beenthere

One thing to keep in mind when a player has an agent, the agent usually insists that there be no communication between the player and the club. The agent feels that he will loose control of the communication if all of a sudden it is acceptable for the team to talk directly to the player.

It always amazes me when people get worked up on ownership's approval role. I don't think that there is a single circumstance where a GM or President has the authority to hire/fire a coach, make a major trade, etc without ownership's approval. Obviously you want to hire qualified people where ownership respects their recommendations. It boils down to whether you like the owner or not, not whether they have approval rights.

I know Chris and think that he will be an excellent choice. He's a hard worker and not afraid to speak his mind. Just because he worked for Pete Babcock, Billy Knight and Danny Ferry doesn't mean that he's going to be a clone of any of them. Look at the differences between the three. I think that the fact that Chris has had experience under three different GM's is a plus. It gives him a broader perspective on how things should and shouldn't be run. Additionally, in Cleveland under their owner's direction, Chris worked to change the culture up there into a more professional, first class operation. It can be scary when someone gets their first big time job, but if you look at the history of GM's, more come from a background like Chris as opposed to be recycled. Again, I think that he will do an excellent job, represent the organization well, and communicate to the fans and media, unlike Billy Knight.

There is no question that Smoove is a player. The deeper question is how much is he worth paying, whether by the ASG or another team? I think that it's always good to develop your own players whenever possible, and Smoove is a fan favorite in spite of his ill advised shots now and then. I just wonder what kind of contract he gets in the off-season. Nothing binds a team more than making a mistake on a max contract if the player is not a max contract player.

I don't know how much of his lack of development is because of coaching or his own immaturity, stubbornness, and/or just lack of star talent. It will be a difficult situation for ownership this off-season with him. We know that he is going to ask for a max or near-max contract based upon the fact of what he turned down at the beginning of this season. I would be scared to pay someone for "potential". Another thing is that Horford's natural position is power forward. He seems to have more upside potential than Josh. If you don't think Josh can play the small forward spot, it might be best to do a sign and trade with him this off season. We've got a lot of holes to fill.

If you read the article in today's AJC about Ira Newble possibly returning to the Cavs, it points out that a player can't return to the team he was traded from for 30 days following the trade. The same would seem to apply to Lue.

the difference between the Hawks and the Braves is that there is an NBA team in North Carolina and the league establishes that territory for the Bobcats. my guess is that the Hawks games will either be blacked out or that you will receive alternate programming. you need to investigate NBA League Pass. i think that you can even get it on your PC.

Vegas showcase In two largely underwhelming seasons in Atlanta, Esteban Batista, a 6-foot-10-inch center/forward from Uruguay, appeared in 70 games. He averaged a shade more than 8 minutes a game. If you weren't a Hawks zealot, assuming such a person even exists, you may not have known he was in the league. Batista is now a free agent and he certainly turned some heads in Las Vegas, averaging 20.8 points and a tournament-best 12.4 rebounds for Uruguay. (He had 20 points in 24 minutes against the United States.) "This tournament was important for me," Batista said. "I didn't play too much in my two years in the NBA. Now, I feel like I've done a good job." But did he do well enough to get a job in the NBA? His new agent, Marc Cornstein, said he's confident Batista will land something. (Cornstein even text-messaged Danny Ainge about Batista, but got no satisfactory response. "Don't they need size?" Cornstein asked of the Celtics.) "That's why this tournament was so essential because so few teams knew enough about him and he got the opportunity to show what kind of a player he is," said Cornstein, who counts Darko Milicic and Sasha Pavlovic as clients. "He was phenomenal. The thing I was happiest and proudest about is that he showed no fear. He played the same against [Dwight] Howard or [Amare] Stoudemire as he did against Venezuela or Panama. That's the mark of a good player." Batista turns 24 today

The Hawks are in the driver's seat. The only thing that is to be determined is how much is it going to cost them to drive the car. I'm betting that they are trying to sign him before Oct. 31. If not, it's not the end of the world. If Josh continues to show development like he did last season, the Hawks will be forced to step up and pay him even more than they are offering him now, and my guess is that the Hawks will do it. If Josh were to leave down the road, I think it will be because the Hawks have made a decision to not sign him. They will sign and trade him or trade him outright before that happens.

definately better than the Hawks(7) Detroit Cleveland Miami Orlando New Jersey Chicago Toronto Which means that the Hawks will battle the following teams for the 8th position: Boston Philadelphia Charlotte Indiana Milwaukee New York Washington I think for the Hawks to get into the playoffs two things have to happen. First the Hawks stay healthy, especially Speedy Claxton, strange as that might seem. Second, one of those top seven teams have to suffer an injury or injuries that moves them down in the pack. I'd love to see the Hawks in the post season this year, but it might be too much to expect.

Hawes is an undersized 5 who shouldn't be considered a lottery pick. I've read where Hawes is not hiring an agent. My money right now has him returning to school.

Three Spirited years for ownership team By TIM TUCKER The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Published on: 04/01/07 Atlanta Spirit turned 3 on Saturday. On March 31, 2004, the group closed on its deal to buy the Hawks, Thrashers and Philips Arena operating rights from Time Warner. Three years later, with their hockey team nearing a playoff berth, their basketball team nearing the end of yet another losing season, their bitter ownership dispute still in court, two key members of the group, Bruce Levenson and Michael Gearon Jr., weigh in on . . . The state of the Hawks "Looking at this season, there have been frustrations, but there also have been positives, Gearon said. "I believe passionately that Joe Johnson is the best player we've had since Dominique [Wilkins], one of the two or three best in the history of the franchise in Atlanta, and I think Josh [smith] has the potential to develop into that, too. And Marvin Williams is growing. "We have won more games than last year, and we keep getting better. But none of us are happy with 'getting better' until we become competitive — by that, I mean a playoff team and a team that can compete for a championship." The future of the Hawks' Knight and Woodson "We're going to sit down at the end of the year like we have at the end of every year," Levenson said. "We're going to go back over everything. We will have those discussions and make those decisions then. ... We will evaluate everyone's performance — go through the evaluation of every player with the coaches and GMs, then go through the evaluation of the coaching staff with the GMs, then go through the evaluation of the GMs among ourselves. "I will say that [Woodson] has had an extraordinary record of developing these young players. With most coaches, their résumé is, 'How many have you won and how many have you lost?' Woody has suppressed the natural instinct of a coach to create that win-loss record in the interests of developing our young players." Three tumultuous years "We've done so many things right ... other than that one decision I made at the very beginning of the process," Levenson said, an obvious reference to bringing Steve Belkin into the ownership group. "Wins are up; attendance is up. Three years ago, when I first came to games, fans were screaming for the other team; now they're screaming for these teams. ... We have attracted free agents. NHL all-star Keith Tkachuk waived his no-trade to come play for the Thrashers; 100 percent that would not have happened three years ago. "I'm proud of the way [spirit CEO] Bernie [Mullin] and the whole management team have stood with us during this legal dispute, knowing full well that by doing so they risk an awful lot if the legal decisions don't go the right way. "We inherited the best arena in America, and we have made it better. ... Another area that has already paid dividends: Michael and I have worked hard to build relationships with the two commissioners and [other teams'] owners. ... And then we have built relationships with fans. I've exchanged, I'm certain, over 1,000 e-mails with fans. "As I look back over these first three years, people can sort of grade us as they see fit, but those are accomplishments I'm proud of." The legal battle vs. Belkin "When [the court case] ends ... everyone will understand the real reasons we are fighting this fight," Levenson said. "Everyone will understand it is not just about us keeping these teams but really fighting to make them great. Michael and I look forward to that day." (Atlanta Spirit is awaiting a ruling on the appeal of last year's Maryland circuit court ruling that Belkin is entitled to buy out the other owners at cost. A decision could come from the Maryland Court of Special Appeals any week, any month. Belkin repeatedly has said he won't comment until the legal issues are resolved.)

All other matters aside, the problem is not firing anyone. Without changes in leadership, we're having these same discussions this time next year. The team will be a little better. Chill, Smoov, Marv will continue to develop. Joe will continue to be a stud. But without a miracle happening and us ending up with one of the top two picks, nothing significant changes.

Jaywalker goes to one game in Orlando and analyzes this team better than those that have seen every game. I think that Sekou is the best beat writer that has covered this team and has provided keen insight, but J nailed it. This team has one star, one other legitimate starter, is green behind the ears and is overall thin on talent. There is more to do than to watch the young talent mature. Even if Marvin and Sheldon develop into solid contributors, there are glaring weaknesses in the roster. Low post offense and defense. Point guard. Quality bench other than JChill. Let's hope that BK and the owners feel the same way. You can speculate on what the ownership debacle may cost us in terms of being able to attract free agents. Let's don't get misled by the Joe Johnson signing. He wanted a max contract and we were able to get it for him. Let's look at the other free agents that leveraged Atlanta's interest in them in order to get more dollars on a team that they wanted to go to all along. Players want to win or go to a situation where they think that they have a chance to win. Losing gets old and unless it's the only place that they can get the dollars that they're looking for, Atlanta is down on their list. If we take the course of patience, I'm afraid that we'll be having these same discussions two years from now. The only consolation will be that more than likely there will be a new GM and coach if that happens. Who knows who will be the owner. Jaywalker, we miss your insight. Too bad you're no longer in Atlanta.

Utah actually drafted Nique. The Hawks traded for him sending John Drew, Freeman Williams and $1,000,000. Talk about a bad deal by the Jazz!