Mike Woodson Keeps His Job ... For Now

Was new Hawks boss Rick Sund impressed with Mike Woodson? If you look only at the fact Sund offered a two-year extension (which Woodson has said he'll accept), then sure. He likes him.

But Atlanta Journal-Constitution columnist Mark Bradley sees the offering instead as a move of caution -- not endorsement -- from Sund.

Offering an incumbent two more contractual years isn't so much an endorsement as a deferral. (Three years would have been a validation; one year would have been tantamount to repudiation.) The length of the extension suggests Rick Sund isn't sold on Woodson but isn't entrenched enough to defy the owners who rebuffed his predecessor's attempts to depose this coach.

What Bradley writes makes sense, but it's not realistic in today's NBA. Coaches have never had a shorter leash. Byron Scott -- Coach of the Year, took the defending champs to seven games, lottery-to-#2 seed in one year -- got a two-year extension this summer. Avery Johnson and Flip Saunders both got fired despite having recent 60-win seasons. No one is safe.

So to expect Sund to offer up three years or more guaranteed in this climate for a guy who led his talented squad to all of 37 wins? That's madness. Two years is about the strongest endorsement a coach not named Popovich, Sloan or Jackson is bound to get these days.

Previously on FanHouse:
Could Detroit Poach ... ATL's Mike Woodson?
Billy Knight Tried to Fire Mike Woodson Three Times Recently