Mike Fratello was on 680 at 8:30 AM.

[coachx]

The second I parked at work Mike Fratello came on 680 AM for an interview at 8:30 AM.

By the time I got to my desk, booted up the computer, and went to 680's web site it was over

Did any one catch it and care to fill us in ? Did they ask him if ever considered coaching agains or possibility working in front office capacity with an NBA team ?

[AnakinJoe]

He did say that he is interested in coaching again. He said he was disappointed with how his last job ended in Memphis (with Gasol and Stoudamire getting injured). He said that Woody did a good job with the team in the playoffs.

When asked about how he would move forward with the Hawks, he said the first step is to understand what the budget is from the owners. From there, make decisions about who you want to build around and go from there. He talked about San Antonio being a model for how to build a successful team.

Bottom line, he is looking for a job and will likely need to know that the team's owners are willing to invest in building a compettitive team. That latter point may disqualify us.

[coachx]

That is what I was hoping they would ask and what I hoped he would say.

At least we now knw Fratello does want to coach again. Many of us really like this guy.

[Dexmethylphenidate]

There won't be any coach haters on this board if Fratello is hired.

[Plainview1981]

I don't think the ownership is trying hard enough to build a great team. The fact that they have already basically re-signed a coach well under .500 without even looking at the other options suggests to me they're not trying very hard.

[AnnArborHawk]

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That is what I was hoping they would ask and what I hoped he would say.

At least we now knw Fratello does want to coach again. Many of us really like this guy.

I'd love to have Fratello. 16 seasons coaching in the NBA...winning record for 12 of them...made the playoffs 11 times. He's got one of the better resumes out there, so I'm sure somebody will grab him.

Only knock on him is, in those 11 playoff appearances, he won only a handful (3) playoff series.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Fratello

[AnakinJoe]

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That is what I was hoping they would ask and what I hoped he would say.

At least we now knw Fratello does want to coach again. Many of us really like this guy.

I'm on record that I support a Fitzsimmons/Fratello combo. Mostly because they worked together previously are both experienced and respected NBA men.

But I can't get over the hurdle that we have thus far operated with a bottom 3 payroll and reportedly have meddlesome owners who don't allow their basketball gurus to do their jobs. I had heard Fratello (I think on 790 last week) say that he is definitely interested in coaching again. What I found most insightful this time was his comment about ownership's financial commitment. I just don't see him signing up to coach a team with a bottom 5 payroll. Why would he?

[Admin]

I hate to have to keep coming back to that but when a team is good enough to get to the playoffs I think 3/4 of the people here could win more than 2 games out of 22. Even Mike Woodson won 3 playoff games in one series and he isn't exactly Phil Jackson.

[Dexmethylphenidate]

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I hate to have to keep coming back to that but when a team is good enough to get to the playoffs I think 3/4 of the people here could win more than 2 games out of 22. Even Mike Woodson won 3 playoff games in one series and he isn't exactly Phil Jackson.

Well, he has better luck coaching the Atlanta Hawks... 18 wins in the playoffs.

[Guest]

What about 106-222 (.323) verse 667-552 (.547)? And oddly enough, Fratello's playoff record is the same percentage as Woodson's overall (20-42). I don't think pointing at Fratello's playoff record really does much, he is a good experienced coach and that is what I look at.

[Admin]

That was with a very good team and over 20 years ago. I'm just not certain that his style of play fits with this team or even this generation of the NBA. I realize there is the nostalgia factor but sometimes coaching styles become outdated (look at Lenny Wilkins) and I honestly don't think Fratello is the right choice for this team. In his last job he took a decent team that was well coached in the fundamentals by Hubie Brown and they got progressively worse until he was fired. I think if we make a coaching change we need to bring in someone that has proven they can win this generation, not 20 years ago.

[Dexmethylphenidate]

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What about 106-222 (.323) verse 667-552 (.547)?

And oddly enough, Fratello's playoff record (20-42) is the same percentage as Woodson's overall [record].

I don't think pointing at Fratello's playoff record really does much, he is a good experienced coach and that is what I look at.

Well, that's all you need to know right there. It's good to worry about how we do in the playoffs rather than how do we actually get in the playoffs.

I can't believe some wanted Woody ahead of Fratello. I think one of the owner's assistant is lurking here.

[Admin]

again, Fratello has proven that he can take a team and be average with them, get them into the first round and then get blown out. We have been down that road before with Lenny and we all got tired of it. Why ask for the same thing again?

I'm not advocating Woody as the coach of the Hawks next year but if we can't get a clear upgrade for him then there is no sense in making a change just to make a chance when we will lose everything in chemistry and continuity that we have built during the Woody era. You all may not like it but we have continually gotten better every year with Woody and we should be even better next year.

[coachx]

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again, Fratello has proven that he can take a team and be average with them, get them into the first round and then get blown out. We have been down that road before with Lenny and we all got tired of it. Why ask for the same thing again?

I'm not advocating Woody as the coach of the Hawks next year but if we can't get a clear upgrade for him then there is no sense in making a change just to make a chance when we will lose everything in chemistry and continuity that we have built during the Woody era. You all may not like it but we have continually gotten better every year with Woody and we should be even better next year.

To me the Hawks have slightly underacieved in the regular season.

However, the Cavs team were over achieving under Fratello. His best player, Shaw Kemp, was playing with hang overs and gaining weight like Opra. That was a mess of a situation. That team had no leadership from its best player.....he was a drunk.

The Grizz team over achieved under Hubie Brown and then over achieved under Fratello in a very tough Western Conference. Neither Brown nor Fratello could win a game in the playoffs in Memphis. That is what happens when Paul Gasol is both your anchor on defense and offense. He is a great 2nd option but if he is the best player on your team then I think a 2nd round playoff birth is just a wet dream

This Hawks team has more raw talent then either the Cavs or Grizz teams that Fratello won 50 games with. I trust Fratello and his expierence to mold that raw talent into a real team and even polish it a bit. Maybe we could even get home court advantage and make some REAL noise.

[Dexmethylphenidate]

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This Hawks team has more raw talent then either the Cavs or Grizz teams that Fratello won 50 games with. I trust Fratello and his expierence to mold that raw talent into a real team and even polish it a bit.

Maybe we could even get home court advantage

and make some REAL noise.

Good point. If the Hawks had home court advantage... they would've beat anybody in the east. Regular season wins count too.

[Admin]

Do you know how well Fratello's teams have done with home court advantage?

Regardless of how any of you try to downplay the rosters that Fratello had, if they are good enough to get to the playoffs and good enough to have the home court advantage in a series they should be good enough to win more than 2 out of 22 games.

[coachx]

you obviously dislike Fratello.

Who do you want the next coach to be ?

[Admin]

No I actually really like Fratello, I think he is a great announcer and I appreciate all that he did as coach of the Hawks back in the day. I'm just not for replacing Woody with another coach who will only be able to get us to the playoffs considering Woody can do that already. I'm all for replacing him with D'Antoni, Carlisle or Avery Johnson and maybe others if they become available. Last year I would have been happy to get Stan Van Gundy or Rick Adelman.

And again I have nothing against Fratello but there is a reason why he doesn't have a job coaching and why you don't hear teams anxious to bring him in.