Δευτέρα 28 Ιουλίου 2008

My Big Fat Greek Contract!

Josh "My main man" Childress: “The NBA is great, some of the most fun four years of my life. That obviously isn’t gone. But I think this opportunity is great.”....yeah sure, I feel you hommie, can you say $$$$$$??
For all those cats outside there getting overexcited and learning to spell C-h-i-l-d-r-e-s-s let me break it down for you:
  • Josh is an NBA talent, not gonna argue about it, a dynamic forward with a multitude of skills and few weaknesses...His 11.3 ppg ranked 112th in the NBA last season, putting him behind guys like Jamaal Tinsley and Ronnie Brewerat...at the end of the day he's above average at everything but outstanding at nothing..so please stop calling him Kobe, Lebron or whateva he still ain't a big time NBA player...and definitely not irreplaceable as he was replaced by Mo Evans, yes the same Evans that rocked an Olympiakos jersey 4 years ago..funny how life turns out...
  • What is a fact though is that this is the most lucrative deal in Euro history!!!! It is also very important to understand that this contract is loaded with perks, from a car and a house to the team actually picking up the taxes on the contract. So, in terms of value, it might be worth a little more than $20 million, total. With NBA guys having to pay tax on their salaries, a three-year, $20 million contract is actually more like a three-year, $12-14 million deal...In the meantime, for Josh, who is reall a nice guy, this really was about an opportunity to make the kind of money he just couldn’t make here in the NBA. Sure, he’s not happy that the Hawks didn’t jump to sign him up, but Olympiacos came hard after him and made him feel wanted. And Josh understands the value of money — this is a guy who spends most of his cash on sneakers and video games, hardly bank-breaking items. Here's a great example, courtesy of SLAM Magazine 120:

    "My next purchase is probably going to be a watch with this money I saved up. Marvin Williams and I played a per diem game all season, trying to see how much money we could save. Each day we get like $98 to pay for our meals. And when you’re at hotels like the Ritz, room service breakfast is like fifty freakin’ bucks. So Marv and I tried to eat more normal meals and get out from the hotel, maybe going to nearby diners or whatever, and instead of spending $50 we’d spent like $7. For the whole season, I ended up saving $4,100. He had like $3,400. (We went on the honor system.) It made me realize that I don’t need to spend that much money. Just because it’s convenient doesn’t mean you don’t have to spend it."

  • It is called poor management and Atlanta has been so familiar with it the last years...Apparently a change did occur this summer, with Billy Knight resigning, Hawks fans throwing a parade, Rick Sund being hired and poor poor Hawks fans having to witness 1 of the biggest fiasco in team sports history....This really wouldn't be happening if Atlanta took care of its business. By low-balling Josh Smith and Childress last summer, (when they had the chance to agree on an extension) the Hawks allowed themselves to saunter into July '08 with two potential crises. Both players got better over 2007-08 (shocking! good young players get better!) and Atlanta really shouldn't be in the business of losing either. Attention out there!!!!! this is the same franchise that rumor has it is considering two blockbuster sign-and-trade proposals for josh Smith...the other restricted free agent who can be considered nothing more than a cornerstone player...you have to be able to sign your franchise player if you seriously want to compete, right???? As for whenever he decides to move back, If the Hawks don't resign Childress, they won't be able to sign a major free-agent, either. If they resign Childress, they'll probably severely overpay him...deadend baby!
  • If you really want to feel what I'm saying and how lame the Hawks management has been you gotta check the Hawks GM statement regarding the departure of Childress:
“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 (FIBA is the governing body of international basketball competition, not the European league or clubs. Childress and Olympiakos have nothing to do with FIBA).
We have a great deal of respect for Josh and appreciate his contributions to our franchise. We were very comfortable when we began this process that if Josh were to play in the NBA, he would remain with the Hawks. This is a unique situation with Greece, and to my knowledge it is believed to be the highest contract ever awarded in Euroleague history.
We feel we presented a very fair and competitive offer to keep him in Atlanta, and we will now move forward with the options we have to improve our roster.”
  • Finally a big kudos to his agents ...with an opt-out clause (not a buyout) after each year of the deal Childress can fly back home just like that...he will still be a restricted free agent for the next 2 years but I'm sure Atlanta will be able to move him easily (with a sign trade the most likely scenario) since he is already screwing their cap...AGAIN: If the Hawks had overpaid Childress with, say, an $8 million annual contract, they would be able to go get a $12 million player in free agency next year ... and they'd have Childress's production! Instead, nothing and nothing. Good work, Sund!
  • Josh, I love you man, but you really can't go out and pull those silly comments....“I’m excited about playing for Olympiacos this upcoming season. They are a great organization and Athens is a great city. It will be an adjustment, but I’m thrilled about this opportunity.” Wow, is Athens really that great or r you missing something homie???? I guess you ll be spending all your time in those nice places, right????

(A big thanx goes out to Cat for the video)

Question of the day: Seriously,what is going on with the music in mostly all of the beach bars around Chalkidiki and deucebags getting a groove with it????? Why do they keep throwing a mix of house-acid-punk-greek rock-with a J-Lo fake mixtape?????
And whatever happened to those songs???

Old school funky French rap baby!!!!! yeahhhh, you got schooled!