ATLANTA, July 5 (UPI) -- After working on the staff of the NBA champions, Mike Woodson apparently will try to improve the fortunes of the Atlanta Hawks.
ESPN reported Monday that Woodson, who has spent the last three seasons under Hall of Fame Coach Larry Brown in Detroit, has accepted an offer to become the next coach of the Atlanta Hawks.
The 47-year-old Woodson would replace Terry Stotts, who was fired in May. ESPN said an announcement will be made Tuesday or Wednesday.
Woodson was the top assistant under Brown as the Pistons stunned the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals. He was considered next in line to succeed Brown.
The Hawks were 52-85 under Stotts since he replaced Lon Kruger as coach in December 2002. In that time, the Hawks were sold to a nine-member ownership group and cut loose Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Theo Ratliff, Nazr Mohammed and Rasheed Wallace in a series of cost-cutting trades.
