Babcock is GONE

[archie44]

He's out.

[Guest]

i assume Billy Knight will take his place.Jerry West

probably saw this coming....One reason he didn't

want to join up with pete.

[Diesel]

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a Babcock supporter... However, if we simply replace him with Billy Knight are we doing better?

WHat's Knight's track record??

He sent the franchise's all-time leading scorer, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, to the Atlanta Hawks for a draft pick that became Pau Gasol, and swapped point guards with the Sacramento Kings, dealing Mike Bibby for Jason Williams. He also gave Micheal Dickerson a Big contract and I'm not sure if he was responsible for the hiring of Sidney Lowe? I think that [censored] Versace was actually the guy who finished that deal.

Before joining the Grizzlies, Knight spent 14 years with the Indiana Pacers, the last three as vice president of basketball operations.

I don't know. It's a toss up. Knight made a decent deal getting Gasol, Knight, and Lo for SAR... However he turned around and got WHite Chocolate and then overpaid Micheal Dickerson. It's hard. He did get Persons though.... I think all in all, his track record is fine. If he was halfway responsible for Bird being coach of the Pacers and putting together a team that featured Reggie, Smits, Perkins, Rose, and the Davis boys then he might be better than Babs.

[Blunt91]

If he is gone then why is ask the GM still up on Hawks.com? I imgaine he will get flooded with emails if he has stepped down or gotten fired. This might explain why Ask the GM was on such a long hiatus.

[Jamil]

http://espn.go.com/nba/news/2003/0402/1532825.html

[cyman3]

if we bring in another babcock, theres no difference... no point in getting rid of the first babcock.

but if we bring in someone good... thats a BIG step

[Jamil]

Hunter didn't do much to impress in Vancouver. Most of all was the mishandling of the Steve Francis situation.

I'm hopeful that the team will get the right man.

THE EVIL IS GONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Guest]

Pete's the guy you want over at a cookout and not the

guy you want running you're team.

[SWISH9061]

Best move the Hawks have made in years. Pete was a great guy with a lot of integrity but he was a lousy GM. I wish him the best.

Don't know much about Billy Knight so I can't say if he's the man but I'm excited that we have an opportunity to bring in someone (maybe Knight) that can straighten this mess out.

I imagine that Stotts' fate will be in the hands of the new GM...

[Diesel]

My hope is that we get some basketball mind in Atlanta. I hope for new ownership as well.

However, Knight seems like a step in the right direction. There's talk of Grunwald leaving Toronto? What if we made Nique the GM??? The things I see immediately is that the future of Alex English is in trouble.

English was a guy who was with Babcock in Denver. He might be gone.

Of course we might be setting the table for the return of Mike Fratello? Can't you see him as GM/Coach (Like Nellie?)?

[Blunt91]

If we are going to make changes let's go all the way. We got rid of Kruger and now Babcock the only person left is Stan Kasten. It is ridiculous that one guy is in charge of 3 sports franchises, how is he suppose to make sound decisions?? Kasten you are NEXTTTT!!!

[hawkster411]

I hope the Hawks make the right moves. The new GM and VP should concentrate on Terry's contract extension, scouting department, and make another key trade.

The Hawks have the chance to sign key people. I am being more optimistic about the Hawks future; however, I hope the Hawks are conscience of who they will pick to run this ball club.

Note to Management: It's your time to make the right choice, we're all watching you!

[ATLien_]

Maybe im alone but Im sad to see old Babcock go. He was a stand up guy. I thought he done a lot better as a GM in the last 3 years, and the trades he made in that span any of us would have done. Its unfortunate he traded for heartless players that are good. It's also unfortunate he chose Kruger over the myriad of coaches he could have chosen from, but I think he saw a little of himself in Kruger.

All in all, I hope he goes on and does well somewhere else. I wish you good luck Babcock.

[Gray Mule]

ATLien_ No, you are not alone. Babcock is a nice guy

and I hate that he had to go.

He was willing to talk to the fans and try his best to give

an honest answer to their questions. Not many top executives want to do this. They seem to get to the

point that they feel they are too good to do this, but not

Babcock. He made some good moves and some lousy

moves while he was here, but was willing to talk about

any of them.

[Traceman]

I too like Babs a lot and I think he's a great guy. I hate to see him leave in some respects but I don't see any way that keeping him on for next season could be justified. I will miss his accessability because no other GM in the NBA has been as easy to contact as Babs.

Actually, my biggest concern right now is what does this mean for DJ? Hopefully, whoever replaces Babs will see him as a part of the future of this team but there is certainly no guarantee that will be the case.

[hawkszone]

He was able to put some good teams on the floor, but never put a "great" team out there. His decision to trade Smitty was the beginning of the end.

We can't forget that he was responsible for the Mookie, Smitty & Deke era which produced some good season records and some exciting times.

He will find another job in the league. Maybe not a GM though.

I hope that Stan Kasten takes a good look around before he settles on Billy Knight. He has a good resume, but someone with of more prominance might serve us better in the long term.

Stan Kasten must make a good decision in his replacement of Babcock or letting him go does nothing if not make us worse.

I have to go out of town until next week, but I was able put up a short article on the site.

http://www.hawkszone.net

[KB21]

You look around the league, and the clear cut top GM in the league is Jerry West. A step below him is Donnie Walsh at Indiana and maybe Don Nelson in Dallas. Outside of those three, the GM's league wide seem to be nothing but a big cluster [censored].

Guys like Glen Grunwald and Ernie Grunfeld don't jump out at you as guys who can turn a franchise around.

I think Billy Knight is a good option, and about the only other option that doesn't involve getting some teams top scout to be a GM is to hire a GM/head coach.

[KB21]

He was the top personnel executive for Donnie Walsh in Indiana for about 5 years. He's been involved with a team that drafts well, and his two drafts in Vancouver/Memphis were very good.

[mrhonline]

It was a real gutsy move by Babcock to guarantee the playoffs...He knew his job was on the line and gave his best to improve the team and attendance. Kudos to PB, even if his best wasn't enough...

The Hawks may improve next year, but they will have a hard time replacing his class.

[KB21]

.....Lon Kruger, not Pete Babcock.