From new insider report

[jeddelong]

Atlanta Hawks

Robinson

On the Block: Glenn Robinson

The Skinny: In February, everyone on the roster was on the trading block -- Robinson, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Jason Terry, Theo Ratliff, Nazr Mohammed -- now with the sale of the team imminent, everything's on hold. When owner David McDavid finally takes the reins, hires a coach and GM (Pistons international scout and former Mavs scout Tony Ronzone is rumored to be a frontrunner) the team can begin dealing again. The first order of business, get the Big Dog out of the house. Robinson put up great numbers last season, but the team played better when he was out nursing injuries.

[Guest]

My problem with Dog is that he didn't improve us.I

didn;t think he totally made us worse...He just didn't

help us improve...Theo either.

[KB21]

This guy is the biggest international scout in the entire NBA. He's been everywhere searching for talent, and the guys he finds usually end up doing well in the NBA. Two years ago, he found a 7-9 center in North Korea named Michael Ri. He got him to come to Canada for around 6 months, but the US Government never let Ri into the states due to some sort of sanctions against North Korea.

When he was hired by Joe Dumars, he talked Joe into watching a Turkish player workout the day before the draft. The day of the draft, Joe drafted that guy. Mehmet Okur. The Pistons also signed Zeljko Rebracca on Razone's international watch.

Razone worked in Dallas before he went to Detroit, and everyone knows the foreign influence that is on the Mavericks's roster. He's coached in Saudi Arabia. He's been an assistant at US colleges.

This guy really seems to know talent extremely well. I would almost guarantee that if the Hawks were in a position to have hired him before the draft and had him do all the pre-draft stuff, the Hawks would be drafting foreign players in this draft.

If this guy is hired as the Hawks General Manager, I'll throw out a name that may pop up as a potential head coaching candidate: Mike D'Antoni. D'Antoni has played in the NBA. He's gotten his feet wet in the NBA as a head coach when he took over in the interim in Denver at one time. He's currently coaching in Italy as the head coach of the Benneton Treviso club. He's been a scout for the Spurs, the director of player personnel for the Nuggets, an assistant in Portland, and an assistant in Phoenix. If not a head coaching candidate, he may serve as a potential director of scouting in some sort, whether that is director of player personnel or as a director in international scouting, which is the title Ronzone currently holds with Detroit.

[DJ_Money]

That's the info I've been looking for. Thanks KB.

Ronzone sounds like an excellent cantidate for the job. We've lacked any kind of scouting department for so long, that even putting a wire on a pigeon in Yugoslavia would be an improvement.

"Buying" a championship in the NBA is nearly impossible. Teams have to build through trades and the draft. If we hired Ronzone now, gave him a couple drafts to get some solid young talent in here, by the time the 05-06 season gets here, those players (along with whatever FAs we can grab) will have this team back on the right track.

[cyman3]

i remember reading a magazine article on that 7'9" or so center from north korea... wat a shame he couldnt come here to play ball.

we need help at the Scout level BIG TIME... at times i feel like i can put more effort than these guys...

[HawkTodd]

Here is some info I found on the 7-9 player Michael Ri. Very Interesting. I had never heard of him before now. Yea, that would have been interesting to see him play in the NBA.

North Korean's hoop dreams a tall order (9-25-1998).

http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/asiapcf/9809/25/nkorea.player/

DPRK-US Basketball Exchange Upswing.

http://www.korea-np.co.jp/pk/047th_issue/98061703.htm