Ratliff wants out of Atlanta to go to Big Apple..

[dimes4life]

New York Post: The Knicks want center Theo Ratliff as badly as Ratliff wants them. A source close to Ratliff told The Post at last week's Boston summer league, where the Hawks were competing, that Ratliff wants out of Atlanta.

"He's miserable beyond belief," the source said.

When contacted, Ratliff's agent Joel Bell declined to comment on whether Ratliff has demanded a trade. However, when asked if Ratliff would play for the Knicks, he said, "He would be very happy to be with New York. He's an East Coast guy."

Hawks GM Billy Knight said yesterday he has no intention of trading the 6-10 Ratliff, but ultimately it may not be his decision. Knight disputed the notion he's not allowed to make trades until new ownership takes over. But multiple sources say his hands are tied on making any blockbuster moves that could affect the value of the team until the new owners are in place. Knight admitted he considers himself an "interim GM."

[Boondocks]

link

http://www.nypost.com/sports/knicks/38059.htm

In reply to:

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So why is Ratliff so miserable? The way it's explained, he feels the Hawks' guards on defense are unable to keep players out of the paint, forcing Ratliff to constantly be burdened with penetrators. Ratliff also feels he has to cover for Glenn Robinson, a notoriously lazy help defender.

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He may want to go, doesn't mean management will trade him. Just shows though that Theo is fed up with a certain lousy defender on the team. Sigh, if he really insists on getting traded that isn't good for his trade value. I don't think I'd be all that happy with Kurt Thomas, and am not interested in the least in anything else they have.

[jeddelong]

I rarely believe anything from the NY Post, everything I read from there is bogus.

[Gray Mule]

So, Hawk's starting center wants a divorce. Wants to

leave Atlanta for the big apple of New York. And, New

York is making Cat Eyes at our center. They would love to

have each other. A marriage made in heaven, they think.

Do we, the Hawks try to save the marriage, remove the

obsticles causing this unhappiness? If we did, would

the marriage last or would our center leave anyway at the

first opportunity? If he stayed, would he be willing to

give 100 % effort to make the marriage work, or would

he constantly think of his lover in New York that he

wasn't able to go to?

We took this center in while he was unable to play because

of injuries. We paid him for the remainder of the year.

The next year, he was unable to play the entire season.

Again, the Hawks kept him and paid his salary. A year

and half another, paying out huge sums of money with

nothing to show for it. Finally, with health restored, he

gives the Hawks one year of playing time for the two

and a half years of salary. Recovered now and healthy,

he wants to leave -- Go figure.

Keeping a marriage alive is at best difficult in the best of

circumstances. Knowing that one's mate is lusting after

someone else who is trying to steal them makes it almost

impossible to hold things together.

Sometimes divorce is the only reasonable solution for all

partys involved. We shall see how this one plays out.

[TheDude]

and theo would be right... just another reason we need to dish glenn robinson to someone else for a better defensive sf.. hopefully they will but actually getting something in return...

[Boondocks]

Indeed it seems to be primarily GRob ticking Ratliff off, as the rest of this forum.

Thankfully GRob is in the last 2 years of his contract, at not a very bad price I might add. Sure he can score and such but he ruins team chemistry, doesn't defend and is looking out for him only. With the way teams are looking to avoid luxury tax and the sorts, we have a soon to be ending contract that can actually score good points on the court, should get a fair value in return (of course we won't mention we hate him etc etc).

[Guest]

Why don't Theo shutup and rebound....It would be

something knew if he did that.

[Diesel]

Am I missing something here...

I just read that Theo said Glenn Robinson... BUT didn't that article also talk about the Guards allowing people to penetrate?

OK.. There are a few things here in this article.

1. I don't trust much of the NY POST... They try to Make the News... NOT report it.

2. If Theo wanted to go, we'd have to find a deal that was good for us. I don't like anyone on NY's team. Seriously. They are all flawed in some way or another.

But... IF we play just for Grins.....

Theo/Hendu to NY for Houston/Harrington...

I would take the one dimensional Houston and put him with Grob's One dimension and SAR's Offense. Then I would sing Elden:

Elden/SAR/Grob/Houston/JT?

[dgreene]

Rather than simply take whatever NY is offering, give them a list of players the Hawks would like to obtain in exchange for Theo, and let the Knicks negotiate the three-way trade. Saddle some other team with the players the Knicks are so eager to get rid of.

The only question is, what player or players are worth giving up Theo?

[jezmund]

There is no player on the Knicks that I would trade Ratliff for. I'd much rather trade Glenn Robinson for smaller-name, better defensive players. To Boston for Eric Williams and Tony Battie, maybe a future pick if necessary. I'd rather trade Robinson for less than he might be worth than Ratliff.

[TheDude]

i agree jezmund although i think we can still get something decent for glenrob...

diesel i did see where he said the guards played shoddy D also but it didn't go as far as to mention a name in the article as it does robinson..

we have upgrades from the draft in our guard position in my opinion...