Hawks hire former Seattle GM Rick Sund

[.dk92]

Hawks hire former Seattle GM

Rick Sund will decide whether or not to keep coach Mike Woodson

By SEKOU SMITH
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 05/28/08
Like many, new Hawks general manager Rick Sund got caught up in the excitement that was the Hawks' playoff run against Boston.

Sund presided over similar rags-to-riches stories during his 32-year front office career in the NBA. He saw something special in the fight the Hawks showed in the series that ended this month, as well as their late-season surge to snap the NBA's longest playoff drought.

"I jumped on the bandwagon, too," Sund said with a chuckle Wednesday from Orlando, where he's working as one of the co-chairs of the NBA's pre-draft camp. "Any time a team has to overcome what the Hawks did to get to the playoffs and then pushes the best team in the league to Game 7, everyone gets swallowed up in the excitement."

Sund's view changes dramatically with Wednesday's announcement naming him the franchise's new general manager. He takes over for Billy Knight, who resigned May 7 after six years.

The progress, however painful it's been to watch the past six years, was evident to Sund — even from Seattle where he's been since 2001. He was the Sonics' general manager, though he spent the 2007-08 season as a consultant after being reassigned by a new ownership group and replaced by Sam Presti.

"[The Hawks] stayed with the plan," Sund said. "From ownership to Billy to the coaches to everyone involved. They stayed with the plan. There are highs and lows in the process. And you're not totally there yet. But you love to see that type of progress."

Sund, 56, will be in charge of charting that progress going forward. And he has pressing issues that need to be addressed. Most notably is the fate of a coaching staff with contracts that expire June 30 and two restricted free agents in Josh Smith and Josh Childress that can entertain offers from other teams July 1.

Decisions regarding Hawks coach Mike Woodson and his staff, most of whom are in Orlando this week, and players won't happen overnight.

"I don't have a magic formula today," Sund said. "What I'm going to do is come in next week and meet with the staff and obviously talk with some of the players and get a lay of the land before we proceed to do anything. Once we do that, we'll go forward.

"Right now, my plan is to take one step back and get a good lay of the land and be a real good listener for the next week and a half."

Sund's analytical approach is one of the things that struck Hawks ownership, which sorted through a list of candidates.

"I know this sounds simple, but Rick gets it," Hawks part-owner Michael Gearon Jr. said Wednesday. "This is a guy that understands all the aspects of the process and what it takes to win. From his early days in Milwaukee, to Dallas and Detroit and finally Seattle, he's had some of the best coaches in the history of the league. We're talking about a guy that is able to be rational and objective in how he analyzes where we are and what we need to do to get better."

Sund admitted that the Hawks first have to look within when assessing how they move forward. And since he's bringing an outsider's perspective, he is well aware that evaluations have to be made first before verdicts are rendered.

"An outsider looking in always has a fresh perspective," Sund said. "You can't go crazy with that perspective, though. What we do have, however, is tremendous growth potential. Acie Law hasn't reached his full growth potential. Al Horford hasn't reached his full growth potential. Josh Smith, Josh Childress and Marvin Williams, none of those guys have reached their full growth potential yet. And that is a major plus.

"Like I said, it's an exciting time right now for the Hawks. But there is a lot of work to be done the next few years. So for me, it's a great time to come in and be a part of what's going on now and in the future."

Source

Hope he does a better job than Billy Knight.

 

[bulls12]

Well, coming out of Stinky Seattle, I'm not sure how he'll handle this team on the rise... Let's hope he doesn't screw this team over or anything.

 

[$tunna]

There's no way he can do worse than BK so I support him