ATLANTA (AP) -- The Atlanta Hawks were poised to hire Larry Drew as their next head coach, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press Friday.
Drew was picked after a search that also included interviews with former Minnesota coach Dwane Casey, the person said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the team was still working out details of the contract. Casey was thought to have inside track because of his ties to Hawks general manager Rick Sund.
Instead, the Hawks went with the lead assistant under former coach Mike Woodson, who was let go last month after six seasons in Atlanta.
Woodson had guided the team to an improved record each of the last five seasons, as well as three straight playoff appearances after a nearly decade-long postseason drought. But the Hawks were blown out in the second round by the Orlando Magic, who won four straight by an average of 25.3 points for the most lopsided sweep in NBA history.
The front office felt new leadership was needed on the bench after the Hawks' season ended for the second year in a row with a second-round sweep. They decided on someone who was familiar to the players by sticking with Drew, whose choice was first reported by Yahoo.com.
