http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/hawks/stories/0824hawksowners.html Red ink didn't tie Hawks' hands Harrington deal not affected, owners say By TIM TUCKER The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Published on: 08/24/06 It's no secret that the Hawks and Thrashers are losing money — more than $20 million in the past year, according to court records. The teams' owners, without the participation of estranged partner Steve Belkin, have had to ante up several times to cover the losses and fund future needs. Capital calls — cash infusions from the owners — have totaled about $35 million since October, including $12 million last month, according to court records. Combine that financial picture with the Hawks' sign-and-trade of free agent Al Harrington for a draft pick and you get an obvious question: Did the team pass up better deals for Harrington simply to avoid spending money on new players? Michael Gearon Jr., the part-owner who serves as the Hawks' NBA governor, insists not. "If someone had offered us a player that we felt could make the team better, [Hawks general manager] Billy [Knight] would have recommended [the trade] to the owners, and we would have supported it," Gearon said. Knight recommended no such deal, Gearon said. Instead, he said, the players offered in various potential deals carried contracts that would have cost the Hawks their salary-cap flexibility without significantly upgrading the roster. "If it's between a draft pick and a bad contract, I'd rather have the draft pick," Gearon said. "We absolutely would have taken on additional salary if we felt it made the team better, but we had no interest in taking on a bad contract that would not improve this team." The Harrington deal and the impending signing of free agent Lorenzen Wright will leave the Hawks about $7 million under the NBA salary cap. "We don't want to lose that flexibility by taking a bad contract now," Gearon said. "I think the key for us is to maintain the flexibility so that as this team evolves, we can make moves." Because of NBA rules, he would not discuss specific players that were offered for Harrington. One player publicly linked to trade discussions — one with the type of contract the Hawks apparently did not want — was Golden State power forward Troy Murphy, whose $9 million salary the Warriors wanted to unload to make room under the cap for Harrington. Financially, the Hawks' recent transactions have been a wash. While the deal that sent Harrington and unwanted backup center John Edwards to Indiana saves $8.6 million in 2006-07 salaries — Harrington's $7.6 million and Edwards' $1 million — the Hawks have taken on about the same amount in 2006-07 salaries with their two free-agent acquisitions this summer, Speedy Claxton ($6 million) and Wright ($3 million). In his protracted negotiations with Indiana, Knight originally asked that the Pacers send the Hawks $3 million in the Harrington deal. The Pacers refused. "That was just Billy doing his job, negotiating hard," Gearon said. Gearon vigorously defends the Hawks' summer moves. "Billy [Knight] saw our needs going into the offseason as point guard and backup big [man], and we met both of those needs with the best people available out in the marketplace," he said. "We got Speedy Claxton, the best point guard in free agency, and Lorenzen Wright, probably the best backup big man available. "I'm extremely excited about our team. I think we are batting 1.000 in free agency the past two years. The four players Billy wanted, he recommended them to [the owners], we supported him and we signed them — Joe Johnson, Zaza Pachulia, Speedy Claxton and Lorenzen Wright. ... There has not been one move regarding players that we have not done because of money." Meanwhile, the Hawks' ownership feud has been quiet since a Maryland judge last month granted a stay, pending appeal, of his earlier ruling that Belkin is entitled to buy out the other owners at cost. The non-Belkin owners posted an $11.4 million bond required by the court as a condition of the stay. The appeal process is expected to last up to a year unless there is a settlement in the meantime. 老鷹缺錢.. --

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