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Hawks Fans Need a "W"---Special to the Squawk

jaywalker72

By jaywalker72
in Homecourt

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jaywalker72 Newbie

jaywalker72

Posted
Posted

It’s oh so clear now. The gloves are off, the time is now.

Today will begin a movement for Atlanta Hawks fans everywhere.

Today will begin either a trek away from the team, for many once and for all with heads hung low or bring the staggering fanbase together to look forward to continuing the rebuilding of the favorite franchise.

It’s one or the other.

When Billy Knight turned loose his infamous tight lips to the AJC’s Tim Tucker, sending no uncertain feelings about the debacle that is the Atlanta Spirit, it was on.

Knight opened the closed doors and he threw back the curtain that usually shades the Hawks most intimate details and let everyone know what kind of person that Steve Belkin is, and that his public words are a farce that attempts to disguise his true intentions for the Atlanta Hawks.

Billy revealed that Belkin has always been tight and apprehensive about doing anything that involves spending money, and that Belkin’s intention is to never spend anything close to what the salary cap will allow, wanting to keep things lean and mean with a thirtysomething million dollar payroll, something that will spell l-o-t-t-e-r-y for decades to come.

Now some people across the country will simply think that Knight is playing a card in this high stakes game the Hawks are playing. But anybody who has ever dealt with Knight knows that this is a man that won’t even want to tell you the brand of undershirt he is wearing, much less disclose how he does his own business.

Knight has been long documented and parodied for the things he hasn’t said, so much so that when he does open his eternally locked trap to reveal internal information, it’s well worth listening to. Knight is the type of person who is revered for his opinion simply because he is not the type to spray it all over the place, like so many people are want to do. He is not the Saturday football fan who always blames the referees for his alma-mater’s failings on the field.

We say all of this to say this: If Billy Knight is calling foul, you can be sure it’s a foul.

Are you believing Belkin’s tripe about standing behind the offer made to Johnson as an attempt to show he was willing to spend? Phooey. It’s easy for him to say that when he knows PHO will match any offer. It’s all easy for him to make a wild trade offer that nobody would accept as another cosmetic attempt to make a deal.

Steve Belkin has obviously decided to make his stand. He is going to try and gum up the works on this Joe Johnson deal for all the horrific reasons that people have been theorizing about since this “procedural snag” took hold last week.

Cheap skate? Check.

Liar? Check.

No clue how a competitive NBA team operates? Check.

Trying to “Clipperize” the Hawks? Double Check.

Who knows? Maybe Belkin is holding out for a distant relative of Larry Bird to come along so the Hawks can draft him and begin what Belkin once termed “a family.” Maybe that’s why he wants to keep all those picks.

The truth may well have been that if Steve Belkin had his beloved Celtics in the 80’s, Larry Bird would have been sent packing as soon as he reached free agency (rendering the “Larry Bird” rule stillborn), Kevin McHale sent packing for 2 second round picks, and Robert Parish shipped to LA for some new uniforms, all of which was done after ignoring Red Auerbach and calling owners directly to cut his own “deals.”

What in the name of Donald Sterling is going on with this guy?

There is nothing good that can come of Belkin winning in court. If the deal with Joe Johnson doesn’t come to pass, it will eliminate Belkin (and therefore the Hawks) from any dealing with players who can be considered NBA caliber.

Belkin will have no problem keeping his payroll low because nobody, other than those legally obligated to do so, will play, coach, or work for his “team.” He will have to sign the local Run-N’-Shoot celebrities to fill out the roster because, when you rip off an Arn Tellum client, like Mr. Johnson is, you have crossed off a large list of talented players from ever setting foot on your practice court. And that includes potential draftees as well. And Tellum isn’t the only agent, player, or coach watching this story unfold.

Die Hard Hawks fans who have stuck with the team through the eternally boring playoff teams of Mookie-Smitty-Dikembe and the failed Pete Babcock “Draft-Free” rebuilding thereafter, have started to see the light at the end of a tunnel that Knight has tried to create.

For the courts to cancel the deal with Johnson and deal with the devil Belkin would drop the remainder of the paying Hawks public right through the bottom of the thin payroll Belkin is championing. There would be no desire to go see even the grace of a Josh Smith blocked shot or a Josh Childress dunk. There would be no interest in watching a marvelous Marvin Williams grow into a NBA starter.

Fans would only see the black that is Belkin’s bottom line and stay away in droves.

Think they won’t? Ask Stan Kasten if he got the message the city sent the team when Dominique Wilkins was traded away?

Fans will stay away….fans will most definitely stay away.

As for the hearing, we have no idea what legal grounds each group has. All we know is that one way is the highway, and the other is a dead end.

The Hawks fans need a “W” in a bad way, and for a franchise that has lost so much in recent years, this is one time they cannot afford to.

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flava Newbie

flava

Posted
Posted

nice article Jay, what's so sad is that EVERYTHING rests on the legal basis for each side's case. the judge could care less how "wrong" everything that has transpired has been - and believe me, it's been about as "wrong" as wrong gets - but, sadly, all that matters is the binding agreement the owner have.

does belkin failure to approve the deal constitute a legally binding action (against the will of the majority of the owners)?

i pray the answer is yes, otherwise, i'll be one of those fans you wrote of in your piece....

flava

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smithrules Newbie

smithrules

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you know i haven't been this excited about the hawks since the days of nique, but we have some idiot from boston trying to make some money by keeping the payroll low.

I for one smelt a rat from the beginning. The other owners had to have thought belkin agreed to this deal. This is a power play by Belkin and BK's comments only reassured what in my gut i already knew. I got so excited for a week about Joe Johnsom coming here. I think he would fit great for what we were building toward. I don't see how Belkin could be the final word. surely they made the contract were a mahority of owners could override him.

Jay what can we as fans do? Is there anyway to get rid of Satan, i mean Belkin.

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Nurlman Newbie

Nurlman

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I'm glad this hearing is tomorrow. It forces the issue, which is EXACTLY what the Washington/Atlanta guys had in mind when they scheduled a call to remove Belkin as Governor.

I'm hoping that they'll be able to keep it in the realm of injunctive relief until Belkin's removed, so that the urgency of the matter is not lost before the matter is settled.

Expect additional legal steps regardless of what tomorrow's outcome is.

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Vol4ever Mentor

Vol4ever

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day in Hawk history that won't soon be forgotten unless we win in court.

The struggles this franchise has had with ownership and management over the past several years is a joke. I have heard in the past of the team being moved out of the city to Vegas or someplace.

If Belkin is in charge and holds the cards, things will not get any better.

BTW, with the wacky court judges we have today it could go either way!

I just hope the judge isn't a left wing liberal. We're dead if he/she is.

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Seano Newbie

Seano

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Nerve-wracking day to be a Hawks fan. It really does feel like the whole future of the franchise is at stake here, and it's very difficult to consider just what might happen should Belkin prevail in this ownership fight- in fact I hate even considering such a possibility. It's just unthinkable. frown.gif

A part of me even believes in the conspiracy theory that Belkin is orchestrating all of this intentionally, that he doesn't want the team to get better but rather wants it to continue to be mired in the depths in order to devalue it so badly that the other owners will eventually sell to him, and to devalue it so badly that the franchise's future in Atlanta becomes an impossibility- and then he can move it to Vegas. He has no ties to Atlanta, no connection, no loyalty. And with the league scheduling an upcoming All Star Game for Vegas (the first time there's ever been an All Star Game in a city that doesn't have a team), it just kind of makes me go 'hmmmm' and feel all the more nervous about things.

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Lascar78 Newbie

Lascar78

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Posted

Quote:

must of touched a nerve.........I was referring to all of the radical jusdges letting these damn sex offenders off the hook so they can hurt or kill inncocent children!

you might find that you'll touch a nerve when you indirectly insult a major segment of the population. Have fun with your hate.

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