Hawks have hired Rick Sund as new general manager

[exodus]

The bottom line here is that beggars can't be choosers. Everyone else was turning the Hawks down.

If you were an assistant GM would you take a job here relatively low pay knowing that the coach is already in place and that Gearon & Co would be meddling in your job?

[DrReality]

680 has a Seattle reporter on now giving insight to this guy. Says he has not had a good history of drafting players.

Picked up Damien Wilkens.

Not prone to make big changes. Likes to work behind the scenes. Not one to get into the lime light.

Has a lot of contacts in the NBA.

[dig]

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The bottom line here is that beggars can't be choosers. Everyone else was turning the Hawks down.

If you were an assistant GM would you take a job here relatively low pay knowing that the coach is already in place and that Gearon & Co would be meddling in your job?

I agree with this... if you consider the ASG's record & reputation, getting a veteran GM (albeit one with a questionable profile) like Gund is a homerun in my book... I was sure that Billy King or a complete unknown like Harold Ellis would get the job by default, especially after Stein's article that indicated Chris Grant, of all people, turned the job down.

[DrReality]

Asked if he will keep Woody. Said he didn't have any support from ownership, its been very chaotic. Been crazy, "56 different owners?" Always had to look over his shoulder.

Thinks this will help him having this background and dealing with our ownership.

Didn't seem to give the impression that he'd change coaches?

[DrReality]

I think the chances of us getting a new coach, after the ordeal to get a GM, are between slim and none. The ASG cannot afford to go through another process where they are embarassed when different guy turn us down. It's like a lot marriages that remain becasue there is a certain amount of security in knowing what you have. There is the chance that it could be better . . . . . but it could be worse. Given their financial limitations it's a no brainer. Sorry to say it.

[oiatlhawksfan]

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His top draft picks from his 6 previous drafts with Seattle.

6-10 Vladimir Radmanovich

6-11 Peter Fehse

6-9 Nick Collison

7-0 Robert Swift

7-0 Johan Petro

7-0 Saer Sene (at 10th overall!)

Anyone noticing a trend? He was determined to find himself some frontcourt solutions. No matter the cost.

That is 10 times worse than BK's draft record. However before you JUMP on him for picking those foreign bigs you must remember that heir ownership wanted guys picked who werent going to cost them money right away. They wanted guys they would hold the rights to for a year or so before paying them money was necesary.

Not realy none of those players are actual bust yet. Collison coming off a solid year, johan Petro was a sure steal, Robert Swift was considered a future all-star before injuries, and the jury still out of Saer Sene.

[AHF]

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His top draft picks from his 6 previous drafts with Seattle.

6-10 Vladimir Radmanovich

6-11 Peter Fehse

6-9 Nick Collison

7-0 Robert Swift

7-0 Johan Petro

7-0 Saer Sene (at 10th overall!)

Anyone noticing a trend? He was determined to find himself some frontcourt solutions. No matter the cost.

That is 10 times worse than BK's draft record. However before you JUMP on him for picking those foreign bigs you must remember that heir ownership wanted guys picked who werent going to cost them money right away. They wanted guys they would hold the rights to for a year or so before paying them money was necesary.

Not realy none of those players are actual bust yet. Collison coming off a solid year, johan Petro was a sure steal, Robert Swift was considered a future all-star before injuries, and the jury still out of Saer Sene.

On the other hand, in a combined 12 seasons not one of those big men has even averaged double figures.

Zaza Pachulia has done it twice.

[oiatlhawksfan]

Collison average 9.8pts 9.4 reb in 28.5 minutes

Johan Petro is 21 and averaged 6pts 5reb

Robert Swift hasn't been healthy since he was like 19, and before then he looked like a player that would average 13-15pts 8-10reb by now.

[DrReality]

How do evaluate his performance other than the draft? He has most of the major pieces in place and now the question is what do you do with them?

Unfortunately I think the ASG are going to dictate to him what they want to be done . . . so it may not matter.

[HawkItus]

I don't see the issue people have with the hire.....he isn't going to be making lottery picks if things go as planned......the team is built for the most part......we just need him to make 3 decisions that he seems to be qualified to make according to his record.

1. Woodson(30 years in the NBA he should be able to make a decision quickly)

2. Keeping or trading the Joshes(he seems to have a good handle on dealing players, and if we are keeping them its a money issue that other teams will decide anyway)

3. Filling the bench(He found Damien Wilkins, brought in Wilcox)

so my opinion is fans should wait and see. let the guy make a few moves before we decide on this hire.

[AHF]

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Collison average 9.8pts 9.4 reb in 28.5 minutes

Johan Petro is 21 and averaged 6pts 5reb

Robert Swift hasn't been healthy since he was like 19, and before then he looked like a player that would average 13-15pts 8-10reb by now.

Collison has gotten close to double figures but hasn't actually done it. One day he may match the mighty deeds of Zaza Pachulia. Petro and Swift have career highs of 6/5 but they are young enough that one day they may also reach those heights. 12 seasons and counting for those 4 picks (3 lottery) so it should happen eventually.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

LOL . . there sure is a lot of spinning going on in this thread. Those Seattle players Sund has drafted would have a very difficult time even seeing playing time for us.

Swift a potential 15 and 10 guy? Petro a good player? WOW.

It just goes to show that sometimes you have to be careful what you wish for, when you want to change something. Better make sure you're getting a true upgrade if you're changing.

This is like trading in a Hyundai for a Kia. Yeah, it's a different car, but is it a better one?

[GST]

http://www.eskimo.com/~pbender/mavs-news/93-94/sund

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As one article put it, Sund's career in Dallas can be divided into

two halves: the success of building a team from 1980 to 1988 to

the disaster of the team falling apart from 1988 to the present.

Sund's master stroke came during a four month period starting in

October 1980 when he traded Mike Bratz, Jerome Whitehead, Richard

Washington, and Geoff Huston to Cleveland for #1 draft choices in

1983, '84, '85, and '86. Those picks turned out to be Derek

Harper, Sam Perkins, Detlef Schrempf, and Roy Tarpley.

Then coach

d*ck

Motta said in 1984, "What Rick did with Cleveland

he ought to be arrested for. There will never be anything like

that again."

The league has since instituted what is commonly referred to around

the league as the "Sund Rule", a team is not allowed to trade #1

picks in consecutive seasons.

[oiatlhawksfan]

Do you watch the Sonics. Swift started out slow because of how raw he was, but when he was getting some playing thime he started producing. He was sort of like Al jefferson in Boston, he was brought up slowly. Johan Petro is consider as a very athletic 7 footer, who has a chance to be really good. Don't you remember when he came off the bench and killed us.

[Kimsey]

What I can gather he is better at acquiring players thru trades and free agency than drafting players.

As some here suggests, he won't run the ship solely by himself so we'll just see. We will not see any lotto picks anyways so the plan goes.

Sane was a long reach in a bad draft, bad gamble.

Petro is a fringe starting caliber C for a no. 25 pick(not bad at all) and Swift is injury prone but still considered promising once he gets past his injury issues if he can.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

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Do you watch the Sonics. Swift started out slow because of how raw he was, but when he was getting some playing thime he started producing. He was sort of like Al jefferson in Boston, he was brought up slowly. Johan Petro is consider as a very athletic 7 footer, who has a chance to be really good. Don't you remember when he came off the bench and killed us.

Yeah I watch the Sonics. And both of those guys are garbage. A lot of scrub players kill the Hawks. Melvin Ely has dominated us before. We made Damien Wilkins look like Dominique and Gerald combined. Even Speedy a few years ago with the Hornets, without Chris Paul, dropped 29 on us.

And I'm sorry. Swift and Petro are not good players or even potentially good players. They are serviceable big men at best.

Petro shot 42% FG this year . . as a center. That's horrific. As for Swift, he had nowhere near the talent that Jefferson had in Boston. Not even close.

Ish, if that's the case, Shelden is a potential 15 and 10 guy. He can at least say that he's scored 20 points and 15 rebounds in a game once, and has more double doubles than both of those guys combined . . . which totals about 4.

[Guest Walter]

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BK definitely had the higher picks and the ability to pass on better talent but even if you take the lottery picks out of the equation for the Hawks, as someone else posted, it is also hard to argue that Sund did as much with the:

#10

#10

#12

#12

#14

picks as BK did with the:

#17

#23

selections.

I've never complained about BK's drafting of JS or Diaw, both players I wanted. In Smith's case he was a hometown hero and simply wasn't going to be passed on. However, never in the history of sports has a GM passed on 2 consecutive ROY/2 consecutive all-stars, and picked the 3 worst of the considered prospects. Never. No matter the sport. Never has anyone done so poorly given such importance. It's one thing to complain about a GM trying to find a center in haystack of a 10, 12, and 25th pick, all 3 extremely young, one with incredible physical tools despite only 4 years of basketball training picked in perhaps the weakest drafts in NBA history after the 8th pick (Rudy Gay) and the other having an ACL injury impacting two seasons. It's another to whiff on THREE CONSECUTIVE HIGH LOTTERY PICKS with 3 consecutive 6'8" players. Worse still, promising oneself out of the draft day trade scenarios over the prospect with by far the least upside.

Truth is that I would rather have ANY of the players that Sund drafted in Seattle over SW, a player drafted considerably higher than anyone Sund has drafted. Petro is better, Swift is better, while at the time I had on my lists of acceptable drafts a later 1st rd Pg like Sergio, Rondo or Marcus Williams along with Sene, Sene continues to have miles more upside than SW, Collison is better, Ridinour is better. So, using your type of comparison JS (strongest draft in recent memory, hometown hero) > all of Sund's Seattle picks although with big man and potential value > SW who was a high lottery selection.

Do I think that Sund is great? No. But I do think he is at least a slight upgrade over BK overall and the most we could hope for given our ownership situation. I do agree with you however, much of Sund's "value" to the franchise should come in the form of a new coach and I'm not sure with this ownership that is happening.

W

[AHF]

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I do agree with you however, much of Sund's "value" to the franchise should come in the form of a new coach and I'm not sure with this ownership that is happening.

W

We'll hope for the best on that front together. Come on independent authority - baby needs a new coach...