Monday, April 26, 2010

Larry Brown Wants a New Job (Natch) But It Leads To Lots of Fascinating and Anonymously Sourced Reporting About the Hawks

I love Larry Brown. He taught me much of what I know* about basketball. I believe he's the best basketball coach in the world. Has been for roughly 30 years. I cannot wait to enjoy or eviscerate the first serious Larry Brown biography. I doubt that imagined volume will be more interesting than this Adrian Wojnarowski piece about Brown's (alleged and assumed) new job in Philadelphia:
Brown is angling to take the Philadelphia 76ers’ presidency, and has targeted Washington Wizards front office executive Milt Newton as his general manager and the Atlanta Hawks’ Mike Woodson as coach, sources said.
and:
[T]he possibility is strong that Brown will coach the 76ers, because Woodson wouldn’t leave an Eastern Conference contender unless the Hawks low-ball him in contract talks at season’s end. His deal is expiring with Atlanta, and several sources familiar with the Hawks’ plans predict an offer that Woodson could easily refuse.
and:
[T]he possibility of Brown coaching the 76ers could rest largely on how things play out with the Hawks. There’s been a cool relationship between management and Woodson, and sources say that the organization’s priority isn’t to reward him with an expensive contract extension. The Hawks are pooling resources to get maximum money available for Joe Johnson(notes). The message has been made clear to the Hawks: Offer Johnson a max contract extension on July 1, and they’re likely to keep him.

Sources say that this is the reason Atlanta is willing to sell its first-round pick for $3 million this summer, and the reason that they’ll likely offer no more than a three-year contract for $1.8 to $2 million a year to a possible Woodson successor
.
Milt (Alfreeka) Newton getting a GM job is about the fourth most interesting (to me) thing in this story.

*and/or think that I know

5 comments:

Dan said...

You nailed it on the head about waiting for his biography. I'm a huge fan of his work, and he's one of the most interesting figures in sports. I'd kill for an hour to pick his brain.

dmorton said...

Woody stays or goes, whatever. Sell the 1st round pick, i don't like it, but Hawks aren't likely to get a productive player anyway so I can stomach it. But please, please, please don't give Joe a max contract. If they give him a 6 year 120million contract or more, i might cry.

JMar said...

This post made me simultaneously laugh and cry.

Daniel said...

I think I just threw up in my mouth a little bit at the thought of giving Joe a max extension and selling our first round pick. Everyone talks about needing a star, but Joe can't get us a win on the road and he can't get fans in the seats. So what's the point of having a "star" who can't do either of those things?

Bret LaGree said...

A max contract for Johnson would, barring a trade, mean that the Hawks would have approximately 60% of the 2010-11 salary cap tied up in Johnson, Crawford, and Bibby.

That should finally kill the notion that this franchise values defense in any way, shape, or form.