LETTER TO LEVENSON - AND HIS RESPONSE

[ATL_BALLER]

My note:

Mr. Levenson,

I am a passionate Hawks fan, but admittedly, even my patience has been tested. When you have a chance, can you please give me your take on the following?:

1. When can we expect a decision (ANY kind of timeframe) about the ownership situation? When will this dark cloud disappear?

2. What is your take on the Woody situation? Yes, we've been riddled with injuries, and yes, we have the youngest team, but don't you find our 4th quarter collapses and total lack of offense schemes (not to mention his looks of confusion and exasperation) a little disconcerting? Woody's going on 2+ years now, and it's clear we're regressing. If his job safety is because the ownership is still in flux, so be it, but I'd like to know your take.

I would greatly appreciate any insight you can provide.

Thanks!

His response:

I have been away and just getting caught up with emails. My patience is being tested too. Lets see what happens in the next couple of weeks as all are players come back.

As for your questions, while the media may imply a dark cloud hangs over the team, the ownership situation has had no impact. The past two summers we went after and got the free agents we sought. We are also constantly exploring trades and if we find an opportunity to make our team better, we will do the deal. Once we are healthy, our coach knows we expect more success on the court and if he doesn't produce he realizes his job is in jeopardy.

Recall, when we were healthy at the start of the season, we got off to a great start. I don't think it's fair to say the team has regressed given all the injuries. How's Miami doing with its injuries or Boston with Pierce out or Denver without Carmello (even with the addition of AI). We have been missing at least two starters for every game since the middle of November. Again, lets see what happens in the next couple of weeks.

Have a happy new year.

Best,

Bruce

He's a good guy - and a fair enough response. Thoughts?

[exodus]

It is true that injuries have been a major factor but his response is a bit of a dodge IMO.

I mean BLo and Zaza have been healthy yet the Hawks clearly have a major hole at center. And while Speedy has been getting better it is clear he isn't a great offensive pg, and Lue can't play defense. If you could combine them into one player then the Hawks would have a quality starting pg but they don't now.

[gutz]

If we can make trades then why in the hell are we not ACTIVE in doing so. We could easily make a trade with Portland for one of their 5 Centers. They desperately need a SF like Marvin or Chill. Something could be worked out at least. I don't beleive him when he says the ownership squabble has not impacted this team. At least he says Woody is on the hot seat if we continue to lose once we get healthy.

[Sothron]

The Spirit guys are good guys overall but he's not going to tell you the truth about how the legal battles have frozen their ability to do much with this team in terms of money. From the front office down to the players.

[TexasPete]

These guys just don't make trades. They want to win with one foot firmly planted on first base. Levenson is a nice guy...I'm not sold on their competance though.

Good letter.

[Packfill]

Quote:

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My note:

Mr. Levenson,

I am a passionate Hawks fan, but admittedly, even my patience has been tested. When you have a chance, can you please give me your take on the following?:

1. When can we expect a decision (ANY kind of timeframe) about the ownership situation? When will this dark cloud disappear?

2. What is your take on the Woody situation? Yes, we've been riddled with injuries, and yes, we have the youngest team, but don't you find our 4th quarter collapses and total lack of offense schemes (not to mention his looks of confusion and exasperation) a little disconcerting? Woody's going on 2+ years now, and it's clear we're regressing. If his job safety is because the ownership is still in flux, so be it, but I'd like to know your take.

I would greatly appreciate any insight you can provide.

Thanks!

His response:

I have been away and just getting caught up with emails. My patience is being tested too. Lets see what happens in the next couple of weeks as all are players come back.

As for your questions, while the media may imply a dark cloud hangs over the team, the ownership situation has had no impact. The past two summers we went after and got the free agents we sought. We are also constantly exploring trades and if we find an opportunity to make our team better, we will do the deal. Once we are healthy, our coach knows we expect more success on the court and if he doesn't produce he realizes his job is in jeopardy.

Recall, when we were healthy at the start of the season, we got off to a great start. I don't think it's fair to say the team has regressed given all the injuries. How's Miami doing with its injuries or Boston with Pierce out or Denver without Carmello (even with the addition of AI). We have been missing at least two starters for every game since the middle of November. Again, lets see what happens in the next couple of weeks.

Have a happy new year.

Best,

Bruce

He's a good guy - and a fair enough response. Thoughts?

---

The only starters that really matter are JJ and to a lesser extent Smoove. Other then those two, the starters are virtually interchangeable (i.e., it doesn't seem to matter who starts at center since they all stink; Speedy v. Lue is a push; Marvin v. Sheldon v. Childress is a push).

[gutz]

Exactly we were not healthy when we started out 4-1 for the year. We were still missing Speedy and Marvin. We started out hot because teams didn't know what to expect from us but now that they have had time to scout us its pretty simple to beat us now. Our whole offense runs through JJ and thats it. All opposing teams have to do is stop JJ to win. I guess Levenson doesn't even realize that! Our coaching is terrible

[Packfill]

The other thing that contributed to the Hawks early success was that JJ was absolutely on fire. Once teams figured out that they need to double JJ and no one else stepped up on a consistent basis the season was lost.

[DJlaysitup]

I'd give him a B- on the answer but an A+ for actually answering. Of course we are going to get alot of the party line. I will agree with him a bit on the injuries - with Josh and TLue being the worst of them (that's not counting JJ's short-termer).

But truly - our center situation is the worst part - and if they actually "targeted" LoW...well, that's an indictment in and of itself. It shows that either we don't understand the talent that's out there - or (more likely) - we are cheap.

[vdunkndunk]

The response was pretty fair...there's not much more you can expect.

And I do think it's hard for the Hawks to compete with all these injuries. The reason for that, though, is that we don't have enough talent to begin with, so we have to have EVERYONE just to have a shot at going .500.

But I can't really criticize the fact that there hasn't been a trade yet...the AI thing was an exception to the rule...usually most of the activity happens at the trade deadline. That's just the way it is. What I'm wondering, though, is whether we are being agressive, or whether we are keeping guys like Marvin off-limits. Personally, I'd like to put Marvin on the market and see what we can come up with that better fits our needs...if I could trade Marvin to Phoenix to get our pick back, I would.

As for Woody...this response was far from a vote of confidence, although there's no indication that anything is imminent either. They are evaluating, and I can't blame them for wanting to see the team healthy before making a drastic move. I agree that this isn't the precise time to make a move, but if things don't improve in the next two months and Woody's still coaching, I might start getting upset.

[DrReality]

Once we are healthy, our coach knows we expect more success on the court and if he doesn't produce he realizes his job is in jeopardy.

This part surprises me, that he said it. That's a good thing. That's how the world of business works. You don't produce, they find someone who can.

Don't believe the ownership issues does not affect the team. I work in an organization that is talking about change of ownership, etc and it's far removed from me. But you gotta believe it does affect me.

I hope he's telling the truth about a trade. That's gives me some hope, but I'm from Missouri: show me.

[TheDude]

I cannot fault them for NOT making a trade either. There's been all of what, like 2 trades so far in the entire league with the AI one being a little forced and not the normal trade.

Also that's a very fair assessment of Woody. Levenson was very to the point about his being frustrated by the losses and that Woody is basically on the hot seat but fair in saying that he will give Woody the benefit of the doubt due to injuries. I mean when is the last time you heard an owner say basically a coach was on the hotseat?It's easy for us to sit here say Fire Woody and bring the next schmo in (like we've been doing for awhile now) but if you're an owner, you have to be close to 100% sure it is the right thing to do due to the effects it can have on a team. Plus you cannot say that one guy being injured just takes the place of a guy coming back from injury when the guy coming back from injury hasnt been on the court and in rythym or conditioning (but it is about that time though with marv).

As far as the ownership goes, I think the only thing that the squabble affects the team and us as fans RIGHT NOW is if it has any hindrance on making trades. Although he may say it has no effect, in my opinion it has SOME type of affect due to what happened before the season concerning restrictions on the type of players we can bring in financially(not sure it that dealt with trades also or was strictly for free agents). But I doubt any of us would come out and say that it has a great affect if we were him, I mean he can't say that and we know that.

I don't know. We all complain about the hole in the center defensively but that is a position of high demand and low supply in the NBA so it's not exactly as easy as just saying "well go trade this guy for this guy, i mean come on", especially since we don't even know that BK HASNT tried already. And again, as much as many of you feel BK's ego gets in the way, he's a professional with a job to do that i'm sure he wants to keep.

[Plainview1981]

Quote:

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I cannot fault them for NOT making a trade either. There's been all of what, like 2 trades so far in the entire league with the AI one being a little forced and not the normal trade.

Also that's a very fair assessment of Woody. Levenson was very to the point about his being frustrated by the losses and that Woody is basically on the hot seat but fair in saying that he will give Woody the benefit of the doubt due to injuries. I mean when is the last time you heard an owner say basically a coach was on the hotseat?It's easy for us to sit here say Fire Woody and bring the next schmo in (like we've been doing for awhile now) but if you're an owner, you have to be close to 100% sure it is the right thing to do due to the effects it can have on a team. Plus you cannot say that one guy being injured just takes the place of a guy coming back from injury when the guy coming back from injury hasnt been on the court and in rythym or conditioning (but it is about that time though with marv).

As far as the ownership goes, I think the only thing that the squabble affects the team and us as fans RIGHT NOW is if it has any hindrance on making trades. Although he may say it has no effect, in my opinion it has SOME type of affect due to what happened before the season concerning restrictions on the type of players we can bring in financially(not sure it that dealt with trades also or was strictly for free agents). But I doubt any of us would come out and say that it has a great affect if we were him, I mean he can't say that and we know that.

I don't know. We all complain about the hole in the center defensively but that is a position of high demand and low supply in the NBA so it's not exactly as easy as just saying "well go trade this guy for this guy, i mean come on", especially since we don't even know that BK HASNT tried already. And again, as much as many of you feel BK's ego gets in the way, he's a professional with a job to do that i'm sure he wants to keep.

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In other words, the team has to completely blow the second half of the season before anything is done. If they don't completely suck the ownership (if still in place) will just claim that injuries destroyed the season. That's not what it is...

[Diesel]

I don't think you should just Speedy based on his shooting and scoring... but rather the offense he creates. When Smoove was playing, he was getting assist up around the double digits. We haven't had a PG who could do that since early Mookie. Not to mention that when you talk about his defense, Speedy plays very good defense.

I think right now, with scorers out, you have the problem of defenses collapsing on JJ and that being the holdup for all of our offense.

[Diesel]

That was the BS portion of Levenson's letter. I respect him, but everybody knows that the courts put big limitations on what we could do. IN the past, it wasn't that big a problem, but since this offseason, we have a puppet GM.

[Diesel]

NO...

I think Marvin brings significantly less to the table than Chillz and damn sure much less than Smoove. I showed a few days ago how our team was effected by each player loss. Smoove and JJ had the biggest impact. Even Lue has a big impact.

I believe what you saw earlier was that those teams had more chemistry. Even when they tried to stopp JJ, Zaza, Lue, Chillz, and Smoove stepped up. Well.. now, Shelden knows his role better. Speedy is healthy and playing well, plus Chillz is back. We need Lue and Smoove playing!

[Plainview1981]

Quote:

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I don't think you should just Speedy based on his shooting and scoring... but rather the offense he creates. When Smoove was playing, he was getting assist up around the double digits. We haven't had a PG who could do that since early Mookie. Not to mention that when you talk about his defense, Speedy plays very good defense.

I think right now, with scorers out, you have the problem of defenses collapsing on JJ and that being the holdup for all of our offense.

---

I think he should be judged that way.... This team doesn't have the correct players to be able to afford playing 4 on 5 on offense. Bad shooting at the guards is a big strain on the offense... ESP on a team that lacks go-to scorers.

[mrhonline]

Quote:

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My patience is being tested too. Lets see what happens in the next couple of weeks as all are players come back.

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There's the pudding right there.

Assuming:

1. The injuries subside

2. You can take him at this words

3. The team keeps losing

...then there will be changes either to the roster or to the personnel if the team keeps losing.

That's all I wanted to hear. I can handle the losing as long as the team is trying to get better.

[newkid]

Respect is surely due to Mr. Levenson for supplying a response. Thanks for initiating the contact.

I find it interesting to compare the approaches - to building a winner - of the owners/gms of the Hawks, Falcons, and Braves. While I appreciate Mr. Levenson's response, I can't help but ask myself where is the sort of commitment to winning exemplified by Mr. Blank. Mr. McKay, with Mr. Blank's blessing and checkbook, goes out and acquires the talent necessary to assemble a winner. The two then make it pretty clear to the HC (Mora) what sort of performance is acceptable and what's not (injuries and the like be damned). The result is a well supported product that hasn't performed to expectations, and as a consequence the coach is history.

The owners of the Braves are forthright with the fans in asserting that they'll not exceed a certain relatively low budget in assembling the pieces required to win. And sure enough the GM is generally pretty successful in fetching those pieces. The manager/coach consistently demonstrates superb acumen in 'creating' the chemistry necessary to get fairly good results from a budget-challenged assemblage of players. The GM appears to understand how important it is for the fan base to understand what the club's aspirations and budgetary limitations are, and he communicates quite effectively with the press. The result is a consistently competitive product that's fairly well supported.

Mr Levenson and his fellow owners either don't make the commitment to acquiring the talent, or they and their GM aren't successful in acquiring the talent if such a commitment has indeed been made. The coach, rather than being given a firm set of expectations to which he is held, is given sort of a 'free pass' based upon the notion that 'well ya know we've had these injuries here'. The product is extremely inconsistent, and generally poor. The support is quite remarkably pretty good despite the quality of the product. There are sporadic - at best - efforts (generally not from the GM, but perhaps the owners have not included such outreach in the list of GM expectations) to reach out to a fan base that demonstrates its desire to support the product despite its generally poor quality. The poor quality of the product nothwithstanding, the owners are still here; the GM's still here; the coaches continue to get free passes; and the composition of the squad is not much changed.

Gotta love Mr. Blank, don't ya?

[TexasPete]

I think the problem owner is Mike Gearon. Looking at his quotes in the paper today he is 100% behind Woody. Levenson doesn't seem quite as deferential to our coach...kind of a wait and see approach, which is the better approach when you suck like the Hawks. I think Gearon is a stubborn mule who is holding up the process.