The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Sekou Smith) reports: The Hawks have reached an agreement with former Seattle general manager Rick Sund, who will be announced Wednesday afternoon as the team’s new general manager. The hiring of Sund, 56, wraps up a nearly four-week hiring process the Hawks kept under wraps. Sund, a consultant for the Sonics this past year after being reassigned by a new ownership group in April 2007, will take over for Billy Knight, who resigned after six years with the franchise, the last five as general manager.
Category: Atlanta Hawks Blog
Atlanta Hawks blog
Cavs assistant GM Chris Grant not joining Hawks
The Cleveland Plain Dealer (Branson Wright) reports: Assistant general manager Chris Grant will remain with the Cavaliers despite rumors that he was a lock to become the General Manager of the Atlanta Hawks. Grant, according to a source close to the situation, turned down an offer made by the Hawks.
All-Rookie teams announced
Atlanta Hawks center Al Horford, the runner-up for the 2007-08 T-Mobile Rookie of the Year award, was the only unanimous selection on the 2007-08 T-Mobile NBA All-Rookie Team, the league announced today. Horford received 58 votes, while Seattle’s Kevin Durant, winner of the 2007-08 T-Mobile Rookie of the Year award, received a total of 57 votes.
InsideHoops has to ask: How could a voter not have picked Durant as one of the top five rookies?
Rounding out the NBA All-Rookie First Team are Houston’s Luis Scola (53 points), the Los Angeles Clippers’ Al Thornton (48 points) and Seattle’s Jeff Green (43 points).
The T-Mobile NBA All-Rookie Second Team consists of former D-League player, Jamario Moon of the Toronto Raptors (38), Memphis’ Juan Carlos
Navarro (24), Philadelphia’s Thaddeus Young, (23), Detroit’s Rodney Stuckey (22) and Houston’s Carl Landry (18).
The voting panel consisted of the NBA’s 30 head coaches, who were asked to select five players for the first team and five players for the second team, regardless of position. Coaches were not permitted to vote for players on their own team. Two points were awarded for first team votes and one for second team votes.
NBA suspends Marvin Williams
The NBA has suspended Hawks forward Marvelous Marvin Williams one game for his excessive foul on Celtics guard Rajon Rondo, which took place in the third quarter of their first round Game 7.
For more info, click here.
The Hawks were getting beaten down in a blowout, and Williams decided to introduce Rondo to a big can of Whoop-Ass.
Since Atlanta was eliminated in that game, Williams will miss the first game of next season.
Hawks GM Billy Knight submits resignation
As of July 1, Hawks general manager Billy Knight will be available for hire. He and the club will part ways just as free agent negotiations begin.
For more info, click here.
It’s interesting that, as of now at least, Knight will be gone, but coach Mike Woodson will be there. Still, there’s plenty of time fo the team to part ways with Woodson as well, and I’d guess there’s a 50 percent chance of that happening. Taking the Celtics to seven games in the first round of the playoffs may suggest to the owners that Woodson is worth keeping around. We’ll see.
Hawks could face summer changes
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Sekou Smith) reports: Two of their key players, Josh Smith and Josh Childress, are restricted free agents and must be re-signed; the price tag for both could be huge. Hawks coach Mike Woodson and his staff have contracts that end June 30, and Hawks general manager Billy Knight is in a similar situation, with the team holding an option on his contract for next season. “I don’t know what to do with myself, man,” Al Horford said Monday as he walked down a corridor to his car. “I know we lost, but I just don’t know what to do with myself. You’re just done. “Obviously, you know the season is going to end at some point. But in school, you kind of knew what you had going on next. Here you’re done and you’re just … done.” Keeping a nucleus together for next season, and possibly another run to the postseason, is the only thing on the minds of the players.
May 4: Celtics 99, Hawks 65
The AP reports: Kevin Garnett had 18 points and 11 rebounds, Paul Pierce scored 22 points, and the Celtics turned back the pesky Hawks with a 99-65 victory Sunday in Game 7 of their playoff series to advance to the second round. Next up: LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Game 1 is Tuesday night… The Celtics started the celebration early, holding the Hawks to 10 points in the second quarter and doubling their 18-point halftime lead in the third… Rajon Rondo, who missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer in the Game 6 loss that forced the series back to Boston, had 10 points and six assists, taking his lumps on a key play. Kendrick Perkins had 10 points and 10 rebounds before joining the rest of the starters on the bench in the formality of a fourth quarter, just like the Celtics did for much of the regular season.
InsideHoops.com Stat Notes: The Celtics shot 47.6%, the Hawks a ridiculously awful 29.3%, hitting just 24 of 82 field goal attempts. Boston was off from outside, hitting just 3-of-18, while Atlanta hit 6-of-12. The Celtics got a few more free throws than the Hawks, and hit at a better percentage. Rebounding was even. The Celtics dished more assists.
The Celtics got 22 from Pierce, 18 from Garnett, 12 from Leon Powe, 10 with 6 assists from Rajon Rondo, and 10 points, 10 rebounds and 5 blocks from Kendrick Perkins.
For the Hawks, Joe Johnson (just 5-of-17) had 16 points and little else. Salim Stoudamire tossed in 10 pointless points. No other Hawks scored more than 8 points. Al Horford, with 8 points, 12 rebounds and 2 blocks, was Atlanta’s best player today. Josh Smith shot 3-of-11 for 7 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals and more turnover than assists. Marvin Williams also shot 3-of-11.
Hawks finally making some positive noise
The New York Times (Ray Glier) reports: For five years, ever since a rebuilding project started with General Manager Billy Knight in 2003, Atlanta Hawks fans have resented failed draft picks (Shelden Williams), the refusal to draft a top-shelf point guard (Chris Paul, Deron Williams), the signing of the swingman Joe Johnson to a five-year, $70 million contract, and the squabbling over finances by a cadre of 10 owners. So when the Hawks were thumped in the first two games of a best-of-seven Eastern Conference series by the Boston Celtics, a collapse of the Hawks’ rebuilding project did not seem far away. Mike Woodson, the coach, was already in jeopardy of losing his job. Given the ease with which the Celtics sliced up the Hawks, it seemed very likely that the roster would be examined closely. But the Hawks have had the last word against the doomsayers. Atlanta suddenly looks like a promising franchise because it has taken the Celtics, who had the N.B.A.’s best record this season, to Game 7 on Sunday in Boston.
May 2: Hawks 103, Celtics 100
The AP reports: The Celtics are still the obvious favorite, having won all three games at their place by an average of 22 points. But the Hawks have lasted longer than anyone would have expected… The Celtics looked as shell-shocked as anyone. Paul Pierce fouled out and spent the final minutes on the bench with a towel draped over his head, barely able to watch… Marvin Williams led the Hawks with 18 points despite missing much of the fourth quarter with a sprained left knee. Kevin Garnett had 22 for the Celtics and Ray Allen added 20, but Pierce—the other member of Boston’s Big Three—fouled out on a disputed call with 4:44 remaining… Joe Johnson, who went to the final period with just seven points on 3-of-9 shooting, came alive in the fourth. He saved his biggest shot for the end, getting James Posey in the air with a pump fake before hitting Atlanta’s only 3-pointer of the game to make it 100-95… Atlanta got double figures from every starters. Besides Williams’ 18, Bibby had 17, rookie Al Horford 16, Johnson 15, and Smith—who played less than 30 minutes because of foul trouble—finished with 11. Off the bench, Childress had 15 points and six rebounds, while Pachulia contributed nine points and six rebounds.
Apr. 30: Celtics 110, Hawks 85
The AP reports: Takedowns and menacing gestures. Double technicals and flagrant fouls. And the Boston Celtics are heading to Atlanta to try to deliver the knockout punch. Paul Pierce scored a playoff-high 22 points, and Ray Allen turned back the final Hawks’ charge with three 3-pointers in a three-minute span of the third quarter on Wednesday night to help Boston beat Atlanta 110-85 and take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series. The first five games have all gone to the home team, with Game 6 in Atlanta on Friday night… Kevin Garnett scored 20 and Allen had 19 to put the Celtics within a victory of advancing to the second round. Boston got a huge lift from its bench in the second quarter, when Sam Cassell scored nine points and Leon Powe had seven with five rebounds while holding Al Horford to a pair of baskets… Joe Johnson, who erupted for 35 points in Game 4—20 of them in the fourth quarter—scored 21, and Horford had 14 points and 10 rebounds for Atlanta. Mike Bibby continued to struggle in Boston, scoring six while recording one assist for the third straight road game… The Celtics took a 58-43 halftime lead, holding Atlanta without a field goal for more than seven minutes before Horford’s putback dunk with 1:05 left in the second quarter. Pierce drove for a layup to start the second half, then Atlanta scored the next 11 points to pull within 60-54.
InsideHoops.com Stat Notes: The Celtics shot 53.6%, the Hawks just 40.6%. Boston nailed 9-of-20 threes (Ray Allen 5 threes), the Hawks just 4-of-13. The Hawks spent plenty of time shooting free throws, hitting 25-of-29 to Boston’s 11-of-15. Boston controlled the boards and dominated the assists category (Mike Bibby had just 1 assist). For the Celtics, Paul Pierce had 22 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. Kevin Garnett had 20 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 blocks. Ray Allen (5-of-8 threes) scored 19. Sam Cassell (6-of-8) scored 13, and Rajon Rondo had 12 points, 4 rebounds and 7 assists. For the Hawks, Joe Johnson had 21 points but little else. Josh Smith had 18 points, 5 rebounds and 3 steals. Al Horford (7-of-11) had 14 points, 10 rebounds and a team-high 5 assists (but 3 turnovers). Marvin Williams had 12 with little else. Mike Bibby shot 2-of-8 for 6 points and more turnovers than assists.