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i heard about this yesterday and i couldnt believe it. thats ed up, now thier team is gonna be even worse then what it was.
Ruling complicates trade talks
By TIM TUCKER
The Atlanta Journal-Cons ution
Published on: 07/08/06
A key piece of the Hawks' summer game plan - a sign-and-trade deal involving their free-agent forward Al Harrington - was up in the air Friday as the franchise digested a court ruling.
A Maryland judge on Thursday issued a stay, pending appeal, of his earlier order that part-owner Steve Belkin is en led to buy out the Hawks' and Thrashers' other owners at cost. But Montgomery County (Md.) Circuit Court Judge Eric Johnson attached a condition to the stay that prohibits the owners from initiating transactions during the appeal process that involve multi-year contracts for players other than draft picks.
The condition makes a Harrington sign-and-trade tricky at best, undoable at worst.
Hawks and Thrashers president Bernie Mullin would not comment directly on the Harrington situation Friday but acknowledged the unique problems posed by the court-imposed restriction.
"This is a very strong handicap that puts us at a compe ive disadvantage and is not something we can live with," Mullin said.
"We are evaluating with our counsel these restrictions and what to do about them," said part-owner Michael Gearon Jr., who declined further comment except to add: "We are thankful the judge granted the stay."
A Harrington sign-and-trade could be at odds with the court's order in two ways: The Hawks would have to sign him to a multi-year contract before trading him, and they might want to acquire player(s) in return who carry multi-year contracts. One way such a trade might be doable is if the Hawks are comfortable with the position that it already was "initiated" before the judge's order.
In light of the court ruling, the Hawks appear to have at least three options regarding Harrington:
• Simply let him walk away as a free agent without acquiring anything in return - a step that would hurt Harrington as well as the Hawks because there could be only one team (Charlotte) with sufficient room under the salary cap to give him the type of contract he could command in a sign-and-trade deal.
• Make a sign-and-trade deal with a team with whom there were negotiations and proposals before the court's order and argue that such a transaction is allowed because it already had been "initiated" - an aggressive approach that might carry legal risk.
• Try to have the condition regarding multi-year contracts clarified, modified or removed - a move that might risk opening up other aspects of the stay that the non-Belkin owners wouldn't want changed. For example, Johnson required that they post an $11.4 million bond to protect Belkin against losses during the appeal - far short of the bond in the hundreds of millions of dollars sought by Belkin. In his order granting the stay, Johnson said any requests for modification of the conditions should be taken up with Maryland's Court of Special Appeals.
The owners and Hawks officials would not comment Friday on the various options. The NBA declined comment and the NBA Players' Association did not return phone calls.
i heard about this yesterday and i couldnt believe it. thats ed up, now thier team is gonna be even worse then what it was.
Claxton is an upgrade at the point but Shelden Williams is not going to be better than Harrington was, so they'll basically won't be any more talented than last year. Unless some of their young players like Marvin Williams, Childress, and Smith develop they'll be just as bad as last year.
I don't think I understand this completely.
Does this ruling prevent the Hawks from resigning him in the unlikely event that he wants to stay in Atlanta?
In either trade or coming to an agreement, all they can do is sign 1-year deals. The only one they let pass by is Speedy Claxton. He can still sign for 4 years. But from now on nothing but one year deals for themI don't think I understand this completely.
Does this ruling prevent the Hawks from resigning him in the unlikely event that he wants to stay in Atlanta?
Would this situation by anychance scare speedy away? I can't see any free agent in his right mind going into that situation thinking it's gonna get better.
How are they going to fill their roster if nobody initiates the contact? That would be hilarious if nobody wanted to play there and they had to start the season with a partial roster. Half their roster will end up being undrafted rookies.
At least undrafted rookies would have something to prove ... the players the Hawks seem to go after are the ones who appear not to give a anyway. If that was the case I'd be willing to bet they'd have around the same record as they always do.
Think about how far under the cap they will be next offseason, plus they will have a high draft pick. They could really have chance to come out of this alright if they are willing to suffer through another season, what's one more horrible season?
They are ALWAYS far under the cap and they are ALWAYS getting a high draft pick. What makes you think this time will be so different? They gave Joe Johnson an almost max contract for crying out loud. Do you think they will even attract the top free agents?
You never know, bad teams have turned it around in recent years. If they get a better GM and have that much cap space anything is possible. Mavs, Kings, Clippers, and Wizards were perenial losers until recently, so why can't the Hawks do the same thing?
According to hoopshype.com their payroll super low, it can't be that low every year. If they exercise the options on Smith, Williams, and Childress they will only be at 13 mil next summer. If those numbers are accurate they are in good shape as far as being able to attract FAs with money. Plus they might be in the running for Oden, that draft pick alone could turn any franchise around. I'm not saying that they will turn around, but it is possible.
My point is really what difference does it make if they are in this ty position this offseason when they will suck ass anyways, this way they at least keep from shooting themselves in the foot again. If they can't sign any big contracts this summer then they will have that much more money to work with next summer, it ultimately could help them in their own rebuilding process.
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