Michael Lee of the Atlanta Journal-Constitutional reports that Terry Stotts would like to come back as coach for the Atlanta Hawks next season.

Despite struggling more than his predecessor Lon Kruger, players, coaches, and management have confidence in Stotts' ability to coach in this league.

"I think he's done a good enough job to be back next season," Hawks point guard Jason Terry said.

"I have to believe we're doing better than we would've if Lon had stayed in control," said reserve forward Darvin Ham, who worked with Stotts three years in Milwaukee. "Guys sort of tuned Lon out. We didn't have no effort whatsoever. [Stotts] had to come in and integrate his own philosophies, tear all the pages. That's a tough situation.

"I'd like to see him really be able to put his own fingerprints on a team and have it go exactly the way he likes it."

Hawks general manager Pete Babcock said: "I think he's done an excellent job. He's showed that he's a very competent coach and deserves to be a head coach in the NBA."

Stott's knows, though, that this is a league built on winning and that everything has not gone according to plan.

"I have to be judged somewhat on this season," Stotts said. "Has it gone well? In one respect, it has not. We didn't finish the way we wanted. But I have to be judged on whether the team stayed together. Guys feel good about coming to work. I think I've got them to play hard and play together. That is priority one, priority two. Is it fair to make [record] the whole judgment of me? No."

Shareef Abdur-Rahim would like to see Stotts get an entire season to show what he can do.

"If he had a whole training camp, I definitely think we could've done better,"Abdur-Rahim said. "I think he came in, demanded that we not let up -- and he's demanded it out of everybody. We may have not played the smartest, but on most nights, we've responded."

While the team hasn't changed much since Kruger left, players still feel there is a different vibe to the team and that things have become more team oriented.

"At the beginning of the year, I think we were more selfish," Hawks guard Dion Glover said. "Guys were trying to do it by themselves, and that got us in trouble believing in each other. It was him presenting that idea and us buying into it. I got to credit him for it."

Theo Ratliff said: "He's constantly in guys' ears about making the right pass, getting the ball down low. He's stressing team play. And he's definitely not letting anybody slack off with the effort."

In the end, no matter what happens, Stotts feels like he has come away with something.

"This experience has been invaluable," Stotts said. "Because of this, I know that I am a better coach."