Don Waddell was so successful selling the Atlanta Thrashers to an investment group in Winnipeg. So, of course, Atlanta Spirit owner Bruce Levenson wanted Waddell to help close a deal to sell the Atlanta Hawks. (No, not even Waddell can will the Hawks to Saskatoon).
The former Thrashers GM-turned-President was on CBC radio earlier in the week and was asked about what he was up to now that the moving vans have come and gone from Philips Arena to take Atlanta's hockey team north of the border to Manitoba.
And in typical Waddell hearts the Spirit style, the longest tenured Thrashers employee is still hanging onto a job within the Spirit organization.
"I may have some opportunities to stay in the league," Waddell told HNIC radio on the CBC radio network. "I really enjoy the business side of the sport. And I think there's a big need for that. In the meantime, I'm still currently employed by our owners because we're trying to sell our basketball team and I've been in trying to assist that in the process."
Thrashers fans have been scratching their heads as to why Waddell still has a job with the Spirit. As the team's head architect, Waddell tallied zero playoff wins over the club's first 10 seasons. In what can only be described as a very George Costanza kind of way, Waddell was then promoted to team President, where his biggest accomplishment was getting the Thrashers moved on the quick to Winnipeg. Now he has his hands in the Hawks cookie jar (after claiming that he wasn't working on a Hawks deal through the Thrashers process).
Maybe this little excerpt explains why Waddell still has a job.
"What's important for me is working with good people and for good people," Waddell said. "Putting myself in a good situation. My boss Bruce Levenson is a wonderful person and treated me very well."
Now, we over here at SB Nation Atlanta have heard Bruce "deal with it" Levenson called a lot of things. A lot of those words used to describe one of the two bigwig owners in the Spirit are of the four-letter expletive kind.
But a wonderful person? Wow. That sure as heck takes the cake.
No wonder how Waddell remained employed all these years.