Once BELKIN OWNS THE HAWKS

[DJlaysitup]

Once he wins...simple contract law (see AHF) he will do MUCH better for us (the fans).

There has only been ONE verdict in this process...and Belkin WON. There was an appeal that got a continuation...but BELKIN WILL WIN!

[Eddielives]

Would you please explain why you believe Belkin will do a better job than the current ownership group? Specifically, could you comment on the concerns that he would operate this franchise on an extremely strict budget, which many believe would result in little or no effort being put into taking chances on big money free agents?

[TnDawg]

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Once he wins...simple contract law (see AHF) he will do MUCH better for us (the fans)

Don't be so quick to assume that.....he may be better to fans somewhere. Consider what just occurred in Seattle. If Belkin wins....the question should be is Boston large enough for 2 teams.....or which town would he be more likely to move the team to. Remember Belkin has no local ties....and only visited the team when they were in Massachusetts. He has far more reasons to relocate the team now than ever before.

[DJlaysitup]

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Would you please explain why you believe Belkin will do a better job than the current ownership group?

Well I was just firing things up a bit before we send ?? to summerleague. The best form of government is a benigned dictatorship...especially if the dictator is smart and has cash.

[Eddielives]

Is Belkin benevolent and will he actually open up his wallet to bring in expensive players to try and get this team to win again? I honestly don't know.

[Diesel]

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Is Belkin benevolent and will he actually open up his wallet to bring in expensive players to try and get this team to win again? I honestly don't know.

You wish!!!

Belkin is going to milk the escrow and BRI payments. Period. It's like Free money. All he has to do is keep the team above the league minimum. If he got the team, this is what he'd do.

He'd bring in a handpicked GM.

He'd sell off everybody not on a rookie contract for draft picks. He'd keep Atlanta in the lottery for years on end. And it would be 2015 before we made a real move towards a FA that's worth something. In the meanwhile, we'd continue to be the youngest team in the game.

[AHF]

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Once he wins...simple contract law (see AHF) he will do MUCH better for us (the fans).

There has only been ONE verdict in this process...and Belkin WON. There was an appeal that got a continuation...but BELKIN WILL WIN!

I don't know how this is going to come out. There have been several rulings throughout this process:

(1) Belkin does not have the right as team governor to veto the trade;

(2) The Hawks did not complete the buyout in time giving Belkin the right to buy them out for cost. This ruling was reversed on appeal. It cannot be repeated.

The Court must now construe the contract to determine how the sale will proceed. Now that the appellate court held that Belkin is not entitled to buy the ASG out as a matter of law, the Court will need to figure out how to deal with the ambiguity of the buyout provision where the objecting party got to pick the second party to value the team and where both Belkin and the ASG timely objected. The contract did not provide for who got to pick the party doing the second appraisal under those circumstances and did not establish any basis of priority between objecting parties. To the contrary, it gave a specific time limit in which each party could object and both parties objected within that time period.

I don't see a simply solution to this problem and don't know what the court is going to do with this.

Given that Belkin has deliberately extended the litigation (by opposing faster and more final appellate review), I don't get the sense that he is anxious to spend his money on the team, though. He is letting the ASG pay for everything in the meantime and seems to be enjoying the free ride.

[frosgrim]

AHF, or anyone, is Belkin getting his portion of the "dividends" (or whatever the revenue sharing is called) from ownership of the clubs? That is, at the end of the year when profits are calculated, does Belkin get whatever his % is?

Second, is Belkin paying into the collective pot? I know at one point he wasn't, but with all the legal meanderings, is he now responsible for helping with expenses?

What I can't figure out is:

1) he has a vote

2) last I heard he had no financial responsibilities

1 and 2 seem to be diametrically opposed to one another. But maybe under the law they aren't.

If 1 and 2 are True, then, it makes all the sense in the world for him to prolong the process as long as he can as he has only legal out of pocket expenses, whereas the rest of the ASG has legal plus operating expenses.

If 1 and 2 are Not true, then it would seem to make financial sense for Belkin to look for a resolution.

However, there are probably 30 other factors involved that make Belkin's actions make sense (at least to him).

[AHF]

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However, there are probably 30 other factors involved that make Belkin's actions make sense (at least to him).

Not the least of which is that the value of a sports franchise tends to rise relatively quickly over time so that you would much rather own the Raiders 5 years from now than today if you are paying the same price.

The last I knew, Belkin was not making capital contributions to the teams but was taking a part in votes. I haven't heard anything to the contrary, but it is possible that he is now making some payments into the pot -- I would be interested to hear if he is.

[frosgrim]

If Belkin isn't paying in, but getting dividends, that is one hell of a sweet deal. He should try to extend the legal fight well into the 20-teens if he can. He could finance all sorts of other ventures just off the dividends.

Simply amazing if that is the case.

[AHF]

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If Belkin isn't paying in, but getting dividends, that is one hell of a sweet deal. He should try to extend the legal fight well into the 20-teens if he can. He could finance all sorts of other ventures just off the dividends.

Simply amazing if that is the case.

I can't imagine that he would be getting dividends if he isn't making capital contributions.

[frosgrim]

I agree that it makes sense, but very little in this whole affare has made sense...But I would have to think you are right. This means that Belkin has to be motivated to settle. He has something like 40 million tied up in the deal- correct?

[AHF]

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I agree that it makes sense, but very little in this whole affare has made sense...But I would have to think you are right. This means that Belkin has to be motivated to settle. He has something like 40 million tied up in the deal- correct?

The Court documents reflect that he paid $11.7 million for his stake in the ASG. That stake was valued at 80M by the first appraisal and at 140M by the second appraisal.

[DrReality]

How reasonable would it be to think they will come to a settlement? Although I don't see any reason Belkin would be motivated to do this unless it was a big number.

[AHF]

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How reasonable would it be to think they will come to a settlement? Although I don't see any reason Belkin would be motivated to do this unless it was a big number.

The number is the key. If you trust what has been in the press, Belkin is looking at two valuations of 80M and 140M and believes that the latter number is around where he should cash out -- plus any appreciation since that estimate was done. The ASG believes the number should be much lower considering Belkin bought in for 11.5M.

Settlement should be the end result here but nothing has been reasonable about this process from Belkin's initial claim that he controlled the team by himself as governor to the seemingly endless litigation that has been ours to endure since Kevin Durant was in high school.

[DJlaysitup]

This is my gut feeling....Belkin want's to OWN an NBA franchise. He was willing to be a co-owner (let's remember that he put in more money than any of the others - singuarly).

If Belkin owns this franchise...he will have NO ties to the ATL...nor should he. He bought an NBA basketball team. The location is good so he won't move it. He wants to win an NBA Championship. He doesn't give a phuck what town it is...and we need that kind of ownership...just win.

[mattlanta]

How long do we have to wait...?

[DJlaysitup]

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<font class="small">Quote:</font><hr />Settlement should be the end result here but nothing has been reasonable about this process from Belkin's initial claim that he controlled the team by himself as governor to the seemingly endless litigation that has been ours to endure since Kevin Durant was in high school.

OK you people - and I'm not talking about races here - just you people. Did you think the ONE SMART MAN would give up on this?

GO BELKIN !!

[DJlaysitup]

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I agree that it makes sense, but very little in this whole affare has made sense...But I would have to think you are right. This means that Belkin has to be motivated to settle. He has something like 40 million tied up in the deal- correct?

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The Court documents reflect that he paid $11.7 million for his stake in the ASG. That stake was valued at 80M by the first appraisal and at 140M by the second appraisal.

It should be noted that Belkin's stake was larger than any other ASG "partner".

[Admin]

OK you people - and I'm not talking about races here - just you people. Did you think the ONE SMART MAN would give up on this?

GO BELKIN !!

Yeah let's cheer for the guy that tried to screw the Hawks and have multiple consecutive (5?) 1st round draft choices taken from us. Yeah he's real "SMART" alright. Belkin would destroy this team if he was ever able to take over and then you'd be begging to have the ASG back. They certainly have their issues but at least they try to make the team better and not worse like your boy the weasel.