ATL Spirit is Running the team on the cheap!!

[Wurider05]

I am starting to think that the Atlanta Spirit are the ones running the team on the cheap. I mean we signed damn near bargain basement players and we are possibly trading all for cash and draft pick which won't be a lottery pick (less money). How in the heck is a team so far under the cap in need of cash so badly. I think that The Atlanta Spirit are the ones running the team on the cheap. O am not saying that they need to waste money but what the heck are we trimming payroll on a non-playoff team. I am not saying that we need to turn into the Knicks but something isn't right here. We got Joe making the max and nearly the rest of the team is on rookie contracts

or damn near rookie contracts. Something is foul and I mean foul. Yeah the refuse to take any players back for AL even if they had only a year remaining (Magloire). I smell a rat!!!!!

[chillzatl]

that's ridiculous. You don't run a team on the cheap by signing players who benefit you(speedy and Lo) and drafting players that cost in the upper end of the guaranteed rookie contract spectrum. There's absolutely nothing to support the absurd idea that we're cash strapped.

It's one thing if you don't like Billy's moves. But don't use it as an excuse to go off the deep end. Who did we refuse to take back that was worth the cap hit anyway and you can verify was actually a legit offer? 99.9% of the supposed rejected deals were internet rumors and nothing more.

[gsuteke]

Quote:

---

that's ridiculous. You don't run a team on the cheap by signing players who benefit you(speedy and Lo) and drafting players that cost in the upper end of the guaranteed rookie contract spectrum. There's absolutely nothing to support the absurd idea that we're cash strapped.

It's one thing if you don't like Billy's moves. But don't use it as an excuse to go off the deep end. Who did we refuse to take back that was worth the cap hit anyway and you can verify was actually a legit offer? 99.9% of the supposed rejected deals were internet rumors and nothing more.

---

i agree that i don't feel they are running the team on the cheap.

i just think they made a stupid decision on not taking back any salary in this Harrington saga.

[vext]

If they were running it on the cheap would they have traded for Joe Johnson? There is a difference in being cheap and being frugal. We have made our team better this offseason by paying what players are actually worth (as in no Nene deals). By keeping the team below the cap limit we don't screw ourselves in the future with not being able to sign talent or make trades.

[Final_quest]

JJ was not a move owners on the cheap make. It was a frontloaded deal. Which is the only way a player can be paid more than what his contract is on paper. JJ got 20 million today instead of 5 years from now.

[Guest]

Quote:

---

I am starting to think that the Atlanta Spirit are the ones running the team on the cheap. I mean we signed damn near bargain basement players and we are possibly trading all for cash and draft pick which won't be a lottery pick (less money).

---

Oh they definitely are running the team cheaply. Same would be the case with most people coming in to this situation. Only a good owner would come in here and turn this around by investing capital, these owners (Spirit and Belkin) don't seem to want to do that until they see some sort of results.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

A lot of us "fans" tend to forget that the Hawks don't necessarily sell out every game either.

With that being the case, you just can't expect the organization to go all out, spend all of their allotted cap money, and make the few thousand of us "loyal fans" happy . . while getting killed at the box office.

People have to remember that the NBA is a BUSINESS, as well as sports entertainment.

It makes no sense to bring in a contract like a Troy Murphy, if it isn't a guarantee that his presence will make us a serious playoff and championship contender.

I've always preferred to "roll with the kids", and see what they can do.

That worked for Chicago.

It was only when they got to be a playoff team, that the organization actively went out and tried to make the team better by adding expensive free agents.

[TheDude]

there's only one way to know if they are going to be running the team on the cheap...when it comes to re-signing josh smith and the rest of the young guns..then you'll know..

but i don't think we're running on the cheap..i think billy is trying to run the organization efficiently.

[Packfill]

Quote:

---

there's only one way to know if they are going to be running the team on the cheap...when it comes to re-signing josh smith and the rest of the young guns..then you'll know..

but i don't think we're running on the cheap..i think billy is trying to run the organization efficiently.

---

I agree, except I think they are partly handcuffed by the whole Belkin situation. More then anything, I fault them for not reading the contract they signed and allowing Belkin to have any shot at getting the team.

[Spiral]

I don't think that the Atlanta Spirit are running the team on the cheap, but something don't seem right to me. Here are some things I find conspicuous...

1. Only Indy

We seemed almost down right intent on dealing with Indy throughout this whole process. I think the fact that they could for trade Al and not make us have to take back any salary was the main reason. I'm not privy to all the trades BK sees, but I'd have a hard time believing a that what is likely to be a late first round pick is the best offer we received for Al. I understand that we do not want to take back bad salary, but I feel that we could've likely worked a 3 way to bring back an expiring contract plus more value than just one first.

2. John Freakin Edwards

Why are we so damn persistant about moving John Edwards? Is he a locker room cancer? Not likely. I've never read anything like that. Is he eating up our salary cap? No, he barely makes over 1 million a year. His contract expires after this season, so it's not like he's going to hinder our cap flexibility. Are we trying to free up a roster spot? Maybe, but it's not like we have to. Hell, he spent most of last year inactive, so whats one more year? I don't understand why you take away bargaining power by forcing the Pacers to burn their other TPE by trading for a player they don't want and we don't have to trade unless we're just trying to dump salary. It was a mistake signing, much like Drobnjak was a mistake trade. Just let the contract expire and move on.

3. Three Million Dollars

I know we backed off this demand, but to even ask for a cash infusion like this makes me think we have don't have alot of cash to play with. Does anyone else find it coincidental that Lo Wright was signed to make 3 million dollars this season? It makes me think that we were trying to pay his first years salary with this trade. The other conclusion I could draw from this is that BK may have already hit his budget and was trying to get 3 more million dollars to sign an additional player with.

I'm not ready to state that The ATL Spirit on running the team on the cheap yet, but they have given me reason to suspect just that.

[Wurider05]

Quote:

---

I don't think that the Atlanta Spirit are running the team on the cheap, but something don't seem right to me. Here are some things I find conspicuous...

1. Only Indy

We seemed almost down right intent on dealing with Indy throughout this whole process. I think the fact that they could for trade Al and not make us have to take back any salary was the main reason. I'm not privy to all the trades BK sees, but I'd have a hard time believing a that what is likely to be a late first round pick is the best offer we received for Al. I understand that we do not want to take back bad salary, but I feel that we could've likely worked a 3 way to bring back an expiring contract plus more value than just one first.

2. John Freakin Edwards

Why are we so damn persistant about moving John Edwards? Is he a locker room cancer? Not likely. I've never read anything like that. Is he eating up our salary cap? No, he barely makes over 1 million a year. His contract expires after this season, so it's not like he's going to hinder our cap flexibility. Are we trying to free up a roster spot? Maybe, but it's not like we have to. Hell, he spent most of last year inactive, so whats one more year? I don't understand why you take away bargaining power by forcing the Pacers to burn their other TPE by trading for a player they don't want and we don't have to trade unless we're just trying to dump salary. It was a mistake signing, much like Drobnjak was a mistake trade. Just let the contract expire and move on.

3. Three Million Dollars

I know we backed off this demand, but to even ask for a cash infusion like this makes me think we have don't have alot of cash to play with. Does anyone else find it coincidental that Lo Wright was signed to make 3 million dollars this season? It makes me think that we were trying to pay his first years salary with this trade. The other conclusion I could draw from this is that BK may have already hit his budget and was trying to get 3 more million dollars to sign an additional player with.

I'm not ready to state that The ATL Spirit on running the team on the cheap yet, but they have given me reason to suspect just that.

---

That is the same point that I am trying to make. Something is strange with some of these dealings. Even with the signings our payroll will be damn near the same amount if not a couple of million more. Don't forget that JJ made 20 million last season and he will be making much less this seaon. I smell a rat!!!

[bird_dirt]

Quote:

---

Don't forget that JJ made 20 million last season and he will be making much less this seaon. I smell a rat!!!

---

let's also not forget that one reason jj was signed to that 20 mil front loaded contract was not just to try to keep phx from matching (we were dealing with them anyway), but also to make sure we got our payroll to the league minimum last year. charolette is dealing with that now, trying to get to the minimum payroll, and there have been a number of people criticizing johnson for running that team on the cheap, too. it's not far fetched. belkin was 1/3 of the bank, so regardless of who ends up with the team, they will be running the team on the cheap. you try running your household with 1/3 less income and see how often you still go out to eat and buy new toys. look, they all needed each other to pull enough capital to get the team, so why is it so hard to see that if you take away one major piece that they are going to struggle to keep up?

[warcore]

don't they need money to buyout belkins share? i dont know much about that situation but it could have something to do why we are trying to get cash and no players.

[Diesel]

I wouldn't be surprised.

The Spirit took the team in a debt state. Meaning that they had to pay off Millions in Debt. I think their first course of action was to get rid of all the big contracts.... That's Theo, SAR, Big Dog, and JT. I think the original goal of all the owners (Belkin included) was to run the team "On the Cheap" until the debt was paid off. I don't remember exactly how much the debt was total, but I want to say it was 95 million or so.

So, I guess they organized the debt into payments across probably 4 years. SO you see BK liquidate everything that we had in terms of a big contract. You see BK taking players like Kenny Anderson and Kevin Willis. What they found is that running the team that way DOES NOT WIN. Along the way, we did what BK wanted to do... Build through the draft. But we couldn't win. So last year.. we still have a large chunk of Debt, there have been many money squabbles, and Belkin is insisting that we continue to run the team on the cheap. The other owners (who really are fans of the team) want to see us do more than hang around on the bottom of the pile... says, let's spend a little money to see if we can bring back some fans. BK says "I have a deal for JJ... he's a young player who could be one of the leaders of this team. He's a rFA so we're going to have to pay." Everybody was on board but Belkin. Some reports say that they knew Belkin was so insistent on not getting JJ and spending the money that he would block the trade and that would give them a chance to get him out... I don't know it's possible. So they go through, get Belkin out and get JJ.

So now what is the team to do. They still have the debt. They have a lot of good young pieces. They have JJ. They've built up contracts that would allow them to stay under the cap for the next 4 years. I supposed that they meet with BK in the offseason and give him a spending limit because they are trying to JUGLE paying the debt off and winning.

Why is BK Criticized?

BK could have made the Spirit's job a whole lot easier. Instead of selecting Marvin Williams he should have selected Chris Paul. That's just the bottom line. Marvin duplicated a skillset that the Hawks already had. Paul would have been great here. Some say that if the Hawks had gotten Paul, they would not have gotten JJ. That's BUNK. The move for JJ was 2 fold. He is a good young player and they needed somebody to step up and lead when Al was gone. BK knew that AL was not going to be resigned at his price. And the young team was lacking in a true on court leader with experience. JJ was a great player to get because he grows with the rest and his position varies enough for him to be both a leader and effective. However, BK choose MW so Marvin definitely has the burden to step up and prove himself ...Period. MW is BK's legacy. If MW pulls a Swift and never becomes a great player, everybody will always not that the Hawks passed on Paul.

The effect that Paul would have had for the owners is that he would have made them a ton of money and he would have saved them a ton of money. Coming into this offseason, BK had to get a PG. He didn't find any that he liked in the draft. But he found one in FAcy. We overpaid for Speedy. But notice Speedy's contract: Front loaded. Bk has to set up for the future in every deal he makes now. He has to plan for the re-signing of 2 of our 3 young players. He will probably deal one for a pick. When Lue and Zaza comes off, he will find cheap replacements.

The future

I suspect that the debt is going to be paid off somewhere between 2 and 5 years from now. The Spirit still has debt to pay. I don't know if either set of owners we have now have enough money to afford to run the team and spend comfortably. I don't think Belkin has it although I do believe that Belkin has more than the Spirit. So therefore, whoever gets ownership, I suspect that they will need more investors.

Diesel Thoughts

There are 2 ways to handle a debt. Either you cut spending or you increase revenue. Thus far, we've worked by cutting spending. Cutting Spending is a slow, hard journey because more than likely, you're not winning when you cut spending. Increasing revenue on the other hand probably works better. The fast way to increase revenue is to improve the product on the floor. I think BK has a mandate to win which is why we see that our areas of weakness were overaddressed this offseason (2 shotblockers in the draft, A Center and a PG in FAcy)..

Sadly though... even if this team wins, it won't increase fan attendance that much. To really increase fan attendance, the Hawks needs to win and to have Identity. Hopefully with JJ being a part of team USA, he can come back and create an identity... Maybe now, he can come back and make the allstar team. And maybe now, he can come back and do more than be a Shareef like Star. He has to get up to the level of a Penny Hardaway. The Hawks need to win national attention first before they can get some local love. I hope this is where the Highlight Factory takes over because winning is not enough for these fans. They need winning and an identity.

[Dejay]

I'm with you, Diesel. The fastest way to erasing a debt is increasing revenue and in their case, they need to win, period. But as you stated, winning an extra 6-10 games while praying that they are within hailing distance of the 8th seed won't cut it. Fans here have been accustomed to 90+ win seasons from the Braves for damn near a decade and a half now so what's going to get them to pay $$$ to see the Hawks and Grizzlies get it on? Hell, the Falcons were one playoff win away from a second Super Bowl birth a couple of years ago while the Thrashers are closer to the playoffs than the Hawks and they weren't even around when this playoff drought started. To move folks to show up, you must have a product that they believe will be in championship contention; since this franchise has stripteased the fans here for so long, they won't bother unless drastic improvement is made on the court and in the standings.

[Sothron]

I have it on good authority that the funds earmarked for salary this year are off the table due to the legal battle with Belkin. The AS is not going to pay up to the cap or over it just to potentially lose the team.

[Diesel]

That means that the As must feel that they will lose to Belkin. I really can't blame them for feeling that way because Belkin has gotten the upper hand more often than they have. So to go out " on the cheap" only makes sense especially when the judge states that Belkin can buy you out at "Cost".

[Diesel]

Whoever is the owner next year, I hope will make a push for KG . Even at 31, I think KG would be exactly what we need if we don't lose too much along the way.

I think KG will opt out next year.

We should have tons of money to spend. I guess about 17-20 million.

KG, Smoove, Marvin, JJ, Speedy...

or something like that.

That would give us the identity that we need to bring in fans.

[Johnnybravo4]

Who cares why they wanted 3 million dollars? For all we know, it could be used to put new napkins at the courtside grill. All I know is that I like this team as constructed, and all of you non game attending azz crybabies can [censored] all you want.

[Final_quest]

Makes sense. It's sad, wonder what we could have got for Al if we had no money limitations.

Someone commented on the JJ move saying we had to pay him $20 million to reach the minimum salary requirement. That is not my understanding of the situation. We paid him 20 million, and only $12 went towards the salary cap. We aggre$ively went for JJ, pulled out all the stops. There was nothing cheap about that move.