Avery Johnson - Leading Canidate?

[PaceRam]

Just read somewhere that Avery Johnson is going to have his 2nd Interview with the Hawks today and according to this article he is the leading canidate for the Hawks Head Coaching position. Just curious IF this article is correct and Johnson does get the job what are your opinions on him. From reading this Board I do get the feeling there are a lot of Mixed (some good -some bad) opinions on Johnson. I have to admit until I read some ot the negative posts about Johnson on this Board I was pretty excited about the possibility of him becoming the next Hawks coach but some of the posters have brought up legitimate concerns.

[KB21]

Just read somewhere that Avery Johnson is going to have his 2nd Interview with the Hawks today and according to this article he is the leading canidate for the Hawks Head Coaching position. Just curious IF this article is correct and Johnson does get the job what are your opinions on him. From reading this Board I do get the feeling there are a lot of Mixed (some good -some bad) opinions on Johnson. I have to admit until I read some ot the negative posts about Johnson on this Board I was pretty excited about the possibility of him becoming the next Hawks coach but some of the posters have brought up legitimate concerns.

This is the link I posted in another thread:

http://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2008/5/3/472331/the-night-avery-johnson-lo

After the Denver loss, the first thing he did was strip Devin Harris of his freedom to run the offense. Fast breaks and offensive sets built off of transition were removed, as Johnson slowed the game down so that he could call plays and run the offense. For the first 20 games the Mavs offense was clocking in at 90 pace, a significant gain over the previous year's glacial offensive pace. As we noted in a previous column, however, the pace was inconsistent. Twice in November Harris directed back-to-back-to-back games where the first game had a pace of over 95, which was followed up with a game where the pace plummeted to under 84, only to have the pace increase again to over 92. This inability to control the pace of the game clearly drove Johnson crazy, and the low point was, not coincidentally, the Denver game on December 6, where the Mavs played completely at Denver's pace, over 100.

The next five games after Denver the Mavs pace never went over 85 and averaged an almost unbelievably slow pace of 83. To put this into perspective, the slowest team in 2006-2007 was the Detroit Pistons, and they averaged a pace of 86. After Denver, Johnson put the hammer down on Harris, and he never let up.

In short, after the Denver loss, Avery Johnson lost his perspective on the team, what it needed to do, what HE needed to do, and, perhaps most importantly, the value of listening to advice from others. His response was extreme, and it reverted the Mavericks back to the team that lost in the first round of the playoffs the previous season: A one-dimensional iso-focused offensive team that was eminently beatable in a series. Even worse, it was clear as the season wore on that Avery's reversion to his system adversely affected his players, which affected their effort, especially on the defensive end.

As I have said before, I don't think there is one great candidate out there that you can look at and say "The Hawks have to hire this guy." I think some fans see Avery Johnson as that guy. To me, he's a lot like Scott Skiles. It's obvious he can coach. He took a strong Mavs team to the NBA finals. Of course, that team blew a 2-0 lead in that finals and then proceeded to lose in the first round the next two seasons.

Much like Scott Skiles, Avery is a coach that has to have things done his way. I think his players buy into his way early on, but like Scott Skiles, his no nonsense approach has a tendancy to drive some players away from him. I think ultimately in Dallas, his players just tuned him out. As the article linked above, he lost the voice of his best player when the team brought Jason Kidd in and Avery did not turn the offense over to him.

[DrReality]

Good post. Made me think of Smoove though when you talked about players not buying in or turning him off. I want to see a coach who can make adjustments to utilize the talents we have.

[KB21]

Good post. Made me think of Smoove though when you talked about players not buying in or turning him off. I want to see a coach who can make adjustments to utilize the talents we have.

I agree with that, but I also think this team needs much better point guard play to be able to take advantage of the athleticism on this team. It's easy to say this team should be an up and down the court team, but at this point, this team does not have the point guard ability to be an up and down the court team. Maybe Jeff Teague will develop into that type of point guard. I think he's more of a scoring point guard than a tempo setting point guard, which is one reason why I was hoping for Tywon Lawson in the draft last year.

The question with Avery Johnson is this. Will he allow a point guard to call the game and dictate the flow, or will he continue to run the team from the bench? With a young point, I would hope he would run things from the bench till he was ready, but I would also hope that he would know when he needs to give the point guard the freedom to dictate the tempo of the game and call the game.

[lethalweapon3]

Now that he's out of the running in NOLA (they're believed to be down to Thibo and Monty), ATL is certainly Avery's preferred choice. Whether the feeling is mutual, we shall see...

~lw3

[PaceRam]

KB21 - I was also hoping Ty Lawson would drop to the Hawks (and, that the Hawks would select him if he was available!) but just like prior drafts (both NBA & NFL!) the players I would like to see my teams pick always seem to get picked one spot before my team's selection! And, also like you, Teague does look more like SG that a PG but does seem to have the physical assets to make a quality PG but will probably need some time to develop some of those skills (and, maybe the Summer League will help).

[Wurider05]

In all honestly does anyone even consider Devin Harris to be a floor general. He is a very good player but he is a shoot first point guard.

Edited May 22, 2010 by Wurider05

[coachx]

I want a coach that can crack the whip and make Smoove grow up.

If the next coach can't get Smoove to mature then Smoove is out of here. Time for Smoove to shape up or he is being shipped out.

I'm a life long Hawks fan but I can't bare to watch him embarrasment himself and the organization by acting like a 12 year old spoiled brat.

AJ will give Smoove "tough love." Its up to Smoove to deal with it. You can just let him "police" himself. The results are catastrophic. The results are a waist of talent and potential.

[coachx]

AJ was pulling a Larry Brown. As Brown did with Billups, he tried to "tame his game" and get him more under control.

[KB21]

AJ was pulling a Larry Brown. As Brown did with Billups, he tried to "tame his game" and get him more under control.

Just so you know, I didn't post that as a means to say that I'm against hiring him. I just posted that to give a different view and to show one of the criticisms levied against AJ.

[Diesel]

Just read somewhere that Avery Johnson is going to have his 2nd Interview with the Hawks today and according to this article he is the leading canidate for the Hawks Head Coaching position. Just curious IF this article is correct and Johnson does get the job what are your opinions on him. From reading this Board I do get the feeling there are a lot of Mixed (some good -some bad) opinions on Johnson. I have to admit until I read some ot the negative posts about Johnson on this Board I was pretty excited about the possibility of him becoming the next Hawks coach but some of the posters have brought up legitimate concerns.

I am surprised to find that AJ is the micromanager that he's been quoted as being. For that reason, if we're spending that kind of cash, I would hope that Byron Scott is on that short list too.

Personally, I think AJ will be a good motivator. He's a good defensive coach. The team will definitely respect him more than some assistant. The man has several rings and in his last position, he coached his team to the finals and was winning before being Bevetta'd.

Even when you look at the last break up with Dallas, I think everybody was disappointed when they lost to GS, but I think what lost the job was the fact that Johnson and Cuban didn't really see eye to eye on a lot of things. I think Cuban was the one who traded for Kidd.

Which leads me to this.

Do you think that Sund wants the AJ/Harris connection reunited in Atlanta?? What are we giving for that if it's going to happen?

[frankthetank966]

They need him. He is ideal. A former guard that will be able to mentor Teague. Also he is the kind of coach who will lure players and also media b/c he has such a great personality.

[jezmund]

Harsh or not, I want Avery Johnson to get a shot if he wants it.

[PaceRam]

Agreed! I realize like everyone else Avery Johnson has some questions but I think his positives outweigh his negatives and I hope he and the Hawks come to an agreement soon!

[NJHAWK]

He may wear out his welcome here in 2 or 3 years but those two or 3 years will be fun to watch and maybe even give them a title. It shouldnt take long for him to be in the grill of some of the lazier players on this team. Entertainment :thumbsupsmileyanim:

Edited May 22, 2010 by NJHAWK

[DjGrizz]

I am surprised to find that AJ is the micromanager that he's been quoted as being. For that reason, if we're spending that kind of cash, I would hope that Byron Scott is on that short list too.

Personally, I think AJ will be a good motivator. He's a good defensive coach. The team will definitely respect him more than some assistant. The man has several rings and in his last position, he coached his team to the finals and was winning before being Bevetta'd.

Even when you look at the last break up with Dallas, I think everybody was disappointed when they lost to GS, but I think what lost the job was the fact that Johnson and Cuban didn't really see eye to eye on a lot of things. I think Cuban was the one who traded for Kidd.

Which leads me to this.

Do you think that Sund wants the AJ/Harris connection reunited in Atlanta?? What are we giving for that if it's going to happen?

"Bevetta'd" LOL