After a familiar loss on a road court, Atlanta Hawks owners who want Joe Johnson are now looking to NBA Commissioner David Stern to help them accomplish what a Boston judge would not Tuesday.
NBA lawyers were exploring eight Atlanta owners' request to remove dissenting co-owner Steve Belkin as the team's NBA governor. If successful, they can proceed with a trade that would send Johnson from Phoenix to Atlanta with a five-year, $69.6 million deal.
"We're currently reviewing the judge's ruling," NBA spokesman Tim Frank said.
If Belkin's authority to have final rule on trades is upheld by league lawyers today, other possible resolutions include:
? An ownership buyout, whether it is Belkin leaving the group or gaining more than his 30 percent share.
? A renegotiation of the trade. The Suns have resisted the Hawks' attempts at this.
? A third team is involved to make the trade agreeable to all parties.
? The other owners file a motion to reconsider or take the case to an appellate court.