Content not just to punch Atlanta's fans in the groin area by letting Josh Childress get away, Hawks boss Rick Sund delivered what has to be one of the worst explanations in recent memory. (Kevin McHale's postscript on the Dwane Casey firing can't be beat, though.) From Hoopsworld: "We were informed this morning by Josh Childress' representatives that he has signed with Olympiakos in Greece, and we want to wish him the absolute best with his future career in FIBA." [...]First: FIBA is the governing body of international basketball competition, not the European league or clubs. Childress and Olympiakos have nothing to do with FIBA. Team USA and Herr Kaman and Grover impersonators ... that's FIBA.
The fact is Atlanta's offer was the best Childress could get - in the NBA. Atlanta chose not to compete with the offer from Olympiacos Piraeus. "I can only compete in the league I play in," justified Sund.
The "I can only compete in the league I play in" line is pure horse manure. Atlanta was in a better position than any other team in the world -- NBA or Euroleague -- to retain Childress's services. Basically, as long as you don't insult him, you'll keep him. The situation never gets this far if the Hawks had been willing to pay Childress real market value. (There are reports circulating that Childress received offers better than what Atlanta offered from contenders seeking sign-and-trade deals. Those offers become the market value. Atlanta dismissed them and did not increase their offer to that level. There's the insult.)
The only thing worse than Sund's lazy, laughable argument is watching the Hoopsworld writer (Jason Fleming) carry water for the Hawks. "Kudos to the Hawks for not bowing to pressure," he writes. Is that a joke?
