Update: Hawks are given permission to interview Casey
The Atlanta Hawks have sought and received permission from the Dallas Mavericks to speak with Mavs assistant Dwane Casey regarding the Hawks’ coaching job, according to a person familiar with the situation.
Through team spokesperson Arthur Triche, Hawks general manager Rick Sund declined to comment.
The Hawks made their request Saturday, one day after announcing they would not offer Mike Woodson a contract extension. The request was granted by Dallas GM Donnie Nelson.
In Sunday’s edition of the New York Daily News, Mitch Lawrence identified Casey as the favorite to succeed Woodson. (Lawrence also reported that the Hawks are up for sale, which would be major news.)
Casey worked under Rick Sund as an assistant to Nate McMillan for five seasons when the Hawks’ general manager was GM of the Seattle SuperSonics. Casey interviewed for the Hawks’ coaching job in 2004, when then-GM Billy Knight chose Woodson instead.
Casey was the head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves for a season and a half but was fired by then-GM Kevin McHale in January 2007 when the T-Wolves were 20-20. (The team would finish 32-50.) Casey’s record as an NBA head coach is 53-69.
The reasons for Casey’s firing in Minnesota have never been delineated. But ESPN.com Insider John Hollinger called the move “McHale’s Folly” and wrote: “Somebody, anybody, tell me what [Casey] did wrong.”
Casey has already been interviewed by the New Orleans Hornets for their coaching vacancy and is believed to be in the mix for the Chicago Bulls’ job.
(Oh, and if you’re wondering what I think of Dwane Casey: As noted earlier, he’d be my first choice.)
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279 comments Add your comment
Thunder Dan
May 16th, 2010
11:15 pm
Recently had an interviw ith the sixers:
“Dan Majerle – Majerle (44) carries the most unknowns of the candidates on this list. He’s been an assistant with the Suns for the past two years, and most known for his nickname, Thunder Dan. It’s hard to tell what kind of coach Majerle will be, which is why I have him so low on my list, paired with the fact that he’s only been an assistant for two years. The best thing about hiring Majerle is he believes the Sixers should play “fast”, and he’s right.”
Thunder Dan quotes:
“They’re talented,” Majerle said. “They’ve got a lot of similarities to the way [the Suns are] set up. I think they’re looking to play fast, which is probably one of the reasons they talked to me. With that personnel, they probably should play fast.”
-I like it
#mightbethamove
Sam Mitchell
May 16th, 2010
11:16 pm
Recently had an interviw ith the sixers:
“Mitchell is 46 and has four full years as a head coach under his belt. He coached the Raptors from ‘04-’08, accumulating a 156-189 record in the process. Since, and prior to his job with the Raptors he’s been an assistant in numerous places, most notably in Minnesota during the KG era. However; my interest in Mitchell has nothing to do with his past experience, but rather the things he said in an interview with Dei Lynam. Most note-worthy quotes:”
“Just give [Sam Dalembert] his defined role,” he explained. “Play him 35-38 minutes a night. Tell him to go get every rebound and block shot out there and if he fouls out in the process so be it. Just show him love.”
“If I saw Iguodala attempt more then two threes in a game, I would cry,” he said. He went on to add that Iguodala should be attempting double figure free-throw attempts as opposed to long jumpers.”
Sam Mitchell
May 16th, 2010
11:17 pm
Recently had an interviw ith the sixers:
“Mitchell is 46 and has four full years as a head coach under his belt. He coached the Raptors from ‘04-’08, accumulating a 156-189 record in the process. Since, and prior to his job with the Raptors he’s been an assistant in numerous places, most notably in Minnesota during the KG era. However; my interest in Mitchell has nothing to do with his past experience, but rather the things he said in an interview with Dei Lynam. Most note-worthy quotes:”
Sam Mitchell
May 16th, 2010
11:19 pm
If I saw Iguodala attempt more then two threes in a game, I would cry,” he said. He went on to add that Iguodala should be attempting double figure free-throw attempts as opposed to long jumpers.
Sam Mitchell
May 16th, 2010
11:21 pm
Just give Sam Dalembert his defined role,” he explained. “Play him 35-38 minutes a night.
Sam Mitchell
May 16th, 2010
11:21 pm
On Dalembert:
Tell him to go get every rebound and block shot out there and if he fouls out in the process so be it. Just show him love.”
More Evidence that Avery Johnson is Crazy
May 16th, 2010
11:23 pm
He has the sixers community a little worried:
“Johnson has a lot going for him. He’s young (45 years old), he has an absurd winning percentage in the regular season (.735, 194-70 career record), and already has a Coach of the Year award under his belt. The problems with Avery are, his teams have failed in the playoffs (23-24, including being on the wrong end of one of the biggest upsets in playoff history), he’s rumored to have a massive ego, and he said some questionable things about the Sixers roster during a radio interview last off-season. The cons outweigh the pros in Avery’s case, but he still remains an intriguing candidate.”
More Evidence that Avery Johnson is Crazy
May 16th, 2010
11:23 pm
Avery Johnson:
“Johnson was let go as Mavericks coach in May, 2008 after being unable to adjust to the roster he was presented, coming to a head late in that season, according to Mavs Moneyball.”
“Some insight into the soul of the now-ESPN analyst:”
“After the Denver loss, the first thing he did was strip Devin Harris of his freedom to run the offense. Fast breaks and offensive sets built off of transition were removed, as Johnson slowed the game down so that he could call plays and run the offense. For the first 20 games the Mavs offense was clocking in at 90 pace, a significant gain over the previous year’s glacial offensive pace. As we noted in a previous column, however, the pace was inconsistent. Twice in November Harris directed back-to-back-to-back games where the first game had a pace of over 95, which was followed up with a game where the pace plummeted to under 84, only to have the pace increase again to over 92. This inability to control the pace of the game clearly drove Johnson crazy, and the low point was, not coincidentally, the Denver game on December 6, where the Mavs played completely at Denver’s pace, over 100.”
“The next five games after Denver the Mavs pace never went over 85 and averaged an almost unbelievably slow pace of 83. To put this into perspective, the slowest team in 2006-2007 was the Detroit Pistons, and they averaged a pace of 86. After Denver, Johnson put the hammer down on Harris, and he never let up.”
#NOTthamove
I repeat: NOT THA MOVE!!!!
MAP
May 16th, 2010
11:45 pm
Mark Bradley……1 winning season for Sam Mitchell is more better than the losing record Casey has as a head coach. Notice I had Sam Mitchell 3rd on my list! LOL I just think the current team and players need a coach that will bring instant respect and will attract major free agents. The Hawks better make it worth it……after all, they still plan to raise ticket prices next year!!!!
t_height
May 16th, 2010
11:58 pm
@more evdience that Avery Johnson is not the answer:
I think Donnie Walsh or who their gm is wanted a more proven pg, not Avery so he went after Jason kidd. Kidd couldn’t adjust to the offense nor mesh with a winning team. it wasn’t avery johnson. Well you see what Dallas has done since Avery left
Flipper Gramsley
May 17th, 2010
1:34 am
Bottom line, the Hawks will get the same or worse results with CASEY as the they did with WOODSON. When are the Hawks franchise going to stop settling for below average coaches and below average Centers and Forwards at the end of their bench and on injured reserve. Bottom line: CASEY ISN”T THE ANSWER FOR THE HAWKS. THE HAWKS WILL NOT WIN A CHAMPIONSHIP WITH CASEY. POINT BLANK
Brennan Huff
May 17th, 2010
3:24 am
I still say Dan Majerle would be the best hire. He could bring Cedric Ceballos with him as an assistant to coach up Josh Smith and Marvin Williams.
Big D Dawg
May 17th, 2010
5:12 am
one word — Lambier!!
Lame Beer
May 17th, 2010
6:10 am
It’s spelled “Laimbeer”. Let’s get it right, people!!!
jarvis
May 17th, 2010
9:01 am
If he’s Bradley’s first pick….I hate him.
Atlanta Hawks - Page 45 - iSTORYA.NET
May 17th, 2010
9:26 am
[...] [...]
maadison jenkins
May 17th, 2010
9:36 am
byron scott would be a good fit! he’s been in plenty of playoff games and brings big-name notoriety! and has been through a lot of wars through the nineties, i like the sound of that, 3-D for coach!
Dallas Mavericks Thread - Page 2 - iSTORYA.NET
May 17th, 2010
10:06 am
[...] permalink Hawks like Mavs assistant Dwayne Casey, so they asked permission from Dallas GM Donnie Nelson to interview the guy. Read more… [...]
Frontman
May 17th, 2010
10:35 am
No mention of his cheating at UK, Mr. Bradley? I’m surprised at you… or not. I guess Dwane doesn’t have to mail any money to anyone as part of his NBA coaching duties…
Frontman
May 17th, 2010
10:40 am
Sorry, FancyDawg, I didn’t see your post from last night. I’m glad someone else didn’t forget…
The Murf
May 17th, 2010
10:47 am
I will give up my season tickets if they do not sign an improvement of Woody. You do not let a guy go who improved each season and hire another assistant. This is completely ridiculous.
Sav Fan
May 17th, 2010
11:17 am
Is this a southern thing or what. I don’t understand why Atlanta teams build a team up to be competitive and then blow up the team and start from scatch. If Casey is hired this is pure politics becaue Sund wants someone he knows. When was the last time Seattle competed for the title.
This was all planned and that is why Woodson was not offerred a contract. Only a championship would have got Woodson a contact and that would have upset or delayed Sund’s plan to hire Casey.
Veteran Fan
May 17th, 2010
12:34 pm
As long as the coach is young and energetic like the Miami coach I don’t care who it is! Sign and trade JJ and Bibby to the Nets to run with Lebron for Harris their point. Trade Josh and Marvin for Bosh in a sign and trade and their draft pick. Use the two draft picks to get the Heyward kid from Butler. Go after Kaman from the Clippers in free-agency. Sign Childress. Line up Kaman C, Horford PF, Bosh SF, Crawford SG, Harris PG. Reserves Zaza, Childress, Heyward, Teague fill in the rest. Can get 20 points per game from all starters, plenty of match up advantages with reserves and all can play good defense with the exception of Crawford. Team is young and can contend for 3-5 seasons with plenty of size and physical players. Can run or play half-court. Toronto gets Josh to put people in the seats for a player who is leaving anyway. NJ gets JJ to pair with Lebron and Lopez and they have a lottery pick to go with them much stronger than Cleveland and an experienced point in Bibby. Win win for everyone.
Avery Johnson wouldn't be my choice for the Hawks | Mark Bradley
May 17th, 2010
2:59 pm
[...] the first interview in the Hawks’ coaching search. (As reported in this space yesterday, Dallas assistant Dwane Casey will also be interviewed.) And that’s understandable: Johnson is a big name, and he’s an obvious man to [...]
Philip Meehan
May 17th, 2010
3:16 pm
***PHIL HANSON FOR HAWKS COACH ****
NEVER HURTS TO GIVE A LOCAL GUY A SHOT
coo coo bird fan
May 18th, 2010
8:58 am
You can bring Phil Jackson in here and it wont matter until the owners put there big britches on and start spending some money. Economic crisis, schmisis, either you want to win or you dont, period! We will never beat the Lebrons, KG’s, DHowards, Kobe’s of the world until we have a REAL superstar. Sorry Joe but superstars dont miss layups and shoot sub 40% from the field in the playoffs. I’ll take Avery and Dirk and I’ll see ya in the ECF next year.
KingCobra
May 18th, 2010
1:07 pm
When Josh Smith was snubbed from the all-star game this past season, I felt Josh should have made the squad. But after the Orlando and Milwaukee series of the playoffs where Josh played foolish basketball and appeared to have ATTITUDE PROBLEMS when he repeatedly QUIT PLAYING while the game was going on, I thought not only should Josh Smith have been fined at least $50,000 by the Hawks but he should have been traded somewhere else. I also thought that during the all-star break, Josh Smith was our most improved player and the Hawks most valuable player for the season up until that point, but after the all-star break Al Horford has progressed so much that now to point where Al Horford is a more dangerous offensive player than Dwight Howard. In fact, “Big” Al is now more dangerous than WILT CHAMBERLAIN was and the INCREDIBLE HULK. The Hawks should win at least 60 GAMES NEXT SEASON. I hope the Hawks get a really good head coach because it will take a great coach to get the Hawks into the finals next season and win a championship.
JoeyLombardy
May 18th, 2010
2:09 pm
Avery Johnson is not the answer. Avery had a talented Mavs team that won 60 games, probably the strongest Dallas team ever but Avery was like woodsen in that he couldnt elevate his players to the NEXT LEVEL (CHAMPIONSHIP LEVEL). Dont waste your money, Avery will fail.
TK Williams
May 19th, 2010
1:57 pm
For all you basketball heads…do your due diligence on Casey’s stint in Minnesota!!! And what idiot keeps bringing up the Kentucky issue (over 20 years ago). If you want to talk about scandals, we can….every coach would be put on blast. The Hawks need to learn to play defense and a lot of it. That’s Casey’s speciality. He’s coached some of the best players in the league. He’s the man for the job…PERIOD!!!