Private agendas still at play in Hawks’ offices

[bird_dirt]

Is there any way we can turn the pressure onto Grearon? Anyone ever tried looking up his email, Facebook, LinkedIn, home or work address? Inundate him with letters, barrage him with all manner of pleading, begging, cursing, and threatening.

Then if he or his folk are willing to use the threat of corporate sponsors being spooked by a few fans complaining or threating boycott, can those tactics be used against him or his company? threaten boycott or calling out either his company or the companies who do business with his company? Say that if he can't be trusted, why would we trust any company associated with him. He is the problem with this whole situation. He is the one to blame for holding back this franchise and possibly burning it to the ground. F him. He deserves everything back in spades that he puts out there.

[gsuteke]

As much as I like the Hawks.... I hate them for the shit they are at the top.

[Guest]

I wonder if the NBA can take over ownership of the Hawks until a buyer is found. Didn't they do that with New Orleans. I don't remember the circumstances under which it happened, but is that a possibility?

[MaceCase]

I wonder if the NBA can take over ownership of the Hawks until a buyer is found. Didn't they do that with New Orleans. I don't remember the circumstances under which it happened, but is that a possibility?

George Shinn wanted to cash out immediately, the NBA specifically wanted an owner that would keep the HorPels in NOLA and thus bought the team from Shinn and held onto them until one could be found. Problem here is that the Gearons don't seem eager to sell.

[Sothron]

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?

[DrReality]

I sure hope the league office tracks all this. These guys act like high schoolers and its total bullshit. Sell it 100%

[RandomFan]

** I originally posted this in the Webber thread, but seems more appropriate here. **

 

The more I've thought about this, the less optimistic I am that Ferry will be back with the Hawks. It's not so much one thing, but an accumulation of factors. Let me list them:

 

1) Obviously we start with the racial comment itself. Most will be able to forgive and move on, and most have; but like many others have said already, some sponsors, some local community leaders, and some athletes may never be able to see past it, or would simply choose to avoid a potentially uncomfortable situation.

 

2) I forget the article I read this in, perhaps the Aldridge piece recently, but apparently although Ferry is widely respected for his acumen around the league, he also has a reputation of being quite an elitist jerkoff - and what I mean by that is not necessarily disrespectful to others, but just not overly cordial. He's to the point, can be short with people, thinks he's the smartest guy in the room, and is focused on the task at hand. These can be admirable qualities, of course. But then I get to thinking about two people in our organization which leads me to point 3 and 4.

 

3) Nique - we all know Nique is no fan of Ferry. And it mainly stems from Ferry's reluctance to honor Nique with the soon to be unveiled statue. I think most of us could care less about this statue, but it speaks volumes about Ferry and why I think he might not have a future in this organization. It's a big deal to Nique. Ferry thought it was a silly idea and pretty much said it wouldn't be happening on his watch. This is another of the reasons the GearonCancer is no fan of Ferry. Nique is a big part of the Hawks brand, and I'm not sure if Nique would ever be cool with Ferry again - as evidenced by his recent comments.

 

4) Koonin - You'll remember Koonin was hired right before the fallout from the Ferry and Levenson comments. He didn't really get a chance to work with Ferry that long, didn't build much of a personal relationship with him, and has little reason to be in his corner: especially since Koonin said he abhorred the comments when he learned of them. But I think the bigger problem is that Koonin seems fairly opposite of Ferry in the manner he would like to see the Hawks do business. One of Koonin's first orders of business was to get the Nique statue approved and implemented. Koonin is a marketing guy - he wants to be the opposite of the elitist-jerkoff. He wants to be engaging with everyone, reach out to everyone, sell not only tickets but also the entire Hawks brand and make it a fun fan-friendly experience. We've seen how open and awesome Koonin is in trying to expand the fan base; it's kind of the opposite of Ferry who would seem to prefer keeping his head down and simply focusing on doing an awesome job building the team while letting the rest take care of itself. I have nothing but speculation here, but I suspect Koonin and Ferry, while not an impossible fit is simply not an "ideal" fit.

 

5) Coach Bud - as several others have pointed out, this coming offseason will likely be a contract extension period for Bud. As an assistant coach with no head coaching experience, nobody was going to hire him as a team president and head coach combined. You only get that type of job after you earn it. But Bud is now arguably positioned to ask for that if he wants it during this next contract negotiation. He and Ferry are friends, Ferry brought him here after all. And if there is a way for Ferry to come back I'm almost positive Bud would be very happy to have that happen. But if things look too complicated for that to happen, then giving Bud control over the team is not only the most likely thing that would happen, it's also the most logical. For one thing, if Ferry is gone then I doubt we would be able to retain Bud here if we bring in some other GM and put him over Bud. If Bud knows the guy and approves it, that might be possible. But I'm not sure who that candidate would be - and it would definitely have to be someone from and Spurs since those are the only people Bud would have enough experience with.

 

But consider this - Pop still talks regularly with Bud. Pop is in charge of basketball operations in San Antonio, while R.C. Buford is the GM handling those duties. But Buford reports to Pop, not the other way around. Buford handles all the GM duties freeing up Pop to coach. But Buford is doing so according to Pop's master plan, and Pop has the final say on all decisions. This is pretty much the setup we have right now with Coach Bud and our Assistant GM Wilcox, albeit in a temporary capacity while we wait to find out what happens with Ferry. Koonin was apparently so impressed with Coach Bud's knowledge of the salary cap and player evaluation that he said it was a no-brainer to put Bud in temporary charge while Ferry is on leave. If Ferry is gone for good, one would assume Koonin would make this temporary arrangement permanent by making Bud in charge of the team, and promoting Wilcox to GM who would answer to Bud. Especially since you know Pop will be in Bud's ear telling him to ask for exactly that to happen during the upcoming contract extension negotiations coming up.

 

And I would be completely fine with that arrangement. I greatly appreciate what Ferry has done for the Hawks. He magically dumped the worst contract in the NBA, got rid of another bad one in Williams, let Brick Smith walk, somehow convinced Coach Bud to join him here even amongst our travesty of an ownership situation, brought in the right type of players, and who knows what else. If he really is done with the Hawks, I think it is safe to say he did an amazing job in the short time he was our GM. But after saying that, I think we would be in completely competent hands if we turned the show over to Coach Bud: especially now that a lot of the heavy lifting has already been accomplished.

[hawkman]

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?

Good questions. Like I said, its not one thing but the culmination of things that made me not like our GM on a personal level.

[JETSET]

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?

Can we get a list of players who have a statue when they never reached the Finals and weren't able to make the leagues top 50 list?

I dont believe there is such a player other than Nique. Leave it to the Hawks to be the first to celebrate mediocrity. I think gearon and Nique hate ferry because they realize he has the ability to take this team to levels that they could not.

[gsuteke]

I can't believe the statue business until it's authenticated by someone outside the circle of dysfunction that likely intentionally leaked it in the first place.

[Randy]

Looks like, winning fixes everything, except the Hawks clownership.

[Sothron]

Can we get a list of players who have a statue when they never reached the Finals and weren't able to make the leagues top 50 list?

I dont believe there is such a player other than Nique. Leave it to the Hawks to be the first to celebrate mediocrity. I think gearon and Nique hate ferry because they realize he has the ability to take this team to levels that they could not.

 

Everyone knows Nique being left off the top 50 was the biggest snub of the list. The man is a HoF player and is forever linked to the city of Atlanta. There's no one in Atlanta Hawks history more deserving of a statue than Nique.

[JETSET]

Good point. If the Gearons think they can peddle an argument about this team being better off without the negativity, then it shows they don't view the public as smart enough to connect the dots. Maybe it's not really about a statue.

Also, why weren't they trying for a statue before Ferry was there? Did Nique have any new accomplishments in the past three years that warrant a statue?

Exactly.  Since when did they have this grand loyalty to Nique.  They traded him mid-season in a year where the Hawks were playing well.

[AHF]

Everyone knows Nique being left off the top 50 was the biggest snub of the list. The man is a HoF player and is forever linked to the city of Atlanta. There's no one in Atlanta Hawks history more deserving of a statue than Nique.

 

Agreed.  Nique was the obvious bad omission, not just to Atlanta fans but to basketball commentators as well.  I don't see how that gets held against him just because he didn't play in LA, Boston, NY, etc.  Holding that against him is like hating on Atlanta because it is bootstrapping the neglect for Atlanta into dismissing an Atlanta legend because he didn't get his proper due.

 

Malone and Stockton are the most comparable to Nique for statues.  All 3 were studs in the same era.  None of them got past the Bulls, Pistons, Lakers and Celtics to win a title.  The Jazz did have the advantage of playing in the West when it was pretty sad compared to the East, kind of like today, for part of that time as well (like 1996-97 when the Jazz feasted on a West with 3 playoff teams that would have been the 10th or 11th teams in the East).  So I don't see losing the finals as a big differentiator that winning the finals is.  The Nets made a bunch of finals but that doesn't mean Kerry Kittles > Nique.

 

I am truly curious to know why the owners and GM couldn't get on the same page for a Nique statue.  I don't buy the idea that it is a pure Gearon spin either since Nique is the one sharing it with the world.  I do think it is possible that Gearon is spinning it some to make Ferry look worse but the basic underlying notion that Levenson / Ferry wouldn't approve the statue has been undisputed formally or informally for a while.  

 

“There is no player more deserving of such an honor than Dominique for his continued commitment to the Hawks and the City of Atlanta. Beyond his amazing play on the court during his Hall-of-Fame career, he has been an ambassador for this franchise and the city for three decades,” Koonin said. “For all he has accomplished and continues to do for the Hawks franchise and the City of Atlanta, we are proud to bestow this permanent recognition of his legacy.”

[HawkItus]

This Nique bashing has to stop.  Nique is what Hank Aaron is to the Braves here in  Atlanta.  He gets a statue.  Or like the Falcons ring of honor members.  It is not just about the Hawks.  Nique played at UGA and was great.  He played in the 1996 Olympics here.  He has supported this community.  He gets a statue.  Plain and simple.  Either you are to young to know better or you were not a fan in the 80's 90's to not realize this.  

Edited February 13, 2015 by HawkItus

[Admin]

This Nique bashing has to stop.  Nique is what Hank Aaron is to the Braves here in  Atlanta.  He gets a statue.  Or like the Falcons ring of honor members.  It is not just about the Hawks.  Nique played at UGA and was great.  He played in the 1996 Olympics here.  He has supported this community.  He gets a statue.  Plain and simple.  Either you are to young to know better or you were not a fan in the 80's 90's to not realize this.  

 

You can be in the camp that thinks it's totally fine for Nique to have a statue AND think that he's acting very poorly with regard to Ferry and that's the camp that I'm in. I'm not going to lie, my perception of him is being tarnished over this whole ordeal and how he's acting towards it. 

[HawkItus]

Where is the bashing? It seems to be a criteria argument. Also, Nique didn't play in the 1996 Olympics: http://www.basketball-reference.com/olympics/teams/USA/1996

He wasn't on any Olympic Teams: http://www.basketball-reference.com/olympics/athletes/w-index

He was on the 1994 World Championship squad: http://uproxx.com/dimemag/2014/09/dominique-wilkins-says-1994-team-usa-play-editions/

http://www.fiba.com/pages/eng/fa/team/p/sid/2913/tid/379/_/1994_World_Championship_for_Men/index.html

By your logic, we should have an Ilya Kovalchuk statue though. I mean, he was the greatest Thrasher of all-time. So why doesn't he get one?

I've always maintained a "meh" argument on the statue. Whatever man, if you've (Nique and crew, not @HawkItus ) got such a pompous me-first attitude that you want to see a statue then I'm not going to get in your way. Want a hologram statue next? Do you want a section of the arena also named after you? I mean, to act as if the Hawks have not honored Nique is to be the same type of f***ing prick like Tommy Dorth was to say that the Hawks did not honor Lou Hudson even though the team clearly did! Whatever, I find it a bit childish for anyone to want a statue. At the same time, I'm not going to get up in arms and picket against Nique getting a statue....well except to the point that it sabotages this franchise.

To continue my Shakespearean observation of Ferry/Nique: "A statue, a statue! My franchise for a statue!"

(....but at this point I'm open to this issue being larger than a statue. But if it is only about a statue, then f*** all these assholes.)

Stop fact checking me.  In my mind and for purposes of the story he played in the 1996 Olympics and hit the game winning shot to secure the gold against Mother Russia, Nakita Koloff, and Ivan Drago.

 

Seriously though I think you guys are approaching this from a pro Ferry view when it could be the other way around.  Maybe Nique did not ask for a statue, but was approached by Gearon saying "Hey Nique we want to build you a statue and have a big ceremony, but DF won't let it happen"  Nique might be getting played.  Or perhaps Ferry really did block the Nique statue because of his culture war.  Like the stuff that leaked about Ryan Cameron.  Maybe the elitist part of Ferry didn't jibe with their culture.  Is Nique wrong for seeing red because an outsider prohibited him from gaining a well deserved honor?

[JETSET]

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.

[HawkItus]

92.9 just said that there is some systemic things re: DF/Nique.  They would not disclose but the host said knowing what he knows, he sides with Nique.  

Edited February 13, 2015 by HawkItus

[Wretch]

I was a pretty harsh (and ignorant) critic of Danny Ferry.  The biggest issue for me was that there was very little precedent to support his methodology.  I just figured he was another Babcock (I stil feel that the JJ deal was more a stroke of luck than genius).  I was stuck in the past with a narrow minded and inflexible view on how to build a team...and I was judging Ferry on what he did in Cleveland.

 

So when he made those comments, I was happy.  I was happy because I thought him leaving would bring us a new direction.  I didn't think much of the comments themselves...or Levenson's email for that matter.  To me, they all just seemed out of touch and a bit "elitist."

 

The success of this team has humbled me...because it's so clear what Ferry was trying to do and I was not even in the same hemisphere with my assumptions.  Though, as a purist, I should have had more respect for his plan.

 

All that being said, I don't like the "air" that has been floating around our management - which includes Danny Ferry.  However, the man obviously knows basketball and has done something remarkable here.  My issue was largely with his performance, but that's no longer a question.  He needs to get back to work...but this is a tough spot with the reputation he has now.  It's just our luck....but honestly, I'd gamble with it.

 

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.