Owners try to offer positive spin...

[flava]

Red ink didn't tie Hawks' hands

Harrington deal not affected, owners say

By TIM TUCKER

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Published on: 08/24/06

It's no secret that the Hawks and Thrashers are losing money — more than $20 million in the past year, according to court records.

The teams' owners, without the participation of estranged partner Steve Belkin, have had to ante up several times to cover the losses and fund future needs. Capital calls — cash infusions from the owners — have totaled about $35 million since October, including $12 million last month, according to court records.

Combine that financial picture with the Hawks' sign-and-trade of free agent Al Harrington for a draft pick and you get an obvious question: Did the team pass up better deals for Harrington simply to avoid spending money on new players?

Michael Gearon Jr., the part-owner who serves as the Hawks' NBA governor, insists not.

"If someone had offered us a player that we felt could make the team better, [Hawks general manager] Billy [Knight] would have recommended [the trade] to the owners, and we would have supported it," Gearon said.

Knight recommended no such deal, Gearon said.

Instead, he said, the players offered in various potential deals carried contracts that would have cost the Hawks their salary-cap flexibility without significantly upgrading the roster.

"If it's between a draft pick and a bad contract, I'd rather have the draft pick," Gearon said. "We absolutely would have taken on additional salary if we felt it made the team better, but we had no interest in taking on a bad contract that would not improve this team."

The Harrington deal and the impending signing of free agent Lorenzen Wright will leave the Hawks about $7 million under the NBA salary cap.

"We don't want to lose that flexibility by taking a bad contract now," Gearon said. "I think the key for us is to maintain the flexibility so that as this team evolves, we can make moves."

Because of NBA rules, he would not discuss specific players that were offered for Harrington. One player publicly linked to trade discussions — one with the type of contract the Hawks apparently did not want — was Golden State power forward Troy Murphy, whose $9 million salary the Warriors wanted to unload to make room under the cap for Harrington.

Financially, the Hawks' recent transactions have been a wash. While the deal that sent Harrington and unwanted backup center John Edwards to Indiana saves $8.6 million in 2006-07 salaries — Harrington's $7.6 million and Edwards' $1 million — the Hawks have taken on about the same amount in 2006-07 salaries with their two free-agent acquisitions this summer, Speedy Claxton ($6 million) and Wright ($3 million).

In his protracted negotiations with Indiana, Knight originally asked that the Pacers send the Hawks $3 million in the Harrington deal. The Pacers refused. "That was just Billy doing his job, negotiating hard," Gearon said.

Gearon vigorously defends the Hawks' summer moves.

"Billy [Knight] saw our needs going into the offseason as point guard and backup big [man], and we met both of those needs with the best people available out in the marketplace," he said. "We got Speedy Claxton, the best point guard in free agency, and Lorenzen Wright, probably the best backup big man available.

"I'm extremely excited about our team. I think we are batting 1.000 in free agency the past two years. The four players Billy wanted, he recommended them to [the owners], we supported him and we signed them — Joe Johnson, Zaza Pachulia, Speedy Claxton and Lorenzen Wright. ... There has not been one move regarding players that we have not done because of money."

Meanwhile, the Hawks' ownership feud has been quiet since a Maryland judge last month granted a stay, pending appeal, of his earlier ruling that Belkin is entitled to buy out the other owners at cost. The non-Belkin owners posted an $11.4 million bond required by the court as a condition of the stay. The appeal process is expected to last up to a year unless there is a settlement in the meantime.

[WraithSentinel]

Pretty much everything he said is how I felt during this whole process. Don't take on a contract unless the team improves with that player or players. Just because a team has caproom doesn't mean they should waste it right away. That is what most teams do in the NBA. Get caproom and then destroy it soon as they get it. The saga is over with. Time to get Lo sign and prepare for the season. Hopefully a playoff season. I want our pick to be much worser than Suns Fans expect it to be.

[Sothron]

The AS won't admit publically that they won't spend more than the league minimum while the Belkin situation is unresolved. But trust me, they aren't adding salary.

[Popeye]

Quote:

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The AS won't admit publically that they won't spend more than the league minimum while the Belkin situation is unresolved. But trust me, they aren't adding salary.

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Who are you??

a rat that's spying on AS?

[mdawg]

I think the Spirit are starting to lose the PR battle with Belkin. Why root for the Spirit when this is the kind of deal they make?

[exodus]

Quote:

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"Billy [Knight] saw our needs going into the offseason as point guard and

backup big [man],

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WRONG. They need a starting center since they already have a backup in Zaza.

[mrhonline]

I think you can definitely make a case that Speedy and Lo are the best PG and backup big, respectively. The real question is whether PG and backup big were the Hawks' biggest needs after the draft.

I tend to think they were.

[Sothron]

No, just someone who has friends within the team and has friends that have more contacts within the team.

[exodus]

Sorry to burst your bubble but Al isn't the only reason the Hawks interior D was the worst in the league last year. The other reason was Zaza.

The Hawks will NEVER be contenders with a starting center who can't defend at all.

[mrhonline]

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The Hawks will NEVER be contenders with a starting center who can't defend at all.

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Last season's top eight contenders:

EC - Pistons, Heat, Cavs, Nets

WC - Mavs, Spurs, Suns, Clippers

Are you seriously going to argue that all eight of those teams have a defensive-minded center?

A couple of those teams have neither a defensive center nor a defensive PF.

[exodus]

All of them have centers who are better defenders than Zaza. That isn't even debatable.

Look at the teams that were in the finals. Dallas led the league in pts in the pt defense. Replace Diop with Zaza and that changes completely.

[Guest Walter]

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"Billy [Knight] saw our needs going into the offseason as point guard and backup big [man], and we met both of those needs with the best people available out in the marketplace," he said. "We got Speedy Claxton, the best point guard in free agency, and Lorenzen Wright, probably the best backup big man available.

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We need so much more than a BU center! We not only need a true center, we need one with the size and post skill to make up for a lack of height, size, and especially skill at Pf if we are to ever want to play JS primarily at the Pf. Our needs were IMO a potential superstar (thus my push to trade for Bargnani), but if not that a potentially post dominant center (AT THE VERY LEAST a defensively dominant one). That's not just a starter, much less a BU. Speedy would do at Pg if we had that player but Roy would be MUCH better without said player. Unfortunately such a center is as hard to get than Lo is easy and we do not have an inspired or bold enough GM to see much less accomplish this.

W

[mrhonline]

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All of them have centers who are better defenders than Zaza. That isn't even debatable.

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I would gladly debate it. Now, you could definitely argue that they have centers who are better rebounders (except maybe for Phoenix).

If you want to claim all eight teams are significantly better at defending at the center position (which is different from "points in the paint," which takes into consideration the post defense of the whole team), I'd love to hear your argument.

Where I think you've made too great a leap is that you are equating post defense with "center defense" (if there's even such a thing). A good interior defense relies on several different players to play several distinct roles. By acquiring Wright and Williams to play along side Smith and Pachulia, the Hawks can rightly expect a much improved interior D.

[exodus]

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the Hawks can rightly expect a much improved interior D

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If the Hawks interior D is just bad that would be a big improvement. There is only one way to go when you are at the bottom.

[BBallPrincess]

Quote:

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The AS won't admit publically that they won't spend more than the league minimum while the Belkin situation is unresolved. But trust me, they aren't adding salary.

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Exactly....

[KB21]

It's fact.

Billy Knight is not like that idiot Isiah Thomas. He isn't going to go gaga over a bunch of high salaried, long term contract players thinking that it will make him an immediate contender.

It's called being financially responsible and smart.

[foeteen14]

walter man come on bargnani? he's that defensive stopper we need alright

[vdunkndunk]

I also believe Atlanta Spirit will not spend money until the Belkin situation gets resolved, but I don't really hold that against them. We are talking about an unpredictable and seriously unstable situation here that could blow up in their faces.

The difference is Belkin won't want to pay salaries even AFTER the "Belkin situation" is resolved. I think AS, if they can rid themselves of Belkin once and for all, will go back to spending money and trying to build a competitive team. I'm also pretty sure that Belkin never wants to spend money on the Hawks.

[jerrywest]

Cato at minimum and we are functionable.

[Guest Walter]

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Billy Knight is not like that idiot Isiah Thomas.

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There are many ways NOT to build a title contender. Isaiah doesn't have the patent.

W