Posted by: sean on July 23, 2008 8:01PM EST any ideas on who we are looking to sign for free agency?

Posted by: EJP on July 23, 2008 8:11PM EST IM FROM GREECE ..AND OLYMPIAKOS IS MY TEAM!! I THINK KOKKALIS MADE A VERY GOOD PICK .. AND WE R HAPPY TO HAVE HIM WITH US.!!!

Posted by: G on July 23, 2008 8:29PM EST I just think the Hawks can never do what it takes for anything good to happen. They won 37 regular season games last year, losing 45, and still made the playoffs. Lucky for them that is how the NBA has the playoffs set-up. The Hawks have always been my #1 team. I think J Chill was a vital part of the future for the Hawks. Now what? His high strung energy will surely be missed. Obviously, he wasn't as happy as everyone thought he was. Oh well, I will keep watching, rooting, and wishing for big, big things for the Hawks.

Posted by: Andy on July 23, 2008 8:54PM EST I would rather have Josh Smith then throwing a lot of money toward Josh Childress and losing Smith.

Posted by: David on July 23, 2008 9:05PM EST The Atlanta Spirit really screwed this one up. You can't draft guys then let them go 3 years later. There is no commitment from the Atlanta Spirit to win. You can't be cheap and win in the NBA!

Posted by: Dee Jackson on July 23, 2008 9:05PM EST Come on lets just cut the crap out now? This situation is not all about money its about the organization and a bad coach and the opportunity to win. There are numerous players that take less money to win championships or be in the hunt for one. The problem this organization has had a history of making bad decisions, so its not like this is the first. A player plays to win once he wins he is marketable and the money will come. There have been guys that have been drafted to organizations that they did not want to play for go overseas and come back to different teams and become successful. This team has to keep its neucleus in tact first and then worry about free agency. Because there is no free agent that wants to come to a situation that can hender his carrer. Get serious about winning first, show the league and the fans you are serious and the players will be knocking on your door to come.

Posted by: Melanie on July 23, 2008 9:14PM EST Micah, you are absolutely right. You really shed light on the situation. Yes, it is shocking. But Chills has to move on to bigger and better things, he can't stay here forever. Thankyou Chills for everything you've done for Atlanta and we wish you much success! On the other side of things, I hope things pan out for us too. I wonder who we could possibly get?

Posted by: justin on July 23, 2008 9:15PM EST i just read the espn article on this topic..and they couldn't have said it any better..the hawks just screwed themselves over..they didn't lock up both joshes(which was supposedly their first priority), they didn't have any draft picks, and they haven't made any moves in the offseason. there was a quote in the espn article that said that Atlanta is one of NBA players favorite cities to visit, and the fact that no one wants to play here speaks volumes about hawks management. great job hawks management! and rick sund, great first impression!

Posted by: kreator7gr on July 23, 2008 9:16PM EST only Olympiakos!!The Aggelopoulos family(Olympiakos's owners) r great fans of Olympiakos at first n then owners.A critical hit on nba,proving that money makes the world go round.Chill drive us all insane.Good luck to the Hawks next year too!greetings from Greece!

Posted by: justin on July 23, 2008 9:22PM EST signing louis williams might be able to cushion the blow of losing childress

Posted by: J-Mill on July 23, 2008 9:24PM EST Does anybody remember game 3 of the playoffs when the showed all those former players that didn't make the playoffs with their new teams (Anthony Johnson, Al Harington and Royal Ivey) I wish nothing but the best for Chillz in Europe next but, when they show on the screen during the playoffs (if we make it) he'll get booed and loud too! We'll miss the trademark "baseline bro with the 'fro" and hope you come back after next year...I don't think Childress felt the love (emotion and money wise) and I just want him to know that we did love him down here and Atlanta and the ASG was just stupid to tell him they won't pay attention until they get throgh with the Josh Smith situation because your just as important as Smoove. -Peace

Posted by: giannis on July 23, 2008 9:29PM EST hi.i am from greece and i am olympiakos too.i want to ask hawks fans if childress is a good player and if he could be the best player in eyrope next year?i saw videos of him but i want your opinion for the player.thank you and good season to hawks

Posted by: big johny on July 23, 2008 9:30PM EST Alec, We're not going to see the Hawks in New Jersey any more or at the Garden, why should we committ our time to a bunch of bozoo's

Posted by: J-Mill on July 23, 2008 9:32PM EST We now have seven roster spots left on the team and here are my players I think we're going to sign: Josh Smith Mario West Jeremy Richardson Louis Williams Luke Jackson Kwame Brown Randolph Morris or Othella Hunter

Posted by: MisterT on July 23, 2008 9:55PM EST It'll be interesting to see, instead of seeing Euroleaguers adjusting to the NBA game and its aspects (3-steps in stead of 2, for example), seeing J-Chill adjusting to the euro-game. He's got the range and athleticism to make it happen in Greece. Now its time for the A'town team to fill a void.. I wish management good luck with filling the sixth man spot on the Hawks roster.

Posted by: giannis on July 23, 2008 10:05PM EST the rules ιn european basketball are the same with nba.2 steps,24 second for offense.we have 3 steps here in europe before 15 years.only the 3point shoot is at 6.75 and the 2010 will go at 7.25

Posted by: ray on July 23, 2008 10:23PM EST Well nobody should be surprised, the hawks have the worst management in the NBA. All they had to do this offseason was resgin TWO players thats it and they already lost one. WHY is the management so bad, WHY. For most teams this would have been a very easy offseason because they would have already resigned what they needed. After the series against boston everyone was excited and of course the management messed it all up. They better hurry up and resign smith because if they would have hurried to try and resign childress we could have both. Well thank you management

Posted by: Scott on July 23, 2008 10:30PM EST Micah, 10 million, ...really? Come on, you can't think anyone was talking about that for J-Chill. It was going to be mid-level plus. Not much under what he will be making in Europe. While there is more to this than money, this appears to be another time that the Atlanta Spirit can't capitalize on positive momentum. Both the Hawks and Thrashers have suffered through cheap rookie head coaches a Status quo of poor GM's. Their signings have been limited to 2nd-tier retread players for the Hawks and 3rd & 4th line talent for the Thrashers. I was hoping that the Bibby trade was a sign of things to come but, that does not appear to be the case. You have to take care of your core guys (and draft well, Marvin "shoulda been Chris Paul" Williams), and I have no faith that the ASG will do that. The only things that will keep J-Smooth a Hawk is a lack of cap space in the NBA and I don't think he is as worldly as Childress, so not as likely to go to overseas. Hoping for the Best (still). Go Hawks!

Posted by: Antonio on July 23, 2008 10:30PM EST Can someone tell me how Greek basketball teams have been able to spend so much money on players within the last few years? Seriously, their soccer clubs that are in the Champion's League are not even spending close to what the Basketball clubs are spending. Soccer is so much more popular there than basketball and the bonuses for making the Champion's League are really big!! This looks to me more like a money laundering scheme...

Posted by: ATL Hawks Chick on July 23, 2008 10:42PM EST Bye J-Chill Us Hawks fan will miss you, have a good time in Greece and show them exactly what you can do. LOVE YOU CHILLZ!!!!

Posted by: jake on July 23, 2008 10:55PM EST we should sign kwame brown and louis williams.

Posted by: disappointed ATL fan on July 23, 2008 10:56PM EST WOW....this waz my first year in atlanta and i had become a true hawks fan by the end of it.... and now the stupid management messed it all up... i mean WHO would you possibly re-sign Woodson when there are better coaches out there and especially seeing that him and Smith dont get along!!! I mean that was a terrible decesion... so i dont even think we are gonna get smith...i just hope the management can sign two good players to replace the two joshes and make smarter moves!! and as for Sund...not a great start!!

Posted by: Elizabeth aka "Fan Mom" on July 23, 2008 10:56PM EST Joshua Malik Childress, Good Things Happen To Good People, and You are One of the Great Ones ! Love You & Who is Going To Do Read To Achieve Now ???

Posted by: J.B. on July 23, 2008 11:11PM EST I am so tired of watching the Hawks screw up BIG TIME... I am an Atlanta fan across the board... Born and raised here.... These guys sign Mike but let Josh get away!!!!!!! Says ALOT about whether or not these guys REALLY know what they are doing. And to think I was going to buy season tickets.... YEAH RIGHT!!!!

Posted by: manuel on July 23, 2008 11:40PM EST he will be back in tha nba lets say in about 4 years

Posted by: b easy on July 24, 2008 12:09AM EST wow the atlanta hawks!! tisk tisk wat a bunch of idiots in the front office!!

Posted by: nateg#20 on July 24, 2008 12:40AM EST we should of got a draft pick and what we should of done was traded j chill for one of those guys the trailblazers had before they got batum THE HAWKS NEED TO BE MORE INTERNATIONAL LOOK AT THESE TEAMS FOR EXAMPLE MAVERICKS SPURS SUNS BIG TEAMS AND WHAT THEY HAVE GOOD INTERNATIONAL PLAYERS

Posted by: john on July 24, 2008 12:46AM EST Josh Chilldress had to sit and watch underachieving Marvin Williams. Josh was the 6th pick and never started after a great career at Stanford. Josh Smith started out of high school and is still uncoachable even though he is a great talent maybe the best overall player in the league. Everybody is Mike Woodson period he lost this team long ago and this Sund guy he dismantled the great Supersonics. Sund and Woodson are jokes.

Posted by: hawkfan on July 24, 2008 12:57AM EST hey, when rumors were speculating a few days ago that j-chill was in greece, i knew he was a goner from then because the lack of moves the hawks have done since free agency started three weeks ago with all this waiting bit us in long haul, even childress said he felt no urgency from the hawks organization so he wanted to see other options and felt going to greece will be him coming into his own, us hawks fans have seen this happen so many times when they say will we do everything to keep a player and then the opposite happens, just like what happened to jason terry (it took me awhile to get over that one) but at least childress will be in greece and not on another nba team, kind of bitter sweet cuz i still want to see him play and progress even if it was on another nba team, but now we have to move on and make some moves cuz what joe johnson said that come training camp time whoever is on our roster needs to be ready to play, go hawks! and another thing if fans do boycott on the hawks for a long period of time u can kiss this franchise goodbye and it will end up like the seattle sonics, which is like the saying "you never know what u got until its gone" ...keep ur head up hawks fans will come out on top from this somehow

Posted by: disgruntle fan on July 24, 2008 1:06AM EST winning teams achieve success in the nba with a quality bench , : meaning players capable of starting on sub-500 teams: we only had one player of that caliber on our bench , (josh childress), and management tried to play that leverage game and lost a fan favorite. way to go 30 yr. vet aka the new GM rick sund. remember that this is a new day. bottom line , both players should have been signed during the season , they would have felt appreciated and the dollar amount would`ve work for both sides

Posted by: Melanie on July 24, 2008 1:26AM EST WE LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU CHILL! WE WISH YOU MUCH SUCCESS AND HAPPINESS! I wish Philips Arena would throw a Farewell party for him and invite the fans to come also He truly was a fan favorite - I'm glad I got a picture and autograph from him

Posted by: Dorian on July 24, 2008 1:30AM EST I am agog at this ghastly news. Maybe he likes the ladies over there. To me, this shows that the NBA needs to clean up their image, Sterns vacuous apologies to fans about his league refs being corrupt, unfair and biased. The NBA is a Las Vegas gamblers best friend and AFRO POWER wants nothing to do with this mickey mouse league. Although, this shows he knows something is going to happen to the Hawks that will once again bring our team down. This is just sad.

Posted by: anthony on July 24, 2008 2:06AM EST I am a life long Atlanta native and Hawks fan. I enjoyed Mookie,Steve,and the likes of Dominic. For the life of me I can't understand why the Hawks management can never and I do mean never do the right thing! Josh Smith is priorty #1 !!!! If you can't get this right. You will l loose another fan! Good luck signing him. with that lame coach he doesn't like!!! Oh! ya'll just re-signed Mike Woodson. Oh well!

Posted by: kreator7gr on July 24, 2008 2:27AM EST someone commented earlier that the move of Chilldress in Olympiakos is a money laundring scheme.you should know that the Aggelopoulos family(owners of Olympiakos),is one of the richest families,not only in Greece,but worldwide.And the best part is that they are crazy fans of the team.Chilldress's money are secure.check out some articles n photos:http://www.sport.gr/default.asp?pid=4&aid=17232 http://www.olympiacos.org/#/Article/24474/

Posted by: Anonymous on July 24, 2008 2:44AM EST Hello from Greece! Chil was just the starter,more great players will follow in Europe because NBA is not so bright any more. THIRILOS 4 EVER WELCOME JOSH!!!

Posted by: takis on July 24, 2008 2:53AM EST first welcome to greece josh and second aggelpoulos is the president not kokkalis ejp :)

Posted by: lalas on July 24, 2008 3:28AM EST Hi all. I feel really sorry for NBA players coming in Greece and play in courts that host 1000 people and are far worse than the courts NBAers train in. Is it all about the money? ok he will play in Euroleague but he will also play in the Greek league and except 3 teams that have high standards and nice stadiums (again compared to other local ) he will have to play is ridiculous courts. I really don't understand why a player at that age with his carreer ahead leaves the NBA for Greece

Posted by: Peter D. on July 24, 2008 3:55AM EST The Spirit group prior to Sund are notorious for dragging their feet summer negotitans. New GM or not everything seems to be status quo. The perception would be different if they locked up their guys immediately. I think they would have been able to woo some decent free agent backups. They spoke about Childress and Smith like they could not lose them in any way. Ouch!!!!!! They should try to throw some cash at Iguodala or Deng or Gordon to make up for the loss. Congratulations Chilly!!!!!!!

Posted by: BigBoi on July 24, 2008 4:19AM EST Nice work Micah. For me, the worst thing is to have taken (for the organisation) just a "waiting position" instead of talking and making things happen. Yeah, we know J-Chill doesnt' "deserve" or "should get" more than what we proposed to him if we want to keep some monney in the belt for the next years. But you have to talk about all this! And I did'nt hear anything about this. They wanted to wait because with Clippers and Warriors out of race "they'll have no other choice". All right, that's a position. But in the NBA these days, that's not a great way to do, at all. And now they're kicked because they decided not to move, just wait. So, on one hand we can't blame the organisation because it would have been stupid to give 10 and 12 millions for both Josh, but on the other hand, that's even more stupid to have decided to wait and that they made a "fair proposition", and not to have negociate! That's an other bad news for the Hawks, and I don't even know how we're going to get some good free-agents with such a bad reputation. The worst thing I guess? They'll give maximum contract to Smoove, and that'll throw our monney away.

Posted by: jivo on July 24, 2008 4:30AM EST hello! i am from greece.yesterday a fun of olympiakos team said to me that childress is better player of dominique wilkins!!!!

Posted by: tom07 on July 24, 2008 6:10AM EST im from greece....im olympiakos.....just wait two or three years...... angelopouli brothers(the owners of olympiakos b.c.) will take and others NBA PLAYERS..........!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by: Steve G. on July 24, 2008 7:19AM EST For the dude that wrote the following..."Can someone tell me how Greek basketball teams have been able to spend so much money on players within the last few years? Seriously, their soccer clubs that are in the Champion's League are not even spending close to what the Basketball clubs are spending. Soccer is so much more popular there than basketball and the bonuses for making the Champion's League are really big!! This looks to me more like a money laundering scheme..." you have no clue how things work in Europe my friend. You're just to bitter that a European Team was able to sign a talent like Chill's. BBall is an equal important Sport in Europe, but you'de only know that if you followed European Sports. On another note, we're happy to have Chill's play for Olympiakos a Team with great tradition and History.

Posted by: thodoris on July 24, 2008 7:29AM EST 1st thing josh is a good player but he isn't dominique wilkins 2nd olumpiakos hasn't won the championship since 11 years before what makes you believe you can win it now??? with only one player 3rd olumpiakos may have the coach of greek national team and 6 players but the (only 4) players of panathinaikos are in the starting line-up 4th don't ask about childress see him on court

Posted by: Brooklyn, NY on July 24, 2008 7:51AM EST Greece is the best Europen country to play for. I was there for the 2004 Olympics, great people, great food, and beautiful beaches and homes. I've been to France and Russia where everything sucks. It is the weak dollar that makes it easier for the Greeks to spend big bucks. If someone offered me a contract in Greece, I would be there tomorrow!

Posted by: jay on July 24, 2008 7:59AM EST SIGN JOSH SMITH!!!!!then if there is enough $$$ offer a contract to iguadola,if not sign devan george!!!! START TODAY NO MORE DELAY SIGN JOSH SMITH BEFORE HE GOES AWAY!!!!!!!!!

Posted by: Anonymous on July 24, 2008 8:02AM EST I am a fun of olympiakos and its very nice ti sign a player from the best basketball championship in the world such as NBA. I think josh will help us and something else... good luck hawks.

Posted by: ROBERT on July 24, 2008 8:09AM EST YOU LOSE JOSH CHILDRESS.YOU ARE TRYING TO LOSE JOSH SMITH.YOU KEEP A PATHETIC COACH WHO CANT INSPIRE PLAYERS.YOU ARE A BUNCH OF IDIOTS WHO ACT LIKE YOU DON'T CARE IF WE EVER HAVE A WINNING TEAM AGAIN.

Posted by: hawksgirl on July 24, 2008 9:09AM EST I surely wish you didnt have to go and sign with greece chill but i wish all of the luck to you. you will be missed in atlanta and lets hope you cme back to play for us in about four years.

Posted by: J-Mill on July 24, 2008 9:19AM EST To all Greek fans, Childress is not going to be the next "chosen one" you think he will be, he's just a solid player with a lot energy and can make some crucial crazy layups and and1 plays...he's was the fourth or fifth best player on the Hawks last year. ARE YOU CRAZY?! CHILDRESS AIN'T NO DOMINIQUE WILKINS!!!!

Posted by: butch on July 24, 2008 9:21AM EST the hawks need to sign josh smith before the week is out.stop playing around and sign someone else thats out there that can help the team.

Posted by: TheOne on July 24, 2008 9:34AM EST Well after this last transfer i really think that if we actually play against you (Olympiakos vs Hawks) more likely you'll lose by far :P

Posted by: Star of the Zanarkand Abes! on July 24, 2008 9:44AM EST Good luck, J-Chill! Apparently your new owners and GM actually LOVE the game and know how to WIN. I would have done the same thing, especially after these ASG fools re-sign Woodson, playoffs or no playoffs! But Let's Go Hawks! ...unless you let J-Smoov slip away too...

Posted by: kevin jordan on July 24, 2008 9:57AM EST first give josh smith that max contract before we loose him too. then sign jermaine o neal.. now we can pay him the money that he wants or deserves. then u can have marvin williams take josh childrish place as 6 man.. 1. mike bibby 2. jo johnson 3. josh smith 4. al horford 5.jermain oneal I hope somebody pay attention to this and think about it.. it makes perfect since if u want a championship. for real.. stop letting players slip through the team hands.. everybody else getting better and we staying the same or getting worst.. u got to act now

Posted by: Jay on July 24, 2008 10:19AM EST I dont understand why yall get so fired up about Mike Woodson. Yes he make some mistakes like like all other coaches, BUT the bottom line is the record has improved EACH year he has been HERE!!! so to me resigning Mike Woodson was not bad.... GO HAWKS!!!!!!!

Posted by: pavlos on July 24, 2008 10:22AM EST thodori: it's not only one player, and I believe you know it quite well...;)...otherwise, you'll just have to feel it... TommyBoy, are you the TommyBoy I know? :D (hint:Rory)

Posted by: David on July 24, 2008 10:25AM EST You are nothing but a sold-out apologist for a bunch of crooks who think they have the right to screw the hopes of this city into the ground. Good franchises dont let this kind of thing happen. Worth it or not, luxury tax or no, this is the worst possible situation and your blog is the biggest piece of trash I've ever read.

Posted by: TommyBoy on July 24, 2008 10:45AM EST J-Mill : Noone said Chill's the size of Dominique , i only mentioned the best player you ever had and probably the best you ever will :P Pavlos: I don't think i know you dude

Posted by: Bigd on July 24, 2008 10:50AM EST Teams win with core players. Childress is a great core player. What do we get in return for his loss? He played several positions, played defense, slashed and played off the boards. What do we get in return? We already have a weak bench with no one knocking down the door to get here. What do we get in return?

Posted by: Tony Z on July 24, 2008 10:55AM EST First of all go HAWKS!!!, But seriously we suck as a orginization and we need to spend money to make money. I feel like we cant win for losing when it comes to players and keeping them. We go out and trade for BIBY five players (which was to much for a older player) which i felt like might work, but thinking about it down the road (which it hurt us in the playoffs)we sent all our whole bench.We have to get read of Woody he is such a harible coach who cant even get us in to the five hundred club.This new GM is no better and who ever runs our personel department is the reason we have been sucking. Please some body give them a clue to what winning is all about, and can we please sign josh smith before we screw that up to.

Posted by: imtmac on July 24, 2008 11:10AM EST The best thing about J Chill was that he is a great person off the court as well. Its hard to find many like him in the league. Great guy, and pretty good player at the NBA level. He will definitely be missed. I would have rather traded Josh Smith for something big, then let chill go. At least he played hard all the time. Josh Smith plays about a third of the time and thats only at home. We dont need a highlight film, we need wins and somebody that gets after it everynite! He is so overated....

Posted by: Anonymous on July 24, 2008 11:49AM EST well what a surprize NOTT!!! the hawks better resign josh smith and some other good free agents. they had two things to do this summer SIGN CHILL AND SIGN SMITH-they already blew the first thing.

Posted by: Kent Aberle on July 24, 2008 12:02PM EST I think Josh did what's best for Josh and I have no problem with that. I'm sad to say it but Josh is just one of many NBA players that will end up going to foreign leagues. We have our country's front office, not the Hawks', to blame for that. With the dollar as poor as it is, I guarantee you agents will be exporting more NBA players to Europe to play. Hell, Budweiser sold out to a Foreign company....The American Laguer. Also, the competition of the Euro-game has caught up with the NBA, as shown in the world and olympic games. The NBA is much more star/individual based where the Euro-game is more team structured. I think J-Chil will strive in that format. Greece is a beautiful place and I wish him all the best there. Now, we need our front office to really focus on where we're at. Sign J-Smooth, and use that cap room to pick up a GOOD veteren big man to partner up with Horford to provide a strong backline. We opened eyes in the playoffs last year. Now is the time to make sure those eyes stay open and not fall back asleep like past years! Go Hawks!

Posted by: Melanie on July 24, 2008 12:13PM EST Childress truly was a class act. I hope and pray that he'll come back after a year

Posted by: JohnW on July 24, 2008 12:55PM EST Why are so many people upset that Chillz left for Greece? I don't get it. He wasn't worth the money he wanted, plain and simple. Yes, he was great off the bench. And I'm no fan of Woodson, by any stretch of imaginatin, but there is a reason that Goofy(Marvin) starts over him. I would NOT retain his rights at all...use that money to build the roster. Oh, and as much as I love Josh Smith, he is not even close to being the best player in the NBA (someone actually posted that on here). If he's not retained, it would be bad...UNLESS...he's used as a sign and trade and better pieces are brought back. He's not happy here...so accomodate him to bring back 2 starters. Also, why are people asking to sign Louis Williams? WHERE WOULD HE PLAY???? You can't say PG...ATL has 3 already and you can't get rid of any of them (unless you find someone dumb enough to trade...and NOONE is taking Speedy). Anyway, enough ranting. I hope ATL has this roster completed within the next month..because the longer all this drags out, the worse they look to the rest of the NBA. ATL has a hard enough time getting F.A's to come here to play...will be even harder if they keep dragging this out. Of course, all of us Hawks fans would expect NOTHING LESS from the ASG...the absolute worse ownership in ALL OF PROFESSIONAL SPORTS!!!!!!! I would honestly take half the money offered from this group to work at McDonald's before accepting any type of job with these bunch of idiots!!! Thank heavens I'm military and don't have to worry about it.

Posted by: on the brighter side on July 24, 2008 12:59PM EST yeah we lost Childress. ok it's time to move on because that was yesterday's news. on the brighter side of things let's give the money to Josh Smith. he is scores more points and plays defense. and brings more excitement to the game. let jeremy richardson or othello hunter take Childress' place. and bring back mario. since childress is gone let's not dwell on this. there are things still to be done. Get Josh Smith back with the team. or else watch your season and fan base die.

Posted by: Jamal Mc. on July 24, 2008 12:59PM EST We Definitely Need 2 Look At Signing Louis Williams, The Boy Can Ball!! And Kwame Brown Can Really Help Al Horford In The Paint...

Posted by: Alexander on July 24, 2008 1:01PM EST Olympiakos is one of the biggest teams in Europe guys and they gave him an offer that he couldn't ressist!In nowdays basketball in Europe is in very high levels and most of the teams (including Olympiakos) do not doubt to give lots of money for good players...so more and more NBAers are moving to Europe!Aggelopoulos brothers (owners of Olympiakos b.c) gave crazy money this year for building the new O.S.F.P b.c team,including the money to J. Chill. who became the most well-payed player in the history of Greek besketball...so why not for him to come?It's a big opportunity for him to become the "flag" of one of the biggest clubs in European basketball and play more than he was going to play in NBA.I'm Greek and Olympiakos fan so I know exactly what happens in Greek basketball. Greetings to everyone, Alexander Giannakakis

Posted by: Michael Stamatogianopoulos on July 24, 2008 1:04PM EST I am a fan of the Greek club Olympiakos. I really feel very lucky because Josh is member of my team. Olympiakos goes for European Champion.

Posted by: frustrated with the desktop wallpaper on July 24, 2008 1:05PM EST please update the wall paper. take the josh childress ones off, and make some new ones with acie law, solomon jones, and the other players on the team who doesn't have one. also a team one would be nice. a team picture in the new jerseys would be great. make a wall paper for all the players there are acie, solomon, mario, jeremy, and salim fans too.

Posted by: 1von on July 24, 2008 1:08PM EST I feel the organization is being selfish with the money. I also feel that they diden't try as hard as they was telling everyone, but i hope when it comes to josh smith it would be a different story. we can sign back josh smith, and offer j.r. smith an contract, and maybe sign somebody like kwame brown, because i believe he hasn't reached his full nba potential.

Posted by: who cares about greece on July 24, 2008 1:10PM EST stop posting things about the greek club that Josh Childress signed with who cares about that. this is a Hawks basketball blog. and right now the only thing I as a fan cares about is getting my Atlanta Hawks team together. J Chill is yesterday's news. he is no longer a Hawk so forget him. he was never one of my favorites anyway. Lets focus on the team and who will be on it. Greek people stop posting on this blog. you need to quit. you are taking up valuable space reserved for Hawks fan. THIS IS A BLOG FOR HAWKS FANS! KILL THE GREEK TEAM COMMENTS. WHO CARES. GET OFF OUR BLOG.

Posted by: Jdizzle on July 24, 2008 1:20PM EST Here is the real scoop. Josh did this thing for Josh because cash was his only intrest it looks like. This only proves that alot of NBA players don't care about the game less than money. But, we blame this on 2 front offices, DC and the Hawks. DC is to blame because whatever Bush and his 'sidekicks' are doing are screwing up the US Dollar. If the US Dollar hadn't dropped we all would see J-Chill in a Hawks uniform this season. The Hawks organization is also to blame because instead of offering J-Chill an offer the Hawks sat there until somebody did. And well, you know the rest. What has to happen is a signing of Josh Smith before week's end or for all we know he could be sitting with $30mil/year with Olympiakos. The cons for Chill are that he may not develop as fast because of weaker compitition. This is bad for the NBA also. They should thank god that it is only J-Chill and some other players because soon it could Lebron in 2010 or Wade in 2010. This all goes back to the US dollar getting weaker.

Posted by: CSM on July 24, 2008 1:23PM EST Micah, Your letter was thoughtful and factual, so far as the facts of what happened here and publicly known. There is no question the upside-down relationship between the US$ and the Euro had a big role in this deal.. But where is the accountability for the team not re-signing Childress a year ago? Or horror of horrors, if Smith leaves too, the accountability for the decision to not re-sign an even more important asset? Blame it on Knight, if you want. He's gone and no regrets about that, but it seems to me the ownership group has been involved from the start. This debacle didn't just happen out of the blue..A series of decisions was made and here's where we are. Hopefully Sund pulls a rabbit out of his hat because 2008-2009 is off to not such a great start.

Posted by: ibai on July 24, 2008 1:38PM EST the money is the money

Posted by: Anonymous on July 24, 2008 1:39PM EST I say the Hawks sign Luol Deng he is a great player and would be pefecr for the hawks.. The hawks should also sign josh smith and trade smith ( becasue he doesnt want to play for woodson) for a good foward ( someone like Prince from detroit) and a mid level center ( amir johnson). Maybe detroit might be willing to do that tarde ???

Posted by: Anonymous on July 24, 2008 1:41PM EST How about we atleast try to sign emeka okafor... and if teh bobcats sign him then we could tarde smith for him and someone else ???

Posted by: Anonymous on July 24, 2008 1:51PM EST Kelenna Azubuike and Quinton Ross would be a good options for the hawks as well....

Posted by: Anonymous on July 24, 2008 1:53PM EST Andris Biedrins is awsome i think the hawks need him to fill the center positon, i hope Sund atleast gives him a decent offer

Posted by: Redbill on July 24, 2008 2:22PM EST Posted by: who cares about greece on July 24, 2008 1:10PM EST Answer in this comment! Well my friend i am from greece and i write everywhere comments.Because a small country of 10.000.000 people take a great player of NBA.And for this reason you care about greece.It`s hurts aha???Nevermind you are a poor american! hahahaha

Posted by: Anonymous on July 24, 2008 2:26PM EST I think the hawks should resign smith and tarde smith,marvin and speedy for Jannero Pargo and Tyson Chandler .

Posted by: Original 21 on July 24, 2008 2:34PM EST Its obvious that those dumb Olympiakos fans don't know a thing about Childress. They get one player from the NBA and all of a sudden they think the championship is in their hands, malakes...

Posted by: VTK on July 24, 2008 2:34PM EST OK FOLKS. NOW THAT CHILLS IS GONE, WHAT'S HOLDING UP JOSH SMITH? WE DON'T WANT OR NEED KWAME BROWN AND ALL HIS ISSUES. PLEASE HAWKS, WHOEVER YOU HIRE MAKE SURE THEY COME TO IN TO WORK HARD AND WIN AND BUILD OFF YOUR PLAYOFF EXPERIENCE AND GET THE RESPECT BACK!!!!!!

Posted by: Peter on July 24, 2008 3:23PM EST PATHETIC MANAGEMENT GROUP! THE HAWKS OWNER MUST HAVE THOUGHT THIS TEAM WAS VERY DEEP AND CHILDRESS WAS EXPENDABLE. THIS IS SO TYPICAL! SO LONG TO AFRO-POWER

Posted by: Giorgos14 on July 24, 2008 3:33PM EST I am from Greece.....I already bought CHildress new jersey...Thank you Atlanta for the gift.....Kokalis isn't anymore president of Olympiakos basket....the family of Aggelopoulwn own the team 3 years now.....Thank you again

Posted by: tired of the greece comments on July 24, 2008 3:49PM EST once again greek people get the heck off our blog. childress is gone so what. we still have other players on the team who are more interesting, looks better, plays better, and has more fans. the important thing right now is to re-sign J Smoove and get a center. that is what the fans of the Hawks wants right now. we really never cared if J Chill left the team, but we really do care if J Smoove leaves the team. fudge J Chill and the Greeks. STOP POSTING COMMENTS ABOUT THE GREEK CLUB THIS IS A HAWKS BLOG! GET OFF OUR BLOG! JOSH CHILDRESS IS YESTERDAY'S NEWS! GOOD FOR YOU! BETTER FOR US THAT WE HAVE MORE MONEY TO GIVE TO J SMOOVE! J CHILL WENT WHERE HE WAS MOST WANTED OVERSEAS! NOW CAN WE GET ON WITH GETTING OUR TEAM TOGETHER!

Posted by: Anonymous on July 24, 2008 4:00PM EST You dont know a lot about european basketball....gradually the euro league will over pass the NBA(like in 15-20 years)because simply the euro is much stronger than the dollar and will be getting stronger....Also Aggelopouloi bros are the owners of Olympiakos and they are not doing any money laundring FCS the guys have like a zilion oil tunkers and are billioners ...they are also Giannakopouloi bros(who own Panathinaikos)and are billioners,too...Russians owners have also a lot of money and invest them in basketball..+Spain....Europe has a lot of potential of developing and is a much better place to live....greetings

Posted by: the hawks web site is laughable on July 24, 2008 4:03PM EST what the heck happened to the summer league picture in the news. how is a-town dancers important news. a-town dancers news needs to come off. put the summer league news back up. geesh you guys care more about the no count dancers than the team. nobody comes to the games to see them anyway. we buy tickets to see the hawks. come on who ever runs this web site. all the other teams have better sites than us.

Posted by: knows that Josh Childress is posting these greek comments on July 24, 2008 4:08PM EST stop putting these comments on here J Chill. you are the only thinks that Greece is a better place to live than the US. in 15-20 years you will be too old to play for any league period. once again leave this blog. it is for Hawks fans only. get to stepping and talk to the hand. now good day!

Posted by: MoneyM on July 24, 2008 4:11PM EST what about kobe? he has a bigger recognizable factor than Lebron and he's the best in the league. Imagine some big time Euro league team owner offering KB about 90 million Euro over 5 years to sign with an Euro team. He'd get endorsements which might be nother 30-40 million euro if not more. at minimum that'd be 120 million Euro with less taxes and that will leave him with about 100 million Euro for himself, about 150 million US dollars. now thats crazy!!!! NBA should be very scared. Now should they offer those contracts to Lebron, Kobe and Wade at the same time??? the league as we know it would be over.

Posted by: fudge lebron and kobe this is a Hawks Blog on July 24, 2008 4:18PM EST stop talking about what happens to lebron, kobe, and wade. that is not an issue with the Hawks unless they become Hawks players. THIS IS A HAWKS BASKETBALL BLOG IDIOTS! AS A HAWKS FAN THE ONLY PLAYERS I CARE ABOUT ARE HAWKS PLAYERS OR FUTURE HAWKS PLAYERS. AND SO SHOULD YOU! THIS BLOG STINKS BECAUSE YOU ARE MESSING IT UP WITH TALK OF STUFF THAT IS NOT HAWKS RELATED!

Posted by: kimon on July 24, 2008 4:37PM EST Oh come on.If Hawks buy a big name from a Greek team ,the same things you will do on blogs team.Anyway good luck Hawks

Posted by: dwade on July 24, 2008 5:18PM EST well since josh childress is gone check dis starting lineup out mike bibby monta ellis joe johnson josh smith al horford now thats a beast lineup

Posted by: ilias on July 24, 2008 5:35PM EST Don't you worry all of you Atlanta Hawks fans cause Childress is coming back to you soon, probably after half a year or so, when Olympiakos owners will realize that he isn't a major star like they thought he was and they will be having all local fan support they so desperately looking for in Greece. Them guys are totally insane after loosing championships year after year from their major opponent in Greece, Panathinaikos of Athens, that they could even bring back from the dead and sign Wilt Chamberlain if this would make them a champion.

Posted by: Anonymous on July 24, 2008 6:34PM EST OMFG u guys are being STUPID.WHO cares about childress and the greeks ( u greeks need to stop postening retarded things on OUR blog) OK GUYS LETS TALK ABOUT PLAYERS WE CAN GET INSTEAD OF TALKING ABOUT CHILDRESS, THATS THE POINT OF THIS BLOG!!!! SO IF U GUYS HAVE NOTHING ELSE TO SAY DONT SAY ANYTHING!!!!TALK ABOUT POTENTIAL PLAYERS

Posted by: k k on July 24, 2008 6:35PM EST THIS IS GREAT NEWS ABOUT J.CHILL!!! FIRST OF ALL... MANAGEMENT DECIDES NOT TO OPT ALTON LISTER BACK AS IN ASST.COACH...THE ONLY NEW ASSISTANT THAT CAME ON BOARD LAST YEAR AND WORKED HARD WITH THE BIGS... JUST TO GET THEIR OWN COACHING BUDDIES A POSITION THIS SEASON. THAT WAS DEAD WRONG!!! THE TEAM SPENT LAST YEAR BUILDING A RAPPORT TO GO TO THE PLAYOFFS. AND THEY DID A GREAT JOB! NOW! MANAGEMENT CHANGES THE WHOLE PROGRAM....YOU CAN NOT DO THAT.!!..IT IS BEST TO WORK WITH WHAT YOU KNOW THAN WHAT YOU DON'T... THIS YEAR THE TEAM WILL NOT GO CLOSE TO THE PLAYOFFS..... THEY WILL SEE THE PLAYOFFS AGAIN IN THE NEXT 10 YEARS !!!!I DON'T BLAME J-CHILL !! I WOULD LEAVE TOO!!! CHILL!!!

Posted by: Frederick on July 24, 2008 6:39PM EST Micah is right. You can't throw all this money at one player. You got to make decision that are not popular. The team is bigger than one player. The criticism is shallow. The Hawks are still far away from contention even with both joshes in fold. We need to be fiscally responsible. Just imagined the Hawks over the cap with no money to sign other players. Rick Sund made a sound business decision.

Posted by: mike toumba on July 24, 2008 6:45PM EST even if they get michael jordan (olympiacos) they will lose in paok sports' arena again.Only PAOK.www.paokbc.gr- www.paokfc.gr-www.fcpaok.gr-www.paokmania.gr-www.ultraspaokl.gr. PAOK.WE ARE EVERYWHERE. THE BETTER FANS IN THE WORLD.AND MACEDONIA IS GREEK.

Posted by: Examining the numbers on the Childress deal on July 24, 2008 7:10PM EST Either way you slice it Olympiakos was offering more, including an annual salary nearly twice the value of the Hawks' offer annually: — Olympiakos offered three years and $32.5 million, which after taxes paid by the club becomes a net of salary of about $6.7 million a year for Childress. — The Hawks offered five years and $33 million, which after taxes paid by Childress becomes a net salary of about $3.4 million per year for Childress. — In addition to the double-stuffed salary Olympiakos also pays for all of Childress' living expenses, including luxury accommodations, a car and driver and maid service. — Childress also has an annual opt-out clause in the contract that will allow him to weigh his NBA options, as a restricted free agent provided the Hawks tender a qualifying offer to him, every summer. — There is no buyout clause in the contract, meaning Childress won't have to negotiate a compensation package for Olympiakos if he were to return to the NBA before the end of the three year deal. http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/hawks/stories/2008/07/23/hawks_childress_contract_numbers.html

Posted by: Numbers on July 24, 2008 7:13PM EST Examining the numbers on the Childress deal Either way you slice it Olympiakos was offering more, including an annual salary nearly twice the value of the Hawks' offer annually: — Olympiakos offered three years and $32.5 million, which after taxes paid by the club becomes a net of salary of about $6.7 million a year for Childress. — The Hawks offered five years and $33 million, which after taxes paid by Childress becomes a net salary of about $3.4 million per year for Childress. — In addition to the double-stuffed salary Olympiakos also pays for all of Childress' living expenses, including luxury accommodations, a car and driver and maid service. — Childress also has an annual opt-out clause in the contract that will allow him to weigh his NBA options, as a restricted free agent provided the Hawks tender a qualifying offer to him, every summer. — There is no buyout clause in the contract, meaning Childress won't have to negotiate a compensation package for Olympiakos if he were to return to the NBA before the end of the three year deal.

Posted by: thrilos... on July 24, 2008 7:34PM EST Hallo NBA!!! I'm from Greece and I support OLYMPIAKOS! I'm very huppy with the transfer of Childress.ANGELOPOYLOI ARE THE BEST!!! I know that he is o supersonic-player and a very friendly person. He will help us to win the Euroleage and other trophies. But he is not the only good and well paid player in the roster of OLYMPIAKOS. PAPALOYKAS, SKORETSIANITIS,GREER, BASILOPOYLOS, BUISITS AND MATSIGIAOUSKAS are some of them. They had suggestions to play NBA or they played there. The level of the Greek and European basketball is very high. NOT long far than yours as you believe...In Europe and especialy in Greece and Italy the teams have strong defence, stronger than yours.And if you don't remember we won the 'dream team' 2 years ago. And it is not strange that we spend so much money for basketball my friend Antonio. OLYMPIAKOS and PANATHINAIKOS are two of the best clubs in Europe and know they are on the top. And above all we love basketball!!! Remember these words: more AND MORE NBA players will come in Greece or in Europe next years. Have a nice summer!

Posted by: Loyal Hawks Fan on July 24, 2008 7:35PM EST I do not like this new GM at all. I feel with childress gettin away that he is just as good if not worse than Billy Knight( and thats saying a lot). With Childress leavin i am not lookin for to the season as much as i was before. I would of loved to of seen this unique bunch of Hawks play another season. Another point is that nobody in the NBA wants to play for Mike Woodson. He is a terrible coach and lets distractions get in the way of his coaching(as shown in the playoffs last year when all he could do was hint for a new contract instead of coaching his team). I feel like once again the Hawks organization is dsyfunctional and just a big pile of trash. Hopefully this new GM will prove me wrong and fix what he just messed up.

Posted by: Antonio on July 24, 2008 8:07PM EST It's a sign of the times when European teams are able to steal American stars from the NBA.Years ago the only American players that would come to Europe were either on the verge of retirement, had a drug problem, or were fresh out of college. Now, it looks that a new trend might have been started with the signing of Childress from Olympiakos. I think that European basketball has grown very strong over the last few years to the point where some nba stars are entertaining the idea of eventually playing in Europe. I grew up in Thessaloniki Greece which at one point was the mecca of Greek basketball during the mid-late eighties, and I personally attended many of the historical ARIS vs PAOK battles at the pale de sport! Those of you who know Greek basketball should know what I'm talking about! My point being that the times are changing.The U.S. has been loosing it's socio/economic/political edge over Europe and the rest of the world for the last decade. When one of it's greatest foundations like the NBA starts to crumble, people might one to take a deeper look into what's wrong with the American society....

Posted by: Anonymous on July 24, 2008 9:52PM EST OMFG u guys are being STUPID.WHO cares about childress and the greeks ( u greeks need to stop postening retarded things on OUR blog) OK GUYS LETS TALK ABOUT PLAYERS WE CAN GET INSTEAD OF TALKING ABOUT CHILDRESS, THATS THE POINT OF THIS BLOG!!!! SO IF U GUYS HAVE NOTHING ELSE TO SAY DONT SAY ANYTHING!!!!TALK ABOUT POTENTIAL PLAYERS. NO GREEKS PLZ I MEAN U GUYS GOT CHILDRESS THATS GOOD FOR YOU BUT THERE ARE MUCH BETTER PLAYERS IN THE NBA STILL SO DONT GET TOO OVER YOUR HEADS GREEKS.

Posted by: Anonymous on July 24, 2008 10:49PM EST SIGN JOSH SMITH!!!!!!!!!!!!! MAKE AN OFFER TO ELLIS! NO ELLIS? SIGN DEVAN GEORGE!

Posted by: milan on July 25, 2008 12:35AM EST lets sign the MACHINE . sasha vujacic josh did what we all would have done, get paid more and live on the beach

Posted by: Evan on July 25, 2008 12:46AM EST Chills is like anyone of us. If you are offered more money and it is not matched you go to more money which is best for your family in the long run... Financial aspects are tough everywhere but to drag the feet was stupid the real question is " can they learn from thier mistake, correct it and remember it so it won`t happen again Fool me once shame on you Fool me twice shame on me I go way back to the days of Walt Bellamy Super Lou Hudson and they bought in a kid with the nickname of Pistol Pete

Posted by: Stefan on July 25, 2008 12:48AM EST Stop blaming hawks ownership an rick sund. I hate the atlanta spirit group as much as the next guy, but seriously 10 million a year for J - Chill? Thats WAY to much for him to be making. Hes good but not that good.

Posted by: Sheila on July 25, 2008 1:09AM EST So far, I love the way Hawks Management have gone about the Free Agency period !!! Losing Josh was certianly a tough and unexpected blow, but he has made his decsion to move on and so should we !!! I for one am extremely happy, that our Management Team chose not to get into a bidding war and offer a contract that would limit the team's options for years to come ! I am still extremely optimistic about our future, since we finally have the kind of leadrership capable of making tough - but smart business decisions like these ! Go Hawks and GOD Bless Our Team !

Posted by: RDSA on July 25, 2008 1:34AM EST I think that this is one of the most intelligent business decisions I have seen by a professional basketball player. Childress is still young, and the Greece league gives him a chance to shine. I am very disappointed as a lifelong Hawks fan, but cannot hate on him for thinking about his future. His baseline game is reminiscent of Marion, and perhaps this will provide him with the much needed confidence his game has been lacking. My biggest concern is finding a replacement for his locker-room presence. His actions on and off the court have added to the rejuvenation of the Hawks. I can only hope that one year in Greece will be enough for him, and then maybe we will see him in a Hawks jersey again. I still have to respect the fact that he chose financial security over a sixth man position on an under five hundred club.

Posted by: Anonymous on July 25, 2008 2:42AM EST FLASHNEWS : Olympiacos B.C. spokesman last night statement : We're still looking into a couple NBA free agent cases. Josh Smith is one of them although we haven't approached him yet and we don't really know if he's willing to come to Europe and if we can meet his price and requirements. Nevertheless Josh Childress' transfer is the biggest in Europe this summer considering his age and his potential and hopefully could open a door for other good and top NBA players to cross the ocean. Source : Unknown I'm gonna dig to see if there's any truth in this.

Posted by: josh johsnon on July 25, 2008 3:46AM EST I hate to see chill go becuase he was such a good guy, but I cant say iam not happy about the more shots and playing time this means for Marvin. Go Hawks

Posted by: alex on July 25, 2008 8:32AM EST AIR MJ 23 retired.....nba action died....i am from greece and i hope these young players brouht up nowdays will spend less time in magazines and more on court.nba has to rise again soon.mr stern wake up!!

Posted by: BUTCH on July 25, 2008 12:33PM EST another day those duck pluckers have not sign j smoove domnick needs to be the gm

Posted by: FLASH on July 25, 2008 2:04PM EST After a "good" year for the Atlanta Hawks, nothing but garbage in the offseason. In order for the Hawks to make the next step and not simply make the playoffs but maybe win a series or two these things needed to happen: 1. Sign a new coach, a worthy and smart coach. There were and still are candidates available that are head and shoulders more respectable than Mike Woodson. 2. Sign BOTH of the Joshs. I know Childress is gettin paid big time in Greece so this isn't really that big of a deal. The Hawks weren't really going to prevent this one it doesn't sound like. I think Smith needs to grow a lot mentally before he will ever be a great player but he has the tools, sign him for the long run! 3. Get a CENTER so that Horford can play the 4. I would love to see the Hawks get Emeka Okafor b/c he can run and block shots. Camby would have been nice as well, but Okafor is very young and would fit well with the young Hawks. Bibby Johnson Smith Horford Okafor

Posted by: mike toumba on July 25, 2008 3:22PM EST I agree with Antonio .Thessaloniki is the Mecca of greek basketball.The teams of Athens ,Olympiacos and Panathinaikos are at the top because they have a lot of money to spend nowadays.Thessaloniki:The capital of Macedonia.Macedonia is greek.And ONLY PAOK.The best fans in the world.(PAOK is the pre-NBA PEJA STOJAKOVIC team. And his favourite team.We believe that he will become ourwner after the end of his NBA career and then many NBA stars will play in Greece for PAOK.

Posted by: Anonymous on July 25, 2008 3:26PM EST Our owner.It was a fault.

Posted by: AT ONE TIME A HAWKS FANS!!! on July 25, 2008 4:48PM EST WHERE DID ALL THE COACHING STAFF GO? WHERE IS ALTON LISTER? THE BIGS DID A WONDERFUL JOB THIS PAST SEASON...ALTON WORKED WITH THE BIGS...WHERE IS ALTON DOG?

Posted by: Anonymous on July 25, 2008 9:29PM EST EVANS!!!!YAY... the GM finally did something good!!!!

Posted by: FLASH on July 25, 2008 10:20PM EST Maurice Evans is a great pickup. If the Hawks can sign Josh Smith and get a legitimate center to get Horford to the 4, they should be a playoff contender again.

Posted by: Anonymous on July 25, 2008 10:37PM EST let chilldress go we still have the rights to chilldress we signed evans hes a great pick up then we just need to sign j-smooz back and a decent center and mabe another player mabe

Posted by: james on July 26, 2008 1:12AM EST THIS JUST IN: The Hawks trade Joe Johnson and Al Horford for a half-eaten cheeseburger, two cans of bug repellant, and two hardcore hockey fanatics. The ASG (Atlanta Spirit Group, owners of the Hawks and Thrashers) claim this to be the "trade of the century, that gets the team back on track". "We know what we're doing, trust us" they said. Then they count their money all the way to the bank while proclaiming "it's our team, we'll do with it what we please. Now, if you would, give us all of your money and try your best not to pay any attention to what we're doing."

Posted by: james on July 26, 2008 1:21AM EST THIS JUST IN: The Hawks trade Joe Johnson and Al Horford for a half-eaten cheeseburger, two cans of bug repellant, and two hardcore hockey fanatics. The ASG (Atlanta Spirit Group, owners of the Hawks and Thrashers) claim this to be the "trade of the century, that gets the team back on track". "We know what we're doing, trust us" they said. Then they count their money all the way to the bank while proclaiming "it's our team, we'll do with it what we please. Now, if you would, give us all of your money and try your best not to pay any attention to what we're doing."

Posted by: sotiris on July 26, 2008 4:19PM EST ben gordon will sign up with olympiakos..wait a little!!

Posted by: pj on July 26, 2008 11:10PM EST j-smoove and a draft pik or sunthing 4 emeka okafore wld be a great trade smith is great but he has had some issues with woody and his attitude and okafore is a good player and wold be great with horford lineup C-Okafore 2 Pachiula PF-Horford 2 Solomon Jones SF-Williams 2 Maruice Evans SG-Johnson 2 mario West PG-Biby 2 Acie Law or Claxton

Posted by: Gerald on July 27, 2008 12:54AM EST you need look at Luol Deng.he is a free agents .pick him up today hawks.Luol Deng and john smith togather

Posted by: ray on July 27, 2008 10:42PM EST Well, i just heard stephen a smith talk about the josh smith situation and its not good. Josh smith thinks he has been sabotaged which he has by the hawks management. He is so unhappy that he wants a sign and trade deal or a one year deal so he can get out of atlanta next off season as an unrestricted free agent. WOW hawks management yall screw up everything i mena everything and this is why not many good players want to play in Atlanta or stay in Atlanta. I wish somebody like Mark Cuban owned the hawks because have you noticed the mavericks never have trouble resigning players to long contracts but WE DO because of our crappy mangement. We could be a great team if we had a mangement that could do anything right, THANK YOU CRAPPY MANAGEMENT

Posted by: Hawks Plz do something on July 28, 2008 12:02PM EST Hawks management needs to do something, they can recoup by either 1. signing Josh Smith and Louis Williams or if they go through with a sign or trade, 2. then also sign J.R. Smith, to help in the much needed shooting category and who is also a freakish athlete who can also dunk on people in transition. 3. This is just wishful thinking but go after Luol Deng, who is an upgraded Josh Smith. But what it all comes down to is the fact the Hawks have to be proactive and make good deals. Atlanta is the 7th biggest market, people will come to watch the games if the Hawks create some type of interest.

Posted by: Just do something on July 28, 2008 12:10PM EST Hawks management needs to do something, they can recoup by either 1. signing Josh Smith and Louis Williamsor if they go through with a sign or trade, 2. then also sign J.R. Smith, to help in the much needed shooting category and who is also a freakish athlete who can also dunk on people in transition. 3. This is just wishful thinking but go after Luol Deng, who is an upgraded Josh Smith. But what it all comes down to is the fact the Hawks have to be proactive and make good deals. Atlanta is the 7th biggest market, people will come to watch the games if the Hawks create some type of interest

Posted by: Anonymous on July 28, 2008 1:20PM EST Ok I am dissapointed in J Chills decision but its already been made so what can I do. We need to sign Thomas Gardner (a great mid and long range shooter), Brian Randle (a good forward with dunking and rebounding ability), Jeremy Richardson (nice all around shooter), Luke Jackson( a amazing 3 point shooter), Otheillo Hunter ( a very good player at the center position), Acie Law IV ( a good all-around scorer), and Demetric Bennett (a great all-around scorer).

Posted by: J V on July 28, 2008 4:50PM EST What does everyone think about the recent pickup? I think it is a good move because if we can sign a serviceable center and get a player who can give joe ten minutes of rest a night , I think the hawks will be back to the playoffs.Provided they sign j smith.

Posted by: ray on July 28, 2008 6:02PM EST Josh Smith wants a sign and trade out of Atlanta. THANK YOU ATLANTA MANAGEMENT YALL ARE FANTASTIC DECSION MAKERS. makes me sick

Posted by: Mike ATL FAN on July 28, 2008 11:47PM EST I LOVE all Atlanta teams, and I now see our downfall is ownership and coaching. Anytime we have a good thing someone does something dumb like not signing the Josh's at the begining of last season. Now what took so long to build and finally stated showing dividens, and only needind one piece, a center, to really contend for a title. now you sign Maurice evans, no disrespect but WTF!!! Looks like we will never have a winning team year in and out. I just dont get it.

Posted by: seriouslyconcerned on July 29, 2008 12:00AM EST Hawks Management, wake the f#$k up!!! You're acting like free agency is a year long process. You have to jump on players like every other team is. The Clippers have been a joke for years (the fourth best team in Cali, a state, who btw didn't make the playoffs) and they're signing players left and right. I've been a life long Hawk fan, and it's sad to see the state that the team will be in next year. Childress was a HUGE loss. You can say what you will about him, but he played hard. I loved Childress. I understand and agree, he's not worth $10 mill a year. But what, Bibby is? And you traded four guys to get him. The Hawks roster is depleted. You should have some extra cash now which you would have spent on Chills anyway, so sign someone. As much as players don't seem to want to come to ATL, have you even tried persuading anyone aside from Morris Randolph and Kwame Brown. Are you kidding me? The one thing we have to offer is playing time and NBA players want to play regardless if the team is garbage. Why do you think JJ is here. And now JSmoove doesn't want to be here. I love the guys game, even though he gives about 10% every other night, but if you're telling me I've had to struggle as a fan watching him develop and now we're going to lose him at the age of 22, I'm gonna lose my mind! What hope does that give me for Marvin. You're telling me that once he develops more than just a jumpshot, we're gonna lose him too? How about Horford? And why was Woody a top priority? PLEASE keep talking to Detroit to try to get Prince and someone for JSmoove, but in the meanwhile, SIGN SOMEONE ELSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by: steve on July 29, 2008 10:59AM EST LOOK HAWKS MANAGEMENT......SIGN THE HOMETOWN KID JOSH SMITH TO ANYTHING ANOTHER TEAM IS WORTH PAYING HIM......ALL HE IS GOING TO DO IS GET BETTER....JUST IMAGINE HIS ATHLETICS WITH POLISHED SKILLS...THATS A DANGEROUS COMBINATION!! I'M FROM ATLANTA AND I WAS BORN A HAWKS AND IM SOOOOO TIRED OF THESE BONEHEAD MOVES BY THIS TEAM...LOSING SMITH WOULD BE A FAILURE NO MATTER WHAT....UNLESS WE GET KOBE!!LOL (and thats a joke for real) SO DO THIS TEAM, IT'S FANS AND THE CITY OF ATLANTA A HUGE FAVOR AND LOCK UP SMITH!!! IT WILL BE ANOTHER SAD DAY IN ATLANTA IF HE GOES..IM JUST FRUSTRATED WITH THE DECISION MAKING PROCESS...SO MAKE IT HAPPEN SUND!!!

Posted by: ricardo on July 29, 2008 1:41PM EST For all the momentum these Hawks have gained only to see it crumble. It so hard to be a Hawks fan when the ASG can't resign their own free agents. The next action you take will determine if I will purchase season tickets.

Posted by: Redbill on July 29, 2008 3:03PM EST And this with much love from Greece idiots hahahaha http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xl8K_snWHs&feature=related

Posted by: Anonymous on July 29, 2008 3:27PM EST hey, hawks fans this is from josh childress himself: I'll be honest with you man. They offered me a below mid-level deal, then shot down every sign and trade opportunity, then put me on hold and basically said to wait until we sign Josh Smith. So then they try to make me play the waiting game to let my opportunities dry up, and it made me mad. It also made me realize it is a business. So I had to make the business move. They were trying to bully me and do everything they could to get me for as cheap as they could and I didn't feel like waiting on them anymore. and this is what he thinks about the josh smith situation: I honestly think he will try to leave. I don't know for sure, because I haven't really talked to Josh about it, but they have tried to use the same tactic with him that they did on me. I'm sure things will get worked out soon but I don't think he will be back.

Posted by: rick denson on August 6, 2008 6:26PM EST In general I agree with the comments of the writer and most Hawks fans (and sports fans in general) understand the business side of professional sports. But what makes this loss of J-Chill sting so much is this Kid was good, a good fit for the team and a big part of it's past recent success and had provent his worth to the franchise and the majority of Hawks fans. Wow... I'm still thinking about that "break-away" fast break slam by "Chill" in Game 6 of the Playoffs against the mighty "now NBA Champions. He had the house rockin. This guy gave us allot of moments like that. More than any current Hawk he always seemed to be somewhere around the ball coming up with a steal, a rebound, leading the break, finishing a fast break, knocking down a much needed shot, or dishing out a assist. J-Chill was no albatross waiting to be signed. He was a intergral part of a team which needed him. The Hawks management went cheap and they lost him to a European team who put their money where their mouth was. They did what the Hawks didnt do....it's really that simple and no need for sugar coating. To follow this, the Ownership and the new general manager stated clearly on more than one ocasion that their top priorities were to get J-Chill and J-Smooth resigned. We all brought in to that.... and why not after such a admirable performance and all the excitement generated by the Hawks in the playoffs? It is obvious that they were not as serious about this as they led the fans and press to believe. We are all aware of some of the disastrous moves of the past by the Franchise such as Shipping Dominque off to oblivion right smack in the middle of a good season and a good chance at being the Eastern Conference "Top Dogs", or more recently passing up Chris Paul and Deron Williams for Marvin Williams even though a high caliber point guard was desperately needed. The sting hurts and disappointment by the fans is very justified. It is very reasonable to say the leadership of the Hawks have failed us again! For what it's worth, all of the excitement and hope for the future I experienced after the outstanding performance of the Hawks in the play-offs has now quickly disappeared. After attending about 10 ames last season I was seriously going to purchase some season tickets so as not to miss out of these newly regenerated young hawks, but now instead I feel like the Hawks Ownership and leadership have pulled a "good ole okey doke" on us fans and in fact really are not interested in developing this team into a Eastern Conferenced powerhouse. Oh, and did I forget to mension.....J-Smooth is still not resigned. Season tickets..... I think not!