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NBA All-Star On Ex-Atlanta Hawks GM Danny Ferry: "I Hate Everything About You"

Shandel Richardson

May 29, 2013; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Hawks general manager Danny Ferry takes questions while introducing Mike Budenholzer as the new head coach during a press conference at Philips Arena. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Shirey-Imagn Images
May 29, 2013; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Hawks general manager Danny Ferry takes questions while introducing Mike Budenholzer as the new head coach during a press conference at Philips Arena. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Shirey-Imagn Images / Daniel Shirey-Imagn Images
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Former Atlanta Hawks All-Star Jeff Teague thought he was headed toward a big pay day during a contract year.

And then he said general manager Danny Ferry ruined it.

"I was hyped to get the money but the way Atlanta made me do it was wack," Teague said on the Out Of The Mud podcast. "I'm having a good year, They're like, `Yeah, you've got to go find the money. We ain't extending you.'"

This is when Teague said he ran into problems with Ferry, who was the No. 2 pick in the 1989 draft by the Los Angeles Clippers before retiring and entering management. Ferry also won a title with the San Antonio Spurs in 2003.

"So the next day at practice, he just comes in the film room," Teague said. "He's the GM. He just snapped on me like, `You don't play any (bleeping) defense.' I'm like, `Damn,"'

That led to Teague deciding to sign a contract extension with the Milwaukee Bucks. Teague and Ferry then had one final conversation.

"I told him I hate everything about you," Teague said. "I hate how you walk. I hate how you talk."


This was around the time Ferry was involved in a controversy. He read aloud a racially-sensitive comment from a scouting report during a team meeting about then-Miami Heat forward Luol Deng.

Ferry ended up getting the last laugh because the Hawks decided to keep Teague's rights.

"He called me and was like, (laughing) that's how the NBA works, good job. See you in Atlanta next week. We're matching it. Bye,"' Teague said. "And just hung up the phone."'

When the podcast was posted on Instagram, former Hawks All-Star Joe Johnson was among those to comment. He wrote about Ferry: "Dam!… Soon as he got the job in Atlanta he traded me no bs!."

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Back In The Day Hoops On SI. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com

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Shandel Richardson
SHANDEL RICHARDSON

Shandel has covered the NBA since 2010, with previous stops at The Athletic and South Florida Sun-Sentinel.  He has covered six NBA Finals, one Super Bowl, the NCAA basketball tournament. He has also been a beat writer for the Miami Hurricanes and contributed on every major beat in South Florida since 2003, including the Miami Dolphins and Miami Marlins. He can also be read in the Sportsbook Review for gambling coverage from around the NBA. A native of Bloomington, Illinois, Shandel attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He's also worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Kansas City Star.  TWITTER: @ShandelRich EMAIL: shandelrich@gmail.com