The Rick Sund Encounter

I had pretty low expectations for Rick Sund. Mostly because he had no good reason to show up at all let alone tell us bloggers anything remotely close to inside information. But when compared to Billy Knight's people skills, Mr. Sund practically gave us a foot massage.

He started with a ten minute run down of goals and vision which was surprisingly refreshing because previously I assumed the Hawks' only goal was to lose another seven game series to the eventual NBA champions.

A quick recap.

1. Make the playoffs.

2. Have a winning record.

3. Win more road games.

Nothing number specific but three things that put the team in position to win a playoff series. I have no problem with these realistic, challenging, obtainable goals.

Sund would not talk about free agency or potential resigning. So no new info on Bibby, Marvin, or Joe extension/signings,

But I can tell you that if Childress chooses to opt out of his Greece contract, he will be the same restricted free agent he was last summer assuming the Hawks tender him an offer. The vibe I got was that they would tender, but that multi year contract or guarantee of matching other offers is no longer in the plan.

I asked Rick about growing edges hoping he would talk about where he would look to bolster the roster come free agency and the draft. Instead, I got an answer about current players who still have room to improve. Our team has a lot of players that still have that enigmatic thing called "potential." Too much potential to name really so better just to talk about the people who are maxed out. Sund named Joe, Zaza, and Bibby. That's it. I guess the Hawks are still a pretty young team. And in some for or another, however small, I am glad Sund knows, come free agency, that Mike Bibby is not still an improving player. As a Hawk fan, any glimpses of rational thought are beacons of hope.

Overall, I really liked the guy. Sund used clichés and obviously was not going to talk about anything too important, but he made us feel important. He used the term "off the record" and shook our hand and patted us on the back (well not me, but I was wearing a jersey). And most importantly, he answered our questions and answered them like he cared what we thought.

Got to respect that.