Childress in play?
(Former) Hawks swingman Josh Childress appears to be in play for the second straight summer as a restricted free agent. He's in Milwaukee today visiting the Bucks.
HAWKSVILLE - From Athens to Milwaukee and back to Atlanta, the name Josh Childress is being tossed around in every direction these days.
Childress is in Milwaukee today visiting the Bucks with his agent, Jim Tanner.
What that means for the Hawks is that they might get a do-over with Childress, a restricted free agent again this summer as he was last summer.
Last summer they lost him as an asset when he chose to sign with Greek power Olympiakos (for $20 million post taxes). What the Hawks didn’t lose was the right of first refusal on Childress if he decided to return to the NBA this summer.
And two of my spies have made it clear that were Childress to receive any sort of “reasonable” NBA offer (the $5.6 million mid-level exception or below), the Hawks would match it before Childress finished signing his name on the offer sheet (the aim, however, is to work out a sign-and-trade deal to appease both sides since Childress has made clear his desire to play elsewhere, per a source).
Still, no player on the free agent market has more intriguing options than Childress. He has until July 15 to decide if he wants to return to the NBA (he’d have to exercise the opt-out clause in his contract with Olympiakos). So he has a window now that allows him to gauge his current value around the NBA while also holding on to the safety net that is his lucrative contract with Olympiakos.
Childress was in Atlanta last Sunday to meet with the Hawks’ brass and made clear that he would do his due diligence in evaluating his NBA options before deciding whether to return to Greece or not. It’s smart business yet again on the part of Childress, who had drawn interest from a number of other teams (Lakers, Clippers, Cavaliers and Spurs are included in that list, according to my league spies) curious to explore the potential of him making an return to the league now as opposed to at the end of his contract with Olympiakos.
“It’s a tough free agent market right now,” a former player now working as an analyst told me by phone Thursday morning. “I can’t imagine [Childress] could do better financially than he would by going back to Greece. But you never know what might go on in free agency, so he’s wise to explore his options.”
MOSTLY QUIET ON THE FREE AGENT FRONT: Things are quiet where the Hawks’ other free agent targets are concerned. Neither Zaza Pachulia nor Marvin Williams is scheduled to visit anywhere as of right now.
Plenty of teams are interested, from what I’m hearing, but no face-to-face meetings have been set up as of yet. Williams is a restricted free agent, so it’s expected that his summer will last a little longer. Pachulia’s summer could heat up rather quickly if one of the big man dominoes on the summer circuit (Rasheed Wallace, Marcin Gortat, etc.) were to commit to a new team.
Several sources inform me that the Hawks have moved into the “common ground” phase of their talks with Mike Bibby’s camp. Nothing has been announced yet, but those sources insist that a deal is closer to getting done than people might think. I’ll be curious to see how things progress through the July 4th weekend and into early next week, when the salary cap numbers come out on the 8th.
Rumors are flying around about what teams are doing. It’s almost too difficult to keep up with it all, since there are so many different outlets reporting (fact and fiction). But my man Adrian Wojnarowski from Yahoo! Sports does as good as job as anyone at keeping his finger on the pulse of what’s happening out there. Check out his latest buzz.
RECESSION? WHAT RECESSION?: While most of us working class folk are struggling to make ends meet during these tough economic time, there is a segment of the population that’s doing just fine. Check out some of the NBA players on Sports Illustrated’s list of top “ballers” in sports.
Steve Francis should be your new hero, since he clocked $20 million last year without playing a single second of basketball. How’d that song from the 90s go, “I wish I was a little bit taller, I wish I was a baller.” Dang skippy!
NORTH OF THE BORDER: Both Cousin Doug up in Toronto and my man Ken Berger of CBSSPORTS.com are reporting that David Lee has become the object of the Toronto Raptors’ affection now that it appears Hedo Turkoglu could be headed to Portland.
Turkoglu agreeing to a deal could open the floodgates for guys like Williams, especially, considering Charlie Villanueva’s deal with Detroit (5-years, $35-$40 sounds reasonable, though it raises some issues for the Pistons, per my man David Aldridge of TNT) has already set a benchmark for players of that ilk.
Stay tuned folks. There’s no telling where this free agent roller coaster goes next.
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642 comments Add your comment
Sekou Smith
July 3rd, 2009
12:57 pm
Im thinking Mitch (hourglass spinning and spinning and spinning). I’m trying to wrap my head around all the moves going down (elsewhere) and figure out where the Hawks plan on fitting into this new mess that will be the NBA next season.
Love the Lakers pick up. Hate Ariza going to Houston. He’s an ideal fourth or fifth guy because he’s always going to make plays and nail open shots. But if you put him in Houston and expect him to go for 16 to 20 a night I just don’t see it. And I hate that for him because he’s one of my favorite cats in the league.
I told you all the Bibby situation was being taken care of. I’m worried about the bigs. I think Zaza has to return and you have to grab another one (McDyess, Wilcox, Frye, Bass or whoever) to fortify the group. It’s clear that the biggest names (namely Sheed) are looking elsewhere, despite overtures from the Hawks.
All I know is that as of this morning Childress was still in Milwaukee meeting with the Bucks and there seems to be some genuine interest on both sides. But there remains the complicated matter of his contract status with Olympiakos.
Now that Gortat is off the board my spies tell me the Rocket are targeting Zaza. Hawks better be careful that they don’t miss out on all the quality bigs.
Ariose
July 3rd, 2009
1:00 pm
Sekou has just reoprted that the Houston Rockets have set their sights on ZAZA!!!!
niremetal
July 3rd, 2009
1:01 pm
Sekou,
I don’t see how the Rockets could be targeting Zaza…they already used their mid-level on Ariza.
Ariose
July 3rd, 2009
1:02 pm
LOL, guess sekou beat me to the punch lol!!
Wink
July 3rd, 2009
1:10 pm
Childress appears very business savy in at least checking out his options with a great safety net in Greece. Your man Adrian Wojnarowski from Yahoo talks about what other GM’s are doing to improve their team; he makes no mention of our GM….which means he must be sitting on his hands.
He playing the same game he played last year with our free agents. He is waiting on the market to set the price, so he can match or attempt to come in at the last hour to secure our guys. This tactic does not work, Childress went to Greece, even Triva Ariza did not like the way he was being treated by the Lakers and showed he would rather leave than be disrespected.
Sund get off your a$$ and sign these guys….show them some love…show them the $$$$$.
Samuel
July 3rd, 2009
1:10 pm
Childress for Gadzuric(spelling) + ZaZa and anyone of the 4 mentioned above(Frye, Bass, McDycee or Wilcox) and we make a serious improvement.
UGA
July 3rd, 2009
1:10 pm
ZaZa has to return, someone has to bang with Howard and Shaq.
I wish we could get one of the BIGS listed, if not, is there any trade interest for Chuck Hayes, Darious Songalia or the Blatche kid from the Wizards? They’re cheap and better than what we have.
Clyde
July 3rd, 2009
1:17 pm
Sund ain’t got his priorities straight. This waiting game ain’t gonna work. He’s lucky Jsmoove didn’t leave last year when he was dragging his feet. We need an aggressive GM that’s gonna get the job done.
Wabe
July 3rd, 2009
1:19 pm
TALK TO SUND SEKOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
lol.
Obviously he’s seeing something that we’re not because it seems everybody on this blog is talkin about BIGS as they vanish off the market – he might wanna at least work on lockin up Zaza…
Clyde
July 3rd, 2009
1:20 pm
We are going to end up with Horford, Solo and R. Morris.
Stating the Obvious
July 3rd, 2009
1:22 pm
How were we gonna lose Smoove Clyde. We could match anything for him. God you’re a moron.
Ariose
July 3rd, 2009
1:22 pm
I’m gonna let you guys see what I wrote Marc Stien on Twitter Hehehehe…
Last summer you reported that Josh Smith would not resign with the Hawks unless Mike Woodson was not the coach. This was false and Hawks fans knew it as soon as you reported it. Not only did you make Josh smith look like a spoiled little kid to his Current and potential future employers, but you didn’t even give a formal apology. You just got on T.V and said that what you reported was false. I believe this was very classless. How about:
“I’m sorry for not making sure my facts are legit before I spread rumors about Josh smith and potentially ruined his marketability and future business endeavors”
“I apologize to the Hawks organization, their fans and Josh smith for causing this awkward misunderstanding”
Yes we Hawks fans were VERY UPSET about this, and the fact that you didn’t even own up to your mistake on television. How do you think Josh felt about having to talk to coach Woodson about how false YOUR REPORTED RUMOR WAS??? That would suck if I had to explain to my boss that what he heard on television wasn’t true. B-ball players have it hard enough with the Media as it is. How would you like to always have someone spreading rumors to you work colleagues about you? Potentially getting you fired?
I would really appreciate it if in the future that you really did your homework before reporting things like that. Us Hawks fans would really appreciate it. You guys at ESPN always disrespect us, and our players by spreading false information. I know the Hawks aren’t the “hot topic” to talk about on ESPN but it’s the least you could do. Instead of just making something up b/c you don’t think the Hawks are important and just want to have something to report. I’ll give you a “LEGIT” hawks source…even though you could care less. He’s the beat writer for the hawks and if he hasn’t reported it, then it probably isn’t true…(Enter Sekou’s Twitter Address here)
I sincerely hope that you take to heart what I have said and use it in the future. I would be greatly appreciated.
PD
July 3rd, 2009
1:24 pm
Sekou, Where are the Hawks gonna play in the Summer Leagues since the Rocky Mountain Revue got cancelled? Did u hear how Bibby has denied Philly because he said he is staying in Atlanta.
Did I miss your short list of free agent guys?
Here is my list
Chris Wilcox
Brandon Bass
Ryan Hollins
Hakim Warwick
Drew Gooden
2nd tier
Francisco Elson
Theo Ratliff (for the minimum)
Fabricio Oberto
niremetal
July 3rd, 2009
1:24 pm
Anyone else watching the live feed of Roddick-Murray?? MAN this match is for real…
Ariose
July 3rd, 2009
1:28 pm
LOL @Nire trying to get Chills to come back to tha ATL on twitter Heheheh….
Ariose
July 3rd, 2009
1:29 pm
nire, i’m about to follow your link now.
Nookah
July 3rd, 2009
1:30 pm
This is the latest on Josh Childress. Could we be getting Kurt Thomas? Then we go and re-sign Zaza.
The Milwaukee Bucks are in the market for a replacement for traded forward Richard Jefferson(notes). Could Josh Childress(notes), of the Atlanta Hawks, be that man? The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported Childress met with representatives of the Bucks Thursday.
Childress played last season with Olympiakos in Greece and has until July 15 to decide if he wants to opt out and return to the National Basketball Association. The Atlanta Hawks still hold his league rights and could match any offer made by another team.
According to the report, the 26-year-old Childress left Atlanta on difficult terms last summer, however, when he signed a three-year, $20 million deal with Olympiakos. It is possible he could sign an offer sheet with another NBA team, and the Hawks would then match it and work out a sign-and-trade arrangement.
It’s unclear what assets the Hawks might be seeking from Milwaukee, but Hammond acquired two expiring contracts from San Antonio (Bruce Bowen(notes) and Kurt Thomas(notes)) in last week’s trade that sent Richard Jefferson to the Spurs. The Bucks also have point guard Luke Ridnour’s(notes) $6.4 million expiring contract.
According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Childress was in Atlanta on Sunday to speak with Hawks officials. He indicated he would explore his NBA options before deciding whether to return to Greece for a second season.
The 6-foot-8 Childress, the sixth overall pick in the 2004 draft, might fill a Bucks need at small forward, one created with Jefferson’s departure.
Childress averaged 11.8 points and 4.9 rebounds in his last NBA season, appearing in 76 regular-season games.
Source: Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel
Go Hawks!!!
Sekou Smith
July 3rd, 2009
1:38 pm
No summer league team this year PD. Hawks didn’t have a draft pick last year and have just one (Teague) that could have played this year, so there wasn’t a huge pool of their own players to work with for a summer league squad.
And I’m the one who reported that Bibby and the Hawks were moving close to a deal. Maybe the folks in Philly should keep an eye on the blog or the twitter feed.
Big Ray
July 3rd, 2009
1:40 pm
These guys may not be everybody’s favorite players, but if the Hawks can land Oberto or Kurt Thomas from the Bucks in some kind of deal involving Childress, that would be good. Better to get something useful out of this than nothing at all, and we have no idea what is going on with Zaza and any of the other free agent bigs out there, or how it will turn out.
I guess it would mean the Bucks making an offer, us matching it, and then working out the S&T as Sekou suggested. Gadzuric is also not a horrible pickup, but he lacks the IQ that Oberto and Thomas have, and is foul prone. That, and if we’re getting him we better be getting something else as well. Chills’ worth is higher than Gadzuric’s, easy….But like I said, better than nothing.
niremetal
July 3rd, 2009
1:44 pm
BRILLIANT match by Roddick. Oh man…Britain keeps suffering at Wimbledon.
Ariose
July 3rd, 2009
1:44 pm
RODDICK WINS!!!!
niremetal
July 3rd, 2009
1:50 pm
Wasn’t that something, Ariose? Man, I thought for sure that one was going five sets the way they were playing.
Ray,
I was thinking about Kurt Thomas too. If we could snag him and a future pick in a sign-and-trade with Chills, that would be a nice pick-up.
Ariose
July 3rd, 2009
1:55 pm
Nire, I agree. I really hope Roddick can De-throne Federer on sunday. That would be awsome for his career. He hasn’t won a major in a very long time.
UGA
July 3rd, 2009
1:56 pm
I’d take Thomas and Elson as insurance at center.
If Flip does not re-sign, get Ridnour, he’s an expiring contract and insurance at the point.
Joe's place Joe speaking
July 3rd, 2009
2:00 pm
Thanks A FUC*** Lot EVERYONE for Ruining the tennis match I had recorded!!!! Thanks A FUC**** lot!!!!!!! Besides why are yall talking about the damn tennis match anyways!!!!??? Stick to basketball
niremetal
July 3rd, 2009
2:02 pm
I dunno…Federer’s my boy. He’s cold as ice out on that turf. I wanna see him get #15, but yeah…it would be something to see Roddick add another slam after so much frustration. I probably won’t know who I’m pulling for until the match starts Sunday.
niremetal
July 3rd, 2009
2:02 pm
Ha – sorry Joe. There ain’t a tennis blog on AJC
HawkKingBibby
July 3rd, 2009
2:09 pm
I would only take two things from the Bucks which would work cap wise #1. A first round pick #2. AMIR JOHNSON
Joe's place Joe speaking
July 3rd, 2009
2:12 pm
Hah, It’s all good nire! I’ll get over it, sounded like a good match though.
niremetal
July 3rd, 2009
2:22 pm
Definitely – watch the recording, man. You won’t be disappointed.
niremetal
July 3rd, 2009
2:23 pm
And NOW, onto work
Mike
July 3rd, 2009
2:28 pm
Sekou, I agree with Niremetal: how could the Rockets sign Zaza when they have used their mid-level on Ariza? Surely he won’t sign for the veteran minimum, or whatever the low-ball options the Rockets would have left.
Also, I still don’t get Chill and Milwaukee. If they sign him for the mid-level then they will be almost at the luxury tax for a pretty bad team. Anything less than that and the Hawks match. I just don’t see many teams out there ready and willing to spend money, and there are several very good free agents still left (David Lee, Hedo, Millsap, Andre Miller, etc.). And I sure don’t see anyone on Milwaukee’s roster that they would trade for him that the Hawks should have any interest in.
Ariose
July 3rd, 2009
2:32 pm
BTW, I also E-Mailed Marc stien that litter I posted earlier today.
LOL @ Joe….It WAS an AWESOME match though…Went down to the wire.
Ariose
July 3rd, 2009
2:34 pm
*Letter lol…
terrell barron
July 3rd, 2009
2:35 pm
He’s got Federer tomorrow Nire. I guess he’ll have to settle for runner-up. Good run though.
Ariose
July 3rd, 2009
2:35 pm
Turk To the Blazers official Now according to ESPN…
PD
July 3rd, 2009
2:48 pm
Sekou, What free agent utility bigs do u like in free agency?
Melvin
July 3rd, 2009
2:56 pm
Portland is going to findout that they should have spent or saved the money they are offering Hedo on another player(s) down the road. Hedo will be 31 this season and by the time Roy, LaMarcus and Oden reach their prime, Hedo would be on declined talent wise. And how are they going to develop Batum with Hedo getting all the mins? What are they going to do with Outlaw? I dont understand why they are so high on Hedo when its going to stunt the growth of their other players along with blowing up their cap space…
Melvin
July 3rd, 2009
2:58 pm
Ariose,
Please impress me by posting some links to our 2nd rd pick this year….
Ernest
July 3rd, 2009
3:01 pm
Sekou, see my post @ 10:27 on 7/2. You may want to check with your spies to see what monies outside the MLE that Houston would have to pay ZaZa. I could see San Antonio and possibly Orlando checking with ZaZa to see if there is interest.
Melvin
July 3rd, 2009
3:12 pm
I wouldn’t rule out Chills signing his QO from the Hawks and playing out this season to become an UFA for the 2010 season when alot of teams will have cap space under a possible better economy. With the type cash he made this past season (considering how much it was reported he would recieved after taxes), he probably took home more cash last year in Greece then he would have playing 2 years in the NBA. So maybe he’s willing to take a paycut for a season to shred that RFA status from around his neck…
James
July 3rd, 2009
3:15 pm
Sam i dont think the Luke Walton trade would be smart LUKE WALTON IS HORRIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Clyde
July 3rd, 2009
3:15 pm
The mentality of the organization needs to change. It seems to me all the Hawks want to do is put a team out that can make the playoffs. When will they put a team out that can win a championship?
Boston made it clear they want to win a championship by courting Rasheed Wallace. Cleveland made it clear they want to win a championship by adding Shaq. he Spurs made it clear they want to win a championship by adding RJ. The Lakers made it clear they want to win a championship by adding Ron Artest.
But what have the Hawks done. Add Jamal Crawford and Teague?
Lets cut to the chase. The Hawks will not get past the Celtics or Cleveland if they play them in a seven game series. Their front line just isn’t good enough. Hell if we bring Bibby back our back court isn’t good enough. We all saw how bad he was abused in the playoffs last year and this year.
So here is the question. If we are not going to win a championship what are we playing for in the 09-10 season? If we are not going to win a championship why are we wasting our time on this blog.
The Spirit Group needs to get it together. This team isn’t young anymore. Cut the crap and put a team together that has the ability to win a championship.
BrittishAnger
July 3rd, 2009
3:26 pm
We must shore up the big men in the 2nd stage of free agency (the first stage is obviously going to be our rehiring Bibby and either giving up on Childress or matching an offer and watching him bolt back to Greece). I loved watching Chris Wilcox play in Maryland, and I think he’s got something to bring to the table, though Zaza is a must return because of the grit he brings to the floor anytime we obviously need it (Miami series proved that again). I’m still in the market for picking up Mr. Siler as well, since we can pay him pinto beans as an undrafted, and assuming Solo will be coming back and an assumed rehire of Mr. Pachulia, that is some mean depth in the front court if we were to pick up the two of them (Wilcox and Siler). I’m now actually praying what happened with Josh last summer happens with Marvin this summer, some dumb offer comes across and saves us from actually having to deal with him directly and we can just match it safely. I don’t know who we’d really get in a sign and trade for him, and doubt I’d know until it actually happened, so I’ll argue for the simple alternative and let ka handle that breeze….
BrittishAnger
July 3rd, 2009
3:27 pm
Adding Richard Jefferson isn’t going to bring the Spurs a title…it shores up a few minor problems, but it isn’t the piece that will solve the puzzle for them…
niremetal
July 3rd, 2009
3:31 pm
Melvin,
Hedo’s a high-risk move for the Blazers – yet another in an offseason already full of high-risk signings (Artest, Gordon, Hedo) and trades (Shaq, Vince). My guess is that 4 of the previous 5 don’t work out as planned. If I had to put my money on one failing, it would be Shaq to the Cavs; if I had to put my money on one succeeding, it would be Artest to the Lakers (the Zen Master can handle anyone, I think).
And by the way – I’m laughing my ass off at Trevor Ariza. Did he really think he was worth 5 years at $10M per?? What was agent smoking?? If he’d been patient, he might have gotten at least a bit more than the mid-level – and he should have been patient, because his stock will never be higher than it is this offseason.
I’m with Sekou – the Rockets took a step back by basically trading Artest for Ariza. Ariza had a cushy role in LA in an offensive system that gave him a crazy number of open looks. On the bright side, he won’t have to be the featured defender in Houston because Battier is still there…but how on earth do the Rockets think Ariza can replace what Artest brought on either end of the floor?
I’m usually a fan of Morey, but this offseason has me thinking twice. His supposed offer of Battier and Brooks for Rubio, if true, was the first thing that had me wondering what was up. Spending their mid-level on Ariza – instead of re-signing Artest and saving their mid-level to sign a decent big man as insurance for Yao – is just mind-boggling.
niremetal
July 3rd, 2009
3:33 pm
Clyde,
I’m still waiting for you to stop bitching and make a useful suggestion as to what the Hawks can do.
UGA
July 3rd, 2009
3:38 pm
Houston is so far over the cap, if they did sign Zaza, they’d have to do a sign-n-trade with us. I guess we’d want Landry or Hayes, maybe a pick.
I’d love to have Wilcox.
Ariose
July 3rd, 2009
3:39 pm
probably figured that their run was over. T-Mac/Yao era over. Wanted to swap artest for a younger piece to rebuild.
Melvin:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayUlagns6f8
Ariose
July 3rd, 2009
3:40 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80xYj0nC55U