Atlanta contracts limited during owners feud

[Kori Ellis]

ATLANTA -- The Maryland judge who last month ruled Steve Belkin is entitled to buy the Atlanta Hawks and Atlanta Thrashers from his former co-owners added a new twist to the ongoing feud Thursday.

Montgomery County (Md.) Circuit Court Judge Eric Johnson ruled the current ownership and management team should retain control while the appeals are heard. But the good news for the Atlanta Spirit group also included the judge's stipulation that will prevent the Hawks or Thrashers from signing a free agent to a contract longer than one year.

The stipulation doesn't relate to negotiations with draft picks for either team.

The ruling also doesn't affect any negotiations already under way, including the Hawks' agreement to sign free agent point guard Speedy Claxton. The deal, believed to be for four years, cannot be officially announced before Wednesday.

Atlanta-based Michael Gearon Jr. of the Atlanta Spirit ownership group applauded the ruling.

"This is exactly what we always expected," Gearon told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. "It's hard for people who are looking at it from outside to understand all that has happened, but we expected to get a stay and are more confident than ever we will win on appeal."

The judge ordered that the other owners can't "initiate the purchase, sale, trade or negotiation of any NBA or NHL player contract ... excluding contracts involving present or future draft picks and contracts for any other player with a contract duration of one year or less."

The ruling would appear to put the Hawks and Thrashers at a significant competitive disadvantage in their ability to attract free agents.

Belkin, however, said he was "extremely confident in our ability to get the players we need."

The judge also ordered the owners to post an appeal bond of $11.4 million to protect Belkin against any decrease in the value of the franchises during the appeal. Belkin requested a much larger bond of up to $450 million.

Johnson ruled last month the ownership group did not abide by the terms of an agreement to buy out Belkin. The judge said the group's actions triggered Belkin's right to buy them out.

With Thursday's stay by the judge, his ruling last month is on hold until the appeal is heard by the Maryland Court of Special Appeals.

[Kori Ellis]

Okay you might think this is irrelevant, but it's interesting and somewhat important. :lol

Hawks are one of the few teams with a lot of caproom and now they can't sign any player for more than one year. This basically means they'll automatically lose Al Harrington. I don't even think they could to a sign-and-trade with him now.

(And yes, I know this is already in the NBA forum)

[Quadzilla99]

Even thought his is somewhat off topic. It seems like they getting more fans now lately doesn't it? I watched some of their games on League Pass and they seem to be getting more fans even some celebrities like T.O. and Vick and a lot of rappers were at their games. They used to have the most pathetic attendance for so long even when they had Dominique.

[GINNNNNNNNNNNNOBILI]

The judge ordered that the other owners can't "initiate the purchase, sale, trade or negotiation of any NBA or NHL player contract

Damn, Atlanta had alot of potential sf targets

[Bruno]

Harrington's case is very interesting :

- Either Atlanta can do a S&T and only get players with expiring contracts in return. Pacers don't have expiring contracts. If they want Harrington, a third team with an expiring contract must be involved and Spurs have Eric Williams.
so : Indiana trade Foster for Harrington (S&T, $50.2M/ 6 years)
Spurs trade Williams + $3M in cash + Scola for Foster
Atlanta trade Harrington for Scola + Williams + $3M

- Either Atlanta can't do a S&T at all with Harrington. Only Charlotte and Toronto are under the cap and can offer more than the MLE to Harrington. I don't see Charlotte going after Harrington. If Harrington doesn't want to play for Toronto or if Toronto isn't interested, Harrington will only get MLE offers. He can decide to play for the MLE with Indiana but Spurs are too quite atractive.

[exstatic]

Billy Knight: pack your fucking desk and GTFO. It doesn't pay to diss someone you think is going to be your former owner, and is now again the owner and managing partner. Shake someone's fucking hand and be done with it, you no phone answering on trading deadline day, Diaw trading fool.

[Streakyshooter08]

Getting Harrington for the MLE would be nice...

TD/ Javtokas/ Oberto
Harrington/ Bonner/ Horry
Bowen/ Williams
Manu/ Finley/ Barry
TP/ Beno

Looks pretty good... I would still like to see a tall and strong C for Yao and Shaq...

[Mr. Body]

Harrington deserves more than the MLE. This situation really blows for him. I'm sure the league will sue for legal redress, as will his agent. The wheels of commerce are being blocked, and that's what the law is for -- unblocking them.

[Mr. Body]

I don't get why this isn't getting more play on this forum. It could have major ramifications for the entire FA market and all trades, which affects San Antonio.

Are we thinking this is all going to wash away and the ruling overturned?

Or is this an actual event to be dealt with? Harrington may suddenly be on the market for a MLE deal for one or two years, still expecting his payday down the line.

[ducks]

should offer the full mle to jeffries because this should take more then 7 days....

[Obstructed_View]

This could get really really bloody.

[ducks]

harrington could also just stay with the hawks one more year and get paid like a thankyou contract

[strangeweather]

The ruling also doesn't affect any negotiations already under way, including the Hawks' agreement to sign free agent point guard Speedy Claxton. The deal, believed to be for four years, cannot be officially announced before Wednesday.
Weren't they already negotiating with Indiana about trading Harrington?

[Mr. Body]

If Indiana was already in negotiation, then that deal can be consummated - but can that deal be altered in any way?

If Harrington only goes for a 1-yr MLE, I don't know if it would be for Atlanta. I guess so, since he has a home there, but I doubt he'd want to be party to that situation.

[Mr. Body]

What do you think about giving him a call and offering a 2-yr MLE deal, with the second year at player option (as insurance for him)?

[strangeweather]

What do you think about giving him a call and offering a 2-yr MLE deal, with the second year at player option (as insurance for him)?
If we thought he'd be interested, we could offer him a 5 year MLE deal with a player option after whichever years he wanted.

But Indiana still has the MLE right? Even if the trade falls through, I figure he's still a lot more likely to sign with them than ssuddenly switch gears and come to us.

[Mr. Body]

The reason I say a shortened MLE is because he still wants his payday. He's worth more than the MLE.

But you're right - he likely wants to go to Indiana. This is a coup for them.

[strangeweather]

The reason I say a shortened MLE is because he still wants his payday. He's worth more than the MLE.
Agreed. But players also want the security of a long-term deal in case anything happens to them. So if he had to sign an MLE deal, it might be a 5-year deal with player options after year 1 and year 3 or something.

[Image]

http://gallery.brawl-hall.com/data/media66542/5/Oh_the_Drama.jpg

[Mr. Body]

The Spurs could get involved as a third party if expiring contracts need to be used to get Harrington a better contract.

[Quadzilla99]

I'd give your left nut for Al Harrington. I checked btw and Atlanta attendance is still terrible so I don't know what I was thinking.

[NuGGeTs-FaN]

Ruben Patterson is an exp contract worth $8mil this upcoming season :fro

Suddenly it is much more attractive, given the Hawks situation :smokin

[Kori Ellis]

I'd give your left nut for Al Harrington. I checked btw and Atlanta attendance is still terrible so I don't know what I was thinking.

Second worst attendance in the league. But still over 15K/game.

[Obstructed_View]

Second worst attendance in the league. But still over 15K/game.
Over fifteen thousand a game is probably a five or ten year high for Atlanta.

[El_Mago]

So does the Speedy contract become VOID?

[ducks]

read it
the deal was only done
lucky for speedy

[Bruno]

http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/hawks/stories/0712spirit.html

Hawks, Thrashers free to sign players
Judge eases restrictions resulting from owners' legal battle

By TIM TUCKER
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Published on: 07/12/06

A Maryland court this afternoon lifted the ban that it last week placed on the Hawks and Thrashers signing players to multi-year contracts.

The teams now are free to conduct their business under less stringent restrictions from the court.

In an order, Montgomery County (Md.) Circuit Court Judge Eric Johnson said that "upon consideration of the joint application of all parties to this action," he would amend the portion of last week's order that prohibited the teams from signing players, other than draft picks, to multi-year contracts while the ownership dispute works its way through the appeals court(s).

Under the new order, the teams are free to make transactions as long as they don't exceed the NBA and NHL salary caps and don't acquire a player with a contract duration of more than four years.

The order further stipulates that the Hawks can make any sign-and-trade deal as long as they don't acquire a player with a contract duration of more than four years. That apparently means the Hawks can sign a player to a contract of longer than four years for the purpose of dealing him away in a sign-and-trade deal.

The new order removes the cloud of uncertainty that had hung since last week over the Hawks' plans for a sign-and-trade deal involving their free agent forward Al Harrington. The Hawks now are free to do a Harrington sign-and-trade as long as they stay under the salary cap and don't take back a contract of longer than four years.

The conditions become part of the stay, pending appeal, of Johnson's earlier order that Steve Belkin has the right to buy out the teams' other owners at cost.

The new order says that any transactions that go beyond the new conditions – i.e., exceed the salary caps or result in the acquisition of contracts longer than four years – would require unanimous consent of the Atlanta Spirit board of managers. That basically means Belkin would have to agree with the other owners to make such transactions.

[strangeweather]

Interesting. The plot thickens.

[Kori Ellis]

Well that makes it much easier for them to do a sign-and-trade now. They likely won't need a 3rd team when they deal Harrington.

[ducks]

hawks can not end up with troy murphy though
that is a 5 year deal