It seemed Larry Drew had a good chance of returning as Hawks coach after the team’s management declared the season a success.
But they didn’t talk to Drew about his contract option during the season, and he still hadn’t heard from them a week after it ended. The team’s owners talked to general manager Rick Sund about returning while Drew waited to hear his fate.
“I’ve done been around this thing long enough nothing really surprises me,” Drew said. “To be honest, I was on pins and needles. You just don’t know.”
Drew got the confirmation he was looking for Friday when the Hawks picked up his contract option for the 2012-13 season. He’ll return for a third season as head coach after seven as an assistant under his predecessor, Mike Woodson.
The Hawks posted a 40-26 record during the lockout-compressed season, fourth-best in the Eastern Conference. After advancing to the second round for the third consecutive year in 2011, the Hawks lost to Boston in the first round last week.
In praising Drew’s work this season, Sund cited the team’s strong record in spite of a run of injuries and the rugged schedule.
“We feel Larry’s experience, expertise and dedication to the game were a key ingredient to our success,” Sund said in a statement released by the team.
Drew will make about $1.5 million next season, a salary that ranks near the bottom among the NBA’s 30 head coaches. He also will be in the final year of his contract, a potentially precarious circumstance for an NBA coach.
Drew said the Hawks didn’t broach the subject of a contract extension.
“You can look at it one of two ways,” he said. “It is the perfect situation? No. But at this point I’ve had a lot of dialogue about the situation with my representative. At this point, we are going to move forward.”
There’s a chance that Drew’s next team will include six of the top players from this season.
Starters Josh Smith, Joe Johnson, Al Horford and Jeff Teague are under contract. So are Zaza Pachulia, who started at center after Horford was injured, and part-time starter and top reserve Marvin Williams.
“It’s a group that is certainly knocking at the door,” Drew said. “It seems like every year around this time this is kind of where we are. It’s time to get over the hump. Hopefully we can come back with a bitter taste in our mouth about the way we finished this season.”
Drew said the Hawks will need to surround those six with role players “that can help us out.” Nine players from the 2011-12 team are eligible to become free agents in July, meaning the Hawks may have to find replacements for up to eight bench players.
It’s still not clear who will be in charge of building the roster.
Sund’s contract expires next month. He’s been in talks with the team’s owners about re-signing, but hasn’t committed to a return or publicly addressed his future; his other options include retirement or taking a part-time role with the Hawks or another team.
Drew said he wasn’t sure if Sund will return.
“I hope so,” he said. “But that’s going to be his call.”
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