ggp

Nice post Exodus. Keep them coming.

This is precisely the problem that many NBA draftniks cited last year. Everyone knew that Rudy Gay was the talent at the top of the 2006 draft. I am sure that BK knew about Gay as well. Then, why oh why would you draft Marvin Williams over Chris Paul? I still don't get it. Can someone give me a rational answer?

Greedy? No, I call it a smart business decision on Furcal's part. I am certain that he wanted to stay with the Braves, but he is a paid professional and he may never see that kind of offer ever again. I will miss his speed, but I wish him luck.

Al is really the only tradeable commodity we have. As soon as we signed JJ, I thought that Chill would be the odd man out, but his mediocre play has lowered his trade value. Smoove has trade value but he has the potential to be a defensive monster. I would not trade him. I am amazed at how Al plays despite all the losing. It is hard to find a man of his character and it would be a terrible mistake to trade him away. We run the risk of losing him in FA, but not if the team shows improvement. Marvin has star potential and BK would not trade his most recent draft choice. I still believe that drafting Chris Paul would have been the right call. If you look at the next draft, there are no PG's that come close to Paul. In my opinion, BK made a mistake. But that is history.....we keep Marvin. Bottom line: No significant trades. We suffer another losing season and hope to build via the draft.

Which charity did it benifit?

Who will carry the team? Oden

I think that the five day period is a NBA rule. The judge simply stated that the rules of engagement must be followed to the T. In a way, the judge did the LLC a favor by giving them gentle warning that Belkin will be looking after his rights. Reminding them of the contracture procedures alerts them that Belkin will be looking for any loopholes. Not a big deal. As long as Phoenix and JJ remain on board, the deal will get done.

The majority rules.

I know nothing about this European player, but word is that he has NBA talent. What is going on with him? Is he a good candidate for us at Center?

1-- Belkin owns 30% of the team. That intitles him to participate in the decisions of the team. He has enough equity to argue his point of view and possibly affect what other owners decide to do with their votes. It does not give him the right to run the team against the wishes of the majority. 2-- Blocking this trade undermines the GM. A good leader hires good people and delegates his authority. BK was hired to do his job because he is more capable of doing so than any of the owners. Giving BK the authority to work deals then pulling that authority away is poor leadership. I don't know anything about this Belkin guy, but you would think that he should know something about leadership. Conclusion: The rest of the ownership group needs to relieve Belkin of his title and run the team as the majority rules.

I don't care whether Belkin is frugal or not. The important fact is that he owns only 30% of the franchise and should not be able to call the shots from a minority position.

Quote: A 67! No wonder you want to be a doctor! Doctors score in the high 90's. Little time for golf. I know.

This not a panic situation. Posters are simply noting that the organization has a lousy reputation and is confirming such opinions by its poor handling of this matter.

Quote: Just join right in with the rest of the locals that think they know what's going on. KB, I have read many of your posts and I respect what you say. However, if you read my post once more, you will see that I am not critcizing the trade nor the hessitancy of Belkin. I am also not claiming to be "in the know." I am criticizing the lack of organization of this franchise. Where is the united front that all good organizations must have from its front office? The team should have control of its PR. If the trade rumors were false, then a denial should have been released. If the trade was still in the negotiation stage, then the team should have issued a statement saying that they are looking into several possible transactions. This is simple PR management. BK has apparently negotiated a deal with the Suns and was confident enough to allow the media to release the news without a denial. BK strikes me as a serious man and I wonder how surprised he may be at the recent blockade. If what I am saying is true, there is sufficient grounds for BK to consider himself a puppet GM. Now, you may very well "know what is going on." If so, please enlighten us all.

There is much uproar about the JJ trade. The media had released the trade details days ago. Still we have no trade. Presumeably because Belkin is not signing. NEWS FLASH: The Hawks have lousy ownership. Letting the media run with the story for four days. Making your GM look like a fool. Then, pulling the cord at the moment of truth is shear stupidity. The team looks bad, it looks very bad. The Hawks can barely get anyone to come to a game...it has PR problems. Now, Belkin decides to hold back and no matter what happens, the team loses the grand PR that it would have reaped with the big singing. Instead, Miami gets all the headlines and ATL sinks back into the mud. Nice work boys, real nice.

Quote: Signing JJ is great and really helps get some more firepower on a team that needed some outside shooting and someone to set up the offense. For everyone saying he can't play the point, I think you are missing one key factor. Knight and Woodson have said all along they just want someone that cant brign the ball up and get hte offense set. They arent looking for a Nash or Kidd to get 10 assist a game. They are looking for maybe 20 and 6 from that spot and that exactly what JJ brings. Filling up the frontcourt is the next thing to be addressed. As much as everyone knocks Curry for his D and board work he is a monster on offense in the post. I propose we do what Chi. did and hide the weaknesses by playing him with a rebounding, defenseive minded PF. The solution is Reggie Evans. Quietly he avg. more rebs per minute then anyone in the NBA and plays with a passion. Put him and Curry in togther and they complement each other nicely. Harrington for Curry sign and trade. Hopefully Mil. wont match for ZaZa at this bargin 4yr 4mill deal and we will have our depth. I say with this team realisticly 35 wins or so but much better next year after a year under Woody's system. PG- JJ/T. Lue/Royal SG- Chill/Salim SF- Smoove/Marvin/Donta PF- Reggie Evans/Arthur Johnson C- Curry/ZaZa Three more roster spots to fill out the depth. I am hearing that Curry is no longer on BK's list because of health risk. I say we go after Magloire....a very tough defender. We should also sign ZaZa for depth and to afford us some extra fouls against Shaq. Neither one of these Centers are lights out offensive guys, but we will have enough offense around them to keep opponents on their heels.

Quote: Why would you vote for Raffy at all? He has good career numbers but was never the best player on his own team let alone a dominant player in the league. Add in the fact that he was accused of being a long-time doper by Canseco and then nailed for steroids months later and you have reason to doubt whether his numbers are legitimate at all. Personally, I am more cynical than this writer and willing to judge Bonds, Sosa and other based on their cheating ways. But even apart from the cheating, Palmeiro didn't have the credentials of dominating play like other HOF. He had a bunch of good years during the inflated offense era of the 90s, etc. and played primarily for losing teams with good offenses. Considering there are a lot of teams where Palmeiro wasn't even the second best player, he doesn't pass HOF must with me - especially not after testing positive for steroids. I simply do not agree. Palmeiro was often the best and most consistent hitter on his teams for years. He was never flamboyant. He was never a standout character, just a damn good ball player....year after year. He never signed on with a contender just to get a ring....that is a phenomenon that has recently taken hold of all of sports. To me, that is a sign of lowered character. Phil Niekro is in the Hall. I was glad to see that. As a matter of fact, there are plenty of guys in the Hall that never "dominated". I visited the HOF just two weeks ago. It is all about Baseball. There are guys in there because they had phenomenal careers and there are guys in there that were very good baseball players for many years. The value of being consistenty very good for a long time has correctly been rewarded in the HOF. Why should that standard be changed at this time? I have hated the stain that steroids have made on this wonderful sport. I have often been called a stick in the mud when I would bring up the subject of inflated stats. No one wanted to hear that McGwire and Sosa were juiced. No one wanted to stop the circus that was Barry Bonds....a very good hitter in his youth turned hitting monster in recent years. Will McGwire be voted to the Hall? Will Sosa make it? Will Bonds get in? I am assuming that they will all make it. If Sosa doesn't, then it will confirm my suspicion that Hispanics must be better to be given equal respect in this game....but that is another subject. I don't like a lot about what has been going on in Baseball for years, but I still love the game. And if I were voting, Raphael Palmeiro would be a first ballot inductee.

I am hoping that the addition of JJ will attract Jamal Magloire. He is rumored to want to leave NO. He has stated that he wants to return to his home in Toronto. However, he may view Atl as a decent alternative with the young talent that has been assembled. Trade Harrington for Magloire.

I am very concerned about giving up so much for a talented player that will be asked to switch positions. JJ had a very good year as a SG but we are not SURE that he can man the Point. There are risks and there are major leaps of faith...I think that this trade is a major leap of faith on the part of BK. Giving away TWO first rounders, a decent player and a mid level exemption should land you a star. If JJ can not excell as a PG, the entire deal is nothing but a mess. We lose cap space and draft picks....not good for a building franchise.

I am definitely a Magloire backer. I don't like the gamble of signing Curry. His risk/reward ratio does not look good. We can trade Harrington for Mags and get the enforcer Center that we need. Although, if the JJ trade is for real, we will not have much to offer beyond Harrington.

I am not happy about losing Colon. The guy can pitch. It seems like he was always an afterthought for Cox. I don't like the move, but I hope it pays off for us.

Quote: JJ Chill MWill Smoove Chandler 6th man: Stoudamire How? Sign JJ SNT Al and BOS 1st(Protected) to CHI for Chandler I think that Salim will turn out to be better than advertised. If so, Chill will be our 6th man, working at SF and SG depending on match ups.

Salim Stoudamire will be our PG. The news that Wright has abruptly left the Hawks camp comes as no surprise. He sees that Salim is the man and he knows that he can not afford to waste time with a team that will not likely sign him. I wish him good luck.

Josh Smith has enforcer type skills and attitude. I see him as a definite PF. Marvin has more athletic skills with the ball and should be our SF. Trading Harrington for a Center would be the move to make. Magloire is the most likely candidate...he is unhappy in NO. Signing Joe Johnson would be a really nice addition. His handling skills would mesh really well with Salim. I see Childress as a player that can be worked into the rotation of SF and SG.

I agree. However, this teams needs a Center. Without one, the season will be a long drawn out saga that can cripple a franchise's success. I don't want to spend stupidly on FA just to make headlines. I personally think that we can trade Harrington for Magloire and solve the Center problem. After that, going after JJ makes sense, but would not be a desperate need.