ATLANTA -- The Atlanta Hawks fired Mike Fratello after seven years Monday despite calling him one of the top five coaches in the NBA.
Fratello, who spent 11 of the past 12 seasons coaching in Atlanta -- the first four as an assistant, and the off year, 1982-83, as an assistant for the New York Knicks -- won 50 or more games in each of the four seasons prior to this past one, but got the ax after the injury-riddled 1989-90 team posted a 41-41 mark and missed the NBA playoffs by one game.
'For seven years, I've done everything I possibly could to make this a winning situation,' Fratello said when he joined Hawks president Stan Kasten and Hawks general manager Pete Babcock at a news conference to announce that his contract would not be renewed. 'But looking at the entire situation, I have to feel it is right, for the best interest of the Atlanta Hawks and myself that we part company at this time.'
'This is an occasion for opportunity for both sides,' Kasten said. 'But, it is a little sad. Mike came to realize that this could be good for him. It was a remarkable professional decision. Eleven years with the same NBA team is extraordinary. We could even work together here some day. It's not impossible.'
'Mike is one of the top five coaches in the NBA,' said Babcock, former Denver Nuggets general manager who joined the Hawks two months ago. 'He will be successful wherever he goes. But we're not a championship caliber team now and that's where we want to go. That doesn't mean everyone or anyone will be traded.'
Kasten said the Hawks are a long way, maybe two months, from selecting a new coach. 'We'd like to get it done in time for the draft,' he said. 'We have a big list and by the end of the week I think we'll have that trimmed down to about a half dozen names.'
Fratello, 43, began his basketball coaching career as an assistant at James Madison College (1972-75) and Villanova (1975-78). He joined the Hawks in 1978 as an assistant to Hubie Brown and switched to the Knicks when Brown became head coach there. He returned to Atlanta in 1983 as successor to Kevin Loughery. In his seven seasons, the Hawks won 74 more games than they lost with their best season in 1986-87 when they won the Central Division with a 57-25 record.
But despite their regular-season success, the Hawks never got past the second round in the six straight seasons they reached the NBA playoffs under Fratello and there were reports that this past season might be his last when Kasten refused talk contract extension during the season.
'I think that had a bigger impact on the media than it did on the team,' Kasten said. 'Looking back, I probably should have taken some action last summer to lay rumors to rest.'
The Hawks, 52-30 last year, came into this past season rated a contender to battle defending NBA champion Detroit and Chicago for the Central Division title.
'Going into camp, we looked strong,' Fratello said. 'But injuries quickly caught up with us. When we lost Doc Rivers, John Battle and John Koncak, we were playing without three expected starters. And the loss of Cliff Levingston cost us our top reserve.
'My head is held high. I did the best job I could do. Perhaps someone new coming in here can stimulate and motivate this team. This will be a fresh start for the Hawks. Each coach has a different approach. How you get it done is the bottom line.
'You can only use a song and dance for so long,' Fratello said. 'I don't know where I'm going, but it's time for me to move my song and dance to somewhere else.'
'We'll start next year with a new coach, a new general manager and possibly some new personnel,' Kasten said. 'We have no untouchables. Those are Pete's marching orders. There are no untouchables.'