Seano

Nerve-wracking day to be a Hawks fan. It really does feel like the whole future of the franchise is at stake here, and it's very difficult to consider just what might happen should Belkin prevail in this ownership fight- in fact I hate even considering such a possibility. It's just unthinkable.

A part of me even believes in the conspiracy theory that Belkin is orchestrating all of this intentionally, that he doesn't want the team to get better but rather wants it to continue to be mired in the depths in order to devalue it so badly that the other owners will eventually sell to him, and to devalue it so badly that the franchise's future in Atlanta becomes an impossibility- and then he can move it to Vegas. He has no ties to Atlanta, no connection, no loyalty. And with the league scheduling an upcoming All Star Game for Vegas (the first time there's ever been an All Star Game in a city that doesn't have a team), it just kind of makes me go 'hmmmm' and feel all the more nervous about things.

Great news.

I'm assuming that's because Belkin is a Boston native, and Boston is where he originally filed the order of restraint. I would bet my last dollar that all the owners who are able to attend will be there. They'll have a chance to get their say before da Judge, so it'd be kind of silly to not take advantage of that opportunity and leave it all in the hands of the lawyers.

It'd be nice if we could get the other owners (the non- Belkin's ) involved in this. I wouldn't doubt they'd be willing to fund the whole thing.

Yeah that's great news. I was worried he might get tired of waiting around or upset about it, but am very happy to hear that at least he and his agent believe the deal's still going to happen.

Dang, you guys are rocking the photoshop. Nice work.

This Belkin turd seems to be bringing out the creativity in all of us.

I was willing to give Belkin the benefit of the doubt on this at least until the full story came out- but the more I'm reading and hearing about him the more I'm realizing just what a peckerhead the dude is. How can he be such a freaking tightwad with a team coming off 13 wins and with a ton of money still needing to be spent just to meet the leagues minimum payroll?

What a jerk. We really need rid of this guy.

Wow, that'd be a huge trade. I'm not sure what to think about it. Garnett is an awesome player, but if I were the Pistons I'd almost prefer hanging on to Sheed and Ben- and I'm not sure really the point in even trading them. They were enough to get them to two consecutive finals and win a championship, whereas Garnett and Minnesota haven't even come close to sniffing the Promised Land.

Maybe Ben Wallace upcoming free agency has something to do with it (assuming this rumor is true), but I wouldn't make this trade if I were Detroit.

I would pitch in 10 bucks.

You can't boycott Belkin, but you sure as hell can boycott the Hawks. I'd love to see a fan movement get going down there, see some solidarity and justifiable anger- saying we're not gonna take this crap anymore!

If you want to hurt him, hit him in the pocketbook. That's the only true recourse a fan has, to refuse to support or participate in the bullshit any longer.

I believe what Belkin is attempting to do here has nothing to do with draft picks, the compensation we're giving Phoenix or Johnson, or even the trade itself. I believe that's just misdirection, and the bottom-line is that this is just a power struggle between himself and the other owners- for what reason, I have no idea....

If it's true the other owners went behind him or kept him out of the loop during the trade talks, then he's got a right to be pissed. BUT, at the heart of it all this crap is extremely damaging to the franchise. The owners need to realize this, put aside their little catfights and personal agendas, cut the childish bullshit and do what's in the best interests of the team!

Otherwise there is no hope, and very little point in even continuing onward as a fan.

Draft picks are NEVER as valuable as established players who have already proven themselves at the NBA level, especially someone who has established himself as an elite talent in the NBA RIGHT NOW.

Screw the picks, the picks don't matter. You always take the player who's proven he can already play, especially in our situation with a team already filled with young and unproven players.....

Thanks for the post. Appreciate it! I hope the deal gets done, but am not feeling too confident about it right now.

What if they threw an open house and no one came?

If I were Joe Johnson right now I'd be at the point of just saying the hell with it and resigning with Phoenix. This is just ridiculous, and it's pretty insulting to him to leave him waiting around like that. Just an absolutely bullshit way for a franchise to operate....

Very depressing. We have become the Clippers of the East.

Hahaha. They're all pretty out there, but I'd have to say post #1 is the winner as far as sheer nuttiness goes.

You actually have to be really careful saying stuff like that in the post 9/11 world. That could be deemed as making a terroristic threat over the internet, and that's a federal offense with a long, long jail term underneath the Patriot Act. It's happened before where people have been charged for making threats or attempting to incite terror over the Net, whether they were serious about it or not. It's just not something you wanna mess around with IMO.

Would I be against it? Heck no! If he turns out anything like Steve Smith did, I would turn cartwheels and stand on my head to have him on this team.

Either that or time for Commisioner Stern to step in and lay the beatdown. Put Stern in a room alone with all the owners for 1/2 an hour or so and I bet you'd see immediate results. He is one intimidating dude...

He may have to step in if he deems this ownership issue is becoming a real problem or an embarrassment for the league.

That was lovely. It brought a tear to my eye.

LOL

Delays like this are just terrible. There's not really any way to minimize that fact. You either get it done, or you leave yourself open to the entire thing collapsing. Maybe during the delay Phoenix will get cold feet, or maybe Johnson will. That's the risk you run, and it is idiotic.

You've got a done deal sitting there on the table. Either do it or don't, [censored] or get off the damn pot.

Another Danny Ainge trade......

It'll be interesting to see how Toine fits in down there, if he can put a little restraint on his urge to shoot and be willing to play 2nd fiddle to Shaq and Wade. I'm sure he'll be just fine. At the absolute worst, he'd make a hell of a 6th man. I always liked Walker. I'd take him back on this team in a heartbeat.

Ughhh. That's not good. For some reason I feel the longer this drags out the less likely it is to happen, either the Suns will keep Johnson or they'll trade him somewhere else. It's already been way delayed, for all we know the whole deal may be dead or close to it.

It'd be terrible that when we finally have the opportunity get a good player who actually wants to PLAY HERE, we turn him away. There's no excuse, and if that's what happens then this franchise probably deserves to be where it's at.

Yeah I can understand the talk about Chipper too, cause of his health, his age, and the fact that his contract is gonna become even more of a huge drag on a team with an ever shrinking payroll.

BUT, he's also pretty much the face of the franchise and when he *is* healthy he's still one of the best hitters in baseball. I personally hope he retires a Brave and never plays a single game wearing another uniform. Just have to hope and pray he can stay as healthy as possible. It's looking over these past few seasons like his body is starting to break down, which would be a terrible shame at this stage of his career, when he can still hit like this....