Very telling article re: McDavid

[atlien]

Besides the Dunleavy part, dude seems like he wouldve been a much-better owner. Hard to know if that is true or not, but at least he understands an owner has to be decisive (which is the complete opposite of the bumbling ASG).

http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-bl...ve_been_ni.html

As the Hawks steadily drift back to the pack and the Thrashers reaffirm their place among the worst run franchises in sports, do you wonder what it would’ve been like with an owner who spent more time, money and brainpower on the actual product than, say, attorney’s fees?

I do. David McDavid doesn’t. He knows he would’ve done better.

“Do you know what a camel is? It’s a horse designed by a committee,” McDavid said Thursday when asked about the Atlanta Spirit ownership group. “Those franchises are being run by a committee. They’re a camel. If I had taken over, nobody would be fighting, unless I was fighting with myself.

“Does that guarantee anything? No. But I will always believe I would have done a better job. Look at their history. None of them had run a business like that in their life.

“If you look at sports, you’ll find a lot teams that have been run by automotive people. They’re similar businesses. You have a product to sell. You try to make it as pretty as you can. You deal with people. You make it a good experience. I mean, you can buy a Honda anywhere.”

A jury ruled Thursday that McDavid should have been allowed to purchase the Hawks, Thrashers and the operating rights to Philips Arena in 2003 from Turner Broadcasting. He was awarded $281 million. All that money - and, as a bonus, he’s not mocked for his power play.

McDavid called the trial and the years leading up to it a “phenomenal burden.” He believes he has lost his desire to own a team. What he hasn’t lost is his wit, his opinions or his Texas-twang, blast-furnace delivery.

In a wide-ranging phone interview Thursday from Fort Worth, McDavid unloaded on Turner and the Atlanta Spirit, the dysfunctional group that owns the Hawks and Thrashers. He also disclosed some of his original plans for the teams, including:

• To bring in partners, claiming “six to 10” interested parties. “I would’ve kept controlling interest,” he said. “That’s one of the problems with the Spirit deal. I’ve never seen a palace coup be a success against someone who owns 51 percent of the stock. You listen to input from partners, but at the end of the day you say, ‘Thank you very much’ and make your decision.”

• To consider an offer from an undisclosed party who wanted to buy the Thrashers for “what we were paying for everything” and keep the team in Atlanta. “I don’t know if we would’ve done it but it would’ve immediately wiped out all of our debt.”

• To hire Doc Rivers or Mike Dunleavy as Hawks coach. He had conversations with both, and counts Dunleavy as a friend.

McDavid also believes the franchises and arena are worth “far more than [the Spirit] paid for it,” adding, “Our verdict validates that.”

He said Turner put in a “[Fool] Clause” in the original sale contract. “It said after the deal, we couldn’t sell the teams for 12 months,” McDavid said. “The reason we referred to it ‘The [Fool] Clause’ was because they didn’t want to look like [fools] if we bought the teams for $96 million and then turned around and sold them for $500 million. I thought it was kind of funny.”

He doesn’t know estranged team owner Steve Belkin personally, but said, “It’s clear from what he’s asking for his 30 percent that he also thinks the teams are worth a lot.”

And while he is not taking sides in the battle between the feuding owners, the lawsuit makes for an amusing spectator sport.

“Any time you have insiders not getting along, you can’t run a business,” he said. “It goes further than just trying to make it a successful team. If I was the head of a corporation and people wanted to talk to me about sponsorships, and then they saw us all fighting with each other, why would I want to be a part of that? Nobody wants to get into that mess.”

Would Belkin be a better owner than the non-Belkins?

“My personal view is that those teams would be better off with anybody except those guys,” he said. “Anytime you have all this crap going on … they just don’t seem to get it.”

He says he felt a connection with Atlanta. His daughter nearly enrolled at Georgia. His best friend owns an auto dealership in Athens. He remembers receiving a phone call from his friend after the 1984 Cotton Bowl when Georgia rallied to defeat Texas, 10-9.

McDavid laughed. “He called and said, ‘Kiss my behind, 10 to 9.’ “

He loves sports. He’s no fan of corporate ownership.

“A team is such a personal item for [fans], they want a face to go with it,” he said. “They want to know there’s somebody who cares. They want somebody they can walk up to and say, ‘Are you a moron or something?’ “

We can’t be sure he would’ve won championships. But look what he just did to Turner in court?

“They were not pleasant to deal with,” he said. “It was the world according to Turner. Whatever they say the truth is, the truth is. That’s not the way the world works. The jury foreman said, ‘All of McDavid’s witnesses were on the same page, and none of the Turner witnesses were.’ My response is, it’s real easy to be on the same page when you’re telling the truth.”

He claimed Turner representatives told him before the trial, “We’ll embarrass you. We’ll make you look like a pretender.”

McDavid paused after that recollection.

“I’m not going to say the money’s not important,” he said. “But what we really wanted was to not let them get away with it. Vindication is sweet. I don’t take well to threats.”

An owner who fights. An owner who wins.

It would’ve been nice.

Edited December 11, 2008 by atlien

[Packfill]

Besides the Dunleavy part, dude seems like he wouldve been a much-better owner. Hard to know if that is true or not, but at least he understands an owner has to be decisive (which is the complete opposite of the bumbling ASG).

http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-bl...ve_been_ni.html

Interesting. He does sound better. I guess, it can't get worse then the current situation since the bickering and sloppiness exhibited by the Atlanta Spirit has been such a source of embarassment for the franchise - not to mention that it has contributed to the poor product on the floor.

[tonegully]

woudlve been nice. There is nothing like an owner that likes to win.

[DrReality]

Like the fish that got away?

he certainly got the last laugh here.

[frosgrim]

That interview confirms what a lot of us have suspected for the last couple of years, mainly that the ASG really doesn't know what they are doing. Belkin, IMO, would have been worse for the teams, but that is another story.

:computer8:

[gsuteke]

Hold on a second here. I may be wrong but I remember nothing positive about McDavid at the time and perhaps he was looking to buy the teams and run them cheaply to turn a profit.

I'll do some digging.

One more thing. As a saleman I see exactly what McDavid was doing in that article, selling you.

"Oh Teke that's BS what does McDavid have to gain now by saying all that stuff?"

Highly successful people (and there are a few exceptions) tend to have one thing in common - egos. Any successful salesman share a common trait amongst others. They all want to

a. make money or

b. be the best

When you read through an article like this you really have to consider who the person is that's being quoted.

Just my 2 cents - I'll look for somethin on McDavid

[macdaddy]

Hold on a second here. I may be wrong but I remember nothing positive about McDavid at the time and perhaps he was looking to buy the teams and run them cheaply to turn a profit.

I'll do some digging.

One more thing. As a saleman I see exactly what McDavid was doing in that article, selling you.

"Oh Teke that's BS what does McDavid have to gain now by saying all that stuff?"

Highly successful people (and there are a few exceptions) tend to have one thing in common - egos. Any successful salesman share a common trait amongst others. They all want to

a. make money or

b. be the best

When you read through an article like this you really have to consider who the person is that's being quoted.

Just my 2 cents - I'll look for somethin on McDavid

I agree with you. The spirit has been a disaster mainly because of Belkin, but I don't really see the case that Mcdavid made a better offer and they just didn't like him. He lost. I don't think he'll ever see this money. Despite everyone at turner having a 'different story' (which doesn't mean they are lying) I don't really believe that anyone of consequence entered into a legally binding agreement with him for the teams.

Mcdavid knows a lot about the negotiation but he has no more insight in how well the spirit is running the teams than you or I do. He might be a great owner but he may suck at it too.

[frosgrim]

Hold on a second here. I may be wrong but I remember nothing positive about McDavid at the time and perhaps he was looking to buy the teams and run them cheaply to turn a profit.

I'll do some digging.

One more thing. As a saleman I see exactly what McDavid was doing in that article, selling you.

"Oh Teke that's BS what does McDavid have to gain now by saying all that stuff?"

Highly successful people (and there are a few exceptions) tend to have one thing in common - egos. Any successful salesman share a common trait amongst others. They all want to

a. make money or

b. be the best

When you read through an article like this you really have to consider who the person is that's being quoted.

Just my 2 cents - I'll look for somethin on McDavid

1) Didn't mean to imply that I thought McD would be better. Instead, my point was that McD confirms what people have suspected and there is evidence for: the ASG really is dysfunctional.

2) the problem with McD is that he didn't have enough personal wealth to really own the teams. He was going to have to borrow heavily to get the capital to buy the teams, and then there was some feeling that the NBA and NHL would reject the sale. Lastly, some thought he would move the teams to Las Vegas.

[gsuteke]

I'm not defending the ASG either. I'm just sharing what I believe McDavid's motives to be by agreeing to be interviewed.

[jhay610]

2) the problem with McD is that he didn't have enough personal wealth to really own the teams. He was going to have to borrow heavily to get the capital to buy the teams, and then there was some feeling that the NBA and NHL would reject the sale. Lastly, some thought he would move the teams to Las Vegas.

This was the main question I remember that was in play when McDavid was making his moves for the teams. It was very questionable as to whether McDavid had the assets to properly capitalize one professional sports franchise, let alone two.

For all the complaining people do about the ASG, at least they have proven they will fork up the money to properly fund the Hawks in terms of player personnel. They took on big salary last year to get the Bibby deal done, knowing they would be responsible for the near 15 mil this year if he couldn't be moved.

That they took the hard line on Chillz and Smoove's negotiations I think is as much a function of Sund as it is the ASG. At the end of the day they got a value contract on Smooth and Chillz did his unprecedented Greece move. The ASG and Sund would have been fools to try and match anything close to that contract.

Of course McDavid is going to sit on the sidelines and snipe at the ASG; the man is in ongoing litigation with them.

I'm not an ASG defender necessarily but let's be critical thinkers, guys. Don't just take a story that is obviously slanted towards one side as the truth. Just because it's in print - in a column, no less, not as a news story - doesn't mean it's true.

Edited December 12, 2008 by jhay610

[mrhonline]

Here's the real question everyone has been dying to know the answer to:

What kind of parents name their kid 'David' if their last name is 'McDavid?'

:doh:

Edited December 12, 2008 by mrhonline

[frosgrim]

Here's the real question everyone has been dying to know the answer to:

What kind of parents name their kid 'David' if their last name is 'McDavid?'

:doh:

LOL

I had the same question as well.

[Packfill]

I'm not defending the ASG either. I'm just sharing what I believe McDavid's motives to be by agreeing to be interviewed.

Could McDavid have possibly been worse then the Spirit? You can't blame all of the Spirit's problems on Belkin (particularly since they agreed to partner with him initial, so that was their first mistake).

The Spirit has made a host of mistakes, including retaining Billy Knight, who drafted average talent in the high lottery, and retaining Mike Woodson, a below average coach. Numerous members of their front office team have departed already. Why?

[macdaddy]

Could McDavid have possibly been worse then the Spirit? You can't blame all of the Spirit's problems on Belkin (particularly since they agreed to partner with him initial, so that was their first mistake).

The Spirit has made a host of mistakes, including retaining Billy Knight, who drafted average talent in the high lottery, and retaining Mike Woodson, a below average coach. Numerous members of their front office team have departed already. Why?

You may be right but just to play Devil's advocate its possible that the Belkin fiasco with Joe has financially handicapped this franchise ever since. Its feasable that BK's hands were tied on a lot of deals. We know there are trades they wouldn't let him pull the trigger on and they wouldn't let him replace the coach. Had BK worked with a functional ownership group we may have been much different. This is still his team except he would not have let Chill go away.

[Admin]

Could McDavid have possibly been worse then the Spirit? You can't blame all of the Spirit's problems on Belkin (particularly since they agreed to partner with him initial, so that was their first mistake).

The Spirit has made a host of mistakes, including retaining Billy Knight, who drafted average talent in the high lottery, and retaining Mike Woodson, a below average coach. Numerous members of their front office team have departed already. Why?

YES! Talk to anyone from Texas who has heard of McDavid and you'll likely hear all sorts of stories.

[Packfill]

You may be right but just to play Devil's advocate its possible that the Belkin fiasco with Joe has financially handicapped this franchise ever since. Its feasable that BK's hands were tied on a lot of deals. We know there are trades they wouldn't let him pull the trigger on and they wouldn't let him replace the coach. Had BK worked with a functional ownership group we may have been much different. This is still his team except he would not have let Chill go away.

BK has no one except himself to blame for his poor drafting record. Those high lottery picks more then any trade are what will make or break this team.

[Admin]

BK has no one except himself to blame for his poor drafting record. Those high lottery picks more then any trade are what will make or break this team.

That's not totally true. He can blame the medical advisers for the info about Brandon Roy and perhaps other players. He can blame the scouting dept for not doing a great job, and he can blame the ASG for not providing a better scouting presence. But at the end of the day BK was ultimately responsible for his picks, but he wasn't alone in making them.

[macdaddy]

BK has no one except himself to blame for his poor drafting record. Those high lottery picks more then any trade are what will make or break this team.

I agree with the second sentence but not that his drafting record is poor. If you believe we are a good playoff team now its because of Marvin, Smoove, Horford and would be better with Chill. Sheldon was a poor choice but I don't believe that was 100% his decision. My point is that if he had been allowed to do some of things he wanted as GM his drafting decisions would be looking better, and most of them are looking good even if they weren't the best pick.