Hawks News (5-11-04)

[HawkTodd]

Hawks News (5-11-04)

Nuggets will allow Hawks to interview MacLeod (5-11-04).

http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/h...04/12hawks.html

------------------------------------------------------------

Jackson still not certain of return date (5-11-04).

http://www.startribune.com/stories/511/4769471.html

Wittman to Hawks?

Wolves assistant coach Randy Wittman has been mentioned as a candidate for head coach of the Atlanta Hawks, a team with which Wittman spent most of his nine seasons as an NBA player.

Wittman said he had not been contacted by the Hawks, adding, "I'd have to listen." Kevin McHale, Wolves vice president of basketball operations, said the Hawks, looking to replace the fired Terry Stotts, had not requested permission to interview Wittman but indicated he would grant it.

"Randy would do a great job," McHale said Monday. "He knows the game, and he's put in his time. He had one opportunity in Cleveland, and I think it was proven by the coaches they brought in behind him that it was not the [coaches' fault]."

Wittman was coach of the Cavaliers from 1999 to 2001. He compiled a 62-102 record, though the Cavaliers were hurting for talent.

------------------------------------------------------------

THE LINKS (5-11-04).

http://www.slamonline.com/links/05102004/

Keith in Atlanta writes...

Del Harris is a name that the AJC's Michael Lee and Tim Tucker both mention today as a candidate to coach the Hawks. While he hasn't been out of the game as long as Hubie Brown was, he comes from that older group of coaches that have experience as head coaches. Del is 63 years old, and I remember an article by Marc Stein a couple of months ago when he stated that he had heard Atlanta was leaning towards going after a coach from the Hubie Brown age group.

I still feel that Chuck Daly is a name that could pop up before long as well. Daly and Knight worked together in Memphis, so there is a connection there.

My personal choice would be Mike Fratello, who I think is one of the best teachers of the game out there. He's also a coach that has changed his style to suit his team. In Atlanta, he ran an up tempo offense that could score a lot of points. In Cleveland, he didn't have the athletes, so he slowed it down and had them play very good defense.

In Lionel Hollins's case, I don't think it makes sense to fire Terry Stotts and then hire someone who isn't clearly an improvement. Hollins might be a better coach in the long run, but at this time, he does not represent an improvement. He represents more questions.

Jack Ramsey would be an interesting case. I imagine many would publicly laugh at the Hawks for doing that, but they laughed at Jerry West when he hired Hubie Brown. I do wonder how Ramsey would relate to the young players, as this Hawks team will be a young one for the next 2-3 years. How will Ramsey coach a guy like Dwight Howard or Josh Smith?

You bring up some great points, Keith. I've talked to a few people involved with the Hawks situation, and there are a few things to note.

The biggest problem with this whole thing is the new ownership group. Nine heads may be better than one, but they're also a pain to get on the same page. One reason it took so long to fire Stotts was because the majority of the owners couldn't be convinced it was worth it long-term to eat his $1 million salary and move on. Once that finally got handled, they've now got to agree on a coach.

I like Fratello for the Hawks, too. From what I hear, he's tight with two members of the ownership group, but they're in the minority. The other guys are indeed interested in Lt. Frank Drebin (Del Harris), but that seems incredibly short-sighted to me. Same with Dr. Jack and Chuck Daly. The Hawks need to hire someone younger with more local appeal, which Fratello has (plus he looks like he's about 12 years old, so there's your youth).

Maybe Mike Vick is available?

------------------------------------------------------------

MacLeod wants to be in charge again (5-11-04).

http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~90~2140018,00.html

------------------------------------------------------------

Philips Arena operating without fire safety permits (5-11-04).

http://www.accessnorthga.com/news/ap_newfu...ry.asp?ID=37717

------------------------------------------------------------

Remote chance of viewing NBA playoffs (5-11-04).

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=...id=161561&rfi=6

Now, it seems every cable channel outside of A&E and Bravo carries NBA playoff games. It requires great channel surfing skills to watch NBA playoff games.

The NBA is spreading itself too thin, but advertising dollars are all that matter. Maybe this is just the beginning. In the future, we may very well see certain teams appearing on certain cable channels.

Cartoon Network figures to get the dibs on Atlanta Hawks games. After all, the Hawks are so bad, it's funny. You could hear the laughter echoing throughout the Phillips Arena in Atlanta during any Hawks' game. The reason you could hear it is because there's usually only about 200 fans in the arena for a game.

------------------------------------------------------------

THE DAILY (5-11-04).

http://www.hoopsworld.com/article_8242.shtml

ATLANTA HAWKS: The argument against Atlanta stealing Del Harris away from Dallas to be the next Hawks head coach is that he's not a big-name draw. No one doubts that he's experienced -- the man has overseen both more wins and more losses than all but about a dozen others. But the Hawks need a big-name. There are few names bigger in all of sports than Kobe Bryant. Harris has the distinction of not only having coached Kobe in Los Angeles, but also Kobe's father in Houston back in 1982-83. Could Harris help draw this offseason's most coveted free agent?

------------------------------------------------------------

New CEO shooting for Hawks' rebound (5-10-04).

http://atlanta.bizjournals.com/atlanta/sto.../10/story2.html

[Admin]

Interesting about Harris' connection with Kobe. I didnt know that he had 2 connections with him......it will certainly be interesting to see where this offseason goes.

[Weez]

anyone know how they've gotten along? Jelly Bean I mean, not K Bean....

[KB21]

Del Harris and John MacLeod.

I'm still curious to see if they wait for Golden State to fire Eric Musselman before making a decision. Fratello and Musselman would be my top two choices, and I agree with Lynn Lang to an extent. BTW, that e-mail in his links was from me, but I'm not in Atlanta.

I think Musselman is a young guy that could connect with the fans. My questions about him is how will he react to having a team that may be adding two players that aren't 20 years old yet?

[sturt]

Kobe played for the Suns' Mike D'Antoni when he was in Europe and was on the record as looking forward to the day when he could play for him on this side of the pond... now of course he might have long since become less romantic about that notion, but I do wonder... think it might be more than mere coincidence that Barkley et al have decided to pursue ownership there?... that maybe some decisions have already been made?

[Weez]

better question is this: everyone knows that relationship (for the most part). It's also known that the Suns only have 10 mil in cap space....would Kobe, who is now unlikely to make as much in endorsements (McD's and Sprite dropped him), be willing to play for less? doubtful but possible.

so would any Western conference team roll the dice to trade with them/for their pick, knowing this? It'd make the Suns HARD to beat...but at the same time, a GM has to do what's in his team's best interest....