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Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Childress leaves Hawks for Greece
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Just when you thought it was safe to come out of the closet as a true Atlanta sports fan, things go even crazier than they’ve gone in the past 15 months.
Former Hawks swingman Josh Childress has signed with Olympiakos of Greece, a three-year, fully guaranteed contract worth far more than the $20 million initially believed to be his prize.
Could there be a more stunning turns of events for fans who thought Childress was destined to remain in a Hawks’ uniform for at least the next four or five years?
It’s a groundbreaking move for all sorts of reasons, none of them terribly thrilling for the Hawks and their tattered reputation.
It’s also a groundbreaking move for Childress, who is blazing a trail that no one was bold enough to before him.
So, what type of impact will Childress’ departure have on the Hawks as a team and as a franchise?
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Brace yourself …
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
THE MATRIX - If you thought the tango Josh Childress danced with Olympiakos was simply a negotiating ploy, you were wrong.
And I mean 100 percent wrong.
This is no joke people.
Childress is still in Athens and won’t leave without making a decision on his immediate future.
At least three of the (ridiculous amount of) people I spoke with about his situation throughout the day and night Tuesday are convinced that he is “gone.”
There has been no official word, of course, but that could come as early as this morning (stay tuned to ajc.com for the updates).
What looked like a crazy stunt three days ago has turned into a bona fide nightmare for the Hawks, who simply couldn’t win in this situation (if they increased their offer to Childress they’d lose all credibility in future negotiations but if they lose him, they lose all credibility with the public).
No one is pretending that free agency is anything other than a bare-knuckle brawl for cash between the team and the players and their agents.
Losing Childress this way, if it does indeed happen, is a third round TKO for the Hawks, who had their chances to lock Childress up long-term with a legitimate contract extension and never did.
What constitutes legitimate, however, is where everyone seems to have shifting opinions. It might not matter by lunchtime, though, because Childress might be a member of a different team by then.
How this situation melted down to this point is stunning when you consider that Hawks general manager Rick Sund and his assistant GMs went to Washington to sit down with Childress’ agents two days after the start of the free agency period, in an effort to make a face-to-face pitch early on in the process.
TRUE OR FALSE?: Speaking of offers, our good friends at ESPN.com weighed in with another round of intel on the situation regarding both Josh Smith and Childress and where negotiations stands between the respective camps.
They reported that Josh Smith has been extended a six-year, $60 million offer from the Hawks. But spies in both camps confirm that this is absolutely, 100 percent NOT true.
In fact, Smith has never been formally offered a cent over $9 million from the Hawks. They’ve only had discussions about where things might go but there’s never been a formal offer at that rate.
As we reported earlier, the Hawks did extend an offer to Childress with a starting salary in excess of the NBA’s $5.5 million mid-level exception. But that was only after yanking a more lucrative offer off the table, according to one of my best spies, when Childress didn’t immediately accept the initial offer.
“Come on, man. Do you really think these guys would still be hanging out there if they were dealing like this all along?” one of my spies told me late Tuesday night. “The spinning that’s going on right now is nothing short of despicable. They haven’t done right by those kids [Childress and Smith] and they have every right to want more for themselves.”
WORD TO THE WISE: I’m stepping out of bounds here a bit, but this is something I have to share. I’ve been in my hometown (Grand Rapids, Mich.) since yesterday for the funeral of my aunt who died of cancer last week.
I’ve seen aunts, uncles, cousins and other relatives, both distant and near, that I either haven’t seen in years or didn’t even realize were a part of the family.
Having dismissed family reunions and other events like that for years because they conflicted with whatever I thought was more important at the time, I’m suggesting you reconsider in the future if you’re guilty of the same. I know I will.
Don’t let the only quality time you spend with family and friends consist of funerals and weddings.
Sorry for the sermon, but I had to get that off my chest.
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