Larry Drew was introduced as head coach of the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks on Monday, his first head-coaching job after 17 years in the assistant ranks.
Drew was hired after a search that also included Dwane Casey and Avery Johnson, both of whom have had prior head coaching experience.
“Certainly, this is a day I will long remember,” said Drew, who was accompanied by his wife and the couple’s three sons. “It has been a very long journey. I just thank God for my patience.”
Hawks general manager Rick Sund said he believed going with a coach familiar with the club was more important than landing a big name from the coaching ranks.
“Obviously, he’s got a great read on the pulse of our team,” Sund said. “He’s got good familiarity with the pluses and minuses of our players.”
Now that he has the helm, Drew said, he hoped soon-to-be free agent Joe Johnson would stay in Atlanta.
“I think my hiring should be a plus,” Drew said. “I’m a guy who’s already been in here, who already knows the players, who already has a feel for the team. The things I’m talking about putting in are going to enhance Joe’s game even more.”
Johnson has said he intends to test the free agent market this summer. He was the only prominent Hawks player who failed to turn out for Drew’s first press conference.
Drew, who spent six years as the top assistant to former coach Mike Woodson, said he wants to bring more creativity to a Hawks offense that had no answers as Atlanta were swept out of the second round of the playoffs by Orlando.
Johnson had a miserable postseason and angered Hawks fans when he criticized them for showing insufficient support to the struggling team.
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