What the Road Ahead should be.

[TexasPete]

Capstone, that is another in a long line of reasons why Woody is a lousy coach. It wouldn't matter if Ivey had scored every lousy point and was playing great defense, he is coming out. Ivey played great yesterday...out he comes after 5 minutes.

Ivey may be the type of guy who ends up having a nice career...somewhere else. Just like Diaw. Ivey must hate woody because Salim plays no defense and jacks crap up all over. Woodson just sucks.

[DrReality]

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1. Make no changes at HC or GM until after the Court case is settled.

If we lose, we'll all be upset, but changing coaches midseason is bad news. Moreover, picking up a lame duck coach is not good for consistency either. NOW, if you decide that BK should go before the next draft... OK. However, I wouldn't waste anybody's time and give the organization a bad reputation, and waste the ownership money until the case is settled either way.

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Sounds reasonable. However, what does that mean? Do we have any real lawyers on the board who can tell us the best and worst cases for when this could be resolved (assuming they don't settle)?

If we are talking up to 5 years - let's all go home, it's over. If it is two-three years, we'll be losing our young guys before we can start fixing the problem. If this is REALLY a barrier to getting anything done (and it sounds like it is), we are scr@wed. Sounds like the only possible strategy for improving would be to tank if we can't spend money to improve.

Where is Stern? Why isn't he involved? or is he content with letting another small market town (ie, not NY, LA, or Chicago) get screwed and pissed off at the NBA? - - It's interesting at how ownership is turning off people in so many cities, Atlanta, Seattle, Portland, ???

Sorry for venting. It's just so frustrating.

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I'll offer my $.02 as a member of the Georgia Bar. The appeal could take several years. If the ASG wins the appeal with the Court of Appeals (where it is now), Belkin can appeal it to the Maryland Supreme Court which has discretion whether to take the case or turn it down. The ASG has the same option if Belkin wins with the Court of Appeals. The stay keeping the ASG in charge will remain in place for as long as the case is on appeal. The two sides can negotiate a buyout at any time, but if there is no settlement or buyout there will be one of two outcomes:

(1) Belkin buys the team at cost;

(2) The ASG buys the team.

If the ASG wins, they will probably be placed back into the buyout process envisioned under the contract - perhaps with the right to pick the second appraiser. When that appraisal is completed, Belkin would have the right to object to it and the NBA could select a third appraiser and the value of the franchise and buyout would be determined after that appraisal was completed. This process should take a matter of months before it is finalized.

It would not be shocking to see the case around in 3+ years if there is no settlement but the most likely result is some form of resoltution in the next two years. However, a final resolution is not anywhere on the horizon at this point.

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If this is true and it goes on that long, the only question is at what point does the franchise go on life support. It cannot survive under the circumstances and it will be the laughing stock of the league. Sounds like a good teaching case for law students.

I'll give it to next season's openning and if it is still hanging their head I'm gonna root for a D League team.

[bird_dirt]

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If the ASG wins the appeal with the Court of Appeals (where it is now), Belkin can appeal it to the Maryland Supreme Court which has discretion whether to take the case or turn it down. The ASG has the same option if Belkin wins with the Court of Appeals.

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hasn't the maryland supreme court already declined to hear the case? if so, would that mean that they won't take the case at all and let a lower court have the final say (with a quicker resolution given the current state of things), or would they hold out and eventually take the case only after all other possible means have been attempted and failed (wasting countless time and money, and dragging this on for years more)?

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It cannot survive under the circumstances and

it will be the laughing stock of the league

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...oops, too late.

[Diesel]

My Hope is that Stern becomes fed up, call the board of Governors together and the Board of Governors kill it.

Having a team that cannot be competitive based on a situation like we have should be something that Stern & the NBA can overrule.

What I am saying is that there must be some ownership rules and bylaws that allow the NBA to step in and the commisioner to moderate.

[AHF]

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If the ASG wins the appeal with the Court of Appeals (where it is now), Belkin can appeal it to the Maryland Supreme Court which has discretion whether to take the case or turn it down. The ASG has the same option if Belkin wins with the Court of Appeals.

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hasn't the maryland supreme court already declined to hear the case? if so, would that mean that they won't take the case at all and let a lower court have the final say (with a quicker resolution given the current state of things), or would they hold out and eventually take the case only after all other possible means have been attempted and failed (wasting countless time and money, and dragging this on for years more)?

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No, the Maryland Supreme Court has a special procedural mechanism by which a party can bypass the Court of Appeals and go directly to the Supreme Court in significant cases. Belkin opposed this because it would shorten the litigation and cause him to either have to sell at the current value or to cause him to actually have to start paying for the teams. Belkin likes the status quo because he gets the appreciation from the teams if he wins or more money if they are appraised at a later point in time due to appreciation and he doesn't have to pay down the debt or pay to run the team. Also, the more time that passes the more damage is done to the team so the longer the future route of litigation appears, the more incentive there is to buy out Belkin. In the interest of extending the litigation, Belkin had his attorneys file formal briefs opposing the request for direct review by the Maryland Supreme Court.

The Maryland Supreme Court then declined to allow this expidited litigation. However, that decision is not the same as a normal appeal and would not impact the chances of the Maryland Supreme Court taking the case after the Court of Appeals makes their ruling.

[Yeti]

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The Maryland Supreme Court then declined to allow this expidited litigation.

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How about we boycott all Maryland products and businesses until this is resolved. If the great state of Maryland has no concern over the wellfare of Atlantans and are willing to deliberately prolong our pain, then we should reciprocate. Just remember that next time you get a sales call from Maryland. (Maybe add TNG, Affinity Group, and David Stern for good measure )

[AHF]

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The Maryland Supreme Court then declined to allow this expidited litigation.

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How about we boycott all Maryland products and businesses until this is resolved. If the great state of Maryland has no concern over the wellfare of Atlantans and are willing to deliberately prolong our pain, then we should reciprocate. Just remember that next time you get a sales call from Maryland. (Maybe add TNG, Affinity Group, and David Stern for good measure )

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Although both the NBA and NHL filed an amicus brief (meaning they are not part of the case but wanted to weigh in with their views) in favor of the expidited appeal to the state supreme court, I don't know that it was a wrong decision to deny the application where the parties disagreed on the appropriateness of that track. Had Belkin agreed to a shorter route through litigation, it would have been a stronger argument.

Of course, I have yet to hear a good reason why Belkin didn't do this from any of his defenders on this site. The two most logical reasons in my mind are that (1) he profits from the ASG running the team under the current restrictions since they pay down the debt and assume operating costs; (2) he gets increased leverage from a longer appeals process precisely because the litigation is damaging the team; and (3) both of these reasons would tend to increase the money in his pocket at the end of the day. The people that pay the price for this decision to oppose a faster appeals process are the ASG and the Hawks players (who can't sign for as much with the team) and fans.

[Guest Walter]

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How about we boycott all Maryland products and businesses until this is resolved.

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I'm sorry, I can't abide by that. I'm about to get a Chesapeake Bay Retriever pup. He isn't technically from Maryland, however. As soon as I get him I'll start Maryland boycotting. What else does Maryland produce exactly?

W

[TroyMcClure]

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I'm sorry, I can't abide by that. I'm about to get a Chesapeake Bay Retriever pup. He isn't technically from Maryland, however. As soon as I get him I'll start Maryland boycotting. What else does Maryland produce exactly?

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Crabcakes?

[Guest Walter]

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I'm sorry, I can't abide by that. I'm about to get a Chesapeake Bay Retriever pup. He isn't technically from Maryland, however. As soon as I get him I'll start Maryland boycotting. What else does Maryland produce exactly?

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Crabcakes?

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They don't have a monopoly on crabs but I believe "old bay seasoning" comes from there. That would ruin a good low country boil not having old bay. Couldn't we boycott something we don't already like? I already don't like violence. I think I'll boycott Baltimore. There's my contribution.

W