More Hawks Mess: Ferry Takes Leave of Absence as Copy of Report Gets Out

((ht: ajc.com))

Oy! This keeps getting worse and there are far more layers to the story of the Atlanta Hawks, owner Bruce Levinson, G.M Danny Ferry and others than anyone knew.

The latest is Friday's revalation: Ferry is taking an indefinite leave of absence from his job. And he is taking it on the heels of the disputed scouting report that got him in trouble in the 1st place was leaked to Atlanta TV Station WSB.

You can read the report in question RIGHT HERE (bottom of pg 2 is interesting stuff)

Sigh---

We are pretty sure the report, which is heavily redacted, came from bitter minority owner Michael Gearon Jr, who has been the source of most of the leaks coming out in this story. It's common knowledge in the Atlanta sports community that you could get info from him about the Atlanta Spirit that the others won't release.

That doesn't excuse what was said in the report, which is a very offensive characterization of Luol Deng. Though the rest of the report apparently speaks pretty highly of him. Deng, who was being recruited to join the Hawks, eventually spurned their interest and signed with the Miami Heat.

Ferry likely does not have a future in Atlanta. Agree, disagree or otherwise with what he said and how it got released, there's no excuse for it being put out there. None.

If you aren't from Atlanta, this is perhaps the worst place ever for something like this to happen. He (Ferry) will never escape this as long as he stays. It won't be forgotten.

Our guess is by October the Hawks have a new G.M, by next year a new owner. And by the end of the season a similar result to the past 7 or 8 seasons, good--not great, out in the first round of the playoffs.

UPDATE:

Ferry released a statement Friday afternoon through via the Hawks website:

"No words can adequately describe my remorse for the hurt that I have caused many people through the statements I repeated, most importantly Luol Deng.

Luol is a good man who I have known for many years and he has done a tremendous amount of good for his country and around the world.  I apologize to Luol and I apologize to all that I have offended. As I have said, while these were not my words, I deeply regret repeating them.  Almost all the background information I provided during the lengthy presentation regarding Luol was positive and my personal and professional recommendation during the call was very much in favor of adding Luol to our team but I never should have uttered those offensive remarks and for that I apologize.

My focus moving forward is to tirelessly work to rebuild trust with this community and with our fans. I realize that my words may ring hollow now and my future actions must speak for me.  I will maximize my time during this leave to meet with community leaders and further educate myself and others on the extremely sensitive issues surrounding race, diversity, and inclusion. I will find a way to make a positive difference in this area, and further learn from the sensitivity training that I will go through.”

Danny Ferry Audio "Leaked"

((HT: AJC.com/Vivlamore))

Here's the audio from the key passage in the Luol Deng conversation among Atlanta Spirit ownership and President/GM Danny Ferry.

It was "leaked" to the media and the HQ uses the word "leaked" in quotes because we all have a good idea who did the leaking...
Allegedly...
Just so you know... And this also from Vivlamore's piece: Ferry does not say specifically that he is reading from a background report on the available portion of the tape. The rest of the recording, requested during the investigations by both the independent law firm and the NBA, was said to be lost.
That's not good, either...

Hawks Cancel Meeting With Civil Rights Leaders

((HT: MyFoxAtlanta))

A scheduled meeting between Hawks CEO Steve Koonin and local civil rights leaders was cancelled last night by the team. THe action led the group to come down to the Hawks home, Philips Arena, and tell anyone with a camera that he and his group were less than happy.

The Rev. Markel Hutchins got a phone call from Hawks Media Relations Director Garin Narain asking that it be postponed, but Hutchins wanted to hear that from Koonin instead of the front office.

Hutchins and his group are calling for Hawks President/GM Danny Ferry to be fired for his remarks that he relayed from a scouting report about Luol Deng as the team was chasing free agents over the summer. They also want minority ownership in the team once the team is officially put up for sale.

Here's the lead story at noon today in the HQ
Atlanta News, Weather, Traffic, and Sports | FOX 5

Koonin maintains that Ferry has been disciplined, but he won't be fired.

All that may change when the team gets a new owner who wants to put his own stamp on the franchise, anyway.

Danny Ferry Releases Statement On Deng Appraisal, Hawks Continue Implosion

The Atlanta Hawks continue to be the schleprock of the NBA currently, and you know it's bad when Ray Rice is the only thing in the news keeping you from being the lead...

Hawks COO Steve Koonin maintains that President/GM Danny Ferry will keep his job after he read the backgrounder on Luol Deng aloud two years ago and the word crept out that this event actually did happen.

Ferry released a statement about his mea culpa:

"In regards to the insensitive remarks that were used during our due diligence process, I was repeating comments that were gathered from numerous sources during background conversations and scouting about different players. I repeated those comments during a telephone conversation reviewing the draft and free agency process. Those words do not reflect my views, or words that I would use to describe an individual and I certainly regret it. I apologize to those I offended and to Luol, who I reached out to Monday morning.

In terms of the email that Bruce sent, the situation is disturbing and disappointing on many levels and I understand Bruce's words were offensive.

I am committed to learning from this and deeply regret this situation. I fully understand we have work to do in order to help us create a better organization; one that our players and fans will be proud of, on and off the court, and that is where my focus is moving forward."

Co-owner Michael Gearon, Junior wanted Ferry gone right then and there and told anyone willing to listen that the guy should be out on his ear. A letter dated this June expressed his grave concerns for the franchise if the word got out. The letter was sent to television stations in the market and authenticated anonymously.

The minority partners made their peace in the next-to-last paragraph and the irony oozes from the words on the page:

"If Ferry's comments are ever made public, and it's a safe bet to say they will someday, it could be fatal to the franchise. All of our partners have worked and spent a lot of money not just to make the Hawks winners, but to make our city and region proud of the organization. As lifelong Atlantans with a public track record of diversity and inclusion, we are especially fearful of the unfair consequences when we eventually get thrown under the bus with Ferry."

The HQ has a good idea who made the letter public and it's a safe play that they weren't fans of Ferry's hire in the first place... or Levenson's place as majority owner, either.

And when the I-Team over at MyFoxAtlanta gets a hold of this, you know you're not in a good place.
Atlanta News, Weather, Traffic, and Sports | FOX 5

Hawks Internal Meeting On Deng Exposed Levenson

((HT: Fox News/AJC))

It appears that an internal background report that described a potential free agent pick-up may have sparked the whole "Bruce Levenson is now selling the Atlanta Hawks" turn of events...

A report linked to Luol Deng had some racially-insensitive words attached to it. GM Danny Ferry read the unedited report aloud in the meeting and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Chris Vivlamore has the paragraph in question as:

“He is still a young guy overall. He is a good guy overall. But he is not perfect. He’s got some African in him. And I don’t say that in a bad way.”

The background information on Deng had not been vetted appropriately and led to it being read in its entirety. GM Danny Ferry will be disciplined, but not fired for his recitation in the meeting.

The paragraph led to an internal investigation by the team's law firm. The firm then spoke to 19 people and reviewed over 24,000 documents, Hawks CEO Steve Koonin told the AJC over the weekend. It was during the investigation that the Levenson e-mail directed to Ferry and co-owners Ed Peskowitz and Todd Foreman was discovered.

Here's the HQ's alter ego discussing Levenson with FOSG Jonathan Serrie

((ed note--You'll have to click on the link HERE to watch because Fox's Webmaster is having a bad day and didn't code correctly and we can't fix it. --Go to about the 1min mark on the video))

Reports: Hawks trade Joe Johnson: Danny Ferry Executive of the Year? (UPDATED WITH SECOND TRADE)

Joe Johnson

Well, well, well.

It appears that Atlanta Hawks fans may indeed have gotten their wish. According to multiple reports, the Hawks have traded Joe Johnson to the New Jersey...oops, sorry Brooklyn Nets.

Why is this significant?

Because Johnson while a very good player, is being paid more money than anyone in the NBA. The Hawks owed him $90 million for the next 4 years and now apparently don't have to pay it.

They'll get Jordan Farmar, Anthony Morrow, Johan Petro, Jordan Williams, a lottery protected 1st round pick next year and possibly a sign and trade receipt of DeShawn Stevenson.

Read more from AJC.com RIGHT HERE

Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports has more details RIGHT HERE

This trade would make brand spanking new Hawks G.M Danny Ferry the frontrunner for NBA Executive of the Year.

Why? Simple. And we know this from covering the Hawks and being based in the ATL.

Johnson is a good dude. And a better than average basketball player. The Hawks are a decent team that has plateaued. They needed a change.

While Joe is good enough as a "Lead" guy to get them in the playoffs, he's not good enough to get them over the top. And his salary is SO big that it would have kept the Hawks from finding the true "Leader" that they need.

The trade frees up his salary and gives them a bunch of bargaining chips to find another great player. Josh Smith and Al Horford are good building blocks. But they need help. Help Johnson couldn't consistently give.

He tried. Really...despite what many Atlanta fans thought, the guy gave all he had. It's just not his personality to take over things. He's a laid-back passive kind of guy and it came out in the way he sometime played. If he tried to force things and get out of character, he just made things worse.

So the Nets get a semi-marquee player they hope will team with Deron Williams and possibly Dwight Howard to open their new arena. There is a thought they won't pursue Howard because of the money needed for Johnson and Williams. Don't believe that for a second. Mikhail Prokhorov wants butts in his new seats and he's smart enough to know he needs a winning product...this year. And our bet is he will do whatever is necessary to make that happen.

PM UPDATE: And if that wasn't enough, Ferry has apparently sent Marvin Williams packing to Utah for Devin Harris- pending league approval.

And, with that, goes Williams and his $15.8-million over the next two seasons. Harris has one year left on his contract at $8.5-million. That means that Ferry has dumped over $105-million in salary while bringing in only $23-million.

Conjecture from Stein and Windhorst over at the four-letter is that Dwight Howard could now be interested in moving to Atlanta since New Jersey would be in no financial shape to bring in Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, and Howard.

Early returns have Danny Ferry being very serious in a very short period of time...

Here's Magic GM Rob Hennigan confirming what we all know...
((HT: MyFoxOrlando))
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