BK's Resignation Exposes Our Mess

[AnakinJoe]

BK blew many draft picks. Let's get that out of the way. But how many GMs could find success by building a team with 9 players on their rookie contracts, 3 guys possibly playing on their last NBA contract, a bottom 5 payroll and an incompetent head coach who can't be fired? Well, with Petrie and Lindsey walking away from the interview process, there are at least 2 guys who don't view this as an optimal working environment. Only 30 positions running a franchise in the world's preeminent basketball league and a guy says no thanks... I don't blame him. This is essentially a term-to-perm contract assignment. Call Randstad for recruiting help.

I can hear them now (the ASG), "If this ownership bloc wins, we will make you perm but if that owner wins, well, you can have an authentic Gary Payton Hawks jersey as a consolation prize (it has never been worn). If you accept the position, you can't make a decision about re-signing the Joshes (we decided that for you), you can't draft anyone this summer (we don't have any picks), you can't change the coach (we decided that for you) and there is a distinct possibility that if you try to make a deal, we probably can't afford it or the other owner will file a law suit. The previous GM worked and thrived under these conditions, didn't you see us on TV... we took the Celtics to a Game 7. We expect you to get us another 10 wins a top 4 seed next season. And we expect you to be very accessible to the media and tell our fans that we operate under the same conditions as every other NBA franchise. More sweet tea?"

BK FINALLY made a right decision. He walked away from a no-win situation.

[jhay610]

Haha. What a sad situation. I can't really see a top flight executive choosing to come here. I hope I am wrong, but I just don't see it.

[NJHAWK]

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BK blew many draft picks. Let's get that out of the way. But how many GMs could find success by building a team with 9 players on their rookie contracts, 3 guys possibly playing on their last NBA contract, a bottom 5 payroll and an incompetent head coach who can't be fired? Well, with Petrie and Lindsey walking away from the interview process, there are at least 2 guys who don't view this as an optimal working environment. Only 30 positions running a franchise in the world's preeminent basketball league and a guy says no thanks... I don't blame him. This is essentially a term-to-perm contract assignment. Call Randstad for recruiting help.

I can hear them now (the ASG), "If this ownership bloc wins, we will make you perm but if that owner wins, well, you can have an authentic Gary Payton Hawks jersey as a consolation prize (it has never been worn). If you accept the position, you can't make a decision about re-signing the Joshes (we decided that for you), you can't draft anyone this summer (we don't have any picks), you can't change the coach (we decided that for you) and there is a distinct possibility that if you try to make a deal, we probably can't afford it or the other owner will file a law suit. The previous GM worked and thrived under these conditions, didn't you see us on TV... we took the Celtics to a Game 7. We expect you to get us another 10 wins a top 4 seed next season. And we expect you to be very accessible to the media and tell our fans that we operate under the same conditions as every other NBA franchise. More sweet tea?"

BK

FINALLY

made a right decision. He walked away from a no-win situation.

He blew the Shelhead pick but did what almost any gm would have done with the Marvin Pick. It could have been worse. He could have traded down and taken Webster like Porland did. That guy is a legit bust so far, Marv at least can play and shows signs of improving each year. You are so right about our ownership though. No real gm candidate is going to come here to be run micro managed by asg to the point where he cant even hire his own coach. The only guy we will get is somebody thats not qualified and knows he will NEVER get a job anywhere else. Face it OUR BEST GM OPTION HAS ALREADY RESIGNED.

[Swatguy]

No doubt BK made the right move. Especially with Walsh fresh in NY. I see BK as the next Player personel guy for the Knicks or head of scouting or both. He will get a 4 year deal with serious perks.

I suspect the best the Hawks can/should do is elevate Fitzsimmons or make him Interim. Move Ellis next to Gary and groom talent in the Player personel slot.

Or let Arthur Triche run the ship. (he is the smoothest cat in the building).

Arthur is the one that knows what will happen first, he should be President/GM for the forseeable future.

[KB21]

You are jumping to conclusions when you do not know the facts.

[Admin]

What are the facts?

I can absolutely see a GM being hesitant to take this job since:

1). He might not have the power to choose his own head coach.

2). Belkin could win control of the Hawks and then fire everyone.

Those are the only real issues why a GM should be hesitant about taking this job. The other issues of having young guys, having to manage new contracts, etc. come with the territory of taking on any new GM job in the league so those are to be expected, but those 2 points above are legit concerns for any proven GM to seriously consider.

[KB21]

The facts at this point are not known. It's just as plausible to think that Dennis Lindsey either doesn't want to leave Texas no matter the job, or the Hawks have already made their decision.

The fact is, there are other candidates that have been interviewed or will be interviewed according to Marc Stein, and they haven't pulled their name out of the mix yet. John Gabriel, Tommy Sheppard, and Dave Wohl are still in the mix.

[jerrywest]

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It's just as plausible to think that Dennis Lindsey either doesn't want to leave Texas no matter the job,

Why did he interview then? He found out or got confirmation of something in the interview process that made him want to drop out.

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or the Hawks have already made their decision.

Are you kidding?

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The fact is, there are other candidates that have been interviewed or will be interviewed according to Marc Stein, and they haven't pulled their name out of the mix yet.

There are plenty of professionals who would clean my sewer. Would you do it?

This whole thing stinks to high heaven.

[AnakinJoe]

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You are jumping to conclusions when you do not know the facts.

Time to shut this website down, then. Because I'm guessing 90% of the posts are based on opinions, some well-formed, others not as much. But facts? I thought I was posting on Hawksquawk and not writing for the Wall Street Journal. It's a blog... opinions are welcomed.

[AnnArborHawk]

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More sweet tea?

LOL. That line made the post.

[exodus]

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You are jumping to conclusions when you do not know the facts.

Time to shut this website down, then. Because I'm guessing 90% of the posts are based on opinions, some well-formed, others not as much. But facts? I thought I was posting on Hawksquawk and not writing for the Wall Street Journal. It's a blog... opinions are welcomed.

Dont get offended, he is like that to everyone. Here is one of my favorite KB quotes

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Because if it weren't for me and a select few on this board, you guys would never see legitimate posts and intelligent thoughts.

I post because you guys need me to post, not because I need to see what you say.

click

We have an interesting cast of characters here.

[KB21]

That's because you want to see it that way. Most of you have a personal vendetta against the Atlanta Spirit Group and every little thing that goes wrong is somehow their fault. Then, you completely misinterpret what happened when the ownership group didn't allow Billy to fire Mike Woodson, and out of your sheer hate for Mike Woodson, that was just the absolute worst thing that could ever happen. Never mind the fact that making coaching changes in the middle of the season rarely accomplish anything and would have more than likely disrupted the Hawks playoff run.

Not only that, but you also act like that is the first time an owner has failed to give permission to fire a head coach. No general manager in any sport has the power to fire the head coach without permission from the owners, and this isn't the first time in sports history that an owner has denied permission for a GM to fire a head coach, and just like it wouldn't have been the first time ownership fired a head coach without letting the GM know about it.

So now we have Dennis Lindsey pulling his name out of the running for the GM, so you automatically assume that he has found something out that he doesn't like and has withdrawn his name. Just two days ago, Dennis was denying that he even talked to the Hawks, and now he has pulled his name out? The fact is, sturt brought up a great point in that when owners have interviewed 4 or 5 candidates for a job and have made a decision on who to hire, they let the other candidates know before offering the job. This gives those candidates an opportunity to pull their name out of the running so it doesn't look like they didn't get the job.

For some reason though, we aren't willing to look at both sides of this thing though. We only want to look at the side the suits our agenda.

[bronnt]

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That's because you want to see it that way. Most of you have a personal vendetta against the Atlanta Spirit Group and every little thing that goes wrong is somehow their fault. Then, you completely misinterpret what happened when the ownership group didn't allow Billy to fire Mike Woodson, and out of your sheer hate for Mike Woodson, that was just the absolute worst thing that could ever happen. Never mind the fact that making coaching changes in the middle of the season rarely accomplish anything and would have more than likely disrupted the Hawks playoff run.

Not only that, but you also act like that is the first time an owner has failed to give permission to fire a head coach. No general manager in any sport has the power to fire the head coach without permission from the owners, and this isn't the first time in sports history that an owner has denied permission for a GM to fire a head coach, and just like it wouldn't have been the first time ownership fired a head coach without letting the GM know about it.

So now we have Dennis Lindsey pulling his name out of the running for the GM, so you automatically assume that he has found something out that he doesn't like and has withdrawn his name. Just two days ago, Dennis was denying that he even talked to the Hawks, and now he has pulled his name out? The fact is, sturt brought up a great point in that when owners have interviewed 4 or 5 candidates for a job and have made a decision on who to hire, they let the other candidates know before offering the job. This gives those candidates an opportunity to pull their name out of the running so it doesn't look like they didn't get the job.

For some reason though, we aren't willing to look at both sides of this thing though. We only want to look at the side the suits our agenda.

It's just we live in a pseudo-reality where BK had to stand up for Billy at the start of last season to prevent him being fired. BK then watches more of Woodson and decides that he doesn't want him around anymore, and tries o get him fired, and this time the owners don't let him.

Let's face facts, most teams in the NBA have an owner, rather than an ownership group, and there's some degree of internal organization. Here, we've got a disjointed mess where there's a legal battle to see if the current group really has any right to be in charge.

[KB21]

Yeah, but the only disjoint in the system is the rift between Steve Belkin and the rest of the group. The reason that rift is there is because Steve Belkin tried to do what some of you are saying the ASG is trying to do. He tried to be the GM and block the Joe Johnson trade.

As far as multi owner ownership groups goes, there are actually more in the NBA than you think. The San Antonio Spurs, the most successful organization over the last ten years, has a 21 member ownership group. Now, obviously, they don't have a Steve Belkin rift in that group, but it shows that multiple member ownership groups can and do succeed.

Also, I'm not saying that Dennis Lindsey didn't see something that turned him off this job. It is certainly a plausible explanation. However, so is what sturt posted. Every indication that I've heard from this GM search is that the ownership is committed to getting the best general manager they can hire in here, and there has been absolutely no evidence that Michael Gearon Jr wants nothing more than a puppet.

[Admin]

1). He might not have the power to choose his own head coach.

2). Belkin could win control of the Hawks and then fire everyone.

Why would any GM worth his salt want to take on the risk that comes with this job at this point? It's like a regular joe taking a job with a company that is being investigated by the SEC. It's simply not smart business.

[KB21]

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1). He might not have the power to choose his own head coach.

2). Belkin could win control of the Hawks and then fire everyone.

Why would any GM worth his salt want to take on the risk that comes with this job at this point? It's like a regular joe taking a job with a company that is being investigated by the SEC. It's simply not smart business.

1. Whoever the Hawks hire will have the power to recommend the coach they want to ownership, just as Billy had that power when he recommended the hiring of Mike Woodson. That's how it works in the NBA, the NFL, the NHL, and MLB. The general manager finds a coach he likes and recommends that coach to ownership. The ownership has the final say on the hire though. There isn't a general manager in sports that has the unilateral ability to hire and fire a head coach.

2. Steve Belkin has very little to stand on at this point, and the chances of him winning the case and getting the team are as close to zero as they can possibly be.

[Admin]

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1. Whoever the Hawks hire will have the power to recommend the coach they want to ownership, just as Billy had that power when he recommended the hiring of Mike Woodson. That's how it works in the NBA, the NFL, the NHL, and MLB. The general manager finds a coach he likes and recommends that coach to ownership. The ownership has the final say on the hire though. There isn't a general manager in sports that has the unilateral ability to hire and fire a head coach.

2. Steve Belkin has very little to stand on at this point, and the chances of him winning the case and getting the team are as close to zero as they can possibly be.

1. From all appearances Woody will be back next year regardless of who the GM is and while I'm not as against that as a lot of people are, it sure seems like that is the case at this point. It's hard for me to imagine a scenario where our captain comes out in support of Woody and then they don't bring him back. So any prospective GM will be brought in knowing that they won't immediately be able to hire their own coach, even though Woody isn't even under contract for next season at this point.

2. You are WAY too confident about that. If Belkin didn't have much of a case this thing would have been over a long, long time ago.

[KB21]

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1. Whoever the Hawks hire will have the power to recommend the coach they want to ownership, just as Billy had that power when he recommended the hiring of Mike Woodson. That's how it works in the NBA, the NFL, the NHL, and MLB. The general manager finds a coach he likes and recommends that coach to ownership. The ownership has the final say on the hire though. There isn't a general manager in sports that has the unilateral ability to hire and fire a head coach.

2. Steve Belkin has very little to stand on at this point, and the chances of him winning the case and getting the team are as close to zero as they can possibly be.

1. From all appearances Woody will be back next year regardless of who the GM is and while I'm not as against that as a lot of people are, it sure seems like that is the case at this point. It's hard for me to imagine a scenario where our captain comes out in support of Woody and then they don't bring him back. So any prospective GM will be brought in knowing that they won't immediately be able to hire their own coach, even though Woody isn't even under contract for next season at this point.

2. You are WAY too confident about that. If Belkin didn't have much of a case this thing would have been over a long, long time ago.

1. I think it is certainly possible that the ASG wants Mike Woodson back, in which case Billy King will be the GM and this whole GM search will have been a sham. However, I see no evidence that suggests that this GM search is a sham. If Atlanta was that interested in Billy King, I've got a feeling he would already be on board. Plus, his agent would have leaked to the a national media type like Marc Stein that the Hawks are definitely interested. If Billy King was the guy, he wouldn't need Larry Brown campaigning for him. With that said, I think it is entirely possible that when Larry Brown was in Atlanta before the all star break, this subject may have been broached, and he may have recommended to the Hawks at that time that Mike Woodson needs another year and a legitimate point guard to prove himself.

2. IMO, if Steve Belkin had a case, the first decision wouldn't have been thrown out by the court of appeals. I think Steve Belkin is simply being stubborn in this, and he's letting the value of the team go up so he gets more money. Remember, this is now a playoff team. For those that want Gearon and company gone though, be careful for what you wish for. You could have Steve Belkin trying to act like Mark Cuban with the exception that he wants to run the team on the cheap.

[Admin]

I don't see Billy King being the only possibility if/when Woody is brought back. He may be the only guy willing to accept that, but we won't know that until later on.

I certainly don't want the ASG to sell this team. I want this ownership mess settled though and until the time comes that Belkin is 100% out of the picture we are going to look like a team with serious stability issues at the top. I also need to see the ASG follow through on their promises of bringing back the Josh's and spending past the cap to make us competitive.

[AHF]

I won't order these correctly but...

1) I have to really, really hope ownership won't tie the new GM's hands even apart from my own personal view on whether Woodson should remain. A GM needs to be on the same page as his coach.

2) The odds of Belkin winning are significantly lower than they were before the ruling on the appeal but they are well above zero. A worst case scenario for him is being bought out at a substantial profit.

3) A reason a GM might want to come to Atlanta despite Belkin looming, etc. is exposure and $$. Getting something like $10M guaranteed for 5 years would be a big pay raise for an assistant GM and if Belkin fires the new GM he still gets paid. So the downside to this scenario is very different rom the company with SEC issues.