACE page when you are ready to get in touch.
htwo0rider
May 12th, 2010
10:54 am
In a perfect world Coach K would be a fine choice, or Doc. Who really wants to coach these fools? I hear a lot of squawking on here about the team not listening to Woody…and there is some truth to that, but I would think getting your ass kicked on national tv would be motivation not to lay down! They are NBA Players!!! I’ve seen highschool teams with play with more pride.
Keep Woody!
May 12th, 2010
11:05 am
The Hawks need Woody’s leadership next year, especially if they get Bosh and D-Wade. But, he’ll want a big raise for getting the hawks to the second round.
phoenixfalcon
May 12th, 2010
11:27 am
the hawks offense= iso joe, iso crawford, iso smith, iso horford……that’s woddy’s offense, they all stand around watching who ever has the ball, no movement at all, and the defense is the same thing over and over and over again, no zones, no triangle, no traps, this is by far the least complex team i have ever seen. the hawks won IN SPITE of woody, i have been saying this for 2 years, they are never going to win ANYTHING whit woddy as their coach. I live in Phoenix, and the suns have been a joy to watch, why? because THEY ( the players ) believe in the system, the hawks don’t, and i don’t blame them, i have seen HIGH SCHOOL teams more complex then the hawks. i hope ( for the good of the team ) Sund does what needs to be done…..they were put out of the playoffs on Sunday, woody should have been let go on monday.
betweenthehedges
May 12th, 2010
11:28 am
perhaps in an effort for a good offseason program, I say Jason Heyward plays for the Hawks from November to January, opting to stay fit and healthy after his first major league season
Spence
May 12th, 2010
11:49 am
How were you not immediately fired after you wrote this:
http://blogs.ajc.com/mark-bradley-blog/2010/05/03/how-the-hawks-just-might-make-some-magic-of-their-own/
????????????????????
Sav Fan
May 12th, 2010
11:53 am
Mike Woodson should stay another year and the Hawks need to get him the center and pieces he needs. You all seem to forget that the Hawks swept the Boston Celtics this season and Woody deserves credit for that.
Look in the mirror management and ask did we give Woody what he needed to compete with Orlando. You certainly knew you had to go through Cleveland and Orlando to win the championship. Casey would be another experiment so if you fire Woody then Byron Scott would have to be the answer. He has the rings to prove he knows how to win.
The Woodson Watch Begins | Soaring Down South | An Atlanta Hawks blog
May 12th, 2010
12:23 pm
[...] people are already speculating about the next coach. Mark Bradley has a story up about Dwane Casey. I have ideas and wishes as well but am going to refrain until it is certain what the Hawks are [...]
3Klub
May 12th, 2010
12:50 pm
Mark-
What the Hawks need more than anything is a DOMINANT PERSONALITY. Assuming we keep Joe Johnson (and I think we should) this team is void of a dominant personality that can grab guys attention and keep the team focused. I would love it if we could trade for a Chris Paul, but if we cant get a guy like that on the floor we need one on the bench. We always here how this team was built in the mode of the Pistons team of a few years ago and they were the same way. Billups is a prove it on the court guy, no ra ra, much like Joe Johnson. Rasheed was a hot head much like Josh ect. They needed Larry Brown to keep guys realed in and focused, See that team before and after Larry Brown. That’s why I look at retreads like ; Avery, Byron Scott, Terry Porter and even Vinny Del Negro come to mind. If we go with a new guy, I’d like to see us take a look at Mario Elli (on the bench for Dallas, or Pat Ewing. What do you think.
AXE
May 12th, 2010
12:51 pm
Mike Brown??? What so he can bring his underachivements to the table too. Or maybe they can learn to act like a bunch of idiots on the bench like the do in Cleveland with the dancing, and scripted stunts. Come on Mark why would you even put his name in the running?
AXE
May 12th, 2010
12:54 pm
Oh yeah FIRE WOODY first. People that still support him have no idea what a coach is supposed to do. Instruct, Lead, Support, and Discipline. Does any of that sound like Woody. He did shave his eyebrows for a while. That was pretty cool I guess.
HarrytheHawkforHeadCoach
May 12th, 2010
12:57 pm
Here’s a thought: Maybe Woody could have played Teague a LOT more during the season. Sure we may have won 5 or so fewer games but we still would have finished 4th, had a better chance against the Cavs in the 2nd Round AND had a confident Teague that had gotten some REAL playoff experience and been ready to go for next season. Then all we would need is a legit Center and a new coach. The problem with Woody is he doesnt take the time to develop his young players, calls no plays to be run (e.g. iso Joe) and is a sub-par defense minded coach. If you’re gonna hang your hat on defense, shouldnt you have an effective offensive scheme when your defense doesnt work?
Decatur Native
May 12th, 2010
1:04 pm
i can still smell bibby getting burned
3Klub
May 12th, 2010
1:20 pm
As far as players go, I’d love to see Atlanta take a shot a Javaris Crittendon. He’s a free agent that we could get for the cheep that can push Teague in practice. Javaris hasn’t done much yet in the league but it usually takes pg’s about 3 yrs to get it and he can add some depth and talent. I also really like Javale McGee in Washington if we could trade for him.
hawkfan
May 12th, 2010
1:44 pm
“any team thatb has a big man inside that is active and plays strong gives the hawks problems”
@ cdog: OK, so how did the Hawks sweep Boston this season? Aren’t Glenn Davis and Kendrick Perkins considered big men? No one can guard Dwight Howard. He is ismply too big, too strong, and too atheletic … much like Shaq in his prime.
The problem is ball movement and inconsistent defense => The problem is their “current” coach.
Simple as that.
hawkfan
May 12th, 2010
1:46 pm
@ AXE:
Agree 1000%
governor404
May 12th, 2010
1:51 pm
Astute businessmen often become buyers when everyone else sells, so instead of dumping the one legit star we have (JJ) lets go for it and sign one of the other high profile guys, shoot for Lebron, after all he’s done for that city and they boo him after 1 bad game, he’s out of there and teamed with JJ and the nucleus here he’d make us instant championship material and able to stick it to the Cavs for turning their backs on him. If that fails, go get Bosh and let Larry Drew take over and groom Teague.
Gracias a Dios
May 12th, 2010
2:15 pm
You know, if the Hawks didn’t switch on every screen, then Bibby wouldn’t have been put in such horrible situations. Shouldn’t really be burning Bibby so bad, in my estimation, because most of it was the scheme. At least Bibby’s a playmaker.
dms
May 12th, 2010
2:54 pm
Hire Byron Scott, and pick up Chris Bosh and we are looking at the Eastern Conference Championship!!!!!!
wxwax
May 12th, 2010
3:58 pm
First?
Wildcat hater
May 12th, 2010
7:29 pm
We know why you want Casey. He is a Kentucky cheater & liar. This would not be a good pick for the Hawks. He would be no more than Woodson & when he had his chance as an interim coach he did nothing. I guess Wildcats stick together no matter how much it doesn’t make sense.
Zach
May 12th, 2010
7:39 pm
Lets all be honest, Mike Brown is not a good coach. He does nothing on the sidelines, and he acts likes its casual friday every game. Without LeBron Mike Brown is….unemployed
dman
May 12th, 2010
11:22 pm
I would keep Woody and tell JSmoove to hit the road.
If Woody must go, Kareem Jabbar has my vote
Benjamin
May 13th, 2010
12:50 am
My thing is this:
While Casey is a very smart, very approachable young coach, I’m tired of hiring assistants and college coaches.
Get a proven guy and a proven name that’s going to help bring in talent. JMO.
rex
May 13th, 2010
8:36 am
the LAST thing this team needs is a “player’s coach” !
They need a demanding, high energy coach with X & O skills
The reason Fratello is not coaching is because he is very very good at the TV gig, and it pays well.
But he still has that fire in his gut. I say Fratello
Greg Norton
May 14th, 2010
12:57 pm
Hey, I can coach some ‘ball. C’mon, pick me!
Willie Martinez
May 14th, 2010
12:59 pm
DEE-fense! DEE-fense!
James
May 14th, 2010
2:56 pm
Byron Scott or Avery Johnson should be the next Hawks coach either one of them would be good.
Atticus
May 14th, 2010
4:56 pm
Byron Scott
adam
May 14th, 2010
8:15 pm
What about the unibow guy before Woodson?
nate double dd
May 15th, 2010
1:00 pm
i think they should hire either John Battle or Andrew Lang. They are both good guys. If these guys dont wanna coach go get Antoine Walker
Flipper Gramsley
May 16th, 2010
7:02 am
The Hawks should hire BILLY BOB THORNTON as the next coach. they need someone to cuss them out when they start messing up in the third quarter.
Report: Dwane Casey is the 'favorite' for Hawks' job | Mark Bradley
May 16th, 2010
4:12 pm
[...] The Hawks’ next coach? Put Dwane Casey on the case [...]
Update: Hawks are given permission to interview Casey | Mark Bradley
May 16th, 2010
4:16 pm
[...] (Oh, and if you’re wondering what I think of Dwane Casey: As noted earlier, he’d be my first choice.) [...]
Avery Johnson wouldn't be my choice for the Hawks | Mark Bradley
May 17th, 2010
3:00 pm
[...] know what you’re saying: “Bradley, how many NBA titles has Casey, the guy you’ve championed, won?” And the answer is none. As a head coach, Casey hasn’t made the playoffs. (Then [...]
Rashad Hassan
May 18th, 2010
5:17 pm
I think coach Casey is a great choice because he is very experienced with the playoff caliber teams and has had sucess with all of the teams he has been apart of.
Coaching Candidates – Johnson and Casey « Sports Plop
May 18th, 2010
11:59 pm
[...] Jon Wooden and my dad will not be coaching the team. But someone will. Early reports courtesy of Mark Bradley and Marc Stein mention Avery Johnson and Dwane [...]
R-I
May 20th, 2010
6:15 pm
hawks will get casey for sure
Yes! Another writer makes a case for the Hawks to hire Casey | Mark Bradley
May 26th, 2010
4:09 am
[...] you to read Dwyer’s article in its terrific totality. Because I’ve been trying to make the same arguments for a while now, and I’m not seeing much fruit from these labors. But I’m encouraged to know I’m [...]