NBA News: Atlanta Hawks Will Have No Takers According to Carmelo Anthony, Danny Ferry Goes on Indefinite Leave, Team Gets First Interested Buyer
NBA free agents will be hesitant to join with the Atlanta Hawks because of the publicized statements made by general manager Danny Ferry, according to New York Knicks star forward Carmelo Anthony during the Citi Carmelo Anthony Basketball camp in Manhattan on Saturday. As reported by ESPN NBA news, Melo said: "[There] ain't nobody [who] would want to go there. At the end of the day, Atlanta, I think it puts Atlanta back even further now, from that standpoint. Atlanta is a great city, a great market, great people, great atmosphere. But as far as the comments [that] were made, I think it was uncalled for. From an owner, from a GM, those are not things you play with."
Before he re-signed with the Knicks, one of the NBA trade rumors has it that then free agent Anthony would be going to the Los Angeles Lakers or to the Miami Heats. But, as he told Vice Sports in a video interview back in June, "My son goes to school and loves it here (in New York). To take him out and take him somewhere else, he would have to learn that system all over again. I know how hard it was for me when I moved from New York to Baltimore at a young age, having to work your way to try to make new friends and fit in and figure out the culture in that area."
Anyway, both the "owner" and the "GM" that Anthony was alluding to during his basketball camp interview have already owned up to the errors of their ways and have last week issued personal public apologies. Majority owner Bruce Levenson is selling his shares in the franchise because of an email he wrote two years ago that he says was racially "inappropriate and offensive." General manager Danny Ferry, on the other hand, is being granted an indefinite leave of absence from the team. The Atlanta Hawks CEO, Steve Koonin, in a public statement through CBS Sports promises to hire a "Chief Diversity Officer" and "a new owner who will work to cultivate an inclusive, respected and vibrant fan base."
Entertainment and sports attorney and businessman Doug Davis, the son of legendary record producer and music industry mogul Clive Davis, could be the next owner of the Atlanta Hawks according to a report from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Davis on the day the made the offer to buy tweeted "I love Atlanta. I have strong ties to the community there and owe much of my career to it." to his Twitter followers.
