March 2004 Atlanta Hawks Wiretap

Glover signs with Raptors

Feb 29, 2004 9:17 AM

Dion Glover has found a home. A day after clearing waivers, the former Hawks guard signed a contract with the Toronto Raptors for the rest of the season. Glover asked for his release from the Hawks Wednesday with the intent of joining a contender.

"They're going to make the playoffs, and I've never had the chance at the playoffs in Atlanta," Glover told reporters in Toronto.

Michael Lee of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Tags: Atlanta Hawks, Toronto Raptors, NBA

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$200K fine: Pistons have right to be mad

Feb 29, 2004 9:01 AM

The Pistons were fined $200,000 last week for what amounts to little more than a miscommunication. The Pistons thought their two new players ? Rasheed Wallace and Mike James ? were eligible to play because they hadn?t heard otherwise from the league. The league said the onus was on the Pistons to call and find out whether the deal was complete. Is that really a $200,000 offense? It?s absurd. It presupposes that the Pistons were trying to pull a fast one, trying, in essence, to cheat.

McCoskey calls the fine "Garbage"

If the league wants to fine someone, why not fine New Jersey president Rod Thorn? Tell me this isn?t tampering:

Thorn, when he heard that the Hawks were about to send Wallace to the Pistons, made two phone calls to Atlanta General Manager Billy Knight, trying to talk him out of doing the deal. He told Knight that it was a horrible mistake for the Hawks and that they would be better served using Wallace in a sign-and-trade deal over the summer. Fortunately for the Pistons, Knight and Dumars have an excellent working relationship and Knight rejected Thorn?s self-serving advice. But isn?t that tampering? Isn?t that a finable offense?

Chris McCosky of the The Detroit News

Tags: Atlanta Hawks, Detroit Pistons, Brooklyn Nets, NBA

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Hawks sign N'diaye to second 10-day contract

Feb 28, 2004 7:47 PM

ATLANTA (AP) The Atlanta Hawks signed center Mamadou N'diaye to a second 10-day contract Saturday before their game against the Orlando Magic.

In seven games with the Hawks, N'diaye was averaging 2.7 points and 2.4 rebounds as a backup for starter Joel Przybilla. N'diaye also signed two 10-day contracts with Dallas earlier this season but only played in three games.

Associated Press

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Hawks sign Fuller to 10-day contract

Feb 27, 2004 9:51 PM

ATLANTA (AP) Hiram Fuller signed a 10-day contract with the Atlanta Hawks on Friday.

The 6-foot-9 forward-center averaged 8.2 points and 7.4 rebounds with Charleston of the National Basketball Development League.

The Hawks had an opening on their roster after Dion Glover was released Wednesday.

Associated Press

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Hawks release Dion Glover from contract

Feb 25, 2004 11:26 PM

ATLANTA (AP) The Atlanta Hawks agreed Wednesday to Dion Glover's request and released him from his contract, general manager Billy Knight said.

Glover, a 6-foot-5 guard from Georgia Tech and Cedar Grove High in metro Atlanta, was the Hawks' No. 1 draft pick in 1999, the 20th selection overall. In five seasons, he averaged 8.5 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 273 games with 101 starts.

In 55 games this season, Glover had career-bests of 10.1 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists while shooting only 39.1 percent from the field. He scored a season-high 23 points at Phoenix on Nov. 12 and ended his Atlanta career with six points in three minutes of action during the Hawks' 86-75 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday night.

Associated Press

Tags: Atlanta Hawks, NBA

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Sura Arrives, Jackson Would Like to Stay

Feb 25, 2004 10:26 AM

When the Rasheed Wallace deal (no, the second one) was complete, Hawks fans had to wonder what the mindset of the guys that were headed towards Atlanta would be. Going from an Eastern conference contender to a team that was publicly stating that it wasn?t challenging for anything could provide a reason to check out for the season.

But in two games since the deal was official, Bob Sura has shown that he isn?t here to play out the string or slack off for the final 25 or so games.


The Hawks Front Office talks to Sura about his role with the team and how the team might need him for longer than these last 25 games.

Also, Stephen Jackson tells RealGM that he has no problem with staying in Atlanta after this season is complete, and offers his views on why he might like to be a part of the Hawks future, as well as offering an opinion on whether other free agents would share his views.

RealGM Hawks Front Office

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Jackson to become free agent at season's end

Feb 23, 2004 9:54 AM

Hawks forward Stephen Jackson plans to opt out of the second year of his two-year, $2.1 million contract this summer and become a free agent.

"I'm free after this year," Jackson said. "I'm totally free. I don't know if I'm going to be here next year or not. I know I'll have a job somewhere next year. No matter what, I'm going to be happy."

Michael Lee of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Tags: Atlanta Hawks, NBA

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RealGM Weekly Power Rankings

Feb 23, 2004 2:45 AM

RealGM counts them down, with a new Power Rankings that features a brand new #1, thanks to recently injured Ron Artest (sorry Pacers fans).

RealGM also looks around the league and pontificates on numerous issues, including impetuous point guards, why some deals that aren?t made are pretty good also, and why the word "bust" is far too hastily used in the world of the NBA.

RealGM

Tags: Atlanta Hawks, NBA

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Hawks the Clippers of the East?

Feb 20, 2004 9:50 PM

ATLANTA (AP) When Lou Hudson joined the Hawks in 1966, they were a perennial playoff team and only eight years removed from an NBA championship.

They kept winning after a move from St. Louis to Atlanta two years later, at one point reaching the playoffs 18 times in 22 seasons _ under seven different coaches.

``When we first came to town, we were one of those teams that everybody worried about,'' Hudson said. ``We played for the conference championship several times, and we always did real well.''

That certainly isn't the case now.

The Hawks are in the midst of their worst run in about 30 years, a sad era for a franchise that dates back to the beginning of the NBA. The Hawks were 18-36 heading into the weekend, and haven't reached the playoffs since the strike-shortened season of 1998-99.

And they've even drawn comparisons to that other Los Angeles team, the one long considered the worst in the league.

``They're the Clippers of the East,'' Hudson quipped.

The Hawks twice have set new lows for victories since moving to Atlanta, winning a mere 28 games in 1999-00 and only 25 the next season.

The current state of the team bothers Hudson, who returns to Atlanta a few times a year to watch a game. His No. 23 jersey is one of only three retired numbers by the franchise _ Bob Pettit's No. 9 and Dominique Wilkins' No. 21 are the others.

``It's a source of pride with me,'' Hudson said in a phone interview from his home in Park City, Utah. ``You'd just like to be associated with a team that's doing well.

``A lot of teams go through a series of cycles. This just happens to be a down time for the Hawks. The moves they have made to get better just haven't paid off.''

The Hawks finished either first or second in the division during the first six seasons in Atlanta, and reached the postseason five times. After a four-year absence, they returned in 1978 under coach Hubie Brown, and the streak continued for the next four coaches.

``It seems like we always were in the playoffs,'' said Wilkins, who joined the team in 1982.

The player known as ``The Human Highlight Film'' missed the postseason only three times in 11 full seasons with the Hawks, but he never got past the second round.

Three times, those seasons ended with losses to the Boston Celtics and Larry Bird, including a memorable series in the Eastern Conference semifinals in 1988. Atlanta lost the first two games, then won the next three and returned home for a chance to advance.

But the Hawks lost the final two games by a total of four points.

``I played with some guys who were warriors, guys that did everything they could to win,'' said Wilkins, now a special assistant to the Hawks' executive vice president. ``Unfortunately, we came up short.''

That usually seems to be the case with the Hawks. The team that won the title with Pettit broke up a run of nine championships by the Bill Russell-led Celtics, and Wilkins always had to go through Bird and Boston. Those losses probably helped keep Wilkins off the league's list of top 50 all-time players.

``There's no shame in losing,'' Wilkins said. ``I bet Charles Barkley and Karl Malone would tell you the same thing. Only one team every year can win the championship, and it just didn't work out for me.''

The streak of playoff appearances ended in 1999, and since then, the Hawks are 139-243. After so many years of winning, the losing seems to have taken over.

Last week, when Atlanta announced a trade that sent leading-scorer Shareef Abdur-Rahim and two other players to the Portland Trail Blazers for Rasheed Wallace and Wesley Person, general manager Billy Knight and coach Terry Stotts seemed resigned to finishing out another awful year.

On the day of the trade, the Trail Blazers were four games out of a playoff spot, while the Hawks were only five out in the mediocre East. And Atlanta had won three of its past four games, too.

``I'm happy for 'Reef,'' Stotts said then. ``He's going to a very talented team that has a great shot to make the playoffs, and I know that's something that's important to him.''

Even with Abdur-Rahim, Knight said: ``I just didn't think we could continue playing that way for the rest of the season.''

So Knight essentially blew up the roster, eventually sending Wallace to Detroit and Nazr Mohammed to the New York Knicks. Now, Atlanta has only four players under contract beyond this season, leaving the team about $20 million under the projected salary cap in 2004-05.

Maybe this time, the Hawks will rebuild correctly. By then, they should have new ownership _ a group of nine investors led by Steve Belkin agreed in September to buy the team from AOL Time Warner.

Wilkins is banking on the new guys to turn around the franchise.

``I think we'll get that respect back from around the league with these new guys,'' said Wilkins, who likely will have a prominent role in the new regime. ``They want to see this team succeed, and I think you'll see a whole new attitude around the city and around the league about the Hawks.''

Associated Press

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Rasheed Wallace looks for fresh start in Detroit

Feb 20, 2004 9:50 PM

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) Rasheed Wallace walked into his new locker room Friday and was greeted with hugs, handshakes and smiles by his Detroit Pistons teammates.

``There he is!'' Darvin Ham said. ``Welcome!''

Wallace was moved to Detroit in a three-team trade Thursday after playing only one game for Atlanta, which acquired the temperamental player from Portland last week.

``It's definitely a fresh start for me,'' Wallace said before he made his Detroit debut against Minnesota. ``This is where basketball has taken my journey. It's pretty much revamped my career. I'm looking forward to it.''

When Wallace stepped on the court with 4:31 left in the first quarter, he was welcomed with a rousing, standing ovation. After missing his first shot, he made two straight baskets, the second a long jumper over Kevin Garnett.

Wallace, a two-time All-Star, has averaged 16.1 points and 6.7 rebounds during nine NBA years, and 17.1 points and 6.6 rebounds this season.

Pistons coach Larry Brown said Wallace is one of the top five players in the league, but he tried to downplay expectations for Wallace.

``I don't want anybody to think he's coming in here to save us,'' Brown said.

Minnesota coach Flip Saunders said Wallace gives Detroit a chance to contend for the NBA title.

``They were already one of the top three teams in the East, but now they have to be considered a serious threat to go all the way,'' Saunders said.

Brown agreed.

``If I don't screw us up, we have a chance to make a run,'' he said.

In a deal put together shortly before the NBA trading deadline on Thursday, Detroit sent reserves Zeljko Rebraca, Bob Sura and a first-round draft pick to Atlanta. That pick will come from Milwaukee this year if the Bucks make the playoffs.

Detroit also sent reserves Lindsey Hunter, Chucky Atkins, its first round pick this year and cash to Boston, while the Celtics shipped Chris Mills to the Hawks and Mike James to the Pistons.

Besides adding Wallace for the rest of the season, the deal will put Detroit about $10 million under the salary cap this summer.

Wallace, in the final year of a contract that pays him $17 million this season, was called for a league-record 41 technical fouls in the 2000-01 season. Last season, he and former Portland teammate Damon Stoudamire were cited in Washington state on marijuana charges while returning from a game in Seattle.

Wallace was also suspended by the NBA for seven games for threatening an official on an arena loading dock after a home game. That was the league's longest suspension for something that didn't involve physical contact or substance abuse.

``I remember when I was a player and a young coach, when things went wrong, I did crazy things because I wanted to win so badly,'' Brown said. ``It's taken me over 30 years to calm down, for the most part, and I'm still fighting that every day.

``When you see him go nuts on the court, it's because he cares about winning. I want to fight his battles.''

Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars said Wallace's past problems never entered into his decision-making process.

``Everywhere he has been, his teammates and coaches rave about him as a teammate and as a guy to coach,'' Dumars said. ``I don't think you've ever seen him have issues with his coaches or his teammates. It's always been officiating and getting upset about calls.

``This is a situation where he is going to be surrounded by high-character guys and it is going to be a great environment for him.''

Associated Press

Tags: Atlanta Hawks, Detroit Pistons, Portland Trail Blazers, NBA

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Hawks should jettison Terry

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

One and done: Hawks trade Wallace to Pistons

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Pistons acquire Wallace in three-team deal

Associated Press

Detroit gets another Wallace

ESPN

Wallace plays for Hawks as rumors swirl and deadline nears

Associated Press

Hawks Waive Doleac in Possible Pre-Trade Move

RealGM's Hawks Front Office

Paxson looking to trade

Chicago Tribune

Dumars: No deal pending

Chris McCosky of the Detroit News

Knight Won't Rule out More Trades

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Rasheed Wallace hoping to join Knicks by Thursday

ESPN

Pistons coach praises Wallace amid talk of another trade

Associated Press

Wallace, Person put fresh face on struggling franchise

Associated Press

Rasheed Wallace to Detroit?

NY Post

Wallace speaks out on Blazers, his temper, future with Hawks

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

NY Post: Hawks to waive Doleac

New York Post

RealGM Weekly Power Rankings

RealGM

Knicks, Bucks, Hawks made five-player deal

Associated Press

Bucks acquire Van Horn

ESPN

Nazr for Doleac?

NY Post

More than 60 Atlanta police officers disciplined

Associated Press