Woodson wants contract extension

[jerrywest]

http://www.realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/61347/20090829/woodson_looking_for_extension_from_atlanta/

[Plainview1981]

This guy thinks a little to highly of himself I think.

[WraithSentinel]

Wait until after the season. There is no need to give into his demands. Even if he chooses to leave. Hawks will still be a very attractive place to land a good coach. Basically the entire team is locked up long term.

[NJHAWK]

I cant fathom why he hasnt already been extended.

[tonegully]

I cant fathom why he hasnt already been extended.

I think Sund is waiting to see how the team performs during the early part of the season. Can you put incentives in coaches contracts? Like how many ISO Joes we run and how many people on the bench he uses.

[GameTime]

I cant fathom why he hasnt already been extended.

Because he isn't a good coach.

[Flight]

How bout he'll get his if JJ signs an extension

[Johann]

I cant fathom why he hasnt already been extended.

It suddenly strikes me that maybe the owners wanted to can Woody like BK demanded, but Belkin balked to put the heat on Knight.

Maybe Belk is the only thing standing between Woody and the door.

[sturt]

I agree that Sund is likely waiting to see how the first part of the season turns out... and I agree with that philosophy. If the team is underperforming as of January, I would not be the least surprised to see a playoff-tested coach like Jeff Van Gundy assume control.

[capstone21]

I agree that Sund is likely waiting to see how the first part of the season turns out... and I agree with that philosophy. If the team is underperforming as of January, I would not be the least surprised to see a playoff-tested coach like Jeff Van Gundy assume control.

I am still not a Woody fan. I still feels that he has to prove himself. I think we should wait and see before giving him an extension.

[AnakinJoe]

Would a coach like Jeff Van Gundy, Doug Collins or any other "elite" available coach want a more stable ownership situation? Would they want more than 3 years (Avery Johnson was asking for 4 years from Dumars)? I think it is foolish to assume that elite coaches wouldn't demand more than this ownership group is willing to provide, both in terms of salary, stability and contract duration. So before they let Woody walk, they better know that they can get an upgrade and we're not holding a press conference to welcome PJ Carlesimo or Bob Hill to the Hawks as head coach.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

Would a coach like Jeff Van Gundy, Doug Collins or any other "elite" available coach want a more stable ownership situation? Would they want more than 3 years (Avery Johnson was asking for 4 years from Dumars)? I think it is foolish to assume that elite coaches wouldn't demand more than this ownership group is willing to provide, both in terms of salary, stability and contract duration. So before they let Woody walk, they better know that they can get an upgrade and we're not holding a press conference to welcome PJ Carlesimo or Bob Hill to the Hawks as head coach.

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..

[h2t]

I can see where Woody is coming from actually and am surprised we hadn't heard him complain sooner. I like the way Sund is handling this though..if he is indeed going to wait til the end of the season. Hopefully Sund doesn't give in just because of Woody's improving record. What a joke it would be to go through this teams prime with Woody as coach.

[TheTruth]

I can see why Woodson is mad, and why he feels he deserves an extension. I do. However, he is looking at his own performance with rose-colored glasses. I have said time and time again that Woodson is nothing more than an average coach AT BEST. He still shows no semblance of employing an offense other than Iso Joe, still uses a too-tight rotation, and doesnt come down on players that need it (Josh Smith). And that is just the beginning. Have we improved win-wise every year with him? Yes. Has Woodson improved enough to warrant keeping him as coach? I don't believe so.

Sund is doing the right thing by waiting to see what the Hawks do this year. Woody, to eliminate one of his patented excuses, finally has a deep bench. They may not be all-stars, but they aren't the Shelden Williams, Royal Iveys, and Estaban Batistas of our past. Woodson has no excuse to not use his bench, cut down on some of the starters' minutes (mainly Joe) and develop Teague as he earns playing time.

However, northcyde (as much as I disagree with his loyalist tendencies to Woody sometimes) makes a good point. If Woody falters and we don't bring him back, we aren't GUARANTEED to get someone better. It takes money , team attractiveness, and persuasion. I have been encouraged lately that the ASG is willing to spend money on its players, but will they spend money on a top notch coach? That remains to be seen.

The bottom line is that 1) Woodson is an average coach. 2) This is a very important year for both Woodson and the team and 3) Our team is moving into its peak years now that our youth is growing up.

If we falter in the playoffs like last year, do we REALLY want Woodson to command the ship with our team entering the most important years in terms of potential?

I, my fellow good men, do not.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

And for the record, I'm not against Sund waiting to re-sign Woody. It's just like the JJ situation to me. The more successful season we have, the more it'll take to re-sign him. So to avoid that, try to lock him up right now.

But of course, Woody is not JJ. Woody is viewed as highly expendible because of the lack of respect he gets from the fan base.

But no matter how much people dislike this statement, Woody is one of the MAJOR reasons why we're in the position we're in right now.

So if he can get this team to win on the road, and turn Crawford into an efficient player, then he's going to be deserving of a SIGNIFICANT contract upgrade.

That's just reality folks.

[DrReality]

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

[MaceCase]

Just call him "Woody Carlisle" if management is willing to do what it takes to find a viable replacement. We have been trying to emulate the Detroit model after all but if his firing is just to bring in a similar or inferior minded coach he might end up being known as "Woody O'Brien" to the fanbase.

Some Eastern conference history right there.

[Plainview1981]

I cant fathom why he hasnt already been extended.

maybe because this team has a terrible offense and the team got smoked by Cleveland.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

It's not even about loyalty to me with Woody. I think it's common sense that we keep him around from a cohesion and financial standpoint.

If the ASG said tomorrow that Woody was fired and we hired Avery Johnson or Hubie Brown, you wouldn't hear a peep out of me.

But all you have to do, is look at the teams that have fired coaches because they couldn't advance to that next level, and see whio they have hired.

- Detroit and Minnesota fire Flip . . and they go down

- Phoenix fire D'Antoni . . and they go down ( albeit still good )

- Indiana fire Carlisle . . and they go down

- Milwaukee fire Porter . . and they go down

- New Jersey fire Byron Soott . . and they go down

- Kings fire Adleman . . and they go down

- Dallas fires Avery . . and they're about the same with Carlisle

In each of these cases though, you could say that all of those teams started to level off or were going down, when those coaches got fired.

In Woody's case, we still don't know what the ceiling of the team is, but people still want him fired. Why? To hire that "great" goach that will get us over the hump? And the best name people can come up with is Jeff Van Gundy? ( a guy whose success came when he was coaching a Hall of Fame center in Patrick Ewing . . but couldn't do jack T-Mac or Steve Francis )

But if you noticed with the examples I gave, almost every single one of those teams hired either an assistant coach to replace the coach they had past success with . . or they flat out hired a cheaper former head coach.

And people don't think the same will happen in Atlanta if Woody is fired?

[GameTime]

Woodson is a horrible coach. If he leaves we don't get worse. His lack of knowing how to defend a team that uses pick and roll and/or rotates the ball (basic basketball 101) is an extreme failure. Not too mention his And-1 Iso offense.

He needs to leave. Sund is doing the right thing waiting and not giving him and extension.

Edit: It's not like he has leadership skills either (Which is very valuable as a head coach). His demeanor is similar to Wade Phillips (NFL coach)

I honestly don't know many (if any) positives to Woody.

Edited August 29, 2009 by GameTime