Hooped Up

As it turns out, losing to the Celtics last week was the beginning of the worst of times for the then, 6 and O Hawks, that have now lost four straight after last night and Al Horford.

“They doubled up Tuesday night. They lost Al Horford to a sprained ankle with 5:12 to play in the first quarter and lost their fourth consecutive game, a humbling 113-96 beating at the hands of Indiana before a sparse crowd of 13,379 at Conseco Fieldhouse.

Making matters even worse for the Hawks is that they have only a few hours to process where they go from here, with Washington coming to Philips Arena for a game tonight.

“We can’t beat anybody like this,” said Hawks captain and All-Star Joe Johnson, referring to the recent inept efforts on defense as much as the team’s dwindling ranks.”

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The extent of the injury to the ankle of Josh Smith is officially confusing!  It’s not because doctors don’t know what’s wrong, it’s because the Associated Free Press has reported that he will be out for “four seeks”. This could mean that his ankle is still injured and he is now lost deep in the Georgia woods and the Hawks have launched a massive man hunt  for the hobbling forward. Or perhaps the Hawks made a religious trade that involving four Sikhs that we don’t have the details to yet.

If you Google Josh Smith right now, you’ll see it actually still reads
“Hawks lose forward Smith for up to four seeks“.

It’s good to know that my little blog isn’t the only one with the ability to make mistakez.

The Atlanta Hawks are off and running, (if you can use that term just two games into a new season) and the 76ers found out first hand over the weekend. The 76ers had the Hawks dead and buried before Joe Johnson scored 19 of his 35 points in the second half and the Hawks rallied from a 23-point deficit for a 95-88 home-opening victory. 

This Joe Johnson game winning dagger from 30 feet out is ridiculous!!!

These two are always at it but, Woodson knows the Hawks have to ride Smith and his unique skills to get results.  I can’t wait until the Hawks celebrate Festivus, and these two lock up for the feats of strength after the team dinner. It should be hype! 

“Hawks coach Mike Woodson and Josh Smith finally had their training camp dust-up Tuesday, ringing in yet another year together. Woodson called his team together in a practice-ending huddle and began his speech by telling his team that they needed to take their game to another level with the regular season approaching He mentioned Smith by name, which prompted the fifth-year forward to react by saying he was willing to “take all the blame.”

Atlanta Journal Constitution

Josh Smith was willing to continue his NBA career wherever he had to, either in his hometown of Atlanta with the Hawks or in Memphis with the Grizzlies.

The Hawks made the decision for him late Friday night by matching the five-year, $58 million offer the Grizzlies made to Smith, a restricted free agent, earlier in the day.

“Tonight, the Hawks organization received an offer sheet from the Memphis Grizzlies for Josh Smith,” Hawks general manager Rick Sund said in a statement released by the team. “We are happy to announce that we will match their offer sheet. Ownership, management and the team are happy to have Josh return as a member of the Hawks. We look forward to training camp in October, and we will continue to look at additional opportunities to improve our roster.”

Atlanta Journal Constitution

The Atlanta Hawks have signed free agent center Randolph Morris to a contract, it was announced today by General Manager Rick Sund. Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

“Randolph’s signing gives us additional size and depth along the frontline, with Al Horford and Zaza Pachulia,” said Sund. “He has the opportunity to grow as a player and we look forward to assisting with his future development as an NBA player.” 

NBA

Atlanta Hawks fans won’t have to fret over the fate of restricted free agent swingman Josh Childress anymore.

That’s because Childress is no longer a Hawk. He said he agreed to terms Wednesday morning on a three-year contract with Olympiakos of Greece that is worth far more than $20 million initially reported.

“It’s official, I just signed,” Childress said by phone Wednesday morning from Athens, where he and agent Jim Tanner will be until Friday. “I think it was . . . a situation where I didn’t know who to expect coming in, coming over to Athens. But it’s a great city and a great organization. They do whatever they can to make you feel at home.”

The deal is the most lucrative current contract in European basketball and the biggest in Euroleague history. 

AJC

Free agent forward Josh Childress is weighing a three-year, $20 million offer from Olympiakos, a Greek basketball team, according to an online report.

Jim Tanner, Childress’ agent, told SN’s Sean Deveney, “He is definitely considering it. We’re here now.”

Yahoo is reporting Childress flew to Greece late on Sunday to visit with Olympiakos officials because he is “so flustered with the Hawks’ refusal to make a sign-and-trade deal.”

“Unless he just gets there and doesn’t like it at all, I think he’s going to go,” a league source told Yahoo. A source also told the site that there’s a “better than 50-50 chance” he’ll sign with the Greek team and spurn the NBA.

Only the Grizzlies have more than a mid-level exception available and their lack of activity on the free-agent market makes it clear they will not be spending on Childress or any other significant remaining free agents.

As part of a dynamic, young core for the Hawks, Childress averaged 11.8 points and 4.9 rebounds during the 2007-08 season.

Sporting News

Derrick Rose is going home, and a record crowd of freshmen are following him to the NBA. The Chicago Bulls selected Rose, who grew up on the city’s South Side, with the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft Thursday night, choosing the Memphis guard over Kansas State forward Michael Beasley.  Below are the rest of the NBA draft results.

Round 1 NBA Draft Results

Second round results after the jump Read the rest of this entry »