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Home > Mark Bradley > Archives > 2008 > May > 29
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Advice for new Hawks GM Sund
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Hawks hold no picks in next month’s draft, but their general manager still faces significant choices. Speaking of Rick Sund, co-owner Michael Gearon Jr. said Thursday: “Every decision with regard to this franchise is going to be his decision.”
Here are the issues at hand, and here, for the new man, is some unsolicited advice:
Mike Woodson: Keep or dump?
This is tricky, given that Gearon has expressed his desire to retain Woodson, whose contract expires July 1. If Sund indeed has carte blanche, he should be able to hire the coach of his choosing. But does any GM want his first move to be a refutation of an owner’s stated wishes?
Luckily, there’s a middle ground here. Sund could offer a one-year extension. That way he could be seen as erring on the side of continuity while committing himself to nothing long-term. And if Woodson balks to the point of demanding more years, the new GM could wind up getting to hire his own man for next season anyway.
Recommended course: Sund should tell Woodson, “Your career record is 106-222. You’re lucky I’m offering another week, let alone another year. Take it or leave it.”
Josh Smith: Keep or dump?
The feeling is that some other team — Philadelphia has long been rumored as a suitor — will make a Joe Johnson-type offer to the free agent. (Say, $70 million over six seasons.) These owners could well be tempted to do a sign-and-trade and let Smith leave rather than match such a windfall. Here’s where Sund’s 30 years of NBA experience must be brought to bear.
No matter what the sign-and-trade package might be, it won’t include any player who fuses proven performance with such untapped potential. Already really good, Smith could/should get way better. It was evident in the Boston series that, for all the Celtics’ depth, they had only one man capable of playing so far above the rim, and that one — Kevin Garnett — is 10 years older.
•Recommended course: Sund should tell his owners, “Nobody in this draft and not many guys in the league can do what Smith does. If we let him leave, we’ll spend the next decade regretting it.”
Josh Childress: Keep or dump?
The Hawks might try to pinch pennies on Childress, who is also a free agent and who could command even wider interest than Smith. Ownership could say, “Do we really need to pay $40 million over six seasons for somebody who doesn’t start?”
Two years ago, the answer would have been no. But it became evident in the playoffs — Childress was, with the possible exception of Johnson, the most impressive Hawk over seven games — that he’s exactly the sort of dauntless sub who makes good teams good. The Hawks have a chance to stay good for a long time if they tend to business this summer.
Recommended course: Sund should say, “If we don’t match, we’ll have to find someone like Childress somewhere else. It’ll be simpler and cheaper to keep what we have.”
Mike Bibby: Keep or dump?
He helped the Hawks make the playoffs but was mostly awful in the seven games against Boston. He just turned 30 and will be a free agent after next season, during which he’s scheduled to make $14.5 million. Sund has indicated to the AJC’s Sekou Smith that he’s high on Acie Law IV.
For a franchise unaccustomed to spending big, keeping the Joshes will represent a massive outlay, and there will be some sentiment to ease the burden. But even if Bibby isn’t the long-term answer, this is no time for the Hawks to get stingy. For the first time in a decade, they’ve got something going.
Recommended course: Sund should say, “We need Bibby because Law isn’t quite ready. If he proves otherwise next season, I’ll try to move Bibby at the trading deadline. But not just yet.”
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Hawks 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.
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