After various interviews and meetings between Mike Woodson and Knicks personnel, the former Hawks coach will join New York’s coaching staff as a lead assistant to help the team’s defensive game.

Although the move is seen by some as a preliminary step in replacing the current Knicks head coach, Mike D’Antoni, with Woodson in the near future, D’Antoni was quick to praise Woodson:

“…he’s a good coach. We expect him to add, in a very positive way, defensively, offensively, big guys, small guys. Whatever we need as a Knicks organization for him to do, he’ll be able to do it. He’s an extremely talented coach.”

T.G.I.F.! Here are your Hawks headlines:

• Former Hawks Coach Mike Woodson Nearly Ready to Join Knicks - Woodson would join Mike D’Antoni’s staff as a defensive assistant, NY Daily News
• Georgia Tech to Play Games at Philips Arena - the Yellow Jackets will play about half of their home games at Philips Arena. The team has not played there since 2005, SB Nation
• Former Hawk Dikiembe Mutombo Leads Humanitarian Efforts in Africa - Mutombo held a conference call in Kenya to address famine issues in the Horn of Africa. He will also participate in Basketball without Borders in South Africa next week, NBA Blogs

The former Hawks head coach is now considering a position with the New York Knicks. Woodson recently lost his campaign for the Detroit Pistons’ job to Lawrence Frank making him 0-for-2 so far this summer. Woodson also interviewed to be the head coach for Houston back in April, but the Rockets ended up selecting Kevin McHale for the position.

Don’t worry, don’t worry, current Knicks’ head coach Mike D’Antoni isn’t going anywhere. The open position is for a defensive assistant at the behest of D’Antoni. Sadly, Woodson actually finds himself as the Lawrence Frank-rebound option yet again; according to the NY Post, D’Antoni’s first choice was actually Frank before he was wooed away by the Pistons. Always the bridesmaid and never the bride for poor Mike.

Well, maybe third time’s a charm, and Woodson will have found his way back to basketball in New York.

Hawks news tidbits and updates to end the week!

• Pistons Select Lawrence Frank Over Mike Woodson - Despite earlier reports that former Hawks coach Mike Woodson was the front runner for the Pistons’ head coaching position, Detroit instead went with Celtics assistant Lawrence Frank, ESPN

• NBA 2011-2012 Schedule - The NBA released its schedule for the 2011-2012 season. If the lockout situation does get resolved in time for Opening Day, the Hawks would face the Timberwolves on Nov. 2, NBA

And finally,

• Negotiations for Sale of Hawks Intensify - Talks between the Atlanta Spirit Group and a potential majority buyer have picked up. The name of other party has not been released, AJC

The Detroit Pistons fired head coach, John Kuester in early June and have been in the process of interviewing potential replacements. Former Atlanta Hawks head coach Mike Woodson was among the first interviewees and remains in the running. According to ESPN’s Marc Stein, Woodson and current Celtics assistant Lawrence Frank are the remaining options the team is considering, though Woodson is considered the frontrunner:

“…sources say that former Pistons assistant Mike Woodson is still the closest thing to a favorite, thanks largely to Woodson’s good working relationship with Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars and the fact that Detroit would know exactly what it’s getting after Woodson’s work under Larry Brown during the Pistons’ 2004 title run.”

Woodson was also considered for the Rockets’ head coaching position earlier in the year. He compiled a 206-286 (.419) record while with the Hawks.

Mike Woodson

The Pistons are in search of a new head coach and former Hawks coach Mike Woodson might answer the call.

John Kuester, head coach of the Detroit Pistons since 2009, was fired this past Sunday. Kuester had compiled a 57-107 record in his two years with Detroit, was known for constantly butting heads with several of the team’s veterans (Richard Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, Rodney Stuckey) and even managed to instigate a player uprising that nearly resulted in a full-out boycott.

Former Hawks coach Mike Woodson

So the team could certainly use a fresh face. Woodson is a strong candidate, although I’m not sure he completely fits the bill. The Pistons are looking to instill a renewed emphasis on defense next season, and Woodson was known for coaching the Hawks with a tedious, isolation-focused offense.

On the other hand, Woodson played an integral role in shaping the Piston’s defense as an assistant coach under Mike Brown in 2003-2004 when they won the championship. Woodson was known for getting the most out of defensive players, and Detroit managed to limit opponents to 41% shooting from the field that season.

So the change in philosophy Woodson demonstrated in Atlanta could be the product of the talent he was working with rather than a fundamental shift in coaching style.

Other potential candidates for the job include Bucks assistant Kelvin Sampson and Timberwolves assistant Bill Laimbeer. It is rumored that Kuester will head to LA for an assistant coaching position under Brown who was recently appointed Lakers head coach.

Amidst all of the hype and hoopla of Hawks owner, Atlanta Spirit, LLC, one sign of continuity emerged with the extension of GM Rick Sund’s contract through the 2012 season. The Hawks’ performance in the playoffs this season helped solidify Sund’s job security as the team snapped a 15-game losing streak in the second round that dated back to the 2008-2009 season. Sund’s major moves as Hawks GM include the replacement of head coach Mike Woodson with Larry Drew and the signing of guard Joe Johnson to a $123.7 million contract– a move that faced a lot of scrutiny from ownership and led to the dismissal of Steve Belkin from the group.

Some view the contract extension as a move to merely delay decisions about a new general manager before an inevitable sale of the Hawks. However, it doesn’t look like the Atlanta Spirit will be giving up the Hawks anytime soon, despite rumors abounding about outgoing San Diego Padres owner John Moores’s interest in obtaining operating rights to the Hawks and Philips Arena.

In any case, I have no complaints about keeping Sund around. AJC writer Jeff Shultz commented:

“Bottom line: Sund may have had some missteps. But he’s a vast improvement over his predecessor, Billy Knight.”

Shortly after firing head coach Rick Adelman earlier this week, the Rockets have quickly launched into their search for his replacements. Former Hawks coach, Mike Woodson, is among the first being considered and was contacted by Rockets officials about being interviewed for the position.

After a painful 13-game season in his first year with the Hawks, Woodson eventually led the team to three straight playoff appearances before being replaced by assistant coach Larry Drew in 2010.

Woodson has strong ties to Houston, and was excited about the prospects of joining the Rockets’ organization once more. The 12-year NBA pro played for Houston from 1988 to 1991 and still owns a home in nearby Katy, TX.

“It’s a great city. The fans there are fantastic. They love basketball. For me it would be a perfect fit I think.” ~Mike Woodson

First-year coaches always face a lot of pressure, and Larry Drew is feeling the heat. In his first head coaching job, Drew has managed to lead the Hawks to a worse record and undermine his authority with a team that is already dealing with a lot of capricious personalities. It always takes a while for new coaches to adjust, but Drew was the assistant under former coach Mike Woodson for six years. And, the end of the season is always prime time for scrutiny anyways. Sports Illustrated’s Sam Amick has Drew in the hot seat:

“His team has 44 wins with three games to go after former coach Mike Woodson won 47 games and 53 in the last two seasons, respectively. And then there is the not-so-obvious sensitive spot: the Josh Smith factor. Drew has been unable to stop the veteran from being a season-long disruption and undermining his position with his other players in the process.”

Mike Woodson

Not gonna lie, I was a little sad to see Woodson go. I thought he did a pretty decent job turning the team around (once he got that first 13-69 season out of his system). The Hawks’ record improved in each of Woodson’s six seasons, and he brought them back to the playoffs for the first time in nine years. But, at the same time, I can’t blame management for not re-signing Mike once his contract was up and trying to shake things up. The Hawks are full of talent but somehow have gotten stuck in this rut of mediocrity– 40-50 wins a season and then losing in the first or second round of the playoffs.

Now, I don’t know that bringing in Woodson’s assistant is exactly what one would call a game changer. But this is indicative of a lot of other half-ass moves that are all too characteristic for the Hawks. You know what I’m talking about– the ones that appear to make a difference at the surface but in reality are just slight shifts of the same moving pieces (case in point: the Hinrich for Bibby trade). They lack the kind of ballsy risk that might really affect the team’s identity–for better or worse.

In any case, the Hawks’ performance in the playoffs this year will play a huge factor in how Drew fares against the critics. Let’s just hope another repeat of last year’s embarrassing sweep by the Magic doesn’t happen again.

When Larry Drew took over for Mike Woodson as coach of the Hawks at the beginning of the season, it was hard to predict how the change would affect the team’s style of play. Drew had served as Woodson’s lead assistant coach for six years prior to taking his first head coaching job, so the transition has been relatively smooth. However, one point LD’s wanted to emphasize was the use of a motion offense to “to utilize the skills of many multi-talented players on his roster.”

Basically, a motion offense entails constant movement as opposed to set plays. The idea is to develop a more flexible offense through players’ movement, screens, cutting and passing. When executed well, the motion offense creates a lot more options for scoring and is more difficult for other teams to defend given the unpredictability of plays.

“When executed well,” being the operative phrase. For a motion offense to be effective, all five players have to be able to handle the ball and be 100% in the game mentally; it takes a lot of coordination, spacial awareness and sharp instincts. When it works, it looks great and a lot of spectacular plays can go down; when players get lazy or mishandle the ball, things get sloppy pretty fast and play on the court becomes a disorganized mess.

This has essentially been the story for the Hawks all season long. There are moments of really great ball movement, and the team often outscores opponents in fast-break points, even in losses. But a lot of times, the flexibility of a motion offense allows players to default to lazy jump shots or commit turnovers.

Part of the problem for the Hawks is the “all five players have to be able to handle the ball and be 100% in the game mentally” part. It is often the case that only one or two guys are really on their game at a time. It’s not always the same ones, although Hinrich and Horford are usually pretty reliable. But when only one or two guys are actively moving, thinking on their toes and pushing the pace at a time, the outcome of a game becomes more the product of happenstance, luck and momentum than anything else.

Momentum is huge for the Hawks. Everyone rides off of their teammates’ energy. How demoralizing was that 30-point deficit at halftime to the Bulls? You could kind of just see the air letting out of the balloon in the team’s play once it seemed like it was a lost cause.

Hinrich has always been a strong leader, both on and off the court, and LD commented that he noticed how the new point guard’s presence had upped the Hawks’ defensive game already. I’m still hoping that as he continues to adjust to his new team, he’ll be able to make a more consistent contribution and bring things together. And maybe the Hawks can get out of this funk of mediocrity and become a legitimate contender in the playoffs.