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Danny Ferry remains away on an indefinite leave of absence from the Atlanta Hawks but he continues to make his rounds around the Atlanta and NBA community as he tries to repair his battered reputation. Ferry met with NBA legend Magic Johnson on Tuesday to apologize for his insensitive comments regarding free agent Luol Deng from earlier this summer.
Just had a heart to heart meeting w/ Hawks GM Danny Ferry! He apologized for his comments about Luol Deng & the African American community.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) September 23, 2014
In our meeting Danny Ferry's apology was very sincere.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) September 23, 2014
I have a lot of respect for Danny because he called and wanted to talk about how his comments offended so many people.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) September 23, 2014
Johnson was one of the first to call for Ferry's ouster when his comments about Deng were released. Now he thinks Ferry deserves a second chance whether that is with the Hawks or another NBA team.
After our long meeting, I think he deserves a second chance whether it is with the Hawks or another team.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) September 23, 2014
Johnson also had some advice for Hawks CEO Steve Koonin in regards to Atlanta legend Dominique Wilkins.
Advice to Hawks CEO Steve Koonin: You should hire Dominique Wilkins as a high level executive.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) September 23, 2014
Advice to Hawks CEO Steve Koonin: No one knows more about basketball and loved by the Atlanta community than Dominique Wilkins.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) September 23, 2014
Wilkins is a fixture as part of the Hawks' broadcast team and has carried the title of Vice President of Basketball since 2004. However, that title hasn't carried any visible weight in terms of the decision making process within the organization. Wilkins has expressed interest in forming a group to buy out Bruce Levenson's majority stake of the team. Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed recently told the media that he had spoken with six potential buyers for the team but its not clear whether Wilkins was one of them.