Jump to content

  • Current Donation Goals

    • Monthly Donations
      Raised $390 of $700 target

Merged: Danny Ferry mega thread

Guest

By Guest
in Homecourt

 Share

Recommended Posts

  • Moderators
AHF Grand Master

AHF

Posted
  • Moderators
Posted

I really really wonder why Ressler who probably has dealt with his share of snakes in the realm of Private equity for 25 years decided to have ANYTHING to do with Gearon. 

 

I share that question.  My guess is that the Gearons wouldn't agree to sell without retaining at least a small piece of the pie but I would have held the line on that even if it cost me a little bit more money.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • Replies 378
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Popular Posts

Wretch
Wretch

I am sorry that I doubted.     Dear whoever buys the Hawks...give this man his job back.   Dear everybody who said it is possible to rebuild this team without tanking...       ..and to all T

MaceCase
MaceCase

Bottom line is without Ferry there is no Bud. Teams had been attempting to poach him from San Antonio for years yet somehow and some way the Hawks of all teams ended up with him while all those other

lethalweapon3
lethalweapon3

(Side story that I've probably shared here before, so my apologies if it's a repeat, I just couldn't resist...)   After helping to wrap up a long all-day conference at a nearby downtown office, I we

Posted Images

Guest

Guest

Posted
Posted

Anybody know what the percentages look like? For Ressler alone?

I heard on the radio Gearon retains 1% but I couldn't tell if they were serious or not

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • Moderators
AHF Grand Master

AHF

Posted
  • Moderators
Posted

Anybody know what the percentages look like? For Ressler alone?

I heard on the radio Gearon retains 1% but I couldn't tell if they were serious or not

 

I expect they were serious.  That is the new minimum stake for ownership.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Guest

Guest

Posted
Posted

I expect they were serious.  That is the new minimum stake for ownership.

And as I've mentioned before, I think this means that Nique is gone as "owner" from here on out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Guest

Guest

Posted
Posted

And as I've mentioned before, I think this means that Nique is gone as "owner" from here on out.

Why would that be? I thought the rule about limiting the number of new owners and min. percentages applied to new owners only who are buying. Nique is already an owner he's not buying into the new stake.

Or maybe I'm missing something.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Guest

Guest

Posted
Posted

Why would that be? I thought the rule about limiting the number of new owners and min. percentages applied to new owners only who are buying. Nique is already an owner he's not buying into the new stake.

Or maybe I'm missing something.

Well, if Gearon Jr. is stuck at the 1% level then that means the Hawks had a total turnover from the Atlanta Spirit Group LLC to some Tony Ressler LLC. This would imply that Nique needs to be a "new" owner and would be subject to the 1% club.

I don't think anyone seriously believes that Nique has ~$8m in assets he can shift around to put towards ownership. I know there is a website out there reporting he has a net worth of $14m, but those probably aren't very liquid assets. Yaknow, because Nique had to beat up a guy one time to avoid paying for suits.

I could be wrong about this, but I would find it strange to just hand over millions of dollars to Nique just so he can use some letterhead that says "Owner" on it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Guest

Guest

Posted
Posted

TWEET STORM!!!!

Holy crap.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
ATLien_ Contributor

ATLien_

Posted
Posted

Wow so Gearon didn't like the law firms findings and leaks the audio the next day. This guy has the impulse control of a teenager.

Why in the world would the FBI investigate this? AFH any thoughts? Seems like they would have more pressing things to do.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
RandomFan Grand Master

RandomFan

Posted
Posted

Wow so Gearon didn't like the law firms findings and leaks the audio the next day. This guy has the impulse control of a teenager.

Why in the world would the FBI investigate this? AFH any thoughts? Seems like they would have more pressing things to do.

 

Yep, that's the part that blew my mind too. Geez, but Gearon is a huge douchebag! That the new owners are even allowing this nutbar to have a part of the team makes me question their judgement already.

 

Ferry said it was "like" being investigated by the FBI. The law firm did the investigation.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
ATLien_ Contributor

ATLien_

Posted
Posted

 

Ferry said it was "like" being investigated by the FBI. The law firm did the investigation.

Lol wow I completely missed that nuance. You have restored my faith in the FBI. Although, they've investigated some head scratchers in the past.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • Moderators
AHF Grand Master

AHF

Posted
  • Moderators
Posted

Why would that be? I thought the rule about limiting the number of new owners and min. percentages applied to new owners only who are buying. Nique is already an owner he's not buying into the new stake.

Or maybe I'm missing something.

 

It should become clear soon.  

 

 

Well, if Gearon Jr. is stuck at the 1% level then that means the Hawks had a total turnover from the Atlanta Spirit Group LLC to some Tony Ressler LLC. 

 

I don't think that is necessarily the case, although Ressler probably wants it that way and got it that way.  As above, it is academic right now and will be made clear shortly.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Guest

Guest

Posted
Posted (edited)

Q & A: DANNY FERRY

 

He came alone Friday morning, no entourage, no attorney. Danny Ferry can, finally, speak for himself again. The last time many people heard his voice, it had a low, grainy quality -- as conversations that are secretly taped often do. At the time -- June 6, 2014 -- Ferry was general manager of the Atlanta Hawks. He'd come to Atlanta from San Antonio in 2012 with a mandate (and a six-year contract, almost unheard of for an executive) to take control of one of the league's most untethered franchises. He'd brought Mike Budenholzer from San Antonio to coach the team, and made small but smart deals for free agents like Paul Millsap and Kyle Korver. The Hawks made the playoffs again in 2013-14, but a midseason injury to Al Horford doomed Atlanta to another first-round loss.

So the Hawks needed more talent -- which was the point of the June meeting Ferry had with members of the ownership group in which Ferry, paraphrasing notes he'd gotten from another team about free agent Luol Deng, said: "the rap on him is little bit, um, body is not as torn up as you think, um, although he's played a lot of minutes. If managed the right way he'll be fine. He's still a young guy overall, um, but here is also, he is a good guy overall but he's not perfect. He's got some African in him. And I don't say that in a bad way other than he is a guy who will do something behind you ... .he has a storefront out front that is beautiful and great, but he may be selling some counterfeit stuff behind you."

That summary -- inflammatory and insensitive at best, considered baldly racist by others -- was made public by co-owner Michael Gearon, Jr., who demanded Ferry's ouster in a letter to then-majority owner Bruce Levenson last September. (Again: here is the entire report on Deng from which Ferry paraphrased, which was acquired by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Judge for yourself.) Levenson was, at the time, in trouble himself, having had inflammatory remarks of his own about his desired racial makeup of fans at Philips Arena made public. Soon after, Levenson announced he'd sell the team, and Ferry was given a leave of absence. He never got his job back, despite a report from the Alston and Bird Law Firm and partner Bernard Taylor which concluded that Ferry's comments were not "motivated by racial, ethnic or country of origination bias or animus by you."

Last week, after the Hawks had gone on a joyous season-long ride without him, winning 60 games and reaching the Eastern Conference finals, Ferry settled the remaining years on his contract with the old ownership group and resigned as GM -- a move timed to coincide with the official sale of the team for $850 million to a new group led by billionaire Tony Ressler. (Full disclosure: our Turner colleague, Grant Hill, is part of the Ressler group.) Budenholzer got a new contract giving him final say on personnel, and assistant general manager Wes Wilcox was promoted to general manager.

 

Hawks Presser: New Ownership

The Hawks introduce Tony Ressler and NBA great Grant Hill as the new ownership group in Atlanta.

The moves left Ferry, 48, with millions in his coiffers but looking for a job. He couldn't speak while the team was being sold and while the Hawks were doing so well on the court, lest he be viewed as a distraction. But Ferry is now free to speak.

(EDITOR'S NOTE: This is a partial transcript of the interview, which will air this week on NBA TV.)

Me: What did you do last (Thursday) night?

Danny Ferry: I watched the Draft. I sat with my son, who's eight, and we hung out on the couch. I enjoyed watching the Draft. It's an exciting night, it really is, for people in the game, out of the game, whatever it is. It's a good night.

Me: That must've been weird for you.

It's been emotional. Mixed, hard feelings, good feelings, all the spectrum. ... I'm glad it's resolved. I'm glad to be moving forward. I'm glad more of the story eventually came out. I wish it would have come out earlier. 

– former Atlanta Hawks GM Danny Ferry

DF: It wasn't that weird. I have been in the background for a while now, the last eight months or so. But I enjoyed watching it. I'd gone and seen a lot of those players. With the year, I got out toward the end of the year and started watching college games, just wanted to make sure I stayed on top of the players. There's a lot of important things in this game, but nothing more than the players. So knowing those is important. And I enjoyed going out and seeing the games.

Me: If you can crystallize the last eight or nine months, how would you do that?

DF: It's been emotional. Mixed, hard feelings, good feelings, all the spectrum. Seeing the team's success, all of the people that came here the last three years to work toward what we were trying to build together, I was really happy for them. Because the team's sale, there was a lot of uncertainty around that. But the success the team had gave them all some stability. Obviously, early on in this thing, the anxiety for my kids, the anxiety for me and my career and the things I've done over 30 years, I could go on and on. But just so many emotions through this whole thing. I'm glad it's resolved. I'm glad to be moving forward. I'm glad more of the story eventually came out. I wish it would have come out earlier. But I think everyone's moving forward, and I think that's healthy.

Me: Basically, you knew in September what was in the Taylor Report, right?

DF: In September. September 10th, 11th ... I think the 12th. Bernard Taylor, who's highly respected, sat down with him a bunch over the summer going through everything. He gave the report. I was hopeful after hearing the report that that would be released in some shape or form. But with the sale and everything else that was going on with the team, the decision was to wait.

 

East Draft Review: Atlanta Hawks

Steve Smith and Sekou Smith look at Atlanta's selection at number 15 and the moves made to acquire Tim Hardaway Jr. from New York.

Me: What was the level of frustration as you tried to get the contents of that report out?

DF: I was very frustrated with that. But through the whole thing, I knew where things were. The most important thing was what was going on on the court. And for me to distract or take away from that, I didn't feel comfortable with. Again, all these people that had moved here the last three years, the success of the team was important. And then the sale of the team as well. That was important to me, but it was really important to the organization that this thing unfold and evolve. I would have thought things would have happened earlier, but the sale process took a lot longer than everyone thought. Everyone thought it was going to be, optimistically, in January. It wasn't even up for sale in January, because everyone had to get on the same page as to what was actually up for sale. So this thing dragged on for me. It dragged on for everyone. I think it got to the point where everyone was kind of tired of it. And, again, that's one of the reasons why it's good that it's resolved.

Me: If you could get a verbal mulligan, and nobody ever would have heard the words you said, would you take it? Or has this, in some ways, actually been beneficial?

DF: I would take it back. Again, the anxiety and the stress and the whole deal, I would like I mulligan. I know I made a mistake. I know it was insensitive. But I would take it back -- partly because Luol's had to hear his name, how many different times and in how many different ways on the Internet over the past several months? And I feel terrible about that. He's a good man. And frustrated that the rest of that tape was lost, because you would have heard my opinion and other people's opinions about what a high-quality person he is. And he's come out of this, I think, with some damage, but also with a lot of respect because of the way he handled this, the forgiveness he gave, the dignity he gave and that he showed through this whole thing. In my opinion, people in basketball know that this is a high-level guy.

Me: Do you believe that people who don't know you think you're a racist?

DF: I can't control what everyone out there believes. I think most people, if they've looked into this, they've heard people that have known me for 30 years. They've looked into my background. They've looked at my life. And hopefully used all of that information when they make their decision. But I can't control what everyone looks at and how much they look at this whole story. And that hurts. That's sad to me, because I really am proud of being part of this melting pot of the NBA throughout my life -- not just my career, but my whole life. And it's something I've always taken a lot of pride in, the diversity and inclusion that I've been a part of through the NBA. It's been a model, with David Stern and Adam Silver and the league, what they're built. I've been a part of that and I'm proud of that.

Everyone thought it was going to be, optimistically [resolved], in January. ... So this thing dragged on for me. It dragged on for everyone. I think it got to the point where everyone was kind of tired of it. And, again, that's one of the reasons why it's good that it's resolved.

– former Atlanta Hawks GM Danny Ferry

Me: What did it mean to have people like Wayne Embry and Billy King come publicly to your defense?

DF: It meant a lot. 'Cause it's hard. It's hard for people to speak about it, and speak up. And the fact that they did, so early and so strongly. And many, many people did publicly. And then many people privately, behind the scenes, were supportive. Some of those I asked not to speak up, because it would put them in a bad position. But it was ... there's a lot of things that have humbled me through this whole thing. How quickly things can change, and your world can change over one dumb mistake, for example. But the fact that I had friends, and a lot of them, and our players, and a lot of them, speak up and say this isn't what we know, and we've never experienced this, and he's been good to us. I know this person. And that was humbling, because they didn't have to. And they did. And I'm forever appreciative.

Me: What did you learn while on leave?

DF: With all this happening, and me going into the background, I wanted to use it as an opportunity for people to understand me when I sat down and talked to them. But for me, probably what I got out of it more was, I listened. And I understood what their concerns were in the world, and so on. All different perspectives. Dr. Carter, the pastor at Morehouse, sitting in his class, or talking to the Concerned Black Clergy. Reverend (Toussaint) Hill was an incredible friend. Rev. Jonathan Walton, the head pastor at Harvard, is an Atlanta guy. I can go through a long list of people that were really generous to me, that taught me things, gave me a greater perspective on the world around me, and as a leader. I've gone to Senegal with Amadou (Fall), and seeing the SEEDS Academy, and seeing NBA Africa, I just have so much of a greater perspective of the world around me. I'll take that mulligan, but I do appreciate that I've learned a lot in an experience that's hopefully made me grow as a person. And I'll be a better person. I won't be perfect, but I'm going to be a better person going forward.

Me: So how will you apply those lessons going forward if you get another job?

DF: I'll be more compassionate. I'll understand. I'll pay attention to the world around me more. No matter what I'll do, that'll be the case. And that's not just as someone in basketball, if that's what happens. It's going to be as a father, it's going to be in everything I do. That's of great value. And I look forward to being, having more depth as I do in things going forward.

Me: I think I read where you used the word "bittersweet" in describing watching the Hawks this season.

DF: Mixed emotions, for sure. 'Cause I missed being around the locker room. I missed being at the games. I missed that energy for the Hawks games. I went to other games. But the Hawks games. I was so proud of what we kind of put together the last few years. We changed the roster. We changed the culture. We changed the identity of what was going on on the court. And from the franchise overall, I felt great about that. I felt great about the people that were there. 'Cause with everything going on, and with the ownership change, if this had been a not-so-great year, there would have been a lot of changes. And with the success that the team was able to have, and the identity and the culture that people felt in the community, they got behind this team. Because they saw that something was different. And it gave everybody more stability and gave them a better opportunity to go forward.

 

New Hawks Uniforms

Take a look at the brand new design of the Atlanta Hawks uniform.

Me: Did you entertain any thoughts you might be able to stay once the team was sold?

DF: I thought about coming back several times. But, again, between the sale and keeping the focus on the court. But the sale took so long. In January, like I said, that was the hope. And when that thing wasn't up for sale in January, and the clock kept ticking, I still thought about coming back a couple of times, despite that. It just, you know, I think it got to the end of the year, and I needed to resolve my situation, my contract with past ownership. And that's been done, and I think the organization is going to move forward, in a way where it will do well. Bud and Wes and that group of people, those people are smart and passionate and hard-working people. I depended a lot on them. It was a very collaborative environment. I think they'll do well going forward, and it's set up to do well. But they'll make the right decisions and put the place in the right spot.

Me: You think you got set up?

DF: I think I made a mistake. And I think at the end of the day, with all of the circumstances around our organization, the tension among the ownership group that had been here for a long time, the disputes that they'd had over time, I think the fact that we made so many changes in the organization -- we really kicked this place in the butt, from the business standpoint to the basketball standpoint over the last two, three years -- change is hard. I think at the end of the day, this place is in a good spot. And I feel good about that. I feel good about ... I don't love that I'm walking away, but I feel good that I'm walking away having left this organization in a good spot in a lot of different ways.

Me: How did you explain this to your kids?

DF: Explaining to them, it's been a long process, talking to them throughout the whole thing. They, in September, knew about the Alston-Bird report. They knew that I'd made a mistake. There was anxieties for me. They saw how anxious I was, balled up on the couch for a few days after this all happened. But they've gotten through it pretty well, because people have been good to them as well. The kids at their schools, the people that they've been around, the people on their teams have been good to them. But those first couple of conversations, especially, were scary, scary for my wife and I. We didn't know what we were walking into and how this would unfold.

Me: What do you hope people know about you now that this is over?

DF: Hopefully, they're hearing me say that I made a mistake. I feel terrible for Luol. I've reconciled with him. We'll work on a project together. But hopefully people look at me for the 30, the last 30 years of my life. I've known you that long, if not longer, since high school. And they'll look at me in a way that understands, and hopefully puts all of this in the proper context and perspective. And looks at me over that frame.

 

http://www.nba.com/2015/news/features/david_aldridge/06/29/morning-tip-a-dozen-moves-for-the-offseason-state-of-one-and-done-players-in-nba-since-2006-qa-with-former-atlanta-hawks-gm-danny-ferry?cid=nbacomsocial_tw_sf10427194#question

Edited by JayBirdHawk
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...