Private agendas still at play in Hawks’ offices

[Watchman]

Hawksfanatic just owned it.

 

Nique is putting his statue in front of the team's best interest.  I don't know how any one can respect that.

Heat Check.

[HawkItus]

Is this Arthur Triche? The former VP of Media Relations/Communications who was fired when Danny Ferry took over?

No. It was Rick Kamala

 

as for the Saporta article:

 

 

mariasaporta moderator

2 days ago

 

 

@EveryLastWord No my website wasn't hacked. 

Maria's Metro is my weekly column. Several weeks I don't even quote a source because I'm usually offering my point of view based on the information and analysis I have gathered over the years of growing up and living in this town.

As a journalist for 35 years, I have come to realize that "truth" is relative. We are all a product of our own experiences and our points of view. I always try to maintain an open mind to get as close to what could be considered an absolute truth - but I have come to realize that such truth may be beyond our grasp as human beings.

That said, I never went into this business to be "liked" or to write stories that everybody "liked." Sometimes I write pieces that I believe need to be written.

I strongly believe in what Atlanta stands for - a city that has been able to show the South and the rest of the world the best side of humanity - dignity among people of different races and ethnicities. 

When I go to Hawks games, that's what I see - a multicultural and diverse Atlanta. And that is the Atlanta that I celebrate.

After having had a dozen or more conversations with people I respect who value the spirit of Atlanta as I do, I continue to believe that it would be harmful to what our city stands for if Danny Ferry were to return as GM. Yes, that is my opinion. But it is my opinion based on solid information. I also do not think it would be good for the team or its winning spirit.

- See more at: http://saportareport.com/atlanta-hawks-winning-thanks-largely-to-absence-of-danny-ferry/#sthash.snUDMdia.dpuf

 

It is an opinion piece.  She is allowed this.  She has a long background in the city.  Her voice matters.  I just don't understand how people are basically saying winning cures all.  If someone doesn't want Danny back for whatever reason it is no less valid than wanting him back because of winning.  And to me people choosing DF over Nique when he actually shed blood and sweat for this team for years is just insane.  DF deserves credit, but nobody made him say what he said.  Whatever happens it is his fault.  

[MaceCase]

I'm envisioning a moment where Nique walks into Danny's office on a Friday night with a whole slew of blueprints for a statue, runs through a 10 minute PowerPoint presentation and hands over approval polls for the idea.

Danny sitting at his desk listens to the whole sell quietly with his hands folded in a steeple. At the conclusion of Nique talking he casually takes a sip from his snifter of Macallan 50, walks over to the window and as he is intensely staring out at the city he casually glances back at Nique and says:

"Statues are for closers"

[Watchman]

I guess it boils down to whether you retain or terminate someone because they are competent and do a good job or not, or whether or not you agree with their personal opinions.

 

I don't go to concerts because I agree with the artist's lifestyle, social or political views.  I go because I enjoy their music.  That's what I am paying for.  To me this is a similar analogy.

Edited February 13, 2015 by Watchman

[HawkItus]

 

• Would we actually see a decrease in corporate sponsor's and have harm to this team (potentially from a public perception or political standpoint) if Danny Ferry returned?
• Should we see this?

The 2nd point is a moral judgement. No reason to debate that. I think the 1st point we could get some traction on debate and it likely is about how influential Dortch is as well as how important people view Ferry to this team.

 

Exactly.  If DF is not retained it will not be moral victory for those who think it is.  If he is retained it will not be a stand against the machine moment others think it is.  It will be an analytical, dollars and sense move that hinges on if he cost 1 cent, second, or calorie more than he brings to the table.  The worst thing that could happen to DF is for us to win the title.  Why bring him back at that point?  The build is complete and it happened without you.

[JETSET]

Exactly.  If DF is not retained it will not be moral victory for those who think it is.  If he is retained it will not be a stand against the machine moment others think it is.  It will be an analytical, dollars and sense move that hinges on if he cost 1 cent, second, or calorie more than he brings to the table.  The worst thing that could happen to DF is for us to win the title.  Why bring him back at that point?  The build is complete and it happened without you.

If we do win the title, Ferry would have accomplished more, in 3 years, than Nique, Gearon and all of these other fools could do over two decades.  He will then get a fat and kushy job, with another franchise, the second we let him go.  He would certainly have the last laugh and I wouldn't just assume that we will just continue to cruise to the top once he leaves.  There are far more incompetent GMs than there are competent ones and even fewer elite ones, like Ferry.

Edited February 13, 2015 by JETSET

[Guest]

What really needs to happen is the setting aside of egos and personal feelings.  Ferry needs to make amends for this Nique statue thing and anything else he's done to rub people the wrong way and everyone that has personal feelings towards Ferry needs to let it go.  

 

That's what needs to happen so that this city can enjoy having a contender and hopefully a champion.

 

So you just gonna leave me and @Alex on the hate-Ferry island?  Just like that, huh?

 

Honestly though, I agree with the above.  We can get past the events of the offseason.  Give Dom his statue and let's move forward from here.  This mess is beyond tiresome at this point.  Nobody tell Dolfan I said any of this.

[NBASupes]

Ferry stans are hilarious. He put together a roster he didn't even think could win. The best thing we have is Coach Bud but Ferry isn't great. I like his contract handling side though. That's the one thing I can say is special. 

[JETSET]

Ferry stans are hilarious. He put together a roster he didn't even think could win. The best thing we have is Coach Bud but Ferry isn't great. I like his contract handling side though. That's the one thing I can say is special. 

Ferry made this franchise do a complete 180 in the blink of an eye.

 

Our current situation would be similar to Brooklyn's if Ferry never graced us with his presence.

 

Name 3 GM's, or even 1, who have done a better job over the past 3 years. 

Edited February 13, 2015 by JETSET

[pachoo5]

We better keep Ferry. I am sure Bud would do well as the GM too but that is too much work for one man. I want Bud only focusing on coaching with occasional input when we draft or sign/trade players.

 

If Ferry leaves I am going to be one mad Hawks fan. 

[pachoo5]

Anyone discounting what Ferry has done is crazy. The Joe Johnson trade alone was such genius. It really allowed us to move forward and has completely hamstrung the Nets. 

 

He also got rid of Josh Smith. I will always be a fan of his just for those two moves. 

[HawkItus]

G

 

Ferry made this franchise do a complete 180 in the blink of an eye.

 

Our current situation would be similar to Brooklyn's if Ferry never graced us with his presence.

 

Name 3 GM's, or even 1, who have done a better job over the past 3 years. 

Popovich, Riley, Larry Bird, Bob Myers

[Guest]

Good lord.  I spent like 15 minutes off the hate-Ferry island and the last coupla posts pushed me back on.  It's like a bad episode of Lost.

 

Let's not act as if this season was in his plans.  This season is more about what Budz and the players have done.

 

The JoeJohn trade was more about Brooklyn having an awful GM and an owner pushing an awful trade.  It's not like he tricked Billy King into taking that bad contract.  Billy King was looking for a name to feed to his owner and money was no object.

[MaceCase]

Ferry stans are hilarious. He put together a roster he didn't even think could win. The best thing we have is Coach Bud but Ferry isn't great. I like his contract handling side though. That's the one thing I can say is special. 

Ok, Leadership.

[RandomFan]

Good lord.  I spent like 15 minutes off the hate-Ferry island and the last coupla posts pushed me back on.  It's like a bad episode of Lost.

 

Let's not act as if this season was in his plans.  This season is more about what Budz and the players have done.

 

The JoeJohn trade was more about Brooklyn having an awful GM and an owner pushing an awful trade.  It's not like he tricked Billy King into taking that bad contract.  Billy King was looking for a name to feed to his owner and money was no object.

Maybe. But how brilliant was it for him to include a right to pick swap? At the time, everyone thought it was silly since obviously Brooklyn was going to be a great team and ATL was never going to finish ahead of them in the standing, right? Everyone just assumed this was a pick-swap we would never have a chance at using. Well, obviously Ferry knew what he was doing there.

[JETSET]

G

 

Popovich, Riley, Larry Bird, Bob Myers

I would love to see you do a side by side comparison of their moves, over the past 3 years, vs Ferry's and provide an explanation as to why theirs were better.

 

I believe you will quickly realize that Ferry did a better job than all 4.  Pop may have a say in it.

[JETSET]

Good lord.  I spent like 15 minutes off the hate-Ferry island and the last coupla posts pushed me back on.  It's like a bad episode of Lost.

 

Let's not act as if this season was in his plans.  This season is more about what Budz and the players have done.

 

The JoeJohn trade was more about Brooklyn having an awful GM and an owner pushing an awful trade.  It's not like he tricked Billy King into taking that bad contract.  Billy King was looking for a name to feed to his owner and money was no object.

L O L.

 

Bud and the players aren't here without Ferry.  I love how people dismiss Ferry when Joe, Josh and Marvin would still be here without him.

 

How do you know this season wasn't in his plans?  Just because you failed to have the foresight to see the potential in this team does not make it impossible.  I was bragging about this team's potential all off-season.  If I was able to see it, I'm sure Ferry was more than capable.

 

The fact that he stole a lottery pick and had to take on no salary in exchange for Johnson's bloated contract is amazing.  There is zero way to downplay that.

Edited February 13, 2015 by JETSET

[Guest]

Maybe. But how brilliant was it for him to include a right to pick swap? At the time, everyone thought it was silly since obviously Brooklyn was going to be a great team and ATL was never going to finish ahead of them in the standing, right? Everyone just assumed this was a pick-swap we would never have a chance at using. Well, obviously Ferry knew what he was doing there.

 

I'd wager the swap had more to do with the fact that the Nets couldn't trade away the 1st outright due to the Sapien rule or w/e.  Again, not genius.  It's just something that happened that now has achieved mythical status.  I love it but I'm not going to say Ferry 'called' Brooklyn's demise.

 

L O L.

 

Bud and the players aren't here without Ferry.  I love how people dismiss Ferry when Joe, Josh and Marvin would still be here without him.

 

How do you know this season wasn't in his plans?  Just because you failed to have the foresight to see the potential in this team does not make it impossible.  I was bragging about this team's potential all off-season.  If I was able to see it, I'm sure Ferry was more than capable.

 

The fact that he stole a lottery pick and had to take on no salary in exchange for Johnson's bloated contract is amazing.  There is zero way to downplay that.

 

I love how people dismiss the guys who are actually putting wins on the board.  I KNOW this season wasn't in his plans because no one in their right mind PLANS for a team to go January-and-0.  The things we've done this season have been unprecedented.  Before the season all everyone talked about was how our roster was built for flexibility since we weren't going to be a contender.  Cute how folks revise history.

 

How do you know other GM's would've tried to hang onto Marvin, Joe and Josh?

 

Again, the JoeJohn trade has left us in a great position but let's not act like this was the plan all along.  It's breaking in our favor which obviously is great but don't take it much further than that.

[JETSET]

I'd wager the swap had more to do with the fact that the Nets couldn't trade away the 1st outright due to the Sapien rule or w/e.  Again, not genius.  It's just something that happened that now has achieved mythical status.  I love it but I'm not going to say Ferry 'called' Brooklyn's demise.

 

 

I love how people dismiss the guys who are actually putting wins on the board.  I KNOW this season wasn't in his plans because no one in their right mind PLANS for a team to go January-and-0.  The things we've done this season have been unprecedented.  Before the season all everyone talked about was how our roster was built for flexibility since we weren't going to be a contender.  Cute how folks revise history.

 

How do you know other GM's would've tried to hang onto Marvin, Joe and Josh?

 

Again, the JoeJohn trade has left us in a great position but let's not act like this was the plan all along.  It's breaking in our favor which obviously is great but don't take it much further than that.

If that's the case, why wouldn't they just trade the 2014 pick or a 1st rounder from a specific year?

 

So his plan was to lose?  and who is diminishing the players or Bud's contributions?  I certainly am not.  I am just recognizing the person who made it possible by obtaining Bud and these players while removing the players who held us back.  Not sure why that is so hard for some of you to do.

Edited February 13, 2015 by JETSET

[willthepureshooter]

Why would anyone want to block a Nique statue? I mean seriously what the hell? He is hands down the greatest Atlanta Hawk of all time and the second best player in franchise history just behind Bob Pettit. Who would want to stop him from getting a statue?

This!! The second and most disturbing reason why I don't want Ferry back in Atlanta. You go against a man whom singlehandedly made the Hawks a household name. Why block Dominique's statue? Was Ferry plotting to have his statue erected down the line after the Hawks won numerous championships? The guy is an egomaniac with a terrible history of drafting first rounders. He brought in tweener free agents that were greatly improved by our incredible staff. He's not a modern day Harry Potter. Ferry's the basketball version of Phil Helmuth.