Join Me On The DARKSIDE!

[Johnnybravo4]

Join me in my crusade to bring Lord Belkin here to save our franchise. It is Belkin who will rid us of the scourge of Billy Knight and Mike Woodson and will allow us to finally grow as a franchise.

I know you all have been hesitant before, but think about it now. Could it get any worse. Will Belkin be cheap? Could he be cheaper than a 45 million payroll, with 8 million still unused?

Would Belkin be unable to bring a dominant center from overseas because he is too cheap to spend the money?

Would Belkin be afraid to pull the trigger to bring a HOFer to the Hawks in order to protect our valuable "youth"?

Maybe he would or maybe he won't. But I do know this. The Atlanta No Brains Spirit have done the above already. The LLC in Atlanta Spirit LLC must stand for Lacking Lucid Cognitions...because they can't think straight.

You would have to have the IQ of a fruit fly to think that keeping Woody and BK is good for your business.

We have been the laughing stock of the NBA for too long. When we can be surpassed by the Nuggets, Clippers and Warriors in notariety it is time to make a regime change!

LONG LIVE LORD BELKIN!

[DJlaysitup]

Yes I am there UnderLord JB !!

Actually I've thought all along that Belkin wants to be an NBA owner and the other guys are happy watching hockey. Belkin being from Boston (where I lived for awhile in my military career)...I imagine he is a Hockey liker too...but Red was the man.

By the way - did you know Belkin may be the senior partner in the building of Boston's tallest building soon? - not a goober.

My gut says he likes basketball best. I bet I'm right (a corn dog challenge).

Belkin winning would solve tons of problems without hurting any current Hawks players. BK and Woody would be fired in minutes. Belkin would bring in a quality coach and probably act as GM himself (or pay a figurehead).

We would have better coaching and better financial backing and we'd spend to the salary cap cause Belkin (as a true owner) wouldn't wan't to be seen as cheap amongst his peers. Plus - he would be smart.

[Johnnybravo4]

Nice that you have seen the light my padawan. Just call me Darth Johnny

[bird_dirt]

man, f* belkin. no, i don't know exactly everything that has been going on with the owners (no one but themselves and their lawyers do), but it seems that he has been doing some serious underhanded moves that hold back the team.

there are serious limitations to what the spirit can do while dealing with the dark lord, and what's the point in firing the gm and coach until everything is resolved? no one will want to come in to this situation under the current uncertainty. anyone who would, wouldn't be enough of an improvement, i can tell you that. granted, once the absolute final court ruling is given out, i wouldn't mind too much if the bk and woody are shown the door (especially woody), but until that happens, then what's the point? change for change's sake? the more discontinuty you have among the organization, the harder it is on players and the team.

personally, i feel that either of them could likely be running the team pretty cheap, they needed each other to buy the teams in the first place.

[Johnnybravo4]

Yep change for changes sake. Anyone would be better than Woody right now

[Sothron]

Don't be absurd. Belkin has tried to purchase teams before in the NBA and he never has had enough money to do so. There is simply no way he could afford to run a NBA team and keep even a regular payroll let alone paying luxury taxes. This team would be the Atlanta Clippers, probably soon to be the Las Vegas Hawks.

[TheDude]

you are insane if you want Belkin in here....i would be like not liking the food at a restaurant, so you go outside and eat a turd.

[Johnnybravo4]

I feel confident that any man smart enought to fool about 10 others, including "Superlawyers", has a good plan for the franchise. And again, how could you possibly be any cheaper than the second lowest payroll in the NBA? What is he going to do, cut players on rookie contracts?

[AHF]

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I feel confident that any man smart enought to fool about 10 others, including "Superlawyers", has a good plan for the franchise. And again, how could you possibly be any cheaper than the second lowest payroll in the NBA? What is he going to do, cut players on rookie contracts?

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Hell yeah he has a good plan for the team. Making money like Donald Sterling. Great and rationale if you are an owner. Sucks to be you if you are a Hawks fan, though.

To go with the Star Wars theme, just because the Republic may be suffering from inefficiency and corruption doesn't mean things will be better if the Sith take over.

[Johnnybravo4]

But the Sith caused the inefficiency and corruption. In the Hawks case it has been self imposed. And Donald Sterling learned his lesson and has spent money. Now you tell me at present who has the better image, the Clippers or the Hawks?

[Sothron]

Let me repeat this to you JB: Belkin has nowhere near the personal capital to buy the Hawks let alone have the resources to pay a NBA team salary year in, year out. The only reason he is proceeding in legal battles is his hope he can buy a NBA and NHL team and an arena for a very cheap price ...which he can then sell out to someone else or move to Las Vegas.

Belkin is not the answer.

[Johnnybravo4]

Hey genius if he can't afford to own the franchise then he also couldn't afford to move it to Vegas, who has about a fourth of atlanta's population and tv market

[Sothron]

Yes, no city has NEVER paid a relocation sum to the owners of a team to get them to move. NEVER.

Belkin lost the Celtics and Bobcats because he did not have enough capital to buy AND OPERATE the teams per NBA accountants who went through his records. The only way he had a chance to buy a team was in a large ownership group like the Spirit.

The only way he COULD have the money to run the team would be to relocate the team and have tax breaks/free public arena/novelty of new team to buy tickets. And even then he wouldn't have enough money to operate it outside the bare salary minimum. The Bobcats currenty principal owner is exactly the same kind of owner. You really want that?

[Johnnybravo4]

I don't imagine that Belkin will attempt to take over the franchise without significant financial backers. Most teams have minority partners who stay in the background. That is what we need, no a group of beer buddies who fly around and say "Look what I bought daddy, Iz got a basketball team."

[CHORO44]

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I don't imagine that Belkin will attempt to take over the franchise without significant financial backers. Most teams have minority partners who stay in the background. That is what we need, no a group of beer buddies who fly around and say "Look what I bought daddy, Iz got a basketball team."

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It takes a few qualities to amass wealth: strong bloodlines or business savvy. I'll give it to Belkin he knows how to read and take advantage of contracts. The opposing side of the Spirit group obviously relied on some high-powered lawyers who probably could have worded the agreement a bit clearer. The fact that savvy businessmen rely on lawyers to protect their interests is not uncommon. You calling them beer buddies and insulting their intelligence is assinine.

I'll take the guys who love the team, love Atlanta, and actually reach out to the fans over a shark who doesn't care who the team is so long as he can own it on the cheap and make money off it. There are plenty of guys who are sharks that you would not want near the Hawks. Belkin's method of appeal, while supposedly legitimate, would not be acceptable to an outsider judging the contract from a viewpoint of equality. To be able to get an appraisal, strike it down, then commission the next one is obviously a flawed way of interpreting the mechanics of the operating agreement.

Will Belkin prevail? Who knows. Trust me from a long-time Oakland A's fan you don't want an owner who may relocate the team. Fremont A's, Santa Clara 49'ers, and Las Vegas/Anaheim Hawks. Pray Belkin fails.

[Johnnybravo4]

There is no evidence that he would move the franchise. No one with common sense moves a franchise from the 9th media market to the 100th? (Unless you are Bud Adams)

Besides We'd just end up with the Atlanta Supersonics within 2 years

[AHF]

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But the Sith caused the inefficiency and corruption. In the Hawks case it has been self imposed. And Donald Sterling learned his lesson and has spent money. Now you tell me at present who has the better image, the Clippers or the Hawks?

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If a democracy is inefficient (because democracies are inherently ineffecient) that doesn't mean a dictatorship is better. You can sure get more things done without the red tape but sometimes the results are not very pretty.

[bird_dirt]

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Besides We'd just end up with the Atlanta Supersonics within 2 years

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think again. the sonics new owners are from oklahoma city. they are waiting for the season to end and the hornets to return to new orleans for good before they relocate the sonics to their hometown (though they publicly haven't admitted as much). they've wetted the locals' appitite, and soon they'll get to feed the hungry, too (and make some $$). think it was any coincidence the nba moved the hornets to okc after katrina, then the sonics get sold to a group from there? they were testing the market, man.

[gsuteke]

congrats Bravo.

[TheDude]

don't you think if Belkin had the funds to buy a team by himself with some minority backers, he would have done it already? it's wellknown his efforts to do so....

but he can't.

and as for comparing the CURRENT clippers to sterling....how many YEARS did it take before Sterling finally spent some money. you want to wait that long?