A Franchise on the Brink

"We got no food, no jobs... our PET'S HEADS ARE FALLING OFF!" That's basically how the Hawks are making me feel right now. What else could go wrong this summer?

A big thank you to Atlanta Spirit Group and Rick Sund. They've really made me excited about being a Hawks fan the past couple of months. You know, I wouldn't have minded if we gave up a 2nd round pick for Marcus Camby. If I knew Josh Smith had thoughts about signing with other teams, I may have at least met with a high profile free agent. Instead, the biggest splash of the summer is either these ongoing rumors that neither Josh is interested in staying with the Hawks or that Speedy Claxton is healthy enough to play in summer league. Woo Hoo! Where do I sign up for season tickets?

Mark Stein on Josh Smith:

"Josh Smith's increasing reluctance to return to the Atlanta Hawks has little to do with Mike Woodson, despite repeated media suggestions that Smith is eager to play for a new coach.

Smith and Woodson are fine, one confidante insists. Smith's frustration with the Hawks is the slow-moving state of negotiations, with Smith apparently still waiting for a serious contract proposal nearly three weeks into free agency.

Not that this is a grand surprise given the Hawks' rep for spending or a quandary exclusive to Smith. The only team in the league with salary-cap space to throw at premier restricteds such as Smith, Charlotte's Emeka Okafor and Chicago's Luol Deng is the Memphis Grizzlies, who have no plans to make their money available this summer, preferring to focus on trade possibilities. So the Hawks, Bobcats and Bulls are naturally proceeding slowly and conservatively, figuring that their prized assets have limited leverage.

Which is true. Threatening to sign a one-year qualifying offer that would lead to unrestricted free agency in the summer of 2009 is pretty much the only way Smith can apply pressure on the Hawks now.

Yet I suspect the sign-and-trade chatter will begin to pick up, maybe in all three cases, with Smith said to be especially eager to move on.

I wonder, for example, if my coaching pal who asked me why the Dallas Mavericks aren't trying to assemble a deal that features former ACC player of the year Josh Howard going to Atlanta in some sort of package for Smith isn't onto something."

Yahoo on Josh Childress:

"Childress flew to Greece late Sunday and is scheduled to meet with Olympiakos officials on Monday. Childress, 25, is so flustered with the Hawks’ refusal to make a sign-and-trade deal to another team, one source familiar with his thinking believes there’s “better than a 50-50 chance” he’ll sign with Olympiakos. The team also will cover the Greek taxes for Childress, making it even more lucrative."

I don't think Josh Childress is hard to replace nor do I think we should throw a lot of money at him. But I think his desire to leave the franchise is telling."