The Hawks ARE the trade holdup

[TexasPete]

The Amare deal puts us over the cap and Belkin can veto any deal that puts us over the cap. PHX only backtracked after they knew we had issues to save face for Amare.

Andy Katz then said that is why nobody likes to do biz with the Hawks.

PHX was ready. Now Minny is trying to figure out how to get the deal done without getting us over cap because they really want our picks.

[Vafan]

This sounds like spin against the Hawks. Everyone likes to kick us in the A#%#@!

[ccatl]

Story posted on ESPN.com as of 2am this morning:

The Minnesota Timberwolves' attempts to get a great deal for Kevin Garnett hit a major roadblock on Wednesday afternoon, sources told ESPN.com.

According to multiple sources, the Timberwolves have been talking to multiple teams about finding a third team to help facilitate a Garnett trade.

As ESPN.com reported on Tuesday evening, Minnesota was looking to acquire Atlanta's No. 3 and No. 11 picks in Thursday's draft along with several cap-friendly contracts from the Hawks and Phoenix Suns. To participate, Atlanta wanted Amare Stoudemire from Phoenix.

On Wednesday, sources say one of the Hawks owners vetoed a hypothetical deal for Stoudemire for financial reasons.

However, late Wednesday night the Wolves were trying to resurrect the deal in a way that would overcome the objections. The sticking point has been a trade kicker in Garnett's contract. The Wolves were talking to fourth teams that could help alleviate the financial burden on Atlanta and Phoenix.

"All I can tell you is we're talking to a lot of people," Hawks general manager Billy Knight said Wednesday afternoon, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I can't say that anything is imminent or even likely to take place. Right now, we have the No. 3 and No. 11 picks and that's all we have.

"We feel good about what we could do if we draft at No. 3 and then again at No. 11. But we are talking ... we're talking about a lot of different things, and we're going to continue to do so up until the draft begins."

The Suns claim to have never had any direct contact with the Hawks about a deal. While they have shown strong interest in acquiring Garnett, the deal never reached a stage where they were asked by either team to give up Stoudemire and never offered him in a trade.

While teams like the Lakers and Suns will continue to pursue Garnett, and the Wolves seem intent on trading him, sources say that it's unlikely, but not impossible, that a deal goes down by the time of the draft.

The latest drama in the KG saga shows some of the perils of dealing with the Hawks -- arguably the most dysfunctional franchise in the league.

The Hawks ownership group, Atlanta Spirit LLC, is embroiled in a nasty lawsuit with former partner Steve Belkin. Belkin won a lawsuit against Atlanta Spirit LLC last summer and a judge ruled that he could buy out the owners of Atlanta Spirit and gain full ownership of the team. Atlanta Spirit is currently appealing the ruling.

In the meantime, Belkin holds some authority over the team. He can veto any trade or free agent signing that takes the team above the NBA salary cap. Several sources suggested that it was Belkin who vetoed the trade.

This fiasco isn't the only situation the Hawks are dealing with. Sources said that Knight is in a dispute with some of the Hawks owners over who to take at No. 3. Knight prefers Florida's Al Horford. Some in the Hawks ownership, including influential owner Michael Gearon Jr., want to draft Yi Jianlian out of China.

[DrReality]

Nothin like having our dirt laundry exposed to the world again. Given these complexities with the ownership, you really have to wonder if a trade is even possible.

[TheDude]

why must we have to deal with stuff like this? are we really cursed? we can't get a break for anything....

Belkin is like our Isiah Rider 2, except he doesnt play the game. He's also foolish since the worth of the hawks would be more if we got Amare, therefore he would get more in a buyout. it's making us look bad in a time we should start looking good..

i long for it to be 24 hours ago, when we looked good and were actually getting compliments....

I'm not sure what else Stern has to see to get involved in this ownership mess. Will he actually sit by and watch for YEARS as one of his teams continues this ownership squabble? TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR FREAKING LEAGUE STERN! You know, there was only a certain amount of time me and my brother could argue in the backseat before my father turned around swinging....

[Spiral]

I'm not a cap expert by any means, but it looks to me like the original deal I saw would not put us over the cap. I believe we're roughly 5 mil under now. We'd be shipping out roughly 9 mil and taking back 12. I could be wrong on this and maybe the deal isn't exactly what was originally reported. But by my math, I don't see how it does it.

In any case, it seems we are reminded at least a few times a year how terrible our ownership situation really is.

[txsting]

I hear this report and just don't believe it holds any water. It's easy to do this deal and keep the Hawks under the cap. And the Amare deal will drop down to 4 years in a couple of days. It CAN't be Belkin.

If the Hawks are stopping this, it must be due to differences in opinion of what to do. That's the problem with having so many voices in ownership - it makes for a weak and powerless GM. If this is true, I wonder if BK wouldn't just throw up his hands and resign.