This blog has moved! Yes, already!
As of Thursday, Feb. 12, this little blog has relocated to a new home on AJC.com. It’s the same newspaper, the same Web site and the same writer (feel free to groan) — there’s just a new URL.
New features: Bigger type, more graphics, comments that load 10 times faster and a larger and more recent photo that makes me look pretty doggone old. I think you’ll like it (the blog, not the photo). But I am, as we know too well, often wrong.
Home > Mark Bradley > Archives > 2008 > May > 29 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USHawks wisely broke from the past
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
This will sound weird, but here it is: When Chris Grant’s name surfaced for the Hawks’ general manager job, I thought of Marion Campbell and Jerry Glanville and June Jones.
I thought not so much of the Hawks of today but of the Falcons of yesteryear. I thought of the Smiths hiring three consecutive head coaches not so much because they were the best men available but because they’d worked for the Smiths before.
Because Chris Grant had worked here under Pete Babcock and Billy Knight, because the Gearons had come to know Grant, he was given a longer look as a candidate than his accomplishments should have warranted. That was a troubling sign.
For reasons unclear, discussions with Grant were finally broken off. (Either he turned the job down or the Hawks got cold feet, depending which side you believe.) The Hawks hired Rick Sund instead, and Sund is precisely what they need: An outsider to Atlanta who’s an NBA insider, a career basketball man capable of casting a cold eye on assets and liabilities.
The Hawks aren’t far from being really good. For all Knight’s draft errors, he finally built a playoff-caliber roster. What’s needed now is an architect capable of turning raw material into a finished product. Grant wouldn’t have been seen as new management. On the contrary, he’d have been perceived as a link to the inglorious past.
The Michael Gearons are bright men, each having built a fortune in separate enterprises — Sr. in construction, Jr. in cellular towers. But they are, it must be said, still relatively new at this ownership thing, and it would have been depressing to see this major hire made on the basis of familiarity. It never worked for the Smiths, and it wouldn’t have worked for the Gearons.
But all’s well — or at least better — that ends well. The Gearons, who have never been involved with any NBA team except this, reached beyond the Perimeter and found a capable man. Good for them.
Permalink | Comments (46) | Post your comment | Categories: Hawks/NBA
Comments
By whammer
May 29, 2008 10:43 AM | Link to this
NICE JOB, GOOD READ. BUT LET’S GIVE CREDIT TO ATLANTA SPIRIT. THE AJC HAS BLASTED THIS GROUP, AND TAKEN PERSONAL SHOTS AT THE PARTNERS. THIS WAS A SPIRIT DECISION NOT JUST A COUPLE NON MAJORITY MEMBERS. THIS GROUP AS A WHOLE ARE ALL SELF MADE VERY BRITE, I KNOW CAUSE I HAVE WORKED WITH THEM IN THE PAST. THEY WANT TO WIN !! SO THE AJC NEEDS TO NOT JUST BE ON THE BANDWAGON AND GIVE THIS GROUP IT DUE WHEN THEY DO RIGHT AND NOT JUST DURING BAD TIMES. I THINK FOR BEING OWNERS FOR SUCH A SHORT TIME THEY HAVE PROVED A DESIRE TO WIN AND DO RIGHT BY THE FANS.
GREAT JOB SPIRIT, I AGREE THIS IS A GOOD HIRE AND WILL SERVE THE YOUNG PLAYERS WELL.
By Casey
May 29, 2008 10:49 AM | Link to this
You’re absolutely right. What a minute! Did I just say that?
They did the unthinkable for this group. They actually hired someone with loads of experience and qualifications.
Now the only important thing left to do is:
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE FIRE WOODSON RIGHT NOW!!!!!!
By Casey
May 29, 2008 10:49 AM | Link to this
You’re absolutely right. Wait a minute! Did I just say that?
They did the unthinkable for this group. They actually hired someone with loads of experience and qualifications.
Now the only important thing left to do is:
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE FIRE WOODSON RIGHT NOW!!!!!!
By BYRON
May 29, 2008 11:13 AM | Link to this
THE HAWKS JUST SHOWED THEY AINT NOTHING BUT A BUNCH OF RACISTS!!! THEY TOOK A JOB AWAY FROM A STRONG SUKCESSFUL BLACK MAN AND GAVE IT AWAY TO SOME WHITE BOY!!! ATL AINT NOTHING BUT RACIST!!!!!
By ray
May 29, 2008 11:20 AM | Link to this
Chris Grant? Well, here’s what happened there: He was initially not thought a fool. But after considering the job over the weekend, he then picked up the phone, opened his mouth, and removed all doubt….about him being a fool.
By falconfan42
May 29, 2008 11:25 AM | Link to this
Byron….. What an idiot u are… good hire.. Like Billy Knight did a good job……
By RealSquawk
May 29, 2008 11:37 AM | Link to this
Your are right on Whammer!!
it was good for the spirit to come together and make a decision
don’t agree with Byron
I don’t see the spirit as being racist it seems like they looked through a long list of candidates and found the one that worked best with their plan, but hopefully he actually gets a chance to make a decision on Woodson and that might me we start the season with him
By The Bear
May 29, 2008 11:39 AM | Link to this
Mark is the only decent columnist who is employed by this newspaper. I wish the Hawks would have hire Terrance as the GM and Jeff Shultz as the coach to relieve us from their boring columns.
By super rod
May 29, 2008 11:43 AM | Link to this
Byron are you ignorant or just plain stupid. Because of Billy Knight our starting point guards are playing in New Orleans and Utah. It had nothing to do with race. I like the direction this franchise is going in. By the way I am black.
By super rod
May 29, 2008 11:43 AM | Link to this
Byron are you ignorant or just plain stupid. Because of Billy Knight our starting point guards are playing in New Orleans and Utah. It had nothing to do with race. I like the direction this franchise is going in. By the way I am black.
By Mitun
May 29, 2008 12:07 PM | Link to this
they need to keep both Josh Childress and Josh Smith during the offseason and try to get Jermaine O’Neal to join the hawks. Fire Woodson and get Avery Johnson
By chris M
May 29, 2008 12:12 PM | Link to this
Thankfully Bryron threw the race card early. Was sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for it. The next step is a coach. I am not a huge fan of Woodson but who is really out there? Avery Johnson never had to coach a bad team, he took over a great one. Skiles is off the market, Dantoni was a pipe dream here. Seeing how we have had rookie head coaches for the past 10 years and have gone to the playoffs once that is a scary idea to take on again.
By Ryder
May 29, 2008 12:12 PM | Link to this
Byron is nothing more than the typical ATL individual who sees nothing but race, never mind the fact that Atlanta could’ve had Chris Paul and Brandon Roy on their team right now. However a black man with a swingman fetish screwed them up, and if not for Horford’s leadership it would be 9 consecutive years without a postseason berth.
I’m glad the ASG went outside the box and hired someone who had experience in the NBA game. For all of those crying about him coming from a losing franchise, wasn’t Mike Woodson the assistant coach of the 2004 NBA Champions?
Oh, and since it apparently needs to be said for quota purposes, I am black as well.
By chris M
May 29, 2008 12:13 PM | Link to this
Thankfully Bryron threw the race card early. Was sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for it. The next step is a coach. I am not a huge fan of Woodson but who is really out there? Avery Johnson never had to coach a bad team, he took over a great one. Skiles is off the market, Dantoni was a pipe dream here. Seeing how we have had rookie head coaches for the past 10 years and have gone to the playoffs once that is a scary idea to take on again.
By mreastside
May 29, 2008 12:27 PM | Link to this
How do we look forward to the season, when our front office is going backwards. I would have at least hired someone off a playoff team. We get someone off a worse team than us. That is bad math and inexcusable all day. GM and presidents make thier mark on finding unheard players. All NBA people can pick lottery players, but who is going to dig through and sort out.. he cant do that, look at the Bucks roster. Then are getting caught up in race. I want the Hawks to win. Avery Johnson is the only coach nout their off a winning team so that who the coach need to be. He had chemisry problems in Dallas. we keep getting recyled men who havent won anywhare. I would rather goe young and unproven.It is no way I could ever beleive that Hawks got the best person for the job. Being below the mason dixon is something else.
By maurice
May 29, 2008 12:31 PM | Link to this
Who cares about Deron or Chris Paul! They would have been sitting on the bench like Acie Law IV did during our playoff run. Their careers would have been bust under Mike Woodson. The best coach for the Hawks. Coach K at Duke. Man I would even take Lon Kruger back!
By Brett
May 29, 2008 12:43 PM | Link to this
Now if only the Spirit could do something with the other team they own(Thrashers).
By RA
May 29, 2008 1:07 PM | Link to this
First off, I’m not defending Woodson. But maurice, I will say something for him. He did something that Lon Kruger simply couldn’t. He held the team together and he took them to the playoffs. I can’t ignore that, and I’d advise others not to either. Now granted, if you look at Woodson’s career win %, it’s terrible, there are no two ways about it, but if you look at the teams that he’s had to coach and the inexperienced players that he’s had to bring along, you see why his winning percentage is where it is. Now, I’ll say this, for my money, he coached the pants off of Doc Rivers in the Playoffs. Atlanta lost because of inexperience, bottomline. Now, maybe I’m wrong, but it’s just not right to shaft a coach who inherited a mess, took what he was given, and made something out of it. I’ve got a theory on Woodson. He was an assitant coach with a two time championship team. He knows what it takes to win, and now that he’s got enough of the pieces in place, I believe he’ll do just that. As for Acie Law IV. Yea, he is the point guard of the future, but please keep in mind that he had injuries all season that slowed his growth…
By NoD
May 29, 2008 1:08 PM | Link to this
Bryron - Billy resigned he was not fired, But you may still be correct in the racist point I don’t know one way or the other. Black GM, black head coach, 90% black players, you may be right. I don’t see any hire or fire unjustified.
By JustAnotherGuy
May 29, 2008 1:35 PM | Link to this
I’m white. I could give a rat’s * what color the GM and coach are.
The fact of the matter is that basketball is now, for all intents and purposes a black man’s game. The only white men that seem to be able to play it well seem to come from Europe, and they actually play much better team ball than their black counterparts, who rely on their street skills to get by.
The ONLY reason to hire a black coach over a white coach, all other things being equal, is that a black coach has a better chance of “relating” to the players.
And, you could also argue that having that quality actually is a detriment - you want a coach to have some distance from the players so that he can be dispassionate about evaluating their performance and holding them accountable.
I don’t care who or what color the coach is, as long as they can COACH the game, and as long as they WIN.
By Seeer
May 29, 2008 1:44 PM | Link to this
Byron r u kidding me…look in the mirror! It’s racest people like yourself that hold down this city! Please go away and stick to politic…cause we don’t want or need you as a sports fan! Good hire and go Hawks!
By bigeasy830
May 29, 2008 1:54 PM | Link to this
Great postt Maurice. I agree with you. I believe Lon Krueger got shafted when he was fired. The roster was terrible. We had some big name players but their best days were behind them. I am not quit sure if Deron Williams or CP3 would be on the bench. Those guys have special talents and even a fool could recognize that except, BK, well maybe he was a fool. A friend of mine once said that he meet Dominique Wilkins at a famous Atlanta Gentlemens club many years ago when there was all the hype about Harold Miner. He said he asked Nique if the Hawks should draft him. He said that Nique stated that Miner had a great game for college but it would not translate into a great NBA game. He said that Nique stated that Miner was a tweener. That Miner had ups for college but many players in the NBA would be able to jump with him. A player recognizes talent when they see it. They also recognize what type of team needs what type of coach, just listen to Barkley and Kenny Smith on TNT. Steve Smith or Nique would make greeat GM’s, look at what Joe Dumars has done in Detriot. Ok, Joe made the Darko mistake but he hit a home run in picking Stuckey and Prince. Plus vet free agents trust him and love to play for him. Those work there way to the top guys usually get exposed when they are the ones making the decisions. Sund was a terrible hire. All i can say is atleast I can still go see the game I love in person for cheap if the Hawks go back into the toilet.
By RA
May 29, 2008 2:14 PM | Link to this
First off, Byron I can’t believe that I’m wasting my time writing this to you, but here goes. I’m a black man too, and when I was boy my father had a saying, he said that it is much better to sit and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt. I’ll let you marinate on that one.
Now, JustAnotherGuy. It’s always funny how everything in some way or another relates to history and the mistakes that good people make along the way. For example, just before the emancipation proclaimation was issued, or right after, I forget, someone had the bright idea that because blacks would only be mistreated in this country, the only reasonable option would be to create a colony for blacks who’d been emancipated. Well, Lincoln thought that it was just the greatest idea, in the beginning. He changed his views later, but when Fredrick Douglas heard about Lincoln’s support for the idea, he said that “Lincoln is a first rate second rate man.” Well sir, while your motives may be noble, your ideas about black players and coaches are nothing short of stereotypical. I’d think about my views if I were you. Of all men, the most to be pitied are those that don’t know that they’re prejudice.
By dogmeat
May 29, 2008 3:01 PM | Link to this
Mark I agree and damn good post. Its time Hawks got new blood. Now a new Coach would be nice.
Sorry about last blog on Braves greatness…just didn’t agree with you.
By Officer Mancuso
May 29, 2008 3:17 PM | Link to this
Boy I hope Sund will fire Woodson. He is a terrible coach. I mean, he makes Terry Stotts look like John Wooden. That’s how goshdarn awful he is. I’d like him to hire Doug Collins, but its looking like the Bulls are going to bring him back. Shoot. But there’s got to be somebody good out there. Is KC Jones still working or is he retired? How about Sloan’s right hand man?
By Ignatius
May 29, 2008 3:25 PM | Link to this
What are the chances of luring Billy Cunningham out of retirement?
By Mark Bradley
May 29, 2008 3:38 PM | Link to this
You’re allowed to disagree. Pretty much everybody always does.
By Darrin "The Vent King"
May 29, 2008 4:23 PM | Link to this
Hope this guy works out, but more than that, I HOPE HE BRINGS HIS OWN COACH TOO!! BTW, I was at the Jazz Festival over the Memorial Day holiday and thought it was awesome to see fans out there with there Hawk gear on. You’re winning this town back fellas!
GO HAWKS!!
By Veteran Fan
May 29, 2008 4:23 PM | Link to this
Mike Woodson is a nice guy but his coaching style doesn’t work! Hire Avery Johnson ASAP and sign Emeka Okafor for a center. Sign and trade Smith for Deng from Chicago and resign Childress. At the end of all this, we will challenge for an Eastern Division title for the next 5-8 years! Line up 5 Okafor, 4 Horford, 3 Deng, 2 Johnson, 1 Bibby. Back ups: 5 Pachuglia, 4 Jones, 3 Childress, 2 Williams, 1 Law. Awesome, 50 wins guaranteed!
By Smooth
May 29, 2008 4:43 PM | Link to this
I think the Hawks made a good choice for the Job. I was listining to Buck and the stupid guy from Philly last night on sports talk radion and they just thought this was a terrible choice. The guy from Philly needs to go back to Philly.
By $ Bill
May 29, 2008 4:44 PM | Link to this
I say FIRE WOODSON!
Possible candidates: Avery Johnson (recent success with Dallas), Jeff Van Gundy, Brian Hill (former Hawks asst. who took Orlando to Finals), Paul Silas, Terry Porter?
By Eric
May 29, 2008 4:47 PM | Link to this
I am black and Byron is an idiot!! Billy Knight and Woodson need to go and it has nothing to do with race and everything to with qualifications.
By bill
May 29, 2008 4:50 PM | Link to this
Hey byron check your spelling. Illiteracy makes you look ignorant.
Go Hawks.
By Yo mama
May 29, 2008 5:02 PM | Link to this
Mark Jackson, Kurt Rambis, Brian Shaw, Tom Thibodeau, Dwane Casey, Jeff Bzdelik, Tyrone Corbin, Jeff Hornacek, Rick Carlisle. There’s A LOT better coaches than Woodson out there.
By eazy
May 29, 2008 5:04 PM | Link to this
What did Sund do with the bucks to get fire and is that why we hire him. How do we forward to this season when basically it looks tanked already. Then the owners would be curious why Phillips is empty.
By mreastside73
May 29, 2008 5:08 PM | Link to this
Yo momma I luv you. Thats exactly what I was trying to say earlier
By Spud Webb
May 29, 2008 5:12 PM | Link to this
hire Avery Johnson and this will start to get exciting. I’m not thrilled with Sund. Nothing too impressive on his drafting or trading. I will wait for a bit to start ripping him. Byron, you are a classic. Its people like you that make this town suck (sometimes). Read a book, educate yourself.
By mreastside73
May 29, 2008 5:13 PM | Link to this
Vent King I have to say they lost us again. Watch this guy will probably try to bring back Terry Schot or somebody else the sorry George Karl caoching try.
By BB
May 29, 2008 5:19 PM | Link to this
A comment was made about waiting for a coach from a championship team. Woodson was the top assistant for Detroit when they won the championship over the Lakers in ‘05. That didn’t translate into a winning program.
By whiteman
May 29, 2008 5:26 PM | Link to this
Byro, we’s all knows blacks are the true racist! They wants what the whites have. Jeremiah Wright would haves made a great GM.
By mrbig
May 29, 2008 5:40 PM | Link to this
The NBA is the only professional sports league going in the right direction in hiring minorities. I think more than just hiring blacks; latino’s and asian’s and all other true minorities should be considered and forget the qualifications. Until we have true affirmitive action this country will continue to go backwards. White men have been in control too long and it is time for the other races to be given management jobs in all fields.
By Sharon
May 29, 2008 5:50 PM | Link to this
Affirmative Action can burn in Hell, and so can all the racist naggers who support it.
GO HAWKS!!
By Ranger68
May 29, 2008 5:50 PM | Link to this
Didn’t Rick Sund draft Detleff Schrempf when Carl Malone was still on the board? Then he followed that up by taking Bill Wennington and Uwe Blab with 1 st round picks. All in one year. Top that Billy Knight!
By ZULU
May 29, 2008 7:33 PM | Link to this
Rick Sund? What did he accomplish anywhere he has been? Detroit has been much better off since he left, the Seahawks were in complete shambles. The owners pulled off a safe move, when in doubt hire a “never has been”. Some franchises make visionary winning decisions while others just keep puttering along. Now all that will be needed is for this guy to do is bring in one of his “wink-wink” coaching buddies.
By ATLplayer
May 29, 2008 7:40 PM | Link to this
Look…Woodson earned an extension! The guy was dealt a bad hand and still made his books. This team is flawed because of Billy Knight. Given better players at key positions and not having players playing out of position will give us 45 to 50 wins next year. A starting center will do wonders for all positions. Woodson earned the chance to coach a true big along side Horford, Smith, JJ, and Bibby.
By lex luther
May 29, 2008 9:03 PM | Link to this
I think that the New GM must re-invent the team chemistry. Yes, he is {maybe the right man for the job} but he must find a “Gary Payton” to go with Atlanta’s version of the RainMan…ie.JOSH SMITH. Two {2} pieces left for this puzzle along with a no-nonsense head coach that is capable of leading this group and we “The HAWKS” could remain a mainstay in the NBA playoffs and beyond.