How do we know anyone would take the job

[Johann]

Sekou has assured us there are dozens that are slobbering for the position.

But the ownership is in a protracted and crippling legal war. The owners in temporary control of the team are interfering with day to day decisions. There is no real indication the owners will commit money long term.

The team is young and has had a losing record for years. Two of the major pieces must be signed for much bigger bucks, or lost. There are no draft picks.

Major salary is tied up with a player who may never play again, but won't retire. There is no real center, and no point guard of clear quality. The owners are publicly committed to a coach who has accomplished little in his four years at the wheel.

BK has to be extolling the frustrations and futility of the situation, in basketball circles.

How do we know anyone of value would really be interested in being the GM of the Hawks?

[Note: apologies that this post is similar to one on the next page, which I just noticed. Some of us post first and read second]

[Lascar78]

Because salaries are guaranteed. Also the recent moves by the ASG seem to indicate that they really are doing business as if there was no suit. They fired and replaced the hockey coach, traded for a PG who makes over $14 million per year etc...

Ownership aside, the GM and coaching positions are very desirable in my opinion. It's a very young ball club that has presumably been through its worst struggles, has been severely undercoached, and is ready to take the next step. This is a very different situation from 2-3 years ago when you knew that whoever was GM/coach was going to have to get through the rough times.

I think the only real concern would have been if Belkin comes in and cleans house. But I think it seems less likely now that Belkin would be able to win his argument. On top of that, the thought was that he would want to fire the crap out of BK and whoever he'd hired as coach. Now that BK is gone, if he's involved in the discussion of who to get as the replacement, I don't think it would be an automatic firing if he did take over. BK's the guy who wouldn't shake his hand.

So if it seems like the AS is more or less in control, willing to spend on players and on the GM/coach, I think that smart candidates would love to take this job. On the GM side there are no horrible contracts other than Speedy, and a ton of young talent. A ballsy GM would only need one bold trade to really balance this roster and have us contending in the conference. And a coach would not need to be Red Auerbach to be considerably better than Woody and really look good establishing us as a respectable team in the east.

I guess what I'm saying is that even if the ownership did look really uncertain, it's still a great place to make your name and cash a guaranteed check. Secondly, I don't see how there is no indication that the owners are willing to spend. I think they have shown that, to most people's surprise.

[Packfill]

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Because salaries are guaranteed. Also the recent moves by the ASG seem to indicate that they really are doing business as if there was no suit. They fired and replaced the hockey coach, traded for a PG who makes over $14 million per year etc...

Ownership aside, the GM and coaching positions are very desirable in my opinion. It's a very young ball club that has presumably been through its worst struggles, has been severely undercoached, and is ready to take the next step. This is a very different situation from 2-3 years ago when you knew that whoever was GM/coach was going to have to get through the rough times.

I think the only real concern would have been if Belkin comes in and cleans house. But I think it seems less likely now that Belkin would be able to win his argument. On top of that, the thought was that he would want to fire the crap out of BK and whoever he'd hired as coach. Now that BK is gone, if he's involved in the discussion of who to get as the replacement, I don't think it would be an automatic firing if he did take over. BK's the guy who wouldn't shake his hand.

So if it seems like the AS is more or less in control, willing to spend on players and on the GM/coach, I think that smart candidates would love to take this job. On the GM side there are no horrible contracts other than Speedy, and a ton of young talent. A ballsy GM would only need one bold trade to really balance this roster and have us contending in the conference. And a coach would not need to be Red Auerbach to be considerably better than Woody and really look good establishing us as a respectable team in the east.

I guess what I'm saying is that even if the ownership did look really uncertain, it's still a great place to make your name and cash a guaranteed check. Secondly, I don't see how there is no indication that the owners are willing to spend. I think they have shown that, to most people's surprise.

The "smart" GM candidates aren't going to take the job if they are forced to retain an underachieving coach.

[Johann]

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the recent moves by the ASG seem to indicate that they really are doing business as if there was no suit. They fired and replaced the hockey coach, traded for a PG who makes over $14 million per year etc...

I agree with this, although acquiring Bibby did not involve committing long term money. In fact, I have speculated that there may be an unannounced settlement of the legal fiasco, awaiting resolution of logistical issues such as valuation.

I painted the worst case scenario in the original post, but it does seem like a situation that a guy could work with. I like the idea of a top assistant with a successful franchise coming in, ala the Falcons. But ownership needs to hire someone and step aside. I wonder how much Blank, and his obvious desire to fill seats fast, had to do with the Ryan pick.