I want Steve Koonin to be the new owner

[HawkItus]

Look all these guys can put together groups and make a bid, why not Stevie K?  He just called in to 92.9 when dumb @ss Jamie Dukes tried to get the listeners stirred up about the team moving to Seattle.  He told them off very nicely and said point blank the Hawks aren't moving so stop talking about it.  I love that.  He gets it.  

[Guest]

Look all these guys can put together groups and make a bid, why not Stevie K?  He just called in to 92.9 when dumb @ss Jamie Dukes tried to get the listeners stirred up about the team moving to Seattle.  He told them off very nicely and said point blank the Hawks aren't moving so stop talking about it.  I love that.  He gets it.  

I was listening, I actually texted them before Koonin called and told Jamie he had no clue.

How many execs would call up the radio station to set them straight.....loved it.

[EazyRoc]

Ive read an article about his marketing strategies and have seen his commercial with TI. The guy has more than enough personality to run the show and enough business savvy as well. I would totally support him continuing in his role (CEO right?). Hes a part of the culture turnaround and if we keep our momentum, he will play a part in our team becoming a average team attendance wise.

[RedDawg#8]

Here is what Im realizing. ASG may have been trash but over the last few years outside the racial gaffes they have seemed to "get it". I mean they hired Ferry who in turn recruits Bud and all of a sudden our on the court product looks appealing and sustainable. They deserve credit for that. Also they brought in Koonin as part owner and to fix our marketing. Koonin has been probably the best aqcuisition we have made to the franchise outside of coach Bud. Nobody talks about it but somebody in the ASG deserves credit for the direction we are currently going. True they were the laughing stock for almost a decade but lately they have flat out gotten it right when it comes to the people they are bringing in to the organization. My only wish is that whoever the new owner is has the same vision for success and realizes the importance of Koonin, Ferry, Bud etc... we finally have the kind of front office minds in place to make the Hawks relevant similar to how the Falcons turned it around under Blanks leadership

[Dejay]

I don't care what unemployed nephew they may be related to who needs a job, any new owner would be wise to keep him as the CEO and have him run the marketing. This, along with scouting and player development, are areas the Hawks have been sorely lacking for so many years. Jeff Teague would make only the second drafted Hawks' All-Star (who actually played for the team so don't bother with the Pau Gasol response) since Reagan's first term. Swim that in your head for a second.

 

I remember years ago when the Hawks played Miami in the playoffs and had a sweepstakes where the winner won a million....Powerbars!!! Are you effin' kidding me? You can't compare what Koonin is doing to what gaffes and gimmicks they were running in the past. That would be like comparing Collecovision to a PS4...

[NBASupes]

Koonin is probably are best exec hire of all time. 

[Dejay]

Koonin is probably the best exec hire of all time. 

 

Fixed it...

[Atlantaholic]

Koonin is exactly what this team needed. You can tell he understands the team, its history, and he cares about it. He seems to run the team with the heart of a true fan  and isn't afraid to try new and drastic measures to get the city, who abandoned the team long ago, back on the bandwaggon. His approach has been extremely refreshing after having to deal with the "well, we have an NBA team here and it's up to the fans to support it" idiotic mentality that preceded his hire.

[PSSSHHHRRR87]

I'd love Koonin to our owner but the problem being he is only worth around $5 mil and makes about 300k per year. He is great for the position he is in, but he doesn't have enough cheddar to be an owner.

Edited January 9, 2015 by PSSSHHHRRR87

[JETSET]

Here is what Im realizing. ASG may have been trash but over the last few years outside the racial gaffes they have seemed to "get it". I mean they hired Ferry who in turn recruits Bud and all of a sudden our on the court product looks appealing and sustainable. They deserve credit for that. Also they brought in Koonin as part owner and to fix our marketing. Koonin has been probably the best aqcuisition we have made to the franchise outside of coach Bud. Nobody talks about it but somebody in the ASG deserves credit for the direction we are currently going. True they were the laughing stock for almost a decade but lately they have flat out gotten it right when it comes to the people they are bringing in to the organization. My only wish is that whoever the new owner is has the same vision for success and realizes the importance of Koonin, Ferry, Bud etc... we finally have the kind of front office minds in place to make the Hawks relevant similar to how the Falcons turned it around under Blanks leadership

Except Levenson is the one who hired Ferry and gave him complete control.  Gearon got pissy and wanted some control back and then he concocted the plan which led to the disastrous summer. 

 

ASG can kiss my ass.

[txsting]

Here is what Im realizing. ASG may have been trash but over the last few years outside the racial gaffes they have seemed to "get it". I mean they hired Ferry who in turn recruits Bud and all of a sudden our on the court product looks appealing and sustainable. They deserve credit for that. Also they brought in Koonin as part owner and to fix our marketing. Koonin has been probably the best aqcuisition we have made to the franchise outside of coach Bud. Nobody talks about it but somebody in the ASG deserves credit for the direction we are currently going. True they were the laughing stock for almost a decade but lately they have flat out gotten it right when it comes to the people they are bringing in to the organization. My only wish is that whoever the new owner is has the same vision for success and realizes the importance of Koonin, Ferry, Bud etc... we finally have the kind of front office minds in place to make the Hawks relevant similar to how the Falcons turned it around under Blanks leadership

Been thinking exactly the same thing. In light of current success, turning over ownership no longer seems like a slam dunk. It actually seems fraught with peril.

[Sothron]

I agree with this train of thought completely. I don't care who the new owners will be but Koonin absolutely needs to keep his job or at least be involved with the team somehow. He "gets it" and this franchise looks like something respectable because of his work plus Ferry and Bud.

[Dejay]

Koonin is exactly what this team needed. You can tell he understands the team, its history, and he cares about it. He seems to run the team with the heart of a true fan  and isn't afraid to try new and drastic measures to get the city, who abandoned the team long ago, back on the bandwaggon. His approach has been extremely refreshing after having to deal with the "well, we have an NBA team here and it's up to the fans to support it" idiotic mentality that preceded his hire.

 

Amen to that. I'll gladly take packing the house in the middle of the week for 'Swipe Right' night over the 'well, we finished 44-38 with a 7th seed last year, where are the fans?' approach to doing business. I for one, do not miss the asinine radio interviews with Gearon complaining about folks not wanting to pay to see Osh launch one 20-foot brick after another.

 

The whole idea of watching Osh, Iso-Joe taking on three defenders at one time, Marvin standing around and looking disinterested, and Al doing his best to avoid popping a coronary can really test the mettle of a basketball fan. We came through that and it seems, at least for now, that our big payoff for staying loyal and true is on the way. Make it so...

[Guest]

I don't care what unemployed nephew they may be related to who needs a job, any new owner would be wise to keep him as the CEO and have him run the marketing. This, along with scouting and player development, are areas the Hawks have been sorely lacking for so many years.

This - Koonin, this - scouting and this - player development.

[hawkdude55]

Koonin is definitely the solution, not the problem. I'm hoping that he can role over his share of ownership to the new owner. I don't think that a new owner would come in, buy him out, and replace him...that would be about as dumb of a thing as he could do and many Hawks fans (as well as the business community) would be pissed. To the poster above who said Koonin is only worth $5 million and makes $300k a year...I can assure you that you're wrong! Have you guys ever seen his house? It's a $10 million house in Buckhead. This guy ran a public company for 15 years...I'm sure he has some coin

[Bahamut]

I was listening when he called in.  That was gangsta, unless of course it was staged.  Either way, that was amusing, and he'd be a good face of ownership.

Dammit, can we designate someone to be the official reminder for Koonin on the radio? Doesn't he do a weekly radio spot on 92.9FM? Is this what it was?

Koonin doesn't need to be the owner though, he just needs to be on our payroll. He is miles away better than the buffoon on the left in this picture:



(sweet LinkedIn Bernie! https://www.linkedin.com/pub/bernie-mullin/8/2a1/685but we would have been better with Bernie Lomax.)

 

I like how you had to specify which buffoon.

[Guest]

Dammit, can we designate someone to be the official reminder for Koonin on the radio? Doesn't he do a weekly radio spot on 92.9FM? Is this what it was?

Koonin doesn't need to be the owner though, he just needs to be on our payroll. He is miles away better than the buffoon on the left in this picture:

(sweet LinkedIn Bernie! https://www.linkedin.com/pub/bernie-mullin/8/2a1/685but we would have been better with Bernie Lomax.)

Koonin's weekly radio spot is on 92.9 The Game every Friday afternoon at 4:45PM (I think that's the time). Edited January 9, 2015 by JayBirdHawk

[Duff_Man]

Honestly the "_________ might move to Seattle" trope is the most tired and lazy story out there. It's like the boogeyman or Michael Jackson...it's a fantasy made up to scare idiots.

[diamond_dave]

I was a little scepticle with the Koonin hire, but he is 100% what the organization needed. He's made me very much appreciate what he's doing. I loved the 'boss's' free ticket idea as I was up that night thinking about how hard it was to get up the next morning.

[Twinblade]

Steve Koonin reminds me of.