Atlanta Hawks Blog – Page 64 – NBA Blog

Open letter from Atlanta Hawks to their fans

The following is an open letter the Atlanta Hawks published to their fans:

To Our Hawks Fans,

Today it was reported that our current owners, Atlanta Spirit LLC, signed an agreement to sell a majority ownership stake in the Atlanta Hawks and Philips Arena operating rights to The Meruelo Group. Completion of the sale is subject to approval by the NBA Board of Governors, which is expected to occur later this year.

Our ultimate goal has always been and will continue to be bringing championship basketball and world class entertainment to Philips Arena and the city of Atlanta. We value and appreciate your support, and look forward to sharing many more unforgettable moments with you, our fans.

Sincerely,

Bob Williams

Bob Williams
President, Atlanta Hawks & Philips Arena

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Atlanta Hawks will be sold, but not moved

ESPN reports:

The Atlanta Hawks and Philips Arena will be sold to California developer and pizza chain owner Alex Meruelo, but the NBA team will remain in Atlanta, a person familiar with the deal said Sunday.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press because no official announcement has been made. The deal, subject to the approval of the NBA, is to be announced on Monday.

Meruelo confirmed the deal to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, saying “I’m a person who doesn’t give up. I want to bring a championship to the city of Atlanta.”

The Hawks ownership group, led by Michael Gearon Jr. and Bruce Levenson, also recently sold the NHL Atlanta Thrashers to a group that has moved the team to Winnipeg. The Thrashers deal was for a reported $170 million.

Meruelo would become the first Hispanic owner of an NBA team, according to the Journal-Constitution. He will have controlling interest of more than 50 percent of the Hawks. He founded La Pizza Loca, which has more than 50 franchised and company-owned restaurants in Southern California.

Tim Tucker of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports:

Meruelo (pronounced mur-rel-o) said some members of the Spirit group will maintain minority ownership positions but that he will own more than 50 percent and control ownership decisions. He would not be more specific about the size of his stake and would not divulge the price he has agreed to pay for it.

But he said, “I will be in complete control of the team.”

Although his primary residence and business will remain in Southern California,

Meruelo said he plans to spend a lot of time in Atlanta and to buy a home here.

“If you look at my previous … business ventures, I’m very hands-on, and this will be no different,” he said.

Asked if there is any scenario in which he would seek to move the Hawks out of Atlanta, Meruelo said: “Absolutely no. None.”

More from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

The Atlanta Spirit Group – initially led by Steve Belkin of Boston, Bruce Levenson and Ed Peskowitz of Washington and Michael Gearon Jr. of Atlanta –- bought the Hawks, Thrashers and Philips Arena rights from Time Warner in 2004. The group soon became mired in a bitter internal fight that pitted Belkin against his partners. A five-year legal battle finally ended in December when the estranged Belkin was bought out by his partners.

The Spirit this summer sold the Thrashers to a Canadian group that moved the team to Winnipeg.

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Knicks will reportedly interview Mike Woodson for assistant coach spot

David Aldridge of NBA.com reports:

When Tom Gores (Detroit Pistons) came aboard in early June, he said part of his job isn’t to agree with whatever Joe Dumars wanted, but “to challenge Joe, and hopefully that will make the outcome better.” And though Dumars never publicly indicated whom he preferred to succeed John Kuester as coach, several people around the league believe he preferred former Hawks coach Mike Woodson to Frank. But Frank blew Gores and his people away during the interview process.

Yet a source insisted this weekend that Dumars concurred with Gores that Frank was the right choice for the job.

(For his part, Woodson has moved on, interviewing for the Minnesota Timberwolves’ vacancy. And a source indicates he’ll be in New York early this week to talk with the Knicks about becoming their defensive coordinator, a job that management has mandated coach Mike D’Antoni, entering the final year of his contract, accept for next season.)

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Acie Law reportedly signs in Serbia

Sportando reports:

After week of negotiations, Serbian Champion KK Partizan from Belgrade signed NBA guard Acie Law (Texas A&M – NCAA, agency – Priority Sports & Entertainment). After college Acie spent four years on NBA courts, drafted 1st round,11 pick by Atlanta Hawks, followed Golden State, Charlotte Bobcats, Chicago Bulls and previous season started in Memphis Grizzlies. In December 2010 moved to Golden State Warriors where in 40 games he averaged 15 minutes per game, scoring 5.1 points per game, 1.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists, most scored in game against Dallas on March 16 hitting 15 points, 6 assists, 2 rebounds, 2 steals.

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NBA Rookie Transition Program postponed

The NBA Rookie Transition Program, scheduled for August 9-11, has been postponed. The program, which provides first-year players with the skills and information necessary for a successful transition to the NBA, is run jointly by the NBA and the Players Association.

“Without a new collective bargaining agreement between the league and the players’ union, we will be unable to hold RTP as originally scheduled,” NBA Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver said. “This is an important educational program for our incoming players, and it will be rescheduled once the parties agree on a CBA.”

Billy Hunter tells InsideHoops that NBA lockout meetings may not resume until August

By Jeff Lenchiner

Wednesday evening in New York City I paid a visit to Dyckman Park for some streetball action. It was a big matchup of some top teams that has been anticipated for weeks, so the park was packed. Included in the crowd were rapper Jadakiss, Denver Nuggets forward Al Harrington, and the head of the NBA Players Union, Billy Hunter, among others.

Before the game, Hunter, bravely attempting to communicate as some top-notch rap music blasted from the park’s booming speakers at full volume, gave InsideHoops.com a very quick update on the current NBA lockout situation:

InsideHoops.com: What’s the latest?

Billy Hunter: We’re trying to find some way to re-open the negotiations. We’re not making very much progress. It looks like we’re going to be where we are, I would assume probably [until] August before we actually end up getting back together.

InsideHoops.com: How long might the lockout last?

Hunter: It’s unpredictable. It’s hard to say how long it’s going to go.

It sounds like NBA fans should not hold their breath waiting for positive developments just yet.

Union plans player meetings as NBA lockout drags on with no progress

Sam Amick of Sports Illustrated reports:

There will be labor-related meetings in the near future.

They just aren’t the kind that typically lead to collective bargaining progress.

According to sources close to the situation, the National Basketball Players Association is planning a series of player sessions in as many as six cities over “the next month or so,” as a way to help with its planning during the lockout and update players on the state of negotiations with the NBA. Unless things unexpectedly change, there won’t be much to report on that front.

While mid-level staffers from both sides met on Friday to finalize the numbers related to basketball-related income (BRI) for the 2010-11 season, no negotiating sessions involving commissioner David Stern or NBPA executive director Billy Hunter have been scheduled. Sources said the BRI numbers were not finalized Friday and more similar sessions are forthcoming to that end, but the union is focused on fortifying from within rather than exchanging proposals with the owners, who are pushing for a hard salary cap as part of a drastic overhaul to the current system.

InsideHoops.com editor says: Basically, the two sides are considering their various options and possible proposal changes, amongst themselves. There’s no way of knowing if either side plans to make any changes the next time they make offers to each other, when they do eventually meet again. I’m just guessing here but it sounds like the earliest the NBA lockout could even possibly end is early August. But that’s not expected, because it sounds like both sides remain pretty far apart.

Pistons still like Mike Woodson, Lawrence Frank as head coaching candidates

Marc Stein of ESPN reports:

The Minnesota Timberwolves’ long-anticipated firing of Kurt Rambis this week doubles the number of coaching openings in the league, because the Detroit Pistons still haven’t hired a replacement for John Kuester yet.

NBA coaching sources say that the Pistons are inching closer to a decision, though.

Of the five known candidates for job, sources say that former Pistons assistant Mike Woodson is still the closest thing to a favorite, thanks largely to Woodson’s good working relationship with Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars and the fact that Detroit would know exactly what it’s getting after Woodson’s work under Larry Brown during the Pistons’ 2004 title run…

The other three known candidates to get interviews are Kelvin Sampson (about to leave Milwaukee to become Kevin McHale’s lead assistant in Houston), Pistons legend Bill Laimbeer (last seen on Rambis’ staff in Minnesota) and Checketts favorite Patrick Ewing (from Stan Van Gundy’s staff in Orlando).

InsideHoops.com editor says: I’ve heard that Woodson is the favorite, followed by Frank, followed by the rest. And as for when the team may hire a coach, it’s tough to say. If the Pistons decide Woodson or Frank is their guy but fear that some other team might be close to making an offer to one of them, it would probably prompt Detroit to speed things up. Otherwise, it’s nicer financially for the team to wait and not hire a coach until the season is approaching and contact with players is allowed.

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Josh Childress dismisses idea of returning to Europe

William Boor of ArizonaSports.com reports:

Although several NBA players have discussed playing in Europe, Josh Childress is still opposed.

“No, I wouldn’t,” Childress told ESPN’s Ric Bucher. “And I don’t know why guys would. I understand that guys really want to play. But you sometimes have to look at what you have and treat this as a business. The only way I could see it making sense is if you’re a player from a particular country going back. But for an American player with a good-sized guaranteed deal here, I can’t see why you’d do it.”

Childress has four years and $27 million remaining on his deal in Phoenix and does not believe getting some fun in during the lockout is worth playing in Europe and risking injury.

Hawks center Zaza Pachulia may play in Turkey during lockout

Michael Cunningham of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (blog) reports:

If the NBA lockout is not ended by the scheduled start of the 2011-12 season then Hawks reserve center Zaza Pachulia could end up playing in Turkey in the short term.

Pachulia, who is under contract with the Hawks for the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons for a total of about $10 million, said he has a “verbal agreement” to play next season for Turkish club Besiktas.

“They have interest, I have interest and we have talked about price,” Pachulia said. “It’s not official now.”

Besiktas also has an agreement with New Jersey Nets guard Deron Williams.

Pachulia said the contract with Besiktas would immediately terminate when NBA owners and players agree on a new labor deal. The contract also would include some kind of insurance for Pachulia since his guaranteed contract with the Hawks would not be protected in case of an injury sustained while playing in another league.