Can Belkin SCREW us on draft night now?!?!?

[Nicholasp27]

Ok, so we can't remove him if he approves the trade within 5 days...so basically from now on he has to go with the majority or he's gone...but how does that affect certain things if he wants to be more of an ass?

TRADING DEADLINE

We will now have to complete our trades 1 week before the deadline so that we have time to vote him off and then wait up to 5 days for him to approve or be kicked off...so no deadline day deals...

DRAFT NIGHT

Does the governor have to sign off on draft picks on draft night? If so, then what happens if BK wants rondo and Belkin wants some scrub? How does this work since there isn't 5 days and what we do in our 15 mins determines the rest of the draft?

[Lascar78]

My guess is Stern will ensure that all of this is taken care of ASAP

[Diesel]

I think that Stern will put some force to the issue or at least as much force as he can. I think the Judge gave a wuss's ruling in that it allows Belkin to remain Governor against the wishes of the other owners. I think that for us to move forward, Belkin has to be stripped of that power and if it has to be juggled from Stern to the Judge back to Stern, I think Stern will do the stripping. Really, the judge gave the best Homer call he could.. Obviously, he was supposed to strip Belkin of that title... because how would you expect BK or any GM to be productive when at Any given time, this whole scenerio could pop up again.

I just thank God for A. Tellum. I know it was him who allowed JJ to be confident about the deal going through. And I hope JJ finds a Nice House!!

But Every player we approach is not guaranteed to have such smart representation...

Belkin must be stripped... If a majority vote gave him power, a majority vote should be enough to strip that power.

[TheRedStripes]

didn't they give Belkin an option to go ahead and approve the trade so they wouldn't vote him out already? if thats the case then maybe the 5 day period is already over and they can just go ahead and kick him out.

[OGRat]

I hope it was in writing.

[yardbird]

The injunction may have prevented ATL/WAS from taking a vote that had to be part of the written notice of removable action to Belkin. In fact, it probably did. I'm worried Belkin has maintained leverage, not on the JJ deal, but on replacement as governor and hence future deals . . .

[KB21]

The thing is, Belkin has to know that if he tries to block a deal again, the Hawks have the permission of the NBA to replace him. Belkin has nothing to gain by keeping the NBA Governor title.

[Guest Walter]

Quote:

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The thing is, Belkin has to know that if he tries to block a deal again, the Hawks have the permission of the NBA to replace him. Belkin has nothing to gain by keeping the NBA Governor title.

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I think that's what Belkin has to gain. IMO the pettiness of his past actions indicate a greater willingness to continue such actions in the future after this episode. At least if I'm a FA I consider that posibility. Belkin's maintaining govenorship at least ensures he has leverage should any buy-out take place.

W

[Diesel]

In all actuallity... Now FAs know that if they get a deal from BK/The fantastic 8... It's Good. Even still, they know that it may be a 5 day waiting period to go through but it will be good.

Belkin has been neutered even though he still sits in the chair.

He's not a real Governor. He's now the puppet Governor.

In fact, that should be the Team's New campaign.

"Don't mind him, he's just the PUPPET governor."

If some independent group (backed by someone like Kasten) put together ads that stated something to the effect of " THE PUPPET Governor" I bet the embarrassment alone would make Belkin sell out.

Maybe have a puppet Belkin signing JJ's check...

In my mind, I can see the ad having Belkin "the puppet governor" as a Superhero..

.....Commercial: The Adventures of Belkin " the puppet governor"...

Woman: Oh my God, My check just bounced.. What am I to do...

Belkin: Never fear, "Puppet Governor is here"

Belkin signs a check and gives it too her...

[KB21]

I think Belkin will sell out eventually anyway. His wings have been clipped, and if he has a desire to own another NBA team someday, he can't continue to embarass himself by holding up deals that he doesn't want to pay for.

He can sell out and make it look like it was simply a difference of opinion. If he stays on and tries this bullshit again, he will lose any hope of ever having the opportunity to own another NBA franchise again.

[pathway23]

I think Belkin has unwittingly brought more publicity to the Hawks, sure in a negative way, but by turning people against him in a big way he has captured the imagination of the city of Atlanta! I think that attendance will be WAY up this year, and we should market to the anti-Belkin crowd..wouldn't that be something if one of the owners of the team is marketed against and it makes money? This is the same principle that works for Limbaugh, Boortz, Hannity, and O'Reilly, they SELL not because of their admirers, but because of the ratings, because people that absolutely hate their guts listen to them and the advertisements that pay for their shows sway these people to buy products.

[TheDude]

oddly, i found that extremely entertaining...

you could even get Happy Meals to have a little puppet governor to be the toy, in Atlanta McDonalds.

Commercial for it with kids playing with it:

"Look! He even shakes your hand."

"Psyche gotcha Puppet Governor. Ha ha ha ha ha!"

what a great commercial that'd be.

[pathway23]

I'd like to see a commercial with Belkin and a kid with a fro like JChill offering to shake his hand and then go "whoooo" and pull it back! what is that called? lol

[Guest Walter]

to again injure the franchise if not cost us a player. Call it what you want but don't doubt this guy's willingness to use whatever means to come out of this with something. It's written all over Belkin's face, strings or no.

W

[Diesel]

That's good Lascar...

Maybe you can have it turned into a cartoon series... Imagine.. The adventures of the puppet governor.

He's a business entrepernuer by day... By noon, he's the puppet governor. A guy who thinks he has more power than he really has.

Every show... He would give Long Speeches to try to sway people to do what he wants to do. Then he'd get down right nasty and demand people do what he want to do. And after all his huffing and puffing, they'd just shrug their shoulders and do the exact opposite... He could be like Charlie Brown?

BK could be like Lucy.

Every episode, he'd look like he's going to shake the puppet governor's hand and then at the last second, he'd pull it away!

[Guest Walter]

Stern will NEVER let Belkin in on ownership of another team should he "get out"! I agree Belkin is likely bought out (not actively selling out, but demanding more from other owners to get hm out), but after this affair why would you think anything beneath him?

W

[Nicholasp27]

Quote:

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"Psyche gotcha Puppet Governor. Ha ha ha ha ha!"

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