Those who want Danny Ferry gone.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

Please don't say Al Jefferson as he's exactly like the players Ferry traded away-good, but not great and wanting way more money than they're worth. Ferry was trying to put the team in position to hit a home run. I have my issues and disagreement with parts of his strategy, but I do think he wanted better than our normal ground out double moves which is exactly what over paying for more "good, but not great" players would have been.

First off, the exiled GM should've known good and well that we had absolutely no shot at Dwight and Paul. NONE. If he didn't, then I really question his judgement. So what other "home run" was coming here?

Second, if you say that Al Jefferson wasn't worth it, how did he make 3rd team All-NBA and was an instrumental part in Charlotte winning 43 games? A 22 game improvement from the previous year.

The facts are that there was a high quality center on the market that the exiled GM could've realistically brought to this team. And not only did he not get him, he didn't even go after him. The one guy who could've relieved some of the physical pounding that Horford takes while playing center, and he didn't even look his way.

He gets his teammate, at a cheap price, and he plays well. But that acquisition didn't solve any of the problems that plague this team ... namely rebounding.

Instead, he plugs the center position with Brand, Antić, and Ayón. And yet, people thought we were OK at the center position. A 34 year old big man in the twilight of his careee ... a reserve Euro schizophrenic 3 point shooting PF/C .. and a end of the bench NBA player is who we had backing up Horford.

And people wonder why the Hawks went into the toilet when Horford got hurt

I tell you what though. He better be willing to "overpay" SOMEBODY that's a 2nd tier talent, if he wants to improve the talent on this team.

Yall praise that dude when you think he makes a good move, but act like he's helpless when he misses out on higher quality talent that can actually help us.

Hold that dude to just as high of a standard as we dud Knight and Sund. And you're right. He's not any more mediocre as the previous guys. He's not better either.

Edited September 27, 2014 by TheNorthCydeRises

[OldTimeHawk]

  30 teams and "we " missed out on key free agents ? I guess the other teams that missed out have crappy gms too?  The point is most of these free agents especially the top ones already have a destination in mind before their contract runs out.  In the last few years its gone from  them wanting to be the top dog to just wanting to be a piece of a stacked team.  We are simply one of the other franchises that have to build a team a different way.  Its not about cherry picking and going after the top free agent names, its about adhering to the system and getting guys that want to be here .  Not everyone wants to be in Atlanta just like not everyone wanted to be a Clipper- however you work on changing the culture and you will start to attract the free agents that you can realisticly get.

 

  Yes we need a center , but maybe we get him around Allstar break if we are playing lights out ball. Teams out of the running always want to dump salary in an effort to try to lure the next big free agent  in the off season . We just want the right free agent at the right time, that isnt going to shakle this team for years - like the over reach on Joe Johnson .  Ultimately though  a united mangaement  and ownership is what is needed - if we had that the Ferry bs would have never been allowed to get out of hand. And quite possibly we would have aggressively pointed the finger back at Cleveland.

[Diesel]

and yet deals are still being made in Cleveland even though they were the origin of the scouting report.  The media and Gearon is the driving force behind the Ferry drama - if they had any journalistic credibility they would be writing pieces on why the scout hasnt been exposed and why Cleveland isnt doing a top to bottom  investigation to ensure that nothing racist is going on in house .  Utter bs we are still getting the finger pointed at the Hawks organization.

 

you act as if Gearon wrote the report and made Ferry say it.   Let's grant Ferry that he made a mistake. I don't like Gearon Jr. however, I'm not going to persecute him for being a whistle blower. Even if he had a motive for doing so.

My feeling is that Gearon shouldn't prosper off of this and Ferry was wrong... End of story.

[AHF]

The reality for Cleveland is they already fired the source of the report.  That insulates them pretty well.  Lebron joining the team takes care of the rest of it by making the league want to bury any connection.

[GameTime]

The reality for Cleveland is they already fired the source of the report.  That insulates them pretty well.  Lebron joining the team takes care of the rest of it by making the league want to bury any connection.

 

Who would hire such a person that would write a report like that anyways?..... oh wait.

[buckeye242424]

The reality for Cleveland is they already fired the source of the report.  That insulates them pretty well.  Lebron joining the team takes care of the rest of it by making the league want to bury any connection.

This. Nobody is talking about, or cares, about anything until Oct 30th. At least in Ohio

[OldTimeHawk]

you act as if Gearon wrote the report and made Ferry say it.   Let's grant Ferry that he made a mistake. I don't like Gearon Jr. however, I'm not going to persecute him for being a whistle blower. Even if he had a motive for doing so.

My feeling is that Gearon shouldn't prosper off of this and Ferry was wrong... End of story.

its funny how in the last few years the definition of racist has changed - now you can be a racist if you say words that arent your own - you can even be a racist if you say words that sound like  a slur - for example the guy on the city counsel in DC that used the word niggardly to express they neeeed to tighten up the budget - its ok to elect a crack head for mayor - just dont say a word that sounds like a slur or your a racist.

 

 The problem is really simple - you have idiots that are always ready to exploit race and then you have ignorant followers that make up  mobs.  Then of course you have folks that know the truth but are too cowardly to stand up for whats right.

 

Bottom line is the pc police have crushed common sense and courage on a business level and made it another  witchhunt .

[AHF]

its funny how in the last few years the definition of racist has changed - now you can be a racist if you say words that arent your own - you can even be a racist if you say words that sound like  a slur - for example the guy on the city counsel in DC that used the word niggardly to express they neeeed to tighten up the budget - its ok to elect a crack head for mayor - just dont say a word that sounds like a slur or your a racist.

 

 The problem is really simple - you have idiots that are always ready to exploit race and then you have ignorant followers that make up  mobs.  Then of course you have folks that know the truth but are too cowardly to stand up for whats right.

 

Bottom line is the pc police have crushed common sense and courage on a business level and made it another  witchhunt .

 

The niggardly example is PC policy run amok.  That was ridiculous.

 

Repeating someone else's racist words in this context is a real issue.  If I was the hiring manager on a project and someone brought me a racist criticism of a black candidate do you think I would repeat that to my boss and then go on to elaborate about the same point in more race neutral terms?  #$*& no.  A single stray remark shouldn't crush someone's career but it could cripple their ability to do a job.  If you goto a black church and repeat a racist joke while fundraising for a community project, you probably are going to be crippled in terms of your ability to continue as a fundraiser on that project.  

 

The problem for Ferry is that Gearon took this public in a way designed to maximize the damage to Ferry's reputation (and the team's by extension).  So instead of it being handled professionally and quietly (nailing him with a fine and doing training, etc.), Ferry is a bit like the guy who repeats a racist joke or statement to the absolute wrong audience (in this case because of Gearon it ends up being the public that reads and hears his words rather than just the people on the original call).  The question is whether he will be crippled with free agents going forward or if he can get them past it and get one of the stud free agents to take our money soon.  I am assuming that Ferry will still be able to handle things in-house without a major issue (well, without any more of an issue than before the comment) and to interact with other GMs without any real issue.  The issue is really the players.

Edited September 28, 2014 by AHF

[Guest]

its funny how in the last few years the definition of racist has changed - now you can be a racist if you say words that arent your own - you can even be a racist if you say words that sound like  a slur - for example the guy on the city counsel in DC that used the word niggardly to express they neeeed to tighten up the budget - its ok to elect a crack head for mayor - just dont say a word that sounds like a slur or your a racist.

 

 The problem is really simple - you have idiots that are always ready to exploit race and then you have ignorant followers that make up  mobs.  Then of course you have folks that know the truth but are too cowardly to stand up for whats right.

 

Bottom line is the pc police have crushed common sense and courage on a business level and made it another  witchhunt .

 

What are you even talking about?  You have an agenda you're railing against that's not even going on here.

[Vol4ever]

First off, the exiled GM should've known good and well that we had absolutely no shot at Dwight and Paul. NONE. If he didn't, then I really question his judgement. So what other "home run" was coming here?

Second, if you say that Al Jefferson wasn't worth it, how did he make 3rd team All-NBA and was an instrumental part in Charlotte winning 43 games? A 22 game improvement from the previous year.

The facts are that there was a high quality center on the market that the exiled GM could've realistically brought to this team. And not only did he not get him, he didn't even go after him. The one guy who could've relieved some of the physical pounding that Horford takes while playing center, and he didn't even look his way.

He gets his teammate, at a cheap price, and he plays well. But that acquisition didn't solve any of the problems that plague this team ... namely rebounding.

Instead, he plugs the center position with Brand, Antić, and Ayón. And yet, people thought we were OK at the center position. A 34 year old big man in the twilight of his careee ... a reserve Euro schizophrenic 3 point shooting PF/C .. and a end of the bench NBA player is who we had backing up Horford.

And people wonder why the Hawks went into the toilet when Horford got hurt

I tell you what though. He better be willing to "overpay" SOMEBODY that's a 2nd tier talent, if he wants to improve the talent on this team.

Yall praise that dude when you think he makes a good move, but act like he's helpless when he misses out on higher quality talent that can actually help us.

Hold that dude to just as high of a standard as we dud Knight and Sund. And you're right. He's not any more mediocre as the previous guys. He's not better either.

Absolute well stated truth!!!!!

[Vol4ever]

its funny how in the last few years the definition of racist has changed - now you can be a racist if you say words that arent your own - you can even be a racist if you say words that sound like  a slur - for example the guy on the city counsel in DC that used the word niggardly to express they neeeed to tighten up the budget - its ok to elect a crack head for mayor - just dont say a word that sounds like a slur or your a racist.

 

 The problem is really simple - you have idiots that are always ready to exploit race and then you have ignorant followers that make up  mobs.  Then of course you have folks that know the truth but are too cowardly to stand up for whats right.

 

Bottom line is the pc police have crushed common sense and courage on a business level and made it another  witchhunt .

Your hitting the nail on the head here. It is ridiculous how out of hand this pc crap has gotten. the players can do no wrong and blast out racist crap all the time but that is ok.

Maybe folks should just quit going to the games.

[AHF]

Which Hawks players are blasting racist crap? I need links.

[OldTimeHawk]

The niggardly example is PC policy run amok.  That was ridiculous.

 

Repeating someone else's racist words in this context is a real issue.  If I was the hiring manager on a project and someone brought me a racist criticism of a black candidate do you think I would repeat that to my boss and then go on to elaborate about the same point in more race neutral terms?  #$*& no.  A single stray remark shouldn't crush someone's career but it could cripple their ability to do a job.  If you goto a black church and repeat a racist joke while fundraising for a community project, you probably are going to be crippled in terms of your ability to continue as a fundraiser on that project.  

 

The problem for Ferry is that Gearon took this public in a way designed to maximize the damage to Ferry's reputation (and the team's by extension).  So instead of it being handled professionally and quietly (nailing him with a fine and doing training, etc.), Ferry is a bit like the guy who repeats a racist joke or statement to the absolute wrong audience (in this case because of Gearon it ends up being the public that reads and hears his words rather than just the people on the original call).  The question is whether he will be crippled with free agents going forward or if he can get them past it and get one of the stud free agents to take our money soon.  I am assuming that Ferry will still be able to handle things in-house without a major issue (well, without any more of an issue than before the comment) and to interact with other GMs without any real issue.  The issue is really the players.

the problem is in as much that Ferry  did read that report he has been punished for it . You guys keep talking about the point he felt comfortable enough to read it  and should have known better - it was sent from Cleveland - how many other organizations read it and passed it on ??? Why is Cleveland suffering ZERO conseqences - their front office and GM had to have read it and known the contents - and other NBA executives had to read it also . WHY is Ferry taking heat for an internal rport that originated with Cleveland ??  Its looking more and more like pile on the white guy in charge and Cleveland gets a pass.

[OldTimeHawk]

What are you even talking about?  You have an agenda you're railing against that's not even going on here.

Are you serious ?? Everything I mentioned is going on here. Ferry is well known in NBA circles and has never been even remotely accused in all his years of playing with peoples of all nationalities yet no one has in the Hawks organization has taken a firm stand and said enoguh is enough .  Its fear based and its cowardiced . Anyone can say maybe Ferry isnt the best  GM and they are certainly entitled to their opinion, but to have to listen to all this bs about Him being a racist  is laughable , especially when hes outed by a pos like Gearon and the fact that   there is ZERO investigations or interest of investigating the source and who knew about the report BEFORE it came to Altlanta.  In short WITCH HUNT.

[Guest]

Are you serious ?? Everything I mentioned is going on here. Ferry is well known in NBA circles and has never been even remotely accused in all his years of playing with peoples of all nationalities yet no one has in the Hawks organization has taken a firm stand and said enoguh is enough .  Its fear based and its cowardiced . Anyone can say maybe Ferry isnt the best  GM and they are certainly entitled to their opinion, but to have to listen to all this bs about Him being a racist  is laughable , especially when hes outed by a pos like Gearon and the fact that   there is ZERO investigations or interest of investigating the source and who knew about the report BEFORE it came to Altlanta.  In short WITCH HUNT.

 

Geez, I've said from the beginning and I've continued to say this isn't about whether he's racist or not.  All that's coming out now is folks he's meeting with now saying he's a decent guy who deserves another chance.  What are you looking for the Hawks to do?

 

Ferry is in no way a victim here.  You're making it sound like he did nothing in all this and the Hawks should jump to his defense.  They can't do that until they know which direction the wind is blowing in terms of his ability to recruit players.  Would you have them champion his cause only to find out players won't meet with him?  Is Ferry's reputation bigger than the organization now?  Nope.  Like you alluded to, there's a legit debate over whether or not he's even a good enough GM as it is.

 

Who cares that Gearon is a POS (that's one thing we all agree on)?  The reason Ferry's words (although he read the report, the key issue here is his elaboration i.e. his words) came out isn't the key here.

 

The Cavs source isn't a big deal because the media hasn't latched onto that story.  Plain and simple.  It's likely (ex-GM) Grant but he's not currently employed.  If the media goes after the Cavs they'll just say, "well, we fired him before he said any of that.  Not my problem."  If they go after Grant no one will care until he gets hired somewhere.

[Diesel]

its funny how in the last few years the definition of racist has changed - now you can be a racist if you say words that arent your own - you can even be a racist if you say words that sound like  a slur - for example the guy on the city counsel in DC that used the word niggardly to express they neeeed to tighten up the budget - its ok to elect a crack head for mayor - just dont say a word that sounds like a slur or your a racist.

 

 The problem is really simple - you have idiots that are always ready to exploit race and then you have ignorant followers that make up  mobs.  Then of course you have folks that know the truth but are too cowardly to stand up for whats right.

 

Bottom line is the pc police have crushed common sense and courage on a business level and made it another  witchhunt .

 

 

Let's not lose perspective here.   I don't think I have ever said that Ferry was a racist (in this matter). I said that him being an Elitist can easily become perceived racist if you add an underlying current of bad race relations to it.   I stick to that.   This whole parade of "I've got Black friends" that is coming out for Ferry doesn't move me or the next man. The allegation by Bonzi Wells that Ferry called him the "N" word back in 2002 has now found a ground to rest.    Before, Ferry was an Aloof Elitist whoose character had never been questioned and who wore the teflon suit... sorta like Billy Knight.   Now, Ferry has cast himself into the category with guys like Sterling who may not have embodied what he said but should have known better than to repeat racist remarks.  I mean, when you listen to the tape, you hear Gearon (I believe) saying this like this is going to be on TMZ.. blah blah blah... and Ferry didn't stop.  Nor did Ferry say " oh, these are not my words, these are Chris Grant's observations."    The point is that he had an obligation to treat people with respect and he didn't do it.  Now, I don't label him a racist, I just think that being GM for this team or any other will be very hard for him to pull off.

[Wretch]

Good grief I'm so tired of this conversation...

 

It's important to know who stands where in this debacle.  Anyone that can profit from this story is going after Ferry - that would be the media, politicians, and general race baiters.  All this stuff about Ferry and Levenson falls into that conversation, and it's nauseating.  

 

Racism is not the issue and there aren't many, if any, Squawkers buying into that hoopla.

 

Then there's the "sheople" crowd.  These are general NBA fans & non-sports fans who heard that "the Atlanta Hawks made some racist comments about black people and Africa."  They don't know the story or any of the names involved, except maybe Danny Ferry.  Drama is drama and people eat it up like candy.  The key thing to note here is that the mainstream/casual crowd falls into this category and no matter how much you crusade, you will not be able to sway the lazy opinion of this crowd.  "Danny Ferry and the Hawks are racist - they need to do something about that."  This is all those people understand.

 

Which is where WE the last group of people come into the conversation.  We are not fans of Danny Ferry's work or his "vision" first of all.  As fans who spend our money at the games and have been loyal to the franchise guess what?  We're entitled to that opinion.  The thing is, this is not good for the franchise.  People have already forgotten our years 50+ win seasons and continual playoff success (as evidenced by our free agent draw, attendance, and media snubbing).  We are already seen as a "dull and boring" franchise with no hope of advancing to the ECF's...now, we go and smother that crap cake with "racist" frosting.

 

But get ol' Danny back in the office and he'll fix'er up! {/sarcasm}

 

The media, race baiters, and the casual fans WILL forget about us (most already have).  When a potential high-profile free agent looks at us though, they will pause...and the stigma will remind them who we are.  If Danny Ferry is our GM - sweet lord people, is it so hard to understand?  Really.

 

"[There] ain't nobody [who] would want to go there," Anthony said Saturday at the Citi Carmelo Anthony Basketball camp in Manhattan. "At the end of the day, Atlanta, I think it puts Atlanta back even further now, from that standpoint.

 

 

He didn't say "puts Atlanta back."  He said, "puts Atlanta back even further."  We need a player of that kind of profile to take us seriously.  For all you people who question why I write a rant about our need...well, there ya go.  If you understand that we need a star, then you should see the problem with keeping Danny Ferry.  His whole damn strategy is basically built upon the hope of landing a big free agent star.  However, the belief among these kinds of players is that we are a joke - and even more so now "BECAUSE the racist attitudes of the Atlanta Hawks and Danny Ferry."

[Wretch]

...and one more damn thing.

 

This shit is not okay.  When you are in charge of people's paychecks and careers, when your product is supported by a diverse spectrum of people, you can't just go walking around casually tossing out racially charged comments like you're above everybody.  If you do, best not let that shit get out.

 

There are a lot of black people commenting on this that want to be "bigger than the noise" and act like these remarks and insinuations are fine and acceptible.  Maybe they want to appear thick skinned or noble or maybe they're just afraid to be seen as "the angry black man" by white people.  

 

Well, I'm not one of these people and I'm going to call it like it is.  Danny Ferry lives in an elitist bubble and he was handpicked by BRUCE LEVENSON to flesh out a vision.  You couldn't cut through that link with a damn lightsaber or adamantium claws.  I believe that Levenson's vision was shortsighted, clueless, and insulting to black people (not hateful/racist).  He and Ferry are joined at the damn hip - by the fact that Ferry received the email, Levenson hired him, and he was shielded from the other owners.  

 

If I was a big time baller, I'd drop 50 on them every time I came to Atlanta and laugh at them when they call to recruit me.  I don't think Ferry or Levenson are racist...I think they're idiots.

Edited September 29, 2014 by Wretch

[Wretch]

We know enough today, based on investigations conducted by the league, by external legal counsel on behalf of the team, and information that has appeared in the media, that our shortcomings are beyond a single email, a single person or a single event," Koonin said. "To the contrary, over a period of years, we have found that there have been inflammatory words, phrases, inferences, and innuendos about race. We as an organization did not correct these failures. We did not do the right thing."

 

 

Yeah.........................

[OldTimeHawk]

Geez, I've said from the beginning and I've continued to say this isn't about whether he's racist or not.  All that's coming out now is folks he's meeting with now saying he's a decent guy who deserves another chance.  What are you looking for the Hawks to do?

 

Ferry is in no way a victim here.  You're making it sound like he did nothing in all this and the Hawks should jump to his defense.  They can't do that until they know which direction the wind is blowing in terms of his ability to recruit players.  Would you have them champion his cause only to find out players won't meet with him?  Is Ferry's reputation bigger than the organization now?  Nope.  Like you alluded to, there's a legit debate over whether or not he's even a good enough GM as it is.

 

Who cares that Gearon is a POS (that's one thing we all agree on)?  The reason Ferry's words (although he read the report, the key issue here is his elaboration i.e. his words) came out isn't the key here.

 

The Cavs source isn't a big deal because the media hasn't latched onto that story.  Plain and simple.  It's likely (ex-GM) Grant but he's not currently employed.  If the media goes after the Cavs they'll just say, "well, we fired him before he said any of that.  Not my problem."  If they go after Grant no one will care until he gets hired somewhere.

the point once again is the origin - it was a scouting report that was sent out to the Hawks - why isnt there an investigation into who knew of the report , emails related to any correspondance concerning the report, teams that were given the report ?? Why is it assumed only the Hawks recieved and used the report to elavuate players??  Basically Ferry is being used as the scapegoat , Cleveland  which knowingly distributed the report is unscatched .  Its not so much about the scout as it is about who knew about the report.  Dont tell me the Hawks were the only team to get that report.

 

 Yes the Hawks could have stood up for Ferry and stood by him - and in turn asked the NBA to investigate the source of the report and  who internally knew.  Instead Ferry is expected to take the blame for the reason top free agents wont come to Atlanta even though  free agents have historically avoided Atlanta .