Josh Childress Wants To Go To Europe?

[cyanide]

What is so great about Childress again? The Hawks didn't seem to care enough about him to let him start or anything.

I'm doing this for benji. Statistically, he's one of the best at getting to the rim.

[Andrew]

Nevermind. I forgot about Carlos Delfino, and apparently there's a slew of other people.

"It's obviously a bit different, being the first player to do something like this," Childress said on a conference call. "But I think it's a great opportunity, and it's going to be a great experience for me."

First player? Really?

He might be the first american born player to go overseas. Of course you cant count international players coming to the NBA and then going back, or players who were born in america, that went overseas because they couldnt get a job in the NBA.

Not even close. Darryl Dawkins and Rolando Blackman were two American born players who decided to go overseas after playing in the NBA (and as Ben pointed out, Dominique Wilkins later did the same) so Childress is hardly the first. His situation is different though in that he's doing it much earlier in his career at a time when he'd likely be in a prominent role if he opted to continue his career in the NBA.

[homicide1550]

Josh Smith would probably be the next one to get out of Atlanta...

[Alejandrov011]

Wait

In this case we can say that Delfino is the first...

But if we look for the first young player to travel to Europe WITHOUT PLAYING THERE BEFORE and with others NBA teams wanting him... he is the 1st.


But that is normal... I don't know why he says it like a goal acomplished... :S

[Laxation]

no way. it's a bluff to put pressure on the Hawks to make an offer.

nostradamus ftw

[Billie]

Cedric Ceballos played in the Philippines. How about that?

[Andrew]

But if we look for the first young player to travel to Europe WITHOUT PLAYING THERE BEFORE and with others NBA teams wanting him... he is the 1st.

Even that is a bit of a stretch. I'm not sure that he's the first, but his situation is rare.

[The X]

I like the move for both Childress & the NBA....I'm a big fan of Childress' game, even to the point where I'd want him on my team & sign him over a player like Josh Smith....but hey, that's just me....

[Andrew]

It will be interesting to see what ramifications this may have on the Hawks, beyond simply losing one of their key players. I mean, will it reflect poorly on management or will Childress be written off as impatient and stubborn?

[The X]

It will be interesting to see what ramifications this may have on the Hawks, beyond simply losing one of their key players. I mean, will it reflect poorly on management or will Childress be written off as impatient and stubborn?

I don't think it will reflect poorly on Childress at all....this all falls back onto the Hawks....for me, it also seems like the idea of restricted free agency has it's problems that need to be ironed out....I don't know what the answer is, but it may be a talking point during the next lockout....

EDIT: For me, I think teams are trying to overplay their hand by only making qualifying offers & then saying they will match whatever the market dictates....obviously if there are only 3 or 4 teams with cap space (& half of them not wanting to spend it yet), then there are going to be issues....you are seeing it with the Bulls (Deng & Gordon), with the Hawks (Childress & Smith), the Bobcats (Okafor), etc....the players are in a situation, sign the qualifying offer & become unrestricted....threaten to sign it & force a sign & trade....or sign in Europe for bigger, tax free dollars....there is no way Childress gets $10 mill per year in NBA like he's get in Europe (when you factor it being tax-free salary), so you can't blame him....the problem I see is that whenever he comes back, the Hawks still hold his rights so you may never see him back in the NBA....it's possible....lastly on Hawks, this is the team that has held David Andersen's draft rights for years & never made any real attempt to bring him over, despite their need for a player of his style, height & skills....but that's the Hawks for you....it's good they're going be back in lottery though, make way for the Bucks

[Andrew]

From what little we know about went down in the negotiations (which pretty much begins and ends with them falling through because the Hawks weren't about to do a sign-and-trade), I would say that the Hawks messed up. They could have accommodated Childress and benefitted in some way from it, instead he's bolted for Europe and they have nothing to show for it aside from a little cap space that will be gone if/when Josh Smith signs an extension.

However, less than a month has gone since teams can sign players so the Hawks weren't exactly given all offseason to work something out. To that end, how accommodating was Childress in the negotiations? Was he willing to give them enough time to get a deal done or did they just outright refuse, end of story, no further discussion? If it's the latter then it's all on the Hawks but if it's the former then they were put in a tough spot. That doesn't necessarily reflect badly upon Childress but it doesn't put the Hawks in as bad a light.

As far as restricted free agency is concerned...what could you really change? You could eliminate it completely but then teams don't have that security and players can hold them to ransom. You could bring it forward a year I suppose but you're still going to run into the same problems. Most players would accept the qualifying offer and then bolt if they're still keen to do so, so Childress is the exception rather than the rule.

[NovU]

scola was mvp of euro league or something. i wonder if childress could do the same in their league.

i guess childress decided to go for what's best for him. u can't really blame him cuz euro league was willing to commit to bring him over from nba. it's not only a big loss for the hawks but it's a bit of loss for nba as well. he seemed to be well nba ready player with potential. for sure he'll be missed by many fans.

[[Q]]

no way. it's a bluff to put pressure on the Hawks to make an offer.

nostradamus ftw

wow i was shocked. i figured there should be a lot of reluctance on many Americans' part in leaving family and friends to play over there. plus, i don't think they would put more money over friends and family, but hey i guess i was wrong.

[Andrew]

I still think it was a move intended to put pressure on the Hawks and that he'd still be in the NBA had they accommodated him but he was obviously serious about playing over there if the Hawks weren't going to budge.

[Sauru]

bah, good for him, the man is gonna get paid now, no way he makes that in the nba. not only that buy he is probably gonna be the main man where ever the hell it was he signed. better pay and better role? on top of that he gets to leave america before our next prez destroys it

[Erchamion]

no way. it's a bluff to put pressure on the Hawks to make an offer.

nostradamus ftw

wow i was shocked. i figured there should be a lot of reluctance on many Americans' part in leaving family and friends to play over there. plus, i don't think they would put more money over friends and family, but hey i guess i was wrong.

Yeah right and what about players from Europe, South-America, Asia and Australia who are leaving their home for the NBA.

Btw: both Nachbar and Krstic are going back to Europe.

[Fcuk Orlando]

If he and Josh Smith both leave, the Hawks will go back to being an atrocity. And with JJ, Bibby and Claxton's contracts, I don't think they would even have any cap space to show for it.

With every single team having their eyes on 2010, wouldn't it be funny if LeBron got a bigger offer in Europe?

He might play for a Euro team if he gets offered around 50 mill a year
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3520860

[Andrew]

Couldn't blame him, $50 mil per year dwarfs any single year salary in the history of the NBA, Michael Jordan's salary in the 97 and 98 seasons included. It would be a major coup if a European team could do it.

[cyanide]

Just for one or two years he said, which is no big deal. It's like MJ retiring for baseball, except he'll be a phenomenon in Europe with a huge wad of dough.

[Andrew]

And that's assuming it ever comes to fruition.

[Erchamion]

Just for one or two years he said, which is no big deal. It's like MJ retiring for baseball, except he'll be a phenomenon in Europe with a huge wad of dough.

A phenomenon in Europe i don't think so. Basketball is not a big sport in Europe, we play a different game and i think LBJ will not be that dominating, and europeans don't believe the hype like americans do.

Besides that Europe is not one big country but has 50 different countries. Nobody outside the country LBJ is playing cares if LBJ is playing in the USA or in another country in Europe.

[Jackal]

Europeans don't believe the hype like americans do.

Now there's a crock of shit if I ever heard it. Wuppie + Welpie. Hype much? Enough said.

[Matthew]

Just for one or two years he said, which is no big deal. It's like MJ retiring for baseball, except he'll be a phenomenon in Europe with a huge wad of dough.

How is this remotely close to MJ retiring to play baseball? If Lebron goes, it would be for money only.

[cyanide]

Just for one or two years he said, which is no big deal. It's like MJ retiring for baseball, except he'll be a phenomenon in Europe with a huge wad of dough.

How is this remotely close to MJ retiring to play baseball? If Lebron goes, it would be for money only.

That's pretty much what I said. The similarity with MJ is that they both left the NBA while they're still able to play in the NBA.

[Matthew]

But Jordan didn't goto baseball for money, so it's not a good comparison.