Hawks general manager Rick Sund has been on the job for just a few days and already he's having to deal with the rumor and innuendo that come with the job.

Sund is still in the examination stage, trying to get a lay of the land before making crucial decisions about the franchise's immediate future — namely how to proceed with a head coach, Mike Woodson, whose contract expires June 30.

But Woodson could actually be a candidate for other jobs, namely the head job in Detroit. His name has surfaced in the Pistons' search to replace Flip Saunders, who was fired Tuesday after back-to-back Eastern Conference finals flameouts with a veteran cast.

Pistons assistant Michael Curry is reported to be the lead candidate, and published reports in Detroit insist that the details of a contract are currently being worked out.

But there were similar reports last week about the Hawks hiring Cleveland assistant general manager Chris Grant for Sund's job two days before Sund was announced as the Hawks' new boss.

"I've told Woody that our first priority when he gets back [to Atlanta] is to get together and sit down and talk," Sund said Wednesday afternoon from the conference room that's serving as his temporary office at Atlanta Spirit's downtown headquarters. "That's at the top of our agenda."

Woodson returned to Atlanta late Wednesday afternoon but did not return repeated calls from the Journal-Constitution seeking comment.

Still, without a new contract Woodson becomes a free agent in two weeks, one of many the Hawks will have to deal with in the coming weeks. Restricted free agents Josh Smith and Josh Childress could be free to explore their options July 1.

Woodson said last week that wanted to return as Hawks coach, adding that he believed he and his staff had deserved a chance to continue what they began here four years ago.

"The bottom line is, and my attitude has always been, that if our team got better and our players respected what me and my staff have done that we deserved to be back," Woodson said. "Our team has gotten better. I think our players do respect how we work and prepare. I take pride in that. And there are a lot of coaches in this league that work their tails off, and we're no different. We work at our craft. And I'm proud to say that."

Woodson's history with the Pistons is no doubt playing a huge role in his name being circulated as a candidate in Detroit.

Woodson was the lead assistant on Larry Brown's staff in Detroit in 2004, when the Pistons defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in five games for the NBA title.

Had Woodson stayed in Detroit the next season, when the Pistons lost in the NBA finals to San Antonio, he would have been in line to take over for Brown.

Instead, Woodson has suffered through four consecutive losing seasons with the Hawks and has a 106-222 regular-season record.

The Hawks were 37-45 this season, but earned a playoff spot for the first time in nine years. Their rousing seven-game first-round series against the Boston Celtics, who have advanced to the NBA finals, has certainly boosted Woodson's stock.

Other coaches and executives sought out Woodson at last week's predraft camp in Orlando to praise him for the work he and the Hawks did during the playoffs.

"It's been non-stop everywhere we've been since the playoffs ended, from other coaches, general managers and players," Woodson said last week of the praise form his peers and colleagues. "It was a [heck] of a run. But it's like I've always said, it's never been about my staff and me. It's about taking on an opportunity four years where we started from nothing and built this thing to where we are now. And we still have a ways to go, I know people don't always like to hear that. But it's about making sure we get people back, signing the two Joshes and adding more pieces.

"Because we've got a nice buzz going around the Atlanta Hawks. Our fans have been fantastic and we want to continue to give them something to cheer about."