Atlanta Hawks Name Larry Drew Head Coach
Written by playerpress.com, Sunday June 13 2010
On Sunday, the Atlanta Hawks officially named Larry Drew as their new head coach.
This is Drew's first head coaching job and served as the teams’ assistant coach since August 2004.
Drew played 10 NBA seasons and was selected 17th overall by the Detroit Pistons in the 1980 NBA draft. He also played with the Kings, Clippers and Lakers.
According to sources, Drew and the Hawks agreed to a three-year, $5 million deal.
Mike Woodson coached the Hawks for six seasons but was fired last month after being swept by the Orlando Magic in the second round of the NBA playoffs. The poor showing led the team to dump Woodson even though the Hawks had ended close to a ten year long playoff drought in 2008 and improved their record each year for five straight seasons.
Drew was chosen from a list of candidates that also included former head coaches Dwane Casey and Avery Johnson.
The Hawks will formally introduce Drew at a news conference Monday and his selection will certainly be popular with the players as he is a familiar face.
"It has been a long journey to reach this level in my career and I'm very appreciative of the support I've been given by the ownership group and Rick," Drew said. "I'm excited about the opportunity to become a head coach in this league, and I will do my very best to continue to build on what we've accomplished here in
With the announcement of Drew's hiring, the Hawks can now turn their attention to resigning Joe Johnson, a four-time All-Star, who is set to join a free-agent class that includes LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.
The Hawks have indicated a strong desire to re-sign Johnson but have not said if they will be willing to pay the maximum contract it could take to keep him with the team.
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