The New Era in Atlanta
Josh Smith (photo. adidas)
It’s easier when your team sucks. At least it’s easier for the GM/executive/owner in charge of hiring a new head coach. When an NBA team sucks (Clippers, 76ers, Nets) just about anybody who’s different from the previous coach is a good hire. If he’s got a solid resume and some name recognition? Gravy.
But when a team is replacing a coach who was relatively successful, the process becomes tougher. Some organizations go for the big, splashy name (Tom Izzo, Cleveland); others promote an assistant from the previous regime to maintain some semblance of continuity (Phil Jackson, Chicago); others bring in a lesser-known name with lowered expectations (John Kuester, Detroit) as a silent admission that it’s time to rebuild.
Coming off their best two-year stretch since the mid-’90s, the Atlanta Hawks picked Option B, with a side of C: Larry Drew, an assistant under Mike Woodson, was hired over the weekend as the franchise’s next head coach. Drew played in the NBA in the ’80s, but lately has been recognized on the mainstream level as the father of North Carolina PG Larry Drew II more than he’s known for his coaching acumen. Drew has never been a head coach, so the expectations have to dip a bit going into next season, but with a young Hawks team that could be on the verge of something big, it made sense that management wouldn’t want to upset the chemistry too much.
So will the Hawks be a different team under Drew? At this point, that depends more on whether Joe Johnson will re-sign this summer than anything the coach will do. If Joe does come back, though, expect a few changes. Columnist Michael Cunningham wrote about it in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Sunday:
I talked to some players this weekend, and all of them said they expect LD’s approach to be different than Woody’s. Drew often ran the second-team offense in practice and was said to deploy creative sets, with one player describing them as a “fun” departures from the isolations. Another player said when things went badly for the Hawks, LD tended to be more of an “encourager” than a “screamer” and focused his energy on laying out a detailed plan for how the Hawks can get better.
The players have better insight into LD than the rest of us, and so it’s significant that he enjoys wide support among them. But they can’t be sure how Drew the assistant will work out as Drew the head coach. His relationships with players will be tested. Now LD has the final say on how to run the team, including playing time and touches, and players inevitably aren’t going to like some of his decisions.
It’s probably not much different than most real-life workplaces when your direct boss becomes the “big boss.”
The NBA is filled with assistant-to-head coach success stories: Phil, Pat Riley, Rudy Tomjanovich, Stan Van Gundy, etc. Drew could be one of those guys, or he could be another Larry Krystkowiak or Bob Weiss.
Weiss is the worst example of what can go wrong when a well-liked assistant takes over the reigns. When Nate McMillan left the Seattle Supersonics for Portland in ’05, reportedly the players enthusiastically pushed for Weiss — who’d previously held head coaching jobs with the Spurs, Hawks and Clippers — to get the job. Weiss was the “nice” assistant, the “player’s coach” or “good cop” who worked in contrast to the hard-driving McMillan. What happened? Weiss was dumped 30 games into the season, with those same players reportedly admitting he was too light on them; they needed a hard-ass. Assistant Bob Hill (the “bad cop” under Weiss) was brought in, and he didn’t last long either. And next thing I know, we don’t have a team in Seattle anymore.
Presumably, Drew’s hiring isn’t the beginning of a process that leaves Atlanta without an NBA team. But if he’s going to have some success and stand a chance of getting the Hawks over the hump as legit contenders, his players need to get with his program quickly and let whatever they had with Woodson go. Drew isn’t a new face, but this is a new era. From the AJC:
The players credited Woody with creating a loose atmosphere that made it enjoyable for them to come to work but then they didn’t get serious when it was time to do so. Woody backed off from the long, hard and frequent practices players didn’t like and in the end they didn’t work as hard as they should. Woody gave them on-court freedom (especially J.J.) and instead of taking that trust and becoming a free-flowing offensive team, they became a selfish “get mine” kind of team — and resisted Woody’s efforts to get them to share the ball.
Do you think the Hawks will keep improving under Larry Drew?
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June 14th, 2010 at 3:13 pm
Bruce says:
Even with a different cast, still same script for Atlanta.
Sorry Hawks fans!
June 14th, 2010 at 3:52 pm
Brown says:
Depends on what the roster looks like. I don’t think the coach was the entire problem. To me, they’re still too undersized to make it very far. They have a solid team, but their roster needs a few tweaks.
June 14th, 2010 at 4:22 pm
T.J. says:
If he can develop Teague and remodel our offense. Then he’s already won half the battle
June 14th, 2010 at 5:26 pm
LMNOP says:
The team needs a legit big man so horford can play 4 and smith 3. Marv Willaims is a bust, they should trade him. They need a new PG too.
If i was in charge of the hawks id see what i could get in a sign and trade for Johnson, he cant carry the team any further than they’ve gone so they’re probably better off getting some role players, a few ball boys and a $10 McDonalds voucher.
June 14th, 2010 at 8:02 pm
SlimeBucket says:
Maybe JSmooth will come back. I think Smooth could handle some of the PG duties. An upgrade over Bibby in any case as he is good enough defender. Don’t want Joe Johnson unless he takes $10 million or less. Let NY overpay for him. When Nash makes $10 – $11 million it is ridiculous these other suckers want more money. Marvin is a header scratcher; in any case since he has 5 more years left I don’t see any team taking him off the Hawks hands. You got to think he can be a Lamar Odom type player if the Hawks had an actual offensive system. I secretly root for the Hawks but they seem like a cursed team. How many elite PGs become an unrestricted agent and leave their team in the primes? I can only think of Jason Kidd and possibly Steve Nash(although he was considered too old to extend for 4 years by Cuban). Not counting Marbury(not enough of a winner) or Baron Davis(too many injuries). All the top teams in the playoffs had a good to great point guard. Hawks best point guard might have been Doc Rivers since I have been following them.
You got to pretty much draft a great point guard.
June 14th, 2010 at 8:07 pm
SlimeBucket says:
Hope the Hawks don’t sign JJ and possibly get Rubio when he decides to come back to the NBA. Being stuck in Western Conference cellar plus living in Minnesota or being in the easy Eastern conference and ATL is a good city to live in.
June 14th, 2010 at 9:46 pm
Heckler says:
couldnt they have got Mookie Blaylock to coach this team?
I thought they were waiting on Doc Rivers to decide if he wanted to be in Boston for another year?
either way, I expect Doc Rivers to be coaching the Hawks in the near future. 3yrs or less.
as for the roster, they need to move mike bibby first. send him to the charlotte bobcats right now for dj agustin or shit, maybe even ray felton. you know larry brown would love to have punk ass mike bibby. if not, im sure they could move bibby to washington for Gilbert Arenas.
then, they need to address their small forward situation. get rid of marvin williams. i seriously dont know why they drafted him in the first place (#2 overall). i mean shit, he couldnt even START at north carolina. send his ass to Toronto right now for Hedo.
next, they gotta get some more size. an athletic big who can bang, rebound, defend above the rim and step out and shoot the outside jimmie. no one big man now can do all that, so they might as well make a push for Jermaine O’neal for the vets minimum and vlad ramonovich.
lastly, sure up that weak ass bench. if joe johnson leaves, then jamal crawford starts. which means the Hawks bench aint gonna have shit. and dont try to sell me on Mo Evans.
they need a shooter: Eddie House is a UFA
they need size: Aaron Gray
they need a ballhandler: Speedy Claxton(?)
June 15th, 2010 at 6:44 am
Coop says:
@ post #5:
a) I don’t believe you understand economics ref your comments on Johnson’s wage demands.
b) He WILL get more than 11mil per
June 15th, 2010 at 2:07 pm
We-It Athletics says:
Why not a package deal to NO for CP3
June 16th, 2010 at 2:53 am
slimebucket says:
@Coop I know he will get way more than $11 million but JJ ain’t worth it whereas Steve Nash is. JJ ain’t good as Ginobili and you get similar production from Rudy Gay who is younger. The reality is inefficient scorers get overpaid compared to how much they help your team to win. You can pretty much determine how much an NBA player is going to make almost solely on his scoring average regardless of shooting percentage and all the other stats that matter. I think JJ wants to leave anyway. He isn’t about winning or he wouldn’t have left Phoenix. He just wants to be the man but he ain’t a good enough player. I hope Miami is smart enough to get someone other than him among the big time free agents so DWade gets more legitimate help. I think JJ is about to enter the Rashard Lewis phase of his career. Buyer beware.
June 16th, 2010 at 3:11 am
slimebucket says:
@Heckler I think they should make a push for Chandler. The Hawks don’t really need an offensive big man. Their offensive rating last year was in the top 3 but their defensive rating was middle of the pack at best. Horford just needs to play power forward since he has post moves and a good mid range jumper. Josh Smith can play the SF position ala AK47 before all his injuries. Bring back Childress and let him play the 2 guard and let him be the playermaker ala Kobe. Let Teague play. He is a better defender than both Bibby and Crawford and Crawford really shines as sixth man.
June 16th, 2010 at 3:26 am
slimebucket says:
Hmm Hawks don’t have cap space i.
They have some good young players in Smith and Horford. I hope they are willing to let JJ go as he can’t take them to the promised land. They could get Chandler for $9 million if they renounce Childress’s rights. I’m not sure how the Bird’s rights things work but they could possibly sign Childress if that is an option. I think Chandler makes sense because Orlando is not going anywhere and I don’t see any other centers that might slow him down a little. I mean the reality is that Orlando is ridiculously stacked. I would take Gortat over Chandler.