Hawks

By Dear ASG

July 23, 2008 9:12 AM | Link to this

You should be ashamed to even pretend to be owners of a professional franchise - much less 2. The sooner you’re able to sell the Hawks and Thrashers the better off this city will be.

By Rutuger

July 23, 2008 9:14 AM | Link to this

well, ill be damned. he actually did it… so thats how it is these days? playing in greece is a better option than playing for the hawks.

between this, woodson, the new deadbeet GM, and the josh smith debacle, we’re really making ourselves one hell of an appealing FA destination.

By Darrell

July 23, 2008 9:14 AM | Link to this

How in the hell did the Spirit Group let this happen!?

I think losing Chills revolves around the rehiring of Woodson!

By Bill Gullion

July 23, 2008 9:15 AM | Link to this

Childress ‘was’ a very overrated player. Despite what people say, he was a defensive liability on a team that doesn’t play very good defense. Let him take his hair and game to Athens.

By newkid

July 23, 2008 9:16 AM | Link to this

A broader, and perhaps more penetrating, question is what type of impact will Childress’ signing have on the NBA? Are we witnessing the early ‘sounds’ of the opening of Pandora’s box?

By Tony

July 23, 2008 9:17 AM | Link to this

What do you expect? The teams in this town does close the deal.

By Tony

July 23, 2008 9:17 AM | Link to this

What do you expect? The teams in this town do not close the deal.

By Florida Evans

July 23, 2008 9:18 AM | Link to this

DAMN, DAMN, DAMN!!!!!!!!!!!

By MadMax

July 23, 2008 9:18 AM | Link to this

This franchise is a complete joke. Just when you think it can’t get any worse they go and out-do themselves…

By randy

July 23, 2008 9:20 AM | Link to this

Spirit offered Childress 5 years and 34 million and Josh turned it down for 3 and 20 in Greece. That speaks a great deal about our organization!

By jrmjr5

July 23, 2008 9:20 AM | Link to this

same old, same old. nm

By trottinghometudd

July 23, 2008 9:20 AM | Link to this

I don’t like the fact SEKOu, that you haven’t reported on the riff Chil and J-Smoove have with Woodson.

Yes there wil be more stunning news as soon as Smoove can make a resonable deal happen.

Atlanta Spirit has punked the monkey (meaning Basketball fans) and you can’t find the story or even acknowledge that there is a story you are working on.

Shame on you and T. Moore.

By HB Ando

July 23, 2008 9:21 AM | Link to this

For those of you who questioned, or didn’t believe, the math behind my now months’ long contention that there was no way the ASG would spend the necessary money to keep this team intact, I now ask,

“anymore questions?”

There was NO WAY they were going to spend that projected $65-67 million. So all that hype about keeping the team together and making the playoffs this year (which I suggested was premature talk, given the uncertain nature of the pre-season roster make up).

The ASG needs to sell the team. Period.

And, one last thing. Steve-o, who was certain, 100%, that Josh would not play in Greece, needs to shut up and leave. You’re a freakin’ idiot, dude. Don’t go away mad, just go away….

If there’s an optimistic Hawks’ fan, here on this blog, after this latest blow, you’re either an employee of the organization, or truly hopeless (hey, but Santa Claus will still show up at your house on Christmas Day, right?).

Looks like Luke Jackson and Jeremy Richardson will be getting minutes in the NBA this year.

By MannyT

July 23, 2008 9:21 AM | Link to this

Best of luck to Chills.

I won’t say that the ASG has hit the bottom, but they can reach out and touch it.

While it may not be fair to hang this unprecedented signing around Sund’s neck, I do look toward an ownership group that has shed management layers and wonder what are they doing?

It’s too late to keep Chills, but they need to focus on having a better overall roster for the start of the season. Now that you have lost one of your RFAs, you got more work to do and less talent to choose from over the next 3 months.

Stop bringing the PAIN and get to work.

By Deputy Dave

July 23, 2008 9:21 AM | Link to this

if the Hawks did offer JChill a 5 yr / 33 million dollar contract and he refused to go to a B league, well see ya later! The organization is bigger than one player’s greed.

By Peter

July 23, 2008 9:21 AM | Link to this

We should have fired the coach………. and Steve Belkin should be the owner……..

This franchise will be worse off with out the energy Childress brings to the court.

Can you say losing team yet again !

Sad state of affairs for all of the Atlanta Franchises !

By patrick

July 23, 2008 9:22 AM | Link to this

The Spirit group is to blame. Childress had no desire to play here, neither does JS. This was the only way out. Let’s hope JS doesn’t follow suit. The fans need to find a way to force the Spirit Group out of our city.

By FalconDawg

July 23, 2008 9:22 AM | Link to this

Well…I guess the won’t be raising the prices on hot dogs now. Unfreaking believable…..

By D.Ellis

July 23, 2008 9:23 AM | Link to this

How can anyone in Hawks MGT. think they are “building” a team or winning over the fans when they let one of the most beloved players leave for Greece?????? This sucks. Good Luck to you J-Chill. I enjoyed watching you play and your hard work as a player.

Sekou-Can you let us in on when you will speak with Woody/JJ/AL about this???? Myself especially but I’m sure others would love to hear fom players that are locked in contracts and especially our Leader Woody. PLEASE GET AN INTERVIEW ASAP!

By Wayne

July 23, 2008 9:24 AM | Link to this

Here we go again. Just when we think it is getting better with the Hawks. Top-flight 6th men do not grow on trees, he will be hard to replace in Atlanta. It’s not like players are trying to play here.

By ndc97105

July 23, 2008 9:24 AM | Link to this

This is very disturbing with no direction from someone in ownership. We extend a contract to a coach who has a losing record. The GM we have has no idea about talent. I am disturbed, angry, ashamed, confused with this whole ownership group.

By JR

July 23, 2008 9:24 AM | Link to this

The question I have is why were other teams not knocking down the door to get Childress. I don’t think it is as much of a loss to the Hawks as I do the NBA. No big deal. Childress is too thin and not good enough shooter. Point blank he’s a bench player. Why do you fork out big money for a bench player. Let’s focus on Josh Smith now. If he doesn’t want to play for Woodson let’s work something with Charlotte for a sign and trade for Emeka Okafor. He doesn’t want to be in Charlotte either. There you go problem solved. Hire me Rick Sund as Assistant GM

By Reggie

July 23, 2008 9:25 AM | Link to this

Im offically naming ASG, get this name everyone CHEAP SQUAD

By Bobby

July 23, 2008 9:25 AM | Link to this

GOOD THE GUY SUCKED ANYWAY!!! HE WAS NOT WANTED HERE

By Jon

July 23, 2008 9:25 AM | Link to this

Seriously how in the world can the ASG let this happen. Those morons are killing what would have been a great franchise. First not drafting Chris Paul and Brandon Roy and now this. How do they expect fans to buy season tickets when they let fan favorite players like J-chill go to Greece.

Seriously stop fighting and sell this franchise to an owner who knows what he is doing and cares about the team, fans, and the city.

I hate the ASG and if they screw up the Smith signing I am not buying any Hawks tickets this season.

By jcmo71

July 23, 2008 9:26 AM | Link to this

WoW….Hawks are cursed.

By Fred Sanford

July 23, 2008 9:26 AM | Link to this

You big dummy (ASG)!

By Jimbo

July 23, 2008 9:27 AM | Link to this

I pride myself on being one of the last to jump ship. Well Spirit Group….I am flying through the air in a perfect swan dive. I am sure I am going to “stick” the entry. You can “stick it” too.

By Don

July 23, 2008 9:27 AM | Link to this

I get the feeling that those who have a choice do not want to play for this organization no matter the money and terms offered.

By khao$

July 23, 2008 9:27 AM | Link to this

This just adds to the glistening “reputation” of our Atlanta Hawks. Regardless of whether you think Chillz was valuable or not, it’s embarrassing. Other than NBA has beens, NO ONE leaves the NBA for overseas teams.

By Jacob

July 23, 2008 9:28 AM | Link to this

Please do us all a favor and sell the Hawks and Thrashers so we can quit being embarassed in front of the entire world. What a flippin’ joke these two franchises are.

By Chris

July 23, 2008 9:28 AM | Link to this

I read where the Hawks offered him 5 years at 33 mil… its obvious that he wasn’t that coveted by other NBA teams. I think he is a typical greedy player… The Hawks franchise does suck… but for many other reasons.

By CDS

July 23, 2008 9:28 AM | Link to this

Pathetic, stupid, cheap, worthless bunch of bums the Spirit Group are. They care nothing about this franchise, so why should anyone want to play here? I don’t blame Josh though. He went somewhere he can be on a winning team, while getting much more than he would ever get here.

Hawks just lost their 2nd best all-around player. Playing in some European league > playing for the Hawks. Way to go Spirit Group! So how long until Josh Smith gets out as well?

By Bo

July 23, 2008 9:28 AM | Link to this

What did you expect from these owners, Damn Joke!

By HB Ando

July 23, 2008 9:29 AM | Link to this

Well, if there’s a plausible light at the end of the tunnel, its that the Hawks have effectively lost $6-7 million in salary obligation, which means there is NO excuse for not paying Smith a salary that works for both sides ($10-11 million per? Which seems reasonable given Al Jefferson’s $13 million per, and K. Martin’s $11 million).

Anything less than getting that deal done quickly is simply further proof of just how broke the ASG is……

By Tech75

July 23, 2008 9:31 AM | Link to this

This is bad, and not just for the Hawks, but for the league.

The NBA has been shown up to be the arrogant bunch that they are, same with the Spirit group.

Good luck, Chills, loved your professionalism and attitude.

By Aaron

July 23, 2008 9:32 AM | Link to this

Childress will be getting a lot more money per year in Greece when you factor in the fact that Olympiakos will be paying for car, housing, food, taxes, etc.

A LOT more money. So, good luck to him.

This is far from disastrous, though. The Hawks can now afford to use the MLE on players that were better fits - shooters from the wing (Vujacic, Smith?) and real big men (Brown, Morris?).

Hopefully, Childress will return next year.

By EW

July 23, 2008 9:32 AM | Link to this

Can the NBA take over this team and force the owners to sell? They are a joke!! Get Arthur Blank in here.

By Russ

July 23, 2008 9:32 AM | Link to this

Right now we can’t worry bout spoil milk..We all know that the Hawks owners are cheap! In order for the owners now to gain our trust in them..they need to sign Josh Smith, and I mean fast!! If they let this guy go by FA..the Hawks are doomed this yr. and everyone will be saying last season was a big fluke!! GET IT RIGHT HAWKS OWNERS!!!!

By Scott

July 23, 2008 9:32 AM | Link to this

This is yet another example of the Atlanta Spirit Group’s inability or unwillingness to spend the money to be competitive. Atlanta is not a small market city that develops talented young players and then watches as they go to larger markets once they reach maturity. The ASG has made it seem so and it is time for the NBA and NHL to step in and do something.

By Stirg d'Nahsif

July 23, 2008 9:33 AM | Link to this

All this time, we’ve been thinking that Hawks management was the problem after bad decisions; I’m not certain now because Hawks management has changed. Poor decisions have been made since the departure of ‘Nique Wilkins and management has changed several times. Nah, I’m going to blame this one on the Hawks’ Gods; and yes, they must be crazy.

By MikeJones

July 23, 2008 9:33 AM | Link to this

Um…. People… this isn’t breaking news. the Hawks players care about winning as much as the Hawks owmers do. Hiring Rick Sund and Mike Woodson set the precedence.

By Euro Trend

July 23, 2008 9:33 AM | Link to this

Dollars and Sense. The exchange rate 1 Euro = $1.60. That is part of the reason Olympiakos was able to offer so much more than the Hawks. This move reminds me of the North American Soccer League when the New York Cosmos brought in Pele and Franz Beckenbauer…two of the most famous soccer players from their home countries. Granted Pele and Beckenbauer were past their prime and much larger stars than Josh Childress, but the economics of the move and the dynamics of the leagues are very similar. NASL=Euro Basketball…NBA=Intl Futbol Clubs. Can’t blame Chills for taking advantage of the exchange rate and the opportunity to see the world at the age of 25.

I don’t know how much the ASG is to blame for this, but I do know that they better focus their efforts on J. Smith and finding a big man.

By Laker fan

July 23, 2008 9:34 AM | Link to this

Why would you want to keep a guy who obviously is only about money? They offered him $9 million a year and that wasn’t enough for his first big contract in the NBA? You are better off without a guy like that. He’s rich, but not a team guy.

By ATLDawgy

July 23, 2008 9:34 AM | Link to this

This is why MY money stays in MY pocket. Why should I invest MY money in NBA priced season tickets when ASG won’t invest in a quality NBA product? Then when they stumble upon one, they won’t maintain it!

By Pete

July 23, 2008 9:36 AM | Link to this

All of these guys hate Mike Woodson, it is kinda obvious. The owners of the Hawks are a joke as well. Josh should have been starting instead of Grady(Marvin Williams).

By BobWeiss

July 23, 2008 9:36 AM | Link to this

Everybody else must have been watching a different Josh Childress than me the past several years. I’m actually relieved that we didn’t give him a 5 year contract. This league is full of overpaid players like Childress that teams threw big money at hoping they would continue to develop. I simply don’t see greatness with Chilly and would much prefer to spend the money on somebody else.

By Nahjay Davnpoop

July 23, 2008 9:36 AM | Link to this

josh childress? the guy who finished sixth in the sixth man of the year voting who was drafted sixth overall in the draft? WHO CARES. blazing a trail? maybe for mediocre players. childress is so replaceable it’s not even funny, but the real joke is on the hawks, who are so pathetic that a player even considers blazing this trail as opposed to playing for an organization with an ownership so disconnected they probably can’t even call each other on extensions with their office phone.

i think stern should consdier contraction, starting with the hawks. it’s too much to ask for fans of any city to have to put up with the kind of front office behavior atlanta has endured over the past few years.

but i like how that high school kid bolted overseas and skipped college. i really do wish every kid in the country would do that, just to stick it to the ncaa and nba.

By cwm

July 23, 2008 9:36 AM | Link to this

section 104 says: CAN WE HAVE BILLY BACK …. WE WANT BILLY .. WE WANT BILLY …. THE GRASS IS ALWAYS GREENER ……

By B.A.ToDa

July 23, 2008 9:37 AM | Link to this

Does this mean we have more money to throw at Josh Smith now? And i hate that we lost Childress for basically Nothing! Why are we drafting and developing these players if we have no plans for them in the “future”.

By Realist

July 23, 2008 9:37 AM | Link to this

Sekou, you called it the richest contract in Euroleague history, but then you didn’t even tell us how much they are paying him. That is kind of lazy reporting, don’t you think?

By darrell starks

July 23, 2008 9:37 AM | Link to this

THEY ARE BROKE THEY DO NOT HAVE THE MONEY to sign JOSH SMITH trust me when i say this they have been rumor from around the league AND NOW ITS starting to come to light there was never no offer made from ASG SORRY OWNER TO JOSH CHILL I DONT no why people continue to defend this owner ship they have destroy THRASHERS AND NOW THEY ARE OWN THEY way to destroy the HAWKS IN TILL THEY SELL THE TEAM THE HAWKS WILL continue to decline.

By Melvin

July 23, 2008 9:38 AM | Link to this

This should be a serious memo to Stern to resolved this ownership fiasco in Atlanta. This is a black eye on the entire NBA. For those who think the ASG are savvy businessmen. Explain how they loss two players (JCHill & David A.) to FOREIGN TEAMS in the same summer. I wouldn’t be surprise if JSmoove is next to relocate….

By cj

July 23, 2008 9:38 AM | Link to this

this should open up some money to get a bonafide BIG man

By HB Ando

July 23, 2008 9:39 AM | Link to this

Man, already from the comments here, it seems folks don’t understand the true implications of Childress leaving. Pointing a finger at Childress is like blaming the victim.

Is Childress replaceable? Heck yes. But that’s not the point. But in the NBA, your players are assets, and starters, or top of the rotation players, if they are to leave, need to bring assets in return. But the Hawks continue to waste assets (like blowing a #5 overall pick, on Shelden Williams, and using him as a throw-in player, less than a year-and-a-half later, in a 4 for 1 for Bibby).

Childress is replaceable. But watch. They will not replace him with a player of his caliber. They’ll fill in for him with a Luke Jackson, who is a free agent, or a Jeremy Richardson, who has been a borderline NBA player for years.

That’s a diminishment of the product on the floor. And the obvious financial limitations that are exemplified by this situation, will continue to work against the Hawks being a competitive team.

This isn’t about losing Josh Childress. This is about the realization that the organization doesn’t have the resources or the commitment to return to the playoffs again next season.

This team is not on its way up, and never was. It’s simply treading water in the basement of the NBA.

If you don’t see that, if you don’t get that, then simply watch and learn……

By MannyT

July 23, 2008 9:40 AM | Link to this

NBA teams were not as likely to get Chills because they needed the Hawks to cooperate with a sign & trade to pay him. The Hawks understood correctly that they had the upper hand in any NBA deal due to his RFA status. There was no reason to help another team get Josh.

On the other hand, foreign teams did not have to follow any of the NBA rules.

This is like the difference between the average person taking another job inside their company or moving to another company. As far as rules about free agency, the NBA is like one company with each team as a separate division. If you take a job in one division today, the company will not allow you to switch divisions a month or two later if you see a better job. You can quit and go to another company. That’s roughly what Chills has done.

Now that one young, talented player has made the jump, it will be easier for others to follow.

PAIN for the NBA

Good CRAP for the Euros.

By fudd21

July 23, 2008 9:41 AM | Link to this

People calm down. For anyone that has been listening Ando has been telling you for months that the roster wasn’t coming back in tack for financial reasons. I don’t think anyone saw it going down this way, with Josh going to Greece, but we all knew there was a realistic possibility that at least 1 if not 2 of our “core 8” would be leaving. Looks like Jeremy, Luke, and possibly Salim too will be playing for us next year.

By ATLGrounded

July 23, 2008 9:42 AM | Link to this

Man I truly wish that all of the fair weather fans leave this great city!! As a matter of fact, follow Josh to Greece!!! At the sign of uncertainty and discomfort ALL of you crabs start whining and moaning and complaining!! There’s nothing to be done about Chil!! He’s gone! Ok so what! We’ll miss him but he’s not the last swingman in the league!! We’ll get another one and hopefully a better one. So he went to Greece… Ok so what!! That just means that we don’t get to play against him. This gives him an opportunity to potentially become a trailblazer and if it doesn’t work out… he’ll be back here in the A next year! All in all the fear should fall on the NBA and not on Hawks fans. The NBA now has to worry about competing with a new expansion league that for years has been a place for the “not-good-enoughs” or the washed up vets…

So with that being said…. stop crying chumps and get ready for the Falcons…. well nevermind… all you do is whine, moan and complain about my Dirty Birds too…

By Daddyrich

July 23, 2008 9:43 AM | Link to this

Yes, our ownership group is a bunch of idiots, but it would have been stupid to pay Josh Childress more than the 33-34 million he was offered by us. Id rather him play in Europe than us pay him more than 7 mil per season. Im guessing the Greek contract was for 3 years 21-25 million, so I dont blame him for taking the money and getting out.

By Issues

July 23, 2008 9:43 AM | Link to this

I think the issue is Woody. I really don’t think younger players like playing for him because he impedes growth. Big Al is an anomalie. He is going to get his in spite of Woody. Its ridiculous. Only the Hawks. I wonder what is going to happen now with Joe Johnson ( 2yrs unr), Marvin Williams (r after this yr), then Big Al. Wow…..

By Mitch

July 23, 2008 9:43 AM | Link to this

Chills is a free spirit…his signing in Greece does not come as a major surprise. The money is great, the women are fine and the culture is divine. For a Stanford man, these elements are very appealing.

My fondest remembrances of Chills are how hard he played even when the Hawks were getting blown out. Chills is a class act all the way. In terms of effort, he brought it every night…and his production was consistent. He played smart and within himself, as evidenced by his .530 FG percentage. He will be missed…in some ways he was the glue of the team the past couple of years, regardless of whether he was the 6th man.

The question now is, what kind of $$$ Euro teams will throw at J-Smoove???

While it’s more speculative to think that Chills signed with Greece to get away from Woody… with J-Smoove, it’s clearly on his agenda to not have to play for Woody—-whether Sekou wants to keep denying it or not.

Woody has stifled J-Smoove’s game, just as he stifled the Hawks’ style of play.

What we Hawks fans have to hope for now, is that in two years both Woodson and Sund are gone…Steve Belkin becomes the owner finally—-and the organization is put back into capable hands with the hiring of a competent NBA head coach and a smart GM—-just in time to keep the team built around Al Horford and A.C. Law.

By lakerat

July 23, 2008 9:43 AM | Link to this

“HAIR” TODAY - GONE TOMORROW!

By belkin4owner

July 23, 2008 9:43 AM | Link to this

WOW! it says a lot about your ownership and your coach when a player opts to play in the freakin euroleague rather than the NBA. Chill was the only legit bench player we had and could have been 6th man of the year this year, and he bolted for greece! I vote for getting a goon squad together and paying a visit to phillips arena to run off the ASF’NG. These guys are a complete joke! i’m tired of hearing mike gearon and rutheford sydel talk about how much they care about these franchises and this city! what a load of shikaka man. Look guys do us all a favor and just give the team to Steve Belkin, he’s from Boston and would probably care more about this team than this group of broke gibroni’s

By lbj_fan

July 23, 2008 9:44 AM | Link to this

I don’t think it’s a big deal. Childress can take his ugly a* shot to Greece for all I care. He was a horrible pick at #6 when the likes of Iguodala and Deng were available. Maybe he’ll put on some meat on those bones and come back to the hawks in 2 yrs. as a more complete player and not just a slasher.

By greecy1

July 23, 2008 9:44 AM | Link to this

Now we have the coin to get Candace Parker

By Cookie

July 23, 2008 9:45 AM | Link to this

Any NBA veteran who would rather play overseas than in the NBA is a veteran you would rather not have on your team. Obviously, Chills had little to no value to 29 other teams. Plus, he has a history of foot injuries. Good luck to him. Ask Nique how it went for him in Greece. Full contract guaranteed? Yea, right. They still owe Nique millions! Chills will be begging to come back the league!

By Giannis

July 23, 2008 9:47 AM | Link to this

hahahaha guys u can always see him play….FOR OLYMPIAKOS!!! never underestimate europe again, this transfer will broaden the horizons to europeans and more players will come to europe now…is it so painful. oh rutuger guy…playing in olympiakos is hell better than the hawks olympiakos has some history unlike hawks, sry but this is the truth…

By opieandy

July 23, 2008 9:47 AM | Link to this

It’s the NBA. Who cares?

By chris

July 23, 2008 9:47 AM | Link to this

I know that basketball’s become a global game, but still…this is a HUGE black-eye to an ownership group that doesn’t need anymore bad press.

Sell the Hawks and the Thrashers. PLEASE! ASG, YOU’RE KILLING SPORTS IN THIS TOWN!

By Peter

July 23, 2008 9:47 AM | Link to this

I guess the 22 owners of this club need to try to think of a way to get fans to come out this year…….. maybe they should hire a comedian for each game, as the results will probably be a JOKE anyway !

By Tucker

July 23, 2008 9:48 AM | Link to this

Face it, Atlanta does not have an NBA franchise.

By Brad

July 23, 2008 9:49 AM | Link to this

There are several telling notes in this developement. 1) It tells us the Hawks will remain average,they can not re-sign their own average players. 2) It tells us that Chill is an average player who no other NBA team thought much of, and who now chooses to swim in a much smaller pond. This is not just about the money, but the money as it relates to his value as a player. He chose to grab what he could while he could, which is smart on his part. The Spirit is a blunderous bunch who should do as Chill did and sell in order get what they can while they can. Bringing Woodson back was a joke and indicates that the Hawks have low goals. Loosing Chill was not a devastating blow, but another indicator that this group is going nowhere. It is a shame, after they gave the Celtics all they could handle. Joe is too good of a player and too good of a guy to have to endure this!

By B.A.ToDa

July 23, 2008 9:51 AM | Link to this

Childress Will NOT be replaced. I don’t see us bringing in any1 to fill his spot. But hopefully with Childress gone, we have more money to throw at Josh Smith to keep him in town. Atleast keep half of your promise- “our main priority is resigning the Smith’s”.

By dsmith

July 23, 2008 9:53 AM | Link to this

Bill wake up! Defensive liabilty? Cmon Bill do watch the Hawks or even basketball period? Childress was the best on the ball defenders we had and also got several steals that led to several fast break points. Childress did all of the Hawks dirty work, loose balls, tip ins, blocked shots, and guarded big time scorers including point guards, 2 guards and small forwards. Bill please get your facts straight before commenting on a subject you know nothing about.

By Darrell

July 23, 2008 9:55 AM | Link to this

Anybody that thinks that Chills was over rated obviously didn’t watch the games or isn’t a Hawks fan…this dude did the dirty work when everybody else was standing around. He hit the boards and played even better without the ball creating points anyway he could. His game suffered because he took the high road and came of the bench 1) because Marvin couldn’t handle bench duty and 2) there was nobody else on the bench that Woodson trusted.

By MercerJD

July 23, 2008 9:56 AM | Link to this

This is not a blow to this organization. For four years, the Hawks have suffered through Billy Knight’s draft where he picked essentially the same player, Childress and Smith, twice in the first round.

In four years a 6th overall pick was the first guy off the bench, and the other guy, Smith, was a headcase, who played a me-first game.

Neither got along with the coach, neither gave any indication that they were playing a team sport.

Now, management is in. They are rectifying all the issues of the Knight-era, be it financial, scheme, or personal in nature.

Sund isn’t doing it with a bunch of PR savvy, but so what? Have you seen the Hawks since 1999? This is a speed bump compared to hiring Terry Stotts or signing Isaiah Rider.

And the rest of the league is essentially agreeing with Sund and the Hawks. Sekou, where are the offers? Nobody else in the NBA wants these two, so why should we sign them? So we can finish 10 games under 500 again in a crappy conference? Please.

The only people that are upset about this, Sekou, whose only sources for stories are the agents for the Joshes, or those who haven’t bothered to watch a game since Mookie Blaylock left.

By Nahjay Davnpoop

July 23, 2008 9:56 AM | Link to this

hb ando,

you are not enlightening anyone with your regirgitated, psuedo-reporting, so take your convoluted statements to a special ed class,where you can be far more impactful.

By DASKALOS7

July 23, 2008 10:00 AM | Link to this

WELCOME TO THE CLUB JOSH , WE WILL HAVE A GREAT SEASON :))

By hawks fan

July 23, 2008 10:00 AM | Link to this

i actually think that as long as Chill is out of the NBA we should be well off.. as long as he isnt playing against the Hawks organization, we should be fine.

on the other hand… the hawks ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO sign Josh Smith.. if they fail to do so, then the team will suck.. They also have to sign a big man such as Brown..

go hawks

By Olmpiacos Front Office

July 23, 2008 10:01 AM | Link to this

Suckers.

By Gerry

July 23, 2008 10:01 AM | Link to this

Brandon Jennings may have opted to play in Europe but it probably isn’t “over playing at Arizona” since he has yet to meet NCAA requirements with his standardized test score and has had a prior test red-flagged by the NCAA. This decision by Childress is only comparable with Jennings in that they are both from California.

By Ben

July 23, 2008 10:02 AM | Link to this

A few thoughts

1) Be real, people—J Chill really isnt that good of a player. The guy averaged 12 ppg with us, got big minutes, is soft, can’t create offense, and has horrendous mental break downs (See the NJN February 7, 2007 games if you don’t believe me)

2) ASG Blows

3) Chillz turned down a 33 million offer to go play in a soft league with people he can’t even understand?

4) ” They do whatever they can to make you feel at home.”

Damning quote.

By Vito

July 23, 2008 10:03 AM | Link to this

WELL DO THIS MEAN WE CAN GO GET DENG OH DAMN THIS DA HAWKS

By Astro Joe

July 23, 2008 10:03 AM | Link to this

So what we really need is a back-up to Marvin, I say take a look at Quinton Ross, Devin Brown, Devean George or Maurice Evans. If the Hawks could trade for Damien Wilkins, they should also see if they could make that happen. But first and foremost, let’s get Smith and Kwame signed.

Ultimately, I think Chill stays gone ofr 1 season and returns next year to the NBA. If the Hawks ownership fiasco is settled, there is a better chance that they will agree to a S & T, especially with Bibby & Zaza (and possibly Speedy) leaving the payroll. He essentially postpones his RFA status by 1-year until the team’s situation provides a more favorable climate for him to get paid. Smart, if you ask me.

By the way, did that Jennings kid pass the SAT/ACT tests? I didn’t think he could get into Arizona and was forced to consider other options, I didn’t realize that he had met the entry standards and opted out of the scholarship.

By GA all day

July 23, 2008 10:03 AM | Link to this

Honestly, Im ready to say f@# all these Atlanta teams. The Falcons turn their backs on players for “image” reasons. The Braves are playing with a minor-league roster. The Hawks pull this dumb sht. I always support the home teams through the good and the bad but I nominate Atlanta, GA to win the ESPN crown for being the “NO-TITLE-TOWN”

By Chris

July 23, 2008 10:03 AM | Link to this

Lets not react so harshly, this is afterall only Josh Childress. not a star, not a great talent, guys like this are common so let a Greek team pay him millions and they Hawks can find another average player with bad afro and bad teeth to take his place.

By Paddy

July 23, 2008 10:03 AM | Link to this

Hey, wait one dam minute there. Don’t jump ugly on the ASG. They have proven time after time they are “Big Time” owners and are always ahead of the curve. They will get out of this mess like thay always do. They are smart and know sports really, really good. And they have alot of money and make a profit every year. So what if the empty seats at Phillips will outnumber the fans. The ASG will have an answer for us any day now and it will be a really, really smart move on their part. Have faith, they have never let us down before and they won’t let us down now. I think we have a chance to win it all this year and will probably sweep Seattle also. They also know that we don’t need Josh Smith anymore. You just wait, our NBA ship is about to arrive and with it the next NBA trophy. GOOOOOOHawks and God Bless the ASG.

By Realist

July 23, 2008 10:04 AM | Link to this

Does Olympiakos have any money left over for Josh Smith? One can hope…

By Jeremy

July 23, 2008 10:04 AM | Link to this

Makes me sick.

By Linclarry

July 23, 2008 10:06 AM | Link to this

Randy posted: Spirit offered Childress 5 years and 34 million and Josh turned it down for 3 and 20 in Greece. That speaks a great deal about our organization!

Response:

No this actually says a great deal about the current economic difficulty with the dollar vs. the Euro. All that money he signed for is TAX FREE! It also speaks to the fact that unlike the NBA, the EURO LEAGUE has NO salary cap and can offer whatever they are willing to pay. Yep, that sound you hear is Pandora’s Box opening.

By Lacsho

July 23, 2008 10:06 AM | Link to this

Ando I agree with you 100%. I wonder if Stern has the power to resolve this ownership debacle. Bottom line things won’t be right in Hawksville as long as this ownership group is intact.

Wow I guest there’s going to be a big crowd at Phillips next week to buy season tickets.

By Mitch

July 23, 2008 10:06 AM | Link to this

Best scenario…a sign and trade with the Clippers: Josh Smith for Marcus Camby and Al Thornton.

Camby can start in the midde and be the shot blocker the Hawks need w/o Smith. Al Horford can slide over to PF…and Thornton becomes the scorer off the bench in Childress’ role.

Camby has one year left, but, with a good season they may be able to re-sign him.

The question is: would the Clippers be enamored enough with J-Smoove to part with Thornton, a player they really like, and with good reason. But…Smith would electrify their team in ways that Thornton cannot.

By DAP01

July 23, 2008 10:06 AM | Link to this

After years of rebuilding, years of being patient, we find out that they did not have a plan, that the owners and management are idiots.

By B. Thenet

July 23, 2008 10:08 AM | Link to this

The big loser in this is the GM of that team in Greece. Josh Childress is the highest paid basketball player in Europe, EVER?

Ha Ha Ha

He will beg to come back next season after they boo him off the court in Greece.

By loco

July 23, 2008 10:08 AM | Link to this

plympiakos gives him 20m free taxes!!! lol

By loco

July 23, 2008 10:08 AM | Link to this

plympiakos gives him 20m free taxes!!! lol

By Darrell

July 23, 2008 10:09 AM | Link to this

Who cares what happens to Marvin!!!!

By B.A.ToDa

July 23, 2008 10:09 AM | Link to this

Mercer i think you have too much faith in the organization that even if we lose both Josh’s will come out good in the long run. Me, personally, i don’t see that happening. It will hurt us in bringing in other quality players and even resigning our Own Guys in the future. We’re still on pace of staying a “Lottery Team” year-in-and-out. I just hate that we never had a top 3 pick when LBJ, Melo, and Wade was up in there.

By darrell starks

July 23, 2008 10:10 AM | Link to this

TED TURNER SHOULD TRY AND GET THIS TEAM BACK OR COKE COLA MUST TRY AND BUY THIS TEAM NOW.THIS franchise is worth only 280million A GOOD OWNER COULD COME IN HERE INVEST MONEY AND DOUBLE IT BUT YOU HAVE TO SPEND MONEY TO MAKE MONEY and that the truth if a good owner come in here and put a good team on the floor this city will support YOU AND YOU WILL TRIPLE YOUR MONEY QUICK DO WE HAVE ANY BUYERS?

By Rob

July 23, 2008 10:12 AM | Link to this

Can we fire the owners of the Hawks? How bad is our team that a young player would rather go to Greece then to play for the Hawks.

The Atlanta Spirit ownership group is a joke.

By Dimitrios

July 23, 2008 10:14 AM | Link to this

Some of you didnt even know Olympiakos….now its time to learn about Olympiakos and his history…not only in basketball but also in volley,polo, soccer swimming, for all the sports….then you will know why Chil come here…..www.olympiakos.org.gr…..this is Greece…

By The Truth Is....

July 23, 2008 10:15 AM | Link to this

Moore was right. Worst sports town in America….

By SS

July 23, 2008 10:15 AM | Link to this

This is the top 5 reasons that this deal is a killer for this pathetic organization, and none of them have to do with the talent or contributions of Childress:

1. Free agents will not respect this franchise’s (stated) commitment to winning; therefore none will want to come here.
2. They let a quality mid-level player vacate the roster without any compensation; therefore, they must now replace him by either picking up a lesser talent in free agency or a young guy that isn’t ready to play. This is inexcusable.
3. Other guys on the team will question the team’s commitment or ability to spend the money to secure them long-term. This almost guarantees future defections.
4. Mike Woodson is firmly entrenched as the controlling party of this franchise now. If guys aren’t willing to subject themselves to his style, they will be gone. How does a guy with a .238 winning percentage earn that level of power?
5. All the good will and positivity earned by this team during the playoffs is now gone with the wind.

How is it that the ASG can manage to run 2 franchises into the ground in 5 years? They fired a Stanley Cup champion coach in favor of a 9 year losing GM after the team’s only playoff season, and they turn around and extend the contract of a coach who doesn’t even win an average of once per week (assuming 4 games per week).

By j

July 23, 2008 10:16 AM | Link to this

Hello, Well, as usual, the Hawks will make National headlines for something inept. As has been pointed out repeatedly, no other NBA franchises put a contract on the table. I am quite curious to see how ASG is going to spin this situation. At the beginning of Free Agency, I expected we would not resign both of our RFA’s. I really just hope and hoped we could resign Smoove. Come to that, I really think this will pressure ASG to make a competitive offer to Smith. Not the qualifying offer but a 6 year contract. Here’s to hoping. Cheers, J

By KevinM

July 23, 2008 10:16 AM | Link to this

You know what plan Rick Sund and the Stagnates have in place for losing Chills? Nothing! It is obvious. This offseason is a disaster. This can get uglier very quickly. Congrats to Chills and I hope you get the $$ you have been promised in Greece. You trumped the group here in Atlanta. Now, Smoove has the trump card here. I don’t see him leaving the states because of his roots here. Transactions so far this offseason: - Stagnate group signs a demoted Rick Sund from Seattle. - Sund and the Stagantes sign Woody to a 2 year extension. - The Hawks ‘work out’ Kwame Brown and Randolph Morris. - Chills to Greece.

Well, so far, how excited are you fans about getting to Philips and buying season tickets? What is really sad here is the people who have bought season tickets and believe in the management decisions this group makes, and continues to make. My thought is if you aren’t trying to contend for a title, then you don’t belong in this organization. Mike Gearon, explain this move! Your market viable offer to Chills just doesn’t sound legitimate. The only time Chills was mentioned in this offseason was AFTER he landed in Greece.

By TheHawksFan

July 23, 2008 10:17 AM | Link to this

Hair Today Gone Tomorrow, Now that was funny. Low Ball in effect. I guess you really do have to question if there was ANY offer on the table at all to either Josh. I will question the AJC. Why the whole time the Hawks were winning in SL no Headlines. They lose 1 game then there is a Write Up. Go Figure. Good Luck Chilly. Take Care. See Ya Soon. Hopefully next summer.

By josh

July 23, 2008 10:18 AM | Link to this

ASG Sucks! What the hell is Sund doing? More embarressed today of the hawks then ever.

By RG

July 23, 2008 10:18 AM | Link to this

Pathetic, we would be better off if we didn’t even have an NBA franchise. Maybe St. Louis will take them back.

By MannyT

July 23, 2008 10:19 AM | Link to this

We will never know for sure, but aside from this unprecedented action, the best pay Chills could get in the NBA/North America was with the Hawks. Without the Olympiacos deal, that 5 yr/35 mil was a reasonable offer. Year 1 of that deal is about 1 mil higher than his tender. Chills was NOT the guy that would put strain on the salary budget.

The budget strain potentially comes from the guy that is still out there—Smith.

Now buzz is popping up about him going to Europe. While it might be possible, I think this one is less likely. I would imagine there is less of a spread between his NBA and European value.

WASP

By GaDawg

July 23, 2008 10:19 AM | Link to this

Who cares about the hawks. Way to go Childress. Why be play less for one of the worst franchises in NBA history when you can be the league all-start somewhere else? Enjoy the experience.

By Joshua

July 23, 2008 10:19 AM | Link to this

you know what forget Chill he’s an idiot take that mone yand get some help off the bench 7 mil goes a long way and sos

By Manny

July 23, 2008 10:20 AM | Link to this

I think it’s a dumb move. On Childress’ part.

It’s like this: His game is so soft that he’ll take a big salary from Greece? He didn’t think that he could make a strong name for himself with another team in the NBA? SO he had to go to Greece to get his money?

To me, the NBA is THE League. That’s where the big boys play. I mean, you couldn’t demand a trade from the Hawks?

That’s pretty weak. I wish him the best, though. His NBA career, though, is over.

By Jeff

July 23, 2008 10:20 AM | Link to this

Did anyone hear Drew Barry talking about how notorious the Greek leagues are for not paying timely or at all? Bad move for Chills. I have also heard Gearon speak a few times about how coveted many teams thought Childress was – must have been more B.S. Regardless of Childress’ shortcomings every team could use a high energy guy, even the BRAVES!!!

By David

July 23, 2008 10:21 AM | Link to this

who cares? come get me if smith leaves

By Joshua

July 23, 2008 10:23 AM | Link to this

A R T H U R B L A N K

By brian2370

July 23, 2008 10:23 AM | Link to this

Does this surpise anyone… coming from this ownership group? Now rumors are abound that Josh Smith may go overseas as well. Can’t wait to hear how they will spin this as a poisitive, come clean Atl spirit. You blew it.

By Joshua

July 23, 2008 10:24 AM | Link to this

A R T H U R B L A N K

By sherri

July 23, 2008 10:24 AM | Link to this

What’s the BIG DEAL? International players come over here and play all the time. I wish him luck!

By Star of the Zanarkand Abes!

July 23, 2008 10:25 AM | Link to this

I hate to lose him, but I would have left this ownership fiasco too. Olympiakos is a great team, and Athens is one HELL of an exciting city to live in.

GOOD LUCK, CHILLZ!!!

By SS

July 23, 2008 10:25 AM | Link to this

To “B.A. ToDa”: you’re an optimist. Even if the Hawks had a top 3 pick in 2003, we would have probably drafted Milicic or Chris Kaman. There is absolutely no reason to believe that they would have drafted LBJ, Bosh, Wade, Melo or even T.J. Ford who would have been a reach at 3. Given the Hawks draft history, there is very little to make me think that they would have made the right choice in that draft even though it was loaded.

By J. Petrash

July 23, 2008 10:26 AM | Link to this

This is not the end of the world people and it’s not all the fault of the ASG. Look at the big picture…. Childress just received a tax-free contract paying him more than 7 million dollars a year (according to reports). Like another post said, the contract often includes housing, a car and other perks. That means that the hawks were going to have to pay him 9-10mil a year to equal that contract. Who would say that he’s worth that much $ as a Hawk? I love Chill’s game but that’s way too much money to spend on a 6th man who averages 12 and 6. Good for Childress for leaving. Who wouldn’t take that $ and go to Greece?

By just go

July 23, 2008 10:27 AM | Link to this

I hear Seattle is looking for a new team!

By Ben

July 23, 2008 10:27 AM | Link to this

Chillz turned down 34 million to go play in Greece?

He was already overpaid in his rookie contract, as there were at least 4 or players taken below him who had better numbers.

By j

July 23, 2008 10:28 AM | Link to this

Hello, GaDawg, it is idiots like you that keep our professional franchises on life support. I am a UGA grad and supporter but I still care about our pro teams.

By BigTimeGaTechFan

July 23, 2008 10:31 AM | Link to this

Yes, Yes, Yes, good move. I was fearing the Hawks would over pay JC to match other offers. He was never that good and a wasted 1st round pick. Childress very over rated, sign in Greece because he was not very wanted in NBA after testing Free-Agent market. Thought we may have anouther John Konkac situation.

By indyhawkfan

July 23, 2008 10:31 AM | Link to this

Let’s all get some things straight:

What is so frustrating to life-long Hawks fans like myself is the there is no hope for the future. With bad draft choices (we had NONE this year) and questionable trades, to go along with losing your RFAs, the future is clear. This once promising team will be defunct by 2010.

I am really sad today. Not only because J-Chill is gone, but because of the message that has been sent: “Atlanta is Losertown, USA.”

…….Don’t even begin to ask me about the Braves!

By MannyT

July 23, 2008 10:31 AM | Link to this

Astro Joe Brandon Jennings did get his number on his 2nd try on a standardized test. The NCAA thought there might have been something unusual about the 2nd try and asked him to do a 3rd. He did, but opted for Europe before the results became public.

For those who look down on Josh for taking this deal, let me know the last time you turned down a big pay raise. Some of the highest paid NBA folks were not the best players—a few of them were not even playing. Recall the one time deal to waive big salaries a few years ago. Recently guys like Allan Houston, Chris Webber, & Michael Finley have made close to $20 mil without even being on the active roster of the teams that paid them.

With the wider lane and less imposing shot blockers, Chills should be ok—a star, but not necessarily the best player in the league (like Finley, Houston, & Webber were when they signed those big contracts.)

WASP

By Gyro

July 23, 2008 10:32 AM | Link to this

One thing’s for certain - these bloggers who say that Childress is overrated do not attend many if any Hawks games - he had the highest Basketball IQ on the team which is why he inbounded the ball in crucial situations - he was a backup point - he rarely misses within 8 feet - he was solid from the line - his FG %tage was 50 plus - he plays defense, dishes and can run the floor - let’s face it, he was a nice player - the ASG was already in my doghouse now Sund is in there too - the ASG is going to do whatever they do on the cheap - they are going to pinch pennies and hope for the best - we can either play along and show up at Philips or we can stay at home

By Ed

July 23, 2008 10:32 AM | Link to this

This is insane! And he didn’t even get an insanely high contract. Was this the ownership forcing the nickel and diming or can we consider Sund a disaster already?

By toby

July 23, 2008 10:32 AM | Link to this

What are you guys smoking? Did you actually watch any Hawks games this year? If you did then you saw every team in the league immediately post up Childress whenever he entered the game, and it worked. Enjoy the feta Chills, I ain’t gonna miss ya.

By George Holman

July 23, 2008 10:33 AM | Link to this

Sheer incompetence. There is no other way to look at it.

By Stephen

July 23, 2008 10:34 AM | Link to this

I can’t believe all the comments that feel that ASG is in the wrong here. They offered him a way bigger contract than he deserved and he went to Greece. They drafted him #6 when he was a mid-first round pick at best. He is a 6th man!!! You don’t pick a guy #6 (especially when Deng was available) to be a 6th man. I am glad he didn’t take the money, now maybe we can get a starter which is what we should have drafted in the first place. See ya big hair man. Have fun in Greece.

By Serhat

July 23, 2008 10:35 AM | Link to this

Big loss for the team. We will miss his unique shooting style.

By VP of Common Sense

July 23, 2008 10:35 AM | Link to this

One thing that everyone seems to be forgetting is that Chills was a Restricted free agent. That means that not only was he unable to get the money that he wanted from the Hawks, but also that NO OTHER NBA TEAM did either. Obviously no one around the NBA thought that Chills was worth significant money.

I am not a fan of the ASG, but the blame should not fall totally on them.

Chills could not find what he wanted (salary, team and role) during his restricted free agency stint here in the states. Best of luck overseas. I will be interested to see what happens in 3 years. My guess is that Chills becomes forgettable to most of the NBA and ends up signing a $2 mil a year deal with a contender.

By David McDavid

July 23, 2008 10:35 AM | Link to this

Let me ask the fans of Atlanta? Do you think if I was owner, I would have let this happen? If that punk, David Stern had manned up and made Time Warner hold up there end of the bargain the Hawks and Thrashers would be worth supporting. I would have fired everybody. I would have made local radio fan “Mel of Southwest Atlanta” President of both organizations. John Drew would be GM of the Hawks, and John Kincade GM of the Thrashers. I would have created side deals with Free Agents that would give them free cars from all of dealerships in Dallas. Then to really help the fans I would have moved both teams to Oklahoma City before the sorry a@! Sonics did. Because you know the city of Atlanta really sucks as a sport towns as some ajc columnist put it.

By B.A.ToDa

July 23, 2008 10:35 AM | Link to this

lol if Josh Smith goes overseas we might as well get ready for the Hawks to be debating about what city they will be in Next.

By sathefari

July 23, 2008 10:35 AM | Link to this

Hate to say it but good deal for Childress, I think he will be much happier there than in a Hawks uniform. Its obvious that in Europe they play better team basketball, unlike the me-me-me, watch! I can slam dunk NBA..

By bigjohnhawkfan

July 23, 2008 10:36 AM | Link to this

Great, now we let Josh Childress slip away to Dominique Wikson’s old team. And the Braves are trading Mark Texas too?! What next? Al Hartford? I just hope the Falcons don’t trade Keith Brookings!

By Bruce

July 23, 2008 10:36 AM | Link to this

Who cares, I would rather watch paint dry than these overpaid Primadonas in the NBA, especially the Atlanta Loser Hawks.

By Navid

July 23, 2008 10:36 AM | Link to this

FIRE COACH WOODSON.

By durttydogg

July 23, 2008 10:39 AM | Link to this

I HATE THIS CITY! IM A GA BOY TO THE HEART BUT ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. STOP BUYING TICKETS PEOPLE. STOP! WE HAVE TO SHOW THEM THAT WE ARE TIRED OF ALL THE BULL. WE WANT TO WIN…PERIOD!! DONT GO TO THE GAMES AND MAKE THEM MOVE OR SELL OR SOMETHING. I CAN TAKE IT ANYMORE. THIS IS A JOKE AND WE ARE ALWAYS THE ONES LAUGHED AT!

By Alan

July 23, 2008 10:39 AM | Link to this

Childress made the right move. NBA talent is getting watered down with more high-school players and players not finishing 4 years of college entering the league. Add to that the plummeting of the dollar, and ways the NBA managed to undermine itself with the salary cap and the “luxury tax”, and it wasn’t a hard decision. The European game has caught up with us for some time now; our “dream team” got it’s tail kicked recently by the Greek national team if you recall. Plus guess what? Teams in the European league don’t treat players like warm bodies and the game is still accessible to regular folks; not just corporate people who pay $5,000 for seat outside the nosebleed section. The NBA is done; it’s best days are behind it.

By Lee

July 23, 2008 10:40 AM | Link to this

I don’t blame him..for leaving the Hawks…bad ownership….bad coach.. Please sell this team….

By Roger

July 23, 2008 10:40 AM | Link to this

Childress has made the smart move. If he can opt out at the end of each season of the Greek deal, then he can see if the Hawks still have his rights and the situation changes, or he can live the life as a superstar in Europe. In the Euroleague he will play fewer games and have less wear and tear on his body.

Do not blame Rick Sund, blame his bosses who won’t give him the ability to make the right deals. Also blame the ASG who were deeply fooled by a playoff performance they thought related to the head coaching when it was not. Woodson is inept, and apparently did not have the respect of the players. What players did the ASG talk to before rehiring him?

By Mack Truk

July 23, 2008 10:43 AM | Link to this

It was just yesterday, I voted on the Hawks AJC page that he would leave. I be damned if I ain’t some kind of clairvoyant!! The Euro is worth more than the US Dollar, so whatever he makes over there is worth more here WHEN he comes back. The same amount of money the Hawks were going to offer for 5-6 years, The “So So Def” guy got it in a 3 year deal AND the money’s worth more when he returns to the US. I salute his agents. This is more about the state of the economy than anything else. It just makes sense.

But the ASG should sell the Hawks AND Thrashers. The should’ve never been in this position. Especially with Childress. He’s a Sixth man. A very good one, I should add, but he should’ve been all wrapped up a long time ago. I figured the problem would be coming from J-Smoove with this whole free agency thing. Now the ASG will have to make some real moves to compensate. This was personally devasting for me as an admitted Hawks fan.

Sincerely,

Oh Well

By Stephen

July 23, 2008 10:44 AM | Link to this

Gyro, He may have been a nice player, but he wasn’t an impact player. He is a mid-level contract guy. He couldn’t start for this team and would never be an all-star. That is not a #6 pick or a guy you pay a ton of money to. Maybe the Hawks can be rid of a mistake of a lottery pick and have some cash freed up.

By MannyT

July 23, 2008 10:44 AM | Link to this

Manny & MannyT are different folks with clearly differing opinions on Chills and his career.

Let him go over there for a few years and come back. I think this plays well with Stern’s plans for global expansion. Players that are recognized on multiple continents help to sell your league.

WASP

By hazer

July 23, 2008 10:45 AM | Link to this

Big woop. Everybody CHILL. Damn, that’s funny.

But, yeah, so what? Chillz sold out for more money, and I think the Hawks offer was fair for his level of talent. Which I was never that impressed with.

Yeah, he hustled and brought energy off the bench. But his points were all scraps, his release was too low and flickted to be effective with somebody in his face, and he can be replaced with better/cheaper. Plus Acie, West, Richardson, and Marv will all get more playing time now which is a positive in my opinion.

Didn’t most of us feel like we’d probably keep Smoove and loose Chillz anyway? What’s so surprising? Now they can concentrate on getting the important Josh signed.

By martin

July 23, 2008 10:46 AM | Link to this

Unreal, really does show the lack of respect players have for the hawks management team and coach. I was a season ticket holder for 3 years and did not renew for next season b/c they doubled the price of tickets. They explained to me they are trying to keep up with nba standards. Please explain how losing a 1st round pick to a Euro league is keeping up with the league. And they wonder why nobody buys tickets.

By Ben in Athens

July 23, 2008 10:46 AM | Link to this

Who can blame the man? Get paid like that and spend a couple years in Greece? Sign me up!

By wmac

July 23, 2008 10:47 AM | Link to this

It was a good deal for Childress, can’t blame him.. He was a really good bench player. I can’t think of him as a starter, another draft down the tubes.

By MGL

July 23, 2008 10:47 AM | Link to this

Same old HAWKS !!!

By B.A.ToDa

July 23, 2008 10:49 AM | Link to this

Stop buying tickets? By the looks of it, the city never buy tickets until 1 our franchises start winning. I thought that coming off the playoff apearance would help alot for this upcoming, and it still can… we just have to replace Chill (somehow) and make sure we keep Smith. If we lose Smith then Phillips Arena will continue to look as dead as ever.

It makes no sense to lose both of our 1st round picks- who turned out to be productive to this team, in 1 summer.

By Brad

July 23, 2008 10:51 AM | Link to this

remember—-NO TEAM HAS OFFERED EITHER OF THE JOSHES A CONTRACT FOR THE HAWKS TO MATCH—-NOT ONE. the Hawks offered Childress 35 million over 5 years—he turned it dowm. the team in Greece will pay him a little more, but he will be a starter and one of the big stars in europe. sounds like he went with the fame and little more cash, but he is out of the NBA

By PROUDTECHFAN

July 23, 2008 10:51 AM | Link to this

well, there goes any chance of me buying season tickets. and its not because they let childress get away, its because this franchise doesnt seem to believe in building off the momentum of last season. This whole Childress and Smith fiasco has gone way too far. If Smith somehow gets away, this is going to be a long season. its not too late ASG, sign Randolph resign Smith and get us a shooter like Jarvis Hayes, and lets start next season off right…

By middleagedwhiteguy

July 23, 2008 10:53 AM | Link to this

Maybe he can get his teeth fixed while he’s over there.

By B.A.ToDa

July 23, 2008 10:53 AM | Link to this

to “SS” you’re right. Who knows, we probably would of blown our draft picks that year lol.

By Big Man

July 23, 2008 10:53 AM | Link to this

Well I will have plenty of money in my pockets this year since I won’t be spending it on any sports teams here. I will only attend high school games. For the first time in my life I must admit that Atlanta is truly a cursed and horrible sports town.

By MIKE

July 23, 2008 10:54 AM | Link to this

Sounds like someone’s getting a good deal and it’s not the Athens team!

By Patrick

July 23, 2008 10:55 AM | Link to this

it’s not about the money…well sorta. No one was going to offer him a deal because they knew the Hawks would go higher. JC did not want to play for the Hawks….for any amount of money. So the only way for him to skip town is to leave and play in Europe for a couple years. Then he can come back and play next summer (hot FA market) or stay long enough to get the Hawks outta his HAIR. If the ASG ran a more respected organization then players would want to play for them. At least the crappy Falcons can get talent to come to Atlanta. (see M Turner)

By Karl Rove

July 23, 2008 10:57 AM | Link to this

C’mon this is America land of the free!

Agents dictate to players how much they think they are worth! Average 11.5 point for a career and you want more then 6 million a year. When did average players start to get paid so much!

Oh now I know why the league is so watered down the talent level is very low so agents are pushing these teams to play more the most of these players are worth.

The Hawks management should have gotten rid of Woodie! He is like not a good coach!

By Tap Daddy

July 23, 2008 10:58 AM | Link to this

All this means is the Hawks need other players to step up……Marvin is the starting small forward and will be asked to play more minutes…if he struggles look for Josh Smith to get more minutes at the 3, horford to slide over to his natural position the 4 and Zaza and which ever big we get Kwame or Randolph to hold down the middle….As good of a role player as Childress was, he still was just a role player and those 29 minutes a game he gave the Hawks can be replaced……Although the Hawks made the playoff they were a 37-45 team!!! Numbers dont lie, thats a below 500 team…so losing one role player from a below 500 team in my opinion isnt a huge loss….And i dont blame ownership for this loss, i dont think any team was willing to give Chills the money he could get in Greece…Kudos to his agent for getting him a great deal…….

By Richie Rich

July 23, 2008 10:59 AM | Link to this

THIS ABSOLUTELY JUST MADE MY DAY!!!!

By RaJaH

July 23, 2008 11:00 AM | Link to this

Where do I sign up for the goon squad?

By Hawks Fan In Jacksonville

July 23, 2008 11:00 AM | Link to this

IF WE ARE NOT GOING TO SIGN JOSH SMITH, THEN DO A SIGN AND TRADE WITH PHILLY & GET A.I. JUST AS ATHLETIC WITH MORE OFFENSIVE SKILLS AND WOULD BE A GREAT #2 SCORER FOR THIS TEAM OR JUST OFFER DUDE A CONTRACT AND MAKE PHILLY MATCH IT

c-KWAME BROWN

pf-AL HORFORD

sf-JOE JOHNSON

sg-A.I.

pg-MIKE BIBBY

6th-MARVIN WILLIAMS

THATS WHAT THIS TEAM NEEDS TO AT LEAST BE TAKEN SOMEWHAT SERIOUSLY.

By Johnnyd

July 23, 2008 11:00 AM | Link to this

Man I remember a couple of months ago there was something on sportscenter about doomed sports cities….and I think we were in the top 3……with this we should be right at the top! Other than a college football team (UGA) we honestly do not have a good team in this state anymore!!! The pathetic hawks ownership better get off their butts, RESIGN JOSH SMITH, and make a splash in free agency and AT LEAST get a solid 6th man even though other than Manu Ginobli, Childress was the best 6th man in the league……good God the second this franchise gets a glimmer of hope for the future, ownership screws it all up…today I am ashamed to be a hawks fan

By Clyde

July 23, 2008 11:00 AM | Link to this

What’s up yall. I have to give all yall old school bloggers credit for sticking with this. When they gave Woody an extension I said I was done but after this JChill crap I am officially done. I don’t know how much more of this yall can take.

For all of you that say the Spirit group won’t spend money your wrong. They have spent money but they have not spent it wisely. JJ, Speedy, Bibby, and even Marvin are good players but they are getting paid way too much. Thus crippling the organization.

I love the Hawks but I can’t support them as long as the Spirit group are around. They just don’t know how to run a NBA franchise. Where is David McDavid when you need him?

By Alan

July 23, 2008 11:01 AM | Link to this

If you think the Greek team paid “a lot”… you just wait until teams from Italy, Israel, and Spain get into it. The day when blue-chip players will opt for Europe rather than the NBA is very very near.

By JR

July 23, 2008 11:01 AM | Link to this

When you get over the fact that a player, that can’t even crack the starting line-up of a very mediocre team after four years, is offered $20 million or $35 million, you have to marvel at the incompetence of the Hawks ownership. If they seriously wanted Childress to stay, why didn’t they get it done? Their strategy to let other teams wine and dine the Joshes and then match offers was a stupid ploy to devalue two of their best players. They obviously are so inept that they didn’t even consider that European teams don’t work under NBA rules. Jeez!

By B.A.ToDa

July 23, 2008 11:03 AM | Link to this

Cosign “PROUDTECHFAN”, it’s still not too late to go into the season with potential.

And every1 says that neither 1 of the Josh’s never got an offer from any NBA teams, i know this is true. But knowing the Hawks, i have a feeling they probably wouldn’t of matched- especially if some team was throwing in a good amount of money. Lets say Philly would have offered Smith 1st, i wouldn’t have that much confidence in the Hawks keeping to their word.

I actually think we’re in a better shape since no1 did offer Smith a contract, hopefully we can just get the talks worked out on both sides. Please don’t start the season w/o both of the joshes.

By ricknole

July 23, 2008 11:04 AM | Link to this

Congrats to Chills, my favorite Hawk, eventhough the team sucked, he always played hard.

ASG…wow when will this saga end??

By The Flash

July 23, 2008 11:04 AM | Link to this

TRUST You all, or a faint few of you, will remember that when I started posting here it was because the entire city and all its talking heads were blaming on my boy Belkin.

I told you then that Gearon was untrustworthy in the extreme, and that trust is the single ingredient that a team in any sport cannot do without. I also told you that trust starts at the top. If you have deviousness there, it infects the organization.

Many discounted what I was saying, I mean Belkin was my boy and what’s this nonsense about trust; we care about getting the next Magic Johnson to be our savior, unless we do nobody will want to play in this town, yadayadayada.

The Spirit were born of duplicity, they threw their guy BK under the bus after he sold his soul on that Belkin thing.

Childress is a bright and principled young man, whom I always thought was a tremendous asset to this team. I share my man Andoman’s outrage at his loss, but disagree that it was about the money. Trust, if you don’t have it, it is palpable and as long as Gearon runs the show, that’s the list.

By MGL

July 23, 2008 11:05 AM | Link to this

Same old HAWKS !!!

By Reality Check

July 23, 2008 11:08 AM | Link to this

Time for a reality check: This isn’t a Basketball, baseball or Hockey town. This is a Football town, plain and simple.

As long as we have UGA and the Falcoms, who cares if the rest leave?

UGA …… sells out consistantly Falcons …. near full crowds with terrible teams Hawks & Thrashers ….. 50-70% full Braves …… couldn’t sell out playoff games.

Reality time!

By L. Brown

July 23, 2008 11:08 AM | Link to this

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!! This team had the city and surrounding areas really excited about the hawks, their young nucleus and where the team was headed in the future. Josh Smith is one of the most uniquely skilled players in the NBA who has been getting better every year. Josh Childress was your spark off the bench and a pretty good defender. And this organization is on the verge of losing both of them. It’s hard being a Hawks fan. It really is. You want to support the team but the organization destroys all the momentum created by the playoff run and have the fans not trusting the organization. Did they raise ticket prices? I wouldn’t be surprised.

By phatt

July 23, 2008 11:08 AM | Link to this

You people trip me out. Why would we over pay a guy who doesn’t even start? So, it can strap us later on so we can’t sign anyone or make any roster moves. He was obviously looking for MONEY and wanted to be the focus of a team. GOOD riddence.

It’s the same with the Braves. Everyone was b*** and complaining because management didn’t try to sign Andruw Jones. Had we signed him, we would have had NO flexibility to sign anyone else. I like the approach, but it’s going to take time to take shape.

Give it some time and quit complaining about everything.

By drapesona

July 23, 2008 11:08 AM | Link to this

Thrylos pantou re!!!!!! Ola sto kokino.

Dratsa 7

By cg

July 23, 2008 11:09 AM | Link to this

It’s definitely a blow to the Hawks as the team looked to be moving foward in the right direction. However my question is this? How many more “6th, 7th, or 8th men” will we see moving overseas to get paid. With the strength of the Euro against the dollar that only makes these contracts cheaper to European teams. Remember basketball is a team sport and while there is no threat that superstars will ever go overseas to play, the rest of the necessary effective and complementary role players that are needed to fill out a high caliber NBA team may take the European option to get paid, be a star on their European team, and effectively lead their European squads to championships.

By JL

July 23, 2008 11:09 AM | Link to this

Guess this is the start of “Good” NBa players migrating overseas……..who’s gonna be next????Lebron?Kobe? Overseas basketball is about to turn into soccer, where all the best players in the world play over there and definitely not here.

By Maurice

July 23, 2008 11:10 AM | Link to this

That 37-45 team is a product of Woodson’s terrible coaching. Not of one single person coming off the bench. I expected him to go once he got the offer. He was our bench player but he clearly deserved to start for the Hawks. I expect Woodson to be gone next year and with more playing time hopefully Childress can improve his game. Dude, this just sucks. Is it ok if I become a New Orleans fan? Atlanta sucks a left one.

By Astro Joe

July 23, 2008 11:11 AM | Link to this

You just know, that somewhere, BK is laughing his fool head off.

By Mr. Lis

July 23, 2008 11:12 AM | Link to this

Word on the streets is that the 20 mil that J. Chill will get over seas will be tax free. I am not mad at ‘em at all. We work to do the things that we love while earning a living. If Greece offered me more money to teach, then I would be gone yesterday.

By Reality Check

July 23, 2008 11:13 AM | Link to this

Only football fans around here fill the stadiums. The Thrasher fans are small, but loyal. The Hawks only sell out on the backs of people wanting to see the OTHER team.

Send the Thrashers to Canada, the Hawks to seattle. Keep the Braves as a tax write off for Liberty and pour all the area’s fan support to the Falcons & Dawgs.

By I.D.K

July 23, 2008 11:17 AM | Link to this

So do we get to use the money that we were going to pay him on free agents? Somebody let me know.

By dsmith

July 23, 2008 11:19 AM | Link to this

Ben,

You don’t have a clue

By Chicago- A Real Sports Town

July 23, 2008 11:22 AM | Link to this

Just shows how much the value of the dollar has plummeted. $20M over 2 yrs there is much better than $34M over 5 years here.

The Hawks will always be a 3rd tier team in the NBA. They should’ve locked up Childress and Smith immediately when they had the chance.

By Hawker

July 23, 2008 11:23 AM | Link to this

No big deal—-he’s small potatoes. The hawks can do a lot better with that new salary cap money. When you finish with a losing record, no player is expendable (except maybe Al Horford—-a keeper).

By El Greco

July 23, 2008 11:23 AM | Link to this

Hi guys. I am Greek and an Olympiacos fan. I am sure Chuldress is just a 6th man in the NBA but for European basketball it is rather unusual to see players of his age with such potential leaving the NBA to come to the other side of the Atlantic.

I see that your opinions differ (some of you think the Hawks needed him, others that he was overrated) but as far as we are concerned he could prove a big addition as long as he adjusts to the game here, which is quite different both technically and by means of tempo (also some rules differences exist).

Finally, just to set one thing straight, the financial difference did play a big part. I see some fall in the trap of calculating 20m/3=6.66m (Olympiacos offer) and 33m/5=6.6m (Hawks offer)and then criticise Josh for signing with us. However one should take into account that our president will pay all taxes (so it’s 6.66m net per season here) while in the NBA he would get around 3.5m net after tax (correct me if I am wrong).

Finally, Childress’ new contract gives him the right to return to the NBA at any summer, as long as he officialy informs our club by July 15th.

Regards from Greece- good luck with keeping Smith and with continuing the Hawks revival next season! :-)

By B.A.ToDa

July 23, 2008 11:25 AM | Link to this

Only college football fans you mean. I don’t know how the falcons tickets have been going, but i expected the Georgia Dome to look empty during these upcoming rebuilding years. They got rid of all their known players. Whose jersey’s are fans going to be wearing in the Dome? I guess they’re forced to wear Matt Ryan since every1 else is gone. You’ll probably still see more Mike Vick jersey’s in the dome than any1 else.

And how did we get a WNBA team to come to this city? That’s what amazes me!

By Jake

July 23, 2008 11:26 AM | Link to this

Aight….here the skinny!! The contract offered was sufficient, Chill wanted more, so he bolted. Woody has done a good (not great)job with the unbalanced rosters he has been given, stop blaming him. J-Smoove hates Woody because for once in his life, he is being coached (snacthed when he is out of control, firing 3”s, turning it over) Let’s not forget that Josh came out of high school, and is still a youngin, in two years he will love Woody, if we don’t run him out of town. As bad as the ASG is, this not their fault, that was enough money to throw at Chill, how would we have felt a couple of yrs down the road if we couldn’t sign Big Al because Chill was making too much. Its business folks!! We get the same thing we got from Chill by getting Bo Outlaw to come out of retirement…lol. He played hard, but his production can be replaced.

By atl-fan

July 23, 2008 11:29 AM | Link to this

Greetings Atlanta Fans:

I regret to inform you that we are now “officially” the laughing stock of the NBA. I wish Josh the best as he goes abroad to make an enormous amount of money!! On the other hand I can only speak honestly and say the Atlanta Spirit Group is one of the worst things to happen to this town, next to General Sherman, Mike Hampton and Jim Mora. It is amazing how this franchise can push the eventual World champs to seven games and the ownership not resign the restricted free-agent(s) who were a key part of that success.

While we didn’t prevail in the series, I think those home victories did a number on the moral of the long time Hawks fans and those looking for something to do with our season ticket money since the Falcons’ are in the toilet for the foreseeable future. Those who remember the days of old—with Nique and Doc and even to those days with Mookie and Kevin Willis. During the playoffs we could see a team that could and should contend, on a consistent basis, for a mid level seed in the Eastern Conference.

I am thoroughly disappointed with the ASG actions, or, lack thereof! I can’t see myself supporting this type of stupidity any longer!

Cheers,

Atl~Fan

By DarkRyder

July 23, 2008 11:30 AM | Link to this

Josh Smith will be the next to go. Afterwards the ASG is secretly hoping that JJ will not want to re-sign so they can make the team more appealing to potential owners, just like what happened in Memphis. Atlanta will let Bibby simply leave without a trade so they can pocket the $15M.

Atlanta is hoping all of these guys will leave so they can place scrubs on the floor, this way they can make some level of profit since the ASG is bleeding money left and right.

Enjoy your 26-36 season once JJ and Horford go down due to injuries. I’ll be watching the Wizards and send you Hawks fans a postcard from the playoffs!

By Ben

July 23, 2008 11:30 AM | Link to this

dsmith, what did I say that was wrong? Childress isn’t that good.

Be real.

Idiot.

By Jerome

July 23, 2008 11:30 AM | Link to this

**PLEASE ASG SELL THE TWO TEAMS FOR THE GOOD OF ATLANTA, IF AS A FEW MEMBER OF THE GROUP HAS ALREADY PROCLAIM HOW MUCH THEY LOVE THE CITY AND THE HAWKS. DO IT FOR ATLANTA. PLEASE SELL,SELL,SELL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

By OIRH

July 23, 2008 11:31 AM | Link to this

FOR ALL YOU WHINNERS OUT THERE - JUST HOW MUCH $$ SHOULD THE ASG PAY FOR A BENCH PLAYER LIKE CHILDRESS?? IF HE DID NOT WANT TO STAY HERE FOR 30MIL, HOW MUCH MORE SHOULD THEY OFFER?? WHY DID NO OTHER TEAM OFFER HIM 1 THIN DIME??

By Curry May

July 23, 2008 11:31 AM | Link to this

Mr. Gearon and Mr. Seydel - you are both way, way over your heads!!!!!!!

By GM R

July 23, 2008 11:35 AM | Link to this

So there goes another one of BK’s top draft picks. It’s a good job the Hawks are building for the future :0) SS - I echo the question from the earlier blogger - why aren’t you reporting on the rift between players and MW? JS doesn’t want to play for him. Why the silence? Your cred is in big trouble.

By B.A.ToDa

July 23, 2008 11:35 AM | Link to this

Congrats to Childress though. It’s a win-win situation for him. Gets to experience a different culture, play less games, and even has the ability to elect to come back to the NBA after every season. Plus he’s gettin paid!

By Keeping It Real

July 23, 2008 11:37 AM | Link to this

Maybe Childress will cut his hair now because the media in Greece won’t give as much attention to those big ears as opposed to the American media…People, he’s a bench player at best….stop trippin…you don’t pay a bench player more than what the Hawks offered. Childress was not going to help the Hawks win a championship anytime soon anyway…

The Hawks might need to get older as opposed to younger. Trade Josh Smith with a sign and trade to Miami and get Shawn Marion and then sign Kwame Brown:

Line Up PG- Bibby SG- JJ SF- Shawn Marion
PF- Horford C- Brown

That’s a more formidable starting line-up then what they made the playoffs with last year cause then you’ll have Marvin coming off the bench who will give you more bench production than Mr. Greece!

By no_id

July 23, 2008 11:39 AM | Link to this

How is it that we sign Woodson so quick to an extension but this whole summer we drag this thing with signing the joshes for so long that one of them actually said forget it and left..Can’t blame Childress on this cause i know if i was a free agent and saw how the ASG was handling this, i wouldn’t sign for them either..Can’t wait to hear what excuse the puppetman Sund has to say about this…This ownership should be ashamed of themselves..How can they be happy about the way they run this franchise?

By Darkmanx

July 23, 2008 11:40 AM | Link to this

The Hawks organization is a complete joke. You let your best role player who happens to give 11 points and around 6 rebounds go, while you try to keep someone who has visited other other teams that ultimately choose someone else over him. The truth is Josh Smith is very inconsistent and needs to develop and outside game before any team besides the Hawks will the risk on him. DOes anyone here remember game 7 against Boston in which he disappeared completely and seemed to be on another planet. The truth is Josh Childress gave the Hawks consistency off the bench and made several hustle plays. We all like the dunks and flashy moves that fill the seats but I prefer a player who does the little things that win games. Just when I thought I was going to by season tickets you let this happen to try and keep a guy who has shown that he will jump ship if the right offer comes. Let Smith go and find a decent swingman that is consistent. The real fans will appreciate that so much. Good luck Josh Childress make the Hawks and the Spirit realize the effects of tunnel vision when the season starts. Playoffs??? Yeah right!!!lol

By david

July 23, 2008 11:41 AM | Link to this

As probably the only Hawk fan in the state of Nebraska I’ve about had with the continual incompetence of the “powers” that be supposedley in charge of this franchise. As proud as I was of the teams playoff run I knew as soon as the season was over they would find a way to mess up bringing back the Joshes. Maybe with the money they saved by letting Childress get away they can do right with Smith but I doubt it. They give me no reason to believe they will. I love Joe, Al and the others but the so called owners need wake up, stop milking Dominique for all he’s worth and concentate on the present.

By some sense

July 23, 2008 11:41 AM | Link to this

Let’s be real about a few things:

1.) The list of bloggers here cries out for movement of some kind; let’s get Rick back from Utah to use his experience and expertise to build us a team. 2.) Frankly, Childress priced himself out of the NBA market…HE’S A RESERVE. 3.) Al Jefferson and Kenyon Martin are better than Josh Smith…he doesn’t rate their money. 4.) People who know basketball understand the difference between an athlete and a “player”. Smith is an athlete. 5.) These guys are trying to hold a vulnerable franchise hostage to sentiment and emotionalism…screw ‘em. 6.) We’ve got cap space, a good GM, an emerging young coach, and some good players to build around. 7.) Urgency to act, though, is important. Just read this list…too many people care. 8.) BUT…ASG and Woody are NOT culprits. Instead they are determined people who have the strength of their convictions. 9.) Morris and Brown are foolish young people…no maturity…take a pass. 10.) Stay the course, guys.

By B.A.ToDa

July 23, 2008 11:42 AM | Link to this

Sekou,

By us not have to pay Childress and losing him to Europe for nothing, does that give us more money to spend on resigned Smith or going after available players in the market?

By B

July 23, 2008 11:42 AM | Link to this

Childress is not now, nor will he ever be worth $7 million in an NBA market. No NBA team was even willing to offer him what the Hawks were. This is not the Hawks incompetence…this is a guy who wanted to get paid more than he could in the NBA (not just the Hawks) and the rise of the Euroleague.

By gate7.tv

July 23, 2008 11:44 AM | Link to this

Hi from Athens. Childress is finally with us, keep in mind that along with th emoney he ll have much much less tax(i just read that Olympiakos pays the tax as well), will get house, car and othe facilities paid by Olympiakos while at the same time he ll be the center of the city as long as he plays.

By atl-fan

July 23, 2008 11:46 AM | Link to this

Keeping it Real?!?!

Yeah— Keeping it Real Stupid!

Get off this blog and get a real opinion.

By Jason

July 23, 2008 11:47 AM | Link to this

I am Greek but not an Olympiakos fan.

The days when European teams will be stronger that NBA teams are coming. For those who think that basketball is just NBA, you are mistaken. Teams in Greece, Russia, Italy, Israel, Spain and other countries will start paying good money for good players. In a few years Russian team owners will rule the basketball world.

Josh preferred Athens to Atlanta. Just for the sake of mentioning it: God gave us mouths that shut and ears that don’t, this should tell you something!

By I.D.K

July 23, 2008 11:47 AM | Link to this

Can somebody answer my question? I seen the summer league game earlier and that luke jackson guy looked really good. He can handle the ball and he can shoot the hell out of the three. I think if we sign him and jeremy richardson, along with kwame, we won’t miss chillz that much. But they need to lock j-smith up asap

By VTHawksfan

July 23, 2008 11:50 AM | Link to this

There is still off season to go, I’d like to see what we do with the rest of the summer. I admit this could be a big blow, but there is still time. Now the question is how does Sund respond to this loss - I’m sorry, but Childress is not irreplaceable and there are options out there.

By Nick

July 23, 2008 11:51 AM | Link to this

YES! the Pandora’s box has been opened! It’s better to play in Europe rather than the NBA, believe it. Also consider that the Greek league (along with the Spanish one) is the best championships in Europe. Plus its always the Euroleage competition that gathers the best teams of all Europe to challenge for the crown. Olympiakos has all the above, plus that Greece is a beautiful country. P.S. Consider also that the euro continues a steep climb vs. the US dollar…

Greeds, Nick from Greece (will be expecting you at the olympics… GreekTeam vs DreamTeam???)

By BeBrave

July 23, 2008 11:51 AM | Link to this

Maybe Childress was not worth that cash, but this ownership group obviously has as much sense in running a franchise as the Smiths did with the Falcons. Laughing stock of the league. Can we not get someone at the AJC to press this group into telling it like it is. Just say “we dont have the money to run this team so dont expect much, but please buy our expensive tickets anyway…” Honesty is the best policy.

By T.C

July 23, 2008 11:53 AM | Link to this

Some of you people can say what you want about childress,this team was better with him than without.unless they get a player in here who is equal or better,this will be a long season.considering how this organization handle things, i doubt it will get better.can you say rabbit out of a hat.

By Let's Get Real!!!

July 23, 2008 11:53 AM | Link to this

CHILLS WAS A PRODUCTIVE PLAYER, BUT IF HE DOESN’T WANT OUR CONTRACT THEN FINE. FOR OUR TEAM TO BE THE BEST, WE HAVE TO LOCK UP PLAYERS THAT ARE BEST. RIGHT NOW THOSE PLAYERS ARE J-SMOOVE, J.J., AND AL….PROB. THROW IN ACIE IN 2 YEARS. THESE ARE THE CORNER STONE TO BUILD OUR TEAM. LOOK AT BOSTON FOR EXAMPLE. THEY HAVE THE BIG THREE AND THE REST WERE A SUPPORTING CAST. IF WE GIVE CHILLS TOO MUCH HOW ARE WE GOING TO LOCK UP OUR CORNER STONES. HE WAS GOOD BUT NOT GREAT. HAVING BIBBY, J.J., MARVIN, SMITH, AND AL WITH SOME DEFENSIVE MINDED AND 3 POINT SHOOTERS OF THE BENCH WOULD MAKE US NO WORSE THAN LAST YEAR…IT IS A TIGHT BUSINESS, AND ASG KNOWS WHO THEY WANT TO INVEST IN THE FUTURE. ALSO, NOW THEY CAN PAY SMITH AROUND 11-12 MILL PER YEAR, AND STILL HAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO SHOP AROUND. DON’T FORGET ABOUT COMING UP YEARS WITH OTHER SUPERSTARS COMING OUT THEIR CURRENT CONTRACTS….

By B.A.ToDa

July 23, 2008 11:54 AM | Link to this

I agree with the guy who said that overpaying Childress now could of possibly affected us in the long run when we HAVE to resign JJ and Horford. If we had to lose any of the 2 Josh’s i’d rather it had been Childress.

And Darkmanx if you wanna go back to that Game 7 (which i hate to even talk about) Mike Bibby only put up 2pts! 2pts! It was just a horrible game by every1. And Smith is an athlete who can hustle, block, and score- and he contines to get better every season.

By lbj_fan

July 23, 2008 11:56 AM | Link to this

Hawks: resign Josh Smith and go after Iguodala. He is the guy hawks should have drafted in the first place.

By John

July 23, 2008 11:56 AM | Link to this

I think calling for a boycott of all games until the idiots sell the team is definitely in order

By Joshua (AKA FIRE MIKE WOODSON EXPRESS)

July 23, 2008 11:57 AM | Link to this

Who in the hell wants to play for a coach who can’t even put his team in the right defense set. All the hawks players should want a coach who will not let up on them and make them play hard, Woodson is not that guy (he’s a joke) I’m not mad at Childress at all, I would not play for Mike Woodson either.

By Nick

July 23, 2008 11:57 AM | Link to this

YES! the Pandora’s box has been opened! It’s better to play in Europe rather than the NBA, believe it. Also consider that the Greek league (along with the Spanish one) is the best championships in Europe. Plus its always the Euroleage competition that gathers the best teams of all Europe to challenge for the crown. Olympiakos has all the above, plus that Greece is a beautiful country. P.S. Consider also that the euro continues a steep climb vs. the US dollar…

Greeds, Nick from Greece (will be expecting you at the olympics… GreekTeam vs DreamTeam???)

By Paddy

July 23, 2008 12:00 PM | Link to this

Gryo…alot of people didn’t see what you saw in JC. Why?? Alot of people didn’t go to the games. The Hawks franchise is about dead and the NBA won’t die, it just has a terminal case of fan apathy and disgust. NOBODY CARES ANYMORE. When does college football start anyway? Meet me at Phillips, you will know me, I will be the ONE sitting in seats. ASG, good luck. You are going to need it.

By Voice of Reason

July 23, 2008 12:03 PM | Link to this

Yell and scream all you want, Chills simply isn’t worth that kind of money in the NBA. His bolting for Greece and following the money only serves to show his real desire, which is to make a boatload of cash. I, myself, prefer a player with a desire to win an NBA ring.

By GIANNIS

July 23, 2008 12:08 PM | Link to this

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR EVERYTHING….!!!!!

OLYMPIAKOS FOR EVER!!!!!!1

THRYLE GERA ME TSAMPOUKAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!1

By EJH

July 23, 2008 12:08 PM | Link to this

So Chills heads to Greece, even though I am disappointed a little, I do understand the his reasons for going and I understand the hawks reasons for letting him go. In my opinion I believe Mario West is going to give the hawks better defense and offense off the bench by mid-season than childress did. That is why the hawks did not make an offer much more than 6.5 million per year. Mario west is getting ready to flourish, he was a guy who had to earn his way onto a team, by hard work not just being a high draft pick, and he is out to prove that he deserves to be in his league so I say by to Childress because when he comes back to the NBA he will be 28-29 years old meaning he is not going get a lucrative contract when he returns.

By Erik

July 23, 2008 12:10 PM | Link to this

This ownership group is completely lost. They’re running the 2 franchises into the ground.

By Keep it real

July 23, 2008 12:12 PM | Link to this

Hey “atl fan”,

You are nost likely one of the fakers who only supports winners. It is your opinion whuich needs to leave.

You bandwagon types don’t remember the 2000 of us that sat at Braves games in the 70’s, or sat in a 2/3 empty Omni watching the Hawks.

Get real….this team is a transient town. We can’t sell out for losers like Chicago or Philly.

Football is KING in the south. Live with it!

By WestVaJoel

July 23, 2008 12:12 PM | Link to this

Without sounding mean or obtuse, no one cares about the Hawks. There’s no interest in them. Just another short story on a slow news day.

By GIANNIS

July 23, 2008 12:13 PM | Link to this

olympiakos

By Alan

July 23, 2008 12:13 PM | Link to this

There are still several guys that could be brought in to replace Childress. A guy like J.R. Smith would be a good fit for a up tempo offense and can shoot the ball.

By RAD

July 23, 2008 12:14 PM | Link to this

It’s not about money! It’s about 2 young players not wanting to play for a coach and work for the ASG! Quit feeling sorry for the ASG! They made the decision to bring Woodson back! It was the ASG’s decision not to secure these guys back when they had a chance! NO NBA PLAYERS WANT TO PLAY HERE! Do you think that Childress would be playing in Greece if he was a part of the Mavericks organization or the Lakers or the Celtics?

By RG

July 23, 2008 12:15 PM | Link to this

I wish he would have stayed only because we will not be able to get anybody any better this late in FA. However, this is not a major loss. He is replaceable in the long run and wasn’t worth the money he was offered. Good Luck Josh have fun in Greece.

By Alonzo Harris

July 23, 2008 12:15 PM | Link to this

To ASG : “You have to ask yourself….Am I going to be a Wolf, or a Sheep ??”

By hosemaze

July 23, 2008 12:16 PM | Link to this

I was one of the fans that thought the ASG really cared.I see know they don’t i’ve always given them the benefit of turning this fiasco around; and what do they do! Let one of their better players leave with no compensation for him.And do nothing in free agency.This is not a smart management team just some cheap a* owners trying to win playing pick-up ball like their at Run-n_Shoot.What are they waiting for Hawks should have went to OKC instead of Sonics. They lose Smooth to already p** him off.

By ScoobySnacks

July 23, 2008 12:16 PM | Link to this

Good Riddance

If I am to understand this correctly, most people are arguing that the Hawks should have done whatever it took to keep J-Chill. A man who could never crack the top five on a non playoff team, could not garner enough interest from other teams to warrant an offer, an whose jumper is as painful to watch as buttocks waxing.

Look Childress did the what was right for him in a financial sense and so did the Hawks. It’s the off-season; when the business side of basketball takes over. Forget what happened on the court last year, it is business time. It’s the time you work your money-to-results equation and make the right decision based on that. Don’t blame the Atlanta Spirit (whom I hate to the core for completely unrelated reasons). Blame George W Bush. If the American dollar held any weight against the Euro, above $33 million would be as hard to swallow for the Greek team as it would be for the Hawks. As it is, $30 milli is chump change over seas, and they gave theirs to as good a player as they could intice. A player who mind you was only sixth best on a bottom rung team (I love the Hawks but let’s be honest).

If he wanted out of the league to pursue the short run money, fine. It’s just business. My only concern, from a stand point of having met Chills and actually liking the guy, is what happens should the Greek team not be successful or if he is not as successful with him. I don’t think his game is big time enough to come back to the NBA from relative anonymity over seas and get another contract even close to these numbers. This might be the permanent end to his NBA career.

By Realisic

July 23, 2008 12:16 PM | Link to this

Childress was not worth the money the Hawks offered. They are most fortunate he did ot accept. Heck, he never even learned the proper form for an outside jumper. He was athletic but too weak, and his shot was afflicted. Way to go Hawks, don’t overspend on players of his calibre. They are a dime a dozen.

By dsmith

July 23, 2008 12:18 PM | Link to this

Ben, Childress is a piece of the puzzle, he’s not great but he is good. Name me one team in the league that has 5 stars on it? I’ll answer, NONE…..Chills was a vital piece to a good team, blocks, rebounds, good defender of PG’s, 2 guards and small forwards…..he was one of the league leaders in FG % (smart shots) and sometimes ran the point. These things are very valuable to a championship team. You are a casual fan who is clueless(idiot) but thats fine, alot of sports fans are, but please refrain from posting on blogs when you don’t have your facts straight. Childress was very valuable, think about it…….who besides Joe Johnson guarded Rondo, Allen, and Pierce? Just let it go Ben……

By KevinM

July 23, 2008 12:18 PM | Link to this

Relax guys, there is a plan in place.

1) We are trying to rid ourselves of the BK regime. We lose both Joshes this year and it goes in that direction. 2) The Stagnate group is trying to devalue the franchise faster than any group out there! They aren’t in it to win, so we should not support it, simply put. These decisions will continue because a group of clowns are in charge. Mike Gearon, come out and face the factors here. Try to spin this as the Joshes faults for looking elsewhere. They aren’t in your pocket and Chills just trumped your ‘market’ value offer!

By bobby

July 23, 2008 12:19 PM | Link to this

To whom it may concern,

I write this letter as nothing more than evidence of my disappointment with the Atlanta Hawks franchise,front office,and management, and as public plea for The Atlanta Spirit Group to sell both Atlanta Franchises they own, and allow new owners to run these franchises to a level in accordance with the leagues and cities they represent . Today’s events truly made me cringe, as for the first time in history an NBA Player(without a foreign background) has decided he would rather play in Europe then the NBA. As a season ticket holder of The Atlanta Hawks I’m not surprised that this has happened to the Hawks. As a franchise the Hawks have been through, and put there fans through more grief then most. As far back as the ill advised trade of a hall of famer, NBA Icon, and hero to the city Dominique Wilkins to the most recent unprecedented events of Josh Childress leaving our dysfunctional franchise for the greener pasture of Greece. Some may spin this as the globalization of basketball, but there is no doubt that for the average competitor the goal is to play against the most elite talent in the world, which no doubt resides in the NBA. Mr. Childress seems to have chosen Greece as his only option to avoid continuing along a path of uncertainty with one of the most unstable franchises in sports history. The Atlanta Spirit group owns not only the Atlanta Hawks but also the Atlanta Thrashers. A group bought the franchises promising to build winners in both organizations, to most common observers they have been complete failures. The Thrashers and Hawks have combined for two playoff appearances (one by each team) the Thrashers followed there best season with that of one with the third worst record in the league, whereas the Hawks have followed it up by losing a restricted free agent to a European team(did I mention that it is completely unprecedented) The Atlanta spirit group continues to make moves typically at the pace of a meandering Alligator through the swamp, slowly and without much direction. Move after move continues to bring new lows of management expertise. Clearly these men have all been successful in there own endeavors, being as they have accumulated the money in there respective careers to purchase a franchise, which 99 percent of the world cannot afford, but clearly they have not found there niche. From the parade of coaches to the ridiculous sound bites, this group seems to not only undermine itself but embarrass it’s fans year after year. Today’s events are just a microcosm of the poor management decisions that occur year after year and season after season. Some fact ,poor drafting,poor free agent signings, one owner suing the rest for control(still not resolved after two years), and some items reported but not confirmed, GM’S wanting to fire coaches mid season, players screaming and ranting at coaches, and the financial troubles of the ownership group. I write this as nothing more than a fan. I’m not some great success in my own endeavors or some entrepreneur. I’m the average sports fan, who has pent up his frustrations to long to not at least put this on paper in some way shape or form, and maybe someone will hear. I love the Hawks, Thrashers, Falcons, Braves, Dream and Force, and just about anything else involved with sports, Atlanta, and the state of Georgia I support and root for. So to whom it may concern, these are my thoughts.

Bobby Atlanta,GA

By AtlFlavor

July 23, 2008 12:20 PM | Link to this

The Season still hasnt started. This looks like a done Deal, but it still can overturned. The Hawks have to decide not only to let him go by not upping the money offered,plus PAY to keep his NBA rights if he does stay in Europe. I think Josh is counting on the Hawks to renounce his rights allowing him to sign with anyteam. Talk about a Mess. But he has the upper hand Big Time. Look for J Smooth to do the same. That means the Hawks will be paying a chunk of cheese to keep rights to players OVERSEAS. Plus trying to replace them. Isnt money or the lack of what started this anyway Regardless this changes the whole Landscape of Pro basketball. Guys are trying to get Money with the writing on the wall come 2010 2011 when the Current CBA runs out.

By alex

July 23, 2008 12:20 PM | Link to this

This is one of the most selfish moves I’ve ever seen in sports. Instead of playing in the NBA with a good young team you would rather go play in Europe with a bunch of scrubs. I hope he never makes it back to the NBA. He deserves to be exiled in Europe for the rest of his life. What a Joke. Childress, you need to grow up.

By Masood

July 23, 2008 12:21 PM | Link to this

What’s done is done. Does this mean that if the Hawks sign Kwame Brown and re-sign Josh Smith, that Smith would play the 3, Horford the 4, and Brown the 5? I think I like that scenario. Duck can come off the bench and give you exactly what Childress did, with a more complete offensive arsenal, and Acie Law can get all those left over PG minutes that Childress stole from him last year.

IF the Brown signing goes down, it will essentially be a Childress for Brown swap, which wouldn’t be bad considering the smallish nature of the Hawks front court, and the abundance of 6’8 players we have all complained about. It’s not the end of the world for the Hawks…yet.

By KenBud

July 23, 2008 12:24 PM | Link to this

… yet we still go to the games. I wish we’d all understand WE are in control of this team and the ownership group. Are we afraid they will move the team?

Organize a sit-out of a few games throughout the year.

Can you IMAGINE the press that would get??? I can see highlights of games on ESPN with NO FANS in the background.

You get the ownership group would listen then!

By Ben

July 23, 2008 12:27 PM | Link to this

dmith, no one really guarded those players, as Rondo destroyed our team and Pierce destroyed us.

Chillz has mental lapses during games, is weak, CANNOT create offense, and is definitely not worth more than the MLE.

Did he even have one “good” game in the playoffs?

His FG % is so high because he makes garbage baskets off offensive boards and does not shoot jumpshots [cannot] shoot

I will destroy your argument more later.. Cheers.

Oh by the way, I’m a 10 year season ticket holder and have personally met all the players.

By doug

July 23, 2008 12:28 PM | Link to this

All i heard all week from these sports stations, “this is just leaverge there pulling to get a deal done” blah blah blah so now what. Ill tell you what josh smith will take the 1 year option next year play and be miserable, then he will leave for a real nba team. I wonder how many of you guys got first year season tickets for next year. Im not so mad that its childress that left, im just p** bc this is typical hawks, as soon as we take 1 step forward we take 15 steps back. I HATE YOU SPIRIT

By DT

July 23, 2008 12:28 PM | Link to this

Good luck Josh - and have a really big gyro for me. Should we call him “J-Kρύο” now?

Oh, well - atleast now we got rid of one of our seven 6-6 to 6-9 players from the B-Knight era drafting. This means next season - we need to resign Marvin (and pray he gets more agressive this year).

Hopefully we can use the cash freed from this to get a Kwame or another center….

Lets face it - not a huge loss - more of a slap in the face. We need to sign Josh Smith, sign a center, and ice down Speedy’s knees.

And - with Shaq’s elbows out of our division - maybe Zaza will play more games, minutes… and return to what he was in 2006.

Godspeed hawks fans. -DT

By Chance

July 23, 2008 12:28 PM | Link to this

Why dont the hawks do like all the others basketball organization do? Secure your best players before their contract expire. What is the owners THINKING?

By Stinger

July 23, 2008 12:29 PM | Link to this

How long do we retain the right to Childress ? I read 2 years but want to know the details. Also have read that Childress can return to the NBA each of the next 2 summers - is this per the contract he just signed? Sekou we need you to give us the facts

By Blast

July 23, 2008 12:30 PM | Link to this

Sad to see Chillz leave. The Baseline Bandit will be missed. Remember folks, this guy won some last last minute season games for us with his offensive rebounding and smarts, so don’t knock him too much because I do not blame him. Money first, loyalty last is the world we currently live in. Anyone of us would do the same thing in a heartbeat.

That said, all is not lost yet unless the Hawks are unable to resign Josh Smith. If they do not resign Josh, then I don’t know if Bibby, Holford and JJ would be enough to keep me a fan of the Hawks, our core would be gone, and I would question the winning desire of management. The Bandit can be replaced, but no other player offers what Smith brings to the table, turnovers, bad decisions and all. He makes the game fun to watch. So Chills can be replaced, if Josh is signed, we get a halfway decent center, sign a shooter, shore up the bench, and the Hawks should be okay. Allow Josh Smith to leave, and Hawks will sink back to the bottom. No free agents will want to play here, and bloggers will just crank up the rants even more! So everybody take a Chill Pill, lets see what happens now. Although allowing the Baseline Bandit to skip town does not show management in good light, granted they could not afford to overpay him either. So folks, don’t burst a blood vessel going mad about stuff we have no control of. Take a Chill Pill, lets see what happens now. Dare I say it?

GO HAWKS?

By mitsos

July 23, 2008 12:31 PM | Link to this

C - Schortsianitis PF- Vujic SF-Childress SG-Grier PG-Papaloukas

Olympiakos can now compete with most NBA teams.

By JoshtheMan

July 23, 2008 12:31 PM | Link to this

I head Josh preferred the wild, hot Greek chicks over the stuffy chicks in Atlanta. Plus, he will be the best player on the team, get a lot more endorsement money and live the good life with a much better nightlife in Greece v. the boring clubs in Atlanta. Live it up Josh—you ‘da man!!!

By Brett

July 23, 2008 12:31 PM | Link to this

Is there any way that David Stern can step in & move these owners aside? Maybe let Mr. Steve Belkin run the operation, since these Buckhead kids do not seem to know what they are doing. I really hope Rick Sund’s hands were tied in this whole ordeal, because if not, it is not a very good start to his career w/ the Hawks.

By Bird Falconi

July 23, 2008 12:32 PM | Link to this

Attention ASG Please sell your teams and leave town now!!! The owners are a joke.

By HaroldGriswald

July 23, 2008 12:33 PM | Link to this

The voice of reason has to prevail. The Hawks cannot afford to completely destroy their salary structure by breaking the bank for Childress when he did absolutely nothing to warrant that kind of money. Guys like Childress are money hungry, money driven and could care less about team success. Now Childress will play in Greece and follow in the footsteps of former Hawk Dominique Wilkins, who also ended his career in Greece. Childress, in my mind, was an underachiever who was misplaced on the Hawks roster. There was really no room for him on the roster for him to get the minutes that he desparately wanted. So shove off to Greece and hopefully you will become a respectable NBA player.

By Ben

July 23, 2008 12:34 PM | Link to this

dsmith, you also forget Chillz was taken at #6, higher than Iggy, Deng and 1 or 2 others , such as Smoove who was set to make twice as much as Smoove. The guy is a decent player, but I’d take J.R. Smith any day over Chillz. Chillz has a 20 point game maybe 8 times a year, and has these AWOL 5 point games. You will not win this argument. Walk away.

By DAP01

July 23, 2008 12:35 PM | Link to this

It is true that Childress can be replaced. The sad part though is that the fist high draft pick in our massive and well thought out rebuilding plan never averaged over 11 ppg and leaves without any trade or compensation.

By Jeff Pace

July 23, 2008 12:35 PM | Link to this

If a “crushing blow” was administered to the Hawks, it was self-administered.

By terrell barron

July 23, 2008 12:37 PM | Link to this

As long as it’s not JJ or Horford, I can live with. Now West, Richardson, and maybe Luke Jackson can show an prove.

By Ben

July 23, 2008 12:39 PM | Link to this

Chillz was crucial too our rebounding and blocks? Dsmith you are a moron. He averaged 5 rebounds and 0.6 blocks a game. Maybe YOU need to do your research.

By jimbojones

July 23, 2008 12:39 PM | Link to this

Chidress was a bust for being a 1st round lottery pick. I wouldn’t pay him either, he was garbage.

By terrell barron

July 23, 2008 12:42 PM | Link to this

Calm down people, yall act like it was Al Horford or something. A sixth man can be replaced, fairly easily.

By DASKALOS7

July 23, 2008 12:42 PM | Link to this

he will have a very good year in here iam sure for this

By #21=Top 50,1stBallot

July 23, 2008 12:42 PM | Link to this

(Please bare with the post length) Granted I haven’t been on the blog for a good minute, but judging by the derth of “familiar” names I see, many of you are new to it- thus may be “new” to this Hawks team (I venture to say circa the Boston series)

That said it would seem that a lot of you are missing many of the implications of the Hawks loss of Childress- both on and off the court.

It all speaks to the common theme of mismanagment. A short list of recent gaffes off the top of my head- though I’m sure there are more:

1. 13 win season- no excuse, at all

2. Ignoring need and drafing Duck on principle of “talent” and “promise” when pre-draft comparable talent as need position was available.

3. Surrendering more than necessary for Joe Johnson (not arguing against Joe because he’s the g@ddamn man, but we yielded more than we had to with the picks)

4. Countering our earlier principle of “talent” and “promise” to then draft need in Shelden Williams- 4a. we also lost any draft leverage by letting leak the fact we liked him about 15 spots higher than most teams had him rated

5. Not allowing your coaching staff to explore their options, thus holding them against their will when as a whole, they actually had yet to coach their talent into much- ignoring a tacit agreement among coaches and management to allow for personal progress.

6. Not “trusting” the GM to make an assessment of a coach by the GM who’s play you backed leading to a STILL pending lawsuit when he tries to repeatedly fire a coach who’s shown an inability to motivate and strategize his players. 6a. Then, after letting the former GM resign, hiring a GM whom the public at large sees as a puppet since he sought fit to extend the embattled coach with a 2 year contract since he presumably balked at a one year offer.

7. Not capitalizing on the newfound enthusiasm of the city for it’s “winning” franchise by assuring it’s fans that it will capitalize on this momentum by securing it’s future players, staff, etc.

8. Getting nothing for one of your restricted FA and building blocks fundamental to your most recent success. This IMO is the trailblazing aspect of it all, how do you surrender a RFA and get NOTHING?

9. Seemingly currently botching of a ‘no-brainer’ decision about the one of the most exciting and diversely talented players in the league, whom you drafted, cultivated, and is a hometown hero (PR is important).

10. Being basically inactive (tryouts aside) with regards to actually improving the team from without; as oppossed to just assuming there will be ever more natural progression on a part of the admittedly flawed roster (why else would you not have resigned the GM?)

11. Generally botching every attempt at enhancing the image of your team- be it by enabling a curmudgeonous GM’s smugness to represent the franchise’s ignorance and ineptitude, blind-unwavering faith in a coach who had yet to make real progress, or rewarding/marketing your players for sticking working hard for the franchise that seems to be the new/old Clippers incarnate. This is just my short list, I didnt include bad signings (re: Craig), trades or hiring Woody because it was the team trying to make a move to get “better”; because it didnt work out later I’m not going to fault the attempt- that’s all most of us are asking for.

What I can’t countenance as a fan is dubious inaction. Bold strokes can be hit or miss, but it’s this middling “trying to play leverage” strategy that seems to be failing us time and time again. These problems are compounded when either stubborness or shear ignorance prevents these mistakes from correcting themselves- as appears to be the case now (re: sign or trade our players now so we can reshape the roster for the upcoming season).

If I left anything out (which I’m sure I did) please feel free to add on. Thought I did an ok job but I get the feeling that somehow the count on this list will still…..

RISE UP

By Chad

July 23, 2008 12:43 PM | Link to this

Loss of respect for Childress

This guy turned his back on his teammates, his team, his league, his city and his country;

How many millions does it take to live confortably? Money is not everything…to some people.

And we wonder why attendance gets lower for professional sports in Atlanta. The divide is too great between the working man and the athlete. Selah

By Lowcountry Bulldawg

July 23, 2008 12:44 PM | Link to this

First time in a decade I wanted to believe in the Hawks. I wanted to believe that they were serious about winning. Unbelievable that this has happened.

This franchise is the laughingstock of the NBA. A total disgrace to the city of Atlanta. The Spirit (or lack there of) Group is a pathetic group of owners.

I wanted to believe that this was the second coming of those great young teams of the 80’s, but alas all it was was the second coming of another Hawk walking out the door laughing at the franchise and the fans.

By ATLien

July 23, 2008 12:44 PM | Link to this

Dear NBA Commissioner,

PLease get these fools(ASG) out of our City, before we run your team out of our beloved City of Atlanta.

Your Truly,

An ATLien

By makred7

July 23, 2008 12:48 PM | Link to this

kalispera from greece! there are many things that someone could say about this transfer. 1. about the money the contract that was offered by Olympiakos to josh is 20.000.000$ for the next 3 years plus olympiakos will pay all the taxes here in greece ( which are not the same as in USA so it doesnt mean that the contract will cost around 35.000.000$ , taxes are much less here in athens), Olympiakos will also cover the expenses for housing and car. also the contract is for 3 years but Josh if he choose to return to the NBA he can do it if he will inform Olympiakos until 15th of july. But there is also something else important , European Teams give bonus when the team is achieving its goals, it means that if Olympiakos will manage to win “Triple Crown” which includes Euroleague cup , Greek championship and Greek cup , Josh will receive extra money for that. Olympiakos means that will pay 6,5 million for first and second year amd 7 million for the 3rd plus bonuses.But dont forget that 6,5 millions $ equals to 4,2 million euro! which is equal to what sarunas jasikevicious and carlos delfino contract. Olympiakos its not Dominique x-team, Panathinaikos was and those 2 teams are rivals! What you may not also heard in the states is that Olympiakos has also offered 11.000.000$ to Deng in order to come to our team. olympiakos is one of the best teams in Europe and this years budget is close to 45.000.000 euro ( 60.000.000$). European teams do not have salary cup which means that if the ownership wants to pay players with gold - no one will say NO- Smith was also approached by Olympiakos but Smith didnt want to play overseas yet. Dont forget that in Olympiakos has already played many NBA players like Eddie Johnson , Lynn Greer , Rivers, Quindel Woods, Roy Tarpley, Evans, etc and is the team that almost signed Charlie Bell last year and the team that offered Webber an enormous contract a year ago. Anyone knows that NBA is the elite, is the best but the gap has closen, see how many european players are in the NBA now and you will understand, also dont forget that Greece won USA last year in the world championship. Basketball in europe is good and has nothing to do with what you knew so far. NBA is more glamorous and where everyone wants to be but Euroleague is the second best championship in the world right now… Unfortunately for us - the european fans of basketball- soccer is the sport that more money are spend. Also Olympiakos is not just a basketball organization - Olympiakos has departments in any sport and has won many european championships in many sports and also was the team the played against Chicago Bulls when Mac Donald open was still on and the NBA champion used to play against the European champion. I only hope that Josh will meet our expectations and help our team Olympiakos to win the “Triple Crown” and although i am a Bulls fan i wish the best for your team Atlanta Hawk for the upcoming season!!!

By Ron

July 23, 2008 12:52 PM | Link to this

Recent developments make me wonder if Belkin has sign-off authority over any large contracts. If he wins the ownership battle, he might not want to be saddled with hefty contracts, especially for players drafted by his “good friend,” Billy Knight!

Childress is nothing more than a good bench player and does not deserve a huge contract. Given that Josh Smith obviously has differences of opinion with Hawks management, (who doesn’t?) a sign & trade is definitely the best option for him. I like the deal with Detroit for Prince that is mentioned earlier in this blog. Then you don’t have to sign Starvin’ Marvin Williams to a big contract after next season. All you need is an adequate center, move Horford to power forward, and you might have the beginnings of a playoff contender.

By darrell starks

July 23, 2008 12:56 PM | Link to this

I WISH JOSH CHILL THE BEST FOR PEOPLE WHO DONT NO THERE WAS NEVER NO OFFER FROM THE OWNER WHY PEOPLE CONTINUE TO PUT FALSE STATEMENT OUT THERE I DONT NO.and there is no offer for JOSH SMITH EITHER SOME one sayed they offer josh smith 60million for six years thats false to. THE owner are broke WE MUST WAKE UP AND UNDERSTAND THAT STOP BLAMING THE PLAYER and the coach AND STARTED POINTING THE FINGER AT ASG SELL THIS TEAM NOW. GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!

By VoiceofREASON

July 23, 2008 12:56 PM | Link to this

Have any of you heard that the Euro converts higher than the dollar? Chillz is a business man, basketball is a business. It’s not called showfriends..It’s called ShowBUSINESS!!! Chillz contract if paid in Euros is worth almost 40M dollars over 3 years. Made it easy for you so you don’t have to do the math.

Say Thank You Voice!

By Ken Thompson

July 23, 2008 12:56 PM | Link to this

I will withhold judgment until I see the team put on the court this year but if the Hawks take a step back then I am done with ASG

By Charlie

July 23, 2008 12:56 PM | Link to this

This franchise is pathetic! The ability to opt out at the end of each year has to be a huge factor in his decision. Josh Smith would leave too if he wasn’t a restricted FA.

By dsmith

July 23, 2008 12:57 PM | Link to this

Lmao!! Ben, you prove me more right on every post. You have met all the players, are u serious? and thats supposed to help you with your knowledge of the game? I know several season ticket holders who dont have a clue about the game or its players, just happy to be seen. Now I said help guard those guys, I didnt say shut down (pay attention). Now who is gonna help Joe guard guys now? West? Marvin? Now you say his FG% is high because he get garbage BASKETS off of OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS and does NOT shoot jumpshots? Uh, hello McFly, sounds like a pretty efficient player to me. Now when you are at the games this year please pay attention to the games and players or give your tickets to a real fan.

You made 1 good comment, Rondo did kill us, so thats an improvement, maybe you are waking up……..

‘Oh by the way, I’m a 10 year season ticket holder and have personally met all the players.’………lmao!! I’m still laughing at that one!…….

By Gary

July 23, 2008 12:59 PM | Link to this

To those who are complaining and wish ownership would get their heads out of the sand…….quit buying tickets, merchandise, and going to games. When they spend a couple of seasons in the Red, then maybe they will either spend money or sell to someone who will. They are doing the same thing to the Thrashers. They don’t care about the team or city, just on making a buck and saying they own a franchise.

By Nick

July 23, 2008 1:00 PM | Link to this

Chech out the Level of the Greek players

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1coR6cmZ7Y&feature=related

By terrell barron

July 23, 2008 1:01 PM | Link to this

Sorry, but I cant blame the BASG for this one. They made him a LEGIT offer, and he turned it down to disappear off the face of the earth. We’ll probably never hear his name again. Oh well.

By loumar

July 23, 2008 1:02 PM | Link to this

Who cares? It’s almost football season! The NBA stinks, especially the Hawks!

By Wink from Lithonia

July 23, 2008 1:02 PM | Link to this

Chills to Greece is just the beginning. The problem is this salary cap that is restricting free trade. Going into the Free Agent market only 3 teams had money to spend on Free Agents, Golden State, Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies & too a lesser extent Philadelphia. These teams have raped & pillaged each other’s unrestricted free agents.

In the meantime, all the Restricted Free Agents have been neglected because of this Right to Match offer sheet. So no team is making a proposal, they don’t want to tie up their cash for 7 days. So there could be a perception of owners joining together to restrict their movement. Kinda like a home run king who can’t get a job in baseball. What’s his option to go to Japan.

So that brings us to Chills decision, to play in Greece, maybe for the money, maybe to be a trail blazer, or maybe after 2 year abroad he owns his own NBA rights, thus the whole NBA is availble to him to return too, instead of getting locked into the Spirit Group for 5 years.

If we look at this franchise, they have done nothing to inspire, fan loyalty, or player loyalty and Chills has a much closer view of this situation than us fans. He has been in the draft room when some of these decisions have been made. We are only now hearing that an offer was ever made to him, my guess is to portray him as a money hungry player. This is a new frontier that other RESTRICTED Free Agents will take a look at. Again this would be like the one and done college atheletes, but they get paid millions to play two years & be done; then go back to NBA.
We will lose Josh Smith as well, with no other options available to replace these guys. I felt like Chills was a must sign, a Mario West player, with the ability to affect the game on both ends.

The commissioner had doomed the NBA & the ASG has imploded the Hawks organization. This signing is just more of the same.

By Stinger

July 23, 2008 1:02 PM | Link to this

Sekou the situation s*cks but could there be a silver lining Given our newly “created” cap space couldn’t we sign Emeka Okafor and then resign JS. We might have to waive a little salary but JS has a very small cap hold due to his draft position and thus we have wiggle room - do we not? Never mind this plan would require the ASG to actually make an investment in the team - I’ll put down the crack pipe Do discuss our options regarding free agents and our revised cap space if you can.

By Meezy

July 23, 2008 1:02 PM | Link to this

Do we have to set all negative records in sports? I mean … goodness.

By Charlie

July 23, 2008 1:06 PM | Link to this

Childress was not overrated people… he will be sorely missed. He shot 50% from the field and averaged 12 pts and 5 boards coming off the bench. Your main concern should be what this says about the state of the franchise. A player turns down more money to play in Europe as opposed to staying in Atl and playing for a team with a ton of young talent. What does this say about mgmt and the coach?

By FROMAREALSPORTCITY

July 23, 2008 1:08 PM | Link to this

Let’s see, no loyalty to the players or the teams. Horrible coaching, except for Cox. Boring sportstalk (save the Stews), even more boring venues with adolescent offerings (poor music selection, poor PA announcers), overpriced tickets. CONSTANT drafting of no name players. LACK OF HEART!!! Sounds like Atlanta to me…. Bye, Chills. Go Make That Money and Don’t Look Back!!!! Damn, I’ll be glad to move back to Cali!!! Golden State, SF Giants, Raiders, 49’ers, and I’ll still be a Redskin, Wizards fan!!! Oh, and Go Orioles!!

By Jordan

July 23, 2008 1:14 PM | Link to this

Good riddance, I say. He wasn’t very good. He only seemed above average because he played on a below average team.

By 206 Hoops

July 23, 2008 1:14 PM | Link to this

Childress is a smart cat. He’s getting more money (probably a lot more — $20 mil in 3 years) to live and play in one of the world’s great cities. Good for him, it takes stones to be the first one to do something “crazy” like this.

It’s probably good for hoops that the game is getting internationalized. The NBA is in no danger of being displaced as the best league, but it’s going to be fun if European leagues start catching up.

By Crazy Diamond

July 23, 2008 1:16 PM | Link to this

As was said before about the Spirit group, gotta say it again: WE ARE SO SCREWED.

When you do not act to sign your core players as soon as possible - like we should have with the two Josh’s last October - this is what can happen.

We are at the mercy of disfunctional ownership by committee.

By the fonz

July 23, 2008 1:19 PM | Link to this

Selling the Hawks to these owners was the worse thing that could have happen to the city. It is obvious they do not care about the franchise nor the players. I wish Chills the best. You see he was on the floor at crunch time instead of Marvin Williams. I wouldn’t be surprised next year if the gave him a big contract very quickly. His game is lame. He starts but can’t finish.

By FlashMarker

July 23, 2008 1:19 PM | Link to this

C’mon guys its ONLY Childress going to Greece, I mean, its not like Al Horford, Joe Johnson or someone like that. That would be cause to panick. Hey, to replace Childress, all you have to do is open up the closet, pull out a skeleton and throw him into the Hawks lineup and you have adequately replaced Childress! Case Closed.

By terrell barron

July 23, 2008 1:21 PM | Link to this

Makes it easier to sign Smoove. Thanks Chills. And I still dont understand all the uproar. THEY MADE HIM AN OFFER AND HE TURNED IT DOWN. I know the BASG are clueless, but not because of this. This is all on Chills. It also gives us more money to work with. At least I think it does. Mario, Luke and J-Rich, welcome to the NBA. lol!! Yall will finally get some minutes. And btw, Woody was ruining him anyway, trying to play him on the perimeter. If he wants a perimeter guy, (WHO CAN SHOOT) he has it in J rich and Luke Jackson. And why does everyone kill Smoove for not having a position, but they seem to give Chills a pass? What’s his position? Point guard? No way.(Too slow) 2 guard? Nada.(Cant shoot) SF? Nope.(Cant shoot) PF? Please.(Too thin) Dont get me wrong, he brings something to the team, but WE NEED MORE SHOOTERS BESIDES JJ AND BIBBY. Luke and J-Rich can provide that, while Mario can bring the intensity that we lost in Chills. Problem solved. No biggy!

By B.A.ToDa

July 23, 2008 1:21 PM | Link to this

True to the fact that Childress never lived up to the potential of a “#6 draft pick”. You got to admit, the money the Greece squad was throwing at him was way more than he’s worth for our team. Wasn’t he on the cover of College Hoops 2k couple years back? With Childress gone, we gotta be able to throw more money at Josh Smith to keep him here, since we didn’t have to give Childress a crazy contract.

By dashizz357

July 23, 2008 1:22 PM | Link to this

J Smooth is next, this city doesn’t want to win. They don’t spend money on their players, Joe was lucky to get what he got, remember they didn’t want to pay him either. If I was Josh Smith I’d be gone on the next train smoking. Bottom line, WE SUCK !!!!

By boston immigrant

July 23, 2008 1:25 PM | Link to this

why play from the bench when you can be a superstar?

By michael

July 23, 2008 1:26 PM | Link to this

better money, less games, better CURRENCY, … how could anyone turn this down?? Good for Josh, bad PR for Hawks, but could be good for us if we can use that money to make some moves.. OH YEAH, SIGN JOSH SMITH TODAY OR TOMORROW TO LESSEN THE PR STING!!!

By dashizz357

July 23, 2008 1:29 PM | Link to this

WOW!!! Whats next? Josh Smith leaves. Can I get a refund on my seasons tickets?

By nique

July 23, 2008 1:30 PM | Link to this

I think Josh Childress is an extremely underrated player who deserved to start over Marvin. In a perverse way I’m kind of glad this happened. This ownership sucks and they should be embarrassed that they let things go on as long as they have without signing either of the Josh’s. Maybe this will prompt them to sign Smith before things get even more embarrassing for them.

By nique

July 23, 2008 1:30 PM | Link to this

I think Josh Childress is an extremely underrated player who deserved to start over Marvin. In a perverse way I’m kind of glad this happened. This ownership sucks and they should be embarrassed that they let things go on as long as they have without signing either of the Josh’s. Maybe this will prompt them to sign Smith before things get even more embarrassing for them.

By HyunATL

July 23, 2008 1:30 PM | Link to this

I hate it when people say stuff like, “who cares Chillz couldnt shoot anyway.” or “he was too skinny” Childress had one of the best FG% in the NBA every year he played. He shoots well above 50% and who cares if he is skinny he still rebounds well and what he lacks in size he makes up with heart. He was our most energetic player. If you dont know enough about basketball or the hawks to make informed comments please dont post. I admit his defense wasnt that good, but he was still valuable to the team. And why hate on him because he took the money. How is he not a team player because he decided to leave for Greece? He probably feels he would enjoy living in Athens for a few years. If he gets a better offer somewhere else why shouldnt he take it? What player has ever decided to go for less money to stay with his team? Good luck Chillz.

By aaa

July 23, 2008 1:31 PM | Link to this

welcome to greece Josh ; this is where real life is.

By Darrell

July 23, 2008 1:34 PM | Link to this

I don’t think Chill’s wanted to be a Hawk for whatever reason (maybe Seakou know something that we don’) he was PO that the team didn’t approve a sign and trade.

By Willie D

July 23, 2008 1:36 PM | Link to this

Im a TRUE HAWKS FAN and I must say that the Hawks deserve every bit of what’s happening right now! Taking things for granted in a time of need is one of the dumbest business moves i have ever heard!! After a performance like this past season, you would think that it would be a NO BRAINER but I guess we are still dealing w/the same type of BRAINIACS for the past 20 years!!! All I have to say is THE HAWKS better get there S** together w/ Josh Smith or they are going to LOSS allot of FANS!!!!

By Kyle

July 23, 2008 1:41 PM | Link to this

It’s a damn shame. Why couldn’t this have happened to Marvin Williams instead?

By Chuck

July 23, 2008 1:42 PM | Link to this

Let him go. The team is obviously not going to contend for a title this year and this’ll give us more cap room in the stellar free agent class next summer.

By SB

July 23, 2008 1:42 PM | Link to this

For every one that suggest trading Josh Smith for Prince, PLEASE STOP AND THINK ABOUT WHAT BASKETBALL SINCE THAT MAKES. Answer is none, you don’t have to like him personaly but it dosn’t make since. Smith has more talent, more upside and he’s better than Prince now. AND MOST IMPORTANT….PRINCE MAKES MORE MONEY. Prince is a good player, but he plays on a really good team that makes him look better than he is. Do you guys really believe That the whole leauge missed out on Prince, Maxell and Stucky, And Joe is so much smarter than every other GM. If so how did he miss so badley on Darko?These guys are good players, but don’t confuse individual talent with a guy who plays on a good team. Prince would struggle in Atl , just as Wallace struggled in Chi.

By Brian

July 23, 2008 1:43 PM | Link to this

Attention Hawks Ticket Office - STOP CALLING ME…………NO, I AM NOT RENEWING MY TIX! THIS IS A JOKE OF A FRANCHISE!

By ATLien

July 23, 2008 1:43 PM | Link to this

If I didn’t watch Sportscenter I wouldn’t know that Josh Smith refuses to sign with the Hawks if Mike Woodson is the coach because you sure as hell haven’t delivered any kind of scoop on the story, Sekou. How am I getting news on the Hawks from a national network who couldn’t care less about the Hawks than from the actual Atlanta beat writer??? It would be nice to know what’s going on with a situation that involves our high-profile free agent. Do your damn job, Sekou.

By Najeh Davenpoop

July 23, 2008 1:45 PM | Link to this

I think Ando hit the nail on the head earlier — Childress may be a replaceable player, but the Hawks are not gonna replace him with someone of the same caliber. They are gonna offer minimum salary deals to Jeremy Richardson and Luke Jackson to fill the void.

A real organization would have agreed to a sign and trade long before it got to this point. I would have been OK with trading Childress even if it meant getting 50 cents on the dollar, because that’s a hell of a lot better than getting zero cents on the dollar.

Figures, the first time a team screws it up bad enough to lose a restricted free agent for nothing, it’s the Hawks.

Sadly, the Hawks still have the brightest immediate future among the three (I don’t watch hockey) major sports teams in Atlanta. Shows you the situation of Atlanta sports right now.

By PaulWarfield

July 23, 2008 1:46 PM | Link to this

Im not concerned at all with Chills leaving for Greece. Sure Chills gave the Hawks “Chills and Thrills” while he was here, but in the end Chills gave the Hawks the cold shoulder and took off to Greece to play with the Greece squadron. Chills in reality was literally nothing more than a human paperweight and someone who was excess (empty) baggage the Hawks could no longer afford to carry. Sure the Hawks got gilted and betrayed and I feel that it is gross that he is now in greece but what did he do for the Hawks this past season. He and his teammates guided the Hawks to eight games below .500 in the mediocre Eastern Conference. Not much of an accomplishment to put it in perspective. In reality it will be a blessing that Chills is gone because now we can offer Josh Smith more money so we can keep him in an Atlanta uniform, which will allow the Hawks to continue their rise to the top of the NBA league standings.

By Exchange Rate

July 23, 2008 1:46 PM | Link to this

Josh Childress is the second player this year that we’ve lost to the EuroLeague - don’t forget the big Aussie David Andersen - 6’11” player who would remind you of Jason Collier - we had the rights to him - Billy Knight, before he “resigned”, told us season ticket holders in a private session that David would be on the 2008-09 roster - last I heard Andersen signed a big new deal with a Spanish team - the ASG sold us a bill of goods - all the talk about resigning the Joshes was just a bunch of hooey

By Reggie L

July 23, 2008 1:47 PM | Link to this

Okay guys….I’ll keep this short and sweet. Why would a team that is basically owned by a group of morons want to keep a player with Chill’s intelligence? He is one of the few Hawk players that sounds like he has any sense at all when he speaks. This whole thing makes me mad…I hope they never win a championship….at this rate they never will. He was one of the smartest B-ball IQ players on the floor…made few mistakes and he always hustled. Good luck in Greece Chill’s, and don’t look back.

By B.A.ToDa

July 23, 2008 1:47 PM | Link to this

We basically just lost a #6 draft pick for nothing in return.

By randy

July 23, 2008 1:49 PM | Link to this

I wish Childress the best. Hawks management are scumbags for renegging on a contract already on the table when he didn’t immediately accept. Just offer Josh Smith 10-11 million…its not like they have to worry about signing Childress anymore or any FA’s with any self-respect. If the lose Josh Smith, it will be a long time before I watch the Hawks again.

By jv

July 23, 2008 1:55 PM | Link to this

Are you guys really that bad at math? I’m sure the exchange rate had an impact, but even without that $34 mil over 5 years is $6.8 mil per year compared to $10 mil/yr. in Greece. Plus he can opt out at the end of each season. So if it is ugly over there and the Hawks situation improves he can return. Otherwise he can wait it out and then return to play for whoever he wants - either way it increases his options - the Hawks tried to play hard ball and lost. I don’t think they could or should have paid him $10 million/yr though. What they chould have done is work out a sign and trade deal with the team of his choosing.

By gb

July 23, 2008 1:59 PM | Link to this

sund is as suspected, only a puppet fot the real gm, mike gearon. no waym he made this mistake without direction from a higher power. stearn proably would not let mikey serve as gm so he found a puppet to hold the title.

By gb

July 23, 2008 1:59 PM | Link to this

sund is as suspected, only a puppet fot the real gm, mike gearon. no waym he made this mistake without direction from a higher power. stearn proably would not let mikey serve as gm so he found a puppet to hold the title.

By Najeh Davenpoop

July 23, 2008 1:59 PM | Link to this

Sekou, can you provide a little more clarification of how long the Hawks hold Childress’ rights? It says two years in the article, but if his deal is for three years with Olympiakos doesn’t that pretty much mean when he is eligible to return to the NBA the Hawks have no rights over him?

I’m really starting to think firing Billy may not have been the greatest idea… between Woodson and the DASG it’s starting to look like Billy was the strong point of our old front office, and I am not at all confident that Rick Sund is any better.

By Ivan Gonzalez

July 23, 2008 2:00 PM | Link to this

Neither Childers or Smith want to play for their coach. They have been there and know what to expect from him. This is a sad day for the Hawks franchise that keeps on giving us this type of reward. How can you ask the fans to support the team when you keep on making the same bad decissions?.

By Good Move for the Hawks

July 23, 2008 2:00 PM | Link to this

Good Move Hawks ownership.. 2nd best scorer coming off the bench, 5th overall in 6th man voting, necessary spark when Atlanta needed it, but what did all that amount too? A 3 year contract to play overseas instead of playing for a mediocore NBA franchise, with a terrible coach and even worst ownership… Way to Go Hawks… Let’s keep those losing ways going.

Next AJC news story - New Season Ticket Holders running to Phillips Arena to demand a refund ….lol..

By flahawksfan

July 23, 2008 2:02 PM | Link to this

This has nothing to do with the ASG nor Woodson and everything to do with the stupidity of the average NBA player…I say average because he is average…not in anyone’s starting 5 and can only make a starting 5 in Greece… there is no loyalty in professional sports…Chills won’t be loyal to his new team either….just a very expensive rental for Greece…in two years when he can jump back in the NBA for more money and he will do just this. He is plain stupid…but give him some money and he will make a point to someone. The fans should really be pi$$ed at the professional athlete who flips off the fans and say thanks for your money but you dumba$$eS I am taking it all and I don’t care about nobody but me and my posse….I am taking myself and my gang signs and making more money off of everyone else…. stupid…take less money so that he can make a point to all you sheep who said that he wouldn’t go…this is what professional sports - particularily the NBA has become….greed…leave ATL you sorry excuse for a human being…much less being any sort of a team player….I plan the agents and the players for taking the game away from the fans and making the only way that we can have any input is through these stupid blogs…up yours Chills….go away and go away quickly…go to the lady where the ladies don’t take baths and let their underarm hair grow long….you will fit in with all the retched smells in Greece…

By randy

July 23, 2008 2:03 PM | Link to this

Why is it that Sekou said just a week ago that Josh Smith had no negative comments about Woodson when asked by managment and then Sekou assuring us that they get along just fine. Word is he can’t stand Woodson and doesn’t want to continue as a Hawk. This news has been out there for a week, you would think if it wasn’t true Josh Smith would have spoken up by now. Wherever your inside info is coming from, Sekou, it really sucks! ASG deserve Woodson, they compliment each others incompetence.

By Greg

July 23, 2008 2:06 PM | Link to this

Hawks equals LA Clippers of the East……..pathetic.

By Steve Belkin

July 23, 2008 2:07 PM | Link to this

Told You So

By Paddy

July 23, 2008 2:11 PM | Link to this

Fact still remains, no one will be going to the games. It’s over ASG. You have killed what little fan base you had. Some die-hards will still drink the kool-aid, but not enough to cover the light bill at Phillips.

By Rod of Stone Mountain

July 23, 2008 2:14 PM | Link to this

Billy Knight gave Speed Bump Claxton a better deal than they offered Chill. (24 million for 4yrs)

By Steve Belkin

July 23, 2008 2:15 PM | Link to this

Hey B.A. ToDa

We lost the #6 pick when we drafted this guy. He was almost as bad a pick as Williams! Which Williams you ask? Both of them.

……..Oh yeah…. Told You So

By Whatever

July 23, 2008 2:15 PM | Link to this

Sure the Hawks are a bad franchise and Woodson obviously is not the answer (according to experts and players alike) but J Chill got a reality check that a skinny 6th man on one of the worst teams in the NBA doesn’t warrant the salary he wanted. He couldn’t hack it in the league and he just blew his pension. Good luck.

By Joe

July 23, 2008 2:19 PM | Link to this

I’m glad the hawks didn’t sign him he wasn’t all that great anyway he was just a bench player that’s it. I think since Josh Childress is gone they definitely gotta sign Josh Smith now so all in all the hawks didn’t lose nothing but if they lose Josh Smith then I would officially not be a hawks fan anymore.

By Seth

July 23, 2008 2:20 PM | Link to this

Josh Childress was the glue that held the second unit together. Plus his long arms really helped with the rebounding duties. Get a big man and all will be forgiven. Nobody in their right mind would spend $20 Million on glue. Anyone who thinks we should, needs to stop sniffing the glue.

By The Dude

July 23, 2008 2:21 PM | Link to this

For those who think childress wasn’t wanted by any other team u have to remember that being a Restricted FA means that whatever offer any team makes to him the hawks can comeback and match it or at least hold ur team up in free agency from signing another player thats out there.

I think losing him will be a big lose to the Hawks but losing Smith is gonna be much bigger!!!

FIRE woodson and go get Avery Johnson!

By doc

July 23, 2008 2:30 PM | Link to this

fudd 21, sadly i called this very scenario within the past 10 days and brought up the issue that we would see nba players going to play on the other continents several months ago. i didnt think it would hit close to home until i saw that the BASG was playing hard ball with its two prime and respected kds they grew up and have spent r & d money on for someone else to be the benefactors of (really stupid business practice for ongoing success by the way). i said earlier if the agents are smart and doing their jobs they would explore other options to include euro league: was derided then and derided the last few days by several on the blog.

never thought the BASG had nor wanted to spend the money to keep it together not their style and wasnt fooled by it unless they thought they held all the cards. anyone of us who saw them ready to spend in such a manner were out of touch with who they were and how much the guys they needed to keep were going to cost.

ando spelled it out as well in hard factual numbers, he also added the credible thought “would you spend that much money on a team that has a coach who has never won more than 37 wins in his life?” the correct answer was and is NO!

well anyway, i am glad we got an experienced lifer in sund to lead us rather than one of the other inexperienced guys they were considering or else it might not have lasted as long as 23 days from when the talks began. “stupids” for not sewing them up last year in some act of respect to the players letting them know truly with the pocketbook they were wanted. dont all employees want to be handled like that than as a form of servitude in relative wages to what others are doing and achieving both on the court and into the bank?

well all is not lost as this only speaks of opportunity. if they now go out and sign smith for the 12 mil a year he should get by other standards not by what they can legally hold him to and slide him to 3 and get two bigs with the money not spent and a legit veteran shooter then we begin to have faith restored. if at the end of all this the team sits with little more than it has now then we can say finally we have our answer …. WE ARE THE CLIPPERS OF THE EAST. plain and simple. i said many moons ago that his summer we get to stop hearing excuses and find out if the team is going to budge off the lowest number of the cap scale that they HAVE to pay. anyone want to bet there are within 1 mil of that figure when all is done?

to continue the story in a different vein:

last seen granny it is now known that granny has lost an organ her spleen due to rupture and ongoing blood loss. the spleen is responsible for her immune system defenses and blood production to help fortify the energy within the system. often the spleen is considered an accessory organ and expendable. i assure you it is not as it performs many functions that others cannot and is irreplaceable as some of its functions keep the person alive in certain stress situations.

next up at risk is whether her liver can take the shock from blood loss involved. the liver is responsible for many functions as a major detoxifier when things come into the system when normal boundaries have failed to do harm and the primary energy mover. care to think of how chills and smoove fit in the analogy?

last seen sund driving around in circles trying to find someone other than sekou to talk to him.

remember, think of today as an opportunity for your beloved atlanta hawks, nothing more and nothing less. also wonder when they will really get it right?

By makred7

July 23, 2008 2:31 PM | Link to this

hey flahawksfan , have you ever visited Greece man or you are just say whatever comes to your head???? and i bet if you had ever came over here you would never weant to come back especially if you meet the “ladies”!!! and since you are trying to present yourself as a romantic of sports you should know that this is exactly what is happening here in Greece still!!! but you only know what happens in your city and ignore the rest of the world and since you know everything just take a look at that link and see how Olympiacos fans support our team!!!!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NexVal93u0k&feature=related we are not eating chips and smile on videos!!!

By Nanny-Nanny- Boo-Boo

July 23, 2008 2:33 PM | Link to this

Say what you want about Arthur Blank, but he is a much better owner that what is goinbg on over there with the Hawks and Braves organization ! I am not saying I am sad to see him go, but the Hawks are trying not to make any moves. Atlanta fans should be tired of all these organizations. We are not bandwagon fans. We are a city that wants to WIN!

By matt

July 23, 2008 2:33 PM | Link to this

just sign josh smith, kwame, and j.r. smith from denver and we’ll be solid

By Sekou's Biased

July 23, 2008 2:36 PM | Link to this

Sekou,

Can you provide documentation regarding european basketball contracts? I’d like to see that.

Actually I’d like to see anything from you that doesn’t involve shilling for players to get bigger contracts from their teams.

Do you actually leave your home to write these stories, or does Josh Smith’s agent just slip you checks and food under your door?

By Ben

July 23, 2008 2:36 PM | Link to this

dsmith, you are an idiot “who besides Joe Johnson guarded Rondo, Allen, and Pierce? Just let it go Ben……” Where do I see “help guard” there? Nowhere. And my point about the inflated FG % supports my argument, as Chillz is only good on offense for garbage baskets that Robert Tractor Trailor or Ronny Turiaf could get.

You said he has rebounding and blocking contributions—LOL! 0.6 BPG, 4.9 RPG. Anything else? You said that twice in this blog. Let it go. And Mario West is miles better of a defender than Childress, as Billy Knight said 2 months ago—maybe you should do your research.

By david

July 23, 2008 2:37 PM | Link to this

The lousiest, CS, pathetic thing I have ever seen. But for me it was when, not will it happen. If you think this bunch is going to do something smart you are dead wrong and boderline stupid. Childress was a very important element to successful basketball. Smart, aggressive, great attitude and coming into his own. Unreal. Truly a shame.

By Aaron B

July 23, 2008 2:39 PM | Link to this

Well, I might as well say my piece too. It’s been a while since I’ve commented here. Look, the loss of Childress sucks but it’s not gonna be the end of the world for the Hawks. If it was Josh Smith then we can start to cry and pack our bags for the lottery next year. But it wasn’t Smith. Which some of you have come to notice too.

As far as our future choices, I believe it’s time to start thinking about a sign and trade for either Andre Iguodala or Emeka Okafor with Marvin Williams. Putting one of those two restricted free agents in for Marvin would make the loss of J-Chill seem like a silly issue. Plus with that quality change of personnel in our starting line up, I don’t see a big deal with needing a super 6th-man.

By cp

July 23, 2008 2:40 PM | Link to this

The rumor of Chills being offered a contract was pretty much shot down. It was some false info thrown out there to try and spin the situation..

Once again someone name me a player that is going to come in this upcoming season and give us the prodcutions Chills did. People we are not going to get Okafur, Igouadala,or JR Smith.. They are all restricted free agents. We cant sign our own restricted free agents so its no way in hell we are going to get another teams restricted free agents.

Stop saying teams did not want Chill. SS reported several times that it was at least 6 teams that called the Hawks about Chills but your boy Sun Dial did not want to sign and trade him to either one of those teams.

Im not even mad at losing Chills. Im mad because we lost a guy we took 6th in the draft for absolutely nothing. I would have been fine with a first rounder and a average player but hell we go nothing what so ever.

Childress probably should have started over Marvin but Mike Knapp stuck with Duck even when he was doing nothing on the court.

This past summer we had no draft picks, gave Mike Knapp a new contract, let all the good shooters sign with other teams, have done nothing to upgrade this team, lost our best bench player, and still have not signed Josh Smith.

Now tell me why would Joe want to stay here once his contract is up? You think the other players on this team are watching this mess unfold right now and are wondering why they hell they are here? Add in the fact that we have to make a decision on Marvin after this season is over. The ugliness is not done. What free agent is going to want come here? I would say at least we will have a high draft pick next year but Sund has a worse drafting record than BK.

By I.MUS WRITE

July 23, 2008 2:42 PM | Link to this

7 milli per season was a great offer for a player like Chillz. Now to the bussiness at hand -there are plenty of players who can come in and give us the same type production.

Here are my choices to replace the Fro 1.Sasha (the machine) Vuacic 2.JR Smith 3.Mo Evans

we will be okay if we can bring in one of theses players to go with Kwame and Randolph………

I luv what chills did for us but 11 points is’nt that hard to replace

HB Ando-Stop try’n to be a dam psychic or whatever…… as a matter of fact -What N.Davenpoop said at 9:56am……

By B.A.ToDa

July 23, 2008 2:43 PM | Link to this

Steve Belkin don’t even get me started up on that Sheldon Williams draft pick lol. The Hawks were so set on drafting him 2 months before the actual draft. Then we turn around and throw him in a trade a little over a year later.

By flahawksfan

July 23, 2008 2:46 PM | Link to this

makred7…we are not talking about the one or two women that every country has…but overall your women don’t compare with those of the USA…so let’s not even go there….of course it is easier to be romantic about your sports when there is nothing else to love about the stark white landscape….. yes I have been there and I absolutely have no desire to ever…and I mean ever go back…your sports are inferior to ours which is again, why your team is spending money on a player that would never make a starting roster in the entire NBA….hell he could not even make the Hawks starting roster…so good luck and I hope that you love and enjoy seeing Chills dribble balls off his feet which he did at least three times a night….as for my sight…yeah I will enjoy keeping my sight on all the lovely ladies of the US have to offer….cya

By mykhalc

July 23, 2008 2:46 PM | Link to this

AGAIN, when you do NOT like who you work for, you LEAVE…PERIOD!!!

no matter how you feel about CHILS as a player, it just goes to show how inept this franchise is.

what did PIETRUS sign for??? coulda had him!!! he’s better than CHILS and MARVIN!!!

yep, the stupid a$$ BASG set the table and nobody’s gonna show for dinner!!!

GREECE vs ATL…hell yeah i’d go too!!!! especially knowin’ MIKE ‘HINDSIGHT’ WOODSON is still the HC!!! hell that’s why he really left!!!

i said it earlier, D-leaguers will be on the team and on the coachin’ staff!! in fact, the franchise is D-league…PERIOD!!!!

By Najeh Davenpoop

July 23, 2008 2:47 PM | Link to this

What do y’all think of this trade idea… trade Bibby to Golden State for Andris Biedrins (who would get sign-and-traded)? We can throw in Marvin and get back one of their swingmen — Belinelli or something — if they want…. Golden State needs a point guard, we could use a big guy who can play center and move Horford to PF. Not a perfect trade for either side (salaries obviously don’t match without other players being moved), but what do y’all think?

By doc

July 23, 2008 2:47 PM | Link to this

lascho, thought so, as you get older the recovery time is less because you fall asleep before the action. done with school yet and doing your thing with the pen?

WHERE IS STEVO? when you need to join a drum circle to beat on his head. last seen reading a book.

cant await to hear what our positive contingency from last night has to spin here. i hear it now, “shoot no problem chills wasnt worth that much to us”. shame the hawks didnt just go ahead and get his replacement(s) and let him go rather than leading us all on. it only drove up his price to the greeks. here the spirit thought they were able to have chills do the work when they were using the hawks to set his international pay scale. now that is some real sh!t.

funny, had a call from leo to sell tix today. sorry i missed it. maybe he heard how i was going to take that allotted to BASG and give it my favorite charity.

By Dimitris

July 23, 2008 2:48 PM | Link to this

It’s been quite a while ago that the two worlds have come closer:

there’s no Dream Team anymore, nobody thinks that a NBA team can’t lose, it’s not difficult for a European to be star of a NBA franchise…. well, neither a good NBA player to come and play in Greece.

Very soon some NBA rules will adapted by the rest of the world (6.75m 3pt line, in one year from now), while more transactions from Europe and the US will be running. Helping the ENORMOUS Euro/USD currency rate, soon we’ll be seeing European teams to have, at least, TOP Class B players.

And soon, NBA like have its own franchises in London, Paris, Munich. What do you think then? There will be 3 native players, 5 Europeans, 3 from the rest of the world (meaning Argentinians, Chinese) and 5 Americans to be paid milions of dollars.

Does this looks sci-fi to you?

By B.A.ToDa

July 23, 2008 2:51 PM | Link to this

Some of these past comments are starting to sound better. We can recover from losing Chills (is JR Smith really an option tho?). That is of course if the ASG is willing to put into the effort of bringing in some players. After not signing Childress it should be no problem to throw in them extra dollars to keep Smith.

By David

July 23, 2008 2:52 PM | Link to this

Rumor has it that Josh Smith is considering an offer to play in Siberia to avoid losers like the Atlanta Spirit and Mike Woodson

By cp

July 23, 2008 2:53 PM | Link to this

Well you can scratch Evans off that list. He just signed with the Warriors. Deal is worth 6.4 for three years. LOL we cant sign effective bench guys for 2 million a year. Look for Richardson and Luke to try and fill Chill’s shoes. The bench play this upcoming season is going to be ugly.

Ok people how do you prepose we get a restricted free agent like JR Smith since people keep bringing up his name? What assets do we have to make a deal? Yep NONE.

By Bone Head

July 23, 2008 2:56 PM | Link to this

BONEHEAD?

Pay Speedy Claxton $5,757,818 and offer Chill $5.5mil

By Smarty Jones

July 23, 2008 2:57 PM | Link to this

Atlanta = LOSERVILLE!!!!

ATL People need to realize this and this is the way it will always be!

By Mike

July 23, 2008 2:59 PM | Link to this

I have only been in Atl for 2 years, but I see why the Hawks are in the shape their in. After the strides they made last year, to not sign Childress is a joke. If they let Smith get away, we should boycott the Hawks. This has to be the worst ownership around.

By flahawksfan

July 23, 2008 2:59 PM | Link to this

MAKRED7…. are you kidding me…you think your sports and your women are better in Greece than the US…go back and enjoy your drugs and alcohol in combination. Jchills could not even crack the hawks starting lineup and now he is your star….well that just says how little you have to cheer for and love….yeah every country has a few beautiful ladies….but many of your women don’t take baths everyday and don’t shave their arms or legs….and yes I have been to Greece and never…I mean never do I want to go back. So be romanced by average….fall in love with your new “Star” at least he will be taking your money and see how much you love him when he jumps away from Greece and begs to come back to the US and all of the quality we have to offer….not just the stark white landscape that is Greece….lol cya

By falcon30901

July 23, 2008 2:59 PM | Link to this

THE HAWKS NEW GM IS A SCREW BALL. CHECK OUT HIS TRACK RECORD Hasnt added any new pieces. Hasnt subtracted any bad pieces. Hasnt done a damn thing, but loose one of the best 6 men in the game. There is no way that we couldnt pay Childress 7 million a year. There is just no way. Not with this roster. I need his job. He sits in the front office. I guess his speach will sound a little like this.I sat on my but and did nothing all summer. Yes we offered Childress one of our cornerstone players a competitive contract Good luck Josh.

By hb98bh

July 23, 2008 3:02 PM | Link to this

Thanks Hawks! Just when I thought it was safe to talk up the Hawks in the barber shop, you pull the rug.

By mykhalc

July 23, 2008 3:02 PM | Link to this

Najeh, NJN traded MARCUS WILLIAMS to GSW last nite. some franchises take action!!!;o)

By mykhalc

July 23, 2008 3:02 PM | Link to this

Najeh, NJN traded MARCUS WILLIAMS to GSW last nite. some franchises take action!!!;o)

By Jim S.

July 23, 2008 3:03 PM | Link to this

Tough blow! What a screw up! Chil will be missed! This ownership group completely blew it! Sitting and doing nothing cost this team. The lack of resources and penny pinching made this possible. Sorry rich guys, but you’re apparently not rich enough to own an NBA team…and clearly you can’t do it like the Braves did because there is not a farm system, to speak of, in the NBA. Please, either sell the team back to Ted Turner or even Arthur Blank if you’re going to cheapskate your way into constant failure!

By Dimitris

July 23, 2008 3:04 PM | Link to this

It’s been quite a while ago that the two worlds have come closer:

there’s no Dream Team anymore, nobody thinks that a NBA team can’t lose, it’s not difficult for a European to be star of a NBA franchise…. well, neither a good NBA player to come and play in Greece.

Very soon some NBA rules will adapted by the rest of the world (6.75m 3pt line, in one year from now), while more transactions from Europe and the US will be running. Helping the ENORMOUS Euro/USD currency rate, soon we’ll be seeing European teams to have, at least, TOP Class B players.

And soon, NBA like have its own franchises in London, Paris, Munich. What do you think then? There will be 3 native players, 5 Europeans, 3 from the rest of the world (meaning Argentinians, Chinese) and 5 Americans to be paid milions of dollars.

Does this looks sci-fi to you?

By Teex

July 23, 2008 3:05 PM | Link to this

Guys its not like JC was coming off the bench giving you 20&10 every night. Hell i would not have given him the money either. Hell no other NBA team was going to give up alot either! Thats why he is going oversea’s think about it!

By dsmith

July 23, 2008 3:12 PM | Link to this

Ben, please stop reaching its pathetic. Your arguments dont make any basketball sense at all. It just goes to show you fans of Atlanta what quality of fans we have at our games with season tickets. We need knowlegable excited fans at Phillips instead of deadbeats that dont have a clue like Ben. You don’t even know what you are cheering for , lol!! When its all said and done Ben we are on the same team and want the best for the Hawks so I will leave you alone but please pay attention at the games and learn the game of basketball……do it for the real fan, lol!!

By honest_abe

July 23, 2008 3:12 PM | Link to this

i’m done with this team until this organization gets new owners.

if any of you think this will improve the process of getting jsmith an extension you are only fooling yourself.

poophead: i believe golden state views biedrins as untouchable.

By David

July 23, 2008 3:15 PM | Link to this

there’s a good article on www.bustedplay.com, which documents the terrible way the hawks try to stay competitve; it also touches on the chances of getting josh smith signed.

By Mike

July 23, 2008 3:18 PM | Link to this

Honestly I think the NBA should suspend the Hawks franchise until the owners and management get their house in order.Apparently nothing short of so drastic a move will wake up these folks.It is time to end the madness.

By HawksFan

July 23, 2008 3:18 PM | Link to this

I wonder if the Spirit group (or lack there of) understand how this offseason is affecting the current players who’s contracts are up within the next few years (Bibby, Joe, Marvin, Hofford, Law)? Don’t they know these players as well as other free agents are looking like “if you can’t take care of your own why would I want to go there?”. The end of last season was great, but it looks like we will have to hold on to those memories for a while.

By mykhalc

July 23, 2008 3:19 PM | Link to this

hey, on a positive note, WOODSON’s bench just got shorter. that works to his strengths!!! geeessshhhhh RIDICULOUS…CLUELESS…USELESS……PERIOD!!!!!!

By Ben

July 23, 2008 3:24 PM | Link to this

OK dsmith. you sure won that argument by the way!

By the way, I don’t even know if I am a Hawks fan anymore. Sorry to get into an argument with you—you seemed to instigate it, but it’s all good. I like arguing. Take care.

By Hawk Attack

July 23, 2008 3:24 PM | Link to this

Smart move for Childress. He can make more money play less games and come back next year if he wants to. He is in his prime contract years and can make more and pay nothing over there for housing and gets to have fun in a team environment. If I was him or a player like him it would be no thought to staying. Its so smart. hopefully the NBA will change their salary structure and get rid of guaranteed contracts and matching up players salaries in trades. This way teams aren’t stuck keeping crappy players on their rosters. If there weren’t guaranteed contracts you can cut loose over priced players and go after better players like Childress. Great move Josh and ha ha Hawks

By Dejay

July 23, 2008 3:27 PM | Link to this

My God, was this city built on ancient burial grounds or something? When it isn’t Michael Vick, its Eugene Robinson getting arrested the night before the Super Bowl, Dermarr Johnson playing Gran Tourismo with his car, Dany Heatley doing the same (with Dan Snyder in the passenger’s seat), the Braves winning ONE world title in FOURTEEN tries, or the Thrashers….well, ‘nuff said.

And just when you thought it was okay to ‘rise up’ and buy Hawks tickets again, the Notorious A.S.G. finds a way to keep folks safe at home instead. While you can’t fault Childress for leaving town for more $$$, doesn’t it say more about the guys in charge that someone, who was a decent player in the league, would rather jump ship overseas than play another minute here?

Where else could this possibly happen? Even the Clips don’t get dissed in the same way the Hawks do. At least Elton Brand left for another team in the league. Childress was so disgusted with the ASG and Woodson that he left for ANOTHER COUNTRY.

And folks wonder why the stands stay empty down here? You wonder why the transients who move down here want nothing to do with (insert sports facility here) unless a concert is going on or their hometown team shows up? You wonder why us locals, who have taken endless shots from the national media for having the gall not to spend $$$ on such lousy products, have thrown our collective hands up in frustration? Keep on wondering.

As they say, only in Atlanta…..

By flahawksfanisaRETARD

July 23, 2008 3:27 PM | Link to this

flahawksfan, yeah the women dont shower or shave legs???

seriously, what kind of a retard are you? As a New Yorker whose visited “Atlanta” many times you have no prerogative to be critical of any city. “Atlanta”? are you kidding me? LOOOOL

Is there even a moderator here to babysit some of the trash posted here? shameful

By JB

July 23, 2008 3:28 PM | Link to this

The Atlanta Spirit Group is a disgrace to this city.

I had Thrashers season tickets since day one and did not renew. I will not give them one more dollar of my money.

If you want to see a funny video go to youtube and search for Atlanta Thrashers Season Ticket Holder Revolt”.

By Peter

July 23, 2008 3:28 PM | Link to this

Well this franchise had become a total Joke !

If anyone watched at the end of EACH game, Childress was one of the final 5 on the court.

I may be off, but dispite his funny shot, didn’t he lead the team in about all the shooting percentages…….Free throws, 3 point shot, and regular field goals ?

Wasn’t he the ONLY guy who actually moved on the court,m didn’t he get the loose balls via hustle, the same goes about his hustle rebounds.

Didn’t Josh play defense on the 1 2, and 3 players on the court. Didn’t he have the ability to play the point, and handle the ball well…….

Wasn’t he the energizer bunny on defense, and wasn’t he a great guy when the Hawks played Small Ball?

When Josh Smith walks……… then all will really know what happened !

By B.A.ToDa

July 23, 2008 3:28 PM | Link to this

As some1 stated earlier. Bibby, Joe, and Horford is not enough to get it done. I wish i could calm down and tell you guys to calm down. I would hope that losing Chills wouldn’t cost us at all. We still have options. Our main concern now should be to lock up Smith. After Smith is locked we can bring in some more pieces (if the ASG is willing) and maybe start the season off in even better shape. It’s still possible. But i just can’t get my hope up yet.

Look at Golden State. After they lost B. Diddy they thought they were done. But their franchise did their part of their job to get some replacements in and now their fans still have hope and our looking forward to a new season. I’m not trying to compare GS’s ownership to ATL’s but there are still possibilities for us.

By Nick

July 23, 2008 3:30 PM | Link to this

Hi guys, I’m Nick from Greece, an Olympiacos fan. For your information Josh signed a 3 year contract for 20M $ but with all taxes paid by Olympacos. This was the big difference between the offers he had. He will get all 20M $. There’s also a contract clause that if he finds a better deal coming from NBA, he will be allowed to leave the club next year on July 2009 or the year after on July 2010, even before the end of his contract, as a free agent. It was a damn good deal for Josh… i think…

By chris

July 23, 2008 3:31 PM | Link to this

When did it become that players dreams were to play over seas for greece. Im am so fed up with the asg. hiw could u let a great player sign with a team in greece. this is pitiful. We have done NOTHING this offseason and probably wont. Im am very disgusted at this and hope that the ASG finally figure out we dont want them.

By chris

July 23, 2008 3:31 PM | Link to this

When did it become that players dreams were to play over seas for greece. Im am so fed up with the asg. hiw could u let a great player sign with a team in greece. this is pitiful. We have done NOTHING this offseason and probably wont. Im am very disgusted at this and hope that the ASG finally figure out we dont want them.

By HD Ando

July 23, 2008 3:32 PM | Link to this

anyone on this board who thinks this is a p.r. nightmare for the hawks as a f’n idiot. there is no way that josh childress is worth anywhere close to 9 mil a year in the nba and no nba team would ever have offered that. the hawks offered him about what he’s worth, and the only better deal he found was in another country. and its a sweet deal with the opt-out clause, so it makes sense on his fault. but the hawks did nothing wrong by letting him walk and he’s so easily replaced it’s not even funny. so get over it, hawks fans.

By chris

July 23, 2008 3:34 PM | Link to this

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=hollinger_john&page=Hawks-080723

this article says it all

By PJ

July 23, 2008 3:34 PM | Link to this

Whats up with J-Smooth. Have we lost him yet?

By GRALTON

July 23, 2008 3:35 PM | Link to this

Just when you start to think the franchise has FINALLY turned itself around into the right direction- They screw around with Childress and he leaves for the NBA, on many levels resigning him was just as important as signing Smith- He helps the hawks make runs, get up and down the court well and ignites the crowd with his dunks. The hawks raise their ticket prices and now are probably going to get rid of 2 of their cornerstone players? So much for the highlight factory! The excitement that was in that building during the playoffs feels like a long long time ago

By ermin

July 23, 2008 3:44 PM | Link to this

sekou to say “crushing for team and devastating for franchise” is just radicules. we didnt lose our allstar joe, our starting pg bibby our star rookie horford and j.smith(not yet) and marvin will have to put up or shut up this year. we lost childress because hes going to make 7Mil pro year in greece and NOBODY would have givin him that here in the u.s. you cannot give that kind of money to a player coming of the bench. its bad that we lost a good player of the bench, but we have to move on now and try to re-up j.smith (good luck with that) from a true hawks fan…

By Angry Fan

July 23, 2008 3:44 PM | Link to this

Clyde @ 11 AM…I agree 100%! ASG has begun to cripple OUR Hawks. At this point, I’m starting to sound like a broken record BUT…NOW IS THE TIME TO MAKE SOME NOISE! If the owners want to dismantle OUR Hawks, we should be as vocal as possible in our disapproval of them.

As far as being cheap goes, I can do that. Until there are new owners, I’ll save the annual $250-$300 that I used to put in their pockets. Instead of spending my extra cash on Hawks games, I’ll find something else to do. My $ alone will not make or break the budget of a bunch of millionaires, BUT…if most fans do the same, it just might.

As long as ASG is in charge, I doubt we will ever see another sell out crowd at Philips or another playoff appearance. Just like Chills, I’m gone! (Well, sort of. He’s got $20 mil, I’m hoping to clear 20K.)

By David

July 23, 2008 3:44 PM | Link to this

All you guys who keep proposing these sign and trade deals need to remember that the player that we deal for has to want to come to Atlanta. That’s not probable. They also would want a large amount of money because that is why the other team can’t sign them. Who are we going to sign and trade? Money is the reason we can’t keep current players. The prospective free agents in the NBA see that we won’t keep or pay our current players and that we have a dysfunctional ownership group. We have to prove loyaly to our current players in order to get good future players.

By mykhalc

July 23, 2008 3:52 PM | Link to this

and i hate to say this to all my cats in ATL but as someone that lived in ATL for over 20 yrs, then hawaii, now in san fran, CHILS wanted to be on the water again. the fact that ATL is land-locked takes away from its’ positives. ATL vs the beauty of GREECE!!!??? we gotta be real fellas!!! THEN throw in WOODSON!!??? get nightmare real now!!! yes, for me, it ALL comes down to the re-signing of WOODSON!!! it was ABSOLUTELY the WORST thing this franchise coulda done!!! whether he’s fired mid-season or not, the DAMAGE has been done and the course was set!! and a F’up course it is!!!

can you say SEATTLE HAWKS!!!???

By B.A.ToDa

July 23, 2008 3:52 PM | Link to this

Sekou,

See if you can get another interview with 1 of them Hawk boys that’s still on the roster. I just want to know how the team feels about the situation. The Horford interview was good. And there was a small Joey Johnson quote from about 2 weeks ago, where he wanted to know what the hell was going on.

By terrell barron

July 23, 2008 3:56 PM | Link to this

You nailed it Masood. July 23, 12:21 p.m. And

By terrell barron

July 23, 2008 3:56 PM | Link to this

You nailed it Masood. July 23, 12:21 p.m.

By I loved this game

July 23, 2008 3:58 PM | Link to this

I just threw out all of my Hawks hats, shirts, and jerseys. Thought about giving them away, but I don’t want to send anyone bad vibes.

By Joe

July 23, 2008 3:58 PM | Link to this

Joe Johnson Is soon to be coming up on his final year of his contract I’m pretty sure the hawks are going to lose him cause he is going to demand a huge payday.

By D Reid

July 23, 2008 4:01 PM | Link to this

ASG has been very predictable. 1. Re-sign Woodson (cheapest choice) 2. Don’t talk to any FA’s out there (costs $$$ to do it) 3. Ignore Joshes (again cheap) thinking ASG has leverage.

Now that Childress is gone for Greece, wait until Smith says he will play on 1-year contract and become unrestricted FA.

ASG has lost its leverage with Smith and they don’t even know it, most likely; if they didn’t want to pay, they should have found a taker for a sign-and-trade to get something back (again, w/ cheaper $, most likely) plus a 1st rounder, maybe.

I wonder what it would cost to buy the team from ASG? The value has to be bottoming out at this point (ie, when it is obvious that there is no plan; will not keep players.)

By chris

July 23, 2008 4:02 PM | Link to this

Bring Ted Turner Back……

By Sautee

July 23, 2008 4:03 PM | Link to this

Hmmmmm

The 3:32 p.m. post doesn’t really sound like Ando, and I’ve never known him to bold an entire paragraph, and to use no caps.

Plus, it’s somewhat contradictory to his earlier post which CLEARLY stated that what this actually shows is the lack of commitment by the ASG to having a competitive team.

Ando, do you have a stalker? Someone taking advantage of your “credibility” for their own spin???

Of course if it is the real Ando, he’ll write a few paragraphs telling me how it’s not at all contradictory, so I guess we’ll see.

By Matt

July 23, 2008 4:08 PM | Link to this

I would like to chime in with everyone else and say thanks a lot to the Hawks owners for shooting us Hawks fans in the foot. You bunch of jerks.

By B.A.ToDa

July 23, 2008 4:08 PM | Link to this

We couldn’t just give Joe an extension or something?

By Steve Belkin

July 23, 2008 4:08 PM | Link to this

ESPN is doing a special vote on which city is Loserville. Atlanta ran unopposed.

By JFlash

July 23, 2008 4:10 PM | Link to this

Brilliant move by J-Chill. The Hawks have done absolutely nothing in the off season to improve its weak roster. They had tremendous potential but cheap ownership group went and hired a weak GM (Sund) who in turn re-hired a weak head coach that the players don’t vibe with (Woodson) all while saying in the paper that the Hawks have the nucleus for a championship team already (he can pass that dooby over when he’s finished smokin it). Josh Smith, who’s also a restricted free agent, said last week he doesn’t want to come back if Woodson’s around and it’s not like ownership will spend the necessary bucks to keep him. Childress probably sensed that Smith wasn’t coming back and that the team will not be nearly as competitive as they were this past season. So why not go to Greece, get paid, play there and come back to the NBA when conditions are better for him. His contract is structured so he can opt out after any year (what a deal!) and if the Hawks want to go after a big name next year or in 2010, they have to release the rights to Chill so they can free up cap space.

So I bet that Chill will spend a year (maybe two, max) in Greece, get released by the Hawks then come back and sign as a unrestricted free agent with a contender. Brilliant move by Childress….typical bone-headedness by the inept Hawks.

On top of that, I get a call last week from the Spirit Group about renewing my Hawks’ season tickets from last year. LOL………Sund must have passed that dooby over to her if I’m re-ing up for season tickets again to this pathetic team!

By B.A.ToDa

July 23, 2008 4:11 PM | Link to this

New Espn Article how Childress loss hurts us Hawks.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=hollinger_john&page=Hawks-080723

By Steve Belkin

July 23, 2008 4:12 PM | Link to this

Hey B.A. ToDA

He’ll spin it where it is all good. Remember everybody likes Woodson.

By rgbutterfly

July 23, 2008 4:14 PM | Link to this

Just when you thought it was safe to believe-here we go again. The Spirit has let the air out of the balloon. We the fan have thrown in our towels. We are tired. The signing of Chills to Europe is an embarrassment not only to the city but to the NBA. How could the Hawks allow one of their energy guys leave. They are a disgrace to the league. I am tired of the Hawks and their ignorance to providing a legitimate club on the court,just patchwork. I will not be watching this embarassement on tv or going to game.

By Angry Fan

July 23, 2008 4:15 PM | Link to this

Not that it matters, but I should have stated “…he has over 30 mil…” instead of 20. My bad. The nicest thing I can say to ASG is, “BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” Will somebody (new owners) save OUR Hawks?

By BusterBrown

July 23, 2008 4:18 PM | Link to this

I dont know why Hawks fans are so upset about Childress leaving for Greece. I think this move actually makes sense because YOU CANT SIGN BOTH JOSHES (CHILDRESS AND SMITH). Smith has much greater overall potential and talent than Childress so let Childress go so that you will have enough money to sign Josh Smith. Then concentrate on signing Joe Johnson when his deal renews, but also add another blue chip player like a Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant or LaBron James so that you would have an opportunity to compete for an NBA championship. Players like LaBron James will leave the Caviliers if the Caviliers continue to choke in the playoffs. I am happy Childress is gone so that the Hawks can now move forward. This is much better than being held hostage by Josh Childress. Childress is gone to never return and the NBA is better off without him. Now that you have some cap space available with Childress taking off for Greece, go out and sign someone good so that the Hawks can win 50+ games next year.

By Barry from Brooklyn

July 23, 2008 4:18 PM | Link to this

Don’t be surprised if J Smith follows him to Europe…maybe Italy, or Spain, those guys have big bucks too, and don’t think they (European Clubs) are not checking this out. They know the Americans are greedy and will sell out for the big guaranteed bucks….I would, I never been to Europe. And I hear you dont pay taxes. Not paying taxes alone is enough to get me to move. Will this start to drive up the price for players in the states?

By John

July 23, 2008 4:21 PM | Link to this

This is a huge deal. I cannot think of a more embarassing thing to happen to a franchise. I am a life long Hawks fan and have never been so upset with this franchise. I like the players we have on the team, but I don’t know if I can even cheer for a franchise that is so disfunctional. It is ridiculous. Watch JJ no resign when he is a FA. Also, no other FAs will come here, and players will probably refuse to come play here if they are traded because they will see how we treat our players. The ASG needs to be ousted. I have been against it, but let Belkin get this team. ASG has proven to be inept. Take SUnd with him. I don’t think he will stand up to them and I believe Billy Knight did. That is why he is gone. Whether or not you agree with his decisions, he had a plan and it appeared to be working. Now Smith will leave,and we will be at the bottom of the east again. We have 8 players under contract and there are no good FAs that I believe the lame ASG will go after. We could pursue another teams RFA but I know we one because we will not even deal with our own.

By Kevin Willis

July 23, 2008 4:25 PM | Link to this

Lol, we are OFFICIALLY the Clippers from the 80’s & 90’s. First off, why wouldn’t Sund and Company get a better read on this situation? What should’ve happened here is Sund should’ve realized Chills didn’t want to play here and get a sign and trade done to somewhere else. I HAVE to believe it wasn’t the money. Chills would’ve taken 4 or 5 million from another team in the NBA. Sund and the ASG at least could’ve gotten something in return for a former #6 overall PICK. LOL, what a JOKE this city is with sports teams. If I read one more blog about Kwame (I love to steal money) Brown I’m going to puke. WHY would anyone want that waste of space on the Hawks? STOP IT, Kwame sucks and I want NO part of that guy. Not sure what Kwame bloggers have seen but I see another version of Jon Koncak. Going to be tough for the Hawks to recover, especially since the former number 2 pick will continue to be a below average NBA guard. Watch, the ASG will sign him to a Speedy type contract. lol. Time to root for another team, go Philly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ahhahahhahah LOSERS and we are SUCKERS for thinking things would change.

By Georgia_Independent

July 23, 2008 4:27 PM | Link to this

Sekou,

You have allowed your friendship with the players to cloud your judgement. There is no way that Hawks GM Rick Sund should have paid Josh Childress any more than $5M or $6M. I am a Hawks season ticket holder. I like J-Chill. However, he can not guard any good SF or SG in the NBA.

We already overpay waterboy Speedy Claxton more than $6M. Now, an 11 ppg player who gives up 20 ppg off of the bench wants top dollar. PLEASE! We have two real players that will be unrestricted free agents next season in Mike Bibby and Josh Smith. We need to resign Bibby, trade Smith for a true center or more depth, move Al Horford to his natural position at the power forward, and move on with a roster that starts the following: PG, Mike Bibby; SG, Joe Johnson; SF, Marvin Williams; PF Al Horford; and a center (hopefully picking up an impact center like an Al Jefferson). Our bench will include Acie Law, Zaza Pachulia, and we will be just fine building from those 7 players.

Josh Childress was a bust. We could have signed PF Luol Deng of the Chicago Bulls, SG Kevin Martin of the Sacremento Kings; SG Andre Iguodala of the Philadelphia 76ers, CENTER AL JEFFERSON of the Minnesota Timberwolves, or PG Jameer Nelson of the Orlando Magic. These guys are NBA starters and REAL players. Josh Childress is a career backup. Give me a break! Losing Joe Johnson is a franchise changing moment. You must really be bored if you believe losing Childress means anything.

By roan st

July 23, 2008 4:31 PM | Link to this

Childress gets 33 million for three years? WOW! No way the hawks could justify paying a bench player 11 million per season. I do suspect however that his leaving wasn’t totally about money. This franchise is in BIG trouble.

By STRETCH

July 23, 2008 4:32 PM | Link to this

Having lived in Italy from 2000 to 2005, i can tell you, these guys are going to continue to get drawn overseas. Europe is beautiful and theres pretty much nothing like the Mediterranean region!

Especially if they get a look at the gals over there! Making that kind of money…why wouldnt a young rich american guy not want to go and play and have the experience for a while?

But i will say that Atlanta is going to suck as a sports town…yet again. People, please understand that first and foremost, this is a business and its all about the money in the beginning and the end.

By richbrave

July 23, 2008 4:34 PM | Link to this

I like the “early stages of the opening of Pandora’s Box theory.” The NBA has been taking in round-ball waifs from around the world so long they have failed to realize that this solution to a dirth of talent here works in reverse. As world-wide demand for top caliber basket-ball waxes, the pool of eligible playa’s wanes. So be it. Good luck in Europe CHILLS. Give um’ he!!.

Surely the logic of HB’s continuing argument regarding payroll hasn’t been lost on everyone, especially SEKOU. Say it ain’t so SEKOU, say it ain’t so.

By Angry Fan

July 23, 2008 4:37 PM | Link to this

How long must we rebuild? I remeber reading an old AJC sports page. BK was on the cover wearing a hard hat and was coined the “architect” of this process. Wow! The house is crumbling and the architect ran away. I don’t blame him at all. Sounds like the home owners would not let him do much home improvement. I wouldn’t want to see my work destroyed either.

Hawks fans, we are only powerless, if we remain silent!

By Georgia_Independent

July 23, 2008 4:39 PM | Link to this

These guys are going to Europe because the Hawks NOR any other NBa team offered them contracts. Is it of any surprise that the Philadelphia 76ers are the only team in the entire NBA that even invited Josh Childress to come and visit.

Along with Sheldon Williams as the 5th pick and signing waterboy Speedy Claxton for an obnoxious $6M/season, taking Josh Childress as the 6th pick was another failure of our hapless former GM, Billy Knight, who should have been fired the moment he suggested taking Sheldon Williams with the 5th pick.

I like J-Chill. He is a nice community guy and a smart player. The bottom line is he is not close to many players taken after him. Look at the career of Western Carolina star Kevin Martin, Duke star Loul Deng, or Mississippi high school sensation Al Jefferson and then compare the weak numbers posted by Childress. There is no comparison. Childress just has not like up to where he was selected in that particular draft. He is clearly a bust and he does not deserve almost $11M from the Hawks organization. We have real player contracts coming up. For a matter of fact, Childress was selected 11 picks ahead of Josh Smith, who is a MUCH better NBA player.

By B.A.ToDa

July 23, 2008 4:39 PM | Link to this

Like a said, if Smith goes to Europe behind Childress. The Hawks become the laughing stock of the NBA, and there’s no way we could bring any1 here and possibly resign our own players.

By flahawksfan

July 23, 2008 4:46 PM | Link to this

DeafDumdandBlindinNYfan….now who is retarded…. ATL has some of the most beautiful ladies in the world…that not only have class….but don’t cuss with with everyother word out of their mouths like NY women….don’t even go there…. you are the freaking stupid one…..I was writing about sports and you in the inevitable NY fashion miss not just one…but all of the points….I bet that you are going to vote for Obama also aren’t you? Well go back to whatever dream you just woke up from and enjoy it once again…I will take living in the south, with lovely classy ladies and enjoy all that region has to offer….afterall I don’t see anyone trying really hard to move into the state or city of NY…but rather see many of you trying to do the opposite…. so go hug Yankee Stadium…enjoy the dirty and crass women of NY and go get interview for an Extenze commerical…

By terrell barron

July 23, 2008 4:49 PM | Link to this

CP, Joe mighta had something to do with this. Ever thought of that? He did’nt seem to care whether we signed them or not. This team is building around JJ and Big Al. Chills can be replaced. What dont you guys understand about that? We need another SHOOTER more than we need another SLASHER. Period! If we woulda offered Chill 3 yrs at 20 mill, we would have gotten screwed. Big time. He’s a mid-level player at best. And someone had to go sooner or later. We’ve got to balance out this roster. I woulda loved to keep him, but only for the mid-level. To be honest, there are plenty of bench guys(role players) who are just as good or even better than Chills. Jarvis Hayes(1.9 mill), Willie Green(3.3 mill), Anthony Parker(4.5 mill), just to name a few a few. And look at their salaries. Is Chills worth 5 more mill a year than Jarvis? I think not. But oh well, If you were p** about the situation, your probably still p** about it. I just dont see it. I was upset at first, but I woke up. He just was’nt worth more tham the mid-level. If he were on another team, we probably would’nt even no him. We need to let this one go guys. For Real! Lets worry about Smoove. Even though I probably would’nt lose any sleep if he left either. AS LONG AS IT’S NOT JJ OR BIG AL, I CAN LIVE WITH IT. Only difference is, if Smoove leaves, we better get something in return.

By Georgia_Independent

July 23, 2008 4:50 PM | Link to this

The Hawks free agent list over the next two seasons include Mike Bibby (2009), Josh Smith (2009), and Joe Johnson (2010). To think that Atlanta actually has fans dumb enough to cry over Josh Childress, one of the worst picks the franchise has made in the past 5 seasons, is freightening.

Rick Sund has a couple of important things to focus upon. 1. Fire Mike Woodson in a timely manner. 2. Hire Avery Johnson, Flip Saunders, or any other real NBA coach who materializes. I would happily take Johnson or Saunders. 3. Resign Joe Johnson! 4. Resign Joe Johson. 5. Resign Joe Johnson. 6. Sign Mike Bibby or other top tier NBA points guard who are available next season (Jason Kidd, Allen Iverson, Andre Miller, and others are FAs in 2009 also). 7. Decide what to do with Josh Smith (I say trade him because he is a power forward and Al Horford is clearly better). 8. Sign a CENTER (any center that can rebound the basketball and block shots).

This is a long list with some important decisions to be made about real players…not bench players. Josh who again?

By G Roberts

July 23, 2008 4:52 PM | Link to this

I don’t see the big loss here. Josh is a solid sub, but he would not start for most if any teams in the NBA. He is a very weak outside shooter because he really doesn’t rely on a jump shot. The Spirit is screwed up however.

By Paddy

July 23, 2008 4:53 PM | Link to this

Pooped on Atl Hawk fans….The money your were going to spend on the Hawks this year, buy some Ga Tech tickets. Their football and basketball team will be so much more entertaining and your kids will love you for it. ASG group never intended to put a competitive team on the floor for you to enjoy. Drop them like a bad habit.

By kwooden1

July 23, 2008 4:57 PM | Link to this

Chills made the right move for himself and it has been clear for years that the ASG couldn’t offer him the best deal. I’ve been pretty confident for a while that the HAWKS couldn’t and shouldn’t keep both Josh’s for financial reasons so this really isn’t a surprise to me. I think the real effect is going to be felt by the NBA itself. The next Collective Bargaining Agreement is really going to have to change so they can keep a step ahead in terms of acquiring the best talent.

As for the HAWKS their really going to have to work on their image from here on out. BK left and Childress has left! Who has come?? This loss is really going to force Woodson to use/develop his bench. It most likely means that this coming year is going to be a step back opposed to forward. Overall the real problem is the HAWKS weren’t proactive in their decisions on the Josh’s and they paid the price for the waiting game. JS probably would have signed a reasonable deal by now, if the HAWKS’ acquired just one FA to show their commitment to winning.

I still believe the HAWKS did the right thing in not over paying, even though they went about it the wrong way. Chills definitely did the right them for himself and I Congratulate him on making a bold move!

GO HAWKS????

By Marie

July 23, 2008 4:58 PM | Link to this

I wish the incompetent owners — the Atlanta SPIRIT GROUP…I mean, what exactly have they done except screw-up not one, but two professional franchises — would just take their teams and leave…go away…Maybe one day, we could get someone with real passion for sports and get a new team. They are just so disgusting. My kids love to go to Hawks games, but the way I feel, I will not be attending any Hawks or Thrasher games. I would rather go to a high school game or a college game. A major market like Atlanta and this is what we get. It’s just pitiful.

By D

July 23, 2008 5:00 PM | Link to this

Perhaps if the Hawks hadn’t dragged out negotiations so long this summer, this wouldn’t have happened. Perhaps if the Hawks had signed Childress (and Smith) last fall to extensions, this wouldn’t have happened. Perhaps— as some have suggested— if the Hawks hadn’t re-upped Woodson, this wouldn’t have happened. (I personally don’t know about that particular reason for Chills departing, but I do think it was a colossal mistake to bring Woody back. For those of you out there who have followed Georgia basketball the last 10 or 15 years, I feel like Woody is the second coming of Ron Jirsa).

Any of the above could be true, but I happen to believe that this happened because the Hawks are just totally cursed. I think the day they traded Steve Smith for Isaiah a/k/a “JR” Rider, the franchise burned itself up. Granted, we’ve had some seriously screwed up ownership issues with ASG, and botched draft choices, and crappy coaches, but nothing else can account for the Hawks’ 6th man being snatched away for a big contract overseas— and without compensation— rather than, say, several other restricted free agents in the league.

Okay, well, maybe all those other reasons I listed could also account for it, but it’s less painful to just believe in THE CURSE.

So let’s hear it for the Hawks’ curse, everybody! What do you think? Do I hear any hallejuahs out there?

By Angry Fan

July 23, 2008 5:01 PM | Link to this

Due to ASG, no FA will EVER be interested in playing for OUR Hawks! I doubt the Hawks want to continue to play for the Hawks. If I was JJ or MB, I’d have a countdown to freedom on my wall. I’d make my $, play out my contract, and sneak out the back door as fast as my veteran legs could run!!

Good luck Chills. You will be missed.

By Mitch

July 23, 2008 5:02 PM | Link to this

Holinger said it all in his ESPN article…the most tantaizing statement was how he referenced that a once apathetic fan base was sounding thunderous and “nearly intimidating” at home versus the Celtics in the playoffs.

But now he says that with ony 8 players signed and two that really “don’t count” in Claxton and Jones…the Hawks are “paper thin.”

A couple of thoughts come to mind: (1) it’s interesting that the Greek team put out $32.5M/3 yrs. to Childress when Chills’ game isn’t exactly tailored to the Euro style of play…because of the wide lane, baseline players need to be three point threats, otherwise the defense just collapses on them to take away their drives; (2) the Hawks’ passive aggressive philosophy of “guaging the market” for Smith and Childress has now backfired miserably; (3) Chills is in for a culture shock…the money will buy him plenty of bakliva and feta cheese…but, this aint the NBA we’re talking about…and the States are a long way away when things are going bad.

As for the Hawks…the odds now would seem stacked against them with Josh Smith. Rick Sund showed he had no backbopne when he re-hired Woodson…Sund better get creative fast if he has any chance of salvaging his own job and the franchise’s immediate future.

By Angry Fan

July 23, 2008 5:09 PM | Link to this

Paddy…Hey at least I get free hotdogs and coke with Tech tix. However, if I wanted to spend my money on a losing product, I would stick with the ASG. Sorry, but you couldn’t pay me to sit in that sandbox on the flats! Well…maybe once every other year.

By Jack

July 23, 2008 5:10 PM | Link to this

Boycott the Hawks. I will not go to another game until ASG sells the team. What a pitiful joke of an ownership group they are. Both Joshes should have been locked up a long time ago, it was ASG dragging its feet that permitted this to happen.

By Georgia_Independent

July 23, 2008 5:11 PM | Link to this

Unlike Josh Childress (a reserve who will NEVER received $10+M by the Hawks or any other NBA team), Josh Smith is a young star in this league. Keep in mind with Smith, no team has offered him anything either. Why is everyone pointing at the Hawks? No NBA team is offering either one of these guys a contract.

Did you guys see the contract that Josh Smith turned down last season? It should be a surprise to no one that Smith has not received an offer. The guys wants a max contract and he is not going to get it. Kevin Garnett is a max contract guy. Joe Johnson is a max contract guy. Did anyone see the deer in headlights who was Josh Smith in Game 7 at the Boston Garden.

The Hawks would be silly to pay these guys the money that they are seeking until they prove it. Childress proved NOTHING except he was a good (not great) role player. Smith is going to have to porve himself in the NBA, not in Europe. He has yet to do it and the Hawks have bigger fish to focus upon as Mike Bibby (unrestricted FA in 2009), Marvin Williams (restricted FA in 2009), and Joe Johnson (unrestricted FA in 2010) are on the horizon.

One more thing, Atlanta needs to show some support of the team in terms of selling out Philips Arena. There is a responsibility of the fan base. Atlanta did not support the Braves when they set the sports standard for success. The Hawks can’t just pay without fans showing up for the games. The two go hand and hand.

By Chris

July 23, 2008 5:15 PM | Link to this

Get your s** together hawks franchise!!!there is no point in drafting a player, spending money, time, and effort on their development and then watch them go fulfill that potential with some dirty Europeans. wake the f*** up

By birdmanofsaville

July 23, 2008 5:15 PM | Link to this

Shame, shame, shame Atlanta Spirit! What next..will you lowball JSmooth into playing for the 1year tender and leaving via free agency?? What did you save with JChill…a millon a year over what JChill wanted in order to sign a long term deal? Please!! and my account rep wanted to know why I wasn’t renewing this season..Daaa!

By flahawksfan

July 23, 2008 5:16 PM | Link to this

Mitch..well stated…while this doesn’t look good…it is truly better in the long run than paying a non-starter a starter’s salary….we would been handcuffed with such a deal…he is replaceable. Easily. I agree that Woodson should not have been rehired…but let’s see how they react now… hell Brett Farve isn’t wanted back in GB and they think things will be fine….so JChills being gone….big deal

By Peter

July 23, 2008 5:17 PM | Link to this

WOODSON MAY HAVE BEEN THE WILDCARD!

HOWEVER,THE SPIRIT GOT WHAT THEY DESERVE FOR TAKING THEIR PLAYERS FOR GRANTED.

By Jess

July 23, 2008 5:19 PM | Link to this

playing in the NBA is no longer what it used to be. I’ve got a choice between living in Greece or Atlanta your dang right I’m headed to one of the lovliest places on earth! Congrats to Afro Man!!!

By Chuck

July 23, 2008 5:29 PM | Link to this

Know someone on the board and rumor is Woodson DID NOT want Childress back. He has his eyes on a free agent. Lets give the black man time to develop his roster.

By No More, Please

July 23, 2008 5:32 PM | Link to this

I think the term “sixth man” really does an injustice to the guy who was the third best player on this team. Childress is actually quite valuable (his value is very comparable to Josh Howard’s) and the team has just gotten a lot worse. So far, this offseason has gone as poorly as it possibly could’ve for the Hawks. As a Josh Smith fan, I hope he’s allowed to leave - next year is going to be ugly with or without him.

P.S. I’m sorry, Al. I’m really, really sorry. Hang in there, buddy…only three more years!

By Mychelfromatl

July 23, 2008 5:34 PM | Link to this

BOYCOTT THE HAWKS!!!!!!!!BOYCOTT THE HAWKS!!!!!!!

By Mychelfromatl

July 23, 2008 5:37 PM | Link to this

BOYCOTT THE HAWKS!!!!!

By JFlash

July 23, 2008 5:39 PM | Link to this

For the most part, I agree with what everyone is saying. But there are a couple of folks on here who must work for the ASG.

GA Indy - if you think that the Hawks are going to be able to keep Josh Smith then your smoking the same stuff that Sund is. You’re looking at players versus the situation: ownership is not committed to bring in TOP talent, they hire inept managers (Sund) and re-hire a coach that not only the players don’t like but can’t coach. Now….none of the aforementioned observations have nothing to do with the current players. And you expect them to still “contend” while teams like Philly (maybe if they sign AI back) and Miami got stronger in the off season. I’m a season ticket (lol, or soon to be former season ticket) holder also. The #1 challenge of the Hawks was they had no bench! When you look at contending teams (Lakers, Boston, Hornets, Pistons, etc), they had strong benches that, at minimum, held serve when they were brought in. The Hawks bench was weak at best. ZaZa sort of came around….in the playoffs. During the regular season, he was dismal. Deng is not the answer. He had a horrible season last year and has shown no consistency. Was the only spark coming off the Hawks bench. And you say good riddance??? What games were you watching, dude??

As for Terrell B - you can live with the Hawks coming apart (cause Smith isn’t coming back and the Hawks won’t be getting anything for it)? You can live with continued losing? By the way, who do you suggest replace Chill? Kwame Brown? :-)

By doc

July 23, 2008 5:40 PM | Link to this

pr statement from the atl hawks:

“We were informed this morning by Josh Childress’ representatives that he has signed with Olympiakos in Greece, and we want to wish him the absolute best with his future career in FIBA.

“We have a great deal of respect for Josh and appreciate his contributions to our franchise. We were very comfortable when we began this process that if Josh were to play in the NBA, he would remain with the Hawks. This is a unique situation with Greece, and to my knowledge it is believed to be the highest contract ever awarded in Euroleague history.

“We feel we presented a very fair and competitive offer to keep him in Atlanta, and we will now move forward with the options we have to improve our roster.” – Hawks GM Rick Sund.

look closely at the language and say WELL YEAAUH, of course you knew if he stayed in the nba he would be a hawk. unfortunately that was due to contractual obligations not because we brought a sincere offer to the table initially or he felt wanted from the outset. what it doesnt say is “that we did not foresee such a contract offer coming from anyone else. we forgot we arent the only game in town and dont keep up too much with international economics even though we failed to sign a property of ours in david anderson because we were outbid.”

now just go out and make it right get two legit bigs and a shooter and spend right up to the luxury tax and i will believe you mean business and are legit. otherwise no one should feel guilty or obligated to put their fannies in a seat until the product warrants it. blank gets it, turner got it now guys “just do it!”

By supa

July 23, 2008 5:40 PM | Link to this

Good for him. Most of us would have done the same thing. Significantly more money and a chance to see a different part of the world while he’s still young. I don’t blame him at all.

Good move Josh.

By Chistmas Wish

July 23, 2008 5:43 PM | Link to this

Please Mr. Santa Clause persuade Arthur Blank to buy our basketball team.

By Mitch

July 23, 2008 5:47 PM | Link to this

Yeah, Flahawksfan…there’s no way the hawks would or should pay Chills $11M a year.

I think Chills was more critical to the Hawks’ success than we realize, however. He was the smartest player on the team and the best hustler. He’s a better player than Marvin Williams right now…but Marvin, once he gets stronger defensively and with his ballhandling, will be better in the long run, because he can stroke the ball.

The timing of Chills’ departure is tough…who can they get to replace him at this late date? And should they set aside tender money to keep Chills’ rights?

What are your thoughts?

I still say: Smith to LAC for Camby and Thornton.

C Camby

PF Horford

SF Williams

SG Johnson

PG Bibby

Second Team:

C Pachulia

PF Othella Hunter/Solomon Jones

SF Thornton

SG Richardson

PG Law

By Eric

July 23, 2008 5:55 PM | Link to this

WHAT IN THE HELL IS RICK SUND WAITING FOR. JOSH SMITH TOLD ESPN A COUPLE OF DAYS AGO, THAT HIM WANTING OUT OF ATLANTA HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH WOODSON, BUT WITH MANAGEMENT TOYING AROUND WITH HIM. HAWK’S FANS YOU HAVE BEEN BAMBOOZLED, THE SPIRIT RAN BILLY KNIGHT OUT TO BRING IN RICK SUND TO DESTROY THIS FRANCHISE. LET’S GO BACK A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO WHEN BILLY KNIGHT FOUGHT WITH OWNERSHIP TO GET JOE JOHNSON HERE. SOMEONE TELL ME I DREAMING THIS, PLEASE.

By Teo

July 23, 2008 5:58 PM | Link to this

Big deal he left for another league in Europe. Ya he is a great 6th man, but personally I think its about money and life balance and he made a great choice in my opinion as a young cultured 25 year old. He gets to travel and see all of Europe playing in the Euro League, tax free money in EURO’s and gets to see/play with beautiful Greek/European women, enjoy the lovely weather, gorgeous beaches and site seing in Europe while playing the game he loves for 3 years with the option to opt out. How can you beat that as a young male athlete? A no brainer to me….

By Tron5000

July 23, 2008 6:00 PM | Link to this

It’s not like the Hawks are buffoons as far as this goes. He was also not offered what a deemed to be a fair contract by any of the other teams in the NBA. So he decided to go overseas, where he is being paid more than the 32 NBA teams offered him and where he will likely save a ton in taxes. It’s not as bad as everyone is making it out to be.

By JFlash

July 23, 2008 6:01 PM | Link to this

GA Independent……..

It’s confirmed! You must work for the ASG. Only a subjective employee would make the statements you’ve made. First, Bibby was a good midseason pickup by the Hawks. But if you think he’s the “answer” at point guard, you’re kidding yourself. 4 or 5 years ago when he was getting 20 pts and 9 assists he was. But he’s nowhere near his old self (which I think had more to do with the players around him as well as his talent). Second, Marvin is a marginal player at best. If you’re ragging on Chill then you have to rag on Marvin (aren’t their numbers pretty much the same?). He’s not even close to the player he was in college. And you want to resign him next year?!? Finally, you talk about commitment to Atlanta teams. Dude, that works BOTH ways. I’ve watch the Hawks be dismantled over the past 9 years by cheap ownership, incompetent management and bad coaching. How about this……why don’t they support us, the fans, and put together strong, enduring franchises (or at least a winner)? We’ve witnessed Boston go from disgrace to championship in one year? So it can be done. There just needs to be the commitment. And that’s not there!

Come on, Dude……..at least try to be objective and rational.

By HB Ando

July 23, 2008 6:05 PM | Link to this

As Mitch mentioned the Hollinger article, I think a lot of folks here, lacking any real understanding of the implications of this situation, should really go to ESPN.com and read what the man has to say.

GA-Indy: one quick way to lose any credibility you might be looking to establish would be saying something along the lines of, “the GM needs to fire Woodson” right after the GM gave him an extension. Is that you, Steve-O, to embarrassed to return here with the same name, or are there just too many complete d******* to keep count of now, here on the blog?

So many of you seem oblivious to the fact that its not Childress that we lost, but his value as an asset to the team, when this team has less assets than just about every team in the league, and no real hope of the ASG spending the kind of money necessary, in free agency, to make up for all the assets they’ve wasted, through horrible drafts and bad trades, over the past 4 years.

This team is cooked.

I.Mus, I don’t see what’s wrong with highlighting that I’ve been predicting the ASG wouldn’t keep this roster intact, due to the reality that the payroll to do so would be well beyond their means, when I had to endure listening endlessly to people telling me I had no idea what I was talking about. The blog is designed to offer of opinions and predictions. If you want to hate on me for having my negative predictions regularly validated by the Hawks organization, then have at it.

By Huck the Fawks

July 23, 2008 6:09 PM | Link to this

huck the fawks…I am done…had enough…I quit…does memphis or milwaukee have room for me?

By darrell starks

July 23, 2008 6:19 PM | Link to this

DO NOT LET ASG FOOL YOU THEY SAID THEY OFFER JOSH CHILL 5 year 34million thats true but they offer it when GREECE OFFER 3 YEAR 30MILLION NOW THEY was hoping he take the offer from greece so that they want HAVE TO PAY THE 5YEAR 34MILLION AND THEY CAN SAY AT LEASE THEY TRIED TOO SIGN HIM AND FOOL THE PUBALIC NOW IF SOME ONE YOU OFFER YOU 3YEAR 30MILLION WITH THE FIRST CONTRACT THEN THE HAWKS OFFER YOU 5 34MILLION WITH SECOND CONTRACT WHICH one are you going to take dont let them fool you THEY ARE BROKE TRUST ME IN TILL ASG SELL THIS TEAM THEY WILL DECLINE.GO HAWKS!!!!!!

By Maxx

July 23, 2008 6:22 PM | Link to this

Well, having been to Greece myself I can’t say I really blame The Fro for going to Paradise for a ton of money for 3 years to be the Michael Jordan of the Greek league. But as a Hawks fan I am really upset and nervous about this. We didn’t add any new players to replace J-Chil and we still haven’t signed Smoove. But really, it all boils down to this: WOULD YOU WANT TO PLAY IN ATL FOR 6.6 MILLION A YEAR OR IN GREECE FOR 10.83 MILLION A YEAR? The Hawks should have made a better offer for Childress, but there is no way they would pay him that much. The Euro is worth twice the dollar, so get used to seeing your favorite NBA stars playing overseas for more $$, including people like Kobe Bryant and Lebron James.

By doc

July 23, 2008 6:25 PM | Link to this

sautee, you missed on the initials go back and check. there is h d and our lovable h b.

ando, agree but you know that already.

where is the incumbent pollyanna? run and hid. funny how folks accused me of the same as i tried to rationalize certain actions by this franchise as it went through its growing pains.

even the pollyanna’s contradict themselves with their arguments paragraph to paragraph.

By newkid

July 23, 2008 6:28 PM | Link to this

For a fee (i.e., salary + off-the-court compensation), Childress and other NBA players provide a service (i.e., entertainment) to a fan base (e.g., Hawks fans) through an employer (e.g., ASG). The love of the game and the fee drive players; not the specific fan base, nor the specific employer. Sure soft loyalties to fan bases, teammates, and employers likely garner some consideration by the player, but rationally it cannot supplant the comparative size of the fee when one’s major income earning years within the profession is likely not much more than 10 years. Not since the old American Basketball Association (that of the old red, white, and blue ball) have we seen a group of ‘employers’ who were willing and able to offer the most skilled professional basketball players fees equal to or greater than NBA owners.

Massive growth in the sizes and incomes of middle income classes in Europe and Asia is resulting in much larger amounts of cash being available for entertainment purposes (and far more advertising dollars being spent to attract those fans to basketball related commodities), and an increasing amount and percentage of this entertainment cash is flowing toward entertainment as provided by the increasingly popular sport of basketball (as played on the opposite side of the Atlantic).

In oh so many ways the 20th century is behind us. In a strange kind of way (perhaps largely by perception) Childress is to 20th century NBA basketball (i.e., refusal to accept a qualifying offer or a multi-year deal as a restricted free agent) what Curt Flood was to baseball (refusing to accept a trade). Welcome to what a flat world has to offer to 21st century NBA basketball fans.

While I am NOT AT ALL a fan of the ASG, it is not likely that the ASG could have saved the levee. Paul Allen, when confronted with the ‘rules of the salary cap game’ of the NBA, could not have saved the levee. If it were not Childress, it would have been one of the others; if it were not 2008, then it would have been ‘09, or ‘10, or ‘11.

So, what’s ahead of us? First, knee jerk stop gap measures (e.g., black-balling, placing more restrictions on the free international flow of labor, etc), but later cooler heads will prevail in attempts to avoid a price war. Then we’ll see more concerted efforts to consolidate internationally and adopt a set of agreed upon financial rules aimed at ‘stabilizing and regulating’ the free flow of labor. This will likely lead to the evolution of some sort of International Basketball Association with continental peculiarities that soften over time.

In the interim, Sekou perhaps you should prepare yourself for many more 400+ comment threads. To snatch one of my all-time favorite sign-offs from Astro Joe, more iced tea?

By **NATIVE SON**

July 23, 2008 6:36 PM | Link to this

The Spirit group must actually be para-normal. We can’t see, or hear them. Good luck Childress. Without pointing out the obvious, I’ll just say this. ” If Tim Duncan was the big fundamental, I’d rate your game as a smaller sized version, the key phrase being mental.” (for those that are a lil’ bit slow; no, I’m not saying he was actually like Duncan) Thanks for what you brought to the team. “The Spirit Grp. ain’t broke, they’re just not liquid” Peace from The Native.

By ToeKnee

July 23, 2008 6:38 PM | Link to this

Hey Josh C.R.E.A.M. Childress, I’ll give you twenty bucks to come play for my church league!!! Come on you know you want it! Take the money and leave you traitor. To think I supported you these years to have you just walk away! Screw the franchise man, what about the FANS!!! thanks a lot josh, we had something special goin here in atlanta and you took the money. Yeah ownership is stupid, but you’re not gettin outta this without ink on ur hands YOU signed the contract, you gave the middle finger to the whole city that supported you through a 13-win season and watched you develop. thanks alot traitor. i dont care if we own ur rights, you will NEVER be welcome in the city of atlanta again.

By dsmith

July 23, 2008 6:38 PM | Link to this

All in good fun Benny, see you on the next blog. I’ll take it easy on you next time……..

By Teo

July 23, 2008 6:38 PM | Link to this

Big deal he left for another league in Europe. Ya he is a great 6th man, but personally I think its about money and life balance and he made a great choice in my opinion as a young cultured 25 year old. He may not be of the elite in the NBA, but he gets to travel and see all of Europe while playing in the Euro League, tax free money in EURO’s and gets to see/play with beautiful Greek/European women, enjoy the lovely weather, gorgeous beaches and site seing in Europe while playing the game he loves for 3 years with the option to opt out. How can you beat that as a young male athlete? A no brainer to me…And European girls do shave, especially Greek girls, they take care of themselves more than any girls in the world and are sexy as hell..the fat ones stay at home cause culturally they’re not accepted outdoors lol, throw in some sexy Swedes, and Czechs on the beach and you got a party in Greece, versus the fatsos/trash of the USA which make me sick looking at them, unless ur in Cali,Florida or NY.

By mowreck

July 23, 2008 6:38 PM | Link to this

What the hell is a J-Chill and a J-Smoove anyway??

By newkid

July 23, 2008 6:41 PM | Link to this

…or was that sweet tea Joe?

By randy

July 23, 2008 6:44 PM | Link to this

I’m not so mad at the Hawks for not matching the Greece offer, because in the end they overpaid for him. I am mad that they could be such a bad organization that Childress would WANT to leave.

They need to go ahead and pony up the 10 to 11 million Josh Smith wants because they have to sign him now without a doubt. Stop sitting around Geardon and Sund with your finger up your @ss and make Josh a real offer!!!

By randy

July 23, 2008 6:53 PM | Link to this

If ASG let Josh Smith go, then its official…THE ASG ARE GUTTING THE ATLANTA HAWKS!

By Maxx

July 23, 2008 6:54 PM | Link to this

Teo-You said it. Couldn’t agree more. But this does hurt our team

By Kemmet Aziz

July 23, 2008 6:58 PM | Link to this

This move has nothing to do with what J. Chills thought of the Hawks as an organization, and more to do with the type of person J. Chills is. He is a SoCal boy with a free spirit who probably will get a kick of playing overseas. Not to mention the EuroLeague is becoming more and more attractive to American players. Wake up people, basketball is not our game anymore

By Ryan

July 23, 2008 7:00 PM | Link to this

GUESS WHAT PEOPLE….I JUST HEARD ON 790 THE ZONE THAT THE GENERAL MANAGER( GM) FOR OLYMPIAKOS IN GREECE IS…………..BILLY KNIGHT…GO FIGURE !! THAT WHAT THE HAWKS GET FOR FIRING MR. BILLY….LMFAO.

By Maxx

July 23, 2008 7:00 PM | Link to this

Teo- dont agree with the last part of your second comment, I was talking about the first comment I agreed with

By doc

July 23, 2008 7:02 PM | Link to this

newk as i made my arguments for his going in my mind i too thought of the curt flood situation. it didnt work out for him and is the inherent risk but his stand made it easier for those behind him. whether it be jackie robinson, rosa parks, mlk, ali, etc. it takes those of the pioneer spirit to lead the way for others and people too arrogant to think it cant happen in each case. human spirit is too great, the dam has broken, hawks are the fall guys.

points eloquently made.

By HD Ando

July 23, 2008 7:04 PM | Link to this

BREAKING NEWS: Hawks forward Josh Smith signs with the Marine Corps.

By terrell barron

July 23, 2008 7:07 PM | Link to this

Jflash, we can replace Chills with Mario West(hustle plays, rebounds, intensity). And this move also opens up the door fo J-Rich to get plenty of action (shooter, 3pt threat).Also, dont forget that Acie is healthy this year. He could also be the 6th man. He can play the 1 and the 2 just as good, if not BETTER, than Childress.

By Volman

July 23, 2008 7:09 PM | Link to this

Can I return my season tickets??

I am VERY upset right now.. This whole free agent situation this summer has REALLY GOTTEN TO ME. I have been VERY PATIENT with this whole process, and the Hawks have signed nobody. Nobody.

I better be getting a call from the ASG soon with their plans for the future. I BETTER.

By Samuel

July 23, 2008 7:16 PM | Link to this

A second string NBA player becomes the highest paid player ever in the EURO League. How can you totally blame the Hawks for that. Did any other NBA team offer him that much?

You guys just want something to yap about. The whole league may as well Fold cause it lost Josh Childress. Give me a break.

By Steve

July 23, 2008 7:17 PM | Link to this

Is this the new plan for running a team in to the ground. I predict the Hawks are in Seattle before 2011. hey all the would need to do is add Sea to the beginning and they will be able to save on team wear . Support 2 teams with one shirt.

how do you take 2 first round picks and toss them to the wind . Oh yea toss 3 first round picks to sign a free agent.

By terrell barron

July 23, 2008 7:18 PM | Link to this

Ando, he’s already enlisted. Woody is his drill Seargent. lol!! And Ryan, please tell me your’re joking?

By darrell starks

July 23, 2008 7:19 PM | Link to this

BREAKING NEWS JOSH SMITH SIGN WITH AND1 GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!

By mowreck

July 23, 2008 7:25 PM | Link to this

what the heck is a J-Chill and a J-Smoove anyway??

By terrell barron

July 23, 2008 7:29 PM | Link to this

Pat Riley said after taking a good look at the available centers, the Heat will be better off with an undersized frontline, that would consists of Haslem, Marion, and Beasley. So in actuality, our division allows Big Al to play center with Smoove at PF and Marv or whoever at SF. Until we play Orlando of course, but everyone has problems when it comes to Howard. So I dont see the HUGE need to move Horford to PF just yet.

By mratlanta

July 23, 2008 7:29 PM | Link to this

No problem. Maybe he can convince his new team to take Woodson, Speedy, Marvin, and the rest of the Hawks.

By bulldawg1979

July 23, 2008 7:35 PM | Link to this

no one in the state of georgia cares about the hawks

By bigeasy830

July 23, 2008 7:39 PM | Link to this

This is a crushing blow to the Hawks and a devastating blow to the NBA. That high school kid. B. Jennings signing with a Euro team instead of going to Arizona is nothing. That kid will be crushed by those bigger, stronger and more fundamentally sound Euro players its not like he is Lebron, or D. Howard. But, J-Chill will be a very good Euro league player, his game will thrive in the open court and fast paced Euro game. This will open the door for many more good American players. We are already intrigued with the Euro game with so many Euro born players in the NBA. Now what’s up with the salary caps. How will the NBA keep its better players from jumping ship, mind you I did not say best players but better player. The lost of players like Chill will weaken the NBA product, which is already suffering because of the lack of fundamentals by its young players. More interest in Euro basketball will lead to more revenue by the Euro league which will lead to them being able to offer more players more money. Watch out Stern you dodged the bullet with that gambling scandal, but I don’t think you can wiggle out of this one. Now, Team USA must win the Gold, they must dominate like the first Dream Team or basketball as we know it will never be the same in this country.

By Samuel

July 23, 2008 7:45 PM | Link to this

bigeasy,

Just as many, if not more EURO players are leaving to come here.

By BigT

July 23, 2008 7:48 PM | Link to this

Josh Childress is a loser. He opted for the greedy way, no sense of team. Good riddance. Sign Josh Smith to a 6 yr contract at 11 mill per year. He is the future of the franchise not Josh Childress. 7 mill for 10 points and 4 rebounds is crazy.

By infamousrks

July 23, 2008 7:53 PM | Link to this

it’s official….

IF Smoove’s not in the 4-5 year plan……i will suggest re-introducing the 4th quarter “pre-rolled” party favor for fans! only change would be giving it to ya at the gate, upon entry!

this Sund guy had better get on the phone with Smooves agent, quickly.

RISE UP, BUDDY! get it done..screw the owners and their insight……..

By SalimFan

July 23, 2008 8:08 PM | Link to this

I didn’t want to post in anger so i’ve held off until now.

1) Ando offically gets his pat on the back

2) Chills took less money. A telling sign of what I’ve been preaching about our coaching/management for some time now.

3) How do you feel about Billy Knight now??? Would Chilldress have gotten away if he was our GM now???? I’m not taking sides. Simply posing the question.

4) Greec is beautiful and at least childress will be playing with other talented players. I’m pretty sure Jamel Thomas (Sebastion Telfairs older brother who averaged. 22ppg for providince) playes for them.

5) Time to look at suitable replacements who won’t break the bank. Mo Eveans/Shannon Brown…….it probably won’t happen though.

6) I wish chills the best. H’s from Cali so the decesion probably was easier for him (already living away from his home state) than it would have been for Josh Smith who’s from Georgia.

So they’ve effectively lost Salim Stoudamire and Josh Childress (Two talented former draft picks) and have absolutley nothing to show for it. They got nothing in return……Some management we have.

7)BTW did you know that Peja is from Greece and his wife is a famous Greek model…..who’s hot. Not that it’s important but since greece is the current hot button issue I thought i’d throw that in there.

STEVO, KIRK WHERE YOU AT GUYS?? I’M VERY INTERESTED IN WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY ABOUT THE EVENTS THAT HAVE TRANSPIRED HERE TODAY.

I might have missed you, I didn’t read the previous comments and don’t plan to. It’s almost hit 500….DAMN…..

By HawksWho?

July 23, 2008 8:11 PM | Link to this

Childress is an overpaid stiff—getting 12 points a game and he wants $15 mil per year with the hawks? LOL! It doesn’t matter—the morons who run the hawks just want to make money. Losing records are no big deal as long as they overcharge on tickets and cheap souvenirs and bad food in downtown atlanta. I gave up my tickets last year and will not buy again until new ownership and mgt comes in.

By SalimFan

July 23, 2008 8:20 PM | Link to this

If Childress ever wants to play in the NBA again he’ll more than likely have to go through the Hawks. We’ll have his NBA rights if we make a qualifying offer if he decides to come back in 3 years. Though I don’t think he will.

If you’ve ever seen the Sebastian Telfair Movie “Through The Fire” Greece is beautiful and they have great fans.

By SalimFan

July 23, 2008 8:23 PM | Link to this

12 PTS OFF THE BENCH!!!!!!!…..Get it right buddy….

By infamousrks

July 23, 2008 8:24 PM | Link to this

give me a “Jerry Jones” type owner.

a “Parcells-like” GM.

a coach that’s “PHIL JACKSON”-ish….

oh yeah, and an AMAZING A-TOWN DANCER squad EVERY freakin’ year.

(inhale) WE’D BE A FREE AGENT FAV-O-RITE !

“party favor” advocate, INFAMOUSKRS

PS: Sekou, you frickin’ ROCK ! (exhale)

(this has been sponsored by the JOSH HOWARD “LEGALIZE IT” FOUNDATION)

By Angry Fan

July 23, 2008 8:27 PM | Link to this

Hawks fans, I need your advice. I would like to send a messsage to the ASG, as physically disgusting as losing our core players. I was wondering if we should send jars of Greek olive oil, Grecian Hair Formula, or cans of bacon grease to the offices of ASG.

Would this send a message to them? What do you think their response would be, if packages of this stuff started showing up at ASG HQ?

Make some noise!

By bigeasy830

July 23, 2008 8:40 PM | Link to this

Some of you are actually upset or questioning the man for leaving for more money. You can’t be serious. A few extra millions is nothing to Bill Gates or Warren Buffet or even Ophra. But it is if you are coming off a Rookie contract in the NBA. There is a huge difference between 33 million over 5 years and 32 over 3. Nothing in this world is guaranteed. A bird in the hand is worth more than 2 in the bush. Get your money young man, forget the Haters, better yet forget the city of Atlanta. The worst sports fans in the country. The fans attitude in this city is the reason we have only 1 title between 4 professional teams.We do not demand excellence from the ownership of our teams. We make excuses and blame the players for taking care of themselves. The owners can treat it like a business but when a player do the same then he is greedy, pleas! I am happy for the the man. Makred7 I enjoyed your post it is very informative.

By doc

July 23, 2008 8:45 PM | Link to this

boy after reading bradley’s column the sinking feeling in the bottom of my stomach has even gotten deeper. some folks dont undertstand chills probably would have taken less if he had just been dealt with and not forced to go and find an offer.

they wanted to stay, treated the organization with nothing but respect and full out effort. dont you think it would have been appropriate for the hawks to deliver just a bit of it back in return and begin to treat him like he was wanted as if he were someone to be reached out for as he was in greece. as mark said the hawks dared him and he took the dare.

they were stupid to thimk there wasnt anything out there. even i said there might be something if his agents explored it in europe, maybe the read the blog and followed up on it since everyone appears to be in such a vacuum in atlanta.

guess what? if you didnt read the kicker in the face in bradley’s article that leaves me pause to laugh and think these are really stupid just like their after the fact handling of the belkin mess up in court …. get this …. in order to keep rights to chills they have to take a hit on their cap charge. toooo much stupidity. i warned you guys they would throw up on themselves like they did with the thrashers last year and now they are doing the same with the hawks.

samuel there is nothing rational about your stance and to repeat the same thing even louder doesnt make it a stronger argument. if you havent caught the drift from your cuz in his article and if you are that dense you might give him a call. it isnt about chills being only a 6th man or utility player, you and i know starters arent important; it is finishers and he was ALWAYS in there at crunch time. as a coach i would think you would respect him for that and understand his worth.

now, down to what 7 players signed and able to play? but we can say we held the line and are fiscally responsible.

i cant believe i got a call from one of the hawks salesmen today of all days. to counter my arguments against puchasing today since there ball club was an unfinished product of literally less than half a team, all he could say is i will have a lot of fun being down there. no excitement +not competitive= no fun, simple formula. of course they say chills wanted 10 mil a year … not, just fairness and respect.

By doc

July 23, 2008 8:57 PM | Link to this

salim to keep chill it costs the team cap space and is a real cost as they will have to roll out a qualifying offer is my guess. that will be what the cost they carry. risky business as in two years he is free and clear even if they hold his rights at the cost. my guess he is gone and can come back to the highest nba bidder next year if we dont put the qualifying offer on the table officially.

soon the nba might look like the role the ncaa had in developing young talent as most of it goes overseas. doubtful yes but plausible.

By infamousrks

July 23, 2008 8:57 PM | Link to this

(bigeasy takes a bow) !

nicely put, my man!

By Ben

July 23, 2008 9:00 PM | Link to this

doc that’s not true.

Childress declined the initial offer the ASG made.

The dude wanted money and he got it.

By WHY? Da' $

July 23, 2008 9:01 PM | Link to this

Infamousrks-Good post lol! The Hawks have sucked & will suck, or maybe if we can get J. Howard we can say, “They inhale”….
Can’t blame Chills.
First impression of Sund… NOT GOOD! ASG-“SNAFU” Situation Normal, All F**ED UP!

By cp

July 23, 2008 9:10 PM | Link to this

terrell barron did you miss the article where Joe said we need to sign these guys and be ready for camp because all the other teams have improved?…..How are we building around Joe and Horford? With who, Luke Jackson and Solo? Who have we brought in to say we are building around those guys? If you think Joe was frustrated before last season started and when the season ended well wait because he will be saying something soon about how much help we need. We only won 37 games last year and backed into the playoffs. Once again what did we do to improve our roster?…. Im not mad Chills left, im mad because we got nothing in return for a guy we chose 6th in the draft…..For a team that was low on talent in the first place you cant afford to be losing talent and not replacing it… All the top guys who could have come in and replaced Chills have signed elsewhere… Mo Evans signed with the Warriors today…. Mario West replacing Childress? Lmaoooooooooooooooooooo.. I like Mario but he cant replace Chills. He hustles and all but he is not the ballhandler nor the rebounder Chills is. Mario shot is just as ugly as Chills with less range… Come on man you cant really believe the stuff you are saying.. Do you really think we are going to re sign Bibby? I wouldn be shocked if he is traded near the deadline or just walks after the season is over…So once again how are we building around anybody when we have not added anybody to the roster?

When we have another losing season and miss the playoffs do you really think the Joe is going to want to stay when his contract is up. The guy is frustrated and wont re up here..

For the people saying we should have taken Iguodala or Jefferson or others over Josh Childress. You do realize that those guys are commanding more money than Josh Smith. SO we would have to pay Josh Smith and Jefferson over 60 million if we would have chosen Jefferson…. You think the B.A.S.G. would be paying both these guys near the max. If anything the situation would be worse here.

By HD Ando

July 23, 2008 9:17 PM | Link to this

what were the hawks supposed to do?

childress agent: hey, we just found some team in some other country to pay chills 10 million per.

sund: okay. well what about anyone in the nba?

agent: he’s a sixth man, no one would pay that money to a sixth man.

sund: so why should we?

agent: because you stated from day 1 that your goal was to sign both of the joshes no matter what.

sund: so i have to pay 10 mill for a bench guy?

agent: do you want to look like a liar?

sund: i’d rather look like a liar than an idiot for paying 10 mill to a bench guy.

agent: well then ‘liar, liar pants on fire’ i’m taking my client to a foreign country to live in isolation, where everyone can laugh at his goofy fro and messed up teeth.

sund: well, if he chooses to opt out of that deal, which he has the right to, we’ll be waiting with a mid-level acception offer, which by all nba standards, is all he’s worth.

agent: we’ll keep that in mind. but for now, there are some idiots in greece that think chills is a superstar.

By TheAntiMe

July 23, 2008 9:17 PM | Link to this

I used to think that the Rankin Smith family who owned the Falcons for many years was the cheapest of the cheap ownerships. This latest insult to our city’s NBA franchise by the Atlanta Broke Spirit Group makes Rankin Smith look like George Freaking Steinbrenner. It’s a crime the way ASG is holding the Hawks franchise hostage. This is just the latest disgusting chapter of the sad story of how ASG has ingloriously sunken to depths previously thought to be unfathomable, making ASG, by far, the worst sports ownership in the history of our galaxy. Please, Batman, make these Jokers go away!

By doc

July 23, 2008 9:21 PM | Link to this

ben what i implied is true, read what he said to bradley. and in many other sources beyond broussard flailing attempt to play party line for the nba and the hawks since there ss some reimbursement connection to the network huh? plain and simple, they low balled him from the get go thinking it would stick. if making any offer qualifies for making an offer then you are correct. the problem with your way of thinking and obviously the hawks is they showed him what they thought he was worth to them and he felt he was worth more. do you get it now? too tough for you to grasp?

really, in the end i guess they both won, right? hawks didnt over spend and chills got his. now is there a problem with that? yup. problem is there has been some time lost to fill a huge void with few candidates out there or have you checked? ben, unless you were the fly on the wall and can tell me more about the negotiation then dont say it is untrue.

By cp

July 23, 2008 9:36 PM | Link to this

I just read that other teams are looking at Luke Jackson so he might not make it to camp with us after the summer league is over….I also read that a possible replacement for Chills is Quinton Ross. I dont think I have ever seen a team make blunder after blunder summer after summer more than the Hawks. I wish JR was a unrestricted free agent but knowing this front office they would try and low ball him too. Im guessing that Denver would match any deal offered to him. He would be the best replacement but its looking like we wont replace Chills to maybe next year or near the deadline…

By bernard weston

July 23, 2008 9:36 PM | Link to this

It is very “un”-forchanant. Yet, This is the NBA!!! No one player or five players make up the NBA. This is not a college or University sports team, this is a business!! The Hawks can rebuild. The down side is that They just became respectable….its too soon to “rebuilding”. They need to get a winning core and stick with that winning core by any means necessary.

By MannyT

July 23, 2008 9:44 PM | Link to this

doc I read Bradley’s piece. I also recall Ando mentioning the desire to get something back for Josh. At this point, we’d agree that it is too late to get value back. I think the best play for the Hawks is to keep in touch with Josh and work on making the relationship more positive. In the future, he may come back if the relationship makes sense. What the ASG seemed to fail on here was relationship management. Aside from government and Clark Howard, deals often go to the best relationship, not the best price. This matters for all the contracts that will come. It is more important that Smith, JJ, et al get a sense that they will be treated better based on the lessons that the ASG learns from this fiasco.

Think about the soup kitchen you mentioned earlier today. There are many of them in Atlanta. Yet you volunteer at that one. Why do the homeless people go there versus another shelter (like the one near Centennial Olympic Park?) People have preferences and usually will make sacrifices to meet those preferences.

Every person or situation has its good and bad features. The good side of hiring Sund is that he has lots of NBA experience. In a negotiation bound by the typical rules of the NBA it makes sense to let a RFA seek better just to show that the grass is not really greener on other teams w/o the Hawks agreeing to a sign & trade.

On the other hand Chills showed that he is a 21st century player. Not bound by NBA rules, but professional basketball rules. His team (agents, advisors, & player) essentially outflanked Sund & the ASG by redefining his market to one that afforded him much more financial gain.

When his playing career is over, I think Chills would be an excellent professional basketball executive. He thinks outside the norm and seems to value relationships in a wise way.

WASP

By Eric Byas

July 23, 2008 9:44 PM | Link to this

Man!

By kirknga

July 23, 2008 9:45 PM | Link to this

How sad for Josh Childress fans today.

The skills and intangibles he brought to the team will be missed.

As a Hawks fan,that is to say a fan of the team, I understand that players come and go for a variety of reasons.

Today a player decided to reject a substantial offer from the Hawks and sign instead to play for an international team.

This was a highly drafted player who had a clear ceiling in the NBA. He was smart enough to recognize this and went to play where his star would sign.

I recognize that there are some who will blame my team. They will say things that imply for example, that an offer of $35 million in 08 is not the same as it would have been in 07.

I also recognize that others will believe that this player should have been offered more than he was, how much more they often don’t say, but more, more, more nonetheless.

As a fan of the Atlanta Hawks basketball team, I understand that tough decisions have to be made. I understand that my team will not have the payroll of New York area teams, or Los Angeles Lakers, or even the Dallas Mavericks.

Today I understand that many lost a friend, a very special player in their eyes, one who is irreplaceable. For others this will mean that the entire franchise should move to another city where they will appreciate having a NBA team.

Others will plea for some benevolent billionaire to purchase my team, one who will pay all the players all they want and when the players feel they want it. Ah if this could happen!

For me, a fan of the Atlanta Hawks, I realize that a player who no longer had the drive to play at the highest level of competition left foe more money and cultural enrichment.

As a fan, I understand my team must now replace a bench player today. And must still negotiate with another player who may or may not want to wear a Hawks uniform.

By Jared

July 23, 2008 9:49 PM | Link to this

In order to add to the backlash, in the hopes of sending a message to the ASG, if they read these blogs in an attempt to gage fan support, I add my angst to what has already been said. If the ASG wants to keep fans, they had better work out a blockbuster trade, or sign the best remaining free agent!! Gutting the team to get the number one pick isn’t a great idea when you routinely draft players like Sheldon Williams and bypass future HOF point guards for another wing that you don’t need!

By MannyT

July 23, 2008 9:58 PM | Link to this

The biggest lesson that the ASG folks can learn from Arthur Blank is how to develop relationships to get free agents. The ASG has decent facilities. They need to get on track with how to treat their current and potential employees.

A better relationship may have eliminated the desire for Chills to seek out unique solutions to his contract dilemma.

I understand not outbidding Olympiacos, but I wonder if it would have been necessary at all if the negotiations had been different.

WASP

By johny

July 23, 2008 10:00 PM | Link to this

hi.i am from greece and i am olympiakos.i cant believe that childress sign to my team.i think that he came to greece to make hawks give him more money.now we have the best player in europe for this season and i beg to stay the next season too in europe and not return to nba.olympiakos first try to take luol deng but he didnt want to play in europe and then take childress.next season will take a good player from nba again.the owners of the team have a lot of money and they can spend more money from the nba teams

By MannyT

July 23, 2008 10:05 PM | Link to this

kirknga How do you know that Chills

no longer had the drive to play at the highest level of competition?

I have seen several times in business that folks leave a company that they like for a better opportunity. In some cases they return at a higher level than their peers achieve that did not leave.

I expect Chills to return to the NBA in a few years. If he makes the big cash sooner, he can accept a situation that is to his liking w/o as many cash considerations in the future.

WASP

By Mike R

July 23, 2008 10:08 PM | Link to this

A few things need to be said that aren’t quite clear.

-As for the financial situation, They are taking a $4.8 million dollar cap hit by holding onto Childress rights. They will continue to endure that hit, as long as they retain his rights

-This is much bigger then Childress & The Hawks. Fact is, this is an option for players who are stuck with the Restricted Free Agent tag. More and more role players will go to Europe where they can earn more, play less games, less wear and tear, etc. Unless the NBA fixes this in the next CBA, expect for more players to take advantage. Teams will not tie up cap space for players that might not even return

-Childress is a solid sixth-man, possibly a starter on some clubs. Reason he didnt get a lot of offers….was because of his Restricted Free Agent status. Teams are not going to tie up a player, when they have their cap space frozen, and cant make plays for other FA’s while waiting to see if the offer sheet is matched.

-Good for Childress, and on another note Brandon Jennings. The NBA & NCAA need to understand…..they arent going to hold players hostage

By infamousrks

July 23, 2008 10:12 PM | Link to this

a recurring nightmare of mine……..

“THE ATLANTA HAWKS SELECT MARVIN WILLIAMS WITH THE NUMBER 2 PICK”! i’ve always believed the a “potential” star should alwayz fall in the bottom of the first round. to think that the Hawks pick was taken because of either “league-wide pressure” or another arrogant Knight selection drives me crazy. i know…blah, blah, blah about the past…but DAMN !

WE AS FANS DO NOT AGREE WITH MEDIOCRITY !

(bat signal shines)…CLYDE, answer the red ringing phone (i smell a famous shirt comin’ on) !

TIME TO RISE (WAKE) UP.

By Georgia_Independent

July 23, 2008 10:13 PM | Link to this

The ASG offered Josh Smith a HUGE contract this season. Smith has clearly sought to test the market’s waters. I have no problem with that. The waters have spoken. ZERO teams have offered Josh Smith a maximum contract. Uninformed fans can sit in the corner and scream about a sub earning more than $10M (TAX FREE) per year.

Saying good-bye and good luck to Josh Childress does not change the core of the Hawks franchise. No GM in their right mind would even discuss a contract to compete with the offer made to him in Greece. My take on it is Greece just received an NBA player who is far from a $10+M/year player.

By Angry Fan

July 23, 2008 10:31 PM | Link to this

Infamousrks Well said. WE AS FANS DO NOT AGREE WITH MEDIOCRITY! I’ll take 5 of those shirts. It’s the only thing Hawks related I will purchase, until ASG is OUTTA HERE!

Somebody said,”Boycott the Hawks until ASG sells them…” EXACTLY! I wish David Stern could/would do something. Is he aware of the public outcry over the way ASG is crippling OUR Hawks? Surely Chills going to Greece has caught his attention. I can hear Ryan Cameron on opening night, “Welcome to Philips Arena, Hawks fans. It was nice of you two guys to show up. The announced crowd (tix purchased) is a staggering (pause) 8. Rise up, yall!”

Make some noise!

By mykhal c

July 23, 2008 10:32 PM | Link to this

Said Sund: “Going above the luxury tax with a team under .500 is probably premature.”

and signin’ an f’n HC a 100 games under 500 was just brillant eh RICK??

you know what i CANNOT wait to see this years roster!!! it will probably be a joke beyond the 5 starters!!!!

By HD Ando

July 23, 2008 10:33 PM | Link to this

**if the hawks re-sign smooth:

pg bibby sg johnson sf m.williams/j.smoove pf j.smoove/m.williams c horforod

tell me chills is the difference in the playoffs, i f’n dare you**

By infamousrks

July 23, 2008 10:34 PM | Link to this

from a business standpoint……(with the 500+ blog entries weighin’ in) i believe it only furthers to crush a remote possibilty of sell-out games in the 08/09 season! sad….but true!

is Joe already lookin’ at land to build his “tiger wood’s” type home with his next contract (not comin’ from the Hawks, unfortunately)?

team: -Chillz, -JJ, -JSmash= my arrogant (in office) demise. SAD

pinch me….when the “PAIN” is over……

(shoutout to MannyT)

By HD Ando

July 23, 2008 10:35 PM | Link to this

**what were the hawks supposed to do?

childress agent: hey, we just found some team in some other country to pay chills 10 million per.

sund: okay. well what about anyone in the nba?

agent: he’s a sixth man, no one would pay that money to a sixth man.

sund: so why should we?

agent: because you stated from day 1 that your goal was to sign both of the joshes no matter what.

sund: so i have to pay 10 mill for a bench guy?

agent: do you want to look like a liar?

sund: i’d rather look like a liar than an idiot for paying 10 mill to a bench guy.

agent: well then ‘liar, liar pants on fire’ i’m taking my client to a foreign country to live in isolation, where everyone can laugh at his goofy fro and messed up teeth.

sund: well, if he chooses to opt out of that deal, which he has the right to, we’ll be waiting with a mid-level acception offer, which by all nba standards, is all he’s worth.

agent: we’ll keep that in mind. but for now, there are some idiots in greece that think chills is a superstar.**

By Mike R

July 23, 2008 10:40 PM | Link to this

If he stays all 3 years of the contract, he will be in a much better position to secure a more lucrative contract. If he stays injury-free. Think about this

-will have the athleticism of an American born player, and will learn a great deal about fundamentals of the game from his new coaching staff.

Its a win-win for him and the NBA later on, if he chooses to come back. He makes his money overseas, expands his cultural horizons, etc…and the NBA will get back a much better player….better then if he would have stayed with the Hawks considering their franchise is a disaster

By kurtz

July 23, 2008 10:50 PM | Link to this

To go deeper in the playoffs, the Hawks should pay the players less and the refs more.

By ray

July 23, 2008 11:04 PM | Link to this

Spin, spin, spin.

Some people just don’t get it because they don’t want to get it. Anybody that says: “Big deal, the guy averaged 11 points and 6 rebounds, that’s easily replaceable” is a simpleton…and that’s being nice. For one thing, Childress did much more than those two stats. Of course, you would have to understand the game and how its played to know that.

Those that say “why would Childress go to Europe? His style of play doesn’t fit there”…do you even watch that style of basketball? Childress provided what he has without having plays run for him! This is evidence of not only a high IQ, but the ability to be very effective by finding a niche and filling it…being the ultimate teammate. Do you think a European team would offer this much money to an NBA player if they didn’t think he could play (and play well) for their team? Don’t be stupid.

For those who want to take THIS tack on things: I keep seeing where people say nobody is going to pay Childress 8,9,10,11 million dollars a year to play here. No $hit. That is not what this is about. Childress wasn’t asking for that by any stretch of the imagination. The simple fact is this: The ASG did not make an offer to Childress. They told him to go find an offer. Now…if your boss told you he wasn’t offering you a promotion or raise, but perhaps you should go and see if anybody else would give you one…how exactly would that make you feel? He didn’t even offer to let you keep your job working for him. I don’t know about you, but like most people that need to work to eat…I’d be looking for another job.

So…Childress found one. It wasn’t until then that any offer was made. Once Childress and his agents found something elsewhere, and was about ready to sign it, here comes Sund and crew with an offer. By then it was simply too damn late and way too little. Imagine, we probably could’ve kept Childress had these fools just made him a damn offer in a more timely manner.

HOW STUPID CAN YOU POSSIBLY LOOK: INSTEAD OF EXTENDING AN OFFER, TELL A RESTRICTED FREE AGENT TO GO FIND AN OFFER. THEN, WHEN HE FINDS ONE, OFFER HIM (AT THE LAST MINUTE) SOMETHING THAT’S NOT EVEN HALF OF WHAT HE’S BEING OFFERED ELSEWHERE. If this is smart business, then the rest of the business world needs to go back to school.

Here’s the kicker: We all know Childress and his production is replaceable. We know nobody in the NBA would pay him what Greece is paying him. That’s not even the point. Here’s the point, or rather, the points:

1)Childress got away for NOTHING. We lost an asset….for NOTHING. How is this smart business again?

2)To retain his rights, we’d have to extend a qualifying offer. And that would cause us to take a hit on the cap for each of the next two or three years (whichever it is). A hit on the cap…for NOTHING, because we got nothing in return for his absence, not one damn dime, and he’s NOT going to go there and come back here. Not the way he was treated…

3)For those of you who can’t do simple math (and there seems to be a few): Childress collects 32.5 million NET after the ballclub pays taxes on his deal. He gets a place to live, a vehicle, and every other perk. Had he taken the last second (and first time) offer from the Hawks, he’d be getting paid less money over more years, playing more games, having to pay for any living or transportation expenses, and getting taxed higher. To lay it down simpler than ever (since I’m not a Wikipedia-level genius like MannyT): Childress gets taxed LESS on MORE money while doing less work (fewer games), versus getting taxed MORE on LESS money, while playing more games…and he has an opt out clause.

So. If you had an opportunity to do less work in a shorter amount of time, paying less taxes, the whole while getting paid more money….what would you do? It’s not greed. And it wasn’t demand. It was an offer. Did not the Hawks say “go find an offer?” And if you say you wouldn’t do it, you’re either a liar or a dumb-a$$ loser. Either way, that’s not smart business on your part. So quit blaming the player.

Blame the fool-a*******es that are trying to play chess, having not come close to mastering tic-tac-toe.

By infamousrks

July 23, 2008 11:05 PM | Link to this

i mentioned on here a while ago about hiring a new-school “young-buck type coach”. someone with a short resume that understood TODAY’S NBA PLAYERS (Avery Johnson comes to mind)…..

In the end, someone gave the new boss a great first impression….”MR. they think i’m GREAT WOODSON”….funny how player/coach relationships affect re-singing attempts (who would have thunk it)!

the guy should have had a more extensive background check, in my opinion! Sure…the kid can be replaced…but damn, we’re starting from scratch, at a vital position (and he knew the retarded WOODY system already)!

“SUND has got alot of explaining to due LUCY”. all joking aside….MAKE US BELIEVE while you still have a job!

By infamousrks

July 23, 2008 11:10 PM | Link to this

KURTZ’s COMMENT = the “now” GUT-SHOT of the day AWARD. congrats!

By jopanoy

July 23, 2008 11:13 PM | Link to this

Breaking News

In an amazing sign and trade deal the Atlanta Hawks trade Josh Smith to the Green Bay Packers for Brett Favre.

I’m seriously waiting for even more signs that the ASG are sabotaging all of Atlanta sports.

By kirknga

July 23, 2008 11:15 PM | Link to this

MannyT

I believe he does not have the drive to compete at the highest levels because he’s leaving to go play in a league lesser to the NBA.

I’m basing it on fact, the fact that he was offered similar money but walked.

Can you imagine Tom Brady leaving the Pats because some CFL team offered him $3 million more? $4 million? $10 million? Can you imagine he’d do it even for a couple of seasons?

Brett Farve wants to play football again, think the CFL is even on his radar?

How about Texiera? Think he would leave to go play in Japan for a few million more?

The answer is no in all of these cases because these athletes have a drive to be the best.

Manny, to be be the best you have to play the best. That is a basic tenet of competition epitomized in American professional sports?

For perhaps a small increase Josh Childress decided not to play against the best basketball players in the world.

He understood something better than some here on the blog, and that is he was a bench player, a 2nd tier player. I can respect that.

By Lifelong Hawks Fan

July 23, 2008 11:15 PM | Link to this

Is HD Ando related to HB Ando?

I’m just as frustrated as anyone here. I have been for years now. Until last year I had been living in California. So I didn’t have the opportunity to see all of this ineptness up close. Moving back to the area and seeing it first hand is almost painful. I honestly don’t know what to think anymore. I hope I gain some guidance soon.

By ray

July 23, 2008 11:27 PM | Link to this

Why do people keep swallowing the same lies, then spitting them right back out?

Get it through your thick skulls:No offers were made UNTIL it was too late.

Hell, the Hawks have no reason at all to not offer Josh Smith upwards of 6/60 now…as long as they’re not stupid enough to try and retain Childress’ rights.

Never saw anything like this in my life. People who are stupid enough to think that it’s about whether or not paying Childress $10 million a year or not. It was the ASG that didn’t make an offer to him, and told him to go find an offer! Well guess what morons, he FOUND one, and one that couldn’t be matched! And all of those Sign and Trade offers have got to look so good compared to losing a guy for absolutely nothing.

You can talk all day about him being a bench player and sixth man. This was a guy who was apparently good enough to be high in the rotation, playing in excess of 30 minutes a game most of the time. THAT is what you’re replacing. If nothing else, you get another player, a draft pick, some cash, SOMETHING. Who the hell let’s a lottery pick get away without even one penny in return? Geeeezzz…

I am interested in seeing how things go with Smith now. On top of that, as someone else mentioned…we have seven guys signed to play right now. That’s half a F’in team. Brilliant. So what wonderful free agents that haven’t already been signed are we going to sign that will keep this team at the level it was last year, let alone better? Don’t everybody answer at once…

By doc

July 23, 2008 11:29 PM | Link to this

ray that last line has a ring to it.

just like there was a bird rule, will there be a chills rule to allow teams to go beyond luxury tax without penalty if they so desire?

union and agents 1; nba and owner/gm’s 0

manny t does it mean now the hawks can pretend to be at cap but spend 4.5 mil below it because they have “offered” chills a qualifying offer? that may be what they are looking to do. so instead of an obligation to spend ~58 mil they can spend 4.5 ml less and pocket it, like a quick profit to themselves. hmmmmm go figure.

By Ben

July 23, 2008 11:44 PM | Link to this

Ray, in that post you said a lot without saying a lot.

Like losing a 12 ppg CAREER player hurts us. Get Kwame, JR Smith and our summer leaguers and this team is EASILY 2nd round material next year. Quit being pretentious

By SalimFan

July 23, 2008 11:48 PM | Link to this

Amen Ray, Amen.

Also. The ASG picked the WRONG EROPEAN TEAM TO TANGO WITH. If ANY OF YOU visit Greece and have someone offering you a LEGIT job over there. YOU’RE NOT COMING BACK. Like I said Greece and their facilities are BEAUTIFUL.

By Georgia_Independent

July 23, 2008 11:52 PM | Link to this

Ray the Atlanta Hawks were at a level of only 35 regular season wins, horrid attendance from so many so called true Hawk fans, and a 1st round playoff loss (it doesn’t matter if it was a 7 game series…Game 7 was not much of a game). Josh Childress did not last season and has NEVER held the key to the Hawks success.

Joe Johnson is more valuable than Josh Childress. Signing Childress to any contract above the mid-level excemption places resigning Joe Johnson at risk.

Mike Bibby is more valuable than Josh Childress. Signing Josh Childress to any contract above the mid-level exemption places resigning Mike Bibby (or any of the other top PG who are available next season) at risk. Bibby is an unrestricted free agent at the end of next season.

Marvin Williams is more valuable (and better) than Josh Childress. Signing Josh Childress to any contract above the mid-level exemption places resigning Marvin Williams at risk. Williams is a restricted free agent at the end of next season.

Josh Smith is more valuable (and better) than Josh Childress. Signing Josh Childress to any contract above the mid-level exemption places resigning Smith at risk. Smith is a restricted free agent and is an unrestricted free agent at the end of next season if he continues to turn down big contracts (ATLANTA OFFERED J-SMOOTH A BIG CONTRACT DURING THIS SEASON AND BEFORE THE START OF THIS PAST SEASON).

Sign Josh Childress, an obvious 6th pick bust who has underperformed compared to a number of players drafted after him, like Josh Smith (Atlanta), Luol Deng (Chicago), Kevin Martin (Sacremento), Al Jefferson (Minnesota, Jameer Nelson (Orlando), etc., would have placed the future of our franchise at risk. Anyone who does not see that is clearly not in touch with the future free agent challenges that Atlanta has.

One more thing, ATLANTA HAS NOT LOST CHILDRESS. Atlanta has Childress’ NBA rights. No team was going to trade (or sign) Childress. That is why he is off to Europe. He was going to make half of the money. The Hawks would have been foolish to offer him any more than $5M-$6M. The Hawks have correctly kept their focus upon Josh Smith.

By infamousrks

July 23, 2008 11:54 PM | Link to this

i really don’t understand why an ownership group (an investment with millions vested) would allow their seasoned product to be driven into the ground!

why lose the team to Belkin and HOPE that the franchise would dive? it only becomes a lower possible “take home” in the end (ASG gets the LEATHER BOOT in their A**)? doesn’t an investment involve some kind of positive?

BULLETIN: THEY DON’T CARE WHAT WE THINK !

THE BLOG’s NUMBER 1 QUESTION: *will we ever have a chance to be an elite squad? (ARE YOU KIDDin’ ME)?

*see ownership track record

this CRAP (MannyT patent) has got to end!

By SalimFan

July 24, 2008 12:00 AM | Link to this

BEN IT DOES HURT US BECAUSE CURRENTLY WE DON’T HAVE ANYONE GOOD ENOUGH TO REPLACE HIM FOR THAT MATTER.

The ASG is NOT going to replace him with a quality Free Agent either Ben.

By doc

July 24, 2008 12:02 AM | Link to this

let us remeber last night and so i get it exactly right;

kirk says, “I believe any person is entitled to basic dignity and civility unless and until they have clearly demonstrated they don’t deserve such respect and even then, I have certain boundaries I’m not going to cross, not even in jest.”

tonight the same person takes liberty to demean another person of this wonderful planet he doesnt know all of the world having already come to the conclusion the hawks didnt come close to the greek offer. so wasnt he playing by the best and respected rules of now, what was it you said, capitalism that our own owners seem to play well but failed this time and says:

For me, a fan of the Atlanta Hawks, I realize that a player who no longer had the drive to play at the highest level of competition left foe more money and cultural enrichment.

are you delusional, psychotic or pulling all of our legs because i am ready to laugh with you bro. was that about judgment of another human being and a huge 180. wow! dude, are you a gemini the little schizophrenic, borderline of the astrological chart? if you are i know you cant help it and are forgiven. heh heh yup i know you werent looking for that from me so i will save you your breath.

if manny t wants he can point out the lack of logic as you compare oranges and apples.

By HD Ando

July 24, 2008 12:04 AM | Link to this

**hey, guess what? chills is gone. guess what? j-smoove, best case scenario, and most likely scenerio, will sign a qualfying offer for the sole purpose of being an unrestricted free agent next year to get out of the arm-pit that atlanta has always been. the only difference is chills was able to find a team STUPID enough to not only pay him more, but to let him out of his contract next year to sign with another nba team.

chills, who is half as talented as jsmoove, will make more this year than jsmoove, yet, both will be on the FA market next year, with one making way more than the other this year.

those damn foreigners are doing a great job of keeping america in check.**

By ray

July 24, 2008 12:05 AM | Link to this

Lifelong Hawks Fan, not even close. One probably wishes he was the other…

Some of these “rationalizations” are insane…Sure, Childress doesn’t want to compete against the best anymore. Europe is clearly far inferior. Ahem….and who has been winning in the Olympics lately…against our best? Oh don’t get me wrong, it’s like salt in an old wound for me. I hate the fact that we once had the Dream Team, and now we have Team USA Redemption. That says it all. Nevertheless, we need to kick butt and take back what’s ours…GO USA!!

Again…a player left because his team didn’t show much interest in him, even after the so-called momentum of an exciting (ooopss…there goes that evil word again) first round playoff run. Where’s all the comments about the ultr-smart ASG letting the market set the price now, eh? What can a player possibly do but go find someone who likes them when they’re told to do just that?

And for crying out loud, since WHEN is 32.5 million over three years similar money when compared to 33 million over 5 years???! One pays you over 10 million a year for 3 years! The other pays you rougly 6.6 million over five years! It ain’t the same, which is exactly why the Hawks couldn’t duplicate it! More money over less time (less committment and less games) beats less money over more time (more committment, more games)….EVERY TIME!

And while it may be a severe inconvenience to those who continue to smoke the ASG’s crack pipe, the offer was made after the threat of another signed contract was well in place. And it couldn’t touch the offer made from afar.

Yep, …chess and checkers…checkers and tic tac toe…we tried to enter the world series of poker…and hadn’t yet learned to play Uno…

It’s amazing how some can twist this in a way to put the player in a negative light, knowing that any one of us would’ve done the same thing….well, those of us that have sense.

If the one you thought you loved doesn’t show you love, then show love to the one who does…

By MannyT

July 24, 2008 12:11 AM | Link to this

infamousrks The PAIN may be chronic unless you have the chronic ;-)

ray Me thinks you covered it well. As for the compensation, Sekou covered it in an AJC article. More money and perks for less work with an annual opt out if he decides to return. Gotta love that deal.

As SalimFan mentioned, there are some top tier women there also, like Mrs. Peja Stojakovic

As for kirknga I would counter with the following.

First, the money is significantly different. You can see details in Sekou link earlier in this post.

Second, he will have more of an opportunity to start and develop his game there than he would here as a 6th man.

Third, You pick higher level stars in the NFL and MLB than Josh is in the NBA. Also the fiscal dynamics are different for those sports. The US is clearly the top payer for american football at all levels. I am not up on Japanese baseball pay, but I’d suspect a similar truth for US baseball. The Euroleagues have been a destination for lower level American basketball professionals and stars well past their prime for many years. They are moving up the skill ladder to get mid level NBA talent now. Josh fit that bill. I’m sure other RFA players whose offers are not close to MAX compensation are also on their radar. As for relocation, that adds a dynamic that combines location and compensation. Drafted players in all major sports relocate on a smaller level. Some players, choose not to play for Canadian teams. Same league, but relocation preferences lead them to not go there and take less to play for US based teams.

I think he chose to prioritize a significant increase in compensation over more games against better competition. If you told most people they could play a game against kids or adults, the competitive ones probably play against adults (unless it is something that the kids do better like video games.) Make this their primary compensation and the results will skew with siginificant differences in pay. If the job is similar, you follow the dominant differences in compensation.

I don’t know what you do for a living, so I’ll focus inward. Give me double pay and I am happy to work against lesser competition. Especially if my pay is barely impacted by my success. (Pro athletes generally get paid the same regardless of the team’s win/loss record. This is very different from non-athletic life.)

doc the qualifying offer for a guy that isn’t on the team is uncharted territory for me. I’d guess that it may stay as a cap hold until he comes back, they renounce him, or their rights on him expire. I suspect this will be up for several levels of interpretation, so I’m going to leave that one alone for a few days.

I also expect this matching compensation issue to get addressed in the next CBA. It will take more than that to work it out with other leagues—maybe a FIBA level agreement. In the interim, I doubt that Josh has to follow any NBA or NBAPA rules while he is under contract in Europe.

WASP

By SalimFan

July 24, 2008 12:16 AM | Link to this

*The NBA has a deeply entrenched superstar system, built around those who score the most points. Despite what the League might tell you, the stars get the calls, the stars get the ball, and the stars get the marketing dollars. The stars can even get coaches fired. There are reasons for all of that. But the truth remains that, if it’s just about winning basketball games, that star system, and an obsession with points, can be a burden. (A lot of “stat geek” work is really the quest to isolate what, beyond obvious stuff like points, really matters to winning.) Childress made clear that in his conversations with Olympiakos, and with other people knowledgeable about European basketball, he learned that the system was different in Europe. “I assumed that I’d have to go average 20, 22 points a game here,” he explains. “But the Euroleague MVP most years averages like 12 points, five rebounds, and five assists. It’s an award that the guy who actually helps his team win the most wins. … My coaches here just want me to be versatile, and to play four positions, and to help the team win as many ways as I can.” Some of that mentality wouldn’t hurt the NBA any. *

BEN, notice what Childress has to say about WINNING games nd being an MVP in the Euroleauge.

Read this.

By ray

July 24, 2008 12:16 AM | Link to this

Ben, tell me this: how are we going to get JR Smith, who is a restricted free agent, when we can’t even sign our own restricted free agents? And if you think Kwame Brown makes us better than we were last year, you’re nuts. Memphis doesn’t even care about the guy. I’ll take him, but he doesn’t put us over the hump.

Georgia Independent, this is NOT about paying Childress above the MLE. The contract the ASG offered him was plenty fair.

I say again…the problem is they didn’t bother offering him that UNTIL he got the larger offer from Greece. Do the words “too little, too late” mean anything to you? You don’t tell a guy to go find an offer, then when he gets one (that is clearly more than he’d get paid anywhere in the NBA), try and offer him something less attractive. It’s just plain stupid. I cannot see Josh Childress even going to Greece if he got that offer a couple of weeks ago. No way. In fact, they can’t even claim what they can with Josh Smith. Josh was tendered an offer before last season began. Was Childress? No. And he wasn’t offered one this year either…until he got one by going out and looking for one.

So, the ASG lost that bet…and go nothing back in return, not even the full MLE. Explain to me how that was a good move. And why, oh why is Josh Smith not signed already? They allowed the market to set his price…only some funky things happened, and no price was set for him. So now what? Do we wait him out until he too gets sick to death of all of this, signs a one-year offer, then bolts as an unrestricted free agent next year?

Pardon me if the idea of cap space is not so attractive to me where the ASG is concerned. The last time we had cap space, we got Lorenzen Wright and Speedy Claxton. Need I go further with that one?

Not to mention, who wants to come here now? Besides Kwame, that is…even Randolph Morris was non-committal. This is ridiculous.

By infamousrks

July 24, 2008 12:20 AM | Link to this

i’m guessing the HDfromHB switch is based on the DIGITAL future before us….but what type news did it take for, even myself, to stop…drop…and pop-lock with the rest of you all !

(Chillz PHUKD BY THE POWERS THAT BE….despite loyalty)!

PRINT THAT !

By SalimFan

July 24, 2008 12:21 AM | Link to this

*According to Josh Childress, there were championship-contending NBA teams that were willing to pay him more than the Hawks would. A sign-and-trade couldn’t be worked out, so Childress was stuck. *

By kirknga

July 24, 2008 12:23 AM | Link to this

Good analysis Georgia_Independent

A rational dispassionate view of the consequences of contract offers and prioritization of players.

It appears that you don’t expect to see a payroll that exceeds the luxury tax threshold, especially when there is not a large revenue stream in place.

By MannyT

July 24, 2008 12:35 AM | Link to this

SalimFan Do you think one of the Olympiacos sponsors or Nike will do a Chills commercial like this ;-)

From Atlanta to California to Athens with all those suitcases, crying Cali girls, D Scott saying good bye to Afro Power, etc.

To use a Euro term, we could say that Chills is on loan to Olympiacos. We might get him back in the future.

My bigger concerns with Chills is not that we didn’t pay him, but that the ASG seemed to make this a messy situation that might stay in the minds of other players, and we need a plan to get Smith resolved (sooner now than before) and complete the roster with decent players. We need one more than I thought we would at the start of the month.

In an effort to bring the fans back, the ASG will now have 2 fan/players at the end of the bench. Please put your name into the raffle early. If you win, it will resemble the Price is Right. Just after all that fire and Spirit the Hawk, Number 123456, Jaun Lastfan, come on down! You are tonight’s 14th man. Number 126666, Will Showup, come on down!

These raffles will be limited to folks with 6 game packages or better.

I wish Chills well. I will be there on opening night. Maybe in Hawks gear, maybe in Olympiacos gear, maybe in a t-shirt that would make Clyde proud and get me kicked out—nah, I’ll use that on another night. I want to stay for at least the first game.

fyi—CRAP is a good thing for me. It’s the Campaign for Responsible Athletic Professionals.

PAIN is bad—Professional Athletics Ineffective Normalization. Seems that the ASG knows this well.

…and just to wrap up in context—today’s closing is Woody Astonished, Sund Perturbed, yup WASP

By Tree Rollins

July 24, 2008 12:38 AM | Link to this

LOSERS beget more LOSERS. The Hawks have been LOSERS so long nobody can remember when they were ever any good. I think maybe it goes back to when Mike Fratello coached the team. The new management is the most inept in pro sports (ie if you’re not sure about this check out their track record with the Thrashers hockey team also). Coach Mike Woodson couldn’t coach a prep school team to the league championship. GM Sund ruined the Supersonics according to their fans. Etc. etc. but it will be great to see the rappers coming to the games again this year and sitting on the front row while all the rest of the seats go empty. Perhaps we can get lucky and Pee Wee Herman can take over the team and bring in some organization skills to this moribund group!

By ray

July 24, 2008 12:38 AM | Link to this

….which is exactly why the ASG need to get the hell out of the game.

Would you try to enter the world of NASCAR and be competitive, much less WIN, if you have only one or two cars, and can’t afford to pay a mechanic to work on either one (and don’t know how to do the work yourself)?

Not expecting to see the payroll exceeding the luxury tax threshold is eerily close to the very point Ando has been making for a long time now, only it’s even simpler: Some of us didn’t expect to see the ASG raise the payroll beyond last season’s total…despite the fact that you cannot hope to keep the same payroll with guys being due for raises. Which means somebody has to go. And if you can’t afford to pay more for last year’s squad, then you can’t expect to be as good as last year’s squad (uh…at 37 wins).

What I’m failing to see is how this translates into a better team, that wins more games. Still not seeing it unless you increase the payroll. You don’t get better by going cheaper in this league. Sooner or later, you pay more money. Or you don’t get better. Simple as that.

One more time: no free agents signed, 7 players under contract to play, one major contributor now gone with no compensation in return, and one major contributor still unsigned. Tell me how this makes our team better. I guess I’d have to be smoking the same $hit to understand this one…

Good point, Doc. But probably not worth the pursuit…

By doc

July 24, 2008 12:45 AM | Link to this

for the kirk’s, ben’s and indy ga’s that judge so prematurely about the free market and what chills actually got out there when he went looking:

The NBA’s collective bargaining agreement includes a ton of complicated clauses. Each serves a purpose, and you can make a case that, all told, it’s a good and fairly fair system. But regulation is always burdensome, and this league, famously run by lawyers, is knee-deep in legalese. In this instance, those rules created a really weird deal. According to Josh Childress, there were championship-contending NBA teams that were willing to pay him more than the Hawks would. A sign-and-trade couldn’t be worked out, so Childress was stuck. But that makes a situation where here’s an employee, a place that wanted to employ him, and an agreed upon price. In normal human life, that’s all you need to make a deal. You can only tinker with the free market so much before it starts depressing normal economic activity. This is one of those cases. A rule (essentially, the salary cap) designed solely to keep NBA teams competitive with each other now ends up helping a whole different league. Will the NBA change the salary cap in some profound way to address that? Babby, for his part, says that he would “never underestimate the capacity of the NBA to respond to market trends.”

By kirknga

July 24, 2008 12:47 AM | Link to this

MannyT

There was not a big difference in money. According to Sekou, Atlanta had offered him a five-year, $33 million contract.

It is reported he signed for 3 years $32.5 million. In my book that is not a big difference.

I see you pointed out that the examples I raised in my questions were higher profile players. You didn’t answer the question, but that’s ok.

How about we use Jeff Francouer? He’s a young player in a similar position.Do you think he would go play in Japan or the Mexican League for several million dollars more than the Braves offered him?

I think not! Why, because while money is very important, there is something to playing at the highest level. For a very small difference in money, Josh is playing in a lesser league.

I would argue that a small difference in salary is not enough for the most driven of athletes to jump to a lesser league. Whether it is a start QB or the 8th man in an 8-man rotation.

By HD Ando

July 24, 2008 12:48 AM | Link to this

what were the hawks supposed to do?

childress agent: hey, we just found some team in some other country to pay chills 10 million per.

sund: okay. well what about anyone in the nba?

agent: he’s a sixth man, no one would pay that money to a sixth man.

sund: so why should we?

agent: because you stated from day 1 that your goal was to sign both of the joshes no matter what.

sund: so i have to pay 10 mill for a bench guy?

agent: do you want to look like a liar?

sund: i’d rather look like a liar than an idiot for paying 10 mill to a bench guy.

agent: well then ‘liar, liar pants on fire’ i’m taking my client to a foreign country to live in isolation, where everyone can laugh at his goofy fro and messed up teeth.

sund: well, if he chooses to opt out of that deal, which he has the right to, we’ll be waiting with a mid-level acception offer, which by all nba standards, is all he’s worth.

agent: we’ll keep that in mind. but for now, there are some idiots in greece that think chills is a superstar.

By MarioWestFan

July 24, 2008 12:49 AM | Link to this

CP…..Ummm Mario cant replace Chills huh??Seems like he ALREADY did. Chills has better handles than West. You need to pack ya bags and head to the warm seas with Chilli if your head is that entrenched up Chills arsehole. Refer back to last year to the Hawks late December 5 game win streak when Chills AND Acie were HURT. Mario played great during that time despite being a rookie. Also Chills NEVER started. The Games Mario did start is because Chills nor Anthony Johnson wanted to. Remember AJ leaving Phillips BEFORE a game last year. West filled in nicely. Sure he has to work on his game, all young guys do. Even the Unsigned STUD who keeps turning down 10 and 11 million a year offers has work to do.

By ray

July 24, 2008 1:00 AM | Link to this

Georgia Independent, Josh Childress is not a bust. He didn’t pick himself at #6. We could’ve had Iguodala or Deng. The idiot that the ASG hired to do the drafting did that. And he did it year after freakin’ year. He also picked Shelden at #5. Was he top 5 talent? Nobody but that same idiot felt that way. He picked Marvin at #2 ahead of guys who will be making the all-star team for several years. Anyone who can’t see that is not in touch with reality.

I know that we have several players better than Childress. Sekou has reported that several teams inquired about sign and trade deals with Childress. He did not go unnoticed, as some of you would have us believe. Teams were either rejected, or decided not to tie up their money offering him the MLE, knowing that they would do all the work for the Hawks, who then only had to match. You can’t keep trying to have it both ways. Teams would’ve acquired Childress if the ASG was okay with the deals. They weren’t, so nobody was stupid enough to try and sign him to an offer sheet above the MLE, especially with managment saying they’d match. So the very thing that is supposed to work for them worked against them.

I can’t believe I’m having to say this AGAIN: the offer to Childress didn’t come until he’d already found a bigger one. Bad timing, plain and simpl