Real Talk.....Time..

[Diesel]

Real Talk is a word that the young folks use to express that they are telling the truth (i believe). SO I figure, let's have some Real Talk Time (RTT) on the following subject:

Nique.

Every since ASG took over, Nique has always held a position that I would like to call.. Vice President of taking pictures. Or Vice President of Photo Ops.... Well, here's my RTT question of the day....

Why has Nique never been seriously considered for the position of GM or President in the Atlanta Hawks Organization?

Is it that Nique is not considered smart enough?

Is it that Nique hasn't shown enough loyalty to the brand (organization)?

Is it that Nique represents the old regime?

or is it something else?

What is the squawks thought on Nique as GM?

[Admin]

I love Nique but you can't be serious about wanting him in a position of decision making, right? He's a great guy but he's not the sharpest knife in the drawer so there's no way I'd want him making critical decisions for our franchise.

[ATLHawks3]

I love Nique but you can't be serious about wanting him in a position of decision making, right? He's a great guy but he's not the sharpest knife in the drawer so there's no way I'd want him making critical decisions for our franchise.

I agree, he wouldn't be a very successful GM in this league. However, I'd love to see him as assistant coach one day for the Hawks.

[Guest]

It's cuz he's not white.But other than the racial issue, Nique wouldn't be able to handle a decision making role. I love Nique more than anyone but I don't want him as gm or even assistant gm.

[Admin]

I agree, he wouldn't be a very successful GM in this league. However, I'd love to see him as assistant coach one day for the Hawks.

I'm fine with him in ANY capacity except head coach or GM. I just can't get behind a guy who mispronounces 50% of the players names in the league making decisions for us.

[Admin]

It's cuz he's not white.But other than the racial issue, Nique wouldn't be able to handle a decision making role. I love Nique more than anyone but I don't want him as gm or even assistant gm.

You really think his race has anything to do with it in a sport that's predominantly black? I think it's more likely that he'd be another Jordan type who'd make terrible decision after terrible decision.

[NBASupes]

You really think his race has anything to do with it in a sport that's predominantly black? I think it's more likely that he'd be another Jordan type who'd make terrible decision after terrible decision.

His opinion was very jarring. It's like he must think Black = bad decisions or White = great ones. Since I have been living, great decisions are made by precise, focused, and driven people regardless of race.

Edited December 3, 2013 by nbasupes40retired

[Guest]

I agree it's probably not race but its something that will always be looked at. But I agree Nique would be horrible, possibly worse than Jordan if that's even possible.

[Admin]

I agree it's probably not race but its something that will always be looked at. But I agree Nique would be horrible, possibly worse than Jordan if that's even possible.

I think that the NBA is probably the only sport where you can say race wouldn't be an issue. NFL it's still an issue and I think it's even worse in MLB.

[hawkman]

There's no reason to put Nique in a position where he can be fired. He should always be closely affiliated with the Hawks in some capacity. I'm still upset at seeing him light it up in a friggin' Clippers uniform.

[bird_dirt]

Who's to say that Nique even wants any kind of position with any amount of resposibility? Coach and GM are always the first to be blamed and fired when things go bad. He busted his ass for years on the court and maybe now he'd prefer to just draw a check for photo ops and autographs and continue as a beloved figure than taking a thankless job.

[TheFuzz]

I think that the NBA is probably the only sport where you can say race wouldn't be an issue. NFL it's still an issue and I think it's even worse in MLB.

The NBA is the best, unfortunately, but GMs still hire retread coaches like Mo Cheeks and Randy Wittman while plenty of promising coaches sit over in Europe and in other places in the world. I don't think it's an aggressive racism per se, but there is some kind of phobia about non-American HCs and GMs..

Edit:

On topic, I don't think Nique has it in him to be a GM. Plus his commentating is pretty endearing, I like him there.

Edited December 4, 2013 by TheFuzz

[DJlaysitup]

I tihnk Nique would do his best as a GM...he knows talent. If he could trade for Derrick Nowinski and not have to give up too much...I think he would pull the plug.

But I would miss his "Heat Checks"...(code words for taking a stupid, low percentage shot, after making a couple previous shots)...something that Nique was an expert at and something that likely cost us a win in that series against the Celtics.

[Guest]

It's cuz he's not white.But other than the racial issue, Nique wouldn't be able to handle a decision making role. I love Nique more than anyone but I don't want him as gm or even assistant gm.

Is that why they fired BK? Ah, that never happened. I think BK got the "no contract offered" treatment although I cannot recall at this time. IIRC BK was promoted to GM after the A$G sale. Someone can correct my timeline if I made a mistake.I don't think Dominique is dumb, I think it is more likely Dominique does not want to pursue a demanding front office position. He probably values his free time more than the pay raise and/or increased responsibility.

[Guest]

Supes I hope you weren't talking about me when you said "his opinion was very jarring...etc". Dont twist my posts into your own words. Thanks.

[Diesel]

For those who think that because he was a great player, he can't make good moves as GM let me offer this:

Larry Bird = President of the Pacers.

Joe Dumars = GM of the Pistons.

Jerry West = GM of the Showtime Lakers.

Kevin McHale = Has had several GM positions

Even our present GM.. Danny Ferry.. was a player in the league.

That's to suggest that every GM is not going to be the next Michael Jordan or Isiah Thomas.

[Diesel]

For Those saying Race.... Let me put this out there.

Would this be the first time that race excluded a player from being taken seriously for a "thinking" position?

Kareem Jabar could tell you about trying to be a Head Coach in this league.

Patrick Ewing would sing the same song.

Mark Jackson had to wait and campaign a long time before his application was taken seriously and even then.. it was thought of as undoable because he hadn't "paid his dues". The same is true of Doc Rivers.

Jackson played 17 seasons as a point guard in the NBA and most recently worked as a TV analyst. He had interviewed for several coaching jobs without receiving an offer. He was in the running for the Atlanta Hawks job that went to Larry Drew a year ago, and also met with officials from the Los Angeles Clippers, New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers in recent years.

As he's pursued a head coaching job from the television chair, Jackson has used the model of Celtics coach Doc Rivers. He had believed the leap was possible. And so had Jackson's coaching agent, Steve Kauffman, who represented Rivers during his playing career.

Here's the interesting thing... With all the Black coaches and Black GMs, many of them have to go through a long proving process and get a strong recommendation from a successful White coach before they could be considers. Think about it.

How many Black coaches had to get the recommendation of either Larry Brown, Red, Phil, Pat, or Popp?

How many Black coaches had to be assistant coaches for years before some great coach would endorse them?

Now, let's talk about some white coaches...

Kim Hughes

Kiki Vandeweghe

Mike D’Antoni

Don Nelson

Paul Westphal

Vinny Del Negro

John Kuester

Scott Skiles

Larry Brown

Flip Saunders

Mike Dunleavy

Rick Carlisle

Rick Adelman

Kurt Rambis

Scottie Brooks

Jerry Sloan

Jay Triano

Jeff Bower

Stan Van Gundy

Jeff Van Gundy

Jim O’Brien

How many of these guys just got glad handed a coaching job because they were assistants for a year or two? IF it were not for Stu Jackson, there would be no Van Gundy brothers. They were coaching high school when he hired them as assistants and they were his replacements.

Deep down, I believe that Jason Kidd had his recent moment with Lawrence Frank because he knows that Frank was groomed to be the plan B for him.

[Diesel]

Let's talk Black GMs.

For some of those old timers, they were designated by Red Aurebach.

I don't know what Joe Dumars did to get his position. It was almost like a retirement gift. He retired directly to the VP of Player Personell position in Detroit. He was to split responsible of running the team with Rick Sund.

Isiah Thomas got his start by buying the CBA and proving that he could run an entire league before they considered him for a GM position in the NBA.

Now, Larry Bird was hired no questions asked by the Pacers. It was his friendship with Danny Walsh. Walsh liked/idolized Bird and hired him as coach and then later as GM... no experience necessary.

How is it that people easily see a guy like Danny Ferry as a good GM candidate and a guy like Nique as... not suited for the Job?? Before Ferry was hired by the Cavs as their GM, he was glorified scout in San Antonio for only two years. Nique had been in "Management" here in Atlanta for the past 8?

[Duff_Man]

Dominique is not that kind of person to handle that role. I would bet good money he would tell you the same thing.

[Sothron]

I love Nique. I don't know if Nique could do a good job at GM or serious personnel decisions. The A$G has had him in the front office for several years at this point. I have to think if they thought he was good for the job or if he even wanted the job then we would have heard something by now. Frankly speaking? Nique literally can't even pronounce several players in the league's name correctly on a regular basis. He still has never called Amir Johnson of the Raps by his correct name (he always calls him Jamir) for example.

To put it kindly I don't think Nique has the intelligence for the job.