ESPN: Pacers close to getting Harrington again

[Plainview1981]

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A future 1st rounder!..Thats almost unbelievable..Why drag this crap out all summer for nothing? We should have just renounced him at the beginning of the summer and been done with it..

No more excuses..BK is a lousy GM and this ownership group can't afford to run an NBA team..

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That's what it's starting to sound like. This is the reward the fans get for waiting? And people wonder why the Hawks don't have many fans interested in the team. No excuse for this.

[Dejay]

Yet people on this board want folks in town to continue to wait it out and not be so impatient. Because we all know there are so many perennial contenders in the NBA who are under the cap like the Hawks currently are, aren't they?

My $64K question of the week is what happens if they miss the playoffs again? What does that do to the psyche of Smith and Childress, especially considering how strapped the ownership is. Does anyone REALLY believe that the ownership will have it together by the time free agency hits next year after the appeals are done to make the splash many on this board is hoping for? After all, isn't that the reason they are holding on to this capspace, so they can bring in more talent along with being able to sign their young guys 2-3 years later?

[Yeti]

I agree completely. I am really fed up with this crap. I get excited about Smoove, Marvin, and Chill - then we get:

1. SW drafted at #5

2. The ownership mess

3. Getting no players for Al

There is nothing to get excited about - no hope on the horizon. These guys are the ultimate screw-ups. They are running on the cheap and not investing in the team.

If I were an optimist I might think it is all on purpose so that we can keep our pick next year and win the Ogden sweepstakes. Then we'd have Ogden, Smoove, Marvin, Chill, and Joe. But I don't really believe it. We'll win enough games to help out Phoenix. If these guys don't want to build a winner I wish they'd sell the team. Seems like like the Hawks died the day Dominique was traded and have been going downhill ever since.

What was it the Indy paper called us? "a garbage team" - I don't know about the team, but the management is garbage. They aren't going to fill the seats with this kind of performance.

[Sothron]

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This sucks. It's clear that the owners are dead set on not taking on anymore salary.

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Agreed. I have defended them on that in the past but this is painfully clear.

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I hate to say "I told you so" but the Atlanta Spirit is not going to spend more than the salary minimum until the Belkin legal situation is handled.

And btw, Belkin never plans on spending money on the team either. The difference between the two is that the Spirit group wants to spend money on the Hawks and Thrashers but not until the Belkin situation is over. Until then, well, we are screwed as a franchise.

Life is always grand as a Hawks fan.

[Spiral]

Maybe if we bend over, they can stick it in a little further.

[Spiral]

No doubt. I feel that is why we keep coming back to this retarded deal that is obviously about getting a pick without spending any money.

[Final_quest]

This is the root cause for all this mess. People want to blame BK, and he has had his screw ups, but I can't blame him for this situation. He was handcuffed by the owners.

What sucks is that we could have gotten a player to help us now and a future pick. Instead we get half of what we should have.

[Lascar78]

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From the sounds of it, we don't even get a 2007 pick....

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Maybe I missed something here, but it says we get a future first, and a 2007 pick would be a future first. All that says to me is that the journalist doesn't know the details of the pick. Still a very uninspiring deal but let's not judge until we know the details. I feel ok about this if we get a 2007, disgusted by it if we don't.

Do you guys know how much easier it will be to lose our first rounder next year if we have a later 1st rounder to replace it? A 2007 1st isn't what I'd hope for for Al, but it's better than nothing.

[OGRat]

Claxton and Wright.

They will help the cause, but I agree more could have been done if the ownership situation were not a factor. At least we have a chance to field a complete team this year. We actually have a real PG and C this year.

OG

[Packfill]

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This sucks. It's clear that the owners are dead set on not taking on anymore salary.

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Agreed. I have defended them on that in the past but this is painfully clear.

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I hate to say "I told you so" but the Atlanta Spirit is not going to spend more than the salary minimum until the Belkin legal situation is handled.

And btw, Belkin never plans on spending money on the team either. The difference between the two is that the Spirit group wants to spend money on the Hawks and Thrashers but not until the Belkin situation is over. Until then, well, we are screwed as a franchise.

Life is always grand as a Hawks fan.

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Agreed. It is becoming apparent that the ownership situation is negatively affecting the development of the team.

Best hope long term is that a new owner is brought in.

[gsuteke]

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This sucks. It's clear that the owners are dead set on not taking on anymore salary.

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Agreed. I have defended them on that in the past but this is painfully clear.

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I hate to say "I told you so" but the Atlanta Spirit is not going to spend more than the salary minimum until the Belkin legal situation is handled.

And btw, Belkin never plans on spending money on the team either. The difference between the two is that the Spirit group wants to spend money on the Hawks and Thrashers but not until the Belkin situation is over. Until then, well, we are screwed as a franchise.

Life is always grand as a Hawks fan.

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Agreed. It is becoming apparent that the ownership situation is negatively affecting the development of the team.

Best hope long term is that a new owner is brought in.

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[Final_quest]

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Best hope long term is that a new owner is brought in.

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Hello. Are we going to have to drive this point home?

Owners are not brought in. BK can't sit back and acquire a new owner. I would like to acquire the Maloofs or Cuban, but that can not happen.

Our owners will have to sell in order to have another owner "brought in." Don't you think Clipper fans want a new owner "brought in?"

What evidence do we have to indicate that the league will step in and force our owners to sell?

[TheDude]

what i don't understand is that the owners came to an agreement with belkin that we could trade for players in this Al deal..if that's the case, why didn't we?

i think if this would be a failed trade. i like the other offfseason moves but not this one. this would suck. i hope ownership gets fleeced for this...

[Packfill]

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Best hope long term is that a new owner is brought in.

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Hello. Are we going to have to drive this point home?

Owners are not brought in. BK can't sit back and acquire a new owner. I would like to acquire the Maloofs or Cuban, but that can not happen.

Our owners will have to sell in order to have another owner "brought in." Don't you think Clipper fans want a new owner "brought in?"

What evidence do we have to indicate that the league will step in and force our owners to sell?

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I realize new onwers cannot just be "brought in."

The point, which you may have missed, is that it is becoming increasingly apparent that the owners are the weak link in this franchise. Either they are cheap or not bright enough to understand how contracts work. My hope is that the NBA gives them the full court press behind the scenes to encourage them to sell to a new unaffiliated third party. Regardless of who wins the court battle, the team will be handcuffed to one extent or another.

I am just going to enjoy watching the Hawks' youngsters play and develop over the next couple years because they might not be here beyond that.

[Final_quest]

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I realize new onwers cannot just be "brought in."

The point, which you may have missed, is that it is becoming increasingly apparent that the owners are the weak link in this franchise. Either they are cheap or not bright enough to understand how contracts work. My hope is that the NBA gives them the full court press behind the scenes to encourage them to sell to a new unaffiliated third party. Regardless of who wins the court battle, the team will be handcuffed to one extent or another.

I am just going to enjoy watching the Hawks' youngsters play and develop over the next couple years because they might not be here beyond that.

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I understand the situation very well. We have owners tied up in a lawsuit, and they have to put the development of the franchise on hold until it gets resolved.

If you are hoping that the league steps in, I think that's a false hope. We are stuck with these guys.

We can only hope that the Spirit wins out as quickly as possible.

[Packfill]

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I realize new onwers cannot just be "brought in."

The point, which you may have missed, is that it is becoming increasingly apparent that the owners are the weak link in this franchise. Either they are cheap or not bright enough to understand how contracts work. My hope is that the NBA gives them the full court press behind the scenes to encourage them to sell to a new unaffiliated third party. Regardless of who wins the court battle, the team will be handcuffed to one extent or another.

I am just going to enjoy watching the Hawks' youngsters play and develop over the next couple years because they might not be here beyond that.

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I understand the situation very well. We have owners tied up in a lawsuit, and they have to put the development of the franchise on hold until it gets resolved.

If you are hoping that the league steps in, I think that's a false hope. We are stuck with these guys.

We can only hope that the Spirit wins out as quickly as possible.

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Hey, a man can dream! But you are right, a change of ownership (outside of Spirit or Belkin) is unlikely.