As the Atlanta Hawks' feuding and far-flung owners convened here for a battle in court, general manager Billy Knight lashed out at part owner Steve Belkin.

Breaking his silence on the issue, Knight said Monday that Belkin's opposition to a pending trade for Phoenix Suns guard Joe Johnson is "a ploy" to hold the team's payroll to "a bare minimum."

Knight added: "If he is saying anything different from that, he is not telling the truth."

In an indication of the ever-escalating conflict within the Hawks organization, the general manager told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "I really don't have anything to say to the guy. There's no reason for us to engage in conversations, no matter how this plays out. He's not someone I can trust."

Knight said he planned to be in the courtroom on Tuesday when a Boston judge considers Belkin's request for a preliminary injunction to stop his co-owners from removing him as the Hawks' NBA governor ? the position he has used to block the trade Knight and the other owners want to make.

It figures to be a surreal sight: the nine-man ownership group dueling in court, Belkin against the other eight, just 16 months after they sat on a stage in Philips Arena, all smiles, and officially took over the Hawks and hockey Thrashers from Time Warner.

This might well be the low point for a basketball franchise long mired in losses and one fans hoped was on the rebound after the team began rebuilding with younger players.

Belkin, who is based in Boston, got a temporary restraining order last week that prohibited his removal at least until today's hearing.

"I'm very disappointed" that it has come to this, Belkin said over the weekend. He declined to be interviewed Monday but issued a statement: "Our ownership issues have nothing to do with the financial impact of this proposed contract and everything to do with making certain that we retain basketball assets ? first-round draft picks ? that are an important component of building a team around Joe Johnson."