Woodson wants contract extension

[jerrywest]

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It's just like the JJ situation to me.

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Woody is viewed as highly expendible because of the lack of respect he gets from the fan base.

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Woody is almost unanimously disliked by fans who watch the games is because his offense is on auto pilot. Crawford/Flip/JJ are the perfect types of players who hide Woody's disability.

JJ is irreplacable. Woody is disposable and can be replaced by many other more accomplished coaches waiting on the wings. Polar opposites.

[Kimsey]

LOL Anakin. Don't tell them that man.

Have them keep believing that the ASG can and will get any coach they want, if Woody is fired.

That's the mentality us Tennessee Vols fans had when they fired Philip Fulmer. We fire Phil, with the fans thinking we could hire or steal away a big name or up-and-coming coach from another good program.

So what do we do?

We go the cheap route, and hire a coach who failed miserably in his ONLY coaching stint . . Lane Kiffin . . a loudmouth punk that the fans either love or hate.

The ASG isn't spending 4 million a year to bring in Avery Johnson or anybody else. If they would, they'd already done it by now.

Woody, on the other hand, may very well accept a 2-year extension worth 5.5 - 6 million RIGHT NOW. But let the Hawks reach the ECF, that price tag goes UPWARD into the 3 year - 10 to 12 million dollar extension range.

If the Hawks get off to a bad start, they'll opt for an assistant coach ( take your pick ), to coach the rest of the year. Then once the season ends, they'll go out and get a guy who they can pay a 3 year - 7 million dollar deal to.

I can see it now . . the fan base trying to spin the hiring of Eddie Jordan or Billy Gillespie as a massive upgrade over Woody.

The fact is that if this team plays to its maximum potential, it's gonna cost even MORE MONEY to retain Woody..

About Avery Johnson wanting 4 years is because the Pistons are in full rebuild mold. It's going to take his 4th year to get them competing. Our team is a nearly finished product and a coach with high pedigree may feel or should think he can get it to contending status.

Once Jim Donnan stole Rodney Gardner from the Vols it' was the beginning of the end. He was one of the best recruiters in the nation and has shut down the borders in and around GA. You see how UGA swiped Marlon Brown straight under Tennessee noses and that would have never happened circa 1996.

Woody just has to be more patient than he has been. Ownership did the same thing with BK and he took it as an insult and look what has happened. Sund has taken over and in just over a year made decisions that has turned this team into one of the best in Atlanta history. The Hawks are now a big draw in the city over the Braves and nearly next to the Falcons. It's much harder finding good GMs than it is finding a good head coach.

[Swatguy]

About Avery Johnson wanting 4 years is because the Pistons are in full rebuild mold. It's going to take his 4th year to get them competing. Our team is a nearly finished product and a coach with high pedigree may feel or should think he can get it to contending status.

Once Jim Donnan stole Rodney Gardner from the Vols it' was the beginning of the end. He was one of the best recruiters in the nation and has shut down the borders in and around GA. You see how UGA swiped Marlon Brown straight under Tennessee noses and that would have never happened circa 1996.

Woody just has to be more patient than he has been. Ownership did the same thing with BK and he took it as an insult and look what has happened. Sund has taken over and in just over a year made decisions that has turned this team into one of the best in Atlanta history. The Hawks are now a big draw in the city over the Braves and nearly next to the Falcons. It's much harder finding good GMs than it is finding a good head coach.

Did Avery do a great job with that polished product in Dallas? I think not.

Woody has been given dung. Small doses of talent and made the best of his rosters(mostly young, thin and AAU like) and pushed them to the p[layoffs. Come on now, our best player is forth team SG at the best. No one else is considered as an All-Star. It is the NBA were without horses you do not place.

Woody wants security for his coaches (held hostage) and his and their families. And they have worked hard with the most distracting Administrations in the history of the NBA. Not to mention BK's drafting and selecting of personnel.

What has Avery done? Carlisle, fired for reason. Sanders a push over.

The bigger problem with not extending Woody is limiting his authority over the players. Some seem would not mind the team suffer with Woody being lameduck rather tha successful with a Woody (as well as the coaches) under a good contract

[DrReality]

From Jeff Schultz today:

Most coaches would embrace a strong off-season like the one the Hawks have had and try to use it to build some momentum and excitement for the upcoming season.

But Mike Woodson is not like most coaches. He prefers to whine.

Woodson is entering the final year of his contract. He apparently wants to make sure everybody knows that. I guess the hope is, I dunno, somebody starts a Save-The-Woody write-in campaign. The combustible one spoke about his situation again this weekend to Yahoo Sports. Most of the comments echoed those he told our premier hoops writer, Sekou Smith, three months ago. But Woodson turned up the rhetoric, saying: “Am I a little disappointed that none of my staff and I were extended contracts this year? You’re damn right I am because we deserve it. … Any other coach probably would’ve been extended, without a doubt. … For us not to be extended is not right.”

You know what’s not right? A coach who goes 106-222 in his first four seasons and doesn’t get fired, only to then ask for a new contract after his first — first — winning season before the existing contract has expired.

The Hawks won a playoff series last year. Woodson wants to cash in. But the Hawks aren’t exactly in contract extension mode right now. General manager Rick Sund didn’t even give an extension to point guard Mike Bibby before last season. Why would he do that for Woodson, who doesn’t nearly have Bibby’s career resume? (Bibby got his extension after the season).

Sund could’ve fired Woodson when he was hired as GM last year. He didn’t. He gave him a two-year contract. He basically told the coach: “I think you deserve a chance to come back but I’m not committing to you long term. Let’s re-evaluate in 2010.”

It’s 2009.

If Woodson really felt as secure as he claims he is, he would coach the team Sund improved this off-season, take the Hawks to the next level and then use that as leverage in negotiations. Then again, maybe he’s just not as confident as he says he is.

Edited August 31, 2009 by DrReality

[AHF]

Interesting spin that Belkin kept him from getting fired . . . . . but highly unlikely.

Unlikely most of all for the fact that if the other owners wanted to fire Woody they could have just done it. 2 votes carry the day over 1 so if Belkin was the only objector between him, the Atlanta group and the DC group then they would just outvote him and get it done. They didn't, so obviously any of those three that thought Woodson should be fired were in the minority and outvoted 2-1 (or there was agreement 3-0 to keep Woodson).

[TheTruth]

Call me crazy, but Jeff has a point in that recent article DrReality posted.

I agree with it 100%.

[DrReality]

Serve him a little cheese with that whine.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

Woody has been given dung. Small doses of talent and made the best of his rosters (mostly young, thin and AAU like) and pushed them to the playoffs. Come on now, our best player is forth team SG at the best. No one else is considered as an All-Star. It is the NBA were without horses you do not place.

Woody wants security for his coaches (held hostage) and his and their families. And they have worked hard with the most distracting Administrations in the history of the NBA. Not to mention BK's drafting and selecting of personnel.

What has Avery done? Carlisle, fired for reason. Sanders a push over.

The bigger problem with not extending Woody is limiting his authority over the players. Some seem would not mind the team suffer with Woody being lameduck rather tha successful with a Woody (as well as the coaches) under a good contract

Excellent post . . and the God's honest truth. Some of them were saying that exact thing last year. Wondering if the Hawks would be better off getting off to a slow start, so that Woody would be fired.

Then we start out 6 - 0 . . and 22 - 11 . . and their hopes and dreams were dashed.

Let the church say Amen.

The hate and flat out disrespect that dude receives is uncalled for. It's one thing to call out his flaws. It's another thing to not give him a shread of credit for our improvement.

LOL . . I like how people got mad at him back in 07 - 08, for shortening the rotation, just so we could make the playoffs and save his job. Damn him for that!

And the best post scorer he's ever had is STILL Al Harrington.

[AHF]

And the best post scorer he's ever had is STILL Al Harrington.

Some might believe that he has had the tools to develop a better post scorer than Al since he has had a 6'8'' shooting guard in Joe Johnson along with several forwards with the tools but not the learned skills to play in the post in Al Horford, Josh Smith and Marvin Williams.

I don't think Woodson should have been canned after last season but I do think that was the first season the team's record matched its potential. I hope Woodson coaches the team to an undefeated season this year and gets a monster extension. That said, I would not extend him before seeing him implement a competent offensive philosophy now that he clearly has all the tools he needs to do so.

[Swatguy]

Some might believe that he has had the tools to develop a better post scorer than Al since he has had a 6'8'' shooting guard in Joe Johnson along with several forwards with the tools but not the learned skills to play in the post in Al Horford, Josh Smith and Marvin Williams.

You cannot expect a veteran player to develop their game At Training camp, or at practice during the season.

The bulk of "player development" has to be in the off-season with their personal trainers and agendas. I not sure if Woody or the staff is allowed to develop players outside of summer camp/summer league.

This is Pro basketball where players are responsible to step up their game.

It's like an IT guy that doesn't want to study for certs.

" " a real estate guy that doesn't do seminars/classes.

" " a college grad that is not getting your masters.

This is not playStation were Woody has the controller and the players are waiting on him to operate them.

The Guys have to bring development.

It is why Woody gets on their azzes because they are expected "to do the work". They get paid to pay for the tools they need.

Good Grief

Edited September 1, 2009 by Swatguy

[tbhawksfan]

Woodson once cried because he was such a poor coach until he remembered that he was getting paid big bucks to coach the Hawks.

How can you be a Woodson supporter Charlie Brown?

[thefloydian]

I cant fathom why he hasnt already been extended.

It's mainly because he's a crappy coach.

[Joker]

Give him an extension, he deserve it.