The Danny Ferry situation

[gsuteke]

There is no arguing that this team is pretty good. They have a solid starting 5 and a serviceable bench. They also have a very solid head coach. All of this can be attributed to Danny Ferry.

If they fire Danny Ferry for what he said about Deng this team deserves to suck again. Ferry did something stupid not criminal.

In my opinion the ownership is fractured severely. I think they are sitting Danny Ferry in timeout and doing the equivalent of punting.

They will let the new owners decide what to do with Ferry if they can sell the team. That's a big IF.

In the meantime the Hawks are good. They will fight to remain in the top 4 in the East without a marquee player. Miami has two of them.

I am all for keeping Danny Ferry as the General Manager of the Atlanta Hawks. Danny Ferry is the best thing that has happened to the Hawks in quite some time. If they fire him they deserve to lose.

[macdaddy]

They need to do something.  Either fire him or bring him back.   I'd like to have him back but I feel like they are scared mainly of a small group opposed to him coming back.   I think most of the nba has gone on record that they don't have big issues with Ferry as a person.   My guess is that Gearon is still hell bent on Ferry being fired and/or Ferry wants to get away from this broken ownership issue.  

 

I don't know.  It's a major clusterfrack.  They should make a decision and take their lumps either way.  Drawing it out is making it worse and I have no faith that we will have a new owner anytime soon.

[curtmcgirt]

Gearon HAS to be the hold up on this. The chemistry and production we're getting rated against the talent we have is ridiculous. Even more so considering the 2 year time frame he's done it in.

[Guest]

As of right now none of this cafuffle is having any effect on the players and their performance on the court.

Remember that the punishment levied was a fine by the Hawks. DF took the leave on his own from social uphevel not from the Hawks. So is it up to DF to decide when the leave ends then the final decision as to wether he is kept on will be up to the new owners?

I wish the ownership sale would hurry up and get finalized though.

I'm really enjoying these Hawks so I'm really not bothered by the front office stuff. If it messes with the product and disrupts my enjoyment then I'll have an issue

Edited December 16, 2014 by JayBirdHawk

[Guest]

Gearon HAS to be the hold up on this. The chemistry and production we're getting rated against the talent we have is ridiculous. Even more so considering the 2 year time frame he's done it in.

The thought crossed my mind that he doesn't want to sell so a potential owner is hard to find.

[JETSET]

Danny Ferry leaving will set this franchise back by years.  Folks can keep doubting it while I keep saying it.

[curtmcgirt]

The thought crossed my mind that he doesn't want to sell so a potential owner is hard to find.

That HAS to be it. Levenson can trigger 60% of the team to be sold most likely from covering cash calls. I'm thinking that its Gearon's share that he covered as the new investors came later.

[bleachkit]

We are going to hand over the reins to another puppet like Sund, all for the sake of political correctness. Unbelievable. We are building a winner without a superstar, the hardest thing to do in the NBA. Why do the strident anti-Danny Ferry voices get all the attention? We need to make our voice heard!!! Tell the hawks we want Ferry back!

[diamond_dave]

If we don't get Danny back, I would prefer for Bud to keep the job. I'm not sure I trust anyone else to not screw this up.

[macdaddy]

As of right now none of this cafuffle is having any effect on the players and their performance on the court.

Remember that the punishment levied was a fine by the Hawks. DF took the leave on his own from social uphevel not from the Hawks. So is it up to DF to decide when the leave ends then the final decision as to wether he is kept on will be up to the new owners?

I wish the ownership sale would hurry up and get finalized though.

I'm really enjoying these Hawks so I'm really not bothered by the front office stuff. If it messes with the product and disrupts my enjoyment then I'll have an issue

 

Even if DF did take the leave voluntarily, his employer can certainly say "get back to work or your fired".   And getting fired for not showing up to work would probably get them out of paying him for the next 4 years.    The independent investigation already said it wasn't a fire-able offense so my guess is they are working on a buy out and don't intend to bring him back.   

[JETSET]

If we don't get Danny back, I would prefer for Bud to keep the job. I'm not sure I trust anyone else to not screw this up.

I just don't know if Bud is a bargainer.  We need Ferry and Bud if we are going to fully take the the next step.  We cannot overextend Bud.  Not too mention, things become complicated when you are the coach and GM.  Players can feel hurt over how contract negotiations play out and it could affect the on-court relationship between coach and player. 

 

Ferry as GM and Bud as coach is the only option.  I just hope the new owners are smart enough to see past the dumb folks who are calling for Ferry's head while not paying any other attention to this franchise.

[buckeye242424]

Honestly, since the remarks and the days afterward, I haven't heard a peep about it. It might be buried.  Why dig it up? He made a bad mistake, apologized, Deng responded accordingly and... I think that may be it, right or wrong.  Pro Sports is a what have you done for me lately memory...I think we need to keep Danny.  He screwed up, who doesn't?

[AHF]

Even if DF did take the leave voluntarily, his employer can certainly say "get back to work or your fired".   And getting fired for not showing up to work would probably get them out of paying him for the next 4 years.    The independent investigation already said it wasn't a fire-able offense so my guess is they are working on a buy out and don't intend to bring him back.   

 

I am 95% positive (just based on my own analysis) that they are waiting for the new owner(s) to decide.  We will have a new majority owner (or group) that can tell Gearon to go blow it out his rear if said new owner wants or we will have a total changeover in ownership if Gearon and co. agree to sell.  Ferry's fate will be decided by the new owners.

[WraithSentinel]

Even if Ferry does leave. Head back on over to the Spurs and take another one of their front office people. One with a similar mindset for building a team as the one we got constructed. Plus this will prob help keep Bud around longer.

 

That is what getting lost in all of this. Will Bud even want to stay around after this year? He only came here because he trusted Ferry. Which is why it is important to get someone Bud trust.

[Jody23]

I too suspect that the fractured ownership continues to be the hold up. And I wonder how the Atlanta faction of the ASG HONESTLY view the Hawks' success? Are they genuinely happy or not? Afterall, Bud, Millsap, Korver, the draft picks, improved Teague, etc...is all because of Danny Ferry. To me, the Hawks success makes them look even more foolish for their antics and horrible mismanagement. But to them and all the Joe Johnson and Josh Smith lovers, well they'll continue to hate Ferry because they didn't get their way even when their way had epic fail written all over it. Whenever a new owner is identified, I'd hope they have enough insight to realize the difference between a mistake of a guy qualified to do the job and the foolish egos of those who aren't.

Edited December 16, 2014 by Jody23

[Vol4ever]

I am wondering if they are really going to sell the team.

[Carmine]

Nah, Ferry's gone (with good reason) and i'm still not convinced he was any better here than he was in Cleveland.

[Guest]

I too suspect that the fractured ownership continues to be the hold up. And I wonder how the Atlanta faction of the ASG HONESTLY view the Hawks' success? Are they genuinely happy or not? Afterall, Bud, Millsap, Korver, the draft picks, improved Teague, etc...is all because of Danny Ferry. To me, the Hawks success makes them look even more foolish for their antics and horrible mismanagement. But to them and all the Joe Johnson and Josh Smith lovers, well they'll continue to hate Ferry because they didn't get their way even when their way had epic fail written all over it. Whenever a new owner is identified, I'd hope they have enough insight to realize the difference between a mistake of a guy qualified to do the job and the foolish egos of those who aren't.

DF is prolly....

[cam1218]

I hope he comes back. I'm in the camp that believes he has done a great job with our team. Horford has talked about the noticeable difference of pre ferry vs post ferry.

A couple other posters mentioned it, but I do worry about Bud staying here too. He came here to work with Ferry. I remember him saying there were times he could have taken coaching jobs in the past, but was waiting for the right time. Bud wasn't waiting for his dream job of coaching the Hawks to open up, he only came here to build a team with Ferry (and we did have good pieces, which helped too).

[Admin]

I have to truly question the motives and mindset of anyone who honestly believes Ferry should have lost his job over this incident.